Chapter 132: Body Refinement Foundation Establishment (Seeking Subscriptions! )
Chapter 132: Body Refinement Foundation Establishment (Seeking Subscriptions! )
Two years later.
Emerald Cliff.
"Master. . . are there any new battle reports?"
Widow Wang, now looking like an old woman, waited eagerly by the door. Her humble and solicitous manner made even Fang Xi feel a pang of pity: "Come in. . ."
Two years ago, the tides of war had turned.
The Thirty-Six Islands Alliance formed a joint army to campaign against the Dragon Fish Zhong Clan!
War raged in every corner of the Myriad Islands Lake. The allied army, short on manpower, heavily recruited rogue cultivators, offering extremely generous terms.
At the forefront of the battle merits list, there were even Foundation Establishment Spiritual Items available for exchange!
This attracted a large number of cultivators; it was said that many old cultivators were holding on by a thread, preparing to die on the battlefield to pave the way for their descendants.
Though such cultivators had weakened magic power, they were often still formidable!
And so. . . Lu Guo, Hai Da Gui, and even Widow Wang's son Xiao Hu, couldn't help but secretly sign up and head to the battlefield.
Widow Wang worried day and night, coming to Fang Xi daily to inquire for news.
"Rest assured, Xiao Hu and the others joined the team led by the Young Island Master, so they'll naturally be looked after. . ."
Fang Xi chuckled: "Didn't they say recently that 'Small Ring Island' has already been captured? Once that island falls, Dragon Fish Island's gate will be wide open, and the war will soon end, then Xiao Hu and the others will return. . ."
"How can there be a war without casualties? Especially in a sect war, attacking a mountain-protecting grand array is just using human lives to fill a void. . ."
Widow Wang gazed at the lake by the cliff, appearing even more worried: "I should have been crueler back then, even if it meant breaking one of Xiao Hu's legs. . . Anything would be better than this now. I was truly foolish, truly. . ."
Fang Xi sighed, watching Widow Wang, who seemed to be developing in the direction of 'Xianglin Sao' (a character from Lu Xun's short story 'The New Year's Sacrifice', known for her incessant lamentations). He quietly went to work, harvesting weeds.
With the war ongoing, even tenant farmers for cultivation couldn't be found.
Even Master Fang, the esteemed one, had to personally work the fields.
In fact, Ruan Dan had also come to invite him to emerge from seclusion, stating that with the current situation, fighting a winning battle would pose no danger at all, and he could accumulate a good amount of merit.
Later on, it wouldn't even be an issue to acquire an entire Spirit Island, but Fang Xi still refused.
Even though many didn't understand, he remained unperturbed.
As long as no one disturbed his tree-planting, it was fine.
...
Night.
Underground cavern.
Beneath the Demonic Tree, Fang Xi grasped an aerial root, drawing life essence from it.
The aerial root trembled, trying to retract, imbued with a sense of resistance.
Pfft!
Half a day later, he released the aerial root, and it immediately curled back into the tree's canopy.
The entire Demonic Tree was trembling, seemingly venting its displeasure and rage!
"This situation is getting more and more severe!"
Witnessing this scene, Fang Xi's brows furrowed tightly.
Ever since he decided to fully exploit the Demonic Tree's blood-qi to break through to True Vigor Transformation as quickly as possible, the Demonic Tree's resistance had grown increasingly strong.
Even with the techniques of the 'Longevity Art', he found it somewhat difficult to suppress, and signs of backlash began to appear.
This made Fang Xi increasingly sure of one of his suspicions.
The Demonic Tree's instincts. . . were awakening!
And influencing him in turn!
Yet, the 'Wood Spirit Body' had been slow to manifest.
By tonight, the Demonic Tree was even unwilling to connect with him; in the end, he had to actively grasp an aerial root to extract the last sliver of blood-qi!
"After all, it's a demon from Da Liang, not some Heaven and Earth Spiritual Root from the cultivation world!"
Fang Xi sighed, faint crimson glints appearing in his eyes.
The next moment, he stood upon the ground formed by countless banyan roots, and gently raised his hand!
Boom!
It was such a simple movement, yet it was as if a great sun of blood-qi had risen behind him, like a full solar disk, enveloping his entire body and continuously radiating light and heat outwards!
Hiss! Hiss!
The banyan roots, originally tangled together in countless layers, instantly receded, revealing the rock and soil layers that had been buried for years.
"White Cloud Palm!"
Fang Xi struck a martial stance, beginning to practice the martial arts he had learned, one move at a time.
"Red Snake Leg!"
"Heavenly Sight and Earthly Hearing Skill!"
"Yuan He Five Thunder Hand!"
...
As time passed, his movements grew faster and faster, yet each deliberate motion remained remarkably clear to the eye, creating an extreme contradiction.
Boom!
And as his martial arts continuously evolved, wisps of True Vigor appeared around Fang Xi, also transforming and condensing. . .
"Son of Heaven Dragon Fist!"
Finally, Fang Xi threw a punch!
Roar! Roar! !
Behind him, countless threads of True Vigor converged, transforming into a blood-red flood dragon visible to the naked eye of mortals!
This flood dragon was about three zhang long, each scale appearing incredibly distinct. It was just a hair's breadth away from condensing its reverse scale!
As soon as it appeared, an unseen, powerful momentum seemed to bless Fang Xi's entire body!
"The Son of Heaven Dragon Fist truly lives up to its name as an unparalleled secret art!"
"But the foundation of my martial dao will always be the Hunyuan True Skill!"
Fang Xi's hands moved as if drawing a Taiji diagram, and the blood dragon behind him instantly disintegrated.
Immediately after, countless threads of True Vigor converged once more, forming a blurry human figure!
This figure was about six zhang tall, standing behind him, its face and form uncannily similar to Fang Xi's.
A Six-Zhang Golden Body!
No!
This was a terrifying construct, formed entirely by breaking through based on blood-qi and True Vigor!
"Hunyuan True Body. . . Condense!"
Fang Xi roared, pressing his palms together.The colossal True Vigor figure behind him instantly performed the same action. Its massive arms swept across the cavern, sending countless rock fragments flying and causing the Demonic Tree's roots to recoil. . .
"Thirty years in the making! True Vigor Transformation. . . finally achieved!"
Fang Xi felt that with the completion of True Vigor Transformation, a terrifying power was tempering his limbs and bones, his Dantian and meridians, further strengthening his sinews and bones, skin and membranes, muscles. . .
At this moment, his physical body underwent an exceptionally terrifying reinforcement. Even taking a high-grade artifact bare-handed was now an easy feat!
The realm of True Vigor Transformation in Da Liang's martial dao, a realm no one had ever broken through!
A new realm that the Grandmaster Society had painstakingly sought for generations but never attained!
Now, it was in Fang Xi's grasp!
"Above Martial Saint, is. . . Martial God! A God among Martial Artists! !"
After thirty years of cultivating the tree, Fang Xi, now fifty-three years old, had finally stepped into the Martial God realm!
At this moment, the essentials of the Demon Refinement Art, which Lone Hope had dictated back then, reappeared with crystal clarity in Fang Xi's mind.
"Only with a body refined through 'True Vigor Transformation' and the Grandmaster's formidable spirit can one truly refine and devour. . . a demon! ! !"
In Fang Xi's mind, it was as if a certain string had snapped.
His sea of consciousness was refreshingly clear, and countless thoughts surged forth:
"When did I become shackled by the 'Wood Spirit Body'?"
"To await the manifestation of the 'Wood Spirit Body', I idly watched as numerous dangers appeared around me, yet I didn't intervene. . ."
"And the closer it got to the end, the slower the 'Wood Spirit Body' condensed, yet I didn't even notice anything amiss?"
The next moment, Fang Xi's gaze was like lightning, fixed on the Demonic Tree!
The Demonic Tree shivered, and the shriveled corpses hanging from its aerial roots suddenly opened their eyes, emitting a scarlet glow!
"It's the Demonic Tree. . . the Demonic Tree's instincts are influencing me!"
Fang Xi roared, having understood everything.
After all, the 'Longevity Art' was merely a cultivation method of the Immortal Dao, with not much research on 'Demons', and its magic power cleansing had flaws.
And at that time, his own Demon Refinement Secret Art was not yet fully perfected, lacking the crucial physique of 'True Vigor Transformation'!
This resulted in a sliver of remnant still residing within the Demonic Tree's seed!
After decades of dormancy, this sliver of remnant finally became the Demonic Tree's instinct, backlashing against its master!
Because the Demonic Tree was originally one with Fang Xi, the Demonic Tree's instincts were subtly influencing Fang Xi's personality!
'If not for my sense of crisis, pushing me to break through to the True Vigor Transformation realm as quickly as possible, perhaps I truly would have gradually been captured by its instincts. . . then become disinclined to move, turning into a true recluse. . . just like a tree? '
"Kill!"
Understanding the cause and effect in an instant, Fang Xi, in a fit of rage, punched towards the Demonic Tree!
Swish!
Behind him, the six-zhang tall 'Hunyuan True Body' performed the same action. Its punch, like a bolt of lightning, struck the Demonic Tree's trunk, arriving before the first attack!
Rip!
A massive fist-print appeared on the Demonic Tree's trunk, and fresh crimson blood flowed out from the torn black bark around it!
"It hurts!"
"I'm in so much pain!"
From the aerial roots, the hanging corpses let out sounds of varying pitches.
The next moment, wisps of black mist suddenly formed from the tree's body, spreading outwards. . .
"Demon Domain? !"
Fang Xi's eye twitched.
When he had killed those people, he certainly didn't have a hobby of air-drying them like cured meat. The reason these cultivator corpses remained must have been due to the Demonic Tree's influence!
"Die!"
For Fang Xi, independent will was paramount. Without it, even the Eternal Evergreen Body wouldn't be worth a single fart!
He spread his hands, and the 'Hunyuan True Body' followed suit, grasping the Demonic Tree's trunk, infusing terrifying power into its arms.
Boom!
The entirety of Emerald Cliff trembled at this moment, as if struck by an earthquake!
The terrifying blood-qi transformed into a scorching sun, even beginning to evaporate the black mist. . .
Pfft! Pfft!
Within the Demonic Tree's canopy, countless aerial roots, like pythons, attempted to pierce Fang Xi's body, but were blocked by the colossal Hunyuan True Body.
Those aerial roots, barely managing to burrow into the Hunyuan True Body, were then subjected to True Vigor corrosion ten times stronger than before, instantly turning to ash!
"No. . ."
One corpse let out a pained cry: "Wh-why. . ."
"You shouldn't have developed consciousness, not even just instinct!"
Fang Xi's gaze was sharp and cold. The Demon Refinement Secret Art of Lone Hope appeared word by word in his mind.
The next moment, he opened his mouth wide and bit down fiercely.
Even a demon, encountering a Martial God, would have a chunk of flesh bitten off!
Devour!
The six-zhang tall, blood-red giant, like a Golden Body, lifted the Demonic Tree with its severed roots high, and swallowed its trunk mouthful by mouthful.
At this moment, countless fragments suddenly appeared in Fang Xi's consciousness.
Some were snippets of nature, while others were magnificent spectacles, like supernovae exploding in the vast cosmos. . .
Their only commonality was that they were all imbued with indifference and ruthlessness, seemingly pushing him towards madness!
This was also an inevitable situation when devouring a demon!
Fortunately, Fang Xi's Demonic Tree had undergone multiple purifications when it was still a demonic seed, long since eroding much of its madness and corruption.
By this point, only a tiny bit of its awakening instinct remained.
Moreover, under the connection of the 'Longevity Art', this Demonic Tree was like a part of himself, with most of its power suppressed.
Otherwise, if another Martial God had come, they might not have been able to subdue it.
With the experience of his predecessors, the Demonic Tree's consciousness fragments were continuously digested and suppressed by Fang Xi using his Demon Refinement Secret Art and Divine Consciousness. . .
Who knows how much time had passed, but inside the cave, shattered rocks and burning roots were everywhere. Taisui huddled in a corner, trembling.
Fang Xi stood in his original spot, the 'Hunyuan True Body' behind him having vanished.
His Divine Consciousness could perceive a massive, jet-black banyan tree tattoo on his back, vibrant and lifelike, like a true body art. . .
"The Demonic Tree has been completely suppressed and refined by me. . ."
"The 'Longevity Art' has failed. . ."
Fang Xi could feel the silver rune within his body, representing the 'Wood Spirit Body', completely stagnate and dim. . . losing its original luster.
Although there was a hint of loss, it was still very much worth it compared to the hidden danger of the Demonic Tree fully awakening.
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