The perils of cultivation were endless, but with a heart hardened by experience and an unyielding will, all things could be overcome. Yan Zaizen felt those words resonate in his heart more than ever. His cultivation, his plans set to overcome his obstacles, and his future was all being determined by a single path of peril.

The Heavenly Annihilation Light.

The mnemonics of the Immortal Herculean Method flitted through his mind continuously. Only when he had ensured that every detail had once more been etched into his Soul Flame did he start to execute the method for cultivating his physique.

His mind entered an unprecedented level of calm, his breathing and heartbeat reached a synchronized yet unfathomably slow rhythm. It was wondrous. With simply this, and the few words being continuously uttered in his heart, his body seemed to undergo a miniscule yet perceptible change.

When he cultivated this before, he lasted for several hours before he suffered a backlash that left him spewing blood, pale-faced, and with a sickly countenance. Yet, this time, his body wasn't as weak as before. There were no impurities within his body caused by improper cultivating, only the faint glimmers of his Dao Light that flowed through his blood, muscle fibers, and skin.

This time, he didn't lose consciousness. His will was firm as well, so he did not need a Senior Sister to instill a desire for improvement or a drive for success. He knew what was on the line, and the pain he experienced was calmly endured.

Minutes became hours, which became days until an entire month had passed. This was the same timeline that he required before, when he first cultivated this technique. Unlike before, his fleshy body had gone through an uninterrupted process of transition making the initial process perfect. His bones, flesh, blood, organs, and even his hair follicles had changed subtly. 

During this period, his Dao Seed had slowly awakened. It exuded Dao Light infused with Dao Energy. This kept his body from requiring normal sustenance, allowing a truly interrupted meditative period of cultivation. His body, in fact, was healthier than normal. The contours of his muscles were elegantly masculine, his complexion was like jade, and his eyes shone with radiantly brilliant light. 

"I'll get one shot at this," he reminded himself in his heart. A slight grin tugged at his lips. Originally, he was planning to use his original body's plans, but after some thought, he decided to risk it. He needed to cultivate quickly, and even if it was risky to push for something more, he never lacked the courage to do so.

"Exceed the heavens, shatter the skies!!!" He calmly exclaimed. His words were like a quaking surge. The world rumbled as if an earthquake had been initiated. The resulting reverberations were intense and only grew more intense as the seconds passed.

The entire Meteorite City may be taken aback by the abrupt disturbance. He could imagine many seeking shelter or hiding away for safety due to this commotion. When he went through this before, he was in an isolated mountain range and he could only imagine the disturbance it had to the surrounding beasts.

His eyes opened. They shifted upwards to see the ceiling, but that gaze of his seemed as if he was piercing through all matter, reaching the highest heavens and the authority of this world, the Heavenly God.

"BECOME AN IMMORTAL! BECOME A HERCULEAN!" He thunderously shouted. It was only when those words left his lips did he realize that he hadn't spoken in his common language, but a unique language that seemed to synchronize with the Herculean Path, invoking its wondrous powers. 

His physique that had been primed during this entire month had started to rapidly become active. Similarly, the ground quaked, the clouds grew restless as they congregated above Meteorite City, and directly above Yan Zaizen's abandoned warehouse

There wasn't a hint of fear within his gaze. This was the prelude to the calamity that was Heavenly Annihilation Light. 

Time seemed to freeze.

A mote of golden light, so small, enough to barely rival a child's marble, emerged from the clouds. This was condensed heavenly force and it descended without mercy. 

The purpose of Heavenly Annihilation Light was to, as its name suggests, annihilate all those that went against the Heavenly Laws set by the Heavenly Gods of the Thirty-Three Heavens. The Herculean Path was outlawed, meaning cultivating it was against the intent of the Heavenly God of this heaven, the Extreme Rebirth Heavenly God.

Normally, the speed of this light would be so swift that even a millisecond wouldn't be enough to observe its arrival, descent, and resulting destructive prowess. However, Yan Zaizen was clearly awake and his gaze and fleshy body was slightly moving. 

The mote of light arrived, passing through all matter like a ghost. It arrived by Yan Zaizen's glabella. It seemed gearing to enter his soul and destroy all that he is and will ever be. However, just as it touched his glabella, an unfathomably brilliant and ferociously fearsome amber-gold colored light violently erupted.

This was his Dao Seed!

The Dao of Sovereign Ascension was a peak upper-tier Dao, and it was Pseudo Grand Dao thanks to Xihu, the Heavenly Creator of the Sirius Titan Path, and his Origin Source True Egg he obtained during his trial. Furthermore, it had been linked inexplicably with his soul on a higher level thanks to Yri's Dao Heart, Grand Soul Divine Art.

Even though it was but a seed, it contained a ferociously powerful energy of both his Paragon Soul Realm and the Pseudo Grand Dao!

Originally, he should've used the latent power of the Dao Seed to disperse the Heavenly Annihilation Lightning, but that plan had been thrown away after some brief thinking. If he did that, he'd have to face it with each resulting breakthrough. Before, he had employed the Black Hole to absorb the Heavenly Annihilation Light, and with it a part of his soul, the light never descended again. However, he didn't have the Black Hole this time.

Therefore, he wasn't going to disperse the light, but assimilate it into his Dao Seed! If successful, he could use the aura of the heavens within his Dao to disguise each subsequent breakthrough. Moreover, the benefits to his Dao Seed might be able to fully awaken its ability.

He was ambitious. If successful, could he truly alter the Dao Heart, Grand Soul Divine Art to include Heavenly Might! Just the thought excited him!

With that in mind, he used his Dao Seed to encompass the Heavenly Annihilation Light within less than a literal blink of an eye. When it entered the Dao Seed, the mote of light vanished. In the world of the Dao Seed, an unfathomable Heavenly Will erupted, but was suppressed by the Dao Will within.

A battle of epic proportions had started. It was one that no one could ever truly witness, not even Yan Zaizen. 

After a faint tremble or two, the Dao Seed regained its calm. Its amber-gold light shone ever brighter, but the golden light it emitted was more brilliant and contained a destructive will. How could his Dao lose to a speck of Heavenly Will?

The Dao Seed started to tremble vigorously, but Yan Zaizen didn't panic. In fact, his eyes rippled with excitement and anticipation.

He started to conceive a conceptual foundation for this new art, one that incorporated Heavenly Energy, Dao Energy, and Soul Energy into a singular whole. It was rapidly completed as he devised a new name for this Dao Seed: Heavenly Dao Seed.

Shockingly, when the Heavenly Will was assimilated, it was perfectly compatible with his Dao Aura. He felt his sense of self enlighten a little on the intricacies of the heavens. 

"Incredible!" The Heavenly Dao Seed entered his glabella and into his soul, it slowly started readying itself to become a Heavenly Dao Heart. Abruptly, he felt the Heavenly Laws and the minute intricacies of this Heaven to bear themselves to him.

He closed his eyes to feel these changes. However, after a brief moment, it vanished leaving him confused. He felt as if the rights of this Heaven had been given to him for a single moment. It was a distinctive feeling, akin to when he was comprehended the Heavenly Law in the Heavenly Origin Grounds. 

-----

27th Heaven, Divine Rebirth Realm.

At the center of the 27th Heaven, a singular Realm sat at the center, larger and grander than any other in the Heaven. It had changed hands quite a few times, and now rested on the Extreme Rebirth Heavenly God.

In a palace that seemed to stem from Immortal Legends, drenched in gold with wisps of black and white Immortal Qi, there was a throne with a handsome, youthful, and divinely dressed young man garbed in black and white. His eyelids shielded the world from its certainly dazzling light, and his aura was unfathomable.

For a split second, he turned his head slightly towards a certain direction. It was so slight that not even a god might notice, but it had indeed happened. When it did, his eyes opened revealing a gaze without pupils, filled with an elegant display of white and black wisps of flames dancing about.

Those eyes contained light that seemed to force the heavens to acquiesce to his intent. This was the Extreme Rebirth Heavenly God!

"My authority was challenged? Or…" he softly spoke, and that voice was heavenly and soft. It could even be mistaken as a woman's, but it had just a faint masculine touch. 

"No. It must be due to the timing of the upcoming Heaven Claim, causing slight changes to my authority." After slowly saying thus, he once more closed his mysterious eyes. When the words 'Heaven Claim' spoke from his lips, a faint hint of a smile emerged on his face.

"I wonder...winged boy, will you try to claim this God's seat?"