Mysterious Art Transformations

Chapter 32: Mysterious Art Transformations

Taking advantage of the influence of the God-Devil aura, He Yu brought his full strength to bear and slashed at the Heavenly Dipper Giant Beast. His Loose Immortal early-stage cultivation let him unleash the Primordial Sword's full power. It was a sword born in harmony with him, and as the Primordial Avatar's cultivation continued to rise, the Primordial Sword's grade would climb with it. In the end, it might not be inferior to those Innate Spiritual Treasures. After all, it was the sword of an era's very body! He Yu couldn't begin to guess just how far it might go.

Trapped by the sword force, the giant beast struggled but could not break free. Now it faced He Yu's heaven-shaking strike. Sensing its might, it was horrified!

With nowhere to run, the beast had no choice but to face the blow. Its three tails rose to meet it, while the spikes covering its body stretched out to form four layers of armor. Even with a defense as solid as a fortress, the giant beast still didn't feel secure. Its enormous eyes shot out two beams of black light, which formed a dark shield. Three tails, four layers of armor, the black shield, and its own natural defense: nine layers in all!

Seeing the giant beast's actions, He Yu felt uneasy too. It was, after all, a mid-stage Loose Immortal. Against those nine layers of defense, he had little confidence that one strike would break through. And once this strike had run its course, the binding sword force would vanish. By then, the giant beast would likely have recovered, and killing it would be all but impossible.

A fierce glint flashed in his eyes, and he made a decision. He wasn't sure whether it would work, but it was worth the gamble.

Rumble! Crack! Crack! Crack!...

Like a mountain-splitting blow, the sword swept down with unstoppable force. Before the Primordial Sword's keen edge, the three tails were severed in an instant. The four layers of armor, true to their name, were made from countless spikes and possessed an exceptionally strong defense. After cleaving through the first layer, the Primordial Sword ground to a halt. It still held the advantage, and cracks spread across the second layer, leaving it on the verge of collapse. But reaching the giant beast remained incredibly difficult: three more layers of armor, the black shield, and the beast's own defenses still stood in the way.

Looking at the situation, He Yu sighed inwardly. It seemed he couldn't avoid doing that after all!

The Primordial Sword was blocked, and there was no hope of breaking through in a short time. Meanwhile, the black aura on the giant beast's face had already gathered around its eyes. Its recovery was imminent, and the sword force couldn't hold for much longer. The hard-won advantage was about to disappear. He Yu steeled himself. There was no other choice.

Whoosh! Bang! Bang! Clang!

The Primordial Sword's physical form tore from his grasp and shot toward the giant beast, piercing through the second and third layers of armor before grinding to a halt against the fourth.

"Primordial Sword—explode for me!"

Was he going to blow up the Primordial Sword?

He Yu's resolve was truly ruthless. The Primordial Sword had been nourished by the Primordial Earthly Fiend Source and was now linked to it in perfect harmony. Blowing it up could damage the Primordial Avatar's source, an enormous price to pay. Reforging the Primordial Sword and restoring the Primordial Avatar afterward would be no simple matter.

He had no choice. The Source of Heavenly Dipper was crucial to him, its importance beyond measure. The small plane, the Heavenly Dipper Profound Art, and the Great Beast Calamity—all of them were essential! Otherwise, faced with the Power of Heaven and Earth at late-stage Loose Immortal strength, He Yu would have no choice but to abandon his Primordial Avatar if he didn't want to be reduced to ashes.

Rumble, rumble!

The Primordial Sword exploded in an instant, transforming into a terrifying, thousand-zhang golden sword that blotted out heaven and earth as it crashed down. Under this irresistible blow, the fourth layer of armor was as thin as paper. The God-Devil shield shattered with a single strike and could not hinder the golden sword in the slightest.

Roar!

The giant beast had recovered, and the binding sword force had vanished. Yet beneath the enormous golden sword, it was locked in place and could not evade at all. Even merging into the void was useless. It could only face this earth-shattering, god-weeping strike in despair. This might well have been the greatest sword strike of the entire era.

"Ugh!" The sword's destruction immediately damaged the Primordial Avatar's source as well. He Yu felt a stab of pain in his heart, so intense he nearly vomited blood. Black-and-gold qi billowed from his body, and his cultivation plummeted.

Loose Immortal early stage—Hexu late stage!

His cultivation had fallen by an entire major realm. The price was enormous, but the result was just as striking.

Rumble!!!

The giant beast swung its enormous claws and spat out a massive torrent of Heavenly Stellar Qi, surging against the blow like a raging flood. But it was all in vain. The power unleashed by the Primordial Sword's explosion was so great that even an Earth Immortal couldn't afford to take it lightly. How could the beast possibly withstand it?

The giant golden sword pierced straight through the Heavenly Dipper Giant Beast without the slightest hindrance, then dissolved into a vast cloud of golden qi. The beast froze for a moment before bursting apart with a crash.

A vast expanse of golden Heavenly Stellar Qi formed a hundred-li-wide cloud, within which lay a several-inch golden crystal and two several-inch black crystals.

The Source of Heavenly Dipper and the God-Devil Crystals!

The moment he saw the golden and black crystals, He Yu knew what they were. He had expected this; he had already considered it when he blew up the Primordial Sword.

The God-Devil Crystals radiated beams of black light. The Source of Heavenly Dipper lay within them, as though responding to some kind of call. It began slowly gathering the golden-clouded Heavenly Stellar Qi, clearly trying to bring the Heavenly Dipper Giant Beast back to life. Like the Primordial Avatar, the Heavenly Dipper Giant Beast would be an undying, indestructible existence as long as its source remained intact.

"Trying to come back to life? Dream on!" He Yu had paid such a steep price. How could he let the Heavenly Dipper Giant Beast revive? He didn't have a second Primordial Sword!

Whoosh!

He curled his finger into a claw and unleashed the Dragon-Capturing Claw. A gigantic golden-black claw appeared and shot toward the Source of Heavenly Dipper. In an instant, it ripped through the golden cloud of Heavenly Stellar Qi, seized the golden crystal, and brought it back.

With the Source of Heavenly Dipper in hand, He Yu finally breathed a sigh of relief. His anxious heart settled at last. He channeled his power, and the enormous hundred-li cloud of Heavenly Stellar Qi rushed toward the golden crystal like water sucked into a giant whale. A few breaths later, the crystal had absorbed every last bit of it.

With the Source of Heavenly Dipper gone, the two God-Devil Crystals spun round and round, seeming at a loss.

Facing the two God-Devil Crystals, He Yu couldn't help feeling troubled. He didn't know what to do with them. Neither the Primordial Avatar nor the River Crab's demon body could absorb or make use of them, but he couldn't leave them alone either. It would be disastrous if another giant beast appeared.

At a loss, He Yu suddenly froze. He saw the cloud of golden qi left behind by the Primordial Sword's explosion, and the corners of his mouth lifted. An idea struck him. He had taken such a terrible loss this time—how could he not make up for it? Even if he reforged and nourished the Primordial Sword, it would be no better than before. But if he added the two God-Devil Crystals, everything would be different. Its power would surely soar.

"Heh, heh, heh!" He Yu gave a cold laugh and waved his hand. The golden qi of the Primordial engulfed the two God-Devil Crystals. With the Primordial Origin gone, the crystals could no longer use the golden qi of the Primordial to form a giant beast.

The golden qi of the Primordial had been born from the Primordial Origin. He Yu controlled it as easily as his own arm. Under his direction, it slowly took the shape of a sword, and at the same time, the God-Devil Crystals fused into it...!

Time flowed by like water. This time, gathering the Primordial Sword proved a hundred times harder than before. Fusing the two God-Devil Crystals was incredibly difficult. He Yu didn't grow impatient. Though he was short on time, rushing wouldn't make things go any faster; it would only hinder his progress.

Bang!

Fierce sword qi shot in every direction, accompanied by countless explosive booms that seemed to merge into a single roar. Blades of wind whirled across a hundred-meter radius, and Heavenly Dipper God-Devil Qi filled the air. At its center, a three-foot-three-inch golden-black divine blade hung proudly in midair. It seemed like the foremost sword since time immemorial, its edge exposed and its might soaring to the heavens.

After fusing the two God-Devil Crystals, the brand-new Primordial Sword was complete!

The Primordial Sword was now in a league of its own compared to before. The God-Devil Crystals' effect had far exceeded He Yu's expectations. Its grade had at least doubled, and its power had increased more than tenfold.

"With this sword alone, my chances of withstanding the Power of Heaven and Earth when the time comes have risen by three-tenths!" He Yu thought. What pleased him even more was that nourishing it with the Primordial Earthly Fiend Source would raise its power further still.

With the golden crystal of Heavenly Dipper in hand, He Yu immediately swallowed it and fused it into himself, lest complications arise. He was confident in his own strength, but after facing the Heavenly Dipper Giant Beast, he had grown more wary. The Primordial World was vast beyond measure and concealed countless terrifying beings. Perhaps many of them possessed Loose Immortal cultivation.

The moment the golden crystal of Heavenly Dipper fused into him, a transformation began. Inside the Primordial Origin, the Sources of Heavenly Dipper and Earthly Fiend intertwined and rotated, slowly forming a golden-black taiji. Once the Heavenly Dipper-Earthly Fiend taiji had taken shape, a vast torrent of information flooded He Yu's consciousness. It was so immense that he needed a long time to digest it before he could roughly understand it.

"Heavenly Dipper and Earthly Fiend Profound Art?" The information in his consciousness left He Yu dumbfounded. It was the Heavenly Dipper and Earthly Fiend Profound Art: thirty-six Heavenly Dipper transformations and seventy-two Earthly Fiend transformations, encompassing countless Daoist arts and divine abilities. It was far more than just a set of transformations.

The Heavenly Dipper and Earthly Fiend Profound Art was profound and immeasurably vast. He Yu couldn't grasp even a fraction of it at his current level. But now that he had obtained the method of cultivation, he would naturally be able to comprehend it bit by bit in the future.

The art of transformation he had always wondered about surfaced in his mind. The Thirty-Six Transformations of Heavenly Dipper: Creation Manipulation, Reversing Yin and Yang, Moving the Stars and Swapping the Dipper, Turning Back the Heavens and Returning the Sun, Calling the Wind and Summoning the Rain, Shaking Mountains and Rending the Earth, Riding Clouds and Driving Mist, Turning Rivers into Land, Soaring Golden Light, Churning Rivers and Seas, Turning Earth to Steel, Five Elements Great Escape, Six Jia Mysteries, Foreseeing the Future, Whipping Mountains and Moving Stones, Bringing the Dead Back to Life, Taking Flight and Leaving One's Trace, Nine Breaths to Absorb Qi, Drawing Forth Primordial Yang, Subduing Dragons and Taming Tigers, Mending the Heavens and Bathing the Sun, Pushing Mountains and Filling Seas, Turning Stone into Gold, Standing Upright Without a Shadow, Embryonic Transformation, Size at Will, Flowers Blooming in an Instant, Roaming the Spirit and Commanding Qi, Seeing Through Walls, Turning Wind Back into Fire, Commanding the Five Thunders, Diving into Abysses and Shrinking the Earth, Flying Sand and Hurling Stones, Carrying Mountains Across the Sea, Sprinkling Beans to Make Soldiers, and Nail-Head Seven Arrows.

The Seventy-Two Transformations of Earthly Fiend: Divine Communion, Driving Spirits, Shouldering Mountains, Barring Water, Borrowing Wind, Spreading Mist, Praying for Clear Skies, Praying for Rain, Sitting in Fire, Entering Water, Blotting Out the Sun, Riding the Wind, Boiling Stones, Spitting Flames, Swallowing Knives, Pot-Heaven, Divine Travel, Treading Water, Staff Escape, Cloning, Invisibility, Restoring the Head, Immobilizing the Body, Slaying Demons, Inviting Immortals, Pursuing Souls, Seizing Souls, Summoning Clouds, Plucking the Moon, Transportation, Dream Marriage, Disintegration, Staff Substitution, Stopping Currents, Averting Calamities, Dispelling Misfortune, Pointing and Transforming, Corpse Liberation, Moving Shadows, Summoning and Welcoming, Tracing Clouds, Gathering Beasts, Tuning Birds, Qi Restriction, Great Strength, Passing Through Stone, Generating Light, Obstructing Garments, Guidance, Feeding, Opening Paths, Leaping Over Rocks, Budding Thoughts, Ascending and Copying, Drinking Water, Lying in Snow, Braving the Sun, Playing with Balls, Talisman Water, Medicine, Knowing the Time, Recognizing the Land, Fasting, and Nightmare Prayers.

From the information, He Yu learned that there was no way for him to fully cultivate the Heavenly Dipper and Earthly Fiend Profound Art at this point. To master it completely, he would need to model all things in the heavens and on earth. The Golden Crow, Kunpeng, Ancestral Dragon, Ancestral Phoenix, and the rest had yet to appear, so full mastery was impossible. Still, he could cultivate a small part of it.

"Heh, when you think about it, I came out way ahead. Even if those mighty beings of the Primordial World cultivated the Heavenly Dipper and Earthly Fiend Profound Art, at most they could begin from the Era of Ferocious Beasts. The beginning of the Primordial World and the Era of Giant Beasts came before that, leaving a blank. Their art would naturally be incomplete, while I've obtained the complete Heavenly Dipper and Earthly Fiend Profound Art." He Yu thought excitedly. This was a huge advantage, and it would surely prove extraordinary in the future.

Though this time had been full of twists and turns, He Yu's Primordial Origin had been damaged, and the Primordial Sword would need considerable time to be nourished and fully melded with him. Compared to what he had gained, though, those losses were insignificant. The damage could be repaired, but if he missed out on these gains, they would be gone forever!

"Now that everything is settled, I can cultivate in peace and, while I'm at it, scour the Primordial World. That should help fill up my Inner Plane Space." He Yu pondered. He also had another idea, but whether there would be enough time remained to be seen. He didn't know how long recovering from his injuries and cultivating the Primordial Avatar would take. That idea would bring great benefits, but he could act on it anytime; there was no need to rush. For now, his priority was to face the Calamity of Giant Beasts and Gods-Devils and the Power of Heaven and Earth.