For Chen Fan, it wasn’t enough to become just a normal Connate Cultivator.
Up till then, he had defeated two Connate Cultivators. One was Ye Qincang, who had only reached the level and didn’t even have a cultivation art, while the other was the Blood Ancestor, who didn’t know much about the real traditions of the Kindred and could only use some superficial curses and tactics, even though he had lived for centuries.
The Blood Ancestor had also been severely injured by the Christian Church. Although he had awakened several times and killed many people to heal himself in the past thousand years, there wasn’t an abundant supply of Spirit Qi on Earth and human spirits could only help him extend his lifespan, not speed up his recovery.
Getting into the Connate Level was tremendously difficult!
“Ye Qincang is half a Connate Cultivator while the Blood Ancestor was only at the early stage of the Connate Level.
“I’ve already reached the peak stage of Qi Refinement and have an initial-success Divine Body. With many Divine Powers, secret arts, the Mercury Armor and the God-killing Spear, I can easily kill an early-stage Connate Cultivator and battle with a mid-stage Connate Cultivator. However, this isn’t enough for me.”
Chen Fan understood his own strength so he couldn’t wait to complete the Twelve Sky Art Paintings.
The Connate and the Qi Refinement Level were two big levels.
After entering the Connate Level, every sub-level would get harder and harder to break through. But at the same time, his power would increase tremendously. The difference between the early stage and the mid-stage of the Connate level was like the great divide between the Transcendent State and the Immortal State.
After entering the Transcendent State, Chen Fan could easily defeat Soul Formation Cultivators and was strong enough to battle with Immortal State Warriors, but those with a higher level were too powerful for him.
“Those top warriors can dominate the world right after entering the Connate Level because they have an unbeatable Divine Body, Divine Beast Blood, Celestial Arts, Sacred Arts and super Spirit Treasures. I don’t have any Spirit Treasure nor do I have a bloodline, and my Divine Body has reached the maximum level of initial success, so I can only work on the cultivation arts for the moment,” Chen Fan thought as his body swiftly absorbed the pure energy from the “Blood Pill.”
This Blood Pill combined the energy of a pure-blood spirit, including the Divine Soul, and a large amount of superior-grade Spirit Medicines. It was more powerful than ten thousand Spirit Stones, as a minimum estimate.
“Patter, patter.”
As the cultivation continued.
The light dots that formed a Divine Beast image behind him became brighter and the image was almost completed. Once it was done, it would mean that the cultivation of the Sky-Swallowing Painting would be complete!
“There are a lot of powerful sects in the Realm of Kunxu which have many Earth Level Deities and cultivation arts from the ancient times. So, they must have not only a couple of Earth Level Deities, but also some mid-stage or peak-stage Connate Cultivators. If I don’t get the kind of power that can destroy everything, I won’t be strong enough to fight against them,” Chen Fan pondered.
If he were only facing warriors on Earth, he would just continue practicing other arts after entering the Connate Level, but since the Realm of Kunxu had made an appearance, Chen Fan had become more anxious.
The Blood Ancestor and Ye Qincang were like babies compared to those mid-stage and peak-stage Connate Overlords. Chen Fan might not be their match with his current strength.
“Go!”
Chen Fan shouted.
The Blood Pill exploded in his body.
An endless pure energy spread all over Chen Fan’s body. Looking from the outside, everything looked red because of the aura around him, making him look like a red gemstone.
The Sky-Swallowing Art operated and absorbed all the pure Blood Energy.
“Boom!”
The last light dot on the Divine Beast image behind him finally lit up and completed the Sky-Swallowing Painting. The image became clearer and it seemed to be the “Kun Peng” with its mouth open.
The entire room was filled with an ancient sense.
Even the array of the secret room seemed to be a bit overwhelmed. The talismans on the wall lit up and countless runes were initiated to protect the room from any damage. In the end, the Sky Sword Talisman flew into the room and sent out its Sword Qi to stabilize the area.
“In the northern ocean there is a fish, called the Kun, I do not know how many thousand miles long it is. The Kun can morph into a bird, called the Peng. I do not know how many thousand miles wide its back is. When it flies, its wings cover the sky like clouds.”
This was an excerpt from Zhuangzi’s “A Happy Excursion.”
The Kun Peng was a top Divine Beast not only on Earth but also in the universe. It was as famous as the True Dragon, the Golden Crow and the Sky Phoenix, and was comparable to a Dao Reunion Perfected Immortal. The Kun Peng traveled across worlds and the universe and was about the size of a planet. Every time it opened its mouth, it could swallow something as large as the sun and the moon.
Its energy was powerful enough to crush Golden Core Cultivators and blow up Connate Cultivators.
The image of the Kun Peng was completed but Chen Fan didn’t stop. He yelled, “Form!”
The Divine Beast image then turned into a ray of light and shot into Chen Fan’s body, leaving imprints on his every bone, veins and acupuncture points.
Looking closely with a microscope, Chen Fan’s entire body was covered with light dots, which formed the shape of a flying Kun Peng.
Not only that, Chen Fan also stood in a weird posture and floated in the air without using any Dharmic Powers, as if he were swimming in the ocean of Essence Qi.
“Phew!”
After a while, Chen Fan stretched his body and slowly sat down with his legs crossed.
He opened his eyes and his black pupils looked like two deep black holes. He discovered that a Kun Peng drawing was imprinted not only on his body, but also on his Divine Soul.
The Twelve Sky Art Paintings.
The first one, the Sky-Swallowing Painting, was finally completed.
“I was right. The Twelve Sky Art Paintings illustrate the cultivation arts of the ancient beasts. Whoever completes them will gain the power of these twelve beasts.”
Chen Fan opened his mouth and breathed in lightly.
“Whoosh.”
A small cyclone appeared in the room and endless Spirit Qi was swallowed by Chen Fan, seemingly out of control. In a blink, all the Spirit Qi in the room was gone. The Earth Fire was also affected and it flew towards Chen Fan, while the array on the wall started to distort.
“The Swallowing Divine Power of the Kun Peng is one of the top Divine Powers across the entire universe. I heard that the Kun Peng can swallow everything in the world, including the Sun and a Dao Reunion Perfected Immortal, not to mention Earth Fire and arrays.”
Chen Fan was excited.
He appeared to have transformed into someone who had been born with Divine Powers, able to use them whenever he wanted without any restrictions or side effects.
“I used to absorb the Spirit Qi of the outside world using cultivation arts when I cultivated, but now, I can do so as soon as I open my mouth. I can also suck in the True Fire and Essence Qi of the Sun and the Earth Fire.”
Chen Fan was thrilled.
Meanwhile, there seemed to be a burning furnace in his body that could destroy and refine everything.
“In a sense, I’m also a descendant of a Divine Beast and have the blood of a Kun Peng. So, I’m a little Kun Peng now.”
Chen Fan got up and started using his Dharmic Powers.
“Boom!”
A large amount of True Essence surged out from his body and a black tide appeared in the air. It clashed against the wall, causing some buzzing sound. The room started shaking and even the array seemed to be a bit overwhelmed by Chen Fan’s power.
“The True Essence is so powerful!”
Chen Fan gasped.
The array above the secret room had been left by the Masters of the Sword Palace and was strong enough to withstand attacks from a peak-stage Connate Cultivator. Even though half of it had been damaged after thousands of years, it wasn’t something normal Connate Cultivators could break through.
“My True Essence has reached the level of a mid-stage Connate, which is several times higher than what it used to be. Together with my initial-success Divine Body, secret arts and Divine Powers, I’ll be able to knock down a mid-stage Connate Cultivator.”
This was the terrifying power of the Twelve Sky Art Paintings.
His power had risen several times after completing just one of them. If he finished cultivating all of them, he could even kill a Dao Reunion Perfected Immortal!
“But the Twelve Sky Art Paintings will get more difficult to cultivate as I go on. Dozens of thousands of Spirit Stones and Treasure Pills are already needed for the first few paintings, so I guess that not even all the resources of half the universe will be enough for the last one. I wonder what Divine Beasts are recorded in the later paintings.”
Chen Fan touched his chin and didn’t mind it.
He could guess the Divine Beasts in the first nine paintings but not the last three. They might be the beasts of the ancient times or even an earlier age.
“Anyway, the Twelve Sky Art Paintings are more like the Bloodline Arts than traditional cultivation arts. I can practice other arts at the same time. Besides, they’ll never be as good as my own invincible art!”
Chen Fan’s eyes glinted.
The Celestial Lords who entered the Tribulation Level would start their own paths and create an invincible art that was most suitable for themselves. The North Mystic Celestial Lord was the same.
The Twelve Sky Art Paintings and the Battling Celestial Art were both arts made by others and could only be used as references.
“I’ve achieved the initial-success Divine Body and completed the Sky-Swallowing Painting. Now, it’s time to break through to the Connate Level.”
Chen Fan was calm and expressionless.
Five years after his rebirth, he was finally going back to the Connate Level and to become a real Immortal Cultivator! And yet, completing the Sky-Swallowing Painting was only the beginning.
“After entering the Connate Level, I’ll be on top of this planet!”
Chen Fan closed his eyes.
When he opened his eyes again, nothing on Earth would be able to stop him.