CHAPTER 704: 159. PREDICAMENT_2

Initially, refining the Ancient Divine Power meant converting the divine power into a state of absolute perfection, like a droplet.

This allowed the divine power to stabilize.

Further refining involved attempting to infuse the divine power into oneself, emulating the divine body of the Ancient Gods, allowing the power to merge with oneself.

Beyond that, there was the Divine Heart that could generate divine power on its own.

However, the divine power contained the will of the Ancient Gods, which resisted refinement.

Generally speaking, if a Human Clan cultivator could preliminarily refine divine power, it was already quite impressive; refining a divine body might consume centuries, and it was even more challenging for the Demon Clan in the past.

Only the Xiahong bloodline was so special that the will of the Ancient Gods did not resist much, making it suitable for refining divine power, thus allowing preliminary refinement of divine power at the Harmonization Stage.

As for the proving princes and princesses, it was said they could effortlessly refine a divine body.

Lin Yue, a Great Cultivator, could initially refine divine power thanks to the mysterious ultimate path and also because he borrowed essence refined by the Eternal Night Twelve Holy Grade to succeed.

But... hoping to refine a divine body?

There was no hope at all.

"Indeed."

The Second Prince nodded slightly, saying, "But lately, Sixth Brother and Thirteenth Brother, among others, have found that refining divine power has suddenly become much easier, and some have even refined parts of a divine body."

"Refining part of a divine body in the Harmonization Stage?" Lin Yue was astonished. "How did that happen?"

"Not sure." The Second Prince shook his head, saying, "The Crown Prince and I investigated, but found nothing wrong, and indeed, they have refined a small portion of the divine body."

"Is it the same for other princes and princesses?" Lin Yue asked in confusion.

"I’m still asking around."

The Second Prince said, "Though it seems to be a good thing, there’s something about it that doesn’t feel quite right to me."

Lin Yue pondered, "The difficulty in refining divine power largely depends on whether the will of the Ancient Gods in the power resists. If their strength hasn’t changed, then it should be because the resistance of the Ancient Divine Will has weakened."

"That’s the logic."

The Second Prince nodded slightly, and said, "But how could the will of the Ancient Gods in the divine power suddenly weaken?"

Lin Yue paused for a moment, then asked, "Second Brother, do you think it might be related to the Demon Clan?"

"Yes." The Second Prince replied, "But I can’t fathom the reason why the Demon Clan would do this, surely it can’t be to help our Great Yong? So I’m not certain it’s the work of the Demon Clan either."

Lin Yue thought for a while, and said, "Before Xiahou Shou surrendered to the Demon Clan, there were so many Demon Ancestors and Demon Gods, yet still, they couldn’t conquer the Human Clan, wasn’t it because the difficulty of refining divine power was too great and the resistance of the Ancient Divine Will too strong?"

"It was."

The Second Prince nodded, saying, "But after Xiahou Shou betrayed the Human Clan and joined the Demon Clan, he seemed to have acquired some benefits from that old age, which made the difficulty of refining divine power suddenly very low for the Demon Clan, and the strength of the Demon Ancestors and Demon Gods surged, which almost led to the collapse of the Human Clan."

Lin Yue was enlightened.

Perhaps, for this reason, the Divine Emperor balanced the situation by creating the Xiahong Imperial Family, resulting in princes and princesses who could refine divine power more effortlessly.

And the current situation seemed somewhat similar to the Demon Clan?

"If you think about it this way, the sudden ease of refining divine power might really be related to the Demon Clan."

Lin Yue frowned slightly, saying, "But what benefit does this bring the Demon Clan? If it really is the work of the Demon Clan, wouldn’t this be indirectly aiding the Great Yong Human Clan?"

"I can’t figure this part out either," the Second Prince said. "It has to either be some sort of hidden danger or it wasn’t caused by the Demon Clan."

He looked at Lin Yue, advising, "Until it’s clear, you better not attempt deeper refinement."

Lin Yue nodded slightly.

He didn’t particularly care.

If he could indeed refine a divine body, his strength would surely soar.

But what mattered more to him was the ultimate path, as achieving harmonization would undoubtedly be far stronger than refining a divine body.

"I need to check on the other princes and princesses’ situations. You just need to be mindful."

The Second Prince said no more and immediately departed.

Lin Yue raised an eyebrow, didn’t think much of it, then took the Hanling Jade Marrow and returned to the meditation chamber to prepare for Spirit and Body Unity.

...

Deep within a grand and imposing prince mansion in Di Hong City,

"It’s done."

In a low chuckle, a nightmarish, indistinct figure suddenly appeared beneath an ancient and simple square tower.

"The old will has completely noticed the fate of the Human Clan."

The nightmarish figure said softly, "From now on, those beings of the Human Clan who have not yet transcended the world, when refining divine power, will be protected by the old will, causing the will of the Gods to retreat."

The square tower remained silent for a moment, then a deep voice came forth, "The Crown Prince and the Second Prince cannot sense it?"

"Great sound is silent, great form is formless."

The nightmarish figure chuckled softly, "The firstborn of the primordial is supreme, how could the Crown Prince and Second Prince detect it?"

"But given the vigilance of the Crown Prince and Second Prince, they will surely suspect it’s a Demon Clan plot," the voice from the square tower said.

"No problem."

The nightmarish figure said, "Moreover, this isn’t a conspiracy, it’s an open stratagem. Many of those beings have no confidence in surviving the tribulation, and Divine Artifacts and other external forces are of no help at all; however, refining a divine body offers substantial assistance in transgressing, even if only partially refined. They cannot resist such a temptation."

"Does the Heavenly Venerate know of this?"

A voice from within the square tower asked.

"Naturally, he cannot know, otherwise he could only speak the truth."

The nightmarish figure said, "As long as he’s given an opportunity, he’ll naturally cooperate."

...

Prince Xia Mansion, within the meditation chamber.

Lin Yue sat cross-legged, eyes closed in silence, his skin revealing a peculiar spiritual glow, pervading from the inside out, slowly penetrating.

Suddenly, the aura on his surface trembled slightly several times, then quietly underwent an indescribable strange change.

The next moment—

Lin Yue’s entire being transformed into a mass of hazy mist, dispersing, then once more coalesced and solidified into a human form.

After a while, he slowly opened his eyes.

"Finally got it."

Lin Yue lifted a hand, observing his new state, "Is this the Spiritual Body?"

Now, he could be considered truly Undying.

As long as his Primordial Spirit remained intact and his Primordial Power didn’t deplete, he could regenerate anytime in his form as a Spiritual Body, and he was immortal.

However, while physically immortal, the Primordial Spirit also had limitations.

Although his Dao Heart was perfect, he had yet to establish his Inner Heaven and Earth, so his Primordial Spirit could only endure for several thousand years.

A Great Cultivator could at most live four or five hundred years, which was the physical limit.

Meanwhile, a Saint level expert, theoretically, could live nearly ten thousand years, which was the limit of the Primordial Spirit.

Hence, many Great Cultivators who had no hope of becoming Saints would choose to venture for the accomplishment of a Spiritual Body, and once successful, even with an insufficient Dao Heart, their limits could be extended by a few hundred years.

"Let’s try the Inner Heaven and Earth Cultivation Method."

Lin Yue didn’t care much, as the distinction between a few hundred years and a few thousand years meant little to him; what mattered was harmonization.

Now that the Spiritual Body was achieved, he could attempt the Inner Heaven and Earth Cultivation Method to see if the method he originated could support the expansion of the Inner Heaven and Earth of the ultimate path.

Just as the Dao Heart bearing the Inner Heaven and Earth also sensed, the Spiritual Body also had vague perceptions.

"Let’s try the first method."

Lin Yue closed his eyes, beginning to operate the first of the Inner Heaven and Earth Cultivation Methods he conceived over the past half year.

In the next moment, his body’s aura began to accumulate and brew as if ready to unleash terrifying power at any moment, the sheer pressure enough to make one’s heart tremble.

Very soon—

"Hm?"

Lin Yue abruptly opened his eyes, halting the operation of the Inner Heaven and Earth Cultivation Method, slightly frowning.

"Almost no hope..." Lin Yue couldn’t help but murmur softly.

His Spiritual Body could perceive at this time that even if the Inner Heaven and Earth Cultivation Method were operated fully, there was little hope for his Spiritual Body to support the Inner Heaven and Earth expansion of the ultimate path.

Once harmonized, the Divine Soul, which had merged with the Physical Body to form the Spiritual Body, would quickly collapse.

"Although I expected it to be tough..."

Lin Yue took a deep breath slowly, closed his eyes again, and continued to attempt the next Inner Heaven and Earth Cultivation Method.

Time and time again he tried.

However, after Lin Yue attempted all five of the Inner Heaven and Earth Cultivation Methods he created over the past half year, none of them held any promise for supporting the Inner Heaven and Earth’s ultimate path.

The best method was still almost certain to fail, merely the Divine Soul would collapse more slowly.

"As expected, these five Inner Heaven and Earth Cultivation Methods are useless."

Lin Yue couldn’t help but sigh, "If only there was some reference..."

In the times of the Ancient Times, harmonization success was scarce, and he had to deduce from nothing without any reference. The difficulty could be imagined.

"What should I do..."