In the black mist.
Lin Chen’s brow was burning hot, and endless demons were being absorbed into his brow. This was the first time the Divine Soul Stars within him took the initiative, expanding and tearing apart like a galaxy at a frenzied speed. Countless star trajectories were recombined and interwoven, resembling a gigantic net covering the sky.
And those demons were the prey caught by the giant net.
All the demons fell from his brow into the giant net, and were soon absorbed by these moving stars, disappearing into nothingness in an instant.
Mad devouring!
Mad growth!
Each demon contributed little to the growth of the Divine Soul, but the sheer number of them was terrifying, causing all the stars to grow in both size and brightness.
...
...
It’s not clear how much time had passed, suddenly!
The stars above the dantian were suddenly washed by an invisible force, which continuously stretched the entire galaxy...
Boom!
In the next moment, the bright stars were unexpectedly split into two under the pull of this force, doubling the number of stars they had before.
The giant net became even tighter than before.
At the same time, the speed at which Lin Chen absorbed the demons in the black mist accelerated once more, ten, a hundred, a thousand...
...
At the edge of the abyss, Yin Yue looked at the black mist that had clearly lowered by half a foot, light gleaming in her eyes. The stronger Lin Chen’s Divine Soul became, the more beneficial it was for her.
Jiang Taiyi’s expression did not change much; as long as Lin Chen could absorb the demons from the black mist, the scene before him was within his expectations. The only surprise was that Lin Chen’s absorption speed was faster than he had imagined.
Half a foot, a foot...
When the height of the black mist fell to one zhang, and no more black mist emerged, a look of unsatisfactoriness appeared on Lin Chen’s face.
"Panel!"
Lin Chen softly whispered in his mind.
[Host: Lin Chen]
[Realm: Innate Second Realm]
[Innate Technique: Azure Wave Technique] (Undamaged Level 6)
[Qi Blood: Level 7]
[Divine Soul: Level 7]
[Will: Level 6]
[Speed: Level 6]
[Defense: Level 6]
[Comprehension: Level 6]
The Divine Soul had unexpectedly increased by one level.
Seeing the growth of his Divine Soul, Lin Chen felt a surge of delight in his heart. This is just one zhang of black mist, yet it allowed his Divine Soul to increase by one level, and who knows how deep this abyss is. Even though each subsequent level of Divine Soul growth may be more difficult than the last, increasing by two or three more levels is not a problem at all.
"Senior, this disciple is willing to give it a try!"
Lin Chen’s gaze turned to Jiang Taiyi, having already tasted the sweetness, and with Senior Jiang taking care of things at his side, this opportunity was worth taking a gamble on.
Jiang Taiyi nodded; he wasn’t surprised by Lin Chen’s choice.
If it were someone who’s already in their twilight years, they might refuse the growth in power, but someone at Lin Chen’s age would never reject an increase in power.
Especially when it comes to the most difficult growth in the Divine Soul!
"Then continue, but withdraw immediately if you sense anything amiss."
"Mm."
Lin Chen nodded heavily, looking at the rolling black mist beneath him, took a deep breath, and controlled his body to descend into the black mist.
At this moment, he had only one thought in mind: to absorb the demons in this black mist as much as possible.
These demons could cause him no harm and were completely like a tonic.
...
...
One day, two days, three days...
At this moment, the abyss had descended at a speed of three hundred zhang, with numerous runes shining on its boundary.
Within his dantian, the Divine Soul Stars had already undergone six splits, and the number of stars now was multiple times greater than before.
His Divine Soul Stars seemed like a bottomless pit, able to devour countless demons as soon as they came in...
Seven days.
Ten days.
The black mist in the abyss had already descended as much as a thousand zhang.
Just as Lin Chen descended his body once more, a denser black mist surged in, and within the mist, a larger and more solid shadow of a demon rushed into his brow.
This demonic shadow fell into the Divine Soul Stars, yet it wasn’t crushed into energy by the stars. Instead, it suspiciously avoided the trajectory of the stars and broke through the giant net interwoven by stars, heading straight for the ocean below.
And just as the demon shadow broke through the giant net, the Martial Path Will that had lain dormant at the sea bottom suddenly burst out of the water. Countless weapon phantoms appeared, and simultaneously, a bright moon emerged, merging its glow with that of the weapons.
The Martial Soul Map revealed itself as "the bright moon rises over the sea," shedding bright moonlight down, pinning the demon shadow in midair. In the next instant, one of the Martial Path Wills pierced through, forcefully impaling the demon shadow.
The demonic shadow was pierced by the Martial Path Will, transforming into wisps of black smoke. However, under the gentle moonlight, it quickly changed from black smoke into transparent energy, drifting upwards and absorbed by the stars. The star that absorbed the energy shone remarkably brighter than before, standing out among the surrounding stars.
"So demons also vary in strength. The demons I encountered at the beginning were weaker, and the energy they could convert to increase the Divine Soul was less, relying more on quantity to make up for it. But this recent demon was strong, resulting in much more converted energy."
Lin Chen had been closely monitoring the situation of his Divine Soul. When this demonic shadow broke through the giant web, he was shocked and considered whether to go up immediately. Unexpectedly, his Martial Soul Map made a move.
Previously, a single star had to absorb the energy of nearly a hundred demons to achieve a noticeable difference in brightness from its surroundings. But now, with just one demon achieving this effect, it’s telling.
Fortune favors the bold, but I must be cautious.
Next, every hundred breaths, Lin Chen would encounter a powerful demon. But under the Martial Soul Map of "The bright moon rises over the sea," no demonic shadow could penetrate the ocean.
[Divine Soul: Level 9]
In his spare moments, he glanced at his Divine Soul, which had already reached Level 7, yet it could still keep absorbing. As soon as these stars’ size and brightness reached their peak, they’d immediately rupture, splitting into two before starting a new round of absorption.
From Level 6 to 7, absorbing just three zhang of black fog was enough to upgrade, while from Level 7 to 8, it consumed thirty zhang, and from Level 8 to 9, it reduced to a thousand zhang to achieve that.
Each level is harder than the last.
But Lin Chen understands; from Level 6 to 7, his Divine Soul Stars underwent two fissions, meaning the number of stars doubled. Assuming there were a hundred stars initially, after two fissions, there are four hundred stars. To let these four hundred stars reach peak size and brightness requires four times the energy.
From Level 7 to 8, it underwent eight fissions.
From Level 8 to 9, it underwent twenty fissions.
According to this fission pattern, from Level 9 to 10, it might require fifty fissions.
This presents an exponential growth trend, and as the number of stars increases, the number of stars after each fission will also reach a terrifying number.
Although the demonic shadows below provide more energy to the Divine Soul than the ones above, given the vast number of stars, the necessary depth to descend seems hard for Lin Chen to estimate.
Lin Chen once heard a story, the tale of the King and the chessboard.
The King, wealthy enough to rival nations, agreed to a wise person’s request, which was quite simple: to fill the chessboard with grains of rice.
The first chessboard holds one grain of rice, and each subsequent board holds double the previous amount. The King thought nothing of it, but as it went on, the King was dumbfounded—even the nation’s supply of rice wasn’t enough.
His current situation is strikingly similar to the King filling the chessboard with rice.
What exactly does a Level 10 Divine Soul equate to in terms of realms?
Lin Chen is unsure and cannot verify now, but he believes except for this abyss, nowhere else in the Flame Dynasty would allow such rapid growth of his Divine Soul.
Senior Jiang was truly modest when he said he was giving him an opportunity.
This here is a tremendous opportunity!
...
...
A thousand zhang!
Two thousand zhang!
Three thousand zhang!
...
...
Above the abyss, Jiang Taiyi’s eyebrows slightly furrowed: "I didn’t expect Lin Chen to obtain the Divine Illumination Without Limits Life Chart. I originally thought solving a hundred zhang of black fog was sufficient."
Jiang Taiyi said this for Yin Yue to hear.
"Lin Chen acquired the Life Chart after reaching Canglan Island, and coincidentally, there’s such a place on Canglan Island."
Yin Yue spoke softly; she considered Lin Chen lucky for acquiring the Divine Illumination Without Limits Life Chart but wasn’t overly surprised.
This Life Chart looks incredibly powerful, enabling a martial artist’s Divine Soul to grow limitlessly without being influenced by realms or the physical body. But this limitless growth doesn’t happen out of thin air; it requires either self-cultivation or consumption or refinement of treasures that can enhance the Divine Soul.
Even in the Flame Dynasty, treasures capable of enhancing the Divine Soul are extremely precious. Before the Innate Third Realm, thanks to the sects’ foundations, if they truly choose to invest in a disciple, they can indeed grow their Divine Soul to this realm.
But beyond the Innate Third Realm, into the Innate Fourth Realm, Fifth Realm, or even Sixth Realm...
The further one progresses, not only is the requirement for Innate Power displaying a terrifying number, but the demands for the Divine Soul are even more so; even a super sect cannot enable a disciple’s Divine Soul to directly advance from the Innate Third Realm to the Fifth Realm or Sixth Realm.
Unless the sect is facing life and death, urgently needing a top-tier master to turn the situation around.
"Are you saying Lin Chen’s acquisition of this Life Chart was too coincidental?"
Jiang Taiyi’s eyes also flashed brilliantly. Martial Arts Mountain was created by the Flame Dynasty using the power of the Divine Seal... and beneath the abyss is also the Divine Seal...
Could the two be related?
As Jiang Taiyi pondered, a wave of energy suddenly surged from the abyss’s depths.
"Not good!"
Jiang Taiyi sensed something, his expression changing, immediately transmitting to the abyss, while his right hand raised, releasing a terrifying pressure toward the abyss.
"Lin Chen, come up quickly!"
However, it was still a moment too late!
Almost as Jiang Taiyi’s right hand lifted, the originally ten-thousand-zhang black fog instantly flooded the entire abyss.
"Lin Chen!"
"Lin Chen!"
"Lin Chen!"
The call of the abyss he heard previously echoed again.
Unlike last time, the previous call contained no emotion, but this time it carried obvious excitement.
PS: Just short of two hundred votes to draw another prize, asking for monthly votes.

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