After I stopped trying, a rich woman trained me into a demon emperor.

Zhou Ran was stunned.

"I've chased after everything in my life."

He embodies the Great Dao, immortality, and decisive ruthlessness—leaving no stone unturned.

Only this one thing—

Li Chengfeng's fragments of divine sense began to collapse inward from the edges; his time was running out.

I failed.

Zhou Ran didn't say anything.

He's not good at comforting people.

"So you left the Overlord Body Technique and the Source Bone on Blue Star, waiting for someone to come along who can clean up your mess."

Not entirely.

Li Chengfeng shook his head.

"In the spiritual environment of Blue Star, the Overlord Body Technique can only be practiced up to the third level at most."

Even if you consume the Source Bone, and your physical body becomes incredibly strong, you still won't be able to break through the Golden Core barrier.

Zhou Ran frowned.

He didn't want to hear these words, but he had no choice but to.

Bai Xuan was right; the four essential elements missing from the dantian could not be found in the mortal realm.

"But the virtual realm is possible."

When Li Chengfeng uttered those words, a muffled groan came from the crack beneath the altar.

The gray mist tumbled.

A string in Zhou Ran's mind was plucked.

"Think about it, what is the foundation of the Primordial Overlord Body?"

A body with the most yang and vigorous qi and blood, and an indestructible and immortal physical body.

It is inherently the opposite of the path of spiritual energy cultivation.

Spiritual energy cultivation emphasizes following the natural order and the Dao, but the Overlord Body emphasizes—"

"Going against the will of Heaven."

Zhou Ran took over.

"wrong."

Li Chengfeng corrected him.

"It transcends heaven and earth."

These four words entered Zhou Ran's mind, and the three-colored dantian within him suddenly jumped, causing the surrounding primordial energy to ripple.

"Those dead civilizations and decaying planets you see in the virtual world have one thing in common."

Li Chengfeng pointed his withered finger downwards, directly at the churning gray crack below the altar.

"Their rules have all been erased."

Spiritual energy, Taoist magic, Yin and Yang, and the Five Elements do not exist in the Void Realm.

Nothing is left.

"But there is one thing that the Void Realm cannot consume."

Suddenly, the Qilin totem on Zhou Ran's left arm became hot, and a circle of black and gold light shone on its own.

"Physical body".

Li Chengfeng nodded.

"The law of the virtual world is to obliterate all 'definitions'."

But the physical body does not need to be defined.

It doesn't depend on spiritual energy or the laws of nature; it simply exists there.

A punch, a kick, tendons, bones, flesh—these are the most primal things, and the things that cannot be covered by 'nothingness'.

"It was when I figured this out that I created the Great Wilderness Overlord Body Technique."

It is not some kind of cultivation technique.

It is a method of using the physical body to combat nothingness.

"The realm of idealism and the concept of emptiness that you comprehended at Longhu Mountain have essentially reached the threshold."

The rule of the virtual realm is 'to deny everything'.

The ultimate form of the Primordial Overlord Body is 'I am the rule'.

"The physical body standing there is the greatest truth."

If Heaven wants to destroy you, then you should destroy Heaven.

If the Way doesn't recognize you, then write your own Way.

A gash appeared in Zhou Ran's mind.

The "transformation into emptiness" technique he comprehended at Longhu Mountain can turn the logic of spiritual energy attacks into a paradox.

Master Xuyun said that it was beyond the scope of understanding of both Taoism and Buddhism.

But he still couldn't figure out what this move had to do with Core Formation.

Now Li Chengfeng has shown the way.

His three-colored embryonic cores—Primordial Desolation, True Dragon, and Demonic Essence.

What's missing from the three origins isn't a complete set, but rather a unified "intention" that governs them.

The laws of the virtual realm devour all definitions, except for the physical body.

Conversely—

What if he could combine the "denying everything" law of the Void Realm with the "I am the rule" core of the Primordial Overlord Body?

Reject all external doctrines and retain only your own.

Zhou Ran scratched his head, feeling as if he had suddenly realized something.

The cinnabar embryo did not solidify.

It's still missing a few essential ingredients.

But he saw the path to Core Formation.

Li Chengfeng's divine sense fragments were almost gone, and the edges were peeling away at an accelerated rate.

"One last thing."

The old man's voice was intermittent.

"Zhiyao was trapped in the underworld for two thousand years."

"Back then, I couldn't get away to save her, so I could only leave something under the bridge over the River of Oblivion in the underworld."

The one she mentioned to you before.

Zhou Ran remembers.

Before falling into a deep sleep, Li Zhiyao told him to find the bridge across the River of Oblivion in the underworld.

"That was a 'Return to Yang Token' that I refined using all my insights from the Nascent Soul stage."

Li Chengfeng's voice became increasingly indistinct.

"As long as she obtains this decree, she can completely sever the shackles that the underworld places on her soul."

There's no need to accumulate merit to prolong life, nor to hide in the Yin-gathering banner and eke out a living.

She can walk in the mortal realm in spirit form, nourished by the essence of the sun and moon, just like a living person.

His features were almost completely blurred.

The last few words squeezed out from the dying divine thought, so light they were almost intangible.

Tell her...

My brother hasn't forgotten.

Divine consciousness shattered.

The peerless powerhouse from four thousand years ago, after settling his final concerns, returned to nothingness.

His mind returned to calm.

Zhou Ran opened his eyes and found that the black and gold light that enveloped his entire body had receded completely.

He flexed his fingers.

The air was squeezed between the fingers, producing a series of dense sounds.

The entire arm, from fingertips to shoulders, is adorned with a flowing black and gold motif.

His right hand casually rested on the edge of the white jade altar, and his fingertips exerted a little force.

A fist-sized piece of white jade was crushed into powder, which fell through his fingers.

It's no different from kneading clay.

Although the three-colored elixir within the body has not yet received its final enlightenment.

Although his cultivation level is still at the peak of Foundation Establishment, his physical body has crossed a threshold that he never dared to imagine before after fusing with the Primordial Origin Bone.

The greater gains, however, lie in the mind.

The path that Li Chengfeng pointed out connected his enlightenment on Longhu Mountain regarding "idealism" and "emptiness" with the ultimate core of the Taihuang Overlord Body.

He doesn't need to gather any of the seven fundamental elements of heaven and earth.

What he needs is to use his own body and will to "define" those origins.

"Reject external rules."

Establish only your own path.

The three-colored elixir spun quietly in the dantian, its frequency 30% more stable than before, but its rotation speed twice as fast.

Just then, the Gathering Yin Banner trembled.

Ice-blue soul light seeped from the banner.

Li Zhiyao's soul appeared above the Gathering Yin Banner.

It was a bit more solid than when it last woke up, but its face was so pale it was almost transparent.

Her gaze swept over Zhou Ran's left arm, chest, and shoulders.

The black and gold Qilin totem covers the entire body, and the texture of vast blood and energy seeps out from the pores.

She knew that scent all too well.

He looked exactly like the brother she remembered.

"he……"

Li Zhiyao's voice lingered in her throat for a long time before she managed to squeeze out just one word.

Zhou Ran looked at her.

"Your brother asked me to pass on a message."

Li Zhiyao's soul was taut.

Zhou Ran opened his mouth.

"He left you a 'Return to Yang Token' under the bridge over the River of Oblivion."

Once you receive it, you will no longer need to rely on good deeds to survive; you can walk freely in the mortal realm.

"They are no different from living people."

Li Zhiyao remained silent.

The aloof and arrogant demeanor she had maintained for two thousand years cracked at this moment.

The edges of the soul began to tremble.

Zhou Ran swallowed those five words that spanned four thousand years.

It's not that I forgot.

Saying these words now would only shatter the last shred of dignity this woman had left.

She'll talk about it again when she reaches the River of Oblivion, obtains the Order of Return to the Sun, and stands under the sunlight.

Those five words only carried weight then.