Chapter 598: Chapter 573: The Fusion of Eight Laws
Lu Yan did not purposely suppress it, allowing the mysteries of creation to penetrate his body, savoring the experience carefully.
Lu Yan had not guessed wrong; this act of creation indeed could not allow him to directly reach the Creator Realm.
When the blessings of heaven and earth concluded, he found himself at the Pinnacle of the Great Tao.
But in his heart, he had already gained a profound understanding of the mysteries of creation, saving him an unknown amount of time.
With time to accumulate knowledge, stepping into the Creator Realm in the future was an absolute certainty.
"Tao Seventh Layer Peak, the fruit of reincarnation, is indeed profound."
Lu Yan clenched his fists tightly, feeling the vast and surging power within his body.
"The newly created knife technique, also merged with the Heavenly Punishment Blade, shall be named Sky Cleaver."
Lu Yan murmured.
"With my current strength, along with the more powerful Sky Cleaver, am I not yet capable of battling a peer from the Yuan Tiandao?"
Lu Yan weighed in his heart.
He was now full of confidence, but recalling Lu Ming’s words, he did not dare to be careless.
Lu Ming, a powerful being capable of facing three opponents alone, possessed a vision far beyond what Lu Yan could compare with.
He said that for Lu Yan to defeat Yuan Tiandao, he must fuse nine principles together; it was unlikely he made such a statement irresponsibly.
"Is the All-Origin Body truly that powerful? Regrettably, fusing the eighth principle remains exceedingly difficult."
Lu Yan furrowed his brows.
The benefits brought by the fruit of reincarnation were immense; it not only helped Lu Yan create the ’Sky Cleaver.’
In fact, the insights from reincarnating a hundred times had not been fully digested by Lu Yan; as he continued his cultivation and contemplation, those insights would gradually transform into his own strength.
However, that eighth principle continued to defy integration with the previous seven.
"Even the fruit of reincarnation doesn’t suffice, the difficulty is indeed immense; no wonder the Ancestral Emperor of Origin Magic ultimately did not succeed."
Lu Yan thought to himself.
If a single fruit of reincarnation sufficed, the Ancestral Emperor of Origin Magic of the past would not have stopped at seven principles.
"Let’s see if I can elevate the Saint Soldier’s Formula to the seventeenth layer."
Lu Yan took out the Ancestral Immortal Blood to refine the Dao Book, but after refining over a dozen drops, the Saint Soldier’s Formula still failed to break through.
"It seems, the seventeenth layer of the Saint Soldier’s Formula is truly extraordinary; to break through, it seems my Cultivation Level needs to truly step into the Creator Realm."
Lu Yan, left with no choice, could only temporarily give up on enhancing the Saint Soldier’s Formula.
"There are still five hundred and ninety years before the showdown with the Origin Continent, which is a lot of time; I should take this opportunity to travel the boundless starry sky, and also, Earth..."
Lu Yan gazed into the distant starry sky.
He felt a tinge of homesickness for Earth.
Given the chance, he wanted to return for a visit.
Although so many years have passed, those relatives and friends he had on Earth were likely to have long since turned to dust.
Yet, that did not stop his persistent yearning to return.
With a single step, Lu Yan vanished from where he stood.
In the times that followed, Lu Yan began to travel through the vast starry sky.
Every inhabited planet he reached, he would stay for a while, to live amongst them for a time, to understand the path of cultivation unique to that planet, extracting its essence for his own use.
Time flew by quickly, and a hundred years passed in a flash.
In a hundred years, the enlightenment from a hundred lifetimes of reincarnation gradually became his own, and various inspirations and ideas settled and solidified in his heart, laying a solid foundation for him to create even stronger techniques in the future.
But the eighth principle remained unassimilated.
One day, Lu Yan found himself on a vast planet.
His Spiritual Sense covered the entire planet.
The remaining cultivators on this planet had become exceedingly rare.
Moreover, the Cultivation Levels of these cultivators were generally low, the strongest being merely at the Primordial Spirit stage.
This was because this planet had also entered The End of the Dharma Era; Cultivation Levels were regressing for those who did not leave.
This planet was at the boundary between retreat and non-retreat of cultivation.
In the Starry Sky Map, it was on the edge where grey and normal colors met; in a few years, it would likely be completely devoured by the grey.
Moving forward would mean entering a realm where cultivation was utterly impossible.
"It is said that in the territories where the Dharma Era has ended, one cannot cultivate, and moreover, the cultivation level would regress; I wonder what it feels like."
Lu Yan looked into the distance, pondering for a while; then, with a step, his figure vanished from where it stood.
The moment he reappeared, he had traversed countless miles and landed on a desolate planet.
This place was already within the region of the End of the Dharma Era.
Lu Yan’s Spiritual Sense spread out, only to feel an emptiness.
In the void, between heaven and earth, he could not detect even the slightest fluctuation of the laws or draw the faintest power from the Magic River.
Nor could he absorb energy from the cosmos.
Furthermore, his body felt like a deflating balloon, constantly ’leaking’ outward.
This ’leak’ was the power of the Great Tao, the energy in the muscles, bones, blood—and even the strength of the soul, the power of the laws...
Although not particularly rapid, over time, the transcendent power within him would inevitably vanish completely, turning him into a mortal.
Instinctively sensing danger, the nine principles automatically spread out, enveloping his entire being.
Of these, seven principles were integrated, and the other two attached to the surface of the blended seven, resisting the loss of his transcendent power.
With the nine principles protecting him, the rate at which Lu Yan’s power seeped out indeed slowed considerably.
But it was merely a slowdown, not a cessation.
"This is..."
Lu Yan perked up, deep in thought.
In the region where the Dharma Era had ended, as power ebbed away and the principles acted instinctively to protect him, the eighth and ninth principles showed a tendency to group with the other seven.
"Perhaps, The End of the Dharma Era could become my land of trials and tribulations. By placing myself in a situation of life and death, I will create a crisis and turn it into an opportunity, using the pressure of the end times to fuse eight, or even nine principles together."
Thinking of this, a fiery passion ignited within Lu Yan’s heart.
That’s what I’ll do.
Lu Yan immediately set out, heading deep into The End of the Dharma Era.
A day later, Lu Yan had ventured deep into the area. He sat cross-legged on a meteorite, his body enveloped by nine principles for protection, warding off the corrosive influence of the end times.
He seemed to transform into a piece of dead wood, motionless, merging with the earth as one.
Time passed, second by second, minute by minute.
The aura emanating from his body gradually weakened.
His skin lost its luster, becoming dry and withered as his muscles slowly atrophied.
The range covered by the nine principles also steadily contracted, from the surface of his body to within his muscles and, ultimately, into his Primordial Spirit...
Year after year.
In the blink of an eye, more than four hundred years had passed.
Lu Yan seemed to have completely turned into a mortal, a dried-up corpse, a piece of dead wood...
One day, after being motionless for more than four hundred years, Lu Yan slowly opened his eyes, shakily rising to his feet as if lacking the strength to even stand.
With difficulty, he took out a token from his Sumi Mustard Seed Bag.
It was the Starry Sky Transposition Token.
A wisp of soul energy flowed into the Starry Sky Transposition Token. Suddenly, it emanated a strong force that enveloped Lu Yan’s entire body.
The next moment, Lu Yan vanished from his original location.
When he reappeared, he was already above a planet in a distant starry sky.
This region had not yet been affected by the cultivation regression and remained suitable for cultivation.
As soon as Lu Yan appeared, the energy between heaven and earth madly converged toward him.
Powerful energies also poured down from the nine Magic Rivers, infusing into Lu Yan’s body.
Lu Yan’s Primordial Spirit once again radiated brilliance.
His muscles and bones became full and robust once more.
His skin emitted a sonorous sound, radiating five-colored brilliance.
His aura continually climbed higher.
After more than ten days, Lu Yan had returned to his peak, his Cultivation Level solidified at the Tao Seventh Layer Peak.
His body was enveloped with a dense, multi-colored twilight.
The Five Elements True Body had reached the peak of the Three Elements Transformation, and with the True Body alone, he was comparable to the Pinnacle of the Great Tao.
Next, streams of principles began to diffuse out, enveloping him completely.
Seven of the principles fused together, while two remained distinct.
"Eight principles, fuse for me."
Lu Yan shouted lowly, and with his cry, the eighth principle, the Ice Principle, suddenly charged toward the first seven principles.
Boom!
It was as if thunder exploded in the sky, the starry space trembled, and within the void, numerous Magic Rivers appeared along with it.
The Ice Principle tangled with the seven others, constantly squirming and evolving.
The pattern of Yin and Yang along with the Five Elements was shattered, transforming ceaselessly until a new balance was formed.
The eight principles supported each other, forming the pattern of an Eight Diagrams Map.
At this moment, Lu Yan’s Great Tao power was also undergoing a drastic transformation, contracting and swelling repeatedly, becoming exceptionally tenacious, and faintly, eight colors of light could be discerned.
Success.
The eighth principle had finally fused with the previous seven.
With a mere thought, the eight fused principles, accompanied by the robust Great Tao power, surged towards his arm.
Lu Yan punched out, and the space before him exploded abruptly, creating a colossal black hole, reminiscent of a star going supernova.
The black hole left nothing behind; all matter was reduced to the tiniest of particles.
If a Tao Realm’s Initial Body stood before this punch, it would be killed by a single blow.
"The fusion of eight principles, compared to seven, is not just a small difference but a qualitative change. The power and defense have increased at least by twofold," Lu Yan said, his face revealing a surprised joy.
An increase by twofold was astonishing.
Great Tao power is based on principles, which means the power of the Great Tao also had doubled.
And all kinds of Immortality Skills, Great Tao Skills, or techniques Lu Yan created himself, which were triggered by Great Tao power and principles, naturally, their power would skyrocket.
"With my current strength, can I battle a strong practitioner who has stepped into the first phase of the Creator Realm or am I still inferior to Yuan Tiandao?" Lu Yan pondered.
When it came to the Creator Realm, Lu Yan already had some confidence.
But regarding Yuan Tiandao, Lu Yan still had no certainty.
After all, Lu Ming’s words still echoed in his ears.
"If eight won’t do, then let it be nine."
Determination shone in Lu Yan’s eyes.
The nine principles once again howled out.
The next moment, the ninth principle, the Mist Principle, suddenly charged towards the previous eight attempting to intertwine and merge with them.
But Lu Yan felt an overwhelmingly strong resistance, so powerful that even his soul ached from the exertion.
"Merge for me."
Lu Yan roared, his eyes blood-red, shifting from determined to crazed.
