Without wasting any more time, Ren Zu sat down cross-legged at the center of the Sea of Eternal Dark Bones. He slowly closed his eyes and entered a state of deep meditation, activating his cultivation method at its peak, initiating the process of devouring and refining that entire place.
RUMBLE!
A colossal black current, as dense as the abyss itself, rose from all directions. Ancient bones began to shatter, while pure yin energy, resentment, death, hatred, and demonic essence accumulated over countless eras were drawn into his body, like a river flowing in reverse.
The energy was so vast and oppressive that even the air around him distorted. Nearby bones disintegrated into black powder, being dragged toward him and instantly refined by the [Ten Extreme Daos]. Every particle of demonic energy was purified, compressed, and transformed into his own profound strength.
His cultivation began to advance at a terrifying pace!
The Sea of Eternal Dark Bones, which had existed for nearly a million years, visibly shrank. Entire valleys of bones turned into empty deserts, the black mist dissipated, and the eternal wails of malevolent spirits were gradually silenced as they were devoured by him.
But this was not a place where ordinary Demon Gods had been buried without reason. Filled with the infinite remains of True Demons, it had become the location with the most extreme yin energy in the current world! As such, the process naturally required a significant amount of time...
Days turned into weeks, weeks into months, and months into years—and in the blink of an eye, two years passed!
Throughout that entire time, Ren Zu remained seated in meditation, devouring the Sea of Eternal Dark Bones and increasing his profound strength. At the same time, he took the opportunity to initiate the final step of the bodily transformation contained within the "Heavenly Tyrant Manual": the Nine Stars of the Dao Palace.
This was a level at which the very "Laws" were inscribed into a practitioner's body, allowing one to break the limits of the human race. When cultivated to its peak, the mortal body ceased to be mere flesh and instead became a world of its own. Vital force flowed like vast lands and oceans, and the practitioner's very existence would naturally give rise to phenomena such as dragons, phoenixes, and living realms within the aura of their body.
This was the true pinnacle of body refinement: a state in which every movement carried the weight of the universe, and the body itself stood as an independent and self-sustaining world, perfectly aligned with the Great Dao.
The Great Dao was the origin and source of all things. It can be translated in many ways—Path, Way, Road, or Method—but no single translation can fully capture its meaning. According to Taoism, it is the absolute principle that governs the universe, encompassing the balance of Yin and Yang and representing the natural order that sustains all existence. To follow the Dao is not merely to walk a path of power, but to align oneself with this fundamental order; thus, pursuing it is naturally the only way to attain supernatural abilities or even influence aspects of the natural world.
A simple way to understand the Great Dao is to imagine it as the flow of a vast river. All things—people, energy, nature—are like small boats within this river. Those who row against the current grow exhausted, lose energy, and rarely advance. But those who understand the flow and move with the current can travel great distances with minimal effort. The Dao is this invisible flow: it cannot be seen directly, but it can be felt and followed. The more one harmonizes with it, the more natural and powerful their existence becomes.
Additionally, there exist countless lesser Daos—specific paths representing fundamental aspects of reality, such as Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Lightning, Light, Darkness, Space, and even Time. Each of these Daos is essentially a different "route" within the great flow of the universe. A practitioner may choose to follow only one or comprehend several simultaneously, refining them continuously to reach ever greater depths.
The crucial point, however, is that any Dao can evolve into a reflection of the Great Dao itself. This occurs when a practitioner reaches such a profound level of understanding and refinement that the specific path ceases to be merely a fragment and instead comes to embody totality in itself. In his case, having already mastered the Daos of Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Lightning, Light, Darkness, Space, and even partially touched upon Time, his mastery had reached a terrifying level. The integration and depth of these paths were so immense that, to many, the entirety of his comprehension could already be considered a Great Dao in formation.
His body was another path he had been walking since the beginning—a Dao of his own, shaped through continuous refinement. During the two years he spent in the Sea of Eternal Dark Bones, he managed to open four Stars of the Dao Palace, elevating his body to an entirely new level. These stars were: the Army-Destroying Star (Dao Palace of the Purple Mansion), the Greedy Wolf Star (Dao Palace of Celestial Retribution), the Precious Destiny Star (Dao Palace of the Extreme Polar), and the Daevic Eye Star (Dao Palace of the Celestial Eye)...
If he had not used a significant portion of the Sea of Eternal Dark Bones' energy to refine his body, his level of profound strength would have reached an even higher level. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Even so, what he achieved was already absolutely terrifying: he reached the First Level of the Divine Sovereign Realm.
He leaped directly from the Divine Spirit Realm, completely bypassing the Divine King Realm and reaching, in a single step, the Divine Sovereign Realm...
All of this in just two years.
If anyone were to hear of such a feat, they would likely consider it utter nonsense or assume he was blatantly lying, delusional after suffering a cultivation deviation, or simply trying to write his own legend without the slightest restraint. After all, for most practitioners, crossing a single realm required decades—sometimes centuries… and he had simply skipped two entire levels as if skipping steps in a tedious tutorial.
Becoming a Divine Sovereign meant far more than merely possessing power—it meant becoming sovereign over the masses within the Realm of Gods. At this level, one could freely traverse the starry skies, cross the void, and view the world from an entirely different perspective, as a true existence above countless beings.
But the enhancement of his body and profound strength was only part of the transformation that occurred over those two years of devouring the Sea of Eternal Dark Bones. He successfully fused his "Dragon God Physique" with the "Immortal Jade Dragon Physique," further elevating his power by integrating the various special physical attributes inherited from his numerous legacies.
The result of this fusion was something entirely new—a body that transcended any single lineage. He named it the [Absolute Principle Body], an existence representing the unification of all his special physiques into a single cohesive whole, eliminating conflicts between energies and maximizing every aspect to its theoretical limit.
Through this fusion, he awakened an ability he called the [Seventy-Two Transformations]. It was, essentially, the ability to assume any form he desired with absolute perfection. This was not a mere illusion or disguise: each transformation made him genuinely become that existence.
More than that, upon assuming a form, he would not simply become an ordinary member of that race—he would become its very origin. He would possess the purest and most noble lineage possible, as if he were the progenitor or the ideal version of that being. In other words, each transformation did not merely replicate—it surpassed, placing him at the natural apex of any form he chose to assume...
He conducted numerous tests over the two years he spent in the Sea of Eternal Dark Bones and was more than satisfied with the results of this ability...
If anyone were to ask, he would say that this place had been the perfect seclusion. Not only because no one disturbed him, but because he emerged so absurdly powerful that even he could no longer accurately gauge his own strength.
In other words, he had evolved to the point of losing track of his own power… which, considering the kind of world he lived in, was both extremely impressive and slightly concerning.
But he was still far from achieving his goal of becoming truly immortal.
However, remaining in seclusion would not help him accomplish that.
Ren Zu decided it was time to end his cultivation. After all, he had practically drained the Sea of Eternal Dark Bones completely.
Everything around him had transformed. What was once an infinite ocean of black bones and oppressive yin energy had now become a vast, silent white desert, devoid of any trace of life or resentment. He had devoured nearly everything.
He exhaled slowly, releasing a long, controlled breath. In the next instant, he opened his eyes.
His eyes, red like living blood, shone with a terrifying depth, like two abysses capable of devouring light itself. A faint smile—satisfied and slightly arrogant—curved his lips.
"Not bad…"
Ren Zu slowly stood up. The movement was simple, yet carried an overwhelming presence. He stretched his arms above his head, his bones and muscles cracking softly. His dark purple robes fluttered with the motion, and his long white hair fell flawlessly over his shoulders.
He cast one final glance around, observing the desert of bones he himself had created—a place that was once an endless sea of death and was now nothing but absolute silence.
A more pronounced smile appeared on his face.
"It's time."
He raised his gaze toward the top of the abyss, where the exit of the Sea of Eternal Dark Bones lay.
"Time to conquer the Yama Realm."
The space around him distorted slightly, as if it could not withstand his presence for long. Without haste, he took a step forward—and in the next instant, he vanished from the desert of bones, leaving behind nothing but the absolute silence he himself had created.
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