The golden writing in his Consciousness Sea was densely packed, forming an exquisitely intricate Secret Pattern Diagram.
Bai Muye read through it word by word. He had studied this Body Refining Technique countless times over the past decade or so; now, he was simply reviewing it one last time before beginning his cultivation.
He couldn't afford to be careless. This secret technique was unfathomably profound, and the slightest mistake during cultivation could cause his soul, genes, and body to collapse completely.
Although Xiao Si had sworn it could keep his Singularity intact—even if he was reduced to ashes, as long as the Singularity survived, he could recover—Bai Muye didn't treat that as a get-out-of-death-free card. After all, he had no clone. If anything went wrong along the way, he would be doomed for good.
As soon as he began cultivating, Xiao Si immediately focused, ready to use its own Origin Energy to protect Bai Muye's Singularity at any moment.
"Using the Singularity as the core, I need to construct three thousand Energy Apertures inside my body, then have every aperture reach every cell in my body..."
Xiao Si was inside Bai Muye's Singularity, so it could clearly observe his cultivation. It had studied the secret technique before, but since it wasn't a flesh-and-blood life-form, it couldn't cultivate it. It had only been able to imagine the process, and reality was quite different.
"I understand now." Even the seed inside the Singularity couldn't help trembling. "He's cultivating this body as if it were a Source World. The Singularity is like the Origin Continent at the heart of a Source World, while the three thousand Energy Apertures are like its Three Thousand Dimensions. No wonder constructing each Energy Aperture is so complicated..."
"Whoever created this secret technique must have had an incredibly profound understanding of the nature of Source Worlds..." Xiao Si was deeply shaken. "If the cultivation can truly proceed step by step, perhaps he can eventually cultivate a body comparable to a Source World..."
"But the process will inevitably be incredibly difficult, and the energy, resources, and treasures required will be beyond count... Fortunately, those are only needed in the later stages. The first few levels should be manageable..."
Bai Muye focused all his attention and cultivated cautiously, one step at a time.
Centered on the Singularity, three thousand strands of energy shot out, spreading to the locations of the three thousand Energy Apertures in his body. Then he began constructing the interior of each aperture in turn.
With the strength of his consciousness, this wasn't difficult. The challenge was that each aperture's structure differed slightly, requiring extraordinarily precise control.
Fortunately, the first level didn't demand much. He only needed to build a stable basic structure. As his cultivation deepened, the apertures' structures would evolve on their own, though he would still need to carefully control that process.
Three months later, as he completed the final aperture, all three thousand Energy Apertures shuddered and began to exert a faint pull. As the pull grew stronger, the ubiquitous energy of the universe was drawn in, surging into his body. A super tornado seemed to whip through the Training Room where Bai Muye was cultivating.
The Cosmic Origin Energy around him seemed to become a vortex, wrapping him within it.
"There doesn't seem to be enough energy..." The three thousand Energy Apertures required an immense amount of Cosmic Origin Energy. At this rate, absorbing it little by little would take a long time just to fill them.
More concerning was the commotion caused by the apertures absorbing energy. For now, it was contained within the Training Room, but such a large-scale flow of Cosmic Origin Energy would inevitably draw attention. It wouldn't be good if it caught the notice of Domain Lords—or even the undying.
"Should I release energy to help replenish it?" Xiao Si knew what was happening and asked.
"Sure."
Xiao Si's roots trembled, and incredibly pure energy flowed from their tips. It was far purer than the Origin Energy found throughout the universe. Under Bai Muye's control, it traveled along the strands and flowed into the three thousand apertures.
With Xiao Si's energy replenishing them, the pull from the three thousand apertures immediately weakened, and the Training Room finally returned to normal.
Ten days later, the pull from the three thousand apertures vanished. Their basic construction was complete.
"Good thing you didn't use up that energy beforehand. Otherwise, this would've been a real problem..."
"How much energy is left?" Bai Muye asked.
"Eighty percent is gone. There's only twenty percent left. Before you started cultivating the Body Refining Technique, that would probably have been enough to get you to Domain Lord rank six. Now, who knows..."
"It's fine. As long as there's enough for now. If we run out, we can absorb more..."
Everything had gone smoothly so far, but this was only the beginning. Constructing the three thousand Energy Apertures hadn't been very dangerous.
"Every step after the second is critical. The slightest mistake from here on will reduce you to ashes!"
Bai Muye took a deep breath. His gaze grew resolute as he began the next step of cultivation.
One of the three thousand Energy Apertures suddenly shot out 2,999 strands, connecting to the other 2,999 apertures. Then the second did the same, followed by the third...
As each strand connected to another aperture, it pierced through Bai Muye's body. Wherever it passed, his flesh, bones, and connective tissue took on a faint golden hue.
By the time the final aperture had shot out its last strand and connected to the last aperture, Bai Muye's body was filled with energy strands. Each glimmered with only a faint golden light, making him look like a translucent "golden" man.
Once the three thousand apertures were connected, they spontaneously sent out even more strands, reaching every part of his body.
Fine threads of energy flowed continuously along the strands, seeping into every cell in his body and driving the gradual evolution of his cellular genes.
With every bit of evolution in his body's genes, the cultivator became a little stronger.
Though this evolution was extremely slow, the spontaneous evolution of cellular genes was already inconceivable.
After all, genes themselves were incredibly intricate. Every tiny evolution could bring about a world-shaking transformation. A single mistake would inevitably cause the genes to collapse, taking the core Singularity down with them.
Neither Bai Muye nor Xiao Si noticed that as the strands connecting the Singularity to the Energy Apertures released energy, they also gave rise to tiny golden secret patterns. If Bai Muye could have seen them, he would have recognized them as fragments of the patterns formed by the writing in his Consciousness Sea.
These secret patterns were branded onto the Singularity, then disappeared beneath its gray shell.
The energy strands linking the three thousand apertures, together with the strands they automatically radiated, formed an incredibly perfect whole. Faintly, it even carried something of the essence of the secret patterns formed by the writing of the technique.
With his mind completely focused, Bai Muye devoted himself to driving the evolution of his genes. His muscles, bones, and other tissues trembled now and then, making faint sounds.
Immersed in cultivation, he completely forgot everything outside.
At first, he had been extremely cautious. But once he truly became immersed in the marvelous sensation of his genes evolving, he put his lingering worries aside and gave himself over to cultivation.
Time passed slowly. One month... two months... one year...
Two years and nine months later, Bai Muye's body trembled slightly. A thin layer of dust that had settled over him during years of sitting still was shaken off.
Soft thumps sounded as the dust struck the walls of the Training Room, making the energy shield ripple.
Bai Muye opened his eyes. His pupils seemed to be formed from pale golden secret patterns, glimmering with a golden light. The light quickly faded, and his eyes returned to their usual black-and-white clarity.
"You did it, Bai! Congratulations!" Xiao Si's voice carried an unmistakable note of excitement. "I thought you'd make a mistake at least once or twice. I never expected you to succeed on your first try!"
"I didn't expect it to go so smoothly either..."
Bai Muye held out his hand and clenched his fist, testing his strength. A smile spread across his face.
"Tenfold! It really is tenfold!"
Before you continue