Chapter 11: The Possibility of Evolving the Chaos Physique

Of course, Li Yao could handle the weight of such expectations. He had a future ahead of him, which was why others were willing to place their bets; the better he performed, the higher the stakes became.

The Rising Sun Divine Island displayed the instincts of a seasoned gambler. In just a single day, they had already begun grooming him as if he were a Holy Son.

After offering a final bow to Elder Xun, Zhang Chong escorted Li Yao away. Everything proceeded without a hitch, and Li Yao’s living quarters were arranged in short order. He was also provided with five hundred catties of pure Source—his resources for the month.

For a cultivator who had only just opened his Bitter Sea to possess five hundred catties of Source—the Yaoguang Holy Son truly lived in the lap of luxury. One need only look at the Hengyang Grotto-Heaven; if sold off in pieces, it would likely only fetch around a thousand catties of Source, which was merely two months’ worth of cultivation resources for a Holy Son of Yaoguang.

"A Holy Son’s monthly cultivation resources are five hundred catties for the Bitter Sea realm, seven hundred for the Life Spring realm, one thousand for the Divine Bridge realm, and fifteen hundred for the Other Shore realm," Zhang Chong said calmly, though a hint of envy flickered in his eyes. Given his current status, such resources meant little to him, but the recollection of his own past stirred a touch of jealousy.

"My deepest thanks, Supreme Elder Zhang." Li Yao was equally delighted. With five hundred catties of pure Source, plus the two hundred he had squeezed from the Hengyang Sect Leader’s arterial veins, he—a person who had just stepped onto the path of cultivation—now sat upon seven hundred catties of pure Source. He dared not let this get out; if Ye Fan were to find out, he would surely weep himself into a stupor in the latrine.

After leaving the resources behind, Zhang Chong departed from Li Yao’s courtyard. Only then did Li Yao begin to survey the place where he would reside for a long time to come. Compared to the sprawling palaces of the Rising Sun Divine Island, his current dwelling could hardly compare—it was merely a modest wooden house.

Yet, upon closer inspection, the extraordinary nature of the place revealed itself. The house was constructed primarily of millennial Pine Rhyme wood, a precious material that emitted a fragrance capable of clarifying the mind and spirit—in plain terms, it kept one’s heart calm and unburdened by chaotic thoughts. To a cultivator, this was invaluable.

Beyond the house lay a small lake, which also emitted faint wisps of vitality. On one side of the lake stood a sheer cliff, seventy or eighty zhang high, and at its summit grew a small tree. Li Yao did not recognize the species, but he could sense that it was purifying the essence of heaven and earth.

Everything in this small courtyard was of immense value. Any single item here would be something the average disciple could only dream of. Here, the Heavenly Book’s rate of absorbing essence would not slow down; a constant stream of vitality converged toward Li Yao.

Entering the courtyard, Li Yao found a room with a meditation cushion and sat down cross-legged. The moment he did, he realized this cushion was also a treasure. Though he could not identify what it was made of, he felt his mind instantly grow tranquil as he sat upon it.

He pushed aside his stray thoughts and turned his attention to the Heavenly Book. With Zhang Chong and Elder Xun nearby, he hadn’t dared to examine it closely, but now, finally at leisure, he could properly inspect the changes within the book.

The ancient, rustic volume had been opened to a page, and the first leaf was already filled with text. When Zhang Chong imparted his scriptures, he had taught him the entirety of the Yaoguang Scripture’s Bitter Sea volume, but the Heavenly Book had not recorded it all; it had only inscribed the scriptures for the first realm, the Bitter Sea.

The scriptures recorded in the Heavenly Book did more than just allow for rapid learning; they could also refine and evolve the texts, making them significantly more powerful. For instance, the Bitter Sea scriptures, after being refined by the Heavenly Book, were clearly a cut above the scriptures for the second realm, the Life Spring.

"The original author of the Yaoguang Scripture is never explicitly named in the legends, but they were likely a Great Saint, or perhaps even stronger. The scriptures refined and strengthened by the Heavenly Book are definitely more than just a notch above the original Yaoguang Scripture..."

As Li Yao pondered this, the Heavenly Book vibrated slightly, emitting a ripple of energy. There were no words or characters, yet Li Yao understood the meaning contained within: *The pinnacle of the human realm...*

Though startled by the answer, Li Yao was not entirely surprised; it felt only natural. The Heavenly Book was of an exceptionally high standing, and he was not shocked that it could achieve such a feat.

"Finally, I have taken this step." For Li Yao, the first step was always the most difficult. For others, cultivation might be a progress from zero to one, but for him, it was a progression from zero to infinity.

The Ruthless Empress possessed the greatest aptitude in history, but the Heavenly Book was no less impressive, perhaps even more so. As long as he had the energy, he could continuously learn and evolve scriptures. For others, "forging a furnace to harbor a hundred scriptures" was impossible without the foundation of a Great Emperor, but for Li Yao, it was truly not difficult.

Yes, a wild idea had taken root in Li Yao’s heart.

The Shrouding the Heavens world possessed two supreme constitutions: the Chaos Body and the Innate Sacred Body Dao Fetus. The latter was innate, with no recorded examples of it being acquired later in life. But the Chaos Body was different; this supreme constitution could be either innate or evolved later.

The Ruthless Empress’s method of devouring myriad constitutions to eventually evolve into a Chaos Body was one way. The other was to harbor a hundred scriptures within one's furnace. The former involved directly devouring the origins of others and merging them, which was a path that harmed the harmony of heaven. One need only look at the Ruthless Empress; though she became a wealthy sovereign later, her first life was truly miserable. She slaughtered an entire era and was thus rejected by the heavens, unable to obtain any good fortune. Of course, that was before she attained the Dao; once she had, she could shatter the heavens themselves, and obtaining whatever she desired was no longer difficult.

The second path, compared to the first, seemed far more conventional. In this world, every Great Emperor’s Dao was different. By obtaining and practicing the scriptures of various Great Emperors, it was possible to comprehend all manner of laws and eventually evolve into a Chaos Body. Others dared not attempt this, as practicing conflicting scriptures would surely lead to a deviation in cultivation—as seen with the Eastern Demon—but Li Yao possessed the Heavenly Book, which could resolve such hazards.

If given the choice, who wouldn't want to possess a powerful constitution? The notion that "the mortal body is the most powerful" was a claim only those at the Heavenly Emperor level could make; ordinary Great Emperors or even half-step Heavenly Emperors lacked the qualification to say such things. The record of an Ancient Celestial Sovereign nearly being overturned in a duel against an eighth-layer Chaos Quasi-Emperor stood as proof; had Wang Bo been at the ninth layer, that Ancient Celestial Sovereign might truly have met his end.

A scorching flame flickered in Li Yao’s eyes, and his heart surged with intensity. A Chaos Body—a constitution that remained unaffected even if someone else attained the Dao in the same era, allowing one to continue on their own path to the throne.

Indeed, the wonders of the Heavenly Book were infinite; how much one could develop depended entirely on oneself. And just like that, he prepared to use the properties of the Heavenly Book to evolve into a Chaos Body.