114: Chapter 114 Jiang Hao's Third Life: A Qualitative Change

For Jiang Hao, witnessing a current Great Emperor actually take this step based on his guidance and attempt such an ancient and dangerous method was a rare opportunity for observation and confirmation.

From Yun Li's attempt at transformation, he gained a deeper understanding of the method of Manifesting as a Holy Spirit, which provided new inspiration for his own upcoming path.

"However, the path of becoming a Holy Spirit is destined to be incredibly long, easily measured in units of a hundred thousand years."

Jiang Hao's gaze pierced through the barriers of the Immortal Cave, looking toward a corner deep in the Universe that was quietly slumbering and transforming.

"I hope you can return successfully. By then, there will be one more fellow traveler in this world who can walk side by side with me."

He withdrew his distant gaze and closed his eyes again, as the vast currents beneath him began to rotate slowly.

The long stretch of time, whether for him or for Yun Li who had embarked on that perilous journey, was merely the first corner of an unfolding scroll.

His mind settled completely, focusing entirely on himself.

Peering inwardly at that boundless Sea of Bitterness, the scene was now vastly different from the past.

The several stalks of undying divine medicine he had collected in his early years had undergone marvelous changes after tens of thousands of years of constant nourishment and harmonization by his own Chaos Origin.

The solar-attributed fusang divine tree and the lunar-attributed moon laurel tree had their branches and Qi intertwined, giving rise to a faint, ceaselessly circulating Yin and Yang dao rhyme, as if lighting up a miniature Taiji diagram within the Sea of Bitterness.

The human-shaped immortal medicine that had followed him earliest was now increasingly vibrant with a clear outline; occasionally, one could even see subtle fluctuations like breathing on its body, as if it were a sleeping sprite.

The white tiger immortal medicine had restrained all its outward sharp, slaughtering Qi and lay quietly in a corner, its entire body as warm and moist as jade. Only by sensing carefully could one detect the indestructible sharpness contained within.

The chaos green lotus obtained later swayed gently in the center of the Sea of Bitterness, its lotus leaves stretching out as it naturally breathed in and out the purest Chaos Qi.

It seemed to have become the stabilizing pillar of this Sea of Bitterness, harmonizing all medicinal power and Dao laws.

The Qi of the five undying medicines pulled at each other, faintly forming a mysterious and stable cycle.

Not only did they each grow robustly, but they also continuously fed back into Jiang Hao's emperor body, bringing an endless stream of vitality and dao rhyme nourishment.

Among them, what Jiang Hao noticed most were the chaos green lotus and the human-shaped immortal medicine.

Their spirituality had grown most significantly, getting closer and closer to a state of complete intelligence, and their behavior even took on a few hints of personification.

When the chaos green lotus swayed, it seemed to be deep in thought; when the human-shaped immortal medicine breathed, it seemed to have emotions.

"These two fellows... surely they won't truly come to life one day, will they?"

Jiang Hao looked at them internally, and a slightly startled thought couldn't help but rise in his heart.

"Shedding their medicinal bodies to transform into humans? Or even... a return in some sense?"

The Origins of undying medicine were mysterious, mostly related to fallen Immortals or existences beyond Immortals.

If they could truly awaken the intelligence of their past lives and reappear in the world, it would absolutely be an unprecedented miracle.

Because there had never been a clear record of an undying medicine truly reversing its form to manifest the demeanor of its former master.

"If it's truly possible..." Thinking of this, a hint of genuine anticipation grew in Jiang Hao's heart.

"Then that would be too interesting. Witnessing what might be an Immortal or even a higher-level existence crossing through the ages to reflect upon the world in this way—the mysteries within would surely provide immense inspiration for my understanding of the essence of life, the immortality of the true spirit, and the deep laws of transformation in the Mortal World."

In fact, just being accompanied by these few stalks of undying medicine over the years and feeling the interaction between their Qi changes and his own Chaos Origin had already benefited Jiang Hao greatly.

He had gained a deeper recognition of the transformation and leap of life forms.

He even felt that he already had some vague ideas about how to take the step into his fourth life.

If they could truly come to life, the enlightenment they would bring would likely be immeasurable.

"However, those are matters for the future; we'll see when the time comes."

Even if these two undying medicines were to return, it would take some time.

"The time is about right." Jiang Hao temporarily suppressed these manifold thoughts.

The long accumulation and preparation for his third life had already reached Perfection.

It was time to push open the door to a new world.

Jiang Hao began his secluded cultivation.

Time flowed silently outside the Immortal Cave, stars brightened and faded, and an unknown number of years passed.

One day, Jiang Hao's transformation began silently.

There was no reversing of the starry rivers, nor the wailing of the myriad daos.

All movement was contained within, sinking into the primal depths of life.

That Chaos emperor body, which weighed down upon all worlds, began to calmly disintegrate starting from the most infinitesimal particles, and then slowly reorganized according to a rhythm that transcended Dao laws.

The Chaos divine light that once forced all laws to retreat was no longer manifested externally; instead, it contracted into the deepest parts of his body like wisps of Primordial Beginning Qi.

Those Chaos Origin Dao laws, capable of crushing ancient history, were refined and finally turned into billions of simple runes, etched into every track of his life essence.

His Physique shed its brilliant luster like Innate divine jade, becoming warm, moist, and ordinary. No light flowed between his flesh, blood, tendons, or bones, as if he had returned to the mundane state before the heavens and earth opened.

Everything that was restrained sublimated on an invisible level.

Beneath the seemingly ordinary flesh, an indescribable Dao substance was condensing.

Within his bones and organs, there was a divine light even more powerful than before.

Every inch of his body contained immeasurable divine energy.

This was the ultimate return to basics.

Shedding all external divine phenomena, he refined all of his Chaos Origin into the purest nourishment, evolving toward something stronger.

The extreme of the ordinary is the extraordinary that transcends all.

This was actively discarding everything after thoroughly understanding the essence of a Physique.

Allowing himself to return to the state of being the most essential vessel of the Dao.

The Chaos Body was certainly powerful, claimed to be near-Immortal, but it was ultimately a defined special Physique with its inherent power tendencies and Dao law patterns.

For an existence that had already reached Jiang Hao's current level, any Physique with a specific tendency instead became an invisible shackle.

It limited his possibilities for infinite exploration and free evolution of the Dao.

Now, he appeared to be a Mortal Body, but in reality, every drop of blood, every inch of bone, and every wisp of Divine Soul within his body possessed majestic life essence.

He had already surpassed his former Chaos Body.

This was not an ordinary Mortal Body; it was the Mortal Body he had transformed into after returning to basics, possessing true infinite possibilities.

Jiang Hao discarding the Chaos Body did not mean the Chaos Body was weaker than a Mortal Body; on the contrary, a Mortal Body is far inferior to a Chaos Body.

It was that Jiang Hao's currently transformed Mortal Body was stronger than the Chaos Body.

It's like a business tycoon who is truly wealthy enough to rival a nation saying, "I have no interest in money."

The prerequisite is that he already possesses and controls that wealth.

Only then would he say it, and only then could he say it.

Physiques are the same; only after truly possessing and understanding one can one calmly say it is no longer needed.