Chapter 167: Furnace and Cauldron
Chapter 167: Furnace and Cauldron
The monk now fully demonstrated his extraordinary Magical Power. The Giant Spirit Deity’s godly Transformation Body was surrounded by flowing-gold flames! These flames gathered, scattered, separated, or merged—sometimes shifting into streaming-gold flames, sometimes solidifying into swords, halberds, hooks, or forks—viciously suppressing the godly form!
On another battlefield, Tianxing’s Star Domain and the Pure Land’s Samsara world mutually merged and devoured one another. Stars shattered endlessly, while within the Samsara world, the tall white pagodas repeatedly collapsed and crumbled. The clash between these two unfolded entirely at the Magical Power level, leaving absolutely no room for shortcuts!
Among the Tiandu Kingdom, Chen Huayi and You Longfei were the most powerful. Naturally, Tianlong Kingdom had Tianxing as its champion, while within Tianyu Kingdom, the monk was the undisputed foremost master!
Mu Yuan was now also holding off two top fighters himself, engaged in an exceptionally fierce battle.
Chen Huayi and You Longfei were greatly surprised. Though they hadn’t yet exerted their full strength, their cultivation realm surpassed Mu Yuan’s, and they were fighting two against one. Yet Mu Yuan was somehow holding his ground, completely beyond their expectations!
They didn’t know Mu Yuan was secretly groaning in distress. Winning a slight edge against You Longfei in their first encounter was due to surprise. Now, Heavenly Fiend Child handled ninety percent of the fight against Chen Huayi, while he spent most of his energy focusing on You Longfei. It seemed efficient, but Mu Yuan felt mentally scattered.
Sure enough, this stalemate lasted only about the time it took to sip a small cup of tea. Mu Yuan’s Five Elements Great Curse couldn’t keep up; its dazzling light dimmed dramatically, retracting into a tight ring assuming a purely defensive posture.
“Your junior brother is truly remarkable!”
You Longfei, reclaiming the upper hand, sent a mental message to Chen Huayi.
He now felt some admiration for Mu Yuan.
After all, You Longfei had already achieved Qi Refinement and Elixir Formation, a higher realm than Mu Yuan. Though he hadn’t yet carved all his Divine Abilities into the Golden Core to form Talismanic Scripts, that was merely a matter of time.
Mu Yuan, however, was only at the Refining Gang Realm. Ordinarily, a Refining Gang Realm Cultivator facing a Golden Core Cultivator meant certain death, not even escaping was possible. Yet Mu Yuan persisted—this truly shocked him.
“Enough, no more playing with him. I’ll test my hand against that monk. You stop that Dao Talisman Sect guy!” Chen Huayi appeared completely at ease. Though he couldn’t injure Heavenly Fiend Child, he remained calm and composed, simply disengaging. He swung his Dragon Subduing Wood, smashing it down towards the golden Buddha’s head!
You Longfei withdrew instantly too. His Azure Dragon writhed sinuously, plunging headlong into the Star Domain.
Mu Yuan let out a long sigh of relief. Glancing around, he saw Mo Huan had suppressed that Confucian scholar disciple into a disadvantage. Dozens of ancient swords circled, pressing down slowly as the Vast Righteous Qi grew noticeably scattered.
Mu Yuan ignored that and concentrated on regulating his Zhenqi. His Six Great Curses converged again, sweeping towards the Giant Spirit Transformation Body!
Chen Huayi and the monk had already locked horns, while You Longfei intercepted Tianxing. Only the formidable Giant Spirit Transformation Body remained relatively unchallenged. Mu Yuan immediately targeted it!
Exchanging blows with different Cultivators, experiencing countless profound techniques, and sensing one’s own shortcomings—this was also a path of cultivation.
That Giant Spirit Transformation Body was invoked by a female Cultivator from Tianlong Kingdom. Its might was unparalleled, almost matching the top fighters. Mu Yuan wanted to test the power of this “God Summoning Art”.
Among Tianlong Kingdom’s five, another female Cultivator belonged more to the sorcerer category. She practiced the Demonic Thought Annihilation Method and Universal Spirit Light—just one thought could summon the Nine Heavens Annihilation Spirit Light. She was a disciple of the Great Luo Heavenly Palace within Tianlong Kingdom!
Great Luo Heavenly Palace was renowned in the Cultivation world for its two Spirit Lights and one Talisman: besides the Nine Heavens Annihilation Spirit Light, there were the Nine Heavens Smelting Prison Divine Light and the Nine Heavens Prison Suppression Talismanic Script. This woman cultivated specifically the Nine Heavens Annihilation Spirit Light.
Her summoned thoughts manifested as vast expanses of blinding light beams and halos, currently entangled with Su Yun’s Solar, Lunar, and Five-Star Lights.
Five from Tianlong versus four from Tiandu versus four from Tianyu!
Now, only these thirteen remained fighting in the sky; Cultivators from other kingdoms had already been suppressed.
Among the Tiandu cultivators, the one controlling the Kirin’s blazing flames flitted opportunistically, lending a hand wherever another seemed weak. Strangely, no one sought him out specifically!
Mu Yuan’s Six Great Curses surged forward. The Giant Spirit godly form’s great axe clashed head-on with the Purple Lightning Dragon Curse first. Wind and thunder howled! Heavenly Fiend Child, within the attack, still steadfastly held his ground!
Mysterious Heaven Dragon Ascension’s blade rays were sharp and chilling, clear and shimmering like water. A flash of its blade ray formed intricate mesh-work. Seeing it, Mu Yuan simply let the Child handle it. He merged his Five Elements Great Curse into one, rising in a dazzling arc of colored light like a resplendent waterfall from below, sweeping towards the Nine Heavens Annihilation Spirit Light in the sky.
Mu Yuan never intended to defeat these people anyway. His thoughts mirrored others—to witness various different techniques, broaden his horizons, gain experience, all beneficial for forming the Golden Core.
Su Yun’s position seemed slightly weaker than his opponent. Adding his own strength, subduing one enemy shouldn’t be difficult. Helping himself and aiding Tianyu at the same time—what was there to dislike?
Heavenly Fiend Child also knew Chen Huayi was Mu Yuan’s senior brother. Though somewhat annoyed earlier, he hadn’t dared deliver a killing blow, bottling up inner frustration. Now confronting the awe-inspiring Giant Spirit Transformation Body was the perfect way to vent!
Moreover, Giant Spirit God was a divine general of the Nine Heavens, reputedly under Nezha’s command. Heavenly Fiend Child, possessing a dragon soul’s nature, wouldn’t let this chance pass. Slaying this Transformation Body would achieve multiple goals—a very worthwhile bargain!
Not mentioning Heavenly Fiend Child fighting joyfully, Mu Yuan’s Five Element Curse power surged skyward, colliding with the Nine Heavens Annihilation Spirit Light. The impact shook heaven and earth.
Within the blindingly white Spirit Light, solar, lunar, and five-star lights spun and coiled, casting silvery radiance that dissolved the surging Annihilation Spirit Light. Yet, like trying to cut flowing water with a knife, the Annihilation Light seemed endless.
Su Yun’s Solar, Lunar, and Five-Star Art encompassed the Sun, Moon, Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth stars, subtly reflecting the Dao of Yin-Yang and Five Elements. During regular cultivation, one sensed the light of these Seven Stars, refining it within the body to transform it into Zhenqi.
Mastered to perfection, this Divine Ability could pluck stars and grasp moons effortlessly.
Clearly, Su Yun was still inexperienced. His light currently remained coiled defensively, occasionally releasing sharp, needle-like starlight that breathed in and out of the Spirit Light. Though disadvantaged, he was momentarily safe!
“The Dao of cultivation—indeed, the mind art is crucial. Those remaining now are all disciples of renowned sects, their techniques profound and wondrous. My Longevity Art simply isn’t suited for combat. Senior Brother is already at the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining, carving Divine Abilities, yet his combat power isn’t particularly strong. Reaching the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining myself, crushing opponents would be utterly simple!”
The Longevity Art inherently excelled at nurturing life but was ill-suited for battle. You Longfei practiced its fiercest form, the Azure Dragon Path, yet couldn’t pierce the Star Domain. Chen Huayi also relied only on his profound cultivation depth to move freely. At an equal stage to others, he might have been defeated long ago!
Fighting others now, Mu Yuan rarely utilized his Longevity Zhenqi anymore.
Yet, Longevity Zhenqi, endless and continuous, was perfectly suited to provide sustained endurance—a constant source replenishing other types of Zhenqi. In this regard, it possessed unique superiority.
“This Spirit Light suits piercing through with thunder-fire first, then shattering the enemy with sword techniques!”
Mu Yuan stirred his Five Elements Zhenqi. His Five Curse canopy instantly erupted with thunderbolts of five colors, roaring incessantly! Like fiery, electric waves frothing upward, the thunder-fire and lightning scattered explosively in all directions! Wherever they passed, the Annihilation Spirit Lights collapsed utterly.
Su Yun saw this and pushed his Solar, Lunar, and Five-Star radiance forward from within. Joining forces with Mu Yuan, they vibrated their Zhenqi fiercely! The Annihilation Spirit Light melted away rapidly!
“Curses turn Sword Qi, shatter it!”
Mu Yuan shouted inwardly. The lights of his Five Great Curses swirled abruptly, separating into Mysterious Heaven Dragon Ascension blade rays! Like spinning wheels of lightning, they swept out maniacally!
The woman controlling the Nine Heavens Annihilation Spirit Light, disadvantaged against two, had already considered retreating. Utterly unprepared for Mu Yuan’s sudden attack, she suffered heavy losses as countless threads of Divine Sense were severed. The sky’s Spirit Light dispersed; her own injury was considerable. Blood actually seeped from her nose and mouth as the long table in front of her abruptly exploded into dust!
It was due to severe mind-force injury leading to uncontrollable Zhenqi fluctuations that shattered her table!
“Damn you, you little brat!”
Clad in a pale green dress, her originally lovely face twisted with furious indignation. She glared fiercely at Mu Yuan before lowering her head, Zhenqi surging as she began regulating her breathing.
“I actually lost favor, making this person resentful. What pointless trouble!”
Mu Yuan felt a little ashamed inwardly.
With the Nine Heavens Annihilation Spirit Light broken, Su Yun’s Solar, Lunar, and Five-Star radiance shot downward. Unexpectedly, it clashed with the radiance of Mu Yuan’s Five Great Curses. Both their bodies shuddered intensely!
“What happened?”
Mu Yuan suddenly felt his Five Elements Zhenqi undergo numerous Cycles of Reincarnation within an instant. His mind drifted dreamily, as if floating to a distant, hazy extremity of heaven and earth, leaving him momentarily dazed.
Coming back to his senses, Mu Yuan found his Five Elements Zhenqi flowed more harmoniously, almost as one entity. Previously, he had to exert thought-force to enable mutual generation and transformation. Now, they responded intuitively on their own with perfect fluency.
His Zhenqi thickened somewhat. The Longevity Zhenqi hidden and dormant within the hundreds of major acupoints throughout his body, stirred slightly by traces of Great Sun True Fire, produced tiny, barely perceivable sparks—faint yet startlingly distinct.
Within his Dantian, the cauldron form conjured by his Refining Furnace True Qi also began slowly revolving. The five types of Zhenqi coiled into a spherical mass.
Centered on the Dantian, the heat from the sparks within his major acupoints concentrated there, starting to bake the cauldron form!
“Acupoint Qi as the furnace, Dantian transforming into the cauldron. When the furnace fire burns purely cyan, that is the time of Elixir Formation!”
Mu Yuan rejoiced inwardly. Recalling the method for Elixir Formation, he instantly understood: this subtle change marked the first step in his own Elixir condensation!
Though precisely how he crossed this threshold remained somewhat baffling!
The road to Elixir Formation remained distant, but the crucial first step was taken. All that remained was meticulous refinement until eventual success.
“Could it be…”
Still pondering, Mu Yuan failed to notice Su Yun’s body tremble almost imperceptibly. A flush suddenly spread across Su Yun’s cheeks. A flicker of confusion appeared in his eyes, mixed with pleasant surprise.
“Could it be my Solar, Lunar, Five-Star Qi harmonizing with his Zhenqi that triggered this transformation? If we became Dao companions and cultivated our spirit-energy together through dual cultivation, Elixir Formation would surely be within easy reach!”
Su Yun’s thoughts raced, trying to guess the reason, eventually landing on this notion.
Thinking it, his face felt even hotter. He stopped deliberating, setting the thought aside for now. He also ceased fighting the aerial battle. Gaining such insight, he needed to retreat and contemplate it carefully.