The Gaze of the Divine

Sandean examined Haru with surprise as he looked at the "Fourth Level Ability Experiment Plan" Haru had brought.

Haru's progress in researching the Secret Art of Immortality exceeded Sandean's expectations. This proposal was Haru's idea, and Sandean found it very feasible.

Haru believed their previous fusion attempts failed because they hadn't applied enough pressure. He suggested modifying the secret technique, using mental power as the core to apply pressure, which he termed "mental force pressure."

"Haru," Sandean said, his eyes widening, "your talent in this area is beyond my imagination. You've noticed details I hadn't even considered."

"Mental force pressure?" Sandean mused, stroking his chin. "What inspired this idea? Could it be the immense pressure in the ocean depths?"

Haru scratched his head happily, his smile somewhat simple and honest.

This aligned with his usual rough-and-ready, impulsive personality.

"Teacher, I just like to come up with strange ideas out of nowhere."

Sandean patted his shoulder approvingly. "Some genius-level innovations stem from unconventional thinking."

"Haru," Sandean proclaimed, his voice filled with pride, "if we succeed this time, your name will be forever etched in Yinsai's history. You will have pioneered a new path for the Wisdom Ability."

Sandean was destined to be remembered in history, but Haru wasn't necessarily so. People might occasionally remember him as the Sage of Truth Sandean's student, but if he and Sandean jointly created the path to the fourth level, it would be entirely different.

Haru was excited, his hands clenching for a moment.

"Teacher, I'm certain we'll succeed," he said, determination burning in his eyes.

Sandean nodded, looking at the silk manuscript in his hand, his eyes revealing hope.

"Indeed, we will certainly succeed."

However, he failed to notice the look in Haru's eyes.

It was a nearly uncontrolled pursuit and desire for power and the mystery of immortality.

He was even less aware that at this moment, hidden in the sleeve of Haru's robe was a Divine Artifact refined using priestly blood.

They once again came to the ritual workshop on the rocky beach, first inscribing the ritual array as before.

Sandean threw a Seal Doll into the center of the array, which immediately transformed into a stone statue upon landing.

This form was the most stable and suitable for conducting experiments.

The teacher and student pair skillfully released their spirit power, vibrating it in a peculiar rhythm to resonate with the Seal Spirit and mythical blood within the stone statue.

As the secret technique unfolded, the mythical blood and Seal Spirit finally began to merge.

"Hum~"

Spirit power constantly traversed this space, eventually pressing down on the stone statue.

A violent spiritual hurricane formed, everything in the ritual workshop began to revolve around the two men. Dust and pebbles collided with the walls and ceiling, making subtle sounds.

But Sandean and Haru's attention was entirely focused on the center of the spiritual hurricane, where the Seal statue was undergoing transformation.

At the center, the spiritual hurricane acted like a cosmic mixer, evenly blending the divine blood, Seal Spirit, and the statue's power.

Immense pressure, like a giant hammer, repeatedly pounded the three elements together.

Forcing them to interlock and combine.

An intense gray light burst forth, the radiance of the divine technique imprint at the core of the Seal Spirit.

Sandean and Haru immediately stopped and looked towards the gradually receding light at the center.

A patch of soil appeared in the original spot.

But it was very peculiar, as each grain of sand in the soil emitted light.

"Rustle~"

The sand grains were writhing, moving slightly on their own.

The soil transformed from mud to white pottery, then into stone.

Its shape gradually stabilized, finally settling into the form of a tall, human-shaped stone figure.

Sandean's eyes widened in disbelief. "What... what is this?" he stammered.

Haru was also somewhat shocked. "It seems... to be coming alive?" he whispered, awe evident in his voice.

Sandean slowly walked forward, his voice barely above a whisper. "A new life?"

"After the Seal Spirit and mythical blood fused, has it become a new species, a new life form?"

Sandean approached, his spirit power roughly sensing the entity's structure.

It no longer had distinct Seal Spirit, mythical blood, or stone body components, as the three had been mixed and fused together.

Divine blood, spirit, and stone, indistinguishable from each other.

Myth, spirit, and mundane matter, interlocked as one.

This was clearly no longer a Seal Spirit; it possessed its own bloodline, its own life rhythm.

It could even pass down its bloodline, becoming a new species.

A kind of...

Peculiar species possessing immense power.

Sandean raised his hand somewhat bewilderedly, wanting to touch the newly born entity.

What Sandean didn't expect was...

The stone man also reached out, meeting Sandean's palm.

Sandean felt no joy at all, instead retreating two steps in horror.

"How... how is this possible?" he gasped, his voice trembling.

"Can stone truly possess life?" Sandean muttered, his worldview shaken to its core.

Haru supported his teacher who had stepped back several paces. His eyes fixed on the newly born stone monster, as if witnessing the world's greatest miracle.

They were using mortal bodies to perform the power of divine creation.

Haru, as if seeing the world's most perfect creature, exclaimed excitedly.

"Teacher!" Haru exclaimed, his eyes ablaze with excitement, "This is the power of the fourth level!"

"Breaking the shackles of life, possessing a transcendent body."

According to their original plan, the mythical blood and Seal Spirit had fused.

The remaining step was to merge their own consciousness and memories into it, and the experiment would be successful.

At this moment, Sandean felt something was amiss. Was this truly the fourth-level power he had been seeking?

Was simply forcibly mixing divine blood, spirit, and imprints together considered the fourth level?

The myth hadn't undergone the qualitative transformation they had imagined, nor had any power surpassing the third level appeared. Instead, a peculiar life form had emerged.

More importantly...

Did they have to abandon their own bodies to become an unknown monster?

What should they call themselves afterward?

Could they still be considered human?

Should they be called stone demons?

Or stone monsters?

"Haru!" Sandean called out, his voice laced with uncertainty.

Sandean turned his head to look at his student, only to find Haru gesticulating excitedly, overjoyed to the point of forgetting himself.

"We've succeeded!" Haru shouted, his face beaming with triumph.

"Teacher!"

"We've discovered a new power, we've broken the shackles of life."

Sandean swallowed the words that had risen to his lips—

In a corner of the workshop.

A figure had appeared on the stone bench embedded in the wall at some point, but Sandean and Haru were completely unaware.

The white-robed person sat on the bench, chin resting on hand, silently watching this scene.

Sandean's joy, and Haru's madness.

All fell under His gaze.

The form of Hila, God's messenger, also appeared, looking at Sandean standing dazedly not far away.

"Doesn't he know about the things Haru has done?" Hila asked, her voice tinged with concern.

Yin Shen still didn't respond, as if lost in thought.

She knew Sandean; it was she who had brought Sandean to the Spirit Country and given him the power of rituals.

At that time, Sandean was still a youth, or rather, a child.

And now, he was gradually entering old age.

She had watched Sandean become the High Priest of the Sky Temple, then establish the Temple of Truth, becoming the sage praised by all.

Hila's eyes revealed sadness as she shook her head.

"Even the wisest sage can be blinded by power and emotion," she murmured, her voice heavy with disappointment.

Yin Shen stood up. "Let's go," He said, His voice carrying an air of finality.

Hila followed, her brow furrowed in confusion. "Where to?" she asked.

Yin Shen stepped across the gate between the mortal realm and the dream realm in one stride, the flower sea of the God-Given Land appearing before him. "Back," He replied simply.

"God," Hila inquired, her voice tinged with curiosity, "are we not going to observe any further?"

God simply said softly: "They have failed."

Sandean's experiment had succeeded, but the exploration of the fourth-level path had failed.

This was not the power of the fourth level, nor was it the essential transformation of mythical blood.

It was merely...

Mixing the power of the Seal Spirit with mythical blood.