With his mind drifting amid the massive corpse, Zhang Xuan’s state of mind grew more and more stable. At the same time, his soul was becoming increasingly harmonized with his consciousness.
This was already the twentieth day since he had started refining the deity’s corpse.
When he first took the deity’s corpse out, putting aside refining it, it had been hard for his soul to even approach it. However, after many days of hard work, his soul was finally able to move freely around the deity’s corpse, allowing him to gain full control over it.
“Dimension Shatterer realm cultivators are indeed formidable. There’s a fundamental difference in their fundamental constitution from that of other Ancient Sages…”
In his many days of observation, Zhang Xuan had learned that the bulk of a Dimension Shatterer realm expert’s prowess originated not from their superior concentration of zhenqi or powerful soul but their formidable physical body. It was due to their physical body that they were able to travel through voids in space without sustaining any damage.
As a cultivator who had practiced the Heaven’s Path Golden Body, the resilience of Zhang Xuan’s body was comparable to that of Ancient Sage artifacts. However, there was still a huge gap compared to the body of the deity.
During the previous battle, he had been shocked at how the Dragonbone Divine Spear was unable to breach the deity’s basic zhenqi defense. However, after studying the deity’s corpse, he realized that even if he had breached the deity’s basic zhenqi defense, he would not have been able to pierce through the other party’s physical body. In other words, there was no way that he would have been able to inflict any damage on the other party.
It was fortunate that he had kept hold of a golden page, which had allowed him to turn the situation around during that crucial moment. Otherwise, things would have ended very differently.
“The meridians of the deity’s body actually bear some resemblance to mine…”
Another observation that Zhang Xuan had made was that the meridian network in the deity’s body was much more logical than other cultivators in this world. It was actually very similar to the meridians in his body after he had altered them.
Such a meridian network allowed one to drive zhenqi much swifter than usual, which in turn brought about greater fighting prowess for an individual.
…
“The final step… assimilation!”
Another seven days passed. Knowing that the time was ripe, Zhang Xuan began preparing himself for the final step.
Hong long!
Zhang Xuan moved his soul into the corpse’s body and destroyed all of the remaining instinctive defensive mechanisms in it one by one.
Hula!
The massive corpse slowly opened its eyes. Zhang Xuan tried to control it a little, and the next moment, he felt boundless strength pouring forth from him.
“Even a Blood Reincarnation realm consummation expert would die from a single punch from this…” Zhang Xuan could hardly curb his excitement.
He had yet to push for a breakthrough to Ancient Sage, opting to suppress his cultivation at Sempiternal realm consummation instead.
For a Sempiternal realm consummation expert to be able to kill a Blood Reincarnation realm consummation expert in a single punch… there was probably no one who would dare believe such a thing to be possible!
After spending some time relishing in the immense strength provided by the corpse, Zhang Xuan reluctantly pulled himself out from the corpse and returned to his physical body.
“This will be my greatest trump card from this moment on,” Zhang Xuan murmured excitedly.
With this, he had nothing to fear anymore!
“Master, I have already assimilated my legs and feet. My current strength is only a step away from reaching the Dimension Shatterer realm. With the right impetus, I should be able to achieve a breakthrough right away!” Vicious said.
After entering the Myriad Anthive Space, he had given the legs and feet to Vicious. Over the past month, Vicious had managed to assimilate them entirely, and his cultivation had also risen beyond the level of ordinary Blood Reincarnation realm consummation cultivators.
“I have ten bottles of blood from Blood Reincarnation realm Otherworldly Demons. Absorb them together with the straw garment, and you should be able to regenerate your flesh and push for a breakthrough to the Dimension Shatterer realm!” Zhang Xuan said as he passed a couple of jade bottles over.
Fortunately, he had collected plenty of Ancient Sage blood in the previous few battles. It should be sufficient for Vicious to make a full recovery.
“Thank you, Master!” Vicious said in gratitude as he took the jade bottles.
He had intended to assimilate the straw garment a long time ago, but he had found that he was lacking sufficient energy to fully recover his body, so he had chosen to put it off for the time being. With everything in place now, he could finally attempt a complete recovery once and for all.
After passing the jade bottles to Vicious, Zhang Xuan left the other party alone. This was not something that he could help with; the other party had to figure out how he could recover by himself.
Sitting on the floor, Zhang Xuan began to ruminate over his recent gains. Slowly, his aura began to become more and more elusive, transforming from a sharp edge to something simple and unimpressive.
At that very moment, even Blood Reincarnation realm experts would have trouble seeing through his true strength.
“All in all, factoring in my physical body, zhenqi, soul, and my clone, I have undergone four Ancient Sage Ordeals in total. If I wish to achieve another breakthrough, I’ll have to make a significant advancement in a certain law of the world or comprehend a skill surpassing that of the Heaven’s Path techniques!”
It was because Zhang Xuan’s physical body, zhenqi, and soul cultivation had all reached a level comparable to an Ancient Sage that he could brandish strength comparable to Blood Reincarnation realm cultivators despite being only at the Sempiternal realm.
However, none of that was enough for him. He had chosen not to achieve a breakthrough because he wanted to surpass the heavens in the comprehension of one of the laws.
He knew that this was the only way that he could surpass Kong shi’s accomplishments and reach the very pinnacle of mankind. He would require at least that much if he wanted to reach Luo Ruoxin.
“But how can I create a skill that surpasses the Heaven’s Path techniques?” Zhang Xuan shook his head in distress.
The only way that he could surpass the Heaven’s Path techniques was for him to first uncover his own path. Despite his unparalleled talent that allowed him to master any technique in an instant, it was no easy feat for him to create something significant of his own, not to mention that he was aiming to surpass the very top.
He ruminated over the issue for several days, but nothing came to his mind at all. Eventually, he had no choice but to leave the Myriad Anthive Nest and return to the peak of the Thousandleaf Mountain in disappointment.
“Thinking back, more than a month has already passed. I wonder how Liu Yang and the others are faring at the moment…”
After spending more than a month in cultivation, Zhang Xuan felt as if his body had gotten a little rusty. He was just about to go and check on how his student was doing after taking over the title of Sovereign Chen Yong when he suddenly noticed a shockwave not too far away. Following which, two figures swiftly flitted in his direction.
It was none other than Ancient Sage Mo Ling and Ancient Sage Allfire.
Over the past month, they had made significant advancements in their cultivation. However, what was most notable about them was the overpowering scent of death flowing from them. With just a glance, it was apparent that they had claimed many lives over the past month.
“We pay our respects!”
The man and the beast kneeled down deferentially and paid their respects.
“How is it?” Zhang Xuan got straight to the point.
“The young master has already successfully quelled the unrest of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. Today is the day of that he’ll officially succeed the position of Sovereign Chen Yong!” Ancient Sage Allfire said.
“The Otherworldly Demon Lords from various places have also come to the capital to witness the young master’s inauguration ceremony. Guild Leader, do you want to head over to take a look too?” Ancient Sage Mo Ling asked expectantly.
“Inauguration ceremony? Very well!” Zhang Xuan nodded in satisfaction.
It seemed like Liu Yang had truly grown up. His direct disciple was much more rational in dealing with matters than he thought.
While there was no denying that Liu Yang had Sovereign Chen Yong’s mandate and he had also received the latter’s Cultivation Impartation, his young age and insufficient cultivation were bound to have caused some dissatisfaction among the top brass of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. There was no way that they were going to easily submit to a young brat who had not proven himself.
Thus, if he had rushed into conducting the inauguration ceremony, not only would he have been unable to rally others to his side, it might even have ended up as a farce, thus diminishing his authority.
However, after quelling the unrest and ensuring that no one dared to challenge his authority anymore, Liu Yang’s inauguration would serve as the impetus to truly unite the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. As the only Sovereign remaining, the entire Otherworldly Demonic Tribe would naturally converge around him. With such huge rallying power, no one would dare oppose him.
“As Liu Yang’s teacher, there’s no way I could miss the inauguration ceremony that pronounces his position as the sole leader of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. Let’s go!” Zhang Xuan said with a smile.
Liu Yang had always suffered from low self-esteem, thinking that he was inferior to his seniors and juniors. However, he had eventually broken out of his shell and achieved something significant. As his teacher, Zhang Xuan was more than proud of him. Of course, it went without saying that he had to go there in person to witness his student’s glory.
