Chapter 742: Terrifying Power and the Curtain Falls
"Myriad Aspects Demon Body…"
Looking up at the mysterious, towering Law Body before him, Lin Langtian could not help the faint smile that curved his lips.
Though the Grand Heavenly Demon Spirit Fruit, the Five Elements Divine Crystals, and Sovereign Holy Water had all played crucial roles in the advancement, he knew the true key to the Myriad Aspects Demon Body's success was that strange black light that had erupted from the Golden Spirit Wheel Mirror.
Compared to before, the Myriad Aspects Demon Body was now countless times stronger.
With a single punch, it could likely shatter the crude, imperfect Demon Body he had once forged without any difficulty.
"Even among the ninety-nine ranked Sovereign Law Bodies, this Myriad Aspects Demon Body could probably make it into the top thirty," Ling Yi said with a note of awe as she appeared and gazed up at the god-like figure.
As a former Earth Sovereign, her vision was exceptional. One glance was enough for her to roughly gauge its level.
Even she could not help but be impressed.
Law Bodies strong enough to rank in the top thirty of the ninety-nine were things one might only expect to find in super-factions backed by Heavenly Sovereigns.
"Top thirty, hm…" Lin Langtian murmured, a hint of dissatisfaction glittering in his eyes.
A Law Body in the top thirty of the ninety-nine might well be unmatched on the Universe Continent—and far from ordinary even across the vast Great Thousand World.
But that level was not enough for someone with Lin Langtian's ambitions.
At the peak of the Law Body pyramid stood five primal Sovereign Law Bodies, ancient existences whose names had echoed through the ages.
Those five were held by the five great archaic races, and each possessed power that could shake heaven and earth.
Then Lin Langtian's gaze sharpened as he stared at the Demon Body before him, something hot flickering deep within his eyes.
The moment the Myriad Aspects Demon Body formed, the information about it had poured into his mind.
From that information, he learned that its raw combat power alone could rival even the monsters among the top thirty.
But its most terrifying aspect was not its base strength. It was the strange power it carried within it—the power of myriad aspects.
In the Great Thousand World, all phenomena under heaven were endless.
The Myriad Aspects Demon Body's greatest horror lay in its ability to devour other Sovereign Law Bodies…and seize their powers.
When he first saw that description, Lin Langtian had sucked in a sharp breath, and his thoughts had immediately jumped to the Void Devouring Flame, the second-ranked flame on the Heavenly Flame List of the Dou Qi Continent.
The Void Devouring Flame could consume all things and steal the bloodlines of other races, a power the Soul Clan had used to forge the Soul Emperor.
The difference was that the Void Devouring Flame targeted bloodlines, while the Myriad Aspects Demon Body targeted Sovereign Law Bodies.
Even as its master, Lin Langtian had been stunned when he first learned this.
The Great Thousand World was vast beyond measure. Strange and powerful Law Bodies abounded, many not even listed among the ninety-nine. Yet a Law Body that could devour others like this was almost unheard of.
If this power were ever made public, it would shake the entire Great Thousand World. Even Heavenly Sovereigns might not resist the temptation to strike him down and claim it.
Back on the Dou Qi Continent, the Void Devouring Flame had reached eight-star Dou Saint, standing at the very peak of that world's power, protected by the Soul Clan itself. Even so, it had never dared reveal its devouring bloodline ability. If that secret had leaked, not even the Soul Clan could have guaranteed its safety.
With Lin Langtian's current strength, a single hint of the Myriad Aspects Demon Body's ability would spell his certain death.
For that reason, he did not share this secret even with Ling Yi.
It was not that he did not trust her, but that the power itself was simply too monstrous. Until he grew strong enough, the fewer who knew, the safer he would be.
Still, because its ability was so extreme, the heavens had imposed a price.
Though the Myriad Aspects Demon Body could devour other Law Bodies, it could not recklessly swallow everything like the Void Devouring Flame. It was limited to only five.
Moreover, those five could not surpass its own strength by too wide a margin; otherwise, the backlash would destroy it instead.
Lin Langtian only frowned slightly at this, without much surprise.
A power that devoured other Law Bodies was far too defiant of the natural order. Without restrictions, it would have broken all reason.
Given that he could only devour five, he settled on his targets without much hesitation.
The five primal Sovereign Law Bodies.
He remembered very clearly that, in the original timeline, Mu Chen had cultivated all five primal Law Bodies to step into the realm of Dominator.
For someone as ambitious as Lin Langtian, that path to Dominator was worth testing.
Of course, the primal Law Bodies were monstrously powerful and far beyond the Myriad Aspects Demon Body's current ability to consume.
Right now, it could barely squeeze into the top thirty. Forget the primal five—even a Law Body from the top twenty might well tear it apart from within.
But Lin Langtian quickly found a way around that.
Of the five, the most famous was the Immortal Emperor's Eternal Immortal Body, which in turn was built upon two foundational Law Bodies: the Great Sun Undying Body and the Immortal Golden Body.
He could devour those two first, then attempt to swallow the Eternal Immortal Body. Step by step.
Once the Myriad Aspects Demon Body consumed the Eternal Immortal Body, he could then use that power to devour the remaining four primal Law Bodies—eventually gathering all five.
Thinking of the road ahead, Lin Langtian stretched lazily and allowed himself a wide, hungry smile. With a thought, he dismissed the Myriad Aspects Demon Body and looked up toward the surface.
The harvest from this trip to the Universe Spirit Pool had been immense.
It was time to return.
…
Outside Spirit Pool Peak.
In the few short days the pool had been open, the area had never once fallen silent.
The source of all that fervor was the talisman burning like a miniature sun among the five.
No one had ever seen such brilliance in all the years the Spirit Pool had been opened.
Everyone understood what it meant: someone was condensing Sovereign Holy Water.
And from the look of things, they might very well succeed.
Shock filled countless hearts, mingled with a deep, burning curiosity.
They were desperate to know which of the five Commanders possessed such terrifying skill.
Boom!
Just then, a surge of light erupted from the mountain's summit.
Heads snapped up as four giant silhouettes burst through the glow and hovered in the skies above.
All eyes locked onto them at once.
They were four Sovereign Law Bodies.
Brilliant spiritual light wreathed their forms, making them look utterly unshakable.
Their auras swept out in powerful waves, stirring the winds into howling gusts.
Yet when the onlookers truly sensed them, disappointment flickered in many eyes.
Strong as they were, these Law Bodies were still a ways off from what one refined with Sovereign Holy Water.
Thud!
Just as that disappointment set in, a lone figure shot out from the Spirit Pool Peak and came to a halt in full view of the crowd.
When they noticed that he had not summoned his Law Body, puzzlement spread across many faces.
Lin Langtian paused for a moment, understanding their thoughts.
But the Myriad Aspects Demon Body was far too strange and dangerous to reveal. After a brief consideration, he simply raised his right hand.
A pool of jade liquid the size of half a fist appeared above his palm. A delicate fragrance immediately swept across the mountaintop.
"That jade fragrance… it really is Sovereign Holy Water…"
Someone in the crowd could not help calling out.
Sovereign Holy Water was known to dramatically enhance a Sovereign Law Body. During the Universe Sect's golden age, an Elder had once used it to raise his Law Body six ranks—from ninety-third among the ninety-nine up to eighty-seventh.
That alone said enough about its allure.
As exclamations erupted across the land, the four Law Bodies in the sky dimmed and retracted.
Luo Lin and the others emerged, staring at the jade liquid in Lin Langtian's hand, their eyes full of shock, disbelief, and envy.
None of them had expected Lin Langtian to actually succeed.
They all knew the crushing force at the bottom of the Spirit Pool.
To descend beneath two thousand meters and absorb the power needed to form Sovereign Holy Water was something they simply did not have the strength to do. Even a Fourth Grade Sovereign would struggle there.
Yet Lin Langtian had done it—with only a Second Grade Sovereign's cultivation.
"It really is Commander Lin!"
Back at Silver Mist Palace's platform, Mu Honglian could not restrain a delighted cry as the Silver Mist Guard's eyes lit with searing admiration. Some even looked at Lin Langtian with open reverence.
For years now, he was the only Commander to have successfully condensed Sovereign Holy Water in the Universe Spirit Pool.
Even Jiang Yinlan could not keep a faint smile from softening her frosty face.
With this feat, Lin Langtian had made Silver Mist Palace's name resound throughout the sect. It would be a long time before anyone dared call them empty-handed again.
On the other eight stone platforms, the other Kings were equally surprised by the outcome. Many shook their heads, still trying to accept such an unexpected result.
Only the Calamity King sat unmoving upon his throne, his gaze fixed on the jade liquid, a cold and burning glint in his eyes.
"Hehe, just as expected—the new Commander," the Third Elder said with a bright laugh as he watched.
"To climb out of a lower plane like that, he was bound to have something special," the Great Elder replied with satisfaction.
Bringing Lin Langtian to Silver Mist Palace had been little more than a casual decision, yet it had turned out to be quite the stroke of fortune.
Jiang Yinlan was his disciple, and Silver Mist Palace was part of his faction. Now that Lin Langtian had brought them such glory, the Great Elder's own reputation had risen as well.
The Second Elder let out a light, unreadable chuckle. "He's produced Sovereign Holy Water but hasn't summoned his Law Body. Perhaps something…changed during his time in the Spirit Pool?"
At that, the Great Elder and the Third Elder both frowned faintly in thought.
Sovereign Holy Water certainly improved Law Bodies, but hearing of one transforming outright was a first. Still, Lin Langtian's Law Body had always been strange. Was the Second Elder right?
After a moment's consideration, the Great Elder shook his head. "Even if something did happen, it's his business. What matters is that he now belongs to the Universe Sect.
"Those traitors in the Desolate Temple are growing bolder by the day. If we continue to stagnate, then when the Continental Hunt arrives, they'll run rampant over us.
"As for Lin Langtian, so long as we treat him fairly and don't let any distance grow between us, that will be enough."
The Second and Third Elders mulled it over before nodding.
Lin Langtian's current power was nothing they feared, but his potential could no longer be ignored.
"Hehe, congratulations, Lin Langtian. In nearly a hundred years, you are the first Second Grade Sovereign to successfully condense Sovereign Holy Water," the Great Elder called out with a warm, aged laugh.
"Many thanks, Elders," Lin Langtian replied, clasping his hands toward them.
"It's all your own doing," the Third Elder added with a small smile.
"This concludes the trial of the Universe Spirit Pool," the Great Elder said, his voice growing deep as his gaze swept across the land. "The Continental Hunt is drawing near. All of you must refine yourselves well."
At those last four words, the once-boisterous crowd fell silent.
A faint metallic tang seemed to seep into the air, along with a distant scent of blood.
"Yes!"
The Nine Kings answered as one.
Seeing this, the three Elders said nothing more. With a wave of their sleeves, the light atop Spirit Pool Peak began to fade.
The mountain once again sealed itself in silence.
And with that, the journey into the Universe Spirit Pool came to a close.
(END CHAPTER)