244: The Method of Transforming into a Divine Being

You suddenly felt your thoughts clear up significantly—those who deliberately tried to provoke you were likely acting under the direction of this mysterious organization.

Could the Holy Son Yuwen Hao and the Yuwen Immortal Clan backing him also be problematic?

You even suspected that achieving first place was deliberately arranged—could there be traitors within the Holy Land and the Academy?

You must realize that the most effective way to destroy a top-tier power is to sever its lineage—as long as the successors are killed, that power loses its future.

It seems that after winning first place in the Holy Land Grand Competition, you are now more easily used as a pawn to sow discord between the Holy Land and the Academy.

You thought of the tactic of "praising someone to death" (setting them up for a downfall by excessive flattery)!

If you were the enemy, you would definitely first give the pawn enough influence, and then use that influence to provoke conflict between the Academy and the Holy Son.

However, this pawn's strength cannot be too great, because the stronger they are, the harder they are to control and harvest.

For example, trying to scheme against Yun Yao now would be infinitely harder than scheming against you.

The more you thought about it, the more your scalp tingled, so you simply decided not to delve deeper.

The most pressing matter is increasing your strength.

Before absolute power, all schemes and tricks are futile.

Fairy Cang Lan and Yun Yao did not avoid you during their conversation.

They clearly intended for you to know the inside story.

Shortly after their discussion ended, Yun Yao took you and Luo Jiuchen back to the Academy.

Upon returning to the Academy, your deeds quickly spread throughout the Three Thousand Academies.

As you expected, countless students regarded you as a role model.

But you always felt this was not a good thing.

Standing at the center of attention, you now felt constrained even when wanting to do something "out of line."

You felt as if you were bound by invisible moral shackles.

You missed your former self—unrestrained, following your heart, and not caring about anyone's gaze.

But now, everything was different—

You were the personal disciple of Venerable Yuqing, the champion of the Holy Land Grand Competition, the benchmark genius of the Academy, representing the Academy's prestige.

Although flattery and praise surrounded you, which was pleasant to hear, you remained clear-headed.

You chose to retreat into your Senior Sister's palace for closed-door cultivation—in reality, you were there to find Qin Yu and enter the Heavenly Desolation Secret Realm.

The Heavenly Desolation Secret Realm was now a completely different scene.

Across the entire Heavenly Desolation Continent, countless cultivation powers had sprung up like mushrooms—various sects and factions stood tall, and rogue cultivators were innumerable.

It was clearly a cultivation world that was beginning to take shape.

The strength of the Wind and Cloud Pavilion had also increased significantly, boasting over ten million Qi Refining disciples and more than one hundred thousand Foundation Establishment disciples.

These one hundred thousand Foundation Establishment disciples were revered by mortals as the "Hundred Thousand Heavenly Soldiers and Generals."

Consequently, the Wind and Cloud Pavilion was referred to by the world as the "Heavenly Court."

Furthermore, the Wind and Cloud Pavilion also had over a thousand Core Formation cultivators.

The strongest members, however, were your four personal disciples: Cheng Rongrong, Xue Miaoyun, Song Yang, and Song Yu.

The cultivation of these four had actually surpassed yours, reaching the peak of Nascent Soul, with both their souls and physical bodies perfected.

However, within this realm, they were unable to break through to the Soul Transformation stage.

Therefore, they had recently been waiting for your arrangements.

You had originally planned to personally lead them out of the Heavenly Desolation Secret Realm to attempt Soul Transformation after the Holy Land Grand Competition concluded.

Regarding the method for breaking through to Soul Transformation, you had already obtained a handbook from your Senior Sister Yun Yao.

Coupled with the fact that Qin Yu had already successfully achieved Soul Transformation, the method was not difficult for you.

Since you had not witnessed Qin Yu's breakthrough process firsthand, you were full of anticipation for your four disciples' attempt.

Thus, you and Qin Yu brought the four personal disciples to a courtyard that your Senior Sister had prepared for you.

Inside the courtyard, Senior Sister Yun Yao had already set up a grand array to conceal the heavenly secrets.

In the courtyard, Qin Yu and you watched Cheng Rongrong, Xue Miaoyun, Song Yang, and Song Yu with serious expressions.

The four bowed in unison: "Master, Martial Uncle, we are ready."

"Very good. Who will start first?" Qin Yu asked calmly.

Cheng Rongrong stepped forward: "This disciple will go first!"

Qin Yu nodded and asked, "Breaking through to Soul Transformation means entering an entirely new realm, where everything you see and comprehend will be different. Before you break through, I have three questions."

"First question: Who are you?"

"Second question: What is your Dao?"

"Third question: Why do you exist?"

"If you have understood these, you may begin."

Cheng Rongrong answered solemnly: "This disciple has already understood."

"Very well, begin. We will guard you!" Qin Yu nodded with a smile.

You watched from the side, utterly confused—she understood just like that?

But it was inconvenient to ask directly at this moment.

Since you hadn't reached perfection yet, asking would be futile anyway.

However, you weren't worried and planned to find an opportunity to ask Cheng Rongrong privately later.

Cheng Rongrong looked at you with a beaming smile: "Master, I'm starting now."

She deliberately emphasized the word "Master."

Cheng Rongrong already knew your true identity—Qin Chen was the Pavilion Master, and the appearance of the old man was merely your transformation.

You nodded seriously: "Mhm, begin."

Cheng Rongrong immediately stepped into the array and sat down cross-legged.

In an instant, her blood and Qi surged like mercury, her tendons and bones glowed gold, her five viscera naturally converged to their origin, emitting a flawless, perfected radiance.

The entire grand array roared into operation, and massive amounts of spiritual energy transformed into a visible vortex, surging frantically into her body.

Without hesitation, her glabella glowed, and the Nascent Soul—identical to her in appearance, slightly plump, and solidified like a purple-gold deity—stepped out.

The next moment, her eyes were resolute, and she shouted softly: "Shatter!"

With a faint sound, like the creation of heaven and earth, the perfected Nascent Soul deliberately disintegrated, turning into countless brilliant specks of light containing primordial essence and soul power.

This scene made your heart tighten; this was true destruction before creation, walking on the edge of annihilation.

The specks of light swirled around her like a galaxy, and faint, painful groans came from within.

But her will was like a stabilizing needle in the sea, firmly guiding all the light specks, beginning the perilous integration with her own three souls and seven spirits.

Gradually, an invisible and formless "God Seed" that made your heart tremble slowly condensed into shape in the void.

The moment that seed completely stabilized—

"Boom!"

An invisible wave shot straight into the sky.

Cheng Rongrong's sea of consciousness was now connected to the laws of heaven and earth.

You felt the surrounding threads of law begin to tremble, especially those few that were most compatible with Cheng Rongrong's Dao heart, which emitted a clear resonance.

This was the Heavenly Dao interrogating her: "What is your Dao?"

Cheng Rongrong's face in the array was sometimes confused, sometimes pained, and sometimes struggling.

Her consciousness was sinking into the ocean of laws, searching for and proving her own Dao.

Time seemed to stand still. You all held your breath, knowing well that outsiders could not help.

After an unknown period, her tightly furrowed brow suddenly relaxed, and a smile of enlightenment appeared on her face.