Three days had passed since the meeting ended
Lin Shen was in his base making preparations
While Sun Rong returned to the Tang Sect
"I need to improve myself" Lin Shen said
He looked at Athens which was cut and scorched from the previous battle
"I will not be needing you anymore but I am not going to discard you either" Lin Shen said as he placed a palm on Athens
He then traced the scorch marks and sword dents on the shield before pulling his hands it away
From then on he fell into a routine the first thing he did was take apart Athens and remodeled it into a new weapon
While the assembly lines worked on the new weapon, he made another schematic
And uploaded it into the assembly lines
"Estimated time until completion for all projects is one month" the base's AI spoke
"From now on designate this place as Tri-Eye Dominion"
"and you're name will be Ling Zhi" Lin Shen said
"Designation added"
"AI Designation Ling Zhi"
"From now on do not allow anyone even foot into Xuanwu Valley increase security and deploy ARCHON, Heaven Breaker and Hell Bringer"
"If they run away from here don't chase" Lin Shen ordered
"I am going into seclusion do not contact me unless it is an emergency"
And from there Lin Shen went into seclusion
In order to breakthrough the third stage in his Chaos Forged Body Sutra
Lin Shen needed to use the elemental Qi from his various cores in order to do so
But after making some calculations Lin Shen realized he needed to use all the elements at once
He used Fire QI to temper his muscles
While lightening Qi surged through his nerves
Earth Qi tempered his bones
Water Qi tempered his flexibility and blood flow
Wind Qi Improved his tendons
But his body was on the verge of breaking and he struggled to maintain consciousness
"Damn it, even the tribulation which I faced was not this painful"
"Painful, wait a minute am I missing something"
"My elemental tempering is of the second stage of the Chaos Forged Body Sutra"
"There are six elements in total but right now I am sensing five elements"
Then Lin Shen focused his consciousness inward
"Found you" Lin Shen said as a wave of wood elemental Qi spread through his body
"There it is Wood Qi, I needed to use all basic elements at once if I want to breakthrough"
Once the wood Qi spread through his body
Internal damage caused by the tempering now started healing
Tissue regrew stronger than before as his body became hard as a rock yet it flowed like water
This went on for a month until Lin Shen finally broke through
His body started adjusting maintaining optimal conditions
"Chaos Forged body Sutra Third form… Adaptive body" said Lin Shen as he slowly opened his eyes
After Lin Shen made a breakthrough in his body, he started refining his soul
"The Harmonic Soul Sutra is already at the second state which lets me track multiple energies at once"
"But I need to reduce conflict between my cores in battle that way I can draw out more power"
So, he meditated again thanks to the second state allowing him to track multiple energies
Lin Shen focused inward into his soul towards his dantian
And for the first time he saw it clearly the cores were disorganized
A fire element core was placed right next to a wood element core
An Ice element core was placed near a water element core
They were organized chaos you could say
"So that's why the cores always clashed" Lin Shen realized
Lin Shen focused his Qi into his dantian, carefully moving the cores next to compatible ones.
At first, nothing happened.
Then a violent surge of energy erupted within him.
"Ghk—!"
Lin Shen coughed, his body trembling as conflicting energies lashed out like wild beasts refusing to be tamed.
The fire core flared violently as it brushed against water.
Lightning sparked uncontrollably as wind currents destabilized its flow.
"This isn't enough…" he muttered through gritted teeth.
His eyes sharpened.
"Tracking isn't control."
Taking a deep breath, Lin Shen slowed everything down.
The world faded as his senses turned inward.
Inside his dantian the chaotic cluster of cores pulsed like a miniature universe on the verge of collapse.
This time, he didn't force them.
He observed.
Fire burned with aggression Water flowed with patience Wind moved freely Earth remained unmoving
"They're not clashing… they're resisting imbalance."
A realization struck him.
"This isn't about grouping… it's about harmony."
Lin Shen adjusted his approach.
Instead of forcing cores together—
He began creating flow paths between them.
Fire no longer sat directly beside water…
Instead, earth stood between them, stabilizing both.
Lightning was guided through wind, enhancing its speed rather than destabilizing it.
Wood was placed near water, feeding off its nourishment.
Slowly… carefully…
The chaotic storm began to change.
The violent clashes weakened as the surges softened.
Then a low, resonant hum echoed within his body as the cores began rotating.
Not randomly but systematically.
A cycle.
A balance.
Lin Shen's body shook violently as a powerful wave of energy surged through him.
His veins lit up.
His bones trembled.
His soul expanded.
Then something broke.
Or rather opened.
Lin Shen's eyes snapped open and a faint glow shimmered behind them.
"So this… is true harmony." Lin Shen said exhaling slowly as he felt the difference immediately.
The strain was gone
The instability… reduced.
For the first time all his cores were working together.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Harmonic soul Sutra Third state Harmonic Alignment"
After making a breakthrough in his Harmonic Soul Sutra Lin Shen
Tried to use the Chaos Resonance Sutra again
After an hour of testing its limits
Lin Shen realized he could used the Fourth cycle of the Chaos resonance Sutra freely with minimal backlash
Out of the six months, Lin Shen spent four months in seclusion and spent the last two months building a new weapon and improving Carnage
But he lacked the materials to do so he left the base and went to the nearby ravine to mine resources
ARCHON was sitting by the entrance meditating while Hell Bringer and Heaven Breaker sparred
He sent mining drones and automated excavators to mine resources from the nearby by deposit
While the resources where being Excavated Lin Shen found a cave
He analyzed it using the golden eye and realized it was not naturally formed
Instead of sending drones in to scout the place he entered it by himself
As he stepped into the cave he started hearing strange noises
The sounds followed a pattern and it sounded like low rumble
As he followed the sound, he reached an opening
The moment he stepped through—
He froze.
A massive creature lay at the center of the cavern.
Its body was covered in cracked, scorched scales that shimmered faintly with dying arcs of lightning.
One of its limbs was completely severed, its tail was half missing.
The low sound echoed again.
Not a growl but a breath.
Lin Shen's golden eye activated instinctively analyzing the surrounding structure, energy flow and measuring the damage
His pupils shrank as he realized what the beast in front of him was
"A Qilin…" he said softly
"But not just any ordinary Qilin.
"According the readings I am getting are extraordinary you are A Heavenly Thunder Qilin."
"A creature said to appear only in eras of chaos."
Its eyes snapped open.
Wild.
Ferocious.
Filled with pain.
Then Lightning surged violently across the cave as the beast struggled to rise.
Its Qi was unstable and broken
In its current state using Qi was dangerous.
But instead of attacking Lin Shen stayed still and lowered his aura completely
"If I wanted you dead… you already would be." Lin Shen spoke maintaining neutrality in his voice
The Qilin paused and for a moment it hesitated
That hesitation ended up saving its life.
Lin Shen slowly raised his hand not to attack but to observe
"Your meridians are collapsing… your core is destabilizing…"
He glanced at the missing limb.
Then at the damaged tail.
"You won't survive like this."
The Qilin growled weakly, lightning flickering erratically.
Lin Shen's expression didn't change.
"I can fix you."
Silence.
The cave trembled faintly as distant mining continued.
But inside—
Time felt frozen.
"Not with Qi…"
He continued calmly.
"With something better."
The Qilin looked at him for a moment and nodded slightly
Lin Shen nodded back and spoke:
"Since I am going to fix you I cannot do it here the cave limits me"
The Qilin growled again
"Now I know you are suspicious and we can do the process over here but the equipment and everything else I need is in the valley so I need you to come with me"
The Qilin stayed quiet as if it were weighing its options
Then it got up limping as it moved to the cave entrances
Lin Shen led the way occasionally turning back to check up on the Qilin
When they reached the cave entrance ARCHON was waiting