~huu~

~huu~

~Huu~

"That was… something…" Lin Mu said between breaths.

Sweat dripped from his face and his robes stuck to his body, which was drenched wet. 

"For a month, that progress is really good, I have to say." Xukong praised.

~thud~

Lin Mu slumped down onto the ground before laying on his back and facing the sky.

"We do have to hurry, so I must give my all." Lin Mu replied as he tried to catch his breath.

If one looked at him, they would find that the sleeves of his robes were torn apart and even other parts of his robes were ripped in places. It seemed like he had been through a battle, and his surroundings would say the same as well.

But there was one exception, there were no corpses or anything of that kind. There were just some broken trees, shattered stones and craters spread in the ground. The area of about two hundred meters around Lin Mu was basically damaged.

Looking at his hands, they were a bit bruised too and there were cuts and nicks on them.

"The new form of the Boulder Collapsing fist, though… it cannot be used in the normal manner." Lin Mu muttered.

Xukong didn't say anything and simply watched on in silence. He had been watching Lin Wu the entire month and had seen him progress greatly. Lin Mu did a lot of things and had even managed to finalized the shape of his Dao Shell in addition to making a new technique that he reckoned would come in use.

He had it for a long time in his mind, but simply didn't have the necessary time to practice it. 

'I still couldn't test out the Burning Heart Sutra though…' Lin Mu thought to himself.

In all the training and cultivation he had done, he had gotten too engrossed. Plus, Xukong had often told him that when things are going in a flow, it is best not to disturb them and break the flow.

Which was true since Lin Mu had not been able to make the new technique if it were not for the stroke of inspiration he got.

After an hour of rest, Lin Mu sat up and closed his eyes.

~huu~

He sensed the spirit Qi within his body and circulated it. After a few cycles, the spirit Qi in the air around him started to stir as well and began to swirl around his body. 

~shua~

A illusory outline appeared above Lin Mu's head, which was none other than the initial form of his Dao Shell. Its shape had changed from the spherical form to a more polygonal form and it was hard to describe.

Its form was very faint and thus, until it was completed, it would be hard to fully tell how it truly was. There were multiple layers to it and they could be faintly seen through the surface of it.

The spirit Qi that was swirling in the air started to pour into the Dao Shell's outline and was quickly absorbed by it. It couldn't even be seen where the spirit Qi was going as the Dao Shell quickly devoured it.

Twelve hours passed like this when finally… the base surface of the Dao Shell changed. From its almost transparent form, it now had gained a corporeal part. Even if it was just a millimeter of change, it was still enough to show that Lin Mu had successfully broken through.

"Shell Genesis Stage of The Dao Shell realm…" Lin Mu muttered.

He opened his eyes and looked at the barely noticeable change in the Dao Shell and smiled wryly.

"This is going to take a lot of spirit Qi, isn't it?" Lin Mu questioned himself.

"It will indeed. With your stores of spirit Qi and the Dantian size… I can't even estimate the spirit Qi that will take you to fully materialize the Dao Shell." Xukong truthfully said.

~Sigh~

"Doesn't matter. As long as I keep up, I'll reach the necessary level eventually." Lin Mu said with determination.

This was true, since Lin Mu was not going to expand his Dao Shell in the Shell Expansion stage. He was simply going to try and breakthrough to the Dao Treading Realm after the Shell Completion stage.

And for him that has always had a stable foundation, the Shell Completion stage was as good ready to break the moment he reached it. Other cultivators would have to spend years solidifying their cultivation base and rectifying the mistakes they may have made.

Different cultivation techniques brought different flaws and effects that changed this time required by them greatly. But for Lin Mu, who never practiced one from the start, it was a non-requirement.

The aura emanating from Lin Mu's body also changed subtly and became more pronounced. But just a minute later, the Dao Shell returned back to Lin Mu's body and it was as if his cultivation base quickly regressed.

If one felt him right now, they would think that Lin Mu was simply in the nascent soul realm.

His control over aura and spirit Qi fluctuation too improved along with his breakthrough, though it was not as noticeable to himself. But Xukong did perceive it.

'The more he progresses, the more he gets in tune with the world. I wonder if he can reach the point of 'world and man as one'.' Xukong thought to himself. 

He often wondered how Lin Mu would progress if he did not have to deal with the troubles of the world.

'Placing him in one of the Immortal courts would be enough to make him a great immortal in just a few millennia. Unfortunately, fate has different plans for him. These are the tribulations set by fate and he has to go through them if he wants to grow his providence…' Xukong thought with hope.

Lin Mu wanted to continue cultivating for longer, but he was interrupted by the humming of the Jade Slip.

He knew right then and there what must have happened.

"Are they here?" Lin Mu questioned.

"Yes.. It is time…" Jing Luo answered.

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