Chapter 488: Forge the Nascent Soul into a Pill, All Affairs Concluded, This Volume Ends

Brother Qian Chen's yin spirit avatar stood within the Forbidden Palace of the Eastern Palace, beside the corpse of the Master Sima family's Grand Patriarch, eyes still wide open in death.

He used his own body as the spiritual pivot, suppressing all transformations of this rare bronze palace treasure.

"To govern by virtue is like the North Star: it remains in its place while all other stars revolve around it!"

"Master Sima Yi refined this palace to suppress the North Star position indicated by the Seven-Star Lamp Array—his technique is truly extraordinary!"

Brother Qian Chen gazed toward the Seven-Star Lamp Array outside the bronze palace; Master Sima Yan's aura now floated distant and lofty, just one step away from Nascent Soul.

"Yet Master Sima Yi never anticipated the relics left behind by the Immortal Qin here—the very nature of the Luo Tian Immortal Artifact allowed Lord Langya Zhuge to hide a fragment of his divine spirit within the Luo Tian World. All his intricate schemes, however profound, could not match a living Langya Zhuge!"

Within the Seven-Star Lamp Array, Liu Yu's aura-cloud atop his head was continuously drawn into the figure of a crowned, imperial-robed entity upon the altar—that was Master Sima Yan's yang spirit manifestation, forged through divine methods.

The dragon qi now used to carry the demonic curses was thus put to full use; eight dragons coiled around the divine manifestation, each swallowing and exhaling a pure yang dragon pearl.

The crimson sword-shadow protecting the remnants of Han's celestial mandate, under relentless erosion from the Northern Dipper's starlight, finally shattered.

The last trace of the latent dragon destiny was stripped away, becoming a crimson dragon pearl that settled upon the imperial-robed manifestation.

The dragon pearl absorbed the Han dragon qi, transforming the entangled, Yuannian -laden dragon qi into a scarred crimson dragon that coiled around the imperial manifestation; nine dragons emerged together, pouring torrents of celestial fortune from their mouths into the body of the divine manifestation wearing the imperial crown.

Its form began to swell; golden scales surfaced on its exposed skin, two horns protruded from the back of its head; Master Sima Yan's yang spirit manifestation, forged from the people's aspirations, devoured the qi of all nine dragons and finally crossed the threshold.

The yang spirit manifestation underwent near-total reformation, transforming into a celestial dragon that appeared behind Master Sima Yan.

Thus, Master Sima Yan had already placed one foot into the Nascent Soul realm.

All he needed was to fuse this divine manifestation with his own body to truly achieve Nascent Soul.

At this moment, the defeated demonic sect had no further value, and the orthodox sects had finally been too slow to stop Master Sima Yan.

After exhausting every scheme, exploiting every resource, even risking the complete takeover of Southern Jin by the great clans, his actions had finally reached completion.

Master Sima Yan, unable to suppress his triumph, laughed: "I! Emperor Wu of Great Jin! Shall today attain Nascent Soul and become an immortal beyond aging or death!"

His overwhelming aura filled the Seven-Star Altar, even causing Li Taibai's yin spirit avatar, watching from within the Eastern Palace, to feel uneasy.

The celestial dragon manifestation behind Master Sima Yan gazed with divine indifference, as if looking down upon all living beings, lofty and disdainful.

The celestial dragon manifestation circled once in midair, then dove downward, plunging into Master Sima Yan's physical body.

His nascent soul opened its arms, beginning to merge with the divine manifestation.

The face, identical to Master Sima Yan's, a nascent soul that seemed truly alive, slowly dissolved into the celestial dragon manifestation—suddenly, he gained a strange insight: the door within his nascent soul, faint and elusive, mysterious beyond words, suddenly became crystal clear.

"So this is immortality!"

Master Sima Yan's thought flashed by, then his nascent soul sank, charging toward that door.

Brother Qian Chen watched silently as Master Sima Yan and the divine manifestation fused completely, a knowing smile playing on his lips—trapped!

He took out the Great Sage Thunder Sounding Qin, laid it across his knees, and plucked a string with a light touch; a resonant, powerful note echoed through the bronze palace, even reaching beyond its walls.

The music brimmed with lethal intent, harsh and raw, coalescing into a faint, barely-released sword qi that pressed against Master Sima Yan's lower back.

Master Sima Yan, before the door of the nascent soul, suddenly looked up and sneered: "Guangling Zhi Xi!"

"So what? Ji Kang, I shall attain Nascent Soul! Can you still stop me?"

Master Sima Yan sneered, finally stepping into the door of the nascent soul; his soul transformed at that instant, taking on the Chuxing of a nascent soul—when suddenly, the nine dragon qi fused with the divine manifestation grew agitated; the Seven-Star Lamp Array reversed, withdrawing the Han dragon qi entwined with bitter resentment.

The divine manifestation, deprived of one-ninth of its power, instantly plummeted from the Nascent Soul level.

Master Sima Yan's nascent soul Chuxing, deprived of support, wavered briefly and fell from Nascent Soul.

Master Sima Yan's heart sank, but he did not despair—he had already stepped onto the path of Nascent Soul; with just a breath to stabilize, even without the Han dragon qi, he could reclaim Nascent Soul.

At that point, no matter what Li Er's schemes, they would all come to naught.

But within the bronze palace, the Qin music paused; yet from the Seven-Star Lamp Array, another melody arose—a figure in feathered fan and silk headband appeared within the Seven-Star Lamp.

Seven massive stone altars suddenly erupted in a gale; the candle flames flickered, illuminating the man's face.

A single lamp-light flickered, then vanished…

The Northern Dipper projected within the cavern realm twisted spacetime; only Master Sima Yan stared at the figure, disbelief in his voice: "Langya Zhuge… old villain!"

The Seven-Star Lamp altar twisted violently; starlight fell, beginning to strip away Master Sima Yan's fortune and destiny.

Master Sima Yan desperately shook the Eastern Palace bronze palace, trying to stabilize the North Star and halt the reversal of the Seven-Star Lamp Array—but Brother Qian Chen's yin spirit avatar sat upon it, using the magical power transmitted from afar to firmly suppress all disturbances within the Eastern Palace.

At this moment, Master Sima Yan, having stepped halfway into Nascent Soul, finally saw through his connection to Brother Qian Chen!

"So Li Taibai is Li Er, and Li Er is Li Taibai! Hahaha… you deserve to die!"

Brother Qian Chen said calmly: "Master Sima Yan, the Tai Shang Dao Dust Pearl is here—why don't you come and take it?"

Master Sima Yan, in helpless rage, suddenly launched a dark light; it pierced through layers of obstacles and sank into Li Taibai's body. Brother Qian Chen felt a strange aura Chanrao his true spirit, his expression instantly changing.

Master Sima Yan sneered: "Li Er! You carry a supreme treasure—those people will never let you go! I wait for the day you suffer ten times worse than I have!"

"This talisman was given to my Master Sima family by those people, meant to scheme against you. But I was too greedy—I sought your supreme treasure, and when I lured you out three years ago, I hesitated to strike decisively, and now it has ruined my grand plan!"

"But this time, you have no escape!"

Brother Qian Chen stared at the aura locking onto his true spirit, and sighed: "Zhu Ying Po Mo Jie Talisman!"

"Once I used this to hunt Miao Kong—now it's others hunting me! Can this talisman lock onto me and follow me into the next reincarnation world? But if Master Sima Yan is dead, to ensure success, they must send a Nascent Soul cultivator…"

"I killed Master Sima Yan through countless schemes, aided by Zhu Zhu Jiuyin, Lord Langya Zhuge, and other greats—barely managing it. Now, in the fourth reincarnation world, a Nascent Soul hunts me? Are they really that impressed with me?"

Brother Qian Chen thought helplessly.

"Originally, I used my yin spirit avatar precisely to, before my true body fully absorbed Master Sima Yan, sacrifice this avatar to force out his hidden cards."

"I never expected his hidden card to be this ruthless!"

Seated upon the flame lotus, Brother Qian Chen watched a starlight-wrapped strand of Master Sima Yan's newly formed nascent soul slip into the furnace, and set these thoughts aside for now.

After all, half a jiazi remained before the next reincarnation world; many variables could arise—perhaps by then, I'll already have a counter to Nascent Soul?

Right now, the fourth-transformation elixir has entered the furnace—focus on refining Master Sima Yan.

Strive to make his end even worse—refining a Nascent Soul into a pill, and making it ten times worse, is quite a challenge indeed!

A fragment of Master Sima Yan's nascent soul essence began pushing the pill Chuxing, now transformed into a lotus seed, toward the fifth transformation… such a rich Nascent Soul, with such abundant reserves, could easily propel the pill to the fifth and sixth transformations.

Now that the pill's qi is pure, the remaining three transformations are merely a matter of course—I no longer need to toggle between Dao and Demon, performing all those tricks!

…………

Liu Yu slowly awoke on the Seven-Star Altar, opened his eyes, and felt his body hollowed out, his foundation shattered, his dantian empty, even his once-powerful physique now weak beyond measure.

He barely supported himself with his silver dragon spear, stepping down from the stone altar, when he saw before him a vast, vivid dragon qi rising into the sky.

The majestic, grand dragon qi swept away the darkness and oppression of this place!

For some reason, Liu Yu felt the dragon qi's aura blended with his own as if water and milk—there was a strange connection within his spirit.

The lively dragon qi circled Brother Qian Chen's furnace; flowers rained from the heavens, colorful vapors rose, and the nine fused divine altars glowed brilliantly.

Figures of Thunder Gods, dragon spirits, heavenly beings, and spider deities, shrouded in divine light, appeared within the auspicious clouds.

Dragon qi fell from the sky like rain; the young nobles carefully gathered these fine threads of qi, and the many deities within the qi shed their yin impurities, hiding their grotesque, death-laden forms.

At this moment, the dragon qi connected with Jiankang's Southern Jin national fortune, linked to Jin Ling's earth veins, and re-established a dragon pillar.

Celestial flowers rained from heaven, golden lotuses sprang from earth; countless auspicious energies manifested, and even many rare herbs quietly grew within the dark cavern.

After the great calamity, all the people's thoughts of peace and safety were purified by the dragon qi, transforming into falling flowers.

The earth vein's dragon qi rose, becoming golden lotuses…

At this moment, many precious energies suddenly appeared; cultivators in Jiankang outside the cavern and within the vast abyss carefully collected these precious energies.

As the final thread of dragon qi entered the furnace, Liu Yu suddenly saw the dragon turn its head and charge toward him, its whiskers flaring, nearly striking his face.

He startled shut his eyes, feeling only a gentle breeze brush his face.

When he opened them again, the divine light had vanished; before him stood only Brother Qian Chen facing a furnace, the young nobles and True Persons respectfully seated below the altar—where was the divine radiance?

The stone altar was empty; only pure spiritual energy filled the air. Liu Yu, puzzled, stepped forward—then caught sight of a figure standing in the darkness behind him, watching him.

The figure gently waved a feathered fan; before Liu Yu could turn, the figure vanished into the darkness.

Liu Yu sensed something…

Brother Qian Chen swept his sleeve and sealed the Tai Shang Ba Jing Furnace, declaring loudly: "All matters here concluded—the great calamity has passed! Gentlemen… I take my leave!"

Without waiting for others to react, he departed alone…

"Above, the jade capital of heaven, five cities, twelve towers!"

"The immortal strokes my crown, ties my hair, grants me eternal life!"

Liu Yu's mouth hung slightly open; he felt his weakened body slowly regaining strength, his shattered foundation emitting a vibrant aura.

His injuries, once dead and barren, had inexplicably improved greatly.

Liu Yu's memory ended with a demonic yang spirit adept, transformed into bloodlight, easily capturing him and bringing him to an altar—he knew nothing of what followed!

…………

Three days later, the Emperor of Southern Jin died; Prince Master Sima Zhong ascended the throne, changing the era name to Yongxi!

Jiankang remained bustling; behind the Bai Lu Hall, a white deer with a broken horn stared blankly at its same-species kin, whose horns gleamed like yellow jade, majestic and fierce—suddenly enraged, it lunged to bite the other's horns.

The two white deer immediately wrestled fiercely.

The Gold and Silver Children, clutching a red-skinned gourd, dashed past them, passing by Brother Qian Chen.

"Master Sima Shi fled, the great clans now control Jiankang, and they've chosen a fool as emperor. But Jiankang is still not theirs to command!"

Brother Qian Chen smiled: "If they bully you, just tell me—or Master Tao. Master Tao calculates three steps ahead, his wisdom astonishing—he single-handedly outmaneuvered the two great demonic devils and Master Sima Yan, who was about to achieve Nascent Soul. I'd like to see who dares to treat his daughter poorly!"

"Brother!" Si Princess Qingcheng wrinkled her nose: "You still dare mention that! Father says the other two Heavenly Masters have been looking at him strangely these past two days—he's so angry he won't even see you!"

"Hahaha… Master Tao used me, then, having no further use and having angered the clans, promptly expelled me from the Central Plains!" Brother Qian Chen laughed. "After this, I'd like to see which clan dares to give you a cold look—if any still do, just threaten them with Master Tao!"

"No need to threaten them with Father—just summon you, the man who skewered dragon and elephant, who crushed the Southern Jin clans in the Bronze Sparrow Tower, and they'll all go weak in the knees!"

"By the way, yesterday Wang Yan even sent someone to apologize to me!"

Si Princess Qingcheng suddenly smiled: "Everyone outside says the reason they chose a fool emperor is because Father plans for me to ascend the throne as Empress! Wang Yan actually believed it…"

The two reached the dock; Si Princess Qingcheng said: "Brother! When you go overseas, give my regards to Elder Brother Yan!"

"I so wish I could wander the world like both of you, traveling far and wide!"

Brother Qian Chen casually grabbed the Gold and Silver Children and said to Si Princess Qingcheng, "Sister, cultivate diligently and attain the Yin Spirit soon! When I return one day to rebuild Supreme Louguan, I'll still rely heavily on you."

With that, he launched his Life-Force Flying Sword; its blade-light slashed across, carving a three-thousand-zhang-long sword-ray above Jiankang.

Immediately, the sword-ray vanished, heading straight east!

Sword-slash severed thirty million demon heads, striking terror into Jiankang for eight hundred years…

At this moment, many in Jiankang finally exhaled.

Tao Zhang Tian Shi stood atop Zhong Shan, watching that sword-light, sneering: "You run fast enough! But this time, you've earned merit—I'll take full blame for you on the Tai Shang Dao's side!"

"Don't let all my efforts go to waste… or else, hmph! I'll test the Muhouheishou 's methods myself!"