A gentle breeze swept past, leaves rustling softly as withered yellow foliage drifted down. Mixed with the sound of the flowing river, it created a sense of natural tranquility. Cultivation knew no passage of time, and in the blink of an eye, more than half a year had passed.

On an open patch by the river, Lin Zheyu held a long saber and trained with steady effort. His saber technique was simple and unadorned. Each move was powerful, yet seemed to lack intricate finesse. To an ordinary observer, it would appear plain, lacking the flashy flair and overwhelming momentum qi of a true expert. Only genuine powerhouses could see the immense force hidden within this seemingly crude saber technique.

The blade tore through the air, slicing through the breeze with a sharp hiss. At the same time, invisible fluctuations of rules spread outward. With every strike, a faint, nearly imperceptible crack appeared in the fabric of space.

Lin Zheyu trained tirelessly, his aura growing heavier. Sweat poured from his forehead and ran down his cheeks, only to be absorbed by his clothing and evaporate into steam. From beginning to end, his garments remained dry, breathable, and comfortable. This was the strength of enchanted clothing.

The enchanted armor Lin Zheyu wore was called the Thousand Mechanisms Myriadweight Armor. Its defensive ability was secondary, only capable of withstanding a full-power strike from an early Foundation Establishment realm cultivator. Its true value lay in aiding cultivation. The previous set he had purchased had long been destroyed in the demon god barrier. This one was newly bought during his last visit to the immortal market.

This new armor was of a much higher grade and far more effective. Otherwise, it would not keep up with Lin Zheyu's current strength. When fully activated, it could generate a pressure equivalent to 100,000 kg. Its consumption was equally astonishing. At full output, it would consume two low-grade spirit stones every half hour, making it a true spirit stone devourer.

Fortunately, Lin Zheyu only used it when pushing past his limits to obtain Origin Force. On average, each breakthrough required about three low-grade spirit stones. After breaking his limits, he needed to consume a large amount of spirit liquid to recover, equivalent to another three low-grade spirit stones, to return to peak condition. In other words, every breakthrough cost him six low-grade spirit stones. It was no small expense.

Fortunately, his last trip into the demon god barrier had earned him a large number of spirit stones. Even after spending lavishly, he still had nearly five hundred low-grade spirit stones left in reserve. Otherwise, he would already be worrying about running out.

"Huff, huff."

Lin Zheyu's breathing grew heavier and heavier. His face remained calm, yet his eyes were bloodshot, a trace of pain flickering within them, along with a hint of exhilaration.

A few minutes later, the familiar sensation returned. His essence, qi, and spirit instantly twisted into one, forming a mysterious energy. Under its influence, the fluctuations of Lin Zheyu's spirit and spiritual soul rose to a special frequency. He felt as though his entire being was about to ascend.

Lin Zheyu panted heavily as he murmured, "The acquisition of Origin Force is closely tied to that state of the soul just now. If one day I can enter that state at will, I won't have to struggle through breaking my limits just to obtain Origin Force."

As his strength grew, he could perceive more and more, gradually brushing against fragments of the secrets behind Origin Force. But it was still far from enough. If he truly wanted to uncover the deeper truths hidden within it, even the Nascent Soul realm would likely fall short. It might require reaching the Deity Transformation realm or higher to qualify. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Lin Zheyu looked at the data within his consciousness.

When he saw the data, a trace of helplessness appeared on Lin Zheyu's face. It was 5 units of Origin Force again. Each time he broke his limits, the amount of Origin Force gained would cap at five units and never increase. Even with his significant growth in strength, it made no difference.

[Heaven Rewards the Diligent]

[Name: Lin Zheyu]

[Origin Force: 225]

[Skills: Heaven-Splitting Slash (Perfection), Earth Shrinking Technique (Perfection), Primordial Concealment Technique (Perfection), Primordial Golden Body (Second Stage: 100%)]

Lin Zheyu shook his head, a little helpless. "Looks like I've hit the limit of this stage. If I want more Origin Force, either my strength has to leap forward, or I need to shorten the recovery time of my essence, qi, and spirit."

Shortening the body's recovery time was easy. The real difficulty lay in reducing the recovery time of the spirit and spiritual soul, and the cost was far too high. It simply was not worth it. Lin Zheyu did not even consider it and gave up on the idea immediately. For now, gaining 5 units of Origin Force per breakthrough was already sufficient.

"It's been over half a year. Why haven't Tu Yuan and Bai Lin come out yet? Their seclusion is dragging on too long. If they still don't come out, give it a few more months, and my accumulated Origin Force will exceed 300."

In the past half year, he had not only fully digested the Demonic Patterns Secret Manual, but had also grasped nearly a third of the Profound Exposition of Totems.

At the same time, he had set aside time to integrate the spatial rules he had mastered into his martial cultivation saber technique, creating the powerful Heaven-Splitting Slash. Now that the saber technique was complete, if he focused fully on studying the Profound Exposition of Totems, he would likely master its foundational knowledge within a month.

After all, both of these texts contained only foundational knowledge. With Lin Zheyu's talent and comprehension, it would not take him long to fully understand them. Their high price came from their systematic structure and comprehensive scope, which made them extremely valuable. If he fully mastered both the Demonic Patterns Secret Manual and the Profound Exposition of Totems and those two still had not emerged, then he would have to consider whether it was worth continuing to wait.

Lin Zheyu made up his mind and muttered, "If it takes too long, I won't wait. I'll create the third stage of the Primordial Golden Body first, and refine it later once my foundation is deeper."

Originally, he had planned to obtain spirit stones from Tu Yuan, then join the Martial Alliance with Bai Lin. With deeper accumulation of martial cultivation knowledge, he would then begin creating the third stage of the Primordial Golden Body. But now, it was unclear how long Tu Yuan and Bai Lin would remain in seclusion. He could not wait endlessly if they never came out.

Recovering some strength, Lin Zheyu took out spirit liquid and drank it in large gulps. This was Wuling City, protected by the Heaven-Monitoring Formation, so safety was generally guaranteed. That was why he dared to relax like this. If he were outside the city, the moment he broke his limits, he would immediately use 1 unit of Origin Force to restore his body first.

"I've been drinking too much spirit liquid. It's starting to taste bland. Next time I'll buy some spirit wine and mix it in to improve the flavor," Lin Zheyu muttered as he stood up and walked toward the courtyard.

In the courtyard, he skillfully took out a slaughtered ferocious beast from his storage pouch and began grilling leisurely. Ever since his physique reached an inhuman level, Lin Zheyu no longer visited pleasure houses. Listening to music only left him restless, yet he could do nothing, which was unbearable. Even the female cultivators in the immortal market could not endure his overwhelming physique. He wagered that only female martial artists who had opened one of the three great divine repositories could barely match him.

Unfortunately, he had only seen one martial artist at that level, and that was Bai Lin, who happened to be a man.

After giving up on pleasure houses, grilling meat became one of his few pastimes outside of cultivation. With practice, his grilling skills improved greatly. The rich meat of a powerful beast, sprinkled with seasoning and drizzled with fragrant spirit wine, tasted absolutely incredible.

The meat sizzled as hot oil crackled, its rich aroma filling the air and making Lin Zheyu swallow unconsciously. Suddenly, his smile froze, and his expression turned cold.

"Which fellow cultivator has come? There's no need to hide. Show yourself," Lin Zheyu said coldly. Just now, he had sensed an unfamiliar aura entering his Perception Domain.

A hearty laugh rang out as the figure of an old man with an immortal bearing slowly appeared in midair.

"Haha. Such leisure, little friend, to be grilling meat so calmly here."

This person was none other than Fan Hongwei of the Soaring Cloud Pavilion, whom Lin Zheyu had encountered before. Fan Hongwei stepped through the air and, without waiting for an invitation, walked straight into the courtyard.

"It's you! What brings you here, Senior?"

Lin Zheyu frowned slightly.

He had been waiting for Tu Yuan and the others, but instead, this old man showed up. The limited true origin within his body began to circulate slowly as Lin Zheyu grew vigilant. Although he knew the rules of Great Wei forbade immortal cultivators from fighting within the city, there were always exceptions. Some people held special privileges. This old man from the Soaring Cloud Pavilion might very well be one of them.

"Why so wary, little friend? I bear no ill intent in coming here."

Fan Hongwei smiled faintly as he walked over to the campfire.

With a wave of his right hand, a chair radiating astonishing cold qi appeared out of thin air. Fan Hongwei sat down without hesitation. The chill vanished in an instant, leaving it looking like an ordinary transparent chair.

"Hm?" Lin Zheyu felt a slight shock at what Fan Hongwei had just shown.

What terrifying strength. Just now, Lin Zheyu had not sensed the slightest fluctuation of spirit power, and only faint traces of rule fluctuations. Only someone with astonishing control over the power of rules could do something like this so effortlessly.

"Did you come all this way just to share a mundane meal of roasted meat with me, Senior?" Lin Zheyu asked calmly.

"Haha, it has been decades since I last ate food. Your skill with roasting meat has stirred a long-lost appetite in me," Fan Hongwei said with a smile. He reached out with his right hand to grab a piece of ferocious beast meat and began roasting it himself.

Seeing this, Lin Zheyu could not figure out what the man was thinking. He stopped speaking and continued roasting and eating on his own. Since the man had come looking for him with a purpose, he would likely not act immediately.

The campfire crackled as it burned, and the meat sizzled over the flames. The entire courtyard was filled with the rich aroma of roasted meat.

This old bastard really knows how to hold his nerve! thought Lin Zheyu while he ate his meat, glancing at Fan Hongwei, who was leisurely smiling and grilling. He felt speechless. Since he stayed silent, the old man did the same, as if they were competing to see who had greater patience.