Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
It was the moment when the morning sun first rose and dawn replaced night.
The sky gradually brightened as a red sun leaped over the horizon.
The instant the morning sun rose, Morning Sun Purple Qi shone across the earth.
Zhou Yi had long since sat cross-legged atop Black Mountain's highest peak, breathing in Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy and refining strands of Purple Mist within his body.
Every inch of muscle, bone, and meridian grew tougher under the tempering of the Morning Sun Purple Qi. A faint purplish haze flashed across the surface of his skin before vanishing.
The mountain wind howled, but Zhou Yi remained as steady as a boulder. Only after the Purple Mist faded and nothing remained in the Great Sun but the fire of the sun did he slowly finish his cultivation.
"Legend says that Morning Sun Purple Qi is merely a peculiar spiritual energy unintentionally released by the Great Sun True Fire at the transition between night and day. Unfortunately, my cultivation is too shallow. I don't dare directly connect to the Great Sun True Fire."
At the foot of Black Mountain, crowds of people surged about.
Travelers carried loads over their shoulders or in their hands, while several people pushed carts together.
Jar after jar of Fierce Fire Oil was transported up the mountain. Whenever a patch of exposed rock remained, they smashed an oil jar against it with a bang.
After several days, tens of thousands of jars of Fierce Fire Oil had dyed Black Mountain truly black, and an unpleasant stench lingered in the air.
"It's time to settle this..."
With a thought, Zhou Yi opened his status panel.
Name: Zhou Yi (Other Self) Race: Human Cultivation: Qi Induction into Body Lifespan: 20/150 Origin: 1125 (+2 points/day) Talent: Great Luo; Aptitude: Earth (1) Cultivation Techniques: Primordial Chaos Technique (Mastery); Golden Toad Technique (Mastery); Python Ape Body Refining Technique (Mastery) Spells: Sword Control Technique (Mastery); Purple Sun Sword Qi Scripture (Mastery); Xiahou Sword Scripture (Mastery); Wind Breaking Saber Technique (Mastery); Mountain Splitting Saber (Mastery); Great Tablet Breaking Hand (Mastery); Falling Flower Palm (Mastery); Heart Shattering Palm (Mastery); Gold Pointing Finger Technique (Mastery); Golden Bell Shield (Mastery); Iron Head Skill (Mastery); Bone Shifting Disguise Technique (Mastery); Turtle Breathing Technique (Mastery); Great Strength Eagle Claw Technique (Mastery); Bell Striking Technique (Mastery); Carefree Steps (Mastery); Eight Steps to Catch Cicadas (Mastery)... Divine Abilities: None Equipment: Purple Lightning Sword
His cultivation had improved greatly, advancing from nothing to Qi Induction into Body. In the eyes of ordinary people, he could already be considered an immortal.
As for cultivation techniques, aside from the Primordial Chaos Technique, he had begun cultivating the Golden Toad Technique two years ago. The Primordial Chaos Technique externally refined the tendons, bones, and skin, while the Golden Toad Technique internally refined the five viscera and six bowels. Both were Daoist inheritances.
The Ape Python Body Refining Technique was the martial art cultivated by his senior brother, Yan Chixia. Yan Chixia had accidentally found it behind a statue in a ruined temple during his childhood.
This technique refined both inside and out: the ape form tempered the body, while the python form refined the organs. Even in the martial world, it counted as a supreme technique.
"Senior Brother is definitely this world's Child of Destiny..."
Zhou Yi did not believe that one lucky encounter was strange, but someone like Yan Chixia, who had encountered opportunities throughout his life from childhood to adulthood, was absolutely abnormal.
Other than the Sword Control Technique and Purple Sun Sword Qi Scripture, the spells section contained thirty-six unranked mortal martial arts.
Sword arts, saber arts, finger arts, palm arts, fist arts, body-tempering arts, leg-tempering arts, lightness arts, and movement arts—these thirty-six techniques made every part of Zhou Yi's body a lethal weapon.
"Merge the thirty-six techniques and name them the Martial Canon."
At Zhou Yi's command, the Martial Canon appeared in the spells section.
Spells: Martial Canon (Mastery) Description: An extraordinary figure of a generation, Zhou Yi, created this by combining thirty-six martial arts. Discarding their dross and taking their essence, each ordinary martial art has undergone a mysterious transformation.
"It still hasn't reached a rank. If I could gather the top sects of the martial world and compile a Martial Canon, perhaps it could become a ranked spell."
Zhou Yi was merely entertaining the thought. At his current realm, a casual saber slash or sword strike from him was already far more powerful than the finest sword and saber arts.
Yan Chixia's Ape Python Body Refining Technique was a top-tier technique, yet it provided only negligible improvement to Zhou Yi's body.
Breath Absorption was the true path of cultivation!
Chen Kuan, who had been watching from afar, saw Zhou Yi finish cultivating and hurried over.
"Lord Sword Saint, the entire Black Mountain has been covered in Fierce Fire Oil. Following your instructions, another ten thousand jars have been buried on the mountain."
As Chen Kuan spoke, he was exceedingly cautious, his face filled with reverence.
Though the Guo Bei Sword Saint's reputation had once been immense, he had still been a mortal. Now, he had become an immortal.
Zhou Yi nodded. "Have everyone leave Black Mountain. Make sure not a single person remains!"
Chen Kuan accepted the order. After taking a few steps back, he gathered his courage and said, "Fairy Chen asked me to ask when you would..."
"Once this matter is resolved, I will enter secluded cultivation for a time."
Zhou Yi vanished as soon as he finished speaking.
Chen Kuan sighed, then immediately descended the mountain to summon his subordinates and leave Black Mountain at once.
Zhou Yi returned to Lanruo Temple.
"Senior Brother, everything has been prepared. We act tonight. Are the Spirit Fire Talismans ready?"
A delighted expression appeared on Yan Chixia's face. With a wave of his hand, a stack of Talismans fell into Zhou Yi's grasp.
"Everything will proceed as Junior Brother said. Your senior brother is not skilled in strategy, so I'll simply contribute my strength."
"You are too modest, Senior Brother. What I do is merely a minor path, creating a little advantageous terrain. Only cultivation and spells can truly determine victory or defeat. Strategy is merely a minor path."
A day passed in the blink of an eye.
The sky gradually darkened.
"Senior Brother, you take the east and I'll take the west. We'll burn the mountain and force out the tree demon."
"Good! Junior Brother, be careful on your own. The tree demon has lived for a thousand years, and her strength is unfathomable."
The two rose on their swords and flew east and west, each holding Spirit Fire Talismans.
Zhou Yi activated the talisman with True Essence. The Spirit Fire Talisman transformed into a ball of spiritual flame and fell onto the mountain.
The entire Black Mountain was covered in Fierce Fire Oil, and the flames conjured by the Spirit Fire Talisman were far from ordinary. In an instant, a raging blaze erupted.
The mountain fire spread endlessly, with nowhere left unburned.
From Guo Bei County, the clouds above Black Mountain had been scorched crimson. The night seemed like daylight.
The county magistrate looked toward Black Mountain from the county office and felt that something major was about to happen.
However, it was absolutely impossible for the county magistrate to put out the fire. Not only was the towering blaze dangerous, but he was also unwilling to spend the silver required for firefighting.
"Let it burn. They're all bandits anyway. If they burn to death in one fire, it can count as suppressing bandits."
This world had no concept of environmental protection. Human settlements were much smaller than forests and wildernesses, and the Great Jing Court constantly encouraged burning mountains to reclaim farmland, though with little success.
Zhou Yi was setting fires everywhere when a tree root suddenly shot up from underground and lashed toward him.
"Ha ha! After hiding for so long, you finally couldn't hold back!"
With a thought, Zhou Yi turned his True Essence into an inch-long flying sword and easily severed the root.
The ground was now covered in raging flames, leaving Zhou Yi nowhere to land. The tree demon's roots suffered even more. The moment they emerged, they were burned by the Fierce Fire Oil. Not only was their power reduced by more than half, but the burning of her body tormented the tree demon until she wailed in agony.
Black Mountain had originally been thick with yin energy, with ghosts roaming everywhere. Once the vast flames rose, the Chimeras and Ghouls hiding in the darkness screamed without end.
Flames naturally restrained ghosts, let alone when the Fierce Fire Oil was nearly burning straight through Black Mountain.
"Ke ke ke—seeking death—seeking death!"
Amid that eerie voice, where yin and yang intertwined, a towering tree dozens of zhang high burst from the ground. Its enormous canopy seemed to blot out the sky.
"I'll kill you first, then destroy that stinking Daoist Yan Chixia! Great Myriad Ghosts Technique!"
Before the tree demon had even finished speaking, countless fierce souls and malicious ghosts surged forth like an underworld river.
Tree Demon Granny's true body was a thousand-year-old locust tree. This tree could naturally gather yin energy and was also known as a ghost tree. After becoming a demon, she naturally gained the ability to command souls and control ghosts.
Over a thousand years, everyone she had killed had their souls extracted and spirits seized, refined into the Great Myriad Ghosts Technique.
Even Yan Chixia would have to avoid the edge of the assault of tens of thousands of fierce souls and malicious ghosts.
"This Daoist is leaving!"
With a thought, Zhou Yi vanished beyond the horizon in an instant.
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