Chapter 329: Rich Rewards After Eleven Years of Cultivation Retreat!

Ta Ke is deep in his cultivation retreat.

The Stone Demon Statue continent is rapidly changing.

While cultivating, Ta Ke can clearly see a series of changes in the villages and city‑states at the mountain's foot through the steam ring.

As massive seeds of the extraordinary sequence pour into the Eastern Continent, numerous towers are erected and steam‑train tracks are laid.

Many large extraordinary city‑states on the Stone Demon Statue continent are suffused with the atmosphere of the steam wave era.

Young people flock into city‑states equipped with steam rails, seeking seeds of the extraordinary sequence, and then advance into the deep wilderness for exploration.

And the Blood Demon Dusk Mountain where Ta Ke is located happens to be the first target for many extraordinary explorers.

The outskirts of Blood Demon Dusk Mountain also contain abundant resources.

Thus it continuously attracts wave after wave of extraordinary practitioners.

Although some extraordinary practitioners reap rewards, equally many lose their lives because of it.

Just as Ta Ke and his companions once ventured deep into the Ashlands for exploration.

When the first year of Ta Ke's cultivation retreat is about to end.

The Steam Wonder Cabin Tower finally metamorphosed and ascended to the 4‑Ring stage.

And during the retreat, the talent fragments he harvested.

Ta Ke poured them all into the SSS‑exclusive extraordinary talent 【Steam·World·Primordial Static】, raising it to over 2600%.

This greatly increased Ta Ke's comprehension efficiency of the Chaotic Rune Arcana.

Ta Ke plans to, in the coming time, invest all the talent fragments he acquires into the SSS‑exclusive extraordinary talent pool 【Steam·World·Primordial Static】.

After all, this extraordinary talent is the easiest to comprehend, understand, and digest rune arcana.

The higher this talent is raised.

Thus, over this ten‑year journey of comprehending the Chaotic Rune Arcana, he can elevate the Chaotic Rune Arcana to a higher level, laying a solid foundation for future cultivation.

In the subsequent cultivation.

Both the Eastern and Western continents are in a relatively stable state.

Aside from occasional duels among high‑level extraordinary practitioners, the ripples reach the vicinity of Blood Demon Dusk Mountain.

Most of the time, the only change at Blood Demon Dusk Mountain is that the city‑state Ta Ke previously eradicated at its foot gradually prospers.

When Ta Ke's fourth cultivation year is about to end.

Grand Duke Sairi'ans sends a messenger to invite Ta Ke to Saint Land.

The trip lasts half a month.

When he returns.

Ta Ke receives a rather generous reward.

The sixth‑stage ascension materials that Ta Ke had spoken of to Senior Lei Yage.

Grand Duke Sairi'ans gathered them for Ta Ke, and they are all top‑grade materials of Crown‑rank Lord level.

However, the seventh‑stage materials were not prepared for Ta Ke by Grand Duke Sairi'ans.

Grand Duke Sairi'ans does have seventh‑stage Lord materials.

But these are clearly unsuitable for Ta Ke's current ascension foundation.

For a seventh‑stage ascension, using Chaotic materials as the core together with Crown‑rank materials works better.

To ascend to Chao Shen Da Shi, one must absorb and digest Chaotic materials during a high‑level ascension process.

However, both Crown‑rank materials and Chaotic materials are hard to obtain.

Grand Duke Sairi'ans could leave the extraordinary world for a while and look elsewhere; it's not impossible to find them.

But this timing is clearly unsuitable.

Although there are no seventh‑stage top‑grade materials.

Grand Duke Sairi'ans prepared a better reward for Ta Ke.

Knowing that Ta Ke is heading to 【Alumof·Half‑God World】, Grand Duke Sairi'ans has already smoothed relations for him there.

After Ta Ke arrives at 【Alumof·Half‑God World】.

Not only is there a powerful "Legendary‑grade Heroic Spirit Mentor" guiding Ta Ke's cultivation.

There are also quite decent relic sites where towers are built, giving Ta Ke a stable dwelling.

Moreover, after arriving at 【Alumof·Half‑God World】, Ta Ke will have an opportunity to choose a forbidden‑spell cultivation.

Such a forbidden‑spell choice was originally reserved for the "Divine Son of the Gods" of the Three‑Eyed God and the seven Half‑Gods.

But Ta Ke, a "Divine Favored One" a notch below a Divine Son, lacks such qualification.

However, under the workings of Grand Duke Sairi'ans and another extraordinary master from the Three‑Eyed God Church who favors Ta Ke.

Ta Ke obtained such an opportunity.

Since the seniors have paved the way for Ta Ke.

Ta Ke naturally intends to work hard at cultivation.

During these four years of retreat, Ta Ke spent most of his time on comprehending the Chaotic Rune Arcana.

When the Chaotic Rune Arcana hits a bottleneck.

Ta Ke will also switch to other rune arcana.

The rune arcana corroborate each other, making it easier to break through bottlenecks.

And Ta Ke does not slow the advancement of his extraordinary state.

Around the fifth year.

Ta Ke's level gradually advanced to 59, and his extraordinary state reached 50%.

Ta Ke then naturally ascended to level 60.

He officially advanced to the bishop rank.

And it was also in that year, near its end.

Ta Ke's 【Steam·World·Origin Static】 reached an unprecedented level of 5000%.

Although the entry did not change much.

But Ta Ke could clearly feel that his 【World】 attribute was different from before.

More precisely, Ta Ke found it easier to control the surrounding world.

Even the world itself actively resonated toward Ta Ke.

In simple terms, the "resonance" is the 【World Origin】 sensing abnormal fluctuations, and the origin's will "tells" Ta Ke.

Ta Ke seemed to become part of the origin world.

Benefiting from the 【Steam·World·Origin Static】 reaching an unprecedented 5000%.

The 【World】 origin trait is poured into Ta Ke's sequential ecology in large amounts every day.

And regarding the insight of Chaotic Rune Great Art, as the depth of his talent metamorphoses, the insight efficiency also climbs a notch.

The tenfold integer ring‑state nodes that previously troubled Ta Ke were all easily broken by him.

The following year, the seventh year.

The Chaotic Rune Great Art reached a turning point.

Its manifestation began to gradually weaken.

But Ta Ke, because his own talent kept strengthening, saw his insight efficiency not only maintain but increase.

When he entered the ninth year of covert cultivation.

Ta Ke changed his covert cultivation site.

He moved from Blood Demon Dusk Mountain to Saint Land.

The reason for moving to Saint Land was that Ta Ke needed to anchor the demon king's lair in Lamor to complete the divine skill 【Phase Walk】 to 1000 fragments.

Now Ta Ke is already at the sixth‑grade bishop level.

The distance of the anchoring development zone has also become extremely far.

In Saint Land, Ta Ke can search for the core layer of the demon king's tomb he once anchored deep within Lamor.

Unwittingly, more than two years passed in Saint Land's covert cultivation.

In this feast of Chaotic Rune Great Art insight, Ta Ke has cultivated for a full eleven years.

"Boom—..."

A purple thunderclap tore a vein of lightning deep within the heavy night.

It illuminated the Lamor ruins shrouded in the depths of the night.

The reestablished Dark Sun city‑state.

A multitude of "residents" moved like puppets, their gazes vacant, their motions stiff as they carried out daily routines.

What drives them is the all‑pervasive Dark Sun network.

The interwoven Dark Sun altar atop the Dark Sun tower emits a Dark Sun network that, like shackles, imprisons these lives while squeezing the last threads of their soul‑faith from their bodies.

Dark Sun needs no life!

Dark Sun only needs obedient puppets, only needs lifeforms that contribute faith to it.

Through the tower's glass windows, it scrutinizes the night shrouded in darkness.

The Shadow Walker "Lu Xi En·You Jin" whose level has been stuck at 69 for a very long time.

A slight worry flickers in the depths of his pupils, but more so numbness.

"The Chaotic Rune Great Art has already begun to decline."

"And I'm still far from the second ring state of the Chaotic Rune, only at about a 1.4 or 1.5 ring state."

"Later, there may be slight progress, but gathering the second ring state will be... very, very difficult."

"My Dark Rune is barely at the eighth ring state; even borrowing the Chaotic Rune's traits, it's hard to reach the tenth ring state of Dark."

Thinking so, Lu Xi En·You Jin couldn't help but shake his head and sigh, saying,

"This Chaotic Rune insight is too hard."

"It's seven or eight times, even ten times harder than Dark Rune insight."

"The initial insight was somewhat easy, but after consolidating the first ring state and entering deeper layers of the art, the difficulty rose sharply."

"Just like my Dark Rune, after reaching the fifth ring state, each subsequent inference becomes exceptionally arduous."

"It took an unknown number of years, finally reaching near the eighth ring state, but it feels impossible to advance any further."

"This Chaotic Rune's art insight difficulty is far higher than that of Dark Rune."

"I truly don't know how those who completed the tenth ring state rune art insight managed it."

"I heard... beyond the Transcendent Ocean, a genius with S‑grade transcendent talent completed the twentieth ring state, condensing a powerful Chaotic Crown."

"I can't even imagine... what kind of talent that is."

"I guess it must have a foundation of Chaotic Rune art insight."

"Otherwise, it would be impossible to condense the twentieth ring state within such a short ten years."

"But then again..."

Lu Xi En·You Jin looked toward Saint Land.

"Rumor has it that a few years ago that guy returned from the Eastern Continent to Saint Land."

"Then he cultivated covertly within Saint Land; I don't know... to what extent his Chaotic Rune art insight has progressed."

Boom—...

Accompanied by a slight tremor of the earth, another streak of violet lightning flashed.

Only this time, the room reflected two silhouettes.

One was the figure of Lu Xi'en·Youjin standing by the window.

The other was a figure seated on the nearby sofa.

"Wha—..."

The flames in the fireplace suddenly flared up, then quickly grew larger.

"Hm?"

Sensing something amiss, Lu Xi'en·Youjin abruptly turned around.

When that silhouette on the sofa entered his sight.

Lu Xi'en·Youjin's pupils suddenly contracted.

The terror in his heart erupted like a volcano, rumbling, and for a moment his mind fell into a brief blank.

When Lu Xi'en·Youjin tried to act, he found he had already lost control of his body, and even the manipulation of source energy and soul power gave no feedback at all.

"Do I not even have the qualification to act...?"

Lu Xi'en·Youjin's heart sank heavily, leaving only a pair of eyes glowing with Dark Sun candlelight, coldy scrutinizing the person on the sofa.

The young man's voice on the sofa was calm and natural, like the tone of recounting hearth stories after a banquet.

"Your level has been 69 for a long time, why haven't you sought a breakthrough?"

Such a reply, Lu Xi'en·Youjin could not possibly give.

But what shocked Lu Xi'en·Youjin was that he himself began to speak in a stiff tone.

【Terrifying Rank】 Sai Er Si·Jin Ji Wu Ya.

The tangled thoughts further unsettled Lu Xi'en·Youjin.

"I've tried to breakthrough several times before, but none succeeded."

"These repeated attempts have affected my Sequence Tree to some extent."

"Now it's very hard for me to breakthrough."

The person on the sofa shifted his sitting posture slightly.

"Hmm... whether I breakthrough or not, the significance is little."

"It's not that the meaning is small; if you breakthrough, perhaps the one waiting to die here at La Mo Er today wouldn't be you."

Ta Ke's words made Lu Xi'en·Youjin pause briefly.

"God, is it watching?"

Ta Ke smiled lightly, like a demon.

Even though Lu Xi'en·Youjin didn't want to say it a million times, he eventually spoke it.

"Yes!"

"You hoped I'd arrive here, then... you would initiate the ritual, the God's power would descend, and finish the killing on me."

"A fine plan."

"But you overlooked one thing."

"When I arrive, you not only lack the qualification to start the ritual, you don't even have the right to convey the message."

With Ta Ke's words.

Lu Xi'en·Youjin's body trembled even more violently.

"Originally, I intended to penetrate deep into the Ashen Land and unleash a forbidden spell starburst on every Dark Sun city‑state."

"But Grand Duke Sai Li Ang Si told me privately."

"If I did that, the God of the Dark Sun would certainly intervene."

"The Dark Sun ecology here is deeply entrenched, and with ash devouring this world, the Dark Sun God's power can truly descend directly."

"Ecological problems must be fought with ecology."

"The Dark Sun ecological forces on the Eastern Continent have gradually been expelled."

"And the Sunstone Empire is also conducting negotiations."

"They are even severing ties with the Dark Sun power."

"Frankly, your Dark Sun Church's power can only survive miserably in this Ashen Land."

"The counterattack of the ecological war is only a matter of time."

"Though I now have some strength, it is clearly still insufficient to contend with God!"

"Therefore, I must cultivate diligently to become stronger, so that one day I can, before all of you Dark Sun believers, slay the god you worship!"

Lu Xi'en·Youjin's breathing began to quicken.

"Hmm... Sixth Tier can serve as a decent Soul Curtain."

"By the way."

"You're a Shadow Walker, right?"

Ta Ke revealed a bloody, indifferent smile.

"The Soul Curtain is a fitting refuge for you."

Facing Lu Xi'en·Youjin, Ta Ke began setting up the Soul Curtain ceremony.

Also a Sixth Tier, Lu Xi'en·Youjin had no leverage to resist before Ta Ke.

After roughly a few minutes.

When Ta Ke left La Mo Er.

"Boom—..."

The power buried deep within Lamoer surged, enveloping Lamoer and everything within a several‑kilometer radius.

Even… the Dark Sun God's power was silently writhing within it.

The arrangement was quite good, even rather clever.

Unfortunately for Ta Ke now, it posed no threat.

The world's primordial source constantly echoed to Ta Ke.

The setup here naturally could not deceive Ta Ke.

Watching Lamoer's final ruins and debris disappear and be swallowed as the Dark Sun power writhed.

Until Lamoer was completely buried in the deep darkness.

Ta Ke took a deep breath and turned to leave.

Just as Ta Ke said.

The current Ta Ke cannot threaten the Dark Sun God, let alone confront it.

Only by becoming stronger can Ta Ke someday accomplish the great God‑slaughter.

Ta Ke's forward direction is not toward the southern Shenglande.

It is the world‑barrier passage deep in the eastern ocean.

After about nine years of covert cultivation on the Eastern Continent, plus roughly two years of training in Shenglande.

Now, having finished these eleven years of cultivation, Ta Ke prepares to board the "Spirit Realm Startrack Steam Train" to leave the Aogu Twin Star Transcendent World and head for the Alumov Demi‑God World to pursue his journey as a Chao Shen Da Shi.

"Wooo..."

Accompanied by the blooming of the Steam·Light Feather Blade.

Under a faint steam roar.

Ta Ke flew wildly and swiftly above the high‑altitude clouds.

Transcendent Sequence

Steam Wizard: Level 68.

Primordial Dark Sea: Level 68.

Transcendent Divine Skill

Critical·Phase Walk (1832 fragments): Level 60.

Undying·Flame Heart (1300 fragments): Level 60.

Demon‑Forbidden·Exclusive Passage (7265 fragments): Level 60.

Transcendent Talent

Precision·High‑Dimension·Correction (SSS exclusive): 2100%.

Steam·World·Primordial Static (SSS exclusive): 7120%.

Transcendent Witchcraft/Ability

Steam·Light Feather Blade (four‑star, form ability): Level 60

Sheep Transformation Technique (two‑star, ability): Level 60.

Spirit Touch Perception (two‑star, ability): Level 60.

Annihilation·Silent Starburst (six‑star): Level 69.

Ancient Spirit·Star Dragon Breath (five‑star): Level 69.

Rune·Soul Shadow (four‑star): Level 60.

Rune·Earth Turtle Shell (three‑star): Level 60.

Rune·Spirit Walk Hand (three‑star): Level 60.

Rune·Hurricane Hold (three‑star): Level 60.

Molded Light Spear (two‑star): Level 50.

Holy Light Healing Technique (two‑star): Level 50

Examining his own attribute panel.

Ta Ke knew clearly that, although the attribute panel displayed many details,

his own growth was far more astonishing than the panel showed.

From these eleven years of cultivation, Ta Ke stockpiled over three million source energy experience.

His level reached 68, and his Transcendent state was gradually pushed to about 70%.

The Dual Forbidden Curse had already reached Level 69, and every aspect had been refined considerably.

The Ecological Demon Net was astonishingly stable.

Other relatively useful abilities were also raised by Ta Ke to Level 60.

Phase Walk, this innate divine skill, during Ta Ke's more than two years in Shenglande.

was elevated to a full 1832‑fragment level.

After crossing the 1000‑fragment threshold, it also transformed into Critical·Phase Walk, whose divine‑skill traits are stronger than before.

Of course, the greatest boost was still Demon‑Forbidden·Exclusive Passage.

It reached a terrifying over‑7000‑fragment magnitude.

Even on top of 5000 fragments, upgrading each fragment node requires 8 fragments.

But Taku spent nine years in Blood Demon Dusk Mountain.

The power of time piled this day's divine ability height to over seven thousand.

Taku reckons he should pretty much be fully exempt from the constraints of the 【Demon Seal】 trait.

On the other hand, what Taku is intensifying is the 【Steam·World·Origin Spirit State】.

Reached over 7000%.

In terms of comprehending rune profundities, this day's endowment possesses an extraordinary trait.

Nowadays, Taku has a three-digit chaotic rune ring state.

The 【Steam·World·Origin Spirit State】, this mighty extraordinary talent, is indispensable.

What is it like to have a talent so strong it explodes?

Over these past few years, Taku has deeply felt it.

The profound accumulation in rune profundities.

The ultimate enhancement of divine abilities.

And the improvement of his own witchcraft, abilities, and so on in all aspects.

Allows the level-68 Taku to already have the strength to go alone to the 【Alumofu·Demigod World】.