novelraw Chapter 163: A Mere Mortal Body
Chapter 163: A Mere Mortal Body
"Starry Sky Divine Crystals are born from the cosmic starry sky."
"They possess a tremendous boosting effect on a life form's physical body..."
"...making them one of the absolute best treasures for a Late-stage Starry Sky Life to enhance their physical strength."
Information regarding the Starry Sky Divine Crystal surfaced in Su Yuan's mind.
Not all cultivators and evolvers were like Su Yuan, balancing the Six Dimensions perfectly without any shortcomings.
Many cultivators and evolvers—such as strategists—focused solely on the Dimension of Wisdom. Their cultivation methods did not even account for the physical body.
Therefore, if they wanted to improve their physical bodies, they could only rely on external forces. The Starry Sky Divine Crystal was an excellent choice.
There were also many descendants of higher-tier life forms who lacked any cultivation talent. They might only be Planetary Lifeforms, but they were deeply doted upon by their powerful elders.
What could be done in such cases?
The solution was to use Starry Sky Divine Crystals to forcibly elevate their physical dimension, pushing them to the Starry Sky Life tier so they could enjoy a lifespan of hundreds of thousands of years.'Although I have no weaknesses, if I want to open up a sufficiently powerful internal world, my physical body must also keep up.'
Su Yuan thought to himself.
His requirements for his physical body far exceeded the strength provided by the Six Dimensions Cultivation Method alone.
'Let us begin the refinement.'
Without any hesitation, Su Yuan immediately began refining the Starry Sky Divine Crystal.
Buzz. The Yin-Yang Five Elements Cosmic Energies permeated the air, seeping into the Starry Sky Divine Crystal and rapidly refining it.
"Whoosh!"
Su Yuan instantly felt a massive yet gentle power welling up from the Starry Sky Divine Crystal. Following the path of his Yin-Yang Five Elements Cosmic Energies, it surged directly into his physical body.
Nourished by this vast, mild energy, Su Yuan's physical body reacted like parched earth receiving sweet rain, rapidly growing stronger.
Time flowed by.
In the blink of an eye, more than half a day passed.
'Halt.'
With a subtle shift in his thoughts, Su Yuan immediately stopped refining the Starry Sky Divine Crystal.
'My current physical body is nearly saturated. I need to adapt for a while before I can continue refining.'
Su Yuan thought to himself as he looked at the Starry Sky Divine Crystal in front of him, which had shrunk by about a tenth.
This was also the most efficient method for refining Starry Sky Divine Crystals that he had obtained from the gray mirror.
A human's physical body had a strict upper limit for energy absorption, and taking in the gentle energy from the Starry Sky Divine Crystal was no exception.
'It will take me about twenty days to completely refine this Starry Sky Divine Crystal. By then, my physical body will be twelve times stronger than it is now.'
Su Yuan thought secretly.
Through the gray mirror, he already knew the exact effects he would achieve after refining the Starry Sky Divine Crystal.
In twenty to thirty days, when this Starry Sky Divine Crystal was fully refined, the other three Starry Sky Divine Crystals would be nearly delivered. Su Yuan's physical enhancement speed would not slow down or suffer any delays.
'Once I finish refining the other three Starry Sky Divine Crystals, my physical body will be thirty-two times stronger than before...'
Thinking of this, Su Yuan shook his head slightly. 'It is still not enough.'
A physical body thirty-two times stronger than that of a standard Six Dimensions Cultivation Method practitioner sounded absolutely beyond comprehension, but compared to Su Yuan's ultimate goal, it still fell slightly short.
'Starry Sky Divine Crystals...'
Su Yuan had a massive demand for Starry Sky Divine Crystals. At the same time, he pondered over which method he should choose to acquire more.
The gray mirror had provided numerous ways to obtain Starry Sky Divine Crystals; Su Yuan simply needed to select the one most suitable for himself.
'Take it step by step. At the very least, the other three Starry Sky Divine Crystals will be enough for me to refine for two months.'
Su Yuan gathered his thoughts and began to consider other matters.
'It is time to head to the Divine Body World.'
Su Yuan thought to himself.
During his transition from a Late-stage Starry Sky Life to a Stellar Life Form, the Divine Body World was one of the most suitable evolution worlds for him. This was also the answer provided by the gray mirror.
At the same time, a large portion of the many methods for Su Yuan to obtain Starry Sky Divine Crystals were located within the Divine Body World.
Entering the Virtual Network world, Su Yuan immediately selected the Divine Body World.
"The greatest feature of the Divine Body World... is that before descending, one can select corresponding Cosmic Energies to construct their desired divine body, and then bring it into the Divine Body World..."
Su Yuan read the prompt messages displayed in front of him.
"Do you wish to begin constructing a divine body?"
"Constructing a divine body with two types of Cosmic Energies requires one million Azure Surge Coins."
"Constructing a divine body with three types of Cosmic Energies requires ten million Azure Surge Coins."
"Constructing a divine body with four types of Cosmic Energies requires one hundred million Azure Surge Coins."
Upon entering the Divine Body World, if one wanted a satisfactory divine body, they had to spend money.
In particular.
The more Cosmic Energies a divine body contained, the higher the price naturally became.
After all, the more Cosmic Energies utilized, the greater the burden it placed on the Divine Body World.
'Constructing a divine body with four types of Cosmic Energies requires one hundred million Azure Surge Coins. Five types require one billion Azure Surge Coins, six types require ten billion Azure Surge Coins, and seven types require one hundred billion Azure Surge Coins?'
Su Yuan remained expressionless.
The cosmic energy cycle he had constructed was the Yin-Yang Five Elements Cosmic Energies, which involved seven different types of Cosmic Energies. If he wanted to construct a divine body containing these seven Cosmic Energies, it would cost him one hundred billion Azure Surge Coins. And this was just a one-time fee. If Su Yuan died in the game and wanted to re-enter by creating a new character, he would have to spend another one hundred billion Azure Surge Coins to rebuild the divine body.
'The Divine Body World is very friendly to ordinary Late-stage Starry Sky Life forms. The cosmic energy cycles they construct usually consist of at most three or four types, so their entry fee ranges only between ten million and one hundred million Azure Surge Coins.'
Su Yuan thought silently in his heart.
Ten million Azure Surge Coins? One hundred million Azure Surge Coins? For Late-stage Starry Sky Life forms capable of destroying stars, this was not a large sum. They could easily afford it.
However, for genius Late-stage Starry Sky Life forms, the cost was far steeper. This was especially true for Su Yuan, who had mastered a grand cycle of seven Cosmic Energies. Constructing his divine body just once would cost an astronomical one hundred billion Azure Surge Coins.
One hundred billion Azure Surge Coins? Even if Su Yuan could afford it, it would bleed his finances dry.
'I never planned on constructing a divine body in advance anyway...'
Su Yuan shook his head slightly.
Having the gray mirror, Su Yuan naturally knew the most suitable method for him to enter the Divine Body World.
It was not to construct a tailored divine body for himself.
Although a constructed divine body would innately contain the Cosmic Energies Su Yuan desired, its upper limit would be rigidly locked. It could only ever contain the Cosmic Energies it was built with.
In other words, if Su Yuan constructed a divine body using the seven Cosmic Energies of Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements, that divine body would only ever be capable of housing those seven Cosmic Energies in the future.
For other Late-stage Starry Sky Life forms, this wouldn't be an issue, as they could only afford to focus their energy on the Cosmic Energies they had already mastered anyway.
But Su Yuan was different. With the help of the gray mirror, he prepared to forge an entirely new path to open up his internal world—a method that had no requirements for a divine body whatsoever.
In fact, a divine body containing multiple Cosmic Energies would actively negatively impact this method.
"Create character. Do not construct a divine body."
Su Yuan immediately spoke aloud.
Upon entering the Divine Body World, one could choose to construct a divine body.
Or, they could choose not to.
If one entered the Divine Body World without constructing a divine body, the vessel they descended into would be a Mortal Body, completely devoid of any Cosmic Energies.
Entering the Divine Body World in this manner meant starting at a baseline far lower than those Imperial Citizen Players who had constructed divine bodies. Therefore, very few people ever made such a choice.
After all, everyone entered the Divine Body World to break through to become a Stellar Life Form, and a divine body was absolutely crucial to that process. Entering without one? What was the point?
"Confirmed: Do not construct a divine body. Cost: 0. Entering now..."
As the prompts from the Divine Body World echoed, Su Yuan instantly felt his consciousness being pulled away, cast into a vast and colossal world.
The Divine Body World was boundlessly vast, divided into the Eastern Barrens, Western Desert, Southern Borders, Northern Plains, and Central Continent.
Among them, the factions in the Central Continent were the strongest, primarily controlled by the forces of the three high-tier universal human empires. As for the other four regions? They were occupied by numerous factions from mid-tier and low-tier universal human empires.
When Imperial Citizen Players chose to enter the Divine Body World, they could also select the region where they would descend. Su Yuan chose the Eastern Barrens.
Eastern Barrens, Qingfeng Prefecture, Luoyang City.
Luoyang City was one of the many third-rate cities in Qingfeng Prefecture, with a population of only tens of millions. Within it, the Luoyang City Bai Family held a sliver of renown.
Inside the Bai Family Compound, dozens of youths stood waiting, their faces filled with anxiety.
Today was the day the younger generation of the Bai Family tested their aptitude. This event would determine the future of every Bai family member present. Testing with a Superior Aptitude? That meant soaring into the heavens.
If one tested with an Inferior Aptitude, they would be immediately expelled from the Bai Family Compound and sent away to manage the family's external businesses.
Those in the latter group, despite still being members of the Bai Family, were virtually indistinguishable from servants.
"Bai Zicheng, Medium Aptitude..."
"Bai Tianshu, Medium Aptitude..."
A deacon of the Bai Family continuously called out the specific aptitudes of the younger generation being tested.
The family members whose names were called with a Medium Aptitude showed disappointment on their faces, but they also breathed a sigh of relief. While a Medium Aptitude wasn't exceptional, it at least meant they wouldn't be kicked out of the Bai Family Compound. With a bit of hard work in the future, securing a mid-tier position within the family would not be a problem.
"Bai Yuanwang, Superior Aptitude!"
As the Bai Family deacon announced this, he nodded slightly, looking down at one of the youths with a smile. "Not a bad test this time. We actually produced a genius with a Superior Aptitude."
Instantly.
Everyone turned their gazes toward Bai Yuanwang. Superior Aptitude? As long as he grew up smoothly, he was destined to join the high-ranking officials of the Bai Family, perhaps even standing a chance to compete for the position of Patriarch.
"Bai Shilin, Inferior Aptitude."
The Bai Family deacon's tone shifted as he continued announcing.
"Inferior Aptitude? Bai Shilin has an Inferior Aptitude? Tsk, tsk."
Hearing this, many of the Bai Family members looked toward a particular youth, their expressions dripping with ridicule.
"To think Bai Shilin would see this day!"
"Hahaha, with an Inferior Aptitude, he isn't even qualified to wait on me hand and foot."
The Bai Family members murmured among themselves, their whispers laced with mockery.
'Right... I am Bai Shilin.' Su Yuan looked around, feeling no surprise regarding his identity after descending into the Divine Body World.
If he had chosen to construct a divine body using his Cosmic Energies, he would have been heralded as an unprecedented genius within the Bai Family.
But choosing not to construct a divine body and descending with a Mortal Body naturally led to this outcome—his tested aptitude was destined to hit rock bottom.
'It does not matter.' Su Yuan's gaze remained calm. 'Since I am here, I will simply begin with a Mortal Body completely devoid of aptitude.'