First Trial of Divine Abilities

At the Earth Immortal realm, spiritual sense transforms into divine sense, and the perception of heaven and earth becomes fundamentally different.

Li Su immersed himself in this brand-new realm. His Eight-Zhang Ink Bamboo body seemed to have become a node for the circulation of the Primordial World's Sha Qi, requiring no deliberate activation.

The fierce Sha Qi permeating the heavens and earth spontaneously circled his bamboo body, being absorbed and refined by those profound runes. Although the efficiency remained low, it was continuous, slowly strengthening his foundation at every moment.

The newly acquired divine ability—"Soul-Devouring Dark Light"—made him itch with anticipation, eager to put it to the test.

He swept his divine sense across the area and quickly locked onto a target.

It was a centipede-like venomous insect lurking under a pile of beast bones a hundred zhang away. It was about the length of an arm, crimson all over, and fed on rotting flesh and faint, lingering souls. Its strength was roughly at the Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation stage, and with its low intelligence, it was perfect for a trial run.

With a slight movement of his mind, a long, sharp ink-colored bamboo leaf on his body trembled gently. At the tip of the leaf, a point of extremely dark light—as if it could swallow all illumination—condensed silently. Then, it flickered slightly and vanished as if teleporting.

The next moment, the crimson centipede a hundred zhang away stiffened violently. At the core of its weak soul, a point of dark light erupted suddenly, acting like a miniature black hole that instantly devoured its shattered soul and consciousness!

The crimson centipede twitched once, then went completely rigid, devoid of any further sound.

[Absorbed a Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation stage insect soul, Evolution Points +0.5]

The system's notification chime rang out.

Li Su felt a shock in his heart. What an overbearing divine ability! Silent and soundless, striking directly at the soul!

Moreover, it spanned a distance of a hundred zhang; the dark light arrived almost as soon as he willed it! This was only the primary level; if his cultivation improved and the ability evolved in the future, how terrifying would its power be?

More importantly, the absorption efficiency was far superior to before! A tiny venomous insect had actually provided 0.5 Evolution Points, comparable to the sum of all the lingering souls he had painstakingly absorbed for so long!

Indeed, after reaching a higher realm, the quality of "ingredients" was far more important than quantity!

While excited, Li Su also became more cautious. Although this ability was powerful, the energy fluctuation of that dark light when activated was quite obvious to his divine sense.

If an opponent had sharp spiritual perception or possessed means to protect their soul, it might not be easy to succeed, and he might even alert the enemy.

He still needed to practice diligently to achieve greater stealth and control.

Suppressing his excitement, he began to carefully use his divine sense to scan the five-hundred-zhang radius around him, both to familiarize himself with his new capabilities and to search for more suitable "prey" and resources.

Earth Immortal divine sense was precise and subtle. Many minute details that he could not perceive in the past were now clearly revealed.

He "saw" minerals buried deep beneath the strata and "heard" the faint, distant roars of beasts carried on the wind.

He could even vaguely perceive the traces of the "Dao"—that which was omnipresent yet elusive—within this world.

It was an indescribable rhythm, existing in the flow of Sha Qi, in the pulse of the earth, and in the roars of the fierce beasts; profound and obscure.

Just as he was immersed in this novel perception, as if by a flash of inspiration, his divine sense swept through the depths of the giant beast's remains—inside that massive skeleton, which was riddled with holes from being gnawed upon, yet still emitted a faint pressure.

In the past, his spiritual sense could not penetrate the barrier of pressure carried by the bones themselves.

But now, his Earth Immortal divine sense, combined with his improved origin, allowed him to catch a glimpse of something.

Deep within an extremely hidden crack between the brows of the giant skull, there seemed to be a speck of imperceptible, strange luster embedded! The luster was extremely dim, yet it exuded an ancient, resilient quality, different from the violent aura of the fierce beast.

What was that?

Li Su's heart stirred. Could it be that this giant beast had encountered some fortuitous event while it was alive?

He carefully separated a wisp of divine sense as thin as a silk thread and, like a probe, struggled to pierce through the obstruction of the skull's pressure, slowly touching that strange luster.

Hum~

The moment his divine sense touched it, a stream of information flowed back—not a will, but more like a solidified image and realization!

In a void of chaos, a massive, ancient rune appeared out of thin air. It seemed to represent the concepts of "solidity," "indestructibility," and "eternity." Just a fleeting glance at the vast Dao rhyme almost caused Li Su's divine sense to burst!

The image shattered, but the trajectory of the rune and a trace of its Dao rhyme were deeply branded into the depths of his consciousness.

At the same time, the system notification sounded:

[Detected a fragmentary Grand Dao Rune—'Bedrock Rune' (an extremely minute portion), recorded.

Comprehension can increase defense and physical strength.]

A Grand Dao Rune?! Although it was a fragment so small it could almost be ignored, the intent it contained was terrifyingly profound!

It was far beyond his current understanding; he couldn't even exert a billionth of its power.

But this was undoubtedly a massive treasure! It was a trace pointing directly to the origin of the Great Dao!

This dead giant beast had likely, by some stroke of luck, observed some kind of innate rune representing the origin of "solidity."

It might have even been just a lingering echo of its fragmentation, which the beast had branded into its skull, becoming one of the sources of its powerful defense. And now, this opportunity had fallen to Li Su!

Although he could barely record it for now and could not truly comprehend or utilize it, its value was immeasurable!

This might be the supreme foundation for his future body refinement and defensive divine abilities!

Suppressing the wild joy in his heart, Li Su deeply engraved the trace of the "Bedrock Rune" into the depths of his divine sense, leaving it to be slowly pondered when his cultivation reached a higher level in the future.

Indeed, risk and opportunity coexisted.

This Primordial World, while extremely dangerous, also hid countless opportunities.

He gathered his thoughts and turned his attention back to reality. Strength still needed to be improved step by step.

He continued to use his divine sense to search for suitable prey. Soon, he locked onto a fierce beast wandering three hundred zhang away, shaped like a wild boar but covered in bone armor.

Its strength was roughly at the early stage of Spirit Refining Returning to Emptiness, and its intelligence was low, making it perfect for practicing his divine ability while providing considerable Evolution Points.

The bamboo leaf trembled slightly, and the Soul-Devouring Dark Light condensed silently once more...

Li Su began his first active hunt in the Earth Immortal realm.

While familiarizing himself with his divine ability and accumulating Evolution Points, he steadily marched toward his next evolution. The cruel survival laws of the Primordial World were finally, at this moment, held firmly in his own hands.

The Eight-Zhang Ink Bamboo, in this land of blood and Sha, had quietly transformed into a dangerous hunter.