Archfiend

Chapter 271: The Body as an Artifact (3)

These rainbow aquas were extremely strange. They were evidently water, yet they seemed to be living creatures. Just a drop was like gelatin, actually dyeing the black arm bone with various colors!

And for the first time, the black arm bone actually displayed indications of softening!

“Nine Dragons Pearl Delight!” Both of Gao Muya’s eyes were crimson. At this moment, he didn’t have the effort to care about Xu Yangyi. He had spoken correctly; when such a time arrived, a grand artificer’s desire would finally seize the rising wind. No matter what, he would continue working! As for Xu Yangyi, Gao Muya no longer had the time to concern himself. He only wished that the other could hold on! Perhaps… it would be better for Xu Yangyi to black out! [1]

Boom! Following Gao Muya’s shout, nine tails shortly united into one and transformed into an enormous fire orb. Along with Gao Muya’s gesture, it seemed like water, casting and forging back and forth on Xu Yangyi’s left arm bone!

“FUCK!!!” Xu Yangyi roared angrily, his voice hoarse. Such an all-terrible temperature made him truly wish that he had now passed out.

No good… now still isn’t the the most crucial moment… His eyes were also reddened, looking towards the fireball. Within it, there were an additional eight pieces of the Heavenmend Stone that hadn’t melted. Once they melted, the unconscious him wouldn’t be able to protect himself, and his meridians would possible be burned down!

Even if he had to force himself despite the pain… he had to make it through this phase!

In his mind, he recalled the words that Gao Muya had said to him. Among all materials, the Heavenmend Stone was the hardest and most heat-resistant material. Moreover, it was one of the primary materials for transforming the bone arm into a magik treasure embryo! This was the hardest step! And also Xu Yangyi’s most painful step! After this step, there were still few procedures like this step that melted materials and used them directly on his arm. Nonetheless, this degree of pain couldn’t be mentioned in the same breath let alone the same day with the Heavenmend Stone.

His body almost instinctively mobilized spiritual force. He knew of his own state. He clearly understood that his arcane effort was vastly different from others. After his left arm had been severed, there was still a moderate amount of mired spiritual force inside his meridians. This spiritual force… He presently dared not use it to cover the pain amidst his state of confusion. He could only wait for the time that all nine Heavenmend Stone pieces transformed into a blazing tide!

“This is…” However, just as he mobilized his spiritual force, preparing to completely draw it on standby over his left arm, he shocking discovered… 

His internal spiritual force… actually started to revolve by itself!

What’s going on?! Instant shock, to the extent that it overrode his arm pain in a flash. His spiritual sense immediately performed Innersight, yet he discovered that although he was unable to cycle a greater or lesser qi cycle because his left arm was missing, a cycle actually started to revolve on its own!

Why?

He looked within his body in shock, a hundred ideas running amok in his mind, but he was unable to solve this mystery!

This was the warning sign that the Eternal Alchemy Canon’s Foundation Establishment realm would appear!

In Qi Condensation, concocting pills was the same as cultivating. In Foundation Establishment, one was self-cultivating all the time. At the moment, he hadn’t reached Foundation Establishment, but his arcane effort began showing an omen of the Foundation Establishment realm!

No! In his mind, he sobered. Probably the bodhi seed at work, his thought process suddenly became faster: No… that’s not saying… that one can only self-cycle at Foundation Establishment, rather… this is fire!

That’s right, the Vermilion Bird Fire! I’m late-stage Qi Condensation; I still don’t have the full picture on where it is now, but most of it has been displayed. This might be a demonstration only at Foundation Establishment. And with this flame, my internal pill-furnace meridians can be considered truly perfect! I can then actually activate it. It’s not that Foundation Establishment can only start it, but only Foundation Establishment has the chance to get the Vermilion Bird Fire and make it activate… but it’s starting up now… Could it be…

His spiritual sense immediately rushed into his qi sea. Soon afterwards, he saw… a pulsing flame in his qi sea! It… was white fox fire!

The Burning Flame!

So that’s how it is… He quickly realized what was going on. Over the course of the artificing on his body—the body as an artifact—the Heavenmend Stone’s high temperature carried the Burning Flame’s fire. Sliver by sliver, it actually formed a bean-sized piece of the Burning Flame!

Although it was small, how great was it to the current Qi Condensation Xu Yangyi’s meridians? This flame caused a late-stage Foundation Establishment senior and half-step Core Formation senior to both manipulate it with full power. Although it was small, it was already enough to activate the Eternal Alchemy Canon’s complete state!

Such a change didn’t permit the lack of any factor. Because of the loss of his left arm, he was unable to continue cultivating. And yet the Eternal Alchemy Canon unexpectedly patched his entire body up for the time being. His pill furnace-shaped meridians within his body simply didn’t need his control. They absorbed spiritual force on their own. But as this spiritual force cycled to his left arm, they didn’t find a drain. To Xu Yangyi’s surprise, it gave rise to minor resistance with the heat wave that battered his insides and allowed his deep pain to be greatly reduced. 

If it weren’t for the artificing, I wouldn’t be able to absorb this flame. If I didn’t cultivate the Eternal Alchemy Canon, I might’ve passed out from pain now… It really is… He shut his eyes, his heartbeat already normalizing: the Heaven’s Will… Fortune makes fools out of men… 

This was a golden opportunity bestowed by the heavens.

This kind of chance was too difficult to obtain. It really was thought as a destined opportunity. This early realization and appreciation of the Eternal Alchemy Canon’s profundities caused him to understand a fraction more. He still wasn’t aware how long it would be until he reached Foundation Establishment. Perhaps it would be soon or maybe… several decades. But he could use this time to think over, ponder, and reflect on this sensation, so his body could find the most suitable path for this arcane effort!

The pain was already in a controllable scope that he could bear by gritting his teeth, and it wasn’t like just now where he couldn’t help but to scream. After all, after his left arm had been severed, he was unable to cultivate. He was making use of the dredged-up spiritual force in his meridians. It could only be consumed, not replenished. Nonetheless, an army of new life force suddenly joined. Although it wasn’t much, it was already enough to alleviate his pain by a level.

Outside, the tremendous Burning Flame took drops of rainbow liquid into the black arm bone. A little less than half of the black arm bone had already become kaleidoscopic. Within himself, Xu Yangyi was embracing and guarding his three energies of essence, qi, and spirit, and pushing extremely tiny slivers of qi to cycle with the bean-sized flame. Unintentionally, Old Man Di took a glimpse at Xu Yangyi, almost not believing his eyes!

Cultivation?!

How could this kid cultivate now?!

Cultivation required a meditative state. This so-called meditative state was the elimination of distracting thoughts, a process of a mind without rampant diversions. A high temperature of 20,000 °C melted the Heavenmend Stone, and the black arm bone directly accessed Xu Yangyi’s left arm. Xu Yangyi… He was actually able to free his heart from distraction?!

Was this a joke?!

“Fellow Daoist Di!” Following Gao Muya’s angry shout, Old Man Di immediately regained his wits. Gao Muya glanced at him in discontent. The meaning in his eyes was obvious. In such an important time and the inducement of so many heavenly treasures, you can still actually divide your attention?

Nevertheless, as Gao Muya followed Old Man Di’s glance, he couldn’t help but abruptly cry out in alarm: “Is this a fucking a joke?!”

Gao Muya exhaled and immediately felt his internal spiritual force fall to discord. The cold sweat on his forehead exuded out, dense and packed, and he used all his strength to stabilize his mind at once, but… it was somewhat late!

The enormous blaze… because of this momentary pause of hand seals, they began to sway in an instant. But in the flame… an arm’s thickness of Heavenmend Stone, bearing slivers and strands of fire, poured into Xu Yangyi’s left black arm bone with a rumble!

SIZZLE!!! An explosion rang out! With great worry in his heart, Gao Muya immediately controlled the flame and continuously struck out with several magik arts. The flame then stabilized, but the prismatic aqua melted down from the Heavenmend Stone had already dyed Xu Yangyi’s entire arm bone with vibrant hues in this twinkling!

This state of discord had on the contrary completed a matter that needed several days to finish.

Gao Muya coldly gasped. Not only was he in foul spirits, he instead promptly turned his head to look at Xu Yangyi. At the start, he only dared to control the drops to fall in trace by trace, but now, a strip with the thickness of an arm fell in! Would Xu Yangyi be able to accept it?

This was related to his name as a grand artificer. If he had smelted someone to death as he was artificing, his reputation was done for. Despite that, with a glance, he and Old Man Di were completely stunned. 

Xu Yangyi was still cultivating! He still hadn’t awaken!

“Where did this monster come from…” Several seconds later, shock and awe colored Gao Muya’s face. “I’ve really seen a living ghost…”

They were simply none the wiser that in the instant just now… Xu Yangyi had suddenly felt countless enormous heat waves wildly rush towards his left arm wound!

The qi defense he had started to weave moments ago collapsed with a rumble. But subsequently, several hundred starry motes of while flame were all sucked into his qi sea! The bean-sized flame unexpectedly… began to strengthen bit by bit!

Bean sized… Fingertip sized… A finger thick… In the end, the flame awesomely reached the size of a palm!

Crackle crackle crackle… Following the white flame’s combustion, not only did the meridians within his body not feel pain, they released a coziness and rejuvenation to his soul! 

Xu Yangyi’s meridians were like a long drought coming across sweet rain, suddenly expanding and absorbing spiritual force from the outside world at a lightning speed. Such speed rendered him flabbergasted.

This… The fire seed has been taken… Is this the Eternal Alchemy Canon’s cultivation speed after complete activation? He looked towards his dantian in astonishment: This is so speechlessly… fast… 

No, this isn’t the fastest! His eyes stirred. That’s right… This is the ‘source engine’, and I’m… still missing fuel!

Yes, the Eternal Alchemy Canon was claimed to require a country to nurture one person. The source engine existed, but there was zero fuel. This was merely his Qi Condensation meridians finally meeting this fire seed. His pill furnace had been ignited, causing a bottleneck-style eruption. It would soon calm down.

Nonetheless, he was bereft of the slightest disappointment. Instead, joy ran through his entire heart!

There was no fuel, but at such a speed… if he offered adequate spirit stones… what level of freakishness would his qi-revolution speed reach?

Not just this… The bodhi seed caused his thought process to be incredibly fast, and he divined three from one: This is the revolution speed… but what is revolution? Without any hesitation, he answered himself: The outside world’s qi!

With a fire seed and fuel, I still need… He took a deep breath and repressed his heart that was wildly beating because of expectation: a real place… with super dense qi! Paired up with a supreme Spirit Focusing Formation!

Like… Danxia Temple… Under the heavenbound door… a heavenly paradise!

In this transient moment, he completely firmed his resolve towards the struggle over the heavenly paradise.

If said before, it was Ancestor Ancientpine’s rearing of Gu. Afterwards, Xu Yangyi decided to because his future compelled him to go into battle. Now, it had transformed—he was compelled towards victory! If not him, who else would he give up the heavenbound door’s surroundings to!

The Eternal Alchemy Canon’s cultivation speed… If this “paired set” was completed, to say the least about other cultivators, his cultivation speed would be a fold higher than same-stage cultivators, including the apex clans!

And this was still a rough assessment!

Any “paired-set installation” that reached perfection would bring a qualitative leap!

Vermilion Bird Fire… the strongest fire seed… He bit his lip. The two words of “Foundation Establishment” weren’t distant from him, but they still weren’t an approaching word. Xu Yangyi rose up with an unprecedented thirst.