Chapter 32: Kun
Chapter 32: Kun
Zuo Meng didn’t know about the impact his paintings had on Zhi Hua and Yu Linglong. After leaving the city, he didn’t travel far but returned to the Black Forest where he first detected the ancient aura.
In this world’s Suzhou, located deep within the wild woods, the Black Forest expanded as he ventured deeper, its trees growing taller.
The ancient woods held no human traces, not even birds in flight.
“The transformation has started, yet I still haven’t broken free from the two-century-old shackles binding my inner strength.” Zuo Meng gazed upward through the dense canopy. Even in daylight, he perceived the hidden starry sky, the rotating law chains, and that mysterious entity.
He studied carefully how this ancient being—born in his own Dream World—would alter reality.
Above the void, the golden shadow acted again.
Countless stardust scattered from its hand, shifting form during descent before merging seamlessly into the world like morning dew. Zuo Meng’s eyes brightened.
Brilliant!
Gentle methods without a trace were sometimes more effective than brute force. The world’s laws resembled fishing nets tightly binding everything, but the golden shadow dispersed its power into tiny fragments that slipped through the mesh. These fragments would later unite to shatter the law chains and reshape reality.
“Inheritance?”
This approach gave Zuo Meng clarity.
Who in this world could surpass him in matters of inheritance?
He’d created the original cultivation methods. As the Taichu Immortal Ancestor during the first era, he immediately grasped the concept. Sitting cross-legged, he began absorbing the Black Forest’s primal energy—the primordial chaos energy of the Dream World. Ordinary people couldn’t sense this energy, but Zuo Meng’s unique nature allowed him to harness it.
Crack…
Fractures spread through his dantian. After unknown hours, a final snap echoed as his inner strength erupted.
201 years… 210… 250… 300!
His power surged exponentially, his aura shifting from martial arts to fantasy realms. When reaching A Thousand Years of Inner Strength, Zuo Meng compressed it into liquid form—a single droplet containing more destructive power than his previous millennium of energy.
“High-level energy breaks constraints—this path works.”
Though discovering one method, Zuo Meng needed more trials for perfection. His real world self couldn’t afford mistakes.
“Call this new energy True Essence.”
The moment he shattered the 200-year limit, Zuo Meng felt his lifespan extend beyond mortal bounds. If achieved in the real world, he could escape death’s grasp.
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Meanwhile, the world changed dramatically.
Last night, gifted Cultivators received celestial inspiration. Fire Swords and Ice Palms emerged across the land. The most notable was Cold Mountain Temple’s traitor, Master Jie Ming, who ascended further by mastering immortal methods. Dozens of other geniuses similarly broke through barriers.
Immortal methods manifested in three main forms:
1. Buddhist techniques emphasizing masculine yang energy, exemplified by Cold Mountain Temple’s Master Jie Ming.
2. Daoist Teachings balancing yin and yang, represented by Daoist prodigy Qingshan.
3. Sword cultivation focused on lethal intent, embodied by the Sword Sect’s lone master.
The imperial palace housed another top expert—the seventy-year-old emperor who’d supposedly achieved Rebirth through the Supreme Heavenly Book, becoming peerless.
These elites, along with hidden legends, all ascended to fantasy realms overnight. The martial world named this breakthrough Foundation Establishment—forging one’s foundation with heaven and earth’s spiritual energy.
In Suzhou’s Zhi Manor…
Zhi Hua sat listlessly on the doorstep, dark shadows under her eyes. The previous night’s painting incident haunted her.
“Just a nightmare,” she muttered, glancing at the normal-seeming artwork inside. Yet the memory persisted—being dragged into an ink painting’s volcanic landscape, sensing terrible heat from paper mountains, then…
That enormous eye in the volcanic crater.
The thunderous voice: “I am… Kun!”
The violent expulsion from the painting.
Kun?
What monstrous thing had she witnessed? With her parents away managing shops, the terrified girl had no one to confide in. In this feudal society, rumors of supernatural encounters could get her burned.
“I’ll check if Uncle Xue’s back.”
She dismissed his “imperial exam” excuse—clearly the lazy fish uncle was slacking again.