Ch. 21A Thousand Years Pass, the Metal Element Formation
Chapter Summary: “A Thousand Years Pass, the Metal Element Formation”
Key Plot Points and Events
- Chen Yang discusses his ambition to use acupoint diagrams based on various divine beasts to evolve their forms and unleash their innate abilities. The main obstacle is finding an energy source capable of replacing every type of divine beast blood essence.
- Duobao suggests three possible substitutes:
- Chaos energy, though Chen Yang is currently too weak to control it.
- Chaos Demon God blood essence.
- Highly purified Human Clan blood essence containing many different racial bloodlines.
- Duobao reprimands Chen Yang for neglecting cultivation while studying scriptures and divine abilities. He orders Chen Yang to temper his body and advance toward the Great Luo Realm before leaving Golden Ao Island.
- Chen Yang resumes cultivation at Three Xiao Peak with Yunxiao. Their Five Elements and yin-yang circulation greatly benefit both of them.
- Over the next thousand years, Chen Yang advances from the fifth level to the eighth level of the fifth turn of the Nine-Turn Profound Art. He achieves this with Yunxiao’s help, large quantities of Nine-Nine Return-to-One Pills, the Nine-Nine Return-to-One Alchemy Formation, and the Fire Element Formation’s Great Sun True Fire.
- Tongtian introduces challenge and promotion rules within the Jie Sect. Outer disciples may challenge core disciples, core disciples may challenge personal disciples, and so on, allowing successful challengers to gain higher status.
- Later, Tongtian creates a special secret realm tournament for the outer disciples. The thirty-three survivors will become the remaining core disciples, intensifying competition throughout the sect.
- After several thousand more years, Yunxiao reaches the Primordial Unity Golden Immortal realm, cultivates the Nine-Turn Profound Art to the fourth turn, and develops numerous divine abilities. Qiongxiao and Bixiao, however, struggle to defend their core disciple positions against stronger challengers.
- Chen Yang reaches the peak of the ninth level of the fifth turn of the Nine-Turn Profound Art and successfully inscribes the Metal Element Formation in his lungs. His Middle Dantian world becomes more complete as the fire, earth, and metal elements are established.
Character Developments
- Chen Yang: Becomes more disciplined in cultivation after Duobao’s warning. His knowledge, creativity, and mastery of formations continue to grow, while his physical body advances dramatically. He now possesses the Fire, Earth, and Metal Element Formations and moves closer to the Great Luo Realm.
- Duobao: Acts as both mentor and disciplinarian, providing sophisticated ideas about Chen Yang’s battle formation while forcing him to prioritize cultivation.
- Yunxiao: Deepens her cultivation through long-term cooperation with Chen Yang. She advances to the Primordial Unity Golden Immortal realm and becomes significantly stronger through the Nine-Turn Profound Art and additional combat techniques.
- Qiongxiao and Bixiao: Become anxious as the new sect rules expose their core disciple positions to challenge. Unlike Yunxiao, they struggle to compete with the strongest outer disciples.
- Tongtian: Demonstrates decisive leadership by implementing Chen Yang’s proposed competitive promotion system, reshaping the internal structure of the Jie Sect.
Significant Themes
- Cultivation through cooperation: Chen Yang and Yunxiao’s mutual assistance allows both to progress more quickly than they could alone.
- Knowledge versus practical advancement: Chen Yang’s vast study and creative potential are valuable, but Duobao emphasizes that theoretical understanding cannot replace physical cultivation.
- Competition and unity: The Jie Sect’s challenge system promises stronger disciples and greater motivation, but it threatens the sect’s former sense of familial unity.
- Transformation and synthesis: Chen Yang’s search for a universal substitute for divine beast blood essence reflects the broader theme of combining different powers into a unified system.
- Patience and accumulation: Both Chen Yang and Yunxiao must rely on long-term cultivation, medicinal refinement, and accumulated knowledge rather than sudden breakthroughs.
Character Interactions
- Chen Yang and Duobao: Duobao evaluates Chen Yang’s ambitious plans, offers possible solutions, and reprimands him for neglecting cultivation. Chen Yang accepts Duobao’s authority despite his eagerness to visit the Human Clan.
- Chen Yang and Yunxiao: They cultivate together for thousands of years. Yunxiao assists with refining Chen Yang’s pills and tempering his body, while Chen Yang’s high-quality Five Elements energy helps improve her cultivation.
- Chen Yang, Yunxiao, and the Three Xiao: Bixiao and Qiongxiao inform them of Tongtian’s new challenge rules, revealing the danger facing their core disciple positions.
- Chen Yang and the Jie Sect: Although he did not expect his proposed promotion system to be adopted so quickly, Chen Yang observes its major effects as sect members become increasingly competitive.
- Chen Yang and Duobao during the Metal Formation: Duobao watches approvingly as Chen Yang completes the Metal Element Formation and notes that the remaining Wood and Water formations should be easier to establish.