"Ah, so hot, so hot!"
The massive body of the Blood Demon Flood Dragon thrashed above the Panlong Mountain Range, shattering numerous palaces and peaks. Many cultivators preparing for seclusion mistook it for an enemy attack. They rushed out of their secret chambers, only to see the chaotic scene and immediately retreat, not daring to utter a word.
This was a flood dragon that had reached the Nine Tribulations realm. Few in the entire Six Royal Manor could afford to provoke it.
Ling Xiu and his five brothers stood on a cliff, watching this scene unfold, all of them shaking their heads with a wry smile.
"Even with the Blood Demon Flood Dragon's incredibly sturdy physique, it still experiences such intense medicinal effects after consumption. An Immortal-grade Blood Spirit Pill truly lives up to its name," Xiao Yi exclaimed, his anticipation for the effects of the Immortal-grade Blood Spirit Pill growing.
"Indeed," Ling Xiu nodded and said, "Having the fortune to meet Brother Zhang Fan is an opportunity for our Six Royal Manor. However, this small Wushan Star Domain will ultimately not be able to keep him; a Kunpeng is destined to soar through the nine heavens."
"That's right. We six brothers are considered prodigies, standing at the pinnacle of the Wushan Star Domain. Yet, compared to Brother Zhang Fan, we can only sigh in admiration," Shen Feichen also nodded, deeply touched. "The Nascent Soul realm that we strive for, before him, is likely a smooth and unobstructed path."
Shen Feichen suddenly thought of something and looked at his second brother, asking, "Any news about the Teng Snake clan?"
Mo Yan shook his head. "The Teng Snake clan is truly terrified. They've even abandoned their clan's sacred ground and fled with their entire tribe. Their whereabouts are unknown."
After tidying up the aftermath of the Black Sand Cave Heaven, Mo Yan had also made a detour to the Teng Snake clan. He knew of Zhang Fan's grievances with the Teng Snake clan and intended to exterminate them. To his surprise, by the time he arrived, the Teng Snake Sacred Hall was already deserted.
Xiao Yi chuckled, "The Teng Snake clan has always survived by treading carefully on the Boundary Heart Continent, remaining low-key and not daring to provoke the six top powers. Naturally, they lack the mettle of a top power. When their tribe faced a disaster of annihilation, abandoning their living grounds is understandable."
Ling Xiu ordered, "Investigate. The Wushan Star Domain is this small. Convey the order to all life planets. Anyone who discovers traces of the Teng Snake clan and provides effective clues will be rewarded with five hundred million spirit crystals."
After Ling Xiu's order was issued and passed down through layers, it reached every life planet within three days, causing a great stir.
Faced with such an enormous bounty, many cultivators joined the hunt for the Teng Snake's tracks, despite the significant risks involved.
...
In the Golden Light Immortal Mansion.
Apart from the Immortal-grade Blood Spirit Pill, Zhang Fan also prepared a large number of spirit crystals for Lin Haotian, Wuchen Sword Immortal, and Tianhua Heavenly Monarch.
"I am going to enter seclusion for a period. During this time, no one is to disturb me," Zhang Fan instructed the few of them before heading alone to the third floor of the Golden Light Immortal Mansion.
"Just one step away from the completion of the Dao's rules, but how can I break through this step?" Zhang Fan sat cross-legged on the third floor of the Golden Light Immortal Mansion, his mind flashing with countless methods.
This was the first time he had encountered a bottleneck in his cultivation in this life.
The white immortal infant was indeed powerful, having already assimilated nearly two million Dao rules, and was only one step away from completion.
Yet, this single step felt like an insurmountable chasm, making it impossible for him to cross.
During this period, he had exhausted various divine abilities and secret techniques to strengthen the white immortal infant, but neither the Sword Dao rules nor the Lightning Dao rules could reach completion.
When a single Dao's rules are cultivated to completion in the Nascent Soul stage, one's strength undergoes a qualitative change, allowing them to unleash the Domain of the Great Dao even at the Nascent Soul stage. The deeper the foundation of the rules, the smoother the path ahead.
"In my previous life, I was an Immortal Emperor, standing at the peak of the universe, looking down upon all realms and star systems. I witnessed countless individuals hailed as geniuses and prodigies, yet very few could cultivate the Dao rules of one Dao to completion in the Nascent Soul stage."
"If one Dao is already so difficult, is there any possibility of success in cultivating two Daos simultaneously?" Zhang Fan murmured to himself, questioning his own heart. Even with his experience, he could not see a path to success.
"Should I just give up? What does it matter if the Dao's rules are not complete?"
As soon as this thought surfaced in his mind, he ruthlessly extinguished it. Having come this far, how could he possibly give up?
"Hm?"
Zhang Fan suddenly thought of something, his eyes gleaming with an intense and fiery light. He repeatedly muttered, "One Dao! Two Daos?"
"Since cultivating two Daos simultaneously is too difficult, why don't I merge them into one?" At this moment, infinite inspiration flashed through Zhang Fan's mind, and he became increasingly certain of the feasibility of his conjecture.
"Since different Daos can be merged, why can't different Dao rules be merged?" Zhang Fan suppressed his inner excitement, opening a new door to a new world on his cultivation path.
"Merging different Daos is something even powerful beings at the Void Return stage cannot achieve; it's a level only Dao Fusion Immortal Kings can access, let alone cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage. However, for me, it doesn't seem difficult at all." Zhang Fan smiled. The bottleneck that had troubled him for half a year was finally broken, and he felt an immense joy in his soul.
"Once the rules of the Thunder Dao and the Sword Dao are fused, my cultivation path can be truly called the Thunder Sword Dao." Thinking of this, Zhang Fan was filled with anticipation.
"Since I have found a direction, let's begin." With a focused and calm mind, Zhang Fan began to mobilize the Sword Dao rules and Lightning Dao rules within the white immortal infant, intending to fuse them together. Rules are formless, but they carry the power of their true nature: the sharpness of the Sword Dao, and the destructive force of the Lightning Dao.
The first attempt, even with Zhang Fan's utmost caution, was met with strong repulsion when the two elements tried to merge.
"Boom!"
A muffled sound exploded within his body. Failure.
However, Zhang Fan was not discouraged. Instead, a smile spread across his face. Since there was a reaction, it proved the feasibility of this method. Zhang Fan could even fuse complete Great Daos; as the foundation of Great Daos, Dao rules were something Zhang Fan was confident in.
As Zhang Fan continued to attempt, on the one thousand and twenty-fifth try...
"The first Dao succeeded!" Zhang Fan let out a long sigh. Although it was only the fusion of one Dao rule out of nearly a million, a single success, coupled with the experience of merging, would make subsequent fusions much easier.
In the first month of merging Dao rules, Zhang Fan successfully merged nearly ten thousand.
In the second month of merging Dao rules, Zhang Fan successfully merged over one hundred thousand.
As he became increasingly proficient, Zhang Fan completed the fusion of the remaining hundreds of thousands of Dao rules in just two more months.
By then, the number of Dao rules within the white immortal infant in Zhang Fan's body had decreased from nearly two million to just over nine hundred thousand. While the quantity of Dao rules had halved, Zhang Fan could clearly feel that its power had increased severalfold.
...