Swallowing the starry sky, my clones can evolve infinitely.

Chapter 244 The Foundational Branch of the Path of the Soul: Spirituality of Thought

"Treasure?"

Shen Mu's gaze fell on the glass box that Li Yangtiancheng presented with both hands.

Noticing the change in Shen Mu's expression, Li Yangtiancheng became extremely respectful, bowed slightly, and steadily held the treasure box in both hands, saying in a devout tone, "Please take a look, Venerable One."

As he spoke, Li Yangtiancheng opened the treasure box, and at that moment, time seemed to slow down.

As the lid slowly opened, a mysterious light burst forth, illuminating everything around it like a dazzling star.

A bloodline golden pill radiating a mysterious light appeared before them, floating inside the treasure box.

This golden elixir is crystal clear, like the most beautiful and purest crystal in the world.

On the surface of the Golden Core, countless mysterious patterns flowed within, as if the mysteries of the universe were interwoven within. Light flickered, sometimes soft, sometimes dazzling, its brightness uncertain, emanating a unique spiritual charm.

Seeing that Shen Mu's attention was drawn to the golden core, Li Yangtiancheng quickly explained it to Shen Mu.

"Your Excellency, this bloodline golden core originates from the life of a dragon-like ferocious beast of an extraordinary level."

"Thousands of years ago, the Ten Thousand Mountains once launched a beast tide in the northwest region. The scale of that beast tide was unprecedented in history, and countless demon gods and venerable beings perished."

"Our ancestor perished in this beast tide, but not at the hands of the demon god. Instead, he perished together with a severely wounded and dying ferocious beast."

Shen Mu stared at the golden pill, his eyes gleaming with a clear, bright light, as if trying to see through its surface to its very essence.

"This bloodline golden pill must have come from that critically wounded, dying beast, right?"

Shen Mu could clearly perceive the soul bloodline fluctuations contained within this golden core. This was an extremely special, perfect fluctuation, somewhat similar to the complete destruction fluctuations on the World Beast King.

In this realm, there are actually heaven-defying creatures that are born representing the complete origin of the soul's Dao?

Shen Mu was somewhat uncertain. In principle, such a creature should not exist, because the Path of the Soul is different from any other Great Dao. It is a path that leads directly to transcending the shackles of the mortal world.

"Your Excellency, this golden elixir is the last legacy left by our ancestor, and a precious treasure that our clan has preserved over countless years."

Shen Mu hesitated for a moment before slowly speaking.

"Fine, this treasure is precious, I'll give you one more chance."

"Li Yangchen, if you can comprehend the essence of fire within a hundred years, I will take you as my disciple again."

Li Yangchen, who was originally lying on the ground weeping, suddenly felt a glimmer of hope in his eyes upon hearing Shen Mu's words.

"Thank you, teacher. I will do my best to live up to your expectations."

As he spoke, Li Yangchen's body trembled slightly as he kowtowed heavily, the sound of his forehead hitting the ground crisp and loud.

Then, Shen Mu turned to face Li Yangtiancheng and the others, and everyone lowered their heads wherever his gaze fell.

"I will be going into seclusion again. Please do not disturb me during this time unless it is absolutely necessary."

"Yes, Your Excellency!"

"I will obey the Venerable One's instructions!"

……

In the dilapidated courtyard, moss grows tenaciously in the cracks, and the mottled marks on the walls shimmer with a mysterious light.

Shen Mu sat cross-legged in the courtyard, countless mysterious runes blooming at his fingertips, condensing into chains of divine power that completely sealed off the entire courtyard.

This Bloodline Golden Core is extraordinary. If one can obtain the Soul Dao Bloodline within it, the difficulty of comprehending the Soul Dao in the future will be greatly reduced. Therefore, during this period, there should be no disturbance.

hum!

The glass box was opened, and the crystal-clear ancient golden elixir floated in front of Shen Mu like a miniature star, scattering invisible light.

Don't let me down.

Shen Mu no longer hesitated and swallowed the Bloodline Golden Pill.

Instantly, a gentle yet unique power spread out from Shen Mu's body, merging into every particle of his divine body, as if modifying some kind of genetic trait.

During this process, Shen Mu involuntarily revealed his true form. Under the shimmering divine light, a colossal god, ten feet tall, sat cross-legged, his body crystalline and his appearance solemn and dignified.

After an unknown amount of time, Shen Mu suddenly opened his eyes, and the clear radiance of his soul reappeared.

"I've finally sensed the fluctuations of the Soul Path bloodline once again!"

Previously, Shen Mu's original body possessed three types of soul path bloodlines, which made Shen Mu quite efficient in comprehending the soul path.

However, this second true form of myself, who unexpectedly arrived in this world, is like other life forms in the cosmic sea, lacking bloodline power.

"He's definitely far inferior to the Beast King."

Shen Mu then felt that it made more sense, as the Beast King was an absolutely special life form.

If a Beast King can advance to the God King realm, there is no need to comprehend anything. The moment he becomes a God King, he can understand all the branches of the Great Dao of Destruction.

Then, all you need to do is combine these branches, and you'll directly achieve the ultimate God King realm.

Of course, the source of this bloodline golden elixir... that strange ancient ferocious beast was also extremely powerful, otherwise it would not have been possible to kill the ancestor of the Liyang clan, a god-king in his peak state, when he was seriously injured and on the verge of death.

Even if one has just entered the God-King realm, that is still at the peak of their power; the two are not comparable.

This beast is already incredibly powerful for being able to do that.

In terms of potential, this ferocious beast is only one level below the Beast King. Its bloodline represents a branch of the soul path, a complete branch of spiritual thought.

"As expected of someone with the potential to become a God-King, the affinity with the Great Dao of the Soul is so high."

At this moment, Shen Mu felt as if his soul was enveloped by a warm power, and his thoughts became clearer than ever before, with a greatly increased processing speed.

Most importantly, the clarity of perception of the Great Dao of the Soul is now thousands of times greater than before.

Shen Mu closed his eyes, immersing himself in the mysteries of the Dao of the Soul.

At this moment, Shen Mu's consciousness seemed to transcend time and space, touching the very essence of the soul of this world.

Nine branches of the soul path appeared one by one in his mind, each containing endless mysteries. They shimmered with a mysterious light in his mind like brilliant stars.

As the years went by, Shen Mu's understanding of the mysteries of the soul deepened day by day.

"Spiritual thinking is the foundation of the soul."

"Those so-called soulless intelligent life forms, such as the Machine Race and the Skeleton Race, are all sentient beings with thoughts."

"It's just that their souls are incomplete."

In the process of comprehending the Dao of the Soul, Shen Mu vaguely discovered the wonderful connection between the Dao of the Soul and the Dao of Life.

The soul and life are interdependent. The soul is the core of life, giving it consciousness and perception.

Life is the vessel of the soul, providing the foundation for the soul's existence. Even those lives without intelligence possess a soul, only lacking the capacity for thought and spirituality.

As Shen Mu's understanding of spirituality deepened, he also realized that the nine branches of the Soul Path did not exist in isolation, but were interconnected and mutually influential.

"Hahaha, it seems my Supreme Heart Tribulation can be perfected once again!"

Shen Mu suddenly opened his eyes, and endless spiritual radiance shone around him, reflecting the phantom of a world.

This is a vast universe where countless sentient beings reproduce, develop, and create magnificent civilizations.

Gradually, this illusory cosmic image began to expand, becoming increasingly illusory in the process.

In the end, the cosmic phantom completely transformed into an endless expanse of light and shadow, its form indistinguishable, enveloping the entire sky above Liyang City.

……

At the same time that Shen Mu caused the strange phenomenon, the Chiwu royal family also arrived at the Liyang clan's territory.

Inside the ancient hall of the Liyang Clan, the Chiwu royal prince, who was waiting for the Liyang Clan's high-ranking officials, looked up at the sky in shock.

"Is this... that senior from the Divine Realm researching some kind of secret technique?"

At this moment, the elders of the Liyang clan finally arrived at the ancient hall.

The leader, Li Yangtiancheng, dressed in a magnificent robe, with a solemn expression, bowed slightly to the royal prince: "Li Yangtiancheng greets the Fourth Prince."

Upon seeing this, the Fourth Prince quickly stood up, turned slightly to the side, and only accepted half a bow from this ancient ancestor of the Li Yang clan.

"Senior Zhengde, you flatter me. I have come here to pay my respects to the newly promoted senior of your noble family. I would be grateful if Senior Tiancheng could introduce me."

Li Yangtiancheng's heart tightened. He knew that the newly promoted Divine Realm expert that the Fourth Prince mentioned was Shen Mu.

However, since Shen Mu was not a member of the Liyang clan, he dared not make any statement on Shen Mu's behalf.

Li Yangtiancheng said helplessly, "Fourth Prince, that person... is not a member of my Li Yang clan. He was just a guest of my Li Yang clan, and he caused a celestial phenomenon while in seclusion."

The Fourth Prince's eyes flickered slightly, but his expression remained unchanged: "Oh? Not from the Li Yang clan? Then who is this senior?"

Li Yangtiancheng shook his head, his eyes filled with awe, and slowly said, "Fourth Prince, we do not know the specific background of this senior. We only know that he is a traveler who has crossed the Ten Thousand Mountains and his strength is unfathomable."

Upon hearing this, the Fourth Prince paused, then fell silent.

After a moment, the Fourth Prince looked at Li Yang Tiancheng again and slowly said, "Since that's the case, then I would like to pay my respects to this senior. I wonder if Elder Tiancheng would be willing to introduce me?"

Li Yangtiancheng looked troubled and said helplessly, "Fourth Prince, please don't be offended. This senior is currently in seclusion, and we dare not disturb him. How about we wait until he emerges from seclusion, and then I will send someone to inform you?"

The Fourth Prince nodded slightly, his expression full of respect. He said slowly, "Then we will do as the elder says. Once this senior emerges from seclusion, you must inform me immediately."

"We must explain to this senior that our royal family holds you in the highest esteem, and our clan's venerable one also wishes to befriend you!"

Li Yangtiancheng laughed and said, "Fourth Prince, rest assured, I will definitely inform you of the royal family's attitude."

"Then we will trouble the elders of Tiancheng Clan and the members of Liyang Clan to make offerings."

A moment later, at the east gate of Liyang City, many high-ranking members of the Liyang clan gathered to watch the Fourth Prince of the royal family and a large number of Imperial Guards at the peak of the ninth level depart.

……

Upon returning to his clan, Li Yangtiancheng immediately summoned the clan's senior members to discuss the matter.

Inside the ancient hall of the Li Yang clan, the atmosphere was heavy and solemn. Everyone sat together, their eyes filled with worry.

"Everyone, the Fourth Prince of the Chiwu Royal Family has already come. I think their idea is to invite Venerable Shen to serve as the Protector of the Nation," Li Yangtiancheng said solemnly.

"What?! The Guardian of the Nation!?"

"That member of the royal family... could he be about to pass away?"

"Shh, be quiet!"

"Do not speak ill of the Venerable One!"

Li Yangtiancheng frowned slightly, his eyes revealing deep contemplation.

"This matter is of utmost importance. Venerable Shen is very powerful. If he becomes the guardian of the Chiwu Kingdom, it will be both an opportunity and a challenge for our Liyang Clan."

One of the elders chimed in, "Indeed, the ancient ancestor is right. If Venerable Shen becomes the Guardian of the Nation, the status of our Li Yang Clan will surely rise accordingly. You must know that Venerable Shen greatly admires Xiao Chenzi."

Li Yang Tiancheng nodded: "What you all say makes sense, but this matter still needs to be reported to the Venerable One. After the Venerable One emerges from seclusion, we will leave everything to the Venerable One to decide!"

Meanwhile, Shen Mu, who was in seclusion in the garden, was completely unaware of everything happening outside. He was fully immersed in comprehending the Dao of the Soul, constantly exploring the mysteries of this world.

……

The ancient courtyard was peaceful and serene.

The ancient vines meandered and the grass and trees swayed, seemingly no different from before. But if you were to perceive them closely, you would discover that each of these plants and vines possessed intelligence, that is, the ability to think.

Surrounded by countless plant spirits, Shen Mu sat cross-legged, his expression solemn and peaceful, immersed in contemplating the spirituality of thought.

Time passed day by day during this process.

In the blink of an eye, more than ten years have passed. This decade or so has been quite long for this generation.

During this period, Li Yangchen was almost always in seclusion, studying the "Origin of Water and Fire" left by Shen Mu day and night, hoping to comprehend a wisp of the profound meaning.

However, skipping the stage of laws and directly comprehending the fundamental Dao is still too difficult.

Even for beings born at the Chaos Realm, it is exceptionally difficult; otherwise, peak Transcendent Realm beings in this world would not be so rare.

……

On this day, a peculiar fluctuation emanated from the ancient courtyard.

The chanting from the depths of their souls echoed throughout the entire city of Liyang, resonating in the hearts of everyone.

However, this level of understanding was too profound for the countless people in Liyang City, so they had no insight into it.

"Spirituality of thought...it seems I still have hope of achieving the God-King realm through the path of the soul."

The difficulty of comprehending the Way of the Soul far surpasses that of comprehending the Way of Life.

It should be noted that during the Cosmic Sea era, Shen Mu had an extremely high level of understanding of the Dao of Life, especially the branch of spirituality of life, which he had a very deep understanding of.

For a long time, Shen Mu believed that he would achieve the God King realm through the Dao of Life.

A moment later, Shen Mu appeared at the entrance of the courtyard, where the Li Yang clan members were already waiting.

Li Yangtiancheng, who was in the lead, quickly stepped forward and respectfully said, "Congratulations on your completion of seclusion, Venerable One."

"Congratulations, Venerable One!"

The members of the Li Yang clan offered their congratulations, and then Li Yang Tiancheng bowed slightly to Shen Mu: "There is something I need to report to Your Excellency."

"Please feel free to speak."

After Shen Mu finished speaking, Li Yangtiancheng said, "When the Venerable One had just gone into seclusion, the Fourth Prince of the Chiwu Royal Family came to visit him."

"Based on my speculation, the Chiwu royal family likely intends to invite Venerable Shen to serve as the Protector of the Nation."

Shen Mu smiled with some surprise: "The Guardian of the Nation can be a foreigner?"

Li Yangtiancheng hurriedly said, "Venerable One, our Northwest region is barren and has few experts at the Divine Realm. Therefore, the vast majority of the guardians of the Northwest countries are not necessarily members of the royal family."

"I see."

Shen Mu nodded slightly, and then said, "I would like to trouble Elder Tiancheng to inform the Chiwu royal family that I need to consider the matter of the Guardian Venerable."

"Yes, Your Excellency."

(End of this chapter)