Translator: CinderTL
How could anything in this world be perfect? The fact that over a hundred Dharma Aspect Realm cultivators have patiently waited for me for over eight months is already remarkable, Li Chunjun thought to himself.
He knew that such a state of sudden enlightenment was exceedingly rare, achievable only through the leaves of the Enlightenment Divine Tree.
And the leaves of the Enlightenment Divine Tree...
Hmm? A single leaf costs only a few million Spirit Crystals? With each leaf lasting about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, using them continuously... would cost just one hundred million Spirit Crystals per day?
One hundred million per day.
That meant only thirty-six and a half billion per year.
When calculated this way, it didn't seem like much.
However, sudden enlightenment had always been about accumulating vast knowledge and experience before achieving a breakthrough.
Moreover, the Enlightenment Divine Tree leaves merely guided cultivators into a state conducive to sudden enlightenment; they didn't guarantee it.
Just as calming incense could help one sleep well, it didn't mean that burning massive amounts of it would induce a year-long slumber.
Clearly, the more of these resources one used, the diminishing their effectiveness became.
Relying on three or four hundred billion Spirit Crystals to maintain a year-long state of sudden enlightenment through Enlightenment Divine Tree leaves was utterly unrealistic.
Fortunately, I haven't developed any resistance to the Enlightenment Divine Tree leaves. I can prepare a ten-day supply to fully comprehend the issue of converting my Sovereign Dharma Manifestation into a Law-based Lifeform, Li Chunjun mused, feeling reassured.
Ten days would cost only a few billion Spirit Crystals.
Pocket change.
Now relaxed, he scanned the Human Emperor Banner with his Heart-Mind.
[Life Level: 41 (846,211/1,000,000)]
The various Dharma Manifestations had provided over 840,000 experience points, leaving him less than 160,000 short of leveling up again.
Closing this gap would be no difficult task.
"I need to quickly convert the spoils from the dark horned prison into Void-Destruction Dao Pills to accumulate Qi in preparation for becoming a Law-Manifesting Lifeform," Li Chunjun thought to himself.
With his now truly Innate Dao Body and his ninth-tier Mind Realm, he could rapidly replenish his Qi using Dao Pills.
And the Dao Pills...
Li Chunjun swept his mental power across the battlefield, meticulously collecting the remaining Dharma Manifestation materials.
Though many Dharma Manifestations had chosen to burn their Qi and self-destruct rather than surrender, Li Chunjun's overwhelming advantage meant not all had the opportunity to do so.
In the end, the total value of the Dharma Manifestation materials he had dismantled and salvaged exceeded five hundred billion.
Adding Long Xingyu's Top-Tier Dao Artifact, the three blood eagles' Top-Tier and Superior Dao Artifacts, and the damaged Dao Artifact materials that could be salvaged as spoils of war...
The total yield exceeded 3.6 trillion!
Of course, the majority of this sum came from the two Top-Tier Dao Artifacts, especially Long Xingyu's.
Li Chunjun extended his void hand.
A pearl, invisible to the naked eye, materialized in his palm.
"Void Escape Pearl."
A Void-type Top-Tier Dao Artifact.
Perfect for his use.
Although with his current strength and the void origin crystal he possessed, the enhancement from this Top-Tier Dao Artifact was minimal, barely reaching ten percent.
But...
Even ten percent could mean an increase of tens of thousands of combat power.
"My Life Level advanced from 40 to 41, yet my base Qi hasn't increased much. Instead... it seems to have entered a stable phase?"
Li Chunjun sensed the changes within himself. "Apart from the Innate Dao Body, the most significant change from reaching Life Level 41 is the greatly reduced difficulty in reaching my Qi and Law limits..."
After a moment, he seemed to realize something.
No!
It wasn't just lowering the difficulty of reaching the limits of Qi and Dao!
At the Dao Unification level, this reduction was making it easier for Dao Venerables to cultivate a second Great Dao.
Dao Unification... I haven't even ascended to that realm yet, Li Chunjun thought silently.
He glanced at the nearly three trillion Spirit Crystals remaining after discarding the Void Escape Pearl.
With nearly three trillion Spirit Crystals worth of Void Dao Pills and Destruction Dao Pills, he could accumulate enough Qi and Dao comprehension to reach a primordial cycle within decades—not the hundred thousand years it would normally take!
If he only aimed for Millennial Magic Power, he could achieve it in just three to five years!
But Primordial Epoch Magic Power...
Even for an innate divine being like himself, with three trillion Spirit Crystals at his disposal, fully cultivating his Qi and Dao would still require thirty to fifty years, or even seventy to eighty years!
Though Primordial Epoch Magic Power represented only an additional 29,600 years beyond Millennial Magic Power, the difficulty increased exponentially as one approached the primordial cycle.
The difference between them was like the gap between 90% and 100% of the speed of light—a technological chasm as vast as heaven and earth.
"Primordial Epoch Magic Power is the limit for all lifeforms governed by the laws of the Dao. Without achieving dao unification, even innate divine beings like myself cannot break through it."
Though Li Chunjun had not transformed into a lifeform governed by the laws of the Dao, he had still reached this limit of Qi.
This limit stemmed from the fundamental constraints imposed by the Dao itself, beyond the control of beings not governed by its laws.
"While I cannot break through the limit, now that my Innate Dao Body has been perfected, the enhancement to my combat power..."
Just as he had predicted, it had doubled from the previous 70%.
"Sixty thousand years of Qi, amplified fivefold by the Sovereign Dharma Manifestation, brings my combat power to 300,000. The Innate Dao Body then doubles it to 600,000! And the Void Escape Pearl adds a meager 10%... My ultimate combat power in the Dharma Aspect Realm—660,000!"
660,000 combat power!
This surpassed even the Golden Citadel Heavenly Emperor of the Immortal God Race and rivaled the Heaven Origin Sword Master of the Taixu Sword Sect.
The Heaven Origin Sword Master, also known as the First Strongest in the Profound Yellow Great World!
Li Chunjun's current combat power rivaled his own...
"After fifteen years, I've finally reached the pinnacle of the Profound Yellow Great World!" Li Chunjun exhaled deeply.
In a sense, he had achieved a monumental milestone.
This accomplishment deserved to be remembered.
After a long moment, Li Chunjun composed his Heart-Mind.
Not enough.
Being the strongest in the Profound Yellow Great World was merely a starting point.
Without achieving dao unification, he couldn't truly claim to be a top-tier powerhouse in the Cosmos.
Hadn't the Immortal God Race been denied membership in the Immortal Alliance and treated as outsiders among the Human Race precisely because they lacked a dao unification expert?
Therefore...
"First, become a law-based lifeform. Next, dao unification."
Li Chunjun steeled his resolve.
There were still over half a month before the dark horned prison released its energy.
During this time, he would thoroughly study his fully evolved Void Dao Body and Destruction Dao Body.
And...
The Void Dao Physique, which was about to transform into the Innate Dao Body.
The Heavenly Palace and Wu Ji Sect had deployed over two hundred Dharma Aspect Realm cultivators into the dark horned prison, only to suffer complete annihilation. Such a catastrophic loss was unbearable for any faction.
Not for the Demon-Quelling Great Emperor.
Nor for Sect Master Yuan Taiji of the Wu Ji Sect.
They would inevitably have to answer to their respective sects and all their members.
Therefore, even after escaping the dark horned prison, a major battle awaited him.
Of course, he could choose to immediately use Liu Yu's power to hide in the Profound Yellow Grotto-Heaven upon exiting the prison.
As long as he remained within the grotto-heaven, neither the Heavenly Palace nor the Wu Ji Sect could likely harm him.
But...
Hadn't he painstakingly leveled up and condensed the Sovereign Dharma Manifestation within the dark horned prison precisely to gain the strength to confront the Supreme Sages of the Heavenly Palace and Wu Ji Sect head-on?
If he were to immediately flee with Liu Yu's help, wouldn't all his efforts have been in vain?
Therefore, if the Supreme Sages of the Wu Ji Sect and Heavenly Palace truly intended to strike, they would conveniently provide the 150,000 experience points he still needed to reach Life Level 42.
Only by fully comprehending the mysteries of the Void Dao Body, Destruction Dao Body, and Void Dao Physique could he ensure his absolute safety in the upcoming battle against the Supreme Sages.
Outside the dark horned prison, not long ago, the atmosphere was quite relaxed on both sides, whether at the Heavenly Palace or the Wu Ji Sect.
Especially at the Heavenly Palace, the Dragon-Elephant Imperial Lord made no attempt to conceal his smugness, reveling in song and dance within his palace.
Yuan Taiji of the Wu Ji Sect, while not as ostentatious as the Dragon-Elephant Imperial Lord, also felt a sense of relief.
However, he didn't remain idle. Instead, he swiftly deployed Supreme Sages, Dharma Aspect Realm cultivators, and Void Refining Realm experts to key strategic positions, activating all the Array Formations protecting vital locations. He mentally prepared for a full-scale war with the Profound Yellow Sect.
Although he believed that with Li Chunjun's capture or death, the Profound Yellow Sect—which had only recently achieved unity—would inevitably crumble back into disarray, making it unlikely they would decide to wage a full-scale war against the Wu Ji Sect, he knew they had to maintain the appearance of readiness.
Only by demonstrating unwavering preparedness could they deter the Profound Yellow Sect from gambling on a risky war.
In contrast to the coordinated actions of the Heavenly Palace and the Wu Ji Sect, the Profound Yellow Sect, while refusing to believe Li Chunjun had fallen, had no way of knowing his current condition since his soul lamp was not within their sect.
Seeing the unwavering confidence of the Heavenly Palace and the Wu Ji Sect, some within the Profound Yellow Sect couldn't help but feel uneasy.
Rumors began to circulate within the sect, though they remained largely pessimistic speculation since the final outcome remained unknown. The Profound Yellow Sect managed to avoid descending into chaos prematurely.
However, this situation gradually changed as the soul lamps of the Heavenly Palace and Wu Ji Sect flickered back to life before extinguishing again.
The Profound Yellow Sect spared no effort in gathering intelligence, even sacrificing several deeply entrenched Hidden Pawns. They finally learned that all fifty-nine Dharma Aspect cultivators dispatched by the Wu Ji Sect to the dark horned prison had been annihilated.
This included Yuan Shaoyang, one of the three heroes of the Yuan Clan.
Moreover, at the Heavenly Palace, the Dragon-Elephant Imperial Lord, who had been celebrating openly with song and dance, erupted in thunderous rage.
He even slaughtered over a dozen dancing girls who had been performing.
These twin calamities served as irrefutable proof that Li Chunjun was still alive.
Furthermore, he had turned the tide of fate, accomplishing something earth-shattering.
In an instant, Supreme Sages, Dharma Aspect Realm cultivators, and Void Refining Realm cultivators throughout the Profound Yellow Sect beamed with joy.
Huang Daozhen, in particular, breathed a sigh of relief, feeling as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
He had staked the entire future of the Profound Yellow Sect on Li Chunjun, leveraging Li Chunjun's influence to unite the sect in an unprecedented manner.
If Li Chunjun had fallen before this unity had fully taken root, it would have inevitably backfired on the Profound Yellow Sect.
Whether this backlash would have extinguished the sect's Dao lineage remained uncertain, but Huang Daozhen himself would have certainly met a grim end.
Fortunately, the situation hadn't spiraled into the worst-case scenario.
Li Chunjun had ultimately not disappointed him. After a moment of silence, he once again brought Huang Daozhen a glimmer of hope.
Just as Huang Daozhen finally relaxed and awaited the final opening of the dark horned prison, a sudden message arrived from within the Profound Yellow Sect.
The Wu Ji Sect...
Six Supreme Sages who had been undergoing trials abroad had crossed the Star Gate, returning from distant realms to the Profound Yellow Great World, and were now heading straight for the dark horned prison.
(End of the Chapter)
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