Chapter Sixty-Eight: Tan Zhuo Enters the Beast Realm

“Brother Fuyou, this is a grand feast the Beast Domain hasn’t seen in a thousand years! It’s rare for all of us to gather like this; we must celebrate properly today,” the Azure Beast said with a hearty laugh.

“This is the happiest day our Beast Domain has known in over ten thousand years! The one with the imperial bloodline will surely lead us forward, invincible, to reclaim the entire Spirit Realm!” roared a Blazing Flame Lion.

“Hahaha, everyone, quiet down. I understand your excitement. I believe soon our Beast Domain will return to the Spirit Realm. For now, let us all bear witness to this great moment as the imperial bloodline bearer enters the Land of Inheritance!”

Tan Zhuo suddenly felt himself lose all sense of gravity, floating in midair. Terrified, he hurriedly opened his eyes, but no matter how he struggled, he could not control his body or the fate pulling him into the stone gate. In a moment, he was sucked inside and vanished from sight.

A harsh cracking sound echoed as soon as Tan Zhuo entered. The stone door closed behind him, and a pungent, putrid smell assaulted his senses. Suppressing his nausea, he looked ahead and saw the remains of countless spirit beasts and great demons scattered everywhere. At the center, a small spring shimmered with a ghostly blue light.

Tan Zhuo found it almost impossible to breathe in this place. Yet he felt as if the blue spring was calling to him, and to his surprise, he did not resist. Instead, a sense of intimacy welled up, and his body moved toward the spring of its own accord.

“Child, you have finally come. Now you will receive the supreme inheritance of our beast clan. Which inheritance you receive, and how deeply it fuses with your bloodline, all depends on your own fortune. The voice speaking to you is but a projection of mine from the Immortal Realm. Let me lend you one last helping hand—if fate allows, we shall meet again in the Immortal Realm.” A series of ancient voices resounded in his mind, making Tan Zhuo dizzy, and before long, he lost all consciousness.

Outside the Land of Inheritance.

“The imperial bloodline bearer has begun the ritual. The longer the inheritance process lasts, the stronger he will become when he emerges. All we can do now is wait for his awakening—it may take years, decades, or even centuries. If we, who have waited tens of thousands of years, cannot wait a few more, what does that say?” the Beast Sovereign declared, his voice trembling with excitement.

“The Spirit Realm is divided into southern and northern domains, with our Beast Domain lying between them. Because of this, the two regions have had no contact for over ten thousand years. The cultivation level in the Southern Domain is weak; with our current strength, we could easily conquer it. The North, however, is another matter. We are not yet their match. So, while the imperial bloodline awakens, we will first attack and seize the Southern Domain. Once our leader emerges, we shall march north and unite the entire Spirit Realm!” As he finished, the assembled spirit beasts erupted with enthusiasm, eager to charge into the cultivation world.

…

Turning back to Lin Yanghao, he still sat cross-legged within the Chaos Ring, motionless, gathering the primordial energy between heaven and earth.

In the blink of an eye, another year passed for Lin Yanghao inside the Chaos Ring. Everything within remained unchanged. The ‘Divine Spirit Art of Chaos’ had reached the intermediate level, but Lin Yanghao was not content. He vowed not to stop until he broke through to the next realm.

This was Lin Yanghao’s longest period of seclusion, and over this time, he grew accustomed to the solitude, focused solely on elevating his cultivation and strength.

Five more years slipped by. Now, the ‘Divine Spirit Art of Chaos’ stood just a hair’s breadth from the first major breakthrough—it had reached perfection. Lin Yanghao knew this final step would be the most difficult, and that it could not be rushed. He decided not to force further progress for now; with his current mastery, he could advance to the Foundation Establishment stage. He resolved to wait until he acquired a Core Transformation Pill and broke through before continuing his cultivation.

“I’ve spent seven full years in the Chaos Ring, with only three left. I must make the most of my time—for cultivation is what matters most!” Over these seven years, Lin Yanghao’s features had lost their youthful softness and taken on a mature, seasoned look. Anyone familiar with him might not even recognize him now.

“Lin Yanghao, I forgot to mention—don’t think time passes the same in the Chaos Ring as outside. These ten years inside, you have lived through every moment for real,” came the playful voice of the ring spirit, Ling’er.

“What! What did you say?” Lin Yanghao was stunned. He hadn’t expected that the ten years spent in the Chaos Ring were real and not a distortion of time. On second thought, he realized that, for such a miraculous item to alter the flow of time, there had to be a price—so this flaw was only natural.

A cultivator in the Qi Refinement stage typically lives about a hundred years, no different from a mortal. At the Foundation Establishment stage, lifespan extends to a hundred and fifty years; Core Formation cultivators live to three hundred; Nascent Soul masters may reach six hundred; and those in the Divine Transformation stage can live up to twelve hundred years. With each higher realm, lifespan doubles, and upon ascending to the Immortal Realm and converting one’s true essence into immortal spirit, life becomes endless.

Still, these lifespans, though long, are mostly illusory, for each step up in cultivation becomes vastly more difficult. A breakthrough, even to a minor level, can take decades. Some cultivators remain in seclusion for over a century without progress, and many perish within their allotted years, unable to advance further. Lin Yanghao, at the Foundation Establishment stage, had not advanced a single level in seven years, highlighting the harshness of the cultivation path.

Time flew within the Chaos Ring. Another three years passed swiftly. In the outside world, only a year had gone by—it was time for Lin Yanghao to leave. With a flash, he appeared outside the ring.

Splash! The sound was Lin Yanghao plunging into water. Only as he hit the surface did he realize how much had changed over that year. The boat he had once been on was long gone. Having neglected to activate his spiritual shield, he was instantly drenched.

He cast a simple purification spell, and in an instant, his clothes were dry and spotless. Then, he sped toward the Northern Continent of Purple Jade.

During those final three years, Lin Yanghao completed countless cycles of cultivation, raising his strength to the peak of the late Foundation Establishment stage—though not yet to perfection. Still, this progress left him deeply satisfied.