Chapter 257: Painting the Heart

Moments later.

Jiang Jian made up his mind.

He still decided to use the conventional method.

He activated the spiritual essence of two dantians and slammed it against the Divine Illumination barrier.

The Divine Palace realm cultivated this way follows the Path to Heaven, with an incredibly solid foundation.

Though attaining breakthrough through spiritual insight and divine wisdom is also a legitimate path.

But compared to the traditional method,

it causes the Divine Illumination barrier to turn to powder and merge into the Divine Palace.

Yet it lacks one crucial process.

That is, the process wherein a living being, after breaking through, gradually dissolves the barrier fragments while continuing to cultivate.

In Jiang Jian’s view,

this process is equally vital for him.

According to his cultivation plan,

every insight gained during cultivation must be experienced fully, to avoid missing anything.

Even the tiniest detail warrants attention.

Only then can one go further.

Boom!

As his mind stirred,

the spiritual essence materialized once more!

The accumulated foundation from his two realms erupted completely!

An obsidian phoenix instantly took shape, furiously striking the Divine Illumination barrier under the supply of spiritual energy!

The Wheel Dharma Form, clad in black-gold imperial robes, scattered golden streams across its body.

It stood motionless, sleeves swirling wildly, coldly observing the barrier before it.

Occasionally,

it seized the perfect moment and struck with ruthless force!

Each strike by the Wheel Dharma Form consumed massive spiritual energy, wearing away a large chunk of the barrier!

Meanwhile,

Jiang Jian’s cultivation foundation was also being rapidly depleted.

The Divine Illumination barrier was being swiftly thinned, growing increasingly transparent.

After an unknown length of time,

the Divine Illumination barrier, uniformly thin from top to bottom, had been greatly reduced—now slightly translucent!

At first glance,

It resembled a layer of translucent light curtain.

Every fragment that fell vanished soundlessly, swept away by the barrier, passing through the transparent curtain and sinking into the Divine Palace!

Jiang Jian’s face was pale.

His accumulated cultivation foundation was nearly gone.

With his perfect cultivation foundation from the two realms,

he had now thinned the Divine Illumination barrier to just a thin layer—crackable with a flick of the finger!

“So this is how it is.”

Jiang Jian sensed the transparent curtain.

A sudden enlightenment arose deep within his mind.

The final size and thickness of the Divine Illumination barrier is not random.

It corresponds directly to the true peak of a living being’s own cultivation.

As long as one refines their cultivation to perfection,

then,

with their own cultivation foundation,

it will surely be sufficient to erase the entire Divine Illumination barrier!

Yet most living beings cannot reach such a limit.

The level of divine-given talent also plays a part.

Many terrestrial and lunar beings, upon reaching their peak, attain fullness in the Divine Bestowal and Gushing Spring realms.

But their talent levels never exceed Grade 7.

This leads to:

among all existing Soul Platform beings in the Four Realms of Earth and Moon, the highest recorded achievement was only shattering ninety percent of the Divine Illumination barrier.

Only those with talent levels above Grade 7

can truly shatter the Divine Illumination barrier completely.

Meanwhile,

Jiang Jian clearly sensed:

with his two-realm spiritual essence, if he shattered the transparent curtain, there would still be some left over.

And these leftovers,

were precisely the 121% overflow from his Divine Bestowal realm,

plus the excess spiritual energy from exceeding the Gushing Spring realm’s limit.

“These spiritual energies seem capable of pulling more Divine Illumination barrier from the void.”

Jiang Jian activated his spiritual essence and sensed something faint.

Carefully, he used the remaining spiritual energy to consume the last of the curtain.

Indeed, he sensed:

every bit of the remaining curtain consumed,

more transparent substance surged from the void, reforming the Divine Illumination barrier!

These substances came from the starry cosmos.

They appeared as if from nowhere—profoundly mysterious.

Jiang Jian gazed at these substances and instantly understood: this was the cosmic rule of the Solar System after the birth of a deity!

If a living being shatters the barrier to its absolute limit,

its overflowed spiritual energy will not be wasted.

Instead, within the cosmic rule, it will pull forth new Divine Illumination barrier to replenish the foundation!

As it was consumed,

the thinned barrier fragments also passed through the curtain and sank into the Divine Palace.

As his cultivation foundation was entirely exhausted,

no new substance surged from the void.

Before the Divine Palace,

the once-thick Divine Illumination barrier

remained only as a single transparent layer, thinner than a cicada’s wing!

Deep within the Divine Palace, not only had it absorbed all the barrier, but also gained additional new barrier fragments.

These resources are non-renewable!

They remain within the Divine Palace, slowly digestible.

Once breakthrough is achieved,

Jiang Jian’s foundational potential will surpass his own limits entirely.

Reaching an unimaginably terrifying level!

“Divine Palace realm.”

“The most crucial step toward glimpsing the Soul Platform.”

Jiang Jian checked again, recalled meticulously.

Confirmed that his cultivation had no omissions.

As his mind trembled, he finally prepared for breakthrough.

Firmly resolved, he unleashed his remaining cultivation essence toward the transparent curtain!

Hiss!

A sound that should not exist reached his ears.

Jiang Jian’s pupils contracted; his expression changed instantly.

After all his essence poured into the curtain,

it rippled—not shattering completely.

Instead, new substance surged from the void, smoothing the Divine Illumination barrier back into place!

At this moment,

his cultivation foundation was utterly depleted.

The Divine Illumination barrier remained only a thin layer!

Realm breakthrough failed!

Crack!

An unimaginably massive backlash surged violently!

Every meridian and acupoint in his body was crushed under immense pressure.

Countless fissures appeared instantly!

Jiang Jian suddenly opened his eyes, his black hair disheveled and hanging down, his face as pale as paper, blood oozing from all seven orifices!

The next moment.

The backlash intensified further!

Puff!

Jiang Jian’s throat turned sweet, and crimson blood mixed with spiritual energy spewed from his mouth.

More severe than this was the condition of his two core acupoints.

Both major acupoints had exhausted their spiritual essence.

They were meant to break through to the Divine Palace, awaiting spiritual replenishment.

But now.

The Divine Illumination barrier had not shattered, yet the two acupoints were drained to the last drop.

Gray mist spread along the edges of their walls, even showing signs of decay!

“Once a breakthrough fails,”

“an even more terrifying backlash lies ahead.”

Jiang Jian endured the excruciating pain, forcing himself to regain focus—there was no time yet to investigate why the breakthrough had failed.

Countless thoughts flashed through the depths of his mind.

The first thing he thought of was the terrifying consequences of the failed breakthrough.

The acupoints under pressure were merely the beginning!

Next,

would come spiritual chaos and the most terrifying backlash of cosmic rules!

Crack!

As cracking sounds continued, thirty-six meridians each developed terrifying fissures of varying sizes!

Piercing, bone-chilling pain surged from every pore, like countless needles stabbing wildly at Jiang Jian’s senses.

Even with Jiang Jian’s unyielding will, he now knelt half-bowed, face twisted in agony, beads of sweat falling steadily.

Crack!!!

The rule backlash arrived silently.

An even more terrifying crack echoed suddenly from the depths of his soul!

Hearing that sound,

Jiang Jian’s heart sank.

The next moment,

an even more dreadful pain pierced clearly from the source of his soul!

The fissures on his soul, once repaired after fragmentation, now cracked open anew!

An indescribable exhaustion, vast and overwhelming, crashed over him.

Jiang Jian clearly felt this suffocating, boundless drowsiness.

His previously hazy consciousness snapped instantly awake!

“Don’t sleep.”

He struggled to sit up, forcing himself to stay alert.

Jiang Jian knew.

The end of this drowsiness was not sleep.

It was the complete loss of consciousness, sinking into true death.

The soul’s fissures continued to widen.

Faint glimmers of ice-blue light barely held on.

At that moment,

the moon-white robe he wore suddenly shattered apart!

Streams of soft white light rolled over him, seeping into his forehead.

The Weaving Fate Divine Art brushed gently across him.

In harmony with the ice-blue light, it temporarily silenced the soul’s cracking.

Jiang Jian’s expression darkened; enduring endless agony, his thoughts raced—suddenly, a flash of insight struck his mind!

“It was the Physician!”

“When she cut away a piece of my soul, she planted something inside me!”

Realizing this,

Jiang Jian’s heart turned icy cold.

An indescribable, towering surge of murderous intent erupted!

“Physician.”

“Physician.”

Blood streamed from Jiang Jian’s seven orifices as he smiled coldly, whispering softly.

(End of Chapter)