Chapter 553

The moment the Blazing Sun Divine Body was formed, an immense flood of instinctual information surged into Lin Yuan’s mind.

His consciousness rapidly absorbed it all—this information came from the divine body’s instincts, much like how a newborn inherently knows how to breathe and open its eyes.

“So this is the Blazing Sun Divine Body?” Lin Yuan couldn’t help but feel shocked. During its transformation, he had already sensed how terrifying it was.

And through various ancient texts within the Burning Heaven Courtyard, he’d read many descriptions about the Blazing Sun Divine Body.

But only now, after his physical body had completely evolved into it, did Lin Yuan realize he had still underestimated this physique.

“It’s too powerful.” Lin Yuan raised his right hand. Though it still appeared as flesh and blood, its most microscopic components had already become blazing sun particles, etched with profound and mysterious patterns.

“Burn everything, devour everything?” Lin Yuan carefully examined every aspect of the Blazing Sun Divine Body.

When he condensed the thirty-thousandth Seed of Blazing Sun, his consciousness had entered that scarlet space—where he glimpsed what might have been the Liyang Ancestor.

That entity had countless forms—each being that looked upon it saw something different.

Likewise, the Blazing Sun Divine Body awakened by different powerhouses also bore unique traits.

Lin Yuan’s Blazing Sun Divine Body, while maintaining its endless burning force, had also manifested a devouring power.

Any living or non-living thing incinerated by its power would have its essence directly absorbed.

Even space and time could be burned, converting into source energy to replenish Lin Yuan.

This devouring and absorption occurred instantly—no need to refine anything.

In simple terms, Lin Yuan’s combat was no longer about expenditure—it was about feeding.

“This ability…” Lin Yuan shook his head slightly. It was utterly absurd—like a perpetual motion machine. There was no such thing as depletion.

Even Chaos Venerables worried about overconsumption. Great Chaos Saints were much better off, able to refine chaotic energy to recover themselves.

But what if there was no chaotic energy nearby?

Lin Yuan’s Blazing Sun Divine Body could burn and devour everything—chaotic energy, enemy techniques, what could be seen or not seen, real or illusory—it all could be consumed.

Whoosh—

A flame ignited at Lin Yuan’s fingertip.

It burned silently, warping the space around it. Tiny cracks formed, and Lin Yuan immediately felt a stream of warmth flow into his body.

“So this is what it feels like to burn and devour space?”

Lin Yuan’s expression was thoughtful. Then he extinguished the flame on his own.

This ability had to be used cautiously. A small mistake could lead to massive collapses in space-time, drawing the attention of the Liyang Ancient Kingdom’s higher-ups.

After all, this wasn’t something they would tolerate. If Lin Yuan was allowed to burn freely, he might end up incinerating the entire Liyang Ancient Kingdom.

Of course, that nation’s territory was vast beyond measure. Burning it all would take an unimaginable amount of time.

And the lords and kings within the nation wouldn’t just stand by. Not to mention the eternal blazing sun above the heavens.

Most crucially, the source energy gained from devouring could replenish losses and heal injuries—but not much beyond that.

“My current strength…” Lin Yuan exhaled deeply.

Burning and devouring were just one aspect of the Blazing Sun Divine Body. After its transformation, his physical strength and body resilience had skyrocketed.

“In terms of head-on combat, I’m probably not weaker than my true self in the Chaos Void. And if it comes down to attrition, I’ll definitely win.”

He evaluated himself carefully. The burning and devouring trait made him invincible in prolonged battles.

Trying to outlast him?

Not even Great Saints could guarantee that.

“Become the blazing sun! Become the blazing sun!” Lin Yuan delved into the details of the divine body. While each awakened version had its differences, they all shared one ability—

To become the blazing sun.

It was the Blazing Sun Divine Body’s ultimate move. Once activated, the entire body would morph into a miniature sun.

At that point, it could borrow a faint sliver of power from the eternal blazing sun above the heavens.

Of course, this ultimate move placed an enormous burden on the divine body’s essence. Unless it was the last resort, it shouldn’t be used.

Activating it once would take millions—if not tens of millions—of years to fully recover.

“The boost my divine body gives my physicality is far greater than what others experience.”

Lin Yuan reflected. The Blazing Sun Divine Body was the most powerful in the Liyang Ancient Kingdom—naturally, there were many detailed records about it.

He was also aware of the improvements others gained after awakening it.

And their gains were far less than his.

“It’s because of the Seeds.” Lin Yuan nodded slightly.

Even during the transformation, he had noticed that the number of Seeds directly affected the process.

Now, that was confirmed.

In fact, the more Seeds one condensed, the more powerful the divine body became. Among the Grand Sovereigns of the Liyang Ancient Kingdom, this wasn’t a secret.

But knowing was one thing—achieving it was another.

Chaos Void.

Lin Yuan sat cross-legged.

“The Blazing Sun Divine Body…”

He carefully studied every detail of it.

The clone in the Source World shared his consciousness, allowing Lin Yuan to observe this physique from every possible angle.

“Trying to replicate this… would be incredibly difficult.”

He concluded.

The divine body was too complex. Its most basic particles—those flame particles etched with countless profound patterns—

They felt as vast as a universe.

The one in the Source World had evolved naturally—

Transformed slowly through the cycle created by 33,333 Seeds, ultimately becoming the divine body.

But in the Chaos Void, the Seeds were useless. To replicate it here, Lin Yuan would need to fully comprehend every single flame particle.

“Step by step…”

Lin Yuan calmed his thoughts. With Unrivaled Insight, understanding the Blazing Sun Divine Body’s essence would be difficult—but not impossible.

He wasn’t doing this to recreate the body in the Chaos Void, but out of curiosity for its microscopic composition.

It might lead to another great Dao—one comparable to the thirteenth-rank legacy

Infinite Void

.

Once understood, he could extrapolate from it, creating countless physiques rivaling the Blazing Sun Divine Body—reaching inconceivable heights in the path of physical cultivation.

Qingfen City.

The purple-haired woman and other Zimeng Domain experts gathered.

“We’ve finally made it in.”

A gaunt man looked grim.

They were now inside Qingfen City. If discovered, death was certain.

Qingfen Marquis could wipe them out with a mere thought.

“We’ve concealed our auras with treasure. As long as Qingfen Marquis doesn’t examine us directly, he won’t notice.”

The purple-haired woman spoke calmly.

Qingfen City was the domain’s core—countless powerhouses passed through. There was no way Qingfen Marquis could inspect each one.

“If the city didn’t have a formation to detect life density, we wouldn’t have been limited to so few.”

She shook her head.

Only twelve from Zimeng Domain had infiltrated. Any more, and the detection array would alert Qingfen Marquis.

Life had weight and density. Auras could be hidden, but not life density.

For Qingfen City, a dozen Dominance-stage lifeforms wasn’t abnormal.

But send fifty or a hundred? Once the life density hit the threshold, even if Qingfen Marquis sensed nothing unusual, he would thoroughly investigate.

That would put the entire city on high alert—and once prepared, Zimeng Marquis wouldn’t stand a chance.

“This mission is critical. We must use the Myriad Array Crystal to replicate all of Qingfen City’s formations. Failure is not an option.”

The purple-haired woman’s tone was solemn. If they failed, attacking Qingfen Domain later would come at a massive cost—

And might not even succeed.

“No problem.”

The others nodded, fully aware of how important this was.

They even brought the priceless Myriad Array Crystal—a treasure crafted by an Ancient Kingdom’s array master, its value incalculable.

Such a treasure wouldn’t have been used if this plot hadn’t involved Ancient Kingdom-level stakes.

“Senior Sister, what now?”

The hunched woman looked to the purple-haired woman and asked softly.

“We wait.”

“Wait?”

They glanced at each other.

“We wait for Master to act—once Qingfen Marquis is restrained, we proceed as planned.”

Her tone remained composed. If Qingfen Marquis still had any capacity to act, they wouldn’t dare reveal themselves—let alone replicate formations.

“Alright.”

They nodded.

Before sneaking in, they hadn’t even known what the plan was—only after arriving had the purple-haired woman explained the next steps.

“Let’s hope everything goes smoothly.”

She thought silently.

If she successfully replicated the city’s formations, she would earn immense merit. With the Ancient Kingdom’s reward, she might fully step into the Grand Sovereign realm.

She was already at the peak of Dominance—half a step into Grand Sovereign.

She understood the gap between those below and above that threshold.

The dozen or so infiltrators were all at half-step Grand Sovereign.

Since they were limited in number, it was natural that the strongest among them would be chosen.

“Hmm?”

Qingfen Marquis, who was cultivating, suddenly opened his eyes.

Nearby, a woman in a violet skirt silently took form.

“Zimeng,” he said with a smile.

“Why only send an avatar?”

If it were her true self, he wouldn’t waste words—he’d immediately activate the city’s array to suppress her.

Capturing a noble of a rival Ancient Kingdom alive would be a massive achievement.

Even just killing or injuring her would be a huge boon.

But unfortunately—

He could clearly sense that this Zimeng Marquis was only an avatar.

“For me, there’s little difference between avatar and true form.” Her tone was gentle. She walked the path of soul illusions—not focused on the physical.

Even an avatar, with enough willpower, could unleash terrifying strength.

“How much will can an avatar contain? How strong could your techniques be?” Qingfen Marquis didn’t believe her.

“I spent thirty thousand years weaving a beautiful dream for you, Qingfen. Come, take a look.”

Her voice overlapped in layers.

Qingfen Marquis instantly felt his consciousness begin to sink.

“Not good…”

“This avatar of yours… actually contains your true origin? How could you be willing?” He stared, barely resisting the pull into sleep.

Around him, layers of space-time labyrinths emerged. This was not only his cultivation chamber but also the core of the city’s formation—he could instantly access its power to protect himself.

“Zimeng… you can hold me at most a hundred breaths.” His mind sank.

Before he fully fell, Qingfen Marquis had already sent a message to all his disciples.

“A hundred breaths… that’s plenty.”

Zimeng Marquis looked at the sleeping Qingfen Marquis.

She had paid a steep price—not to kill him, but to restrain him for a hundred breaths.

Killing wasn’t feasible. With the city's protection, even with seven or eight Grand Sovereign peak experts, they wouldn’t succeed in a hundred breaths.

Besides, even if they killed him, he likely had a survival method.

It wasn’t worth it.

Her true trump card was the disciples who had already infiltrated the city, carrying the Myriad Array Crystal.

Now that Qingfen Marquis’s consciousness had fallen—his true self and clones alike—the city was leaderless.

A hundred breaths was more than enough to replicate the city’s formations.

Before he fell, Qingfen Marquis had issued orders.

“Lord Marquis wants us to guard the formation cores?”

Feng Wanxing and the other Dominance-stage disciples received the message. Though confused, they didn’t hesitate and acted as instructed.

Earlier, Qingfen Marquis had sensed something off. He’d told them if anything happened, to ignore the rest of the city—just defend the formation cores.

He had guessed that even if Zimeng Marquis acted, it would be to destroy the formation cores.

As long as those were protected, the city's array would hold, and Zimeng Domain’s scheme would fall apart.

“Hmm?”

“Master told me to stay inside?”

Lin Yuan also received the message.

“His tone is urgent—something must’ve happened.”

He speculated, glancing outside the Burning Heaven Courtyard.

“Since Master told me not to go out, then I won’t.”

He activated the courtyard’s protective arrays. Normally dormant, they would only trigger during crisis—but Lin Yuan raised them to maximum power just to be safe.

It would cost a lot to maintain—but if something had happened to Qingfen Marquis, he didn’t care.

“Master successfully restrained Qingfen Marquis.”

The purple-haired woman received the signal and smiled.

This was the most crucial part of their plan.

If Qingfen Marquis couldn’t be restrained, everything would fall apart—and revealing themselves would mean death.

“Only seventy breaths.”

She looked at the others.

Zimeng Marquis could hold Qingfen Marquis for over a hundred breaths—but they needed time to escape afterward.

“Begin.”

She waved her hand, and hundreds of massive figures appeared—peak Dominance-level puppets, devoid of life, invisible to the city’s detection.

Boom—

The puppets began causing chaos throughout the city, drawing attention.

Meanwhile, the true infiltrators, holding the Myriad Array Crystal, began secretly replicating the formations.

At one formation core—

The purple-haired woman and the others arrived.

“Qingfen Marquis’s disciples are guarding this one.” She smiled.

“As expected of someone who’s fought with us for so many years—he predicted our target might be the city’s cores.”

The others also smiled.

Qingfen Marquis had clearly made arrangements. His disciples immediately took up defensive positions.

But it didn’t matter—they didn’t need to destroy anything. With the crystal, they could replicate it from a distance, then analyze it later.

Breaking through a core versus quietly replicating it—very different in difficulty.

It took only three breaths to replicate this one—then they vanished.

The guarding disciples never noticed.

Time passed.

Twenty breaths had already gone by.

“We’ve replicated six formation cores.”

The purple-haired woman was very satisfied. Everything was going smoothly—the chaos caused by the puppets was distracting everyone.

They’d faced almost no resistance.

Qingfen City had twelve cores. They’d already completed nine—just twenty breaths in. Time was more than sufficient.

“Let’s go—next core.”

They moved quickly to their next target.

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