Lu Yuan's face lit up with delight.
But soon, he felt a little puzzled.
The pill had been refined far too quickly, beyond anything he'd expected.
But the moment he picked it up, he understood.
The Zi Wu Bu Tian Lu could absorb Heaven-Earth Spirit and refine pills automatically. The process should take a long time, and without any medicinal herbs or exotic fruits, even if a pill was formed, its effects would be inconsistent.
The reason it had been so quick this time, Lu Yuan realized, was that all the essence previously left inside the furnace had vanished.
It must have been absorbed into the pill, which was why it had formed so quickly.
After all,
even though he'd soaked it in water back then,
he'd only been able to use the essence on its surface.
The pill he'd just refined had absorbed the essence from deeper inside.
"I just don't know how effective it'll be. Will it let me advance further and reach the next realm, the Shackled Realm?"
Holding the pill, Lu Yuan pondered, a glint appearing in his eyes.
If the Awakening Realm meant awakening the Mythical Gene within the body so it was no longer restricted, then the Shackled Realm meant breaking the Gene Shackles that bound the human body, fully unlocking its potential and continuing its evolution to gain even greater supernatural power.
More importantly, upon reaching this realm, one's level of life evolved once again.
Even in his previous life, this realm marked someone as a powerhouse.
He'd thought it would be a while before he reached it.
He hadn't expected that he would soon step into that realm.
It was worth remembering that,
back then, Lu Yuan had only watched people of that caliber fight from a distance. He'd never had any contact with them, because the gap between them was simply too great.
Now, he was about to reach the Shackled Realm himself.
Of course, there were even higher stages of evolution beyond this realm,
but those weren't something he needed to consider right now.
The evolutionary realms of the Awakened had been established by the major powers based on various studies and records, as a way of distinguishing levels of strength.
From what he remembered, this system of realms should be made public not long after the mutations began.
He shook his head.
Lu Yuan stopped dwelling on it.
He picked up the pill and swallowed it.
It melted in his mouth, immediately unleashing a torrent of immense energy.
The energy was extremely violent. Even an ordinary Awakened might not be able to withstand it, and it could harm them.
But Lu Yuan was different. After fusing with the Eleven-story Blood Futu, he had achieved unity between his inner and outer body. His internal organs were so powerful they were terrifying. The energy released by the pill posed no threat to him at all.
Instead, bolstered by his powerful physique, his body began absorbing it almost at once, the energy coursing through every limb and bone.
"Not bad. That feels great." Lu Yuan tested the energy and smiled.
Then he stopped thinking about it.
He focused on merging the energy into every cell and gene in his body.
This time, he was going to break straight into the Shackled Realm.
Once he succeeded,
he'd be able to walk out and, while he might not be able to do as he pleased without restraint, he'd be close.
And so, Lu Yuan continued absorbing the energy in the pill, channeling it into his body and awakening his physical potential.
The process wasn't slow. In fact, it went very smoothly. He'd fused with several divine treasures, giving him an incredible foundation. It was likely that no one else in the world could match him. Even those special beings with ancient bloodlines couldn't compare.
Those three months of preparation hadn't been wasted.
Lu Yuan had made up his mind long ago.
He would lie low in the early days of the mutation and quietly grow stronger. Then, once he emerged, he would sweep across the globe!
The medicine's effects were truly beyond his expectations. They were immensely powerful.
He was certain that, as long as he could absorb it all,
breaking through the evolutionary barrier, breaking free of his Gene Shackles, and evolving to a higher level of life were entirely within reach.
However, absorbing it all would probably take some time.
That worried Lu Yuan a little.
His villa should be safe for now, during the early days of the mutation, but accidents could still happen.
It wasn't that he feared someone finding him. He simply wanted to prepare everything in peace.
Of course, he might just be overthinking it.
He stopped dwelling on it.
And focused on absorbing the energy.
He'd spent three months preparing. To put everything to good use and get the most out of it, he'd need time.
The days passed, and the weather seemed to be growing cooler.
Meanwhile,
two jeeps sped along a broad highway.
But the global mutation had caused some roads to break apart, while weeds had overrun the shoulders. Farther off, mountain peaks towered thousands of meters into the clouds, and terrifying roars of beasts echoed from within.
"Captain Wang, I think we're about to reach Shanghai City," someone said from inside one of the vehicles.
These were the Chang Sheng Gene Squad, who had set out from that Farm in Wuzhou.
After hearing this, Captain Wang Xing nodded.
Then he looked ahead.
But there were still mountain ranges stretching into the distance.
"Wuzhou wasn't far from Shanghai City to begin with, but after the global mutation, the path of evolution began and the land expanded. The distance we have to travel is several times what it used to be. It's cost us a lot of time."
One of the squad members sighed. On the way, they'd encountered broken roads and mountains blocking their path, making it difficult to drive through.
Sometimes, they'd even run into mutated beasts that had begun to evolve.
Those beasts were enormous and extremely difficult to deal with.
If they hadn't had the special gene medication developed by the company, embarked on the path of evolution, and brought all their equipment,
they wouldn't have just failed the mission. They would've died on the road.
"All right, enough discussion."
Captain Wang gestured for everyone to listen, then pulled out his phone. "The company just sent over the details. They've found the exact address of that man named Lu Yuan. Once we reach Shanghai City, we're not wasting any time. We'll go straight there."
"Of course, Captain. You can sit back and relax. The rest of us can handle it."
One of the squad members laughed, thinking this mission was nothing more than a hassle and not at all difficult.
Judging by the information they had on Lu Yuan,
he was just a rich second-generation heir who liked collecting antiques and wasted his money.
"Don't let your guard down." Captain Wang shook his head and continued.
"We already lost a squad. The people who attacked them had some skill, and that man Lu might not be as simple as he seems. From now on, follow my orders."
He had a feeling that something could go wrong on this mission, though he didn't know where it came from.
He only suspected that Lu Yuan had something to do with the deaths of the three-man squad.
"Captain Wang, I think you're overthinking it," someone said. "So what if that guy has a few tricks? We're genuine elites trained by the company, and we brought these toys along. How could he possibly fight back?"
As he spoke, he showed off the gun at his waist and several grenades.
Chang Sheng Gene was an immensely powerful organization, with great influence both at home and abroad.
Naturally, getting hold of some firearms was no problem.
The other squad members nodded one after another.
They weren't ordinary people. They had abilities beyond those of ordinary humans and were on an entirely different level of life.
"Mm."
After hearing this, Captain Wang said nothing.
Perhaps he'd grown a little too nervous after encountering so many evolving beasts on the way.
"All right, focus on driving. We need to finish the mission as soon as possible. Don't keep the company waiting." He stopped dwelling on it and told them to speed up. The sooner they finished, the sooner they could claim their reward from the company.
"Yes, sir!"
The squad members replied and drove at full speed.
They were relaxed, as if they were heading out to carry out the simplest mission imaginable.
Shanghai City Suburban Villa.
Lu Yuan sat cross-legged in the courtyard, his eyes closed.
He wasn't moving at all, yet waves of powerful energy emanated from him.
Inside him, his heart beat with a thundering pulse, loud enough to be heard from far away.
It sounded like an engine, drawing everyone's attention.
Some time had passed since he swallowed the pill refined in the Zi Wu Bu Tian Lu.
By now, Lu Yuan had absorbed all its energy. He could feel a vigorous, powerful life force welling up in every one of his cells, as though they were about to undergo some kind of transformation.
"This is the feeling."
Lu Yuan understood. He knew he'd reached the limit of the Awakening Realm.
The next step was to break free of his Gene Shackles, unleash his genes' potential, and evolve once more.
Then,
without any hesitation, he focused completely.
He drew out the power within his cells and began a deeper transformation.
After reaching the Awakening Realm, a person could gradually learn to control their cells and make them work in harmony with the body.
That was exactly what Lu Yuan was doing now.
Using the power of the pill,
he would break through his Gene Shackles.
But he knew the process would be difficult. It required patience.
Soon, though, as Lu Yuan began to exert himself,
Crack.
He heard something break.
A greater power emerged from deep within his body, then flowed through his blood vessels, internal organs, and even every pore. It felt incredibly comfortable, like soaking in a hot spring.
At the same time, Lu Yuan felt his strength increase once again, in every way.
"Th-this means I've broken free of my Gene Shackles and reached the Shackled Realm?"
He opened his eyes, stunned.
As far as he knew,
wasn't breaking free of one's Gene Shackles supposed to be incredibly difficult?
How had it become so easy for him?
It was unbelievable.
Just as Lu Yuan was about to examine himself more closely,
Crack~
Crack~
Two more consecutive sounds rang out.
His Gene Shackles had been broken, releasing yet another surge of power.
Counting the first one, he'd broken through three Gene Shackles.
Lu Yuan didn't know what to say.
After all, once someone reached the Shackled Realm, breaking each Gene Shackle took a great deal of effort. Only special Spiritual Fruits or Exotic Grasses could help—but that rule didn't seem to apply to him.
"I get it. My foundation is simply too strong. Fusing with several divine treasures has made my physique terrifyingly powerful."
"That's probably the main reason I can break through the Gene Shackles so easily."
In the end, Lu Yuan figured it out. His face lit up as countless possibilities came to mind.
The human body had 108 Shackles.
Ordinary Awakened only needed to break through twelve to enter the next evolutionary stage.
But those with exceptional talent or powerful bloodlines would choose to keep breaking their Gene Shackles.
In his previous life, he'd heard that the highest number ever recorded was forty-nine Gene Shackles broken.
That was already terrifying. It would make the path of evolution far smoother in the future,
and let one go farther still.
Now,
Lu Yuan wondered whether his foundation and physique would let him break through all 108.
"What would that even be like, to break through all of them?"
He thought, his eyes shining.
He knew it was absolutely possible, and the odds were good.
"Let's see if I can keep going." Lu Yuan murmured. He'd already broken through three Shackles in a row. If he could keep it up, it would be wonderful.
But, to his disappointment, perhaps the pill's essence had already been used up.
In the end, he couldn't break through any more Gene Shackles.
He remained at his current progress.
That was normal.
After all, it was something that required time and steady accumulation.
Lu Yuan was satisfied with how far he had come. He hadn't let greed swallow him whole.
The path of awakening and evolution had to be walked one step at a time, with both feet firmly on the ground.
"That should do it."
He said nothing more.
Lu Yuan rose to his feet and loosened up a little.
A heavy aura burst from him.
His body was now a little taller than before, with balanced muscles and perfect definition.
Look closely, and faint glimmers of light shimmered across his skin, lending it a dreamy quality. It was a sign that his physique had evolved to a certain degree.
Lu Yuan could clearly feel the explosive power hidden within him. Even conventional weapons no longer frightened him.
Then he turned to the Zi Wu Bu Tian Lu and rapped on its walls a few times.
The furnace quickly shrank.
In the end, it was no bigger than a fingernail, making it easy to carry.
The Immortal Elder's belongings really were useful.
"Now, I've used almost all the divine items at least once. There's just one left." As he mused, Lu Yuan took up the only one he hadn't used: the Sky Shaking Bow.
After the mutation, the Sky Shaking Bow had changed as well. Its body was red-gold, with the sun and moon engraved at either end.
Its bowstring was a black cord, made from some unknown material.
Even a slight touch revealed its resilience.
It was nearly impossible to snap.
The ancients had fashioned it after Da Yi's legendary Sun-Shooting Bow. It, too, was immensely powerful, and they had named it the Sky Shaking Bow.
"The Sky Shaking Bow, the Innate Qi Garment, the Great Luo Sword Embryo, the several divine items I've fused with, and those peerless supernatural powers from Buddhism and Daoism. I'm armed to the teeth now. If I go all out, there's probably no one in this world who can hurt me."
Holding the bow, Lu Yuan thought of all the divine items on him and sized up his own strength.
He was powerful—terrifyingly so.
The reason he'd cautiously said that probably no one could hurt him was that he wasn't making an absolute claim.
Lu Yuan had a clear understanding of his own strength. And that was without even considering the Awakened who had embarked on the path of evolution.
With the technology available today, he still had some apprehension about things like nuclear bombs. Their power was simply too great.
Besides, this world was nowhere near as simple as people imagined.
It held countless secrets.
For instance, there were legends of immortals appearing in the distant past.
Few would have believed them in the old days, but now it seemed those immortals must have been immensely powerful Awakened. Lu Yuan didn't know whether any such beings still remained in this world, but it never hurt to be cautious.
As long as he wasn't invincible under heaven, he had to stay on guard.
He shook his head and put the thought aside.
Lu Yuan knew all too well the foundation he had built.
If he kept evolving, even the appearance of a true immortal wouldn't make him afraid.
"I wonder how much time has passed outside, and what's changed."
He murmured to himself. His phone had run out of battery and shut down long ago, so he couldn't tell the time precisely. He only knew it was night.
But judging by the chill in the air, it seemed quite some time had passed.
Sure enough.
After Lu Yuan charged his phone and turned it on,
he saw that the date displayed was already in December.
In other words, using these divine items had taken him more than three months.
"First, I'll see what the situation outside is like now."
Lu Yuan didn't dwell on it.
He was about to open some news and forum sites.
But just then, his ears twitched. He heard something unusual.
They sounded like footsteps, rapidly approaching. They were almost at the villa.
Awakened had senses beyond those of ordinary people, especially at Lu Yuan's level. Their senses were all the more extraordinary, unless some special method was used to conceal them.
But clearly,
the person approaching had no such ability.
"I was just wishing I had someone to test the Sky Shaking Bow on. What perfect timing."
Lu Yuan smiled, setting aside his plans to check on the outside world. Then, with a single leap, he left the villa's main hall.
After three months of lying low and evolving, he was about to show the results for the first time!
Before you continue