Chapter 2264 - The Divine Ability Ranking

The tribulation clouds dissipated, and all of the chaos and upheaval within the Extreme Lightning Demon Cave gave way to silence.

The ancient divine wraiths hidden throughout the Extreme Lightning Demon Cave couldn’t help but sigh in relief.

They’d truly narrowly escaped disaster this time!

That grand tribulation had left Madam Mei and the other terrifying ancient wraiths feeling as if their lives hung by a thread.

Meanwhile, on the shore of that crescent-moon-shaped lake.

Su Yi stood beneath the dome of heaven, enveloped in a searing rain of light and a shocking, holy aura.

His physical body and soul had all been reforged, as if he’d achieved nirvanic rebirth.

The Sword of the Nine Hells had returned to his sea of consciousness.

However, his sea of consciousness was now completely different than before. It now contained a Divine Dais!

His avatar of will sat on it, and his powers of the Grand Dao were outlined atop it. They interwove behind his avatar of will, illuminating his entire sea of chaos.

The Divine Dais was the symbol of the Limit Realm!

Su Yi’s powers of the Grand Dao were rooted in his Sea of Chaos and interwoven atop his Sea of Chaos.

Unless his soul power was ground away completely, he could come back to life so long as even a wisp of his soul remained!

But that was far from the full extent of the transformations accompanying this breakthrough.

His physical body, soul, and powers of the Grand Dao had all undergone a qualitative transformation. This was a complete breakthrough, a thorough elevation.

He wasn’t even remotely comparable to how he’d been before!

The Limit Realm represents the limit of mastery, and means that my powers of the Grand Dao have been tempered to perfection within the Divine Dao....

Now that I’ve reached this level, I can refine my own Grand Dao Divine Ability!

As Su Yi refined the rain if light enveloping him, his thoughts raced.

A divine ability!

The way gods saw it, it was only when one condensed a Grand Dao Divine Ability that they truly qualified as a Mid-Rank God.

Divine abilities were different from Daoist Magics. They could be divided into two types.

The first was innate divine abilities, natural talents certain cultivators were born with.

The second was Grand Dao Divine Abilities used a god’s power of the Laws as a foundation to create a technique.

For instance, a Mid-Rank God who’d achieved divinity through body refining could use their powers of the Grand Dao to create a divine ability of the flesh.

Similarly, a sword cultivator might condense a Grand Dao Divine Ability connected to their Dao of the Sword.

When people said that “divine abilities are broad and can encompass endless variation,” they meant that there was no need to search for external methods. Instead, cultivators needed to use their mastery of the Laws of the Grand Dao to create a power suitable for them.

It was for this reason that every Mid-Rank God’s Grand Dao Divine Ability was different, and they couldn’t be taught to other people, nor could they be copied or pilfered!

Disregarding differences in cultivation base, gauging a Mid-Rank God’s strength came down to the strength of their Grand Dao Divine Ability.

Particularly powerful abilities could let a Mid-Rank God explode with many times their usual power!

Conversely, those Mid-Rank Gods with middling divine abilities were weak even with cultivations at the pinnacle of the Limit Realm.

The God Domain kept a list of Grand Dao Divine Abilities. They called in the Divine Ability Ranking! It recorded the three thousand strongest Grand Dao Divine Abilities in the history of the God Domain.

The list wasn’t static, either. As time passed, it too changed.

Li Fuyou’s Grand Dao Divine Ability, “Floating Through Life as If Dreaming”, remained at the top of the rankings for a full thousand years.

Before Li Fuyou, it was Yi Daoxuan, and his ability, “Journey of Defiance Against Heaven and Earth”, that monopolized the top spot on the rankings!

Of course, the rankings only took Grand Dao Divine Abilities into account. In a true battle, cultivation bases, combat experience, and treasures also played a crucial role.

The Divine Ability Ranking had changed numerous times since Li Fuyou's death. In Qingwu Divine Court, Su Yi learned that over the past several hundred thousand years, Li Fuyou and Yi Daoxuan’s rankings had dropped to twenty-first and nineteenth place, respectively.

Disregarding whether the rankings were truly authoritative or not, these changes proved at least one thing.

In the long years following Yi Daoxuan and Li Fuyou’s deaths, the God Domain had given rise to one dazzling Mid-Rank God after another, each with a Grand Dao Divine Ability that surpassed Yi Daoxuan and Li Fuyou!

Of course, despite the passage of hundreds of thousands of years, both Li Fuyou and Yi Daoxuan still hovered around twentieth place. It was thus obvious how terrifying their Grand Dao Divine Abilities were.

Despite the passage of countless years, they’d barely fallen through the ranks!

Su Yi wasn’t the least bit concerned about his future position on the Divine Ability ranking. What he

did

care about was the Grand Dao Divine Abilities ranked in the top three. Just how strong were they?

And what about the other abilities ranked above Yi Daoxuan and Li Fuyou’s? Were they really stronger than Floating Through Life as If Dreaming and Journey of Defiance Against Heaven and Earth?

Su Yi would naturally test it for himself later!

But before that, he needed to create this lifetime’s Grand Dao Divine Ability.

......

Enough time to burn a stick of incense later.

Su Yi refined all of the light of the Grand Dao permeating his surroundings, and his aura grew increasingly plain and simple.

Standing in the sky, he seemed as tranquil as a passing cloud, without even the barest hint of sharpness.

He’d fully drawn his aura into himself; it was much like how true treasures were unassuming. The profundities there in were indescribable with words alone.

He stretched languidly, then sighed in satisfaction.

I’ve reached the Limit and created my Divine Dais. Now, I’m a true carefree traveller on the path of divinity, unfettered and at ease!

Even though experts of the Limit Realm were “just” Mid-Rank Gods, those who reached this level had crossed the threshold and established firm foundations in the Divine Dao.

If they wanted to, Mid-Rank Gods could gather followers and establish their own sects!

That aside, upon reaching this level, a god’s cultivation base transformed, and their Laws of the Grand Dao advanced, letting them create their own Grand Dao Divine Ability. So long as their soul remained, they could exist in perpetuity!

Thus, they were known as “carefree travellers on the path of divinity, unfettered and at ease!” This was a description of the changes the Limit Realm brought them.

“Brother Xiao!” Feng Wuji dashed over excitedly. “I was so scared just now. I could never have imagined that your tribulation would be so terrifying!”

When Su Yi saw that he was about to go on, he smiled and interrupted him. “Enough. Calm down and wait a while. I need to take some time to stabilize my cultivation base.

With that, he drifted to the ground, sat cross-legged, and started tempering his cultivation base.

Feng Wuji couldn’t help but admire him.

If I’d overcome a calamitous grand tribulation like that, I’d be overcome with delight. I’d want nothing more than to go to my family and have them reward me lavishly!

But Brother Su doesn’t seem to care at all. He really is the man I admire most!

Three days later, Su Yi arose from his meditation, glanced at the nearby Feng Wuji, and said, “I’m heading into the Dao Transformation Blood Cave.”

Feng Wuji was instantly nervous. “Brother Xiao, can you take me with you?”

“You want to see your ancestor?” asked Su Yi.

Feng Wuji sighed, then nodded.

“Come with me, then.” Su Yi headed straight for the nearby crescent moon-shaped lake, Feng Wuji hot on his heels.

......

The Dao Transformation Blood Cave was the most forbidden, dangerous place in the entire Extreme Lightning Demon Cave. Even Master Gods risked the corrosion of their Grand Daos and the destruction of their bodies and souls.

The entrance to the cave lay at the bottom of the lake.

Li Fuyou had explored it before, and he knew it like the back of his hand. Thus, Su Yi felt as if he were returning ot familiar ground.

The Dao Transformation Blood Cave was deep underground and divided into nine levels. It was arranged like the layers of a lotus flower.

The first level.

The dark tunnels intertwined like a spiderweb, extending in all different directions. Being here was like being trapped in a giant maze.

The air was full of dense death qi, blood qi, resentment, and baleful energy.

Feng Wuji instantly looked stricken, and a chill coursed down his spine. An irrepressible sense of impending lethal danger filled his heart and made his hair stand on end!

“It’s just as I remember it. It really hasn’t changed a bit.” Su Yi looked around, and images of his time exploring the place in his past life floated to the forefront of his consciousness.

Back then, Li Fuyou had only just proven his Dao and reached the Undying Realm. He was merely a One-Tribulation Master God.

Nonetheless, he’d fought his way all the way into the heart of the Dao Transformation Blood Cave, the ninth level.

However, his own strength had only been able to carry him to the fifth level.

This was because the divine wraiths of the fifth level were comparable to Four-Tribulation Master Gods. With Li Fuyou’s strength at the time, even if he risked it all, he could at most compete with Four-Tribulation Master Gods.

Li Fuyou had made it to the ninth floor by relying on external treasures. Were that not the case, it would have been difficult for him to leave the cave alive.

“Stick close to me,” said Su Yi. He was already leading Feng Wuji down a familiar path through the tunnels.

Moments later, a pair of bright red, lamplike eyes appeared in the darkness. Feng Wuji jumped, his heart racing.

But before he could get a clear look at the eyes’ owner, a dazzling streak of sword qi flashed past, followed by a desperate shriek.

Su Yi raised his hand and grabbed. A crystal fell into his palm.

From beginning to end, Feng Wuji neither grasped the creature’s appearance, nor how Su Yi managed to kill it!

“Brother Xiao, what’s that you’ve got there?” said Feng Wuji.

“A Chaos Soul Crystal. It’s full of innate soul essence, and it’s extremely pure. It’s useful for tempering the Divine Dais,” Su Yi said casually. “A single piece like this is worth, oh, five hundred Undying Divine Crystals, maybe more.”

Feng Wuji gasped and exclaimed, “What a treasure!”

Su Yi put the Chaos Soul Crystal away. “Let’s get this out of the way: you won’t be getting a share of the trophies this time.”

Feng Wuji said hurriedly, “I understand!”

Su Yi, meanwhile, was already continuing through the tunnels. The tunnels were dark, winding, and full of heart-palpitating, baleful, turbid energies.

But with Su Yi leading the way, Feng Wuji wasn’t actually all that nervous.

Shortly afterward.

A fair hand suddenly shot out the rocky tunnel walls and seized Feng Wuji by the throat.

Feng Wuji panicked and tried to scream, only to realize that he couldn’t make a sound. Everything went black, and he felt as if his soul were about to be pulled out of his body.