Inside the small room, Luo Ren's body sat still in a cross-legged position. Kim Nhi hovered beside him, watching the drops of sweat trickle down his forehead. She knew Luo Ren was reaching the most crucial stage.
"To gain the Forbidden-grade's approval, it all depends on Young Master's willpower and state of mind," Kim Nhi whispered, her small face clouded with worry. She knew Forbidden-grade techniques possessed their own sentience. If Luo Ren failed to gain its approval, even with the System's suppression, it would choose to perish rather than be wrongly chosen.
Suddenly, Luo Ren's body trembled.
In Kim Nhi's astonished gaze, Luo Ren's soul power (the power of the soul) rapidly increased at an astonishing rate.
His originally weak mortal soul power instantly surged to the equivalent of an early-stage Qi Condensation cultivator.
And it didn't stop there.
His soul power corresponded to mid-stage, late-stage, and complete Qi Condensation… Foundation Establishment stage…
Kim Nhi's small mouth began to widen. Only when Luo Ren's soul power finally halted at complete Foundation Establishment, a mere step away from rivaling the soul power of a Core Formation cultivator, did Kim Nhi stammer in disbelief:
"What kind of heaven-defying inheritance is this? Young Master clearly still has no cultivation, his body is merely mortal, yet his soul's intensity now even surpasses that of most complete Foundation Establishment cultivators!"
WHOOSH!
A long exhale roused Kim Nhi from her daze.
"How long have I been receiving the inheritance?" Luo Ren's deep voice resonated. He turned and stood up, feeling no change in his body; he was still just a mortal. Nevertheless, relying solely on his current soul power, Luo Ren was confident he could directly contend with Foundation Establishment cultivators.
"Th-three hours," Kim Nhi was still somewhat lost.
"Only three hours?" Luo Ren said with a wry smile. To him, the time felt like an eternity.
"What exactly did Young Master receive? With this intensity of your soul, even becoming a Soul Cultivator in the future wouldn't be a problem," Kim Nhi asked with immense curiosity.
"It's the Immortal Proliferation Scripture. You could consider it a reward for passing my trial," Luo Ren replied. Besides the significant increase in soul power, this inheritance also granted him the cultivation method for the first layer of the Immortal Proliferation Scripture.
According to Kim Nhi, Forbidden-grade cultivation techniques were too terrifying. Luo Ren could only accept them in portions, lest he explode and die.
Although he had only received the first layer this time, Luo Ren was still overjoyed. The Immortal Proliferation Scripture was too miraculous, too heaven-defying, far exceeding his expectations.
Because it was a Tri-cultivation technique.
Throughout the entire cultivation world, there were 3,000 Grand Dao and countless Minor Dao. However, to enter the Dao, cultivators needed to practice at least one of the following three forms:
Spiritual Cultivation: Cultivating spiritual energy to increase power. Spiritual cultivators primarily relied on spirit roots, cultivating spiritual energy by absorbing the spiritual qi in heaven and earth through their spirit roots. Different spirit root attributes absorbed different types of spiritual qi. For example, Luo Lei, possessing both ice and lightning spirit roots, cultivated by absorbing ice and lightning spiritual qi from heaven and and earth.
Body Cultivation: Body Cultivators, whether in combat or defense, brutally used their physical strength. The cultivation method was incredibly arduous, requiring prolonged periods of cruel tempering directly upon their flesh to increase their body's toughness. Body cultivators possessed incredibly high defensive power, making them very difficult to injure.
Soul Cultivation: Primarily cultivating the soul. Their defensive power was weak because the soul was easily damaged. However, most cultivators feared Soul Cultivators the most, as their attacks directly impacted one's soul, making them very difficult to defend against and to heal.
All this knowledge was part of the Immortal Proliferation Scripture's inheritance to him. On the Ice Heaven Continent, Spiritual Cultivation was the most prevalent. Body Cultivators were extremely rare. As for Soul Cultivators, given Luo Ren's humble status in this life, he had never even heard of them. Perhaps to become a Soul Cultivator, one inherently needed soul power far exceeding ordinary people, coupled with the extreme rarity of Soul Cultivation techniques, not to mention the need for countless spiritual pills and miraculous elixirs to supplement soul power.
The first layer of the Immortal Proliferation Scripture was called: "Condensation – Soul Refinement." This was a cultivation method that could simultaneously increase Spiritual, Body, and Soul cultivation.
In other words, Luo Ren alone could become a Tri-cultivation martial artist. This would be an immense advantage in combat, and in the future, Luo Ren would even become a nightmare for anyone who had to fight him.
Of course, cultivating the first layer was not simple. In Luo Ren's cage-like situation within the Luo Clan, it was completely unsuitable for cultivation.
"It's time to leave this filthy clan," Luo Ren thought. Relying on his current complete Foundation Establishment soul power, he was fully capable of self-defense. Furthermore, he possessed three Minor Teleportation Talismans, allowing him to instantly teleport away if he encountered danger.
With a thought, the Minor Teleportation Talisman appeared in his hand.
"Wait, leaving like this, I'm truly unwilling."
Luo Ren mumbled. Although his strength had improved somewhat, to take revenge on a monstrous Eighth-rank force like the Luo Clan, he didn't know how many years it would take. Thinking of the injustices this body had suffered, Luo Ren was unwilling to sneak away without doing anything. His mind raced. A moment later, he began to earnestly communicate with the System:
"System, can you slightly loosen a tiny bit of the seal, to allow a wisp of the Immortal Proliferation Scripture's Forbidden-grade aura to leak out?"
"No, it's too dangerous, Young Master could be annihilated by the Heavenly Dao!" Kim Nhi shrieked in alarm. Being linked to the System, she could fully sense Luo Ren's thoughts.
"Just an extremely tiny wisp of aura, and it only needs to appear for a fleeting moment. I want the Luo Clan to be scrutinized by the Heavenly Dao!" Luo Ren's face was resolute. A plan was rapidly forming in his mind.
"This is too insane, it's gambling with your life!" Kim Nhi was still worried. Luo Ren's action could be described as madness.
"I've gained some basic knowledge of the universe from the Immortal Proliferation Scripture. This Ice Heaven Continent is a low-level plane, and its Heavenly Dao isn't too high-ranked. It probably can't detect the System's existence," Luo Ren calculated seriously. He wasn't foolish enough to recklessly gamble his entire life.
"Ding! Forbidden-grade belongs to the Host. The Host has full discretion," while Kim Nhi hesitated with worry, the System's emotionless voice sounded.
"Good, how could a future Overlord like me be willing to leave like a stray dog?" Luo Ren scoffed angrily. "Consider this merely reclaiming a small portion of interest!"
"System, the release and retraction of the aura must be extremely fast, within half a breath is fine," Luo Ren took a deep breath. He only needed a wisp, a wisp of Forbidden-grade aura appearing within the Luo Clan's territory for half a breath.
"Ding! Request confirmed. Commencing aura release: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1."
BOOM!
As soon as the sound ended, a wave of aura, with Luo Ren at its center, rapidly spread outwards.
Luo Ren clearly felt a tranquil aura that was extremely intimate to him, yet at this moment, the space within a hundred-mile radius was trembling violently, as if it could shatter at any moment.
"Ding! Closure complete."
Luo Ren had no time to observe his surroundings. His figure had already mysteriously vanished from the small room.
He used the Minor Teleportation Talisman.
Luo Ren knew that if he didn't leave now, he would die a miserable death. The moment the System's voice ended, he decisively crushed the Minor Teleportation Talisman in his hand, disregarding the fate of the Luo Clan.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
In the very instant Luo Ren departed, endless dark clouds suddenly enveloped the sky above the Luo Clan's territory. Darkness abruptly descended, occasionally pierced by flashes of lightning and immense power. An overwhelming pressure emanated from the heavens, as if a celestial deity was stirring in wrath.
"What's going on? The weather was perfectly fine just now!"
"Is it raining?"
"Why do I have such a bad feeling?"
"This is truly bizarre. Who can explain what's happening?"
Continuous sounds of panic erupted from the Luo Clan members. As cultivators, they possessed a certain ability to perceive heaven and earth. They clearly felt as if the heavens were angered by their Luo Clan.
"Everyone, remain calm! Immediately activate the great clan protection formation!" A cold, authoritative voice, filled with decisiveness, rang out.
More than ten figures suddenly manifested, hovering in the air. Their immense aura spread, as if they could easily move mountains, overturn seas, and shift stars. Leading the group was a middle-aged man in a purple robe embroidered with a true dragon. His eyes were as dark as night, with flashes of lightning occasionally flickering within his pupils. His face was stern and cold, and his long, dark blue hair billowed in the wind, like a peerless emperor.
"It's the Patriarch and the Elders!" A clan member exclaimed in joyous surprise. Although they were of the same clan, the Luo Clan's high-ranking members were like transient fierce tigers. They either cultivated in seclusion for years or carried out secret clan missions, rarely appearing together before other clan members.
"The Patriarch and the Elders are appearing simultaneously, my heavens!"
"Quickly, activate the clan protection formation!"
Regardless of the cause, the appearance of Luo Thunderbreak and the Elders acted as a tranquilizer for all Luo Clan members. They immediately activated the clan protection formation.
"Patriarch, what exactly is happening?" an old man asked Luo Thunderbreak. He was clad in a black robe, his back ramrod straight. This was the Luo Clan's Grand Elder, Luo Qinglie, possessing both Ice and Wood spirit roots, a late-stage Void Refinement realm expert.
Yet, even an expert standing at the peak of the Ice Heaven Continent like him could not discern the current situation. The other Elders also looked towards Luo Thunderbreak, awaiting his judgment.
"Just wait and see," Luo Thunderbreak remained composed, though a flicker of unease was hidden within his eyes.
BOOM! BOOM!
The lightning grew increasingly intense. Countless powerful experts across the Ice Heaven Continent hovered in the sky, staring towards the Luo Clan's direction. Clearly, the commotion at the Luo Clan was significant, drawing their attention.
When they saw a colossal formation, like nine majestic ice mountains, emerge in the sky above the Luo Clan's territory, the expressions of everyone present suddenly became unusually grave.
"What on earth happened to the Luo Clan, to even activate their clan protection formation?"
This was the question in the minds of all the powerful experts on the continent witnessing that moment.
"Reporting to the Patriarch, the clan protection formation has been activated," a guardian with Soul Transformation cultivation respectfully saluted and reported.
Luo Thunderbreak nodded. The "Nine Ice Sundering Formation" was the Luo Clan's clan protection formation, inherited from ancient times. The formation comprised nine Soul Transformation realm guardians and countless Luo Clan members proficient in Ice-attribute arts to maintain it. Since the Luo Clan's establishment, the number of times it had been activated could be counted on one's fingers, and no enemy had ever successfully breached it.
Luo Thunderbreak was indeed a wise patriarch. He recognized the danger of this incident and decisively activated the Nine Ice Sundering Formation.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Countless thunderous roars reverberated, like a drumbeat welcoming their lord.
Amidst the endless dark clouds, a colossal eye suddenly opened.
Majestic, emotionless, supreme.
And the moment that eye appeared, Luo Thunderbreak's originally calm face drastically changed. A voice of shock erupted from his mouth, shaking the entire territory:
"THE EYE OF HEAVENLY DAO?!"