A second life!
As the Kirin Immortal Medicine dissolved in his stomach, a strange Dao law instantly permeated Yuangeng's limbs and bones. It was a law beyond the scope of even the finest medicines of the human Dao-not vitality itself, but something like a catalyst that stirred the power of rebirth.
At that moment, the age, heaviness, and weakness that had shackled Yuangeng all vanished. He could feel his flesh awakening with new vitality, just as it had when he was young, when he first began cultivating in the ancient kingdom of White Origin.
A second life was by no means a simple, brute-force extension of one's lifespan. It allowed a cultivator to be reborn at the very root of his being, severing everything of the past to live anew.
Such rebirth could erase the vast majority of Dao wounds in the flesh, the primordial spirit, and even the origin. Even in a situation of certain death, attaining a second life offered a thread of hope.
During Immortal Ancient times, there had reportedly been a being in the Primordial Ancient Realm who suffered grievous injuries in a battle fought to the death, only to obtain a drop of true blood from the Phoenix of the Ten Fiends and attain a second life. Not only were all his Dao wounds and hidden ailments eradicated, but he also became a True Immortal at an astonishing speed.
Yuangeng carefully savored the new vitality his second life had brought. Beneath that life force welling up from the very root of his being, his decrepit organs, muscles, skin, and bones rapidly grew young again at a pace visible to the naked eye.
Si Yanning of the Lunar Essence Divine Church saw it clearly. In mere moments, the frail old man who had been on the verge of passing away in meditation had transformed into a powerfully built young man. His features were sharply defined, and his black hair fell to his shoulders, every strand brimming with boundless life energy.
A Dao resonance naturally wreathed the man's body. Si Yanning knew that rhythm all too well: it was the mighty power of lunar essence that their tradition took the greatest pride in. Yet the Dao resonance surrounding him differed from the Human Emperor's Dao. It bore less of the mortal world and was more transcendent.
Rumble!
This startling transformation immediately alerted many of the Lunar Essence Divine Church's powerful cultivators. Soon, an old man in a black cloak appeared beside Si Yanning, holding a Chaos Stone Mirror. His aura was unfathomable, and the power in his every movement had long since surpassed the pinnacle of the Great Saint realm.
He was a lunar essence Quasi-Emperor.
"I have come to visit the Human Emperor's Former Residence. Forgive the intrusion."
Yuangeng was familiarizing himself with the new power of his second life and naturally had no time to attend to this lunar essence Quasi-Emperor. He merely nodded to him before sinking back into concentration.
"You are too courteous, Senior Yuangeng."
The lunar essence Quasi-Emperor dared not put on airs and hurriedly bowed. This was not the first time he had seen Yuangeng's face. As a cultivator whose title contained the word "Emperor," he possessed many means of gathering information and knew a fair amount about this ancient being who had only recently emerged.
For instance, Yuangeng had killed an Emperor from the Primordial Ancient Mine in his very first battle after emerging. He had also fought the present Qilin Emperor without falling behind. And half a year ago, he had forged a lunar essence Emperor Weapon whose might was utterly beyond measure.
At that thought, the lunar essence Quasi-Emperor gazed at the small, exquisite Eternal Ancient Ruler in Yuangeng's hand, lost in thought. The Lunar Essence Divine Church had lost its Human Emperor's Ancestral Artifact far too long ago. Without an Emperor Weapon to hold them in suppression, some of the church's oldest reserves could scarcely remain sealed any longer. Perhaps in another ten or twenty thousand years, they would begin losing their Quasi-Emperor-level reserves.
Boom!
His thoughts were soon dragged back to reality by a sudden thunderous crash. On the stone platform where the Human Emperor had once sat in meditation, Yuangeng was now seated upright. The roar of a vast ocean rang out from within him, great waves crashing with a sound that shook the heavens.
Then the sound of surging tides grew even clearer. The lunar essence Quasi-Emperor and Si Yanning looked up to see a pitch-black ocean blotting out the sun overhead. Even the sunlight in the sky was utterly swallowed by that ocean.
"Rise!"
The lunar essence Quasi-Emperor dared not delay. He immediately activated the formation patterns spread throughout the Lunar Essence Divine Church, and imperial Dao radiance enveloped a vast area. This was the great formation the Human Emperor himself had laid down long ago. With a Quasi-Emperor as its core, it was said to be capable of contending with an Extreme Dao practitioner.
But he had clearly worried too much. Yuangeng naturally had no intention of destroying the Lunar Essence Divine Church. He was merely cultivating. Just moments before, drawing on the vigor of his rebirth, he had focused his attention three inches below his navel, where the root of life lay.
The human body's first secret realm-the sea of bitterness!
According to the principles of present-day cultivators, the first minor realm of the sea of bitterness-the bitter sea-stood in opposition to the wheel of life. The bitter sea was supremely heavy and turbid, constantly eroding the wheel of life. It had to be transformed and transcended before one could truly take the first step on the path of cultivation.
Yuangeng recalled the principles of the Current Era Method. With the foundation of his flesh, the inscriptions on his wheel of life were already densely packed and beyond counting, while his bitter sea was boundless. He had only just opened it, yet it was already enough to blot out the sun and shroud the heavens.
He knew very well that, if fully unfurled, his bitter sea could easily drown a galaxy or two.
Yuangeng carefully contemplated his bitter sea, inscribing Dao symbols and developing scriptures. Through the power of cultivation, he transformed those innate substances of heaviness and turbidity into a new source of life to nourish his flesh.
What he cultivated was neither the Taiyin True Scripture nor the scriptures of Ancient Heavenly Venerables such as Lingbao and Xiaoyao. Instead, he had integrated the essence of the dozens of emperor scriptures he had read, combined it with his own circumstances, and felt his way forward.
For other cultivators, this would undoubtedly have been an extraordinarily dangerous process. Cultivation was no child's play; the slightest deviation could plunge one into eternal ruin. Following the wisdom of one's predecessors was the proper choice.
But Yuangeng had no need to do so. His fundamental nature was far too powerful. Both his understanding of the Dao and his mastery of his flesh were flawless. Every scripture and principle was developed by him personally and was unquestionably the best fit for him.
Boom!
The vast, ink-black bitter sea surged above Ziwei Ancient Star for over two hours. At one moment, accompanied by another thunderous boom, a certain region within it seemed to undergo a fundamental transformation. The pitch-black seawater turned lustrous white and, brimming with surging vitality, reached straight into the depths of the universe.
Any being who had encountered cultivation understood that this was the second minor realm of the sea of bitterness secret realm: transforming the bitter sea's turbidity, turning the intent of death into life, connecting to the root of life within the human body, and developing a life spring to further nourish the flesh.
Deep within that pitch-black bitter sea, an unknown number of surging life springs had already formed. Every spring reached straight into the universe, its waters resembling the rarest immortal nectar in the cosmos, their life force astonishing.
Boom!
After another two hours or more, those pools of life-giving springwater transformed again. Dazzling lunar essence immortal light flickered within the lustrous white waters, then formed a great bridge that reached straight to the horizon.
This was the third minor realm of the sea of bitterness-the divine bridge!
At the end of the divine bridge lay the fourth minor realm of the sea of bitterness-the other shore.
Another two to four hours passed before Yuangeng finally opened his tightly shut eyes and rose from the stone platform. He drew a deep breath, and the boundless bitter sea overhead vanished. The manifestations of the life springs and divine bridge disappeared as well, all drawn back into his body.
"Next, I must hone the sea of bitterness little by little and further perfect my
scripture," he murmured to himself.
Just moments before, Yuangeng had successfully completed his cultivation and become a minor cultivator of the Other Shore realm.
Of course, as a rather unconventional minor cultivator of the Other Shore realm, his combat strength might have exceeded the standard a little.
Although he had yet to regain the combat strength he possessed at the height of his Immortal Ancient Method cultivation, his physical foundation was so overwhelmingly powerful that fighting the Qilin Emperor to a draw at his current stage should pose little difficulty.
Once he perfected his scripture for the Sea of Bitterness realm and cultivated that realm to its utmost limit, he should receive another major boost.
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