After killing all the Ancestral Diabolical Beasts, the darkness returned to silence once again.
Not the threatening silence from before... but a full silence, almost comforting, like the still air of a deep night after a storm.
Ren Zu was sitting cross-legged in the middle of nowhere, his body relaxed, his breathing slow, and his eyes closed.
The soft light of the golden and crimson flames had disappeared long ago, leaving only small residual glows that danced like distant fireflies.
In the palm of his right hand, several completely black profound cores floated, spinning slowly, like small moons made of liquid ink.
The Technique of the [Ten Extreme Daos] drew invisible patterns in the air, absorbing the diabolical essence from each core as if drinking water. The energy entered through his pores and rushed through his profound entrances like black rivers, but instead of corrupting him, it was immediately transformed and purified, converting into refined profound energy by his profound veins almost at the same instant it entered his body.
If he had known that his cultivation method was capable of absorbing any type of "elemental energy," including that contained within Profound Cores, he would have used it much earlier. Well, at least now he had discovered this ability, and not remained ignorant until the end of his life. Certainly, he would need to study this cultivation method from a higher world better in the future....
As was customary, to continue cultivating this method, he needed to choose a "new path," since he had completely concluded the "Path of Space." Thus, he opted for the "Path of Water," judging it more convenient for his future plans in the Profound Sky Continent.
While absorbing the energy from the Profound Cores, his consciousness gradually sank into the mysteries of the Law of Water, enveloping itself in its silent flows and unfathomable depths. And his profound veins transformed slowly. The energy contained in those Profound Cores, belonging to Beasts whose weakest cultivation was still the lowest level of the Divine Profound Realm, was simply immense! By absorbing it, his cultivation began to rise at an accelerated, almost fierce pace, as if each drop of that vast energy pushed his cultivation base like a rocket!
...Second Level of the Sovereign Profound Realm!
...Third Level of the Sovereign Profound Realm!
...Fourth Level of the Sovereign Profound Realm!
The energy was hot, heavy, dense... but comfortable.
Like a lazy summer afternoon, even though he was sitting in the heart of an abyss that swallowed the light itself.
He completely lost track of time.
He didn't know if minutes, hours... or entire days had passed in that immobile silence. The flow of energy entering his body was so constant....
The Profound Cores were born and died in the palm of his hand without any interval.
A black core shattered into luminous dust, the diabolical essence being devoured by his profound veins as if it were sugar dissolving in hot water... and before even the last grain of that dark light disappeared, another core already appeared between his fingers.
Not because he was calling them on purpose.
But because the Spatial Law obeyed him with the same fluidity as a bird obeys the wind.
Since he had killed all the Ancestral Diabolical Beasts in that place, they were scattered throughout the [Subspace]... and yet, at the slightest movement of his thought, they converged instantly to his hand. The Profound Cores appeared as if they had always been there.
It was like fishing stars from a dark lake, each one emerging effortlessly, as if called by its true name.
The Technique of the [Ten Extreme Daos] roared in silence, drinking everything, refining everything, transforming everything. The energy flowed like entire seas of darkness, and his profound veins responded by accepting each enormous torrent as if they were small sips.
His cultivation base grew without pause, but still... he felt no discomfort.
An entire month passed in the blink of an eye, as if time had decided to take a lazy nap and woken up only when it felt like it.
Ren Zu finally finished cultivating and slowly opened his eyes, blinking slowly, and seeing the abyss around him again.
The silence was still there, but now it seemed like an old friend, one of those that doesn't need conversation to fill the air.
He stretched his arms above his head, feeling his muscles protest lightly, not from fatigue, but from so much time spent in the same position. A crack came from his neck when he turned his head, and he let out a satisfied sigh, like someone finishing a long nap after a boring day.
The last remnants of diabolical energy still danced in the air around him, thin as cigarette smoke, but already dissipating into the nothingness of the [Subspace].
The cores? All absorbed. Not a grain left. His palm was empty now, clean as if it had never held anything but air.
Ren Zu stood up slowly, feeling the immensity of profound strength coursing through every fiber of his body.
"...Tenth Level of the Sovereign Profound Realm." He murmured to himself, a bit surprised: "In a single adventure, I crossed from the Emperor Profound Realm to the peak of the Sovereign Profound Realm. Indeed, the best way to advance on the profound path is to seek legacies and opportunities. But my greatest gain came from the absolute mastery of my cultivation method... it absorbed even entire Profound Cores."
He furrowed his brows slightly upon realizing something.
"In fact, I think I've discovered a future problem. My Profound Veins seem to demand too much to cross each cultivation level. If it were someone else in my place, with the same opportunities, they would have already reached the Divine Tribulation Realm... or, at minimum, the Divine Soul Realm."
The first levels of the profound path were: Elemental Profound Realm, Nascent Profound Realm, True Profound Realm, Spirit Profound Realm, Earth Profound Realm, Sky Profound Realm, Emperor Profound Realm, Tyrant Profound Realm, and finally, Sovereign Profound Realm. These nine realms formed what was widely known as the "Nine Mortal Realms." Although they were classified as nine different stages, they could also be seen as parts of a single vast domain, a great unified realm. Only by surpassing this great set of levels does one truly break the limits of the mortal world, then passing into a completely different domain, known to all as the Divine Profound Realm.
The Divine Profound Realm is the name of a great realm. Profound practitioners who enter this realm have formally transcended mortality and entered the divine path. Compared to the Nine Mortal Realms, the Divine Profound Realm is composed of seven great realms, called the Seven Divine Profound Realms.
Besides three special realms, the Seven Divine Profound Realms are no different from the Nine Mortal Realms; each realm is once again divided into ten small realms.
The first realm is the Divine Origin Realm, which allows one's life energy to become divine. This realm is the first step to entering the divine path. When you enter the Divine Origin Realm, a qualitative change will occur with your life energy. After entering the divine path, profound energy will once again temper your body, allowing you to separate from your mortal flesh and have a longer lifespan. This will give you even more tenacious vitality and an even more inexplicable body.
The second realm is the Divine Soul Realm, which allows one's soul to become divine. It is in this realm where a profound practitioner's soul undergoes a transformation. Achieving the Divine Soul Realm will make your soul transcend the ordinary. You will possess even stronger willpower and mental strength. Your understanding of profound arts and the laws of the world will surpass your own self.
The third realm is relatively special; it is called the Divine Tribulation Realm. In this realm, only profound energy will experience an increase in growth, and no other change accompanies it. However, the word 'tribulation' here is the nightmare of countless profound practitioners.
The Divine Tribulation represents the most dangerous and decisive moment for any cultivator seeking to break mortal limits and tread the path toward divinity. When a practitioner reaches the peak of the tenth level of the Divine Tribulation Realm and attempts to advance to the next great realm, they inevitably awaken the wrath of the heavens. This celestial judgment manifests in the form of the divine tribulation lightning, a punishment that separates those who are worthy from those who dare to aspire to what is beyond the human.
The tribulation lightning is feared for its incomparable strength. Only those capable of withstanding its attacks can cross successfully; those who fail have varying fates, ranging from permanent damage to immediate death. The intensity of this tribulation varies according to the cultivator's innate talent: the lower the talent, the weaker the lightning; the greater the aptitude, the fiercer the celestial punishment. For the vast majority of profound practitioners, only a single tribulation lightning bolt appears—and even then, sixty percent perish during the advancement.
However, those endowed with true talent face more severe tribulations. High-potential cultivators must endure two stages of the tribulation, while even rarer geniuses may be subjected to three full stages. Above them exist the almost mythical prodigies, emerging perhaps once every century in the Divine Region, capable of attracting four full stages of tribulation lightning.
The concept of "stages" is deceptive in its apparent simplicity. The structure of a tribulation follows a rigorously ascending pattern: in the first stage, there is only one lightning attack; in the second, two; in the third, four consecutive attacks; and in the fourth stage, eight simultaneous lightning attacks.
In total, the cultivator capable of attracting the four stages must endure fifteen successive attacks, without interval for rest, without time to recover breath. Each strike carries power sufficient to destroy most aspirants right in the first discharge.
The most accepted explanation for such severity is the ancient maxim that "the heavens are jealous of the talented." The greater someone's potential on the divine path, the more the celestial forces seek to bar their advancement, for surpassing the mortal limit and walking toward divinity is, in itself, an act that defies the heavens themselves.
Despite the brutality of this process, there are notable precedents. In the vast Primal Chaos, with quadrillions of profound practitioners, there have been various individuals who successfully endured three, and even the four full stages of the tribulation. Those who survive such an extraordinary feat inevitably reach supreme heights, becoming famous throughout the God Realm.
From what he remembers of the original history, throughout the history of the God Realm, the extraordinary existence of an individual who faced six full stages of the tribulation lightning was recorded—a feat so unbelievable that it became legendary. According to the records, the logic of the stages follows an implacable progression: in the first stage there is one attack, in the second two, in the third four, in the fourth eight, in the fifth sixteen, and in the sixth stage, the cultivator must endure thirty-two simultaneous strikes of divine lightning. The magnitude of this challenge clearly describes the absurd level of talent needed to summon such a celestial judgment.
This singular cultivator was born in one of the upper star realms. On the day his tribulation descended, the entire God Realm was taken by shock and awe at the unimaginable intensity of the divine punishment. Despite his strength, he ended up succumbing before completing the last stage. Still, the simple fact of having survived until the end of the fifth stage, even on the brink of death, was enough for his name to be inscribed in history. However, reality was cruel: withstanding thirty-two tribulation lightning strikes, even for someone in perfect condition within the Divine Tribulation Realm, was something practically impossible.
Due to the large number of deaths when attempting this ascension, the Divine Tribulation Realm gained another name among profound practitioners: Divine Suffering Realm. It was known as the realm where many perished—not just ordinary failures, but also exceptional talents whose brilliant lives were extinguished under the judgment of the heavens.
Crossing this realm required inevitably facing the divine celestial tribulation lightning. However, preserving one's own life is the most basic instinct of any being. Therefore, countless cultivators, including renowned geniuses, choose to remain indefinitely at the peak of the Divine Tribulation Realm, abdicating advancement and preferring safety to almost certain death.
The greater the talent, the more intense the tribulation and, consequently, the greater the probability of destruction.
This is the reason why, after the Divine Tribulation Realm, there is a drastic decrease in the number of profound practitioners. Few dare to challenge the heavens beyond this point; even fewer survive.
Successfully enduring the divine celestial tribulation lightning, traversing the Divine Tribulation Realm, and reaching the fourth realm, the Divine Spirit Realm! In this domain, spiritual senses change greatly. Upon entering the Divine Spirit Realm, the world becomes completely different. All senses of auras, elements, and laws undergo major changes. Many profound arts that previously could not be understood and learned are easily overcome in this domain.
After making one's life energy, soul, and spiritual sense divine, it is time to completely transcend the human domain. After the Divine Spirit Realm is a realm that is even considered one of the upper realms, the Divine King Realm!
Above the Divine King Realm is the Divine Sovereign Realm. Becoming a Divine Sovereign means that one has become a sovereign of the masses within the God Realm. One could fly freely to the starry skies and look down on the world.
Above the Divine Sovereign Realm is the Divine Master Realm! Divine Master means a master of the divine path. This would be at the pinnacle of the God Realm. In the current Primal Chaos Dimension, it is the highest level and is the realm closest to the True God that a human can achieve. In the Divine Master Realm, there is almost nothing impossible to do, and each Divine Master is an existence that cannot be offended....
He shook his head slowly, like someone awakening from a boring daydream, and took a step forward into the abyss of darkness: "Well... there's no point in complaining. At least now I know what to expect."
Ren Zu scratched his chin covered by the dark mask, his eyes wandering through the void without focus, while his thoughts organized themselves like leaves falling slowly on an autumn afternoon.
Advancing in the Divine Profound Path was, honestly, a cruel joke from the heavens—or so he believed. It wasn't just gathering energy and moving forward; each level of the Sovereign Profound Realm was like climbing a mountain that doubled in size with every step.
But breaking through to the Divine Origin Realm?
That required something beyond difficult. It was like trying to fill an entire ocean, a volume of power so absurd that it made the Nine Mortal Realms seem like just a shallow puddle.
This was the fate of those who tread the profound path: the further one advanced, the more resources they needed to consume, or else they would seek environments where the energy of heaven and earth was denser. However, in his case, the challenge was even greater; the amount of energy required was a thousand times greater than that of an ordinary practitioner.
The only compensation was equally inhuman: his profound energy was also a thousand times greater. As if it were an eternal burden balanced by an equally monstrous profound strength.
I mean, he had swallowed cores that could catapult an ordinary genius straight to the Divine Soul Realm, perhaps even to the Divine Tribulation Realm. That sea of diabolical energy should break barriers that would take centuries for a genius to overcome...
But there he was, still stuck at the peak of the Sovereign Profound Realm, as if his Profound Veins were black holes, devouring everything without advancing a single step beyond...
Still, despite being a problem for the future, he had a clear feeling that the Technique of the [Ten Extreme Daos] offered a more than viable solution; he just needed to study more about its mysteries....
"At least now I control water as if it were an extension of my arm. The understanding of the Law of Water is also complete..." He murmured calmly, flexing his fingers, and a drop of water formed in the air, spinning lazily before evaporating.
The Law of Water, the Law of Fire, the Law of Wind, the Law of Lightning, the Law of Earth... these were the five most basic elemental laws of the Primal Chaos. Now that he had completed the absolute understanding of the Law of Water, he needed to decide his next step. After some time reflecting, he chose to follow the Path of Wind, aiming to completely master the Law of Wind. Still, he intended to also achieve the Law of Earth before attempting to advance to the Divine Profound Realm. But for that, he would have to delay his advancement as much as possible. In any case, his profound strength was already at the peak allowed by that world. Therefore, he planned to focus on his body cultivation and open three more gates of the Eight Inner Gates.
Setting these thoughts aside, he decided to leave the [Subspace] and continue his journey through the Azure Cloud Continent....
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