The news of Yu Yuanchen successfully breaking through his Spiritual Power to the Spirit Origin Realm was like a stone cast into a calm lake, stirring ripples throughout the highest echelons of the Federation and the limited circle of those in the know.
This was not merely a leap in individual strength; it meant that the grand "Saint Demon Continent Exploration Plan" had finally taken its most decisive step.
Regarding the three aspects of essence, energy, and spirit: Yu Yuanchen's physical Bloodline Power had already reached a strength comparable to a divine body after completing the Law Integration into Body of his Martial Way (this divine body refers to the physical form of a True God-level cultivator focused on frontal combat).
Driven by the sublimation of his True Essence Core when he broke through to level 99, the quality and quantity of his Soul Power were in no way inferior to those who had just entered the god-level.
Now, his Spiritual Power had also successfully stepped into the Spirit Origin Realm, completing the final piece of the puzzle.
It could be said that, aside from not having undergone the baptism of the God Tribulation and not yet having obtained the authority granted by a godhood, Yu Yuanchen was already not inferior to any True God-level existence in terms of life hierarchy and basic strength, and even surpassed them in many aspects.
This state could perhaps be called—Alternative Apotheosis!
The surge in strength brought unprecedented confidence. Without delay, Yu Yuanchen immediately transmitted the news to the Evil Emperor and Di Tian through secret channels.
Several days later, in the core zone of the Evil Spirit Forest, that area shrouded in heavy restrictions.
Yu Yuanchen, Qian Daoliu, and Tang Chen stood side by side. Opposite them stood the Beast God Di Tian, who had transformed into human form, clad in black robes with an aura as deep as the sea, and the Evil Eye Tyrant Lord, manifesting in the form of a massive vertical pupil suspended in mid-air.
The atmosphere was solemn and heavy. Today, they would attempt to reconstruct the crucial "Saint Demon Mark" from the Life Origin of the Evil Emperor!
"Yu Yuanchen, are you truly certain?" The Evil Emperor's massive vertical pupil stared fixedly at Yu Yuanchen, its spiritual fluctuations carrying a hint of irrepressible tension and anticipation.
Exposing one's own Soul Core and Life Origin to others without reservation, especially to three powerful humans, required immense courage and trust. Had the allure of "returning home" and "attaining godhood" not been so great, it would never have taken such a desperate risk.
Yu Yuanchen's expression was calm, his gaze clear: "Your Excellency Evil Emperor, rest assured. Since I have made a vow, I will certainly abide by it. Furthermore, this matter concerns our shared path forward; I would never commit such an unrighteous act."
Prior to this, the three of them had collectively sworn an oath upon their own Martial Souls to the laws of the God Realm in the void, promising that during their cooperation, they would never take advantage of this opportunity to harm the Evil Emperor; otherwise, their Martial Souls would shatter and their cultivation would be completely crippled. For powerhouses of their level, this oath held extremely strong binding force.
Di Tian nodded slightly from the side, his molten-gold pupils sweeping over Yu Yuanchen as he said in a deep voice: "Begin. I shall bear witness here."
The Evil Emperor no longer hesitated. Its massive vertical pupil slowly closed, and the vast, sea-like Spiritual Power around its body began to rapidly retract and shrink.
A moment later, a strange crystal, perfectly round and deep silver in color, with what appeared to be countless fine starlight and space-time vortices swirling within, slowly emerged from the center of its vertical pupil!
This was the power core of the Evil Eye Tyrant Lord—its Soul Core! The moment the Soul Core appeared, the surrounding space distorted slightly, and the flow of time seemed to undergo a subtle change, revealing the Evil Emperor's extraordinary attainments in the laws of space and time.
The manifestation of the Soul Core meant that the Evil Emperor had completely let down all defenses, exposing its most vulnerable core to the outside. At this moment, if Yu Yuanchen had malicious intent, a single full-power strike would be enough to severely injure or even destroy its soul origin!
Yu Yuanchen took a deep breath, his eyes becoming incredibly focused in an instant. He did not act immediately; instead, with a thought, his internal Bloodline Power, Soul Power, and Spirit Origin Realm Spiritual Power began to fuse with unprecedented synergy!
Yu Yuanchen used his Thunder True Essence, a long-unused trump card that had been his foundation for cross-level battles back when he was still growing.
Ever since his physical body and Soul Power reached the level of a divine body and divine power, he had rarely used Thunder True Essence because his Spiritual Power had lagged behind his Soul Power and Bloodline Power, creating an imbalance. Even if he fused them into Thunder True Essence, the power boost compared to using Soul Power or Bloodline Power alone was not significant.
But now that his Spiritual Power had broken into the Spirit Origin Realm, his essence, energy, and spirit were balanced once again, and all had reached the god-level. Thus, this Thunder True Essence was different from the past; it was now a god-level Thunder True Essence, which could be called—Purple-Gold Thunder Divine Essence.
Hum—!
An indescribable, purple-gold energy containing the majesty of heaven and the intertwining of destruction and creation rose slowly from within his body! This energy was, naturally—the Purple-Gold Thunder Divine Essence.
The moment this purple-gold energy appeared, the air in the entire core zone seemed to freeze! A terrifying pressure, transcending the mundane and seemingly capable of judging all things, quietly permeated the area.
A gleam of light erupted in the eyes of both Qian Daoliu and Tang Chen. They could clearly feel that the quality of this Purple-Gold Thunder Divine Essence had undergone a qualitative leap.
Its purity, the Law Power it contained, and its restrained yet terrifying destructive force had absolutely reached the level of a Third-level Deity's power, a higher tier than that of a True God! It was even more domineering and full of vitality than the divine power of an ordinary Third-level Deity!
Even in the calm, ancient dragon eyes of Di Tian, a trace of undisguised shock finally flickered! He had lived for nearly a million years, having witnessed god-level power (the Silver Dragon King) and felt the aura of the Celestial God Hunter from the God Realm.
Yet, the quality of this Purple-Gold Thunder Divine Essence, which Yu Yuanchen had cultivated and fused on his own, might be inferior to the Silver Dragon King, but it was far stronger than that of the Celestial God Hunter.
He estimated that if he were to fight to the death with Yu Yuanchen at this moment, he would likely only be able to barely hold on by relying on his dragon clan's formidable physical body and his eight hundred thousand years of deep accumulation, but defeat would only be a matter of time.
So this is... his current strength... Di Tian's heart surged with waves, and his evaluation of Yu Yuanchen rose once again.
As for the Evil Emperor, in its state of manifested Soul Core, the sensation was even more direct. The aura emitted by the Purple-Gold Thunder Divine Essence made its soul tremble; it was an absolute suppression at the level of life.
The last trace of doubt in its heart vanished completely, replaced by a complex emotion—relief, awe, and an even more fervent anticipation!
Yu Yuanchen had no time to spare; his entire focus was immersed in the control of the Purple-Gold Thunder Divine Essence. He was pleasantly surprised to find that after the essence, energy, and spirit were balanced and fused, not only did the power of the Purple-Gold Thunder Divine Essence surge, but the "True Essence Core" in his Dantian, formed by the fusion of Soul Power, Bloodline Power, and Spiritual Power, also developed a strong craving for this newly born energy.
As if a long drought had met sweet rain, it spontaneously began to absorb and refine it, and its own structure underwent a subtle and profound transformation under the nourishment of this divine essence, showing faint signs of evolving toward a higher level—the "Spirit Origin Core"!
It seems that with long-term nourishment from the Purple-Gold Thunder Divine Essence, the sublimation of the True Essence Core is just around the corner. Yu Yuanchen realized this in his heart, but he immediately suppressed the surprise and focused his attention on the task at hand.
He pointed his fingers like a sword, guiding a wisp of the condensed purple-gold energy to slowly touch the Evil Emperor's defenseless Soul Core. At the same time, he fully activated his Spirit Origin Realm Spiritual Power in his Sea of Consciousness, unleashing his Spirit Domain—"Return to Origin"!
"Trace the source, reflect the past!"
Yu Yuanchen let out a low shout, and purple-gold lightning shot from his eyes, as if they had transformed into two thunder mirrors capable of peering into the origin of all things! The Purple-Gold Thunder Divine Essence, acting like the most precise engraving tool and wrapped in his vast spiritual power, carefully probed into the depths of the Evil Emperor's Soul Core.
This was not destruction, but guidance and tracing! He needed to find that most primitive, most profound, and unique imprint belonging to its place of birth—the Saint Demon Continent—within this core that contained the Evil Emperor's hundreds of thousands of years of life imprints!
The process was extremely dangerous and mentally taxing. The information contained in the Evil Emperor's Soul Core was too vast and complex, like a boundless sea of stars.
Yu Yuanchen had to be like the most brilliant archaeologist, precisely outlining the oldest "stratum" covered by the dust of countless years without damaging the Soul Core itself in the slightest.
Time passed bit by bit. Sweat gradually seeped from Yu Yuanchen's forehead, and his complexion turned slightly pale; the consumption was clearly immense. Yet, his eyes remained sharp, and his fingers were as steady as a boulder.
Under his exquisite control, the Purple-Gold Thunder Divine Essence transformed into countless purple-gold light threads as fine as silk, weaving and sensing within the Soul Core.
The Evil Emperor's closed vertical pupil trembled slightly; clearly, this process was by no means comfortable for it, but it endured the discomfort and cooperated with all its might.
Di Tian, Qian Daoliu, and Tang Chen all held their breath, watching nervously.
Suddenly, a gleam of light flashed in Yu Yuanchen's eyes!
"Found it!" He let out a low shout, and the light of the Purple-Gold Thunder Divine Essence at his fingertips flared brilliantly! Deep within the Evil Emperor's Soul Core, a tiny, extremely faint silver-gray light spot with a hint of strange order fluctuations was forcibly "copied" by him using the Purple-Gold Thunder Divine Essence, creating an identical light spot.
The moment this speck of light appeared, a strange aura, vastly different from that of the Douluo Plane, faintly radiated outward. It was none other than the planar mark of the Saint Demon Continent!
"Brother Tang!" Yu Yuanchen called out urgently.
Tang Chen, who had been prepared for a long time, moved at the sound! With a wave of his large hand, a replica portal—forged entirely from the Soul Forge Grade Void Iron he had recently refined, and seven parts similar in appearance to the Hell Gate but countless times smaller—suddenly appeared.
Engraved upon the portal were complex Space Runes, emitting stable spatial fluctuations.
"Seal!"
Tang Chen roared, and the replica portal erupted with suction, precisely drawing in the silver-gray speck of light—the Saint Demon Mark—which Yu Yuanchen had imprinted using his Thunder Divine Essence!
Hum!
The replica portal vibrated violently as the Space Runes on its surface lit up, firmly sealing the Saint Demon Mark and nourishing it.
Seeing this, Yu Yuanchen immediately withdrew his Thunder Divine Essence and Spiritual Power. He let out a long sigh of relief; his complexion was slightly weary, but his eyes were filled with joy.
The Evil Emperor also felt a sense of relief. He quickly retracted his soul core into his body and slowly opened his massive vertical pupils. Although his aura was somewhat withered, his spiritual fluctuations were filled with unprecedented excitement and ecstasy!
"It succeeded! It really succeeded!" The Evil Emperor's voice trembled. After hundreds of thousands of years of homesickness, he had finally seen the hope of returning home today!
Di Tian looked at the Saint Demon Mark sealed within the replica portal, a complex glint flashing in his molten gold dragon eyes. He looked at Yu Yuanchen with newfound respect. This young man's methods were truly extraordinary.
"I have fulfilled my duty." Yu Yuanchen nodded slightly to the Evil Emperor and Di Tian. "The Saint Demon Mark has been obtained; the matter of the planar coordinates can be set aside for now."
With this, one of the greatest obstacles to the Saint Demon Continent—the issue of positioning—had finally been resolved. What remained was how to "pave the road"—strengthening the Hell Gate and constructing a stable planar passage.
However, when everyone turned their attention back to the reinforcement project of the Hell Gate, a crucial problem that had been overlooked by optimistic estimates surfaced like an iceberg: energy! A massive amount of extremely high-quality energy!
In the underground core chamber of the research institute, the upgraded Hell Gate hovered in the center of a massive Soul Guiding Array. Its body flowed with a luster of interwoven dark gold and silver-white, the runes on its surface were more complex and profound, and the spatial fluctuations it emitted were stable and deep.
After five years of unremitting effort, having integrated the essence of Soul Tool Technology, inlaid with Soul Forge Grade space-attribute metals, and optimized its internal Space Law structure under the subtle guidance of Di Tian, the Evil Emperor, and even Gu Yuena, its "hardware" foundation had been firmly established. Theoretically, it indeed possessed the potential to advance to a Peak Level 2 Divine Artifact.
But, the "software" upgrade required energy! The amount of energy required to forcibly elevate a Level 3 Divine Artifact to a Peak Level 2 was astronomical! Moreover, this energy had to be sufficiently pure and high-level—at least reaching the level of divine power—to drive the fundamental transformation of the artifact.
Yu Yuanchen's Thunder Divine Essence was of sufficient quality, but... the quantity was far too little!
He was like a race car equipped with a top-tier engine (Spirit Origin Realm Spiritual Power, Qi and Blood, Soul Power) and high-grade fuel (Thunder Divine Essence), but the fuel tank (his total energy capacity) was nowhere near enough to support a cross-continental rally.
"According to our calculations," the chief Soul Master of the research institute, a white-haired but spirited old man, pointed to the complex data on the light screen and reported to Yu Yuanchen and the others with a grave expression, "to strengthen the Hell Gate to the predetermined Peak Level 2 standard, the total energy required, if provided by the Speaker, is roughly estimated to require the Speaker to channel it without sleep or rest for over a dozen years."
He paused and added helplessly, "Currently, the only thing that can provide energy of this quality is the Archon's Thunder Divine Essence. If we rely solely on the artifact to slowly absorb Heaven and Earth Origin Qi on its own, it would take over forty years. Of course, if the Speaker comes to channel energy from time to time, perhaps it would only take thirty years."
Thirty years, forty years!
This timeframe caused the atmosphere in the chamber to turn heavy in an instant.
For Di Tian and the Evil Emperor, who measured time in units of ten thousand years, thirty or forty years might be but a snap of the fingers; they could afford to wait. The Evil Emperor even felt that compared to hundreds of thousands of years of waiting, a few decades were not worth mentioning.
But the brows of Yu Yuanchen, Qian Daoliu, and Tang Chen furrowed tightly. Thirty years? They were all in their prime, full of drive and ambition. To ask them to stop and wait for an artifact to slowly charge for thirty or forty years? It was nothing short of torture.
Besides, by then they might have accumulated enough Power of Faith to open the path to godhood; why would they still need to go to the Saint Demon Continent?
"Is there no other way to accelerate this?" Tang Chen couldn't help but ask. "Can we find more people to channel energy together? Or find something like an energy core?"
The chief Soul Master shook his head: "It's difficult. The quality of the energy is the key. Ordinary Soul Power, even the Soul Power of us Titled Douluo, is far from reaching the level of divine power. Injecting it into the artifact would not only be useless but could also cause energy conflicts and damage the internal structure.
As for high-purity energy cores... as far as we know, on the Douluo Continent, perhaps only the bottom of the Lake of Life in the Star Dou Great Forest, or a few secret realms like the Ten Thousand Year Profound Ice Marrow in the Extreme North might exist, but whether the reserves are sufficient or if they can be extracted are all unknowns, and they are too far away to solve our immediate needs."
Di Tian spoke calmly upon hearing this: "The energy of the Lake of Life concerns the foundation of the Star Dou; it cannot be lightly disturbed." He directly blocked this path, unwilling to use the precious foundation of the Star Dou Great Forest just to save a few decades of time.
For a moment, the hall fell into silence. Having finally solved the positioning problem, they were now stuck on the most basic "energy" issue. This feeling of suffocation was frustrating.
Just as everyone was at a loss, another person in charge of the Soul Tool replication project, a middle-aged Soul Master with glasses and a refined temperament, hesitated for a moment before speaking: "Archon, your excellencies, perhaps... we can change our thinking and find another way."
Everyone's eyes instantly focused on him.
"Since we cannot elevate the 'quality' to the extreme in a short time, can we try to make up for it with 'quantity'?" He pushed up his glasses, his eyes flashing with the light of academic inquiry. "Over the years, we have conducted in-depth analysis of the core principles and Space Rune arrays of the Hell Gate.
Although we cannot fully replicate the mysteries of the divine artifact, we have successfully produced several prototypes of Soul Tools that possess partial spatial positioning and channel-stabilizing functions. Although the effect is far inferior to the original, the principles are the same."
He walked to another light screen and pulled up several complex design diagrams: "I was thinking, if we temporarily abandon the 'one-step' plan of strengthening the Hell Gate itself to Peak Level 2, and instead use the technology we have mastered to mass-produce these 'Planar Passage Stabilizers' that have simplified functions but are relatively inexpensive to manufacture."
"Then, if we combine these stabilizers in a specific array and activate them simultaneously, perhaps... it could produce a similar effect? Just as a single chopstick is easy to break, a bundle of chopsticks is hard to break.
Although the effect of a single stabilizer is weak, the composite force field formed by hundreds or thousands of them combined might help the artifact achieve the same effect and reduce the pressure on it. Of course, this requires extremely precise coordinated control and huge resource investment, but at least in theory, it avoids that long energy accumulation process."
"Quantitative Change Causes Qualitative Change?" A gleam of light flashed in Yu Yuanchen's eyes, and he instantly grasped the key. "You mean, instead of forcibly raising the limit of the 'engine' (the Hell Gate), we equip it with a massive 'escort fleet' (the replica Soul Tool array) and rely on the power of the cluster to complete the construction and stabilization of the planar passage together?"
"That is exactly the idea!" the Soul Master nodded excitedly. "Although the technical difficulty and resource consumption will increase geometrically, at least... we have the possibility of seeing it realized in ten years, or even less! Instead of waiting thirty years for nothing!"
This bold hypothesis was like a lightning bolt in the dark, instantly illuminating the fog in everyone's hearts!
Yes! Why must they be constrained to strengthening a single artifact? They possessed the resources and the foundation of Soul Tool Technology of the entire Federation! Why couldn't they leverage the advantage that "there is strength in numbers"?
Qian Daoliu mused: "This plan is risky, but not unfeasible. Soul Guiding Array technology is the forte of Soul Masters. However, how to ensure the synchronized operation of thousands or even tens of thousands of Soul Tools, and whether the resulting composite spatial force field is stable, will require a great deal of calculation and experimental verification."
Tang Chen rolled up his sleeves: "How much rare metal is needed? I'll take people to find and mine it! How many Soul Masters are needed? Bring all the high-level Soul Masters of the Federation here! As long as we can get to that Saint Demon Continent sooner, this little investment is nothing!"
Di Tian and the Evil Emperor looked at each other, both seeing the interest in the other's eyes. For them, while time could be waited out, if it could be accelerated, why not?
Yu Yuanchen swept his gaze over everyone and finally settled on the Soul Master who had proposed the idea. He said in a deep voice: "Conduct the feasibility analysis immediately! Concentrate all resources and establish a special task force for the 'Planar Passage Array'! I want to see the preliminary feasibility report and the list of resource requirements within three months!"
"Yes!" the Soul Masters of the research institute replied in unison, their eyes filled with the excitement of challenging a high-difficulty task.
Although the road ahead remained difficult, a new and hopeful direction had emerged. Shifting from pursuing the extreme of a single divine artifact to relying on the cluster power of a massive Soul Tool array was undoubtedly a major shift in thinking, and one that could better leverage the advantages of the Federation's system and its Soul Tool technology.
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Translated by: randomtranslator.com
Proofread by: GodKun-Chan