Chapter 285: My Tree Exploded

Yu Lin began to try using the Myth Book as the foundation that bears all his Cultivation Paths.

At first, the process went fairly smoothly; the Myth Book, like a docile vessel, accepted refined Qi, Immortal Method, Authority, Holy Power, Demon, Knight, Magic, and other layers of Runes and Dao Rhythm representing different systems.

However, as more and more systems were integrated, by the middle stage the Myth Book seemed to reach a certain capacity limit, began to tremble slightly, emitting a resisting intent, as if a satiated child instinctively wanted to "spit" out the excess.

"Hm? No spitting out! Swallow it all, digest it!"

Just as the final Cultivation Path merged into the Myth Book.

Buzz—!!!

A sound akin to the primordial, world‑creating Dao Sound rose from the formless, grand and ancient, bearing the rhythm of birth and destruction, violently shaking the entire Sea of Consciousness!

From the "bottom" of the violently metamorphosing Myth Book, countless thick, dragon‑like roots shimmering with Chaos hue sprang into existence!

They did not embed into void; they pierced straight through the barriers of the Sea of Consciousness, as if linking to the unknowable, unmeasurable source of all heavens and realms, an endless ocean of rules, and began to frantically draw in nourishment and Dao Rhythm!

Simultaneously, the "top" of the Myth Book, its main trunk, began to grow and thicken at a visible speed! It ceased to be a book in form, and instead, in the anticipated direction, transformed into a sky‑piercing, earth‑penetrating trunk that seemed capable of supporting countless worlds!

Upon the trunk, the pattern was not growth rings but woven from countless ultra‑fine innate Dao markings and Law Chains, each strand expounding a universal principle, a source of power.

On the main trunk, seven primary branches of varied forms and myriad phenomena burst forth first, like seven colossal dragons soaring, seizing destiny! They corresponded to the seven great Cultivation Paths, emitting distinct yet powerful Dao Rhythm.

Yu Lin's consciousness "watched" this ever‑evolving, myriad‑phenomena "Mythic Tree", silently thinking, "Not bad, the prototype is visible," and was about to press harder to solidify it fully—

Bang!!!

A deep, soul‑piercing roar echoed!

The seemingly about‑to‑form, vast "Mythic Tree" suddenly, without warning, exploded from within! Countless Light Rain, Runes, and Dao Rhythm scattered like fireworks!

Yu Lin: "…………"

No way? It exploded?!

His heart tightened, and as he prepared to employ a technique to forcibly gather these scattered primordial forces for remedy—

Anomalies flare again!

The exploded Light Rain, Runes, and Dao Rhythm did not fully dissipate; instead, under an invisible, higher‑level rule, they rapidly condensed inward! All knowledge, insights, and power systems ceased to seek branch forms, becoming countless Light Dots flashing with varied lusters and information.

Hundreds of millions of Light Dots converged and swirled, as if forming a miniature, infinitely potential‑filled vast Starry Sky!

Immediately, all the Cultivation Paths Yu Lin mastered again emerged from this "Starry Sky", but instead of rebuilding a tree, they surged like countless rivers returning to the sea, heading toward the Myth Book that reappeared at the center of the Starry Sky, seemingly restored to its original form!

This time, the Myth Book was no longer a foundation but became… a "Starting Point"!

All the forces took it as a head and began to evolve!

First, it sketched "Bone" after "Bone" imbued with different Great Dao rules, constructing a basic framework; then countless interwoven rules formed the "Flesh" to fill its shape; finally, the light fully collapsed and solidified—

A palm‑sized Small Fish, its whole body flowing with Chaos hue, graceful and mysterious, appeared within Yu Lin's Sea of Consciousness!

Most of this Small Fish's Scales were dim and lightless, like a dormant Universe.

However, a few Scales among them were flashing with light.

Yu Lin fixed his gaze; on each luminous Scale, faint dynamic familiar scenes manifested — the moments when he first entered the mission to undertake it!

Each glowing Scale represented a "Time Point" or "Mythic Trajectory" he had profoundly experienced and integrated!

Seeing this, Yu Lin's mind was like a Chaos lightning cleaving the fog, suddenly bright! A revelation rose spontaneously:

His true path does not lie in mastering numerous external power systems, but in unifying all the "I" across all times, spaces, and experiences!

This fish symbolizes the "I" swimming in the river of time and myth.

Each luminous Scale is an "I" that has been anchored and merged.

When all the Scales on this fish illuminate, when all scattered "I"s from past, present, and countless realms are unified, returning to the "only" of the "present moment", that is the supreme moment of Dao verification!

This is… the sole path to the supreme! — gathering myriad others and selves, achieving the True Self Unity!

Yu Lin looked at the Small Fish slowly swimming and sparkling with several sparks of light in the Sea of Consciousness, fell silent for a moment, and finally tugged at the corner of his mouth:

"Now it's... truly become fish scales."

"But it's okay, at least I've seen the right direction."

Yu Lin withdrew his gaze, his consciousness leaving the Sea of Consciousness.

And the Qilin waiting beside him.

It muttered, "Is this the sudden enlightenment?"

"It could already beat ten of me with one hand; now it must be able to beat a hundred?"

"How terrifying, but at least it's my master; now it's others I should fear, hehe..........."

It thought silently.

Until Yu Lin, looking at the sun already risen on the horizon, turned and said:

【48】 "Let's go."

Yu Lin watched the slowly swimming Small Fish in the Sea of Consciousness, its light flickering like a few sparks, fell silent for a moment, then tugged at his mouth corner:

"Huh? Where to?"

"Of course, to teach my new disciple."

"Oh."

Yu Lin mounted it, strolling slowly back toward the village where Arthur resides.

Upon reaching the village, this time, Merlin did not, as yesterday, pre‑sense Yu Lin's arrival.

The Yu Lin of yesterday, though powerful, bore a chaotic, massive mixture of force auras within like torches in the night—intense, dazzling, and subtly at odds with the natural rhythm of this world.

For a Grand Mage like Merlin, adept in natural Magic and keen perception, it was like hurling a boulder into a calm lake—hard to ignore.

However, Yu Lin now, his surrounding aura had undergone an earth‑shaking transformation.

That overflowing, system‑mixing "Noise Point" had vanished completely.

All forces seemed to be unified and smelted by a higher‑level, more essential rule, ultimately returning to an indescribable "Unified Harmony".

His aura was no longer a torch opposing Heaven and Earth, but had become part of the natural world itself.

He sat on the Qilin's back, strolling leisurely, his figure perfectly merging with the surrounding trees, the passing breeze, and the dappled sunlight, in perfect harmony.

It seemed as if he were not an outsider, but rather a mountain stone and an ancient tree that had grown here since ancient times, naturally 'should' be there.

Merlin stood in front of the house, until Yu Lin's figure riding a kirin clearly appeared in his field of vision, only then did he suddenly realize.

His pupils contracted slightly, and a storm of shock surged in his heart.

He could not comprehend what had happened in such a short night that could cause a person's aura to undergo such a fundamental transformation.

But he clearly knew one thing—whether it was yesterday's Yu Lin, whose aura was vast and expansive, or today's Yu Lin, whose aura was rounded and inwardly restrained, in harmony with heaven and earth, the essential power of both far exceeded his imagination, something he could not possibly contend with.

A hint of relief spontaneously rose in Merlin's heart.

"Not bad..." he thought to himself, his gaze complex as he looked at Yu Lin:

"Such a person is Arthur's teacher, not an enemy."

"Perhaps this is a generous gift that fate has bestowed upon Britain."