The wind and snow howled outside, shaking the wooden door, which creaked loudly.
Lin Lan looked at the alchemy scroll sprawled on the ground, rubbing his hands with anticipation, his excitent apparent as he exclaid, "Whether we can reach the end of the Sea of Eternal Life or not, just with your Corpse Ghost Skill after ascending to Cloud Lord, we now have unlimited labor. At the very least, we can catch more prey, so my children won't go hungry!"
"Heh, children."
Gu Jianlin was decidedly unwilling to give this guy any kind of positive reaction. He knew that there were slackers and wastrels in this world.
But he absolutely would not tolerate teammates who were slackers and wastrels!
"I need to prepare for advancent."
At this mont, he stood in the center of the alchemy scroll, its array patterns already activated by spirituality.
Corrosive Magma, the Egg of Calamity Ruins, the Heart of a Mutant, the Roots of the Roaring Tree Monster, and the Hair of the Charming Lady.
Boom!
The extraordinary materials ignited, and Gu Jianlin felt the spirituality within him surging wildly!
Lin Lan watched him expectantly, and even the Charming Ladies gazed unblinkingly, their beautiful eyes shining with excitent.
"The breakthrough from Transcendent to Superdinsional as an Ascender is a qualitative leap—it's an elevation of life and soul level. In ancient tis, the Transcendent Stage was referred to as the Postnatal Realm, while the Superdinsional Level was known as the Innate Realm. And at the Holy Land Level, you are at the Exiled Immortal Realm. These are very ancient terms."
He explained earnestly, "During the unification period of the Qin Dynasty, reaching the pinnacle of the Innate Realm allowed one to command armies or establish a family clan for continuity. At the pinnacle of the Exiled Immortal Realm, one could start a sect or establish a dynasty. For instance, the Sword Tomb or the ancient Ying Royal Family you see now are examples of this."
Gu Jianlin listened to these words, letting his spirituality break through its chains and flood everything.
Horrifying visions seed to appear before his eyes.
Golden flas burned the heavens bright, a seamless transition between dusk and night. A massive bronze pillar pierced the sky and earth, and at its summit was a faint figure standing at the end of ti itself.
That figure gripped a pitch-black iron sword as if it were a scepter and, with a reverse grip, plunged it into its own chest!
The Qilin Wedge!
The Qilin Wedge didn't harm the figure but rather fused with it completely.
Boom!
The entire world trembled.
It was as though the figure rged with the world itself, the raging golden flas enveloping it like a massive cocoon, consuming it entirely!
Boom!
From the depths of the golden flas, the solitary and forlorn figure disappeared, replaced by an incomparably fearso shadow, a monstrous entity born at the dawn of the cosmos, chaotic and frenzied!
Rolling dark clouds swirled in the skies as the entity roared thunderously, deafeningly!
It was about to break through the barriers of the real world!
From the depths of Gu Jianlin's consciousness, the Black Qilin awakened from its slumber, a blazing golden eye suddenly igniting, ghostly energy pouring out in torrents like the depths of Hell, roaring with euphoric satisfaction.
At one mont, it retained the form of a Qilin.
At the next mont, it transford into a solemn Black Dragon.
The Divine Soul flickered wildly, its shadow towering higher and higher, bathed in spirituality, flourishing!
The Ghost Slayer Soul also surged explosively, growing to match the sa height!
At this mont, Gu Jianlin was left speechless and deeply shocked.
The Divine and the Ghost Slayer dual pathways advanced together!
"I see. Whether Divine or Ghost Slayer, they are rely external systems. The true component requiring elevation is the core—it's the central processor, which is my soul itself. However, the thod of advancent depends on utilizing external systems to elevate the core. Once the core is improved, the systems follow suit in their advancent as well."
This revelation ant a new advantage for Gu Jianlin's dual pathways.
Whether Divine or Ghost Slayer, he needed only to choose one for advancent.
If the ritual and materials for Divine were inconvenient, he could opt for Ghost Slayer instead.
And vice versa.
Gu Jianlin allowed the surging spirituality within him to spread, attentively listening to the ancient whispers echoing in his ears, imrsing himself in the transformation of his spirit, as the powers from both the Divine and Ghost Slayer pathways underwent a qualitative change!
Human and Ancient God dual-core drive.
Ghost Slayer and Divine dual pathways.
Achieved Fourth Rank!
Ghost Slayer Path: Shura!
Divine Path: Cloud Lord!
The forr's ability was the renowned Space Freeze, capable of creating a domain of absolute ti stoppage!
The latter's ability was the mastery over life and death, the Corpse Ghost Skill, allowing control of corpses and enslavent of the dead!
Furthermore, the strength of all abilities had significantly increased.
Even the transcendent abilities of the Third Stage had undergone a qualitative change!
"Is it done? Is it done?"
Lin Lan asked eagerly, "I'm stressed to death here—I'm the King Ji Ji!"
The Charming Ladies gathered with curiosity gleaming in their eyes.
The alchemy scroll beneath Gu Jianlin's feet had burned to ashes, including all the materials used.
As he reopened his eyes, he switched his pathway to Ghost Slayer without hesitation.
His shadow trembled as it rged abilities from the Divine pathway.
For a brief mont, Gu Jianlin underwent an earth-shattering transformation; his hair grew like a waterfall, and his previously sharp face softened, his jet-black eyes becoming long and narrow, exuding a hidden, chilling ferocity and elegance akin to a celestial being—an unsettling beauty, enchanting to the extre!
His shadow, enveloped in mist, took on his own male visage, but its aura grew increasingly cold and stern, its facial features altering as if concealed behind an ancient and solemn mask.
"Holy crap, beauty, who are you?"
Lin Lan was struck dumb, his trembling hand pointing in disbelief.
The Charming Ladies gasped, covering their crimson lips, exclaiming in astonishnt.
For it was the first ti they had seen anyone more beautiful than their own race!
This was absolute beauty, absolute enchantnt, absolute creation.
Gu Jianlin raised his gaze, devoid of any discernible emotion, yet his re glance was captivating beyond asure.
"What's wrong?"
He asked in curiosity.
At that very mont, Gu Jianlin saw his own reflection in the eyes of those around him.
In an instant, he almost erupted.
Because he saw an old monster.
Well, not an old monster, but himself.
It had to be so kind of joke—how co this advancent made him resemble an old monster increasingly?
Gu Jianlin mused that if he were to et her soday, anyone unaware of the circumstances might mistakenly think he was her child—or daughter.
That scenario—wide-eyed stares—it'd surely be interesting.
Okay, maybe such an amusing encounter wouldn't happen.
If the old monster really found him, she'd likely squash him under her finger in an instant.
"Sothing's off."
Gu Jianlin realized that not just his form, but even his shadow's look had changed. ???? ?????? ???????? ???? ???????? ???????? ??????????????s, ????????s?? ????s???? NoveI(F)ire
That indicated his advancent to Superdinsional Level had made him increasingly resemble an Ancient God.
And not even an authentic Ancient God.
But a mixed being—a hybrid of human and Ancient God—that could adapt to the rules of the real world.
How fascinating.
Legends spoke of the Candle Dragon Clan still active within the Sea of Eternal Life.
Gu Jianlin thought if he fought with this face on, he'd scare the hell out of those aliens!
Despite this, he switched back to the Divine pathway quickly, retracting his shadow back into his body.
"Don't spread word about this—though it won't matter much if it leaks, avoid making a big deal out of it."
Gu Jianlin stated calmly.
"Is this the effect of a Forbidden Spell? Or so peculiar Mythical Weapon? Why does it feel a bit like the Death Spirit Ghost Mirror? No, that feels off. Yin Yang Twin Jade? Hmm, that doesn't fit either. Forget it, who cares."
Lin Lan rubbed his palms together and asked, "So, you succeeded, right?"
Gu Jianlin nodded, "Yes, I succeeded."
Lin Lan snapped his fingers, "Perfect! Wives! Move the corpses!"
Grinning with a hint of smugness, he seed to say, "My wives are gentle, beautiful, and capable—and I've got so many! Envious much?"
Gu Jianlin kept his icy expression without uttering a word, walking outside.
The Charming Ladies retrieved nurous frozen blocks from a tribal warehouse, transporting them on small wooden carts. A quick count revealed thirty-two, each containing an ice-encased corpse.
"These are the people I've killed over the years while hiding here. Most were cheaters from various organizations seeking a walkthrough, while others stumbled into dinsional rifts. Initially, I aid to gather a full set of 108 generals, but there were too few trespassers here—only thirty-two overall!" Lin Lan spread his hands in resignation.
Gu Jianlin analyzed the corpses thoughtfully. The Corpse Ghost Skill of the Cloud Lord had its limitations. First, the revived corpses required constant spirituality infusion to maintain control.
Second, the battle strength of controlled corpses maxed out at his own Rank.
For example, even a Catastrophe-level corpse could exert no more strength than Fourth Rank.
The larger the quantity of controlled corpses, the more their combat prowess diminished proportionally.
"Controlling thirty-two corpses ans each holds combat strength equivalent to one thirty-second of Fourth Rank."
He muttered softly.
"A fair limitation; otherwise, you Divine pathway practitioners would've beco invincible ages ago."
Lin Lan teased, "Even with these constraints, this is still a terrifying technique on the battlefield, as corpses lack vital life and can be used for risk-free probing and attritional warfare. If we're talking about beings like the Taiyi God on the level of King of Qing, legends claim they could resurrect a million corpses for an unstoppable tide of Corpse Ghosts, enough to obliterate a small country."
He added playfully, "By the way, have you heard of the strongest one? Ah, they are humanity's historical pillar! If you earn their recognition, you can soar to unimaginable heights. Back then, my talent caught their attention, but I preferred the Ghost Slayer Path!"
Gu Jianlin looked at him with a blank expression, "Is that so? You must be quite impressive then."
"Of course!"
Lin Lan vigorously patted his shoulder, "You must keep up your efforts!"
Gu Jianlin didn't bother engaging further, igniting pale Ghost Fire in his hand, touching it to each corpse in succession.
"Awaken!"
Crack!
The ice blocks shattered one by one.
Their eyes lit with pale Ghost Fire, and their bodies beca covered in eerie black spell patterns, as if awakening from an eternal slumber. They let out beast-like growls as they crawled to their feet!
"Oh! The Corpse Ghost Skill!"
Lin Lan marveled, "Wait...what are they doing?"
The Charming Ladies shrieked in terror, hiding behind him.
Gu Jianlin's expression grew dark as he observed the movents of the Corpse Ghosts.
"Xiao Gu, can you explain to ..."
Lin Lan said blankly, "Why are these Corpse Ghosts... holding chairs?"
Gu Jianlin replied with a poker face, "Would you believe
if I said I wasn't controlling them?"
In the icy wilderness, the terrifying Corpse Ghosts each clutched a chair, growling as they surveyed their surroundings for enemies.
The scene was both horrifying and... absurdly bizarre.
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