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ArabicThe Protagonists' Chat Group: Beyond the Boundaries — Chapter 341
Chapter 341: 840 Million Giant Elephant Embryos All Awakened
Upon learning of the Foreign Realm’s long-term plans—to corrupt a native genius and cultivate their own Quasi-Immortal King from the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands—Shi Jian didn’t panic.
Cultivating a Quasi-Immortal King is not a simple matter. It takes epochs, resources, and immense luck.
By the time they managed to cultivate a Quasi-Immortal King native to the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, Shi Jian estimated he would probably already possess the combat power of a Quasi-Immortal King himself, if not higher.
Moreover, Liu Shen was also overseeing things from the shadows, an immeasurable variable.
Shi Jian was not flustered in the slightest. He remained calm and focused.
He simply continued to improve himself step by step, following his own path.
Within the Projection of the Heavens, the chat group’s training instance…
Shi Jian challenged the projection of Heavenly Emperor Ye Fan again.
In the virtual world simulating Ye Fan’s era, large streaks of blood burst from Ye Fan’s projection body. The Great Luo Sword Embryo, wielded by Shi Jian, almost split him clean in two.
The Blood of the Heavenly Emperor gushed forth, staining the virtual void.
[Inorin’s Note: “Projection of the Heavens” is a chat group feature allowing members to fight projections of powerful figures. “Heavenly Emperor Ye Fan” is the protagonist of Shrouding the Heavens, known for his unparalleled combat power.]
A hand as warm and steady as jade descended from the Nine Heavens, grasping a plain, unadorned longsword—the Great Luo Sword Embryo. Shi Jian delivered what should have been a fatal blow.
The Heavenly Emperor was naturally invincible in his own world.
His seventh incarnation, representing his peak in the Red Dust Immortal stage, was even more terrifyingly abnormal.
[Inorin’s Note: Ye Fan went through multiple “incarnations” or lifetimes in his pursuit of immortality. His later incarnations were immensely powerful.]
However, his current projection, pushed to its limits by Shi Jian, was still grievously injured.
If such a sight—Ye Fan bleeding, Ye Fan wounded—were witnessed by the people of the Shrouding the Heavens world, it would probably shock countless individuals to their core.
Divine light descended from the sky like a waterfall. Auspicious light rain danced, and divine radiance filled the heavens, as if countless gods had descended to witness this clash!
Shi Jian held the Great Luo Sword Embryo and continued his relentless assault on Ye Fan.
At this moment, with the blessing of the Eternal Heavenly Song, his combat power was extremely formidable.
[Inorin’s Note: The Eternal Heavenly Song is a powerful buffing ability Shi Jian possesses, likely from the chat group.]
He had also applied various debuffs to Ye Fan’s projection throughout their long battle.
His combat power was already comparable to Ye Fan’s seventh incarnation projection.
After several months of continuous, brutal, fierce fighting within the accelerated time flow of the projection space, Shi Jian had finally managed to exhaust Ye Fan, causing him to suffer a severe depletion of Origin Qi.
Then, seizing a momentary opening, he launched this devastating sneak attack with the sword.
Only then was Ye Fan’s projection severely wounded.
‘Strike him while he’s down!’ Shi Jian thought, his battle intent surging.
He wanted to completely defeat this legendary incarnation of Ye Fan at this very moment.
The Great Luo Sword Embryo sliced through the eternal silence, re-manifesting the true meaning of creation and destruction, like a primordial demon god reviving, awakening from Chaos.
The Great Luo Sword Embryo was further empowered by Shi Jian’s Sharpness Halo, the White Emperor Golden Emperor Slash technique, the Grass Character Sword Art…
[Inorin’s Note: The White Emperor Golden Emperor Slash is likely a metal-element technique, possibly from Eternal Life. The Grass Character Sword Art is one of the Three Great Sword Arts from Perfect World, known for its life-cutting properties.]
Various supreme Divine Abilities were integrated seamlessly into this single sword strike.
The brilliance of this sword strike surpassed mortal comprehension. It was unparalleled, shaking the Universe through all ages.
Even True Immortals and Undying Beings from the outside world would probably feel fear upon witnessing this sword strike.
Because this sword strike was too sharp, too overbearing, making it seem utterly irresistible.
However, this sword strike was directed at Ye Fan’s seventh incarnation projection.
It was directed at the man known as the Heavenly Emperor.
Dao runes bloomed around Ye Fan’s wounded body. His hands formed ancient, profound seals, manipulating a power that spanned ancient and modern times. After forming the seals, he unleashed them, and all the runes merged together, radiating blinding Immortal light.
This was the Heaven and Earth Suppression seal!
It was Ye Fan’s supreme Dao power, born from his immersion in the mortal world, refined through countless battles.
The Flower of Dao bloomed between them. Brilliant light intensely burned, incinerating the void, as the sound of ancient scriptures resonated like the dawn of creation.
Within the Projection of the Heavens in this chat group…
The two peerless figures collided across endless time.
Sword light crisscrossed, splitting the virtual Universe. Fragments of time flew like shattered glass.
The Myriad Manifestation Mother Qi Cauldron soared into the sky, colliding heavily with the Great Luo Sword Embryo, emitting a world-shaking clang.
[Inorin’s Note: The “Myriad Manifestation Mother Qi Cauldron” (Wànwù Mǔ Qì Dǐng) is Ye Fan’s signature weapon, forged from the source essence of all matter.]
All spirits surged around them, breaking through the barriers of reality, charging towards the Nine Heavens.
This was a battle spanning time and space itself.
Ye Fan’s cultivation was formidable, spanning ancient and modern times, dominating the future. He walked his own path as the Heavenly Emperor, reigning supreme in the future Nine Heavens and Ten Lands.
Shi Jian also embarked on his own unique path of cultivation. He could strike Immortals above and suppress demons below, already becoming the current undisputed top master of the present Nine Heavens and Ten Lands.
The two battled fiercely in the virtual space.
They erupted with world-shaking auras, their power unparalleled.
If such a scene were to occur in the outside world, it would be enough to shake all ages, leaving eternal scars on the cosmos.
“As expected of Emperor Ye Tian…”
Shi Jian couldn’t help but sigh with admiration as he looked at Ye Fan, who, despite being severely wounded by him, still erupted with terrifying combat power, his will unyielding.
Shi Jian had forcibly dragged this projection body of Ye Fan’s for several months. When its Origin Qi was depleted, he launched a fatal blow, directly heavily injuring it.
He originally thought that after heavily injuring Ye Fan’s projection, the victor would be decided quickly.
However, a Heavenly Emperor is a Heavenly Emperor after all.
His achievements surpassed ancient and modern times.
After being continuously exhausted for so long and then heavily injured…
He could still erupt with such terrifying combat power even in his depleted state.
“But it’s a pity… this is only a projection, not the true body!”
Shi Jian erupted with a terrifying aura once more. Various Divine Abilities burst forth simultaneously, and he fully resisted Ye Fan’s desperate counterattack.
Ye Fan’s projection body was stained with blood, and its Qi and blood were clearly depleted, indicating that it couldn’t sustain the battle for much longer.
His virtual white hair was disheveled and covered in bloodstains.
His Qi and blood were dried up.
Shi Jian launched his final attack against him. Endless divine light erupted, and the Blood of God flowed within his own body, empowering him.
The Hand of God!
[Inorin’s Note: “Blood of God” and “Hand of God” are abilities from the Divine Elephant Suppressing Prison Strength (Sage Monarch).]
Eternal radiance submerged the heavens and earth, striking down like the judgment of a deity.
That Ye Fan projection took a deep, final breath and let out a defiant roar as well. The Myriad Manifestation Mother Qi Cauldron above him also erupted with brilliant, final divine light.
The two clashed and collided one last time.
Ye Fan unleashed a Heavenly Emperor Punch, a fist that seemed to absorb the Universe, time, and stars.
Shi Jian responded with the Heavenly Paradise Divine Fist, creating a world within his fist to meet Ye Fan’s universe.
One strike shook ancient and modern times. Heaven and earth collapsed, and divine light submerged everything.
Shi Jian also had some new bloodstains on his body, but he remained standing, tall and unwavering.
In front of him…
The seventh incarnation projection of Ye Fan was also covered in blood, and he too remained standing for a moment.
However, after a gentle breeze blew through the shattered virtual world…
His figure dissipated, turning into motes of light between heaven and earth.
“If it were the true Ye Fan, he probably wouldn’t have been defeated so easily. This is only a projection after all…”
Shi Jian looked thoughtfully at Ye Fan’s dissipating figure.
A projection is just a projection, after all.
Its upper limit is only so high. It lacks the true, unyielding will and infinite potential of the original.
If the true Ye Fan came…
He would probably be shouting about “bonds” and “destiny” and “unyielding will” right about now…
And then miraculously live out his eighth incarnation on the spot.
Shi Jian sat cross-legged in this virtual world. Countless strands of pure essence Qi surged towards him from the dissipating projection. His body emitted a radiant treasure light, and an incredibly dense aura of Qi and blood appeared around him.
This was the reward for defeating Ye Fan’s projection.
Heavenly Emperor Blood! Pure, potent life essence and Dao fragments.
He guided this blood-red energy into his body, refining it into pure essence, and then used it to enhance his own cultivation, fueling his transformation.
“My prediction was indeed correct… If Ye Fan’s projections drop Physique Qi and blood, then I can use this to completely complete my third transformation!”
Feeling the tangible improvement in his own cultivation, Shi Jian spent almost all of his subsequent time immersed in the Projection of the Heavens.
Fighting Ye Fan’s projection.
Defeating Ye Fan’s projection.
Dropping Sacred Blood.
Refining Sacred Blood, improving cultivation.
Stabilizing cultivation through intense fighting.
Defeating Ye Fan’s projection again…
A very wonderful, albeit brutal, virtuous cycle was formed.
After a full two and a half years spent within the Projection of the Heavens (likely much less time outside), Shi Jian finally completed his third transformation under the nourishment of the Heavenly Emperor Blood.
His cultivation soared all the way, advancing rapidly. The number of awakened Giant Elephant particles within him reached a full 600 million.
Immortal Dao Cultivation: Third Transformation complete.
Giant Elephant power: 600 million particles awakened.
Now, for him, plucking stars and seizing the moon, operating entire planes of existence, was merely child’s play.
More importantly…
Within his Dominator Domain, a king’s aura was condensed, mixed with the profound order of spatial divine laws. In the depths of his Dominator Domain, the flow of time subtly differed from the outside world, sometimes even freezing and becoming completely still relative to his perception.
“The power of time?”
“This is indeed a unique, unexpected gain…”
Shi Jian began to comprehensively examine the profound changes in himself after the third transformation.
The Nether God’s Spear, Hell Furnace, Wings of Angels, and other Divine Abilities derived from the Divine Elephant system were further strengthened.
Especially the Wings of Angels.
A pair of pure white, soft wings, radiating light throughout the Universe, appeared behind Shi Jian.
He gently flapped his wings, and countless rays of light, like a cosmic tide, propelled him through space at unimaginable speeds.
Upon one pure white wing, faint, intricate patterns of time were engraved.
These patterns were ancient, yet they were the manifestation of light interwoven with temporal laws.
Now, his Wings of Angels seemed to have touched upon a trace of the Dao of Time.
“Now that I have completed three transformations, even without using the Eternal Heavenly Song, I should possess the power of a True Immortal. Once I truly achieve Immortal Ascension through all nine transformations, even an Immortal King probably won’t be able to do anything to me easily…”
Feeling the tangible, explosive growth of his power, Shi Jian felt somewhat intoxicated.
However, after three transformations…
It became significantly more difficult to undergo further transformations.
His first transformation was based on refining dark matter (Dark Blood).
His second transformation used the essence of Undying Beings (likely Supremes or crippled Immortals) as resources.
His third transformation even absorbed the Sacred Blood of a crippled True Immortal and the essence of Emperor Ye Tian’s projection.
Now, to undergo a fourth transformation…
At the very least, he would need the essence of a complete True Immortal as a resource.
The problem was the current situation of the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands.
Where would he find True Immortals just lying around? They were exceedingly rare in this era.
Shi Jian began to carefully consider how to cultivate and gather resources for his future transformations.
“Currently, the Divine Elephant particles within my body have reached over 600 million. If another 240 million awaken, it will reach the peak of 840 million. At that point, the Divine Elephant Suppressing Prison Strength itself will advance further, granting a massive power boost. Seizing that opportunity, I might be able to complete another transformation…”
[Inorin’s Note: 840 million particles represents the number of fundamental particles making up a universe in Sage Monarch, awakening them grants cosmic power.]
“In addition, the dark matter energy level within the sealed True Immortal in Immortal King Shi’s possession has reached the Quasi-Immortal King level. That pure dark essence can also support me in undergoing a transformation later on.”
“There’s also the Great Bloodline Art. Immortal King Shi cultivates the Great Bloodline Art. If I also cultivate the Great Bloodline Art to its peak, then when both sides trigger a Bloodline Resonance… I might be able to use this opportunity to undergo another transformation.”
“Nine transformations to Immortal Ascension… nine transformations to Immortal Ascension… This isn’t nine transformations to Immortal Ascension, this is achieving Immortal Ascension nine times!”
Shi Jian couldn’t help but complain internally.
Nine transformations to Immortal Ascension…
The resources he expended for just one transformation were already enough for other Supremes to potentially step into the True Immortal Realm.
This wasn’t achieving Immortal Ascension after nine transformations.
It felt like achieving Immortal Ascension nine separate times, stacking the power!
He racked his brain but couldn’t figure out how to easily gather the necessary resources for all nine transformations within the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands.
“Perhaps… I can make a trip to Yang Qi’s world. There’s the Maha Hell there, teeming with countless Hell demons. If quality isn’t enough, I can make up for it with sheer quantity. That should also support me in undergoing a transformation!”
[Inorin’s Note: “Maha Hell” is a major location in Sage Monarch, a vast hell dimension filled with powerful demons.]
Shi Jian set his sights on the resources available in the Myriad Worlds through the chat group.
Given the current situation of the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, rapidly declining towards the Age of Dharma Decline…
He truly couldn’t gather the required resources locally.
“Never mind… First, let’s cultivate the remaining Divine Elephant embryos to reach the 840 million mark.”
Shi Jian emerged from his seclusion in the Projection of the Heavens again, returning to the Primeval Emperor City. He then issued a decree throughout the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands.
He requested that the people of the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands collect various precious medicines and divine medicines.
And then send them all to him in Primeval Emperor City.
With his current status and position, having saved Emperor Pass multiple times, after a single command, countless precious medicines and divine medicines were instantly sent to him from all corners of the realms.
If Shi Jian remembered correctly from the original work, the Age of Dharma Decline would soon arrive.
At that time, the backlash from heaven and earth would not only make it difficult for cultivation to advance, but also drastically reduce the lifespan of various living beings.
Old monsters who lived for millions of years would wither and die.
All the precious medicines and divine medicines would lose their spiritual efficacy.
Rather than waiting for that time and letting all these precious medicines and divine medicines lose their efficacy and wither away… it was better for him to use them now.
To awaken the remaining Divine Elephant embryos, it was simply a matter of accumulating enough raw energy from precious medicines and divine medicines.
There was no technical skill involved, just pure resource consumption.
A continuous stream of divine medicines was absorbed by his Hell Furnace, refined into pure energy. The particles within his body awakened again, this time even more intensely than before.
Previously, when he devoured and refined Undying Beings, crippled Immortals, and Ye Fan’s divine and sacred blood, the main purpose was to undergo a transformation in his cultivation state.
Only a small portion of the excess energy was absorbed by the Giant Elephant embryos.
But this time was different.
All the refined energy was directed solely towards awakening the Giant Elephant embryos.
Six hundred million… seven hundred million… eight hundred million…
Countless particles awakened, roaring within him.
Towards the end, most of the divine medicines and precious medicines that could possibly be found in the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands were used up by him. The reserves of entire clans were depleted.
He even went to Luo Feng’s world via the chat group and exchanged all the contribution points that the Founder of the Giant Axe had previously compensated them with into pure energy treasures.
Then he challenged Ye Fan’s projection a few more times.
He collected a large additional amount of divine and sacred Heavenly Emperor Blood.
Under the massive accumulation of countless energies… his Divine Elephant Suppressing Prison Strength finally underwent a fundamental transformation.
An ancient and profound aura of primordial times emanated from him.
The true meaning of ancient epics constantly revolved in the depths of his Soul.
His Physical Body cultivation reached an unprecedented limit.
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!
The final Giant Elephant embryos within his body awakened in a chain reaction. Shi Jian threw his head back and let out a long, earth-shattering roar, his shouting echoing in all directions. Finally, all 840 million Giant Elephant embryos within him awakened!
“Divine Elephant Suppressing Prison!”
“Open!”
The Blood of God within him surged wildly, boiling with power.
As all the Giant Elephant embryos within him awakened, he began his fourth spontaneous transformation.
Dense, countless grotto-heavens appeared behind him, forming a magnificent cosmic map.
A full 480 million grotto-heavens manifested.
Within each grotto-heaven, a Giant Elephant roared, shaking the void.
These Giant Elephants united their power, and a vast, ancient aura surged forth, pressing down on the universe.
Shi Jian reached out and grabbed, and a Nether God’s Spear, now denser and more powerful, appeared in his hand.
Dense, countless halos of the Eternal Heavenly Song were added to it, shimmering around the spear.
After the Giant Elephant transformation was complete…
His current form became very terrifying. With just a slight display of the Nether God’s Spear, the final elegy of the Twilight Movement seemed to appear, bringing forth the aura of endings.
His Dominator Domain almost evolved into a tangible world, a nascent universe.
“Now… ordinary True Immortal level opponents are no match for me at all. If I use the Eternal Heavenly Song, I can likely claim to be invincible within the True Immortal Realm.”
Shi Jian felt his incredibly powerful strength and let out another long, satisfying roar.
With a thought, the grotto-heavens behind him underwent another transformation.
One Giant Elephant after another began to morph, growing draconic features… transforming into Dragon Elephants.
[Inorin’s Note: The “Dragon Elephant” (Lóng Xiàng) is the next stage after Giant Elephant in the Divine Elephant Suppressing Prison Strength, signifying a qualitative leap in power.]
The Giant Elephant embryos transformed into Dragon Elephant embryos.
This was a qualitative change, granting mastery over draconic power.
However, he had just awakened the particles, and only a few hundred Giant Elephant embryos had successfully transformed into Dragon Elephant embryos so far. It would take time to complete this stage.
After the breakthrough, Shi Jian looked towards the chat group interface in his mind.
From the third transformation to the fourth transformation…
Not counting the accelerated time he spent in the Heavens Dungeon and the Projection of the Heavens…
Several years had passed in the real world as well.
Under normal circumstances…
The chat group should have upgraded many times by now.
Only…
This time felt different.
After the chat group progress bar was maxed out, it was still delayed in upgrading.
This time, in addition to the usual activity requirement, there was another, new requirement listed for the chat group upgrade.
[System Message: Activity requirement met. After all group members’ strength reaches the specified threshold level, the chat group will undergo its next major upgrade.]
[System Message: After this chat group upgrade, chat group members can compete for the newly unlocked position of Group Leader.]
After the people in the group had maxed out the chat group’s activity meter, a message like this had popped up in the chat group interface.
Only after all group members’ strength reached a certain, unspecified level…
Would the chat group finally upgrade.
Moreover, this upgrade seemed very unusual.
After the upgrade…
A Group Leader position would finally be added.
Chat group, chat group… undoubtedly, the group leader would likely have the greatest power and privileges within the chat group.
However, from the time the people in the group joined the chat group until now…
The group leader position…
Had remained vacant, unmentioned even.
This had led Shi Jian to even think that the chat group simply had no group leader function.
Now…
The group leader position was available.
And they had to choose it themselves through competition.
Upon seeing this message initially, everyone in the group had unanimously speculated that this upcoming upgrade of the chat group would probably be very unusual, perhaps fundamentally changing its nature or purpose.