Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension Chapter 1439: 779: Veins of Mountains and Rivers, Fulfilling the Promise to Enter the Tower

The sun blazes overhead, with the heavens clear and vast.

Hovering over Dragon Claw Peak, a dark rift tears open without warning, allowing Zhao Sheng to emerge and float suspended in the air.

Glancing up at the firmament, he swiftly waves his broad sleeve, sending a Scroll bursting forth from its folds.

As the Scroll rises into the air, it unfurls swiftly ahead, stretching out at an accelerating pace, its surface broadening without limit.

Within moments, a vast river spanning hundreds of miles materializes overhead, its rippling waters gleaming with countless hues, capturing every aspect of the world above and below.

Gazing down upon the expansive canvas, Zhao Sheng's eyes narrow sharply on their own.

This... isn't some mere artwork; it's unmistakably a Ten Thousand Miles of Mountains and Rivers painting.

The immense Wolong Mountain Range, covering tens of thousands of miles, finds itself entirely captured here, with every feature rendered in sharp detail.

Dragon Head Peak, Dragon Claw Peak... Spirit Beast Mountain, Hidden River, Jiao River... endless peaks and waterways all laid out across this masterpiece.

Unable to hold back, Zhao Sheng drifts closer to the flowing river on the canvas, sending out a thread of Divine Thought to explore its depths.

The very next instant, the Mountain and Rivers painting shifts in a breathtaking way once more.

Through the lens of his Divine Thought, the vivid peaks, waters, and streams dissolve, giving way to a complex web of glowing lines pulsing with life.

Picture the Wolong Mountain Range as a living form, and this web resembles the myriad veins and meridians threading through every part of it.

Beyond that, Zhao Sheng spots those lines shining with intense light—they're none other than the networks of Spirit Veins.

The grandest central Spirit Vein network acts like the bones holding up the entire structure, weaving thickly from the depths under the Wolong Mountain Range all the way to the top.

With the Spirit Vein network as the bones, the mountains, rivers, and lakes become the flesh and vital fluids, while the myriad plants serve as skin and strands of hair.

What an awe-inspiring "Ten Thousand Miles of Mountains and Rivers"!

The deeper Zhao Sheng delves into the "painting" unfolding before him, the more he's struck with wonder, sensing the profound weight behind the old Taoist's offering.

On the surface, it's simply a scroll, yet truly, it guides one through the stages of "opening a Grotto Heaven."

Armed with this artwork, Zhao Sheng can flawlessly "replicate" the Wolong Mountain Range within his own Grotto Heaven, sparing him vast amounts of Heart Power.

Right then, Zhao Sheng grasps it fully—the old Taoist Wu Hua had peered into his secrets long before, aware he hadn't achieved Unification.

Still, the elder chose not to mention it, and instead bestowed this "lavish present" of his own accord.

Through this, the "favor" Zhao Sheng owes swells to overwhelming proportions.

Some time passes, and the painting folds back together, turning into a streak of Flowing Light that slips into his sleeve.

Having stored the artwork away, Zhao Sheng lets out a soft sigh, then fades from sight in an instant.

…

Divine Palace Heaven.

Amid the boundless, pitch-black emptiness of the Void, an immense, fractured, bizarre skeleton drifts astonishingly.

This colossal frame, towering like a mountain, bears bones of deep black, resembling the remains of an ancient whale, though its lower portion is gone, leaving just a massive, ragged skull and the upper half of its ribcage.

At that moment, bolts of Thunder crash forth from the shadows, slamming into the skeleton's exterior and igniting a torrent of vibrant "Electric Light" that races through its hollows, quickly drawn into the surrounding bones.

Perched upon the gigantic dark skull is a solitary figure—none other than Zhao Sheng himself.

Guided by the All Heaven Star Map, Zhao Sheng locates this ideal spot for cultivation with ease.

The enormous skeleton under him once belonged to an Ancient Thunder Whale.

Ancient Thunder Whales rank among the Ancient True Spirits, legends say they emerge amidst roaring Thunder, innate offspring of the storm.

Even in its ruined state as mere bones, it draws in immense Thunder Power. Without question, this spot stands as the ultimate haven for those cultivating Thunder.

As moments tick by, threads of Thunder Dao "Spirit Mechanism" get tugged by some unseen pull, streaming steadily into Zhao Sheng's form.

Each purified thread of Tao Spirit Mechanism nudges his progress along the path.

In under a handful of months, Zhao Sheng's cultivation leaps to the Late Stage of Returning Void Eighth Layer, brushing against the edge of Returning Void Ninth Layer.

Should any other Void Half-Immortals behold this, envy would grip them, maybe driving them to "shed tears of anguish."

Just think of the agony when one's cultivation stalls indefinitely, with no breakthrough in sight, the realm frozen for millennia or more?

Zhao Sheng struggles to grasp the "despair" that plagues his peers in Returning Void.

For he has already mastered nine Thunder Dao True Texts, so as long as resources abound, reaching Returning Void Ninth Layer Great Perfection is only a question of when.

After an indeterminate span, a flash of insight strikes Zhao Sheng, like a peal of thunder echoing inside, causing the thunder vortex in his Core Energy Sea to swell almost twice over.

In a surprising turn, the wall of Returning Void Eighth Layer crumbles effortlessly, flowing as if by destiny.

Hoo!

Zhao Sheng breathes out a heavy sigh, the glow enveloping him slowly dimming.

Next, he snaps his eyes open, gives a faint chuckle, and vanishes completely.

…

Burial Immortal Ruins, Endless Tower.

Stepping into Endless Tower again, Zhao Sheng senses a millennium slipping by in a flash.

The view ahead mirrors what it was a thousand years prior, barely altered.

An unending hallway, timeworn gray-white planks, a hushed and empty workshop...

Only the Immortal Ruins Guests peddling treasures have cycled through multiple times.

Scanning the area, not a single familiar visage catches his eye.

Zhao Sheng stays composed, leisurely claiming an open space and settling into a cross-legged position.