Chapter 171: The Spirits of the Secret Arts!
Jiang Zhe turned his gaze inward.
The 181 "stars" distributed throughout his body had completely withdrawn their brilliance. Now, each resembled a glittering gem with 10,081 facets, their surfaces etched with intricate eight-colored secret runes. Radiant lights of various hues intertwined, forming a mysterious, ancient, and hazy chaos.
He could clearly sense that these eight-colored secret runes were no longer just on the surfaces; they had penetrated deep within, fundamentally transforming the layers of each "star."
Jiang Zhe felt a profound breakthrough in the very essence of his life, achieving a form of perfection. Yet, he also sensed a faint bottleneck pressing upon it.
After savoring the sensation for a while, he dismissed it, figuring it was merely the initial barrier on the path of divine power.
The chaotic radiance from the 181 "stars" spread through his body, triggering a metamorphosis. From deep within came a greedy craving, urging him to absorb more energy to grow.
At a thought, special energy refined from thunder-type treasures stored within his Thunder Prison Realm surged throughout his body, replenishing what it demanded.
But this alone was far from enough.
Fortunately, thanks to his unique innate secret art, Ascend to Godhood, Jiang Zhe had long maintained the habit of stockpiling thunder-type treasures.
Treasures worth millions of mixed yuan units were retrieved from his world ring and continually fed into the Thunder Prison Realm. Rapidly refined, they produced special energy that poured through his entire body and into his ancient, stone-like primal core.
Oriana was startled by Jiang Zhe's ravenous "consumption." She quickly tossed over her own world ring full of cosmic crystals, then split into 2,000 clones to mine more outside, fearing his metamorphosis would stall from lack of energy.
With ample energy to feed on, Jiang Zhe's body began its dramatic transformation.
His physique skyrocketed.
From under two meters tall, he grew rapidly—
10 meters! 100 meters! 1,000 meters!
10 kilometers! 100 kilometers…
Daring to become a perfect genetic lifeform before reaching the undying level meant enduring corresponding troubles—or rather, paying the price.
There are laws to everything.
Thus, Jiang Zhe's inner world also expanded wildly.
From over 90 million kilometers in diameter—
100 million kilometers!
200 million kilometers!
…
800 million kilometers!
900 million kilometers!
Only when it exceeded 900 million kilometers did it finally stop.
His physical growth likewise halted, settling at over 900 kilometers tall, already comparable to the pinnacle size of a domain lord–level starry sky beast.
Jiang Zhe knocked down obstructing "dirt mounds" (mountain ranges), stood up from his seated posture, and lightly exercised his now "bloated" and "sluggish" body, his face brimming with delight.
"Haha! Sure, being huge means slower movements—but in the primordial universe, bigger is better! I could now pet Luo Feng's true body like a little dog—no, like a tiny toy poodle!"
Laughing loudly, he began teasing the Golden-Horned Beast again.
He couldn't help it—he was most familiar with the Golden-Horned Beast, knew all its stats by heart, from size to strength… who else would he use for comparison?
"Luckily, I can still shrink back to normal, or daily life would be quite inconvenient."
Saying so, his 900-kilometer body began shrinking, quickly returning to a normal human size.
Jiang Zhe then focused his mind, observing the changes within his sea of consciousness.
In the sea of consciousness.
The chaotic will he had once fused into his mind now showed signs of separating from it.
With his mastery of mental states, Jiang Zhe could easily suppress this turmoil—but surprisingly, he allowed it, letting the chaotic will run wild.
His sea of consciousness churned like a boiling cauldron, thick mist rolling out incessantly.
Once fully drawn out, this mist separated into distinct streams, each tinted with vivid colors representing primal desires—greed, pride, lust, gluttony, wrath, sloth, envy…
Then, within his mind, a scene like weaving cloth unfolded.
Streams of mist intertwined and merged, eventually forming a chaotic-colored seed, still exuding a blasphemous aura of original sin, yet unbelievably pure.
A seed of ultimate, flawless, immaculate original sin!
The moment it formed, it plunged directly into the largest black hole at the center of his vortex-like star system, merging with Jiang Zhe's soul core and seeping deep into his will.
Jiang Zhe suddenly laughed.
"Fuse? Of course it can fuse—I'm in need of means to harness my will, so I certainly won't miss this chance… but it must be on my terms. I keep the right to stop this process at any moment."
His mental state—formless, egoless!
Jiang Zhe detonated his will, causing the "seed of original sin" to lunge in vain.
For an ordinary being, will shattering would mean certain death.
Take Luo Feng for example—if his soul and consciousness disintegrated, he could still rebuild them so long as his will held firm. But if even his root will collapsed, only reversing time itself could save him.
But Jiang Zhe was different.
The deeper he advanced on his unique path of mental cultivation, the more his will took on the nature of gathering and dispersing at will.
In the black hole at the center of his mental vortex galaxy—
Tiny motes of will appeared in the void, drawn like moths to a flame into the "seed of original sin."
"Eh? Fascinating."
Feeling his will undergoing metamorphosis through this fusion, Jiang Zhe let out a curious sound.
"This seed… it's a way to transform the soul and temper the will, aligning the soul's essence with some great path… this must be a prerequisite for cultivating certain secret arts."
If not for his memories at the god-king level regarding the Ultimate Dao, he wouldn't have dared make such a deduction based solely on his transformation.
"The source of the Origin World is formed by countless Ultimate Daos perfectly intertwined into supreme laws. Comprehending over half of these Daos to the second god-king level would allow one to transcend the cage, seize the supreme laws, and become a world-class Hunyuan being…"
Jiang Zhe shook his head, banishing such distant thoughts.
Back to the present.
With his keen mind, a moment's analysis locked onto the target.
"The Demonic Life Codex!"
"Perhaps I can find the answer there. But the problem is, that thing seems to exist as an ideological imprint within bloodlines… tricky!"
Not long after.
The "seed of original sin" was hollowed out from within by countless motes of will, like worms eating through wood, leaving behind only an empty shell that then collapsed.
Countless will motes gathered together.
Jiang Zhe's will recomposed, reconnecting with his consciousness and soul, reclaiming full control over his body.
He carefully sensed his changes.
"Hm, my will has grown stronger—almost reaching the Universe Overlord level."
"My will also feels more fluid, like going from oil to water. Using will-based attacks should be easier now… though without a guiding secret art, I still can't unleash the power a true lord-level will ought to. But I've gained a unique means of will invasion…"
"Anna, help me test this. But hold nothing back."
After notifying her through their mental link, Jiang Zhe suddenly turned to Oriana, his eyes surging with desire, unleashing his will invasion.
"Anna!"
A low shout, aided by a faint will attack, completed the intrusion.
Inside Oriana's core, their wills collided. She lost decisively.
Breaking through her resistance, Jiang Zhe drove deep, twisting her will.
On her once calm and elegant face, confusion flashed—then unmistakable rage.
Her fury soared, her body trembling, chest heaving wildly. She lost all reason, plunging into madness.
—He had successfully twisted Oriana's will, infusing her with the original sin of wrath. Blazing fury consumed her rational mind entirely!
Jiang Zhe's expression turned odd. Stroking his chin, he mused,
"Eh? If I twisted Anna's will toward the original sin of lust… what would happen?"
He didn't dare try—far too presumptuous.
Besides, if not for his authority as her master suppressing Oriana, the moment she descended into "madness," she would've unleashed her full might and obliterated everything in sight.
"Calm!"
With a will-infused shout, Jiang Zhe reversed the distortion.
The anger on Oriana's face vanished, her eyes clearing—though they showed deep confusion, remembering nothing.
Only when Jiang Zhe shared the recent events through their mental link did shock appear on her face. She felt it was an unreasonable, almost rogue-like power.
At this stage, cultivators in the primordial universe were still playing with illusions and tricks to bewilder consciousness. Though they understood the importance of will, they had no means to actively wield it… whereas her master had already stepped into the next era, possessing methods that targeted the very core of life—the will.
The upper limits of will cultivation were evident just from the Eye of God Secret Art and the Array of Origins that her master longed for.
Oriana couldn't help sighing.
"What a pity. You can only instinctively wield it. Without a corresponding secret art, you can't unleash the true might that a lord-level will should."
Jiang Zhe was quite open about it, laughing.
"Haha, it's fine. The universe sea is full of opportunities. Sooner or later, I'll get my hands on one. Besides, even if a will secret art were placed in front of me now, I couldn't meet the minimum requirements to cultivate it. Conservatively, it probably needs true god or void true god–level will strength to even begin."
Oriana nodded, dropping the topic.
Jiang Zhe sat cross-legged, his chest armor splitting open. Pulling aside his force suit, he looked down at his chest.
No longer just a few simple secret lines, it was now covered in intricate dark red runes, forming the clear visage of a grinning demon with sharp horns.
Even a glance exuded chaos, savagery, and evil—enough to shatter the minds of the weak-willed.
Of course, as the owner of this phenomenon, Jiang Zhe was immune.
"Power of the Demon, activate!"
Boom!
Chaotic, savage energy erupted from him, as if he'd crawled from the filthiest, most sinister hell—a fusion of all original sins.
His height surged past three meters…
Of course, this was with him deliberately suppressing it. His true height was over 900 kilometers, and would reach over 90,000 kilometers at the domain master peak—a terrifying figure.
His height locked at just over three meters. Faint dragon scales rose on every inch of his skin, solid demonic horns sprouted from his forehead, and a heavy blood-colored glow enveloped his form.
"Hahaha… such power! A 10,081-fold genetic level, even if achieved through genetic amplification, it still makes me a perfect genetic lifeform."
"Let me see…" Jiang Zhe probed within.
"Hm, exactly a 10× genetic amplification, though only achieving around 5.5× effectiveness because it's hit the cap."
"And my inner world now spans over 900 million kilometers… the energy needed to advance through the domain and world master stages will devour countless thunder treasures."
"I'd better report this to teacher, get the clan to gather D- and E-grade thunder treasures. I won't take it for free—he can deduct the heavy treasure points from my account, exchange contribution for resources, lest anyone gossip."
"By the time I reach the world master peak, my inner world might exceed 9 trillion kilometers in diameter…"
"A full light-year across!"
"Never mind how terrifying my world projection would be—just breaking the primal core shackles to become undying will be nightmarishly difficult."
"Ugh… headache…"
*****
Sixth Abyss.
A realm filled with chaotic currents, high above in unreachable void.
Eight strands of thought gathered here.
From the first abyss to the ninth, then back to the sixth—Jiang Zhe's every move had never escaped their watch.
Ghost Demon:
"My dear brothers, what do you see?"
Flame Demon:
"There's something seriously off about this brat. If he's a native of the primordial universe, I'll swallow Toad God whole!"
Toad God:
"Croak~ You damned charcoal, if you've something to say then say it, don't drag me into it—croak~ eh? What are you doing? Stay back! Don't mute me—!"
Six-Armed Serpent Demon:
"You and your bizarre speech quirks—if we weren't brothers, muting you would be the least of it."
Desert Lord (deep voice):
"Yeah, nicely done."
Void Predator:
"Forget it. Back to business. So we all think he's the reincarnation of some powerhouse from 'above'?"
Infernal Thunder Dragon:
"Of course! With that unique soul and will, have you ever seen a native genius up there who could match him? His will is practically turning into an art form! Only a fool would believe he's local."
"And those two treasures—if we hadn't possessed those defective bodies and personally experienced them, we might've been fooled. Those must be at least god-king level treasures, not comparable to that embryonic god-king item he carries. Even up there, such treasures are rare."
Silence fell over the gathering.
Then, a cool voice broke it.
Seraph:
"Where he comes from is for the primordial universe's source will to worry about. What's it to us? Remember, we are merely the spirits of the secret arts, here to pick suitable inheritors for our master's legacy. Everything else is irrelevant."
Ghost Demon:
"But the way he fused the 'seed' destroyed the control interface we prepared. How do we guide him to accept the inheritance?"
Seraph:
"By the most primitive method—let him directly cultivate the Drawing Secret Art. If he succeeds, so be it. If not, he dies."
"Fine, as you say." ×6
Toad God:
"Mmmph mmph!"
Seraph was the Arbiter among the eight spirits of secret arts. Whenever disagreements arose, its decision was final—a rule set since the creation of this treasure.
---
Thanks "Ethan Epifanie" for supporting us on patreon
[A/N: Want to read more chapters in advance?
Check out my Patreon at "DigitalToons" for early access and exclusive content!
You can read 100+ chapters there in advance.
```And consistent chapter update everyday , 2 chapters every day
``` ]