Minor Accomplishment of the Origin Core Realm

Yun Yun quietly circulated her Dou Qi, her jade-like hand drawing her longsword as she prepared to save Jia Lie Jun. Then an aged voice rang out from the void.

"Who dares be so bold as to bully the disciple of I, Venerable Yan? If my true body were not elsewhere, I would certainly demand justice for my disciple." The moment the words fell, a flash of white light streaked past, and Jia Lie Jun's figure slowly vanished into it. The Dou Qi palm strike hit nothing but air.

"Old Gu, that kid's background isn't simple. His master can actually cross space to save him. Who knows what kind of expert he is? He won't come looking for revenge on us later, will he?" Yan Shi looked worriedly at the spot where Jia Lie Jun had disappeared. He could faintly sense some spatial fluctuations.

Gu He gave a cold snort, then flew off into the distance without saying another word. But the worry buried deep in his eyes betrayed his mood. On this trip to the Tagor Desert, not only had he failed to obtain the Heavenly Flames, but they had been snatched out from under him by a brat with the cultivation of a Dou Shi. On top of that, he had offended an expert who was at least above the Dou Zong level. He had truly gone for wool and come home shorn. Yun Yun stared deeply at the place where Jia Lie Jun had vanished, her face full of reluctance, and sighed, "After parting today, who knows when we will meet again?" Then she beat her Dou Qi wings, her figure streaking swiftly away and vanishing into the horizon.

Yan Shi and the others, however, all looked weighed down with worry. Although they had not attacked Jia Lie Jun, they were still in the same group as Gu He. Yan Shi sighed, deeply vexed, and said, "We can only pray that kid doesn't hold a grudge against us. Otherwise, I'm afraid we..." The others nodded in strong agreement.

Tian Xuan Continent, Great Yan Dynasty.

In the lush, verdant forest, Jia Lie Jun lay on the grass, gasping for breath in great mouthfuls. After his contest with Gu He, his Spiritual Power had nearly been exhausted. If not for the Imperial Fire Scripture's extremely strong control over flames, defeating Gu He would have been nothing but a fantasy. Thinking back on the earlier scene, it had truly been perilous. That voice had been produced using Ventriloquism. This way, not only could he confuse Gu He and the others and make them believe Jia Lie Jun had an immensely powerful master behind him, he could also conceal his own secret very well.

After resting for a while, Jia Lie Jun took out a pill, swallowed it, and sat down to cultivate. By the time Jia Lie Jun had fully recovered, a round moon had long since climbed into the sky. Its bright, pure moonlight poured over the forest, as though draping it in a layer of white gauze.

"It's already this late. Who knows if there are demonic beasts in this forest? To be safe, I should find a cave to spend the night in first." Jia Lie Jun looked at the pitch-black night. With a thought, streams of Spiritual Power surged out of his Mud Pill Palace and spread in all directions through the forest. Then he rushed toward the depths of the woods. The journey was fairly peaceful. He only encountered a few low-ranked demonic beasts, but they did not dare approach Jia Lie Jun. At first he was somewhat puzzled, but when he saw those demonic beasts staring at the Seven-Colored Sky Swallowing Python in terror, he understood.

Inside the cave, the burning bonfire cast Jia Lie Jun's face in a red glow. Taking out the Green Lotus Core Flame, Jia Lie Jun fixed his gaze on it for a while. The cyan flame burned slowly, sparks bursting out from time to time. Jia Lie Jun took a deep breath, slowly closed his eyes, circulated the Imperial Fire Scripture, and formed several strange seals with his hands.

Once the seals were complete, a powerful wave of air instantly swept out in all directions. Then the cyan flame actually seeped slowly into his body through the pores of his skin. With a boom, the firelight flared brightly, wrapping Jia Lie Jun within it. Jia Lie Jun's brows were tightly furrowed, his teeth biting hard into his lips. Threads of blood seeped from them, veins bulged on his forehead, and sweat slowly slid down his face, only to be evaporated after traveling a short distance.

Jia Lie Jun endured the pain and carefully controlled the flame as it circulated through his meridians. The flame washed away the impurities within them, and some black impurities seeped out through the surface of his body. After completing one circulation, Jia Lie Jun swiftly formed several seals. The flames around his body were instantly compressed back into him. Jia Lie Jun gave a muffled groan and spat out a mouthful of black blood, his face alternating between green and yellow, making him look extremely frightening.

The cyan flame surged all at once into his meridians, immediately stretching and expanding them. Jia Lie Jun let out a pained groan. Veins throbbed across his entire body, and on his handsome face, blue veins crisscrossed. Looking closely, one could even see cyan flames flowing slowly through his meridians. Jia Lie Jun braced himself, forcibly enduring the agony of his meridians being pulled apart. He pressed his palms together, his five fingers facing one another, and let out a low shout, "Compress!"

Then he carefully controlled his Origin Energy and circulated it through his meridians. The cyan flames within his meridians were slowly compressed by the Origin Energy. Instantly, the two forces seemed to play tug-of-war inside his meridians, one advancing as the other retreated, neither giving way.

Jia Lie Jun gave a cold snort, and the Origin Energy throughout his body surged out. The cyan flame was immediately forced into a corner with nowhere to retreat and was slowly compressed into a cluster of cyan fire. Jia Lie Jun's mind sank. The cyan flame slowly descended into his Dantian. Then a flash of inspiration crossed Jia Lie Jun's mind, and in the unseen, he sensed that some kind of connection had formed between him and the cyan flame. It was as though this cyan flame had become a part of himself. Jia Lie Jun looked at the two clusters of flame in his Dantian, one purple and one cyan, and was extremely satisfied.

Suddenly, the Origin Energy in the air grew restless. The surrounding Origin Energy gathered toward Jia Lie Jun. His spirit shook, and he said joyfully, "I'm about to break through." Then he pushed his cultivation method to its limit, and the Origin Energy condensed in the air seeped into his body in an unending stream. The Seven-Colored Sky Swallowing Python stared with shining eyes at the dense Origin Energy in the air, condensed into droplets of Origin Energy, wanting to absorb it but unable to do so. She could only watch from the side. Right now, the energy stored in her body was still Dou Qi. Jia Lie Jun had not yet helped her transform her energy, so naturally, she could not absorb Origin Energy.

"Condense!" Jia Lie Jun shouted softly. His hands shifted constantly, forming seal after seal. As the seals were completed, the surging Origin Energy throughout his body poured all at once into his Dantian. Under continuous compression, the Origin Energy gradually condensed into an Origin Core the size of a goose egg.

A soft bang sounded from within Jia Lie Jun's body, as though some barrier inside him had been broken through.

Jia Lie Jun let out a long breath and relaxed his mind. Looking at the Origin Core in his Dantian, with the two clusters of flame slowly revolving around it, the sight was extremely beautiful and magnificent. "Nine-Star Origin Core. I really didn't expect to condense the highest-quality Origin Core." Jia Lie Jun looked at the nine shining stars on the Origin Core and muttered to himself. In truth, being able to condense a Nine-Star Origin Core was within expectations. When Jia Lie Jun was in the Earthly Origin Realm, he had absorbed Yin Sha Qi in the Danxian Pool. And the Yang Gang Qi contained within the Heavenly Flames was of top-tier quality as well.

"Minor Accomplishment of the Origin Core Realm." Jia Lie Jun sensed the power surging inside him, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly. "Oh? I didn't expect my Spiritual Power to have increased too. Looks like I'm not far from breaking through to Four-Seal Rune Master." Sensing the Spiritual Power in his Mud Pill Palace, much more abundant than before, his face filled with delight.