Night hung like ink over the somewhat solemn Zhou Manor. The excitement brought by Lu Changsheng's stunning performance during the day, when he had crushed Chen Ziyu, had yet to fully subside. Yet the final showdown with the Qin Family in three days still loomed like an invisible mountain, weighing heavily upon every member of the Zhou Family.
Lu Changsheng was very strong, but the Qin Family's genius—Qin Lie—was the true formidable enemy.
Zhou Manor, rear courtyard.
Lu Changsheng had been arranged to rest and recover in the most secluded courtyard within the manor. At this moment, he sat cross-legged. The expenditure from the day's battle had long since recovered, spiritual power surging through his body like rivers, while the Dragon Elephant Spirit lurked within his chest, exuding an incomparably dense and weighty aura.
During this time, Lu Changsheng had never neglected diligent cultivation. The barrier to his eighth level of Core Condensation Realm cultivation had, under his immense accumulation, become as thin as a cicada's wing. It seemed that with the slightest touch, he could step into the ninth level.
Yet he was in no hurry to break through. Instead, he repeatedly tempered himself, compressing every thread of spiritual power in pursuit of an incomparably solid foundation.
Knock, knock, knock!
Just as Lu Changsheng was immersed in cultivation, a soft knock suddenly sounded.
"Junior Disciple Lu, it's me, Zhirou."
Zhou Zhirou's clear voice came from outside the door.
"Senior Sister, come in."
Lu Changsheng opened his eyes, his gaze deep and calm.
The door opened softly, and Zhou Zhirou walked in, carrying a Crimson Jade Treasure Box roughly a foot wide in her jade-like hands.
The treasure box was neither metal nor jade. It was crimson all over, its surface engraved with intricate, ancient flame patterns. The moment it appeared, the temperature in the room quietly rose several degrees, and a pure, scorching aura of pure yang spread through the air.
"Junior Disciple Lu, thank you for venting the Zhou Family's anger in today's battle and ruthlessly crushing Chen Ziyu's arrogance."
Zhou Zhirou solemnly placed the treasure box upon the table before Lu Changsheng and smiled beautifully. Yet her expression soon turned grave as she continued,
"The battle three days from now concerns the survival of my Zhou Family. Qin Lie is ruthless, and his strength has likely surpassed the Half-step Divine Palace Realm. He is by no means comparable to Chen Ziyu. After Father discussed matters with the elders, they decided to gift this item to you in order to increase our chances of victory!"
With that, she took a deep breath. Her slender, pale fingers brushed over the profound patterns on the Crimson Jade Treasure Box, and its lid slowly opened.
Buzz!
In an instant, an indescribably majestic heat and dazzling golden radiance erupted from the box, as though a miniature sun had suddenly descended!
The entire room was illuminated as brightly as day, the light blinding and the heat waves rolling forth. Had Zhou Zhirou not activated the box's restrictions beforehand, this power alone would have been enough to set the entire courtyard ablaze.
"This is..."
Lu Changsheng's pupils contracted slightly. The Dragon Elephant Spirit in his chest seemed to sense something as well, letting out a low roar.
At the center of the treasure box floated a fist-sized mass of substance, thick as liquid gold. It was not flame, yet it was purer than the hottest flame; it was not metal, yet it contained a supreme yang power ten thousand times purer than Crimson Fire Origin Copper.
Within the shifting light, ancient illusions of the sun rising and moon setting, of a golden crow patrolling the heavens, faintly appeared and vanished.
"Could this be... Solar True Essence?!"
Even with Lu Changsheng's temperament, he could not conceal his shock. He had once seen records of it in an exceedingly ancient body-tempering tome. It was a rare treasure of heaven and earth, the most unyielding and most yang of all things. Only in places of extreme yang and blazing heat could a single wisp be nurtured over tens of thousands of years. It was a peerless treasure for tempering the body, purifying spiritual power, and even forging supreme divine weapons!
"That's right."
Zhou Zhirou nodded, reverence in her eyes.
"This item was accidentally acquired by a Zhou Family ancestor. It has remained sealed away ever since, regarded as the foundation of our clan. The Solar True Fire power within it is incomparably pure and tyrannical; an ordinary cultivator would be incinerated upon touching it. But Father saw that your physique is powerful, your foundation unfathomable, and your spiritual power contains the force of wind, thunder, hardness, and yang. You may be able to attempt refining and absorbing it. If you succeed, your strength will surely increase greatly! For these three days, you may refine it here in peace. No one will disturb you."
"You are actually willing to give me such a precious treasure?"
Lu Changsheng asked in confusion.
"The duel three days from now concerns the survival of my Zhou Family. Nothing is more important than that. This Solar True Essence can increase your strength, while also adding another measure of hope for my Zhou Family. Isn't that so?"
Zhou Zhirou said calmly.
Lu Changsheng looked at the Solar True Essence, flowing with destruction and rebirth, and the shock in his eyes gradually turned into fiery intensity.
For him, this was the perfect opportunity to break through his current limits and lay an unparalleled Dao foundation!
"Patriarch Zhou's generous gift will forever remain engraved in Lu Changsheng's heart!"
He did not refuse. This gift represented the Zhou Family's wholehearted trust and hope. He needed strength, and the Zhou Family needed victory. Their goals were one and the same.
"Mm, then I won't disturb your cultivation."
Zhou Zhirou left, and layer upon layer of restrictions completely sealed off the courtyard.
Lu Changsheng hesitated no longer. Sitting cross-legged, he formed hand seals as the Heaven Swallowing Creation Art within him began operating at full force. A powerful suction force surged from his palms, carefully drawing in that incomparably blazing mass of Solar True Essence.
Sizzle!
The instant the first wisp of golden Solar True Essence touched Lu Changsheng's palm, it was like a red-hot branding iron pressed against flesh! Piercing pain drilled into his heart, and his skin instantly blackened and carbonized!
The violent, blazing power of Solar True Fire rushed into his meridians like an out-of-control flood. Wherever it passed, his meridians seemed on the verge of melting apart and burning to ash!
"Hmph!"
Lu Changsheng let out a muffled groan. Veins bulged across his forehead, and his cold sweat instantly evaporated. Yet his eyes remained sharp as blades, his will as firm as a boulder.
"Dragon Elephant Power, suppress!"
The Dragon Elephant Spirit lurking in his chest suddenly roared. A vast, heavy power spread throughout his body, forcibly protecting his heart meridians and internal organs.
"Refine!"
The surging, immense spiritual power within him charged forth fiercely, engaging the invading Solar True Fire in a violent struggle.
Thread by thread, incomparably pure crimson-gold energy containing the essence of the sun was extracted with great difficulty and fused into Lu Changsheng's flesh, bones, and meridians.
This was an incomparably painful and dangerous process. Lu Changsheng's body was like a furnace—blackened and cracked on the outside, yet undergoing an earth-shaking transformation within.
Old cells, insufficiently resilient, were burned away. Newly born cells, tempered by the Solar True Essence, contained unimaginable strength and toughness.
Through repeated scorching, compression, and purification, his spiritual power grew denser and purer, its color taking on a faint golden sheen.
Time passed amid the torment of pain. One day, two days...
Outside the courtyard, Zhou Qingtian and the others felt the terrifying heat and energy fluctuations leaking out even through the layers of restrictions. Their hearts pounded with fear, yet they were also filled with anticipation.
On the third day, at sunset.
The violent energy fluctuations within the courtyard abruptly calmed. That suffocatingly scorching aura receded like a tide, eventually returning to a deep, restrained tranquility.
Creak~
The courtyard gate opened, and Lu Changsheng appeared at the entrance.
He still wore the same plain green robe. On the surface, he did not seem to have changed much, and his cultivation remained at the peak of the eighth level of the Core Condensation Realm.
Yet when his gaze swept over them, Zhou Qingtian, Zhou Zhirou, and several core elders waiting outside all felt their hearts jolt!
Those eyes were as deep as though they held stars within them. Beneath their calmness, it seemed as though molten lava flowed, containing a power that made one's heart palpitate.
He stood there, not especially tall, yet he gave off the steady presence of a mountain, as though he had fused into the earth itself. His aura no longer spilled outward, yet it was as deep as an abyss, containing explosive power within.
Merely being swept by his gaze made the elders' skin tingle faintly, as if tiny currents of electricity had passed over them.
"Lu... Little Friend Lu, how... how do you feel?"
Zhou Qingtian's voice carried a barely perceptible tremor.
He could not see any increase in Lu Changsheng's cultivation realm, but the intangible pressure radiating from him was several times stronger than it had been three days ago!
Like a divine weapon still sheathed—its edge restrained, yet all the more terrifying.
Lu Changsheng smiled faintly. His smile was peaceful, yet it carried a powerful confidence of its own.
"Thank you for your concern, Patriarch Zhou. I have not failed your expectations. This item has greatly benefited me. Though I have not broken through, I am more than capable of a battle."
He did not say, "enough to win," but rather, "enough for a battle." The powerful conviction beneath those calm words finally settled the Zhou Family's hanging hearts, only for them to be flooded by overwhelming joy.
His realm had not broken through, yet his aura had grown several times stronger! This was even more revealing of the terror of his foundation than a simple rise in cultivation realm!
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