Jingxuan opens his eyes as a faint pattern glows on his forehead, and dark lines crawl across his body.

His muscles tense and expand with power—his body now carries the weight and density of stage two spiritual earth.

He has completed the twelfth stage of the Earth Demon Body Refining Technique, reaching the peak of stage two.

With his physical strength alone, he could now crush a Dark Sun Realm warlock into submission.

He exhales slowly, letting the power settle through his limbs, then closes his eyes again and turns his focus inward.

Inside his dantian, the Earth Attribute Weird Core spins, pulsing with a thick, murky energy.

Jingxuan channels the pressure of the other four elemental cores and his fortified body to refine it further.

The weird will within the core begins to awaken and resist, forming again, stronger than before.

Its attacks lash against him like insect bites—painful, irritating, but meaningless. He feels a dull ache and the rising urge to squash it completely.

Ignoring its futile struggle, he continues refining, compressing the weird energy with unrelenting precision while the will within flares and twists, too weak to matter.

Ten per cent… seventy-five… one hundred twenty-five… two hundred forty-five… three hundred thirty… four hundred per cent.

He stops.

At this level, he could already break through to the Dark Sun Realm Warlock.

Refining the weird energy to four hundred per cent is more than enough—but he feels something deeper, a pull to go further.

So he continues. Time loses meaning. The pressure builds, his spirit trembles, and the core hums like a beating heart about to burst.

When he finally stops, the refinement has reached *999.99 per cent*. The last fraction refuses to move—the core quivers on the edge of collapse.

He realises he can’t take that final step, not without destroying everything. The core is unstable, trembling between creation and ruin.

To break through the Dark Sun Realm, the core must shatter and form the Weird Energy Ocean. But it’s not just the weird energy that must transform—his physical body’s qi must also take part.

He gathers his body’s qi into a single seed and sends it into his spirit space. It sinks into the main weird core. The moment it touches, the core explodes.

The shockwave tears through his spirit space. The weird will, enraged, attacks—but against his strengthened spirit, its assault is meaningless.

The broken fragments dissolve, merging into a vast, swirling ocean of weird energy. From the link between his spirit and body, a powerful feedback rushes through him.

His cells twist, expand, and evolve. His body refines itself, rising beyond the limits of stage two—into the *half-step third stage*.

Jingxuan opens his eyes. He has stepped into the Dark Sun Realm Warlock.

He leaves the retreat room, the air around him bending faintly to his will.

Two weeks have passed—and so has his marriage date.

He doesn’t care much.

Reaching the Dark Sun Realm brings him a deeper stillness, enough to suppress even the lingering obsession he once held for Li Niyue.

Still, he asks the guards about the ceremony. Their answer is simple—the marriage was held in the capital without him. Li Niyue has already entered the Ji House as his wife.

Jingxuan says nothing. Without delay, he steps outside the fortress, ascends, and flies north.

The moment he leaves the thunderstorm mountains, a pressure settles over him.

The weird energy within his body trembles, suppressed by the divine domain’s unseen rules.

It feels heavy, suffocating—but not enough to stop him.

At the twelfth stage of the Earth Demon Body Refining Technique, he gained control over gravity itself. The divine domain can suppress weird energy, but not law.

He bends gravity around his body and continues to soar.

Below, villages, towns, and cities stretch endlessly across the divine domain.

Those who glance upward see only a figure bathed in faint, shifting light—and kneel, believing a divine being crosses their skies.

After several days of flight, the capital comes into view, its vast walls gleaming beneath the sun.

Jingxuan descends, landing on the road leading toward the city. He walks the rest of the way, silent and calm.

The moment he steps through the gates of the capital, the suppression deepens. His ocean of weird energy falls utterly still—immovable, sealed by the divine domain’s order.

He murmurs to himself, “I’ll leave once the marriage ceremony is done.”

His steps carry him through the bustling streets to the Ji House.

As he enters through the front gate, the news of his return spreads like fire.

Elders who once ignored him now hurry out, smiling with forced warmth, their eyes gleaming with flattery.

Jingxuan greets them with calm courtesy, embraces his sister briefly, and follows his father through the corridors.

They reach the office. Inside, two men wait in silence. His father pauses at the doorway, gives him a look he cannot read, and quietly leaves without entering.

Jingxuan steps forward, sits down opposite the two men. “What do you two want?” he asks evenly.

One of them—a thin man with calm, ancient eyes—smiles faintly. “Should I call you Jingxuan, or do you prefer another name?”

Jingxuan’s gaze sharpens for an instant.

He understands immediately—they know.

They have seen through his reincarnation.

It doesn’t surprise him.

The divine way of this world begins at death and cultivates the soul; those who reach high realms in it are attuned to reincarnated spirits.

“For now, I am Jingxuan,” he replies. “And what does it matter what name I use?”

The two nod slightly, exchanging a glance.

Then the founder of the Ji family, Ji Shiqi, leans forward. “There’s something we wish to confirm,” he says. “Do you have a way to break through to the God Stage?”

Jingxuan’s brow furrows. “Why ask me that?” he says after a pause. “Isn’t the first ancestor of the Li family a God Stage cultivator of the divine way? He should know better than I.”

The two men exchange a heavy glance. Then the second ancestor of the Li family, Li Tianji, answers quietly, “My brother broke through to the God Stage with the help of a divine core he discovered within the Divine Domain.”

Jingxuan’s eyes narrow slightly. “So, he didn’t create the Divine Domain. But you’ve now analysed its structure and begun forming your own divine cores.”

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Ji Shiqi nods. “When Li Tianxuan refined that foreign core, we merged our divine power with his to stabilise the Divine Domain. Humanity’s survival then was… fragile. Now, we cannot withdraw our power without collapsing it.”

Jingxuan leans back, thoughtful. “I see. So you’re bound to the domain you helped sustain.”

Ji Shiqi inclines his head. “Exactly. That is why we sought you. You’ve walked the path of another system, and your cultivation touches the laws beyond divinity. Perhaps you can find a way past this restraint.”

After a moment of silence, Jingxuan nods. “I’ll see what can be done.”

With that, the meeting ends. He leaves the office, his mind still lingering on their words.

When he enters his room, he notices the faint scent of flowers, the arrangement of the bed, and the drape of a silk scarf over the chair—a feminine touch. Li Niyue has been living here.

She isn’t inside. Jingxuan walks past the quiet chamber and opens the side door leading to the small training courtyard.

There she stands beneath the pale light, breathing deeply, aura rippling with faint gold threads—cultivating the technique he once gave her.

Her progress is clear; her energy steadier, sharper.

He watches for a while, silent, then turns back inside and sits cross-legged on the meditation mat.

Closing his eyes, he begins to browse the divine cultivation method passed down by Ji Shiqi, his thoughts sinking into the intricate weave of divine law and mortal will.

As he reads, a question surfaces in his mind—did cultivation come first, or the Divine Domain itself?

This world’s divine path cannot exist without soul protection.

The very first step requires the practitioner’s soul to rise from the physical vessel and sense the outer world.

In any normal realm, such an act would be suicidal; a weak mortal soul leaving its body would be shredded by the forces beyond.

Yet here, mortals survive it.

That alone proves to him that the first ancestor must have refined the Divine Domain’s core before ever walking this path.

But then—where did that core come from?

Its ability resembles the godhead of the Void Divine Way, while its function aligns with the Earth Divine Way, which forms a domain core through anchoring to the world.

Here, both seem fused into one.

A demigod in this world must seize a world node, bind to it, and from that anchor, open a spiritual space overlapping the physical world in the spiritual dimension.

Jingxuan touches his consciousness outward and senses the vast barrier of the Divine Domain.

With just a flicker of will, he knows he could pierce it and enter directly.

He now understands why Ji Shiqi and Li Tianji are trapped at the threshold of godhood.

Their auras are refined to the limit—true peak demigods—but they fused their divine essence into Li Tianxuan’s domain.

Unable to withdraw it, they can no longer form an independent godhead.

A faint sound breaks his thoughts.

Footsteps.

Jingxuan opens his eyes as the side door creaks open.

Li Niyue steps in, her robe still carrying traces of spiritual light from cultivation.

Spotting him seated on the mat, she freezes, hesitating at the doorway.

The air turns quiet, heavy with unspoken thoughts.

He speaks first, casually, as if commenting on the weather instead of marriage. “How is your cultivation going?”

A light smile touches her lips. “I advanced to the Ming Jin realm.”

He studies her. “Cultivate harder. The thousand-year turmoil is coming. You need at least some self-protection.”

She nods and steps inside, the room falling into silence again.

Then she remembers. “I have new information about the Soul Hall.”

He turns his eyes toward her, though his mind continues calculating how to open the God Stage path for Ji Shiqi and Li Tianji.

She continues, voice steady. “The power that ruled before the empire was the Heart Soul Palace. They were destroyed after the sixth thousand-year turmoil, but remnants survived. Their goal is to resurrect the master of the Heart Soul Palace, but internal conflict splits them. One became the Heavenly Heart Sect, the other the Soul Hall.”

His gaze deepens. “The Heavenly Heart Sect outside the eastern border.”

She nods. “Yes. According to a Heavenly Heart Sect elder, the Soul Hall plans a massive sacrifice to resurrect their lord.”

Jingxuan frowns. If the Heart Soul Palace master left traces of power, a sacrifice could revive him—but twisted, corrupted, his future severed.

“They do not want him resurrected?” he asks quietly.

“They do,” she says softly, “but they did not reveal their method.”

After a brief exchange, Jingxuan sinks back into silence, mind drawn once more to cultivation paths and divine barriers.

Night arrives. After dinner, they return to the room. She pauses in the centre, unsure, stiff as a statue.

He understands. “You take the bed. I will meditate through the night.”

He moves to the mat.

She hesitates. “Will that be alright?”

“It is fine,” he answers, eyes half-closing. “I cannot sleep inside the divine domain anyway.”

Silence settles as he shuts his eyes and dives inward.

He examines his path. Four elemental cores, united under immortality—his obsession and foundation.

Initial Dark Sun realm now; the remaining cores must be broken and merged to reach peak Dark Sun. The foundation is ready—no obstacle in the elements. But he refuses a simple path.

His body must step into the third stage the moment he reaches Great Warlock.

Earth Demon Body Refining carried him to the peak stage two. So he will create the remaining three: Water, Wind, and Fire Demon Body Refining—forge them, practice them, merge them, and carry his body forward alongside his soul.

Through the night, he deduces. By dawn, a rough blueprint exists in his mind.

But he stops—today he must complete the mortal rituals of marriage.

The day passes beneath ceremonial obligations. Night falls again, and celebration dies out in lantern smoke and exhausted laughter.

He enters his room.

Li Niyue sits on the bed, frozen, wedding dress pristine and unmoving, spine straight as a spear. Nervous energy rolls off her like waves, fragile and loud in the quiet chamber.

He stands in the doorway, calm as still water, watching her as the night holds its breath.

He steps forward and closes the door. “Let us complete the final ceremony, then rest.”

She grips the bed frame so tightly her knuckles turn pale.

He stops before her, lifts the veil. She keeps her gaze lowered. His fingers gently tilt her chin up. Nervousness trembles in her eyes.

He smiles and steps back. “Do not worry. We will not do anything until you're ready.”

He picks up a plate from the table and offers it. “You must be hungry.”

She looks up briefly, then accepts. Jingxuan bites into fried chicken, chews, then says, “Tomorrow we leave for Ding Town.”

“When?” she asks softly.

“Prepare your luggage. We depart by noon.”

She nods and begins eating. Bit by bit, tension loosens from her posture.

He returns to the mat, sinking once more into deduction and cultivation planning.

---

Far away, in the blood lake, crimson ripples shimmer.

Lin Yu and Amelie finish another round of dual cultivation, their forms rising from living blood as power hums around them.

After the Demigod-level Weird sealed the mountain, Amelie insisted on dual cultivation to prepare for the coming battle.

Lin Yu agreed—pleasure and cultivation both advanced, and their shared comprehension of Death Law deepened in tandem.

Amelie slips from the lake without a word, sitting cross-legged on the bank.

The strange blood-light wraps around her, flooding into her meridians.

Her extraordinary heart emerges, pulsing with Tier Eight aura—and still climbing.

Lin Yu watches, blood mist shifting like sentient breath as her breakthrough nears its turning point.

The Tier Eight extraordinary heart of the Soul Controller path emerges, floating outside her chest. Weird energy surges toward it in torrents.

Its rhythm accelerates—faster, faster—then suddenly stops.

Vitality pours out of Amelie’s body like pale mist, flowing into the heart. Ethereal runes surface around her, etching themselves into the core before sinking inside.

The true ordeal begins.

Her comprehension of the Law of Soul and Law of Death is deep enough—barely—that the extraordinary heart can complete its transformation before her fading life force runs out.

Lin Yu does not interfere; this path belongs to her alone. He stands silent on the blood-soaked shore, watching time stretch into razor-thin tension.

At last, the silver heart shifts—darkens—becomes black and silver marbled with a single streak of gold.

Divinity forms.

The heart sinks back into her chest. Her flesh transforms—refines—hardens into perfect symmetry and eerie beauty. The blood lake calms around her.

Weird energy recedes.

Her eyes open, a sharp light flashing through them.

Lin Yu meets her gaze. “You have two paths now.”

She listens, silent but focused—he knows that silence well after a year together in this sealed domain.

“Continue the Soul Controller path,” he says, “or form two more Tier Nine extraordinary hearts, fuse all three—and then step into Demigod.”

The blood lake falls silent, as though the world pauses to hear her decision.

Amelie steps into the scarlet water, ripples trailing behind her. “What advice do you have?” she asks, closing the distance and lightly tracing her fingers across his chest.

Lin Yu glances at her, amused—half expecting flattery, half expecting temptation.

“There is no superiority between the two,” he says. “But multiple extraordinary paths grant overwhelming combat power. Your weakness is your body. If it cannot reach the Demigod level, the divine tribulation will erase you.”

She nods slowly, voice firm despite the tremor in her aura. “Then which two paths should I cultivate to increase my chance of becoming a God?”

Her ambition doesn’t surprise him. To reach a high rank and not crave godhood would be the true waste.

Lin Yu considers, then speaks. “One heart can follow my Necromancer path. For the other…” He gestures across the lake. “This blood pool comes from a God-Stage Cursed Dragon. Understand the Way of Curses from it, and forge a cursed extraordinary path.”

Agreement flashes in her eyes. Her hand brushes lower—this time, unmistakable intent.

He understands.

The blood mist churns.

Their bodies entwine once more, double cultivating amidst the crimson glow.

Through her newly ascended divinity, her comprehension of Death Law pours into him, pushing his Necromancer path from late Tier Seven to the peak—then breaking him into Tier Eight.

When their breathing finally settles, Lin Yu sits still, mind shifting away from passion and into thought.

His consciousness traces the thread connecting him to Jingxuan, brushing against that fragile spark—the newborn concept of immortality.

It is delicate, still dust-like. A single storm of fate could scatter it. Yet its essence…

It mirrors the Nether concept he once sought.

That realisation unsettles him more than he expected.

The Nether path already has predecessors.

It is proven, structured—walked by those who reached the Fifth Stage and seized a form of undying existence.

If he chooses it, his road is straight. Stable. One step after another, guided by ancient footprints.

But the immortal concept his clone awakened…

No guidance, no road, only the starting point and endless unknowns. He would have to carve every step himself. And if he faltered, that spark would vanish, and so would the future it promised.

A tested highway versus a wilderness full of pitfalls.

Safety versus creation.

He exhales softly, closing his eyes again, blood lake mist brushing his skin as his body continues absorbing power and tempering bone and flesh.

One path is smooth.

The other is jagged.

But both demand a choice.

Lin Yu sinks deeper into refinement, quiet as stone, while in the depths of his thoughts, the future stretches in two very different directions—one carved by history, one waiting for him to carve it.