Chapter 579: The Work Is Complete (I)
Purple-Black energy shrouded Lin Zheyu's body, concealing the aura of a living being. Like a ghost, he moved effortlessly through the hordes of yaos, relying on his powerful perception to slip past them unnoticed. The intelligent yaos had already withdrawn long ago. What remained was little more than mindless cannon fodder. Among them, the strongest was the six-pattern yao guarding the node fissure.
A long saber appeared in Lin Zheyu's hand. Within his sea of consciousness, the golden Heavenly Eye snapped open, focusing on the powerful yao. Although he possessed the strength to challenge such opponents, a six-pattern yao comparable to the Golden Core realm was not something to take lightly. The Heavenly Eye swept across the surrounding area, carefully confirming once more that no traps or ambushes lay hidden nearby.
His gaze then settled on the enormous yao. Its eyes were as large as lanterns, and its towering body resembled a monstrous god-like lizard. Every flow of energy within its body and every trace of rule aura emitted by its demonic patterns was laid bare before Lin Zheyu's eyes. Mindless yaos like this were not particularly difficult to deal with. Their control over their own energy was crude, and with Lin Zheyu's strength, defeating one posed little challenge.
Without warning, Lin Zheyu moved. His figure vanished from where he stood and shot forward like a phantom, hurtling toward the six-pattern yao at astonishing speed.
Within the demon realm, Lin Zheyu could not wield the power of spatial laws. However, with the energy surrounding his body reducing air resistance, his terrifying speed still generated a thunderous sonic boom.
The surrounding yaos were immediately drawn to the deafening explosion and answered with earth-shaking roars. Yet the gap between them and Lin Zheyu was simply too great. Before they could even react, he had already reached the side of the six-pattern yao.
The six-pattern yao roared and reacted with remarkable speed. Its grotesque maw snapped open, unleashing a terrifying beam of energy that blasted toward Lin Zheyu.
The wings on Lin Zheyu's back beat sharply, allowing him to evade the sinister beam with effortless precision before appearing beside the yao in an instant. Mindless yaos relied entirely on their killing instincts in battle. To ordinary opponents, those instincts were deadly, but under Lin Zheyu's powerful perception, they were riddled with flaws.
Were it not for the monstrous regenerative abilities possessed by yaos, an immortal cultivator armed with a suitable dharma treasure could easily turn the tables and kill them instead. Compared to the six-pattern intelligent Purple Flame Qilin he had slain before, this yao was far too crude. After observing it for only a brief moment, Lin Zheyu had already identified its fatal weakness.
The saber in his hand transformed into a streak of golden blade light and plunged into the six-pattern yao's body, striking precisely at a critical node in the flow of its energy. Its roar came to an abrupt halt.
Streak after streak of blade light flashed through the air. The six-pattern yao, which had seemed overwhelmingly powerful only moments before, was instantly carved into more than a dozen mangled chunks of flesh that crashed from the sky. Having succeeded in a single strike, Lin Zheyu beat his wings and shot into the node fissure, disappearing from sight.
Not long after he left, a terrifying aura suddenly erupted from the depths of the underground magma.
A terrifying roar echoed through the air as a colossal pillar of purple-red magma erupted skyward. Bursting from within it was a majestic Purple Flame Qilin. Moments later, the grotesque crocodile-like yao emerged from the darkness as well, its powerful perception spreading across the area. An ugly expression appeared on its already hideous face.
"That human escaped! He must possess some kind of secret treasure. Otherwise, there is no way he could have remained in the demon realm for so long," the crocodile-like yao said darkly.
They had sealed this space-time node for more than two months. Any cultivator who had hidden within the demon realm and failed to escape in time had inevitably been eroded by the yao will, transforming into one of the world's mindless yaos.
In the crocodile-like yao's view, even that unparalleled human genius should have already been corrupted and assimilated if he had remained behind. That assumption was precisely why they had relaxed their guard and left only a mindless yao to watch over the node.
"Do these humans really think our race is easy prey? They've actually turned this place into their personal hunting ground!" the Purple Flame Qilin said furiously.
Ever since this space-time node had appeared, human cultivators had continuously entered the demon realm to hunt yaos and gather rare plants and materials unique to this realm. The Purple Flame Qilin clan had suffered the most. Many cultivators had entered specifically to hunt them.
Its eyes flashed coldly as he said, "Increase the defenses here. Station three six-pattern yaos at this space-time node. I want every human who enters the demon realm through this passage to die here."
Ordinarily, it paid little attention to this node. The occasional human cultivator who entered merely provided a convenient snack, and the deaths of a few mindless cannon-fodder yaos meant nothing to it. However, Lin Zheyu's recent actions had struck it as a blatant provocation, igniting its fury. As soon as the Purple Flame Qilin gave the order, three powerful yaos' auras rapidly approached and landed outside the node fissure with a thunderous crash.
***
Lin Zheyu knew little about the developments outside. Even if he had known, he would not have cared. He had already prepared himself not to return anytime soon. This space-time node could only support cultivators below the Golden Core realm, and he estimated that it would not be long before he broke free of his shackles.
Once a martial artist broke free of their shackles, they would acquire an aura similar to the destiny aura possessed by Golden Core realm cultivators. It signified that they had stepped onto the path of gradually escaping the Heavenly Dao's restraints, defying the heavens, and taking control of their own fate.
By then, Lin Zheyu would no longer be able to enter through this node. He would have to wait until the space-time node stabilized further and could withstand the passage of cultivators above the Golden Core realm.
"What a pity about that mysterious formation. I wonder what secrets are hidden within it," Lin Zheyu murmured softly.
He had yet to fully decipher the formation, having only grasped a few superficial aspects of its outer layers. Even so, those minor insights alone had yielded tremendous benefits.
There will be another opportunity. A great upheaval is coming. In less than three years, this space-time node will probably open completely. By then, I should at least have reached the Shackles realm. My strength may even rival that of a Nascent Soul realm cultivator. At that point, entering the purple-red magma to study that mysterious formation would be perfectly feasible. Lin Zheyu silently calculated these possibilities in his heart.
Shaking away the distracting thoughts, Lin Zheyu spread the wings behind him and gave them a powerful beat. His body shot downward, plunging into the turbulent lake of chaotic energy below.
Use 3 units of Origin Force to cultivate the Martial Divine Pattern Secret Manual.
As the thought arose, the familiar sensation returned. Vast amounts of mysterious energy surged from within his body, drawing in the energy of the lake and funneling it into him. Lin Zheyu's consciousness blurred for an instant before entering the familiar mental space.
The cultivation method of the first stage of the Martial Divine Pattern Secret Manual required him to first condense the demonic patterns he had thoroughly comprehended. Only then could he transform them into Martial Divine Patterns through his own efforts. The purpose of this process was to deepen his understanding of demonic patterns and gain greater insight into the principles behind their transformation into divine patterns.
Time passed slowly. One sinister and malevolent demonic pattern after another emerged along Lin Zheyu's right arm. Before long, however, the patterns began to collapse, decomposing into the fundamental rule markings that formed their foundation. Vast streams of life energy, blood qi energy, and spirit energy, mixed with golden energy, surged toward those foundational rule markings. Gradually, new Martial Divine Patterns began to take shape.
A few breaths later, Lin Zheyu slowly opened his eyes. A sharp gleam flashed across them. "The technique still has room for improvement. Martial Divine Pattern Secret Manual 2.0."
Based on the insights he gained during cultivation, he immediately refined and optimized the technique's cultivation method. Then another thought followed: Use 3 units of Origin Force to cultivate Martial Divine Pattern Secret Manual 2.0.
***
Use 3 units of Origin Force to cultivate Martial Divine Pattern Secret Manual 3.0.
***
Use 3 units of Origin Force to cultivate Martial Divine Pattern Secret Manual 4.0.
***
Use 3 units of Origin Force to cultivate Martial Divine Pattern Secret Manual 5.0.
***
Time passed steadily. Every time Lin Zheyu used 3 units of Origin Force to cultivate, he would optimize and refine the technique after the session ended. Whenever mental exhaustion became too great, he would stop and sit cross-legged in midair, recovering through the Spirit Martial Universe Secret Art. Once his mind and spirit had fully recovered, he would begin the next round of cultivation and improvement. In the blink of an eye, more than ten days had passed.
Lin Zheyu burst out of the turbulent lake of chaotic energy, his eyes heavy with exhaustion.
A trace of delight appeared amidst his weary expression. "Finally, I've succeeded."
[Heaven Rewards the Diligent]
[Name: Lin Zheyu]
[Origin Force: 144]
[Techniques: Earth Shrinking Technique (Perfection), Primordial Concealment Technique (Perfection), Golden Ocean Secret Manual (Perfection), Seven Absolute Sabers (Fifth Stage: 3%), Primordial Golden Body (Second Stage: 100%), Spirit Martial Universe Secret Art–Advanced[1] (Perfection), Martial Divine Pattern Secret Manual (Second Stage: 0%)]
Looking at the data displayed within his consciousness, Lin Zheyu saw that the Martial Divine Pattern Secret Manual had successfully advanced to the second stage. Over the course of the process, he had refined and iterated the technique more than twenty times before finally perfecting the first stage to a satisfactory level.
1. Previously known as Spirit Martial Universe Secret Art: Advanced Edition. ☜