The moment the Spirit Platform Realm stabilized, Lin Sheng immediately felt the changes coursing through every part of his being.
The transformation wasn't limited to his sea of consciousness. His flesh, blood and qi all seemed to resonate with the newly formed Yellow Origin Sun suspended where the former white dwarf was. An indescribable warmth flowed through his body, washing over every inch of him as though a hidden shackle had quietly been broken.
His vitality became even more vigorous.
His qi circulated more smoothly.
Even the invisible weight pressing upon his spirit throughout cultivation seemed to have lessened considerably.
Without opening his eyes, Lin Sheng could clearly sense that his lifespan had increased. It wasn't a dramatic leap, but it was enough to make him understand that every breakthrough along the path of spirit cultivation elevated one's life itself. Essence, qi and spirit were never truly separate. Strengthening one would inevitably nourish the other two, and now that his spirit had crossed into a new realm, the benefits naturally spread throughout his entire body.
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
"So this is the Spirit Platform Realm..."
There was no excitement in his voice, only quiet satisfaction.
His breakthrough had succeeded exactly as the Chip predicted.
However, he had no intention of wasting the opportunity.
The Emptiness State was still active.
His thoughts remained unimaginably clear, every idea arriving in perfect order without distraction. Countless insights that normally required days or even months to sort through now seemed to organize themselves naturally before him.
Lin Sheng slowly stood up.
Without a word, he assumed the opening stance of the Zen Heaven Striking Technique.
The surrounding spiritual qi immediately stirred.
His right foot slid half a step forward while his body leaned slightly, the familiar posture becoming almost instinctive after countless repetitions.
The First Form.
His fist shot forward.
Wind gathered naturally around his arm before dispersing just as quickly.
The movement flowed smoothly, almost without flaw.
Without stopping, he transitioned into the Second Form.
Lightning Intent erupted.
A dull rumble echoed within the cave as faint arcs of electricity danced around his fist before disappearing.
Finally...
The Third Form.
The moment both Wind and Lightning Intent intertwined, the atmosphere around him changed noticeably.
Boom!
A violent shockwave spread through the cave.
Unlike before, however, the collision between the two intents no longer felt unstable. The destructive force was still present, but it was far more refined, as though the two opposing forces had finally begun cooperating instead of competing.
Lin Sheng frowned slightly.
"It still isn't enough..."
His mind unconsciously replayed the battle between the Grand Elder and the Startling Lightning Flood Dragon.
Every movement.
Every attack.
Every fluctuation of wind and lightning.
Thanks to the Chip, every scene remained perfectly preserved inside his memory.
He replayed it again.
And again.
The dragon's attacks weren't merely combinations of two different elemental powers. The wind and lightning had merged so naturally that separating them became almost impossible. Wind carried the lightning, while lightning accelerated the wind, allowing each to strengthen the other continuously until the resulting attack far surpassed the sum of its parts.
Compared to that...
His Third Form was still crude.
It relied on collision rather than true fusion.
No wonder the Grand Elder had spoken about Martial Will.
Without it, true integration was impossible.
Lin Sheng slowly exhaled before beginning once more.
The First Form.
The Second Form.
The Third Form.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Time quietly slipped away as every repetition corrected another minute imperfection. His movements gradually became smoother, his breathing steadier and the circulation of qi more natural.
Several hours later...
He finally stopped.
The Third Form now possessed nearly twice the control it previously had.
Although the increase in raw destructive power wasn't particularly obvious, Lin Sheng knew its true strength had risen considerably. Stable power could always be increased later, whereas unstable power would eventually injure its owner before harming the enemy.
He lowered his fists.
Yet...
The Emptiness State remained active.
His mind was still frighteningly clear.
"It would be a waste to stop now."
The thought naturally surfaced.
Almost instinctively, he returned to his stance.
This time...
He didn't begin with the First Form.
Instead, he slowly extended one hand into the air as though grasping something invisible.
His eyes remained closed.
Within his sea of consciousness, the newly formed Yellow Origin Sun quietly revolved while countless deductions flashed through the Chip.
A new framework gradually appeared.
The First Form represented movement.
The Second embodied explosive force.
The Third merged destruction through the collision of Wind and Lightning.
Then...
What should the Fourth become?
Lin Sheng remained completely still.
Minutes passed.
Then an hour.
A faint breeze suddenly circulated around his body without him releasing any qi whatsoever.
His fingers twitched.
The surrounding wind immediately spiraled around his arm before disappearing into his palm as though being compressed by an invisible force.
He didn't attack.
Nor did he move further.
Instead, he quietly memorized the sensation.
"So this..."
"...should become the beginning."
The Fourth Form was still incomplete.
In fact, it barely possessed any offensive capability at all.
It was merely a framework.
Yet Lin Sheng wasn't disappointed.
Creating techniques had never been something accomplished overnight.
The first three forms had taken years of accumulation before reaching their current state.
Now, with his cultivation advancing and his understanding of Martial Intent entering the Realm of Realisation, the foundation for the Fourth Form had finally been laid.
Once he comprehended Martial Will in the future...
This incomplete framework would naturally evolve into a complete technique.
Only then did Lin Sheng slowly withdraw his stance.
His breathing returned to normal.
A satisfied smile finally appeared across his face.
"The road ahead..."
"...is becoming much clearer."
.......
Time quietly passed inside the secluded cave.
Outside, the sun had already begun descending toward the western horizon, but Lin Sheng remained completely unaware of it. His entire attention was focused on another path that had remained stagnant for far too long.
His body refinement technique.
Ever since creating the Body Strengthening Method, he had only managed to push it to the peak of Rank 2 before barely stepping into Rank 3. Although it had served him well, Lin Sheng knew its shortcomings better than anyone else.
Back then, his knowledge had been limited.
The technique had been built upon the Myriad Forging Body Strengthening Method, the Vajra Fist and a handful of ordinary body refinement manuals. At the time, it was already an impressive accomplishment.
But now...
Everything had changed.
Over the past few years, the Chip had continuously gathered cultivation manuals, martial arts, body refinement inheritances and countless records from the Lin Family library, Dragon Yuan Mountain and the Heaven Seal Gate Secret Realm. Among them were dozens of Rank 2 body refinement methods and several genuine Rank 3 inheritances.
Compared to the crude framework he had once pieced together, his current understanding was on an entirely different level.
"Now is the perfect opportunity."
The Emptiness State was still active.
His mind operated with terrifying efficiency, countless streams of information flowing through his consciousness before being sorted and analyzed almost instantly.
One body refinement method after another appeared before him.
Their advantages.
Their flaws.
Their cultivation routes.
The circulation of qi and blood.
The methods of tempering muscles, bones, tendons and marrow.
Everything was rapidly compared before being fused together.
The new framework slowly took shape.
Unlike before, Lin Sheng wasn't creating an entirely new cultivation path from scratch. Instead, he was refining, correcting and strengthening his existing technique, removing its imperfections while preserving everything that suited him.
Hours slipped by without him noticing.
Only after the Chip finally completed the final deduction did Lin Sheng slowly open his eyes.
A satisfied smile appeared on his face.
"It'll do."
The new Rank 3 version of the Myriad Forging Body Strengthening Method was finally complete.
Of course...
A cultivation method was only useful if it could actually be cultivated.
Lin Sheng slowly stood up before assuming the familiar horse stance.
His breathing gradually slowed until every inhalation seemed to draw the surrounding spiritual qi toward him.
Unlike immortal cultivators, body refiners relied heavily on external resources. High-grade yao beast blood, flesh, medicinal herbs, spiritual medicines and countless natural treasures were all transformed into nourishment for the body. Spiritual qi alone could never support such enormous consumption.
Fortunately...
He already possessed everything he needed.
His gaze slowly shifted toward the crystal tube resting quietly beside him.
Inside floated a single drop of crimson blood.
Although only one drop...
The terrifying aura sealed within it caused even the surrounding spiritual qi to become restless.
Flood Dragon blood.
A genuine Rank 4 treasure.
Lin Sheng carefully removed the seal.
The instant it opened—
Boom!
An overwhelming wave of heat erupted from within the crystal tube.
The tiny drop of blood seemed almost alive.
Ancient draconic pressure filled the cave, carrying with it an indescribable sense of nobility and dominance.
Ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators would probably find it difficult to remain standing beneath that pressure alone.
Without hesitation...
Lin Sheng swallowed it.
The drop of blood entered his body almost instantly.
Then...
Pain.
An indescribable pain exploded throughout every inch of his flesh.
It wasn't as though someone was tearing apart his muscles.
Rather...
It felt as though every cell inside his body was being forcibly crushed before rapidly rebuilding itself.
His bones trembled.
His blood boiled.
His organs felt as though they had been thrown into a blazing furnace.
Sweat poured down his forehead almost immediately.
Lin Sheng's breathing became heavy, but he never once broke his stance.
"This..."
"So this is the strength of Rank 4 Flood Dragon blood..."
No wonder pure body refinement cultivators were so rare.
People often believed the greatest obstacle was the enormous amount of resources required.
That was certainly one reason.
But another...
Was the pain.
Every breakthrough meant tempering one's body again and again, forcing it beyond its limits until it could withstand even greater strength. Such cultivation demanded not only resources, but an indomitable will.
If one's consciousness collapsed midway...
The consequences would be disastrous.
Without a cultivator consciously refining and guiding the violent essence, the dragon blood would rampage through the body uncontrollably, tearing apart everything in its path before ultimately exploding the cultivator from within.
Countless body refiners had died exactly this way.
Lin Sheng naturally understood the danger.
Fortunately...
He wasn't alone.
Inside his sea of consciousness, countless lines of data continuously flowed across the Chip.
Every fluctuation within his muscles, blood vessels, bones and meridians was monitored without pause.
His heartbeat.
Blood circulation.
The dragon blood's movements.
The most suitable circulation route.
Everything was calculated with astonishing precision.
The breakthrough path before him wasn't random experimentation.
It was a cultivation route deduced after analyzing every aspect of his physiology, psychology and cultivation foundation.
Its success rate...
Approached perfection.
Even so...
The pain never lessened.
Instead, it grew even stronger.
The dragon blood continuously destroyed old flesh before allowing the newly improved technique to reconstruct it stronger than before.
Lin Sheng clenched his teeth.
His body trembled violently.
Yet his mind remained astonishingly calm.
The Spirit Platform breakthrough earlier had not merely strengthened his sea of consciousness.
His soul, will, spirit and mental resilience had all undergone another transformation.
Had he attempted this breakthrough before reaching the Spirit Platform Realm...
He honestly wasn't confident he could have endured until the end.
A bitter smile appeared on his face despite the overwhelming pain.
"Good thing..."
"...I broke through first."
Otherwise...
Today might truly have become the day he buried himself inside this mountain.