Chapter 637 - 630: Slow Metamorphosis
As the entire world underwent a chaotic, painful transformation toward awakening.
Adrift in the vast, boundless turbulence of True Realm Energy, Zhou Yuanjue was curled up, enveloped by a thick Energy Keratin Layer that had proliferated around him. Lost in the endless, imperceptible darkness, he had long since forgotten the concept of time.
He did not know how long he had endured this terrifying state.
Anyone else, even a powerhouse at the Saint Awakening Level, would have been driven to madness and despair after lingering for so long in such an oppressive, helpless, desperate, and lonely state.
But Zhou Yuanjue had not. Though he had no idea how much time had passed in the outside world, he had not stopped thinking for a single moment.
Although the Energy Keratin Layer around him was incredibly solid, he had been completely cut off from any energy supply. The layer was resistant to corrosion, but it would inevitably be depleted one day. Therefore, the first problem he had to solve was energy absorption.
During this time, he had already made many attempts.
The method he employed was similar to creating the "rock candy" compressed cell crystals. It involved drastically modifying the life-imprint structure of cells detached from his body to try and absorb the True Realm Energy, converting it into a form of biological energy he could use.
Ordinarily, this would have been an impossible task. True Realm Energy was an energy from a plane far beyond his own, transcending his fundamental understanding. He could not even truly perceive its form or properties, let alone modify a cell to absorb and convert it.
However, for him, this was not an impossible feat.
This was because, inside the white Square Box buried ten thousand meters beneath Beisha Country, he had witnessed a perfect life-imprint structure—one capable of channeling the Power of the True Realm and elevating life to a whole new level.
Although he would not attempt to follow that path himself, it did not mean he couldn’t draw inspiration from it.
And to absorb all rivers into the sea, sublimating himself—this was the "Dragon’s" will, and it was his greatest strength.
However, this path of adaptation proved to be far from smooth.
Even with the Atlas to reference, this was, after all, a power that far surpassed his own and could not be easily controlled.
During this period, Zhou Yuanjue would slightly open a corner of his Energy Keratin Layer, using the True Realm Energy that seeped in for his experiments while simultaneously resisting it.
Unfortunately, even though he knew the complete structure from the Atlas and was only modifying individual, detached cells, he still faced enormous risks.
The Power of the True Realm was far more terrifying than he had imagined.
To date, he had conducted over a hundred experiments, and all had ended in failure. In fact, two of the most severe failures had resulted in tremendous loss and danger.
The first time, after modifying the cells and exposing them to the Power of the True Realm, they began to proliferate uncontrollably upon absorbing the power. Once the proliferation reached a critical point, the cells seemed to hit a limit. Their life structures, like bombs filled with energy, suddenly detonated.
He was inevitably caught in the terrifying explosion. A large amount of his Energy Keratin disintegrated, and he instantly lost nearly one-fifth of his energy reserves.
Another time, having learned his lesson from the first explosion, Zhou Yuanjue became much more cautious. After a long period of experimentation, he made multiple adjustments to the life structure of the detached cells, bringing it closer to the perfect structure presented in the Atlas.
However, this experiment also went awry.
The life structure of these cells was indeed more perfect and stable than before. But it was precisely this perfection that caused them to become abnormally powerful after absorbing the Power of the True Realm. It was unclear if it was due to the imprint of the "Sacred Lotus" Atlas or some other factor, but the cells mutated. They began using his mental link to them to seize control of his body in reverse. The process was terrifyingly fast. In the end, Zhou Yuanjue was forced to sever a large portion of his own flesh, including his entire arm, and cast it into the boundless turbulence of the True Realm to break the connection.
After the second failed experiment, Zhou Yuanjue reviewed what he had learned. Following many more cautious adjustments and tests, and after heavily modifying the "Sacred Lotus" Atlas, he finally created a stable compressed cell. It could partially absorb True Realm Energy without escaping his control.
He estimated that the final strength of these cells fluctuated around the Ancestral Level. This was because similar beings existed among the Primordial Ancestors—they could brush against the Power of the True Realm but could not truly break through that shackle to achieve the next leap in life’s evolution.
By now, the Energy Keratin around him had been worn to its limit by the numerous failed experiments and the corrosion of the True Realm. But finally, after over a hundred attempts, Zhou Yuanjue held the successful product in his hand.
It was a nearly transparent crystal that seemed to shimmer with a faint light.
Zhou Yuanjue studied the crystal in his hand, a hint of hesitation flashing in his eyes.
The Energy Keratin around him was down to a mere tenth of its peak volume. If anything went wrong now, he would be in true danger.
’Forget it. If I don’t try, the result will be the same anyway.’
Zhou Yuanjue’s eyes narrowed, and he tossed the crystal into his mouth.
THOOM!!
The next moment, his pupils shrank to pinpricks as his body began to tremble violently and swell.
Then, his body’s surface began to proliferate uncontrollably. Massive amounts of flesh detached from him, entering a dormant state layer by layer to form a new Energy Keratin Layer around him, steadily replenishing what was lost.
’Success... It’s only partial absorption, but the replenishment rate is about ten times that of the previous model. It almost overwhelmed my body...’
Zhou Yuanjue took a deep breath. He was fortunate that it hadn’t failed at such a critical moment; otherwise, the situation would have become truly perilous.
After that, Zhou Yuanjue created several more of the new Energy Crystals, expanding his surrounding Energy Keratin Layer to a radius of nearly ten meters all at once.
Finally, within this unknown space, he had carved out a small haven for himself, enough to survive.
After securing his survival, he began trying to find a way to escape the turbulent True Realm and return to the physical world.
However, after many attempts, he gave up.
Unless he could reach the level of a Primordial Ancestor and make initial contact with the Power of the True Realm, he was not even qualified to escape this space.
’According to the Life Atlas from that High-level Civilization, when a life form’s essential structure reaches a certain perfect state, it resonates with the Power of the True Realm. This, in turn, grants an ordinary being the qualification to approach the True Realm.’
’If an ordinary being tried to discover this on their own, it would be impossible. The Power of the True Realm is imperceptible and intangible, making it impossible to study. One could only rely on constant trial and error, slowly fumbling toward the correct path through hundreds of millions of attempts. The difficulty of this process is probably no less than humanity’s evolution from apes into primates. That’s why the Celestial Demon Ancestor has explored for so many years and still hasn’t found the correct path.’
’But now, I have the High-level Civilization’s Atlas as a reference. Even though I won’t follow its path, I have the new Energy Crystals. By using these cells that can faintly absorb the Power of the True Realm as a medium, the Power itself is no longer completely untouchable for me. I can use the tens of millions of ’selves’ in my body to constantly experiment and forge a correct path that is unique to me.’
’However, I have no idea how long that will take...’
Images of the Celestial Demons rampaging across a desolate Earth surfaced in Zhou Yuanjue’s mind. But he quickly cast the worries aside, knowing full well that, at this moment, they were useless.
’I should trust everyone on Earth, just as they trust me.’
’I need to calm my mind, let go of everything, and complete my body’s transformation as soon as possible!!’
Zhou Yuanjue reined in his scattered spirit. Now that his energy supply was secure and his immediate safety was no longer a concern, he refocused all his attention on his own body.
Through constant trial and experimentation, within the endless turbulence of the True Realm, and under the assumption by all that he had already fallen...
He was slowly undergoing another terrifying metamorphosis.