Chapter 568: Ling Shu Forms Nascent Soul (Bonus Chapter for Subscriptions)
“Void divine ability. . . Soul Suppressing Pagoda? ”
Huo Laozu stared at the grey-white miniature pagoda above Fang Xi's head, a hint of covetousness flickering in his eyes.
He recognized the Soul Suppressing Pagoda and knew that the one in Fang Xi’s hand was definitely a supreme-grade four-stage artifact, with great potential to advance to five-stage in the future with proper nurturing.
Moreover, this treasure could assist in traversing the void, precisely what a Soul Transformation cultivator like him, preparing to use the ascension platform, urgently needed.
Just then, Huo Laozu felt countless void disturbances that actually penetrated his protective spiritual barrier.
Extremely tiny ‘flying needles’ seemed to disregard his armor, aiming directly for his meridians and Dantian.
“Hehe. . . a decent little trick. ”
In an instant, the flames burning on Huo Laozu’s hair and beard expanded, and his entire being seemed to transform into a man of fire.
Since he no longer possessed a flesh and blood body, the invisible needles naturally had no room to exert their effect.
Fang Xi’s eyes narrowed as he identified this spiritual physique, which was a perfect match for cultivators practicing fire-attribute cultivation methods.
To still achieve Soul Transformation in an environment with scarce spiritual energy, he naturally possessed terrifying innate talent and fortuitous encounters!
Roar, roar!
As he was pondering, a roar suddenly came from behind him.
It was a gigantic two-headed fire hound that seemed to instantly materialize behind him, opening its two gaping maws and biting down fiercely!
Fang Xi clenched his five fingers, forming a fist.
Boom!
One fire hound’s head instantly burst apart, while the other fire hound’s head wailed, and its massive body exploded, transforming into countless fire ants that clung to Fang Xi’s protective spiritual light.
A layer of Azure Wood Divine Light was actually broken in an instant, revealing the Three Sacred Beast Armor!
Roar!
On the heart guard of the three-colored armor, a five-stage Black Tortoise appeared, shaking its head and tail, letting out a roar towards the sky.
A rich, earthy yellow light spread from the Three Sacred Beast Armor, and the fire ants instantly dissipated.
Fang Xi roared, transforming into a three-colored streak of light, rushing towards Huo Laozu, who was entirely composed of flames, and punched out.
Boom!
The void itself seemed to be compressed, turning into a whistling cannonball that punched through Huo Laozu’s body of flames!
Fire spiritual energy surged from all directions, and Huo Laozu, who had manifested his Fire Spirit Body, merely suffered slight damage to his form before rapidly recovering.
Seeing this, Fang Xi once again popped a ‘Returning Profound Pill’ into his mouth. . .
......
Time passed, unheeded.
A divine light of fire-attribute energy transformed into a fiery whip, striking Fang Xi’s shoulder fiercely.
The flood dragon’s maw shoulder guard actually showed faint cracks.
He remained unafraid, holding the ‘Soul Suppressing Pagoda’ in his right hand, carrying faint silver light, and smashing it onto the opposing Huo Laozu.
The two separated upon impact, both with slightly uneven breaths.
And below where the two were fighting, the countless yellow sand deserts had long since turned into a volcanic inferno of flowing magma!
“To be able to contend with this old man to such an extent. . . Qing Hezi, you can be proud. ”
Huo Laozu sneered, “You forced this old man to repeatedly unleash several great divine abilities, and with the spiritual energy backlash, my lifespan has been depleted. You are certain to die today! ”
In truth, he felt some admiration. To be able to fight a Soul Transformation Venerable as a mere Nascent Soul cultivator to this point already demonstrated astonishing genius.
The more he realized this, the less Huo Laozu dared to let Fang Xi leave alive.
What’s more. . . now that both sides had revealed all their trump cards, Huo Laozu felt confident he held the advantage!
“This time. . . it truly cost me some vitality. I’ll have to recover well when I get back. ”
Fang Xi clutched his shoulder, a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth, but his eyes were exceptionally bright: “The real show hasn’t even begun! ”
“What show. . . ”
Huo Laozu was about to say something when his expression suddenly changed, and he clutched his Dantian.
In an instant, he withdrew from his ‘Fire Spirit Body’ state, his face full of shock: “How could it be at this moment? I clearly suppressed it with a secret art. . . ”
“You were already injured before, and even if you suppressed it with a secret art, there were still hidden dangers. . . Now, after repeated battles with me, your old injury has flared up. ”
Fang Xi laughed heartily.
In reality, this should be the credit of the ‘luck-sapping divine ability’ from the very beginning.
He first sapped a portion of Huo Laozu’s luck, then prolonged the battle, finally waiting for this opportunity to turn the tables!
“Die! ”
Fang Xi coldly snorted, and crystalline threads shot out from between his brows.
At the same time, he fiercely pounded his chest.
Chirp, chirp!
Phantom images of a Heavenly Phoenix, a crocodile-dragon, and a Black Tortoise appeared, solidifying in mid-air as they lunged towards Huo Laozu.
“Ugh! ”
Huo Laozu barely managed to activate a Divine Consciousness defensive secret art, blocking Fang Xi’s Divine Consciousness attack. His ‘Wind Fire Wheel’ smashed towards the Heavenly Phoenix.
After a crisp sound, he stared in astonishment at the Wind Fire Wheel in his hand, seeing that it was already riddled with cracks, and at this moment, it suddenly shattered, dissolving into countless streaks of black light. . .
Feeling the worsening injuries within his body, a hint of regret appeared in Huo Laozu’s heart: ‘If I had known. . . I should have brought the ‘Three Yangs Sacred Fire’ with me. . . ’
If he had brought this flame, not only would the power of his various fire divine abilities increase by several folds, but he could also have performed another secret art to forcefully suppress his current injuries.
‘Could it be. . . that I truly have to let this brat go today? ’
A thought flickered in Huo Laozu’s mind.
But in the next instant, he sensed something amiss: ‘External demons disturbing my Dao heart? ’
This was Fang Xi's attack, coupled with the activation of the ‘Heavenly Demon Chant’, stirring Huo Laozu’s emotions.
Of course, for a prepared Soul Transformation cultivator, it was generally useless. But to divert even a little of his attention was quite good.
Because Fang Xi was now revealing his trump card.
Whoosh!
Behind Huo Laozu, amidst flickering silver light, the figure of the Second Primordial Spirit appeared.
He opened his mouth and spewed forth Six Paths Demonic Flames, which surged forward. The Divine Infant Sword in his hand also became incredibly massive, marked with numerous bloodstains, as he fiercely chopped down!
Pfft!
Demonic baleful qi overflowed, and an incomparably vast Divine Infant Sword qi appeared under the heavens, countless red lines piercing through and completely sealing the void.
Whoosh, whoosh!
The sword qi swept across, piercing Huo Laozu’s protective fiery barrier full of holes, before chopping down towards his head!
Splatter!
On the magma ground, a streak of sword qi traversed several li, and countless void cracks appeared.
After the void cracks mended, a flash of fire light appeared, and a slightly smaller ‘man of fire’ emerged, faintly resembling Huo Laozu, casting an extremely wary glance at the Second Primordial Spirit. He then formed a hand seal and instantly transformed into a fiery meteor, shooting backwards!
......
“He actually used a secret art to dodge this sword strike? ”
Fang Xi's face was pale as he muttered, “As expected of a Soul Transformation Patriarch. . . ”
Despite all his schemes, the opponent not being in peak condition, and having a portion of his luck sapped, fighting to almost mutual destruction, he only then unleashed his trump card, allowing the Second Primordial Spirit to act.
Unexpectedly, he still couldn’t keep the opponent.
“Never mind. . . according to my calculations, this sword strike only had a ten percent chance of taking his life anyway. . . Hehe, Saint Fire Cult, Huo Laozu, I’ve noted this grudge. ”
Fang Xi muttered, his expression changing, and he immediately had his Second Primordial Spirit carry him away, swallowing bottle after bottle of healing pills.
Earlier in the great battle, he had been forced to use the ‘Azure Wood Undying Body’ once, and now, he couldn’t use this secret art again in a short period.
Fortunately, the basic effects of the ‘Wood Spirit Body’ were still active, with streams of vitality continuously flowing, repairing his body.
After several hours, he had recovered three to four tenths of his injuries.
Fang Xi decisively decided to immediately head to the Flowing Sand Domain with his Second Primordial Spirit, preparing to return to the South Barrens Cultivation World.
‘This bitter battle, I feel my mind has made significant progress. After returning, I should be able to cultivate the ‘Seven Emotions Parting Melodies’ to perfection. . . ’
‘At that time, I’ll directly break through to Soul Transformation, then come back to settle the score! ’
Fang Xi silently glanced westward, making up his mind.
......
Heitu City.
Ling Shu entered a teahouse, her face covered by a veil.
“Immortal Ling Shu. . . ”
Several Core Formation cultivators rose, some with eager and admiring gazes.
Ling Shu gracefully returned the greeting, sat down, and her voice flowed like clear spring water: “Greetings, fellow Daoists, I wonder if there’s any news or interesting anecdotes from the cultivation world recently? ”
During her travels in the Western Desert Cultivation World, she had indeed gained some fortuitous encounters, finally achieving Nascent Soul formation.
Afterward, she followed Fang Xi’s instructions and came to Heitu City to wait.
Because her Nascent Soul cultivation was too conspicuous, she usually travelled and socialized under the guise of a Core Formation cultivator.
Even so, due to her extraordinary temperament, she still had many admirers and followers.
“If we’re talking about the biggest event in the cultivation world recently, it’s naturally the disruption at the Saint Fire Cult’s ‘Saint Fire Festival’. . . ”
A Core Formation cultivator sighed, “It’s said that the inside story is deeply veiled in secrecy, we don’t know much, but Daoist Huangtu should know a thing or two. . . ”
The cultivators present immediately turned their gaze towards a cultivator dressed in yellow robes with a simple, honest face.
“Hehe. . . Daoist He is too kind. I merely have a slightly useful position within the sect and can hear the latest news. . . ”
Daoist Huangtu waved his hand, his expression suddenly turning serious: “However, the Saint Fire Cult has experts like clouds, even Soul Transformation Patriarchs, yet they haven’t caught the culprit after the disturbance. Don’t you find that strange? For such a peerless fiend, we should pray not to encounter them, otherwise. . . ”
For a moment, the various cultivators fell silent, their eyes filled with a fervent curiosity.
“Daoist Huangtu, do you have more detailed information? Immortal Ling Shu is quite curious about this. . . ” Ling Shu suddenly spoke.
“Of course. ” Daoist Huangtu’s face flashed with a hint of intoxication as he handed a yellow-earth jade slip to Ling Shu.
Ling Shu scanned it with her Divine Consciousness, her expression unchanged, but her heart was churning like a stormy sea.
Although she didn’t recognize the person depicted in the jade slip, the descriptions of the cultivation methods, divine abilities, and puppet arts, how could they resemble anyone but one person?
Furthermore, the other party claiming to be ‘Qing Hezi’ explained everything.
‘Where is the Island Master now? ’
A sense of powerlessness welled up in Ling Shu’s heart.
Even as an early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, she was still nothing before a colossal entity like the Saint Fire Cult.
After the tea gathering ended, Ling Shu walked out of the teahouse, when a Divine Consciousness transmission suddenly reached her ear: “Follow me! ”
She looked at the unfamiliar man in front of her, yet felt an immense familiarity in his Divine Consciousness: “You are. . . ”
The Second Primordial Spirit, his face cold, walked into a small alley.
As soon as Ling Shu entered, a restrictive spell immediately appeared.
“It’s me! ”
The Second Primordial Spirit turned around indifferently: “Are you planning to reside in the Western Desert for a long time now, or return to the South Barrens? ”
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