Chapter 952: Unmanifested Heavenly Demon

Lin Daoming sat deep underground on Dark Earth Star. Around him swirled a faint, mottled vital energy, a mix of dark yellow, light yellow, deep gold, and bright yellow. This was the spiritual energy he was using for his Spirit Transformation, its diverse origins and the local environment making it appear chaotic.

Despite these conditions, Lin Daoming gritted his teeth and took the final step. His eyes were tightly closed, hands forming a seal. His body transformed into a spiritual core, his aura merging with the entire Dark Earth Star, as if he had become the planet's very heart. The fetal vital energy had long since completely integrated into his Nascent Soul, guiding him toward transformation into a Primordial Spirit.

Three years passed. His cultivation had broken through the bottleneck, and his slightly aged physical body gradually began to rejuvenate, becoming stronger. After refining the fetal vital energy, his original ability of "Spiritual Core Myriad Manifestations," gained during his Dao comprehension and Core Formation, was completely sublimated, transforming into a black-gold talisman. This talisman, with black patterns on a yellow base, settled above the highest point of his Purple Mansion Sea of Consciousness. It resembled a black-gold sun, casting down streaks of profound spiritual light. The spiritual light seemed to contain the power of enlightenment; whenever Lin Daoming encountered problems during his Spirit Transformation, the light would illuminate solutions.

Time passed slowly. The mottled terrestrial energy around Lin Daoming's body gradually formed a gigantic light cocoon, encasing him completely. For some unknown reason, this cocoon was covered in black patterns, identical to those on the talisman formed from the "Spiritual Core Myriad Manifestations." At this point, Lin Daoming was completely immersed in the realm he had reached after his breakthrough. Under the illumination of his Primordial Spirit, the previously desolate surface of Dark Earth Star suddenly received its first rain. Soon after, a blade of grass broke through the soil, and an unprecedented vitality was born on the planet.

"So, this is the Primordial Spirit!" A feeling of immense joy surged in Lin Daoming's heart.

At this moment, the black-gold talisman, formed from "Spiritual Core Myriad Manifestations," suddenly retracted all its light and descended towards his Primordial Spirit. Lin Daoming offered no resistance. He knew very well that ninety percent of his success in achieving Spirit Transformation was due to this talisman. Soon, the talisman merged into his Primordial Spirit, transforming into a dark line on his forehead, like a closed eye. The moment this "eye" appeared, three thousand methods of the Demonic Dao manifested within Lin Daoming's Primordial Spirit!

These cultivation methods were completely different from the Immortal Sect's heritage, representing the path of an immortal and indestructible physical body. As the former leader of the Immortal Sect, Lin Daoming naturally knew of the Divine-Demonic Dao. However, he first learned about it during his Dao comprehension and Core Formation, when he had transformed into a spiritual core and sensed a wisp of demonic energy deep within his home planet. In that special state of Dao comprehension, he had seen the three thousand Demonic Daos.

This was the Demon Lord's path, each capable of achieving immortality and becoming a True Spirit. At that time, Lin Daoming was merely a Core Formation cultivator, naturally unable to fully comprehend the three thousand Demonic Daos. Yet, even so, it had opened a door to cultivation for him, revealing the most powerful and astonishing Demonic Dao realms in this universe! After his Dao comprehension and Core Formation concluded, the three thousand Demonic Daos in Lin Daoming's mind vanished. He had thought he missed an opportunity, but knowing there were so many realms beyond Spirit Transformation made him no longer content with being just an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator.

He desperately wanted to achieve Spirit Transformation, believing that once he formed a Primordial Spirit, he could comprehend these three thousand Demonic Daos. Even one of them would be a supreme realm, surpassing the Immortal Sect's Seven Great Heavenly Books. After witnessing the vastness of the universe, Lin Daoming was unwilling to be confined to the Immortal Sect. Therefore, he collaborated with Yan Xinjie to research fetal vital energy, but unfortunately, they couldn't hide it from Qianxing... But all that was finally in the past!

Sensing the supreme Demonic Dao gradually becoming clear within his Primordial Spirit, Lin Daoming immediately calmed himself. He began to eagerly absorb this inheritance, which surpassed the Immortal Sect's Five Ancestors and was arguably the most powerful in the universe. As his mind delved deeper, one of the three thousand Demonic Daos, previously illusory, untouchable, incomprehensible, and ungraspable, began to glow with a black-gold luster.

Formless Heavenly Demon! This was the path among the three thousand Demonic Daos that best suited his attributes. The Divine-Demonic Dao was created by the most powerful True Spirits among the billions of living beings and races in the universe. These beings themselves were the Grand Dao of the universe. However, because many of the Three Thousand Great Daos were already occupied by Xuanmen cultivators, even the Demon Lord had only cultivated seventy-two of the three thousand Demonic Daos to the level of an Immortal True Spirit. Among these seventy-two paths was "Formless Heavenly Demon."

To cultivate the Formless Heavenly Demon, one needed to integrate and evolve the essences of the Six Primordial Insects. Among the Six Primordial Insects, there was one called the Wutu True Locust. The Demon Lord had observed it and created a True Locust Art. Lin Daoming's Immortal Earth spiritual root was perfectly suited for cultivating this. Once Lin Daoming's physical body also achieved immortality, he could use his body to devour his Primordial Spirit, directly breaking through to the realm of regeneration from a single drop of blood. In the Immortal Sect's system, this was equivalent to the Void Refinement realm.

However, if he did so, he would only be able to reach the limit of regeneration from a single drop of blood. If Lin Daoming wished to fully cultivate the Formless Heavenly Demon, he would first need to practice the cultivation methods of the other five strange insects. Only by thoroughly integrating the True Spirit Daos represented by all Six Primordial Insects would he have a chance to attain one of the Demon Lord's seventy-two Dharmakayas!

Upon sensing the Grand Dao of "Formless Heavenly Demon," Lin Daoming did not hesitate. He immediately converted all the True Qi from his Spirit Transformation and integrated it into his physical body, beginning to cultivate the True Locust Art. At the same time, the talisman on his Primordial Spirit's forehead released a mysterious, profound demonic energy. This energy, beyond his control, began to circulate throughout his body, laying the foundation for his Divine-Demonic Immortal Path.

This demonic energy was profound and powerful, unlike any energy Lin Daoming had ever felt. It was both vast and mysterious, filled with destructive force, tearing down his human body inch by inch, yet reconstructing it anew, evolving him towards a non-human form. Lin Daoming endured the excruciating pain in his body without changing his expression. Because this demonic energy was released and acted through his Primordial Spirit, he felt his initially nascent and unstable Primordial Spirit suddenly become resilient under its influence. Under the effect of the demonic energy, his Primordial Spirit was reborn, undergoing a qualitative leap. He could feel his consciousness merging more closely with the terrestrial energy of Dark Earth Star, and his understanding of the Dao of Earth element deepened significantly. On the light cocoon, the already prominent black patterns grew even darker and more profound.

Lin Daoming's Primordial Spirit light grew brighter and brighter. His understanding of all things in heaven and earth, and the universe, deepened profoundly. However, his body gradually ceased to be human, instead transforming towards an insect-like form.

Just then, three streaks of light suddenly flew in from outside the sky and landed on Dark Earth Star.

"Tsk, hiding in a place like this..." One streak of light dispersed, revealing a deep purple Gold-Gnawing Fire Ant, speaking in human tongue. This was precisely the Divine Commander Xuanzhu of the Ascension Sect. "We knew Lin Daoming couldn't be trusted! We worked so hard to distract the Immortal Sect for him, allowing him to condense the fetal vital energy, and he just took it and ran. So untrustworthy!" Divine Commander Xuanzhu spoke with great dissatisfaction. He then looked at the sealed passage, used the abilities of his Gold-Gnawing Fire Ant avatar, and burrowed directly through the earth.

"Let's go. Although he only knows a little about the Ascension Sect, to avoid being found by the Immortal Sect, we should deal with him quickly." The Ascension Sect Master said to Yan Xinjie beside him, who was present as his White Tiger avatar.

"He and I have an oath not to harm each other. Even though he betrayed me first, I can only guide you." Hearing Yan Xinjie's words, the Ascension Sect Master didn't mind. He followed the passage opened by Divine Commander Xuanzhu and entered the depths of Dark Earth Star.

At this moment, Divine Commander Xuanzhu was already the first to rush to Lin Daoming's secluded cultivation spot. At the end, he saw a cocoon covered in black patterns. Just as Divine Commander Xuanzhu wondered, a roar echoed, and the light cocoon exploded, revealing a pair of eyes as large as bronze bells. Two beams of piercing light, like electricity, burst forth from the bell-like eyes. Divine Commander Xuanzhu was about to act, but found that his proud Gold-Gnawing Fire Ant body was pierced through as easily as brittle paper by those two gazes! The Ascension Sect Master and Yan Xinjie, who had just followed in, witnessed this scene and stood frozen in shock.

"Oh, are you here to congratulate me on my breakthrough?" Lin Daoming's voice rang out. He slowly crawled out of the shattered cocoon. His hands and feet had transformed into insect-like claws, two antennae grew from his head, and his body seemed covered in a dark yellow carapace. If not for his face still retaining some recognizable features, the three members of the Ascension Sect would never have believed this person was Lin Daoming.

"You... you've achieved Spirit Transformation!?" Yan Xinjie spoke with disbelief. He had the deepest cooperation with Lin Daoming and knew all the secrets of fetal vital energy. But in an environment like Dark Earth Star, he believed that even if Qianxing were here, a breakthrough would be impossible.

"Spirit Transformation? I've achieved far more than just forming a Primordial Spirit!" As Lin Daoming spoke, he took a deep breath, feeling the unprecedented powerful force within him and the abundant vital blood. He knew he had succeeded. At this moment, Lin Daoming felt that everything he had done was correct. The seemingly powerful Immortal Sect was as weak as ants before the Demon Lord's Grand Dao. Lin Daoming was full of anticipation for the future. He couldn't wait to leave this place, to venture into the vast depths of the universe, attain the Formless Heavenly Demon, then cultivate the Demon Lord's seventy-two Dharmakayas, and become the second Demon Lord!

But before that, there was one more thing to do! Feeling his awkward hands and feet, Lin Daoming performed a transformation art, changing his body back into a human form. "I'll give you a chance: submit to me. After I destroy the Immortal Sect, I will take you out of this barren star system!" Lin Daoming said to the three in front of him. Although he had achieved Spirit Transformation and received the Demon Lord's inheritance, the Immortal Sect's thousands of years of accumulated power could not be countered by him alone. He knew very well that to leave this place, he could only rely on the Realm Gate! And the Immortal Sect would certainly not let him take the Realm Gate, so he would have to resort to extraordinary measures.

"You should know, we are only avatars here!" After a long silence, the Ascension Sect Master finally spoke. Divine Commander Xuanzhu, meanwhile, directly abandoned his Gold-Gnawing Fire Ant avatar—which he had painstakingly cultivated to the fourth rank and had the potential to evolve into a queen—and was the first to flee.

"What shallow insight and understanding! You simply don't realize that what you're rejecting is the only chance to see a wider world!" Lin Daoming sighed, raised his right index finger, and lightly swiped towards the ceiling. In an instant, the ground above was cut open by him, revealing the vast and boundless starry sky of the universe.

"The two of us made an agreement," Yan Xinjie said at this point, his gaze fervent as he looked at Lin Daoming. "Whoever succeeded in Spirit Transformation using the fetal vital energy had to wholeheartedly protect the other person to ensure their success as well." Whether it was effortlessly suppressing Divine Commander Xuanzhu or changing the landscape with a mere gesture, it all indicated that Lin Daoming had broken through the bottleneck and formed a Primordial Spirit. Since Lin Daoming could succeed, Yan Xinjie believed he could too.

"The contract was about mutually assisting in refining the fetal vital energy," Lin Daoming stated truthfully. "My success is due to receiving an inheritance from a supreme being. As for you, I don't think your chances are high." Yan Xinjie frowned upon hearing Lin Daoming's frank words.

"So, you're breaking the agreement?"

"If you want to try, I'll give you a chance." Lin Daoming gave Yan Xinjie a slight smile, then turned to look at the Ascension Sect Master. "And what is your choice?"

"On the path of cultivation, the accomplished are masters. If you can help me achieve Spirit Transformation, everything is negotiable." Lin Daoming burst into laughter upon hearing the Ascension Sect Master's words.

"You have the foundation of the Six Imperial Sutras," Lin Daoming said. "By refining the Heaven and Earth Placenta, you can achieve Spirit Transformation. If the Immortal Sect is destroyed, I will bestow the Heaven and Earth Placenta of your home planet upon you."

"It's a deal!"

As Lin Daoming achieved Spirit Transformation, Qianxing suddenly had a premonition. He found that he could no longer sense this "pawn." When this occurred, there was usually only one possibility: death. Because even if Lin Daoming had broken through, he was only newly in the Spirit Transformation realm and couldn't possibly conceal his fate from Qianxing, who was nearly at the peak of Spirit Transformation.

"What a pity..." Qianxing sighed and shook his head. Lin Daoming's talent had made him the most likely candidate to succeed him as the new Spirit Transformation cultivator of the Heaven-Mending lineage.

"Ancestor, what's wrong?" Standing nearby was Qi Yuheng. They were currently rushing towards their home planet aboard the Lingxiao Treasure Palace. Qianxing's unexpected movement drew the attention of everyone present.

"Nothing," Qianxing said, smiling as he changed the subject. "Just reflecting on Spirit Venerable and Junior Sister's departure, leaving me alone in the Immortal Sect for a long time. It's just a little sentimental."

"Ancestor, if you feel lonely," Qi Yuheng offered, "once I return to the Immortal Sect, I'll move into the Five Peaks Immortal Mountain. Feel free to come find me for guidance whenever you have time." Qi Yuheng spoke. After his Spirit Transformation, only sixth-tier spiritual veins in the entire Immortal Sect would be useful to him. Hearing this, Chen Mobai also thought of something. With Ancestor Baiguang gone, what would happen to her Immortal-Gazing Peak?