Chapter 311: Prosperity Is Hard to Shift, the Phoenix Blood Spear Is Forged (58k, Seeking Subscriptions)

At this very moment, the great cultivators were naturally conversing across the distance once again.

"What a brilliant maneuver! Truly a brilliant maneuver! It is not about breaking people's hearts, but rather using this method to buy people's hearts; furthermore, one can obtain actual benefits from it, seize the initiative, and purchase various materials at low prices!"

"This Traveling Official Du is not simple!"

"With Counselor Meng gaining his assistance, it is truly like adding wings to a tiger!"

Three people were heaping praise upon him at this moment.

The reason was simple: they had noticed something was wrong earlier, and unlike their other colleagues, they chose to boldly verify the situation. Consequently, they were the first to detect that the situation might change from the treasure exchange, and taking advantage of the window of opportunity, they frantically bought up various fourth and fifth-tier resources throughout the month!

In particular, the Executive Great Cultivator of the Pill and Artifact Department was able to use the materials Du En was buying to directly and officially replenish their inventory—truly, those near the water get the moonlight first!

In this way, they seized a head start for themselves and their own factions!

Naturally, they were in high spirits at this moment, offering praise repeatedly.

As for the other great cultivators who had also sensed something amiss but decided to wait and see, only to lose the window of opportunity, they were now, of course, quite depressed.

Hearing these words now, their faces twitched, and they grew envious and even jealous of those three.

Also mixed in among them, Xu Fengjiao was not entirely faking it; she was also feeling a bit depressed.

Because it was obvious that Du En had simply acted according to the flow of events; otherwise, she would not have finally received his hint only after several days of sales.

Although she had also secretly taken the opportunity to buy a large amount of resources at low prices and gain an advantage in the upheaval, the more she pondered this matter, the more strange and subtle it felt.

For example, the great cultivators who had profited from this now clearly leaned toward their faction. Thinking about it further, she soon realized that they still thought this was a signal Du En had given in advance; otherwise, the matter would not have been handled so cleverly.

Furthermore, the other depressed great cultivators did not develop resentment toward him or the Meng faction he represented because of this.

Even the people under the Regretful Emotion True Monarch, Hua Ting, only furrowed their brows slightly at this time; they were equally depressed, yet held no other negative emotions toward Du En, only thinking about why they hadn't made a timely decision earlier.

Because it was clear that others had noticed, taken action, and gained benefits, while you had also noticed but failed to act—then, this simply could not be blamed on Du En's side!

The man had good intentions, and one should even thank him!

In short, looking at it from every angle, Xu Fengjiao found that the whole affair had been so muddled and accidentally successful that it had basically pleased the entire middle and upper echelons of Southern Pivot City!

So, was he doing it on purpose, or was it unintentional?

"I really didn't think that much about it before."

In his own cave dwelling, Du En spoke in a calm and steady voice to the gathered partners, stating only one reality.

Because at the very beginning, he really was just plotting for private gain, using the gimmick of a side job to earn as many spirit stones as possible. Strictly speaking, this was the unscrupulous behavior that Meng Changqing hated!

However, Du En did not care about this at all. In any case, that group of Nascent Soul stage cultivators basically belonged to the type that wouldn't be a pity to lose. Meng Changqing wouldn't care, and as for the innocent people who might be affected, couldn't things be returned?

It wasn't as if people were dying; there was plenty of room for maneuver.

In short, achieve one's own goals first.

He had three goals: first, to take the opportunity to accumulate proficiency in two of the Hundred Arts; second, to obtain as many spirit stones as possible and then buy materials—whether for cooking or artifact refining, buy as much as possible; third, and actually the most important, to use various cover-ups to reasonably and inconspicuously purchase live spirit beasts to stack proficiency for his divine abilities.

As they spoke at this moment, one didn't even need to turn their head to hear the mooing of Green Spirit Cattle everywhere in Du En's cave garden, grazing on grass and trees.

The total number was over thirteen hundred, with grades ranging from fourth-tier perfection to early-stage.

Without a doubt, all goals were perfectly achieved; even the points that would have been criticized were completely lost due to the changing situation—it could be called a perfect success!

"Hahaha! Traveling Official Du is truly humble!"

Laughter rang out; it was Yang Xin.

This group of Nascent Soul cultivators acting as shills had naturally also profited from this.

To make them work hard, the three principals had voluntarily given up ten percent of the profits, so they had been eating well for the past month, and everyone had benefited.

Moreover, being near the water, they got the moonlight first; half of the high-quality goods Du En produced at the end—those fourth-tier top-grade artifacts—were swallowed up by them.

They had originally thought that if they resold them later, they would make at most a ten or twenty percent premium, but with the current situation, it was uncertain if they would even be willing to sell!

After all, the current market price was truly so high that they could only look up to it!

It was fortunate that they had followed Traveling Official Du this time; they had made a fortune!

"Traveling Official, no need to worry. We will sell the batch of goods we hoarded slowly later, and the share that belongs to you will naturally not be a single cent less!"

A principal stated what they had already discussed.

It was obvious that they did not believe Du En was unintentional and thought that the previous sentence was a hint.

Forget it, if you want to think that way, then so be it; at least I didn't suffer a loss.

Du En did not waste any more breath.

Although there were unexpected joys, the key still lay in the original goals.

Therefore, while others were talking boisterously, he did not say much, appearing exceptionally calm and indifferent, mentally calculating various subsequent arrangements.

Such composure and the demeanor of a great general made people admire and praise him even more.

Overall, everyone returned satisfied.

After sending these guests away, the lowered Dragon-Severing Stone sealed the inside and outside once again.

Since all kinds of resources had been obtained, the next step was to convert them into reality.

The grind began again!

Du En first spent seven months maintaining a normal rhythm, refining artifacts to cash in while grinding normally, raising the proficiency of the Raw Wood Art and the Dharma-Devouring Wood Cutting to the stage of mastery.

Then, it was time for a major cultivation conversion!

Giant Cannon Art converted to Meteor Rock Art.

Wind Sand Art converted to Sandstorm Art.

Statue Casting Art converted to Profound Armor Giant Statue.

Raw Wood Art converted to Grass and Trees Forming a Forest.

Dharma-Devouring Wood Cutting converted to Dharma-Devouring Cutting Spirit.

Because he had the foundation and had already broken through to the corresponding Nascent Soul stage, this process was not difficult; it was completed within a day, and he had finished adapting.

However, the Phoenix Red True Flame was a bit difficult, mainly because the foundation of the Golden Flame Art was relatively too low, making it difficult to quickly connect this secret technique through the proper path.

But the reason Du En had set his sights on it so early was, of course, because he already had his own ideas.

For this, he had followed his previous normal rhythm, slowly slaughtering the ox and burying it, methodical and silent, and at this moment, he successfully raised the proficiency of his divine ability once again, breaking through to the level of Thorough Mastery.

Upon reaching the Thorough Mastery level of the divine ability Life-Reflecting Glory-Prospering, there was no violent qualitative change like there had been when breaking through from Familiarity to Minor Achievement.

Because, just as the meaning of this proficiency stage implies, Thorough Mastery is the realization and integration of connecting the beginning and the end; it could be said that it is actually just a super-sized version of Familiarity.

Of course, one is a straightforward familiarity like drawing a tiger based on a cat, while the other is a familiarity of complete internal and external integration and thorough mastery; the degrees are truly not to be mentioned in the same breath.

Through this, Du En understood the deep mysteries hidden within Life-Reflecting Glory-Prospering and obtained a further enhanced Life-Reflecting Glory-Prospering.

To put it simply and directly: the resistance is maxed out!

The previous Life-Reflecting Glory-Prospering was a straightforward highlighting of life, allowing him to obtain a powerful and prominent state of flourishing life, which would make people mistakenly think it was a burst of vitality leaning toward the Wood element.

But the current Life-Reflecting Glory-Prospering not only highlights the "life" of the master of this divine ability even more, but also gains a powerful resistance to all external interference and obstruction during its duration!

As long as the combat power is not far superior, as long as the realm is not far beyond, when facing enemies of the same rank, same realm, and same level, no matter what methods the opponent uses, he can resist and neutralize them; this is the unshakable and unshifting nature of the Glory-Prospering living being!

"In that case, let's call this stage 'Glory-Prospering Hard to Shift'."

Du En thought this in his heart, and then, he couldn't help but frown slightly, "However, it is a bit too strong; this might actually be a bit of a hindrance..."

Because his method of taking a shortcut is actually very simple: it is to burn himself.

Not only the burning of the conscious self in the state of enlightenment, but also burning in reality, and then using Golden Flame to mix and burn together, so that the two can be spliced together.

For this reason, for the sake of safety, he wanted to further strengthen his divine ability to avoid unexpected situations.

After all, even now, once that Phoenix Blood Tree Heart bursts into flames, carrying the ceaseless and inextinguishable Phoenix Remnant Hatred, it is still something he himself finds difficult to resist.

And since he has to set himself on fire, he must, of course, ensure he can extinguish the fire, but now this fire-extinguishing method feels a bit too ruthless; if he is not careful and accidentally resists and eliminates the results he spent half a day burning for, then it would truly be burning for nothing...

"Huh? I feel like, it should be possible?"

Du En did not feel anxious; he carefully deliberated, slowly pondered, and realized the current divine ability, gradually figuring out a way to use it from its Thorough Mastery state.

If he does not enter the deep level of Life-Reflecting Glory-Prospering, or even Glory-Prospering Hard to Shift, and only uses the relatively shallow Full Recovery of Familiarity to perform it, it seems to be feasible now?

He immediately attempted it.

First, he consumed a large amount of magic power, practiced spells for a whole day without any waste, then activated the divine ability, carefully controlling the degree, and then, he achieved it very easily.

Thorough Mastery, that is how it should be!

"It works, it's effective, and because I didn't step into the deep level, the cooldown period is also shortened to one-tenth, only ten days."

Trying every possible way to raise the proficiency of the divine ability first was indeed the correct choice.

So, next, it is time to get burned.

It is not just simply getting burned; he can also take the opportunity to refine artifacts!

Refine that fourth-rank top-grade Phoenix Blood Firmiana Tree Heart main root into a useful magic artifact!

Relying on the divine ability that has already broken through, he does not need to add other materials now, nor does he need to reduce or suppress the Phoenix Remnant Hatred; just let it retain its own purity, let it continue to hate ceaselessly and inextinguishably, and keep burning!

Thinking of it, he did it; Du En immediately took out the remaining part of the Phoenix Blood Firmiana.

Perhaps due to the stimulation of the previous secret technique inheritance, this piece of spirit wood remnant heart, which had previously been quietly dead, showed some changes; dense, delicate cracks covered it, and looking into its depths, one could only see the Phoenix Remnant Hatred, limited by its carrier, once again actually surfacing to the surface of reality.

He was very decisive; fueling the fire, he struck out with a palm, cracking its outer shell, and it flew into the air and stopped with a thud.

Sss-sss-sss~

Boom!

The Remnant Hatred reignited, and a hundred days passed leisurely.

Roar, roar, roar!

The crimson Remnant Hatred Phoenix Fire raged in all directions; the artifact refining room where Du En was located had long been destroyed, the interior of the cave dwelling was a mess everywhere, and a ferocious phoenix formed by the mimicry of flames was looming within it.

"Screech!!!!!"

Suddenly, it stretched its head out from within, one eye bulging and opening wide, revealing crazy resentment and hatred inside; the vibrating wings brought a terrifying impact, and waves of scorching red flames spread out even more fiercely, forcing the entire cave dwelling's protection to appear and forcibly suppress it.

Before this, the reason it had always appeared dead was simply because there was no sufficient external stimulation to open the closed state of that incomplete carrier.

But now, the hateful, hate-hate-hate-hate-hate, damn-damn-damn-damn-damn person in front of it, Du En, actually wanted to refine it!

"Screech!!!!!"

Burn you to death!

A large wave of Remnant Hatred Phoenix Fire once again submerged Du En.

Bathed in fire, he wore the Cyan-Dark Magic Robe, using this natal magic treasure that had transformed to assist in subduing it, and had been fighting with this ceaseless and inextinguishable Phoenix Remnant Hatred for a hundred days.

At this moment, one could see little bits of gold seeping into the crimson flames that were burning him; that was the result of these hundred days, as the Golden Flame Art was gradually being spliced and converted into the Phoenix Crimson True Flame.

It just seemed very difficult, because the Phoenix Remnant Hatred was too fierce and crazy; as the outlet was gradually torn open, it erupted with its own hysteria, that completely untamable, wild, and evil nature.

It was not at all on the same level as what the Phoenix Blood Firmiana had catalyzed back then!

The reason was simple: back then, the true spirit of the Phoenix Blood Firmiana wanted to get rid of it and was also being ravaged by the Remnant Hatred, so even though it was provoked and erupted by Du En, it still subconsciously restrained itself, trying its best to narrow the outlet.

But now, the Phoenix Blood Firmiana was long dead, and Du En had directly stimulated and opened this opening, letting it rage out again, making it difficult to stop.

The result was that with his divine ability, even with the Full Recovery at the Familiarity stage, it was difficult to fully recover and eliminate the physical and mental burning he was suffering.

But this was just right!

Because there is a key point to converting to the Phoenix Crimson True Flame, and that is to condense the secret technique fire seed.

This is because this secret technique, after all, is intercepted from the inheritance of the Phoenix; for human cultivators to fully master it, they must satisfy this prerequisite: use Phoenix fire to ignite and light it, leaving behind the fire seed of the secret technique.

And in this world today, the last remaining trace of the Phoenix is the Firmiana tree heart in his hand.

Therefore, the Phoenix Remnant Hatred cannot be avoided.

Within the burning, Du En, who had long since endured it and become accustomed to it, ended his daily practice at this moment, silently opened his eyes, and calmly looked at it raging in the air in front of him.

Or rather, he was looking at the tree heart within it.

With the frantic eruption of the Remnant Hatred Phoenix, the tree heart, as the carrier outlet for the outflow, could actually be said to be self-refining; at the moment, all the impurities had been burned away, it was glowing red, no longer having a trace of brown, only the ultimate crimson.

He closed his eyes slightly, looked at the Phoenix fire around his body, and suddenly removed the subdual of the robe transformed by his natal magic treasure, turning to gather spirit, or rather, to gather flame.

The Remnant Hatred Red Fire that was pouring down in a deluge was immediately swallowed and absorbed into his belly like a whale; it happened so fast that the Phoenix Remnant Hatred didn't even have time to react, and the raging sea of fire vanished completely, leaving only the fire phoenix mimicry outside the tree heart in the air, dancing and flapping its wings alone.

It, or rather He, looked around at this moment, seeing only emptiness, and felt an inexplicable sorrow arise.

The Remnant Hatred was temporarily absorbed and would flow out again later, but in this fleeting moment, it was indeed slightly calmed, thereby revealing a hint of the divine bird's original demeanor.

He looked at Du En, at him who had just gathered and absorbed all the Remnant Hatred.

He opened his eyes wide, which had now transformed into a pure, deep red, within which there was a touch of brilliant gold, dotting his majestic and calm pupils.

He was even more stunned at once.

"The Five Virtues Divine Fire, that is the fire you originally wielded, not the current Remnant Hatred Red Flame; that is merely a secondary, fallen True Flame, and also the source of the seed for my non-fallen True Flame."

You actually dare to say this?!!!

He twisted abruptly, transforming back into it, the maddened Remnant Hatred.

But Du En had already stood up tall; since the Phoenix Red True Flame had been successfully grafted and smoothly cultivated, there was no need to continue indulging it.

Divine Ability, Bury Death Flourish Life, Flourishing Prosperity Hard to Shift!

In the intangible, a sudden change occurred; just as the Remnant Hatred Fierce Phoenix was about to stir up a frenzy again, his figure suddenly appeared before it, and with a probe of his hand, a True Flame that was somewhat similar yet completely different, containing wisps of gold and appearing grand and upright, exploded out with a 'whoosh', directly pressing it back!

"Screech..."

The Phoenix Remnant Hatred still wanted to resist, but restricted by the carrier port and caught off guard, it had failed to gather its strength and naturally found it hard to withstand.

Only the tree heart remained in the air, and a hand grabbed the slender it, with the True Flame covering it.

The artifact refining techniques, already mastered to the point of being able to forge a fifth-tier magical artifact, followed immediately, using the same-source True Flame as a bridge to form a restriction that bound it.

With chain after chain binding it, it could only face it with frenzy.

Crack, crack, crack...

The tree heart began to crack; it was the main body of the Remnant Hatred rising up, trying to forcibly burst through this carrier port.

It wanted to perish together, as it could never be tamed, but conversely, it was rooted in the principle of Phoenix Nirvana, so it appeared inexhaustible and undying.

This point also clearly affected the carrier, so although the tree heart cracked, in the next moment, it immediately filled in and grew, appearing endless and unceasing.

Perhaps when the Phoenix was on the verge of death, it was still filled with benevolence and good intentions, which is why it set up such a carrier limitation, so that its Remnant Hatred would not spread and rage endlessly.

It is also possible that the Supreme Fallen Feather exerted means to graft its principles, thereby restricting it to the carrier in this way, making it unable to easily rise to the main body, and only able to gradually leak out as the carrier grew and leveled up.

In any case, Du En continued to act calmly and orderly, more True Flame restriction chains sinking into the tree heart, reinforcing this carrier and putting shackles on the Phoenix Remnant Hatred that was crazily emerging and squeezing out.

"Don't be afraid, I won't let you perish, I'm just letting your carrier change its form first."

"You don't need to calm your hatred either; continue to exist and continue to burn."

"I can endure the burning, you just burn all you want."

Du En said calmly, the True Flame continuing incessantly, the same-source shackles seeping into it, bearing and enduring the spread of that Remnant Hatred.

Screech!

If it could be reasoned with through speech, then the Phoenix Remnant Hatred wouldn't be called Remnant Hatred.

It only became increasingly mad, wanting only to burn everything, everything of everything!

But this could not change the outcome.

Dark red, burning restriction chains circled it and assisted it, letting it continue to burn and continue to pour out its hatred.

Under Du En's gaze, a simple and plain long spear slowly took shape, beginning to solidify and set; inside, it glowed with red sparks, while the outside was covered in a thick black shell, like charcoal, like solidified hatred.

Refined!

Named...

"Phoenix Blood Spear."

Its quality is limited to fourth-tier peak grade, but that is only because the upper limit of a fourth-tier magical artifact is peak grade, so it was set as peak grade; in reality, its power even far exceeds the vast majority of magical treasures of the same tier, and it can be called transcendent.

Even Great Cultivators cannot wield it; they would only stimulate it to tear apart the carrier, and they would be unable to extinguish the Phoenix's Remnant Hatred at all.

To truly extinguish it, even True Monarch Venerables cannot do it.

After all, its predecessor was that Mahayana-stage Phoenix Divine Bird, who in the ancient era was called a Venerable God by the world, far more formidable than ordinary Mahayana Venerables.

If not for Du En, if not for the Divine Ability, if not for the secret techniques, if not for the mastered artifact refining skills, if it were not restricted by the fourth-tier tree heart... if any one of these links were missing, it would be impossible to refine it into an artifact now.

Du En flourished the spear, shrank it, and then took it into his body.

Because once he stopped holding it, it would instantly lose control, and it could not be put into a storage bag at all right now.

Therefore, during the refining just now, he used the Phoenix Red True Flame as a bridge and added some refining methods for a life-bound magical treasure; plus, Du En's life-bound magical treasure, the Azure Crimson Palace, is in the middle dantian, which is now merged with the lower dantian, so there is actually enough space to contain it without conflict, and thus it could be stored within.

However, he did not dispel the 'Flourishing Prosperity Hard to Shift' that was already exhausted and nearing its limit, to avoid any accidents.

Under close internal observation, the magical power fire lotus in his dantian sea was gradually being rendered by the True Flame seed, appearing increasingly miraculous and faintly dreamlike.

The secret technique fire seed landed on the Nascent Soul and dotted his eyes.

He opened his eyes, raised his hand, and grabbed the shrinking, falling Phoenix Blood Spear.

Whoosh~

A bit of Remnant Hatred Red Flame flared up, scorching the Nascent Soul, but it was no problem; to Du En, it was painless and itchy.

And so it gradually fell into silence, seemingly brewing in the dark, intending to burn Du En away sooner or later.

(End of this chapter)