In a daze, a vividly intense image appeared before Jiang Chen.
It was a scene from the ancient times when ten suns hung together in the sky.
An endless cascade of Sun True Fire fell from their bodies, scorching the primordial earth below.
In an instant, rivers evaporated, the land cracked open, and the entire world seemed to be engulfed in an apocalyptic blaze. The fire claimed countless innocent creatures' lives.
Such complete devastation!
The cries, wails, and screams of the creatures ricocheted inside Jiang Chen's mind, threatening to explode his head.
Moreover, a sudden surge of madness welled up inside him, threatening to swallow his sanity.
Ding!
At that moment, the Dao alerted him and infused a calming sensation into his body. This shook him awake abruptly.
"Hiss..."
"Such potent karmic force!"
"How much devastation must the Great Sun Golden Crow have caused to accrue such a vast burden of karma!"
Coming to his senses, Jiang Chen couldn't help but step back, his face filled with lingering fear. He had nearly lost his sanity, teetering on the edges of becoming a mindless puppet of destruction.
The dark red aura emanating from the Golden Crow's corpse was, unmistakably, the karma that made every creature shudder in fear.
Only now did Jiang Chen truly comprehend why no one dared to touch the corpse of the Great Sun Golden Crow.
Any concerns about the Great Sun Tathagata were false.
It was likely the fear of the karma on the Golden Crow's body that was the real concern.
As the saying goes, karma follows a person like a shadow, bringing untold calamity!
If anyone were to refine the Golden Crow's body, they would also have to refine its karma.
Where did the karma on Golden Crow's body come from?
It came from the countless lives it took when the ten suns shone together, an atrocity too immense to overstate.
Such karma could even overwhelm an ordinary Quasi-Saint. If contaminated, one would not be far from the arrival of their fated doom.
Therefore, who would court disaster by touching the corpse of the Great Sun Golden Crow?
Wasn't that simply seeking thrill out of nothing?
"Good grief!"
"No wonder the Golden Crow's corpse has been lying here untouched for so many years. It turns out there was a poisonous aura around it!"
Understanding this, Jiang Chen couldn't help but sigh. He realized that he was still so naive! If this indeed were a great fortune, how could it have remained untouched till now?
It would have been devoured long ago.
The fact that it was still untouched indicated a problem with the Golden Crow's body.
However, while others dreaded the karma, Jiang Chen did not!
The Dao had the capability to swallow all things, good or bad. As long as it was a force, it could be devoured.
Even karma was no exception.
Otherwise, how could the Dao attest its strength?
Whoosh...
The Dao hung high, emitting rays of multicolored light, which enveloped the area below where the corpse of the Great Sun Golden Crow lay.
Chirp!
It seemed as if, in the daze, a Golden Crow let out a long cry that echoed in Jiang Chen's ears, crossing the River of time, from the ancient past.
Then, the long-dead corpse of the Golden Crow suddenly moved and released an endless supply of Sun True Fire, taking aim at the illuminating rays.
In an instant, a blinding light burst forth, obscuring all sight.
But before the light could blind him, Jiang Chen had already closed his eyes.
When all eventually settled and he reopened his eyes, the body of the Great Sun Golden Crow had disappeared. Beyond doubt, it couldn't withstand the Dao and had been taken away by it.
It was at that moment that something dropped from the sky and caught Jiang Chen's attention.
"Hmm?"
"What was that?"
Curious, Jiang Chen followed the sound and saw a divine arrow, forged entirely out of a mysterious ice.
A Shooting Sun Divine Arrow!
Even though he didn't recognize it, upon seeing it, its origin automatically surfaced in his memory. It was quite extraordinary.
The Shooting Sun Divine Arrow, as the name suggests, was the divine arrow used by Hou Yi to kill the Golden Crow. Made from the Innate Lingering Ice of Taiyin (the moon spirit) and supplemented with the branches of the Taiyin Laurel Tree, it was a treasure of the Taiyin Daoist School.
When it was first created, it was already a Post-heaven treasure. After it fulfilled its purpose in the slaying of the Golden Crow, it amassed Merit and evolved into a Post-heaven Merit Treasure.
This was indeed a precious object!
Excited, Jiang Chen was about to step forward and pick it up, but the Dao, all of a sudden, flapped its wings and flew back.
Next, Jiang Chen could feel an enormous power emanating from the Dao and entering his body, threatening to make him explode. Then, his eyes rolled back, and he passed out.
By the time Jiang Chen woke up, a whole month had passed.
...
"Hiss…"
"It hurts so badly!"
Just waking up, Jiang Chen felt as if he was being ripped apart. His entire body was in pain, as though millions of ants were gnawing at him from the inside. It was unbearable.
After some time, the pain subsided, and that's when he managed to examine his transformation.
Hmm!
This was a transformation of earth-shattering proportions.
His realm had advanced from the Post-heaven Realm to the Innate Realm!
His dantian (energy center) had transformed into a soul sea, and his soul had turned into a spirit. His body had become as pure as Liuli (masterpiece glass), devoid of any impurities.
Without even trying, his Qi and blood were as robust as the currents of the Yellow River, flowing endlessly beneath the surface.
Apart from that, his Qi and blood were like they had been wrapped in a layer of solar aura, emitting a scorching heat and an oppressive feeling.
Moreover, inside his soul sea, there was a dazzling sun floating, constantly releasing Sun True Fire to temper his Qi and blood.
The Sun God Body!
At this moment, Jiang Chen's body had transformed from an ordinary mortal body to the top-tier Divine Body of the Human Race – The Sun God Body.
The talents he had now were comparable to the Innate Beings of the Great Ancient era and were only surpassed by the Innate Divine Demons.
Of course, the effects of the Golden Crow's corpse weren't limited to this. However, Jiang Chen's cultivation was too weak to endure any more than this.
There was still more power sealed within the Dao, waiting for Jiang Chen to unseal it.
Although the Innate Realm was not particularly noteworthy in the Dongsheng Divine Continent, where immortals and gods gathered, or the Xiniuhe Continent, where monsters prowled, in the Nanbuzhan Continent, a realm where immortals and gods were rare, it represented a significant achievement.
Therefore, after breaking through to the Innate Realm, Jiang Chen couldn't help but feel some excitement. But he didn't let the excitement distract him from his mission.
He jumped forward and arrived where the Shooting Sun Divine Arrow was. This was where the Golden Crow had once laid. Although the Golden Crow had been taken away by the Dao, some remnants of the Sun True Fire still lingered.
Sun True Fire, one of the top ten innate divine fires from the Primordial era, could turn any immortal who came in contact with it to ashes.
But now, facing such horrifying flames, Jiang Chen didn't feel afraid at all; instead, he felt a hint of familiarity.
He had indeed changed from his previous state.
...
With the Golden Crow's body taken away by the Dao, the place where it once laid had become a large empty area, and the Shooting Sun Divine Arrow was inserted diagonally into the ground.