Chapter 1845: Seeing Yu Lang

The twilight of Daxia City always carries three parts warmth, three parts bustle, and four parts peace after enduring hardship. That inconspicuous manor in the southern part of the city is often shrouded in a layer of mixed phase energy, sometimes with the sound of metal clashing tearing through the air, sometimes with the hiss of ice and fire colliding spreading around, drawing frequent sideways glances from passing cultivators, yet no one dares to approach rashly—this is Yu Lang's cultivation ground, a man who once exhausted his foundation with the "Primordial Phase Technique" and then reversed his fate using the "Myriad Phases Seed Dao Manual" gifted by Li Luo.

Five years after the war, Yu Lang is no longer the carefree captain of the Demon Hunting Squad. He has shed his former playful smile, his bronze-toned face etched with a resolve beyond his years, only his eyes occasionally flash with a hint of mischief, still retaining the shadow of that youth from the Southwind Academy. At this moment, he sits cross-legged in the Spirit Gathering Array at the center of the training ground, seventy-two spirit crystals of varying hues hovering around him, each corresponding to one of the seventy-two basic phase affinities between heaven and earth.

"Huu—"

Yu Lang exhales slowly, his empty phase palace like a bottomless abyss, beginning to draw the phase energy from the spirit crystals. The red fire phase energy leaps like fleeing fireflies, the blue water phase energy winds like a meandering stream, the golden metal phase energy gleams like sharp needle-points, the green wood phase energy flows like supple vines……The seventy-two phase energies surge into the phase palace simultaneously, instantly stirring up monstrous waves.

"Pfft!"

After just three breaths, Yu Lang violently spits out a mouthful of fresh blood, his face instantly turning as pale as paper. Those phase energies collide within his phase palace—fire overcomes wood, water overcomes fire, metal overcomes wood, earth overcomes water—the mutual generation and destruction like countless sharp blades, ruthlessly slicing through his meridians and phase palace. His phase palace was originally reforged by Li Luo using worldly power; though clear and luminous, it lacks natural phase affinity, and forcibly accommodating myriad phases is no different than stuffing blazing fire and freezing ice into the same vessel.

"This… Myriad Phases Seed is a hundred times harder than what Li Luo said!"

Yu Lang wipes the blood from the corner of his mouth, yet there is not the slightest retreat in his eyes. When he cultivated the "Primordial Phase Technique" before, he could forcefully seal a marquisate by sacrificing phase affinity and lifespan; now that he has a second chance at life, what is this pain? He endures the intense pain, sinks his divine sense into the phase palace, and according to the method in the "Myriad Phases Seed Dao Manual," attempts to guide those rampant phase energies.

The opening of the "Myriad Phases Seed Dao Manual" states: "All myriad phases share a common source, all return to chaos; only with merit as a guide and will as a bond can the technique of complete integration be practiced." Yu Lang knows that mere brute force suppression is meaningless; he must find the common ground among the myriad phases. He recalls Li Luo's words when he forged the Meritorious Tower, his mind stirs, and he gently draws forth the accumulated merit power from his years of traveling the four directions into the phase palace.

It is a warm, pure power, like spring rain, falling upon the violent phase energies. Originally mutually hostile phase energies, wrapped in the merit power, gradually sheath their sharpness. The fire phase energy no longer scorches the meridians, the water phase energy ceases to freeze the organs, and the metal, wood, earth, and other phase energies, like tamed beasts, slowly calm down.

"There's a way!" Yu Lang feels joy in his heart, quickly increases the output of merit power, and simultaneously transforms his divine sense into countless threads, carefully wrapping each strand of phase energy. He needs to arrange these phase energies according to the principle of "five phases generating each other, three powers assisting each other," first letting the generating phases form a cycle, then using merit power as a bridge to connect those clashing in attribute.

This is an extremely tedious and dangerous process. He first entwines the fire phase energy with the wood phase energy—fire generates earth, earth nourishes wood, forming a stable triangular cycle; then merges the water phase energy with the metal phase energy—metal generates water, water generates wood, connecting with the previous cycle; finally, he takes the remaining wind, thunder, light, dark, and other phase energies, using merit power as a bond, weaving them into a great net covering the entire phase palace. Time passes in the dull cultivation, day after day, month after month. Yu Lang's manor remains perpetually veiled in a faint rosy glow—sometimes golden light blazes, sometimes greenery flourishes, sometimes flames surge, sometimes misty chill spreads. His body is covered in fine wounds, traces left by phase backlash; old wounds unhealed, new ones added, yet he never ceases.

The meals Bai Doudou brings daily often grow cold, untouched. She watches her husband gradually thin yet grow more upright, her heart both aching and proud, only able to silently wipe his wounds, prepare healing medicines, never disturbing his cultivation. She knows Yu Lang harbors a stubbornness, a refusal to fall behind, a desire to stand once more at the peak.

In the third year of cultivation, Yu Lang encounters his first bottleneck. He has successfully incorporated the seventy-two basic phase energies into his phase palace, forming a preliminary cycle, but these phase energies remain like scattered sand, unable to truly merge into one. No matter how he drives the merit power or how he guides with will, an invisible barrier always exists within the phase palace, separating the myriad phases.

"Why? Clearly following the method, why still cannot integrate?" Yu Lang sits cross-legged for seven days and seven nights, repeatedly deducing the "Myriad Phases Seed Dao Manual," yet finds no answer. He tries increasing the output of phase energy, only to trigger a violent backlash, the phase palace trembling, a mouthful of reverse blood spurting out, his cultivation nearly regressing.

In despair, he recalls Li Luo's words during the Gui Xia War: "The path of cultivation lies not in forcefully defying heaven, but in going with the flow, finding one's own way." Yu Lang startles awake; he has always tried to copy the patterns in the manual, yet overlooked his own nature. He is inherently a carefree, unrestrained soul; forcing the fusion of myriad phases according to rigid rules is itself an act against his heart.

"Exactly! My Yu Lang's way should be unbound, free as the heart desires!"

He no longer clings to the fixed pattern of "five phases generating each other, three powers assisting each other," but instead opens his divine sense, allowing the seventy-two phase energies in the phase palace to flow freely. He recalls fighting side by side with Li Luo at the Southwind Academy, the determination when defending Southwind City, the warmth of depending on Bai Doudou—these emotions become the purest will, infused into every strand of phase energy.

A miracle occurs.

When Yu Lang's will no longer deliberately controls but instead empathizes with the phase energies, those originally distinct phase energies actually begin to spontaneously attract each other. The fire phase energy no longer merely generates with wood, but collides with water to produce splendid rosy light; the metal phase energy no longer obsesses over sharpness, but fuses with earth, becoming thick and resilient; the wind phase energy carries the thunder phase energy, forming a violent thunderstorm, yet under the harmonizing influence of merit power, becomes freely expansive and contractive.

This is a entirely new way of fusion—not the rigid generation and destruction, but with Yu Lang's will as the core, emotion as the bond, allowing the myriad phases to find balance in free collision. In his phase palace, the seventy-two phase energies are like seventy-two colored rivers, interweaving, nourishing each other, finally converging into a vast ocean of multicolored phase energy.

"Boom!"

A tremendous roar, Yu Lang's aura surges violently, the barrier of mid-King Realm shatters in response, and he directly steps into late King Realm! Within the phase palace, that ocean of phase energy begins to rotate, at its center gradually condensing a seven-colored phase seed—the prototype of the Myriad Phases Seed. This phase seed contains the power of seventy-two phase affinities, yet is perfectly unified, exuding a pressure far surpassing cultivators of the same realm. The joy of breakthrough does not make Yu Lang lose himself; he knows this is merely the entry stage of the Myriad Phases Seed. To truly reach the pinnacle, he must continually absorb more phase energies, perfect the foundation of the Myriad Phases Seed. He leaves the manor, begins to wander the Outer Shenzhou, seeking sources of rare phase affinities.

He once ventured into the frozen snowfields of the extreme north, in temperatures below minus a thousand degrees, absorbing the legendary "Extreme Cold Mystic Ice Phase." That time, he nearly froze solid, the fire phase energy in his phase palace nearly frozen, fortunately he used merit power to drive the phase ocean, barely managing to incorporate the Extreme Cold Mystic Ice Phase, adding a thread of ultimate chill to the Myriad Phases Seed.

He also once stormed the Ten Thousand Great Mountains of the southern borders, in the miasma-laden jungle, found the source of the "Netherworld Poison Phase." This phase energy is incredibly sinister; once contacted, it erodes the meridians. Yu Lang spent three full months purifying the poison phase with merit power, then refining it with his own will, before integrating it into the Myriad Phases Seed, giving his attacks a thread of unstoppable deadly poison.

He also once ascended Penglai Immortal Island in the Eastern Sea, absorbing the "Vast Righteousness Phase"; plunged into the Flowing Sands Desert of the Western Regions, obtaining the "Great Earth Pulse Phase"; even intruded into the edge of the dark world guarded by Li Lingjing, capturing a trace of the "Shadow Devouring Phase." Each absorption of a rare phase affinity is a life-and-death trial, but Yu Lang, relying on his tenacious will and ever-improving Myriad Phases Seed, repeatedly turns peril into safety.

In the fifth year of cultivation, Yu Lang's Myriad Phases Seed has already absorbed one hundred and eight phase affinities, covering the five phases, yin-yang, wind-thunder, light-dark, poison, ice, stone, wood, and many other attributes of heaven and earth. In his phase palace, that seven-colored phase seed has grown into a towering tree, the trunk seven-colored, the leaves dotted with countless tiny phase energy specks, each speck representing one phase affinity.

On this day, Yu Lang arrives at the Myriad Monster Mountains of the eastern realm, where the legendary "Chaos Monster Phase" is said to dwell. The Chaos Monster Phase is an ancient phase affinity born at the dawn of heaven and earth, containing chaotic power, capable of devouring all phase energies, the perfect completion for the Myriad Phases Seed, yet also the most perilous.

At the center of the Myriad Monster Mountains lies a Chaos Vortex, within which black chaotic qi tumbles, emitting a terrifying pressure that makes the heart palpitate. Yu Lang hesitates not, stepping into the vortex; the chaotic qi instantly envelops him, attempting to devour his phase energies completely. The Myriad Phases Tree within his phase palace violently shakes, branches snap, countless phase energy specks extinguish, the situation becomes extremely critical.

"Give me fusion!"

Yu Lang roars angrily, erupting all the merit power within his body, simultaneously sinking his divine sense into the roots of the Myriad Phases Tree. He recalls his life's experiences—from the carefree youth of Southwind City, to the iron-blooded captain of the Demon Hunting Squad, from the despair of his phase palace being destroyed, to the resilience of his rebirth—all emotions, all will, transformed into a mighty power, poured into the Myriad Phases Tree.

Under the erosion of chaotic qi, the Myriad Phases Tree does not wither, but instead bursts forth with brilliant light. The seven-colored hue on the trunk becomes richer, the broken branches regrow, the extinguished phase energy specks relight. The chaotic qi, like a tamed beast, begins to be gradually absorbed by the Myriad Phases Tree, transformed into nourishment for the trunk.

"Crack!"

A soft sound, at the tip of the Myriad Phases Tree blooms a seven-colored flower; at the flower's center, a perfect Myriad Phases Fruit quietly forms. This fruit contains the power of one hundred and eight phase affinities, with chaotic qi as the foundation, merit power as the bond, willpower as the core, perfectly unified, unmatched. "Boom——!"

Yu Lang's aura surges again, the barrier of late King Realm easily torn apart, he directly crosses the peak of King Realm and steps into the legendary Lord Realm! At this moment, the entire Outer Shenzhou world feels this mighty aura, countless cultivators raise their heads toward the Myriad Monster Mountains, eyes filled with shock and awe.

Lord Realm powerhouses, in today's Outer Shenzhou world, are already a handful of top-tier existences!

Yu Lang slowly opens his eyes, seven-colored light flickering in his pupils, five-colored phase energy swirling around him, with every gesture seeming to move the myriad phases of heaven and earth. He feels the boundless power within, yet his heart is unusually calm. He knows this is not the end, but a new beginning.

His form flashes, instantly returning to the manor in Daxia City. Bai Doudou stands at the door, tiptoeing in anticipation; seeing Yu Lang return, her face instantly lights with joy. When she senses the unfathomable aura on Yu Lang, a flicker of surprise crosses her eyes, immediately turning into full pride.

"Success?" Bai Doudou asks softly.

Yu Lang steps forward, gently embraces her, smiling as he nods: "Success, from now on no one will be able to bully us."

At this moment, a gentle voice sounds in the void: "Congratulations, Yu Lang. I never expected you could cultivate the Myriad Phases Seed to such a degree, even I am somewhat surprised."

Yu Lang looks up, only to see a figure appear in the void—none other than the World Sovereign Li Luo. He still bears that gentle appearance, his body emanating faint worldly power, yet making one dare not gaze directly.

"Li Luo!" Yu Lang releases Bai Doudou, a long-lost playful smile appearing on his face, "What? World Sovereign my lord, got time to come see this old friend of mine?"