I Arrived At Wizard World While Cultivating Immortality Chapter 620: Secondary Modification of the Nest and Void Refinement Completion

Several months passed.

The laboratory's constant-temperature purification system operated at peak capacity, but endless waves of heat kept surging out from within. Innumerable crumpled design sketches littered the floor. The rune arrays etched into the walls had run nonstop for so long they felt warm to the touch, releasing a faint, persistent buzz.

Jie Ming and Viola positioned themselves in front of the experimental platform. Their eyes were red like those of rabbits, faces bearing a sickly ashen hue.

At last, Jie Ming finished the ultimate procedure.

He pulled his fingers away from the Nest's exterior. Utterly spent, he slumped into the chair behind him, which groaned from the weight.

Viola next to him put on an even bigger show. She flopped straight onto the floor, arms and legs splayed like a desiccated salted fish.

“Finally… it’s done…” Her feeble voice wafted up from the ground, drained and limp.

Jie Ming reclined in the chair, gaze fixed on the ceiling, too wiped out to utter a word.

Viola's first updated blueprint was already excellent. Sticking to it rigidly would have wrapped up the Nest's upgrade in just five or six days tops.

Yet the issue lay in… neither being one to slavishly adhere to the blueprint.

On surgery's third day, Jie Ming came up with a superior layout for the data nodes.

Viola reviewed it and suggested ramping up the aggression further. Thus, the blueprint shifted, surgery halted, and tweaks commenced.

Two weeks on, Viola unveiled a fresh energy pathway design boosting data conversion by ten percent.

Jie Ming pored over it for three days, layering on two extra enhancements.

Another blueprint swap ensued.

This loop persisted, repeating an exact whole number of cycles.

Each revision nullified prior surgery days, every reboot paling their faces further.

Ultimately, Jie Ming lost track of the version count.

He just knew one more round might prompt him to hurl the Nest—Viola included—into the smelter.

After some recovery, forcing his brutal exhaustion under control via the Body Forging Art, Jie Ming hauled himself upright from the chair.

He approached the platform. His eyes lit up as a soft golden glow emerged from his brow.

All-Purpose Eye and Fate Subsystem fired up simultaneously. Spiritual power morphed into myriad slender filaments, delving into the Nest's every nook.

The examination dragged a solid quarter-hour. His furrowed brows eased to serenity, then calm, culminating in a deep exhale.

“Seems no flaws… Your end should be solid too.” His tone held the relief of a catastrophe survivor.

Viola hauled herself off the floor, brushed off the grime, and stepped to the platform's opposite side.

She drew out the tiny lens for another meticulous check before nodding gravely. “Perfect. Matches the blueprint completely.”

They shared a look and heaved twin sighs.

Any more glitches here, and they'd likely throttle each other before surgery restarted.

“Test it?” Jie Ming proposed.

“Test it,” Viola agreed with a nod.

Jie Ming scooped the shrunken, basketball-sized gelatinous mass from the platform, shoved open the lab door, and soared outward.

Viola trailed right after.

They streaked through the Infernal Sulfur Plane's crimson-gray skies, skimming volcano mouths and dark giant enclaves, alighting at last on a sprawling desert's fringe.

This zone, once a parallel-plane fragment, fused into an empty stretch of the Infernal Sulfur Plane.

Blinding yellow sands whipped the air amid barren desolation—ideal for trials.

Jie Ming flung the Nest downward casually.

The gel ball hit the dunes and paused seconds, acclimating.

Then, at Jie Ming's order, it ravenously absorbed nearby substances.

Sand particles, rocks, airborne loose elemental energies…

All usable matter vanished into it.

A subtle azure glow flickered across its skin—proof of maxed-out data node activity.

After dropping the Nest, Jie Ming and Viola ignored it, ascending skyward once more.

Jie Ming maintained the All-Purpose Eye at full throttle, capturing each Nest transformation.

Following endless cycles of modifications, the Nest was transformed into something utterly unrecognizable.

Every one of its gaudy attack functions had been totally stripped out!

Control over time, blasts of energy, spurts of acid—none survived.

Jie Ming and Viola agreed on one straightforward idea: the Nest required no offensive powers.

Jie Ming’s Trigram Fire Annihilation Divine Light and the black giant legion handled defense breaches. Thus, abandoning its prior nesting function, the Nest now served as battlefield fodder, a protective barrier, and an “indestructible roach.”

Killing foes wasn’t its job. Survival was key… or more precisely, endless “revival.”

All efforts went into boosting two areas: undying resilience and data transformation skills.

Today’s Nest transformed nearby energy and materials into data, then rebuilt that data into its form, enabling endless self-replication.

Though the method seemed intricate, it mirrored information beings’ rebirth: shift to data, send to a hub, and reform physically.

The key distinction? The Nest needed no outside hubs—it functioned as its own.

Even better, proliferation boosted the internal data-handling hubs within the Nest.

Thus, its processing strength expanded with its bulk, enhancing data management in tandem. Better data handling then sped up its consumption and transformation rate.

A virtuous cycle emerged: greater size fueled quicker expansion; swifter growth led to larger dimensions.

At a specific processing threshold, incoming strikes got pulled in and remade into its mass.

Energy assaults faced breakdown, reconfiguration, and uptake by data hubs. Solid hits got cushioned, wrapped, and consumed by its jelly mass.

Put simply, total annihilation from the start was the only sure kill; otherwise, eliminating it grew ever harder.

Naturally, expansion faced limits.

Bound by bio-uniqueness and tech constraints, data hub growth lagged behind volume surges.

Upon hitting a vital size threshold, the Nest merely ingested ambient matter and energy to hold steady, unable to grow more.

Yet Jie Ming devised a workaround: a formation array in the Nest’s heart linked to the Fate Subsystem.

Grown massive with sharpened wits, the Nest could tap the Fate Subsystem’s processing might to boost its own data handling.

United, while standard max size stayed similar, combat-mode scale smashed past original projections.

Jie Ming and Viola’s blueprint showed combat Nest gobbling matter and energy matching a whole mid-tier plane.

Should it swallow a full medium-sized plane, its processing power and girth would hit horrifying peaks.

Then, its battle prowess could clash directly with typical seventh-rank wizards.

Across the desert sands, the Nest swelled at an eye-catching pace.

Basketball to water tank, water tank to house, house to modest hill.

Golden dunes vanished in frenzy. Airborne loose elemental forces got sucked barren. A void zone formed near the Nest.

Surface blue glow intensified, resembling a grounded azure star.

Jie Ming gauged roughly. From drop to now, just one minute elapsed.

The Nest spanned over a kilometer already, expansion rate climbing higher.

Its presence climbed fast and firm, from negligible to first-rank, second-rank, third-rank.

“That’s about enough.” Jie Ming lifted his hand. Spiritual power tendril delved into the Nest’s center, sending the halt order.

Devouring by the Nest ceased suddenly.

Surface blue sheen faded gradually. Swelling pace plunged and halted near one point five kilometers wide.

It rested still in the wastes, akin to an azure pond.

Jie Ming touched down on the Nest’s exterior, crouched, palm to jelly hide.

Spiritual power scanned within, inspecting status.

“Information nodes operating normally, energy circuits stable, Fate Subsystem connection smooth. Combat power assessment… should be at the level of a third-rank wizard, and still slowly increasing.”

“Not bad.” Jie Ming rose, clapped hands like shaking off dust.

Viola touched down next to him, carried out her inspection, and nodded with approval. “Better than expected.”

Jie Ming lifted his hand. The gateway to the grotto-heaven inside his body swung open. A mighty force yanked the Nest from the desert sands and tucked it away deep within the grotto-heaven.

Plenty of room and supplies existed there for its continued growth. By the time it was required again, it ought to have advanced to a superior stage.

The pair soared back to the laboratory without a word the whole journey.

After all, exhaustion had overwhelmed both of them completely.

Months of nonstop labor, endless scheme revisions, and innumerable precise maneuvers had drained even two wizards to their utmost mental and bodily extremes.

Jie Ming shoved the laboratory door wide and headed directly for the pair of lounge chairs tucked in the corner.

Viola had hauled them in months earlier, claiming they were “just in case.”

Gazing at them now, this stood as her shrewdest choice made throughout the entire stay.

They slumped into the chairs and released prolonged sighs in unison.

“Next time a task like this comes up,” Viola's feeble, weary voice floated from nearby, “pick somebody else.”

Jie Ming shut his eyes, a faint smile tugging at his lips. “Didn't you just call it ‘better than expected’?”

“That praised the Nest, not you.”

“Oh.”

“Plus, you owe me my reward still.”

“Haven't I handed over the Entropy Brain already?”

“That covered the original rate. You think a single one makes up for all my toil lately?”

Jie Ming paused briefly. He delved into his spatial gear, withdrew a thumb-sized Entropy Brain, and flung it toward Viola.

“I'm running low on them too. Make it last.”

Viola snatched the Entropy Brain, lifted it for a close look, and a pleased grin spread across her face. She stayed silent thereafter.

Silence enveloped the laboratory. Just the faint hum of the wall rune arrays persisted.

After a prolonged rest, Jie Ming regained his vigor at last. He glanced over at Viola nearby. “I've wrapped up my duties here. Where are you headed for amusement next?”

Viola cocked her head, pondering briefly. “Not sure. Got any suggestions?”

Jie Ming fixed his gaze on the ceiling, eyes wide. Moments dragged on before he shook his head.

“Nothing entertaining around here at all. What if…” He hesitated. “I send a black giant priest to guide you? The Infernal Sulfur Plane has expanded massively. Certain spots boast stunning views.”

Viola rolled her eyes. “You pitched that idea once already. Pass. Who's interested in views?”

She rose, brushed the dirt from her clothes. “Whatever. I'll seek my own thrills. Handle your stuff.”

“Fine. Catch you later.”

Viola waved casually and shoved the door open on her way out.

Her steps echoed fainter and fainter until the laboratory hushed once more.

Dozens of years passed.

The secluded chamber's door creaked open. Jie Ming emerged, a fine dust coating his form.

He lingered at the threshold, facing the dull crimson sky of the Infernal Sulfur Plane, and blew out a heavy puff of stale breath.

Behind him, the kilometer-high dark golden dharma body faded gradually as it retracted into his frame.

Sensing the bond with the dharma body, Jie Ming nodded approvingly.

At this point, he had attained peak mastery of the Void Refinement Realm.

The dharma body had hardened almost to solid matter. It could now influence the outer world even sans spiritual power.

This marked a key perk of the Void Refinement Realm.

With ample resources, progress surged at an astonishing pace.

Incense Divine Power from ten billion faithful, spiritual qi drawn from a seventh-rank grand elemental pool's energy, plus assorted rare goods bought via the magic network… With these aids, Jie Ming had rocketed from early Void Refinement to great completion in mere decades.

Yet his pace remained merely average.

Great Dao Book Pavilion annals mentioned a “Body Condensation Pill” in the cultivation realm. Ingesting it let one finish all Void Refinement cultivation in just one day.

Still, wrapping up in decades what took others centuries or millennia satisfied him greatly.

Only the last phase awaited: merging true body and dharma body, letting the dharma body take over as the true form.

Then, his present fleshly shell would vanish entirely, supplanted by the kilometer-tall dark golden dharma body.

Naturally, he could still project a regular human guise for routine affairs, though his core essence would have transformed utterly.

With this step finished, the Void Refinement Realm would be deemed fully achieved, enabling him to advance to Dao Integration whenever desired.

Over these decades, relentless cultivation consumed his every moment. The sheer peril of the Void Refinement Realm's state left no room for anything else.

Even though generations of cultivators had refined it, removing the loss of combat strength during practice, the peculiar condition of “dispersed essence, qi, and spirit” lingered on.

Stray thoughts surged without effort, heart demons slipped in effortlessly, and the mind veered off path with ease.

That's why Jie Ming picked the securest approach: blasting through to completion in one relentless surge.

At the completion stage, a cultivator's life form shift would nearly conclude. Dharma body and true body would unite seamlessly, with the three treasures of essence, qi, and spirit reuniting fully. That hazardous state would dissolve naturally.

Only then could genuine tranquility wash over him.