Shi Yi's body was now completely encased in a thick, dark-red crust of blood, like a blood-colored statue weathered by the ages. Fine cracks covered its surface, with pulsing flesh faintly visible beneath. Had the life energy constantly circulating through his Double Pupils not sustained him, his body would have long since been torn apart by those raging, mysterious currents-even so, tiny beads of blood continued to seep through his cracked skin.
"-Crack!"
A fissure suddenly split the blood crust, revealing Shi Yi's Double Pupils, which shimmered with chaotic light. He was examining his body with his divine sense. The silver-gray currents rampaging through his meridians were like countless blades, shredding even spiritual power into nothingness wherever they passed. Web-like cracks had already appeared across three of his ribs.
Shi Yi bit the tip of his tongue to stay conscious, but the metallic sweetness rising in his throat sent a violent tremor through his heart. Trembling, he raised his right hand, and the Messaging Rune condensed at his fingertips turned into flecks of golden light-this was his last resort, a plea to his master for rescue.
Just as the rune was about to dissipate, a clear, resonant hum suddenly rang out from his marrow. Looking within, he saw the silver-gray currents surge toward the bones throughout his body like a hundred rivers returning to the sea. His once-lustrous white marrow now shone with a starlike radiance. More astonishing still, faint golden motes floated within his newly formed blood.
"So that's it!" A terrifying brilliance erupted from his Double Pupils. Shi Yi immediately circulated his divine power, forcing all those currents toward his spine. When the silver-gray currents touched his spinal column, ancient runes abruptly lit up along its entire length, and a faint dragon's cry reverberated through his sea of qi.
Shi Yi sat cross-legged within the blood crust, his aura surging as an astonishing transformation unfolded inside him. That mysterious gray current, like the power of primordial chaos when heaven and earth first opened, continuously scoured his bones before finally merging with his marrow, transforming its very essence.
His marrow, once as lustrous and white as jade, now took on a faint golden hue, dazzling as flowing divine radiance. His newly formed blood was no longer an ordinary bright red either. Threads of pale-gold divine brilliance ran through it like molten gold, carrying an unimaginably vast vitality.
"Boom-"
As this divine blood began flowing throughout his body, Shi Yi's flesh seemed to be infused with endless life force. His flesh rejoiced, his bones resonated, and every inch of his skin greedily absorbed this newborn power. His body grew tougher, his bones more crystalline. Fine golden runes could even be faintly seen flowing across their surfaces, like innate Dao patterns harboring supreme might.
Have I broken past the limits of the blood-refinement realm? Shi Yi's heart shook.
Back in the Desolate Region, a single sweep of his arm had already approached a hundred thousand jin of divine strength, yet he had never managed to break that shackle. Now, however, he could clearly feel his body surpassing its limits. Every drop of blood held astonishing power, and every inch of flesh was evolving toward a higher level.
"Rumble-"
Thunderous roars sounded within him-the sound of his blood surging, like rivers bursting their banks, like a true dragon roaring. Pale-gold divine blood washed through his limbs and every bone, strengthening his body at a speed visible to the naked eye. Even his skin acquired a faint golden halo, making him resemble a deity undergoing rebirth.
"Still not enough!" Shi Yi's gaze blazed. As his Double Pupils opened and closed, chaotic qi spread around him. He deliberately guided more of the gray currents into his marrow, making the transformation more complete.
"Crack!"
At one moment, a crisp sound came from his bones, as though some shackle had snapped. Immediately afterward, a vast power erupted from within him. His body had finally entered an entirely new domain-a single sweep of his arm now exceeded a hundred thousand jin of divine strength!
"This is the true pinnacle of the blood-refinement realm!" Shi Yi murmured, divine light blazing in his eyes. His body was now flawless, his blood like gold, his bones inscribed with Dao patterns. He had truly set foot on the path of invincibility!
Shi Yi's body shuddered, and the blood crust enveloping him shattered inch by inch, dissolving into a sky full of crimson light. He sprang up, agile as a dragon, leaping out of the Medicine Cauldron and landing steadily on the ground. As his five fingers slowly curled into a fist, his sinews and bones rang in unison, unleashing explosive sounds of wind and thunder. Surging power coursed through his flesh, as though a single punch could blast through mountains and rivers.
"As I am now, I could easily crush the person I was a day ago!" His gaze blazed, chaotic qi churning within his Double Pupils, exuding invincible confidence.
He turned to study the mysterious Medicine Cauldron. Its body was archaic, engraved with indistinct patterns from primordial antiquity, yet he still could not identify its origins. Shi Yi clasped both handles and unleashed all his divine strength. A tremendous force of a hundred thousand jin poured forth, but the Medicine Cauldron did not budge, as though it had become one with the entire earth.
"Even my physical strength can't move it in the slightest..." he muttered. "This cauldron has extraordinary origins. Once I enter the Three Thousand Continents, I'll get to the bottom of it!"
The joy of his breakthrough gradually subsided. Shi Yi sat cross-legged and began reviewing his cultivation path.
"I've perfected the blood-refinement realm. Next is the cave heaven realm." His brows drew together slightly as his thoughts surged. "Back in the Lower Realm, I forcibly opened the Ten Cave Heavens, but they still had flaws. Now that I'm in a place with incomplete laws, I'll need to find another opportunity if I want to achieve true, seamless perfection."
He lightly tapped the void with a fingertip, and the hazy projections of ten cave heavens appeared behind him. One of them, however, looked insufficiently solid. He shook his head and dispersed them.
Feeling the surging power of his early array formation realm cultivation within him, Shi Yi frowned slightly. He knew that to break through to a higher realm, he had to inscribe a peerless grand formation inside his body. This would not merely be a leap in cultivation, but a reshaping of his Dao foundation.
"That fellow Cao Yusheng inscribed the Third Killing Array inside his body and gained unrivaled offensive power. He really is a ruthless one." Shi Yi lightly stroked his chest, feeling the powerful beat of his heart. The complete diagram of the Primordial Chaos Heaven-Refining Grand Formation surfaced in his mind-the last gift that system, as timid as a mouse, had left him before fleeing.
As he carefully studied the formation's description, Shi Yi discovered that it was far more profound than he had imagined. On the surface, it appeared to be a support formation, but in truth, it concealed heaven-shaking power:
This formation held boundless mysteries. Its most basic function was to accelerate the refinement of spiritual power, multiplying cultivation efficiency. Spiritual qi flowed through it like rushing rivers. A cultivator within it would feel as though immersed in spiritual liquid, every pore able to absorb pure spiritual power, increasing cultivation speed more than tenfold.
More wondrous still, this formation could merge perfectly with the void. Those inside could clearly perceive the source of the Great Dao, as though standing at the wellspring of the Heavenly Dao, with every law within reach. Profound truths of the Great Dao that ordinary cultivators might barely glimpse after a hundred years of arduous cultivation could be thoroughly understood within this formation in just a few days. As the formation operated, it could also return all things in the world to their origins, refining everything, tangible or intangible, into the purest energy.
This formation constituted a world of its own and could create an independent spacetime barrier. This barrier was indestructible. Once activated, it could completely isolate the inside from the outside. Even those with far higher cultivation would struggle to peer into it or interfere, while those trapped
within the formation would find escape impossible even if they grew wings.
Its most heaven-defying feature was its ability to interfere with karma and reincarnation and obscure heaven's secrets. Beneath the formation's shroud, its wielder could freely alter the course of history and reverse the sequence of cause and effect. Even destinies ordained by the Heavenly Dao could be rewritten and reconstructed within it. Upon reaching the highest cultivation realm, this formation could even extract pure Heavenly Dao power and bring the entire universe's spacetime within its refining scope. At that point, with a single thought, the formation's wielder could reshape heaven and earth and redefine the laws, truly attaining the supreme realm of standing shoulder to shoulder with the Heavenly Dao.