"Isn't that the Lin Clan's young master?"
"Yes. Didn't word spread a few days ago that he had been struck by the Immortal-Exterminating Curse and reduced to a cripple? How could he trigger a Monstrous Genius Tribulation?"
"Are you blind? He's reached the Pill Condensation Realm!"
Many experts cried out in shock. They had seen Lin Fan lose all his cultivation to the Immortal-Exterminating Curse that day, yet now he possessed Pill Condensation Realm cultivation and had triggered a lightning tribulation. It was like seeing a ghost in broad daylight.
"A Monstrous Genius Tribulation!"
That was what they said, but there was no shortage of sharp-eyed people present who saw through to the essence and revealed the truth. Apart from Quasi-Emperors, who needed to undergo lightning tribulations, only those with monstrously gifted physiques and talents could trigger one.
"What?"
Many experts were shocked to hear this.
Everyone in Archaic knew of the Monstrous Genius Tribulation. Only an utterly monstrous physique and talent could trigger a Talent Tribulation. Could the Lin Clan be about to produce another monstrous genius after Lin Dong?
"Gasp! Chaos Qi!"
"Heavens, that's the Chaos Gods and Devils Body!"
"To think that in my lifetime, I would see the forbidden divine physique recorded in ancient texts with my own eyes! My life has not been in vain!"
In the void, an old man recognized Lin Fan's Chaos Gods and Devils Body on the spot. His eyes widened, and in his excitement, he accidentally pulled out a handful of his own beard.
Many cultivators looked at the old man and recognized him as a Quasi-Emperor of extremely senior standing in Archaic. His words soon won the acceptance of the cultivators from all sides.
"Heavens!"
"A physique known as a forbidden divine physique has actually appeared in the Lin Clan!"
"Is blue smoke rising from the Lin Clan's ancestral graves? Was one Lin Dong not enough? Now they have to produce a Lin Fan too? Are they going to leave the rest of us any room to live?"
Archaic erupted like a boiling cauldron. Experts and cultivators from the various orthodoxies discussed it heatedly, their gazes toward the Lin Clan filled with envy, jealousy, and resentment. If the Lin Clan had not been a supreme imperial clan, they would have loved to snatch Lin Fan away and make him their son.
But the supreme imperial Lin Clan's reputation was far too terrifying. They could neither snatch him away nor defeat the clan, so they could only seethe with envy, jealousy, and resentment.
"The Lin Clan truly deserves its reputation as the foremost imperial clan of ancient times!"
"They actually resolved the Immortal-Exterminating Curse for Lin Fan, allowing him to rebuild after destruction and even awaken the Chaos Gods and Devils Body!"
"First came the Dragon Clan's Eternal Dragon Emperor Physique and the Wang Clan's Defiant Devil God Physique, and now the Lin Clan's Chaos Gods and Devils Body. Heavenly prodigies and monstrous geniuses are emerging one after another in our Three Thousand Provinces of the Desolate Ancient Land. Could a golden age truly be upon us?"
"There were unusual movements in the Immortal Ancient Ruins a few days ago. The imperial path and immortal path are about to open. The golden age has already arrived!"
"It looks like the Wang Clan's Wang Teng and the Dragon Clan's Long Aotian have rivals now!"
Some Quasi-Emperors and Great Emperors cast meaningful looks toward the Wang Clan experts nearby. Wang Kun's expression was as ugly as if he had eaten shit as he stared at Lin Fan in disbelief.
Pill patterns could condense upon a golden core. The more pill patterns condensed, the greater a person's talent and aptitude.
But suddenly, a sneer appeared on Quasi-Emperor Wang Kun's face. "Heh, what use is the Chaos Gods and Devils Body? Unfortunately, his golden core has only one pill pattern! How could his aptitude compare to our clan's Wang Teng, who has nine?"
Ordinary cultivators could generally condense no more than three pill patterns. Cultivators capable of condensing four or five were geniuses found only one in ten thousand.
Those with the aptitude of heavenly prodigies and holy sons had a chance of condensing six or seven.
Monstrous geniuses from imperial clans and the like could condense eight.
Those with nine were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns!
Nine was the ultimate number, and scarcely anyone could reach it.
Rumor had it that Wang Teng of the Wang Clan and Long Aotian of the Dragon Clan had inscribed nine pill patterns when they broke through to the Pill Condensation Realm.
Every genius who condensed nine pill patterns was a monstrous talent who reigned supreme for several eras, peerless throughout past and present. At the very least, they became Great Emperors. Some monstrous geniuses even became immortals and stepped into the upper realm!
Ten pill patterns were utterly unprecedented throughout Archaic's history.
As soon as Wang Kun uttered those words brimming with mockery and disdain,
they exploded like thunder beside everyone's ears, prompting the many experts present to turn their gazes toward Lin Fan.
They looked closely and saw that upon Lin Fan's glittering golden core, which radiated dazzling light, there was actually only one shallow pill pattern engraved all alone!
"What a pity!"
"Pill patterns represent talent. Even if he possesses the Chaos Gods and Devils Body, unrivaled through the ages, his talent is too poor to unleash its power. It's like a child wielding an imperial weapon."
Many experts sighed and looked at Lin Fan regretfully. "What a waste of the Chaos Gods and Devils Body. A forbidden divine physique that shook the ancient past and dazzled the present will decline in this boy's hands."
They had thought they were witnessing a genius's birth, never expecting to witness a genius's fall instead.
Hmph!
Just then, a cold snort rang out. At some unknown point, Lin Dong had appeared high in the sky, his imposing figure as lofty as the heavens. His imperial eyes swept across heaven and earth like an emperor's, his voice domineering and majestic.
Boom!
Terrifying imperial might enveloped heaven and earth, its fearsome ripples surging in all directions. The experts who had just spoken could not help letting out muffled groans. They looked toward Lin Dong in terror and spoke apprehensively.
"We acknowledge our mistake. Please forgive us, Great Emperor!"
"If anyone dares wag their tongue about my son again, do you believe I'll tear your mouths apart?" Lin Dong snorted coldly and withdrew his imperial pressure. Only then did everyone feel a weight lift from their shoulders, not forgetting to thank him.
Lin Dong looked at Lin Fan and said gently, "Fan'er, pay no attention to how others look at you. Focus on preparing for your tribulation!"
Warmth filled Lin Fan's heart, and he smiled. "Dad, it's fine. Aren't they just pill patterns...?"
What a joke. I have the system, the Chaos Gods and Devils Body, and Double Pupils. I even triggered a Monstrous Genius Tribulation. How could my talent possibly be poor?!
Not to mention that Lin Fan had taken a Nine-Turn Nirvana Pill and rebuilt his supreme foundation.
As he spoke, Lin Fan stepped forward...
Lin Dong had just been about to comfort Lin Fan, but as Lin Fan took a step, his pupils trembled. "Is that... a pill pattern?!"
Tap!
Shockingly, with every step Lin Fan took, his cultivation rose by one level.
His cultivation broke through from Core Formation Realm First Level to Core Formation Realm Second Layer.
Upon his glittering golden dantian, strands of dazzling golden divine light slowly emerged. Like lively sprites, they leaped and danced merrily around his golden core.
With a soft hum, a clearly visible pill pattern was branded onto the golden core as though carved by heaven's own craftsmanship.
This pill pattern exuded an ancient, mysterious presence. Like a winding golden dragon, it coiled around the golden core's surface, every line containing endless profundities and mysteries.
At this sight, Wang Kun and the other experts froze, their pupils widening and their expressions turning quite spectacular, as though Lin Fan had slapped them hard across the face.
Indeed, everyone had only just finished saying that Lin Fan's pill patterns were inadequate.
Yet Lin Fan had added a pill pattern to himself on the spot. Was such a move even possible?
Still, fortunately, it was only one pill pattern. It hardly amounted to anything. That was how everyone consoled themselves.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
The surroundings fell utterly silent. As Lin Fan's footsteps sounded again, Wang Kun and the others felt a sense of foreboding.
Sure enough, with every step Lin Fan took, a glittering golden dragon-shaped pill pattern appeared upon his golden core. His footsteps were light, yet they seemed to slap Wang Kun and the others hard across the face without a visible hand.
"The third step, the fourth pill pattern..."
"The sixth step, the seventh pill pattern!"
As they watched Lin Fan take each step, everyone's hearts thumped along with it.
Seeing Lin Fan take his sixth step, some could not help wondering whether he was going to condense nine pill patterns.
Nine pill patterns were not something ordinary people could condense. Over the last few eras, the only person publicly known to possess nine pill patterns was Wang Teng, who was said to have the makings of a Great Emperor.
Could Lin Fan's talent rival Wang Teng's?
As Lin Fan took his eighth step, his golden core became covered in densely packed, dragon-shaped pill patterns, dazzling beyond compare. A careful count revealed a full nine pill patterns upon it.
Seeing Lin Fan inscribe nine divine patterns, Lin Dong's earlier gloom vanished completely. He laughed heartily. "Good, good, good! As expected of my son!"
"Nine pill patterns? How is that possible!"
Wang Kun and the other experts felt somewhat dizzy, unwilling to believe the sight before them.
It was too fantastical. Generally speaking, however many pill patterns a cultivator inscribed when breaking through to the Pill Condensation Realm would be the final number they possessed.
However, every breakthrough within the Pill Condensation Realm offered a chance to inscribe pill patterns.
But it was exceedingly difficult, something only heavenly prodigies and monstrous geniuses could accomplish. Even inscribing one or two indicated an extraordinary, heaven-defying fortuitous encounter.
But someone like Lin Fan, who inscribed eight pill patterns in one go,
was simply unheard of!
Could there be ten pill patterns? This thought filled everyone's minds, and they could not help casting expectant gazes toward Lin Fan in the distance.