Chapter 674: Fusing Demon Void and Demon Devouring Power
After resolving the matter of the Great Desolate Monument, Lin Langtian and Lin Dong returned to the Lin Clan.
But the trip to Great Desolate County had delayed them somewhat, so after a brief discussion, the two did not linger and each headed back to their respective sects: Tianfu and Dao Sect.
With the Spatial Ancestral Symbol in his possession, travel was a mere instant for Lin Langtian.
In moments, he had arrived in the Tianfu domain.
Along the way, he encountered many Tianfu disciples who lit up with joy at the sight of him.
Respectful shouts echoed from afar.
Lin Langtian offered a faint smile to the fresh-faced newcomers, seeing the burning zeal in their eyes.
That fervor was the spark of conviction.
If Tianfu ever faced a calamity like the Great Desolate Sect's in the distant future, perhaps their wills would guard it just as fiercely.
He alighted on the main peak, where Zhou Tong and the Tianfu elders awaited him at the grand hall.
Smiles broke across their faces as he approached.
Though the Eastern Xuan Region's wars had ended, only Lin Langtian's presence could truly rally the entire sect's morale.
Zhou Tong stepped forward with a respectful bow.
"Fu Lord, you've returned," he said warmly.
Lin Langtian nodded with a smile, about to reply, when he sensed the dense, powerful Samsara aura radiating from Zhou Tong.
He paused, then asked, "Brother Zhou, have you..."
Dugu Qi, standing nearby, chuckled.
"Fu Lord, Elder Zhou has successfully broken through to the Samsara Realm."
"Samsara Realm?" Lin Langtian blinked in surprise, then grinned.
"Congratulations, then."
The breakthrough was unexpected but not shocking.
Zhou Tong had long brushed against the threshold, and with Ying Xuanzi's forgiveness lifting his heart demons, the step forward was natural.
Now that Tianfu had a Samsara expert in residence, it was a massive boost for the young sect.
Its fame had spread across the Eastern Xuan Region, but top-tier powerhouses were still scarce—unlike the Darkness Palace with its two Samsara Realm Grand Elders.
"A stroke of luck, nothing more," Zhou Tong replied modestly.
"But Fu Lord, after your journey, your own Samsara aura has deepened considerably.
"Breakthrough shouldn't be far off."
He had noticed the subtle shift in Lin Langtian's presence and could not hide his astonishment.
With Lin Langtian's foundation, reaching Samsara would transform his strength entirely.
"You've seen through it, as expected," Lin Langtian said with a rueful shake of his head.
Then he recalled something.
"I heard you gave the Spatial Ancestral Symbol to Lin Dong to make amends for the Dao Sect.
"As Tianfu's Grand Elder, you've been guarding us in my absence.
"Without it, your power takes a hit.
"Here—take my Spatial Ancestral Symbol."
Zhou Tong shook his head gratefully.
"I appreciate the gesture, Fu Lord, but I don't need it."
"The Ancestral Symbol does enhance my abilities, but even without it, I'm still strong.
"During those long years imprisoned by Yuan Gate, I assimilated its power."
Lin Langtian's brows lifted.
A mysterious smile crept over Zhou Tong's face as he extended his palm.
Silver light flickered to life.
It was a force Lin Langtian knew intimately: the power of the Spatial Ancestral Symbol.
"Now... though I no longer possess the symbol itself, I can be called... a human-form Ancestral Symbol."
"So even without it, I retain that power.
"Some of the more extreme techniques still require the symbol, of course," Zhou Tong added with a smile.
Surprise flickered across Lin Langtian's features, though it was not entirely unexpected.
After all, the Flame Master and Thunder Master had awakened without clinging to their symbols—their bodies had long internalized that power.
But such assimilation typically demanded mastery at the pinnacle.
After the Eight Ancient Masters, few wielders of the Eight Ancestral Symbols had achieved it, despite generations of talent.
Even Lin Langtian and Lin Dong, with multiple symbols, had not reached that point.
To think Zhou Tong could rival the ancients and assimilate the Spatial Ancestral Symbol.
No wonder, in Dao Sect's history, only the fated son Lin Dong could surpass him—Zhou Tong's talent was truly formidable.
"In that case, I'll hold onto the Spatial Ancestral Symbol for now," Lin Langtian said.
Zhou Tong nodded.
After some further pleasantries, Lin Langtian dismissed the group and remained alone on the peak.
Next, he would use his demonic qi to fuse the Spatial and Devouring Ancestral Symbols.
Resolved, he sat cross-legged.
Vast, surging demonic qi roared through his body like a flood, growing at an astonishing rate.
Within him, the three Ancestral Symbols formed a triangle, eyeing one another warily, a faint resistance between them.
At their center, the Golden Spirit Reincarnation Mirror hovered silently, its strange power easing the tension.
Of the three, the Thunder Ancestral Symbol gleamed black—already fused with demonic thunder.
The Spatial and Devouring Symbols resisted more openly, not from intent but from the innate clash between symbols and demonic qi.
Drawing on his prior success with the Thunder Symbol, Lin Langtian stayed calm.
His mind sank into the Devouring and Spatial Symbols.
He could sense them slowly making contact with the demonic qi under his guidance, beginning to merge.
A faint smile curved his lips.
The demonic Thunder Symbol had become far mightier.
What enhancements would the Spatial and Devouring Symbols gain from demonic qi—perhaps Demon Void and Demon Devouring Power?
...
As Lin Langtian worked to fuse the demonic qi with the Spatial and Devouring Ancestral Symbols, three hours slipped by unnoticed.
Tianfu disciples passing below cast reverent, adoring glances at the figure on the peak.
With Tianfu's growing renown in the Eastern Xuan Region, unity strengthened daily.
And everyone knew it all stemmed from that man atop the mountain.
He was the goal for every Tianfu member—and much of the region.
His life was a living legend.
As they marveled, a black glow suddenly erupted from Lin Langtian's crown.
It expanded in a writhing pulse, forming a hundred-thousand-zhang demonic vortex overhead—vast, chilling, and predatory.
The colossal maw gaped like a demon's, exuding fear-inducing devouring and cold intent.
One breath, and it could swallow Tianfu whole, toppling a super sect.
Had it not come from Lin Langtian himself, the entire sect would be on high alert.
"This is... the Devouring Ancestral Symbol's black hole?
"No—it's far more sinister and terrifying than before," Zhou Tong murmured, staring at the abyssal mouth.
He had seen the Devouring Symbol's power once, but this vortex was domineering, laced with demonic methods.
Even as a fresh Samsara expert, he felt insignificant before it.
Shock rippled through him.
"Worthily the Fu Lord—his methods are unfathomable."
Zhou Tong had been Dao Sect's once-in-a-millennium genius, treated like a son by Ying Xuanzi, and one of the rare few after the ancients to assimilate an Ancestral Symbol.
Yet now, his title as the sect's strongest prodigy had passed to Lin Dong, and the Fu Lord he followed was an even more enigmatic monster.
He shook his head wryly.
With the war against the Yimo looming, Lin Langtian's terrifying growth was a boon for the entire Tianxuan Continent.
As the sect reeled in awe at the devouring vortex, Lin Langtian slowly opened his eyes.
He gazed up at it, satisfaction tugging at his lips.
The fusion of demonic and Ancestral Symbol power was indeed horrifying.
After hours of effort, he had merged the Devouring Symbol with demonic qi.
This vortex was proof of their union.
Lin Langtian was confident even a two-Tribulation Samsara expert would struggle against it.
He wiped sweat from his brow and glanced at his palm, now gleaming with a faint black-silver sheen.
The same luster rippled over his body, bringing a strange sensation.
Closing his eyes briefly, he felt space merging with him.
A single thought, and he could appear a thousand li away.
He extended his right hand and lightly slashed the air before him.
A pitch-black rift tore open, writhing like a demonic insect, leaking strands of heart-palpitating demonic qi.
Over time, the rift even began to widen.
"Fusing demonic power has made the Spatial Ancestral Symbol's might far more terrifying," Lin Langtian said, smoothing the rift away with a casual wave and a faint smile.
With Demon Void and Demon Devouring Power integrated, his combat strength had soared once more.
Buzz...
As delight filled him, his vast yuan power suddenly surged like a rising tide, condensing at a startling speed.
Amid the frantic gathering, a peculiar transformation stirred within the ocean of yuan power.
It was the change born when power reached its zenith.
Yuan power churned like a sea inside him, and at its depths, strange fluctuations quietly took root.
An indescribable wonder bloomed.
Samsara fluctuations.
Joy surged in Lin Langtian's eyes.
He knew it—the true step that had stymied countless experts his entire life was at hand.
One step beyond lay Samsara.
...
Time flew.
Unnoticed, two months passed.
The figure on the peak had not stirred, a constant silhouette against the sky for all to see.
Even ordinary disciples could sense a profoundly terrifying yuan power fluctuation slowly building within Lin Langtian.
Thick clouds roiled above Tianfu, forged entirely from vast yuan power—dense to a horrifying degree.
The pressure alone would daunt even Wheel Turning Realm powerhouses.
In the grand hall, Zhou Tong and the others gazed skyward in awe.
Dugu Qi sighed.
He had touched the edge of Samsara, but that final step eluded him—not just from lacking insights, but because his yuan power had not condensed to such an extreme.
Without that foundation, Samsara intent could not form.
"But it looks close now," someone murmured.
The yuan power overhead had reached its limit.
Any more, and the heavens themselves might buckle.
Boom!
Just as the words faded, an odd rumble echoed from the sky.
Disciples looked up in surprise as the thousand-li yuan cloud layer twisted slowly.
Strange beams of light pierced the clouds, shining down.
Those touched by the rays grew dazed, their inner yuan power quietly expanding.
"Samsara Light..."
Zhou Tong, having crossed that threshold, stared at the beams with narrowed eyes.
His gaze shifted to Lin Langtian's peak, a sigh escaping him.
The Fu Lord had finally taken that step.
(END CHAPTER)
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