Spirit Roots, Tao Body, Comprehension. It is the talent trinity of immortal cultivation. Having them is the equivalent of a ticket to becoming a high-level immortal cultivator. Those possessing a high grade spirit root are guaranteed to reach the Void Refinement Realm without any bottlenecks. Those with a high grade Tao Body can do the same.
Once someone has these two together, their cultivation speed will surge up like a rocket.
Tao Body can be acquired either innately (i.e., through birth) or externally (i.e., techniques). The golden orb's techniques ensure there won't be any flaws with the acquired physique, though it requires numerous resources.
It took Shi Tian three years to complete the study about the integration of Imaginary Energy and Spiritual Qi.
Now, he is reaping the fruits of his hard work.
'...Shit.'
Despite his insane pain tolerance far beyond the imagination of humans, Shi Tian could not help but curse.
His spiritual consciousness staggered for a moment. He observed the changes inside his physical body.
'A Tao Body affects the body, mind, and soul. It..!'
He struggled to form coherent thoughts.
At this moment, his Golden Core Body turned into a pure golden mist. No traces of his immaculate jade bones were left. In the center of the mist lay a bright Golden Core.
Shi Tian could no longer curse. His attention is directed at the minute changes happening within him.
The red light that orbited him started to merge with the golden mist. In that process, runes of extremely small sizes—far beyond Planck's length—emerged within the golden mist.
The way of acquiring a Tao Body relies on rewriting the body's conceptual information itself. True Spirit Bloodlines has a unique connection with the Dao upon birth. Only by doing this way can this unique connection be passed onto someone else, thereby forming a high grade Tao Body.
The fusion took one month. At this point, the golden mist housed countless dotted Tao patterns. It went beyond the concept of 'numbers'. It went far beyond the mysteries of any [Divine Laws], reaching another level altogether.
The Void Refinement Realm starts to understand the Dao itself. It is the source of all Dao Rhymes, Dao Laws, Dharma Laws, and Divine Laws. Once the "self" and the Dao unites as one, there comes the emergence of a Dao Integration Realm cultivator.
The golden mist possessed the fragments of Dao itself!
Slowly, the golden mist began to reorganize. It took the form of a physical body. Shi Tian's immaculate jade bones took form, followed by blood red flesh. Golden blood started to flow on his veins.
A translucent golden light emerged from atop his skin. They took the form of golden scales. A long translucent tail emerged on his back.
A pair of antler-like horns appeared right above Shi Tian's head. His eyes remained closed.
Once the translucent light completed its transformation, it seeped onto his body. His physical body started to change. It started to turn into the most perfect version ingrained within Shi Tian's soul. His height grew taller as his facial proportions turned perfect. The slight 'errors' left from all his prior breakthroughs disappeared. His handsomeness was practically off the charts.
His long black hair turned dark purple. When he opened his golden eyes, his irises revealed a tinge of scarlet-like orange.
Pop-!
Pop-!
…
Crackle-!
Space itself was crumpled as he tightened his right fist. Spiritual qi coursed through his entire body flawlessly. The same went to his Golden Core. Whatever spiritual qi consumption he encountered, he could recover instantly so long as spiritual qi exists.
"Nine Dragons Primordial Universe Body…"
Nine supernatural seeds emerged the moment Shi Tian completed his Tao Body. These supernatural seeds grew at a fast speed, blooming into supernatural powers instantly. They then grew extremely fast once more until they reached the limit of the Golden Core Realm.
He did not mind these nine supernatural powers. It is listed on the Tao Body acquisition technique he possessed. There are two options for them. One is to let them be, thus having nine supernatural powers at once. The other is to merge the nine of them into three 'complex' ones.
Shi Tian chose the latter.
He blessed himself with the supernatural power of [Enlightenment] as he began this process.
'...three gives birth to everything. The Primordial consists of the most basic yin, yang, extremity, and void. Numerous predecessors created worlds with this basis..'
The first supernatural power emerged, the Dao of Void. It is the same power Kiana possessed.
'The four merge into one, creation and destruction is at hand…'
Shi Tian suppressed the impulse to try its power out. He didn't want any qi deviation to occur now. He focused on fusing the second supernatural power, the Dao of Permanence.
All things in nature have a set lifespan. Only those who transcended the limits can attain infinite lifespan. Dragons have a longer lifespan than their peers, living as long as fifty times the traditional cultivator of their realm. The other effect of the Dao of Permanence lay in its nature.
Once it is used along with other supernatural powers, it will remain for as long as its user wants. A flame can burn forever until its caster decides otherwise. It can only be offset by an overwhelming force.
Finally, it guarantees that the cultivator will regain their consciousness upon true reincarnation. They can rapidly progress until they reach their highest level. It is one of the few 'Daos' that is considered very practical below the Dao Integration Realm.
These three aspects may seem broken now, but it holds no bearing in the Dao Integration Realm. A Dao Integration Realm expert has an infinite lifespan. Their powers remain until the utmost destruction of the world. They can also reincarnate while possessing their Dao, effectively removing any obstacles during reincarnation.
Nonetheless, how many people can reach that realm?
The allure of fifty times the original lifespan is enough to make 99.4% of the cultivators drool, more so when the higher realm's lifespan gain are also affected by it.
Effectively, Shi Tian gained 2.4 million years of lifespan to gamble… to live on.
'The Dragons surely loved to use forbidden techniques…'
He shook these idle thoughts as he fused the third and final supernatural power.
Just then, the Dao of Clouds lit up on his Golden Core's surface. Shi Tian found himself in a different environment. It is nothing but pure darkness. A thick fog covered his sight. He tried to use his spiritual consciousness to go past it, but to no avail.
Ripple-!
As soon as he stepped forward, a line of white light trickled from his feet. It split into one branch after another.
'...The Dao of Time.' He thought. 'As expected.'
Akin to a mirror, Shi Tian saw countless figures of himself stepping into the line of white light. It reminded him of the sight from when he reached [Great Accomplishment] on the Cloud Seeking Steps.
To his surprise, the white lines converged at a single point. There, he saw the back of himself.
He heard him mutter:
"...Hcaer dna ti egnahc. Gnidne siht ot dael sdaor lla"
Crack-!
Shatter-!
Before Shi Tian knew it, he found himself back inside the cocoon. His eyes turned blank momentary before it regained clarity.
'...I forgot something again.'
He checked any changes on himself.
To his surprise, he found one.
'Four new supernatural powers?'
The [Nine Dragons Primordial Universe Body] granted three.
'The extra one… the Dao of Mirrors?'
The blood-red cocoon covering his body dissipated to the wind.
On the ground, Kiana was wearing a nurse's uniform. Her white and plump thighs revealed themselves as she crossed her legs on the chair.
Shi Tian felt the place where her gaze looked. He looked down and saw his bigger little brother. His lower body started to heat up in response.
Kiana swallowed her saliva as she sent him a lustful stare.
'She needs to be taught another lesson…'
*****
A/N: Bonus chapter.