434: Chapter 434 One Month

"Less than a month."

Lu Sheng sat on the stone bed in the secret room. The Law power from his recent Breakthrough to Peak Spirit Saint was still surging within his body, and five-colored light flowed incessantly across the surface of his spirit source core.

He didn't speak, merely staring at the data Luo Tianfei sent into the void before him.

Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Venerate's devouring speed had skyrocketed eightfold.

Eightfold.

Before, it was three percent per day; now, it was twelve percent every six hours. Calculating at this rate—

"Between twenty-five and thirty days," Luo Tianfei's voice came through the communicator, her tone as calm as ever. "Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Venerate will complete the Origin devouring of the remains of the spirit emperor' core area, which has a high probability of triggering a Breakthrough to the Spirit Immortal Realm."

Lu Sheng did not respond.

He leaned against the wall, eyes closed, his mind racing.

Spirit Immortal Realm.

Elemental Laws merge with one's own Dao Rhyme, and both the Physical Body and spirit source transform into an elemental dao body.

What kind of concept was that?

He had seen the corpses of those in the Spirit Immortal Realm in the Old God Abyss. Having been dead for who knows how many tens of thousands of years, their residual aura alone could pressure a Spirit Saint Realm Cultivator into spitting blood. A living Spirit Immortal—he didn't even have a reference point to imagine it.

"Luo Tianfei."

"Present."

"What Realm is Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Venerate at now?"

"Based on data from the last encounter and his spirit source fluctuations in the Old God Abyss—Late Peak Spirit Saint. There's still a distance to the limit of Peak Spirit Saint. He is currently using the Origin energy of the remains of the spirit emperor to brute-force his Law comprehension."

"Does he also need a catalyst to break through to the Spirit Immortal Realm, just like me?"

"Theoretically, yes. The Bottleneck from Peak Spirit Saint to the Spirit Immortal Realm is even greater than from Late Spirit Saint to Peak Spirit Saint. However, the quality of the remains of the spirit emperor' Origin far exceeds ordinary resources. If Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Venerate's Law talent is strong enough, the Spirit Emperor's Origin itself can serve as the catalyst for the Breakthrough."

In other words—he might just brute-force the Breakthrough.

Lu Sheng's fingers tapped on his knee a few times.

"What about Qing Ming Protector? What's his situation now?"

"Qing Ming Protector has been patrolling the perimeter of the spherical space. His spirit source fluctuations are stable, with no signs of Cultivating. His duty should be that of a gatekeeper."

"His strength?"

"There was no direct contact during the last encounter, but based on spirit source fluctuations—somewhere between Mid Spirit Saint and Peak Mid Spirit Saint Stage."

Peak Mid Spirit Saint Stage.

In the past, this would have been a troublesome opponent.

But now—

Lu Sheng clenched his fist. Peak Spirit Saint Physical Body strength surged between his knuckles. He could clearly feel that with one punch now, a Peak Mid Spirit Saint Stage shield wouldn't be able to block it at all.

"Qing Ming is not a problem," Lu Sheng judged. "The problem is Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Venerate."

He stood up and paced back and forth in the secret room.

One month.

What could he do in one month?

Ninety-seven top-grade origin crystal cores remained. Thirteen ancient technology metal plates.

He had already reached Peak Spirit Saint. Continuing to devour origin crystal cores would no longer raise his major Realm—the Bottleneck between Peak Spirit Saint and the Spirit Immortal Realm wasn't something that could be overcome by simply piling up resources.

However, origin crystal cores could further solidify his Peak Spirit Saint Foundation. They could make his Law power thicker, his Domain more stable, and the power of his Chain Resonance even greater.

Among the thirteen technology metal plates, there were still many things he hadn't learned.

"One month," Lu Sheng stopped walking. "It's enough."

"Enough for what?" Luo Tianfei asked.

"Enough for me to fully digest everything I have on hand. And then—"

Lu Sheng's gaze turned cold.

"Go to the Old God Abyss."

"Before Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Venerate breaks through?"

"Yes. Before he breaks through, I must reach the Old God Abyss. Either stop his Breakthrough, or—the moment he breaks through, strike while he is at his weakest."

Luo Tianfei was silent for a second.

"The moment of Breakthrough is the weakest time?"

"Anyone, at the moment of breaking through a major Realm, will undergo Law restructuring. During those few seconds of transition between the old and new Laws, the body's defense and reactions will experience a brief void."

"How do you know?"

"Because I just went through it."

Lu Sheng recalled the moment he broke through to Peak Spirit Saint. When the five types of Laws were restructuring within his spirit source core, his Law shield indeed had an extremely brief lapse. It was probably only a fraction of a second. But if someone had launched an attack at that point in time—

"That fraction of a second would be enough."

"Understood." Luo Tianfei's voice became even more serious. "Then your plan is—to launch a fatal attack on Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Venerate the moment he breaks through to the Spirit Immortal Realm."

"Yes."

"Risk assessment—extremely high. First, you cannot accurately predict the specific timing of Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Venerate's Breakthrough. Twenty-five to thirty days is just an estimate; it could actually be earlier or later. Second, Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Venerate has Qing Ming Protector by his side. You must resolve Qing Ming in an extremely short time, then penetrate the spherical space and launch an attack the moment Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Venerate breaks through. The time window might only be a few seconds. Third, if Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Venerate successfully breaks through to the Spirit Immortal Realm, even if only at the Early Stage—using his combat power from Peak Spirit Saint as a base, he will be an existence you currently cannot confront head-on."

Lu Sheng did not argue.

Because everything Luo Tianfei said was fact.

"So this month—I must push myself to the limit."

He sat back down on the stone bed and took out the fourth ancient technology metal plate from his storage space.

"Don't disturb me. Unless there's a major change at the Old God Abyss."

"Understood."

The communication cut off.

Silence returned to the secret room.

Lu Sheng looked at the metal plate in his hand. This plate recorded an attack technique called 'Law Chains'.

spirit source was injected, and information poured into his Sea of Consciousness.

He began to learn.

Three hours later.

Mastery of 'Law Chains' was complete.

This was a technique that used Law power to construct physical chains. The chains could bind the target's Law operations, causing their spirit source circulation speed to drop significantly.

It had a similar effect to Profound Sound's Sonic Wave Interference. But Law Chains were a physical binding; the effect was more direct and lasted longer.

"If I use Law Chains in conjunction with Profound Sound's Sonic Wave Interference—" Lu Sheng simulated it in his mind.

Dual interference overlapping.

Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Venerate's Law operation speed might be reduced by more than fifty percent.

"This has potential."

He picked up the fifth metal plate.

Continued learning.

Time flew by in the secret room.

One day passed.

Two days.

Three days.

Lu Sheng finished learning all thirteen remaining ancient technology metal plates.

Besides 'Law Chains', he had also mastered—

'Law Disguise': Can hide one's own Law fluctuations, preventing opponents from accurately judging one's strength Rank.

'Origin Detonation': Instantly detonates a portion of the Origin energy in the spirit source core, producing a devastating attack that exceeds the upper limit of one's own Realm. The price is a permanent loss of the detonated portion's spirit source capacity.

'Eye of Law': Places invisible Law perception nodes in space, allowing for remote monitoring of all Law fluctuation changes in a specific area.

There were also several auxiliary Law techniques; though not as stunning as the previous ones, they were all useful.

"Origin Detonation."

Lu Sheng repeatedly mulled over this technique in his mind.

Permanent loss of spirit source capacity.

This was a one-time ultimate move. After using it, his spirit source upper limit would permanently shrink.

"Saving it as a trump card."

He organized these techniques and then began consuming the remaining ninety-seven origin crystal cores.

He no longer used the spirit source Body Tempering technique—the thirty cores from before had already tempered his Physical Body to its short-term limit.

He devoured them directly to solidify his Peak Spirit Saint Law Foundation.

One core.

Two cores.

Ten cores.

Thirty cores.

With every core devoured, his Law power grew a bit thicker. The five-colored light on the surface of his spirit source core grew brighter and more solid.

By the fiftieth core—

"Ding! Peak Spirit Saint Foundation stability: 87%."

Seventieth core—

"Ding! Peak Spirit Saint Foundation stability: 94%."

Ninety-seventh core—all used up.

"Ding! Peak Spirit Saint Foundation stability: 99%."

99%.

Only one percent away from the limit of Peak Spirit Saint.

This one percent—needed actual combat to fill.

Lu Sheng opened his eyes.

The walls of the secret room were covered in cracks. The Law fluctuations leaked during the devouring of the origin crystal cores had even cracked the structure.

He stood up and stretched his muscles and bones.

Every muscle, every bone, and every inch of skin throughout his body was filled with terrifying power.

"Time to go out."

He pushed open the door of the secret room.

The lights in the hallway hit his face, a bit blinding. He squinted slightly and strode toward the plaza.

Just as he stepped out of the underground passage, he bumped right into Dao Yi.

The moment Dao Yi saw him, his expression changed.

"Lord—you—"

Dao Yi's words got stuck in his throat.

He stared at Lu Sheng for several seconds, his mouth opening and closing, closing and opening.

"What's wrong?" Lu Sheng frowned slightly.

"Your aura... has changed." Dao Yi took a small half-step back. It wasn't intentional, but a instinctive reaction of his body. "It's completely different from before. When you broke through to Peak Spirit Saint that previous time, I could still barely stand my ground. But now... just standing before you, my spirit source core is trembling."

Lu Sheng restrained the Law aura he was emitting.

Only then did Dao Yi's complexion look a bit better.

"How long has it been?" Lu Sheng asked.

"Ah?"

"How long was I in the secret room?"

"Seven days," Dao Yi said. "Exactly seven days. I've been guarding the door every day. Luo Tianfei said not to disturb you, so I didn't dare go in."

Seven days.

He felt like only three or four days had passed. It seemed that in extremely focused Cultivation, one's perception of time would be severely distorted.

"What about the Old God Abyss?"

"Luo Tianfei reported two hours ago. Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Venerate's devouring speed has increased again. It's now fifteen percent every six hours."

Fifteen percent.

Even faster.

"At this rate..."

"Luo Tianfei said it's estimated to be around twenty days left."

Twenty days.

Lu Sheng's gaze turned toward the sky.

Above Dengxian Island was a thick layer of metal armor; stars could not be seen. But he knew that in the depths of endless space beyond that armor, within the Old God Abyss, Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Venerate was frantically devouring the Origin of the remains of the spirit emperor.

"Twenty days," Lu Sheng repeated the number.

Then he turned to Dao Yi and said—

"Go call Profound Sound."