Chapter 605: Earthly Fiend Energy

When that faint red energy appeared in Li Luo's perception, his heart rippled with emotion, but he forced back his excitement, suppressing his feelings—he knew he could not afford the slightest mistake.

The Earthly Fiend Energy had been successfully sensed; next was to draw it into his body and strengthen his Phase Palace.

With a thought, Li Luo sent forth a strand of Phase Force, guiding the "Earthly Fiend Energy" straight toward his body, and the moment it made contact, the "Earthly Fiend Energy" surged directly inside him.

The instant the "Earthly Fiend Energy" entered his body, Li Luo's frame shuddered violently—unlike the ordinary Heavenly and Earthly Energy he absorbed during cultivation, this "Earthly Fiend Energy" could only be described as wild and untamed, like a ferocious beast brimming with primal rage, violent and chaotic, crashing wildly through his body the moment it entered, wreaking havoc.

Li Luo's meridians throbbed with sharp pain from the "Earthly Fiend Energy"'s collisions; fortunately, he had trained the "Thunderclap Body," which had strengthened his flesh, otherwise his meridians would likely have already been damaged.

Li Luo focused his spirit on the "Earthly Fiend Energy" that had invaded his body, pausing to consider—this energy was extremely violent and could not yet be directly absorbed into the Phase Palace, for the Phase Palace could not withstand its destruction, nor would it willingly strengthen the Palace.

So what needed to be done now was to neutralize the violent factors contained within the "Earthly Fiend Energy."

In simple terms, it had to be tamed.

Li Luo first shifted his thought, summoning a strand of Waterlight Phase Force to envelop the "Earthly Fiend Energy," but the moment the two made contact, the "Earthly Fiend Energy" surged violently, striking repeatedly against the Waterlight Phase Force, until after moments, it shattered the entire strand.

"Truly wild."

Seeing this, Li Luo muttered to himself, but this had merely been a test; judging from the result, taming a single "Earthly Fiend Energy" using only Waterlight Phase Force would consume an enormous amount of his own energy.

If so...

As Li Luo's thought shifted, another Phase Palace released a strand of Phase Force, which swiftly merged with the Waterlight Phase Force, forming a powerful and dense "Dual-Phase Force."

The Dual-Phase Force surged forth like a great whale, swallowing the "Earthly Fiend Energy" in one gulp.

Then, like a hidden current, the Dual-Phase Force continuously churned, refining the swallowed "Earthly Fiend Energy" back and forth.

Faced with the domineering Dual-Phase Force, the "Earthly Fiend Energy" initially struggled, but slowly seemed to sense its opponent was not to be trifled with, and thus calmed down; deep crimson specks within it gradually rose, eventually being ground away by the Dual-Phase Force.

Thus, after several minutes, the faint red hue of the "Earthly Fiend Energy" had significantly faded, and its turbulent aura had vanished.

Li Luo knew—he had successfully tamed it.

Yet, after sensing the consumption of his own Dual-Phase Force, a faint worry stirred in his heart, for the energy cost of refining the "Earthly Fiend Energy" was even greater than he had imagined.

Could his own Phase Force truly sustain enough refinement to gather sufficient Earthly Fiend Energy to fully strengthen one Phase Palace?

If he failed to complete the strengthening in one go, he would have to resort to slow, incremental progress—which would undoubtedly consume far more time... at least a month, no less.

But that clearly contradicted Li Luo's expectations.

"Attempting to break through to Earthly Fiend Rank during this period was indeed impulsive—even with the aid of the Sacred Tree Spirit Crystal, it remains perilous." Li Luo pondered, yet did not hesitate—there was no turning back now; on the path of cultivation, there are no absolute guarantees, and sometimes one must take risks.

At this moment, Li Luo understood why Senior Ao Bai had remained only at False General Rank at the end of the Second-Star Academy—because the difficulty was far higher than he had imagined.

As he thought of this, Li Luo turned his gaze inward to his two Phase Palaces; now he faced another problem... the Earthly Fiend Palace Stage meant strengthening the Phase Palace, yet he possessed two Phase Palaces! That meant he had to strengthen both!

But Li Luo clearly lacked the time and energy to strengthen both simultaneously, so he could only retreat a step—choose one to strengthen first.

After consideration, he unsurprisingly chose the Waterlight Phase Palace.

After all, it was a top-tier seventh-rank Phase Palace.

So he shifted his thought, directly injecting the refined "Earthly Fiend Energy" into the Waterlight Phase Palace.

The moment the "Earthly Fiend Energy" entered the Waterlight Phase Palace, the Palace trembled continuously, as if emitting intense longing—this sensation was like a starving man gazing upon a legendary delicacy laid before him.

Under the Palace's yearning call, the tamed "Earthly Fiend Energy" offered no resistance, drifting upward and finally merging with the Palace.

At the instant of fusion, concentric rings of red ripples spread across the Palace's surface; the previously shattered and battered membrane, riddled with damage from his own Phase Force, greedily devoured each red ripple, and at that moment, a thunderous boom echoed within the Palace.

Under Li Luo's spiritual focus, he clearly felt the Waterlight Phase Palace growing broader and more resilient.

"Such a dramatic change."

Li Luo couldn't help but marvel—this was merely a single strand of "Earthly Fiend Energy," yet it had triggered such a profound transformation; thus, the gap between the true Earthly Fiend Palace Stage and the Phase Master Stage was immense.

Even as he marveled, Li Luo did not pause—he continued drawing in more "Earthly Fiend Energy" from outside.

The strengthening of the Phase Palace continued.

At the edge of the Golden House.

Jiang Jiang Qinge and the others had been watching Li Luo's movements intently.

"The Earthly Fiend Energy has begun entering his body to strengthen the Phase Palace," Jiang Jiang Qinge said, sensing the unique energy emanating around Li Luo—she, as a Supreme Fiend Rank cultivator, was certainly familiar with it.

"So he's going to succeed?" Cai Wei exclaimed joyfully.

Jiang Jiang Qinge hesitated, then said: "Not necessarily... the Earthly Fiend Palace Stage is about strengthening and transforming the Phase Palace, and refining Earthly Fiend Energy consumes enormous Phase Force. Although Li Luo possesses Dual Phases and the support of the Sacred Tree Spirit Crystal, completing the strengthening in one go is far from easy."

"If he cannot complete it in one push, he hasn't truly broken through—he's merely reached False General Rank, like Ao Bai in the Sacred Cup Battle."

Yan Yan Lingqing rubbed her smooth brow and said: "It's still too forced."

Jiang Jiang Qinge nodded lightly: "Normally, Li Luo should have broken through during the mid-stage of the Second-Star Academy, but now he's forcibly advancing it by half a year—this is naturally risky."

"Now, we'll see if he can hold out until the end."

Under the worried gazes of those on the sidelines, Li Luo continued refining the "Earthly Fiend Energy."

As time passed, one strand after another of refined "Earthly Fiend Energy" poured into the Waterlight Phase Palace, which grew increasingly brilliant and resilient under the strengthening.

The strengthening had progressed to nearly halfway.

But Li Luo's heart sank.

His internal Phase Force had already been depleted by nearly eighty percent.

Refining Earthly Fiend Energy consumed too much Phase Force.

Li Luo fell silent for several breaths, then gritted his teeth—he could not give up until the final moment. If he failed to break through to Earthly Fiend Palace Stage now, he would have no right to intervene in the upcoming Mansion Sacrifice—would he truly rely solely on the Three-Tailed Heavenly Wolf's power to confront Manager Pei Hao?

Without inner strength, external aids remain unstable.

So Li Luo clasped his palms together, and his Phase Palaces trembled.

Within the Phase Palaces, the water of the Waterlight Phase surged upward like ten thousand threads; within the Wood-Earth Phase Palace, the great tree rooted in brown soil swayed, its emerald leaves lifting and swirling upward like stars.

Li Luo was preparing to expend everything in one final surge.

Outside, Jiang Jiang Qinge sensed Li Luo's condition, her delicate face tightening as she raised her slender hand.

The Sacred Tree Spirit Crystal and the Essence-Nourishing Pills floated into view.

She was about to intervene.

But just at this moment, Niu Niu Biaobiao, who had been silent all along at the side, suddenly reached out and stopped her.

"Uncle Biao?" Jiang Jiang Qinge looked over in confusion.

Niu Niu Biaobiao's expression was unusually solemn. He shook his head and said, "He has already used one 'Sacred Tree Spirit Crystal.' He cannot rely too heavily on the aid of external medicines. Otherwise, even if he breaks through, it will cause his phase force to become unstable. The path of cultivation ultimately needs to be built step by step, and only with a solid foundation will there be hope of climbing to greater heights in the future."

"The Young Mansion Master's situation is very special, so every step requires him to stabilize his own foundation and reserves."

Jiang Jiang Qinge pressed her red lips tightly together. Of course she understood the special circumstances Niu Niu Biaobiao spoke of—Li Luo had a limited lifespan; he only had four years to charge at the Marquis Realm. If he destabilized his foundation now just to charge into the Earth Sha General Stage, he might pay an extremely heavy price for it in the future.

Jiang Jiang Qinge's eyes flickered. If she had to choose between Lu Lan Mansion and Li Luo's life, she would, without the slightest hesitation, choose the latter.

Niu Niu Biaobiao looked at the worried Jiang Jiang Qinge, but smiled faintly and said with hidden meaning, "Don't underestimate the Young Mansion Master's potential."

Hearing this, Jiang Jiang Qinge also nodded gently, then her jade-like hand descended, and the Sacred Tree Spirit Crystal and the Spirit-Nurturing Pill vanished from sight.

She gazed at the figure in the arena whose phase force fluctuations around his body were already weakening.

"Li Luo... I believe in you."