Of course, the layout was merely a layout, and the plan was just a plan. Lei Dong would constantly adjust his response to various changes based on the resources at hand. But at this moment, the timely allocation of this single Chaos Origin essence saved Lei Dong a great deal of trouble.

The methods used by Ming Ji were, at most, suitable for inciting former "Masters." At best, they had only been tested on female powerhouses at the Void Refining stage. For those at the Integration stage, they were completely untested. She failed to realize that as one’s cultivation realm increases, so too does the level of one’s life essence. Though Lei Dong was now employing this dark art to temporarily control them, if the stability of the spiritual imprints were not continuously reinforced, their dissipation rate and extent would far exceed Ming Ji’s imagination.

And as their cultivation levels continued to rise, this would inevitably become two ticking time bombs capable of threatening Lei Dong’s very life.

While assisting them in guarding against interference during their cultivation, Lei Dong also entered a semi-cultivation state. Time waited for no one; ten thousand years sounded long, but for someone at his level of cultivation, it flashed by. If he allowed even the slightest slackening, Lei Dong would lose the strength and opportunity to rescue Wan Yan.

Thus, Lei Dong would not miss any chance he found to cultivate. First, he reconfigured his own life sequence. After some pain, his life factors were converted, becoming Lei Dong himself. Of course, his true body at this moment was only at the late stage of Void Refining.

Next, within his Qi Sea, he absorbed the soul of Prosus and used the resulting Chaos Origin essence to refine his own being. At this time, Lei Dong’s aptitude was actually only slightly less than that of peerless geniuses as rare as Wan Yan and Dongfang Fu. However, the issues of physical potential and aptitude demanded ever-increasing amounts of Chaos Origin essence the higher one ascended.

After absorbing a full quarter of a Chaos Origin essence, his aptitude and potential surged dramatically in a short span. Even compared to the favored daughters of heaven like Wan Yan, he was now slightly superior. It could be said that Lei Dong was now a genius among peerless geniuses.

Cultivating further with this foundation, the rate at which he utilized spiritual energy became extremely fast because his potential was so high, leading to fewer bottlenecks. Potential, in essence, described the ultimate achievement a person could reach. The reason why Immortals, Demons, and the Monster races had never produced a Supreme-level figure over millions of years was due to their life essence levels and potential. Even over tens of millions of years, peak powerhouses found it difficult to break through to the Supreme realm.

Inevitably, one after another, they perished.

To truly reshape oneself and break through inherent limits, Chaos Origin essence was indispensable. Furthermore, for beings at the Immortal and Demon levels, even peak powerhouses, gaining even a tiny bit of Chaos Origin essence and slightly increasing their potential offered almost no substantial benefit. Unless an Immortal race member with inherently top-tier aptitude, or a Demon race Qihang Text, managed to absorb a complete, whole Chaos Origin essence, they might—note, might—have a chance to break through to the Supreme level.

Among the Immortal, Demon, and Monster races, any existing Chaos Origin essence was almost entirely monopolized by the three supreme rulers. Only on extremely rare occasions would a peak powerhouse be so lucky as to acquire a whole or half piece of Chaos Origin essence; after consuming it, their potential would advance by leaps and bounds, yet ascending to the Supreme level remained far from easy. Such individuals often ranked first among the Ten Peaks. Like the former Jade Wave Fairy, or Patriarch Blood River who died tens of thousands of years ago, both had such fortuitous encounters.

These individuals approaching the Supreme level typically possessed combat strength equivalent to two or three peak powerhouses; they were referred to as quasi-Saints. Currently, within the Three Realms, the only one who could truly be called a quasi-Saint was the Dragon Emperor of the Azure Dragon Clan, who was the strongest among today's Ten Great Masters.

As for Fairy Cang Lan and the Queen of Suffering, although their aptitude wasn't the absolute pinnacle, it was considered extremely high within their respective races. Otherwise, how could they have cultivated to their current degree? If given further resources and opportunities, they might not necessarily reach the level of the Ten Great Peaks in this lifetime, but reaching the tier just below that, such as the High Tier, was highly hopeful. And if resources were abundant—for instance, obtaining what was available in this Crystal Ancient Clan ruin—reaching the Peak Expert level would even be within reach.

But now, their greatest opportunity had arrived: each received half a piece of Chaos Origin essence. Consequently, their futures instantly broadened immensely. With the support of extremely ample resources, Qingyi Erya, their future ceiling was now approximately the Quasi-Saint level.

Of course, even with their current fortune, achieving the Quasi-Saint level would be impossible without vast stretches of time for cultivation and evolution. However, from this point onward, their rate of cultivation would enter a period of rapid, explosive advancement.

Lei Dong returned to his original body and also began to cultivate. Cultivating with the Demon Body only honed that specific Demon Body. Lei Dong's true body was what truly belonged to him. Only when the main body was strong could he continuously grow stronger. Although that Demon Body could also be considered Lei Dong’s body, it was best used as a clone; if significant investment were required, his own main body was the more suitable choice.——～～～

Familiar with the process, he completed the tempering of his physical body in a mere few days. Next, he used the residual chaotic spiritual energy within his Ti (Body) for cultivation. His main body’s current strength was only late-stage Void Refining. Although its combat prowess wasn't weak, it still differed from the strength the Demon Body could unleash.

Hastily, several more months passed. The Queen of Suffering and Fairy Cang Lan absorbed the essence extremely slowly so as not to waste a single drop of Chaos Origin essence. Yet, they completed the absorption by this time. Concurrently, their aptitudes were elevated to a certain level, and both their bodies and souls underwent a deep, profound cleansing.

Especially Fairy Cang Lan, who was already at the peak of early Integration stage, only a single step away from mid-Integration. Given her aptitude, perhaps in one or two tens of thousands of years, she would naturally advance. However, after being refined by half a piece of Chaos Origin essence, her aptitude and potential surged so rapidly that she immediately sensed the omens of a breakthrough.

Advancement is a major event, especially at the Integration stage; even a slight breakthrough in cultivation merits celebration, let alone crossing an entire minor realm. At that moment, Fairy Cang Lan wept with joy and reported her status to Lei Dong through a divine thought fluctuation. Lei Dong immediately supplied her with Chaos Crystals, encouraging her to break through on the spot. Sensing an impending breakthrough is rare; missing this chance might mean waiting decades.

As a result, Lei Dong and the Queen of Suffering, who had planned to emerge from seclusion, also entered a relatively prolonged period of closed-door cultivation. It took a full several years for Fairy Cang Lan to break through cleanly to the mid-Integration stage. Following her emergence, Lei Dong and the Queen of Suffering, who had been accompanying her as sparring partners, also awakened. Several years of cultivation had allowed Lei Dong's own cultivation to grow substantially, but reaching the peak of the Void Refining stage still required a long journey ahead. The previous rapid advancement to late Void Refining was due to his body being repeatedly tempered by the Nether King Body Tempering Art during the tribulation, which greatly elevated its level.

Moving further required steady, step-by-step progress. As for the Queen of Suffering, her cultivation also saw slight improvement. But one should not underestimate this "slight improvement"; at her level, every tiny step forward required ages of repeated tempering.

However, a problem soon arose. When the Queen of Suffering and Fairy Cang Lan opened their eyes and greeted their Master, they suddenly froze, dumbfounded. The reason was simple: Lei Dong’s current body was his true form, and his true form was human. Although through long cultivation his body had become increasingly perfect and evolved, the term "very tall" applied only within the human context.

High-ranking Demons and Immortals were inherently non-human. Both their figures stood seven or eight zhang tall, translating to over twenty meters in height.

Although Lei Dong had mentioned his main body was human, upon seeing this reality, the Immortal and the Demon both stood stunned. Seeing their strange looks and suppressed laughter, Lei Dong felt a surge of annoyance. Fortunately, having reached his level of cultivation made it simple to temporarily swell his physical form. Just as he was about to inflate his body, Fairy Cang Lan reacted first. She hurriedly executed an Immortal Art, controlling her delicate form to shrink proportionally. Finally, she transformed into a beautiful fairy maiden about seven chi tall and bowed gracefully to Lei Dong: "Your servant greets the Master."

Seeing this, Lei Dong nodded with satisfaction.

"That Cang Lan... took the lead again in gaining the Master's favor," the Queen of Suffering (Qihang Text) also hurried to shrink herself, transforming into human height, and sweetly