The Secret of the Ancestral Vein, The Path to Daluo

Guiyuan reached out and caught the flying stele.

It was cold and heavy to the touch, the stele's body ancient, with faintly visible profound patterns, but many places had been eroded by filthy Sha Qi, its spiritual light dim.

Styx leaned in to look, seeing two great Dao divine characters naturally inscribed on the stele's surface.

[North Xuan].

"This treasure is called the North Xuan Stele." Guiyuan's divine sense swept over it, instantly understanding its origins, his tone carrying regret. "It was originally a true Ancestral Vein treasure, born from the northern Ancestral Vein, and its grade should have been a Top-grade Innate Treasure."

His fingertip traced a clear scar of Sha Qi pollution on the stele's surface.

"Unfortunately, after countless ages in a Ferocious Beast's nest, polluted day and night by Chaos Sha, its Dao is already incomplete, and its grade has fallen. Now it is merely a high-grade Innate Treasure."

Styx heard this and also felt pained. "An Ancestral Vein treasure! Such a waste of heaven's gifts!"

"It must be because Daoist Guiyuan cleansed the northern Sha Qi and slew Taowu, earning fortune and merit, that this treasure favored you."

Styx smiled.

"Its function is not lost." Guiyuan continued. "It can still draw on the power of the northern earth veins and water veins to suppress enemies. If fully activated, it could even borrow the vast might of the entire northern Primordial World to empower its wielder."

He shook his head, holding the Xuanzhong Stele in his palm.

"For now, though, the Ancestral Vein itself is still broken, and this treasure is damaged. Its power is less than a tenth of what it was."

Styx looked at the stele's body defiled by Sha Qi, then thought of the desolation they had seen in the north along the way. Even he, with his fierce killing intent, could not help but rage. "Ferocious Beasts truly deserve to die!"

Guiyuan nodded, his gaze sweeping over the nest thick with Sha Qi, then falling to the silent Xuanzhong Stele in his hand.

"I plan first to remove the Sha Qi from the Ancestral Vein, and at the same time refine Taowu's flesh and soul into the treasures."

Guiyuan looked at Styx. "This will require some time in seclusion."

"Good. In that case, I'll wander the north for a while. I see you need these Ferocious Beast bodies, so I'll go test my sword and bring back some corpses."

Styx, having received benefits, intended to repay some karma. He knew Guiyuan could refine Ferocious Beast corpses, so he might as well go test his blade.

"Good."

Styx transformed into a flash of blood light and departed in an instant. Guiyuan waved his hand casually, and the Xuanyaun Controlling Water Flag hid itself in the void, setting up a grand formation that enveloped the entire Changbai Mountain.

Only then did he sit down cross-legged.

As for how to cleanse the Sha Qi, Guiyuan had long had a plan.

"First, refine Taowu's soul and body into the Thirty-Three Fiendish Treasures, then directly devour the Sha Qi on the Ancestral Vein. Two birds with one stone."

Guiyuan sat cross-legged deep within the Ancestral Vein of Changbai Mountain. With a flip of his hand, Taowu's soul and its massive body appeared in midair. Without hesitation, he cast them directly into the thirty-three Fiendish Treasures floating around him.

"Refine!"

Guiyuan shouted lowly. The Dao fire formed by the Great Treasure Refining Technique blazed up, enveloping the soul and body. The flames roiled, scorching hot, warping the void around them.

Though Taowu's true spirit had been extinguished, its residual instincts still struggled. The soul howled, the body trembled, and wisps of Daluo power radiated out, trying to resist the refinement.

Guiyuan's expression was impassive. He raised a hand and pressed down.

"Suppress."

Vast mana fell like a mountain, crushing that resistance completely. The soul and body gradually melted in the Dao fire, turning into pure Sha Qi and ferocious origin essence, slowly merging into the thirty-three treasures.

He split his mind in two, controlling the treasure refinement on one side while drawing in the fierce Sha Qi pervading the Ancestral Vein on the other.

Rolling black Qi, like a long dragon drinking water, continuously poured into the treasure array, becoming fuel for the refining.

At the same time, Guiyuan also began refining the "North Xuan Stele."

The stele was cold, Sha Qi coiled around it like a clinging bone-rot.

He circulated his mana, peeling away the filth bit by bit, awakening the sleeping spirituality within.

Time passed slowly, and in a blink, an epoch had gone by.

During this time, Styx occasionally returned.

He never entered the formation, only tossing large numbers of Ferocious Beast corpses into the area outside the formation before turning into a flash of blood light and leaving, continuing his sword-testing journey.

This day, Guiyuan suddenly opened his eyes.

A gleam of light flashed in his pupils, and the aura around him converged.

He looked down at the North Xuan Stele in his palm. Most of the Sha Qi on the stele had been removed, its spiritual light gradually recovering. Though it had not returned to top-grade, it had stabilized in the high-grade ranks.

Once all the Sha Qi was eliminated, the "innate" nature of an Innate Treasure would allow it to slowly recover.

This was one of the differences between Innate Treasures and Acquired Treasures—innate perfection.

Even if damaged in battle, as long as the internal Dao was not extinguished, simply leaving it be would allow it to restore itself.

Acquired Treasures could not do this. They required their refiner to find materials for repairs, and sometimes, if the loss was too great, recovery might be difficult.

Then, his gaze turned to the thirty-three Fiendish Treasures. One look, and even he, their master, felt his heart skip a beat.

The treasure light was dark, Sha Qi surged skyward, and strands of fierce, baleful aura interwove, almost solidifying.

An ordinary Taiyi cultivator who looked too long might have their Dao heart damaged.

Taowu's soul and body had long since been completely refined.

Originally, each treasure contained only a single Taiyi ferocious beast corpse as its core—powerful, yet acting independently.

Now, with Taowu, this "emperor," commanding them, all the Fiendish Treasures moved as one, their Sha Qi merging into a single expanse, their might skyrocketing!

Guiyuan sensed it briefly and gave a slight nod.

"Though they are acquired treasures, their power is no less than that of a Mid-grade Innate Treasure. What's more valuable is the chaotic Sha Qi within them—even a Daluo would find it troublesome if stained."

"The North Xuan Stele is a suppressing treasure, capable of sealing enemies and voidspace. Together with the Xuanyaun Controlling Water Flag, it can suppress an entire region of void, and even a Daluo at the early stage would struggle to break free."

"Paired with the Thirty-Three Fiendish Treasures, I finally have the confidence to roam the continent."

Putting away the two treasures, Guiyuan waved his hand to dispel the grand formation, allowing the light of the outside world to flood in.

A streak of blood light flew in at that very moment, landing in his hand—it was a divine thought transmission left by Styx.

[Daoist Guiyuan: While honing my blade in the north, I chanced upon a Daluo insight and must return to the Sea of Blood to go into seclusion. Should you visit in the future, Styx will surely welcome you with open arms.]

"Now that part of the Ancestral Vein's Sha Qi has been removed, delving deeper will require at least the Daluo realm, or else a special technique or spiritual treasure."

"The Pure World White Lotus is naturally the best choice. But setting aside whether this treasure is actually in the Eastern Sea, the Eastern Sea is currently the Dragon Race's territory. Going to someone else's domain to seek a treasure..."

"Even if I find it, I might not be able to keep it."

"The best course is to break through to Daluo first, then seek the treasure." Guiyuan mused.

The Ancestral Vein's Sha Qi had accumulated over so many years, and a Daluo ferocious beast had once dwelled there. For him to have removed even a portion was already an extraordinary feat.

Though he had mastered the Three Thousand Great Daos of the Eternal Life Great World, which could purify Sha Qi, the Dao was the Dao.

The power of the divine abilities built upon it ultimately depended on himself. At present, he was only at the Taiyi realm.

His power was ultimately limited, and he had discovered that the deeper Sha Qi was even more outrageous, surpassing even Taowu.

He suspected it was left behind by the original Emperor of Ferocious Beasts, Shen Ni.

Could there be another secret hidden here?

That would explain why Taowu had taken up residence here. But even if there were secrets, they were not something Guiyuan could handle now.

Unless he broke through to Daluo and combined that with his methods to investigate.

"But breaking through to Daluo requires condensing one's own Daluo Dao Fruit, similar to the Eternal Life Immortal Kings. The question is, which Dao principle and law should I use to condense it?"