Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

Li Yao forgot everything. The federation, the Imperium, the Covenant Alliance, himself, Ding Lingdang, and even Earth. All was left behind.

The only thing on his mind was the nebula of the Devilish Scorpion Galaxy before his eyes and the saber made of his soul!

One attack. One more. Yet another attack. He was going to kill the nebula.

There was no telling how long it lasted.

The violent storm turned tranquil, and the surging tides became feeble ripples. The high-energy particles and the powerful radiation spurted out from the nebula had been weakened to the point that they could barely affect a human body.

It was almost like the nebula storm had truly been killed by Li Yao and his saber!

Li Yao’s soul became more condensed, more solid, and stronger than ever under the polishing of the high-energy particles and the powerful radiation.

Centered around his physical body, glamorous, dark-gold models had been constructed in the hundred square meters around. The gold and silver telepathic thoughts illuminated each other, attracting the cosmic dust and building them into images of deities and devils, which were either three-headed and six-armed or furious. They could not have looked more appalling.

It was not like the sound and visual effects during the fierce fight with Elder Scorching Sun of the Ancient Sages Sector but an ‘incarnation of the soul’, which boasted the real ability to deal damage!

As long as Li Yao willed it, he could fire the cosmic dust faster than five times the speed of sound to pierce through the composite plate armor of starships or condense the dust around him to form a powerful protective field, ripping any incoming flying swords, mystic rays, and magnetic bullets into pieces.

That was the power of the ‘absolute domain’ of the Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators!

After ascending to the Divinity Transformation Stage, there were two additional techniques.

Firstly, the Nascent Soul would be even steadier and stronger. It would be able to leave the body and travel between the sky and the earth freely with a high resistance to the radiation and spiritual waves of the outside world.

In other words, the Cultivators had begun to surpass the boundary of the fleshly body and glimpsed at the border of pure energy or the method of free transformation between matter and energy.

Secondly, they would be able to open an ‘absolute domain’ around themselves.

According to the strength of the Cultivators, the diameter and power of the ‘absolute domain’ was different.

But in general, the absolute domain was like a ‘small world’ established by the Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators. Every inch of space inside was under their strict surveillance and control.

If other people stepped into the ‘absolute domain’ of a Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivator, they would be bound by the rules of the Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivator, which would put them at a great disadvantage.

In fact, the two techniques boiled down to the same origin. It was because the soul of a Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivator could move away from the body for a long time integrating with the environment, achieving the effect of becoming one with the universe, that they could transform the world nearby into the absolute domain and make use of everything inside the tiny world, including the grains of dust to construct ever-changing images and launch the most powerful attacks.

The soul exiting the body represents the beginning of a brand-new life form. Starting from this moment, life is no longer a simple fleshly body but a collection of all the matter and material within the control range of the physical body and the soul!

Even if the ancient Cultivators did not understand the logic, they could also build their telepathic thoughts into various images, driven by their natural instincts. By boosting the dust inside their ‘realm’, they would be able to achieve effects similar to a mirage or even really endow the images with some attack power.

In other people’s eyes, they were certainly like incarnations of deities and devils. No wonder they are called ‘Divinity Transformation’!

My level, on the other hand, is even higher than the ignorant Cultivators of ancient times.

This is not about the simple classification of low, middle, and high levels but about the fact that I have truly understood the significance of ‘Divinity Transformation’. I know what form my life is at right now and what the correct direction is for my training in order to evolve and make use of my new abilities!

Li Yao looked at the nebula of the Devilish Scorpion Galaxy in great satisfaction as if it were a woman who had just been savaged and conquered by him. His soul was stretched to the maximum, and he felt so great that he was almost exploding.

This time, he could not have been luckier.

At first, he had jumped to the center of the cosmos from the edge smoothly without meeting any danger or obstacles.

Although he had encountered a bunch of ‘universal starfish’, an alien species, they were just a minor problem.

Those universal starfish dragged him into the nebula storm, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Not only was he given the opportunity to break into the Divinity Transformation Stage when he was faced with the blasts of the high-energy particles and the powerful radiation, he was also able to polish his reborn, brand-new soul to an indestructible degree against the nebula storm while he was slashing his saber, allowing himself to stand in the Divinity Transformation Stage steadily.

It was a perfect breakthrough.

More importantly, he did not encounter an intimidating ‘minor apocalypse’.

When a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator intended to break into the Divinity Transformation Stage, they would often suffer the strikes of ‘minor apocalypses’ launched by the primeval civilizations. Such was always the case at the edge of the cosmos. The few Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators that the federation had today had all endured the attacks of mysterious minor apocalypses during their breakthrough. It was thanks to the thorough defenses put up by the national strength of the entire federation that they had managed to weather the process.

The situation should have been more severe at the center of the cosmos.

Just now, Li Yao had seized a rare opportunity and strived forward without caring about anything, but he had been braced for a minor apocalypse.

However, after his level consolidated and his heart calmed down again, he did not seem to sense the arrival of a ‘minor apocalypse’ at all.

Thinking quickly, he immediately understood why.

It was not necessarily because he was lucky but probably because the massive spiritual waves that he had unleashed during the breakthrough into the Divinity Transformation Stage were ‘blocked’ by the high-energy particles and the powerful radiation spurted out from the nebula of the Devilish Scorpion Galaxy.

It was almost like a cluster of furiously burning fire that had dropped into an erupting volcano. How could anyone find it?

My hundred years of misfortune has been entirely washed away. Fate has given me such a great gift the moment I arrive at the Imperium. Will Vulture Li Yao really have his day now?

Hahaha. I feel so good and so strong. Right now, I can walk cockily even in the Imperium of True Human Beings, which is teeming with experts!

It is said that the elders and leaders of a lot of big families in the Imperium that have a long history are merely in the middle level or high level of the Divinity Transformation Stage. They must consider their family, while I am all by myself with zero concern. What can I possibly fear?

Hehehe. Even the cosmic storm has been slain by me. Who in the entire world can stop me?

Li Yao’s soul emanated dark-gold brightness that condensed into an enormous smiling face in space, which was laughing so hard that the teeth were almost falling.

Out of his expectation, a deep red face suddenly popped up above the golden one, as if it could not hear it anymore.

“Well,” the mental devil said, “I understand that you must be thrilled to have broken into the Divinity Transformation Stage. It is perfectly normal that you want to brag about yourself, but could you please not do it so shamelessly? What do you mean by ‘even the cosmic storm has been slain by me’? It was obviously a periodical outbreak, and now the outbreak has finished!”

“…I haven’t had a level-up for more than a hundred years,” Li Yao argued, “and nobody is cheering for me even though I just made a major breakthrough. What’s wrong with celebrating on my own? Can you stop being a bummer?

“Besides, the increase of my level is beneficial to you, too. You’ve become stronger than before. Look at the models of spiritual energy that you have constructed. How delicate, stable, and precise!

“Speaking of which, it’s just occurred to me that we should study team attack techniques more because normal Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators rarely have split personalities like us, which means that they can only have one ‘absolute domain’ with their sole soul. But can we build ‘double absolute domains’ with two souls or grasp any other awe-inspiring techniques like that?”

“Well… You do seem to have a point,” the mental devil said. “Let’s talk more about it later. I vaguely have an ominous feeling. Do you not feel that our teleportation and breakthrough were too smooth and fortunate?”

“Is that bad?” Li Yao asked.

“Not exactly bad,” the mental devil said. “It’s just that every operation in the past was always bumpy if not life-threatening. This trip, which has turned out to be so smooth and fortunate, doesn’t feel normal. Something feels off. You’d better check if there are any hidden problems… Not good. Our starship!”

Li Yao immediately understood what the mental devil meant. Hundreds of his telepathic thoughts darted at ‘Jingle Bell’.

After the examination, he discovered that the starship was indeed not in the best condition. He had been too focused on breaking into the Divinity Transformation Stage to protect his own starship. ‘Jingle Bell’ was riddled with holes and damage. A lot of critical units had shown signs of serious issues.

“The starship has been seriously damaged and requires some good maintenance,” Li Yao said, not thinking that it was a big deal.

After all, he had already reached his destination. He had knowledge about starship maintenance, too. There were too many backup components and maintenance devices inside his Cosmos Rings. The little problem was not going to bother him.

“There’s also the Tartarean Skeleton,” the mental devil said. “The Colossus has suffered great damage during the fierce fight with the nebula storm. Major maintenance is needed.”

“It can’t be helped.” Li Yao nodded. “You have to pay some price to get into the Divinity Transformation Stage. It would’ve been impossible to break into the new level without training while weathering the nebula storm!”

A batch of backup components and three to five days of maintenance in exchange for a perfect breakthrough into the Divinity Transformation Stage, there could not have been a better deal.

“There’s also your body,” the mental devil said. “The Tartarean Skeleton stayed in the high-energy particles and the powerful radiation for too long. Your body has been penetrated by particles repetitively. The radiation you bore was beyond the limits of your cells, too. They are seriously injured!”