The transformation within Lin Sheng's body continued for a long time before finally settling down.
When everything became quiet again, he slowly opened his eyes.
For several breaths, Lin Sheng simply sat there without moving, carefully examining every change within his body.
The first thing he noticed was that his physical strength had not increased by any particularly obvious amount.
This surprised him slightly.
After all, the Five Elements Dao Rhymes had flooded his entire body and even entered his Astral Gang Essence, yet when he clenched his fist and casually circulated his Qi-Blood, the difference in raw strength was almost negligible.
It was only after carefully examining himself that Lin Sheng discovered the true change.
His Essence Origin had advanced.
It was not a huge increase, nor could it immediately be converted into overwhelming combat power, but the change was qualitative rather than quantitative.
Lin Sheng's expression became thoughtful.
"Essence Origin..."
This was the first time since arriving on the Martial Continent that he had clearly felt his Origin undergo an actual transformation.
The Origin was the source of oneself.
Everything possessed an Origin, whether it was a person, a beast, a treasure or even certain aspects of heaven and earth, and within the human body, the most fundamental aspects of one's Origin were divided into three Divine Treasures.
Shen, Qi and Jing.
Before Rank 4, cultivators could refine their bodies, strengthen their spiritual energy, increase their Qi-Blood or improve their divine sense, but none of these transformations could truly be considered a complete refinement of their Origin.
They were merely approaching it.
Every realm before Rank 4 was, in one way or another, refining the vessel and gradually touching the deeper foundation hidden within oneself.
Only after stepping into Rank 4 did a cultivator truly gain the qualifications to begin transforming their Origin.
Lin Sheng's eyes flickered.
He had received much of this knowledge from the Empress Dowager, and the more he cultivated, the more he understood why the higher realms were separated so distinctly from everything that came before.
The difference was not simply a matter of greater energy.
It was a transformation of the fundamental source of the cultivator.
In Martial Dao, the realms could broadly be divided into three major stages.
The first was the Innate Qi Transformation Stage.
It began from the Acquired Realm and extended all the way to the peak of Astral Gang.
At this stage, martial artists primarily refined Qi-Blood and transformed it into increasingly profound forms of martial energy, eventually condensing Astral Gang and using it to strengthen both the body and combat techniques.
The second stage was the Grandmaster Stage.
It began with the Five Qi Converges at the Origin Realm, followed by the Three Flowers Bloom at the Crown Realm and finally the Dharmakaya Realm.
Above that was the Martial Saint Stage.
Lin Sheng's expression became slightly solemn when he thought about the latter realms.
Those were realms he had only heard about through fragments of information, and even on the Martial Continent, cultivators capable of reaching such heights were exceedingly rare.
According to what the Empress Dowager had explained, the Five Qi Converges at the Origin Realm was the point where a martial artist truly began refining their Essence Origin.
The Five Qi Grandmaster would refine five different forms of Qi into five fundamental nodes within the body, gradually allowing them to converge toward the centre of one's existence.
Once the Five Qi had reached sufficient perfection, the cultivator's Origin would begin to truly sprout.
That was when the three Divine Treasures, Shen, Qi and Jing, could gradually manifest their deeper potential.
A martial artist could choose to cultivate one of them, or in the case of those with sufficient foundation and opportunity, cultivate several simultaneously.
When one of the three Divine Treasures fully bloomed, the cultivator would reach the corresponding stage of the Three Flowers Bloom at the Crown Realm.
The transformation was enormous.
The Five Qi Grandmaster Realm was the foundation.
The Three Flowers Bloom at the Crown Realm represented the flowering of the cultivator's Origin.
The Dharmakaya Realm represented another completely different level of existence.
Lin Sheng slowly exhaled.
He had originally thought that the Five Elements Dao Rhymes would primarily strengthen his Golden Body, but now he understood that the transformation had gone deeper.
It had touched his Origin.
The increase was subtle, but it was extremely important.
His current combat power had not suddenly doubled, nor had his physical strength experienced some absurd increase, but the foundation beneath everything had become slightly more profound.
It was like adding another layer to the foundation of an enormous building.
Perhaps the building itself looked no different from before, but the structure supporting it had become stronger.
Lin Sheng could also clearly feel another change.
His control had improved.
His perception of his own strength had become considerably more precise, and when he circulated his Astral Gang Essence, there was less waste than before.
This was extremely important.
No matter how powerful an expert became, completely controlling every ounce of their strength was almost impossible.
A portion of their power would inevitably be wasted.
The more profound the cultivation realm, the greater the amount of energy involved, and the more obvious the problem became.
A cultivator could possess tremendous strength, yet if their control was poor, they would be unable to display their true potential.
This was one of the reasons why martial techniques, divine abilities and spells were so important.
They weren't merely methods of attacking an opponent.
They were also methods of learning how to control one's own power.
The better one's comprehension of a technique became, the more efficiently their strength could be utilised.
Lin Sheng's gaze became thoughtful.
"My control has improved by quite a bit."
He slowly raised his hand.
A faint strand of Astral Gang Essence emerged from his fingertip.
The strand appeared extremely ordinary, yet under Lin Sheng's control it continuously changed shape, sometimes becoming as thin as a strand of silk, sometimes condensing into the edge of a blade, then dispersing into countless tiny particles before gathering again.
The entire process happened without the slightest fluctuation.
Lin Sheng nodded slightly.
His Five Elements Gang Essence had also changed.
After being nourished by the Five Elements Dao Rhymes, its quality had increased considerably.
The improvement was not enough to cause another qualitative transformation, but compared with before, every strand of Astral Gang Essence now seemed to contain greater weight and greater cohesion.
This was especially useful because his cultivation had already reached the peak of Astral Gang early stage and he was preparing to step into Astral Gang mid stage.
Once he finally broke through, the quality of his Astral Gang Essence would determine how much of his existing foundation could be transformed into true combat power.
Lin Sheng's attention then returned to the strange seed within his body.
The five-coloured seed rotated slowly within his Qi Sea.
It was no longer merely a vague projection.
It had become a genuine Divine Ability Seed.
The moment Lin Sheng's mental perception touched it, another piece of information immediately surfaced within his consciousness.
Five Elements Profound Light.
Lin Sheng's eyes narrowed.
"So that's its name."
The Five Elements Profound Light was the Divine Ability formed from the Five Elements Body Forging Art.
Its fundamental principle was extremely simple, yet the deeper he understood it, the more astonishing its potential became.
It could disarm, weaken or even directly neutralise Five Elements attacks directed toward him.
Fire, Water, Wood, Metal and Earth.
These five fundamental attributes formed one of the most important conceptual frameworks within the Immortal Dao.
Almost every cultivator would come into contact with the Five Elements at some point during their cultivation journey.
Some specialised in Fire techniques, others cultivated Water methods, some forged Metal-type treasures, others relied on Earth techniques for defence, while certain cultivators cultivated Wood techniques focused on vitality and regeneration.
Even cultivators who did not deliberately specialise in the Five Elements would often possess treasures or techniques containing one or more of these attributes.
That meant the Five Elements Profound Light possessed an extremely broad range of applications.
Lin Sheng's eyes gradually brightened.
"If my understanding is correct..."
He raised his palm.
A faint five-coloured glow slowly emerged above it.
The light did not appear dazzling.
Instead, it seemed strangely profound, with five colours continuously circulating around one another.
Lin Sheng's mind immediately began calculating the possibilities.
If someone attacked him with a Fire-type divine ability, he could use the Five Elements Profound Light to interfere with the structure of the incoming power.
If an enemy relied upon a Water-type technique, he could similarly use the Five Elements principles to weaken or disperse it.
The same applied to Wood, Metal and Earth.
Of course, there were limits.
A Divine Ability was never truly invincible.
The difference in cultivation, the strength of the opponent's technique, the profundity of their Dao comprehension and the quality of the treasure or divine ability they used would all affect the final result.
If an opponent's cultivation completely surpassed his own, even a profound Five Elements Divine Ability might be unable to completely neutralise their attack.
But that did not diminish its value.
In fact, it was precisely because the Five Elements were so widespread that the potential of the Five Elements Profound Light was enormous.
Lin Sheng's gaze became increasingly profound.
The Five Elements were not merely five attributes.
They were five principles that constantly transformed into one another.
Fire could generate Earth.
Earth could generate Metal.
Metal could generate Water.
Water could generate Wood.
Wood could generate Fire.
At the same time, each could restrain another.
Fire could melt Metal.
Metal could cut Wood.
Wood could break through Earth.
Earth could suppress Water.
Water could extinguish Fire.
The two cycles were intertwined, forming an extremely complicated network of interactions.
A cultivator who merely understood the surface of the Five Elements would only be able to use the Divine Ability in a straightforward manner.
But someone who comprehended the deeper principles could use one element to interfere with another, redirect an attack through its generating relationship, weaken it through its restraining relationship and eventually dismantle the technique at its foundation.
Lin Sheng slowly clenched his palm.
The five-coloured light disappeared.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
This was only the beginning.
He had just formed the Divine Ability Seed.
The Five Elements Profound Light still needed to be cultivated, comprehended and gradually transformed into a genuine Divine Ability.
As his comprehension deepened, the power of the Divine Ability would naturally increase.
And once he possessed three Divine Ability Seeds, his Golden Body would undergo another qualitative transformation.
Lin Sheng's gaze became distant.
The Yin-Yang Treasure Robe was already progressing.
Now he had the Five Elements Profound Light.
He only needed one more suitable Divine Ability.
After that, he could begin preparing for his breakthrough into the mid stage of the Golden Body Realm.
But that could not be rushed.
A powerful foundation required sufficient accumulation.
Lin Sheng had already cultivated for long enough to understand one simple principle.
The higher the realm, the more dangerous impatience became.