Chapter 28: The Complete Wheel and Sea Scripture

After finishing his daily cultivation, Li Yao finally took out a massive quantity of Source.

What mattered most to him now were the subsequent cultivation scriptures. Deducing the Divine Bridge chapter of the Yaoguang Imperial Scripture required five thousand catties of pure Source. He had not taken action before due to a lack of resources, but now that he had enough, he immediately chose to proceed with the deduction.

As the Heavenly Book absorbed the vast amount of Source, a brilliant light of enlightenment flared, and the text of the Divine Bridge chapter appeared in Li Yao’s sea of consciousness. With the Divine Bridge chapter successfully deduced, Li Yao did not stop; he continued by inscribing the Other Shore chapter onto the Heavenly Book.

He then poured in another massive amount of Source, consuming over eleven thousand catties—which amounted to eight thousand catties of pure Source. Thus, the Sea of Bitterness volume of the Yaoguang Scripture had been fully upgraded to the level of an Imperial Scripture, costing him nearly twenty thousand catties of pure Source in total.

"Whew, it truly deserves its reputation as a bottomless pit for Source. Fortunately, I took a gamble and struck it rich. If I had relied solely on the monthly allowance of pure Source from the Yaoguang Holy Land, I don't know how long I would have had to wait," Li Yao remarked with a click of his tongue.

The cost was immense, but it was worth it. To say nothing else, if he dared to sell the Sea of Bitterness volume of the Yaoguang Imperial Scripture, countless factions would scramble for it, even at ten times the cost of twenty thousand catties of pure Source. However, the path of selling cultivation techniques was certainly not one he could continue; the waters in that trade were far too deep.

A mere passerby in the world of Shrouding the Heavens, yet knowing everything!

"But that is fine. I only chose the thankless task of selling techniques because I lacked resources. Now that I have plenty, the options open to me are far greater."

"There is a saying: when poor, use guerrilla tactics; when rich, use overwhelming firepower."

In the world of Shrouding the Heavens, the fastest way to acquire Source inevitably leads back to the Art of Source. This was the best method Li Yao could think of, yet ordinary Source techniques were useless; even if one learned them, there was no guarantee of finding anything of value. The Source Heaven Book was excellent, but he dared not go to Purple Mountain. As for deduction through the Heavenly Book, that also required a massive amount of Source—one could not expect to deduce a peerless Source technique by throwing in a mere hundred or two hundred catties. That was impossible; such good fortune did not exist.

However, these were no longer problems. With over a hundred thousand catties of Source in his possession, he had more than enough to deduce a formidable Source technique.

Once he possessed the Art of Source, he could gamble for Source in broad daylight.

After resolving the issue of his resources, Li Yao stopped going out and remained in his room to cultivate. However, things were different this time. After fully deducing the Sea of Bitterness volume of the Yaoguang Imperial Scripture, he had also obtained three Imperial Glyphs—the ultimate essence of the Yaoguang Imperial Scripture.

These three Imperial Glyphs contained endless profundities of the Great Dao, pointing directly to the essence of the laws of the universe; they were, in themselves, unimaginably powerful divine abilities. Using divine power to channel these Imperial Glyphs greatly increased their destructive potential; when integrated into offensive divine techniques, they could double his combat strength. And this was only with three glyphs; if one were to collect all nine, it would be the complete form of the Imperial Scripture, capable of boiling seas and scorching mountains.

Furthermore, the effect of inscribing these Imperial Glyphs onto his furnace was far superior to inscribing mere scripture. The effect of one inscription of the Imperial Glyphs equaled three of the scripture. With improved efficiency, the forging speed of his divine furnace increased significantly, and the blazing holy radiance grew even more brilliant—once unleashed, it would be enough to evaporate an entire lake.

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, half a month went by.

Li Yao underwent a transformation akin to being reborn, his divine sense becoming increasingly refined, almost on the verge of taking physical form. Additionally, there was another delightful change: his body was undergoing a metamorphosis, his constitution was improving, his physical shell shimmered with divine brilliance, and his Sea of Bitterness expanded further, now the size of a pear.

Between Li Yao's brows, a small golden lake appeared, profound and bottomless, now ready to condense into form.

"Divine power rolls like tidal waves, the sky is filled with rosy clouds and thousands of auspicious rays. I have reached the peak of the Life Spring realm," he felt somewhat stirred.

Li Yao waved his hand, and a hundred catties of Source spread out. A majestic surge of essence energy, like a vast ocean, swept through him. As he circulated the Yaoguang Imperial Scripture, his body seemed to turn into a vortex of the North Sea, madly absorbing the essence into his body.

His body felt as if it had been starving for a long time, devouring the energy like a glutton. Li Yao felt his body shudder, his bones cracking and popping, his flesh trembling, and his internal organs vibrating violently. He was in immense pain.

Cultivation is, in essence, a process of evolution. Every time a realm is broken, it is like a rebirth, but the pain of this transformation is unavoidable. As his cultivation reached the brink of a breakthrough, Li Yao clearly felt his level of life elevating. Black seawater surged, rushing toward the high heavens, and beneath the sea, the Wheel of Life shone brilliantly, radiating intense light.

On the jade-white Wheel of Life, eleven marks had already appeared, occupying a significant portion of its surface. These were the traces left by time; once these marks filled the entire wheel, it would signify that life had reached its end.

Hum!

Suddenly, the Wheel of Life vibrated, and the marks began to shrink, occupying less and less space.

"No... it is not that the marks are shrinking, but that the Wheel of Life is sublimating, growing larger, which gives me the illusion that the marks are shrinking," Li Yao realized.

After a long time, another hum resonated, and the cleansing of his body ended. His newly formed flesh and bones had undergone a heaven-defying change.

After being cleansed, his bones were as white as jade and possessed an incredible hardness, comparable to divine weapons. His internal organs, once nourished, were flawless and pure, devoid of any impurities, resembling divine artifacts. His skin was nourished until it was crystalline and lustrous, nearly transparent, shimmering with precious light.

His blood roared within him like a surging ocean, and his terrifying life force shot straight into the heavens.

Li Yao’s body glowed radiantly, but the transformation did not stop there. The massive essence energy turned into streams and poured into the space between his brows, shining with gold light—the small lake was deep and bottomless.

With the physical transformation complete, the transformation of his divine sense followed. Li Yao did not stint on resources; after the first hundred catties of Source were consumed, he waved his hand, and another hundred were added. Such a luxurious way of cultivating would make many people click their tongues in disbelief; this was only the cultivation of the Sea of Bitterness realm, yet it consumed so much.

But there is no gain without sacrifice. Through the consumption of such vast resources, Li Yao’s potential was thoroughly excavated.

"Brother Zhang, it seems your Rising Sun Island lineage has worthy successors. With this youth, your reputation will remain undiminished for the next two thousand years. No wonder you caused such a stir a while back—not only sending out countless disciples to search for his trail but also personally venturing out to slay bandits, leaving that road stained with blood for a thousand miles."

Inside a grand and magnificent palace, two figures stood on the highest level. From here, the view was excellent, overlooking the entire Yaoguang Holy Land branch. The man speaking was middle-aged, and beside him stood Zhang Chong.

At this moment, at the edge of their vision, was the very place where Li Yao was in seclusion.

Even with the formations acting as a barrier, the fluctuations of his breakthrough still leaked out, accompanied by thousands of auspicious rays and a myriad of rosy clouds.