Refinement

Ye Jinyu took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the desire that was almost bursting out of his body.

He raised his eyes to the clouds in the sky. Though he could see no one, he still offered a deeply respectful salute. "Jinyu thanks Grandfather and Father for bestowing this treasure!"

"This item will benefit you. If you can cultivate its wood attribute, your vitality and lifespan will also improve," Ye Qingming's voice came, carrying a hint of laughter.

"How much you can take in depends on your ability. Although eighty or ninety percent of this realm's origin has been depleted, the remaining ten or twenty percent can still benefit you greatly. Tie up every loose end. Grandfather will be watching to see how you carry out that strategy as circumstances demand... hehe."

"Oh, right... after the new year, at the clan's year-end gathering, all the branches will be present... At that time, we'll settle the position of young lord. Once your title is proper, your authority will follow. The clan's rules must not be thrown into disorder. Do you understand my intentions?" Ye Zhanqiu reminded him as well.

When he finished speaking, the clouds gathered again high in the sky. The wind of the azure heavens receded, the chill of autumn gradually faded, and the invisible sense of being watched that had blanketed heaven and earth vanished without a trace.

Only Ye Jinyu, Xu Feng, Ye Guyi, and the quietly rotating Yin-Yang Spirit Wood Heart remained, the heart drawing every eye.

Ye Jinyu hesitated no longer. Determination flashed in his eyes.

He sat cross-legged on the carriage shaft and said to Xu Feng and Ye Guyi, "Guard me."

Then he extended a finger and gently touched the Yin-Yang Spirit Wood Heart.

The instant his fingertip made contact-

Boom!

Vast, pure wood-attribute origin, imbued with the True Intention of withering and flourishing, life and death, surged madly into his body through his fingertip.

In an instant, Ye Jinyu felt as though his body and soul were about to burst and tear apart.

The power of the origins of "yin life" and "yang death."

One half was "withering," the terminal chill of all things decaying and vitality dying out, holding the lifeless stillness of withered yin.

The other half was "flourishing," the warm current of creation in sprouting plants and exuberant life, carrying the growth and abundance nourished by sunlight.

The two intertwined and clashed, yet maintained a bizarre balance as they rampaged through his meridians, flesh, bones, and even his sea of consciousness.

"Ugh... cough, cough."

Ye Jinyu let out a muffled groan. His face turned deathly pale in an instant, veins bulged at his temples, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably.

Pain!

It hurt too much!

"Young lord, hold your soul firm! Guide it; don't try to resist it with brute force!

"This thing belongs to the attribute of vitality. It's slowly changing the bodily pathways within you, young lord, and contains life Qi. If you succeed, a single drop of your blood will be enough to make withered plants grow anew.

"The yin and yang Qi it produces can also nourish the soul. This is the moment your Spirit Root is being formed... Young lord, endure it." Xu Feng sent the message urgently.

Hearing this, Ye Jinyu clenched his teeth so tightly they almost bled.

How could he not know he had to guide it? But this origin power was too strong, too overbearing.

With his Qi Refinement cultivation, he was a mayfly gazing at the heavens. The Bifeng trembled inside him, like a lone skiff on a raging sea before this power.

His cultivation broke through: Qi Refinement Middle Stage, late stage, peak...

The growth of his soul's power was even more frightening. His Divine Sense expanded to eight hundred li, comparable to the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage.

His meridians and Law Power, once like a lake, widened into something like an ocean, seemingly inexhaustible.

His attributes changed. His azure Spirit Root pressed in, and his affinity with the wood attribute of heaven and earth even suppressed his wind attribute for a time.

Wind Qi no longer showed itself. The deep, dark hue of Bifeng slowly transformed into a never-ending stream of azure Law Power.

It was as though a single thought arose in his heart: with one thought, he could reach Foundation Establishment, even cultivate a Divine Ability. A towering desire emerged-to ascend to the Purple Mansion in a single step and leave the mortal world behind.

But the reason that remained in Ye Jinyu's soul told him that [Calamity] among the Twelve Aspects was constantly leaping, as though vying for favor.

If I refine the Bifeng and Yin Fire, those two wonders of heaven and earth, to build my immortal foundation...

Then I can turn myself into a calamity, a nightmare for cultivators.

Cultivators of High Antiquity had cultivated both their nature and their lives. To break through from Golden Core to Nascent Soul and ascend to the position of a Nascent Soul Heavenly Lord, they had to face the Three Calamities: Bifeng Yin Fire and lightning. One careless mistake, and they would die, their Dao extinguished and their bodies reduced to ash.

In Cangxuan today, the Purple Mansion and Golden Core Dao held sway. Apart from the immortal clans, whose members had resources to support their cultivation and cultivated both nature and life,

the rest were mostly obsessed with the immortal Dao of Purple Mansion and Golden Core. It produced results quickly and allowed rapid cultivation, and they could practice blood sacrifice alongside their Dao to enter it and advance quickly.

But cultivating life without cultivating nature would leave them stuck at the Purple Mansion, unable to attain a Golden Core.

These Three Calamities, transformed into Dao, and the three rare treasures were inherently the bane of that kind of immortal Dao, extremely yin and immensely powerful.

If I cultivate calamity, I'll be the sternest father of everyone in the Cangxuan Ancient Realm who cultivates the Purple Mansion and Golden Core.

Every move and technique will be unmatched, whether in a contest of arts or an outright assault. Bifeng attacks the soul, insidious and unpredictable; I'll have few equals in the same realm. Add Yin Fire, and I can burn the body and sever vitality.

Law Power will have trouble defending against it, and Divine Abilities will struggle to block it.

My own life will endure without end; I can attack when I advance and defend when I retreat.

Once I rise to stand over an age, who under heaven can stop me!

At that point in his thoughts, he forcibly suppressed them. He had to forge a great Dao immortal foundation, enduring the tearing and clashing of the two forces.

Just as his consciousness was about to sink, the system interface surfaced once more in the depths of his sea of consciousness.

Within the [Twelve Aspects of Fate], [Life] blazed with light!

The light was gentle yet steadfast. Rather than clashing head-on with the power of the origin of withering and flourishing, it acted as a kind of harmonizing force.

Yin and yang Qi, the origin of withering and flourishing, and the world's fortune slowly seeped into and merged with [Life]. A vast amount of power was sealed within his body.

At this moment, Ye Jinyu was a precious medicine. The power of the long-flowing Dao of life was budding within him; a single bite could add years to one's lifespan.

If the old devils whose lifespans were nearly exhausted learned of him, they would likely stop at nothing.

The Yin-Yang Spirit Wood Heart beat within his chest and gradually settled down.

Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi formed an azure robe, and pure vitality emerged throughout his body.

The Azure Wood Spirit Body was finally complete.

His body brimmed with vitality, his powers of recovery greatly increased, and his perception of wood-attribute Spiritual Qi became extraordinarily keen. His Law Power also acquired a trace of the essence of withering and flourishing in endless cycles, life renewing itself without end.

A peculiar fresh fragrance of plants drifted through the carriage. The power of life wafted about, especially alluring.

As it spread through this world, who knew how many people coveted it.

Even Xu Feng could not help swallowing, especially envious.

If I'd obtained such a rare treasure back then and swallowed and refined it, I could have roamed unhindered for another hundred years, carefree and at ease. Why would I have needed to become the imperial court's hound... fighting life-and-death battles for a sliver of opportunity?

To think that I, a dignified Purple Mansion cultivator, sought it in vain, yet he's only at Qi Refinement... He can take a treasure like this to cultivate while he's only at Qi Refinement...

Still, if things weren't this way, how could I have latched onto a True Lord's coattails?

Ye Jinyu, of course, had no idea what Xu Feng was thinking.

After the initial refinement, he fell into a state of profound mystery.

The Yin-Yang Spirit Wood Heart beat: thump, thump.

It was as though he had gained a faint connection to this world, a more fundamental connection, almost like a kind of authority.

The remaining, thin traces of the Qingyu Realm's origin were scattered throughout heaven and earth like wounded pathways.

He stirred a thought.

A hundred li away, deep beneath a mountain forest that had completely withered and died, several tenacious grass seeds struggled to push forth a trace of green, so faint it was almost invisible.

Although they wilted again in an instant because of the barren soil and thin origin, this sign of life had indeed arisen from his thought.

Conversely, when his thoughts turned to desolation, a Demon Beast that had just reached Foundation Establishment was about to kill its prey where his Divine Sense reached. With one thought from Ye Jinyu, before the Demon Beast even knew what had happened,

its body withered at a speed visible to the naked eye. It died and fell still, its vitality dimming as it turned to flying ash.

Only a bright Demon Core remained on the ground.

With the slightest thought, he could affect the cycle of life and death of plants and Demon Beasts within a hundred li!

Although the range was limited, the effect weak, and the cost enormous-those two attempts alone had exhausted his Law Power-

this was truly the power of a realm lord, based on the residual authority of the realm's origin, and even, to a certain extent, the power of the Heavenly Dao.

I am heaven and earth, so I can hear what this world has to say.

If... I use this realm as a foundation... perhaps I can forge a great Dao of my own...

But this is only possible while I'm in this realm. If I have the opportunity to take complete control of this power...

Even in Cangxuan, I'll have the power of a whole realm supporting me. Who can stop me?

Favored by Qingyu, blessed with its fortune... I can more easily win the loyalty and devotion of the living beings of this world, govern it with care, restore its origin, and set its earth veins in order.

I can cultivate a few trusted followers to assist me and carry out tasks for me.

Ding-

[Congratulations, host, on refining the "Yin-Yang Spirit Wood Heart," initially merging with the intent of withering and flourishing, life and death, and unlocking the [Life] Aspect of the Twelve Aspects of Fate.]

[Physique transformed. Obtained "Azure Wood Spirit Body" (can grow).]

[Sensed and initially gained access to the Qingyu Ruins Realm's remaining origin and fortune.]

[Quest: Take control of a Ruin Realm (in progress; current progress: 70%).]

[Quest 2: Seize the Yin-Yang Spirit Wood Heart in the Qingyu Ruins Realm, turn from death to life, living as one dies and dying as one lives... (completed).]

[Reward settlement: Fate reversed. Reward: 15,000 Heavenly Mandate Points. Current Heavenly Mandate Points balance: -5,000.]

Ye Jinyu slowly opened his eyes.

As his eyelids rose, a withered yellow light of desolation seemed to flash in the depths of his left pupil, while a verdant radiance of vitality flickered in his right. Both promptly returned to normal.

His gaze was deep and serene.

Xu Feng and Ye Guyi immediately stepped forward to congratulate him. "Congratulations, young lord (young master), on mastering your divine art and forging your foundation!"