Chapter 126: The Heaven and Earth Furnace

The Qi and Blood within Chen Mo's body were like a great furnace, residing within his Mysterious Aperture, constantly pulling the Heaven and Earth Power from the outside world into his body.

Cultivation in the Transcendence Realm requires a massive amount of Blood Qi.

If one were to rely solely on medicinal herbs and food, the quantity required would reach a truly terrifying level.

Even relying on refining Blood Essence Stones to obtain improvements would still require a vast amount.

The most convenient and cost-effective solution is undoubtedly to refine Heaven and Earth Power into the body and transform it for one's own use.

Therefore, in this realm, a Martial Artist must gather the nine previously condensed Blood Qi clusters into the Mysterious Aperture to construct a Heaven and Earth Furnace within it.

The Heaven and Earth Furnace can use the Mysterious Aperture to draw Heaven and Earth Power from the world, directly converting it into one's own Qi and Blood to enhance one's cultivation.

This is not an easy task, but because Chen Mo's physical body is sufficiently formidable, and he had already opened his Mysterious Aperture, condensing the Heaven and Earth Furnace was not difficult for him.

Once the Heaven and Earth Furnace was condensed, Heaven and Earth Power was drawn into his body and transformed into Blood Qi to enhance himself.

Almost instantly, Chen Mo felt his physical strength increase.

Chen Mo felt the Heaven and Earth Power being continuously refined within the Heaven and Earth Furnace, transforming into his own Blood Qi.

This could be considered an unexpected joy; he truly had not expected the Xuanhuang Indestructible Body to have such an effect.

Upon entering the Transcendence Realm, besides condensing the Heaven and Earth Furnace, Chen Mo also gained an increasingly meticulous mastery over his own physical body.

He did not continuously convert this Blood Qi into his own strength, but instead sent it into the Transformation Pearl.

However, as Chen Mo cultivates both internally and externally, this point is merely the icing on the cake for him.

It is evident that the Xuanhuang Indestructible Body is indeed a top-tier cultivation technique; its effects are truly far stronger than the techniques he had practiced before.

The Blood Qi flowed and circulated, surging and churning within his body.

Having just entered this realm, he was only able to use his Qi and Blood to stimulate his Eye Consciousness and Ear Consciousness.

This is an excellent thing, and if he focuses on his cultivation, he can also accelerate the speed at which he draws in Heaven and Earth Power.

He can now control the movement and leaping of his internal organs, and his ability to exert physical strength has also reached a level of meticulous precision.

If he can maintain this speed, even if he does not go to explore the Mirage Sea next, in another six or seven months, he will be enough to undergo his next Mortal Transformation; this is a good thing.

If one were to rely solely on this method to obtain slow improvements, it would take at least several years to break through to the next realm.

The Blood Qi transformed by the Heaven and Earth Furnace merged into his body at an extremely fast speed, yet Chen Mo had other ways to utilize it.

Guiding the refined Blood Qi power to slowly enter the Transformation Pearl, Chen Mo estimated the speed of the improvement.

This is still based on the premise that his physical foundation is sufficiently strong and he will never encounter a bottleneck.

Although doing this means his own Blood Qi strength will not increase in daily life, it allows for faster Mortal Transformation and further strengthens his physical foundation.

This is a step further than Inner Qi-infused body and mastering the power of the flesh.

As long as the physical body's improvement has not reached a barrier, one can continue to refine and draw in Heaven and Earth Power.

Exhaling a long breath of turbid air and ending this session of cultivation, Chen Mo walked out of the room.

This can already be called an extremely fast speed; for other Martial Artists, it is an absolutely impossible feat.

In this way, even if he does not frequently enter the Mirage Sea for adventures, he can greatly shorten the time required for his next Mortal Transformation.

To fully stimulate the five senses, one must wait until cultivation in this realm reaches perfection.

It was afternoon outside, and Zhao Yu was practicing under the warm sun.

"You've finished your seclusion." Seeing him walk out of the room, Zhao Yu hurriedly stopped practicing and greeted him with a smile.

Mastery of Inner Qi is, after all, only a power that remains on the surface, whereas now he has mastered the circulation of his own Blood Qi.

A Martial Artist's cultivation in this realm can be described by the phrase "when the water flows, the channel is formed."

His cultivation level did not break through; he merely switched to a new cultivation technique, yet he could obtain such an improvement.

As for opening the five senses to observe the world, Chen Mo cannot do that yet.

Of course, diligent cultivation or refining Blood Essence Stones can allow this realm to be completed faster.

In short, for the same martial technique, when performed and mastered by him, it can erupt with even greater power, provided his physical body can withstand this force.

Under the influence of Heaven and Earth Power, his physical body underwent a new round of Mortal Transformation, with countless rays of light interweaving and gathering; he seemed to be in a patch of rosy clouds.

In the Transcendence Realm, a Martial Artist can utilize the power of Blood Qi; although it cannot compare to Inner Qi, it is still much better than only being able to use the power of the flesh.

However, if one actively cultivates, then one should be able to complete the cultivation of this realm within two years.

And if the physical foundation is strong enough, even if one does not perform much Martial Dao cultivation on a daily basis, the Xuanhuang Indestructible Body technique can still improve faster.

In an instant, Chen Mo's strength began to climb step by step again, from over nineteen thousand jin straight to the twenty-three thousand jin mark.

With a thought from Chen Mo, a cluster of crimson, ruby-like Blood Qi emerged in his hand.

It is now the fourth month of spring, a time when the weather and sunshine are rarely this good.

The Heaven and Earth Furnace did not stop and was still continuously drawing power from the outside world.

This was an ability he had already mastered before; although it is stronger now, it has not undergone a fundamental improvement.

Furthermore, the most important point is that he can master the power of Blood Qi.

Then, even if he does not deliberately cultivate, the Heaven and Earth Furnace will still continuously absorb Heaven and Earth Power from the outside; as time passes, a Martial Artist will sooner or later reach the perfection of this realm.

"I left you some lunch. Also, the old man, your foster father, sent someone earlier to leave a message saying that if you came out of seclusion, you should go to his place for drinks tonight.

If you hadn't come out by late at night, he told me to call you out first, so as not to miss tomorrow's Great Morning Assembly." Zhao Yu said in a gentle voice.

The Great Morning Assembly is attended by all officials in Jing, and at this assembly, there will surely be other rewards for Chen Mo, so even if it interrupts his seclusion, he must attend.

"Alright, my official uniform has been washed clean, right?" Chen Mo nodded and asked; naturally, one cannot dress as casually as usual when attending the morning assembly.

"It was washed and folded for you long ago. I'll find it for you later so you can take it and wear it tomorrow." Zhao Yu smiled and instructed the maid in the courtyard to send the food from the pot into the dining hall.

Chen Mo ate a simple meal and did not continue his seclusion to practice Inner Qi, but instead took out a light-body technique manual to study.

This was not difficult; after all, what he had valued in this light-body technique initially was that it was very simple to practice.

However, in just one afternoon, from the Qi-lifting and leaping of the Tongmai Realm to the turning and gliding of the Postnatal Realm, he had basically mastered them all.

To go a step further, that would require long and arduous training.

Practicing along the way until dusk, Chen Mo estimated the time and slowly descended from the air.

Only officials of the Fifth Rank or higher, while holding a Passage Token, are permitted to freely use light-body techniques to soar within the city.

If one does not have a Passage Token on their person, it will only invite suppression from the Array deployed on the city walls.

Returning to his foster father's residence, Chen Mo strode toward the main courtyard.

"Fifth Brother." Seeing the figure of Mo Hu on the way, Chen Mo greeted him with a loud laugh.

His expression was very complex; he stared blankly at Chen Mo, filled with both astonishment and surprise.

Ever since he saw Chen Mo enter the palace, he had been somewhat puzzled by it.

After Sun Shouren returned to the military camp, he had busied himself asking about the situation, wanting to know why the Emperor would suddenly summon Chen Mo.

Then he learned that his Thirteen was now at the Post-Heaven cultivation level, and had also saved the First Prince some time ago.

These matters brought him too great a shock and impact.

In fact, until now, he still hadn't fully accepted the fact that Chen Mo was a Post-Heaven expert.

He knew Chen Mo's strength was great, much stronger than his own, but he hadn't thought Chen Mo could be this strong.

A Post-Heaven expert—what kind of figure is that? Even his foster father could not reach such a level!

It wasn't until Chen Mo greeted him that he was stunned for a moment before reacting, habitually revealing a smile.

However, he felt no envy or jealousy toward Chen Mo; for one, the two had a bond of life-and-death, although he was unclear how Chen Mo cultivated to have reached the Post-Heaven Realm now.

But without a doubt, it was a good thing for him that Chen Mo had the Post-Heaven Realm.

Furthermore, Chen Mo had performed a great service, so he would surely rise rapidly in the future; as his brother, he could also follow along and receive many benefits.

Secondly, it was because the gap between the two was a bit too large, not just a little bit.

If the gap were only a thin line, perhaps there would still be a possibility of catching up through effort.

But he knew that with Chen Mo's talent, it was far from something he could catch up to through his own efforts.

So he never thought about catching up, or the ethereal notion of surpassing Chen Mo.

However, he was still prepared to cultivate diligently and increase his own strength as much as possible, so that when Chen Mo became a high official, he could legitimately pull him up.

Otherwise, even if Chen Mo helped him, if his own strength were insufficient, it would be difficult to convince others if he were forced into a high official position.

"You go quickly to the main hall, Foster Father is waiting for you there; I still have some matters, I won't chat with you more for now." Mo Hu responded with a smile and hurried away.

The main army had not yet entered the city, and all kinds of supplies needed people and horses to transport them; he could be said to be busy beyond measure right now.

"Foster Father." Chen Mo walked into the main hall and bowed to Sun Shouren, who was in the main seat.

Seeing Chen Mo arrive, he was quite happy and gestured for him to sit down.

Chen Mo did not stand on ceremony with him; after sitting down, he reached out and picked up a teacup to pour himself a cup of water.

"You are to participate in the Great Morning Assembly tomorrow; I must instruct you on some things today." Sun Shouren's tone was very serious.

The etiquette of the Great Morning Assembly is tedious and complex; Chen Mo had never participated, and if he made a fool of himself the first time he went, it would not look good.

Chen Mo sat upright and listened carefully.

Sun Shouren spoke very meticulously, from the time of the Great Morning Assembly to the specific procedures, covering everything in detail.

After saying it all in one breath, he picked up the teacup at his side and drank several mouthfuls in a row.

"Besides that, there is one more thing: when the Emperor rewards you tomorrow, he will likely bestow upon you a title of nobility and many items used for cultivation, but in all probability, he will not promote your official rank." He took a deep breath and spoke again.

Chen Mo did not rush to speak; he knew his foster father must have more to say.

"The Emperor should bestow upon you the status of a provincial graduate; in over half a month, on the eighth day of the fifth lunar month this year, it will be the time for the Imperial Court's metropolitan examination to select Martial Scholars.

With your Recommended Scholar status, you can directly take this Martial Scholar examination; with your strength, if you don't take the Top Scholar, others will say there was cheating.

Once you obtain the title of Martial Zhuangyuan, the Emperor will formally appoint you; with this Martial Zhuangyuan title, your future official career will certainly be a smooth rise."

Sun Shouren revealed a smile and stroked his beard.

Chen Mo had performed a great service, so it was natural for the Imperial Court to promote his official rank; even if he did not have an academic degree, they could directly bestow a Jinshi degree.

But to bestow it directly, unless it violated ancestral regulations, at most they could only bestow the degree of Tong Jinshi.

But it would be different if Chen Mo took the exam himself; with his strength, only if he failed to take the Martial Zhuangyuan would people suspect cheating in the Imperial Examination.

Because his strength was truly too great; no one in the metropolitan examination could possibly be his opponent.

And as long as Chen Mo took the title of Martial Zhuangyuan, the Imperial Court would then bestow an official post; not only would it be legitimate, but his future promotions would also be much easier.

For a Post-Heaven Martial Artist, the lowest starting official rank bestowed must be the Fifth Rank.

But after obtaining a Fifth Rank official position, it would not be so easy to get promoted further without performing meritorious service.

But if one had the title of Martial Zhuangyuan, promotion would be relatively much easier.

Chen Mo had such strength, and coupled with his excellent talent, the Emperor valued him extremely highly.

As long as no accidents occurred, and as long as he had the heart for it, a Second Rank official position would be a matter of time.

"This child understands." Chen Mo nodded lightly.

He understood that the situation Sun Shouren described to him would likely become reality.

The Emperor had very likely already sounded him out, otherwise he would not be telling him this matter now.

It was just that perhaps the Emperor had spoken more vaguely, so his foster father did not dare to say it as a certainty.

"As long as you understand these things in your heart, let's go, the two of us will go have a few drinks." Sun Shouren stood up with a smile, and Chen Mo followed closely behind him.

Mo Hu, Xu Dabao, and others also rushed over from various places to feast together; the group drank until they were dead drunk, and only dispersed late at night.

The next morning, Chen Mo woke up early, changed into his official uniform, and prepared to go out to attend the morning assembly.

(End of chapter)