MTLNOVEL Chapter 385: Dao Fruit
Capital Dragon Slaying Formation.
With Alkaid suppressing two Shattered Void Demon Cultivators beneath the Heaven-Sealing Stele and forcibly integrating two Demon Cultivators into the Cave Heaven, the large-scale invasion by the Yin Moon Sect's Demon Cultivators was brought to an end.
Wu Changfeng, Qi Sha, Ling Ruogu, Chi Yu, Li Hanqiu, Wan Liugui, and others resumed the maintenance of order in the Southern Capital.
However…
It wasn't really necessary for them to do so.
Once it was known that Alkaid had eliminated all seven Demon Cultivators, both Shattered Void and Refining Void, who had invaded the Southern Capital, everyone there, whether they were from other forces or backed by experts from the Heavenly Dao Sect, became utterly compliant.
They executed every command issued by the Territory Lord's Mansion without sparing any effort.
Even though the Capital Dragon Slaying Formation had been activated for over half a month now, cutting off all internal and external communication—a significant event—no one caused any trouble.
Everyone quietly cooperated with the orders of the Territory Lord's Mansion, staying at their own residences, waiting for the end of the great battle.
From time to time…
There were those who looked up into the sky above the Territory Lord's Mansion with awe and fervor.
There, a Cave Heaven self-manifested at all times, suppressing and refining the Demon Cultivators within!
The power of those Demon Cultivators was so great that even a mere wisp of Heavenly Demon Origin energy that occasionally escaped was enough to send shivers down the spines of countless Cultivators.
Just being slightly aware of it was enough to send countless Golden Core Cultivators into mental disarray and lead them into deviation.
Yet these terrifying beings couldn't escape from their destiny of being suppressed and refined before Alkaid, the Domain Master of the Southern Region, the grand Sect Leader of the Heavenly Dao Sect.
With such a powerful protector guarding the Southern Capital, and considering the rules he had established over the past few years, it seemed he was planning to develop towards a more orderly society.
This gave all the citizens living in the Southern Capital a sense of unprecedented security.
...
Above the Territory Lord's Mansion.
Alkaid refined a Shattered Void Demon Cultivator and two Refining Void Demon Cultivators simultaneously.
This process…
Even for him, was not an easy task.
Not only did the time required increase significantly, but the determined resistance and explosive force of the Heavenly Demon Origin from the Demon Cultivators could also cause greater erosion to his Cave Heaven, subsequently requiring even more time to recover its state.
Nevertheless…
He still did it without hesitation.
This was, of course, because he had ample confidence.
As the struggle and defiance of the dark Demon Lord completely vanished, Alkaid's attention immediately focused on his Spiritual World.
It settled on the branch of "Demon Hunter."
Feeling its "visibly" rich luster, he breathed out lightly, "This should be enough."
There was no hesitation.
He quickly drew the luster from the Demon Hunter branch into the Immortal Path: Shattering Void branch.
The next moment, the previously 45% complete branch rapidly blossomed and bore fruit, growing to the maximum extent possible at the current stage. Stay tuned to My Virtual Library Empire
But after reaching the limit, that branch seemed to stagnate for a while.
However, the massive "experience" accumulated from refining one Refining Void and two Shattered Void was too great.
This stagnation, as the continuous infusion of "experience" persisted, finally…
Broke through the limit.
The branch of Immortal Path: Shattering Void, which was initially akin to an ancient tree's branch, instantaneously changed into something similar to emerald jade, filled with a sense of transparent luster.
As the branch transformed, the excess energy flowing into it began to reverse into the ancient tree itself, making the whole tree seem to undergo a change, becoming radiant and lustrous as if made of crystalline jade.
But this transition halted after a short duration.
It wasn't enough.
The energy wasn't sufficient!
Although the entire tree radiated a layer of precious light and the Immortal Path: Shattering Void branch had completely turned to a crystalline color, only the Artifact Refining branch underwent a partial transformation.
The rest of the branches, Formation, Alchemy, Businessman, and Demon Hunter, all remained in their usual state, at best...
They had a bit more faint glow.
"Is it like when advancing from Golden Core to Hollow Void again, needing a whole transformation?"
Alkaid realized something.
However...
Compared to advancing from Golden Core to Hollow Void, the leap from Shattered Void to Integrate Dao seemed even more significant.
After all, to ascend to Hollow Void, it was nothing more than the unification of spirit, energy, and mind, to fuse the Martial Path, Qi Path, and Divine Path together into the Immortal Path.
But to advance from Shattered Void to Integrate Dao...
It meant elevating all his existing branches to a sufficiently high level.
And fundamentally causing the ancient tree to undergo a qualitative change.
That is...
To induce a metamorphosis in his "High-Dimensional Cognition."
He had a premonition...
Once he fully completed this kind of "metamorphosis," the world perceived by his High-Dimensional Cognition would surely undergo a new transformation.
It would be like viewing the world that "ants" interact with through the eyes of a "human."
If before he was but a "child" confined within a limited space, capable of only observing the area with which he came into contact and lived in, after metamorphosis, he'd transform completely into an "adult" capable of freely roaming every corner of the mountains and lands, witnessing realms that "ants" could neither dare to imagine nor ever reach.
Not only could he "see" but, given the right conditions, also "go."
However...
This process was sure to be a lengthy one.
"No! Not necessarily long!"
Alkaid's consciousness quickly landed on the Demon Hunter branch.
If his judgment wasn't wrong, the two Shattered Void Demon Cultivators from before had probably brought his "Immortal Path: Shattering Void" about 70% of the way to completion.
He then glanced over at the Artifact Refining and Formation branches.
Basing on the transformations of their glass-like substance, they would likely have to reach the Sixteenth Level to form the foundation for complete metamorphosis.
Not just these two branches, but it appeared all the others were similar.
Thanks to the fact that other branches did not need as high requirements for growth as the "Immortal Path: Shattering Void," nurturing all branches to the metamorphosable Sixteenth Level...
"Would probably need 'hunting' and slaying fifteen to twenty Shattered Void beings? Or perhaps crafting one hundred fifty to two hundred Dao Artifacts?"
If they were superior or top-grade Dao Artifacts, the required quantity would decrease.
With his speed in Artifact Refining...
Without elevating "Artifact Refining" to the Sixteenth Level, taking ten years to craft a single Dao Artifact was a rather safe calculation. Successful, one hundred fifty pieces...
Would take less than a thousand years.
In an unfavorable scenario, maybe two thousand years.
To the beings of the Hollow Void who bore the reputation of limitless lifespans, two thousand years in exchange for a shot at attaining Dao Lord wasn't too long to wait.
"An added variable."
Alkaid remarked, "I thought reaching Dao Lord would be easy."
As he spoke, he keenly perceived the great amount of information within the ancient tree.
Soon, he understood the reason.
His "High-Dimensional Cognition" abruptly absorbed all the knowledge on offer.
Yet, in reality, a lot of this knowledge was not at all necessary.
But due to the nature of "High-Dimensional Cognition," he had to learn it until complete.
Like an "exam-oriented education system," you need not learn some things, yet strive to cover all bases, to be flawless, leading to a significant increase in required learning, and ultimately, wasting time and energy for nothing.
"However, thinking about it, the Dao Lord... is in itself the most significant transformation on the path of cultivation. Once one achieves Dao Lord, they possess the power of extrapolation. My Capital Dragon Slaying Formation is the perfect example," he mused.
Alkaid looked up at the layer of light enveloping the skies above the Southern Capital.
The setup for the Capital Dragon Slaying Formation was far from clever; it was a brute force marvel.
Like if a top-notch architect designs and erects a kilometer-tall skyscraper, the myriad of specialized knowledge involved is astonishing, and once completed, it would be acclaimed as an architectural wonder.
But for a cultivator with the power to move mountains, bringing in a ten-thousand-meter-tall mountain to refine into a pillar erected on the earth, who would dare to say that's not a wonder? Who would dare declare it's not an architectural miracle?
The nature of the Capital Dragon Slaying Formation was precisely like this.
"For Dao Lords, with the brute force approach, they can easily arrange Thirteenth Level formations, study a little formation knowledge and set up Fourteenth Level grand formations. If they study seriously, they can lay down Fifteenth Level formations, and some innately talented Formation Dao Lords can even set up Sixteenth Level formations..."
Alkaid understood: "Artifact Refining is the same, Dao Artifacts for them are something they can create on a whim, even if they merely keep an ordinary object with them over time, letting it continuously absorb their own dao charm, they can transform it into a Dao Artifact. Superior Dao Artifacts, on the other hand, require some level of Artifact Refining knowledge, and peak-grade Dao Artifacts can only be crafted by those Dao Lords who have studied the art deeply. As for even higher-tier Immortal Artifacts..."
It was just like the Artifact Sage.
Not one in a hundred Dao Lords might possess the means to craft Immortal Artifacts.
While they may not be able to refine Sixteenth Level Immortal Artifacts or lay out Sixteenth Level Immortal Arrays, the Dao Lords' mastery of the miraculous still meant mastery of one means mastery of all.
In other words, each Dao Lord is a Thirteenth Level Array Master, Artifact Refiner, Alchemist, and so forth.
With just a bit of study of relevant knowledge, they can elevate those ranks to Fourteenth Level.
This is probably why the ancient tree needed a complete transformation to progress to "Immortal Path - Integrate Dao," requiring the whole tree to evolve into a new state.
The gap between Dao Lords and those below is vast.
Careers that beings below Dao Lord struggle to master by every means possible, to a Dao Lord, belong to the realm of innate abilities that don't necessitate learning or study.
"Although I haven't reached Dao Lord, which is a slight regret that prevents me from traversing the Shattered Void Realm with the insights of a 'Dao Lord,' the Dao Fruit formed at 100% in the Shattered Void Realm can still grant me a substantial boost in strength..."
Alkaid focused his attention on this Dao Fruit.
The name of the Dao Fruit...
"Dao Seed."
A direct and straightforward name.
Alkaid quietly sensed the wonder of this Dao Seed.
It could assist a cultivator in planting a second Dao Seed within their Cave Heaven, giving rise to a second Lifebound Daoist Art.
Lifebound Daoist Arts stood out significantly compared to other Daoist Arts.
Alkaid's Lifebound Daoist Art was the "Void Blink," a Movement Technique Category Daoist Art, which after cultivating, gave him confidence to flee unscathed even in front of a Shattered Void being.
Qi Sha's Lifebound Daoist Art was the "Great Annihilation Sword Qi," an attack-type Daoist Art, giving him, once Refining Void, the peak combat power of Refining Void, and combined with the Annihilation Sword, the Great Annihilation Sword Qi he unleashed could even threaten the lives of Shattered Void cultivators.
This is the strength of Lifebound Daoist Arts.
They essentially equate to an increase of one level atop the original Daoist Art.
Which means, during minor accomplishment, the power rivals major accomplishment; during major accomplishment, the power rivals perfection; and at the stage of perfection, it can even reach the level of Great Perfection.
The key point is...
If he had this Dao Seed, he'd have another choice during "Dao Struggle."