Chapter 224: Supreme Divine Power, Empowered by Heaven’s Might

As one of the oldest thirteen main bloodlines of the Immortal Dao version’s Taiyi Sect, the ten years’ worth of cultivation resources from the Four Seasons Lineage could no longer be measured in spirit stones.

Especially those things that Lu Yan had never even heard of—each item practically represented the foundation of the oldest Immortal Dao sect. Any one of them, if placed in the outside world, would be enough to cause Nascent Soul True Lords to fight and kill over them.

And these just happened to be precisely what Lu Yan lacked the most.

After establishing his Supreme Dao Foundation, aside from gaining some benefits during his moment of standing in for Heaven—completing the transformation of his physical body, spiritual power, and divine soul—there seemed to be no overt display of the true might belonging to the Supreme Dao Foundation.

It wasn’t because Lu Yan didn’t want to show it—it was because he couldn’t.

The Urban Version, the Demon Version, the Apocalypse Version… These three realms either lacked resources or placed Lu Yan in crises, constantly hunted down.

Even in the Apocalypse Version, the only presentable resources were the Great Sun Spiritual Qi and the Moonlight Spiritual Qi. But pure spiritual energy alone was not enough to fill the Supreme Dao Foundation.

Now, in repayment for the Truthful Words Lu Yan had given, Mu Chunqiu had directly gifted him ten years’ worth of the Four Seasons Lineage’s resources.

Lu Yan had intended to politely decline, but after hesitating for less than a second, he decisively accepted the token.

At that moment, Lu Yan didn’t care whether there were any hidden traps, nor did he consider whether representing the Four Seasons Lineage in the fight for the True Disciple seat would draw enmity from other factions.

The gift was simply too much!

Half a day later, a brilliant light from a teleportation array on the Floating Island tore through the void, sending Lu Yan from the Mang Mountain branch into the Taiyi Grotto-Heaven above the outer heavens.

The so-called Taiyi Grotto-Heaven was a world one level higher than the Qingwu Blessed Land.

Though a blessed land is a self-contained world, it must rely on the present world to exist. Its laws of heaven and earth, though independent, are still founded upon the base framework of the greater world’s rules.

A grotto-heaven, however, is a small world created by a great being through immense divine power, existing in the outer realm with completely distinct laws. It can give rise to things that do not exist in the mundane world.

More importantly, due to its smaller scale, the resistance felt while comprehending the Great Dao is far lower than in the real world. Simply put, cultivation in a grotto-heaven brings one closer to the laws of the Great Dao.

However, its resources are not infinite. Though independent from the world, a grotto-heaven is not a fully complete realm. Every few thousand years, it requires a mighty being to reopen the four elements—earth, water, wind, and fire—to repair and maintain it.

Without such maintenance, the grotto-heaven would also collapse.

In the Immortal Dao version, the original cultivation world was said to possess Ten Great Grotto-Heavens and Thirty-Six Lesser Grotto-Heavens.

But with the passage of countless ages, grotto-heavens have all but vanished from the world. Even among the Ten Great Orthodox Immortal Sects, not every one of them possesses a grotto-heaven. This alone illustrates the preciousness of grotto-heaven cultivation.

To stabilize a grotto-heaven as much as possible, its internal resource consumption must be reduced.

Even the Four Seasons Lineage, one of the thirteen main bloodlines of the Taiyi Sect, could only offer a single one-year cultivation slot in the grotto-heaven every ten years.

Only the top ten true disciples of the Taiyi Sect were allowed permanent residence in the grotto-heaven.

As Lu Yan stepped into the teleportation array, he felt space and time twist around him. When he opened his eyes again, he had already arrived within an endless sea of clouds.

Each cloud was formed from countless droplets of spiritual liquid. Immersed within, Lu Yan felt as though he were submerged in a sea of pure Qi.

In terms of spiritual density, this sea of clouds far surpassed the Cyber Version.

However, the Cyber Version’s industrial-grade spiritual energy required no weekly cycle of refinement and could be directly absorbed as magical power, making it superior in terms of pure refining efficiency.

Just then, the sea of clouds split open, and a glazed palace appeared before Lu Yan’s eyes.

He didn’t soar through the air on a light spell, but rather stepped up the thousand-foot jade staircase before the Glazed Immortal Palace. Golden lotuses bloomed beside each step as he ascended.

With every blossom of a lotus, Lu Yan felt his divine soul being cleansed, growing purer with each step. The soul, once forcefully boosted to Foundation Establishment peak by absorbing massive amounts of Lunar Qi, became more refined.

Atop the thousand steps, Lu Yan pushed open the grand doors of the Glazed Immortal Palace.

Inside the magnificent palace, not a single soul could be seen. Intricate formation patterns were engraved into every corner of the vast hall.

At its center stood only one white jade meditation cushion.

Lu Yan slowly sat down and began circulating the Red Lotus Karmic Fire Sutra. The formation patterns on the palace lit up gradually, and the vast sea of clouds outside seemed to become part of Lu Yan’s internal meridians, shifting in sync with his heavenly cycle.

Back in the Mang Mountain branch, Mu Chunqiu, who had sent Lu Yan into the grotto-heaven, held a precious mirror and peered curiously at the hazy scene within. He explained to He Dongsheng beside him:

“The cultivation quota for the Taiyi Grotto-Heaven of the thirteen main bloodlines isn’t something you just use by picking some random corner to cultivate.

Over countless ages, our Taiyi Sect ancestors restructured the grotto-heaven into a sacred cultivation land.

The so-called cultivation period refers to the time spent within one of the thirty-six Spirit Mansions of the Taiyi Grotto-Heaven.”

“Those holding one of the thirteen bloodline tokens are randomly assigned to one of these Spirit Mansions.

Each mansion has its own wonders. Spiritual density is the bare minimum. These mansions bring one closer to the Great Dao.

You should know that so-called divine abilities are manifestations of Dao principles. Whether common natal divine abilities, the Earth Fiend arts, or Heaven’s Might supreme abilities—it’s all the same.

Cultivating within a Spirit Mansion can grant a chance to comprehend higher-level divine abilities and nurture a true divine seed.”

“Of course, the thirty-six Spirit Mansions differ in quality. The lowest, the Abyssal Spring, and the highest, Qianyang, differ as much as a common spiritual vein compared to a blessed land.

Above the thirty-six Spirit Mansions, there are even the legendary Ten Celestial Palaces.

The formation networks of the Celestial Palaces harmonize the Dao laws of the grotto-heaven, even modifying them to suit the cultivator’s level and aid their growth.

But the Ten Celestial Palaces are elusive. Even I have only heard of them.”

“Master, is that a Celestial Palace?” He Dongsheng suddenly interrupted, pointing at the mirror image that was gradually sharpening.

Inside the mirror, the boundless cloud sea had transformed into a massive meridian map, moving with Lu Yan’s circulation.

Each breath he took stirred the tides of heaven and earth, surging into the Celestial Palace.

Mu Chunqiu’s eyes dulled in awe as he muttered:

“Cloud Sea… Celestial Palace!”

Lu Yan’s cultivation within the Cloud Sea Celestial Palace began in earnest.

During this time, he finally experienced the unimaginable value of the so-called resource quota.

After only a single month, Lu Yan broke through to mid-stage Foundation Establishment.

At that moment, a celestial crane delivered a pill scroll listing over a hundred kinds of fourth-grade pills, from which Lu Yan could select ten.

These included pills for strengthening magical power, miraculous medical elixirs capable of regenerating flesh, longevity pills that extended life by three centuries, pills aiding the Nascent Soul breakthrough, and even pills for purifying the soul.

As fourth-grade pills were meant for Nascent Soul cultivators, Lu Yan, with his current cultivation, couldn’t use most of them. He selected three Soulshine Pills to refine his spirit and the remaining seven as Longevity Pills.

Though these could not be used repeatedly, Lu Yan didn’t choose them for himself—but to trade for treasures during future version updates.

Not every version had long lifespans like this one. Some versions, even with world-breaking power, had sharply limited life spans. In such places, cross-version Longevity Pills would be priceless.

After his selection, the crane that delivered the scroll transformed directly into a fifth-grade Dao Comprehension Pill.

This kind of pill, refined only by Divine Transformation Dao Lords, assisted even them in comprehending the Great Dao. Its rarity needed no explanation.

Yet later, Lu Yan would realize these pills were mere appetizers—the true treasures lay in the foundational legacies he had never even heard of.

The Immortal Spirit Pool, for instance, transformed the very environment into that of the legendary immortal realm, bathing his body in liquified immortal Qi for three days, eventually forging an Immortal Spirit Physique rivaling that of Golden Core body cultivators.

The Scripture Hall’s Primordial Genesis Diagram transported Lu Yan’s consciousness into a void, where he witnessed an Immortal opening the primordial chaos, quelling the four elements, and creating a grotto-heaven.

But Lu Yan’s cultivation was too low. He couldn’t even see the Immortal’s form clearly, let alone comprehend the world-creating Dao.

The Star God Formation synchronized with his soul, connecting to the surrounding stars. At its peak, it likely controlled 108,000 stellar fiends locked to the cosmos, with 365 Celestial Lords leading the assault.

For now, it simply tempered Lu Yan’s divine soul using the 108 Heavenly Stars and Earthly Fiends, helping him coalesce a True Spirit.

Five months passed swiftly.

Back on the Floating Island, Mu Chunqiu stood by the teleportation array, awaiting Lu Yan’s return.

Over the five months of cultivation in the Taiyi Grotto-Heaven, Lu Yan had absorbed what could be considered the pinnacle of Immortal Dao resources—many of which were meant for Divine Transformation Dao Lords.

It was only because the Four Seasons Lineage currently had no Dao Lord that these resources had accumulated.

In any other lineage, where the Dao Lords could hardly find enough for themselves, even a genius like Lu Yan would never have seen such treasures.

With such resources, even a peak Golden Core master could ascend to Nascent Soul with ease.

In Mu Chunqiu’s view, even if Lu Yan possessed the legendary Heavenly Dao Foundation, this treasure trove would surely be enough to push him into the Golden Core realm and awaken a Heaven’s Might Divine Ability.

If not that, then at least a top-tier Earth Fiend Ability.

At that point, even at early-stage Golden Core, he would dominate his fellow true disciple candidates and seize the position with ease.

Just then, a golden beam fell from the heavens, revealing Lu Yan’s figure within the teleportation array.

Clad in a black Dao robe, Lu Yan stepped forward, the runes of the formation fading around him.

His robe fluttered gently in the breeze, faint traces of celestial energy curling about his form. Each gesture, each step, exuded a detached grace—as if the esoteric Great Dao was flowing with his every movement.

Mu Chunqiu’s eyes lit with surprise, and he smiled as he asked:

“I wonder which divine ability Lu Xiaoyou managed to awaken?”

But his smile froze.

Because he saw that Lu Yan hadn’t broken through to the Golden Core Realm at all—let alone gained a Heaven’s Might Divine Ability.

Lu Yan emerged from the formation, breathing in the spiritual energy-thin air, a trace of fatigue in his eyes.

Five uninterrupted months of cultivation—even for him—was exhausting.

He bowed respectfully.

“Many thanks to True Lord Mu for the bestowed teachings.”

His words snapped Mu Chunqiu out of his daze, and he quickly recomposed himself, clearing his throat.

“Foundation… Even Foundation Peak is good. After all, Lu Xiaoyou has only cultivated for a little over three years.

To leap from mortal to Golden Core in such a time—even with grotto-heaven support—might invite instability.

Your Foundation is the most solid I have seen in my life. Lingering a little longer at this stage to perfect it before advancing may indeed be the wiser path.”

Lu Yan didn’t respond—he truly couldn’t bring himself to tell Mu Chunqiu the truth.

Within his body, the ten-layered Dao Foundation—like a divine mountain—held boundless spiritual power. But even that had only filled the nine layers representing Heaven, Earth, and Man.

The tenth and final Supreme Dao Foundation remained an unfilled ocean.

By conventional standards, nine layers already marked the limit of a Heavenly Dao Foundation. Even Mu Chunqiu, who was half a step into Divine Transformation, failed to notice that Lu Yan wasn’t actually at peak Foundation Establishment, but merely the late stage.

Though he hadn’t ascended to the Golden Core Realm as Mu Chunqiu had hoped, Lu Yan felt no disappointment.

In these five months, he had truly felt the might of the Supreme Dao Foundation.

The resources—enough to push a peak Golden Core to Nascent Soul—had forged in him a Divine Soul rivaling a Golden Core cultivator, an Immortal Spirit Body equal to a Core-refining body, and unlocked the potential of the Supreme Dao Foundation.

But all of that paled in comparison to his true harvest.

He sank his awareness into his body.

There, the ten-layered Dao Foundation rose like an arm supporting the heavens, atop which sat a radiant golden sun.

The golden sun shone like the primordial true Yang of the universe, illuminating all realms.

The Supreme Divine Ability Seed, born from the Supreme Dao Foundation, had finally been nurtured by the vast resources.

Though such a supreme ability couldn’t fully descend before Lu Yan formed his Golden Core, it still granted him one profound power:

He could use the Supreme Divine Seed to empower any technique or divine ability, forcibly elevating its tier to that of a Heaven’s Might Divine Ability.

Even a mere Fireball Spell, in Lu Yan’s hands, could possess Heaven’s Might!

With a Golden Core-tier Divine Soul, an Immortal Spirit Body, the peak spiritual power of nine Dao layers, and the Supreme Divine Ability Seed that could empower any technique—

Even without breaking through, Lu Yan was now no different from a Golden Core cultivator who had mastered Heaven’s Might.

With his own strength alone, he now had the confidence to sweep through all other true disciple candidates of Taiyi Sect…

And seize the position for himself!

(End of Chapter)