Chapter 723: Success And Failure (I)
Time passed unnoticed in cultivation. In the blink of an eye, more than a month had passed. Within the void of the Primordial Chaos Pool, Lin Zheyu abruptly opened his eyes. He spread his arms and stretched his body before rising to his feet and hovering in the void.
His heart pounded powerfully within his chest as immense blood qi surged rapidly through his body, releasing wisps of golden mist. Majestic fire dragons condensed within the golden mist and roared at Lin Zheyu as if ten thousand dragons were paying homage.
Meanwhile, the powerful blood qi around Lin Zheyu condensed into an enormous blood qi dragon. It coiled around his body and radiated a terrifying aura, resembling a mighty dragon god receiving the homage of ten thousand dragons.
His heart beat faster and faster as his body rapidly expanded. Magnificent golden armor with sleek contours emerged from beneath his skin and covered his entire body. In the blink of an eye, he had grown to an astonishing height of eight meters. Hovering in the void, Lin Zheyu's momentum rose to its peak. At that moment, he seemed to transform into a radiant, golden-armored war god!
Suddenly, the clear sound of the Great Dao rang out. Five thick golden shackles abruptly materialized around Lin Zheyu, piercing into his flesh and tightly binding him. As the powerful blood qi within his body surged, the energy spilling from it battered the golden shackles, causing them to sway and collide.
When Lin Zheyu's momentum fully reached its peak, the metallic clangs produced by the five thick golden shackles grew increasingly rapid.
Lin Zheyu's eyes narrowed, flashing like lightning as he softly uttered the command, "Break!"
His voice resounded like a thunderclap. The blood qi dragon coiled around his body, and the thousand-odd fire dragons within the golden mist unleashed earthshaking roars in unison.
The metallic clangs grew louder and louder. Under Lin Zheyu's control, immense energy bombarded the weak point of the third shackle. The thick golden shackles tightened viciously until they dug deep into his flesh, firmly imprisoning his body and preventing him from breaking free.
Lin Zheyu's face twisted savagely, his eyes gleaming with frenzied determination. What did this little bit of pain amount to? During his cultivation with Origin Force, what kind of agony had he not endured? Back when he laid an unprecedentedly profound foundation for his divine repositories, he had even experienced the sensation of hovering on the brink of death.
Even now, he could still vividly remember the thrill of repeatedly teetering along the edge of hell. The paltry pain he was enduring now was nothing by comparison. When his first attempt failed, Lin Zheyu gathered his strength once more.
He suddenly roared, "Break open, damn you!"
The blood within his body suddenly began to boil, making his entire body appear to ignite. His immense fleshly power burned, squeezing out an even more terrifying force.
A terrifying boom rang out, causing the entire void to tremble faintly. Under Lin Zheyu's terrifying strike, the thick and seemingly indestructible shackle finally began to crack. However, the moment a nearly imperceptible fracture appeared, the other four shackles erupted with dazzling golden light. Streams of powerful and mysterious energy shot from them and entered the third shackle. In an instant, the newly formed fracture vanished, restoring the shackle to its original state as if it had never appeared.
At the sight, the fierce expression on Lin Zheyu's face instantly froze, and he could not help cursing inwardly. These damned Heavenly Dao shackles were not only thicker, stronger, and tougher than those of ordinary martial artists, but all five had also materialized at once.
Other martial artists could slowly break free of their shackles one at a time, but Lin Zheyu had to break them all in a single attempt. Otherwise, just like what had happened moments ago, any fracture he created would instantly be repaired by the power surging from the other Heavenly Dao shackles.
Lin Zheyu exhaled deeply and shook his head in exasperation. "Forget it. I'm done trying."
The vast energy stored within his divine repositories poured forth like water through an opened floodgate, replenishing his expenditure and healing the injuries he had sustained while forcibly struggling against the shackles.
[Heaven Rewards the Diligent]
[Name: Lin Zheyu]
[Origin Force: 5]
[Skills: Seven Absolute Sabers (Seventh Stage: 100%), Martial Dao True Scripture (Third Stage: 100%), Heaven-Deceiving Art (Second Stage: 100%), Ten-Thousand-Miles Divine Travel Art (Third Stage: 100%), Martial Divine Pattern Secret Manual (Second Stage: 59%)]
Lin Zheyu examined the data in his consciousness.
After more than seven months of seclusion, he had nearly exhausted the vast amount of Origin Force he had previously accumulated. Only 5 units remained in reserve. However, it had been entirely worthwhile.
During this seclusion, Lin Zheyu had formulated his general principles of martial cultivation and used them to create the Martial Dao True Scripture, a technique capable of encompassing other cultivation systems.
𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖
The Martial Dao True Scripture used martial cultivation as its foundation, the divine pattern as its framework, and other cultivation systems as its bricks and interior fittings. Together, they formed the embryonic structure of Lin Zheyu's own martial edifice. All of his current techniques were built upon the Martial Dao True Scripture, forming a complete cultivation framework unique to him. Barring unforeseen circumstances, this technique would remain his primary cultivation method for a long time.
Aside from the supplementary offensive secret arts integrated into the Martial Dao True Scripture, such as the Myriad Dragons Godslaying Art, the Heaven-Shaking Earth-Rending Palm, and Devour Heaven and Earth, Lin Zheyu had retained only the Seven Absolute Sabers and the Heaven-Deceiving Art. He had also created the Ten-Thousand-Miles Divine Travel Art, which was several times faster than the Earth Shrinking Technique.
"Unfortunately, although the Ten-Thousand-Miles Divine Travel Art is powerful, it still can't compare to the teleportation of the Nascent Soul realm," Lin Zheyu said regretfully.
Although it could not compare to true teleportation, the Ten-Thousand-Miles Divine Travel Art was still extremely powerful. Its strengths lay in its sustainability and low consumption. It also allowed him to keep pace with a Nascent Soul realm cultivator's teleportation without losing track of them. Lin Zheyu could then wage a battle of attrition. Once his opponent exhausted their Nascent Soul origin and could no longer teleport, he could deliver the fatal blow.
I should also find a way to deepen my comprehension of spatial laws. Otherwise, it will start falling behind my overall strength. Once my comprehension of spatial laws reaches a certain level, the Ten-Thousand-Miles Divine Travel Art might become comparable to teleportation, Lin Zheyu thought.
The Ten-Thousand-Miles Divine Travel Art in its current form merely gave him the ability to pose a genuine threat to Nascent Soul realm cultivators, but that was all. Many problems remained in actual combat. Furthermore, fighting a battle of attrition was not Lin Zheyu's style at all. He preferred to erupt with power and overwhelm his opponent in a single combination of attacks. The longer a battle of attrition dragged on, the greater the chance of unexpected complications arising, making it a poor choice.
"It's time to leave..." Lin Zheyu said softly.
His figure flickered and vanished from sight. The Origin Force he had accumulated had been depleted until only 5 units remained. Since Lin Zheyu possessed the Primordial Chaos Pool, he could have continued his seclusion here, hiding within its inner void while accumulating more Origin Force. However, there was little point in doing so. The vast accumulation of insights he had previously gained into the Yao Dao, Formation Dao, and Shamanic Dao had been almost completely exhausted during this advancement.
Even if he continued cultivating in seclusion here, he would only be able to raise the progress of the Martial Divine Pattern Secret Manual's second stage by another 30% or 40% at most. That would be his limit, so there was little point. Although Origin Force was heaven-defying, it could not conjure even the energy required for cultivation out of thin air. Lin Zheyu still had to provide it himself.
The same was even more true of the insights and accumulated knowledge Lin Zheyu required for cultivation. Unlike other cultivators, he did not possess a complete cultivation system or a powerful technique that could take him all the way to the peak. He had to rely on himself for everything. Therefore, without sufficient accumulation, even if he amassed a vast amount of Origin Force, a skilled cook could not make a meal without ingredients.