Now that Solanky's physical body could sense the Peak-Summit Trials, its aura had undergone a dramatic transformation, becoming similar to that of beings who had attempted the Peak-Turn Trials.
The Peak-Summit Trials were an advanced form of the Peak-Turn Trials. Unlike the ordinary trials, which tested a cultivator's ability to transcend the limits of their cultivation, the Peak-Summit Trials required the participant to enter a world governed by entirely different laws. Such worlds existed outside the world in which the participant had been born or created, forcing them to confront unfamiliar restrictions and principles that could fundamentally alter their understanding of cultivation.
The chances of surviving a Peak-Summit Trial were a mere five percent. However, for beings whose spiritual power and physical bodies had already crossed into the Ancestor Level, the survival rate increased to slightly above ten percent.
Solanky waved his hand, and the spaceship treasure gifted to him by Govot materialized before him. He stepped onto its deck alongside his puppet, preparing to depart for the mission.
Meanwhile, within the cauldron, Black God Solanky carefully studied the mission's intelligence. According to the information provided, the mission was located near the outskirts of the Beyond Realm. More importantly, the laws governing that world prohibited True Peak-Turn beings from entering with their physical bodies.
The information concerning the mission was as follows:
Location: Fifty million kilometers beyond the walls of the Beyond Realm, near Behan's post.
Mission: Liberate the populace from the influence of the evil fiends.
Duration: Nine hundred thousand years.
Number of world divisions: Three divisions: the Mortal Realm, the Spiritual Realm, and the Upper-Spiritual Realm.
Creator: Unknown. However, preliminary estimates suggested that the creator was an Above Peak-Turn (APT) being responsible for constructing this pocket dimension.
Cultivation levels: The world employed its own ranking system, although the ranks corresponded to the general cultivation hierarchy of the outside world. The precise relationship between the two systems could only be established after entering the world and investigating its laws. Every being born within this world was a special lifeform.
Restrictions and peculiarities:
No being at the True Peak-Turn level could enter with their physical body. Furthermore, beings whose spiritual bodies had reached the True Peak-Turn level would experience severe suppression of their spiritual power. The greater their spiritual power, the more intense the suppression. Treasures forged outside the world that possessed the power of the True Peak-Turn level would lose their effects within it. Conversely, treasures obtained from within the world would have their power amplified threefold when taken outside.
Unresolved mysteries:
The nature of the world's restrictions, which were believed to originate from a world formation created by its mysterious creator to protect the inhabitants. The existence of treasures belonging to powerful deceased Guarding Ancestors and other Ancestor-Level beings. The true mysteries behind the world's cultivation ranking system and how its ranks corresponded to the general cultivation hierarchy of the outside world. The dormant laws and concepts left behind by the creator. The current whereabouts of the world's creator, or at least the location where they had last been seen.
After absorbing the necessary information, Solanky began making preparations aboard the spaceship as it travelled towards the mission's destination.
He had a particular fondness for statues and the process of imprinting them with spiritual energy. This time, however, his preparations served a more practical purpose.
The intelligence made it clear that he could not simply descend into the world and act with his full strength. The restrictions governing that place were so terrifying that even True Peak-Turn beings could be slaughtered if they violated them carelessly.
Fortunately, Solanky had considerable experience studying formations and restrictions. Rather than viewing the world's laws as nothing more than obstacles, he regarded them as an opportunity.
If he could understand how the creator had constructed such a formidable system of restrictions, he might be able to incorporate some of its principles into his own world formations, elevating his mastery to an entirely new level.
After travelling for some time, Solanky finally arrived at a point approximately one thousand kilometers away from the target world. He brought the spaceship to a halt and gazed into the void before him.
What appeared before his eyes was a gigantic spherical world surrounded by chaotic energies. Countless restrictions flowed across its surface, intertwining with the chaotic energy currents as though they were living entities swimming through an endless sea.
Solanky immediately recognized it as the mission's destination, a world created by an Above Peak-Turn being.
Yet even he could not help feeling astonished by its sheer size.
The spherical world measured approximately five trillion light-years across its widest diameter, making it the largest world Solanky had ever encountered.
His expression grew solemn.
A mere pocket world had reached such an unimaginable scale. This alone gave him a glimpse of how terrifying its creator must have been. For a being capable of constructing a world of this magnitude, the laws governing ordinary realms might have been little more than elementary principles.
However, the size of the world was not what impressed Solanky the most.
It was the restrictions.
The chaotic energies and turbulent currents surrounding the sphere had been incorporated directly into its defensive structure. Every restriction appeared interconnected with the surrounding energies, forming a terrifying network capable of eroding and erasing any foreign restriction that attempted to establish itself upon the world.
Even an accomplished formation master would struggle to interfere with such a structure without understanding its underlying principles.
Solanky's interest deepened.
He had encountered countless formations throughout his cultivation journey, but this was the first time he had seen a world protected by restrictions of such extraordinary complexity.
After careful consideration, he decided that Black God Solanky would be the one to enter the world.
If the clone were destroyed, his main body could recreate it with the assistance of the Eternal Soil and the pills he had refined. Although the Black God body possessed its own mysteries, it did not conceal as many secrets as his main body.
There was no reason to risk his true body when a clone could accomplish the same objective.
Solanky transferred the necessary resources and mission-related items to his Black God clone. Once everything was ready, Black God Solanky emerged from the spaceship and flew towards the enormous world.
Meanwhile, Solanky's main body remained aboard the ship, sitting quietly with his eyes closed.
The puppet stood nearby, periodically releasing its aura to deter any greedy beings that might approach. The surrounding space, extending approximately one thousand kilometers in every direction, was already covered by formations that Solanky had established beforehand.
Although these formations were nowhere near as formidable as the restrictions protecting the mission's world, they were sufficient to discourage careless intruders and provide an additional layer of security.
Black God Solanky continued approaching the world at a steady pace.
Deliberately suppressing his strength, he limited his power to approximately two hundred billion times that of an Infinite Source God (ISG).
He had no intention of challenging the world's restrictions through brute force. Until he understood how its laws operated, caution was the wisest course of action.
The moment he entered the region approximately one kilometer from the world's surface, a wormhole abruptly manifested before him.
Before he could take another step, an immense suction force seized his body and dragged him into the opening.
The force was terrifying, powerful enough to make the surrounding space tremble. Nevertheless, for a being whose physical body had already reached the Half-Step True Peak-Turn level, enduring such a force was not particularly difficult. His body was sufficiently resilient to withstand gravitational forces comparable to those generated by a supermassive black hole.
After several seconds, Black God Solanky was expelled from the wormhole and emerged into an entirely different world.
The first thing he noticed was the richness of the spiritual energy permeating his surroundings. It was far denser and purer than the spiritual energy he had encountered in most regions of the Beyond Realm.
He lowered his gaze towards his own body.
A strange transformation had occurred during his passage through the wormhole.
Somehow, his spiritual body had fused with his physical body. At the same time, an oppressive force had descended upon him, severely restricting the strength he could release.
He carefully examined his condition and quickly understood the implications.
Although his actual cultivation had not changed, the restrictions imposed by this world prevented him from displaying his full power.
At present, the strength he could reveal was only slightly greater than that of his Source-defying body.
He was nowhere near his True Peak-Turn capabilities, but even under these restrictions, he remained a formidable existence.
Looking into the distance, Solanky discovered a breathtaking sight.
Countless cities floated among the clouds, their magnificent structures surrounded by brilliant spiritual lights. Rare and extraordinary beasts roamed through the skies, many of which he had never encountered throughout his time in the Beyond Realm.
The entire world appeared vibrant with life, yet beneath its beauty lay an invisible system of laws that governed everything within it.
Solanky released his spiritual sense to investigate his surroundings.
To his surprise, his perception could cover only approximately fifty percent of the world.
Before he could investigate further, a massive stream of information suddenly flooded his mind.
The information revealed that he had arrived in the Upper-Spiritual Realm, the highest of the world's three divisions and the realm in which the absolute peak of power within this world resided.
He also discovered that the world had automatically assigned him a cultivation rank.
Rank 15. Early Stage.
According to the information, this rank corresponded to beings who had only recently entered the True Peak-Turn level in the general cultivation hierarchy of the outside world.
Solanky studied the information carefully, gradually piecing together the relationship between the world's ranking system and the cultivation path he already understood.
However, the information also revealed an unusual restriction.
Although he had entered the Upper-Spiritual Realm with his physical and spiritual bodies fused together, he could not descend into the lower realms with that body.
To enter the Spiritual Realm, he needed to send down a spiritual-power avatar. Descending into the Mortal Realm was even more restrictive, requiring him to establish a means of interaction that complied with the laws governing that realm.
This was precisely why he had prepared numerous statues before departing.
According to the information he had received, a being wishing to manifest within the Mortal Realm needed to establish a sufficient foundation of belief among its inhabitants. Once more than one hundred people believed in him, he could manifest an avatar within that realm.
However, belief alone was not enough to remove every restriction.
To move freely and have the restrictions imposed upon him lifted, he needed to establish a following of more than one thousand believers.
Solanky immediately understood the purpose behind these rules.
The creator had designed the system to prevent powerful outsiders from descending into the lower realms and slaughtering weaker beings simply because they possessed superior cultivation.
Even a being capable of dominating the Upper-Spiritual Realm could not freely impose its will upon the Mortal Realm through its true body.
Instead, powerful beings were required to interact with the lower realms through avatars, guidance, and the establishment of a following.
They could become teachers, mentors, or protectors to weaker cultivators, influencing their development and gradually building their own foundations of power. However, they could not simply descend with their full might and eliminate anyone who stood in their way.
The system was clearly intended to protect the inhabitants of the lower realms while preventing overwhelming differences in cultivation from destroying the natural order of the world.
Solanky could not help but admire the ingenuity behind such an arrangement.
"What a strange world," he murmured. "Even Half-Step beings are forbidden from interacting with the lower realms through their true bodies. No wonder True Peak-Turn beings are prohibited from entering this place. The creator has established restrictions that prevent even beings of extraordinary power from acting as they please."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"For someone like me, who has spent considerable time studying formations and restrictions, this world is practically a treasure trove of knowledge."
Without wasting any more time, Black God Solanky separated a portion of his spiritual power and formed an avatar suitable for descending into the Spiritual Realm.
The avatar approached a portal connecting the Upper-Spiritual Realm to the realm below.
After passing through it, he appeared within the Spiritual Realm.
The difference in cultivation between the two realms was immediately apparent.
Most of the inhabitants here possessed cultivation equivalent to Rank Five, corresponding to the God of Gods level in the general cultivation hierarchy of the outside world.
The strongest beings, meanwhile, had reached Rank Eleven, placing them on the level of Infinite Source Gods.
By comparing these ranks with the cultivation levels he already understood, Solanky began developing a rough understanding of the world's ranking system.
His spiritual-power avatar, however, had been heavily restricted.
Its cultivation had been reduced to Rank Ten.
Even so, a Rank Ten being was still an extraordinary existence within the Spiritual Realm, powerful enough to stand above the overwhelming majority of its inhabitants.
Solanky appeared among the clouds and immediately spread his spiritual sense across the surrounding region.
He deliberately avoided the territories controlled by the Rank Eleven overlords. There was no reason to attract their attention before he understood the situation within this realm.
As his spiritual sense extended into the distance, he noticed a magnificent temple standing among the clouds.
The temple's architecture was imposing, and its surroundings were filled with spiritual energy. Countless cultivators gathered around the structure, offering prayers and paying their respects to the statue enshrined at its center.
Solanky's expression changed the moment he recognized the figure depicted by the statue.
It belonged to a genius of the evil fiend clan from the outside world.
His eyes narrowed.
He remained hidden and listened carefully to the conversations of the people passing through the temple.
From their discussions, he learned that the temple had been established three hundred years earlier by a being who had originated in the Mortal Realm and subsequently broken through to Rank Five, allowing him to ascend into the Spiritual Realm.
When that individual had first arrived, he had carried the very statue now enshrined at the center of the temple.
Over the years, more than one hundred beings had come to admire and worship the figure represented by the statue.
Solanky immediately understood what had happened.
The genius of the evil fiend clan must have descended into the Mortal Realm through an avatar and established contact with a weaker individual. By influencing that individual during the early stages of his cultivation, the fiend had gradually guided him towards the cultivation methods and doctrines of the evil fiend clan.
As the individual grew stronger, he had established a sect or clan within the Mortal Realm, spreading those teachings among his followers.
Eventually, he had broken through to Rank Five and ascended into the Spiritual Realm, bringing the statue with him.
The statue had subsequently become the center of worship for the growing group of cultivators who admired its supposed master.
Solanky considered the implications.
The evil fiend clan had clearly found a way to exploit the world's restrictions without directly violating them.
Rather than descending with their true bodies and conquering the lower realms through overwhelming force, they had used avatars, teachings, and the influence of belief to establish their foundations of power.
As their followers multiplied and their sects expanded, they could gradually weaken the restrictions that prevented them from acting freely.
In other words, the very system designed to protect the weaker inhabitants of the world could also be exploited by those who understood how to manipulate it.
Solanky's gaze became cold.
The evil fiend clan had not merely infiltrated this world.
They had found a way to turn its own rules into weapons.