Chapter 373: Soul at the Fifth Layer

Good Book

After returning from his walk, Meng Chuan went to his study to paint.

On the unfurled paper, Meng Chuan first painted peach blossoms. The dark brown, gnarled branches, vibrant green leaves, and beautiful peach blossoms were captivating. Some blossoms were in full bloom, others were still buds, and the stamens seemed to tremble slightly in the breeze. The painting exuded more spirit than what was seen in reality. This is the essence of painting: it originates from reality but transcends it.

Only then did he begin to paint the person. Painting the peach blossoms showcased his exceptional skill, but painting the person was where the true soul lay—the final touch that brought it to life! A beautiful woman stood amidst the peach blossoms, gently inhaling their fragrance, her beauty outshining the flowers themselves.

"What are you painting?" Liu Qiyue asked as she entered the study after an hour of archery practice. She came to Meng Chuan's side and glanced at the painting, immediately recognizing the beautiful woman taking shape on the scroll—it was her! And wasn't the setting the very peach grove they had walked through earlier that day? At that moment, Liu Qiyue's heart swelled with sweetness, and she couldn't help but look at her husband. Meng Chuan also looked at his wife beside him. The couple met each other's gaze and smiled.

"I won't disturb you. Keep painting. When you're finished, I'll put it away safely," Liu Qiyue said, moving to another desk nearby. Happily, she began to grind ink, preparing to write, but she couldn't help but smile as she did so. Every year, Meng Chuan painted a picture for his wife, and Liu Qiyue would carefully store it, often taking it out to admire. She could feel her husband's affection for her within the painting. Sometimes she felt fortunate... despite facing constant warfare, she was grateful to Heaven for being married to Meng Chuan.

Meng Chuan naturally immersed himself in his painting. He had known his wife for a long time, since childhood, and they had supported each other for many years. Every day, he tirelessly ventured underground to investigate demon monarchs, while his wife personally prepared his meals in the morning and waited eagerly for his return in the evening. This made Meng Chuan increasingly grateful for his wife's devotion. Although she could have easily had servants prepare his food, she insisted on doing it herself, and Meng Chuan felt her deep care for him. In this bloody war, having such a soulmate truly felt like a blessing cultivated over many lifetimes.

As Meng Chuan painted, his Primordial Spirit continuously radiated a spiritual light. Most of Meng Chuan's paintings for his wife triggered a transformation in his Primordial Spirit; sometimes the change was stronger, sometimes weaker. This time, it was clearly more intense.

*Boom.* Meng Chuan's paintbrush paused. He felt his Primordial Spirit undergo a roaring qualitative change, ready to evolve to a new level. "Am I breaking through? To Primordial Spirit fifth-level?" Meng Chuan felt a mix of emotions at that moment. He had reached Primordial Spirit fourth-level at forty-eight. Today, at fifty-eight, he finally advanced to Primordial Spirit fifth-level, the 'Body Seizure Realm.' This was the Primordial Spirit level possessed by most demon sages and Creation Realm experts. For instance, King Anhai was stuck at Primordial Spirit fourth-level, which prevented him from becoming a Creation Realm expert for the time being.

It had taken Meng Chuan only ten years to go from Primordial Spirit fourth-level to fifth-level. These ten years had also been the most brutal in the war between humanity and the demon race. Humans had completely abandoned all prefectures and counties, while ancient Godfiends awakened to fully protect the great cities. Most common people could only struggle to survive in the wilderness, often hunted by demon monarchs. Patrolling Godfiends risked their lives, patrolling forests and wildlands to protect the people of the world. Dozens of marquis Godfiends across the land had also fallen in battle. Gaps in the world had also appeared, connecting the human world and the demon realm, making the two realms increasingly intertwined. More and more powerful beings entered the human world, with Body Seizure Demon Sages arriving one after another. Xue Feng, for instance, had died at the hands of a Body Seizure Demon Sage.

"Now that I've reached Primordial Spirit fifth-level, I believe it won't be long before I achieve the Blood Droplet Realm. I hope this will allow us to completely resolve the threat of a million demon monarchs," Meng Chuan murmured. "Without a million demon monarchs, this war would be much easier for us, relying solely on our top-tier combat strength."

Once his Primordial Spirit's transformation stabilized, Meng Chuan resumed painting. He even painted for another two hours after dinner, completing the work in a single sitting. "Qiyue," Meng Chuan said, placing the painting before his wife. "It's finished."

"You painted quite quickly this time," Liu Qiyue said, smiling as she looked at the scroll. The woman in the painting was a half-body portrait, gently inhaling the floral fragrance, exuding exquisite beauty. After examining the painting carefully, she looked at its title: "Congratulations to Madam for Becoming a King."

"Congratulations to *me* for becoming a King?" Liu Qiyue glanced at her husband with a smile.

"You must keep it safe. The news of you becoming a King Godfiend is still a secret; it mustn't be seen by outsiders," Meng Chuan chuckled.

"Don't worry, no one outside will see it," Liu Qiyue said, happily putting it away.

That night, Meng Chuan entered the quiet chamber and sat cross-legged. "Now that I've reached Primordial Spirit fifth-level, I can begin cultivating the Blood Droplet Realm," Meng Chuan thought to himself. He then closed his eyes and focused, using his Primordial Spirit's power to conduct a microscopic examination.

The further one progressed in the physical body cultivation lineage, the deeper the body was refined, making it increasingly formidable. This was indeed an incredibly powerful and inconceivable method. Even Ancestor Cang Yuan, who had reached the seventh tribulation of the physical body, left this legacy within the Cang Yuan Grotto-Heaven. However, Ancestor Cang Yuan had only obtained a small amount of 'Stellar Crystals,' limiting the number of humans who could cultivate it.

*Whoosh.* Meng Chuan's Primordial Spirit power swept across his entire body, magnifying every part countless times before his eyes. Especially after reaching Primordial Spirit fifth-level, his perception delved even deeper. A single drop of blood appeared as vast as a mighty world, allowing him to easily see countless particles within it, and even the 'particle space' inside the particles.

"Hmm?" Meng Chuan's Primordial Spirit power also swept through his Dantian space. The 'Source of the Limitless Realm' within his Dantian space was infinitesimally small, invisible to internal vision. However, the Primordial Spirit secret art of the physical body lineage allowed observation of extremely tiny worlds, and Meng Chuan saw his own 'Source of the Limitless Realm.' It was a spherical body much smaller than a particle. Under the microscopic secret art of Primordial Spirit fifth-level, it appeared like a mortal gazing at a towering mountain.

The sphere was purplish-brown throughout, but its surface was covered with countless fiery white light patterns. Streaks of white light shot outwards from the 'sphere's' two poles—this was the incredibly condensed Limitless Realm True Qi. Moreover, the white light emanating from the poles, influenced by each other, also formed special fluctuations that rippled outwards in all directions before eventually returning to the 'sphere.'

"Cultivating the Limitless Realm means finding a way to make it collapse even smaller, so that the True Qi can become purer," Meng Chuan thought. "Now that I'm at Primordial Spirit fifth-level, my control over it has greatly increased, allowing me to make it smaller." His Primordial Spirit thoughts had long been integrated into this sphere. As his Primordial Spirit exerted full control and restraint, the sphere slowly collapsed, its density gradually increasing, and its True Qi becoming purer. After its diameter had shrunk by one-third, the sphere could no longer contract and regained stability.

"It's time to begin cultivating the Blood Droplet Realm."

Inside every particle, the particle space was as vast as a starry sky, with a tiny Meng Chuan standing on the central particle core. After reaching Primordial Spirit fifth-level, his Primordial Spirit thoughts had undergone a qualitative change. Each thought became increasingly solidified, like a tiny figure standing there, and also shrunk to only one-hundredth the size of a particle nucleus. Crucially, each thought could now carry a complete memory imprint, which was necessary for cultivating the Blood Droplet Realm. Previously, a single thought could not hold Meng Chuan's complete memory, but now, at Primordial Spirit fifth-level, it was possible.

*Rumble.* He began to perform the Blood Droplet Realm cultivation method. The tiny Meng Chuan sat cross-legged on the particle nucleus, gradually sinking and merging into its interior.