Lin Fan just laid there writhing with pain, but after half an hour, he finally stopped.
There was still a painful sensation in his body, but it had reached the point where he was able to endure it.
He could still see the golden light that wrapped around him, refining his body, but he was no longer restrained by it.
So Lin Fan made a decision to sit up and sit cross legged.
As he sat there, he started using his cultivation technique to absorb the spiritual energy that was in this place to help increase his cultivation while his body was being refined. But he found that there wasn't a single bit of spiritual energy for him to absorb.
He could feel that there seemed to be something here that was stopping him from absorbing any spiritual energy in the air.
He didn't know exactly what it was, but it was much stronger than him and he couldn't forcefully absorb the spiritual energy at all.
So he gave up on this and tried using his void laws.
After all, the golden energy that was currently refining his body, there was a large golden palace in front of him that was made of the same golden energy.
If he were to use his void laws to absorb that golden palace, he would be able to refine his body even more.
There was also the benefit of the system living in that golden palace. So if he could screw over the system while becoming stronger, that was just icing on the cake.
But when he tried to use the void law against the golden palace, he found...that there was something stopping him from absorbing the golden energy of the golden palace. This was just like the thing that had stopped him from absorbing the spiritual energy of this place.
No matter how hard he tried, he found that he wasn't able to do a single thing to the golden palace in front of him.
In the end, Lin Fan had no choice but to accept the fact that he wouldn't be able to do anything in this place.
He just accepted that fact and focused on the golden energy that was refining his body.
It took another half an hour before that golden energy faded away and Lin Fan stood up again.
During that last half an hour, he found that he was able to control the golden energy with his own golden energy.
So he started using his own golden energy to guide the golden energy that was refining his body. Before he guided it with his own golden energy, that golden energy spread across his body unevenly which gave an uneven refining.
But with his golden energy guiding it, it spread evenly across his body and refined it properly. With this refinement, he didn't have a single weakness in his body anymore.
It was like the legendary Vajra Body, the indestructible diamond body of legend.
Could it be that this golden energy was some kind of Buddhist sutra from another universe?
If it was, it really did make sense how it had refined his body like this.
Once he was finished refining his body, Lin Fan knew that there was nothing left for him to do since the system wasn't willing to give him any more information.
Plus, the system was telling him to leave since it was showing him the notification that he could return from this cultivation realm.
Taking one last look at the golden palace, Lin Fan gave a sigh before confirming that he wanted to leave this cultivation realm.
After Lin Fan left, there was a window that opened in this golden palace and the golden version of him looked out this window to look at where he had been standing previously.
There was a bemused look on the face of this golden version of him before it closed that window.
As the golden version of him stood in that golden room, he muttered to himself, "It's almost time...I wonder if he will be able to awaken his memories before then..."
Then with a sigh, that golden version of Lin Fan disappeared from the palace.
Not for a single second did Lin Fan suspect that this 'cultivation realm' had been inside of him.
Yes, this was the golden palace that had been in Lin Fan's soul when Huang Xiao Hou had tried to take his body.
That was why his attempts to absorb the spiritual energy didn't work. After all, it was his own spiritual energy that he was trying to absorb in the first place.
Naturally his body and his soul wouldn't allow him to do that, so that was why it hadn't worked.
As for the golden energy of the golden palace...the system was from the God Realm for a reason.
...
When he returned, the first thing that Lin Fan did was check the cultivation realm list.
Under the special cultivation realms, there was now a realm that was called 'God Realm' as promised.
But he had mixed feelings when he saw this.
After all, while it was the ultimate goal of every cultivator to reach the God Realm one day, he also remembered that the God Realm had suddenly closed. The World of Gods wouldn't close for no good reason, so he was scared to see what he would find there.
Especially since he would be the weakest one there.
It was called the World of Gods for a reason...
So he was very hesitant about going to this God Realm...
But that wasn't a decision that was up to him alone because there was something that he had promised three people when he got them to work in the store.
Now that this opportunity is here, he should at least talk to them first.
So after taking a deep breath, Lin Fan walked out of the room where he found Angela and the rest waiting for him.
He didn't know why they were here, but it was a good thing that they were here since he needed to talk to them.
But he could tell that they were looking at him with a strange look that he couldn't understand...
For now, he waved at them to follow him into the room.
When they were all seated, Lin Fan said, "It's time to pay up on the promise that I made."
When they heard this, all three of them couldn't help revealing surprised looks that also had a trace of confusion in them.
But then when they opened up their system interfaces, they realized what he was talking about.
They could see that the God Realm cultivation realm had been opened to them.
It was a good thing that Zi Ling wasn't in here with them or else it really would have been confusing since she couldn't see the interface. At the same time, she would have no idea what this promise he made was.
After being excited for a bit, they all immediately calmed down as they realized that there was more than meets the eye to this. After all, there was a reason why Lin Fan had called them in here to talk.
Seeing that they calmed down, Lin Fan explained the situation to them.
While they were excited to be able to access the God Realm and have the chance to touch the cultivation realm that they wanted to reach, they had to admit that Lin Fan was right.
This would be a dangerous journey for them since they had no idea what was waiting for them in the God Realm. At the same time, they had to recognize that they would be the weakest ones there since they were Rulers and not Gods.
So this did make them hesitate a bit about going.
After thinking it through though, they still decided that they wanted to go.
If they didn't take this risk and find out why the path to becoming a god had been cut off, they would never have a chance of reaching that legendary realm.
If they weren't ever able to reach the God Realm, then what would be the point of cultivating?
So they still wanted to explore even if it meant that they would be in danger.
As for Lin Fan...he had already made up his mind to go while he had been explaining the dangers to them.
The system had said that he would find the 'truth' there, so he wanted to find that truth.
But before anything else could happen, Momonga suddenly said, "Since the master of the store is sending us there, he should be able to protect us, right?"
Lin Fan shook his head with a bitter smile as he said, "He might be a God Realm Expert, but we're going to a place that is filled with God Realm Experts. It is very unlikely that he would be able to protect us."
When they heard this, all three of them suddenly knitted their brows.
After all, this was one of the things that they had been counting on to protect them when they reached the World of Gods.
This God Realm Expert master of Lin Fan's who had been hiding in this store...
But now that it turned out that he wasn't able to protect them, they couldn't help feeling worried.
Lin Fan then added, "He just suddenly told me to go to the God Realm, so I have no idea what to expect there either."
When they heard this, they knitted their brows even more.
After all, they were going to a super dangerous place without any support and any information...
Wasn't this like throwing them into the lion's den?
So they couldn't help feeling worried and started regretting their decision.
But in the end, they still decided to go.
Seeing that they had made up their minds, Lin Fan didn't have any more hesitation as he said, "Then let's go."