Chapter 418: The Wheel |
"Purple spirit liquid?"
Chen Qing's heart stirred as he bent down to examine it carefully.
This spirit liquid was completely different from the pale golden spirit liquid he had seen before.
Five drops of spirit liquid, each about the size of a soybean, hovered about an inch above the clear pool water, their entire bodies displaying a purple so deep it reached the ultimate extreme.
The interior of the spirit liquid was not still, as if something living was slowly flowing within.
Just by approaching, an aura dozens of times purer than the pale golden spirit liquid came rushing forth, causing the pores all over Chen Qing's body to involuntarily open. The True Origin of the Supreme Void True Scripture within him actually began to accelerate on its own, transmitting waves of longing tremors.
Even more mystical, when gazing at this purple spirit liquid, his chaotic thoughts rapidly calmed, and his spiritual platform became completely clear.
"A treasure! A true heavenly material and earthly treasure!"
Chen Qing could tell at a glance that this purple spirit liquid was extraordinary. His heart shook violently as wild joy surged up.
Even after being sealed inside the bottle, through the crystalline bottle wall, he could still feel that heart-palpitating pure aura and mystical Dao rhythm pulsating.
After putting away the jade bottle, Chen Qing was overjoyed, but then his brows furrowed tightly.
This purple spirit liquid was extraordinary. The level of aura it contained far exceeded that of ordinary pale golden spirit liquid, and the time and mental effort required to absorb and refine it would certainly be extremely long.
By his own estimation, even just one drop, with his current cultivation of seven refinements and powerful physical body, even using the Supreme Void True Scripture to refine it with full force, would probably require at least two or three days, and the process would definitely not be easy.
Five drops?
Without half a month, it would be absolutely impossible to completely absorb and transform them.
Moreover, he still had over twenty drops of ordinary pale golden spirit liquid he had obtained previously!
These were also precious resources that must be used before leaving.
Time!
What he lacked most was time!
The Taiyi Spirit Ruins would close in less than three days. No matter what, there was no way to absorb all this spirit liquid, especially the purple spirit liquid, in time.
According to what Li Yujun had said, spirit liquid could not be taken out of the Spirit Ruins. Once the seven-day period arrived, any unabsorbed spirit liquid would gradually dissipate upon leaving the Spirit Ruins, turning into nothing.
"Do I have to forcibly absorb it here? But although this place is hidden, it's not necessarily absolutely safe. If someone disturbs me while I'm deeply refining..."
Chen Qing's thoughts raced as his gaze involuntarily turned toward the depths of the stone cave once more.
The appearance of the purple spirit liquid was perhaps not accidental. There might be other secrets deep within this stone cave.
"Let me look further inside!"
He temporarily suppressed the anxiety in his heart and stepped toward where the faint light was coming from.
Circling around several naturally formed stalactite pillars, the scene before his eyes suddenly opened up.
At the deepest part of the cave, the dome suddenly rose high, forming a huge hemispherical space.
And right in the center of that dome, a colossal object was prominently embedded in the rock wall!
It was a wheel whose immense size was difficult to describe.
The wheel's diameter was estimated to exceed ten zhang, its entire body presenting a blue-gray color that was neither metal nor jade, ancient and weighty.
The wheel's surface was not smooth but covered with countless complex and profound patterns so intricate that a single glance would make one dizzy.
These patterns were not carved but seemed naturally formed, sometimes flowing like stellar trajectories, sometimes winding like river networks, flickering with faint light.
It was precisely this faint light that illuminated this stone cave.
The wheel was not stationary but slowly rotating at an extremely gradual speed.
As it turned, the faint light in those patterns also flickered and changed accordingly, as if breathing, resonating with this Spirit Ruins heaven and earth at some deep level.
A vast and ancient aura faintly emanated from the wheel. Though not overbearing, it made Chen Qing feel as insignificant as dust.
"Could it be... this is the Taiyi Wheel?!"
Chen Qing looked up and stared, his heart raising towering waves.
The Taiyi Wheel!
The treasure that anchored the Taiyi Upper Sect, one of the legendary thirteen Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasures!
Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasures were treasures that surpassed ordinary spirit treasures and possessed unfathomable might, supreme treasures that could be counted on one's fingers throughout the entire Yan Kingdom and even surrounding regions. They were truly able to suppress an entire region's fortune and serve as the foundation of top-tier sects!
"The Taiyi Wheel is actually deep within this Spirit Ruins? Could this place be the true core hub of the Taiyi Spirit Ruins?"
While Chen Qing was shocked, his doubts deepened, "Why did the purple light guide me here? Was it merely for these five drops of purple spirit liquid? Or could it be..."
He recalled the connection between the purple light and the Supreme Void True Scripture. The purple light had been obtained within the Tianbao Tower.
As a Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure, was there some connection between the Taiyi Wheel and it?
Was the purple light's unusual activity a response to the Taiyi Wheel itself, or a response to this precious land and this purple spirit liquid gathered here by the wheel?
Just as Chen Qing's thoughts were jumbled, trying to sort out the threads, the purple light in his consciousness sea suddenly blazed with unprecedented brilliance, more active than ever before, almost breaking through his body!
At the same time, as if drawn by some traction, at the center of the slowly rotating Taiyi Wheel above the dome, a profound pattern suddenly lit up!
"Buzz!"
A gentle yet irresistible radiance fell from the wheel's center, neither deviating nor slanting, perfectly enveloping Chen Qing who was looking up from below!
"Hmm?!"
The instant the radiance touched his body, Chen Qing's entire body shook violently!
This radiance was not an attack, yet it carried an indescribable penetrating quality.
It ignored Chen Qing's surface True Origin protection and directly entered his four limbs and hundred bones, meridians and acupoints, even seeping into his consciousness sea!
"!?"
Chen Qing could not help but let out a muffled groan.
He felt his entire body, from skin to internal organs, from flesh to bones, as if thrown into a blazing furnace, and also like being simultaneously pierced by countless scorching fine needles!
His qi and blood instantly boiled, like molten lava surging through his blood vessels. The True Origin lake raised sudden violent waves, nearly losing control. Even his consciousness sea stirred up a storm, the purple light spinning madly at the storm's center, intensely merging with the surging radiance.
Within the extreme pain, there was also an indescribable feeling of expansion, as if both body and divine consciousness would be burst apart by this vast power!
At this life-and-death moment, the tenacious will forged by years of bitter cultivation forcibly overcame the chaos brought by the intense pain.
Chen Qing's eyes turned blood red as he almost instinctively madly circulated his two fundamental cultivation methods!
"Roar!"
The faint sounds of dragons and elephants roaring came from within his body.
The seventh layer technique of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Vajra Body was driven to its extreme. Pale golden qi and blood power erupted like an awakening furious dragon, forming a layer of substantial golden light membrane on his body surface, madly resisting that radiance.
All the bones in his body emitted dense crackling sounds. His muscles bulged, and the pale golden patterns beneath his skin emerged more clearly than ever before, bursting forth with powerful physical strength, firmly locking down his form that was about to collapse.
At the same time, the seventh layer mental method of the Supreme Void True Scripture also rapidly circulated under Chen Qing's control.
Within his dantian, that lake of dark golden liquid True Origin now raised towering waves. At its center formed a bottomless whirlpool, erupting with astonishing suction force.
Simultaneously, the jade bottle Chen Qing kept close to his chest opened, and eighteen drops of pale golden spirit liquid, as if drawn by an invisible force, floated out on their own and hovered before him.
The next instant, they transformed into warm trickles that naturally merged into Chen Qing's steaming qi and blood and boiling True Origin.
The True Origin whirlpool, like a ravenous glutton, recklessly refined them, forcibly incorporating the spirit liquid into its own operational system.
The True Origin lake expanded at a visible rate, even taking on a hint of purple...
Chen Qing endured this inhuman pain, desperately guarding the last thread of clarity in his spiritual platform.
…
Taiyi Spirit Ruins, northwest spring eye.
This place was originally a natural spirit pool three zhang in circumference. The pool water had long dried up, leaving only cracked milky-white crystal stone at the bottom.
At this moment, the area around the pool was in complete disarray, covered with rubble. Several newly collapsed pits still retained traces of intense True Origin fluctuations.
Nan Zhuoran stood upon a protruding rock. The hem of his blue cloth robe had been torn in several places, but his standing posture remained upright as a pine, his aura condensed like an abyss. His right hand held a virtual grip as a drop of deep purple spirit liquid in his palm slowly sank into his skin, transforming into a wisp of purple qi that traveled along his meridians.
"Buzz..."
As the Purple Marrow Spirit Liquid entered his body, the aura around Nan Zhuoran's entire body suddenly surged!
It was not a violent increase, but rather a deeper level of refinement and sublimation.
Ten zhang away, Wang Jing stood firmly on the ground.
The qi and blood churning around his entire body were like a substantial furnace, scorching the surrounding air until it twisted slightly.
The physical power brought by the ninth layer perfection of the Eight Directions Universe Body meant that merely by standing, the rocks beneath his feet cracked into spiderweb-like patterns.
"Nan Zhuoran, that drop of Purple Marrow Spirit Liquid should have been mine!"
Wang Jing's voice came through his mask, carrying suppressed fury.
Behind him, that True Origin nine-refinement expert from the Purple Sun Upper Sect, the red-faced elder named Zhao Lieyang, now had his right sleeve shattered, with a scorched black burn mark on his arm that was healing at a visible rate.
He stared at Nan Zhuoran with eyes full of wariness. In their brief earlier exchange, Nan Zhuoran's thunder technique combined with that strange tremendous force divine ability had actually forced him, an old-timer who had been immersed in nine refinements for twenty years, to retreat, even sustaining significant internal injuries.
Nan Zhuoran slowly opened his eyes, and lightning seemed to flash within his pupils.
"When the spirit eye erupted, the Purple Marrow Spirit Liquid sought its own master. I took one drop while you came away empty-handed."
He paused slightly, the corners of his mouth hooking up in an extremely faint arc, "Being a step too slow means being slow. Fortune will not wait for people, nor will it fall into your hands out of thin air because of your Purple Sun Upper Sect's reputation or your unwillingness, Wang Jing."
"You...!"
Wang Jing's qi and blood churned, almost breaking through his mask.
These words from Nan Zhuoran were as if saying his strength was insufficient!
But Nan Zhuoran no longer looked at him, as if even one more glance would be a waste of time.
"You've chased me for over thirty li. That should be enough. I've already begun refining the Purple Marrow Spirit Liquid. You can't snatch it away. If you continue to pester..."
The aura around his entire body suddenly became dangerous, "I don't mind making the list of those from Purple Sun Upper Sect who entered the Spirit Ruins this time shorter by one or two people. Elder Zhao, what do you think?"
Zhao Lieyang's old face flushed red and white alternately. Nan Zhuoran's words were a naked threat, and moreover a threat aimed at him personally!
Yet the strength the other party had just displayed made him extremely wary indeed.
"Nan Zhuoran! Don't be too arrogant!"
Wang Jing shouted in a low voice as the crimson qi and blood around his entire body surged again.
"Boom!"
A visible crimson qi wave exploded outward with him at the center, pulverizing the rubble on the ground!
He exerted force with his feet, his form suddenly vanishing, leaving only a deep footprint and an expanding ring of dust at his original position.
The next moment, he had appeared in the sky above Nan Zhuoran's head, his right fist raised high, a blazing red sphere of light condensing on his fist like a small sun!
Purple Sun True Fire! Great Sun Meteor Fall!
This punch perfectly combined the domineering nature of the Purple Sun Upper Sect's treasure technique "Purple Sun True Scripture" with the tremendous divine power of the Eight Directions Universe Body. Before the fist even arrived, that scorching and fierce fist intent had completely sealed off the ten-zhang space around Nan Zhuoran!
The air was ignited, emitting crackling explosions. Several ancient trees in the distance that had fortunately survived the earlier struggle instantly self-combusted, transforming into towering torches!
Zhao Lieyang moved simultaneously.
Though one arm was injured, his left hand formed fingers like a blade, slashing through the air!
A deep red fire thread condensed to the extreme, only as thick as a hair, silently cut toward Nan Zhuoran's back heart.
This fire thread seemed weak, but it was the Purple Sun Upper Sect's secret transmission killing move 'Scarlet Chain Soul-Severing Thread,' specifically designed to break through protective True Origin, insidious and ruthless. Combined with Wang Jing's brilliant and domineering fist momentum, one bright and one hidden, it sealed off all of Nan Zhuoran's escape routes!
Facing this certain-kill situation, Nan Zhuoran's expression remained calm.
His left hand formed a mudra while his right hand pointed toward the sky with joined fingers.
"Nine Heavens responding to the origin, thunder sound universally transforming."
Eight-character true words, each word like thunder!
"Boom crack...!!!"
The sky that had been shrouded by the Spirit Ruins' milky-white heavenly light suddenly darkened for an instant!
A purple lightning bolt as thick as a water bucket, blindingly bright, tore through the heavenly curtain without warning, striking precisely on Nan Zhuoran's fingertips with perfect accuracy!
Nine Heavens Thunder Summoning Art! Heavenly Thunder Body Infusion!
The violent thunder power did not harm him in the slightest but instead, like hundreds of rivers returning to the sea, completely entered his body.
Nan Zhuoran's entire body was instantly wreathed in countless wandering purple electric serpents. His hair stood on end, and his eyes transformed into pure lightning color!
At the same time, his bones emitted crackling explosions as a thick and vast strength awakened from every inch of his flesh and blood!
Panwu Divine Ability Secret Art! Mountain-Supporting Heaven-Holding Force!
This technique was not an offensive move but rather temporarily improved his physical potential to the extreme, obtaining terrifying tremendous strength and defense sufficient to support mountains and withstand heavenly might!
In the blink of an eye, Wang Jing's 'Great Sun' had thunderously descended!
Nan Zhuoran neither dodged nor evaded. His right fist wreathed in thunder struck upward from below without any flourish, meeting it head-on!
"Dong...!!!!!"
The instant fist met fist, time seemed to freeze for a moment.
Immediately after, a ring of destructive shockwave mixing crimson flames and purple lightning expanded madly in a spherical shape!
Wherever it passed, the ground was forcibly scraped away three chi, rocks melted into a glassy state, and distant mountain walls collapsed with thunderous crashes!
Wang Jing let out a muffled groan. The 'Great Sun' on his fist was actually smashed apart!
His form flew backward uncontrollably, plowing two deep furrows with his feet.
And Zhao Lieyang's 'Scarlet Chain Soul-Severing Thread,' when it touched within three chi of Nan Zhuoran's body, was shredded to pieces by the layer of thunder around him, unable to harm him in the slightest!
Nan Zhuoran's form swayed slightly as the rock beneath his feet shattered inch by inch, but he did not retreat a single step.
The lightning around his body slowly receded, leaving only his eyes still coldly gazing at Wang Jing.
"Wang Jing, you chose the wrong target."
He stood with hands behind his back. Though his robe was tattered, his momentum pressed down like a mountain, "I'll say this one last time. Stand aside! Or... you can try and see if you can stop me."
Wang Jing steadied his aura, his face beneath the mask iron-blue.
He knew Nan Zhuoran spoke the truth.
In that brief exchange just now, he had understood that even joining forces with Elder Zhao, they absolutely could not take down Nan Zhuoran in a short time.
And the commotion here was too great. When the spirit eye erupted earlier, at least a dozen powerful auras had appeared in the vicinity. At this moment, there were probably already people secretly watching.
"Nan Zhuoran, I've noted today's matter." Wang Jing gritted his teeth, his voice squeezing through his teeth.
Nan Zhuoran's eyes flashed with cold light as he said, "Next time you may not be so fortunate."
Just as both sides were at daggers drawn, the atmosphere frozen...
"Buzz..."
A low tremor came without warning then came the wind.
At first it was only a breeze, stirring up dust from the ground.
But in no more than three breaths, the breeze transformed into a gale, howling as it surged from all directions toward a certain location, precisely the center of that originally dried-up spirit eye spring pool!
Nan Zhuoran, Wang Jing, and Zhao Lieyang all changed color simultaneously, turning their heads sharply to look.
They saw that above the spirit eye spring pool, the milky-white spirit mist was spinning madly at an unprecedented speed, forming a mist vortex with a diameter exceeding ten zhang!
At the vortex's center, purple-golden lightning faintly flickered!
This was not all!
Further away, the space above the entire Taiyi Spirit Ruins began to churn!
Streams of milky-white qi flow visible to the naked eye, as if drawn by an invisible giant hand, were forcibly extracted from every corner of the Spirit Ruins, converging into rushing rivers of elemental qi that spanned the sky, all surging toward that forming massive vortex!
"This is... a Spirit Eye Storm?!"
Zhao Lieyang cried out in shock, his old face horrified, "How can it be this large?!"
These past few days, the largest Spirit Eye Storm he had seen was only twenty or thirty zhang. Though its power was strong, there was still room to evade.
But the embryonic storm forming before his eyes already exceeded a hundred zhang in diameter!
And it was still expanding at an alarming rate! That momentum of devouring elemental qi from all directions was simply like trying to drain the entire Spirit Ruins dry!
"Go!"
Nan Zhuoran made an immediate decision. No longer bothering with Wang Jing and the others, his form transformed into a purple lightning bolt, shooting swiftly toward the distance in the opposite direction from the storm!
He could even feel that the drop of Purple Marrow Spirit Liquid in his chest that had not yet been completely refined was trembling slightly, as if about to be forcibly drawn out by the storm's suction!
Wang Jing and Zhao Lieyang exchanged glances, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes.
"Retreat!"
Without the slightest hesitation, both men erupted with qi-blood and True Origin simultaneously, transforming into one crimson and one red streaming light, fleeing desperately in a direction different from Nan Zhuoran's!
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