Ten Years, Saint Domain

Under such circumstances, Locke felt that if he did not possess sufficient strength, he would inevitably be swept into this great vortex.

After comprehending a trace of the Profound Mystery of "Illusionary Fog," Locke tested it. With the Mental Strength of a Rank 7 Mage, using Mental Strength to unleash the Profound Mystery of "Illusionary Fog" for a Soul Attack could instantly kill Rank 7 Magical Beasts, severely injure Rank 8 Magical Beasts, and even leave Rank 9 Magical Beasts lightly injured.

However, doing so consumed a great deal of Locke's Mental Strength. Even for him, he could use it at most once or twice within a short period.

Yet the technique "Heavenly Dance Treasure Wheel" that Locke created using the Profound Mystery of "Illusionary Fog" could affect even Rank 9 Magical Beasts without exception.

Of course, depending on their strength, the duration for which Magical Beasts lost their sight, hearing, and sense of touch after being struck by "Heavenly Dance Treasure Wheel" would be greatly reduced.

This test gave Locke a clearer understanding of the path he would take in the future.

Having transmigrated into the Coiling Dragon Universe, Locke had not received any cheat from the Transmigrators' Association.

Thus, Locke had no idea how far he would ultimately grow.

But he could still carve out a path uniquely his own in the Coiling Dragon Universe.

The gods of the Coiling Dragon Universe, including the Overgods, almost all fought through direct clashes.

When techniques collided, the weaker side died!

Now, Locke wanted to take another path!

A path centered around illusions, with everything else serving as support.

By taking this path, he might have almost no chance of becoming the strongest person in the Coiling Dragon Universe, but he might become the hardest person to kill!

Everything was for the sake of surviving safely.

After all, compared to the expenditure required for direct attacks, using illusions to influence an enemy's soul consumed next to nothing.

Otherwise, Locke could not have used "Heavenly Dance Treasure Wheel" on nearly a thousand warriors, robbing those bandits of their sight and hearing.

After lying low in Pu'er Village for some time, Locke bade farewell to his parents and began his training.

As it happened, most of the mountains and forests within Enbo Territory were occupied by Magical Beasts.

After casually choosing a direction, Locke plunged into the mountains.

With Locke's current abilities, he would only be in danger if he encountered a Saint Domain Demonic Beast.

Otherwise, even against Rank 9 Magical Beasts, Locke could easily escape.

As long as they had not cultivated Spiritual Sense to replace the body's Five Senses, the time during which they were deprived of sight and hearing was enough for Locke to flee beyond a Rank 9 Magical Beast's attack range.

And so, Locke wandered freely through the Monster Mountain Range of Enbo Territory. Aside from meditating to refine Magic Power, entering the state of Unity of Heaven and Man to comprehend Profound Mysteries, and tempering his Mental Strength, he spent all his remaining time studying the "souls" of Magical Beasts.

As Locke's research into "souls" deepened, his Mental Strength gradually became more than merely capable of "deceiving" souls. It could truly exert an influence on his enemies' souls.

Moreover, Locke successfully found the points where the remaining two of the Five Senses—taste and smell—connected with the body.

At this point, Locke had perfected "Heavenly Dance Treasure Wheel," allowing it to strip an enemy of all Five Senses in an instant.

Whether warrior or mage, once they lost all Five Senses, they would become helpless prey.

So far, Locke had yet to encounter an existence at the Saint Domain level, so he was still uncertain of how effective "Heavenly Dance Treasure Wheel" would be against Saint Domain experts.

Naturally, before becoming a Saint Domain expert himself, Locke had no intention of making such a dangerous attempt.

If he could cultivate safely to the Saint Domain, why take risks?

Ten years later.

At the summit of a mountain, a human sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, cultivating.

Below the mountain, five Magical Beasts emanating powerful auras surrounded it, warily observing every movement in the area.

The surging Magic Power within them warned every being who saw them that anyone entering their guarded range would face their merciless attacks.

Within Locke's soul space, a vast amount of water elemental essence was refined by him into liquefied Magic Power.

Around Locke, because he absorbed water elemental essence too quickly, all the water elemental essence within a thousand-meter radius formed a massive vortex.

When Locke swallowed this enormous mass of water elemental essence and completely refined it into Magic Power, a powerful aura suddenly erupted from his body.

However, upon sensing the aura Locke released, the eyes of the five Magical Beasts guarding him flashed with helplessness and deep envy.

They were the five strongest Magical Beasts in this mountain range!

So long as no Saint Domain Demonic Beast emerged, all Magical Beasts in this mountain range regarded them as supreme.

But after this human arrived five years ago, they had lost all their dignity.

Whenever they thought of that terrifying experience of being locked in a little dark room, unable to see, hear, smell, detect odors, or touch anything, boundless fear still rose within their hearts.

To these five peak Rank 9 Magical Beasts, this human was a more terrifying existence than even a Saint-level Expert.

Even though, at the time, this human had only been a Rank 9 Grand Magus.

Over these five years, this human had spent most of his time absorbing water elemental essence and refining it into Magic Power.

From the pressure that had just radiated from this human, the five Magical Beasts knew that he had crossed the insurmountable barrier of peak Rank 9 and become a true "Saint-level Expert."

Opening his eyes, a faint smile appeared on Locke's lips.

With a thought, Locke's body, seated atop the mountain, slowly floated into the air.

Spreading his arms, Locke closed his eyes and quietly felt his current state.

"Saint Domain, this is the Saint Domain!"

From comprehending a trace of the Profound Mystery of "Illusionary Fog" at fourteen to reaching the Saint Domain now, Locke had spent twenty-one years.

At thirty-five, Locke had finally, barely, stepped onto the stage of the Coiling Dragon Universe.

After becoming a Saint Domain expert, Locke's most obvious sensation was that he seemed to have broken free of the plane's gravity.

Just like now, as long as Locke wished it, he could fly freely through the sky.

This ability did not require Locke to consume Magic Power or anything else. It was like an instinct—within a certain speed range, flying cost Locke nothing.

Of course, if he wanted to increase his flying speed to a certain extent, Locke would need to actively expend Magic Power.

Furthermore, after breaking through to the Saint Domain, Locke could feel that his life would no longer slip away.

This meant that as long as Locke was not killed by someone stronger, he would be able to live forever!