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nWu Long closed his eyes, taking a series of deep breaths, calming his mind.

nHe spent a good amount of time in thought, unmoving and undisturbed. His figure sitting amid a large empty room looking peaceful and tranquil much like a scholar in meditation.

nAfter a while, his eyes opened.

nThere was no longer any hesitation or lingering doubts as he took another set of pills and unsealing the blessing of the Grandmist Keepsake continued the process of reforming his core for the eighth time.

nThe known path had many advantages, but it also represented a trap much like the snowball effect of the Dao Runes.

nIn fact, his hesitation to take this path already showed a level of being trapped in the known.

nComplacency and assurance was far more dangerous for cultivators than one might think. Only by pushing against limits was Wu Long able to become who he was before reincarnating, and he had to maintain the same mindset and push the boundaries even further if he wanted to become something more.

nThe same comprehension of the Dao, the same methods and the same cultivation progress, the path already trodden would not have the same degree of challenge no matter how innovatively he thought or how much he tried to outdo his past achievements.

nThis unexpected change represented an opportunity, a chance to reach for greater heights.

nAnd if it backfired, if this path truly led to less power than before, at least it was his responsibility, as he made that choice, and it was his job to overturn that and still come out victorious.

nJust like what he did before.

nThus he poured his all into grasping this opportunity.

nBut now he had another problem, the Core did not crack no matter how much Yin Qi coupled with Spiritual Qi he poured inside.

nAnd then he noticed… that it was expanding in size while keeping the same density.

nAfter some time it returned to the size of the original core, but still showed no signs of cracking, or stopping to expand.

nAnd as he kept going, it grew almost twice in size of the original.

n‘This can’t go on-…’, just as he was considering if he would have enough resources to continue…

n*Clink!*

nA high-pitched sound resounded as it’s perfectly smooth surface revealed a blemish.

n*Crack, crack…*

nSoon cracks started forming from that one small initial scar, covering the surface of the core.

n‘S-**…’, he watched with cold sweat more and more cracks forming on the incredibly compressed core, realizing the power exuded from within the core to be able to crack it at this size and density.

nAnd then the core shattered, as he desperately tried to keep the momentum and condense it into a new one, eating pills that helped stabilize the process like candy.

nAfter a few hours, his efforts were finally gratified as the new core almost the same size as the 7th reformation stabilized in his Dantian.

n“Fuu~… that was scary, haha-haha”, a slightly nervous laughter escaped his lips after a sigh of relief.

nHe then examined the reserves of Spiritual Qi he had left for a breakthrough, as well as the Yin Qi.

n“Reaching Mortal Transcendence is now basically a foregone matter…”, he concluded with a wry smile, as most of the Yin Qi he received from the Frozen Garden Palace was now gone, and only 9% of the Secret Realm’s Spiritual Qi was left.

nHe also sporadically used the incredibly potent Yin Qi that he gained from Yu Huan, that likely exacerbated the effects of the ‘evolution’.

n“Haa~, oh well, at least I still should be able to reach the 9th~…”, he sighed, and slightly gulped at the prospect.

nIn truth, the most potent Yin Qi of the Frozen Garden Palace, and all of the Yin Qi of his ladies which was far higher in quality, as well as included Extreme Yin Qi and unusual traits, all was left for last.

nThere were also a few pills he had Yu Huan prepare with the stash of herbs and natural treasures from the Alchemy Tower’s Vault that Gu Zhen preciously preserved without using.

nA measure Wu Long specially prepared if he did not have enough resources for the breakthrough to the Mortal Transcendence.

nSo he was quite sure of his ability to repeat the procedure for the final round of reformation, though that would likely take all of his currently remaining resources.

nBut as he remembered the last process, he gulped, feeling almost nostalgic as it was the same feeling as when he went through Core Reformations in his past life.

nDanger mixed with opportunity, and caution mixed with excitement.

nFinally, he adjusted his condition once more, and started the final reformation.

nThis time the core expanded almost two times the previous size, four times the original.

nAt a critical moment, he started consuming the pills that created an explosion of medicinal energy within, the tyrannical power of which disappeared without a trace within the still expanding core.

nAs it reached the size five times of the original core, it finally showed signs of reaching its limit.

n“Fuu~… let’s not make an oops”, he chuckled, remembering one of the scariest words in existence, and consumed the final and most powerful of the alchemy pills.

nAn almost instant and thunderous reaction started producing enormous amounts of medicinal energy that he directed into the expanded sphere.

nIn that moment, the final traces of the blessing of the Grandmist Keepsake disappeared into the Core that revealed the first crack.

nA powerful formless ripple spread throughout the island, and further away.

n“…?!”, Lian Zhiqiu whose Spiritual Formation was not able to hold it back even though the previous ones were completely suppressed widened her eyes standing outside.

nAnother ripple spread from the pavilion, as dust and fine particles of the materials that the building was made of were scattered in all directions, small holes appearing in the walls, floors, columns and roof.

n“Take distance, and do not approach under any circumstances”, Wu Long’s voice resounded from within building as the ladies around expressed worry, but followed his words without delay, spreading in a large circle around, and exiting the territory of the rented-out pavilion.

n“I guess I’ll have to pay a bit extra…”, Wu Long chuckled as he saw the third crack forming, and the ripple it generated finally completely tore the building apart.

n*BOOM!!!*

nDebris flew into the air and into the surroundings and then ripples started coming from Wu Long in rapid succession, as if explosions were happening within him.

nEverything in his immediate surroundings immediately turned to dust that further disintegrated into nothingness.

nThe further waves were much less powerful, hitting the barrier made in hurry by Lian Zhiqiu who started channeling the power of Spiritual Lands.

nAnd then…

n*Rumble!… rumble!*

nThe sky grew darker as the ladies turned widening eyes up where dark heavy clouds started appearing out of the blue sky, swirling in a vortex which center was right above Wu Long.

n“””…!”””

nTheir minds became numb, some recognizing this sensation, some feeling this dread for the first time.

n‘Heavenly Punishment’, went through the minds of those who once already witnessed it.

n“Hah! So it truly is a new path”, Wu Long chuckled looking up, as he received a final confirmation with this.

nHe was not as worried as this worked in his favor to encounter it here, even if he did not expect it.

nThe truth was that the Heavenly Tribulation did not descend upon those who broke into half-step Essence Awakening Realm in this Fractured World because the link connecting to the rest of the Boundless Mortal Worlds was unstable, and thus the Laws of the Heavenly Daos were incomplete within this world.

nHowever, Heavenly Punishment was different, as it concerned a more fundamental, core principles of the Heavenly Daos that were inseparable with the very basic Laws and thus could reach even in places where the Laws of the Heavenly Daos were not complete like this world.

nBut even then, if it could descend upon those that the Heavenly Daos intended to exterminate, it still was extremely limited in its power here.

nThe reason for Wu Long’s complete confidence to go against Heavenly Punishment was because he planned to undergo it within this Fractured World, where it was comparatively easier to do, and then have Yu Huan do so under his protection as well.

nNot only that, it would theoretically strengthen his Lightning Rune and allow him to mitigate the Heavenly Punishment the next time in the wider world.

nIf that did not work, there was also a backup plan to strengthen his Lightning Rune with the Heavenly Tribulation of his beauties first which was comparatively less threatening.

nOf course he also planned to be a bit stronger by then, at least stepping a foot into the Mortal Transcendence Realm.

nBut here he was, facing Heavenly Punishment as a half-step 9th level Core Reformation Realm cultivator, and though it was earlier than he planned, he already had the assurance of his ability to survive this.

n*Shatter!!!*

nA clear shattering sound resounded from withing Wu Long’s lower abdomen where his Dantian was, and a ripple tore the barrier made by Lian Zhiqiu, though not able to do any further damage as it took all its power to tear a formation supported by Spiritual Lands.

nWu Long’s Dantian was full of pieces of the previous core that no longer resembled shards, but fine dust, moving very slowly as if in slow motion, as Spiritual Qi was unraveling within the center with the same slow speed.

nSlowly, the mass that previously constituted the core moved around in the same direction it span before it exploded into pieces, and then started being pulled toward the center.

nThe speed of rotation gradually started returning as now the formless cloud of dust started resembling a sphere shape and was shrinking in size.

n*Crackle…. crackle! Rumble!!!*

nMeanwhile, flashes of blinding light illuminated the surroundings from the swirling clouds above that gained more and more mass, the roaring thunder as if declaring the wrath of Heavens.

nThis woke a primal, uncontrollable fear within the hearts of people of the Kingdom, who fell to their knees.

nWu Long slowly stood up as a yet-to-condense sphere was spinning within his Dantian.

nAnd as he was looking at the clouds, something he was waiting for on this island the whole time happened, as his eyes lightly widened.

n“Heh, what timing…”, he chuckled, not sure if this was on purpose or a coincidence, as a certain crimson-eyed white-

nhaired beauty somewhere on this island used a certain item, and then he added, “But first thing’s first…”

n*Buzz!*

nA buzzing sound resounded from the clouds above the moment the sphere in Wu Long’s Dantian condensed into the 9th level Core.

n“Come then…”, he said looking up with a look full of challenge and a bright flash of light took away vision of anyone for miles in the distance.

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