Chapter 648: Waiting for You to Self-Destruct

In the sealed chamber, Xiao Yan took along the corpse of the North Dragon King; though the North Dragon King was dead, he had not yet been fully refined into a Fire Slave, and Xiao Yan still needed time and certain medicinal materials to refine him.

Xiao Yan had received the inheritance of the Pure Lotus Demon Saint, which included the inheritance of Nightmare Mist and the Refining Heaven Ancient Formation; as for crafting puppets, the most formidable he had ever seen before was the Sage of Creation, but now the Pure Lotus Demon Saint was vastly superior—this Refining Heaven Ancient Formation was said to refine heaven itself as slave, how mighty!

Xiao Yan slightly narrowed his eyes and smiled, thinking of how soon he would possess a puppet of immense strength, and he could not help but grin broadly; without lingering, Mao Wu rolled up all the medicinal materials and supplies, and Xiao Yan turned directly toward the outside of the quiet chamber.

Exiting the quiet chamber, Xiao Yan immediately saw Zi Yan in the courtyard; she, sensing his presence, turned her head back.

"Are you leaving?" Zi Yan asked, her eyes carrying some indescribable emotion.

"Not yet—I plan to go to the Void Thunder Pool; my cultivation realm has already reached Five-Star Dou Saint Peak, and my battle qi has stabilized—it's time to break through to Six-Star."

Hearing Xiao Yan had no intention of leaving, Zi Yan's face lit up with delight, then she swatted his hand away: "You're only thinking about your own breakthrough—why don't you refine some pills for me too?"

"Got it—I'll go to the Void Thunder Pool and return soon," Xiao Yan chuckled, not lingering further; after giving brief instructions, he flew straight out of Dragon Island toward the Void Thunder Pool.

"Boom—!"

In the pitch-black Void Space, a continuous low rumbling suddenly rose from afar; as his gaze shifted, he saw at the end of the darkness, brilliant silver light flared—massive thunderbolts, like colossal dragons, howled wildly.

"Still as spectacular as ever—this Void Thunder Pool truly deserves its reputation as a deadly place."

Xiao Yan hovered in midair, gazing at the enormous Thunder Pool before him—this was the very place where he had once tempered his body, discovered Nine Mystery Golden Thunder, and first met Dean Mang Tianchi.

Back then, Mang Tianchi had been desperately fleeing from strange black lightning; at the time, Xiao Yan only knew it was terrifying and dared not touch it at all.

But now, facing those black thunderbolts that had once driven Mang Tianchi to panic and flee, Xiao Yan felt no fear whatsoever; in fact, he needed the Void Thunder Pool's Black Demon Thunder, combined with the power of the Refining Heaven Ancient Formation, to refine something.

Xiao Yan slowly closed his eyes; with his current Soul Power, the thunder of the Void Thunder Pool could not block him—he extended his Soul Perception directly into the boundless Thunder Pool, reaching its deepest depths.

A golden dragon, a thousand zhang long, coiled motionless with closed eyes, lay there.

"Its internal thunder energy has reached an incredibly terrifying level—it can break through to Seven-Star at any moment; within the Void Thunder Pool, the power of Nine Mystery Golden Thunder has likely reached the level of an ordinary Seven-Star Dou Sheng." After withdrawing his Soul Force, Xiao Yan wore an expression of complete control.

Now, Xiao Yan was in no hurry—he only needed to wait patiently until Nine Mystery Golden Thunder naturally gathered spiritual energy to break through.

With his dark eyes fixed on the Void Thunder Pool, where thunder surged wildly, Xiao Yan smiled faintly and flew forward first.

In his youth, entering the Void Thunder Pool had required extreme caution, fearing the wrath of ten thousand thunderbolts; but now, facing this terrifyingly majestic realm, he moved with calm ease—his figure glided unhurriedly through the Thunder Pool; those wild, massive thunderbolts halted abruptly when still dozens of zhang away, then hastily dodged aside, instinctively sensing a terrifying presence within that slender body.

Along the way, Xiao Yan made no stops; summoning Nine Dragon Thunder Flame to envelop his body, he surged straight toward the deepest part of the Void Thunder Pool—with Nine Dragon Thunder Flame, he seemed to merge with the Thunder Pool, becoming lightning itself.

The thunder here treated Xiao Yan as one of its own.

The Void Thunder Pool was immensely vast, yet with Xiao Yan's speed, he reached its depths in less than ten minutes.

Upon arriving at the depths, as Xiao Yan gazed at the suddenly dimming surroundings and lifted his eyes to the dense clusters of black lightning slowly writhing ahead like dark dragons, he exhaled slowly, a hint of delight rising on his face.

With these Black Demon Thunders refining the North Dragon King's corpse, combined with the mysterious power of the Refining Heaven Ancient Formation, he would surely forge a puppet of boundless strength—perhaps even restoring the North Dragon King's former power.

When that day came, even a single puppet could stand against a Six-Star Dou Saint!

"Right here—this spot isn't too far from Nine Mystery Golden Thunder, but not close enough for it to notice."

Xiao Yan halted at the edge of the Black Demon Thunder zone, gazing at the dense clusters of black lightning before him.

With a wave of his hand, Nine Dragon Thunder Flame shot out, transforming into nine silver dragons that formed a Space Lock to seal in the aura, preventing leakage.

Then, with a hand seal, Xiao Yan placed his palms flat—the Refining Heaven Ancient Formation appeared in his palm; but this time, it was small, nothing like the tens-of-thousands-zhang-wide formation he had used on North Dragon Island.

Moreover, the upper and lower arrays of this Refining Heaven Ancient Formation differed in color—one black, one white: one side had the Pure Lotus Demon Fire as its core, the other had Mao Wu stationed as its core.

Though Mao Wu was not the true body of Xu Wu Tong Yan, he was still Heavenly Emperor Fire—he could simultaneously wield the power of Pure Lotus Demon Fire and Xu Wu Tong Yan Tian Zi Huo to construct the Refining Heaven Ancient Formation, something even the Pure Lotus Demon Saint could not achieve.

One could imagine how powerful this Refining Heaven Ancient Formation was.

"Begin."

Boom! As Xiao Yan spoke, the black and white arrays floated before him; the North Dragon King's corpse was tossed into the Refining Heaven Ancient Formation—alongside it were Xing Tian, whom Xiao Yan had once crafted, and a pile of miscellaneous materials.

Xiao Yan did not intend to use the North Dragon King as his warrior puppet—he planned to re-refine Xing Tian using the North Dragon King's body.

From the center of the upper black array, Mao Wu suddenly opened his mouth and sucked in—a black thunderbolt, roughly ten zhang thick, surged forth like a sea giant python, drawn into Mao Wu; then the Black Demon Thunder rained down from above the black array like lightning, striking the North Dragon King in the center.

As the Black Demon Thunder crashed down, the lower white array began to rotate, spewing countless thin white light columns that continuously wore down and refined the North Dragon King.

Mao Wu frantically absorbed Black Demon Thunder to temper the North Dragon King's body, while Xiao Yi controlled the Pure Lotus Demon Fire and the Refining Heaven Ancient Formation to relentlessly polish and melt.

Rings of black lightning swirled wildly around his body, strange sounds continuously echoing—especially piercing in the quiet depths of the Thunder Pool; yet the Thunder Space Lock formed by Nine Dragon Thunder Flame prevented any sound from escaping.

Xiao Yan watched intently as the North Dragon King's body, wreathed in black sparks, began to melt; then he saw the energy, refined into molten iron, merge and refine with Xing Tian under the power of the Refining Heaven Ancient Formation.

After a moment, a hint of delight rose in his eyes—he could feel the North Dragon King's energy raging wildly within Xing Tian's body, then gradually merging into it, each thread of violent energy soaking into Xing Tian's muscles, bones, and skin.

"No wonder the Pure Lotus Demon Saint, who dominated an era and whose power even Dou Emperor Families dared not provoke—his creation of this supreme demonic array truly wasn't an empty boast."

The more Xiao Yan mastered the Refining Heaven Ancient Formation, the more surprises he uncovered—it could refine all things; the Pure Lotus Demon Saint's claim that it could "refine heaven as slave" was indeed true—it could temper anything.

Soon, under the refining of the Refining Heaven Ancient Formation and the dual demonic fires, Xing Tian's already dark body grew even darker, his piled muscles radiating a visceral sense of power.

A faint but immense power began to surge from Xing Tian's body.

"Good results."

Seeing the Refining Heaven Ancient Formation begin to operate, Xiao Yan slowly closed his eyes to wait, and also refined the Red Lotus Karma Fire.

Fully integrating the North Dragon King's power into Xing Tian to forge a new Xing Tian would still take time.

Moreover, Xiao Yan did not have only the North Dragon King—he now held the corpse of Heaven Phoenix.

Nalan Yanran had made several trips back and forth, not only bringing the medicinal materials Xiao Yan needed, but also delivering the corpse of Heaven Phoenix.

If Heaven Phoenix's body were also refined and fused into Xing Tian, then Xing Tian would possess an unusual Dragon Phoenix body; though puppets could not use battle qi or Dou Techniques, their raw physical power alone would be terrifying.

Heaven Phoenix was not a true ancient Heaven Phoenix, but he was still a Five-Star Late Dou Sheng of the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan; as for his Soul Body, it had already been taken by Hun Mie Sheng—no share for Xiao Yan.

As the Refining Heaven Ancient Formation continued to operate, endless Black Demon Thunder was frantically drawn in by Mao Wu, forming a colossal vortex that absorbed the Black Demon Thunder.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Time passed second by second; Xiao Yan had been inside for about half a month.

In the depths of the Thunder Pool, loud roars rang continuously—each Black Demon Thunder surged forth like a dragon, one after another, pouring into the Refining Heaven Ancient Formation.

Beyond that region, Xiao Yan watched the scene, murmuring in admiration; his heart was deeply satisfied—the bodies of the North Dragon King and Heaven Phoenix had been fully refined, and Xing Tian had been re-tempered; his physical strength now surpassed Xiao Yan's.

The terrifying physical power even surprised Xiao Yan—he suspected Xing Tian would become the third strongest physical entity after Zi Yan and Cai Lin—a manufactured Dragon Phoenix body!

After undergoing such intense enhancements and further refining by the Refining Heaven Ancient Formation, Xing Tian's body was naturally terrifying—yet even after absorbing so much Black Demon Thunder, he showed no sign of reaching his limit.

Such puppets are true masterpieces; compared to the Tian Yao Kui from the ancient Dou Saint Ruins where the Great Heaven Creation Palm was obtained, the latter is nothing but a pile of broken trash—no wonder it was used as a gatekeeper.

When crafting puppets, the body is most crucial; and once successfully forged, the puppet cannot use Dou Qi, so it must rely solely on its physical form—but materials as formidable as Bei Long Wang or Huang Tian are not easily found.

"At this rate, within half a month, Xing Tian will reach the Sixth-Star Dou Saint level; even the Black Demon Thunder is beginning to run short."

But Xiao Yan was not in a hurry—he was still waiting for the Nine Mystery Golden Thunder.

Another half-month passed; Xiao Yan slowly opened his eyes, a streak of crimson flame flashing through them.

Xiao Yan felt helpless: his power was now too great. After absorbing energy from this place for a month using the Burning Scripture, refining the Crimson Lotus Karma Fire, he had only made his Dou Qi denser and his SpiritFlesh slightly stronger—still unable to break through the barrier of Five-Star Dou Saint Peak.

The energy gap between Dou Saints is immense, and this Black Demon Thunder is too weak!

Xiao Yan's gaze swept over Xing Tian; now, the latter's entire body was coated as if with black crystalline stone, shimmering with mysterious luster, a faint aura of danger slowly spreading—so potent that even Xiao Yan felt wary, daring not to underestimate it for an instant.

Patterns adorned his body; from afar, they looked like a colossal dragon and a giant phoenix entwined around him.

"Tsk tsk tsk—having fused Bei Long Wang and Huang Tian, these two demonic beast overlords, this puppet is likely a flawless masterpiece even by the standards of the ancient Dou Emperor era."

Xiao Yan lightly touched Xing Tian's arm; the sensation beneath his fingertips told him that beneath the puppet's skin lay a peerless Fierce Beast—once unleashed, its power would be beyond words.

Such a puppet can be described only as perfect.

As for just how strong it was, Xiao Yan had always made his puppets punch him after crafting them—but this time, he did not.

"Xing Tian has reached its limit; Black Demon Thunder alone can no longer elevate it. My own body has also begun developing resistance to its energy—further cultivation would see efficiency plummet drastically."

"Why hasn't the Nine Mystery Golden Thunder gathered its Spirit yet to break through?"

Xiao Yan frowned—he was done, so why haven't you even started yet?

I was waiting for you to fail your Spirit gathering so I could pick up the scraps!

Just as Xiao Yan was puzzled, suddenly, the entire Void Thunder Pool erupted in violent tremors!

"Here it comes!"

Xiao Yan's heart jolted, then surged with joy—the Nine Mystery Golden Thunder could no longer hold back and was finally gathering Spirit to break through!

Xiao Yan immediately donned the Soul Robe, enveloping himself in Soul Force; the Nine Dragon Thunder Flame surged forth, turning Xiao Yan into lightning and merging him into the surrounding Sea of Thunder, hiding himself from the Nine Mystery Golden Thunder.

Xiao Yan suddenly halted his steps, quietly gazing from within the Lei Hai; his dark pupils widened with shock as he stared at the center of the Lei Hai—there, a colossal golden dragon, forged entirely of gold, coiled and curled, golden Lei Dian splashing outward from its body.

(End of Chapter)