Supremo let out a faint chuckle.
"You certainly ask a great many questions."
His tone carried both amusement and patience.
"Very well. Let's begin with me."
"I am currently at the Eighth Turn of the Nine True Peak-Turns. At my present level, I am fifteen times stronger than ordinary beings of the same cultivation, and my combat strength is already comparable to calamitous beings standing on the threshold of the Ninth and final Turn."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"As for the Desolate God, he is a Fifth Peak-Turn special lifeform. His lifeform grants him a strength ten thousand times greater than that of an ordinary Peak-Turn cultivator."
"The Forsaken God, however, is different."
"He is only at the Fourth Peak-Turn, yet his physical body has already evolved into that of a calamitous lifeform. That alone makes him twelve thousand times stronger than others of his cultivation level."
"Although his cultivation is lower than the Desolate God's, his superior lifeform allows him to surpass him in battle."
A trace of admiration entered Supremo's voice.
"Calamitous lifeforms are rarely compassionate. Most embrace destruction by instinct."
"But the Forsaken God has always restrained himself."
"That is why I respect him more than any other being."
"It is also why I entrusted him with everything I comprehended throughout my journey across the True Peak-Turns."
"Even so, he has deliberately limited himself."
"He has only comprehended a handful of those insights."
"The moment he comprehends more than three of them, his cultivation will immediately advance to the Fifth Peak-Turn."
"When that happens, his calamitous nature will no longer remain hidden."
"He would be forced beyond the Boundary Realm."
"Just as I once was."
Supremo's voice gradually became more thoughtful.
"The Levian Progenitor is another matter entirely."
"Based on everything I have observed, I believe he is merely the second body of an unimaginably powerful calamitous lifeform standing on the verge of breaking into the Ninth Peak-Turn."
"This incarnation alone possesses the body of a special lifeform twenty thousand times stronger than ordinary Peak-Turn beings."
"Yet his cultivation has only reached the Third Peak-Turn."
"I have never seen his true body."
"But I am certain that it is his true self directing every movement of both the calamitous and malevolent races."
"There is something you must understand."
"Not every calamitous being is a calamitous lifeform."
"Only their kings and supreme leaders possess true calamitous lifeforms."
"The rest are merely special lifeforms that have pushed their life power to its absolute limit."
He shifted to Solanky's next question.
"As for Half-Step Peak-Turn beings..."
"They are cultivators who sensed the Peak Summits within their own consciousness, challenged them, and ultimately failed."
"Their title itself is a reminder of that failure."
"They reached for the Peak-Turn."
"They simply fell one step short."
"Even so, surviving the attempt grants them tremendous strength."
"The exact increase depends entirely upon the quality of their lifeform."
"For ordinary immortal god lifeforms, reaching the Half-Step Peak-Turn grants a body five times stronger than that of a Saint Emperor Transcendent Entity."
"Special lifeforms fare considerably better."
"They become twice as powerful as Half-Step Peak-Turn beings with ordinary immortal god lifeforms, making them ten times stronger than Saint Emperor Transcendent Entities."
"As for higher lifeforms, whether Source-Defying or calamitous, the increase is even greater."
"They become three times stronger than Half-Step Peak-Turn beings with immortal god lifeforms, and fifteen times stronger than Saint Emperor Transcendent Entities."
"The reason is simple."
"Only True Peak-Turn beings are capable of drawing out the complete potential of their lifeforms."
"However..."
"There are certain True Peak-Turn techniques and artifacts capable of suppressing those natural limitations."
"They temporarily narrow the overwhelming gap between lifeforms."
"That is precisely why the Forsaken God took the Source-Severing Blade from you."
"The flames within that weapon were created by me."
"If they were wielded by an ordinary Saint Emperor Transcendent Entity, they would possess enough destructive power to kill a True Peak-Turn cultivator at the First, Second, or even Third Turn."
"Such power is far too dangerous for someone who has yet to master it."
"I instructed the Forsaken God to safeguard it until you became a True Peak-Turn being yourself."
Solanky frowned.
"Why?"
"Because I want you to master your own strength first."
Supremo's answer came immediately.
"Your body already rivals that of an exceptionally powerful special lifeform, even though you have yet to unlock its full potential."
"I do not wish to see you relying upon borrowed power."
"Yes, you forged that blade with your own hands."
"But I was the one who permitted its existence."
"I personally approved its creation."
"In doing so, I permanently linked its power to the evolution of your lifeform."
"The stronger your lifeform becomes..."
"...the more terrifying the Source-Severing Blade will become."
The realization struck Solanky immediately.
For the longest time, he had believed the blade was ineffective against truly powerful opponents.
Now he finally understood.
Its strength had never been fixed.
It had always been growing alongside him.
Remembering another mystery, Solanky asked about the halos that had appeared above the heads of the three elders the instant they reached for the blade.
Supremo laughed softly.
"So you noticed."
"Those halos are known as Shallow Turn Marks."
"They represent incomplete Peak-Turn breakthroughs."
"Every Half-Step Peak-Turn cultivator who survives their first failed attempt receives one."
"The mark preserves the power gained during that incomplete breakthrough."
"When they wish to challenge the Peak-Turn once more, they must use that halo to establish a connection with either the Peak Summits or the Peak-Turn Reincarnation Portal."
"The latter allows them to reincarnate within a cave world and begin another attempt."
He grew serious.
"In desperate situations, a cultivator may completely absorb the Shallow Turn Mark."
"Doing so temporarily forces their strength into the First True Peak-Turn."
"But the consequences are catastrophic."
"They either die immediately..."
"...or the unstable backlash shatters their cultivation."
"Their realm falls well below the Peak Entity Level."
"That is the fate awaiting powerful special lifeforms and higher existences."
"For ordinary immortal god lifeforms, the outcome is even more severe."
"They can fall completely below the Entity Level."
"Most collapse into deep slumber."
"Others enter an irreversible coma."
"At that point, killing them becomes effortless."
Supremo's voice became solemn.
"Once you completely fuse with the Source-Defying Body Armor, you will officially step into the Transcendent Entity realm."
"When that happens, combine your Domain, the Velvet World of Contamination, and my flames."
"The result will become the single most terrifying Domain in the entire God Realm."
Solanky blinked.
"How do you know about the Velvet World of Contamination?"
"Is it because our consciousnesses are linked?"
"No."
Supremo answered calmly.
"I exist outside the Boundary Realm."
"There is nothing that occurs within it..."
"...or within any world or realm beneath it..."
"...that can escape my perception."
The revelation left Solanky speechless.
That meant Supremo could observe every world belonging to every True Peak-Turn cultivator beneath the Eighth Turn.
His understanding of Supremo's terrifying existence deepened even further.
"You must first break the bottleneck of your spiritual body."
"It must reach a radius of ten trillion light-years before you can begin fully merging with the armor."
"That distance is the absolute limit any spiritual body can attain."
"Even True Peak-Turn beings cannot exceed it."
"The only distinction is that True Peak-Turn cultivators possess a completely solid spiritual body, identical to their physical one."
"Every other cultivator possesses only a colorized spiritual body."
"To ordinary eyes, the difference is almost impossible to perceive."
"The moment your spiritual body reaches the Half-Step Peak-Turn level..."
"...the bottleneck restraining your physical body will disappear."
"Once you become a Transcendent Entity, your physical body alone will rival that of a Half-Step Peak-Turn cultivator."
"And because your body is already approaching the level of the Primordial Ancient Dragon Empress..."
"...you will completely skip the intermediate stages and stand directly at the summit."
"You already understand how your spiritual body must continue evolving."
"You must hunt and destroy the spiritual beings sealed inside this Golden Statue..."
"...and the eight remaining statues scattered throughout the Forsaken Realm."
"Only then will your spiritual body reach the standards required for the True Peak-Turn realm."
"The moment the final spiritual being falls..."
"...you will earn the qualification to challenge the Peak Summits."
"And only then..."
"...will your Source-Defying lifeform reveal its complete potential."
Supremo's tone suddenly turned icy.
"Never tell anyone about the existence of the remaining eight statues."
"And never reveal your connection to me."
"The moment you betray either secret..."
"...I will sever our bond without hesitation."
"When that happens..."
"No matter how powerful you become..."
"You will inevitably die at the hands of the Levian Progenitor's true body."
"And you will become nothing more than another one of his pawns."
The instant those words faded...
Supremo's presence vanished completely from Solanky's consciousness.
Solanky slowly rose to his feet.
Everything he had learned settled heavily upon his mind.
For the first time...
The road leading to Supremo's level no longer seemed like an impossible dream.
It had become a tangible destination.
Extending his spiritual sense, he discovered that the others had already returned.
Each of them silently refined the spiritual essences harvested from the malevolent spirits they had slain.
His gaze eventually landed on the mysterious woman.
She sat quietly in meditation.
The spiritual essence before her radiated far greater power than any possessed by the others.
Without hesitation, Solanky made his decision.
He would leave the sanctuary himself.
He would hunt the malevolent spirits beyond the safe zone.
There, he would temper his spiritual body while mastering the Golden Statue's supreme inheritance...
The Devouring Heart Technique.
It was the very technique the Desolate God had unknowingly activated the moment he stepped onto the battlefield of the True Peak-Turn beings, causing the statue to absorb the immense energies released during that battle.
Without another word, Solanky disappeared into the endless darkness where the malevolent spirits roamed.
The instant he vanished, the mysterious woman's eyes flew open.
She coughed out a mouthful of spiritual essence blood.
Moments earlier, she had barely escaped a malevolent spirit whose strength rivaled that of a Half-Step Peak-Turn being.
Had it not been for her extraordinary wings, which allowed her to travel faster than countless Saint Emperor Transcendent Entities, she would never have returned alive.