Chapter 2137 : A Sage's Gratitude and Secluded Cultivation

Seeing this, Great Abyss Immortal Sage [an ancient and powerful sage] finally accepted the Celestial Heart Divine Liquid [a divine liquid that nourishes the very core of one's being]. He then spoke, "I am well aware that the Primordial Chaos Verdant Lotus [a legendary lotus born from the primordial chaos] is far more precious. Yet, not even Chaos Genesis Energy [the fundamental energy from which all creation sprang] could revive it."

"I imagine you paid a tremendous price for it."

Eldrin Chen offered a faint smile, choosing not to elaborate further on the matter.

After a moment of contemplation, he spoke again, "With this Celestial Heart Divine Liquid, Fellow Daoist, if you retreat to the Returning Abyss Grotto-Heaven [a secluded realm of profound cultivation] for several tens of thousands of Kalpa Tribulation [immense cosmic cycles], breaking through to the Half-Step Path Union [a realm just shy of merging with the Great Path itself] should pose no great difficulty."

A genuine smile touched the lips of Great Abyss Immortal Sage. "In that case," he said, his voice filled with gratitude, "words cannot fully express my thanks for such a profound kindness."

"…"

Following this, Eldrin Chen exchanged a few more pleasantries with Great Abyss Immortal Sage before finally returning to the Primordial Chaos Secret Realm [a hidden dimension suffused with primordial energy] within the Returning Abyss Grotto-Heaven.

Back within the secret realm, Eldrin Chen found that Exquisite Jiang and the others were in secluded cultivation. Not wishing to disturb them, he retired to his own abode alone to sort through his thoughts.

The journey to the Desolate Heaven Secret Realm had yielded immense gains for Eldrin Chen.

His primary cultivation paths—the Primordial Chaos Indestructibility Body [a physique of unbreakable resilience forged in primordial chaos], the Chaos Limitless Great Path [a supreme art harnessing the boundless power of chaos], and his Soul Path [the cultivation of the spiritual soul]—had all seen significant advancement.

Among them, the Primordial Chaos Indestructibility Body [a supreme physical constitution forged from the essence of primordial chaos] had made the greatest progress. Its cultivation had already reached the threshold of the Half-Step Path Union Realm [a transitional state just before the complete fusion of one's cultivated paths], granting it combat power comparable to a true Path Union Supreme [a supreme expert who has successfully merged their cultivated paths into one].

However, to advance further, Eldrin Chen would need to fuse three of his Chaos Divine Forms [divine manifestations born from chaos] into one, achieving a true Path Union [the state of complete path fusion] to form the Chaos Supreme Divine Form [the ultimate divine manifestation born from the perfect union of chaotic paths].

"Fusing the Chaos Divine Forms is immensely difficult," Eldrin Chen murmured inwardly, a flicker of gravity passing through his eyes. "Moreover, most of my Chaos Divine Forms were derived from Ultimate Divine Forms [the pinnacle manifestations of specific supreme laws]. With my current Primordial Spirit [the spiritual core and highest essence of a cultivator] cultivation, I fear accomplishing this will be exceedingly challenging."

A low whisper echoed in Eldrin Chen's heart, his gaze inevitably tinged with solemnity.

Among his Five Great Chaos Divine Forms, the Chaos Giant Cauldron [a divine cauldron manifestation born from chaos] was formed from the fusion of the Five Poles True Spirits Divine Forms [divine forms representing the five cardinal true spirits]. The rest were all Ultimate Divine Forms.

These Ultimate Divine Forms were each supremely powerful, yet their compatibility with one another was not particularly high.

After all, divine forms like Oblivion [the concept of absolute annihilation], Returning Abyss [the concept of the final abyss where all things return], Space-Time [the fundamental laws of space and time], and Chaos [the primordial, undifferentiated state of existence] were all supreme Ultimate Divine Forms. Each possessed the extreme arrogance of a Great Path [a supreme cultivation law or principle] claiming sole supremacy; how could they easily merge with other divine forms?

The only way for Eldrin Chen to cultivate the Supreme Divine Form [the ultimate, unified divine manifestation] was to forcibly fuse these Ultimate Divine Forms together using overwhelmingly powerful Primordial Spirit cultivation and raw strength.

By Eldrin Chen's estimation, to achieve this, he would need to advance his Primordial Spirit cultivation to at least the Half-Step Path Union Realm and successfully cultivate nine Chaos Divine Abilities [divine abilities derived from the power of chaos].

Only then would Eldrin Chen's Primordial Spirit cultivation possess the power to challenge and defeat a true Supreme [a title prefix denoting a supreme expert]. That overwhelming spiritual force would be necessary to completely suppress the power of his physical body, enabling the complete fusion of these five Great God [a title for powerful divine beings] forms.

"My physical cultivation has reached a bottleneck; it will be difficult to advance further in a short time."

"Within a short period, the only aspects that can see sufficient progress are my Primordial Spirit [the spiritual core of a cultivator] cultivation and my Great Path [the fundamental laws of the cosmos] cultivation."

Eldrin Chen contemplated this, then turned his senses inward to gauge his Primordial Spirit and Great Path cultivation bases. Between these two foundational pillars, his Great Path cultivation should be the easiest to break through.

This was because, during his recent venture into the Chaos Desolation Sea, Eldrin Chen had slain three Great Path Rival [a destined rival on the Great Path], acquiring an astonishing amount of Great Path Authority [the power to command a portion of a Great Path's fundamental law].

Currently, Eldrin Chen had already seized the supreme authority over three Great Path: Life, Mixed Metal, and Profound Darkness.

In this situation, Eldrin Chen could now have his Primordial Spirit plunge directly into the Sea of the Great Path [the metaphysical source of all Great Paths] to wrest control of the authority over these three Great Path from their very source.

There was also the Primordial Solar Heavenly Flame Great Path. The Primordial Spirit of the Supreme of Blazing Center Supreme should have been devoured by the Outer Realm Demon Emperor. Even though his Primordial Spirit was anchored within the Great Path, granting it a form of Indestructibility [the quality of being unbreakable], it must now be extremely weakened.

If Eldrin Chen could now gather sufficient Great Path Authority over the Primordial Solar Heavenly Flame and initiate a Great Path Authority War [a metaphysical conflict to seize control of a Great Path], the remnant soul of Blazing Center Supreme would likely be unable to withstand the Soul Path Heavenly Emperor [a supreme cultivation realm focused on soul mastery] cultivation of Eldrin Chen.

"I just need to gather enough authority. These four Innate Limitless Great Path [Great Paths that are fundamental and boundless from creation] will be as good as mine."

Eldrin Chen murmured this to himself. Yet, after a moment of silent deliberation, he set aside the thought of immediately seizing Great Path Authority.

Although these four Great Path Authority [the supreme authority over a fundamental cosmic law or principle] were already within his grasp, for the sake of absolute certainty, he decided to further elevate his Primordial Spirit [the spiritual core of a cultivator] cultivation first.

Once his cultivation in the Soul Path [a profound cultivation art focused on the soul] reached the Half-Step Path Union [a quasi-legendary state just shy of complete fusion with a Great Path] realm, seizing these Great Path Authority would be virtually assured.

With this thought, Eldrin Chen pondered for a moment before retrieving several portions of Chaos Spiritual Treasure [a treasure of immense rarity and power born from primordial chaos].

There were eight such spiritual treasures in total: Chaos Jade Marrow, Chaos Mother Energy [the primordial source energy from which all things are born], Reincarnation Stone, Stone of Years [a stone containing the condensed essence of time], Spatial Jade Marrow, Chaos Aurora [a divine ability manifesting as the primordial light of chaos], Cosmic Great Deduction Stone [a mystical stone said to aid in deducing the secrets of the cosmos], and other such Chaos Rare Treasure.

Each of these Rare Treasure possessed unique and wondrous properties, all gathered by Eldrin Chen in preparation for cultivating his Chaos Divine Ability [a supreme ability drawing power from primordial chaos].

Eldrin Chen first summoned his Reincarnation Body [an avatar or clone formed through the power of reincarnation], then handed the Reincarnation Stone to it, asking, "With this in hand, can you comprehend the Dao of Reincarnation [the cosmic cycle of death and rebirth]?"

The Reincarnation Body's pupils contracted sharply. "With this," it stated, "I can cultivate the Reincarnation Great Path [the supreme cultivation art of the Reincarnation Dao]. However, I must fuse it into the 'Bell of Reincarnation'."

Eldrin Chen gave a slight nod. "I shall lend you my aid," he declared.

As his words faded, Eldrin Chen directly retrieved the Reincarnation Body's Lifebound Spiritual Treasure [a magical treasure intrinsically linked to its owner's life force], the Bell of Reincarnation, and with his supreme cultivation, began refining and merging the Reincarnation Stone into it.

After a long while, the Bell of Reincarnation finally completed its ascension, transforming into a peerlessly powerful Chaos Spiritual Artifact [an artifact of ultimate power forged from chaos].

Seeing this, Eldrin Chen shook his head with regret and said, "A pity my cultivation is insufficient to unleash the full power of the Reincarnation Stone [a legendary stone said to contain the essence of the cycle of rebirth]. I can only refine and elevate it into a Low-Grade Chaos Spiritual Artifact [a primordial artifact of the lowest rank, forged from chaotic energies]."

"In the future, if you wish to elevate it to a Middle Grade Chaos Spiritual Treasure [a mid-tier primordial treasure of immense power], you will need to devote much effort to its further refinement and consecration."

"It is enough."

The Reincarnation Body [an avatar or form born from the profound mysteries of reincarnation] spoke calmly, then immediately stored away this Bell of Reincarnation [a mystical bell that governs the laws of rebirth] and strode off to enter secluded cultivation.

Watching the departing figure of the Reincarnation Body, Eldrin Chen also fell into deep contemplation.

As the Sacrificial Self Path [a supreme cultivation method centered on sacrificing the self to attain ultimate power] grew ever more formidable, the combat prowess and latent potential of the Reincarnation Body also became increasingly astonishing. Now, the Great Path Divine Form [divine manifestations of the Great Dao] born from the Sacrificial Self Path had surpassed thirty-eight in number.

If the Reincarnation Body were to prove its Dao [the fundamental principle underlying the universe] and ascend to Chaos [the primordial state before creation, a supreme cultivation realm], it could likely soar to the heavens in a single step, directly reaching the Path Union Supreme Realm [the pinnacle stage where one's path merges with the ultimate truth].

However, Eldrin Chen was not content with this. This was because the Limitless Great Path [a cultivation art pursuing boundless, infinite potential] at the Innate [a foundational realm representing one's innate, unaltered potential] level possessed even greater malleability. It was precisely the optimal time for rapid and profound refinement.

With the continuous propagation and perfection of the Sacrificial Self Path, it was foreseeable that in the future, it would give birth to seventy-two, or even eighty-one Great Path Divine Form.

By that time, the Reincarnation Body would likely be sufficient to ascend to the heavens in one step, directly stepping into the Limitless Sovereign Realm [the sovereign realm of boundlessness, a legendary state of ultimate power].

However, this ultimately requires a vast span of time. During this period, having the Reincarnation Body cultivate the Reincarnation Great Path and use this Great Path to break through to the Chaos Heavenly Emperor Realm would perfectly compensate for the Reincarnation Body's deficiency in cultivation realm.

"Once the Reincarnation Great Path steps into the Realm of Chaos, that mystical technique should be completely perfected."

Eldrin Chen's gaze flickered briefly before he swiftly reined in his wandering thoughts.

Having gathered his focus, Eldrin Chen retrieved Chaos Jade Marrow, Chaos Mother Energy, and other such Rare Treasure. He then began using them as catalysts to cultivate his Chaos Divine Ability.

As a core method for a Soul Path Heavenly Emperor, the Chaos Divine Ability has, since ancient times, been notoriously difficult to master.

Its cultivation not only requires Chaos Spiritual Treasure as a catalyst but also a vast ocean of Chaos Essence and even Great Path Origin as cultivation resources.

It was precisely due to the scarcity of such resources that even the legendary Blazing Center Supreme of old only managed to cultivate three Chaos Divine Ability.

Furthermore, lacking Chaos Tier cultivation resources for the Primordial Spirit [the spiritual core of a cultivator], the Blazing Center Supreme's Soul Path cultivation remained merely at the peak of the Heavenly Emperor realm, offering little enhancement to his combat prowess.

Otherwise, subduing the Blazing Center Supreme back then would likely not have been so straightforward.

Had the Blazing Center Supreme cultivated all nine Chaos Divine Ability and elevated his Primordial Spirit cultivation to the very limits of the Half-Step Path Union level, it would have undoubtedly granted him a significant boost in combat power.

By that time, Blazing Center Supreme would at the very least be able to preserve the Primordial Spirit Tower [a defensive divine ability that manifests a spiritual tower to protect the cultivator's soul], and might even ensure his Primordial Spirit [the spiritual core of a cultivator] remained unscathed. Under such circumstances, it would be impossible for a mere Outer Realm Demon Emperor to capture him.

"The path of the Soul Path Heavenly Emperor [the highest echelon of the Primordial Spirit cultivation stage] is one where divine abilities represent both one's realm and methods, requiring various rare catalysts and refined spiritual essences to cultivate."

"The foundation of one's Primordial Spirit [the spiritual core of a cultivator] is one's cultivation base, the very bedrock of personal combat prowess. The magnitude of power unleashed by the same divine ability depends entirely on the depth and solidity of this Primordial Spirit foundation."

Eldrin Chen murmured inwardly, then began refining the various Rare Treasure [exceptionally precious spiritual materials].

Advancing one's Primordial Spirit [the spiritual core of a cultivator] cultivation was a slow process, demanding vast quantities of resources for the Soul Path [a profound cultivation method focused on the soul]. The immediate priority was to swiftly cultivate his Soul Path [a profound cultivation method focused on the soul] attainments.

This time, the first item Eldrin Chen refined was the Chaos Jade Marrow [a primordial substance containing the essence of chaos, used to forge divine abilities]. With the Chaos Jade Marrow and a large supply of catalysts, the process of elevating his divine ability to the Chaos Divine Ability [a divine ability infused with the primordial power of chaos] level proceeded with astonishing speed.

After a mere three hundred Kalpa Tribulation [an immense cosmic cycle in Buddhist cosmology, often billions of years]—equivalent to one External Tribulation [a tribulation that manifests externally, often as heavenly punishment] cycle—Eldrin Chen had completely refined the Chaos Jade Marrow and successfully elevated his Chaos Weapon Forging Art [a divine art for forging weapons infused with chaos] to its new tier.

Thereafter, Eldrin Chen spent several thousand Kalpa Tribulation cycles, methodically refining the Stone of Years [a mystical stone containing the essence of time], the Spatial Jade Marrow [a spiritual marrow containing spatial essence], the Chaos Aurora [a divine ability manifesting as a chaotic aurora], the Cosmic Great Deduction Stone [a mystical stone that aids in cosmic-scale divination and deduction], and all the other Rare Treasure [exceptionally precious spiritual materials].

By this point, eight of the nine divine abilities within Eldrin Chen's Nine Great True Spirit Divine Abilities [a set of nine supreme divine abilities] had ascended to the Chaos Divine Ability [a divine ability infused with the primordial power of chaos] realm.

These eight Great God Ability [supreme divine abilities] were: Chaos Unity Energy [a primordial energy of unified chaos], Chaos Divine Thunder [divine thunder imbued with chaos], Chaos Aurora [a divine ability manifesting as a chaotic aurora], Chaos Weapon Forging Art [a divine art for forging weapons infused with chaos], Great Deduction Polarity Stellar [a stellar-based divine ability of supreme deduction and polarity], Song of Ages Blade [a blade technique that sings with the weight of eons], Limitless Cosmos Sword [a sword art embodying the boundless cosmos], and the Polarity Sacrificial Self Path [a profound cultivation path based on sacrifice and polarity].

"The eight great Chaos Divine Ability have taken initial form. Only the final, most crucial one remains," Eldrin Chen murmured to himself.

With this thought, he arrived within the Nameless Space and gazed upon the Returning Abyss Pearl before him.

After years of accumulation, the aura emanating from the Returning Abyss Pearl was now incomparable to its former self. Furthermore, having absorbed the Returning Abyss Origin [the foundational essence of the abyss] released during the destruction of the Immortal Cosmos Primordial Domain, its grade had seen significant advancement.

Now, the Returning Abyss Pearl had ascended to become a Middle Grade Chaos Spiritual Treasure, its power rivaling even that of the Returning Abyss Seal.

Contemplating this, Eldrin Chen looked at the pearl and inquired, "I seek to cultivate the Returning Abyss Chaos Divine Ability. Can you lend me your aid?"

"The matter is simple," the Returning Abyss Pearl replied, its voice unhurried. "Provide a Chaos Spiritual Artifact for me to refine and consume. That will suffice."

The pearl spoke as if this were a trivial affair.

Eldrin Chen nodded. As its grade had progressively risen, the efficacy of this Chaos Supreme Treasure Embryo had grown ever more potent.

In truth, with its current power, for the Returning Abyss Pearl to gestate a Chaos Spiritual Treasure imbued with Returning Abyss Attribute [the intrinsic quality of the abyssal return] was not difficult.

The purpose of consuming the Chaos Spiritual Artifact was merely to replenish the foundational essence expended in the process of nurturing the Spiritual Treasure.

Regarding this, Eldrin Chen offered no polite refusal. He directly retrieved a Chaos Spiritual Artifact and handed it over for the Returning Abyss Pearl to devour.

With the three hundredfold Space-Time acceleration, the Returning Abyss Pearl's gestation of a Chaos Spiritual Treasure was not slow. Before long, it had birthed a Chaos Spiritual Treasure imbued with the Returning Abyss Attribute.

Eldrin Chen used this as a catalyst, drawing boundless Returning Abyss Power to merge into his ninth True Spirit Aperture. In the end, he elevated his ninth Innate Divine Ability, the 'Returning Abyss Wheel', to the realm of a Chaos Divine Ability.

"All nine Great God Ability have finally reached the Realm of Chaos."

Witnessing the completion of the Returning Abyss Wheel, Eldrin Chen immediately activated the Nine Extremities Heavenly Art.

In that instant, nine supreme divine abilities whirled into existence, unleashing a world-shaking, epoch-defining divine might capable of sweeping through the Chaos and the Eight Desolations.

It must be admitted, the nine Chaos Divine Ability were truly formidable, especially when bolstered by the Nine Extremities Heavenly Art.

This Nine Extremities Heavenly Art was created by Nameless. It enabled the simultaneous activation of nine Chaos Divine Ability in combat, granting peerless, unrivaled combat power capable of overwhelming any foe of the same cultivation level.

Consider this: even a powerhouse at the Half-Step Path Union level could only wield three Chaos Spiritual Artifact simultaneously in battle.

Yet, Eldrin Chen could command nine Chaos Divine Ability at once, suppressing powerful enemies with a symphony of divine abilities. How could an ordinary Half-Step Path Union cultivator possibly withstand such an onslaught?

"With the nine great Chaos Divine Ability now initially mastered, all that remains is to replenish my Primordial Spirit [the spiritual core of a cultivator] cultivation base."

With this thought in mind, Eldrin Chen pondered for a moment before rising and making his way to the medicinal garden where the Primordial Chaos Secret Realm [a hidden realm of primordial chaos] was located.

Ever since the fall of Nameless, resources pertaining to the Soul Path [a cultivation art focused on the soul] within the Chaos [the primordial state of existence] had grown exceedingly scarce, making the advancement of Primordial Spirit cultivation increasingly arduous.

To continue elevating his Soul Path cultivation, there were only a handful of viable methods.

One example was the Soul-Splitting Art [a divine ability to split one's soul] once used by the Nine Souls Heavenly Emperor. This method employed a brute-force approach: continuously dividing one's own Primordial Spirit, nurturing the split souls with lower-tier resources until they reached the Great Emperor [a high cultivation realm], or even the Sage Ascendant Realm [a realm of sage-like ascension].

These nurtured souls would then be reabsorbed, steadily augmenting the original self's cultivation base.

The ingenuity of this technique lay in its ability to circumvent the scarcity of high-tier Soul Path resources. It used abundant lower-tier resources to elevate the split souls, which were then absorbed to boost the main soul's Soul Path cultivation.

However, this method was not without significant flaws. Firstly, the split souls possessed inherently lower aptitude and limited potential; they could typically only be cultivated to the Great Emperor Realm at most.

Ascending them to the Sage Ascendant Realm required seeking out rare Soul Path resources to enhance their latent potential and innate talent—let alone guiding a split soul to tread the Heavenly Emperor Realm [the realm of a Heavenly Emperor].

Secondly, while low-tier Soul Path resources were not in short supply, this approach ultimately failed to address the fundamental problem at its root.

Without Chaos Tier-grade resources for the Soul Path [a cultivation art focused on nurturing and refining the soul], advancing to the Path Union Realm [the realm where one's cultivation path merges with the Great Dao] would be an immensely arduous task. Even if one were to reach the Supreme Realm [the pinnacle stage] of Path Union in the future, the efficacy of the Soul-Splitting Profound Art [a profound art that allows the division of one's soul essence] would be greatly diminished.

"To swiftly elevate one's Soul Path cultivation, one must first circumvent the limitations of innate talent, and second, acquire a vast quantity of high-tier Soul Path resources," Eldrin Chen murmured inwardly.

With this thought, he retrieved the Primordial Energy Vase of Heaven and Earth [a mystical vase capable of nurturing spiritual objects with primordial energy] and began repeatedly attempting to cultivate various Soul Path Rare Treasure [rare spiritual objects imbued with soul-nourishing properties].

In the end, he discovered that the vast majority of these Soul Path Rare Treasure were suppressed by an invisible force of the Great Path [the fundamental laws of the cosmos]. At best, they could only advance to the level of a Primordial One Marvel [a marvel of the Primordial Chaos era] Spirit Herb [a herb infused with spiritual energy].

Those capable of metamorphosing into an Innate Supreme Treasure Spiritual Root [a supreme treasure root born of innate spiritual power] were exceedingly few—only a handful such as the Heaven Soul Ancient Tree [an ancient tree whose essence nourishes the heavenly aspect of the soul], the Earth Soul Ancient Tree [an ancient tree whose essence nourishes the earthly aspect of the soul], and the Soul Nourishing Wood [a spiritual wood that nourishes and strengthens the soul].

"It seems I must still cultivate the Soul Nourishing Wood," he concluded silently.

With this resolution, Eldrin Chen then retrieved the seed of the Human Soul Fruit Tree [a mythical tree said to bear fruit that can enhance the human soul].

He attempted to revive it using Primordial Chaos Violet Aura [the supreme violet energy born from the Primordial Chaos], but discovered a pervasive aura of death within the seed, utterly stifling any possibility of the Human Soul Fruit Tree's revival.