Chapter 1525

"Open?" Zhang Longxiang closed the booklet. "Open what."

"Open the Heavenly Eye, ah. You're staring this intently — haven't you opened the Heavenly Eye?"

Liang Qu pulled out a stool, plopped down, shifted his thighs to make half the seat for Eying, then waved for the bat in the tree to go brew a pot of tea.

The Third Prince crawled out of his sleeve, dropped into the fruit tray, flipped through oranges and tossed grapes, picking and choosing.

Zhang Longxiang exclaimed in admiration: "Your Primordial Yang — I'm afraid it's not inferior to the whale pearls the Flood Dragon devoured."

One for himself, one for the Flood Dragon, one for the Dragon Girl.

Liang Qu nurtured three himself, simultaneously nurturing three indirectly, each by different methods; he had never imagined that self-nurturing Position Fruits would one day be this "numerous."

Benefiting from the fact that the self-nurtured ones were mostly Middle Position Fruits, the more Middle Position Fruits created, the special utility of the Authority of Creation — even visibly — would increase more and more.

"What Position Fruits can Primordial Yang nurture?"

Zhang Longxiang was curious.

He could roughly guess the nurturing process.

Three Flowers Gather Atop linking with the self in Universal Ascension, thereby sharing a massive Root Sea, then using Ascension to continuously advance and transform in a short time — Primordial Yang during this period — he vaguely recalled that Liang Qu and Long Eying cultivated a unique Dual Cultivation method together, and had undergone Immortal reconstruction; Liang Qu's ability to self-nurture owed much to this method.

Cultivating the same method, the same pair, one Yin one Yang — would there be some special utility?

One Ascension, one Descent —

"Bah, big old men, talking about Primordial Yang — not talking, not talking, change the subject." Liang Qu waved his hand, switching topics.

He took the flying teapot, not revealing Eying's Authority.

He originally wanted to come get some emotional value from the Immortal, but since he was seen through in advance, what was the point.

"What topic does Prince Huai want to chat about?"

Lowering the teapot, pouring a cup for Zhang Longxiang, Liang Qu said: "Too many people the past two days, many things inconvenient to say. Tell me — ascending to Crucible, what does it feel like exactly?"

"Relaxed."

"How relaxed?"

"Shedding all shackles." Zhang Longxiang pondered. "I never discovered there existed a kind of enormous pressure on myself, like a small air bubble at the bottom of the sea, initially compressed very small by water pressure, then constantly rising, continuously expanding, finally breaking the surface, merging with all the qi above the sea, infinitely vast — afterward came bewilderment."

"Bewilderment?"

Zhang Longxiang nodded, sighed: "Because infinitely vast, infinitely relaxed to the extreme, instead one doesn't know direction, doesn't know what to do, and can't raise interest in many things."

Liang Qu smiled: "Originally a clear road, now arrived upon a wilderness?"

"More than wilderness —" Zhang Longxiang smiled. "Wilderness is merely four directions; anywhere you can walk, anywhere you can set foot solidly, go rely on it.

Me now — sky empty above, earth hollow below, the whole person standing in boundless void, two feet fundamentally unable to touch ground; ground to me is not much more solid than air. Everything seems unrelated to self; even the concept of four directions is gone.

Besides, I discovered something — do you have a large scale here?"

"Large scale?" Liang Qu instinctively patted his pocket, looked left and right. "What decent person carries a scale on them."

"The small one will go find it at once!" The bat shouted, immediately flying off.

Liang Qu sipped tea: "Sounds a bit interesting, only I'm not you, don't have a Crucible, can't empathize. What about at the breakthrough moment? What feeling?"

"Achieved in one step. Originally I Ascended to the thirteenth stage, didn't feel any difference — just felt a thick wall before me, as if the cultivation path ended here, no way forward.

Wait until thirteenth stage, simultaneously possessing a Major Position Fruit — the wall disappears, a rope appears before you, dangling in front of you; without thinking you grab it, and you begin to rise. The whole person becomes a burning furnace; Authorities melt.

77

"Melt?"

"Correct. Minor Position Fruits, Middle Position Fruits — like a person's limbs, extra limbs. After Crucible, Authority is you, you are Authority — no longer an organ, a limb."

Liang Qu stroked his chin.

What Zhang Longxiang said was undoubtedly far more concrete than Old Dragon Lord, making it more understandable.

"Then — have you felt anything more unique?"

"For example?"

"For example, beyond Authority —" Liang Qu didn't know how to describe it at once, thought and thought. "The feeling of being able to control other Position Fruits?"

Zhang Longxiang frowned tightly, pondered a long time, shook his head: "I don't quite understand, can't sense it either. I'm now completely in the void, can't grasp anything."

It's actually like this?

Liang Qu pondered.

According to Old Dragon Lord, self-nurtured achievers should have some special trait.

Old Dragon Lord's Hundred Rivers Return to One, Whale Emperor's Whale Swallow, Great Li Taizu's Control —

This trait would affect how to Transform into Rainbow.

Could it be because Zhang Longxiang's ascension time is too short, not yet reached the moment when his "trait" fully manifests or can be sensed?

"Great King, Great King, the large scale is here!"

The bat flapped its wings, clutching a large dou, shouting loudly.

The Third Prince tearing orange peel in the fruit tray immediately tossed the orange, flew up first, snatched the large scale, presented it before him: "Big Brother Big Brother, large scale's here, large scale's here!"

"Done well." Liang Qu fished out a spirit fruit, tossed it to the bat.

"Thanks Great King!" The bat flipped mid-air, caught it in one grab, landed in the nearby treetop.

"Ah, Big Brother Big Brother, what about me!"

"Give you an orange." Liang Qu tossed the half-peeled orange from the fruit tray to the Third Prince, then looked at Zhang Longxiang. "Scale's here. Just now Dragon King said you discovered something?"

"Discovered this —"

Zhang Longxiang had Liang Qu hold the large scale, himself stepped into the dou.

Liang Qu didn't understand, couldn't figure out what Zhang Longxiang wanted to demonstrate to him.

His own good figure?

Shouldn't be — with Zhang Longxiang's martial bones, what weighed out would have to be a big stomach.

"Look at the scale reading," Zhang Longxiang gestured.

Liang Qu lowered his head and discovered the large steelyard had actually balanced itself without any counterweight!

Seven catties eight taels!

"Yo, Dragon-Elephant King returning to simplicity, still a big fat kid! Congratulations, congratulations!"

Zhang Longxiang: "————"

"Haha, just kidding." Liang Qu adjusted the counterweight, watching the lever go up and down, "So this isn't groundless — you have no weight now?"

"No, it's not that I have no weight. More accurately, this world can no longer weigh me."

Liang Qu was stunned for a moment.

A simple sentence, spoken from Zhang Longxiang's mouth, carried an indescribable domineering aura.

【69】 A simple sentence, spoken from Zhang Longxiang's mouth, carried an indescribable domineering aura.

The world cannot weigh him — this phenomenon, in the eyes of Zhang Longxiang and the others, is a kind of glory, a manifestation of a realm characteristic; he had gone to school, so he could understand a thing or two.

The Furnace's immortality, in essence, is that the "Self-Root" is powerful enough that time can do nothing to it.

Similarly, time and space have always been related; space can also do nothing to it — his own mass can no longer make gravity take effect in this space!

But putting it that way wouldn't be domineering.

The charm of language.

"Interesting. Seven catties eight taels is the level of a normal Furnace. If it were someone like Beiting Xian, about to enter slumber, would it be heavier? When a Rainbow Transformation completely separates into a world of its own, does it become completely zero, never to be weighed again?"

Zhang Longxiang had never thought of this angle; his eyes flashed: "That's possible!"

Crossing the Yaolong Awakening realm.

The higher the cultivation, the smaller the weight!

After collecting the Furnace's information, Liang Qu asked: "Can you restrain your resistance to Authority?"

"I've tried, no good. This is the Furnace's own trait, cannot be restrained; I can only barely connect a thread. Could it be affecting the Huai King's Consort?"

"That's not it." Liang Qu shook his head. "Just a pity. If it could be restrained, we could directly have one more Furnace on our side."

"What about you? Why don't you ascend to the twelfth stage, even the thirteenth?"

Zhang Longxiang found it strange.

The Heavenly Dog Eclipsing the Sun was no ordinary matter; he directly advanced from twelfth to thirteenth stage, nurturing a Grand Position Fruit in one breath, and at that time Liang Qu, who had similarly absorbed dozens of Yaolong, how could he be stuck at the eleventh stage?

Not enough talent, so resources alone don't work?

Don't make him laugh.

Even Zhang Longxiang felt that, following Liang Qu's progress, he should have been able to nurture a Grand Position Fruit long ago; for some unknown reason, he never did.

"Me? Hehe, cannot speak, cannot speak. I'll quietly work hard, then achieve Rainbow Transformation in one fell swoop, stunning everyone!"

Zhang Longxiang: "————"

Liang Qu confessed: "Actually, I'm worried that the thirteenth stage and the Grand Position Fruit will directly react, turning me into a Furnace, and then my second and third Position Fruits appear too late, making them even harder to nurture."

Zhang Longxiang suddenly understood.

Liang Qu took out his notebook: "Does the Furnace have something like the 'Stone in the River'?"

"Both yes and no. After becoming a Furnace, one can see the 'Stone in the River' of all Yaolong; the other Furnaces are very strange, though."

"How so?"

"An extremely vast 'Stone in the River,' to the extent that only the range can be determined, not the specific location — like Linchuan Xian's 'Riverbed,' which can cover an entire imperial capital, yet he is actually only on a certain street within it."

"Is it a circle? If it's a circle, the center should determine it, right?"

"Not a circle. It's like a fixed nation; unless you walk to the border, the nation won't shift along."

"Understood. Finally a bit of privacy, huh — right, if other immortals come looking for you during this time ————"

Immortals are mostly cold and aloof.

The youngest Linchuan Xian is now two thousand years old, to the point that their past life experiences are very vague.

Once vague, once not understood, people generate a sense of distance and awe, turning into a reality that can never be reached.

Knowing a classmate's parents' occupations, having visited their home, knowing the roots and bottom — it's easier to become bosom friends, with higher trust; the reverse is comparatively difficult.

Having finally caught a living Furnace, Liang Qu cleared away the fog of knowledge with great effort.

After talking for half a day, Zhang Longxiang left Pingyang.

Five days since ascending to immortality, all spent at Liang Qu's place busy with the River God Festival, selling autographs; quite a few relatives and friends hadn't even gathered together.

"So that's how a Furnace is — no wonder immortals don't meddle much in mortal life — material conditions determine consciousness, ah."

""

Liang Qu leaned against the chair back, putting away the notebook pages.

Just like that, nothing to envy!

"After a long time, does a Furnace truly become desireless and seek-nothing?" Long Eying suddenly asked.

Liang Qu was surprised: "What, afraid I'll become an immortal and won't want you?"

Long Eying brushed her temple hair: "Just asking."

Liang Qu stroked his chin: "How would I know? Next chance I get, I'll ask Dragon-Elephant King's wife."

Long Eying spat: "What are you thinking about?"

——

Liang Qu sighed: "You've changed. You used to ask why I'd need to ask Dragon-Elephant King's wife."

"?

"

"Lady, rest assured." Liang Qu patted his chest. "From what I've privately observed, those who serve Linchuan Xian are all beauties; Dragon-Elephant King isn't lost in that regard."

"I wasn't asking about that in the first place."

"Stubborn! I still prefer a soft mouth."

Long Eying's face flushed slightly; she did not answer.

Liang Qu truly had confidence.

Becoming a Furnace mostly stems from the violent contrast between the external world and one's relationship with the self, causing the self to easily generate a sense of nihility. But the cultivation of the Four Gates and Seven Passes itself does not sever human desires — this can be seen from the several Immortals.

"Come, let's go to the quiet room and assist my cultivation, so your head won't be filled with messy nonsense!"

Quiet room.

Long Eying lit incense and sat facing Liang Qu: "Ready?"

"Wait."

Liang Qu closed his eyes.

Inside the Lower Dantian, beside the blazing grand sun, the wind cluster turned completely golden, rapidly metamorphosing, gestating, continuously absorbing over seventy strands of Dragon Species Qi; in terms of growth degree, it almost possessed a posture on par with Tianyuan!

Three Flowers Gather Atop!

Zhang Longxiang's Furnace resistance had not completely severed the connection, but his connection was too weak, tenuous as a drifting filament, resulting in feedback that was also minuscule, not even one in a thousand.

In actual use, it was instead inferior to the Old Dragon Lord; Liang Qu made another trip, swapped the Old Dragon Lord's "Spirit" back on, then linked Long Eying's Position Fruit, hooking it to Tianyuan.

Six thousand two hundred times the Root Sea undulated.

Under the premise of linking Goumang, Long Eying's Position Fruit rapidly increased in maturity; astonishing vitality exuded through her body, like scorching summer heat!

【Earth Stem / Zhurong】

【Authority: Flourishing Upright】

【Category: Governance】

【Summer wind, summer heat, summer sun, summer blaze, summer woods luxuriant, summer waters surging.】

【From flourishing comes prosperity, from flourishing comes blazing, from flourishing comes balance.】

【World Ritual: Earth Stem responds, commands the Four Sovereigns, can guide the Bright Earth Stem Realm】!

Heaven and earth a great kiln, yang charcoal cooks the sixth month.

Utterly different from Xuanming, an incomparable sense of vigorous flourishing rushed forth.

Goumang, Zhurong, Rushou, Xuanming.

Spring birth, summer growth, autumn harvest, winter storage.

Spring sublimates, autumn withers and descends, winter solidifies; conversely, summer is — incomparably grand, blazing!

February 6th, only nineteen days remain until the Great Hunt; truly tense and thrilling.

Liang Qu intends to utilize metamorphosis one last time under this limit to raise Feilian a wave!

Zhang Longxiang guessed correctly.

The Netherworld trip — he could reach the thirteenth stage; Liang Qu naturally would not fail to advance a single stage.

In the past two descents to the Netherworld, he used Goumang to sublimate early to the twelfth stage; even with this promotion, no metamorphosis would occur. But, with Zhurong's empowerment, everything will become different.

Spring is sublimation; summer is incomparable grandeur.

Letting a thing reach its most blazing posture on the basis of itself — same effect via different methods as the Old Dragon Lord's "Relief".

Only one difference: Relief can break the upper limit, producing a fourteenth or fifteenth stage; Zhurong instead achieves a different kind of growth within the framework.

Normal breakthrough is Twelfth Stage · First Stage; what he must complete is Twelfth Stage · Third Stage!

As for what difference there is, Liang Qu does not know, but he will soon find out.

The only thing to watch: while elevating Feilian, he must suppress Tianyuan's growth.

Suppress the development of his own Position Fruit.

Throughout history, past and present, Liang Qu counts as the first person.

"If it succeeds, who does Husband plan to transfer the Mei Fruit to?" Long Eying suddenly asked.

"Give it to Bu Neng Dong." Liang Qu replied without hesitation, "It matches the Nu Girl after the Mei Fruit's promotion most perfectly; when the time comes I will enlighten it to the Demon King."

"Didn't you promise A Fei first?" Long Eying reminded.

She also knew "Bu Neng Dong" was the best match, but the sacrifice was clearly Yaolong; she wondered if Liang Qu had forgotten A Fei in the back of his mind again.

Liang Qu froze.

Hiss——

"Since Husband made a promise, it must be kept; better give it to the Haiya King." Long Eying suggested.

"Mm—— that works too!"

Changing the plan, the blazing Authority invaded his body, straight into the Lower Dantian!

In an instant, Feilian, which had digested a hundred strands of Long Qi, seemed to boil, suddenly swelling a full circle.

Another marvelous use of Zhurong.

For a non-Grand Position Fruit, Authority cannot influence Authority; but Zhurong's move does not affect Feilian itself — rather, it makes the Long Qi extremely active, like a pot of boiling living water.

The higher the temperature, the faster the fusion.

Rice with water boiled into congee, blood sugar spiking fiercely!

February 7th.

Feilian blazed with radiant light!