Chapter 490: One Year and Two Months

"Uncertain?" Li Guan was somewhat baffled. Didn't he know in his heart if he had made a breakthrough? How could he be uncertain?

"During my cultivation, something unprecedented in the Fiendgod cultivation system occurred," Meng Chuan's voice sounded. "I'll explain in detail after I finish."

"Alright, focus on your cultivation." Li Guan was startled. An accident during cultivation? This could not be taken lightly. "I'll set up the formation now."

Meng Chuan sat cross-legged on the island in the middle of the lake, as streams of liquefied, dense Heaven and Earth energy were continuously absorbed by his Dantian space.

"What exactly is happening?"

Meng Chuan observed his Dantian internally. The dark void, like a bottomless pit, ceaselessly devoured Heaven and Earth energy.

"The Fiendgod cultivation system was gradually created by the ancestors of Cang Yuan Realm," Meng Chuan pondered, considering the entire system. "Cloud, Immortal, Great Sun, Dark Star, and Boundless realms are the five major stages of Fiendgod cultivation. The core concept is uniform: refine the Heaven and Earth energy within the Dantian to coalesce it into one, maintaining stability. The higher the density, the purer the True Yuan becomes." Meng Chuan thought that while the essence of the ancestors' creation of the cultivation system was straightforward, its difficulty was immense. Through generations of exploration, many early Fiendgods failed and perished before the complete Fiendgod system was established, leading to the development of numerous Fiendgod bodies.

"The Boundless realm represents the ultimate compression and collapse of True Yuan."

"Beyond that, to achieve a qualitative change, the original path of compression and collapse becomes unviable," Meng Chuan mused. "Therefore, our ancestors forged a different path, using the 'Source of the Boundless Realm' as a foundation to open up an inner grotto-heaven, reaching the Creation realm! Subsequently, the grotto-heaven would transform into an inner world, leading to the Emperor realm."

"But with me..."

"Under the control of my seventh-level Primordial Spirit and the rules of the ultimate technique, 'Infinite Saber,' the Source of the Boundless Realm has completely collapsed into a dark void."

"The ultimate state of collapse was previously the Boundless realm."

"However, some unique changes seem to be occurring within me." Meng Chuan remained cautiously alert. Unprecedented changes could be beneficial, but they also signified the 'unknown.' Historically, many ancestors sacrificed their lives to create the Fiendgod system. Despite Meng Chuan's strong vitality and high realm, he remained extremely cautious. He had not sent out any Primordial Spirit avatars; if his main body encountered an accident, his avatars would also perish!

"Meng An, from today onwards, you will guard this formation here," Li Guan's Primordial Spirit avatar instructed. "You will protect your father during his cultivation."

"My father?" Meng An was surprised.

"You can go closer and see," Li Guan said.

Meng An immediately flew closer to the center of the lake. As he approached, he saw surging streams of Heaven and Earth energy converging, and his Primordial Spirit domain perceived 'the white-haired man sitting cross-legged.'

"Father," Meng An called out.

"An'er, you just need to prevent outsiders from approaching," Meng Chuan transmitted.

"Okay, I'll guard it well." Knowing that his father was causing such a massive stir, Meng An was naturally anxious and concerned, and fully committed to protecting him.

Time flowed on.

Meng An sat cross-legged by the shore of Three Mountains Lake, controlling the entire formation to protect his father.

"Father..."

Meng An gazed from afar at the island in the lake, where a terrifying dark aura erupted.

"What exactly is Father cultivating? How can his aura be so much more terrifying than a Creation realm Venerable?" Meng An watched from a distance as the dark aura exploded, with bolts of lightning flashing within it. "I feel that if I get too close, I'd die instantly from that aura." At his level, his innate perceptions were highly accurate.

Boom!

Occasionally, massive amounts of lightning shot out in all directions, turning the surroundings into a realm of thunder. After ten days or half a month, boundless darkness would again envelop the area, a darkness that made Meng An's heart pound.

"Father must have restrained his power."

"During cultivation, the leaked power is controlled within a ten-mile radius," Meng An thought. "But... is Father already this powerful?"

He himself had encountered many fortunate opportunities. He was among the strongest few Marquis Fiendgods in the world, and his father, Meng Chuan, was also a Marquis Fiendgod. How could the disparity be this great? His unleashed power could kill him?

The Three Mountains Lake area was perpetually dark and cloudy, with constant lightning, which naturally drew much attention. Both Fiendgods and mortals were utterly perplexed. Although the formation enveloped a hundred-mile radius centered on Meng Chuan, the scope of his cultivation's influence was vast. Even Jiang State City, several hundred miles away, experienced a slow, collective movement of Heaven and Earth energy towards Three Mountains Lake.

"No one knows what's happening; Yuanchu Mountain has forbidden all parties from investigating." Bai Yaoyue's Primordial Spirit avatar flew high above, passed by the area, glanced at Three Mountains Lake from afar, and then departed. The three major sects were currently allied against their common enemy. As for matters within the Great Zhou Dynasty, Yuanchu Mountain's prohibition on investigation meant that Creation realm Venerables found it difficult to force their way in.

"There's no way to find out."

The black-robed Beijue observed Three Mountains Lake from a distance. The demon race had limited power and could not break through the obstructions of King Yulong 'Meng An' and the formation; forcing entry would be suicide. With a whoosh, this avatar of the black-robed Beijue dissipated.

"There's certainly a great secret in the Three Mountains Lake area." A merchant caravan was on the move. Inside a luxurious carriage, a middle-aged man lifted the curtain, looking at Three Mountains Lake from afar with a smile. "But this great secret is not something I'm qualified to witness; looking would be fatal." The middle-aged man's gaze swept over the caravan again, his smile growing brighter: "The human world is fascinating. The more I experience it, the more I find it much more interesting than the demon world. Emotions and desires? I even have to thank Emperor Xinghe for forcing me to come to the human world. In this human world, I might even have hope of cultivating the Karma lineage to the World realm."

"My lifespan is still very long, no rush, no rush," the middle-aged man smiled. "The three emperors have arranged for two dying old fellows to possess bodies here, and they'll continue to cause trouble, hmph. Anyway, they know I'm not good at close combat; I can only use karma secret arts at most." The middle-aged man was quite pleased; the smoothness of his cultivation filled him with greater anticipation for the future.

In the blink of an eye, one year and two months passed.

Li Guan's Primordial Spirit avatar had been stationed here for a long time during the later period, as he too was nervous, given how long Meng Chuan had been absorbing Heaven and Earth energy.

"When I became a Creation realm Venerable and opened my grotto-heaven, I only absorbed Heaven and Earth energy for three days," Li Guan mused with a hidden shock. "Meng Chuan, however, has been absorbing it for a full year and two months, and the commotion is much greater. The amount of Heaven and Earth energy absorbed is at least a thousand times what I absorbed when I opened my grotto-heaven. What changes will such a massive amount of Heaven and Earth energy bring about within him?"

Suddenly—

The dense Heaven and Earth energy that had perpetually enveloped Three Mountains Lake rapidly converged towards its core, and the world began to return to tranquility. The dark clouds dispersed, the sky became clear and bright, and the waters of Three Mountains Lake grew perfectly still. A white-haired man sat cross-legged there. The island beneath him had shrunk to only three zhang in circumference and was entirely transformed into a deep cyan, glazed substance.

"Father," Meng An exclaimed with joy.

"Let's go, let's approach," Li Guan said.

Li Guan's Primordial Spirit avatar and Meng An swiftly streaked across the sky, flying close and landing on the lake surface, looking at Meng Chuan. Looking at Meng Chuan up close, Li Guan and Meng An felt an inexplicable sense of trepidation.

The white-haired Meng Chuan opened his eyes.

"Meng Chuan, how was it?" Li Guan asked.

"There have been some changes," Meng Chuan replied.

Meng Chuan perceived the changes in himself, and the first thing he sensed was his lifespan. Marquis Fiendgods typically had a lifespan limit of five hundred years. This could be shortened by physical injuries or other factors, or slightly extended with excellent self-care, but generally remained around five hundred years. For the Creation realm, the lifespan limit was two thousand years.

"Why has my lifespan limit become five thousand years?" Meng Chuan wondered, a little puzzled.