Merin returns to Jijin City without any obstacle, his steps steady as though nothing unusual had occurred.
He goes directly to his room, closing the door behind him, isolating himself from the noise of the city.
Sitting cross-legged, he takes out the jade slips he copied, eyes gleaming faintly as he begins examining the Fantasy Butterfly race's Dao techniques.
The first Dao technique is Fantasy Nine Sword, a sword art that layers illusions and reality, each strike weaving between truth and falsehood.
The second Dao technique is Fantasy Construct, the power to turn figments of imagination into reality for a brief time.
The third Dao technique is Fantasy Clone, creating a clone of oneself and transferring injuries to it instantly.
The fourth Dao technique is Fantasy Fire, a spiritual flame born of the Fire Law and Fantasy Law fused together.
The fifth Dao technique is Fantasy Seal, the creation of a small sealed space using Fantasy Law to bind an enemy's spirit.
Merin immerses himself in study, day after day, year after year, his comprehension of these Fantasy Butterfly inheritances deepening.
Five years later, he finally masters them, each technique now flowing within his grasp, harmonised with his already vast understanding.
During this time, his insight into the five-element principles also expands, earth, fire, water, metal, and wood, refined to sharper clarity.
Now comes the critical moment.
Merin exhales slowly, his consciousness sinking into the illusion space, his spirit merging with the core of that dreamlike realm.
He takes hold of the foundation of the space, threads of light and law interwoven, and begins the delicate process of adding new rules.
The principles of the five elements, now fuller and sharper than before, extend like rivers, flowing into the illusion space.
The Fantasy principles, drawn from the Butterfly race techniques, merge behind them, blurring the boundary between dream and reality.
The illusion space quivers, resisting the change for an instant, then expands, rippling like a vast ocean touched by a storm.
Merin's focus sharpens as he weaves these laws together, waiting to see what transformation his inner world will achieve.
Merin's focus sharpens as he weaves the five elements and Fantasy principles into the core of the illusion space.
The threads of law resist at first, but his will is firm, guiding them until they harmonise with the existing structure.
The ninja world inside the illusion space trembles, not with drastic change, but with a subtle deepening.
Its skies grow clearer, its ground firmer, its rivers flowing with a weight that feels closer to reality.
The villagers within speak and move with sharper coherence, their lives no longer shallow echoes but touched by a faint sense of self.
The great array running beneath the world hums more smoothly, its intelligence evolving, decisions branching with deeper nuance.
Battles play out with greater logic, training grows more refined, and the flow of chakra resembles that of a true world.
Merin feels the stability settle, like a painting that has been given depth and weight.
The illusion space has advanced, no longer an initial Dao construct but now an intermediate Dao realm.
The strength of its core radiates back into him, steady and solid, enhancing his spirit with newfound power.
He opens his eyes slowly, a faint smile forming, knowing he has taken one step closer to merging dream and reality.
With the advance of the illusion space, the pressure of his inner devil weakens until he no longer feels its whisper.
The chains binding him are gone, leaving only clarity and stillness in his heart.
He thinks to himself that he can now advance to the Great Tao Lord realm.
His Tao has already reached the Great Saint realm, so only energy remains as the barrier.
He checks his storage and counts the source stones, finding them far too few to push him past the threshold.
Without hesitation, he leaves Jijin City, vanishing into the wilderness where spirit beasts roam.
His Devouring Fire technique burns through prey after prey, refining their essence into his core.
But as he cultivates, a sense of incompleteness lingers in his heart.
The fire devours, yet much of the energy is wasted, slipping through the cracks of its crude design.
He realises this technique, born as a simple tool, cannot sustain his path any longer.
If he wishes to rise to Great Tao Lord, he must refine it, elevate it, and transform Devouring Fire into a true Dao technique.
The thought sets his spirit alight, and as he hunts, his mind also turns ceaselessly, searching for the missing principle.
The thought sets his spirit alight, and as he hunts, his mind also turns ceaselessly, searching for the missing principle.
Each battle becomes a forge.
Sometimes he unleashes the Destruction Fist, its force shaking earth and bone; other times, the Fantasy Nine Sword, weaving illusion and edge into a seamless whole.
After every hunt, he sits in silence, recalling each strike, each clash, tracing the flaws in his execution and the gaps in the techniques themselves.
Slowly, as if heaven itself responds, the Destruction Fist deepens, its crude explosiveness giving way to the profound rhythm of collapse and ruin.
He senses threads of the Law of Destruction in heaven and earth, not bound to the five elements but flowing freely, eternal and absolute.
The Devouring Fire follows the same path.
At first a mere flame of hunger, it shifts as his understanding grows, until he feels the pulse of the Law of Devouring echoing through existence.
No longer does he seek to shape it from elemental laws; instead, he grasps it directly from the marrow of creation.
One day, while roaming the wilderness in search of prey, a roar tears through the desert air, sharp as crystal shards.
His eyes narrow as a Nine-Colored Crystal Deer bursts forth, its antlers shimmering with radiant light, each hue a blade of pure essence.
It lowers its head and charges, the ground fracturing under its hooves, a storm of multicoloured energy surging behind it.
Merin steadies himself, not with the thought of devouring, but with the clarity of profit—every bone, every crystal shard, every drop of its essence is worth a fortune in source stones.
The Nine-Colored Crystal Deer, a half-step Tao King, collides with him, and the desert becomes their battlefield.
He, a late Tao Lord, meets it head-on, Destruction Fist and Devouring Fire weaving into his strikes, while his eyes remain calm, already calculating how to bring down such a beast without shattering its priceless body.
He, a late Tao Lord, meets it head-on, Destruction Fist and Devouring Fire weaving into his strikes, while his eyes remain calm, already calculating how to bring down such a beast without shattering its priceless body.
His fist crashes forward, wrapped in the aura of destruction, each blow carrying the power to collapse mountains and tear apart the fabric of earth.
The Nine-Colored Crystal Deer answers with a roar, antlers gleaming like prismatic blades, shards of crystal light bursting outward to shatter space.
The Law of Crystal condenses around its body, forming armour of dazzling brilliance, each plate harder than steel, each refraction scattering his destructive force.
Simultaneously, the Law of Light surges forth, blinding rays lashing out, striking like spears that pierce through his defences with divine precision.
Merin shifts his stance, weaving destruction into flowing arcs, breaking apart the crystal shards before they pierce him, while his Devouring Fire burns at the light, pulling at its essence to weaken its brilliance.
The desert quakes with every exchange, dunes collapsing, rock spires reduced to dust, air torn by the clash of principle against principle.
He studies even as he fights, noting how the crystal resists collapse, how light pierces through gaps in destruction, adjusting his fist to flow with the rhythm of ruin rather than brute force.
The Nine-Colored Crystal Deer presses harder, its body a rainbow blur, speed surging as beams of light carve scars across the battlefield, each antler strike like a Tao weapon unleashed.
Merin's fists glow with collapsing runes, Destruction and Devouring intertwining, his intent not to crush recklessly but to dismantle, strip, and exhaust.
The battle stretches, neither side giving ground, until the world itself seems split between rainbow brilliance and the abyssal void of ruin.
Merin's body trembles under the strain, blood staining his lips, bones groaning with each collision, yet his fists remain steady, his spirit unyielding.
The Nine-Colored Crystal Deer roars, light bursting in a final, desperate surge, crystal shards spinning like a storm to cut everything within reach.
Merin gathers the last of his strength, collapsing his intent into a single strike, destruction compressing until it takes the shape of a blade, sharp enough to sever heaven and earth.
He swings, the blade of Destruction Law cleaving through rainbow crystal and radiant light, piercing the deer's defences with ruthless finality.
Its head parts from its body in a spray of fractured brilliance, collapsing to the ground with a shudder that shakes the desert for miles.
The beast's soul, pure and radiant, rises in the air like a prismatic flame, only to be drawn instantly into Merin's illusion space, claimed before the heavens can reclaim it.
Merin lands heavily beside the corpse, his knees nearly buckling, every breath weighted with pain, yet his eyes shine with grim triumph.
The colossal body of the Nine-Colored Crystal Deer lies still, priceless and intact, its rainbow glow slowly dimming into silence.
Just as he steadies himself, five powerful auras surge across the desert, oppressive as mountains, each belonging to a peak Great Tao Lord.
Merin turns his head slightly, his gaze sharpening, as five figures approach swiftly from the horizon, their killing intent already locked onto him.