Chapter 196 – The Art of Spirit Grafting
Inside his inner world, the vast space lay empty, save for a colossal sphere at the center, shrouded in swirling chaotic mist—like the very source of primordial chaos.
This sphere had once been a continent nearly a trillion kilometers across, but had ultimately condensed into a "planet" roughly 100,000 kilometers in diameter. Even so, it contained its own inner realm.
Ancient trees, stone tables, lumber axes… and the countless treasures Jiang Zhe had collected—all existed within.
The moment the first strand of world power was born, Jiang Zhe's consciousness resonated, allowing him to faintly sense the vast origin of the universe itself.
He had connected to the primal source of the original universe.
In the past, such connections were always indirect—like piggybacking on the Silver-Robed True Spirit's link. This time, however, it was his true consciousness that descended upon the universe's origin.
It was a boundless land. With his awareness alone, Jiang Zhe could sense nothing but endless earth, stretching beyond all limits. Each tiny grain of soil seemed like its own space, harboring countless cosmic crystals.
"A resonance between two realms…"
As Jiang Zhe's mind touched this primal ground, his inner world underwent astonishing changes. It was as if a tunnel had been instantly carved through the void, directly connecting his inner world with the primal source.
Endless energy from the universe's origin poured in like floodgates bursting open, madly rushing into his inner world, filling it entirely in the blink of an eye.
Consider this: his inner world's diameter had expanded tenfold—from one trillion kilometers to ten trillion kilometers, roughly 1.1 light-years—yet it was still instantly saturated.
Jiang Zhe wasn't surprised.
This kind of "free refueling" only happened once more at the immortal stage. After that, when breaking through to a Universe Venerable or Universe Lord, the original universe would become stingy. It would merely allow you to draw energy at your own pace, and however much you could absorb depended on your own capacity. It would never simply fill you up again.
He began manipulating the world power now permeating his inner world.
"Solidify!"
"Begin constructing the world…"
"Let's see… we'll start with a ring-shaped central continent, with an inland sea at its heart. That old chaotic planet will sit within the sea."
"Beyond the central continent, endless oceans."
Rumble—
World power materialized as unending torrents of water cascading from the void, flooding across his inner world. Even though it was an ocean spanning 1.1 light-years in diameter, Jiang Zhe found it strangely comforting.
He continued:
"Scatter eight massive continents across the oceans, each tied to one of the eight lower-tier elemental laws—metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, lightning, and light."
"Then, countless smaller landmasses, like stars scattered over the sea…"
"Finally—let life bloom across it all!"
Jiang Zhe allowed the inner world to evolve on its own. Magma surged, storms clashed, torrential rains fell, mountains rose, and vegetation sprouted. In mere moments, it was indistinguishable from a true world.
With the basic framework done, he still had leftover primal energy. Instead of condensing it into cosmic crystals to form mineral deposits, he used it differently.
He brought his Candle Shadow avatar and Demon avatar into his inner world, letting the mighty world power flood into them, pushing both to the World Lord level.
The Candle Shadow's body swelled to a terrifying 100 billion kilometers in diameter, consuming so much energy that Jiang Zhe felt his scalp tingle. The Demon avatar was more modest, growing back to its original size before gradually increasing to over ten thousand kilometers tall as it advanced.
Boom!
Suddenly, his original core shuddered violently.
Inside it, the torrents of soul crystal power and source force completely merged, following the universe's own rules of evolution to condense into a single Origin Pearl.
The pearl spun gently, sending out countless fine threads that latched onto the original core. Jiang Zhe could sense that his seemingly simple stone-like core had become even harder, meaning breaking through to the immortal stage would now be even more challenging.
As expected. He'd prepared for this long ago.
A deeper exploration
In his inner world, the near-100,000-kilometer chaotic planet sank into the inland sea and began spinning rapidly, transforming into a vast whirlpool—like the mythical Abyssal Eye.
From this whirlpool, endless sea water was sucked in. Jiang Zhe sensed that the "lifeline" of his inner world lay just beyond it. As long as the area covered by the ancient tree remained intact, no matter how badly damaged his world or divine kingdom became, he would not suffer fatal harm.
"Structurally, this feels a lot like the connection between a small universe and its primal origin space…" he mused. But he didn't dwell on it; by now he was long accustomed to the many peculiarities of his own body.
Once his Demon avatar finished its breakthrough, Jiang Zhe handed the original core to it for safekeeping. Then his true body dove into the whirlpool.
Narrow at first, just enough for a person to pass, but after a few dozen steps—suddenly it opened into a vast world.
It was exactly like the scene from Peach Blossom Spring.
This inner-inner world was normal enough: oceans, mountains, grasslands, rivers—everything a living world needed. Only the sky was unusual: a colossal canopy of thick, twisting, verdant branches covered the heavens.
Jiang Zhe landed right at the center, beneath the ancient tree whose trunk was so massive that even its eerie, face-like scars stretched beyond sight.
"Axe!"
He resumed his ten-thousand-kilometer-tall form, summoned his equally enlarged lumber axe, and swung it at a part of the tree trunk not yet covered by the ghostly faces.
"That's the twelfth strike. Brother Tree, I'll leave it to your generosity."
Then he smacked his lips and added,
"Of course, if you felt like giving me armor or a magic robe too, that'd be fantastic…"
Thump!
The axe rebounded off the trunk and shrank back to normal size, flying to rest on the stone table. Jiang Zhe returned to human size and stepped forward to pick up the golden orb of light that had splashed from the wound.
As his fingers touched it, the light dispersed, revealing its contents.
A familiar bundle of golden folded pages.
"Another secret art?" Jiang Zhe sighed. He was painfully aware that amassing too many secret arts wasn't necessarily helpful. He'd rather specialize deeply in one or two fields, like Thunder Dao or Soul Dao.
But when he glanced at the ancient runes on the cover—
"Art of Spirit Grafting"
—his eyes lit up.
"Hmm? This seems more functional. Like 'Second Primordial Spirit Mysticism' or 'Trinity Severance Dao Technique'—methods that fundamentally change your cultivation."
Curious, he flipped open the first page and began to read.
A dangerous, tempting power
"The Dao of Heaven takes from those with excess to fill those with deficiency…
Plunder, nurture, plant…
Use the strengths of myriad beings to nourish oneself…
Revert the acquired to the innate, shed the mortal shell, and birth the divine fetus…"
After a long while, Jiang Zhe exhaled deeply and closed the book.
He tilted his head and muttered,
"Cultivation to become an immortal?"
"I may not be the most scholarly guy, but I've seen similar cultivation techniques before—infamous demonic arts everyone wants to stamp out…"
"Art of Spirit Grafting" was essentially living grafting.
Say you admired the cheetah's explosive legs—you could graft their superior genetic traits onto your own legs, gaining the same burst of speed.
In xianxia terms, it was very much like the devouring arts from Shrouding the Heavens: swallow others' physiques to improve your own, shedding mortal bodies over and over until you achieved the ultimate form.
This secret art had three main parts:
Gathering Spirits: Plunder unusual traits from a target—be it physical prowess, innate arts, or special authorities.
Nurturing Spirits: Harmonize the stolen traits with yourself so there's no rejection in the next phase.
Planting Spirits: Graft the nurtured essence onto yourself, acquiring those abilities. It even blurred the lines of modification so thoroughly that you'd revert acquired traits into something innate, forming a flawless divine fetus instead of a stitched-together monstrosity.
Plans and possibilities
Jiang Zhe tapped the stone table thoughtfully.
"Is this technique useful to me? I don't really need any foreign racial talents…"
"But it could be invaluable for my precious daughters and sons. I never planned to pass down the 'Trinity Severance Dao Technique' to them—only the 'Second Primordial Spirit Mysticism'. Now it seems they have another way to gain clones."
"After all, it's not just the Golden-Horned Beasts that have innate clone talents. The Virtual Universe Company could easily capture countless lifeforms with such gifts. Those four little brats are truly in luck."
He laughed, then suddenly paused.
"Wait… I might be able to use this myself. Though I should discuss it with Orianna."
"Master?" Orianna's consciousness was within the Thunder Prison Realm.
Jiang Zhe explained, "Anna, the 'Nether Blood Egg' is a life embryo, forged from a Jiem Egg—it's alive. I'm thinking of using the 'Gathering Spirits' chapter on it, to integrate it with myself and perfect my body into a divine fetus."
Orianna immediately replied, "Master, that's an excellent idea. Why do you hesitate?"
Jiang Zhe sighed, "Anna, you once told me that the Blood Egg is you. It's your body, your 'Innate Treasure Companion'. In the future we'll rely on it to elevate our genetic levels… if I use 'Gathering Spirits' on it, won't that harm you?"
Orianna offered her own perspective instead, "Master, my analysis suggests you should do exactly that—gather me, plant me within yourself, and forge the most perfect symbiosis."
"Hm?" Jiang Zhe was surprised.
Orianna continued, "At the same time, you could plant the Blood Egg's traits into the Thunder Prison Realm, evolving it into a realm akin to a Beast King's lair—capable of nurturing more than just warriors. Transform the Blood Egg from an external treasure into your innate talent."
"Power is always safest in your own hands!"
Jiang Zhe weighed Orianna's suggestion deeply, sinking into thought.
—To use the Art of Spirit Grafting to destroy the Nether Blood Egg, thereby perfecting himself?
The benefits were enormous.
But there was one drawback: if he died, he wouldn't reincarnate inside the Blood Egg to live a second life as "Jiem."
All these cycles, yet in the end, the original "revival coin" Orianna prepared for him would still be lost.
A family inheritance
Soon after, Jiang Zhe's inner world welcomed its first guests.
Lei Lei, Qiaolin, and the four children hovered above the inland sea, staring at the vast whirlpool like an Abyssal Eye.
They were still overwhelmed. All along the way, they realized Jiang Zhe's inner world was vastly different from the standard realms recorded for World Lords.
A diameter of ten thousand kilometers?
No!
Try over one light-year wide!
Jiang Zhe's voice snapped them out of their daze.
"This is an inner realm within an inner world. I've stored the future foundation of our Thunder Emperor lineage here."
"Also, only inside can you receive the inheritance. Once you leave, you won't be able to speak a single word of what you learned. You're all my closest family—come, let's go."
Without waiting for their responses, he descended into the whirlpool.
Lei Lei and Qiaolin immediately followed. The four children exchanged thrilled looks—they could see the excitement mirrored in each other's eyes.
Their father, the number one genius of the human race, was finally going to hand out some gold-tier loot!
Choosing their future
Inside the "realm within a realm," they all stared up at the canopy of the titanic tree, voices full of awe. Even Lei Lei and Qiaolin were visibly shaken.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Jiang Zhe clapped to get their attention, then pointed to the nearby stone table.
"Look there—"
"'Second Primordial Spirit Mysticism', 'Five Thunders Mastery', 'Art of Spirit Grafting', 'Thunder God Codex'… these are four secret inheritances not tolerated by the origin will of the universe. They are the very roots of my rise, and will be the core inheritance of our Thunder Emperor line."
"For real?!"
"So powerful?!"
"Haha, secret arts, here I come!"
"Wait, big bro, big sis—let me pick first, I'm the youngest!"
The four kids burst out laughing, rushing to the stone table to examine the farewell gifts their father had prepared.
Jiang Zhe casually raised a hand. The 'Second Primordial Spirit Mysticism' flew out of Jiang Yuanming's grasp and landed before Lei Lei and Qiaolin.
Lei Lei accepted it, and the two women began reading it together.
"This is for you two. I've also prepared the necessary vessels—wedding gifts from the Dark Lord himself."
With a flip of his hands, two ancient stone boxes appeared in his palms. One was inscribed with flame patterns, the other with lightning.
"The Blazing Fire Pearl!"
"The Gloom Thunder Diamond!"
Jiang Zhe smiled.
"Now, here's a question for you both—which will take fire, and who will take thunder?"
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