Lin Mu could sense the qualitative change in his strength.
Before this, his Qi cultivation had been lagging behind his body cultivation so most of his strength came from his body. But now his Qi cultivation had taken the lead once more and was probably going to stay ahead for a while.
After all, Lin Mu now had a full path for the Immortal realm in terms of Qi cultivation, but for body cultivation, he still lacked techniques. One plus point he did have was the fact that he had clues that he could pursue.
'The feeling of getting stronger… Breaking through… and more… I've been missing it…' Lin Mu realized.
~shua~
His immortal sense spread out in the next moment, allowing him to perceive everything around him.
"Immortal Qi… Spirit Qi… Water elemental spirit Qi as well as Immoral Qi… and, Dao Traces." Lin Mu analyzed the invisibles complements in the air accurately.
But along with them, he realized he could sense something else. To him, it felt like there was a thin layer of some kind superimposed everywhere. It could be selectively ignored by him if he needed, but he could also pin point it now.
"Is this what Senior Xukong was talking about?" Lin Mu muttered and closed his eyes.
When he opened it again, his spatial perception activated, revealing the faint fluctuations in space as well as the spatial fabric itself!
'Just as I thought, it really is the spatial fabric. I can now directly sense it.' Lin Mu understood.
Before this he had to actively use spatial perception to see the spatial fabric and use his spirit sense to interact with it. Now he didn't need to do that either. Even if he didn't see it in his normal state, he could still feel its presence.
This alone was more than enough to do a lot with it.
"Congratulations. I didn't expect you would automatically refine your immortal sense." Xukong had been watching Lin Mu since his breakthrough and was truly pleased with his progress.
"Thank you, senior." Lin Mu smiled. "Also does this mean…"
"Yes! You can now truly cultivate the Spatial Dao." Xukong confirmed.
"Great!" Lin Mu had been desiring this for a long time and finally had the chance. "When should I begin?" he asked.
"Practically you have no need to wait now. You've fulfilled more than enough requirements for it." Xukong replied with content.
Hearing this, Lin Mu sat back down immediately. Closing his eyes, his consciousness directly descended in his Dantian.
~HUALA~
The spirit Qi that had turned calm for a moment started to stir once more. This time though, it was gathering in a specific point. Second after second passed and soon the outline of a sphere could be seen in his Dantian.
Lin Mu had now formed the outline of a second Dao Shell!
"What shape do I want it to be?" Lin Mu questioned himself.
"Ask yourself what does the spatial Dao mean to you? The Dao shell will come to you automatically." Xukong advised in a light voice.
~huu~
Lin Mu took a deep breath and started to ponder on it while the spirit Qi continued to stir within his body.
He first thought to how he had first obtained the ring and its skills. What it allowed him to do and how he used it. The more Lin Mu thought about it, the more Lin Mu felt like he knew what his path should be.
~HONG~
The Dao Shell outline within his Dantian started to flicker. It started to morph, taking on asymmetrical shapes as well as symmetrical shapes.
It felt like it wasn't hard like a shell but soft like clay.
"The path that I pursued was… Freedom. Freedom from poverty… Freedom from weakness… Freedom from restrains… if Freedom is what I pursue, why should I restrain myself to one form?
My Dao shell shall be… Formless!" Lin Mu declared.
~HONG~
At his declaration, the outline of the Dao shell disappeared. But it wasn't that Lin Mu had lost his Dao Shell, as the spirit Qi was still pouring into the point where the Dao shell used to exist.
~HUALA~
A vortex of spirit Qi formed around the spot, and it started to disappear into nothingness.
Lin Mu let it flow freely, didn't mind that the drain on his spirit Qi was getting rather fast.
'If I want to, I can absorb more spirit Qi whenever…' Lin Mu thought to himself.
He willed it and half of his entire Dantian's spirit Qi roiled. It poured into the vortex, directly disappearing into nothingness. This continued until Lin Mu's spirit Qi stores fell to 30%.
This was a massive number as the amount of spirit Qi he had in his Dantian could even compare to an entire spirit stone mine!
~huu~
Lin Mu let out a breath and sensed that he had succeeded.
"Reveal." Lin Mu lightly spoke.
In the next moment, the space inside Lin Mu's Dantian twisted and a prismatic object appeared from it. It changed colors non stop, looking like a rainbow sometime and dark like coal sometimes.
But that was not all, as its shape changed continually as well. It became flat, then a sphere, then a square before turning into an icosahedron and then becoming entirely incomprehensible.
Its forms changed without a sense or reason, but it didn't reduce its aura at all.
This was Lin Mu's Dao shell, it had formless and could take any form he desired. It wasn't hard and rigid, but was instead soft and pliable.
Lin Mu observed it for a few moments, before summoning it in front of him. It rose out from his abdomen and floated in front of him. It was about a meter wide right from its formation.
"Harden," Lin Mu lightly commanded.
~SHING~
The Dao shell in front of him turned rigid at that moment, as if it was a crystal.
"Sharpen." Lin Mu ordered next.
~SHING~
The Dao shell shrunk and turned into a long thin blade.
"Narrow." Lin Mu spoke again.
~SHING~
The Dao shell elongated and shrunk at the same time, turning into a four meter long needle.
Lin Mu continued to change its shape, letting to flow freely. He could make it go anywhere he wanted freely as long as it was within the range of his Immortal sense.
"So this is what I've gained…" Lin Mu muttered, returning the Dao shell to his Dantian.
Xukong who had been watching it all was stunned.
'He's outdone my expectation again… A formless Dao Shell… if this was shown to any of the old experts, they would think it is downright absurd. And yet, he has proved a legacy that is several billion years old wrong…' Xukong thought to himself.
But his thoughts didn't end there, as he realized this was Lin Mu simply making a Dao Shell. He hadn't even made his Dao Embryo of Spatial Dao yet!
'What kind of surprise will he present me next?' Xukong wondered.
~HUALA~
And while Xukong was thinking all this, Lin Mu hadn't stopped. He started to absorb all the spirit Qi from the air around him. It entered his body and directly condensed within his Dantian.
The spirit Qi didn't get any time to rest either, as it was quickly channeling into an empty spot. It was once more disappearing into nothingness.
Lin Mu was now directly skipping to the last step of Dao Shell. He was expanding it!
As he had kept it formless, there was no need for the Shell Genesis stage of the Shell completion stage. It could directly be expanded at will!
The spirit Qi continued to be consumed at a great speed, and a vortex formed above Lin Mu's head too. Thankfully, he was in the Rust Sky world, and that too in the Deep Sapphire Island where there was no lack of spirit Qi.
Lanbao, who had been watching Lin Mu since the start, was amazed. While she didn't understand everything, she could tell that Lin Mu had comprehended something new.
"He needs spirit Qi?" Lanbao noticed.
She then waved her hand, creating several runes that filled the air. They rose into the sky and triggered the array of the island.
~HONG~
In the next minute, a torrent of spirit Qi descended on the area.
Lanbao had focused the spirit Qi gathering array on Lin Mu alone!
The invisible vortex of spirit Qi turned corporeal, looking like a swirling storm cloud. Lin Mu too noticed the sudden rise in spirit Qi but didn't open his eyes. He simply focused on absorbing it.
Massive amounts of spirit Qi poured into his body and Dantian, before disappearing into nothingness. This process lasted ten hours before Lin Mu opened his eyes and stood up.
"That will be enough, Lanbao." Lin Mu spoke.
"It's enough? Are you sure? The array is barely working at 10%." Lanbao replied.
"Yeah it's more than enough." Lin Mu said before raising his arm.
~SHUA~
Above him a large prismatic sphere appeared. It was over a hundred meters wide and emitted dense spirit Qi pressure.
"I think this is more than enough."
