Chapter 422: The Development of the Internal Grotto-Heaven

Translator: AnubisTL

Of course, the simplest solution would be to “selectively reduce his output”: when launching an attack, he could deliberately suppress the cultivation system’s mobilization of spiritual energy, drawing upon only the portion of power he could precisely control.

This would restore the attack’s cohesion and lethality. Theoretically, such an amplification would already be enough to make Jieming a standout among fourth-tier wizards.

But…

“This is too wasteful,” Jieming said, opening his eyes, which gleamed with unwilling resentment. “To possess the potential to mobilize such a vast amount of power, yet to self-limit because of a lack of control… It’s too wasteful!”

He sought to fuse the advantages of both paths, creating a synergy where one plus one was greater than two, rather than being forced to choose between them.

“I must find a way to integrate and focus the full power of both systems with greater efficiency…” Jieming fell into deep thought.

His fingers tapped unconsciously on the console as countless formulas, rune structures, and energy flow models flashed and vanished in his mind.

Just then, the laboratory door slid open silently, and a Black Giant Priest dressed in simple priestly robes walked in.

Its movements were so light they formed a sharp contrast with its muscular, well-defined body. Its voice transmitted directly into Jieming’s mind via spiritual waves: [Sovereign, the scheduled time has arrived. It is time for energy replenishment.]

Jieming snapped out of his reverie, glanced at the time, and nodded. “I know.”

He temporarily set aside the data analysis, followed the Black Giant Priest out of the testing field, passed through several brightly lit corridors, and arrived before a special cultivation chamber.

This cultivation chamber was completely different from any other place.

The heavy door and walls were made of an alloy infused with space-stabilizing metal, their surfaces covered in complex runes for energy channeling and isolation.

The Black Giant Priest stopped outside the door, waiting for Jieming to enter on his own.

Jieming pushed the door open, and a wave of spiritual energy, so dense it almost felt tangible, washed over him.

The cultivation chamber was devoid of any unnecessary furnishings, with only a circular platform slightly raised above the floor at its center.

The walls, ceiling, and floor were all paved with an alloy capable of efficiently conducting and condensing spiritual energy, which now emitted a gentle, milky-white glow.

Most striking were the four corners of the room, each housing a complex magical formation slowly revolving. These formations were linked to the Incense Divine Path Main Network of the Purgatory Sulfur Plane, drawing in a vast sea of purified spiritual energy in a continuous stream.

The spiritual energy was so dense that it formed a visible, pale-white mist in the air, slowly swirling and flowing.

Jieming walked to the central platform, sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began to circulate his cultivation technique.

In an instant, the flow of spiritual energy throughout the room shifted. The once-evenly dispersed mist was now drawn toward Jieming as if by an invisible vortex, rushing into him in a frenzy. His body seemed to become a black hole, greedily devouring all the surrounding energy.

Yet, this devouring was not for his own cultivation. If a master with profound perception had observed closely, they would have discovered that the vast majority of the spiritual energy flowing into Jieming’s body was not being refined and absorbed by his meridians. Instead, it was being funneled through a deeper, more fundamental connection into a “void.”

It was an “existence” located deep within his dantian, yet one that transcended all conventional concepts of space.

This was his internal space.

No, perhaps “internal grotto-heaven” would be a more accurate term now.

The changes brought about by his advancement to the Divine Transformation Realm were comprehensive. Among them, what surprised and delighted Jieming the most was the metamorphosis of the space opened by his “Inner Circulation” cultivation method.

In previous advancements—from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core, and from Golden Core to Nascent Soul—his internal space had always expanded rapidly at the moment of breakthrough, absorbing spiritual energy like a thirsty sponge.

But this time, after completing his advancement to the Divine Transformation Realm, his internal space initially showed no obvious desire to expand.

Jieming had briefly thought that the space’s growth had reached a bottleneck.

However, in the months following his breakthrough, he gradually noticed something unusual.

The space was growing “autonomously.”

It wasn’t absorbing the spiritual energy he provided. Instead, it seemed to have developed its own “breath” and “pulse,” drawing nourishment from a deeper, more vast source.

Ultimately, Jieming confirmed that his internal grotto-heaven was directly drawing energy and matter from the “Endless Chaotic Void” of the wizard world.

The most conclusive evidence appeared in the third month after his advancement.

That day, while meditating and introspecting his internal grotto-heaven, Jieming was shocked to discover that this space, which once only had a constant and gentle light source, had actually developed a regular “day and night cycle”!

A warm but not scorching “sun” rose and set in the sky with regularity, and at night, familiar stars appeared—these were not true stars, but the “projection” of the Fire Elemental Plane and certain stable elemental planes under the rules of the nascent plane.

This was a characteristic that only a true “plane” would possess!

With Jieming’s continuous feeding of the plane origin and the catalysis of his advancement to the Divine Transformation stage, the internal grotto-heaven had already begun to evolve into a self-circulating plane!

This discovery made Jieming both excited and wary.

Theoretically, as long as this plane continued to grow, it could even evolve a complete ecosystem, intelligent races, and even a unique system of laws in the future.

The cause for his wariness was that the “independence” of the plane was increasing.

Drawing elemental power directly from the Endless Void allowed the internal grotto-heaven to grow at an unimaginable speed.

If the “connection” between Jieming and this nascent plane was not strong enough, then as the plane’s own rules continued to improve and its mass continued to increase, one day, it might “seal” the channel between itself and the outside world, becoming a truly independent plane.

…and drift away from Jieming’s body into the endless void.

Therefore, Jieming now needed to undergo this special “energy infusion” cultivation every day.

His primary goal in absorbing massive amounts of spiritual energy was not to enhance his own cultivation, but to use this pure energy as a “binder” and “reinforcer,” continuously strengthening the origin connection between himself and the plane within his body.

He had to ensure that he would always be the “Sovereign” of this plane—its “Creator God” and “Core Law”—rather than merely a “landlord” or a “conduit.”

At this moment, as the spiritual energy poured in ceaselessly, Jieming could clearly sense the “world” growing vigorously within him.

Its boundaries were expanding outward, extremely slowly but steadily. The elemental balance within was becoming more stable, and some of the magic potions and minerals he had initially transplanted into it seemed to be adapting to the new environment, showing signs of slight mutation and evolution.

At this growth rate, it will take roughly another few decades to initially form a stable elemental circulation… Jieming assessed, diverting a sliver of his mind from his cultivation.

(End of the Chapter)