Swallowing the Stars, Hu Yanbo's Pre-Godhood

Chapter 237 Progress of the Great Dao

Feeling the stable flow of the second-level God King's will deep within his soul, bringing a sense of control that allowed him to bear more and gain deeper insights, Hu Yanbo felt certain.

"If I were to face the Empress of Fengdu again now—" Hu Yanbo thought to himself.

"Although it can still be suppressed with a flick of the wrist."

"But at least, it won't be like before, where we were intimidated before the battle even began, and the thought of resistance was too weak to even muster."

.

A breakthrough in willpower brings about a transformation in mindset and an increase in self-confidence.

Even though the gap in strength is still huge, at least we have the right to face them squarely.

That's enough for now.

"It's time to go observe the shadow of the plundering beast and repay the advance." Hu Yanbo got up and left the quiet room.

Without alerting Mohe or the servants in the mansion, Huyan Bo moved slightly and appeared outside the mansion.

Then it transformed into an inconspicuous streak of light and flew towards the location of the Emperor Xuan Palace in the core area of ​​Xuandu, following the directions previously given by Emperor Xuan Hong.

The Imperial Xuan Palace is vast and majestic, with a complex and mysterious internal structure, resembling a three-dimensional time and space labyrinth.

Without guidance, even a god-king might get lost.

Following the map information given by Di Xuanhong, Hu Yanbo walked through corridors and halls, overcoming layers of invisible spatial barriers, and finally arrived in front of a seemingly inconspicuous ancient hall.

The main hall is dark gray in color, and its material is unknown. It exudes an aura of vicissitudes that has lasted for countless years.

The palace gates were tightly closed, and two statues stood guard in front of them.

Huyanbo, holding the token, stepped forward.

Just as he approached within a few feet of the palace gate, a sudden change occurred!

The two previously lifeless statues suddenly turned their heads silently, their empty eye sockets staring at him.

In an instant, Hu Yanbo felt as if he were standing on an endless mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood, and a sense of death threat from his very life instinct gripped him tightly!

"Does a mere gatekeeper puppet possess such power?" Hu Yanbo thought to himself, feeling a chill run down his spine.

"The Chaos Realm Transcendence is still too weak in the face of truly ancient beings."

Fortunately, this terrifying mental lock only lasted for a moment.

The two statues shifted their gazes, resuming their forward-facing posture, and the suffocating threat of death receded like a tide.

Huyan Bo composed himself, pushed open the ancient palace door, and stepped inside.

Stepping in felt like crossing a boundary.

The palace doors behind me closed silently, and the scene before me suddenly changed.

The interior of the main hall was not the hall structure one might imagine, but rather an endless chaotic void, with nothing but a vast expanse of light above, below, and in all directions, except for countless tiny points of light that floated and twinkled like stars.

"Guest Elder Xiao Feng." A gentle voice rang out, and in the distance, chaotic energy gathered and condensed into a figure dressed in a simple gray robe.

A kind-faced old man's silhouette.

The old man smiled and looked at Hu Yanbo: "I am the spirit of the Inheritance Hall of the Emperor Xuan Palace, responsible for assisting guest elders in exchanging inheritances and resources."

"According to the rules, each newly promoted guest elder has one opportunity to select resources worth up to 100,000 merit points for free. This is considered a gift from the ancient kingdom."

"In addition, the more merits a guest retainer accumulates, the higher the level of the heritage and resource catalog they can unlock and access."

"I understand. I will use this token's access to observe this time." Hu Yanbo nodded and took out the dark red Beast Tribulation Token given to him by Di Xuanhong.

"Oh?" The old spirit saw the token, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. "Observing the 'Shadow of the Calamity Beast'?"

This guest elder, Xiao Feng, has just arrived and yet he has received such an opportunity; it seems he is highly valued.

"In that case, please make preparations, Guest Elder Xiao Feng." The old spirit said no more, and his figure slowly dissipated into the chaos.

At the same time, the countless points of light representing inherited resources in the surrounding chaotic void instantly disappeared, and an absolute darkness and silence descended.

Immediately afterwards, a hazy yet pure light emerged from nothingness, completely enveloping Huyanbo.

Within the light, the scene shifted to a ferocious and terrifying phantom of a strange beast, roaring and struggling in the boundless chaos.

Countless calamities manifest, whether it be destructive thunder like a prison, bone-chilling winds like knives, demonic illusions arising from the heart, or the web of cause and effect strangling and killing—

Various calamities were befalling him one after another, each time seemingly trying to completely obliterate this strange beast.

However, this strange beast roared and transformed amidst the calamity, its shell shattered and regenerated, its flesh and blood annihilated and reformed, and its soul torn apart and coalesced.

Its form changes constantly in the cycle of destruction and rebirth, but its aura becomes increasingly ancient, savage, and powerful!

When all the tribulations were finally overcome, the originally ferocious and terrifying phantom of the beast became radiant with light. That light was not the light of matter, but the light of the soul that was pure to the extreme and brilliant to the extreme!

It shines forth, directly illuminating the depths of the soul!

This is the Shadow of the Beast of Calamity, which is far more real, more violent, and more direct to the essence than the Picture of the Beast of Calamity!

The destruction, resilience, transformation, and even the ultimate blossoming of spiritual light contained within that calamity all carried a primal impact, wildly assaulting the will of the observers.

Simply to endure this kind of observation requires at least the willpower of a God-King level one as a threshold; otherwise, one's will will be damaged at best, and one's mind will collapse at worst.

Even though Hu Yanbo is now at the second level of the God King realm, he still feels as if his will is being forged in a furnace and hammered on an anvil in front of the "Shadow of the Calamity Beast".

After an unknown amount of time, the hazy light that enveloped them and the soul-shaking shadow of the calamity beast slowly dissipated.

Hu Yanbo felt an invisible force of repulsion coming from him. The scene before his eyes shifted, and he was moved out of that chaotic inheritance space and stood once again at the entrance of that ancient hall.

The light outside the hall remained unchanged, and the two statues stood silently as if the intense tempering of will just now was an illusion.

But Hu Yanbo could clearly feel that his core will had indeed undergone a baptism and become more refined.

"Hmm, I've gained some insights from this observation. I'll go back and study them in seclusion." Hu Yanbo thought to himself.

He still had 100,000 merits from his initial appointment as a guest advisor, enough to immediately exchange for another observation opportunity.

However, if one frequently exchanges or observes the shadow of the plundering beast, it might attract the attention of other interested parties.

With his current strength, he felt immense pressure even facing the puppet guards at the gate. In this hidden and powerful Di Xuan Capital, it was best to keep a low profile.

When one lacks sufficient strength, excessive specialness or eagerness often attracts unnecessary attention or even trouble.

Having made up his mind, Huyan Bo did not linger any longer and transformed into a streak of light to return to his guest minister's residence.

I activated the meditation array and began my seclusion, carefully reflecting on and digesting what I had learned from this observation.

Time flies, and chaos reigns.

Hu Yanbo spent ten epochs quietly cultivating.

During this period, he lived a secluded life, and apart from occasionally learning about the dynamics of ancient kingdoms and teaching the original ancestors cultivation through Emperor Xuanhong, he almost never had contact with other forces.

He spent most of his time in seclusion, either comprehending his will or understanding cause and effect. Occasionally, he would go to the Inheritance Hall to observe the "Shadow of the Tribulation Beast" for the second time, using his merit points and through Emperor Xuan Hong's connections, he traded cosmic sand for the third time.

Each observation strengthens my resolve.

The third observation session concluded on this day.

A familiar teleportation sensation returned, and Hu Yanbo's figure reappeared at the entrance of the ancient and simple Inheritance Hall.

He stood still for a moment, his thoughts sinking into his mind. On the system panel, the text had already been updated:

[Advance payment: Will of a Second-Level God-King (already repaid).]

[Current number of advance payments available: 1]

Hu Yanbo pondered for a moment, then his consciousness touched the panel.

[Pre-funded project: Will of the God-King Triple Realm]

Repayment conditions (completing any one of them is sufficient)

[1. Obtain "Cleansing Spirit Elixir" and a drawing of the Beast of Calamity personally drawn by "Emperor Ming".]

[2. Secluded himself to study the "Art of Countless Eras" over a million epochs.]

[3. Observe the shadow of the raptor fifty times.]

【Do you want to advance payment? 】

【whether】

"The will of the third level of the God King realm—" Hu Yanbo looked at the conditions and shook his head slightly.

Whether it's obtaining the extremely precious "Cleansing Spirit Elixir," or having "Emperor Ming" personally draw the image of the Calamity Beast, or observing the shadow of the Calamity Beast fifty times, none of these can be achieved in a short period of time.

"It seems that the rapid improvement of willpower must be temporarily halted," Hu Yanbo realized.

Advancing to the God-King level is incredibly difficult, and leaps in willpower are even more challenging.

While willpower is a crucial element in enhancing combat strength, it is not the only one.

Hu Yanbo knew perfectly well that if he could directly advance his will to the third level of the God King realm, and use such a powerful will to perform secret techniques such as the "Lieyuan Technique", he would definitely become the number one among the transcendent beings in the Chaos Realm.

At that time, perhaps by demonstrating his will, he could attract the attention of an ancient and powerful figure like "Emperor Ming," and might even be able to obtain "Cleansing Spirit Elixir."

The problem is that the speed at which willpower increases is too fast, so fast that it defies common sense, and the attention it attracts is probably not all well-intentioned.

Previously, even the aura of life could not be completely concealed. If, in just a few decades, one's mental will soars to a level comparable to an emperor or monarch (the third level of the God King realm), it would be difficult not to attract the attention or even covetousness of certain beings.

Unless absolutely necessary, Huyanbo does not want to be so conspicuous and put himself in unpredictable risks.

After weighing the pros and cons, Hu Yanbo decided to temporarily abandon his plan to continue to draw on his will.

"Let's first look at the advances in other directions, especially the improvement of 'Tao'." Hu Yanbo turned his attention to other possibilities on the system panel.

The essence of one's realm also lies in the understanding of "Tao". No matter how strong one's will is, it is only the foundation for controlling power. The level of "Tao" determines the upper limit and essence of power.

If one can achieve a breakthrough on the Great Dao, the increase in strength will be more fundamental and less noticeable.

After all, his transcendence of the Chaos Realm was only a glimpse to the outside world; who can say for sure what level his true strength is at within the Chaos Realm transcendence?

It's not impossible that he could even become a God-King in the next instant.

With a slight thought, the text on the panel changed accordingly.

[Advance payment project: The six branches of the Great Dao of Cause and Effect have all reached the peak level of the Chaos Realm.]

Repayment conditions (completing any one of them is sufficient)

2. Confront the fundamental principle of cause and effect.

[3. Obtained 24 million units of cosmic sand.]

【Do you want to advance payment? 】

【whether】

The Great Dao of Cause and Effect is vast and profound. If one can advance its six branches simultaneously and elevate them all to the profound level of the peak of the Chaos Realm, not only will Hu Yanbo's attainments in the Dao of Cause and Effect reach the pinnacle of the Chaos Realm, but he will also be able to create a powerful secret technique with far greater power than before.

With the added power of Hunyuan, his combat ability will surely soar to a terrifying level, making him virtually invincible in the Chaos Realm.

but----

"The condition for repayment is to confront the fundamental Dao of cause and effect once?" Hu Yanbo's eyes narrowed slightly.

"This condition..."

With a slight thought, Hu Yanbo caused the text on the system panel to change.

[Advance payment project: All six branches of the Great Path of Life have reached the peak level of the Chaos Realm.]

Repayment conditions (completing any one of them is sufficient)

[2. Directly confront the manifestation of the fundamental Tao of life.]

[3. Obtained 24 million units of cosmic sand.]

【Do you want to advance payment? 】

【whether】

"This condition is clearly impossible to meet at the moment, so let's try another one."

The six branches of the ultimate mystery also have similar repayment conditions, requiring either facing a manifestation of the original Great Dao or paying 24 million cosmic sands.

But the key point is that he can immediately observe the fundamental principles of life.

Moreover, the profound mysteries of elevating the six branches of the Great Dao of the Origin of Life to the peak of the Chaos Realm can also be used as a basis to improve the perfect divine body!

In his hometown, within Huyanbo's miniature universe, Luo Feng's divine power avatar was intently comprehending the truth.

Luo Feng was asking Hu Yanbo's divine power avatar a question.

"Teacher, the life structure diagram of this Beast of the Realm is incredibly complex, far more complex and profound than any true god's life structure diagram I've ever seen!"

"Moreover, the way its internal energy flows and its structure is nested is completely different from the cosmic ocean life system we know, as if it follows a completely unfamiliar set of rules."

"This disciple does not know where to begin analyzing this."

The drop of Beast Blood that Huyanbo left for Luo Feng originated from Mohe, the Beast King under his command.

With the perfect divine body of the Beast King, it is able to reverse its own bloodline and present a life structure that is relatively simplified in its weak period (such as the True God stage), but still retains the core essence of the Beast.

Otherwise, with Luo Feng's level of understanding as a master of the universe, it would be even more impossible for him to comprehend the complete life structure diagram of an eternal true god.

The divine power avatar frowned, staring intently at the dazzlingly complex projection of life structures in the void before him. It was a life chart derived from a drop of blood from Mohe, the king of the Beast Realm, which had been specially processed by Hu Yanbo.

Even in its simplified form, diluted and traced back to its true god era, the complexity and profundity of its structure still far exceed Luo Feng's previous understanding.

Hu Yanbo's divine power avatar slowly said, "This final step of comprehension represents another ultimate possibility."

"When you stay in seclusion and ponder deeply, you are more likely to fall into a fixed mindset and get stuck in a rut."

"Go out more, see different life forms, observe the birth and destruction of the universe, and understand the operation and conflict of the rules."

"Sometimes, a sudden flash of insight comes precisely from seemingly unrelated observations and associations."

"I believe in your talent and character," Hu Yanbo said, looking at Luo Feng.

"This Beast Life Chart is a key piece of the puzzle for your path to a higher level."

"If you can understand this, you will be qualified to follow in my footsteps in the future."