Chapter 13: The Lineage of the Supreme Sage

On the ancient star Beidou, the Renegades sect had earned a notorious reputation, having once caused great chaos when one of their own emerged.

The Devouring Heaven Demon Technique was unlike other scriptures; it was extraordinarily sinister. As long as one continuously devoured, their cultivation would soar.

If one’s cultivation was insufficient, they would simply devour more. Why bother with slow cultivation when one could seize power directly? If lacking in innate talent, they would consume special physiques to compensate for their shortcomings.

In the early stages, this technique required no particular temperament—only the act of devouring to grow stronger. The addictive nature of gaining strength through direct consumption often led to madness and demonic frenzy.

In the past, this had sparked enormous turmoil; the people of Beidou Ancient Star lived in fear, as anyone could become a target of the Renegades.

Eventually, the sacred lands and ancient noble families could no longer tolerate it. They united to suppress the Renegades, dealing them a severe blow.

From then on, the Renegades withdrew from the public eye into the shadows. This shift did not silence them; instead, they found a new path.

Hiding in the shadows meant no one dared to fear them—this was excellent news for the Renegades.

The Supreme Sect of the Yaoguang Holy Land had existed for as long as anyone could remember, perhaps since the founding of the Yaoguang Holy Land itself. The sect had long been searching for powerful special physiques, and now, it seemed there was one within Yaoguang Holy Land they could not afford to ignore.

“The intelligence from Sunrise Divine Island and Dragon Head Peak says that Li Yao, the newcomer to the Holy Land, is merely a mortal,” one voice said.

“Could it be a ruse? Both factions vie for Li Yao’s allegiance; naturally, they would want to keep a low profile.”

“There’s no need for that. Everyone in the Twelve Branches knows about Li Yao.”

“If he isn’t a special physique yet both Dragon Head Peak and Sunrise Divine Island are competing for him, his talent must be extraordinary.”

Voices echoed in the grand hall, each offering their opinions.

In the end, they reached no conclusion. The best course was to see Li Yao with their own eyes; then, all truths would be revealed.

…

At Sunrise Divine Island, Li Yao, unaware that the very people he feared most in Yaoguang Holy Land were watching him closely, concentrated entirely on his cultivation.

After a month of devoted practice, aided by abundant resources and the heavenly tome’s autonomous absorption of spiritual energy, his development of the Sea of Bitterness was astonishingly rapid.

Only a month had passed, yet his Sea of Bitterness, once the size of a grain of rice, had grown to nearly a fist’s size.

Black seawater churned violently, towering waves surged, an endless ocean heaved powerfully, sweeping toward the heavens, while fierce divine radiance scattered across the sky.

Compared to the initial opening of his Sea of Bitterness, it now exhibited extraordinary signs: lightning streaked across the vast sky, brimming with vitality, and the roar of tsunamis deafened the ears.

These changes came from pushing the Sea of Bitterness to its limits—opening all the gates of potential, manifesting transformations of this nature.

Above the Sea of Bitterness hung iron chains with a metallic sheen—divine runes formed from condensed life energy, which could be extended outward to attack foes.

This was only a rudimentary application; the true method was to forge these runes into artifacts, thereby mastering the power to control objects.

At every stage within the Wheel Sea secret realm, cultivators would develop divine runes in their bodies. The stronger the foundation, the more runes manifested; weaker ones bore fewer.

Ordinary cultivators in the Sea of Bitterness realm had perhaps only a handful of runes, while disciples from major sacred lands and noble families generally possessed just over a dozen.

Li Yao, however, had an astonishing number of runes. His scripture was powerful, rivaling the Imperial Scripture. Moreover, he spared no effort or resources in strengthening his foundation. In just one month, he consumed one hundred thirty jin of purified essence, plus the spiritual energy absorbed by the heavenly tome. Altogether, conservatively, he drew at least one hundred fifty jin of pure essence.

This immense foundation was reflected in the number of divine runes within him.

Currently, thirty-six divine runes stretched across the space above his Sea of Bitterness, forming a celestial chain of the Dao itself.

Ordinary disciples would have long broken through to the Life Fountain realm after nearly completing the Sea of Bitterness, as who would waste so much pure essence just expanding the Sea?

Cultivation never followed personal whims. Li Yao’s extravagance was only possible because of the support from Sunrise Divine Island.

Without the island’s backing, developing the Sea of Bitterness to this scale would have taken him at least half a year, even with the heavenly tome’s assistance absorbing vast spiritual energy.

Those lacking resources, and without such aid, faced far greater hardships—many spent their entire lives cultivating their Sea of Bitterness.

…

“Now that the Sea of Bitterness has been developed to its extreme, he can break through to the Life Fountain realm. Once he does, his monthly resource intake will jump from five hundred jin of pure essence to seven hundred.”

An extra two hundred jin per month was invaluable to Li Yao.

The heavenly tome was a great consumer of essence; to elevate the Yaoguang Scripture’s Life Fountain chapter to the level of the Imperial Scripture, he still needed at least two thousand jin of pure essence.

His cultivation of the scripture was his path; there was no room for negligence. Although the original Yaoguang Scripture was strong, it lagged far behind the Imperial Scripture.

After breaking into the Life Fountain realm, his monthly resources would increase by two hundred jin. Combined with his current reserves, he could fully charge the heavenly tome in just three months, then proceed to advance the Life Fountain chapter of the Yaoguang Scripture.

If he remained in the Sea of Bitterness realm, it would take over four months—an obvious disadvantage.

Having tasted the ease of abundant cultivation resources, Li Yao refused to live a meager life. He would never allow the tragedy of a fallen genius to befall him. Constant progress and astonishing the elders of Sunrise Divine Island into pouring resources into him—that was his true goal.

“Whoosh!”

Li Yao exhaled gently, withdrawing a fist-sized piece of pure essence, then activated the Yaoguang Scripture to absorb it.

Boom!

The Sea of Bitterness roared with turbulent waves; the spiritual energy surged endlessly, dazzling and radiant.

At its center, rolling clouds billowed like smoke from a battlefield, shooting upward like an erupting volcano.

The blazing sunlight burst forth from his body, enveloping Li Yao in a brilliant holy glow, as if he were donning a suit of armor.

Strange phenomena rose within the Sea of Bitterness; the core erupted like an underwater volcano amid flashes of lightning and thunder, waves surging to the skies—violent changes unfolding within.

Li Yao’s life energy fluctuated with ever-growing intensity, spiritual energy flowing ceaselessly. His limbs and bones were nourished, his flesh and shell becoming remarkably robust, far stronger than before.