Chapter 567: Post-Earth Body

Two years passed.

"The horse‑riders are still chasing, like they're sick—didn't they just take a few of your Nine‑Underworld Crystal Stones?"

Yan Buji clutched the Spiritual Fire in his palm as if it might fly away, and glanced at the horde of lizards pursuing from behind.

The tawny lizard roared, as if Yan Buji had stolen its mate, and signaled the surrounding lizards to launch a ferocious assault!

For a moment, several divine techniques exuded a terrifying aura that darkened the sky, as if the earth everywhere were sinking and the heavens were tilting, pressing Yan Buji to the point of breathlessness.

"Can't beat you, and we still can't outrun you? Ha!!"

Yan Buji let out a sly grin and immediately activated the Instant Movement Technique to flee!

After arriving at a spot, Yan Buji instantly teleported again, performing four consecutive instant movements. Once he was miles away, he glanced back, tossed several spears that bore his own aura in all directions, and then teleported away once more.

Depleted of mana, Yan Buji reached a deserted wasteland, sat on the ground, swallowed a pill to restore his mana while suppressing the Spiritual Fire in his palm.

This Spiritual Fire was accidentally discovered within the territory of that tawny Transformed Spirit Lizard. Yan Buji noted that it resembled the Earth Origin Fire he once forged, so out of curiosity he seized it, only to find it highly unstable and nearly explosive!

Fortunately, Yan Buji used Shocking Wave Fire to aid it, chilling it slightly to stabilize it, preventing an immediate explosion.

"This should be a kind of Heavenly Fire. Observing its nature—chaotic outside, stable inside, with an earth‑core heat—could it be the thirty‑second entry on the Heavenly Fire Ranking, the Great Primordial Earth Fire?"

Yan Buji's eyes lit up; while suppressing the flame in his palm, he consulted an ancient text and confirmed it was indeed Great Primordial Earth Fire, which made him delighted.

Great Primordial Earth Fire is similar to Shocking Wave Fire; both are self‑born spiritual fires of heaven and earth. Countless spiritual fires exist in the world, and such five‑element spirits are innumerable, hence the existence of the Human‑Earth‑Heaven Three‑Talents list for simple classification. Strength isn't fixed; it depends on a cultivator's own practice. Nonetheless, being notable on the Heavenly Fire list makes Great Primordial Earth Fire exceptional. It combines earth and fire pathways, making it the optimal choice for forging earth‑type Accumulation Devices and Spiritual Pills.

Still, Yan Buji desires pure fire‑path Heavenly Fire; neither Shocking Wave Fire nor Great Primordial Earth Fire offers him a significant boost.

After regaining some mana, Yan Buji continued to flee.

After two years of continuous escape, Yan Buji finally shook off the clingy lizards.

"These nether beasts—if I hadn't had the Instant Movement Technique, they would have caught me," Yan Buji smiled.

Being caught wouldn't be a big deal; he could simply use Heaven Gate Law to return to the Dongxing Sea Region. However, Yan Buji feared that the Transformed Spirit Demon Beast might possess some sealing divine ability, which would be deadly, so he didn't opt for Heaven Gate Law to escape.

Besides, his business in Youming Jie wasn't finished, so he wasn't in a hurry to leave.

This haul wasn't small; he obtained over thirty Nine‑Underworld Crystal Stones, enough to forge a Post‑Earth Body.

Having also acquired Great Primordial Earth Fire, Yan Buji found a spot to begin seclusion and refined the fire.

After refinement, Yan Buji possessed two kinds of Heavenly Fire, but their differing natures prevented simultaneous release.

"Fortunately my mana is deep enough to bear two streams of Heavenly Fire... but I must revise my technique; if these fires aren't properly utilized, it would have been better not to refine them," Yan Buji frowned.

Although Yan Buji refined both Heavenly Fires, activating them is a heavy burden; even with his high mana, not all of it can be devoted to driving the fires.

This stems from Yan Buji's low level in the Five Elements Technique, preventing effective use. Even if he learns some fire‑control arts, the inherent difficulty doesn't lessen; it merely lets him prevent self‑injury.

Thus Yan Buji ponders when to find a fire‑oriented cultivation method suitable for him, to retrain his Five Elements Technique and replace his current fire method.

This is to deepen his understanding of the Way of the Five Elements, thereby facilitating a breakthrough to the Nascent Soul stage.

After refining Great Primordial Earth Fire, Yan Buji feels that activating his mana has become noticeably sluggish, though only slightly.

This is a typical negative effect of refining external substances that overburdens one's mana; for Heavenly Fire, without a solid fire cultivation method to integrate it, one has no choice but to harden against it.

However, possessing certain special talents makes the more the better.

Yan Buji contemplated and began attempting to cultivate a Post‑Earth Body using the Wall‑Opening Divine Ability.

After his research, he found that a Post‑Earth Body forged via Wall‑Opening Divine Ability is akin to embedding Spiritual Material into the flesh; one simply needs to remove it later, with no other hazards.

Among the Earth Fiend Divine Abilities Yan Buji has mastered, only Wall‑Opening Divine Ability mentions a method to cultivate talent; the others do not.

"Talent can be cultivated, much like the old practice of refining Bright Body Jade Bone, but such stacked talent is ultimately not the root," Yan Buji sighed.

He has never envied those top‑talent geniuses; not to mention anything else, if he were an Immortal Talent Sacred Embryo, he wouldn't need to steal and raid daily, nor be constantly hunted and ambushed—he'd have faced death countless times, and without a desperate escape, he'd have perished long ago.

Those geniuses merely need to be chosen at the right moment, becoming disciples of a great sect or a powerful being; they get whatever they need and can focus on peaceful cultivation.

Even if those disciples bear certain obligations, isn't that a matter after their mana has been cultivated?

Alas.

Yan Buji sighed; looking over his life, he realized he never truly encountered any extraordinary genius. Apart from nearly being killed by Yunhua years ago, both Xiao Ran and Ling Yan were, in his eyes, merely luckier, with talent only slightly superior to his.

They're not true heavenly prodigies.

Yan Buji worries that someday, in pursuit of something, he might provoke a top‑tier genius from a major faction—one who is diligent, battle‑proven, and cunning…

There are certainly many such people in the world, so Yan Buji's future plans have never changed.

"Once I settle these trivial matters and my mana reaches the Nascent Soul stage, I'll join a major cultivation sect," Yan Buji smiled.

Yan Buji fully understands the advantage of backing powerful forces; if he could take a great being as a master, that would be even better!

But that will have to wait for later.

After using Nine‑Underworld Crystal Stones to forge a Post‑Earth Body, Yan Buji checked his condition and found his command of earth techniques had improved, and his spirit‑energy absorption rate had increased slightly, with no major changes otherwise.

After all, it's merely a talent attached to the Earth Fiend Divine Ability, and one cannot demand extraordinary power from it.