Chapter 1681: Ascending to Dao Merging

Boundless radiance converged, finally taking the form of a humanoid creature—a sixteen-year-old human youth.

"At last… I've recovered…"

Jiang Ding Zi murmured.

He swept his divine sense across his current state. His Dharma Body had revived once more; magic power was born ceaselessly from his dantian, flowing through his entire body and granting him tremendous strength. He was no longer like the sword soul, rootless and unanchored—his power had returned to the peak of the past and easily surpassed it.

"Now, can I slay a complete Heavenly Being?"

Jiang Ding said silently.

He should be able to slay early-stage Heavenly Being cultivators, and mid-stage ones were also possible.

But this held no meaning.

A sword cultivator slaying a powerful foe could trigger a breakthrough, but this was never guaranteed. The main thing still depended on the cultivator's own accumulation. Challenging powerful foes mainly solved the crucial final push—that one percent of inspiration.

Though this one percent of inspiration was incomparably precious, deciding the vast majority of matters in the world.

But lacking the ninety-nine percent of sweat was also useless—one could not conjure a pavilion out of thin air.

Among countless sword cultivators in bloody combat, some victors achieved breakthroughs, some victors gained nothing at all—this was the reason.

Bloody combat only added one possibility.

But if you originally lacked such a foundation, or if the foundation was too thin, mediocrity would remain mediocrity.

Jiang Ding focused all his attention on his Great Sun Immortal Mortal Sword Soul.

This was the greatest harvest, and the concentrated embodiment of the fourth-step rule's fine-tuned Nirvana breakthrough.

"Law-Destruction is this sovereign's instinct…"

Jiang Ding whispered.

He loosened some of that instinct.

In an instant, light dimmed within ten thousand li in all directions; spiritual energy vanished, rules collapsed, and all sank into a stretch of chaos. There was simply no spiritual creature left between heaven and earth.

Only some high-energy beings endured a little longer, but they too soon fell.

A ten-thousand-li radius became a dead zone for spiritual energy!

But this spiritual deprivation was not absolute—the ambient spiritual energy of the region was compressed toward the central area, falling behind Jiang Ding and transforming into a towering Sun Divine Tree that rose slowly, standing majestic within the starry sky.

Clang!

The Taiqing Flying Sword hummed softly and came before him.

Jiang Ding gently grasped the hilt, carefully examining this ninth-grade supreme sword embryo that had recovered alongside his Dharma Body—his Dao-Attaining Artifact.

It was a flying sword three chi in size, its entire body composed of nine-colored radiance. The azure light shone bright; the remaining eight colors were dim and incomplete.

It still required the blood of eight Dao Sons to complete one metamorphosis.

Jiang Ding attempted to touch the core of the Great Sun Immortal Mortal Sword Soul—that black-and-white pupil. As expected, the sword soul emitted a sharp pain, as if about to split apart.

"Still not possible."

"The Great Sun Immortal Mortal Dharma Body is incomplete and cannot bear a divine soul that breaks through the fourth-step limit…"

Jiang Ding tried for a while, gained no miracle, and gave up.

The only path now was to slay eight Dao Sons, let the Taiqing Flying Sword complete one breakthrough, thereby triggering the Dharma Body to complete one breakthrough and become whole.

At that time, he would truly be a being who had broken through the fourth-step limit.

For now, he could only count it as half a breakthrough.

"The fourth step is truly this difficult."

"What must the legendary True Immortals be like?"

Jiang Ding said with longing.

From a kind of instinct, he vaguely knew that going from the third step to the fourth was a threshold. From the fourth step to the sixth was also extremely difficult, but it was no longer impossible.

Much like a minister of noble birth compared to an emperor.

Though the gap between the two remained enormous, the possibility of transformation existed—no longer beyond reach.

Around him, the Law-Destruction pressure gradually converged back into one. The Sun Divine Tree likewise dissipated, transforming into a flying sword that fell into Jiang Ding's brow.

He was accustomed to hiding within darkness.

"It is what it is."

"Today, this sovereign—"

Jiang Ding gazed into the deep starry sky: "—ascends to Dao Merging!"

"Even if there are regrets, they can only be sought within the Dao Merging stage. This sovereign is a man of low birth; Void Refinement has already reached the true limit of talent and inheritance. I can hope for nothing more."

"Fortunately, I have ultimately gained a trace of an immortal's characteristics, leaving a stepping stone for the great Dao of the future."

There was nothing left in the Void Refinement realm to linger over.

This realm had reached its end; more scenery existed in the realms above.

"So, come."

Jiang Ding looked toward the Heavenly Dao of the Nine Spirit Domain and said to himself.

Boom—!

A thunderclap exploded in the starry sky, rolling in from the Immortal Dao cosmos, blanketing the entire sky of the solar system. Countless lightning serpents danced; countless thunderous destruction rules blossomed; the killing intent of Heaven's punishment spread dense and thick, filling the starry sky. All living beings fell into a rigidity of divine soul, unable to perceive the existence of the outside world.

"Dao Merging—"

"So that is how it is."

In that instant, Jiang Ding gained a sudden realization.

His divine soul instantly disintegrated and dissolved, transforming into dim golden Law-Destruction Sun rule-nets that appeared between heaven and earth, drawing near to the Heavenly Dao.

This was a cultivator's Dao Merging!

The so-called Dao Merging was when a Void Refinement cultivator imitated the power of heaven and earth's rules, grasping rule-power as mortals used water and fire, weaving rule-power into nets, then using this woven rule-power to shelter their own divine soul, allowing the cultivator's divine soul to delve deep into the Heavenly Dao and imprint their Shen Hun Lao Yin within the depths of the Heavenly

realm.

This is a cultivator's Dao Merging.

From then on, a Dao Merging cultivator's lifespan, magic power, and divine abilities would all increase enormously. Even if struck down, their Shen Hun He Fa body shattered, so long as they did not face the cross-border suppression of a Heavenly Being, they would absolutely not die. Possessing a certain degree of immortality, they could dominate a realm for a hundred thousand years.

This single step of Dao Merging was enough to trap countless beings across hundreds of Minor Thousand Worlds for endless ages.

But what did such difficulty mean to the Great Sun Sword Child?

Trivial. Like a speck of dust.

The Great Sun Immortal-Mortal Sword Soul shattered, the Law-Destroying Sun Rule bloomed and merged into the Heavenly Dao. This was but a single instant. The Heavenly Dao of the Nine Spirit Domain joyfully accepted the Shen Hun Lao Yin of the Great Sun Sword Master, accepted the Law-Destroying Sun Rule, and the entire Heavenly Dao began to undergo subtle changes.

Yes, the Heavenly Dao had undergone subtle changes!

After such painstaking effort, paying such a price, taking three steps to the limit, and launching a sacred sword duel toward Bi Si Zhi Jing — was it only for a single Dao Merging?

Absolutely not!

"The rules between heaven and earth can be changed!"

"The universe and nature are dynamically changing, developing; nothing is immutable, and rules are no exception."

Jiang Ding said in a low voice: "The process of Dao Merging is an excellent opportunity to subtly alter the Heavenly Dao. The Heavenly Dao absorbs the new rule, becomes more complete, and thereby… allows this sovereign to influence the Heavenly Dao!"

Boom!

The Heavenly Dao of the Nine Spirit Domain came into contact with an entirely new rule. A rumbling sound arose throughout the entire domain. Countless rules fell into chaos, countless chaotic auras appeared, heaven and earth turned dark, as if returning to the very beginning when Pangu cleaved heaven and earth apart.

Everything was changing!