Every pore on Jiang Chen's body was exhaling and inhaling divine radiance at this moment. His physique was also gradually emitting a golden glow.
"Crack." Jiang Chen felt as though the shackles binding him had shattered at that instant. At this moment, it was as if he had broken free from some kind of restriction, leaving not even the trace of time upon his flesh. His body shone with immortal light, and his entire being seemed imbued with divinity.
"Hmm? Chen'er has actually broken through." Thirteenth Ancestor slowly opened his eyes, looking at Jiang Chen sitting cross-legged in the center of the lake, a look of satisfaction showing in his gaze.
"Not bad, this little fellow Chen'er has actually broken through the ancient ultimate realm and perfected his physical body. I suppose that now, based on his physical body alone, he can reach the Half-Step Mighty realm."
One must know that the Wheel of Life, Dao Palace, Four Extremities, and Dragon Transformation Realm are followed immediately by the early stage of the Sendai Realm, which is the Half-Step Mighty realm. Although Jiang Chen's realm was still at the Dragon Transformation Realm and he had not yet broken through to Half-Step Mighty, his strength was definitely no less than that of an ordinary Half-Step Mighty expert. At Jiang Chen's age, even within the hereditary epochs of the Jiang Family, this was considered extremely rare.
Yet Jiang Chen still did not seem satisfied at this moment. A sudden miniature black hole formed around his body, rapidly drawing the surrounding vitality and energy into himself.
"Hmm? Could it be that Chen'er is still not satisfied, and is actually still refining his physical body? Can it be..." A trace of astonishment flashed across Thirteenth Ancestor's face, and immediately his expression began to grow excited.
Seeming to sense that Jiang Chen needed immense life energy at this moment, Thirteenth Ancestor hesitated no longer. He stretched out his withered right hand and made a gentle slash across the sky. Instantly, a tear appeared out of thin air.
Thirteenth Ancestor thrust his right hand into the rift, as if groping for something.
"Got it." Thirteenth Ancestor pulled a compressed star from within, then directly squeezed it hard. With a loud crash, the star instantly shattered, emitting a brilliant starlight.
Then Thirteenth Ancestor gave these starlight motes a gentle tap, and a vast surge of energy transformed into a sky full of glowing mist that cascaded down from the heavens, merging into Jiang Chen's body.
Jiang Chen's body continuously absorbed this starlight, and the bones throughout his frame slowly turned transparent; even his internal organs grew illusory.
Chaos and seven-colored auras gradually intertwined and fused around him, slowly forming a cocoon that enveloped his entire body.
Ten days and ten nights later, the cocoon surrounding Jiang Chen directly split open. Jiang Chen stepped out of the cocoon looking like a banished immortal.
He sensed his physical body and could not help smiling. He knew he had succeeded. Now, with his physical body alone, he could crush any Half-Step Mighty expert with a single punch. This was the legendary breaking of ten thousand spells through sheer physical force. Jiang Chen had ultimately forged his own path.
"Not bad, not bad," Thirteenth Ancestor walked over slowly, his sharp eyes gazing intently at Jiang Chen before him.
"Hahahaha, Grandfather Ancestor, it is thanks to your brilliant guidance, otherwise Chen'er would never have broken through so quickly~"
"You little rascal~" A smile appeared on Thirteenth Ancestor's face; clearly, Jiang Chen's flattery was very much to his liking.
"That's right, Chen'er, starting today, you may leave the Ancestral Land. In the future, if you have any questions, come back here to seek Grandfather Ancestor's guidance~" Thirteenth Ancestor said slowly.
"Grandfather Ancestor??" Jiang Chen had clearly not yet recovered his wits. But looking into Thirteenth Ancestor's affirming eyes, excitement immediately blossomed on Jiang Chen's face—he could finally leave this place. For Jiang Chen, whose childlike innocence had not yet faded, the dry and monotonous cultivation of the past ten years had undoubtedly been extremely grueling.
"Then Grandfather Ancestor, Chen'er will take his leave now. When the opportunity arises in the future, Chen'er will come back to see you."
"Go~" With a wave of Thirteenth Ancestor's hand, Jiang Chen was teleported outside the gates of the Ancestral Land.
"Hahahaha, I, Jiang Chen, have finally come out! I'll sneak back later and give Mother a surprise~"
...
Inside the Divine Emperor Palace, Ji Ruxue was likewise in the midst of cultivation. Over the past ten years, Ji Ruxue, who also possessed extraordinary cultivation talent, had not wasted her time; she had already touched the threshold of a Saint King.
"Hmm? Who is it??" Ji Ruxue suddenly opened her eyes, looking at the figure that had abruptly appeared within the grand hall.
"Mother~" Jiang Chen grinned and shouted loudly.
"Who are you?? Chen'er~~~" Looking at the youth before her with crystalline flesh and skin like jade, resembling a banished immortal, Ji Ruxue scarcely dared to believe that this somewhat familiar youth was her Chen'er.
"It's me, Mother."
Seeing Jiang Chen nod, Ji Ruxue finally confirmed it. She rushed forward impetuously and pulled Jiang Chen tightly into her embrace. Ten years—Chen'er had finally come out.
"Good, good, good, as long as Chen'er is back~"
Over the next few days, Ji Ruxue stayed with her son, quietly recounting their respective experiences over the past decade.
...
"That's right, Mother, I want to claim a plot of land near the Divine Emperor Palace so I can cultivate there from now on." Jiang Chen looked at Ji Ruxue. After so many years, he had grown accustomed to the cultivation environment of the Ancestral Land, and in this gold-inlaid, jade-adorned, towering and magnificent Divine Emperor Palace, he actually felt somewhat out of place.
"Good, good, good, if Chen'er wants it, then go ahead." Ji Ruxue did not give it much thought; besides, it was right next to the Divine Emperor Palace anyway, so as long as her son liked it, that was enough.
"Thank you, Mother."
The next day, Jiang Chen came to the mid-level slopes of the Divine Emperor Palace and selected a flat piece of land.
"Hmm, right here," Jiang Chen nodded as he looked at the flat ground surrounded by clouds and mist, yet verdant with lush greenery. This environment was close to the one he had used for cultivation in the Ancestral Land.
Just as Jiang Chen was about to start building, a prompt suddenly rang out in his mind.
[Host detected, host detected, the Invincible Domain System is beginning to bind.]
[System binding successful. The Invincible Domain has automatically activated; within the domain, your cultivation is invincible!]
[System energy detected to be insufficient. To maintain the system, the host's cultivation will be absorbed.]
"??? What is this thing?" Jiang Chen listened to the voice in his head, completely dumbfounded.
Even as Jiang Chen remained in a daze, his own cultivation was steadily draining away.
"My cultivation~" Jiang Chen's face suddenly turned ashen. He could clearly feel that within this short half-quarter of an hour, his cultivation had completely dissipated, leaving behind only the power of his physical body.
"Can someone tell me what is going on?" Jiang Chen's voice trembled slightly.
[Reporting to the host, because the system consumed too much energy traveling across the universe, it has absorbed the host's cultivation to barely maintain system operations.]
[As compensation, the system will grant the host a courtyard; please accept it. For specific details, please check the panel yourself.]
Immediately afterward, the voice in Jiang Chen's mind vanished altogether.