230: Chapter 230 Breaking Through the Integration Realm

The night in Tianhuo City was as noisy as ever.

The night market in the South City Market had just begun; various cries of peddlers rose and fell, and Cultivators gathered in groups, talking loudly.

But in that inconspicuous courtyard in the North City, it was a scene of silence, as the surroundings had been isolated by Ling Hao using a Formation.

At this moment, he sat cross-legged in the secret room, eyes tightly closed, with nine-colored brilliance flowing around him like a river.

In his Dantian, the source of time and the heart of origin—two "hearts"—beat at the same frequency, each pulse resonating with the Laws of heaven and earth.

The Chaos Dragon Infant was perched between the two; its Dragon body had grown to ten zhang long, with fine time-space runes flowing on its scales, and its Dragon eyes reflected the complete Reincarnation of stellar evolution and the flow of time and space.

Late-stage Void Refinement Peak.

He had stayed at this Realm for several months.

After returning from the Burial Immortal Ruins, he had absorbed part of Emperor Huangtian's Legacy, subdued the source of time, and tempered his Physical Body with the power of thunder in the Thunder God Ruins. Although his cultivation hadn't made a Breakthrough, his Foundation had become incredibly solid, like a dam full of water, just waiting for the moment the gates opened.

But the threshold of the Integration Stage was more than ten times higher than that of Void Refining.

This wasn't something that could be broken through by accumulating spiritual energy alone; it required "comprehension."

The third stage of the Chaos Creation Chapter, "Void and Reality Intertwined," had reached a Bottleneck.

Ling Hao's consciousness sank deep into his Sea of Consciousness; the river of time was no longer a rushing river but a vast Sea of Time. Countless branches of past and future intertwined, diverged, were annihilated, and underwent Rebirth here.

And above this Sea of Time, a massive Chaos-colored eye slowly opened.

That eye had no pupil, only endlessly swirling Chaos Qi. Wherever its gaze reached, the threads of Karma trembled, the river of fate flowed backward, and the warp and woof of time and space were rewoven.

The Eye of Chaos—the "third eye" Ling Hao condensed by using the third level of the Space-Time Rules, "Interfering with Karma," as the core, combined with the power of the Chaos Origin and the source of time.

Once this eye opened, it could see all the truth within the past three breaths and glimpse all possibilities within the future three breaths. More importantly, it could see through flaws at the level of Laws and find logical loopholes in the operation of the power of the Heavenly Dao.

But it was still not enough.

To break through to Body Integration, he needed not just "peering" but "creation."

The essence of the Integration Stage is to completely fuse the Divine Soul and Physical Body, achieving "Union of Soul and Body," from then on indistinguishable from each other.

Ordinary Cultivators breaking through to Body Integration need to merge their Nascent Soul with their Physical Body; this is a difficult path requiring hundreds of years of refinement and countless life-and-death temperings.

But the path Ling Hao walked was different.

He had no Nascent Soul, only a Chaos Dragon Infant. He was not merging a Nascent Soul with his Physical Body, but merging the "Chaos Rules" with his "own existence."

In other words, he wanted to make himself an Incarnation of the Laws, and let the Laws become a part of him.

This was a higher level than ordinary Body Integration.

"Void and Reality Intertwined, Chaos belongs to me."

Ling Hao whispered, and the Eye of Chaos slowly closed.

In the next moment, a sky-shaking Dragon roar came from within his body!

The Chaos Dragon Infant rushed out from his Dantian, transforming into a hundred-zhang-long phantom of the Chaos Ancestral Dragon, coiling around Ling Hao. The Dragon head was held high, its Dragon eyes reflecting the scene of the creation of heaven and earth.

Ling Hao opened his eyes; the clock phantom in his left eye and the spatial warp and woof in his right eye exploded simultaneously, turning into countless spots of light that merged into his pupils. His eyes no longer showed any anomalies but returned to their original black color.

But that blackness was as deep as Chaos.

Chaos is the original background of all things—the most ordinary, yet the most extraordinary.

"Break."

A single word fell.

The Chaos Dragon Infant suddenly contracted, shrinking from a hundred zhang to ten zhang, ten feet, ten inches, and finally into a fist-sized sphere of Chaos light, hovering in the center of Ling Hao's Dantian.

The light sphere rotated slowly; each rotation released pure Origin power, nourishing his Physical Body, Divine Soul, and Dantian. That was not a Nascent Soul, nor a Golden Core, but a "Seed of Chaos."

Ling Hao's aura began to climb.

Late-stage Void Refinement Peak, half-step Body Integration, Early Stage Body Integration, and finally stopped steadily at the Early Stage Body Integration Peak.

Early Stage Body Integration, achieved!

At this moment, his every move carried a hint of "Spontaneous Generation of Laws"; he no longer needed to deliberately activate the Chaos Dragon Domain, as the Domain would naturally expand, enveloping ten zhang around him.

He stood up, and the Nine-colored Nebula slid off his body, dissipating into spots of light.

"The Integration Stage is indeed different."

Ling Hao clenched his fist, feeling the power surging within him. Compared to when he was in the Void Refining stage, his Physical Body strength had increased threefold, the quality and quantity of his Primordial Chaos Force had reached a new level, his control over the Space-Time Rules was more refined, and the range of Interfering with Karma had expanded from three breaths to ten breaths.

More importantly, he vaguely touched the threshold of "Creation."

The fourth stage of the Chaos Creation Chapter, "Chaotic Creation," combined with the first layer of the Space-Time Genesis Chapter, could open an independent time and space within the void, separate from the Heavenly Dao. Although with his current cultivation, the space-time he opened could only last for a few breaths, if he could use it in battle, it would be a killing blow.

"It's time to end the seclusion."

Ling Hao pushed open the stone door of the secret room and walked out.

Outside the door, Ling Xiao, Gu Yue, Xiao Yi, and Shadow Seven had been waiting for a long time.

"Brother Hao, you've broken through?" Ling Xiao sensed the aura on Ling Hao that was completely different from before, his eyes full of surprise.

"Yes." Ling Hao nodded, "Early Stage Body Integration."

Everyone present gasped.

The Integration Stage! That was an existence truly standing at the tip of the pyramid in the Eastern Desolation! Among the nine Star Lords of the Heavenly Dao Palace, only Tai Yang, Ji Du, and Star Lord Luohou had reached the Integration Stage; the other six were all at the Peak of Void Refining.

"Congratulations, Young Lord!" everyone said in unison.

"No need for formalities." Ling Hao waved his hand and walked towards the main hall, "Mr. Gu, how is the cracking of the Seal going?" dream

Gu Yue followed into the main hall and said, "Young Master Ling, the cracking of the Seal is going more smoothly than expected. The thunder gods war hammer and the power of thunder within the Seal share the same Origin. Hall Master Ling Xiao used the war hammer as a key and has already opened seventy percent of the Seal. In ten days at most, it can be completely cracked."

"What is behind the Seal?"

"It's not certain yet." Gu Yue shook his head, "But based on the style of the Seal, it should be some kind of core Legacy that the Thunder God obtained from Emperor Huangtian back then. It might be more complete information about 'Heaven Beyond Heaven,' or perhaps some kind of trump card against the Heavenly Dao."

Ling Hao pondered for a moment and said, "Continue cracking it, but don't be hasty. Safety first."

"Yes."

Ling Hao looked at Xiao Yi again: "How is the expansion of the Loose Cultivator Network going?"

Xiao Yi smiled and said, "There are already seven thousand people; over five hundred are in the Soul Emergence Realm or above, three thousand are in the Nascent Soul Realm, and the rest are Golden Cores. These people's loyalty is not an issue; they have all been oppressed by the Sun and Li Families and hate the Heavenly Dao Palace to the core."

"Good." Ling Hao nodded, "But don't be in a hurry to expand; prioritize quality over quantity. Seven thousand people is already quite a lot."

"Understood."

"Shadow Seven." Ling Hao looked at Shadow Seven again, "Is there any new news from Han Lie?"

Shadow Seven took a step forward and said, "Han Lie sent word that Star Lord Luohou, An Ji, has already ordered the guard forces at Gangfeng Gorge to be doubled. There are now two Middle Stage Void Refining deacons stationed there, five hundred elites, and a temporary defensive grand Formation. In addition, An Ji has sent secret agents to monitor the surroundings of Tianhuo City day and night, numbering no fewer than twenty."

"As expected." Ling Hao said indifferently, "The Star Gate is the key for the Heavenly Dao Palace to contact Heaven Beyond Heaven; they won't give it up easily. But the Formation Base is destroyed, and repair will take at least three months. These three months are our opportunity."

"So what do we do next?" Ling Xiao asked.