Time flowed on, and before anyone knew it, several thousand years had passed.
Bamer had emerged from his cultivation several times, but each time he saw Hermes immersed in his research. He couldn't bring himself to disturb him.
So he had no choice but to cultivate again and again.
But sudden insight and inspiration were always elusive.
Bamer wanted to integrate the Fire Element Law's Soul Profound Mystery into Fire Element and Fire Body Technique.
Fire Element was easier. It was a fundamental component of the Fire Element Law, and its point of compatibility with the profound mystery was also the easiest to find.
After being shaken by the soul control in Zhelan Fort, Bamer had taken the lesson to heart. In the first thousand years of his seclusion, he successfully found the point of compatibility between Fire Element and the Soul Profound Mystery.
After several thousand years of deduction, Fire Element and the Soul Profound Mystery had already fused more than halfway.
He was just one step away from fully fusing these two profound mysteries.
By then, his combat strength might not see any fundamental improvement, but fusing two profound mysteries, one of which was the Soul Profound Mystery, would surely bring Bamer's soul defense to the peak of a Five-star Demon.
If Basim were still alive, it would be almost impossible for him to control Bamer's soul again.
"It's still only a fusion of two profound mysteries. I'm still a Five-star Demon. To make a fundamental improvement, I have to integrate the Soul Profound Mystery into Fire Element and Fire Body Technique!"
Bamer fell silent in thought.
Even reaching the point where Fire Element and the Soul Profound Mystery were fully fused was already an extremely difficult hurdle.
Now he also had to find the point of compatibility between the Soul Profound Mystery and the Fire Body Profound Mystery.
And once these two profound mysteries were fully fused, he would still have to fully fuse Fire Element, Fire Body Technique, and the soul as a whole.
Those were all hurdles.
There were many obstacles ahead of him. The only thing he didn't need to worry about was finding the initial points of compatibility among these three profound mysteries.
That was because once Fire Element, Fire Body Technique, and the Soul Profound Mystery were fully fused in pairs, fusing all three as a whole would pose no hurdle.
Unless the fusion of all three profound mysteries reached its final stage.
That was an enormous hurdle. Countless people in Hell were stuck there, and would remain stuck there forever.
That was talent!
The talented could easily break through the constraints of those hurdles. The untalented would be trapped there forever.
Two profound mysteries fully fused, three profound mysteries fully fused... until nearly every profound mystery of the same Law fused into one!
It wasn't just divine-level beings. Even countless Sovereign Gods were stuck between fusing five and six profound mysteries.
They would never make another inch of progress!
And they had the support of boundless Faith Power.
If even Sovereign Gods were like that, what hope did divine-level beings have?
"No clue at all!"
Pausing his study, Bamer once again went to the courtyard where Hermes cultivated.
Seeing Hermes still immersed in his research on Mystery Fusion, he didn't leave this time.
He simply watched from a distance.
He hoped to glean something from Hermes's demonstrations of the Laws.
Fire Body Technique was one of the lower-level Mysteries among the six Mysteries of the Fire Element Law.
It involved controlling fire elements and strengthening the body.
It was related to strength and the toughness of a cultivator's divine body. It was also the first profound mystery Bamer had comprehended after Fire Element.
Bamer knew that only by perfectly integrating the Soul Profound Mystery into Fire Body Technique could he fundamentally resolve the weakness in his soul defense.
If he could fuse three profound mysteries, including the Soul Profound Mystery, perhaps his soul might even become his strong suit.
"That's..."
Bamer saw Hermes darting around the courtyard. He wasn't using the slightest bit of divine power, yet his figure kept changing.
He was moving so fast that afterimages appeared.
As Hermes continued his demonstration, he suddenly had an epiphany and sat cross-legged right where he was.
He was suspended in midair, more than ten meters above the ground—not rising or falling.
He hovered there.
This was a private residence. In Yilan City, even flying at that height was forbidden.
"Elemental energy, an overwhelming presence. My lord is still as..."
Bamer had just started to praise Hermes when his expression suddenly changed.
"Isn't that the common ground between the Soul Profound Mystery and Fire Body Technique that I've been struggling to find?"
Fire Element and Fire Body Technique had already been fully fused, and Fire Element and the Soul Profound Mystery were nearly fully fused as well.
All that remained was to find the point of compatibility between the Soul Profound Mystery and the Fire Body Profound Mystery. Once he found it, he could immediately begin fusing all three.
He might encounter difficulties along the way, but before they were fully fused, there was no obstacle he couldn't overcome.
"Boom!"
Bamer had gained insight from watching Hermes cultivate, and Hermes himself had gained a great deal from his own cultivation.
He had been studying how to fuse the Earth Walking Technique and the Mysteries of Gravity Space.
Unexpectedly, one insight had led to another!
He had not only found the point of compatibility between Earth Element and Gravity Space.
He had also pushed the fusion of those two profound mysteries much further.
Hermes was brimming with inspiration. It wasn't only Earth Element and the Mysteries of Gravity Space that had begun to fuse.
Earth Element, strength, and Gravity Space had also begun to fuse.
This time, he stopped suppressing his comprehension of Earth Element. He intended to push the fusion of these three Law Mysteries as far as he could.
When deducing the Laws, his soul's awareness of time passing diminished, and he seemed unable to notice it.
Only after leaving his cultivation state did his awareness of time return.
After a long while,
Hermes opened his eyes.
"Have several thousand years passed?"
His awareness of time returned as he emerged from his cultivation state. With a little calculation by his divine-level soul, he could naturally work out how long he had been in seclusion.
It might not be exact, but it was close enough.
"Sure enough, fighting is the fastest way to make a breakthrough."
If not for the Golden Space inside him, fighting would also have been Hermes's ideal way to cultivate.
In only several thousand years—nowhere near ten thousand—
he had not only fully fused Earth Element and the Mysteries of Gravity Space.
He had also pushed the fusion of Earth Element, strength, and Gravity Space to its limit.
He was stuck on the very last step.
No matter how hard Hermes tried, the progress remained unchanged.
He had made no progress at all.
With the Talent Panel, he wasn't worried about being stuck at this step forever. But Hermes still had no idea when he would manage to take that next step.
"Time to leave seclusion!"
"Boom!"
Just as Hermes was preparing to resume his journey to the Purple Crystal Mountain Range, blue-red flames suddenly burst from Bamer, who was within his line of sight.
"What's going on?"
As a cultivator himself, Hermes knew that Bamer was in an unusual state.
He didn't dare open the courtyard gate. He could only watch over the wall. "Bamer's gained quite a lot."
An expert could tell at a glance. They were both cultivators, even if they followed different Laws.
The principles were the same.
"If he gets past this, his gains this time might be even greater than mine. Could this Bamer really be the one I remember?"
And so Hermes could only watch Bamer cultivate, unable to do anything else.
"He's reached a critical point in Mystery Fusion."
He couldn't help thinking to himself.
"Whoosh!"
A yellow-brown bead appeared. It was the spoils he'd obtained from Zhelan Fort, after killing that damn gatekeeper.
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