Chapter Thirty: The God of Condensing the Dao

"The final battle brought wounds so grave that your lives hung in the balance; only within the Boundary Stele did you rest and heal for tens of millennia. Now, I trust you have regained most of your strength." His gaze swept over the hundred thousand black-armored soldiers kneeling reverently before him, and the Lord of Shadows' eyes were suffused with remembrance, his voice carrying a trace of emotion as he spoke: "After settling you all, I entered the cycle of endless reincarnation and began my cultivation."

"Who could have foreseen that upon my return, the Divine Dynasty would sweep across the land, endless fiends would run rampant, all races would rebel, plunging the world into chaos." His voice was slow, tinged with resignation, yet a faintly domineering aura radiated from him as he looked again at the ranks of soldiers: "Are you all willing to follow me and fight once more across the cosmos, to eradicate every last demon and fiend?"

"We shall follow Your Majesty to the death!" Instantly, the hundred thousand black-armored soldiers lifted their heads, resolute and steadfast, shouting in unison. Their voices crashed like waves against mountains, shaking the heavens.

"Excellent!" Seeing this, the Lord of Shadows could not help but shout, a glint flashing deep in his eyes. With a wave of his hand, the space around them suddenly trembled. Endless gray mist recoiled and vanished, revealing the scene to all present.

It was a wasteland of endless ruins, countless palaces collapsed and decayed beyond repair. Chaotic forces raged unchecked throughout this realm. The sky remained shrouded in gray, the earth ravaged and desolate. Nothing remained but ruins.

"The lingering power of the Six Paths..." Feeling the strange, violent chaos in the air, a contemplative light flashed deep in the Lord of Shadows' eyes. He turned to the Turtle Spirit at his side and gave a calm order: "Take the Boundary Stele and restore this realm. Awaken the remaining soldiers inside, one by one."

"Now is not yet the time for full-scale war. In due course, I shall suspend this realm above Tianyuan, to let it be nourished by the Yellow Springs and hasten its recovery."

"Old Turtle, your orders shall be obeyed!" The Turtle Spirit, hearing this, dared not delay, bowing respectfully before the Lord of Shadows.

"Go then, and carry out your task. I have other matters to attend to." With one more command, the Lord of Shadows wasted no time. He gathered the chaotic power of the Six Paths, formed a complex seal, and as a strange, ethereal vortex took shape before him, he stepped inside.

The hundred thousand shadow soldiers followed, marching in disciplined ranks into the swirling portal. Soon, the entire world was left with only the Turtle Spirit.

With a soft sigh, the Turtle Spirit shook his head. A chilling, sinister energy surged around him, and the Boundary Stele on his back suddenly radiated a powerful gray light. "All of you, His Majesty has returned... Wake quickly now..."

...

Meanwhile, after the Lord of Shadows returned to the Valley of Eternal Life with his ten thousand shadow soldiers, he ordered them to establish their camps and familiarize themselves with the world. He himself sat quietly beside the illusory lake, lost in deep contemplation.

"From mortal, to sovereign—this is the realm of spirit cultivation. Beyond the sovereign realm, up to the peak of Immortal Emperor, lies the path of immortal cultivation. Above the Immortal Emperor, there is still the Dao..."

"Even as a celestial or emperor, one remains bound by the laws of the Great Dao..."

"Beyond Immortal Emperor, there is the Dao realm..."

"Mastery of the Dao makes one a Dao Lord; the Dao realm perfected, a Dao Sovereign..."

"At the peak of the Dao realm, one becomes a supreme ruler of the cosmos... and beyond that, one transcends all."

Recalling the stages of cultivation from his previous life, the Lord of Shadows pondered deeply, his eyes shining with insight: "In my last life, I reached the supreme peak, yet never glimpsed the threshold of transcendence. My physical body, however, by chance, entered first."

"This time, by rebuilding with nine foundation platforms, each nine times stronger than in my previous life... transcendence should not be difficult."

After a brief pause, a hint of determination flickered in his eyes. He closed them gently, murmuring to himself: "The first layer shall be forged with the realm of Asura slaughter, establishing the path of carnage."

As his words fell, the abyss of bitterness within him began to surge violently. As wind and waves roared, from the nine strange platforms above the abyss, each carved with intricate patterns, the first platform suddenly emanated a wave of murderous intent.

At first, the intent was faint, barely perceptible, but as the waves battered the surface of the abyss, the slaughter intent was stirred, growing rapidly stronger. Within mere moments, every pattern on the platform flushed crimson.

As endless bloodthirsty energy appeared, a terrifying will surged forth, intent on annihilating all things. Then, on the black platform laced with blood-red patterns, a phantom figure sitting cross-legged quickly formed.

In moments, the boundless murderous intent poured into the phantom figure, solidifying it entirely.

"The second layer shall be forged from the endless will of the Radiant King, the path of extreme death, burying all chaos..."

Without delay, as his murmuring continued, the second platform in the abyss suddenly radiated an endless purple light. A dense, destructive deathly aura appeared above the platform, seeming capable of obliterating heaven and earth.

As it spread, the deathly aura grew ever more intense and chilling. When it finally reached its peak, a dominant will arose, as if declaring supremacy over all realms.

Then, a second phantom figure appeared cross-legged atop the platform, drawing both the endless deathly aura and the domineering will into its form, solidifying instantly.

Compared to the figure on the first platform, both its form and the depth of its will and technique were vastly superior.

Throughout the cosmos, few could, like the Lord of Shadows, open the abyss and forge ninefold Dao foundations. Even fewer could use these foundations to establish supreme will. And none had ever attempted to connect all nine ultimate foundations, forming a divine bridge.

Through the ages, among the countless beings of the universe, not one had ever achieved such a feat.

This was the most secure method the Lord of Shadows had devised to reach the ultimate realm of transcendence.

Ordinary physical bodies could never support the coexistence of nine supreme Dao platforms.

But, countless ages ago, the Lord of Shadows began contemplating the possibility of sustaining all nine foundations. After scouring endless ancient texts, he finally discovered a constitution capable of perfectly accepting all nine platforms—the Innate Dao-merged Body.

This physique was only recorded; no method of cultivation was known. It was the Lord of Shadows who, using infinite Dao as a guide, deduced the method through countless eras.

Entering reincarnation, attuning to the breath of the Dao, condensing the will of the Dao.

Moreover, among all races—gods, demons, fiends—those who were restless would inevitably emerge during his absence.

He had long prepared for this.

Now, all that remained was to proceed step by step, following his original plan, to pacify the chaos within the cosmos.

When the time came, he would step into transcendence.

It was a vast and intricate arrangement, but at its heart, the matter was simple.

From the very beginning, everything was within the Lord of Shadows’ expectations. Whether it was the changes among the myriad races or the emergence of the Divine Dynasty of the Nine Heavens, it was all a calculated opportunity to let them indulge their ambitions...