Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension Chapter 1437: 777: First Entry into Divine Palace Heaven, Chance Encounter with an Old Taoist (Part 2)

Within mere moments, Zhao Tianlin's garments hung in shreds, giving him the appearance of a vagrant.

Oddly enough, whenever Zhao Tianlin tried to rise and shove the Thunderbolt Dog aside, the creature would promptly unleash bolts of thunderous glow, swiftly quelling his feeble attempts at defiance.

As the pair romped and tussled, a growing unity in their auras emerged, blending flawlessly while their power steadily climbed.

The bizarre spectacle rendered the onlookers utterly speechless.

“Ah, so that's the secret behind the rapid surge in cultivation!” Zhao San Yue exclaimed in sudden insight, her excitement bubbling over instantly.

Zhao Tianlin had unknowingly grasped the Spirit Control Path, allowing man and beast to merge as one in their pursuit of the path.

As everyone knows, the Four Saints Continent, home to the Divine Artisan Zhao Clan, falls under the influence of the Spirit-controlling Immortal Sect. This sect holds overlord status in the Taiyi Spirit Realm, boasting the “Spirit-controlling Immortal Ascension Scripture” as its core treasure. The scripture elevates the “Spirit Control Path” to its pinnacle, a technique renowned for being simple to grasp yet profoundly challenging to perfect.

Throughout history, individuals like Zhao Tianlin who self-realize the “Spirit Control Path” have proven exceedingly scarce.

Each time such a heaven-favored prodigy arises, the Spirit-controlling Immortal Sect reacts swiftly, sending forth a mighty elder to usher them into the fold for elite instruction in the “Spirit-controlling Immortal Ascension Scripture.”

The Divine Artisan Zhao Clan's founder, Zhao Xuanjing, also practiced the “Spirit-controlling Immortal Ascension Scripture.” Yet, in contrast to talents like Zhao Tianlin, his innate alignment with it lagged by several levels.

Zhao San Yue's thoughts whirled rapidly, a torrent of ideas surging through her head.

In her thrill, she grasped a key point at once and urgently sent a mental message to Zhao Xiandu.

Zhao Xiandu's face shifted dramatically, then he gave a solemn affirmation.

The Zhao Clan's two Divinity Transformation forebears reached a joint resolve. They promptly extended their divine senses to cover the entire square, enforcing the utmost secrecy decree and classifying Zhao Tianlin's presence as utterly classified.

Following that, Zhao San Yue vanished in a streak of escaping light, racing toward Ancestor Xi's hidden retreat.

…

Several days passed, and then a massive building project erupted in the Spirit Beast Mountain located northwest within the Wolong Mountain Range.

In only half a day's time, the Mountain of Spirit Beasts underwent a total overhaul, gaining three fresh sites: Flame Mountain, Storm Valley, and Five Thunder Peak, alongside three formidable alien spirit beasts.

Meanwhile, Zhao Clan cultivators at Golden Core level and beyond clamored to access these three spiritual domains, aiming to subdue the Fire Qiu, Wind Nest Loach, and the elusive Thunderbolt Dog.

Over the ensuing centuries, fewer than a hundred managed success, with almost half hailing from the Red Dragon Son's bloodline.

This outcome stunned all.

Myriad Zhao Clan folk puzzled over the cause, yet the sharp-minded soon linked it to the lineage ties between Ancestor Xi and the Red Dragon Son's descendants, deducing some profound mystery at play.

Eight centuries on, a genuine disciple burst onto the scene in the Spirit-controlling Immortal Sect: “Thunder Lion” Zhao Tianlin.

Zhao Tianlin's startling ascent rattled the various “factions” inside the sect and catapulted the Divine Artisan Zhao Clan's renown to new heights.

Of course, these events belong to future tales, and we won't linger on them here.

…

Zhao Sheng's initiation of the Nine Nether Tower trial had been a mere whim.

Without a “fated individual,” he paid little heed to how it ended.

But with Zhao San Yue's urgent visit, Zhao Sheng generously offered guidance and passed the trio of Fire Qiu Beasts to her for management.

To Zhao Sheng, beyond a handful of exceptional items, nothing outweighed his drive to advance to the Unification Realm.

…

Chaos and enigma cloaked the Dark Sky, where endless space-time tempests twisted and howled without cease, obliterating every bit of nearby space-time.

Abruptly, a silhouette materialized from nothingness in this murky void.

With a mere flicker of intent, a domineering divine sense erupted outward, quelling the space-time gales across hundreds of miles in an instant.

Zhao Sheng scanned the area, offering a faint nod of approval.

The very next moment, his form ballooned dramatically, swelling into a colossal figure standing forty-nine zhang high.

This behemoth wielded tremendous might, its every motion stirring swarms of lightning that danced about, evoking the image of a thunder-wielding god.

After channeling his utmost power anew, Zhao Sheng experienced an uncanny rush of invincibility, perceiving the encircling space-time as brittle as parchment, ready to tear at a touch.

No, in this very instant, those space-time veils might as well have been sheer, see-through sheets.

As his divine sense crested to its zenith, the formerly unseen space-time divides abruptly revealed themselves, and Zhao Sheng's piercing gaze, sharp as lightning, caught sight of a enigmatic realm lurking beyond.

“Part for me…!”

A surge of unbidden thrill gripped Zhao Sheng, and he bellowed fiercely, charging straight into the divide.

Right then, the space before him “buckled” inward before crumbling soundlessly, with Zhao Sheng plunging through to carve out a “gap” spanning hundreds of zhang wide.

This “gap” contracted swiftly against the tide of space-time, erasing itself in a blink.

Now, Zhao Sheng had pierced the Dark Sky, stepping into an wondrous domain of space-time.

Everywhere the gaze stretched, infinite blackness delved into enigma and peace amid the swirling gloom.

The relentless gales had faded, supplanted by a boundless, serene ocean of void,

where space-time directions blurred into ambiguity, stripping away any clear sense of above, below, east, or west.

Under this abyssal dark “ocean,” wisps of “luminous glories” flickered into being at random; some hovered briefly, others winked out in a flash.

Certain of these “luminous glories” fractured quietly, spawning fainter “light filaments” that plunged mutely toward the Lower Realm, fading from view entirely.

Drawing on ancestral chronicles, Zhao Sheng confirmed that Divine Palace Heaven defied simple description.

Those “luminous glories” clearly represented threads of Tao Spirit Mechanism.

Tao Spirit Mechanism, or “Law Light,” serves as the nascent stage of Principle Crystal and an elevated variant of Mystic Crystal Origin Qi.

Predecessor accounts state that ten matching Tao Spirit Mechanisms can fuse into a single Principle Crystal.

The virtues of a Principle Crystal require no belaboring.

From Integration Realm titans down to Qi Refinement commoners, all covet it as supreme treasure.

Zhao Sheng felt the pull at once and hastened toward the nearest Tao Spirit Mechanisms.

But upon stirring, he marveled at how the surrounding space clung with unusual viscosity, like wading through molasses, draining vast reserves of mana with each effort.

Without the immense “density” of an Integration Realm powerhouse, Zhao Sheng found every action in Divine Palace Heaven a grueling toil.

Divine Palace Heaven wasn't meant for Returning to Void Realm visitors, but Zhao Sheng dared enter at the Eighth Layer of Returning Void—news of this would undoubtedly rock the Taiyi Spirit Realm to its core.

The sole explanation: such a feat spat in the face of heaven itself!

Soon enough, Zhao Sheng “inched” onward through the air, snaring a thread of scarlet Tao Spirit Mechanism and stowing it within the Immortal Awakening Tripod.

This marked his initial haul of Tao Spirit Mechanism, bearing the fire law attribute.

The feat drained nearly a tenth of his mana reserves.

Brushing imaginary perspiration from his brow, Zhao Sheng glanced about, confronting the same profound shadows.

Within Divine Palace Heaven, his divine sense's reach contracted drastically, limited to a mere twelve or thirteen miles.

This hindrance bred frustration and a creeping wariness.

Zhao Sheng roamed Divine Palace Heaven for what felt like ages, soon noting that Tao Spirit Mechanisms abounded in number, though wresting them proved a Herculean task.

Roughly half a day onward, after securing a third strand of Tao Spirit Mechanism in the Immortal Awakening Tripod, Zhao Sheng spotted a glimmer piercing the forward gloom.

Elation welled up, and Zhao Sheng sped toward the glow's origin.

With proximity, the radiance swelled and sharpened, unveiling an eight-sided stone gazebo in his view.

The ancient octagonal stone gazebo floated serenely in the boundless dark, bereft of any arrays or seals to guard it.

Stunned, Zhao Sheng focused his stare, faintly discerning an elder Taoist of ethereal poise seated at the gazebo's heart.

At that juncture, the elder Taoist was absorbed in sketching some form.

The instant Zhao Sheng spotted him, the elder Taoist lifted his gaze, offering a gentle grin.

Caught off guard, Zhao Sheng whirled to flee.

Right away, a soft laugh rang out, accompanied by words: “Young friend, since you’ve arrived, why hurry away? I am Wu Hua; come join me in the pavilion for discourse.”

Hearing this, Zhao Sheng drew a steadying breath and glided gradually toward the stone gazebo.