Chapter 540: Phantom Immortal Dharma Image

Zhang Nuo raised his hands and looked at his somewhat reddened skin; he knew this was because of the fusion with the Spirit Beast! He believed that once he began cultivating, his skin would return to its original color!

He paced around the Cave Abode, feeling several different powers circulating within his body; this sensation was like having different meridians running together inside him! Although somewhat chaotic, it was filled with power!

With a forceful grip of his five fingers, Zhang Nuo slammed a blow toward the stone wall to the side!

With a loud, rumbling boom, more than half of the entire stone wall collapsed under his strike! And this was without even using any arts, relying solely on the strength of his physical body!

Such terrifying cultivation made even Zhang Nuo himself gasp. It seemed that after fusing with the Spirit Beast, his physical body had once again been strengthened to an incredible degree, even more formidable than the fifth layer of the Immovable Underworld King!

A smile appeared on his face; for the first time in so long, Zhang Nuo smiled from the bottom of his heart! Because he felt the light! As long as he continued along this path, he would surely be able to break through the shackles of the Spirit Severing Stage!

With a flash of his figure, he returned to the stone bed! He closed his eyes and entered a state of meditation! Upon looking inward, he saw that his internal organs had hardly changed, only that waves of inexplicably powerful strength were emanating from within his body!

With a slight shake of his shoulders, a Golden Light flew out from his body, and upon landing, it transformed into the appearance of Xuan Jin! After moving his limbs and seeing that Xuan Jin was the same as before, Zhang Nuo finally set his mind at ease!

"Master! It is indeed as you envisioned; although our physical bodies are fused, we can also exist as independent individuals!"

Zhang Nuo looked at Xuan Jin carefully, but he was not too happy! After pondering for a while, he said:

"Xuan Jin, I fear things are not as you think! You are now equivalent to a clone of mine; as soon as you detach from my body, I feel my power being drained by a fraction. If all the Spirit Beasts were released, I imagine my power would continue to weaken!"

This was a situation Zhang Nuo did not want to see! Although the previous 'Beast-Taming Return to One Phantom Immortal Art' also included the characteristic of being able to separate, the decline in his own power was a major drawback!

In other words, when he separated all the Spirit Beasts from his body, although his cultivation would not drop, his divine abilities would be much fewer! However, things had reached this point, and Zhang Nuo had no other choice; gold is never perfectly pure, and even the best art would have a few flaws, not to mention that he had only recently completed this set of arts!

With a wave of his hand, Xuan Jin returned to Zhang Nuo's body, and his previous power returned! He formed a strange Dharma seal with his hands, further fusing the power of the Spirit Beasts within him!

After more than two years, he finally condensed all the power within his body together. When he silently operated the three major cultivation arts he had practiced before, he was slightly taken aback. Indeed, the fused arts had regressed quite a bit, especially the Eight Extremes Demon Veins; due to the changes in his internal meridians, the 'Du Meridian' he had previously cultivated had disappeared!

This meant that the Eight Extremes Demon Veins had regressed by a full layer! However, the Shangqing Sword Art, the Immovable Underworld King, and some auxiliary arts had not weakened too much! It would only take three to five years to cultivate them back!

Changing the Dharma seal in his hands, Zhang Nuo did not dwell on these things, but started practicing the 'Beast-Taming Return to One Phantom Immortal Art' from the beginning. Although it was a fusion of several arts, it could be considered a new art! As his Spirit Power circulated, a layer of faint spiritual light wrapped him within it!

The bitter cultivation began from that day! As the saying goes, there is no concept of time in cultivation! Long, dull, and tedious training constantly tempered the cultivators' will, making their state of mind more peaceful!

In a flash! Thirty years had passed since Zhang Nuo began his seclusion! During these thirty years, Luo Lie had almost no mind to pay attention to him, only occasionally standing at the entrance of the grass hut, glancing toward the direction of Zhang Nuo's Cave Abode!

Luo Lie dared not hold too much hope for this Return to One True Art, which only had a fifty percent chance of success! The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment! Over these years, Zhang Nuo's Cave Abode had been very quiet, with almost no sound at all, but most of the Spiritual Qi in the entire small valley was flowing toward the inside of the Cave Abode; he did not know what method Zhang Nuo had used to attract the Spiritual Qi!

One morning, Luo Lie walked out of the grass hut as usual, then sat cross-legged on an open space in the center of the valley to begin his breathing exercises!

The morning Spirit Power, carrying the faint medicinal fragrance of Mowen Valley, was absorbed into Luo Lie's body. Not long after he began, a sudden loud noise echoed endlessly throughout the valley!

Luo Lie hurriedly opened his eyes, for the direction of that sound was precisely from Zhang Nuo's Cave Abode. With a flash of his escape light, he arrived at the entrance of the Cave Abode, only to see the Restriction he had previously set up flashing, as if it were about to be burst open!

"What is this kid doing?"

Luo Lie was somewhat shocked; looking at this power, it was almost comparable to a cultivator at the Integration Early Stage! After a while, everything returned to calm! As if nothing had happened just now!

Standing at the entrance of Zhang Nuo's Cave Abode without leaving, Luo Lie always felt something was wrong. Normally, a cultivator would only trigger such a large commotion when practicing that kind of high-power technique!

At this very moment, inside the Cave Abode, Zhang Nuo sat cross-legged on the stone bed. Above his head, a tall, pale golden Dharma Image stood solemnly!

This Dharma Image was somewhat similar to the previous phantom image of the Immovable Underworld King, but the only difference was the color! The phantom image previously stimulated by Yin Qi emitted gray rays of light, but this time it was golden rays of light!

Not only that, on the back of the Dharma Image, one could clearly see a spine! This bone emitted a pale golden glow, giving the Dharma Image a slight sense of flesh and blood!

At the same time, inside the body of the Dharma Image, four black meridians faintly appeared. The Dharma Image had been keeping its eyes slightly closed, as if it were in a state of dormancy!

After a long while, Zhang Nuo slowly opened his eyes, looked up at the tall Dharma Image above, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face! This Dharma Image was based on the phantom image of the Immovable Underworld King! At the same time, it also incorporated the power of the Eight Extremes Demon Veins! What surprised Zhang Nuo the most was!

He had actually added Xiangtai's spine into the Dharma Image! As a result, the Dharma Image became even more majestic, and even its divine abilities had increased significantly!

The previous Immovable Underworld King art only created a phantom image, but this one was a genuine Dharma Image Golden Body! With a sudden movement of his Divine Sense, the eyes of the Dharma Image suddenly opened, and a metallic luster flashed within its dark red eyes! Driven by Zhang Nuo, the Dharma Image raised its hand and punched the roof of the cave!

With a rumbling explosion, if Zhang Nuo hadn't deliberately controlled the force, I'm afraid this single strike would have pierced through the entire mountain!

"Congratulations, Master, on the success of the Dharma Image Golden Body!"

Inside his body, Xuan Jin's voice slowly sounded! Zhang Nuo smiled faintly and just shook his head slightly, because although this Dharma Image looked very majestic, it was still far from the effect he wanted to achieve in the 'Beast-Taming Return to One Phantom Immortal Art'!

"Let's give it a name!"

Xuan Jin seemed even more anxious than Zhang Nuo! After bowing his head and pondering for a moment, Zhang Nuo said faintly:

"Let's call it the Phantom Immortal Dharma Image! When I was fusing the arts, I had a feeling that if this Dharma Image were fully cultivated, it could at least fight a Great Accomplishment Stage cultivator one-on-one!"

From this day on, this Dharma Image refined by Zhang Nuo through the 'Beast-Taming Return to One Phantom Immortal Art' was named: Phantom Immortal Dharma Image! It was precisely because of the appearance of this Dharma Image that his divine abilities stepped into a brand-new realm! Don't look at the fact that Zhang Nuo's current cultivation is only at the Spirit Transformation Mid-Stage, but his terrifying strength could even allow him to clash a few times with an Integration Early Stage cultivator!

With a shake of his figure, Zhang Nuo retracted the Dharma Image, then walked out of the Cave Abode. Feeling the bright sunshine and fresh air outside, he stretched his body greatly!

"Kid Zhang! You've come out!"

In the air not far from the Cave Abode, Luo Lie was floating quietly. Seeing Zhang Nuo come out so leisurely, he felt very surprised; thirty years of bitter cultivation not only did not make him look haggard, but instead, he was full of spirit!

However, when Luo Lie's Divine Sense swept over Zhang Nuo, he discovered that this kid's cultivation had actually advanced to the Spirit Transformation Mid-Stage! In just thirty years, he had improved by a small realm!

"Senior! The Return to One True Art is not bad!"

Giving Luo Lie a thumbs up, Zhang Nuo praised.

"I didn't expect you kid to advance to the Spirit Transformation Mid-Stage so quickly! Spar with me a bit and see how powerful your new art is!"

Extremely curious in his heart about just how strong Zhang Nuo's fused art would be, and relying on his own cultivation not being weak, Luo Lie dared to say this!

"Alright! Senior Luo! I'm coming!"

Zhang Nuo's divine art was newly completed, and he had long been itching to test it, especially since the Luo Lie opposite him was an Integration Late Stage cultivator, making him the perfect sparring partner! Even if he used his full strength, he wouldn't fear causing the other party any serious injury!

With a flash of his escape light, Zhang Nuo rushed toward the high sky, and at the same time, flicking his hands repeatedly, several streaks of Sword Qi shot out! The sky full of Sword Qi was like a huge net, covering Luo Lie from above!

"Don't bring these childish things to me! Use your strongest move!"

With just a flick of his sleeve, an invisible force appeared, shattering all the Sword Qi Zhang Nuo had sent out! Seeing this, Zhang Nuo smiled faintly! It seemed that ordinary moves were of no use against an Integration Late Stage cultivator. Thinking of this, he suddenly let out a low shout! His figure shook slightly!

Golden light erupted from his body, and a Dharma Image Golden Body two zhang tall appeared in front of Luo Lie!

"Good fellow! You even brought out the Dharma Image Golden Body!"

Facing such a majestic Dharma Image! Luo Lie also gasped!