CHAPTER 879: CHAPTER 602: THE HARDSHIP OF BECOMING A SAINT

Infinite Dao.

Lu Chenzhou had achieved unity of heaven and man many times, yet he had never glimpsed the form of the Infinite Dao. First, it was only a hypothesis—the Infinite might not even exist; second, perhaps his attainments were too shallow—even if he saw it, he would not recognize it.

It is better to first master the Three Great Extreme Daos.

"You are the third to obtain my complete inheritance, and can be counted as my third disciple. In this current era, I have only three disciples: my eldest Beidou God Monarch, second disciple Cangtian Dragon King, and now you. To be fair, your talents far surpass what I possessed in my youth. In this era, each of you has the potential to become a god?"

The Three Feet Dragon Emperor’s tone carried a trace of melancholy.

But Lu Chenzhou asked:

"Is becoming a god the only path? As I understand, Emperor Zhan once put forward the Spiritual True Saint Theory, and Dragon Emperor spoke of the Body Sanctification Theory. If both spiritual and physical are brought to the saint realm, is it possible to step into the Tenth Realm?"

After witnessing the mythical scroll that the Will of Xia Realm presented to him, Lu Chenzhou was no longer obsessed with divinity. The Dao Palace brought eternal life, but also shackles. Indeed, there was no such thing as true undying—when the power of the stars from beyond the universe invaded, the divine truly perished. On the contrary, some great powers, through secret techniques, have survived to this day. As the saying goes, "The monk may escape, but the temple remains"—once the Dao Palace had its nest usurped by Evil Gods, the divine could only be interred with it.

"Becoming a saint?" The Three Feet Dragon Emperor shook his head. "To become a saint is even more illusory than godhood. Take the Spiritual True Saint: it requires one to subdue the three great demons of greed, anger, and ignorance in the Great Wilderness using spiritual power. But the three demons themselves are undying, stronger even than many Evil Gods. Only when we reach the Tenth Realm can we contend with them, but if we do not subdue the three demons, we cannot reach the Tenth. It is a false proposition."

"..."

Lu Chenzhou fell into contemplation as well.

As the progenitor of billions of heavenly demons, since ancient times, neither Divine Court, cultivators, nor the stars have ever conquered the three demons. To ask a great power to subdue them with spiritual strength sounded even more fantastical.

No wonder it was only a theory.

"What about body sanctification?"

"Do you know what comes after undying, indestructible, and immortal? How does one reach the legendary saint realm?"

The Three Feet Dragon Emperor retorted.

Lu Chenzhou shook his head.

The Dragon Emperor chuckled, "I do not know either. The path to body sanctification is shrouded in fog. The Dragon Emperor hypothesized a sanctification method: bringing together eighty-one kinds of true spirit bloodlines, merging them to create an unprecedented mythical bloodline—using the path of blood and body to ascend as a mythical being, hence standing equal to the divine. Before he fell, Dragon Emperor glimpsed some ancient secrets. He said that so-called gods were, in essence, ancient true spirits mastering dao rules—in the era before the Dao Palace, there was no concept of god at all.

The Dragon Emperor wished for quantitative change to ignite qualitative change: by fusing myriad bloodlines, to create a bloodline on par with the divine. If he succeeded, the physical body would be undying, indestructible, immortal and unscattered. Even if the universe itself perished and all things withered, as long as the universe was reborn and life arose, the saint’s blood would manifest again within the bodies of living beings, evolving through the species and merging once again in the future.

The three demons of the wilderness are eternal in the hearts of countless living things; the Dragon Emperor wished to be eternal within the bloodlines—to become part of the genetic sequence of billions."

Lu Chenzhou pondered in his heart. It seemed Dragon Emperor had glimpsed a tip of the primordial myth, but this "eighty-one true spirits" sounded even more unreliable. There had never been so many types of true spirits throughout history. Subduing the three demons might be more feasible.

"It is well to be thoughtful. Be it godhood or sainthood, both are far too distant for you. Now, the divine court is destroyed, many dao palaces are unclaimed. By comparison, godhood is your best hope."

"Understood," Lu Chenzhou said respectfully.

No matter what the future holds, Lu Chenzhou was determined to pursue the cultivation of both body and spirit to the end. Even if he could not become a saint, achieving high and immortal status would still let him contend with ordinary divinities.

Leaving the Dragon Transformation Ancient Road, compared to when he entered, Lu Chenzhou’s strength had advanced greatly once more.

With the birth of the divine skill [Mystic Sky Shield], his qi-blood reached 2,900,000, only 100,000 away from the End Realm.

His Dao’s advancement let his spiritual power rocket to 3,110,000 prajna, reaching End Realm standards.

And it had only been fifteen years since he broke through to the Seventh Realm.

...

Primordial Mountain Cave Heaven.

"You obtained the Three Feet Dragon Emperor’s inheritance?"

Big Brother opened his eyes.

"Yes."

"The Three Feet Dragon Emperor is a miser, unlike Master who is so generous. He actually gave you the entire inheritance—seems you have thoroughly conquered him. Now that this is settled, you are leaving for Mystic Sky Realm?"

"Yes. Now the Three Great Extreme Daos have all reached Fifth Rank, and I have mastered seven divine skills. There are almost no weaknesses left. I am confident to defeat all enemies below Eighth Realm, and even challenge the Eighth itself."

Lu Chenzhou brimmed with confidence.

"Are you sure you can take on the Eighth Realm?"

Big Brother narrowed his eyes, smiling faintly.

"Big Brother wants to test me?"

"Let me put you through your paces, lest you get too proud and end up hunted by Eighth Realms in the Mystic Sky Realm."

"Hehe, then let’s give it a try."

"Watch closely. I will suppress my cultivation to Early Stage of Eighth Realm. If you can withstand one strike from me head-on, I’ll count it as your win."

Turtle Master, uncommonly serious now, did not assume his original form, but in human shape, clenched his right hand in the void, causing the entire cave heaven to quiver faintly.

"Come then!" As he willed it, ten thousand Mystic Sky Shields stacked and compressed, conjuring a star out of thin air in a radius of ten zhang around Lu Chenzhou.

With one punch, the condensed attack instantly engulfed Lu Chenzhou; in a flash, three thousand shields shattered, and in a single breath, ten thousand were destroyed. But immediately, tens of thousands more Mystic Sky Shields appeared out of nowhere.

Divine skill—double activation!

Within Lu Chenzhou, it was as if a boiling furnace raged. The [Mixed Cave Melting Furnace Technique] ceaselessly swallowed the universe’s energy, transforming it into True Gang.

Boom!

The aftershock tore apart the Mystic Sky Shields a second time.

The third wave followed closely, this time dissipating after shattering nine thousand more shields.

Lu Chenzhou wore a satisfied expression.

"How was it, Brother?"

"I forgot to use my weapon just now."

"...Then let’s go again."

A wolf-fang club materialized in Turtle Master’s palm. Smiling, he said, "This is my lifebound spiritual weapon [Long Ya]. The next strike is at your enemy’s true level. Give it your all."

He swung the wolf-fang club; a thick, condensed azure lightning pillar roared out like a giant dragon, smashing through Lu Chenzhou’s Mystic Sky Shield defenses six times in an instant.

The higher the divine skill’s quality, the greater the drain. Even with the Mixed Cave Furnace Technique, Lu Chenzhou could barely manage nine shields in a short time; the aftershock flung him away, smashing the void and sending him into the Void.

In the Ruins Sea, nine-colored skeletal remains were covered in cracks; his flesh had long since been blasted to powder.

"I never imagined, an earnest blow from Early Eighth would be this fierce. Even my treasure bones could be shattered. Press a little harder—the skull splits, the spiritual fire is snuffed, and even a Daluo Golden Immortal couldn’t save me."

Regaining his composure, Lu Chenzhou said, "Don’t always think about fighting across levels. During this journey to Mystic Sky, if you encounter an Eighth Realm, surviving comes first. In this Destruction Era, any who have reached Eighth Realm have maxed out their strength and wield many spiritual weapons."

...

Primordial Mountain Cave Heaven.

Turtle Master was stupefied. "Good kid, I dare to hit, but he dares to take it head-on, without even trying to dodge. Well, it’s good for him to learn a hard lesson."

In fact, an ordinary Early Eighth could not unleash a strike like Turtle Master just had. His intentions were kind—only to make Lu Chenzhou more cautious.

...

Half a year later.

In the Myriad Phenomena Dao, as his qi-blood also broke the three-million barrier, Lu Chenzhou’s cultivation entered the Late Stage of Seventh Realm.

Thus,

he had surpassed ninety percent of Seventh Realm cultivators: late Seventh was a major threshold. Hence the demon race classified late stage and peak demon venerables together as "Great Demon Venerable."

The rise in cultivation was most important for raising the divine power level of his divine skills: from [Nine Tribulation Lotus] to [Mystic Sky Shield], all of them advanced to high level, their might greatly enhanced.

"Now, I should be able to withstand Big Brother’s earnest strike without losing my body."

Lu Chenzhou thought inwardly.

...

Supreme Martial Realm.

"Military Leader, this is our research on [Blood Origin Body]. This secret art can refine Nascent Wood Blood Crystal—or rare treasures containing immense vitality—into an Outer Body Incarnation using the Blood Source Sacrificial Refining Technique. The incarnation has no independent will, and is controlled by a wisp of the original’s soul. Both memory and cultivation can be shared through their connection, and any progress by the main body can be reflected to the incarnation. It’s superior to most split body techniques in the Three Thousand Worlds. Its flaw is its high cost—and if the incarnation is destroyed, it can’t regenerate like a projection by expending energy."

Lu Chenzhou’s mind was enlightened.

"In essence, this is a living being—but one that shares my soul."

"Exactly. Does the Military Leader plan to send the incarnation to adventure in the Three Thousand Worlds, while the true self remains in Tianxia?"

"No. I want the true self to adventure, and leave the incarnation in Tianxia as a precaution."

Lu Chenzhou believed, sending the incarnation into life-and-death battle would not aid his rapid growth. That kind of comfort would only numb the original. The incarnation could only assist, never replace, the main body’s experience.

...

In the blink of an eye, three years passed. With Lu Chenzhou’s insight, he mastered [Blood Origin Body] in no time.

On this day,

his eyes opened, and his abdomen swelled abnormally, veins bulged, as if he were a pregnant woman ten months along.

In the starry sky within his Inner Heaven and Earth, a star a thousand miles wide, covered in blood-colored scales, shone with the brilliance of myriad fixed stars.

"Pregnant for three years—like the Demon Pill baby."

Lu Chenzhou recalled the myths of this world.

On this day, from the core of the star came a banging sound, as if a giant would break out of its shell.

The time had come.

Lu Chenzhou chanted the Blood Origin Body Spell, letting a drop of his origin essence blood fall upon the star’s surface. The star absorbed it and became semi-transparent, within it indistinctly visible a massive, corpulent white baby measuring thousands of zhang tall.

He clenched his fists; his face was wrinkled like an old man, sparse hair like vines, and his skin faintly layered with dense, fine scales.

"Doesn’t look human at all... This incarnation is essentially asexually reproduced from my bloodline genes. So, this means I’m not really human anymore."

Lu Chenzhou could only sigh.

And so,

ten days passed, after a torturous gestation, until one day, the giant egg in his abdomen began to move upward, swelling out his chest and throat, until his mouth split open, and he spat out the giant egg wrapped in mucus.