While the cultivators of the Holy King Sect were out performing "merits," Lin Yu led two former Green Mist Sect elders and a group of cultivators deep into one of the Leaving Fire Sect's forbidden grounds.
A massive fire vein had been imprisoned here. It surged with immense force beneath the earth, where endless magma roiled and turned the entire place into a world of flames.
"I never expected the Leaving Fire Sect to possess such a vast fire vein. Cultivating fire arts here would allow one to advance by leaps and bounds in a single day." Several elders and disciples clicked their tongues in amazement at the sight.
"Once this fire vein erupts, every oasis within several thousand miles will suffer devastating damage."
Back then, the founder of the Leaving Fire Sect discovered this place and laid down Forbidden Techniques. After generations of effort, they finally subdued it. Not only did it cease to be harmful, it became enormously beneficial to the Leaving Fire Sect's cultivation!"
Lin Yu nodded.
"What a pity their descendants proved unworthy. They neither achieved breakthroughs in cultivation nor cultivated virtue. Their sect's destruction was inevitable. Even without me, someone else would have carried out justice on Heaven's behalf."
The elders and disciples looked embarrassed. After all, their own sect had seemingly met much the same fate as the Leaving Fire Sect. The two former Leaving Fire Sect cultivators, however, said nothing. Their eyes remained fixed on the restrictions carved into the walls, making one wonder whether some ancient sage scripture was hidden within.
Since the destruction of the Leaving Fire Sect, Lin Yu had spent the past few days cultivating here. His cultivation had now reached a certain stage, and it was time to consider the next step.
With twenty Giant Elephant Particles, even ordinary Dao Palace cultivators had no power to resist him. However, the Hell Furnace was still only an embryo, which was somewhat unsatisfactory. Thus, he could only borrow some "external pressure."
"So, Sect Master, you mean for us to activate this divine furnace together and refine you inside it? Nothing will really happen, right?" One elder wore an expression that plainly said, I haven't cultivated for long, don't try to fool me.
They had reached the depths of the forbidden ground. Lin Yu had set up a formation there, and at its center stood a bronze furnace. Empowered by the formation, it had expanded to the size of a zhang. Terrifying flames churned within, and a destructive force brewed inside!
Lin Yu shot them an irritated glance and replied,
"That's right. If you weren't so weak, one person activating it would be about as effective as taking a bath. Why would I need to go through all this trouble?"
"The two elders will take the Qian and Kun positions. The rest of you will stand at Kan, Gen, Zhen, Xun, Li, and Dui respectively. Once I enter the bronze furnace, activate the formation at once and drive the furnace's power to its limit!"
Without waiting for their response, he leaped into the air, entered the bronze furnace, and sat down cross-legged.
The others exchanged glances and could only follow Lin Yu's orders. They each took their positions, formed one hand seal after another, and poured in divine power. The furnace lid slammed shut, and the bronze furnace immediately underwent an astonishing change!
Boom!
The divine furnace awakened, releasing a terrifying pressure. The bronze furnace turned crimson, and the divine patterns upon it seemed on the verge of transforming into living beings!
In the depths of the furnace's inner space, amid boundless blazing flames, a scarlet beam shot from the heart of the fire sea. Immediately afterward, the head of a divine phoenix burst through layer upon layer of firewalls.
The lines of its head were hard and sharp, while its fiery crimson crest feathers resembled burning thorns—unrestrained and dazzling.
The next instant, its narrow phoenix eyes slowly opened. Scarlet flames blazed in its gaze, and its pupils carried an awe-inspiring sharpness that looked down upon all living things. Every feather on its body resembled molten red gold, gleaming with a metallic luster in the extreme heat, each one dancing with a lively spark.
Finally, its magnificent tail feathers spread open like the sunset clouds flowing across the horizon. With the divine phoenix's movements, the waves of fire became even more violent.
The instant this divine phoenix appeared, it plunged directly into Lin Yu's body!
Rumble!
In an instant, the divine phoenix began burning through all of Lin Yu's meridians, even reaching deep into his Sea of Bitterness. Blazing true fire erupted completely from his body, turning him into a man of flames.
Yet his heart remained like a deep, tranquil pool, utterly undisturbed. The fierce flames mercilessly licked at his body, but even that bone-piercing agony could not shake his resolute mind in the slightest.
Relying on his powerful spiritual will, he controlled the agony endured by his flesh. He had already understood the true essence of the Soul and Spirit—human flesh itself did not feel pain; only the spiritual level perceived suffering. Just as the dead knew and felt nothing, the living could experience it clearly.
Amid this terrifying trial, Lin Yu activated the life essence within the Hell Furnace to replenish his body while tempering the Hell Furnace embryo within the Divine Phoenix True Fire.
As time slowly passed, Lin Yu gradually sensed the Hell Furnace embryo becoming more and more complete. It began absorbing the divine phoenix's true fire to replenish itself. This was a sign that the furnace was about to reach completion!
Buzz!
A deep, majestic sound like a Resonant Bell and Great Drum suddenly echoed through the surroundings. Behind Lin Yu, a colossal furnace of magnificent presence slowly emerged.
This furnace, condensed from divine power, was no illusory image but something tangibly real. In its depths, a divine phoenix struggled with all its might. Its entire body shone brilliantly, yet it remained unable to break free from the furnace's restraints.
Lin Yu had thoroughly completed the refinement of the Hell Furnace. He had successfully imprisoned this divine phoenix within it, intending to seize its essence and turn it into his own power.
At this moment, an overwhelming aura akin to that of a deity under his command radiated from his entire body, as though he had already transcended the laws of the world.
Deep within the massive Hell Furnace behind him, molten lava churned like a boiling ocean. The imprisoned divine phoenix let out mournful cries, but it could only helplessly endure the fate of having its essence extracted within this furnace prison.
It was said that once the Hell Furnace had been successfully refined, it could become a supreme divine artifact, capable of refining all energy, life essence, heaven and earth vital energy, even the essence of the sun and moon and the power of the stars. All of it could be transformed by the furnace into its own Life Source.
As the divine phoenix's power became streams of dazzling light, an endless flow of Life Source poured into Lin Yu's body. Beneath his scorched and cracked skin, fresh flesh slowly grew like tender shoots breaking through the soil.
His formerly charred muscles gradually regained vitality, and his severed meridians slowly healed amid a faint glow. Before long, his burned and mangled limbs began to reshape themselves. His wounds rapidly scabbed over and fell away, while his new skin gleamed with healthy luster.
Within Lin Yu's veins, dark golden blood flowed continuously. As it absorbed the divine phoenix's essence, it became brilliant as new, and his strength grew ever more powerful.
A vast amount of life essence then entered the twenty-first particle. The final moment of awakening was about to arrive.
Inhale!
Lin Yu drew in a deep breath, swallowing and exhaling the fierce flames within the divine furnace. Countless divine fires became a great river flowing into his body. The force was so savage that even the formation outside trembled unstably.
At the same time, he took out a great quantity of source stones and shattered them all, pouring them into the Hell Furnace to refine them one by one.
Under this immense power, the twenty-first particle finally began to sprout. The aura of an Ancient Giant Elephant once more emerged from Lin Yu's body.
Clang!
A crimson blaze blasted open the furnace lid. Before the stunned eyes of the others, it pierced through layer after layer of Forbidden Techniques and rose into the skies above the Holy King Sect's headquarters.
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