Chapter 462: Destiny Ignites, Body Refinement into Dragon Form |
'Still, once I break through to Body Refinement Stage Four, I’ll have a solid reason to discuss this with the Blood Flood Dragon Merchant Guild,' Wei Tu thought as he gently rubbed the pill bottle containing the Condensed Soul Pill hidden in his sleeve.
After the initial shock of learning about spiritual crystals, Wei Tu was once again stunned by several high-grade treasures that appeared one after another at the auction.
Among them, quite a few were "Grade-A spiritual items" that Alliance Master Tan had once seriously mentioned wanting to collect.
Over twenty years ago, during a secret trade fair organized by the Flying Immortal Alliance, Alliance Master Tan had stood on stage and told the members present:
As long as anyone could collect the Grade-A spiritual items listed in the jade slip, he would not only trade for them with treasures of equal value but would also agree to grant one reasonable request to the person who brought them.
Wei Tu hadn’t fully believed that promise back then. But whether he believed it or not, seeing several of those exact Grade-A items appear in this auction—items specifically sought by someone as powerful as Alliance Master Tan, a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator—it was impossible for Wei Tu not to be shaken.
No matter which old Nascent Soul ancestor from the Great Cang Immortal Cultivation World showed up here, they would feel just as he did—deeply aware of how rich in resources the Guixu Sea Immortal Cultivation World was, and how impoverished the Great Cang realm truly was.
...
The high-grade auction focused on rare and precious items, not quantity.
Soon after, Wei Tu left the venue together with Nangong Zhe and Ying Ziming, heading back to the Blood Flood Dragon Merchant Guild.
On the way, Wei Tu told Nangong Zhe that he planned to enter seclusion at the merchant guild and use the Condensed Soul Pill to break through to Body Refinement Stage Four. He asked if Nangong Zhe could arrange a suitable cave residence for this purpose.
After all, breaking through to Stage Four in body refinement was no less significant than advancing from Golden Core to Nascent Soul—it required a top-tier secluded environment.
Nangong Zhe had expected this.
He agreed right away and said that before Wei Tu began his breakthrough, if there were any resources he still lacked, he could let him know and he would arrange for them.
—Body refinement techniques weren’t as widespread as qi cultivation techniques. Often, they required some rare and obscure spiritual materials during breakthroughs.
"No need to trouble you, President Nangong. The power I belong to already prepared all the resources I need long ago. It’s just that the Condensed Soul Pill… I didn’t have time to bring it with me."
Wei Tu replied smoothly, without blinking, fabricating a lie without hesitation.
Nangong Zhe nodded knowingly and didn’t press further.
But Ying Ziming, hearing this, suddenly became curious about Wei Tu’s background. He started asking about the customs and culture of the Nanyan Sea Region.
Luckily, before arriving at Yuangjun Island, Wei Tu had already gathered information about the Nanyan Sea along the way. Relying on that knowledge, he vividly described his experiences in the region to Ying Ziming.
While he didn’t interrupt, Nangong Zhe silently memorized everything Wei Tu said. He had already made up his mind—once they returned, he would carefully investigate and verify every detail of Wei Tu’s story to test the truth of his identity.
Half a day later, the three returned to the main headquarters of the Blood Flood Dragon Merchant Guild.
Shortly after arriving, Nangong Zhe met privately with Wei Tu and arranged a suitable secluded cave for him.
This cultivation cave was located at the heart of Yuangjun Island, right beside a quasi-Fifth-Grade spiritual vein.
It was one of the finest secluded residences available—not just in the Donghua Demon Kingdom, but in the entire Red Algae Sea Region.
That very night, Wei Tu moved into the cave.
On the way to the secluded cave, Wei Tu ran into Cao Mi, who was mingling among the crowd. The two of them passed by each other without a word, moving in perfect sync.
After more than ten years of working together, they could understand each other's intentions with just a single glance.
"Only 23 years left before Junior Sister Cao fully recovers and returns to peak condition."
Inside the secluded cultivation cave, Wei Tu sat cross-legged with his eyes half-closed, burying the message Cao Mi had just passed him deep within his heart. He cleared his mind and let his thoughts settle.
Among the three barriers of the Nascent Soul stage, with the Condensed Infant Pill and a spirit-linked item already in his possession, plus having bathed his body in the Iceheart Spirit Dew beforehand, his breakthrough from Golden Core to Nascent Soul had been smooth and natural—almost effortless.
But now…
Breaking through to Body Refinement Stage Four was a whole different challenge.
Body refinement was hard—this wasn't just about the difficulty of cultivation itself, but also the massive barrier at each breakthrough stage.
The further one went, the harder it became.
Back when Wei Tu was still in the Golden Core Realm, he could still occasionally find others at Body Refinement Stage Three.
But Stage Four…
So far, even now at the Nascent Soul Realm, he had yet to meet a single cultivator who’d reached it.
So, even with the Condensed Soul Pill in hand, Wei Tu couldn’t help but feel uncertain deep down.
"The Dao-Forging Pill was painstakingly crafted by the Stone Demon Sect. That pill laid the foundation for my body cultivation."
"And now, I have the Condensed Soul Pill as well. In terms of foundation, I’ve surpassed most body cultivators at this level."
"There’s no reason I shouldn’t succeed!"
After thinking for a moment, Wei Tu steadied his mind.
He flipped his palm, took out the Condensed Soul Pill, and swallowed it in one gulp, beginning his breakthrough.
The moment the pill entered his stomach, he felt an intense surge of medicinal power erupting from his abdomen, rushing out toward his limbs, bones, meridians, and all his acupoints.
In no time, his whole body turned crimson red, like a cooked shrimp. At the same time, the rushing of his blood sounded like roaring rivers—"whoosh, whoosh"—echoing from within.
This strange sound was the sign of his blood energy boiling to its peak.
"It hurts! Damn, this hurts!"
Even with his rock-solid will, Wei Tu couldn’t help but scream in pain as wave after wave of agony stabbed into his brain like needles and gnawed through his bones.
He could feel it clearly—his bones and flesh were being ground to dust, inch by inch, by the medicinal force, only to be reborn again and again in cycles.
'No wonder this barrier is also called the Dragon Transformation Gate,' Wei Tu thought, deeply moved by how accurately ancient cultivators had named this breakthrough.
For qi refinement, the final goal was to form the Nascent Soul.
For body refinement, it was to transform into a dragon.
One was about internalizing essence and converting it into spirit—subtle and hidden. The other was a carp leaping the dragon gate—explosive and skyward.
After crossing this gate, a body cultivator would truly leave ordinary qi cultivators behind in physical strength.
Why? Because this step—the "dragon transformation"—was a total reshaping of the cultivator’s body.
Time passed like flowing water.
In a blink, two years had gone by.
Wei Tu was still deep in seclusion, enduring the Dragon Transformation Gate, reshaping his Dao body.
But now, he was shocked by the sudden golden light blooming in his mind.
That light came from his destiny—his "Late Bloomer" fate.
The golden-purple fate radiated strands of gentle golden glow, slowly merging into his physical body and his inner "immortal source."
Moments later, the pure white immortal source within him gradually began to show traces of gold.