Chapter 332: Completion of the Pill |
Time passed without notice, and eventually, the tribulation clouds in the sky dispersed.
As the tribulation clouds vanished, the vast thunderclouds covering the Thunder Swamp also cleared out.
Without the thunderclouds, no more lightning descended in a large portion of the Thunder Swamp. It would likely take a long time for the area to recover to its original state.
With no clouds to block the sky, sunlight poured down in abundance, illuminating the once perpetually dim Thunder Swamp.
At this moment, Long Xuan slumped down in front of the Demon Devouring Cauldron, breathing heavily.
Despite being on the brink of death moments ago, he had managed to survive this crisis.
Recalling the ordeal, he couldn't help but feel a lingering sense of fear. There had been 36 bolts of the Life-Destroying Thunder in total, each one more powerful than the last. Initially, the Tribulation Gu barely withstood the first few strikes. He had thought he was destined to fail and was even considering abandoning the effort to save himself.
Surprisingly, this Tribulation Gu proved to be incredibly tenacious. Each time it was struck and sent flying by the Life-Destroying Thunder, it would devour a portion of the energy.
As more bolts descended, the Tribulation Gu consumed increasing amounts of thunder energy and gradually transformed into a reddish hue.
When the 36th bolt failed to achieve its purpose, the tribulation clouds dissipated.
Finally, the three Heaven-Defying Pills inside the Demon Devouring Cauldron were safe.
Thinking about these three Heaven-Defying Pills, Long Xuan was overjoyed.
He eagerly lifted the cauldron lid, releasing a burst of rich pill fragrance that soon filled the entire area.
Inhaling the aroma, Long Xuan felt an immediate sense of refreshment, as if all his fatigue had vanished in an instant.
Under his control of spiritual energy, the three Heaven-Defying Pills floated out of the cauldron and landed gently in his palm.
The Heaven-Defying Pills were multicolored, emitting a dazzling radiance that clearly marked them as extraordinary.
Having endured the refinement of the tribulation lightning, they now seemed even more mystical.
Gazing at the three pills in his hand, Long Xuan couldn’t help but smile with excitement, his eyes glowing with admiration.
“So, these are the Heaven-Defying Pills? Their appearance is truly remarkable.”
After admiring them for a while, Long Xuan carefully placed the three pills into separate pill bottles.
At that moment, the Heaven-Devouring World Toad emerged, its eyes fixed intently on the pills in his hand.
Long Xuan sighed internally—this creature was truly a treasure-seeking beast. Whenever a treasure appeared, it would always show up immediately.
If the item were ownerless, the toad would greedily gobble it up. But if it was in Long Xuan's possession, it would simply stare longingly.
The Heaven-Devouring World Toad had a particular fondness for treasures and was obsessed with collecting them. Seeing such Heaven-Defying treasures that could attract tribulation thunder, it naturally displayed its greed.
Undoubtedly, consuming these Heaven-Defying Pills would allow the Heaven-Devouring World Toad to grow significantly larger.
Since the toad only absorbed the treasure’s aura and didn’t actually destroy the items, Long Xuan didn’t hesitate. He threw all three bottles containing the pills into the toad’s mouth.
The toad absorbed the pills’ auras without diminishing the pills themselves. Living treasures continuously produced aura, while non-living ones required time to recover after their aura was drained.
Deciding to make the most of the Heaven-Defying Pills, Long Xuan resolved to consume them only after the toad had drained their aura.
Satisfied after absorbing the pills’ aura, the Heaven-Devouring World Toad returned to its Insect Bag and fell into a deep sleep.
With the Heaven-Defying Pills successfully refined, Long Xuan decided to venture out to gather materials for his Gu insect army’s evolution.
Having recently broken through a major realm, he now needed a vast amount of resources to upgrade his Gu insect.
His numerous Gu insect posed a significant task.
Fortunately, the second squad of Gu insect required little attention; their materials were cheap and easily purchasable with spirit stones. A quick trip to any market would suffice to upgrade them in one go.
However, the evolution of the Sou Gu posed a challenge.
The single-evolved Sou Gu could only transport Gu cultivators in the Marrow Cleansing Stage, but now that Long Xuan had reached the Spiritual Sea Stage, the Sou Gu’s ability was completely obsolete.
This left him disconnected from the Shenlong Ship, making it impossible to trade with the wealthy lady aboard for evolution materials.
Otherwise, he could have collected most of the required materials from her alone.
Some of his other Gu insect, like the Heavenly Dream Dragon Silkworm and Medicinal Gu, had already completed their evolution. Their paths required Heaven-Defying spiritual herbs, which Long Xuan happened to have in abundance.
The Heavenly Dream Dragon Silkworm was now crafting third-grade Soul Armor for him.
As for the Heaven-Devouring World Toad, its evolution required absorbing the highest-quality treasure aura. Since Long Xuan had no shortage of Heaven-Defying treasures, it had already evolved numerous times.
Some Gu, like the Repair Gu, needed entirely new recipe for further evolution, while others, like the Disaster Poison Gu, required rare poisons from across the world.
Step by step, Long Xuan carefully planned his next moves to enhance his Gu army.
After refining the Heaven-Defying Pills, he secluded himself for three days, fully absorbing their medicinal power.
When he opened his eyes, he felt a noticeable improvement in his aptitude, now elevated to the third rank—a step away from earth-grade genius-level potential.
Elated, Long Xuan clenched his fists and prepared to embark on his next journey.
This place was one he would definitely revisit in the future. There was no way he would let go of the heavenly water in the center of Thunder Swamp.
If he ever needed to refine something capable of triggering a celestial phenomenon, coming back to this place would be an excellent choice.
To facilitate travel, he left behind a small hut created with Sou Gu.
Upon exiting Thunder Swamp, Long Xuan took a deep breath of the fresh air outside and quickly headed onward.
However, he had barely walked far when he was intercepted by two Gu cultivators clad in black.
"Kid, you just came out of Thunder Swamp, right?"
"You're pretty fast. As soon as we heard that the thunder power in Thunder Swamp had dissipated, my brother and I rushed here day and night, but it seems you still beat us to it."
"Can you tell us what treasures are inside Thunder Swamp?"
The leader, a burly middle-aged man, blocked Long Xuan's path with a malicious gaze.
Sensing his Spiritual Sea early-stage aura, Long Xuan’s heart sank.
Who would have thought that the end of the thunderstorms in Thunder Swamp would attract Spiritual Sea stage Gu cultivators?
He suspected that these two weren’t the only ones trying to find treasure in Thunder Swamp. More were likely on the way, and he wouldn’t rule out the possibility of a Gu King arriving.
In fact, it was possible that others had already entered Thunder Swamp but simply hadn’t crossed paths with him.
What lay inside Thunder Swamp remained mysterious to most people. Like he once did, many might assume that a forbidden land untouchable by humans must be full of treasures.
This place was no longer safe for lingering.
As Long Xuan pondered, the skinny old man next to the burly cultivator grew impatient.
“Why waste time talking to him?”
“I can see his aura is unstable—clearly, he just broke through to the Spiritual Sea stage and hasn’t even stabilized his cultivation yet. His Gu insect likely haven’t had time to upgrade either. The two of us working together can easily kill him.”
“Whatever treasures he took out of Thunder Swamp will all be ours.”
The burly man glanced behind him and noticed a group of Spiritual Sea auras rapidly approaching. His face turned grim, and he decided without hesitation:
"Attack together! Make it quick!"
As his words fell, he released a massive beetle clad in metallic armor, which charged directly at Long Xuan.
Long Xuan furrowed his brow. Having just broken through to the Spiritual Sea stage, most of his Gu insect hadn’t had time to upgrade, leaving him with few usable ones.
Instinctively, he took out the newly refined Tribulation Gu to counter. Though the Tribulation Gu had only undergone one evolution and was still a Marrow Cleansing-Stage Gu, he believed its devastating Life-Destroying Thunder could allow it to surpass its level in battle.
Currently, the Tribulation Gu took the form of a snake. The lightning serpent slithered out from the mouth of the Heaven-Devouring World Toad and emerged from Long Xuan’s insect bag. At his command, it spat out a red bolt of Life-Destroying Thunder at the charging giant beetle.
The beetle, wrapped in its heavy metallic armor, could normally shrug off most attacks of the same level.
However, before the Life-Destroying Thunder, its iron-like shell was as fragile as paper. A large hole was blasted through its forehead in an instant.
The beetle collapsed without so much as a cry and lay lifeless on the ground.
While Long Xuan defeated the beetle with one blow, he frowned, unsatisfied.
The Life-Destroying Thunder he had seen descend from the heavens before could carve bottomless craters into the earth.
Such power should have directly annihilated this beetle, not merely pierced a hole through it.
The current Life-Destroying Thunder was far weaker—less than a hundredth of the original.
Long Xuan couldn’t help feeling disappointed.
The materials used to refine the Tribulation Gu were likely too inferior, preventing it from unleashing the full potential of Life-Destroying Thunder.
Still, if the Tribulation Gu could harness the full power of Life-Destroying Thunder, even a Gu King could be killed with ease.
While Long Xuan was dissatisfied, the two opponents were utterly horrified.
Song Qian, the burly man, was infamous in the Sin City as a master of Beetle Gu. His armored Gu beetles had unparalleled defenses, virtually unbreakable at the same level.
Yet, the Tribulation Gu—whose aura clearly wasn’t even at Grade 3—had annihilated his strongest Gu beetle with a single strike.
“Red lightning… No, this is Life-Destroying Thunder! The stuff of legends!”
“Damn it! How does he have such a thing?! Run!”
Song Qian roared and fled, his face pale with terror.
Life-Destroying Thunder was a nemesis of demonic cultivators and all demonic Gu Insects. If struck, they would not only perish but lose any chance of reincarnation.
Both men were notorious demonic cultivators with bodies full of demonic Gu insect. To them, Life-Destroying Thunder was as deadly as a cat to a mouse.
Terrified beyond measure, they fled for their lives.
But Long Xuan knew the importance of eliminating threats completely.
Watching their retreating figures, he smirked coldly.
Under his command, the Tribulation Gu unleashed two more bolts of Life-Destroying Thunder, striking the fleeing men squarely in the back.
The lightning bolts tore through their bodies, leaving no time for a cry before they collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
Long Xuan stood in quiet shock.
The battle had ended far faster than he anticipated.
Though they were of the same cultivation level, he hadn’t expected to defeat two Spiritual Sea stage cultivators so easily, especially with his lack of upgraded Gu insect.
It became clear to him, however, that the overwhelming power of Life-Destroying Thunder was the deciding factor.
Demonic cultivators stood no chance against its devastating might.
Their misfortune was to provoke someone wielding such a force.
This region was teeming with demonic cultivators, and Long Xuan, carrying the Tribulation Gu, could wreak havoc here. Anyone who crossed his path was bound to meet misfortune.
Long Xuan ran over and confiscated the two storage bags. He then performed a Soul Search on Song Qian's still-intact soul before it dissipated.
His purpose for coming here was to collect materials for the evolution of various Gu insects. He intended to see if there was any information about such materials in Song Qian's memories.
The Soul Search technique was part of the "True Soul Transformation" soul arts. By studying this cultivation method, Long Xuan had mastered the Soul Search technique.
Through Song Qian's memories, Long Xuan quickly learned the man’s identity.
Song Qian was a renowned Insect Armor Master in Sin City, famed for his exceptional skill in crafting Insect Armors, earning him the title of Master Song.
In the Sinful Lands, his reputation was vast. Many Gu cultivators sought him out to craft Insect Armors.
However, Song Qian had betrayed his master and ancestors, going so far as to rob the founding master of Insect Armor techniques. His audacity ultimately led to his complete annihilation.
In his memories, Long Xuan found information about something he sought.
In two weeks, Sin City would host a large-scale auction.
The highlight of the auction was a 'heaven-grade spiritual herb' known as the "Moon Tree".
The Moon Tree had numerous incredible effects, one of which was extracting the juice from its leaves and applying it to the eyes. This would grant the ability to see through all illusions.
It was said that prolonged use of the Moon Tree's leaf juice could grant immunity to illusions.
Illusions were among the most challenging abilities to defend against, often ensnaring people without their knowledge. With such a defense, who wouldn't want it?
It was no exaggeration to say that this single effect of the Moon Tree was enough to drive all Gu Kings mad, willing to pay any price to obtain it.
Without a doubt, this item would fetch an astronomical price at auction.
It might even spark a chaotic battle among the Gu Kings.
Snatching the Moon Tree from the hands of so many Gu Kings would not be easy.
Long Xuan frowned deeply, his gaze contemplative. He was determined to obtain the Moon Tree and unwilling to give it up so easily.
The Eye of Heavenly Secret's evolution required prolonged use of a rare eye medicine after every evolution, and the Moon Tree's leaf juice was perfect for crafting such medicine. How could he let it slip away?
After a moment of thought, weighing the pros and cons, his eyes gleamed as he decided to participate in the fight for the Moon Tree.
From Song Qian's memories, Long Xuan learned that the Sinful Lands were full of demonic cultivators, chaos, and slaughter.
Sin City, however, was the only place in the Sinful Lands with order.
Outside the city, killing was unrestricted. Inside the city, if you accidentally killed someone, even a peak Gu King would have to pay with their life.
This order within Sin City was why merchants dared to hold such a grand auction without fear of being robbed.
Even if one acquired a priceless treasure at the auction, they wouldn’t need to worry about being robbed—at least not within the city. Outside the city, however, Sin City took no responsibility.
Since that was the case, why not go all out and have a disguised clone participate in the bidding war for the Moon Tree? Once successful, he could instantly escape using a Hundred-Mile Talisman, leaving the Gu Kings furious but unable to find him.
Exchanging a Hundred-Mile Talisman for the Moon Tree was undoubtedly worth it. Long Xuan’s eyes shone with determination.
Finally, Long Xuan stripped Song Qian's clothes and burned both corpses to ashes before leaving.
He took Song Qian’s clothes because he planned to impersonate him to infiltrate Sin City.
With the memories he gained through Soul Search, perfectly mimicking Song Qian wouldn’t be difficult.
Not long after he left, the group whose presence Song Qian had sensed finally arrived.
They passed by the area without stopping and headed straight for Thunder Swamp.
Their eyes were filled with greed, as though they were looking at a treasure trove.
Shortly after, Long Xuan emerged from behind a tree, watching their retreating backs with a strange expression.
"What are they rushing into Thunder Swamp for? Are they in a hurry to die?"
Parts of Thunder Swamp indeed no longer experienced lightning, but that was only because tribulation clouds had temporarily devoured the area’s storm clouds. Without clouds, there was no thunder.
But this change was only temporary. The terrain hadn’t been permanently altered.
Over time, the storm clouds would reform, and the area would once again experience constant thunder.
During the days when Long Xuan was refining the Heaven-Defying Pill, storm clouds had already reformed.
When he emerged, he noticed that many of the clouds had reached 90% density, and lightning was imminent.
Yet that group chose this moment to rush in. Long Xuan couldn't help but shiver.
He didn’t leave in a hurry, instead watching as more and more demonic cultivators entered Thunder Swamp.
Finally, the sky roared with thunder, and bolts of lightning suddenly descended.
The demonic cultivators were caught off guard and struck directly.
Everyone in Thunder Swamp was stunned, their faces turning deathly pale before they started running for their lives like madmen.
The marsh echoed with endless screams of agony.
Witnessing this tragic scene, Long Xuan’s mouth twitched involuntarily. After observing for a while, he finally left.
There was no way he could kindly warn them. If they asked how he knew, what could he say?
Everyone here was a demonic cultivator, ruthless and murderous. If he approached with good intentions, not only would he gain nothing, but he might also be killed and robbed.
Thus, Long Xuan could only watch as they rushed to their deaths.
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