The celestial phenomenon lasted for a full quarter of an hour. During this time, Lin Hao remained as steady as a boulder, unflinching as lightning hung in the air and thunder roared in his ears!
After a quarter of an hour, the world returned to silence.
"The younger generation is truly formidable!" The Carefree Divine Monarch's voice echoed faintly, only now it was even weaker.
"Lin Hao, the recent lightning and thunder have shaken my soul, and it is about to dissipate. Listen closely. I will now pass my life's memories on to you. You can accept this with a clear conscience, because I have one condition. In the future, when you ascend to the Divine Demon Destruction Domain, you must help me fulfill an unresolved wish."
The Carefree Divine Monarch's voice was already lacking strength. Lin Hao didn't interrupt, but listened attentively.
"I do not need you to avenge me. There's no benefit for you to know the details of this wish right now. When the time is right in the future, you will naturally understand what I need you to do. Also, the Array Pattern Skill requires immense Spiritual Power. Learning about it now would only be counterproductive. When you reach the Elemental Control Realm, the Array Pattern Skill will naturally appear..."
At this point, the Carefree Divine Monarch's voice faded away. Lin Hao felt a jolt as a massive influx of memories flooded his mind.
'Earth... "airplanes" that soar ten thousand meters in the sky... palm-sized "cell phones" that can transmit voices over thousands of miles... and inside the "cell phone," there's even a game called "Airplane Shooter"... What a magical place!'
The Carefree Divine Monarch's homeland was a bizarre and fantastical world to Lin Hao.
However, after a brief moment of curiosity, Lin Hao's attention was captivated by the various Cultivation Techniques and martial skills.
After transmigrating, the Carefree Divine Monarch was unable to cultivate the martial path. However, his yearning for it grew stronger by the day. After he achieved mastery in Alchemy and Artifact Refining, whenever a Martial Artist came to request pills, he had only one condition: trade them for a Cultivation Technique or a martial skill!
Lin Hao randomly selected a few Cultivation Techniques from his mind to examine. Although they were nothing compared to the Godslaying Celestial Slash Skill, they were countless times stronger than what he had originally practiced in the Lin family!
Then there were the martial skills. As Lin Hao sifted through the memories, his initial ecstasy gave way to sheer frustration.
On the Celestial Yang Continent, martial skills were divided into four levels: Celestial, Earth, Profound, and Yellow. Each level was further divided into Top, Middle, and Low grades.
In the Lin family, the highest-level martial skill was merely Yellow Level Top Grade. But in the Carefree Divine Monarch's memories, the lowest-level martial skills were all Profound-level Top Grade!
Profound-level Top Grade martial skills required one's cultivation to reach the Seventh Layer of Elemental Control Realm to practice!
Lin Hao's current mood was like standing before a door, knowing full well that a mountain of treasure lay behind it, but not having the key to open it!
In fact, even a mountain of treasure couldn't compare to a single Cultivation Technique or martial skill!
On the Celestial Yang Continent, Cultivation Techniques and martial skills were considered priceless treasures!
The reason why families and sects could be passed down for hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of years without fading was all because of their Cultivation Techniques and martial skills!
Every major family and sect had Cultivation Techniques and martial skills that only Core Disciples were permitted to cultivate. Some were even passed down exclusively to the family patriarch or the Sect Leader.
It was no exaggeration to say that several of the Cultivation Techniques and martial skills in Lin Hao's mind were enough to establish a new sect!
Lin Hao had only one thought right now: 'If only there was a pill that could help me quickly ascend to the Elemental Control Realm!'
Unfortunately, no such pill existed.
Even if it did, his current body wouldn't be able to withstand it.
With great effort, Lin Hao forced his mind away from the Cultivation Techniques and martial skills. Then, he saw the miraculous Alchemy and Artifact Refining Skills.
In the Divine Demon Destruction Domain, the Carefree Divine Monarch was a Celestial-Level Pill King, only one step away from the legendary realm of Pill God.
Now that Lin Hao had fused with his memories, he also possessed the abilities of a Celestial-Level Pill King. Countless miraculous pill formulas and Alchemy Hand Seals flooded his mind. The feeling was like going from a beggar to an emperor in an instant!
There was also the Carefree Divine Monarch's Artifact Refining Skill, on par with his Alchemy Skill, which possessed the ability to instantly transform an ordinary weapon into a Spiritual Artifact!
Lin Hao had never even heard of such methods before, but now, he could already master them with proficiency!
This immense opportunity made Lin Hao's blood boil with excitement!
Compared to these skills he had already grasped, the unknown Array Pattern Skill fascinated Lin Hao even more!
Having fused with the Carefree Divine Monarch's memories, he "saw" the Divine Monarch's final, supreme moments.
Facing a powerful enemy, the Carefree Divine Monarch, who knew no martial skills, remained calm and nonchalant. With a casual toss of the pinky-sized paper balls in his hand, countless Devil Beasts charged forth.
The Devil Beasts became soldiers in his hands, so numerous they blotted out the sun and sky!
Turning scattered beans into soldiers!
This was the magical Array Pattern Skill!
Because of the magical Array Pattern Skill, the Carefree Divine Monarch had effortlessly caused the downfall of several thousand powerful martial experts, only losing in the end because he ran out of paper balls.
It was no exaggeration to say that as long as he had enough Devil Beast Souls, he could be invincible!
"The Elemental Control Realm... I must reach it in the shortest time possible!" After an unknown amount of time, Lin Hao finally recovered from his shock, clenched his fists, and made a vow!
The Elemental Control Realm! Not only could he cultivate powerful martial skills, but the mysterious and unfathomable Array Pattern Skill was also waiting for him!
Most importantly, before his soul scattered and vanished, the Carefree Divine Monarch had made that prediction about Lin Wu.
All of this compelled Lin Hao to quicken his pace!
...
As the night deepened, Lin Hao digested and sorted through the Carefree Divine Monarch's memories several more times until his mind became clear and empty.
Only then did he begin to visualize the correct circulation path of the Godslaying Celestial Slash Skill in his mind.
'Although I can't cultivate it yet, I can practice it in my mind first. That will surely make things much smoother when I actually start.'
With this thought in mind, Lin Hao began to tirelessly practice the technique in his mind.
Time slipped by as he practiced. When a streak of red appeared in the east, Lin Hao jolted and his eyes snapped open!
The red sun was just beginning to show, but Lin Hao didn't rush to cultivate. Instead, he stood up, exhaled a breath of turbid air, and began to stroll casually through the mountains. He watched the fallen leaves dance with the wind, listened to the distant roars of beasts, drank the sweet morning dew, and smelled the fresh fragrance of the trees...
The old Lin Hao would have seized every second to cultivate, but fusing with the Carefree Divine Monarch's soul had taught him that a taut string is easily broken, and that to cultivate the martial path, one must also cultivate the mind!
Although the Carefree Divine Monarch didn't understand the martial path, his mental state was countless times stronger than Lin Hao's.
The benefits Lin Hao gained from fusing with the Carefree Divine Monarch's soul were immeasurable.
Lin Hao wandered like a tourist, relaxing his mind, until his eyes caught a flash of red light.
'It's time to cultivate!'
Facing the red sun, Lin Hao sat down cross-legged. A few breaths later, he had already entered a state of detachment from himself and the world.
Because he had already practiced it countless times in his mind, it wasn't long after he began circulating the Godslaying Celestial Slash Skill that the red sun's rays were drawn in. Streaks of red light entered directly through the Baihui acupoint on the top of his head and traveled along his extraordinary meridians.
The frigid air generated by reversing the Godslaying Celestial Slash Skill was slowly dispersed by the scorching heat. Lin Hao's condensed muscles and bones were once again broken down by the hot energy...
Pain!
The excruciating pain of a dull blade grinding against bone assaulted him again. Lin Hao remained as steady as a boulder, letting the beads of sweat roll down his face.
The hot energy reached his Dantian and intertwined with the frigid air. Then came a loud "BOOM!"
As the saying goes, water and fire are incompatible; cold and hot energies are mortal enemies.
How could the frigid air allow the hot energy to forcibly occupy its nest? It instantly devoured it.
During this process, Lin Hao was hit by a massive impact. The intense pain made him wish for death, but he clung tightly to a sliver of clarity in his Spirit Platform and stubbornly held on.
After an unknown amount of time, the hot energy gradually increased until it was evenly matched with the frigid air, neither able to gain the upper hand.
Then, Lin Hao fell into a very strange state, with one half of his body as cold as ice and the other as hot as fire.
He continued to absorb the hot energy without stopping, until he finally realized something was wrong. His body had reached its limit!
'What should I do?'
In an instant, Lin Hao made a decision: reverse the Godslaying Celestial Slash Skill!
He immediately acted on his decision. When Lin Hao reversed the Cultivation Technique again, he was surprised to find that the pain had lessened.
However, after continuing for a few more cycles, even though there was no moonlight, the frigid air once again gained the upper hand.
Left with no choice, he went back to cultivating it normally.
Just like that, reversing and then normalizing, after an unknown amount of time, Lin Hao suddenly felt a gentle stream of energy emerge from his Dantian.
This stream of energy didn't need his guidance; it was already traveling along his meridians and bones, instantly spreading throughout his entire body. And under its influence, his skin, muscles, and bones began to re-form!
Lin Hao's eyes snapped open, a divine light flashing within them before disappearing!
He rose to his full height, and the sound of popping soybeans suddenly erupted as his bones and sinews crackled in unison!
Lin Hao felt that his entire body was brimming with power, which he desperately needed to vent.
With a thought, he "saw" that within his Dantian, there were two streams of energy, one white and one red, forming a blurry pattern.
That pattern was called a Taiji.
Lin Hao was stunned for a moment, then became ecstatic.
'That final stream of energy was produced by the resonance of these two. Yin and Yang are in harmony, hardness and softness complementing each other... This means I don't have to worry about my muscles and bones breaking again!'
Moreover, his current body felt more powerful than ever before.
As soon as this thought occurred to him, he threw a punch, and a giant boulder in front of him exploded with a BANG!
'This power...'
Lin Hao was dazed. It was only then that he belatedly realized he seemed to have entered the Blood Coagulation Realm Second Layer?
'But isn't the power of the Blood Coagulation Realm Second Layer a bit too formidable? That last punch had at least three thousand jin of force!'
And that was without even using a martial skill.
Looking at his own unharmed fist, even Lin Hao himself was shocked.
'Should I try again?'
Stretching his arms and legs, Lin Hao prepared to test it again, but as soon as he moved, he felt a sticky and deeply uncomfortable sensation.
Looking down, Lin Hao was astonished.
The surface of his body was covered in black, filthy stains that gave off an incredibly foul stench.
'Expelling the impurities and retaining the essence!'
'This powerful Cultivation Technique tempers the body and has expelled all the impurities from within me.'
"First, I'll find a place to wash up. Then I can use the Devil Beasts in the mountains for some punching practice!"
Lin Hao looked around, picked a direction, and set off.
Before long, he found a pool of water. Just as Lin Hao was about to wash himself, the hair on his body stood on end, and he felt a sense that he was being watched.
"Who! Who's there?!"
The Devil Beasts in the outer region of the Heaven-Sundering Mountain Range had not yet developed intelligence. Upon encountering prey, they would never just watch; they would attack directly!
'Therefore, the one watching me isn't a Devil Beast, but a human!'
Lin Hao stared at a certain spot, secretly on guard!
There was no response.
Lin Hao circulated the Godslaying Celestial Slash Skill, and his Spiritual Sense instantly sharpened severalfold. He sensed a faint, almost imperceptible trace of killing intent in the air.
Lin Hao wasn't afraid, but was actually pleased. 'I was just looking for someone to test my fists on.'
"If you won't come out, then I'll come to you!" Lin Hao's fighting spirit soared as he announced his challenge, stepping forward without hesitation!
Only then did a figure slowly walk out from the jungle beside the pool.
Seeing this person, Lin Hao stopped in his tracks. His eyes narrowed, and the wariness within them deepened.