A cloud of mist shot through the air at breakneck speed, trailing a long tail as it flashed past.
Feng Lin rode the clouds and mist, hurtling like lightning into the distance. The twin Greek sisters stood on the ground far behind, already reduced to two tiny black dots.
He had parted ways with them, agreeing on a meeting place for the next day.
Now, Feng Lin urgently needed to find a quiet, safe place to make a full breakthrough, stepping into the realm of elite cultivators and truly transforming the essence of his life into a transcendent being.
When a cultivator breaks through a major realm, their entire consciousness sinks into the depths of their sea of awareness, oblivious to the outside world.
As the saying goes: "In a single thought, the mind becomes a void mirror; with nothing in the universe, the great Dao is born."
During a breakthrough, the body undergoes a mysterious qualitative change, but it is also often its most vulnerable moment.
If disturbed or attacked from outside, the worst-case scenario is a backlash of transcendent power, severely damaging one's cultivation and leaving no chance for further progress. In the worst case, all cultivation could be lost, and even one's life could be in danger.
Though there existed a peculiar method of breaking through in the midst of battle, it required monstrous talent and exceptional luck to succeed.
If one could steadily and slowly cultivate to break through realms, who would willingly risk life and limb in combat? That would be foolish.
Feng Lin was clearly no such fool.
His eyes, sharp as lightning, scanned the planet below, leaving no spot unchecked as he passed.
He had to find an absolutely safe environment, ensuring no interference during his breakthrough. From start to finish, he trusted no one but himself.
As if sensing his concerns, the twin Greek sisters tactfully refrained from asking questions when they parted ways.
"Huh?" Feng Lin's eyes lit up as a towering mountain appeared ahead, its crater belching rolling hot air thick with the pungent smell of sulfur.
Instead of retreating, he descended, landing at the volcano's rim and peering down. Molten lava churned, heat waves surged skyward, vast as an ocean.
Falling into it would leave no trace of his remains!
Yet he fell into thought.
"Descend!" Suddenly, Feng Lin moved. His hands formed seals, moving so fast they became blurs. With a wave of his right hand, a massive cauldron materialized in the air, dropping into the lava and floating unsteadily.
Feng Lin plunged downward. The cauldron's lid swung open, and he hid inside. The lid closed, and the enormous cauldron sank like a submarine into the scorching magma.
Using the cauldron as a vessel, he guided it deep into the lava.
The cauldron was sealed on all sides, insulating against the heat.
Inside this volcano, with magma like a sea, no one could enter except Feng Lin. It was the perfect place for a breakthrough.
Even if a celestial being from beyond were to shatter the outside world, it would hardly affect him.
Only then did Feng Lin set his heart at ease, free from worry. He slowly closed his eyes, sinking into his inner self, ignoring all external matters.
His life attributes appeared before him.
"Name: Feng Lin Life Force: 222 Original Genes: Stone Monkey Gene: 10; Mind Gene: 10 Basic Genes: Ape Gene: 10; Stone Embryo Gene: 10; Adrenaline Gene: 4; Spirit Gene: 9; Telekinesis Gene: 6; Spiritual Gene: 8 Gene Potential: 3688%"
After days of relentless battles and arduous training, Feng Lin's life force had slightly increased, reaching 222.
The Stone Monkey Gene and Mind Gene were maxed out, already meeting the conditions for evolution.
But to evolve a gene formula into a higher-level gene, a catalyst was needed—an understanding of the gene's essence.
Feng Lin held his breath and focused his mind. His consciousness gradually sank into a state of utter stillness, falling endlessly as if into a bottomless tunnel, plummeting without knowing where or when it would end.
After an unknown time, when he came to, he found himself as a hunched, small, hairy monkey crouched behind a large rock, as if just waking up.
Long golden monkey fur fluttered in the wind.
I've become a monkey again!?
Yes!
Feng Lin looked around, realizing he had once again transformed into a Stone Monkey.
This was a illusion formed by the inherited memories of the Stone Monkey Gene, yet it felt utterly real.
A lone island overseas, steep cliffs standing tall, waves crashing against the shore, tides rising and falling... a scene of primordial chaos, like a paradise on earth.
Having entered it several times before, Feng Lin was no longer surprised. He wandered around, seeking the essence of the Stone Monkey Gene.
Unlike before, he noticed this world was already in ruins. After two invasions of external forces—the Divine Blood Ritual and the Amaterasu Will—and the Great Sage's Will breaking through the heavens and escaping, this paradise-like world had been thrown into chaos, now shrouded in a dead, gray atmosphere, utterly silent.
The vibrant scenes Feng Lin had seen before were completely gone, leaving only one impression.
This world...
Was dead!
Yes, the world was dead!
No trace of life remained, like a scene of apocalypse.
Feng Lin was puzzled. If the world was shattered and its memories destroyed, how could he use the recollection method to find the true essence of the Great Sage passed down through the Stone Monkey Gene?
For a moment, he felt at a loss, unsure where to start.
After wandering for a long time, unable to find the key to breaking through, doubt crept into his heart.
The world was broken—could I never grasp the essence of the gene?
As soon as this despairing thought arose, he shook his head, quickly casting it aside.
Whether the inherited memories existed or not, the Stone Monkey Gene remained unchanged. There must be some trick he hadn't found.
Somehow, Feng Lin stared at the sky, which had a black hole torn open above, and fell into deep thought.
This was the result of the Great Sage's Will erupting and shattering it with a single punch. It hadn't disappeared after so long, hanging there, a gaping hole in the heavens, very conspicuous.
Though the Great Sage's Will had dissipated, its rebellious spirit still echoed through this world, lingering with an aura of lawlessness and defiance.
As if the heavens and earth were beneath its notice—the sky could not block its eyes, the earth could not bury its heart.
Feng Lin calmed his mind, quietly sensing the residual will permeating the world. An inexplicable ferocity rose within him.
This damned world was too small, denying me freedom—I must break it...
This thought came without reason, yet it was crystal clear.
Break this world?
A strange stir moved in Feng Lin's heart. Perhaps this shattered world was...
The Stone Monkey was just a Stone Monkey.
But the Intelligent Stone Monkey was an Intelligent Stone Monkey, a Heart Ape, possessing all kinds of miraculous powers.
The transition from Stone Monkey to Intelligent Stone Monkey lacked some essential transformation of life's essence.
This memory illusion was born from the Stone Monkey Gene itself, carrying Sun Wukong's legacy, but wasn't this world itself a kind of shackle?
It had confined the Great Sage's Will, breeding so much ferocity, hard to dissolve through the ages.
No destruction, no creation!
Destruction leads to creation!
As if a divine thunderbolt exploded in his mind, breaking through the chaos, leaving Feng Lin's mind clear and bright.
What is a Great Sage?
The Great Sage, Equal to Heaven!
If not equal to heaven, how dare one call themselves a Great Sage!
The Heart Ape fears nothing, battles the sky, fights immortals and buddhas...
If heaven and earth are shackles, break them!
Grow, grow, grow!
In a flash of inspiration, Feng Lin's body began to expand. In no time, he grew from a small monkey less than six feet tall into a ten-meter giant ape, still visibly growing.
This was a world of memories, where the mind held infinite possibilities.
The illusion already had a hole. Feng Lin activated all his mental power, pouring it in from outside like a flood, strengthening himself. His body grew with the wind, soon becoming a giant ape that stood between heaven and earth, level with the sky.
"Open up!" he roared, his voice like thunder, stirring boundless waves. His fists, like mountains, struck heavily.
With a thunderous crash!
Lightning split, and heaven and earth collapsed.
The black hole in the sky expanded further under this punch, like a black hole about to devour the entire world. The sky cracked like a mirror, shattering piece by piece.
Boom, boom, boom!
Feng Lin, like a mad demon, punched relentlessly. Each blow carried the power to destroy heaven and earth, causing vast swaths to collapse.
The sky fell!
The earth sank!
The sea overturned!
...
Mountains crumbled, heaven and earth were destroyed!
Feng Lin seemed to transform into the creator god Pangu, his every move radiating boundless divine might, sweeping away chaos.
Only, Pangu created heaven and earth.
While Feng Lin...
Destroyed them!
Feng Lin's fists struck without cease. Heaven and earth trembled, gradually shattered into pieces.
With each fragment destroyed, Feng Lin felt lighter, as if shedding an invisible shackle, regaining freedom.
The power of the Stone Monkey Gene began to stir—a sign of breaking the genetic lock.
It was working!
Joy surged within him, and he redoubled his efforts.
With mental reinforcement, Feng Lin became a world-destroying giant ape, uprooting mountains and swinging them like iron clubs, smashing everything in sight, venting his ferocity, eager to overturn and annihilate this world entirely!
At last, Feng Lin stood in a dark void. The world beneath him had completely collapsed and vanished, leaving no trace.
The world destroyed, the obsession faded!
Feng Lin's heart was pure and peaceful, free of all ferocity. He felt he had shed all constraints, returned to his origin, free and unbound, filled with immense joy and liberation...
If not now, when?
Stone Monkey Gene 10 + Mind Gene 10 = Intelligent Stone Monkey Gene.
Feng Lin's consciousness rose, and the human gene map was clear before him.
Two massive golden stars shone brightly, like ancient, eternal stars hanging in the cosmos, dazzling, dispelling the darkness.
With his will, Feng Lin merged the two gene forces. The twin stars flickered slightly, and a stream of starlight, like clear spring water, flowed from the golden stars, converging, blending seamlessly, each within the other, inseparable.
Rivers and streams merged, two starry rivers became mighty currents, surging like a great river into the sea, stretching toward the depths of the starry sky, heading straight for a massive dark star.
The dark star lay hidden deep in the cosmos, dormant for ages, waiting to be awakened.
Starlight, like birds returning to the forest, poured into it, like currents merging into the Pacific, infusing the dark star with boundless energy.
Thump, thump, thump!
Like a heartbeat, strong and powerful, shaking the starry sky, echoing like thunder.
The silver dark star shimmered, emerging from its dormant state, gradually revealing its true form, becoming a sun radiating infinite light and heat, illuminating the entire dim cosmos, eternal and unchanging.
A stream of mysterious information flowed out.
"Gene: Intelligent Stone Monkey Gene Grade: Perfect Transcendent Gene Enhancement Points: 1 Abilities: Master transformations, know the times, understand the terrain, shift stars and exchange constellations"
Perfect Transcendent Gene!
This Intelligent Stone Monkey Gene was actually the highest perfect grade.
A mysterious force surged through his entire body, pure and singular, yet ethereal as clouds and mist, as if containing infinite transformations.
Before he could fully sense this power, the gene star suddenly changed, generating an immense gravitational pull, turning into a massive black hole, devouring everything.
The pull was so strong that Feng Lin's soul could not resist, falling into it.
Again?
A cry echoed through the starry sky as Feng Lin's consciousness plunged in, vanishing without a trace.
In the darkness...
A pair of golden vertical pupils opened.