Within the cave.
Yan Zaizen quietly sat in a seated cultivation stance. Around him, droplets of golden liquid effusing a grand, magnificent aura circled his body. It was mystical as the drops revolved around him like planetary satellites. From time to time, Yan Zaizen would breathe him. A drop of golden liquid would zoom into his glabella.
From there, his veins and arteries would become visible, tinged with golden light as the energy infused within his blood, carried into his heart, and later refined and dispersed into his six yang organs, five yin organs, and his numerous acupunctures.
Within his body, minute but devastatingly powerful explosions took place. Despite his serene expression, closed eyes, and calm breathing, his every cell was experiencing a period of havoc unlike anything this body of his had ever experienced.
Luckily, as his meridians, flesh, tendons, sinews, blood, and cells were destroyed by the powerful refinement of Heavenly Law Liquid, his heart thumped with an immense beat. With each beat, his damaged body would be repaired as if nothing had occurred.
It was this miraculous recovery ability that went against his conceived belief of healing that allowed him to withstand the Heavenly Law Liquid's impact. When he was younger, when he first underwent this process, he felt as if atom bombs were erupting endlessly in his body. He had to take it slow. Several hundred years in fact.
He didn't have the luxury of chaotic space and its temporal difference. Therefore, he relied on brute force and his Grand Herculean Physique's Mimicry Restoration Ability.
Furthermore, he had gleaned some insight into this ability after careful observation. His current body was composed of vital energies infused with the unique force of the Herculean Path. His Heart was the center of his physique, but shockingly, it was the only true physical existence in his body.
When his body had refined the Regalia of Mimicry, it had evolved into being an imitation as a whole. It was this reason, this falsehood, that allowed him to change every last aspect of his physical body, including its aura and appearance. The only true piece of his physical material was his Herculean Heart.
It contained the core source of his power. In fact, all of it was focused solely into the heart. Everything else was simply given form by his soul's image and desires. Moreover, when he had refined his heart, he hadn't felt stronger at all, yet when he moved, his strength was far greater.
He had unintentionally tricked himself. When he evolved into something greater, his body had remained the same because he didn't know how to reveal his truest form. Therefore, he felt his physical body contained the same strength of his perfect Nascent Herculean Physique.
However, there was one key piece of difference that allowed him to notice the difference: Dao Energy. Without using it to enhance his strength, his body had the aura and strength of that enhanced version to the exact degree.
"The law of mimicry is far too profound…" this Imperial Law was shocking to say the least. It had formed the foundation of his Heavenly Shrine, allowing him to use any and every law he could to their utmost limits without building a separate Heavenly Shrine for them!
He still hadn't grasped all of its abilities and secrets, but if it could mimic, truly mimic everything, then wouldn't its limits of power be the limits of existence itself? He shuddered at the thought.
"Are you ready?" A soft voice echoed from outside, calling Yan Zaizen's attention. Yan Zaizen opened his eyes. His domineering gaze and tyrannical aura briefly pacified as he heard this voice. A warmth suffused his heart and entered his eyes as they softened.
It had been three weeks since that day.
He calmly took a deep breath, all the droplets of golden liquid entered his glabella instantly. His entire body bloated momentarily, as if it was going to explode. Yet, a flash of amber-gold Dao Light and cold harrumph later, and the immense retaliation of Heavenly Law Liquid refinement was subdued. In the matter of moments, his Grand Herculean Physique had reached the Minor Success Stage.
Yan Zaizen rose from his position. With a calm gait, he walked out of the cave and was greeted by a skyship hovering in the sky. At its edge, a beautiful woman leaned forward with a gentle smile. In her arms, a snow-white puppy was napping and softly kicking in its sleep. Its head nuzzled deeper into Lin Feilin's bosom.
Old Man Bo quietly waited too. Yan Zaizen flashed and landed on the deck of the skyship. "Yeah," was all he replied with. His voice was calm.
"Let's go to the capital." Yan Zaizen intended to finally meet this Senior Brother of his. The annihilation and subsequent hunting of his clan was still a matter he had to understand. As Shin Xuanji is a possessor of his Dao, he didn't think he would be ungrateful and act selfishly. Long ago, they had long since eliminated the enmity between his clan and him.
"I want to know too." Lin Feilin deeply understood the grudge, but she too believed that wasn't the reason. While the Yan Clan had destroyed Shin Xuanji's clan, he had dedicated himself to the future, not the past. This was especially after Yan Zaizen had bestowed him his Dao and its great power.
Old Man Bo was merely a spectator, but he understood the gist. He knew that Yan Zaizen was an immensely powerful entity, and how could this Shin Xuanji not know this? To him, he didn't feel that the truth back then was very reliable considering that Yan Zaizen could return and seek revenge.
They soon left, soaring through the skies as they traversed the world. Their destination: the Xiantu Capital City. There, it was said that the Xiantu Emperor stayed. Shin Xuanji had taken the helm and donned this title, controlling the realm from there. Therefore, it was his first stop.
They flew fast. Yan Zaizen didn't think too heavily or immerse himself in speculation. The truth will come out soon.
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The Xiantu Realm's Capital City was named the Heavenly Mortal City. It was a spectacularly breathtaking sight to behold. From the distance, one could see the formation of nine towers that were made purely out of high-grade essence stones. They nearly touched the skies, radiating a rainbow light from the refraction of light. Their glorious beauty was outshone by the walls.
They were at the height of thirty-three meters high, their surface painted with golden ink effusing heavenly power. They were artistically brilliant. If one started from any of the four main points, they detailed a vivid story.
The citizens called this story the Heavenly Tale. It noted the arrival of a young man, met with catastrophic events at each turn. His clan was slaughtered before his eyes, left orphan and alone, he embarked on a path of revenge.
Therefore, he faced three trials and three calamities, and with the help of two figures, a man and a woman, they were overcome and allowed him to touch upon the heavens. In the end, he became a sovereign of this world, ascending to the Heavenly Path.
Woosh!
When Yan Zaizen arrived, his Dao Sense grasped the entire tale. His eyes flashed with all sorts of nostalgia. In one of these images, depicting one of the calamities, the young boy was trapped and tortured, unsure of his future, but he was saved by a figure.
It was him.
The likeness wasn't the exact same, but it was fairly close. After all, he had changed somewhat since he ventured out into the grand world and discovered more of the heavens.
Lin Feilin was similarly there. She was at the beginning, but she too had massively changed in appearance since then. With her Dao formulated, her body maturing, and the passage of time etching into her eyes, she seemed far too different.
"It seems like he hadn't forgotten," she softly whispered. Hope entered her heart.
However, Yan Zaizen closed his eyes. He didn't reply, merely waited. After a few minutes of silence, he nodded.
"Stay here," Yan Zaizen said. With a step forward, he shot into the skies. It took only moments for him to vanish from their sights. The snow-white puppy woke up, looking up at the sky that Yan Zaizen ascended. His pure eyes were calm, the innocence of its gaze had become infused with a profound light.
While no one noticed this, Yan Zaizen had already exited the Xiantu Realm's atmosphere, entering the Deep Expanse. When he arrived, he saw a figure dressed in bone-white ash and sanguine colored robes with eyes closed.
This figure was seated cross-legged within the Xiantu Realm, emitting a faint heavenly aura. Yan Zaizen finally opened his eyes at this moment, amber-gold flashing within his gaze.
"So, you obtained your own Dao?" Yan Zaizen calmly asked.
When those words resounded, the figure's eyes opened. A greyish-red light flashed in his eyes, not lacking at all to Yan Zaizen's original Dao of Sovereign Ascension.
"It seems you've changed, Senior Brother." Yan Zaizen spoke to Shin Xuanji, the current Xiantu Emperor.
A voice sounded, as if it emanated from a battlefield filled with gushing blood and crunching bones, "I have."
Yan Zaizen's eyes narrowed as a grin tugged at his lips. "I told Senior Sister Fei that I won't act out of emotion, but now I'm afraid I'll have to break that. I'm feeling a little itchy, how about you?" His fist clenched, a fierce vital energy aura started to swell within his body.
Shin Xuanji's eyes focused on Yan Zaizen. After a brief moment of silence, he stood upright. "Same."
Two aura erupted simultaneously!