Immortal Juhua nodded and asked no more.
The aptitude of a genius and that of an ordinary cultivator were worlds apart.
And monsters were ten or even a hundred times more exceptional than geniuses.
"Lei Zhan, now that you're back at the Water Mansion, are you going to comprehend the Dao at the Star Hall?" Yellow-Haired Great Bear asked. "Everywhere in the Star Hall contains the mysteries of the Dao. It's a sacred place for comprehending it. You've been away from the cave for nearly four years, and you've accumulated plenty during that time. If you go and meditate on the Dao, you might make further progress in your understanding!"
"Comprehend the Dao?" Lei Zhan shook his head. "There's no rush to go to the Star Hall. I was ready to break through to the tenth stage of the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Map long ago. I just hadn't gathered enough Essence Liquid, so I didn't come back."
Though God-Devil Body Refining could also break through outside, Lei Zhan still had one chance to challenge the War God Hall at the Purple Mansion level.
The chance to exchange for treasures in the Hall of Treasures was precious to begin with. Lei Zhan had already missed the two chances at the Xiantian level when he became the Water Mansion's fourth master. If he broke through to the Myriad Phenomena level, he would naturally waste the one chance at the Purple Mansion level.
"Mm." Yellow-Haired Great Bear nodded. "You've comprehended a secret art like the Water-Fire Grinding Disc and thoroughly grasped two lesser Daos. Breaking through to the tenth stage of the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Map should indeed be easy for you."
The Water-Fire Grinding Disc involved the interplay of creation and opposition between water and fire. Breaking through the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Map likewise required an extremely deep understanding of water and fire, of Yin and Yang.
Lei Zhan bowed to Immortal Juhua and Yellow-Haired Great Bear, then chose a meditation cushion and sat cross-legged.
"Let's begin!" Sitting cross-legged, Lei Zhan drew his robe into his body and stood completely naked.
Each major breakthrough in the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Map brought down a wisp of Lunar True Water and a wisp of Solar True Fire. Even Celestial Gods and True Immortals wouldn't casually risk touching that true water and true fire, and Lei Zhan's magic treasures couldn't withstand them.
Since he'd have to be naked by the end anyway, he might as well get it over with.
Lei Zhan's Dao-heart was strong, so he naturally didn't care about such a trivial matter.
"Whoosh." Lei Zhan slowly closed his eyes. With a thought, he began circulating the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Map.
In an instant, the Lunar Divine Pattern and Solar Divine Pattern on Lei Zhan's bare back blazed to life.
The Divine Patterns shone with dazzling brilliance. In a flash, they connected with the two Supreme Stars deep in the distant void, past who knew how many barriers of space: the Lunar Star and the Solar Star.
The Lunar Star and Solar Star immediately sent down a stream of Solar True Fire and Lunar True Water.
The reason countless cultivators called the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Map the foremost method of God-Devil Body Refining in the Great Xia World was that each major breakthrough was aided by two Supreme Stars. Tempered by Lunar True Water and Solar True Fire, the divine body underwent a transformation.
"A major breakthrough in the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Map is truly something else." Yellow-Haired Great Bear watched Lei Zhan sitting cross-legged as countless streams of water and fire enveloped him. Under their tempering, his aura continued to rise.
"If you'd had the aptitude to learn the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Map back then..." Yellow-Haired Great Bear glanced at Immortal Juhua, then shook his head. The Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Map demanded astonishing comprehension. For geniuses and monsters, cultivating it was like adding wings to a tiger. Those with mediocre insight couldn't even get through the door.
"You..." Immortal Juhua flared with anger. Nothing stung like a comparison, yet seeing Yellow-Haired Great Bear act this way, despite knowing him better than anyone, still sent a ripple across his icy heart.
"What do you mean, 'you'? Lei Zhan has thoroughly grasped two Daos in succession. Even if he wanted to break through to the Primordial Spirit level of God-Devil Body Refining right now, he wouldn't face the slightest bottleneck." Yellow-Haired Great Bear glared at Immortal Juhua, then drawled, "Juhua, your disciple's about to catch up with you, his master!"
"Hmph!" Immortal Juhua was left speechless. He flicked his wide sleeve and said nothing.
In Immortal Juhua's eyes, Yellow-Haired Great Bear was telling the truth. Lei Zhan's understanding of the Dao was simply too high!
God-Devil Body Refining required gradual accumulation. It would take at least several years for Lei Zhan to reach the thirteenth stage of the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Map. With the help of the Star Hall, his understanding of the Dao certainly wouldn't stand still all that time. By then, breaking through to the Primordial Spirit level as a God-Devil would be even easier.
"So what? No matter how strong Lei Zhan gets, he's still my disciple..." Immortal Juhua looked at Yellow-Haired Great Bear, his expression proud.
"He's about to make it!" Yellow-Haired Great Bear ignored him and kept his gaze fixed on Lei Zhan.
The water and fire enveloping Lei Zhan gradually turned transparent. The True Water and True Fire inside had evidently been completely absorbed by his body. Then the water and fire vanished entirely, revealing Lei Zhan's naked form within.
Tempered by the True Water and True Fire, Lei Zhan's body was flawless—a true God-Devil's body!
"Whoosh!"
Lei Zhan opened his eyes. With a thought, a black robe appeared over his body.
"I broke through." Lei Zhan smiled as he felt his divine body become more perfect and powerful, and his divine power flow with greater strength and abundance.
"This power..." Lei Zhan was a little intoxicated by it. "If I used the Star-Plucking Hand now, its might would be even greater, and I'd be able to use it many more times!"
"Now I have a God-Devil body comparable to the late Myriad Phenomena level, Qi Refining cultivation comparable to the late Myriad Phenomena level, and I've even comprehended the fourth form of the Red Snow Spear Technique..." Lei Zhan thought to himself. "My strength has undergone a qualitative transformation since just over an hour ago!"
"Lei Zhan." Yellow-Haired Great Bear smiled.
"Senior Big Bear." Lei Zhan turned to him.
"When your foundation improves, your overall strength naturally rises with it. Now that your God-Devil Body Refining has reached the Myriad Phenomena level, you have two more chances." Yellow-Haired Great Bear said, "Would you like to challenge the fifth level of the War God Hall?"
"The fifth level?" Lei Zhan stared at Yellow-Haired Great Bear's smiling face and shook his head. "Senior Big Bear, you're trying to trick me! With my current strength, I probably wouldn't have even a two-in-ten chance of passing the fifth level!"
The fifth level was meant for God-Devils at the Primordial Spirit level. If Lei Zhan cultivated the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Map to the twelfth stage, making him comparable to an ordinary early Primordial Spirit-level God-Devil, then with his understanding of the Dao, he'd have a guaranteed chance of passing. But right now...
"You're clever, at least!" Yellow-Haired Great Bear chuckled and shook his head. "Now that your God-Devil Body Refining has reached the Myriad Phenomena level, you could consider gathering Five Elements Essence to cultivate the Star-Plucking Hand to its second turn. That would make your God-Devil Body Refining techniques even stronger."
Lei Zhan nodded. He knew the potential of the Star-Plucking Hand, but Five Elements Essence wasn't easy to obtain.
Not everyone was as lucky as Ji Ning, who'd come across the tail feathers of a Peacock demon king at the Void Return level and had several million Essence Liquid to buy them.
"Five Elements Essence?" Immortal Juhua's expression shifted, and he filed the thought away.
"Lei Zhan, including the chance you just earned, you can now choose two Earth-rank magic treasures or other treasures from my collection," Yellow-Haired Great Bear said. "Would you like to choose them together now?"
"Now?" Lei Zhan nodded, his eyes glowing with excitement. The treasures in the Hall of Treasures were as numerous as the stars, and every one was a rare masterpiece, far beyond anything available in the outside world. Their value was worlds apart from that of ordinary treasures.
"Then let's choose the treasures first."
"Mm." Yellow-Haired Great Bear smiled. "Come, let's take our time choosing in the Hall of Treasures."
The Hall of Treasures looked as it always had. Powerful magic treasures and wondrous items still floated in the heights above.
The energy they radiated... Without the restrictions holding them back, simply coming into direct contact with some of those powerful treasures, such as Immortal-rank or Pure Yang items, would easily annihilate Lei Zhan.
Lei Zhan and Yellow-Haired Great Bear were both inside the Hall of Treasures.
"Lei Zhan, unless you have a great stroke of luck, your Qi Refining Path will probably progress more slowly than your cultivation at the Purple Mansion level. So you'll need to be even more careful when choosing treasures and magic treasures in the Hall of Treasures," Yellow-Haired Great Bear cautioned.
Lei Zhan nodded.
That was indeed true. The further cultivators advanced, the longer they lingered at each level. Since Lei Zhan was cultivating the Nine Directions Fragment, he would also need more Essence Liquid!
Though the levels of the Dao posed no problem for him, the amount of Essence Liquid they required was truly astronomical!
Seeing that Lei Zhan understood, Yellow-Haired Great Bear smiled and said, "You skipped the third level of the War God Hall, then your God-Devil Body Refining broke through to the Myriad Phenomena level... You certainly found a clever shortcut. This time, every Earth-rank treasure in the Hall of Treasures has been recorded in the catalog, not a single one left out."
At each level, there were at most three chances to exchange for treasures in the Hall of Treasures.
The first time you chose a magic treasure or wondrous item, the Treasure Catalog recorded only a portion of them.
When you chose a magic treasure or wondrous item for the second time, the Treasure Catalog recorded more than it had the first time.
By the third choice, the Treasure Catalog recorded every magic treasure and wondrous item of that level in the Hall of Treasures.
Lei Zhan paused, then smiled at Yellow-Haired Great Bear.
Yellow-Haired Great Bear shook his head. With a thought, a golden book appeared from nowhere in his paw. Two God-Devil characters, "Treasure," were written on it.
"Choose."