Chapter 200: Pointing the Sword Toward the Realm Lord Level — The Original Tongtian Mountain!
The Sovereign of Dreamshade raised her hand, and four dark purple stone tablets, each three feet long on a side, flew from the bottom of a chest and lined up before her.
The carvings on each tablet faced Jiang Zhe.
"Junior Brother," she began, her eyes soft, "the secret art I created hinges on constructing a Divine Beast Manifestation. Using this as the core, you can weave layer upon layer of illusions, drawing your foe into a trap — then strike decisively with a single, fatal thrust."
She gave a gentle laugh. "Perhaps you're not fond of the combat style of 'illusionists.' But that's fine. You can learn just part of the secret art. My method for constructing the Divine Beast Manifestation has tremendous value — even our teacher, the Lord of Darkness, praised it highly."
"Once you master this method, your path of fusing the laws of Thunder and Time will truly begin."
"As for achieving mastery? I won't boast — I myself haven't done it."
She paused, then smiled again. "Junior Brother, you know well… we're missing half of the Beast God inheritance. And there are all sorts of difficulties if we were to go to the Ancestral God Religion for the complete legacy."
At this, the Sovereign of Dreamshade couldn't help but chuckle.
"Truly, Junior Brother — you're a blessing to the human race!"
"You helped our race gain the complete Gold Beast God legacy and filled in half of the Wood and Thunder Beast God inheritances."
"The only pity is that the Beast God statues and stone tablets are very hard to comprehend — they're better suited to races naturally linked to beast gods, rather than humans."
"But that's a small hurdle. Not hard to overcome."
"With the Beast God statues and tablets here, countless epochs from now, our human race will see innumerable outstanding cultivators rise along the path of the Beast God."
Then she let out a soft sigh.
"Ah… If only there were eight Thunder Beast God statues. I might have completed the Eight Aspects: Shocking Plume Spear, reaching a critical threshold in fusing the laws of Thunder and Time, and truly touched the doorstep of Universe Master."
Jiang Zhe stood quietly to the side, listening respectfully without interrupting.
"Enough. Back to the main topic," she said, waving her hand to clear her mood. "Let's begin with the Shocking Plume Spear."
"Junior Brother, you've roughly read through the general outline — do you remember the three 'aspects' it contains?"
Jiang Zhe didn't even have to think. He answered at once, "Aspect of Emptiness! Aspect of Annihilation! Aspect of Joy!"
"You see?"
The Sovereign of Dreamshade nodded with a pleased smile. With a light point of her finger, a surge of ethereal godforce pushed one of the Beast God tablets toward Jiang Zhe. The tablet depicted a dragon-man seated cross-legged, a serene look on its face.
"This is the Aspect of Emptiness."
Behind her, runic lines of dark purple law spread through the void, interweaving to form a dragon-man phantom — horns, brows, whiskers, scales, tail, even its majestic bearing vividly clear. Divine might poured out like a tidal wave, shaking Jiang Zhe's mind.
A flash of light, and Jiang Zhe found his awareness pulled into the cosmic void. A towering dragon-man sat there, filling his vision, radiating serenity, inaction, a lazy calm that seeped into his very soul.
For a moment, Jiang Zhe almost surrendered all resistance, ready to sit before the dragon-man and "submit," allowing himself to be captured.
"Interesting illusion. Break!"
He gave a low shout.
The dragon-man and the surrounding space shattered like fragile glass.
With another flicker of consciousness, Jiang Zhe returned to the training ground of the estate — only to see the Sovereign of Dreamshade standing before him, her fingers resting lightly on his brow.
Had she been serious, her spear would've pierced his skull the instant he fell into the illusion.
That was the power of an illusionist cultivator.
Jiang Zhe could only shake his head with a helpless smile. "Still a step short."
"Junior Brother, I'd advise you to be a bit more humble," she said, her tone drifting. "It's already absurd enough — illusions casually set by a Universe Overlord shatter before you like bubbles."
Catching the faint resentment in his ninth senior sister's gaze, Jiang Zhe let out an awkward laugh.
"Your attainments in soul and will are truly astonishing," she went on. "If you focused on the path of illusions, once you reached Universe Master, you'd be on par with — no, you might even surpass our teacher."
"Senior Sister, you flatter me," Jiang Zhe quickly said, startled.
She simply shook her head, dropping the topic.
Then, with a wave, another tablet flew to him, showing a dragon-man with an angry expression, hand extended in a grasp.
"This is the Aspect of Annihilation."
Behind her, dark purple runes again wove together into a dragon-man phantom. It reached out and pointed — and savage beast god will surged into Jiang Zhe's consciousness.
Even prepared, Jiang Zhe was still drawn under. His awareness twisted, reality blurred. He almost thought he'd been slain on the spot by the resurrected Thunder Beast God, his soul fracturing.
By sheer force of will, he snapped back, his eyes bright. "Senior Sister, that 'Aspect of Annihilation' is a soul-killing technique?"
She nodded. "Exactly. The Aspect of Annihilation: Shocking Plume Spear is a soul-killing ultimate move — very well-suited to you."
"I suggest you start with the Aspect of Annihilation."
"The three aspects of the Beast God Manifestation are independent, like three profound truths under the law of space — different expressions of fusing the laws of Thunder and Time. No rank or order. You can start wherever you like."
"Now, the last — the Aspect of Joy."
Her ethereal godforce pushed another tablet before him, showing a dragon-man dancing with joy.
Runic lines formed a dancing dragon-man in the void, whose beast god will tugged at Jiang Zhe's consciousness, pulling him into another illusion.
"According to records," she explained, "the Thunder Beast God depicted on this tablet was dancing a mysterious war dance, expressing inner delight."
When Jiang Zhe came back to himself, he stroked his chin. The image of the Thunder Beast God was growing richer in his mind. His senior sister had not exaggerated; her Divine Beast Manifestation truly held profound merit.
Only one tablet remained. Jiang Zhe used the power of his world to draw it before him. It depicted a stern dragon-man standing tall.
"And this one, Senior Sister?"
"This tablet… over the past two centuries, I've only completed constructing its 'Beast God Manifestation.' The supporting content is still lacking."
"The Aspect of Myriad Phenomena: Shocking Plume Spear is an incomplete ultimate art."
Jiang Zhe simply smiled. "But didn't you say learning to build the Beast God Manifestation alone is enough? Since the Aspect of Myriad Phenomena is already complete in form, I'll start with it."
After brief thought, she agreed. "Very well. I'll teach you the construction while refining it myself — that way, you'll experience the creation process of a manifestation, which will help when you craft your own secret arts."
Jiang Zhe's grin widened. That was exactly why he chose this aspect. And also — this particular tablet was in his possession. Unlike copies in the Virtual Universe, comprehending it was undiminished, letting him progress rapidly.
Hanxia Calendar, May 14, 2485
Virtual Universe, Rainphase Mountain, Primal Zone
Jiang Zhe secluded himself in the training grounds of his estate, studying the fusion of Thunder and Time laws, attempting to build the Divine Beast Manifestation: Aspect of Myriad Phenomena.
From that day on, the Sovereign of Dreamshade took up long-term residence in the estate, guiding Jiang Zhe while perfecting the Aspect of Myriad Phenomena: Shocking Plume Spear.
The path of law fusion was unimaginably difficult. In the universe, 99.9% of Universe Venerables didn't even try it — they opted to fully comprehend space or time, becoming Universe Masters.
As for Jiang Zhe…
He did find it challenging. But only to a limited extent. At least, it didn't make him scratch his head in frustration — he felt quite at ease even as he started out.
He was still "crossing the river by feeling for stones," using Luo Feng's progress as a guide.
It was known that Beast God Intent Realms and fusion laws reinforced each other. So Jiang Zhe made sure to focus on that in his cultivation. The more Beast God intents he mastered, the faster he progressed in understanding fusion laws.
(Note: See Ch. 754 on Qiuqiu Reader — about 800 years.)
While Luo Feng copied Beast God statues to comprehend intent realms, Jiang Zhe dove his will directly into the tablets, clashing with their latent divine pressure, merging his mind into them, stealing their essence.
He'd whisper in his heart:
"Dear Beast God Tablet, we are one. Your intent is my intent. Come now, loosen your grip. Don't hold back — let me savor you fully."
Once he mastered those intents, his training in fusing Thunder and Time laws advanced by leaps and bounds.
His true body worked on constructing the Divine Beast Manifestation.
His Candlelight Clone studied the law of Time, using the Universe Chaos Monument and the fifth volume of Space-Time Evolution for reference, seeking recognition from the origin of Time.
Meanwhile, his Demon Clone delved into the laws of Wind and Light, hoping to master these lesser laws, occasionally activating his innate art Primordial Demon Qi to observe the runes of law all across his body.
Thus his body and clones each had clear roles, cultivating tirelessly in Chaos City.
Hanxia Calendar, August 2500
Jiang Zhe paused his training to meet his four little ones, who were about to leave the Original Universe.
He brought them into the vortex world inside his body to see their mother, let them comprehend the Thunder God Scroll for seven days, then sent them on their way.
Once mundane affairs were settled, he resumed working on the Aspect of Myriad Phenomena.
Hanxia Calendar, 2520
Luo Feng completed his top-level points mission and came to the Original Universe for seclusion.
Hanxia Calendar, 3130
Jiang Zhe had cultivated in Chaos City for nearly two centuries — a short time on the surface, but his gains were remarkable.
Virtual Universe, Rainphase Mountain, Primal Zone.
Suddenly, in the training grounds of the estate, Jiang Zhe's eyes snapped open, shooting out twin bolts of lightning. A savage, tyrannical, ferocious aura poured off him.
It was as if he'd walked out of the primordial cosmos — the universe's oldest, apex predator.
Around him, arcs of dark purple lightning burst through the void, annihilating space, clustering about him as if he were the very master of thunder's source.
"Aspect of Myriad Phenomena!"
With a low shout, a dragon-man phantom of imposing mien emerged, standing tall in the void.
Due to his current level of law fusion, its features were still somewhat vague; he couldn't yet render every whisker, scale, or detail.
Yet though the dragon-man simply stood there, its oppressive force paired with the Beast God intent triggered endless associations:
As if planets and stars orbited it.
As if its muscles were tensing, about to strike.
As if, in the next instant, fury would flood its face and a roar would shatter stars.
As if…
Anyone gazing upon it seemed to gain a glimpse of the future, foreseeing the dragon-man's next move.
That was Myriad Phenomena.
At last, the manifestation faded, and the restless energies calmed.
Jiang Zhe eased his mind, drawing back the pressure of the Beast God intent, returning to a plain, unremarkable presence.
"The Thunder Beast God's path… I've finally glimpsed its profound gateway."
"But Senior Sister's Shocking Plume Spear doesn't quite suit me. It's the Divine Beast Manifestation that's truly fascinating — worth adapting into my own unique path."
"Beast God Tablets…"
"Thunder God Scroll!"
With resolve firming in his heart, Jiang Zhe sent out his Demon Clone, letting it train atop the cultivation hall's terrace.
Then his true body entered his internal world to study the Thunder God Scroll.
The Thunder God Scroll
A painting two feet wide, five feet long, darkly hued, depicting dense storm clouds and roaring thunder.
At its center stood a muscular dragon-man, ribs and tendons showing, clad in scales and horns, glaring fiercely. One hand held a spike; the other struck twelve drums encircling him.
From the moment Jiang Zhe unrolled it — ever since it fell from the ancient tree — it had continuously reflected the laws of the universe, merging thunder's way with all ways…
Anything you could think of, it contained.
Five Elements, Wind & Thunder, Light & Dark, Time, Space, Life, Destruction, Chaos, Body Refining, Soul, Slaughter, Sound, Waves…
Jiang Zhe mused: if he replaced the Beast God with a Thunder God, the future would hold infinite possibilities.
So he began with fusing the laws of Thunder and Time as the skeleton, constructing a Thunder God Manifestation.
Time flowed on.
Hanxia Calendar, 4648
On the terrace, his Demon Clone stirred. After some calculation, it murmured,
"I've been in Chaos City over 650 years already…"
"I and Candlelight long since gained recognition from the origins of Time, Light, and Wind. But here in the Original Universe, we can't yet link to the Origin Land to have the final mark imprinted on our brows."
As he muttered, a figure clad in an ink-black Dao robe silently appeared beside him.
An ancient stone-like core flew from the Demon Clone's chest into the robed figure's chest. With a sweep of his sleeve — like a universe within — the clone was stowed away.
It was Jiang Zhe's true body, finally out of seclusion.
He glanced at the cracked sky overhead, then simply sat cross-legged on the terrace, linking into the Virtual Universe.
"I've held back long enough. Time to stretch my legs. Where to?"
"Tongtian Bridge? No… My actual combat power is way beyond my law comprehension — it'd be meaningless there. It tests law insights, and brute-forcing it would be boring. Besides, I don't need the points."
"Tongtian Mountain it is!"
At age 2,618, with roughly 1,035 years of true cultivation, Jiang Zhe pointed his sword at the Realm Lord level of the Original Tongtian Mountain.
What would the outcome be?
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