Chapter 381: Chapter 341: Wu Hao

Inside the Cultivation Chamber of the Ninefold Celestial Tower, the glow of Light Source Stones flowed across the walls. The spacious hall was illuminated as bright as day, without a single shadow.

Anton sat cross-legged in the center, his aura as calm and deep as an abyss.

The Sword Pill suspended before him suddenly trembled. A streak of Profound Gold Sword Light leaped from the Pill, paused briefly in midair, and abruptly multiplied.

One split into two, two into four, four into eight...

The sword lights bloomed layer upon layer, transforming into 512 streams of light in an instant. They intertwined as they flowed through the spacious Cultivation Chamber, resembling a long river woven from starlight. Tracing fine, elegant arcs, they bathed the entire room in the clear, ringing hum of swords.

Anton opened his eyes. His gaze landed on that golden torrent of sword light, a faint smile touching his eyes.

After more than a decade of comprehension and refinement, he had finally crossed that threshold. By taking Light Splitting and Reunification a step further, the number of sword lights had doubled.

Pleased as he was, Anton did not stop moving. With a slight shift of his mind, the 512 sword lights froze in unison. A very faint, six-colored halo surfaced along their edges. This halo surged in layers: black on the outside, then gold, green, and purple, with a blindingly brilliant white at the core.

It was the Dao Essence of the Six Ding Divine Fire.

Fused with the Six Ding Divine Fire, the sword light was not only sharp but also carried a scorching intent capable of incinerating all things.

Anton shifted his thoughts again. The six-colored halo faded instantly, replaced by a layer of golden Gang Qi as thin as a cicada’s wing, exuding a solid, impregnable texture.

This was the Dao Essence of the Primordial True Gang.

Immediately after, the golden Gang Qi morphed into a soft, emerald green glow. Like a tender spring bud, it carried a warm, enduring vitality.

Over his years of cultivation, Anton had long since merged the Void One Yuan Life Qi into his sword light. Now, he could skillfully command the sword lights to alternate between five different Divine Daoist Essences.

A Sword Cultivator who could achieve this no longer relied solely on the Flying Sword Skill; they truly fused the Sword Dao with the Divine Techniques they cultivated. Every strike was not just sword light, but the physical manifestation of interwoven Divine Techniques and Sword Intent. He had finally grasped the true core of the Divine Technique known as One Sword, Ten Thousand Techniques.

Of course, he still had a long way to go before reaching true mastery. Only when he could command the sword lights to execute different Divine Techniques simultaneously would he truly cross that threshold. As for reaching the absolute pinnacle beyond that, he would have to fuse multiple Divine Techniques into a single stream of sword light at the exact same time.

A moment later, Anton retracted the sword lights and let out a long breath.

"All that’s left is the Nine Dragon Divine Fire Shield."

Once the Nine Dragon Divine Fire Shield advanced to a Spiritual Artifact, his preparations would be complete. Then, he could challenge the Cognition Breaking Barrier and the Thunder and Fire Tribulation.

Gathering his thoughts, Anton rose from the Cultivation Chamber. He left the Ninefold Celestial Tower, crossed the Outer City, and arrived at the Ten Thousand Woods Spiritual Transformation Array beneath the Eternal Tree.

Emerald vines wove into a net, securely cradling the grayish-white egg like a crib.

Through the increasingly thin shell, he could faintly discern a curled silhouette inside. Its back was slightly arched and its limbs were tucked in, breathing in and out to a steady rhythm. At times, the silhouette solidified into a physical entity with distinctly visible fur, resembling a wolf beast. Yet in the next instant, it would blur into a small cluster of flowing gray mist, slowly dispersing and reforming like ink in water, ever-changing.

This appearance reminded Anton of a certain type of Divine Creatures from legend.

However, he quickly pulled his thoughts back and stepped up to the Egg of the Old World. Raising his hand, he slowly traced shapes in the air. Where his fingertips passed, Magical Power seeped out in silken threads, lingering in the air without dispersing. These threads gradually wove into fine, even patterns, pressing onto the eggshell as precisely as a loom weaves fabric.

The Fetal Concealment Skill.

This was a method for contracting a Spirit Beast recorded in the Taoist Jade Scroll, specifically used for unhatched eggs. Before the embryo’s consciousness fully formed, a Cultivator had to use Magical Power to draw Spirit Runes and layer them over the shell. This allowed the Spirit Runes to grow naturally along the embryo’s developing pathways of consciousness, merging perfectly with the foundation of its soul.

Once the Spirit Beast hatched, it would instinctively view the rune’s creator as its closest kin and master, eliminating the need for subsequent taming and bonding.

In essence, this was a fundamental rewrite of the embryo’s instinctual consciousness. It would not erase its nature nor suppress its growth; it merely engraved "loyalty" and "intimacy" deep into the Spirit Beast’s soul, making these traits as natural a cognitive foundation as breathing.

Compared to other contracting methods, this was undoubtedly far gentler. Once successful, the Spirit Beast’s loyalty to its master would vastly exceed anything achieved by ordinary taming methods.

The only drawback was the immense time commitment and the need for continuous reinforcement of the Spirit Runes. Every few months, the runes had to be reapplied. If interrupted midway, the runes would dissipate on their own, and the contract would be abandoned half-finished. Furthermore, it required at least a Golden Core Cultivator to execute such a delicate operation, as it demanded exceptionally high levels of Magical Power and Divine Sense.

Fortunately, none of this was a problem for Anton.

For decades, he had continuously reinforced the Spirit Runes on the Egg of the Old World without a single interruption. Now, the egg’s incubation was nearing its end. Barring any accidents, it would hatch within the next few days.

Thus, Anton simply sat cross-legged in front of the array and waited patiently.

Time passed day by day. By noon on the fifth day, the grayish-white egg that had slumbered for decades finally gave a faint shudder.

CRACK.

With a soft sound, spiderweb-thin cracks emerged across the center of the eggshell, instantly spreading in all directions.

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