Chapter 480: Universal Cultivation

With the Shadow Path inheritance in hand, it was time to leave Phantom Star.
As for how to leave, it posed no challenge to Shadow.
Su Che was inside the Mi Xian Realm. Though he couldn’t control it to move at will, he could shrink it to an extremely tiny size, attaching it to himself. And Shadow possessed the ability to become invisible.
Back in the underground labyrinth of Qi Yuan Star, Shadow already had complete invisibility, allowing it to follow Su Che closely without even being detected by Lao Hei’s detection skills.
Today, after devouring the protective shadow of the Sacred Ancestor statue, Shadow had ascended to a higher form of existence, making ordinary invisibility techniques a trivial matter.
It could also completely merge into the projections of all things in the world, traveling thousands of miles along with a moving projection.
For example, the shadow of a bird flying in the sky falling to the ground was almost invisible to the naked eye, but Shadow could enter that faint projection and be carried away by the bird out of danger…
In short, there was almost no place in the world that could trap it. As long as there was light and shadow, it could move freely like a fish in water.
Thus, Shadow took the Mi Xian Realm into the realm of light and shadow, quietly slipping out of the Sacred Ancestor’s Palace, then bidding farewell to Sacred Shadow City, and flying all the way off Phantom Star…
In the starry sky, Heng Yi continued to control a top-tier Dao artifact-level flying treasure, racing through the vast cosmos at speeds beyond light. Meanwhile, Su Che and Shadow were inside the treasure’s space, beginning their first cooperative cultivation.
A normal shadow reappeared at Su Che’s feet—this was Shadow’s usual form when returning to its host.
This cultivation wasn’t about refining true energy but rather the primordial spirit. Su Che intended to absorb and transform the shadow soul powers obtained from the Sacred Ancestor statue to enhance the strength of his primordial spirit.
According to the usual methods in the cultivation world, it would take Su Che at least ten years to absorb and transform those soul powers with his Yuan Ying cultivation level. But Shadow said that with it around, just one month would suffice!
Right at the start of cultivation, Su Che heard Shadow’s mental voice: “Su Che, send those soul powers to me.”
It should be noted that Shadow was merely Su Che’s friend, not a subordinate or servant, which was why it could call him by name directly.
Su Che immediately drew out the soul powers stored in the Immortal Prison and sent them to Shadow continuously, asking, “Can you hold all this soul power?”
“Hmph…”

The Shadow smiled arrogantly, “Not to mention just two months’ worth—even twenty thousand years’ worth can be absorbed by me! As for other forms of energy, I really can’t hold that much, but with this Shadow Soul power, no amount is a problem.”
As it turned out, the Shadow hadn’t exaggerated. Like an insatiable bottomless pit, it absorbed all the Shadow Soul power in the Immortal Prison without showing any change at all.
Su Che didn’t say much either, patiently waiting for further changes.
Before long, Su Che felt a pure and flawless Primordial Soul power being transmitted from the Shadow. Its momentum wasn’t fierce, like a gentle stream, but this Primordial Soul power was extremely pure. Su Che didn’t need to exert effort to transform it—he could simply take it and integrate it into his own Primordial Soul to strengthen it.
It was as simple as breathing—far too simple to even be called “cultivation.” It was simply the ultimate pleasure, like drinking nectar.
“My efficiency in transforming and purifying Shadow Soul power is thousands or tens of thousands of times greater than yours. Just as plants can purify the air, purity is my innate instinct,” the Shadow explained. “I’ll handle the most laborious parts. All you need to do is devour Hai Se relentlessly. How does it feel?”
“Just one word!” Su Che said excitedly. “Absolutely thrilling!”
“It’s four words, you know,” the Shadow immediately corrected. “No matter how happy you are, you must protect your Primordial Soul carefully. Don’t rush it, or it could damage your intelligence.”
“I was just joking,” Su Che said, a bit exasperated, quickly clarifying, “Of course I know it’s four words.”
“I was joking too,” the Shadow laughed. “I know, and you know!”
Su Che was completely speechless, realizing that the Shadow’s mischievous nature—like a puppy peeing—hadn’t changed despite its elevated form of life. It was just that what used to be silent now spoke, adding the skill of being talkative.
“This is getting interesting.”
Su Che smiled bitterly inwardly. “There’s an Old Black in the Immortal Prison and a Shadow outside. If one day these two talkative guys coordinate from inside and outside, it’ll be incredibly annoying…”
…
Just as the Shadow predicted, it took only a month for Su Che to integrate all the Shadow Soul power into his Primordial Soul. The result was that the strength of his Primordial Soul reached the early stage of the Transformation God phase.
This meant that in the future, when Su Che attempted to reach the Transformation God phase, the difficulty would be greatly reduced, with the success rate increasing by at least 40%.

Beyond that, cultivation at this stage will also yield immense benefits, with the progress in cultivation increasing by at least ten times. The principle is similar to that of an ordinary person who possesses the wisdom and insight of a great scholar; when such a person learns the knowledge that children should master, they will grasp it instantly without any difficulty. After that, Su Che made the cultivation techniques of the Path of Shadows publicly available in the World of Immortal Prison, allowing every intelligent being to practice them. Of course, Su Che did not use coercion but instead employed various rewards and incentives to stimulate the enthusiasm of hundreds of billions of intelligent beings for cultivating the Path of Shadows. Every commoner has the right to cultivate the Path of Shadows, and they also have the right to refrain from doing so. As long as you are willing to accept a tragic life where your physical condition is far inferior to others, even unable to defeat a seven-year-old child, you are free to refuse cultivation—no one will force you. If you want to stand out, you must cultivate the Path of Shadows. Even scholars who wish to pass exams and become officials cannot rely solely on their literary talent; in addition to academic tests, they must also pass assessments related to the Path of Shadows. The notion of valuing literature over martial arts no longer holds in the World of Immortal Prison. The reason is that without a healthy body, a clear mind, and abundant energy, even if one becomes an official, they lack the ability to serve the people. So, if you lack strength, it’s better to go home and rest—being an official is too exhausting for you… This is true for civil officials; as for military officials, it goes without saying. In fact, even without these rewards and incentives, anyone with a bit of ambition would regard such a cultivation opportunity as a gift from heaven and cherish it greatly. Most people would study diligently and continue cultivating without pause. Those who are extremely lazy, to the point of ignoring their own future, health, and life, are after all in the minority. Not to mention ordinary people, 80% of cultivators in the World of Immortal Prison have begun to revise or supplement their cultivation with the Path of Shadows. After all, the Path of Shadows is a celestial-level cultivation technique that can be practiced up to the Mahayana stage, far surpassing the narrow notion in the Qi Yuan Star cultivation world that “the finest techniques are supreme.” Moreover, its greatest advantage is that cultivating the Path of Shadows doesn’t require concern for one’s spiritual root aptitude, nor does it necessitate abandoning existing cultivation to start over—it is an extremely gentle cultivation path that does not conflict with other techniques.

Of course, everything has its advantages and disadvantages. The Path of Shadows is not that miraculous either—it simply has a very low entry barrier and is easy to start with. However, to truly reach a certain level or height and achieve immortality through practicing this path, the success rate is much lower than that of other paths. This can be fully verified through the extremely long history of inheritance of the Phantom Stars. With over a million years of widespread practice by generations upon generations of the Shadow Clan, whose numbers are countless, yet only a few have actually achieved immortality. Therefore, for cultivators in various sects with moderate or above-average spiritual aptitudes, Su Che’s advice is to avoid using the Path of Shadows as their primary cultivation method, and instead use it as a supplementary practice to enhance their overall strength. The Path of Shadows has just been introduced within the Immortal Prison, so Su Che certainly won’t gain any benefits in the short term. For this to happen, a generation must reach the stage where their natural lifespan is exhausted, at which point an endless supply of Shadow Soul energy will flow back to Su Che. As of now, at least another fifty years are needed. There’s no other way—practicing the Path of Shadows greatly extends lifespan. Even if ordinary people start practicing at the age of forty or fifty, it’s no problem for them to live to 100. If Su Che wants to benefit, he must wait patiently. Fifty years from now, at least one million low-level Shadow cultivators will die each day, and the Shadow Soul energy released from their bodies will all belong to Su Che. “One million per day!” Regarding this, Old Black said, “Master, I think it’s necessary to take various measures to encourage the creatures in the Immortal Prison to have more children and increase the population as soon as possible. After all, the larger the population base, the more people will die each day.” Su Che smiled inwardly: “Whether to have children or how many to have is up to the people themselves. I don’t want to interfere in that matter. It’s not impossible for the Immortal Prison world to increase its population base. Next, during my travels through the stars, if I encounter planets with extremely harsh natural environments, I can forcibly relocate the creatures there to the Immortal Prison. At first, they might hate us, but after living in the Immortal Prison world for a few years, they’ll understand what it means to live in a paradise-like world…” A paradise-like world! This is something Su Che is extremely proud of—his Immortal Prison world can indeed provide an ideal and happy home for countless beings.

No disasters, no large-scale wars; every family can be allocated land and livestock, and everyone can practice the path of immortality, enjoying good health and living a long life without any problems… As long as you work hard and are not a lazy parasite, you can lead a comfortable, fulfilling life free from worries. If this isn’t even a paradise-like world, then what is?