Chapter 590: The Refinement Process, Redux

Zhang Lie circulated his [Ninecarp Transformation]. Filled with energy, each revolution of the framework took mere moments—just over half a minute, an incredible and previously unimaginable speed.

The rate at which he circulated genetic energy through his body increased further and further, until the energy moved so quickly it formed what seemed to be a continuous loop, whose speed Zhang Lie was no longer able to sense.

The circulation of his own genetic energy through his framework induced the herbal energy all around him to flow in a specific fashion and accelerate his growth. He slowly reined in the rampant genetic energy, then guided it where he needed it most.

Just as Zhang Lie's situation was about to stabilize, the will of the world struck at the worst possible moment.

[Energy has exceeded maximum threshold. Activating third-realm transferral routine.]

A familiar voice rang out in his mind.

[Energy has exceeded maximum threshold. Activating third-realm transferral routine.]

[Energy has...]

After the warning sounded three times, before Zhang Lie could do anything, a seven-colored pillar of light shot down toward Zhang Lie and transforming him into a gigantic cocoon.

As the refinement energy from the realm wrapped around him, the tamed disaster-grade energy began to run rampant again, scouring Zhang Lie's body with its strength.

This refinement process, much like that which had occurred between the first and second realms, was a key step to advancing toward the third realm.

The refinement energy would allow the gene fragments that a hunter had amassed within the second realm to permeate throughout the hunter's body, elevating a hunter's status on a fundamental, genetic level.

Every ascension would be accompanied by a refinement process—in the first realm, in the second, and in the third and higher realms—and this boon was what motivated hunters to ascend.

Zhang Lie was undergoing such a process, but his example was clearly extraordinary. His forced teleportation into an extradimensional space wouldn't kill him, but he would have to suffer the ravages of the herbal energy for a little while longer.

The herbal energy from Potion #4 and the refinement energy from the will of the world represented two disparate sources of energy, one which was rebuilding Zhang Lie's body, and the other of which was trying to seep into it.

Where they clashed, Zhang Lie's body suffered—for instance, while sugar and mustard could both enhance the flavor of food, using them together would create a discordant flavor profile.

As the two types of energies ravaged his body, they began to clash with and destabilize each other, treating Zhang Lie's body like a battlefield.

To be honest, Zhang Lie was astounded that he was even still alive. The two frightening sources of energy continued warring over his body, and the sensation of his body tearing itself apart from the inside wasn't something he wanted to bear for even an additional second.

From the moment the two energies mixed in his body, his fate was sealed. Caught in the grasp of two forces beyond his control, Zhang Lie sought the only refuge he could: his framework.

However, the disaster-grade genetic energy which was running rampant around his body was far stronger than what his framework could generate and control. Whenever he cycled his framework, he would be able to process a small portion of that disaster-grade genetic energy, nothing more—each cycle processed the equivalent of a drop of water, and he had an entire sea's worth of energy to filter.

His body felt like a neverending fractal of pain; Zhang Lie was impressed with himself for not going mad on the spot.

If not for the fact that he had already evolved into a disaster-grade lifeform, which had granted his soulspace and mental fortitude massive enhancements, he could very well have gone into a coma from which he would never awaken.

The refinement process in the second realm was almost an order of magnitude more intense than that in the first.

The disaster-grade energy tangled with the refinement energy, and the explosions that resulted were strong enough to crack the extra-dimensional space to which he had been transported.

As the will of the world tried to repair that space, even more refinement energy came pouring in.

His stats had gone beyond the peak of the second realm, and, more importantly, the will of the world didn't like how much havoc and damage he had wreaked. As a result, his refinement process deviated significantly from the norm.

With the disaster-grade herbal energy running rampant throughout his body, the refinement energy was unable to pervade Zhang Lie's body the way it was supposed to. As a result, when Zhang Lie circulated genetic energy through his framework, he was blocked from accessing that refinement energy due to the herbal energy's presence, so he would have to strip the barrier of disaster-grade herbal energy surrounding his body first—and with nothing more than his own framework to do so.

Forcing himself to ignore the pain that felt poised to send his body into shock, Zhang Lie gritted his teeth and began the arduous task of cycling genetic energy throughout his battered body.

The longer it took Zhang Lie to absorb the herbal energy, the longer he would suffer the pain carving away at his body. Unusually, however, Zhang Lie found himself slowly getting acclimated to the pain.

After undergoing so many painful evolutions, Zhang Lie's tolerance for pain was immense. The pain he was experiencing now was little worse than the excruciating pain he had suffered through in the past, and if he had managed to survive such ordeals before, why couldn't he do it again?

Zhang Lie expected that, if he were to keep circulating genetic energy through his framework, he would be able to slowly consume the herbal energy and finish the refinement process just like he had done in the first realm, but what he didn't consider was that he had a hundred disaster gene fragments now, and only ten disaster gene fragments before.

As the two disparate sources of energy clashed again and again within Zhang Lie's body, something unusual began to happen. Zhang Lie's battered crystalline body began to crack, but just as the cracks seemed as though they would cause his body to shatter, the herbal energy and refinement energy would repair those cracks.