The demons in the Sword Gate Demonic Ruins had revolted, treating over a thousand Upper Court disciples like livestock and blood-sacrificing them to awaken the spirit of the Heavenly Phenomenon Mother. Many disciples under the Qi Refiners had died to the last one, their lineages effectively wiped out. The uproar this caused in Sword Gate could well be imagined.
Sword Gate's upper echelons were enraged. It was, without question, the greatest humiliation Sword Gate had suffered since its founding. Among the dead Upper Court disciples were many from the Ten Great Clans of the Great Wilderness—even the children of clan leaders!
One elder after another emerged from the palace halls high on Sword Gate Mountain and entered the Demonic Ruins, searching for the demon Qi Refiners and the spirit of the Heavenly Phenomenon Mother.
The matter caused a tremendous stir, but vague rumors also began circulating that a traitor had appeared in Sword Gate—someone had colluded with the demons of the Demonic Ruins and was plotting treason.
After more than ten days, the situation settled down. Sword Gate's elders sealed the Demonic Ruins and strictly forbade anyone from entering.
But those matters no longer had anything to do with Zhong Yue.
Elder Pu arrived at the first opportunity. When he saw Ting Lanyue and the others, he was both delighted and grieved. He had more than a hundred disciples and students under him, but now only a dozen or so remained. The losses could hardly have been more devastating.
Ting Lanyue, He Chengchuan, and the others stepped forward and bowed. "Elder Pu, it was all thanks to Junior Brother Zhong that we managed to escape those Demonic Ruins."
The few of them spoke rapidly, giving a rough account of what they had experienced in the Demonic Ruins.
Elder Pu was moved. He looked Zhong Yue up and down before slowly nodding. "Zhongshan Clan's Zhong Yue? A young man of great promise, indeed. You saved my disciples, and your aptitude is extraordinary. You even obtained the true inheritance of my Thunderclap Sword Art. I would like to take you as my disciple..."
Ting Lanyue repeatedly shot Zhong Yue meaningful glances, signaling him to agree.
Zhong Yue thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Thank you, Elder Pu, but if you take me into your tutelage, I fear it will displease the Tian Feng Clan. If you don't mind, I'd like to come listen to your lectures often. As long as I am not your disciple, I imagine you won't come into conflict with the Tian Feng Clan over me."
Originally, he had desperately wanted to become a disciple of a Qi Refiner. Now, however, he was no longer so eager—in fact, he even hoped he could remain without a master.
The Fire Seed's Fire Epoch Palace Suihuang Visualization is too powerful. My cultivation speed is far too fast. In just these few days, I've already crossed the Soul Departure and Soul Sacrifice realms one after another! If I become a Qi Refiner's disciple, I'm afraid this cultivation method will definitely be exposed!
Zhong Yue thought to himself, If the cultivation method is exposed, Sword Gate will trace it back to the source and discover the Fire Seed. And if the Fire Seed flies into a rage...
"Very well."
Elder Pu smiled. "You saved my disciples, so naturally I must repay you. You're still lacking a Soul Weapon, aren't you?"
He sized up Zhong Yue. Behind him were two mutated Abyssal Demon arm bones, each as long as a staff and shaped like a sickle. The corpse of the Heavenly Elephant Demon Race Qi Refiner lay not far away as well. Elder Pu said, "You excel in strength, and your spiritual power can also be called outstanding among your peers. You can control two Soul Weapons. I'll mix Mysterious Iron and Mysterious Gold to forge two Black Gold Soul Weapons for you. Come see me at the Scripture Hall in twenty days, and you'll be able to see your Soul Weapons!"
Ting Lanyue, He Chengchuan, and the others could not help revealing envious expressions. For a Qi Refiner like Elder Pu, forging a Soul Weapon was not difficult. At most, it would take two or three days to forge one. Yet Elder Pu had told Zhong Yue to collect his weapons only after twenty days, which showed that the two Soul Weapons he intended to forge this time would certainly be extraordinary!
Mysterious Iron and Mysterious Gold could already be forged into high-grade Soul Weapons. With Elder Pu's refinement added to the mix, once these two Soul Weapons emerged from the forge, they would surely be exceedingly rare in the Upper Court. Even the core disciples of great clans might not possess treasures of this level!
Zhong Yue was overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly. He smiled at Ting Lanyue. "Senior Sister, since Elder Pu is using the Mysterious Gold inside this demon Qi Refiner to forge two Soul Weapons for me, I won't take the remaining Mysterious Gold. You and the other senior brothers can divide it among yourselves."
Ting Lanyue hurriedly said, "How can that be? You dragged this demon Qi Refiner back, so in principle you should take the largest share. Junior Brother Zhong should receive another portion as well. To be frank, if the remaining Mysterious Gold is sold through my Dating Clan, each of us can receive at least eight hundred Feather Spirit Pills!"
Zhong Yue was startled. Eight hundred Feather Spirit Pills!
Sword Gate issued Upper Court disciples ten Feather Spirit Pills each month. Eight hundred would require six or seven years to accumulate!
Ting Lanyue smiled. "Junior Brother, you are tempted after all. Once I sell this Mysterious Gold, I'll come find you."
Everyone went their separate ways. Zhong Yue headed toward his courtyard and contacted the Fire Seed in his sea of consciousness. "Fire Seed, Sword Gate has existed for at least ten thousand years. How could the Heavenly Phenomenon Mother possibly have lived until now?"
"You don't understand. Gods and demons are different from you. Whether humans or demons, you possess only souls and no spirits. Spirit and soul are actually two different things. Only after becoming a Qi Refiner is it possible to unite spirit and soul."
The Fire Seed explained, "Take that little fellow called Elder Pu just now. He has already cultivated until his spirit and soul are one. The Mountain God is his spirit and soul, and he can refine his spirit and soul into a totem for his clansmen to worship. If that little fellow dies in the future, his soul and spirit will be tightly bound together. As long as his spirit remains, his soul remains! Worship is the way to preserve a spirit. Thus, he may avoid having his soul scatter because of his clansmen's worship and instead preserve his soul, enjoying their offerings. At that point, he will be a god—the Mountain God! If the worship is strong enough, it can even shape a golden body for his spirit and soul, allowing him to resurrect from death. His divine powers will be vast and mighty!"
Zhong Yue suddenly understood. The demon race's ancestor, the Heavenly Phenomenon Mother, had been a demon god. Although the Heavenly Phenomenon Mother had died, her spirit had certainly not been slain by Sword Gate's forebears. It had hidden away. If the demons of the Demonic Ruins had continued secretly worshiping her, the Heavenly Phenomenon Mother's soul might have survived.
"Spirit has this kind of use as well? Qi Refiners unite spirit and soul precisely to preserve their own souls, so they won't scatter after death."
Zhong Yue's understanding of spirit deepened another layer. He said, "I wonder whether that Fang Jiange managed to slay the Heavenly Phenomenon Mother's spirit..."
"No!"
The Fire Seed answered crisply. "Not long after you left the Demonic Ruins just now, I sensed an evil aura leaving as well. It should have been the Heavenly Phenomenon Mother's spirit."
Zhong Yue was startled and cried out, "The Heavenly Phenomenon Mother left the Demonic Ruins? Several elders clearly entered the Demonic Ruins to search just now. How could they have let her leave?"
"Naturally, one of those elders brought her out of the Demonic Ruins."
The Fire Seed spoke unconcernedly. "Without demonic worship outside the Demonic Ruins, the Heavenly Phenomenon Mother's spirit won't survive long before dying—unless she can find a body, a body in which her soul can parasitize. In my view, the person who took her away probably found her a body long ago. The current Heavenly Phenomenon Mother has surely become someone from Sword Gate, and no one can recognize her."
"The Heavenly Phenomenon Mother has become one of Sword Gate's people?"
Zhong Yue forced down the shock in his heart and murmured, "This is bad... Fire Seed, can you sense whose body the Heavenly Phenomenon Mother has parasitized?"
"She is hiding inside another person's body now, and the body blocks my senses."
The Fire Seed chuckled. "If I meet that person, I can sense her, but I can't sense her now. How interesting. The traitor in Sword Gate went to such lengths to bring the Heavenly Phenomenon Mother out of the Demonic Ruins. They must have some great scheme. Hee-hee, there's going to be a good show..."
At that very moment, inside a Lingzhi Mushroom-like hall halfway up Sword Gate Mountain, a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old girl curiously examined her own body. She looked left and right, then suddenly burst into a giggle. "I never thought I'd hide inside the body of livestock. Hee-hee-hee, how ironic! Don't you agree?"
A figure stood in the darkness. Hearing this, he laughed. "Heavenly Phenomenon Mother, humans are livestock raised by our god race. Yet you were suppressed by livestock for so many years. Now that is truly ironic. If I hadn't enlightened your descendants and enabled them to cultivate into Qi Refiners, who knows how long it would have taken you to escape."
The Heavenly Phenomenon Mother giggled. "I never imagined that I, a demon god of the demon race, would be saved by a god race member—the mortal enemy of the demon race! You went to such painstaking lengths and schemed so carefully to save me. What exactly do you want?"
The person's voice came from the darkness. "I want the thing beneath Sword Gate Mountain."
The Heavenly Phenomenon Mother's expression changed drastically, her pretty face shifting between light and shadow. "The thing beneath the earth? Who are you? How do you know..."
"Since I am from the god race, naturally I know a few secrets."
"Since you know, do you understand how terrifying it would be if the thing beneath the earth emerged?"
"Of course I do."
The person in the darkness replied leisurely, "I am completely certain I can control that thing. Heavenly Phenomenon Mother, I saved you only so you could help me. Even without your help, Sword Gate will sooner or later be mine, and the thing beneath Sword Gate will sooner or later be mine as well!"
The Heavenly Phenomenon Mother snorted coldly. After a moment, she said, "I have yet to recover my strength. How can I help you?"
"I can wait until you recover your strength. Heavenly Phenomenon Mother, this body of yours belongs to an Outer Disciple of Sword Gate. First go cultivate in the Outer Court, then become a Qi Refiner. Once you recover some of your strength, I will have use for you! You are the spirit of a demon god. Don't disappoint me."
The Heavenly Phenomenon Mother snorted coldly and went down the mountain, heading straight for Sword Gate's Upper Court.
In his courtyard, Zhong Yue had no Feather Spirit Pills and did not dare cultivate the Fire Epoch Palace Suihuang Visualization. These days, he had been cultivating the Thunderclap Sword Art and the Dragon Totem Body Coiling Art.
"The Thunderclap Sword Art and the Dragon Coiling Technique contain even more subtleties!"
Every time he visualized these two arts, he gained different insights. The Thunderclap Sword Art was an offensive method, while the Dragon Coiling Technique was a Body Refining Method. Now that he had combined the two, transforming the Thunder Pattern Totem into a dragon and cultivating them together, he uncovered even more wonders. Zhong Yue could not help sinking into the joy of cultivation.
He discovered that combining the two arts improved his physique much faster than before. With the Thunder Pattern Totem transforming into a dragon and coiling around his body, thunder tempered his flesh and made it tougher. With a thought, his strength erupted, swift as rushing thunder!
This brand-new Body Refining Method was stronger than the Dragon Coiling Technique alone, improving his body at a faster pace!
The other Upper Court disciples did not think much of Body Refining Methods, but he did not slacken at all. Instead, the more he trained, the stronger he became!
Sizzle!
Lightning flickered within his body. The thunder dragon's form faintly passed through his skin, muscles, bones, and even blood, filling his body with an extraordinarily powerful current. It refined away the impurities within him, and the energy in the thunder even faintly seeped into his body, hiding there.
After cultivating for six or seven days, Zhong Yue felt that this Body Refining Method had reached a bottleneck and no longer improved his body as powerfully. He thought, It must be because my Dragon Totem Body Coiling Art has not received the true inheritance, so I can't continue improving... There are still more than ten days before Elder Pu finishes forging the Soul Weapons. I might as well go see Shui Qingyan. After all, I promised her I would visit her in the Women's Court. Besides, I don't know whether she went to the Demonic Ruins...
Zhong Yue left his courtyard and headed straight for the Women's Court. Outside it, he saw several Upper Court male disciples skulking around and watching from a distance.
Zhong Yue was puzzled. He shook his head and walked straight into the Women's Court.
"Pfft! Someone just barged into the Women's Court!"
The eyes of those furtive male disciples nearly popped out of their heads. They cried in shock, "Shamelessly lustful! Shamelessly lustful! This person actually dared to barge into the Women's Court!"
"Will those girls beat him to death?"
In a corner beside the entrance to the Women's Court stood a stone stele. Written upon it were the words: "Male disciples who enter the Women's Court without permission will be killed without exception!"
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