Biyou Palace's sermon continued, but most of Xuanwei's mind was immersed in consolidating the True Immortal cultivation they had just attained and reflecting on Sect Master Tongtian's meaningful words.
"The heart that wields the sword... must be righteous..." They repeatedly mulled over those words. The Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation, the Primordial World's foremost killing formation, possessed unquestionable power, but its fiend qi was also heavy enough to corrode the mind. Was their master reminding every disciple that power needed to be guided by a righteous heart, lest it harm its wielder instead? Or was the master... specifically enlightening Xuanwei, because the Chaos Bead they possessed was a supreme treasure possibly connected to "creation" and "order," fundamentally at odds with the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation's nature of "ending" and "slaughter"?
They could not figure it out and could only commit this warning to heart.
The sermon lasted forty-nine days.
When the final note of the Dao faded, the countless heavenly phenomena slowly dispersed, and the azure Dao light above the cloud dais gradually vanished. All the disciples listening to the sermon awoke from their profound state of enlightenment, their faces filled with joy. Clearly, they had all gained much. Quite a few had greatly strengthened their auras, evidently making breakthroughs.
Xuanwei sensed their stable early True Immortal cultivation and their deeper understanding of their various divine abilities, and their heart was also filled with satisfaction. This sermon had been extraordinarily meaningful to them.
Just as everyone believed the sermon was over and prepared to leave, that vast saintly pressure descended once more. Sect Master Tongtian's voice resounded throughout the plaza:
"This sermon has brought each of you gains, and I am greatly pleased. Yet the Great Dao is arduous, and tribulations are ever-present. I hope you will cultivate diligently without cease, understand your own hearts and see your true natures, and not fail the teachings I have given today."
After a pause, that voice seemed to carry a hint of examination. "During the disturbance outside the island, Gandharva came bearing fiend qi. Duobao handled the matter properly and upheld the dignity of our Interception Sect. However, the fiend qi's intrusion damaged the minds of several outer disciples and shook their foundations. Who among you is willing to act, helping them stabilize their Dao foundations and purge the lingering poison of the fiend qi?"
The plaza fell slightly silent at those words.
Treating disciples injured by the aftereffects of the Immortal-Slaying Sword Fiend Qi? That was no simple task! Though Duobao had sealed away most of the fiend qi, its corrosiveness remained extremely potent. Ordinary healing methods could not eradicate it, and one misstep might instead draw the fiend qi into one's own body and cause self-inflicted harm.
Many disciples looked troubled. Some lowered their heads without speaking, while others let their gazes wander.
Xuanwei's heart stirred. They remembered the power of Humanity's Torch Flame within them, which contained the vitality of creation and the ability to purify. This power could even restrain Nine Nether demonic qi. Perhaps it could deal with the greatly weakened remnants of this fiend qi?
More importantly, this was an opportunity to display their value and uniqueness before Sect Master Tongtian and all their fellow disciples! It was an opportunity to put into practice the principle that "the heart that wields the sword must be righteous," protecting their fellow disciples with their own strength!
Without hesitation, they immediately rose to their feet, bowed toward the cloud dais, and declared, "This disciple Xuanwei is willing to give it a try!"
At once, everyone's gaze focused on them! There was surprise, curiosity, doubt, and anticipation.
"Good." Sect Master Tongtian replied with only one word, yet it seemed to carry a trace of barely perceptible approval.
Before long, three outer disciples were brought to the front of the plaza. Their faces were pale, their auras listless, and faint black fiend qi coiled around their bodies. Their eyes were unfocused, and their Dao foundations were unstable. Clearly, they were gravely injured.
Xuanwei walked before the three, their expression solemn. They first carefully examined them with divine sense, confirming that while the fiend qi was stubborn, it had indeed become rootless and vastly weakened.
Taking a deep breath, they used neither pills nor magical treasures. Instead, they directly circulated the Azure Emperor Longevity Art, drawing upon the Wutu Source and Wood Element Vitality within their body. They also slowly sent that trace of warm yet unyielding Humanity's Torch Flame into the three disciples like spring rain nourishing the earth.
They did not choose to forcibly disperse it. Instead, they used pure vitality to nourish the damaged meridians and souls of the three disciples, while using the Torch Flame's essence of "civilizational inheritance" and "dispersing ignorance" to neutralize and purify the destructive, deathly intent contained within the fiend qi.
Warm azure-yellow radiance enveloped the three disciples. The pain on their faces gradually eased, while the black fiend qi surrounding them melted away strand by strand beneath the light of the Mysterious Yellow Star Fire, like ice and snow meeting the sun. No violent conflict arose.
The entire process was gentle yet unceasing. After roughly the time it took for an incense stick to burn, the three disciples each expelled a mouthful of foul-smelling turbid air. Their complexions returned to rosiness, and clarity returned to their eyes. Although their cultivation had yet to fully recover, their Dao foundations were stable, and all the fiend qi had been purged!
"Thank you, Senior Brother Xuanwei, for saving our lives!" The three were overwhelmed with emotion and moved to kneel.
Xuanwei hurriedly raised a hand to support them. "We are fellow disciples and should help one another. There is no need for such courtesy, junior brothers."
The plaza first fell silent, then burst into waves of astonished exclamations!
"They were really healed!"
"What pure vitality! What kind of divine ability is that Mysterious Yellow flame? It can actually purify the Immortal-Slaying fiend qi?"
"Senior Brother Xuanwei is not only extraordinarily gifted in the path of Spiritual Plants, but their methods for healing injuries and purging evil are also so formidable!"
Those disciples who had previously doubted Xuanwei or viewed them with prejudice mostly reined in their expressions now, replaced by respect and acknowledgment. Solving a problem that even many veteran disciples found difficult was itself a symbol of strength!
The azure Dao light suspended above the cloud dais rippled once more. Sect Master Tongtian's voice rang out, carrying obvious praise:
"Xuanwei, your nature is kind and generous, your methods are profound, and you possess the vitality of creation. You have achieved much upon the path of protecting your fellow disciples. I am greatly pleased."
As the words fell, a stream of clear light shot down from the cloud dais and landed in Xuanwei's hand, transforming into a token neither gold nor jade, engraved with lightning runes.
"This is the token of the Supreme Pure Lightning Pool. The Lightning Pool lies deep within Golden Ao Island's secret realm and contains primordial lightning essence and the vitality of creation. It has remarkable effects in tempering immortal bodies, comprehending Lightning Magic, and restoring one's source. I grant it to you and permit you to cultivate within for three days as your reward."
Supreme Pure Lightning Pool!
At the mention of that name, the plaza immediately erupted with gasps! Countless gazes instantly turned burning hot!
The Supreme Pure Lightning Pool was one of Golden Ao Island's highest-grade cultivation secret realms. It was said that Sect Master Tongtian had created it from the essence of lightning gathered from the Nine Heavens and primordial vitality. Ordinary disciples had no chance of entering it at all. Only direct disciples who had rendered great merit or received their master's particular favor could enter and cultivate there for a time! Yet Xuanwei had actually been granted a full three days of cultivation within!
This reward could not have been more generous!
Even direct disciples such as Duobao and Golden Spirit Mother looked toward Xuanwei in astonishment. Among the San Xiao sisters, Bixiao nearly cried out in surprise before Yunxiao stopped her with a look. Yet Yunxiao's gaze at Xuanwei also gained several layers of deeper meaning.
Xuanwei forcefully suppressed the excitement in their heart, accepted the token with both hands, and bowed deeply. "This disciple Xuanwei thanks Master for this generous reward! I will certainly not disappoint Master's expectations!"
"Disperse."
With Sect Master Tongtian's final decree, the sermon officially came to an end. Thousands of disciples departed one after another with complicated feelings, but after this incident, Xuanwei's name had thoroughly resounded throughout the Interception Sect. No one dared underestimate them again.
Xuanwei did not delay. After reporting to Senior Brother Duobao, they followed the token's guidance toward the longed-for secret realm of the Supreme Pure Lightning Pool.
The entrance to the secret realm lay in a valley behind Biyou Palace, guarded by layer upon layer of restrictions. Passing through a distorted spatial gateway, the scene before them suddenly opened up!
This was an independent minor grotto-heaven. The sky was filled with an eternal web of lightning, where countless violet-white and azure electric serpents darted about, releasing deafening roars! At the center of the grotto-heaven lay a pool spanning a hundred zhang. Its waters were no ordinary water, but entirely liquefied lightning essence radiating the contradictory auras of destruction and vitality! Lightning danced across the pool's surface, while dense primordial qi lingered above it.
This was the Supreme Pure Lightning Pool!
Merely standing beside the pool, Xuanwei could feel the vast power of lightning and the trace of creative vitality within it. Their True Immortal-level immortal energy body tingled all over, yet felt incomparably refreshed.
"What a place! As expected of a saint's handiwork!" Xuanwei exclaimed, then leaped into the Lightning Pool without further hesitation!
Boom!
The instant they entered the Lightning Pool, endless lightning essence found an outlet and surged madly into their immortal energy body! Destructive lightning power raged as though it would tear them apart, but the vitality of creation followed close behind, repairing the damage and using it to temper every inch of their source!
This pain, where ultimate destruction and rebirth intertwined, far surpassed any cultivation Xuanwei had experienced before! Yet they gritted their teeth and endured, circulating the Chaos Heaven-Opening Art and the Supreme Pure Immortal Method with all their strength. They guided the lightning power to temper their body while absorbing the vitality of creation to nourish themselves.
Their immortal energy body continuously twisted and deformed amid the lightning, only to become ever more condensed and pure through repeated shattering and reformation! The Mysterious Yellow Torch Flame within them also seemed to undergo countless hammerings beneath the lightning's cleansing, its radiance becoming more restrained and its essence more steadfast.
The Chaos Bead appeared of its own accord and floated above their head, absorbing the pure lightning source and vitality of creation. Its restoration progress began to rise slowly yet steadily! The Remnant Seed of Jianmu also swayed within their sea of consciousness, swallowing and exhaling lightning. The chaotic Dao patterns on its branches and leaves grew ever clearer.
Time passed second by second.
For Xuanwei, enduring the ultimate tempering within the Lightning Pool, three days in the outside world felt endlessly long.
When the third day arrived and the token glimmered to signal that their time was up, Xuanwei shot skyward from the Lightning Pool!
At this moment, lightning coiled around their body, and their aura was more than twice as powerful as it had been three days earlier! Their cultivation had completely stabilized at the early True Immortal realm and reached the peak of that stage. The middle stage was no longer far away! Their immortal energy body had become more solid, faintly showing signs of transforming into an even higher level of energy.
More importantly, after the Lightning Pool's tempering, their affinity with and control over lightning had greatly improved. The power of the Supreme Pure Divine Thunder had risen accordingly. The Chaos Bead's restoration progress had reached 6.5%! The Remnant Seed of Jianmu had also grown considerably taller.
Worth it! These three days of arduous cultivation were comparable to several years in the outside world! Xuanwei sensed the changes within them, their heart brimming with joy.
They left the secret realm of the Lightning Pool and returned to their Medicine Garden.
However, the moment they stepped into the Medicine Garden, before they could even inspect the Light Cocoon underground, the jade talisman in their robes that connected them to Three Immortal Island suddenly began to burn fiercely without warning!
At the same time, Yunxiao's voice, carrying an urgency and gravity never heard before, exploded directly in their consciousness:
"Xuanwei! Come to Three Immortal Island at once! The Lightning Pool is showing abnormal activity, the earth veins are churning, and the fragment of the Nine Nether Demon Domain sealed by Master... its aura has actually resonated with something deep within the Lightning Pool. Something may have happened! Bixiao... she sensed the anomaly and went alone to investigate. Now... she has lost contact!"
Xuanwei's expression changed drastically!
Bixiao had lost contact? A Nine Nether Demon Domain fragment had resonated with something within the Lightning Pool?
They suddenly recalled that while cultivating in the Lightning Pool, they had faintly sensed something seemingly suppressed and sealed deep beneath its endless lightning source... They had not paid it any mind then, but now it seemed...
Without the slightest hesitation, Xuanwei transformed into a streak of lightning, using the Lightning Escape Art they had just mastered, and shot out of the Medicine Garden toward Three Immortal Island at the fastest speed possible!
Before you continue