Chapter 93: Chapter 76: Devouring and Refining the Ding Fire Dao, A True Monarch’s Move?

Only by swallowing all forms of Spiritual Energy can one ascend to the Twelfth Layer of the Great Dao.

Just as fish cannot live without water, Qi Cultivation Cultivators need Spiritual Energy to fortify their Cultivation Furnaces and expand their Primordial Inner Mansions.

Without the nourishment of Spiritual Qi, one’s own Merit will not advance even an inch.

For a Cultivator, this is as unbearable as a mortal starving from lack of food.

This is why so many Tribulation Cultivators harvest the blood and essence of mortals to brew wine and make meat.

They have very few channels to obtain Spiritual Materials and Resources. All of the renowned deep mountains, great marshes, and clustered peaks across the Nanzhan Continent have been claimed by the Dharma Lineages, and they would never dare to trespass.

In the end, they can only resort to preying on mortals, who are as plentiful and inexhaustible as weeds.

’This just goes to show how incredible the seven-word principle, ’Mixed Refining Origin, Commander of Ten Thousand Truths,’ truly is.’

Jiang Yi was also quite surprised. By a stroke of luck, he had managed to gather a wisp of Mingtang Qi.

He immediately sat down cross-legged, silently circulating and refining the energy to carefully experience its wonders.

Ever since he stepped into the Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer, his Primordial Gate had opened and his Inner Mansion had begun to form. His physical body, this Cultivation Furnace, had become like a bottomless pit.

Ordinary Spirit Rice and potent medicines were instantly refined by his organs the moment they entered his stomach, leaving almost no residue. Even Metal and Stone Objects like the Copper Juice Iron Pill, once enveloped by his Primordial True Qi, would dissolve completely without a trace.

To significantly advance his Merit, he had to absorb and refine Spiritual Energy, which was formed from the convergence of various elemental qi. Only by accumulating power drop by drop could he gradually approach Perfection.

Previously, in the Sanhe District, Jiang Yi had only been performing Breathing exercises with Spiritual Qi to nourish his Primordial Brain God and condense his Divine Thought.

Later, after the Cat Master imparted the Dao Inheritance to him, he grasped that seven-word principle and began to refine himself into a state of “being the origin and the ancestor.” Only then did he officially start gathering and refining Spiritual Energy.

However, until now, he had only been able to absorb a few wisps of Spiritual Energy with the nature of “He Flame.”

This was because this qi was most abundant in places with strong fire veins and rising, scorching heat. And since Beimang Ridge was currently under the Spiritual Aura of the Sun Radiance Appearance Form, fire-vein mineral deposits were everywhere. Thus, the He Flame attribute was quite common here.

’Spiritual Energy with a Mingtang nature has always been rare,’ Jiang Yi mused. ’Grandpa went to great lengths just to get a single portion, and he treats it like a precious treasure.’

The reason was simple: Mingtang Qi was gentle and nourishing, unlike Heyan Qi, which burned one’s True Essence and seared the internal organs.

Before he obtained the Dao Inheritance, refining the He Flame attribute had been like swallowing hot coals—pure torture. It was nowhere near as pleasant as absorbing the Mingtang attribute.

Now, that wisp of intensely bright firelight flew toward him like a bird returning to its forest. It answered his summons willingly, allowing itself to be absorbed by his Primordial Gate with perfect compliance.

With a hissing breath, the energy melted like fat over a flame. It condensed into a gurgling mouthful of Spiritual Liquid, about two fingers wide, and plunged straight into his Inner Mansion.

As this happened, his entire body, from his bones to his organs, felt nourished. His vitality and Primordial Essence flourished, making Jiang Yi’s eyes gleam. The exhaustion from slaughtering all those Tribulation Cultivators vanished in an instant.

’Refining Spiritual Energy is truly a profound mystery. He Flame enhances the power of my True Qi, adding fiery intensity to my every move. Mingtang, however, advances my Merit and nourishes my physical body, the Furnace Cauldron.’

Just as Jiang Yi was about to once again praise the power of the Cat Master’s Dao Inheritance for allowing him to so easily gather a wisp of Mingtang Qi…

…the seven words, “Mixed Refining Origin, Commander of Ten Thousand Truths,” which were deeply imprinted on his mind and of which he had comprehended seventy to eighty percent, suddenly trembled violently and shattered.

An almost endless stream of profound truths flowed out, merging completely with the Little Refining Yuan Fire Control Technique Jiang Yi was cultivating.

Or more accurately, it was overlaid.

The Fire Attribute Radiance he had painstakingly refined was instantly dissolved, leaving behind nothing but the faint, dim flicker of a candle flame.

’My Ding Fire… was devoured?’

Jiang Yi froze.

’What in the world is the origin of this inheritance from the Cat Master?’

’Grandpa clearly said that all Cultivators in the Yanfu Vast Land revere the Five Elements.’

’Ding Fire is one of them. How could it just be devoured so completely?’

“Huh?”

Standing watch from above, Yang Xun’s sparse eyebrows shot up. As a veteran who had practiced the Little Refining Yuan Fire Control Technique for decades, he could not fail to notice the change in Jiang Yi’s Cultivation.

’Why is the Qi Mechanism leaking from Ah Yi’s Primordial Inner Mansion so different from Ding Fire?’

’Ding Fire is yin-aspected and should be gentle by nature. Even after absorbing Mingtang Qi, it should only become brighter and more luminous.’

’Why is it showing an aspect of Mighty Virtue? That’s a characteristic of Bing Fire.’

Yang Xun frowned slightly. When he checked again with his Divine Thought, however, he only saw the flickering, candle-like form of the Ding Fire.

’I must have been mistaken. It’s just a slight change in the Qi Mechanism from the Mingtang Qi combining with the Ding Fire.’

…

…

「Qingming High Heaven.」

Lou Zhenxiao sat enthroned in the Dharma Tower, circling high above Beimang Ridge like a Great Sun patrolling the heavens.

By order of the Sect Leader, he was presiding over the North and South Dipper Sword. For the next eight years, hundreds of Dharma Lineages, from Beimang Ridge all the way to the South Sea Biluo Cliff, would be under his command. He was, in effect, an Imperial Envoy for the Nanzhan Continent, a marshal patrolling on heaven’s behalf.

From north to south, the Dharma Lineage Masters, Elders, and the Direct Lineages of the various Dao Races had all heard that the infamously murderous True Master Jieyun was presiding.

All of them were trembling in fear, terrified of making a single misstep and inviting a cataclysmic disaster.

“My lord! My lord!”

A cherubic Artifact Spirit Child with rosy cheeks, red lips, and pearly teeth appeared with a skip and a hop, bowing with the utmost respect.

“A message from the Sect!”

Lou Zhenxiao’s sharp brows shot up, his expression turning sour.

“Do they really have so many Spiritual Objects that they can afford to waste them? I’m already tens of thousands of miles from the Sect. Why are they still bothering me? Can’t I have a moment’s peace?”

He shook his head slightly, thinking, ’The Sect has been at peace for too long. We’ve been breeding too many freeloaders who do nothing but occupy their posts.’

’If Senior Brother Zhang becomes the Daoist and takes power, I’ll have to advise him to conduct a thorough purge of the Sect.’

’Otherwise, won’t our great Upper Sect of the Demon Dao end up just like the Immortal Dao, completely monopolized by those so-called Giant Family Gate Valves?’

’Senior Brother Zhang once said that the culture of the Immortal Dao is like a ravenous beast; we must guard against it. A truly brilliant and prescient insight.’

Lou Zhenxiao flicked his sleeves and rose, striding into the fourth-floor Warm Pavilion.

Since it wasn’t a direct decree from the Sect Leader, he was much more casual. He simply stood with his hands clasped behind his back, waiting for the message.

“Senior Brother Lou, the Duzhen Hall demands to know why the causality set by the True Monarch has changed. Why did Xuan Chanzi not receive the Opportunity from the Little Ancestor?”

Hearing the word “demands,” a murderous aura flared between Lou Zhenxiao’s brows. He was about to sneer and retort but suddenly froze.

’Xuan Chanzi already went to Longhua Mountain. How could he have failed to obtain the Opportunity?’

’He is the sole successor of the Zhongyi Sect in this era. He not only embodies the fortune of his Dharma Lineage but was also chosen by the Sword Dao to be the Fate Shuzi, born to face this calamity.’

’Forget the three-thousand-mile Beimang Ridge; even across the vast Nanzhan Continent, it would be difficult to find anyone more outstanding than Xuan Chanzi.’

“Impossible. Absolutely impossible!”

Lou Zhenxiao said coldly,

“If Xuan Chanzi didn’t get it, then who did the Little Ancestor leave with?”

As the saying goes: one cannot achieve the Dao with a weak fate and exhausted luck!

The Little Ancestor’s Opportunity, that Dao Inheritance, can only be obtained by someone blessed with great fortune and a profound destiny.

According to the plan set by the True Monarchs and Great Powers, Lou Zhenxiao himself had heavily injured Xuan Chanzi, forcing him toward Longhua Mountain.

The entire point was to help him revive the Zhongyi Sect and fulfill his grand destiny.

The atmosphere in the Warm Pavilion grew heavy, as sharp and cold as crossed blades.

A full stick of incense later, the Purple Gold Talisman finally relayed a response:

“It is currently unknown. The Little Ancestor is an existence beyond the reach of divination, whose movements cannot be traced by any Divine Techniques. We cannot calculate its whereabouts.”

“However, within the Eight Sects, a True Monarch has already used Dou Shu divination to confirm that Xuan Chanzi did not obtain the Dao Inheritance.”

Lou Zhenxiao was stunned, his face a mask of astonishment.

No wonder his rock-solid Daoist heart was stirred, sending out ripples of unease.

’Someone actually intercepted the world-shaking Dao Inheritance that was meant for Xuan Chanzi, snatching it right out of the web of causality woven by the Eight Sects?’

“Could it be… a True Monarch from the Immortal Dao meddling in the shadows?”

Lou Zhenxiao didn’t dare to speculate wildly. Even though he was a Foundation Establishment True Master who had gathered three of the Five Elements and perfected his Life Essence, and possessed a superior temperament, he still had to show reverence for a True Monarch.

“What should we do now? Seal off Beimang Ridge again to search for the Little Ancestor? It’s been so long. It might have already left.”

Lou Zhenxiao couldn’t help but feel a sense of helplessness.

The few True Monarchs who guided the Dao of the Eight Sects were all Great Powers capable of manipulating causality and playing with the secrets of heaven. Who could have predicted that their plans would go so awry?

“We have already consulted the Daoist Palace. The Little Ancestor is still in the Nanzhan Continent and has not returned to the Immortal Dao.”

“As for that world-shaking Dao Inheritance… it is still within the Demon Dao, and its recipient has already been decided.”

“The Daoist Palace’s instruction is to wait and see.”

Lou Zhenxiao mulled over those three words, his eyes hiding a universe of thoughts. This was a Dao Inheritance that had been forced into hiding by the Tai Yang.

’How else could it possibly change?’

’As long as the Tai Yang does not lose its brilliance, the Yang Qi Taiyin Heaven cannot manifest… Who on earth is making these moves?’

…

…

“Grandpa, that’s Red Flame Peak up ahead.”

Jiang Yi rode on horseback. True Master Xuanmiao, who had been sleeping warmly in his embrace, poked out his cat head, perked up his ears, and gazed at the towering, snow-capped peaks in the distance.

“What a run-down place. Sigh. This True Master is now sharing weal and woe with Xiao Jiang. You could call me his ’master through thick and thin.’”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep