Chapter 550 - 398: Secluded Cultivation, Stepping into the Integration Stage, Divine Thought Materialization

"Is that elixir in your hand really that powerful?"

Gu Shan asked curiously.

But Lin Chang’sheng just sneered, "There’s no such elixir. Even if there was, I couldn’t refine it yet. I was just scaring them!"

"You really know how to bullshit!"

Gu Shan was speechless, wondering if he’d just been fooled by Lin Chang’sheng too?

But right after, he didn’t bother to overthink it. After all, Lin Chang’sheng’s rapid growth was clear as day. It couldn’t be fake.

No ordinary genius could do this. Unless he’s a powerhouse reincarnated, there’s just no other explanation.

After returning to the Great Hall, Lin Chang’sheng figured he couldn’t crack the three grand arrays any time soon, so he might as well cultivate first.

After all, the Spiritual Energy here was too precious to waste—one day of cultivation atop the Divine Mountain equaled ten days in the outside world. If he cultivated here for a year, it’d be like ten years outside, right?

Lin Chang’sheng decided to break through to the Integration Stage first before slowly studying the grand arrays.

...

One year later.

News of Lin Chang’sheng’s supposed demise had gradually been accepted in the outside world.

Even the Immortal Palace stopped searching for Lin Chang’sheng’s whereabouts.

In their minds, if Lin Chang’sheng had entered the Secret Realm, there’d be zero chance of coming back—death was certain inside.

Even Mahayana powerhouses went in and never came out.

Never mind a Void Refining Stage cultivator.

It was such a shame for such a prodigy to fall so young, truly a tragedy for the entire cultivator realm of the Immortal Realm.

Immortal Palace, Jiuhua Mountain.

Zhao Shuang’Er was arranged to cultivate here.

This past year, Zhao Shuang’Er’s speed of cultivation was lightning fast; she’d already broken through to the Late Stage of Divinity Transformation, on the verge of stepping into Void Refining.

"Brother Chang’sheng, there’s no way you just died like that. I believe you’ll definitely come back!"

Zhao Shuang’Er absolutely refused to accept the news of Lin Chang’sheng’s fall. In her eyes, Lin Chang’sheng was like a Divine—Divine beings don’t die.

...

In the far north of the Nine Provinces lies a land of ice and cold.

Empress City.

This city lay under a blanket of snow and ice, but still, tens of thousands lived here—almost everyone was a cultivator; Nascent Soul Cultivators were as common as dirt, not an exaggeration at all.

In the center of Empress City stood a massive statue of the Empress, a hundred zhang tall, absolutely enormous.

Countless devoted followers knelt on the ground, fervently praying.

Right now, inside the Imperial Palace Hall of Empress City, the floor was covered in thick crystal panels, looking incomparably luxurious.

At the end of the Great Hall stood sixteen crystal steps, atop which sat a grand crystal throne.

On that throne sat a stunning woman, upright and poised, radiating the Empress’s might.

Whoo—

The next instant—

A figure rushed in and knelt in the hall.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

The newcomer spoke respectfully.

"Any news?"

The woman above, draped in regal finery, spoke slowly.

The person below shook his head. "Reporting to Your Majesty, still...still nothing!"

Upon hearing this, the woman on the throne frowned slightly.

"Looks like I’ll have to go check for myself."

Her crimson lips parted slightly as her gaze drifted into the distance.

"Your Majesty, the Ice Mountain Abyss is about to be breached by the beast hordes. If you leave, I’m afraid—"

The prostrated subordinate spoke with concern.

"I won’t be gone long. Even if he’s dead, I must see his body!"

As her words fell, the woman leaped straight out of the Great Hall, vanishing into the sky.

"Chang’sheng, wait for me!"

Determination flashed in Yan Zhen’s eyes.

Even if Lin Chang’sheng has perished, his bones must end up in her hands.

Sooner or later, she would carry Lin Chang’sheng’s remains back to Mu City.

Fallen leaves must return to their roots—this was the true destiny.

...

Of course, Lin Chang’sheng himself had no idea what folks outside were saying about him.

His heart was utterly immersed in cultivation.

Breaking through a Great Realm was just so much harder than a Small Realm breakthrough.

After a full year of cultivation, Lin Chang’sheng only just barely sensed he was on the verge of a breakthrough.

If he were outside with no fortuitous opportunity, he’d probably have to cultivate for ten years to break through.

Lin Chang’sheng summoned his full strength and went into seclusion for half a month, preparing to break his bottleneck.

Surges of primordial power surged through his body as Lin Chang’sheng gathered it together, fiercely charging at his barrier.

Each impact made Lin Chang’sheng’s body shudder, beads of sweat as large as soybeans popping out on his brow.

Cultivation was always about defying the heavens. Every breakthrough was particularly tough.

Especially breaking through a Great Realm—it was outright changing fate.

BOOM—

CRACK—

At last, after who-knows-how-many attacks on the Hao Zhix, there was finally a hint of loosening.

Seizing the advantage, Lin Chang’sheng kept pounding away at the Hao Zhix.

BOOM—

Finally, with yet another charge, the Hao Zhix was shattered; primordial power surged like a flood through Lin Chang’sheng’s body, filling every inch and revitalizing his once-depleted strength.

At that moment, every cell in Lin Chang’sheng’s body seemed to greedily and hungrily absorb this endlessly flowing primordial power, his body undergoing constant refinement.

Beneath the nourishment of immense strength, crisp "crackle-pop" sounds rang out from all over Lin Chang’sheng, making him feel thoroughly refreshed.

Now, his meridians, flesh, and bones all underwent significant transformation.

His physical body had changed, meaning his lifespan was once again extended.

But the most dramatic change was in his Divine Sense.

His Sea of Consciousness expanded again. Even though Lin Chang’sheng still couldn’t project his Divine Sense great distances, he felt its range was at least thirty thousand li now.

His Divine Soul Power was also massively strengthened.

RUMBLE—

Just as Lin Chang’sheng broke through the Hao Zhix, thunder rolled through the sky, clouds gathered—the Celestial Tribulation had descended.

Worried that the Celestial Tribulation would blast the place into rubble, Lin Chang’sheng immediately left for an uninhabited mountain range.

CRACK—

When the Celestial Thunder reached a certain intensity, the first bolt came crashing down, blasting Lin Chang’sheng all over.

Lin Chang’sheng barely felt a thing, not the slightest pain or discomfort.

After all, his body was now this strong, and he’d mastered the Power of Celestial Thunder. To him, this was just going through the motions.

But as bolt after bolt fell, Lin Chang’sheng seemed to gain deeper understanding of the Celestial Thunder—in fact, of the Laws of Heaven and Earth themselves.

"Could this be the Heavenly Dao Laws?"

Lin Chang’sheng wondered to himself, but didn’t dare get distracted—the Divine Thunder’s power was only increasing.

Especially the final bolt: it wiped out the whole mountain range where Lin Chang’sheng stood—utterly domineering.

But Lin Chang’sheng, lying in the ruins, was perfectly fine. In fact, after tempering by the Divine Thunder, his body and Divine Sense had both skyrocketed further.

BOOM—

With just a twitch of Divine Thought, Lin Chang’sheng split a gigantic tree right in front of him.

"Divine Thought Materialization?"

Lin Chang’sheng was shocked. Turns out that saying about killing with a glance was true?

Now, with a single thought, Lin Chang’sheng could morph his will into countless forms—savage tigers, swords and blades—each packing terrifying lethality.

He could do far more than simply sense everything nearby.

No wonder this breakthrough was so damn hard; Integration was just on a whole other level compared to Void Refining.

Whether body, primordial energy, or now Divine Thought—

—none of it could compare to Void Refining.

After the breakthrough, Lin Chang’sheng returned to the Great Hall.

Now, as he studied the array diagrams above, everything became immensely clear to him.

"So, if your cultivation’s only at Void Refining, without strong enough Divine Sense, you can’t comprehend this array?"

Lin Chang’sheng mused privately.

Now, analyzing the arrays was as effortless as eating or drinking. He understood everything with ease.

He figured he’d have the grand arrays mastered to entry level in just a few hours.

Then, using the panel to simplify them, he’d perfect them all the way to completion.

"What a monster!"

Gu Shan muttered to himself as he watched Lin Chang’sheng break into the Integration Stage. When he first met him, Lin Chang’sheng was just Early Stage Void Refining, and in just over a year, he’d broken through an entire Great Realm to Integration Stage.

This freakish cultivation speed was just mind-blowing.

[Celestial Earth Array: Entry Level!]

[Earth Array: Entry Level!]

[Time Array: Entry Level!]

Three hours later, as Lin Chang’sheng became enlightened, he’d researched all three arrays to entry level.

None of these arrays were especially powerful on their own, but combined, they could actually open a transmission channel—even Lin Chang’sheng found that incredible.

It seemed these three arrays were connected to the arrays outside. After all, to activate the Secret Realm, you had to stimulate three grand arrays out there too.

Now that he’d figured it all out, Lin Chang’sheng grew more confident about escaping.

When the arrays reached perfection, it’d be time to leave this place.