Only by Surviving Certain Death Could He Become a Da Dou Shi

Inside the palace, four elderly figures stood scattered about, their gazes all turning toward the same corner.

There, Su Tian sat cross-legged on the floor, his eyes tightly shut, paying no attention to Queen Medusa, the Great Elder, or the others watching him.

At that moment, the situation inside his body would not allow him even the slightest distraction.

Normally, the medicinal power of that third-tier Qi-Recovery Pill would not have been enough to trigger such an unexpected breakthrough.

However, this was Su Tian's first time taking a pill, as well as his first time circulating his cultivation method. Together, the two had drawn every trace of faint energy in the surrounding air into his body in one great rush.

The pure medicinal power within Su Tian's body had already been immense, and now this impure energy had mixed into it.

In no more than an instant, it had created this chaos inside him.

Su Tian held his breath and focused, his hands constantly changing seals as he struggled to stabilize the vast, violently fluctuating mass of chaotic energy outside his vortex.

His mind was fully occupied with controlling the vortex's rotation, keeping it from exceeding a certain limit and seriously damaging his body. Thus, he had to watch every change within himself with painstaking care.

He naturally did not dare relax in the slightest.

Time passed, second by second, and Su Tian gradually seemed to hold the violent fluctuations within the vortex in a state of balance.

Only then could he breathe a little easier.

As long as I compress all the liquid energy inside the vortex and that chaotic energy in my body into solid energy, I should be able to break through smoothly!

With a shift of thought, Su Tian instantly sorted out his approach.

That might let me resolve this crisis!

Although the situation within his body had improved, Su Tian still dared not let his attention wander. He took a deep breath and focused his entire mind on the vortex.

He was uncertain whether letting the chaotic energy enter the vortex without first refining and purifying it with Dou Qi would shatter the balance he had struggled so hard to maintain.

The thought of what would happen if that balance broke made him shudder involuntarily.

An experiment with such unthinkable consequences was naturally not a risk Su Tian dared take lightly.

To be safe, he continued circulating his cultivation method with his full attention, controlling his Dou Qi to slow the refinement of that chaotic energy.

Meanwhile, Su Tian took a deep breath and continued driving the vortex to spin faster, accelerating the condensation of his Dou Qi and furiously compressing it toward a solid form.

There was no doubt that a race against the clock was unfolding inside his body.

Su Tian had to compress all the liquid energy already overflowing from the vortex into a solid before the next wave of refined energy arrived. Only then could he prevent that vast, chaotic energy from bursting the vortex apart.

The furiously spinning vortex had now become a faintly discernible blur of red light.

As it spun at such high speed, Su Tian discovered that the liquid energy within it was mysteriously dwindling at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Yet although the energy within the vortex had diminished, his mind could clearly sense something containing tremendous energy gradually taking shape in its depths.

Almost there...

Sensing what was happening inside the vortex, Su Tian immediately perked up and could not help breathing a sigh of relief.

That dimly discernible substance rapidly taking shape eased his taut nerves a little, and he kept urging it on inwardly.

Faster, a little faster...

As though sensing Su Tian's urgency, the liquid energy in the vortex dwindled rapidly with the slow passage of time.

Watching this, Su Tian finally let out a long, inward sigh of relief. Everything seemed to be moving toward the smoothest possible outcome.

Whooo...

Low humming sounds continuously emerged from the vortex, while the liquid energy within it gradually approached exhaustion.

Suddenly, a thumb-sized red crystal, diamond-shaped, slowly floated into the very center of the vortex beneath Su Tian's inward gaze.

The red, diamond-shaped crystal then settled motionlessly in place, its light flickering as though revealing the fragile aura of something newly born.

Su Tian studied the red crystal standing like a pillar in the eye of a storm, his mind filled with curiosity.

The instant it formed, he could clearly feel a sense of ease radiating from what seemed to be the depths of his soul.

Now, Su Tian understood.

This strange crystal formed within the vortex was precisely the key to becoming a Da Dou Shi, and Da Dou Shi experts commonly called it:

A Dou Crystal!

In the eyes of many experts, only after a cultivator possessed a Dou Crystal within their body had they truly stepped into the great hall of Dou Qi cultivation.

Though unremarkable in appearance, it was the crystallization of all the Dou Qi within a person's body.

It contained an immense amount of energy that could leave anyone stunned and tongue-tied.

As he watched the newly formed, fiery-red diamond-shaped crystal, fascination filled Su Tian's mind. Before he could withdraw his inward gaze, however, a faint cracking sound made his heart leap.

His awareness swept swiftly through his body, and his expression changed drastically.

At the very moment the Dou Crystal formed, the remaining unrefined chaotic energy outside the vortex inexplicably abandoned all resistance, allowing his powerful Dou Qi to refine it completely.

This sudden development caught Su Tian off guard. Even withdrawing all his Dou Qi into the Dou Crystal now would do no good.

Boom, boom, boom!

The pure energy refined by his Dou Qi roared toward the vortex like a ferocious beast.

Su Tian's face instantly turned pale. That surging energy was like floodwater bursting through a dam, utterly ignoring his mind's attempts to block it.

Terror rose in his heart. If he simply let that energy rush into the vortex, the fragile, newly born Dou Crystal would likely be obliterated in an instant.

If the Dou Crystal shattered, not only would Su Tian fail to advance to the Da Dou Shi realm, but his strength would also plummet from the loss of energy.

Naturally, Su Tian could not accept that.

He was inside the Snake-People Tribe's stronghold. If he lost the strength to protect himself, his fate would hardly be any better than his present predicament.

Damn it, nobody told me taking a pill could be this dangerous!

At that moment, Su Tian ranted furiously inwardly.

He had never imagined that his first time taking a pill would turn into such a heart-stopping ordeal.

What Su Tian did not know was that he had only recently become a Nine-Star Dou Shi, and his foundation was not yet stable enough. The energy surge triggered by the pill had forced him into another hasty breakthrough to quell this crisis.

Naturally, that greatly increased the potential risks.

This was one of the drawbacks of taking pills. Had he relied on his own strength, stabilized his foundation, and gradually worked toward the Da Dou Shi realm, such danger would never have arisen.

Relying on external things was ultimately not the proper path.

However, Su Tian had no time to consider such matters now.

Taking a deep breath, he roared inwardly and threw everything he had into controlling his Dou Qi to block that energy.

Unfortunately, the force of that energy was simply too immense, like power unleashed after long accumulation. Moreover, having already been refined, it now bore Su Tian's own mark.

Thus, the Dou Qi he commanded to intercept it had already lost its intended effect.

Every method he tried proved useless, leaving Su Tian terrified. Watching that immense energy draw ever closer to the Dou Crystal, he seemed able only to wait helplessly for death.

Damn it! I've only just arrived here. I haven't even had a proper look at this different world, carved out a place for myself, or accomplished my goals. Am I going to destroy myself first...?

In his daze, scenes from Su Tian's previous life flashed through his mind.

He had just finished the grueling college entrance exams, his heart filled with longing and hope. Yet before he could race toward that exciting future, a sudden, terrifying thunderstorm had ended his plain, ordinary life.

Did he have regrets?

Perhaps he did.

He had suddenly arrived in an unfamiliar world, with no family or friends beside him. It seemed that loneliness was his only companion in the entire world.

Su Tian considered himself nothing more than an ordinary person. He had no one to rely on and no power to borrow.

In this unfamiliar world, it seemed that the only person he could depend on was himself.

At first, Su Tian had thought of running away, too, but everything before him seemed to force him to accept this reality.

Since he could not escape, Su Tian could only hide the fear and unease in his heart behind optimism.

Now, destruction seemed to be descending upon him again. Was the same tragedy about to play out once more?

Su Tian fell silent, a bitter curve involuntarily lifting the corners of his mouth, while a voice seemed to stir quietly within his heart.

No, absolutely not...

After that low murmur, a fierce roar like that of a cornered beast suddenly burst from Su Tian's throat. As though obeying instinct, his ferocious soul power erupted...

"This time, my life will be in my own hands! No one can interfere!"

Boom!!!

The instant his soul power erupted, fiery-red Dou Qi surged out of the vortex like a violently erupting volcano.

"All of you, get out!"

In the blink of an eye, the volcanic surge of fiery-red Dou Qi slammed into the swelling energy about to rush toward the Dou Crystal. Its ferocious force knocked the energy from the vortex's edge into his meridians, then forcibly expelled it from his body through several channels that had been opened earlier.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Booms rang out repeatedly through the silent palace. Su Tian's body suddenly shuddered, and more than a dozen pillars of energy shot out of him.

An intense, dazzling radiance instantly enveloped the entire palace.

With the surging energy threatening it expelled from his body, the Dou Crystal spinning furiously within Su Tian's vortex blazed with light, its fiery-red radiance resembling a fiercely burning sun.

"Whew..."

Su Tian's eyes suddenly snapped open, and a fiery-red gleam streamed from them.

Then Su Tian slammed both hands against the floor and sprang lightly into the air. With a tap of his feet, he landed steadily on the ground, his sweeping gaze several degrees sharper than before.

"So this is what being a Da Dou Shi feels like..."

Su Tian let out a long breath that had been trapped in his chest, murmuring softly as he felt the unprecedented surge within his body.

The next moment, as though he had survived a great calamity, Su Tian could not help laughing aloud. His laughter carried the lightness of a tremendous burden lifted, and wild delight spread across his face.

Just as Su Tian continued laughing, a grating, strange chuckle sounded at a most inappropriate moment.

"Heh heh, have you finally finished breaking through?"

Only then did Su Tian abruptly remember that he was still inside Queen Medusa's palace.

Not far away, the Great Elder watched him meaningfully, a strange glint seemingly lurking in her eyes. The smile at the corner of her mouth made her look like a devil, sending chills crawling over Su Tian's entire body.

Then Su Tian's laughter, which had echoed through the palace, abruptly stopped.

A slightly awkward expression immediately appeared on Su Tian's face, and he waved at the Great Elder with an obedient look.

"Uh... Great Elder, it's... been a while..."