017 : The limit of Mortals.

The Forbidden Lands were silent.

The air, once thick with the presence of the Void Devouring Serpent, now lay still. The beast's massive corpse rested among the shattered earth, its ancient power completely drained.

And standing at the center of it all—Lin Tian.

His body trembled with newfound energy.

The qi of the serpent—thousands of years of refinement, a creature that had lived beyond mortal lifespans—now surged within him. His meridians pulsed, his blood burned, his very core trembled with an intensity that shook the heavens.

Then, suddenly—

BOOOOOOOM!

An invisible shockwave burst from his body, shattering the trees around him, sending dust and debris flying in all directions. The very fabric of the world seemed to bend under the weight of his power.

Lin Tian slowly opened his eyes.

Golden. Blazing. Limitless.

He clenched his fists, feeling the torrential energy within him, his very existence now radiating an aura far beyond ordinary Golden Core cultivators.

"This is it…"

Peak Golden Core Realm.

The very last step before Nascent Soul.

But Lin Tian knew.

This was not the end.

Lin Tian exhaled slowly, feeling the vast ocean of power inside him.

Most cultivators would celebrate reaching the Peak Golden Core Realm. It was an achievement that only geniuses could reach in a lifetime.

But Lin Tian felt something missing.

A boundary. A wall that stood between him and Nascent Soul.

He could feel it—like an unbreakable shell wrapped around his dantian. No matter how much qi he absorbed, something was preventing his final breakthrough.

He frowned.

"Even after devouring the Void Devouring Serpent… I still can't step into Nascent Soul?"

This was different from his previous breakthroughs. Before, as long as he consumed enough qi, his cultivation would naturally advance.

But this time?

There was something else at play.

Something beyond just energy.

Lin Tian narrowed his eyes.

"What am I missing?"

Lin Tian sat cross-legged, his golden aura swirling around him, the air bending under his presence.

He had reached the peak of what a mortal could achieve.

But to step into Nascent Soul Realm—

He needed something more.

Not just qi. Not just energy.

He needed enlightenment.

The Nascent Soul Realm was not just a higher level of power.

It was the rebirth of the self.

A cultivator did not simply advance by absorbing more qi. They had to forge a new existence, creating a true Nascent Soul within their dantian—a divine embryo that would grant them a second life.

"So that's it."

Lin Tian finally understood.

The reason he was stuck.

He had absorbed so much power—but he had never truly refined himself.

He had taken, stolen, devoured…

But now, he had to create.

Lin Tian closed his eyes.

If he wanted to break through, he needed to stop absorbing.

Instead, he needed to temper what he already had.

The qi of countless fallen enemies, the power of ancient beasts, the divine lightning from his tribulation—it was all within him.

But it was scattered, uncontrolled.

He needed to forge it into something new.

With a deep breath, he focused inward.

His dantian was like a raging storm—golden qi clashing with remnants of devoured energy.

Slowly, he began to compress it.

Condense it.

Refine it.

The process was agonizing. His entire body felt like it was tearing itself apart. His meridians screamed, his bones cracked, his veins burned as the chaotic power inside him resisted.

But Lin Tian did not stop.

He had spent his entire life being weak. Being ridiculed. Being nothing.

He would not stop now.

"Submit."

His golden core compressed further.

"Obey me."

The energy inside him began to fuse, molding together into something stronger, purer.

Days passed.

And finally—

Something changed.

Deep inside Lin Tian's dantian, a transformation took place.

His once chaotic Golden Core had compressed to its absolute limit. It cracked, shattered—

And from its fragments…

A new form began to emerge.

Not just a core.

Not just a vessel for qi.

But a true Nascent Soul.

But unlike ordinary Nascent Souls—this one was different.

It was black and gold, flickering with arcs of violet lightning. It radiated an aura of consumption, an existence that defied the natural laws of the world.

Lin Tian slowly opened his eyes.

His golden irises now carried streaks of darkness, swirling like endless voids.

He could feel it.

A power unlike anything he had ever wielded before.

Not just absorption.

Not just devouring.

But true control over energy itself.

This was his Devourer Nascent Soul.

The next time he faced an enemy—

He would not simply take their qi.

He would rewrite their very existence.

Lin Tian smirked.

"Now, let the world come."

"I am ready."

The world trembled.

High above, the sky twisted and darkened, as if reality itself was bending under an unimaginable force. The golden light of the setting sun was swallowed by a vortex of pure black clouds, spiraling endlessly in the heavens.

Lin Tian stood alone at the peak of the Forbidden Lands, his robes billowing in the unnatural storm. His golden-black aura flickered violently, his newly formed Devourer Nascent Soul pulsing within his dantian.

He had reached the very limit of the Golden Core Realm.

And now, the heavens had come to test him again.

Thunder rumbled, rolling across the sky like the angered voice of a celestial god. The air was thick with an overwhelming divine pressure, making even the strongest of cultivators collapse to their knees in submission.

Lin Tian?

He smiled.

"So… you refuse to accept me?"

The heavens had already tried to erase him once during his Golden Core breakthrough. He had devoured their lightning and survived.

And now, they would try again.

But this time—

He would do more than survive.

He would win.

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