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73: Chapter 73 Cultivation Increases Again
Time slipped away quietly amidst cultivation and preparations.
Today, under the Ling Family's banner, there are ninety-seven newly promoted Golden Core Cultivators. If one adds the original core strength like Ling Hao, Ling You, Ling Xue, and the various Elders, the total number of Golden Core Cultivators sitting in the Family has officially broken through the hundred mark!
This does not even include the potential strength brought by the various Sects that have successively submitted and pledged loyalty.
And this is merely the beginning.
γ System Notification γ
γ Ten Thousand Sources Heart-Refining Array successfully set up, consuming 5000 Origin points γ
γ Mission Issued: Within twenty days, explore and control the "Desolate Ancient Secret Realm" (deep within the Qingyun Mountain Range) γ
γ Mission Rewards: Core control of the Secret Realm, 1000 remnants of ancient war weapons, 20000 Origin points γ
γ Current Origin points: 46400 γ
γ Ling Hao: Desolate Heaven Battle Body (Elementary Success) γ
γ Mastered Abilities: Disintegration Dao Pattern (Complete Version), unlimited usage, complete Origin of War, Eye of Origin, True Intent of Returning to the Void (Embryonic form), War God Art (Second Layer), War God Totem (Elementary), Origin Deduction, "Chaos Origin Sutra" Advanced Chapter γ
γ Battle Will: Ebullition: Can be activated three times daily, lasting for one hundred breaths, War Soul True Body (Hundred breaths of Divided Soul) γ
Ling Hao looked at the System light screen, a curve forming at the corner of his mouth.
The Desolate Ancient Secret Realm, is it?
Perfect, it can be used to train troops.
"Pass the order." Ling Hao's voice spread through the night wind; beneath the calm lay a sharp edge about to be unsheathed. "Three days from now, the Family will open the 'Desolate Ancient Secret Realm'."
His gaze swept over everyone, as if inspecting raw iron about to be cast into a furnace.
"All Disciples above the Foundation Establishment Realm may enter. Seek your own Opportunity, experience your own life and death."
Pausing slightly, the scent of iron and blood surged beneath that calm tone.
"This journey is not for sightseeing or gathering herbs. I want you, amidst true slaughter and desperate situations, to let your bones remember the taste of pain and your blades to drink their fill of blood. The Ling Family's blades need to be recast in blood and fire, and honed to their sharpest between life and death."
The night wind rose suddenly, rolling his green robes, seemingly stirring up an invisible yet boiling Battle Intent.
Behind him, ninety-seven Origin Seeds bloomed with brilliance simultaneously, like ninety-seven stars rising slowly under the night sky of Qingyun City.
And these three days were just enough time for him to improve himself.
Today he used the ability of the creation jade pendant, which might have already attracted the attention of the Heavenly Dao Palace, so everyone in the Ling Family had to improve their strength at any cost.
---
At the exact moment Ling Hao used the creation jade pendant to set up the array, in the depths of the Heavenly Dao Palace in the Central Domain.
Inside a magnificent palace built entirely of starry white jade, the dome resembled the night sky, with countless flickering points of light suspended within. Each point of light reflected the flow of Luck of a great world, as if containing all the Star Domains of the heavens.
In the hall, there was a piece of jade similar to the creation jade pendant in Ling Hao's hand; it seemed to sense something and emitted a slight vibration.
Below the jade sat an old man wearing star-patterned Dao robes, legs crossed.
He opened his eyes abruptly, the sun and moon revolving and stars being born and dying within them.
"That fluctuation... Is it that? After being silent for so long... It has appeared?"
The old man calculated with his fingers, his brows furrowing: "In the Southern Domain? And it was obtained by the 'Holder of the Handle'?"
He was silent for a moment, then waved his hand, casting out an imperial decree.
The decree turned into a stream of light and flew out of the great hall. A moment later, a Divine General wearing golden armor, with an aura unmistakably at the Soul Transformation Stage, stepped into the hall and knelt on one knee:
"What are the Temple Master's orders?"
"Go to Qingyun City in the Southern Domain and find a youth named Ling Hao." The old man's voice was indifferent. "Retrieve the half of the creation jade pendant in his possession. If he refuses... execute him without mercy."
"Yes!" The Golden-Armored Divine General accepted the order and left.
The old man closed his eyes again, but a cold curve appeared at the corner of his mouth:
"Emperor Huangtian, do you think leaving behind a Legacy allows you to turn the tables?"
"You failed ten thousand years ago, and ten thousand years later... your successor will fail just the same."
"The Heavenly Dao cannot be defied."
The great hall returned to silence.
Only that creation jade pendant continued to tremble slightly, as if calling out to a friend lost for ten thousand years.
And a chess game spanning ten thousand years was about to begin anew.
The chess player was about to make a move.
Ling Family.
In the closed cultivation chamber, the stone door slowly closed.
Ling Hao sat cross-legged in the center of the secret room. Floating before him were half of the creation jade pendant, nine fist-sized red-gold crystalsβwhich were the essence of ancient Battle Intent collected from the Valley of Buried Weapons condensed to the extremeβand a cauldron of "Void-Returning Barrier-Breaking Pills" just refined using the "cauldron of creation" mixed with Chaos Origin.
The Medicinal Pill was Chaos-colored, with twelve natural Dao patterns on its surface. When the pill was formed, it caused a slight tremor in the space of the secret room. The energy contained within it had already transcended the category of ordinary Medicinal Pills and was closer to a "Dao crystallization."
"System, deduce the best Breakthrough plan." Ling Hao murmured in his heart.
γ Deducing... γ
γ Host's current Realm: Nascent Soul Peak (Chaos War Infant) γ
γ Target Realm: Divided Soul Early Stage (Divine Sense Soul Emergence, one thought becomes a thousand) - crossing a major Realm γ
γ Plan 1: Steady Breakthrough. Based on the "Chaos Origin Sutra", nourish the War Infant and divide the Divine Sense. Estimated time: 60 to 90 days. Success rate: 85%. Most stable Foundation. γ
γ Plan 2: Battle Intent Spirit Refining. Burn nine Battle Intent crystals, use Battle Intent to temper the Divine Sense, and forcibly push the division process. Estimated time: 7 to 10 days. Success rate: 70%. After the Breakthrough, Divine Sense strength will far exceed peers, but there is a 15% probability of Divine Sense damage. γ
γ Plan 3: Void-Returning Soul Fusion. Use the True Intent of Returning to the Void to simulate "Ten Thousand Thoughts Return to the Void, One Thought Reborn", temporarily disintegrate the War Infant, fuse it into the Chaos Origin, and then use the Barrier-Breaking Pill as a guide to re-condense the Divided Soul. Estimated time: 3 to 5 days. Success rate: 58%. If successful, one can comprehend part of the Void Refining characteristics (transformation between void and reality) in advance; if it fails, the War Infant will dissipate, and the Realm will fall. γ
Ling Hao scanned the deduction results and chose without hesitation: "Select Plan 3."
γ Confirm execution of Plan 3 γ
γ Recommendation: Use the "Void-Returning Barrier-Breaking Pill" and "creation jade pendant" to protect the Origin. γ
γ Warning: This process is extremely dangerous. Once started, it is irreversible. The pain of Divine Sense disintegration is comparable to Soul extraction and Spirit Refining. γ
"Begin."
Ling Hao raised his hand and put the Void-Returning Barrier-Breaking Pill into his mouth.
The Medicinal Pill did not dissolve immediately upon entering his stomach but sank into his Dantian, rotating slowly and casting down wisps of chaotic Dao light.
At the same time, Ling Hao formed seals with his hands. The "War" brand on his chest and the half of the creation jade pendant lit up simultaneously.
"True Intent of Returning to the Void, all thoughts become empty."
"War Infant disintegrate, merge into Chaos!"
"Divided Soul Β· Condense!"
"Boom βββ!!!"
Inside the Dantian, that Chaos War Infant shook violently, and countless fine cracks appeared on its surface! This was not damage, but an active "disintegration and division." From every crack, a wisp of golden Divine Sense thread was peeled away, totaling three thousand six hundred!
Each Divine Sense thread carried a portion of Ling Hao's memories, insights, Battle Intent, and Origin aura!
In an instant, Ling Hao's consciousness felt as if it were being torn into three thousand six hundred pieces, each piece enduring agony comparable to being sliced by a thousand knives! That was decomposition at the Soul level, far beyond the pain of physical injury.
But he gritted his teeth. The Desolate Heaven Battle Body operated spontaneously, and the Battle Will: Ebullition secret technique was passively triggered, forcibly carrying him through this inhuman pain.
"Chaos as the furnace, Origin as the fire."
"Merge!"
Under the guidance of the Chaos Origin, the three thousand six hundred Divine Sense threads began to gather, intertwine, and reorganize in the center...
A chaotic ball of light gradually took shape in the center of the Dantian. Inside the light ball, it seemed as if nebulas were rotating and the Universe was just beginning. This was the symbol of the Divided Soul Realm, the Divine Source Embryo!
"Success!!!"
The War Soul True Body slowly dissipated, and the Chaos Domain was retracted into his body.
Ling Hao felt the brand-new level of power:
Divine Thought can be divided into three thousand six hundred threads, each capable of independent perception, thought, and even casting low-level techniques;
The Chaos Domain has a range of one thousand zhang; within the Domain, all non-Origin powers can be suppressed, and it comes with an "Void-Returning Erosion" effect, which can slowly disintegrate the enemy's spiritual power, Divine Sense, and even the structure of Magic Treasures;
Combat power is invincible within the Divided Soul Early Stage. In a normal state, he can kill those at the Divided Soul Middle Stage. In the War Soul True Body state, burning Battle Blood, and exploding with full power, he can rival the Divided Soul Peak!
"Not enough."
Ling Hao looked to the north, his gaze seemingly piercing through the endless Void Realm, seeing the mountain gate of the Xuantian Sect, and seeing the high-and-mighty Heavenly Dao Palace deeper within.
"Only by reaching the Void Refining Realm can one be qualified to truly challenge the rules of the Heavenly Dao."
"And now..."
He pushed open the stone door.