Chapter 143: Starry Body Tempering
Chapter 143: Starry Body Tempering
Despite the initial failure, Cheng Lingyu refused to give up and started analyzing carefully.
The glowing orb contained the essence of the lunar splendor—a frigid, yin energy with impenetrable defenses.
The magic knife, a high-grade magical artifact with corrosive powers, couldn’t breach the essence’s defense, proving Cheng Lingyu had chosen the wrong method.
After a brief pause, he tried again.
This time, he stored the magic knife and brought out the Fang Tian Bao Yin. Yet even this reliable artifact failed to produce results.
“Strange. Both methods failed. How do we collect this essence?”
Cheng Lingyu frowned, stumped by the uselessness of his two strongest artifacts.
Lan Xiaozhu mused, “The essence of the lunar splendor is a legendary resource, rarer than Spiritual Pulses. If it were easy to collect, someone would’ve taken it long ago.”
Cheng Lingyu froze—he hadn’t considered this.
“Over a hundred thousand cultivators came to Lou Ri City, including Blood Martial Realm experts. Some must’ve recognized the essence and tried to claim it, but all failed. It’s clearly not simple to obtain.”
He glanced upward at the hazy orbs floating mid-air, spaced apart and numbering in the hundreds. The true count was a thousand, but his view was limited.
“We should move. There’s little time left, and dangers lie ahead,” Lan Xiaozhu urged softly.
Cheng Lingyu clenched his jaw. “Let’s try another location.”
He pulled her away from the main path to avoid notice. Finding a secluded spot, he retrieved treasure artifacts to set a formation.
Formations usually required basic materials, but using treasure artifacts was both extravagant and desperate.
Half an hour later, the formation was ready.
Cheng Lingyu entered alone, instructing Lan Xiaozhu to stand guard. The confinement formation blocked the supergravity field’s disruptions and masked their presence.
Staring at the essence above, Cheng Lingyu’s expression hardened. “One chance. Success depends on you now.”
He placed the mud bowl at the formation’s core and activated it. Treasure artifacts trembled violently, releasing a Powerful Force and blinding light that poured into the bowl.
This was his last idea: using the River Galaxy Gathering Bowl to absorb the lunar essence. In theory, it might work—but reality was uncertain.
Though his cultivation level allowed basic control of the bowl, he’d added the formation to boost its power.
Within Xiyun Divine Mountain’s Rising Moon Gate, drawing energy from the world was nearly impossible. By sacrificing treasure artifacts, he converted their strength into the bowl’s fuel—far stronger than relying on his own power alone.
The mud bowl remained still at first, silently devouring energy from the formation’s treasure artifacts. When sufficient power had accumulated, faint tremors began coursing through the earthen vessel.
The vibrations intensified steadily, causing the bowl to rotate and expand. Phantom runic marks materialized within, twisting like turbulent chaos until coalescing into a swirling stellar vortex.
Rapidly enlarging, the bowl’s mouth soon spanned three meters. Its surface shimmered with astral engravings resembling constellations, while faint galactic rivers rippled inside and nebulous glows haloed its exterior.
Cheng Lingyu witnessed this spectacle for the first time. The mysterious sprout in his mind flickered, imparting a sudden revelation:
“Galactic convergence, celestial tempering.”
This represented the bowl’s second layer of activation – vastly superior to its previous rudimentary function.
As the bowl expanded, it disrupted the mid-air essence of lunar splendor. Luminescent orbs strained against the irresistible pull, their resistance futile against the River Galaxy Gathering Bowl’s devouring power.
Lan Xiaozhu gaped from beyond the formation, utterly bewildered by Cheng Lingyu’s inexplicable feat.
Above the formation, the struggling orbs gradually succumbed to the bowl’s gravitational might. One plummeted into the vortex, followed by cascading others that shrank upon ingestion.
After absorbing a thousand orbs, Cheng Lingyu shocked observers by stripping naked and leaping into the churning bowl.
The River Galaxy Gathering Bowl quaked violently, sustained by continuous energy drainage from the formation artifacts. Immersed in lunar essence, Cheng Lingyu shuddered as yin-cold energies permeated his flesh.
Closing his eyes, he entered a dreamless trance. His body optimized automatically while lunar energies flooded his meridians. Runic patterns pierced his physical form, branding esoteric sigils that enhanced his bodily refinement.
The mystical lunar essence restructured his cells, purified his soul, and finally channeled into the four-star pyramid within his mysterious space – initiating condensation of a fifth celestial body.
Floating in perpetual stillness, Cheng Lingyu endured the prolonged transformation. When the thousandth lunar essence merged within, they coalesced into a singular imprint containing the ultimate skill – Thousand Moon Slash. Simultaneously, the fifth star solidified at the pyramid’s core, radiating glacial yin energy.
As the fusion completed, the bowl’s tremors subsided. Cheng Lingyu was expelled as the vessel shrunk to its original size. Dawn broke as he regained consciousness.
Rising swiftly, he noted enhanced musculature and fleeting crescent patterns fading from his skin. Mentally, he felt invigorated – his Magic Eyes’ Fourth Layer of Soul Refinement markedly advanced. A sealed imprint containing Thousand Moon Slash’s cultivation method now resided in his consciousness.
Donning clothes and dismantling the formation, Cheng Lingyu noticed reduced supergravity effects. Lan Xiaozhu approached breathlessly.
“How?”
“Magical artifact assistance,” he deflected, tugging her forward. Though thirtyfold gravity remained, his improved overall strength eased their progress.
After miles traveled, the supergravity field abruptly ceased. Ahead swirled a tempestuous hurricane zone – twenty miles of chaotic tornadoes guarding Lou Ri City’s approach.
Hundreds of cultivators clustered at the storm’s edge. Unlike the endurance-testing gravity field, this trial demanded agility.
“Where are the arrogant ones?” Cheng Lingyu mused.
“Frontrunners avoid drawing envy,” Lan Xiaozhu chuckled. “Discretion aids survival.”
Following cautious peers, they entered the maelstrom. Cheng Lingyu’s explosive power proved ideal, dodging wind pillars through precise leaps. One misstep meant catastrophic displacement – the final filter before Xiyun Divine Mountain’s deeper mysteries.