Chapter 375: The Fusion of Five Elements Energy

On the Tianmen Platform, the five Houxuanzhe stood separately at the five corners of the ancient Five-Pointed Star Array. Amidst the swirling clouds and mist of the Kunlun Mountains, they could feel the uniqueness of this area—as if standing at the hub of the world, a mysterious node connecting heaven and earth.

Lin Xuan took a deep breath and took out the Core component of the Tianyuan Instrument from his bosom—a piece of jade carved with mysterious Rune. The jade emitted a soft green light in his palm. The Wood Element Component resonated strongly with it, making Lin Xuan feel an unprecedented life force surging within his body.

"Wood Position ready," Lin Xuan said in a low voice, while placing the jade into the groove at the Wood Position of the array.

Li Yan stood at the Fire Position diagonally opposite Lin Xuan, holding a glowing crimson crystal in his hand. It was as if flames were flowing inside the crystal, creating a wondrous fusion with the blue flame Li Yan had newly comprehended.

"Fire Position ready." Li Yan placed the crystal into the corresponding position, and light interwoven with fiery red and pale blue immediately burst forth from the array.

Ling Bo stood at the Water Position; in her palm was a flawless blue pearl. The surface of the pearl flowed with a water-like luster, as if it had condensed the essence of all the water sources in the world.

"Water Position ready," she said softly. The moment the pearl fell into the groove, circles of water ripples rippled out within the array.

Shi Qi was at the Earth Position, yet despite her young age, she displayed extraordinary composure. She held a piece of brownish-yellow ancient fossil, in which the complete form of an ancient plant was vaguely visible.

"Earth Position ready." When she placed the fossil into position, the power of the earth seemed to be awakened, and a heavy energy rose from the array.

Xu Feng stood at the Gold Position, holding an exquisite metal sphere.

"Gold Position ready." As the metal sphere fell into the last groove, the entire array suddenly lit up, and the five-colored lights intertwined to form a complete energy cycle.

With the five types of components placed, the entire platform began to vibrate slightly. Earth vein energy gathered from all directions and, following the earth vein intersection lines discovered by Shi Qi earlier, poured continuously into the array.

Just as the ritual began, Mo Rui's voice descended from the sky like thunder: "Stop them! At all costs!"

The elite troops led by Ga Luo immediately launched a fierce attack, the roar of energy weapons shaking the heavens. However, the various Practitioner sects and the remaining forces of the Green-Robed Person organization, who had long been waiting around, formed the final line of defense. Knowing they were outmatched, they still chose to protect the platform to the death.

"Hold on! Don't let them interrupt the ritual!" a disciple of Xuan Qingzi shouted, while detonating an ancient Defense Array Talisman to form a temporary barrier around the platform.

The sword cultivators of the Shushan Sect shuttled through the air on their swords, engaging in fierce combat with the extraterrestrial warriors; the Taiji masters of the Wudang Sect used softness to overcome hardness, guiding the enemy's energy attacks to deviate from their course; the warrior monks of the Shaolin Temple formed a Golden Bell Shield Array, resisting the most violent impacts head-on.

In the sky, Mo Rui commanded the fleet to concentrate fire on the platform, and purple energy beams pierced through the clouds, smashing into the ground like divine punishment. Xu Feng's Gold Element Device and the Defense Array set up by the joint efforts of the sects barely held them off, but many cracks had already appeared.

"Maintain the ritual with all your might!" Lin Xuan said to the other four, "The activation of the Tianyuan Instrument requires our complete focus; any interference could lead to failure."

The five stood in their respective positions, pouring all their focus into the array. As the ritual progressed, the Five Elements components within their bodies began to resonate with the Tianyuan components in the array, and a continuous stream of energy was extracted and injected into the array Core.

However, although all five types of energy had gathered, the array did not fully activate. The energy hovered in the center, forming a chaotic energy vortex, but it could not fuse into one.

"What went wrong?" Li Yan asked urgently.

Ling Bo suddenly remembered something: "Saide's last message—a guide is still needed! Without a guide, the Five Elements Energy cannot be correctly fused!"

The five looked at each other, at a loss for what to do. Lin Xuan had intended to serve as the guide, but he was already too severely injured, and as the Wood Element Houxuanzhe, he had to stand at the Wood Position to maintain the array's operation.

"What do we do?" Shi Qi asked anxiously; she could feel the outer defense was about to collapse.

Just at this moment, a figure stumbled onto the platform—it was the severely wounded Xuan Qingzi! His Daoist Robe was already soaked with blood.

"Senior Xuan Qingzi!" Lin Xuan exclaimed.

Xuan Qingzi walked toward the center with difficulty: "I have brought... Saide's last information fragment." He said with a weak breath, "The guide must be someone who has a sense for all five elements; only in this way can the fusion of the Five Elements Energy be correctly guided."

"Who can do this?" Xu Feng asked, "We each only master one element."

Xuan Qingzi smiled reluctantly: "As an Elder of the Practitioner world, I have touched upon the mysteries of the Five Elements over these years. Although I cannot master a single element as deeply as you do, I have a basic sense for all five."

Lin Xuan immediately understood what he meant: "You want to be that guide? But this is too dangerous! Saide said that the guide would bear immense risk."

"This old man has already lived for nearly a hundred years," Xuan Qingzi said calmly, "to be able to do my final part for Diqiu at this critical moment, I have no regrets in death."

Without waiting for others to dissuade him again, Xuan Qingzi had already stepped toward the center of the array. As he entered the core of the energy vortex, the five-colored light immediately became brighter. Xuan Qingzi sat cross-legged, formed seals with his hands, and began to guide the flow of the Five Elements Energy.

"The Five Elements generate and restrain each other, and are originally one." Xuan Qingzi chanted the ancient incantation in a low voice, "Gold generates Water, Water generates Wood, Wood generates Fire, Fire generates Earth, Earth generates Gold..."

With the chanting of the incantation, the chaotic energy vortex began to flow in an orderly manner, and the five colors of energy formed a perfect cycle. At this moment, the five Houxuanzhe also felt the elemental energy within their bodies being pulled by the Tianyuan Instrument, forming a peculiar resonance.

Lin Xuan felt an unprecedented Wood Element Origin surging within his body; Li Yan's blue flame became purer, as if it could burn the universe itself; Ling Bo's Water Element Energy was as deep and vast as the ocean; Shi Qi felt the pulse of the entire earth; while Xu Feng seemed to have touched the ultimate mystery of the metal world.

Xuan Qingzi's voice became weak but firm: "Now, inject all your energy into the array!"

The five exerted their power simultaneously, and the energy within their bodies surged toward the center of the array like a breached dam. Xuan Qingzi became the focal point of the energy convergence, and his body began to glow, as if he had turned into a pure energy body.

"Stop them!" Mo Rui let out a final roar in the sky, and the main cannon of the flagship began to charge, preparing to fire a devastating blow.

At the same moment, Ga Luo led the last elite troops to break through the defense line and rushed toward the center of the platform.

"It is too late," Xuan Qingzi said calmly, his body's light reaching its peak, "The Tianyuan has been born!"