Chapter 447: Heavenly Phoenix Great Success, Chen Ziqi Comes from the East

The purple-gold alchemy furnace slowly rotated in midair.

A cultivator completely ignorant of medicinal theory, while refining the Heavenly Phoenix Pill, surprisingly displayed a master's bearing.

Shen Yi skillfully refined the medicinal power, then added the refined blood of the Golden Fire Sparrow Demon into it.

He sensed the changes within the furnace.

Clearly, the quality of the Golden Fire Sparrow's refined blood was far inferior to that of the former Red-Eyed Profound Phoenix, yet relying on his profound cultivation, the effect was actually even better.

Over ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

Shen Yi steadily controlled the Separation Fire, and the refined blood of the four Sparrow Demons fully merged with the medicinal power.

In an instant, familiar light overflowed from the purple-gold alchemy furnace.

Many illusory phoenix shadows circled around the furnace.

As the furnace opened, beams of Jin Guang shot out, falling into Shen Yi's palm.

Seventeen pills were formed!

This time, the medicinal ingredients for the Heavenly Phoenix Pill obtained from the Fourth Cave were completely exhausted.

He closed his eyes, inhaling the fragrant scent of the pills.

It should be enough.

Shen Yi placed a Heavenly Phoenix Pill in his mouth, opened the panel, and poured demon longevity into it.

【Killed Fanxu. Heavenly Phoenix Indestructible True Body: Minor Success】

【First Year, you swallowed the Heavenly Phoenix Pill, digested its medicinal power, guided it into the phoenix egg within your body, and repaired the cracks upon it...】

When Shen Yi fought the Old Dog and Venerable Bihai last time, he suffered heavily.

It just didn't manifest on his body; the phoenix egg bore it all. This object is somewhat like a second life, truly worthy of the title "Heavenly Phoenix Indestructible."

Consuming the medicinal power is easy; it won't take much time.

More demon longevity was spent on that golden phoenix egg; it requires vast ages to grow.

Shen Yi sat cross-legged, swallowing the Heavenly Phoenix Pills one by one.

For such Spiritual Body Techniques to be more effective, the demonic nature and ferocity within the refined blood are deliberately preserved.

Had Shen Yi not long been accustomed to demonic power, swallowing such a massive amount would likely have affected his sanity.

His face turned an abnormal red; that luster seemed like living creatures, converging toward the golden flame pattern on his brow, even giving the illusion that the golden flame was leaping.

"Hoo."

【Thirty-Eight Thousandth Year, you digested fifteen Heavenly Phoenix Pills; the long-nurtured phoenix egg finally showed changes】

【Killed Fanxu. Heavenly Phoenix Indestructible True Body: Great Success】

The moment the panel prompt leaped up.

Shen Yi suddenly felt a surge of immense life force fully bolstering his body.

A continuous "Crack" sound came from his ears.

Upon the Dao Infant's five organs, that golden phoenix egg began to shatter, though this time it was not forcibly smashed by someone else.

Blinding golden flame burst forth from within!

"Ao!"

The creature of desire-fire nirvana let out a sharp, piercing long cry, circling within Shen Yi's body as the eggshell turned into flowing light and poured into its form, making it increasingly powerful.

Finally, this Golden Phoenix assumed a wing-spread posture; golden flame flowed and spread across its body, transforming into a Mount Wutong tree connecting the five organs.

It perched on the Mount Wutong tree, becoming Shen Yi's second heart.

"Heh..."

Shen Yi exhaled a long, scorching breath, and his face finally returned to Bai Xi.

Only that golden flame, like the Golden Phoenix's eye, stood vertically between his brows, shining brilliantly.

His black robe moved without wind; upon his handsome face, golden light swayed within his pupils. Though his hands were still stained with blood, he now possessed a hint of otherworldly immortal air.

"What a terrifying improvement."

Trying to clench his fist, Shen Yi relaxed his brow.

The aura on his body now was not inferior to that previous Killed Fanxu Fourth Layer Old Sparrow Demon; from Minor Success to Great Success, he had directly crossed the watershed of the Killed Fanxu Early Stage.

Just based on this Spiritual Body Technique, joining any one of the Seven Sons of Yu Nanhong as an official would be more than sufficient.

Within the Xian Sect, this cultivation level is not high.

Yet it gave Shen Yi greater room to display his skills; at least he now possessed the qualification to leave the Xian Sect alone and walk the world.

He slightly experienced the changes in the Spiritual Body Technique.

Looking at the remaining longevity on the panel, Shen Yi raised an eyebrow, feeling slightly strange.

Whether it is the Body Tempering Method or the Spiritual Body Technique, neither requires thinking; they should be the most time-consuming cultivation methods.

For instance, ordinary Killed Fanxu cultivators.

If one focused on the Heavenly Phoenix Indestructible True Body, in thirty to fifty thousand years, their longevity would be nearly exhausted, with an upper limit of only Killed Fanxu Fourth Layer; it could only serve as a helpless choice for cultivators of mediocre talent with no hope of breakthrough.

But for himself, this technique actually became the most time-saving optimal choice.

"Enough, it should be about right."

Now that he had the Spiritual Body Technique to protect him, Shen Yi finally dared to place that Golden Sparrow Stabilizing Stone into his Dao Palace.

He summoned his nearly five-hundred-zhang scarlet Demon Emperor Palace from his brow, occupying the entire sky.

He then began selecting Stabilizing Stones.

Golden Sparrow, Venerable Bihai Toad, Spirit Cloud Deer Demon, Red-Eyed Profound Phoenix—these were all third-rank Stabilizing Stones, with the Golden Sparrow even approaching second-rank.

Finally, adding the fourth-rank Transformation of Spirit Realm Stabilizing Stones, Divine Wind and Bai Hong.

Regardless of whether it could match Li Xuanqing, it was certainly not a foundation that ordinary cultivators could assemble.

Paired with the highest-grade Six-Pillar Palace-Raising Method of the General Nanyang Sect.

Shen Yi's expression gradually grew serious.

Then he opened the panel.

【Year One: You cast the Six-Pillar General Nanyang Palace-Raising Method and began condensing the second layer of the Dao Palace.】

As the notification leaped up, the Dao Palace in the sky gradually began to change.

Just beneath the cushion surrounded by the nine demons, those ferocious and terrifying sealing stones suddenly began to tremble slightly.

At the same time, all cultivators within the inner court of the General Nanyang Sect felt the fluctuation of qi.

Compared to the majority who were puzzled,

Nie Jun, who had been deep in thought, suddenly raised his head and stared blankly at the empty sky.

After sensing that faint trace of demonic qi,

complexity surged in his eyebrows.

How could it be... so fast?

Nie Jun had been secluding himself without leaving for some time, having found information about the Dao Pillars in the Scripture Pavilion.

He wanted to offer his meager strength to help Shen Yi, who was isolated and helpless, facing the Seven Sons of Yu Nanhong alone; thus, he gritted his teeth and made up his mind to visualize a third-rank Dao Pillar.

Recently, he had been waiting for an elder from the Qingyue Sect to come and lecture.

He never expected that before the elder could lecture,

Shen Zongzhu had already taught himself a lesson.

Thinking of this, he rose, left the room, and sped toward the direction where the qi fluctuation had changed.

At this moment, inside the Great Hall of the Ancestral Master Statue in the inner court,

the wooden figure that had sincerely admitted its fault finally opened its eyes with some curiosity, raised its head, and looked through the roof of the hall toward a certain place.

"The Six-Pillar Palace-Raising Method, huh."

Li Xuanqing suddenly smiled; it seemed this young little Shen Zongzhu had quite a bit of ambition.

Those who dare to choose this method are all striving for realms above the Xiangong.

They wish to become existences that ascend to Bai Yujing.

Pity it is a bit too hasty.

Li Xuanqing withdrew his gaze and sighed slightly; he actually had no qualification to comment on others' temperaments, after all, he himself was the greatest calamity of the General Nanyang Sect.

If it were him in his youth, facing such immense pressure, bearing the lives of all living beings within the Dao-merged sacred land on his shoulders, he would have long ago wiped away tears and gone to find his master to cry and complain.

Truly a cultivator possessing the Dragon Aspect.

He only felt a bit of regret because he was powerless to solve any troubles for the other party.

Sensing the consecutive formation of the Dao Pillars,

Li Xuanqing slowly closed his eyes... yet only for an instant, he opened his eyes again and looked up at the sky in confusion.

Crack-crack-crack—

Within the boundless Demon Emperor Palace, which was shrouded in a sky-filling crimson, the stone skin on the statues of Bai Hong and Divine Wind peeled off entirely; the red light shooting toward the heavens resembled two giant pillars supporting the sky, and when the light dissipated,

it revealed utterly ordinary pillars.

If one insisted on finding any characteristic, it was that the pillars bore bas-reliefs of a white horse and a blind ferocious beast.

Although the Dao Pillars are called "pillars,"

one does not know how rigid a cultivator must be to actually visualize them in the shape of pillars.

However, the reason Xuanqing looked up was the third sealing stone.

The sealing stone of the Red-Eyed Dark Phoenix trembled wildly, revealing an aura far surpassing the previous two!

The phoenix cry did not cease in his ears.

"..."

Li Xuanqing fell silent for a moment.

Relying on the few ancient texts left by the General Nanyang Sect, without anyone teaching him, to visualize a third-rank Dao Pillar at such a young age; if given some more time, he might advance even further.

He suddenly felt some regret.

Even though he currently possessed no strength, if he could stand up and give the other party more confidence, perhaps that young little Shen Zongzhu would not be so anxious.

This thought did not last long.

Because the qi fluctuation outside was still changing, not weakening, but rather growing even stronger!

Ascending step by step!

The Dark Phoenix Pillar, the Bihai Pillar, and the Spirit Cloud Pillar appeared consecutively.

Until finally, the sparrow cry that resounded through the heavens seemed to proclaim its birth to heaven and earth!

Li Xuanqing seemed to sense something.

He finally rose from the cushion and slowly walked out of the hall.

The wooden face could not make any expression, and the simple eyes held no light.

Yet in his quiet action of looking up at the sky, there was filled complex expectation, as if waiting for an old friend to return.

In the direction Li Xuanqing was looking,

amidst the sky-filling white clouds, a trace of purple suddenly surged; it was merely a single point, yet it pierced straight through the formation of the General Nanyang Sect and entered this sacred land.

It resembled a small auspicious cloud, speeding toward a certain direction, as if celebrating for someone.

Chen Ziqi Comes from the East.

The Tiangong is complete.

In these one hundred thousand years, Li Xuanqing had seen some such purple qi, but this was the first wisp belonging to the General Nanyang Sect.

After a long silence, he slowly exhaled and sighed, "Patriarch, please look at my Sect's prodigy—at the very least, this is quite a fine beginning."

He smiled at the patriarch statue behind him.

The next moment, Li Xuanqing raised his clasped hands toward the horizon, his voice booming like a great bell across the heavens: "Former personal disciple Xuanqing, congratulates our General Nanyang Sect Master on his Tiangong!"

Along with his words, from within his withered wooden frame, a wisp of the same purple Qi slowly peeled away.

It merged into that patch of purple cloud, causing its size to swell twofold.

The two intertwined, falling into the already two-storied Boundless Demon Sovereign Palace, seeping into the body of the Demon Sovereign who held a horsetail whisk and sat cross-legged, adding a touch of tranquil purple light to his scarlet-flowing form.

As Xuanqing's voice rang throughout the entire inner sect of General Nanyang Sect.

Everyone listened, utterly baffled.

Only in the Hall of Dharma, Elder Yang, who was lecturing with a formation disk, and Yan Wencheng beside him—both wore stunned expressions at the same time.

They immediately tossed aside the formation disk and rushed out of the dilapidated great hall.

They stared at the lingering purple hue in the sky, standing motionless for a long time, as if compared to Li Xuanqing, these two were more like wooden men.

Before the fourth layer of Returning to Void, a three-layered Spirit Palace, or even a one-layered Xiangong, that is the qualification of a personal disciple.

As for a Tiangong that can draw purple Qi from the east…

If one can maintain this and break through to the fourth layer of Returning to Void at such a pace—

Then that is the future Sect Master, without any doubt. Enjoying the Sect Master's personal disciple treatment, the only variable is which senior or junior brother comes first or last, and when it will be their turn for the position.

"Congratu—"

Elder Yang had just raised his clasped hands, but awkwardly froze.

It wasn't that the words "Sect Master" were too hard to say.

With the purple Qi as backdrop, Shen Zongzhu still had some face.

The main thing was that Senior Xuanqing had gifted a wisp of purple Qi.

Within the entire Seven Sons of Nanhong, only he could produce such a thing; even if other personal disciples had a Tiangong, they couldn't draw it out, let alone be willing to give it to someone else.

Elder Yang was merely an outer-gate elder; before this wisp of purple Qi, even if he were stripped clean, he couldn't produce a decent congratulatory gift.

"Don't make a sound, hurry back inside."

"This is a death sentence coming."

Elder Yang dragged Yan Wencheng and slinked back into the great hall.

Does General Nanyang Sect specialize in producing freaks?

Senior Xuanqing crushed his peers for tens of thousands of years, leaving the cultivators of Bai Yujing too ashamed to speak.

This General Nanyang treasure ground, fallen for a hundred thousand years, had just reopened—and now another "Xuanqing" appeared.

"Sigh."

At the place where all eyes were gathered, Shen Yi finally opened his eyes.

He first raised clasped hands toward the great hall.

Then he quietly stared at his own Boundless Demon Sovereign Palace in the sky.

Even he himself hadn't expected it.

The progress would be so smooth.

At the instant the six pillars were completed, he seemed to feel that this thick canopy of heaven had come alive; it glanced at him, revealing a hint of approval.

Of course, the congratulatory gift from that wooden-figure senior was no less than what this canopy of heaven bestowed.

Even more, in fact.

It made Shen Yi suddenly feel a pang of heartache for his Golden Sparrow Suppressing Stone… Of course, had it not been for the Tiangong proving himself first, where would such an astonishingly generous congratulatory gift have come from?

Regardless, he had taken a near-perfect first step.

Shen Yi was still quite satisfied.

He tried forming the hand seal for the Ten Thousand Demons Worship Dharma; with a slight shift of his mind, the purple radiance within the cushion figure's body suddenly surged into the Sea of Blood.

In an instant, the aura of this dharma art skyrocketed more than tenfold!

Shen Yi waved his hand and dismissed the technique.

He headed toward the great hall.

Earlier, Li Xuanqing said he was unable to help because the gap in level was too vast; for a prodigy cultivator like him, much of his experience was unsuitable for ordinary cultivators.

But now that he had barely stepped onto the same path, even if only at the beginning—

The other's experience would become an extremely precious treasure.

"…"

Watching Shen Yi speed away, the fellow disciples of Mount Wutong all stood rooted in place.

"Zhu Shixiong, what's wrong?" Yu Chaoan looked toward Nie Jun: "Is this Tiangong very impressive?"

Shen Yi's breakthrough was certainly shocking, but it shouldn't warrant such a reaction—they hadn't just met Shen Zongzhu yesterday; when had he ever slowed down?

"It's nothing."

Nie Jun shook his head, a surge of emotion rising in his eyes: "Very impressive… the finest under heaven."

Only cultivators who had attempted visualizing the Dao pillars could understand how terrifying the scene before them was.

For the current Nie Jun—

He actually didn't feel he lacked anything; after all, he could read techniques freely, and Shen Yi had never restricted their use of the items in the cave dwelling; the world's Qi was also far richer than before.

Such treatment, placed in any other sect, would amount to at least half the benefits of a personal disciple.

Nie Jun was confident he was no worse than any sect's disciples; what he lacked was merely some time to close the gap that others had pulled ahead over these years.

But when facing Shen Yi, he couldn't even summon the thought of envy.

The gap was too vast; there was simply no need for comparison.

Being able to witness the emergence of a Tiangong with his own eyes even gave Nie Jun some faint insights.

He nodded: "I will return first."

Inside the Ancestral Master's Great Hall.

Li Xuanqing seemed to have anticipated something; he did not return to his meditation cushion but stood at the hall entrance waiting quietly.

Until a purple-white long rainbow swept across the sky, waiting for Shen Yi to reveal his form.

Before Shen Yi could even speak, he shook his head and said: "Some things I no longer have use for; Shen Zongzhu need not be polite, just speak of the matter at hand."

"Thank you."

Shen Yi lightly nodded his chin; he was not the type to be overly talkative. For such a favor, he was more accustomed to responding with action.

"I just wanted to ask..."

Just then, Li Xuanqing suddenly placed his palm on Shen Yi's shoulder, interrupting his words in confusion: "What did you eat? Your body is full of pill poison?"

Upon hearing this.

Shen Yi pondered for a moment: "Soul Transformation Pill, Break Delusion Pill, and also Heavenly Phoenix Pill."

"..."

Li Xuanqing fell into thought; although he did not know what the Break Delusion Pill was, he had seen the other two.

Impossible, it makes no sense.

If these pills had such severe side effects, the General Nanyang Sect would not have included them.

"Wait, how many did you eat?"

"Over a hundred, I don't remember clearly." Shen Yi glanced sideways.

"Ahem, ahem."

Li Xuanqing felt that in the Hongze region, there should be nothing left that could move him.

But upon hearing this terrifying number, he was strangely shocked nonetheless.

Can the Soul Transformation Pill be consumed like this?

He looked at him in confusion: "Then what is the matter with the various impure auras within the pill poison?"

"Probably due to the Heavenly Phoenix Pill."

Shen Yi did not feel there was anything wrong; he could suppress it for now, but since Senior Xuanqing was willing to help, he casually introduced in detail to the other the refined blood he had used previously to refine the Heavenly Phoenix Pill.

Li Xuanqing froze completely in place.

He re-examined the youth before him.

So... did this young Shen Zongzhu think that as long as he called those messy things "Heavenly Phoenix Pill," they would produce the same effect?

"Hah."

Li Xuanqing exhaled a breath and said seriously: "I know you want to ask about the Tiangong, but I feel this matter can wait; you had better resolve the pill poison within your body first."

"Otherwise, the Heavenly Phoenix Indestructible True Body you cultivate may soon break down."

He spoke rather euphemistically, but Shen Yi understood clearly.

The Heavenly Phoenix Indestructible True Body equals a second life; the meaning of "breaking down" is actually death by pill poison.

"This."

Li Xuanqing saw that Shen Yi had clearly understood yet still remained calm; for a moment, he could not distinguish whether he or the other had seen through the barrier of life and death.

He fell into deep thought again, then raised his hand slightly, imprinting a route map into Shen Yi's mind.

"Go to the Lady Baohua Sect; they can help you. When you arrive there, you may tell them my name; perhaps there are still some favors owed. Quickly, you have at most ten-plus years."

Li Xuanqing had tried his best to fill his tone with a warning.

Unexpectedly, when Shen Yi heard "ten-plus years," he actually unconsciously sighed with relief.

Even Li Xuanqing, who had only felt a slight nostalgia upon seeing the Tiangong, finally showed some bewilderment at this moment: "..."

"Thank you for the reminder, Senior Xuanqing."

Shen Yi clasped his hands in a bow, turned, and walked toward the outside of the Great Hall.

Yet a strange feeling arose in his heart.

Last time at the Yu family, he had heard of Xuanqing's reputation, hearing that he had once saved that cultivator defiled by the Water Tribes; how many days had passed, and now the Lady Baohua Sect appeared again.

This senior was not necessarily as dull as he appeared on the surface.

(End of this chapter)