No strange things are allowed to evolve!

I know you obtained the Cataclysmic Spiritual Root Essence from Liestown, but for the ritual to be 100% effective, all three core items—the Catalyst Stone, the Spiritual Root Essence, and the Guide—must be at the Cataclysmic level.

The catalyst stone is alright; it's universally applicable to all spiritual roots, so there's still some hope.

However, the guides for natural disasters are different for each diagram, and they are almost impossible to find except in special incubation grounds that are born with the four primordial spiritual roots. Even if you find them, they may not be what you want.

And isn't your current goal to sublimate before entering the special incubator?

Besides, you should already know from Manager Bai that with these conditions, you could even try to awaken a Cataclysmic-level skill from your special ability. Using that for something like this seems pointless.

Hearing the minister mention the calamity-level spiritual root essence he had obtained, Jiang Shu was not surprised. After all, he had already shown it to the director, and as his most loyal supporter, it was normal for the minister to know about it.

Therefore, Jiang Shu had to take this seriously. After all, even though the other party knew that he had items of this quality, he still felt that he could not collect other core items at this stage, which meant that the objective problem was indeed beyond his ability to solve.

"I see." Jiang Shu nodded in understanding, then asked after a moment's thought, "But since there are diagrams, it means someone has done it before, right?"

"It's a pity."

The minister shook his head:

"While some people have indeed succeeded in getting the ritual running, the quality of the attributes they obtained varies greatly."

It is precisely because of these countless failures that later generations were able to discover these patterns.

Even calamity-level items are unstable; only natural disaster-level items can ensure the ritual's stable effectiveness.

So if you're wondering what the specific effects are of the highest quality traits awakened in this way, I honestly don't know.

The only thing I know is that the highest recorded quality is Calamity-level. This type of quality is indeed very powerful. It not only enhances the buffs you already get from skills and items, but also has the effect of linking together skills that were originally unrelated.

Provided you have enough buff skills and items, your combat power will be significantly higher than that of other evolved beings of the same level, with similar attributes and quality.

This is why I say this diagram is not weak. Even the calamity-level characteristics obtained by relying on it can have such an effect, let alone higher levels.

However, due to this characteristic, even if a catastrophe-level item is found during the second sublimation, the item can only be upgraded by one grade at most. This basically means that the possibility of obtaining a catastrophe-level skill from the second awakening and becoming able to stand at the top of the evolutionary world is gone.

In short, if you can't collect all the Cataclysmic items, you can only rely on luck, and one wrong move could ruin what could have been a more exciting evolutionary career.

That price is far too high. Given your circumstances, I believe you could have had far better options.

The minister earnestly advised Jiang Shu.

The latter couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

He initially thought the minister was unaware of what he had obtained in Lies Town, and he didn't expect that Cataclysmic items were only produced in special hatcheries, so he didn't take it seriously.

But now that he has a complete understanding of the situation, even he has to seriously consider it.

He doesn't want to do things that are just a matter of luck.

He's never been lucky, nor is he God's favorite. He usually struggles to even win back his money on scratch-off lottery tickets. He prefers to do things he's confident about rather than gamble.

After a moment's thought, Jiang Shu asked, "Before I completely give up on this idea, can I take a look first?"

The diagrams on the table in front of me don't just list the name of the item required for each diagram; they list all the items that can replace that item, including those of the Cataclysmic level.

Jiang Shu decided to find out what the so-called catastrophe-level guiding object was actually called.

If we can find out the specific name, we might gain something from the all-powerful Tongzhou.

"I've said so much, but you still don't believe it?" The minister seemed somewhat helpless and displeased.

He felt that Jiang Shu was too stubborn.

Seeing this, Shen Mo quickly said, "Minister, don't be angry. This kid just won't give up until he sees the coffin. I'll talk to him properly when I get back."

After a pause, Shen Mo changed the subject again: "Why don't you just let him take a look? This kid probably wants to memorize the guide and figure it out himself. Just let him give up."

Jiang Shu and the minister both looked at him with some surprise.

"After playing the double act with me, you'll play the good cop/bad cop with him?" The minister shook his head: "Fine, I'll grant your wish this once. Wait here for me, I'm going to get it now."

"Thank you, Minister," Jiang Shu and Shen Mo said simultaneously.

After the minister left the office, Shen Mo gave Jiang Shu a flick on the forehead: "You just won't listen to advice, will you?"

With a sigh, Jiang Shu explained, "I have to see it for myself. If possible, I still want to try my best to make it happen."

"I know."

A hint of reminiscence flashed in Shen Mo's eyes.

"I can understand."

......

After leaving his office, the minister did not go directly to the library.

He went to see the bureau chief first.

When the bureau chief heard that Jiang Shu had not selected any of the maps he had chosen, he was slightly puzzled.

"You're not satisfied with any of that?"

"I can't say I'm dissatisfied."

The minister tried his best to defend Jiang Shu in a more tactful way:

"As you know, Jiang Shu is different from others. He is a person with a clear understanding and plan for himself. That is why he has the ability he has now and why he has earned your special treatment."

Perhaps he sees a more suitable path to spiritual growth, so he has a general expectation that while the diagrams you've chosen are good, he might feel they're not right for him.

"Is that so?" The bureau chief didn't say much more, but simply asked, "What are his expectations?"

The minister leaned close to the bureau chief, bent down, and whispered a few words in his ear.

The bureau chief was slightly surprised: "That?"

"Yes, the only thing that meets his requirements is that diagram."

The minister explained:

Even though I explained the details to him, he still said he wanted to see it. Do you think I should give it to him?

The bureau chief calmly looked at the minister and replied, "Didn't you already promise him? You have to keep your promises. Do I need to teach you that?"

“Hmm…” The minister hesitated for a moment: “What I mean is, he doesn’t seem like the kind of person who would knowingly walk into a dangerous place. After I told him all that, he still wanted to know more, which I find a bit strange.”

"Don't be surprised."

The bureau chief said calmly:

"He is definitely not the kind of person who would act impulsively and get stuck on a rut. Apart from the cataclysmic guide, I don't know what he was thinking, but he should already have a preliminary plan regarding the skills or items used for amplification."

Perhaps he has already tasted the benefits and reaped the rewards of this system.

The minister asked incredulously, "You mean, before he even reached a higher level, he had already begun consciously constructing his own system?"

“Otherwise, his persistence cannot be explained,” the director said. “Since he has already decided on his path, there is indeed no need to change it. Just let him give it a try.”

“I understand.” The minister nodded.

Then, somewhat uncertainly, he asked, "Are you willing to let him try? Is there some other way I don't know about to obtain a Cataclysmic-level guide?"

"I didn't know that so many secrets still exist in the hatchery. Who can explain them clearly?"

The bureau chief shook his head, his gaze unreadable.

......

Before long, Jiang Shu was greeted by the minister's return.

A scroll of illustrations, unlike any other and appearing more old and worn, was placed in front of Jiang Shu by the minister.

"Open it and take a look."

The minister sat down and gestured with his chin.

Jiang Shu carefully unfolded it, asking as she did so, "Why does this feel a little different from the others?"

"Because it's a very early version."

The minister replied:

“Other diagrams are constantly being improved by evolvers from different eras over time, so they are frequently updated. But this diagram has been almost never studied since it was determined to be unstable, so updates have naturally stopped.”

Are there still classic outfits?

Jiang Shu nodded and began to examine it carefully.

Each diagram represents a ritual of ascension, and it has a name. For example, the diagram that Shen Mo recommended and used himself was called Destruction, symbolizing power and dominance.

That magical machine gun, named Starry Sky, uses dense stars to symbolize endless and mysterious arcane magic, although in essence it's just a machine gun that can throw countless skills at your face.

The more balanced one is also called the balanced one.

The name of the diagram in Jiang Shu's hand was actually four characters—"Endless".

"The name is quite unique," Shen Mo commented.

"It is impossible to know who created the diagram, but the first person to discover it was the one whose trait grade was Calamity."

The minister said slowly:

"After experiencing the enhancement that this characteristic brought him, he gave the ritual this name."

This means that while other types of traits can greatly enhance one's strength, they are not limitless. However, this type of trait can gain infinite power through the infinite stacking of buffs and the synergy between skills, hence the name "Infinite Power".

He circulated this diagram, hoping someone would use it to create a new pinnacle of martial arts, but unfortunately, he never did, and even now, he himself remains the pinnacle of this style.

“Hmm.” Jiang Shu’s expression was strange: “Is it possible that the reason he chose this name is because of the story of Yu Gong moving the mountain? His descendants are endless, and there will always be someone who can use the characteristics gained from this sublimation ceremony to vindicate him. This person secretly calls the later generations his descendants.”

"Uh..." The minister thought about it and found that it made some sense.

Although it slightly ruins the beauty of the legend, this interpretation seems to make perfect sense.

In short.

The minister coughed twice, glossing over the topic:

"Other features that achieve attribute stacking through amplification do exist, but they only amplify strengths. Only this feature meets your needs, not only amplifying strengths and eliminating weaknesses, but also turning weaknesses into strengths. Then, no matter what type of opponent you face, you can make corresponding adjustments and always maintain a restraint on your opponent."

He paused, then added:

"Yes, everything is fine, except that no one has ever accomplished it."

The minister's statement that no one has ever achieved this doesn't actually mean that no one has successfully ascended using this diagram. However, he and Shen Mo have extremely high standards, and in their view, without catastrophic characteristics, it's no different from not having ascended at all.

Shen Mo had told Jiang Shu long ago that high-quality spiritual root characteristics can suppress low-quality characteristics. This suppression is also linked to level. If the difference is large enough, it can even suppress you to the point that you can't use your skills.

If you encounter an evolver with a higher spiritual root characteristic, you'll get slapped once; if you encounter someone with a higher level, you'll get slapped twice.

Therefore, they naturally felt that as a sublimation of level six, if the resulting characteristics were only below the level of calamity, it would be meaningless.

Their expectations of Jiang Shu were clearly based on this standard.

That's why they tried so hard to stop Jiang Shu from taking this path, which they considered a dead end.

However, Jiang Shu did not comment on this.

He only heard half of what the minister had just said.

Because he suddenly realized that he no longer needed to fish on the all-powerful Tongzhouhui forum.

In the directional sign, the section for natural disasters reads "Wuliangsha" (meaning "immeasurable sand").

There was also a parenthesis that read "suspected".

After all, no one actually has the resources to construct an Ascension Ritual at level six using Cataclysmic-grade items, so no one has ever succeeded. This result is merely a deduction based on the attributes of the items.

This might be the final piece of the puzzle, or it might not.

Jiang Shu was unaware of this, but he knew one thing: he had seen the name of this item before.

It's in my friend's document.

One of the unexplored hatcheries also had a note that read "Suspected to produce Boundless Sand".

The notes he added to his friends' names were very meticulous, and he had been keeping records since he first discovered the incubator.

The rewards produced by the hatcheries that had already been conquered proved the initial judgment correct.

Therefore, this hatchery, which is also marked as "disaster level or above" in terms of difficulty, just like "Day of Great Joy," should be no exception.

Thinking this, Jiang Shu said calmly, "It's actually Boundless Sand?"

"You know?" The minister looked surprised.

“I had learned about it before, because when Director Bai explained the sublimation ceremony to me in detail, he mentioned that the combination of the diagrams is essentially similar to the preparation of medicine, so I thought that having some understanding of the properties of the medicine would be helpful to me, so I thought about it privately.”