Chapter 376 267: The Celestial Lord Wants to Stand Above, I Laugh at Its Insufficient Merit

The so-called "Virtue and Conduct" are the very crux of a Foundation Establishment True Master's cultivation, the bridge to the Great Dao.

Jiang Yi sat upright deep within the Water Moon Grotto Heaven, his aura restrained like an abyss. Only a single point of golden light flickered uncertainly between his brows.

'The Five Elements… they are merely Spells, mere techniques. They are the external manifestation of the world's phenomena.'

He murmured to himself, his voice echoing in the spacious Cave Mansion, as clear and melodious as the chiming of jade stones:

"Wood bends and straightens. Fire blazes upward. Earth permits sowing and reaping. Metal yields and reforms. Water moistens and flows downward… These five are all superficial representations of the myriad things in the world, the physical vessels of the mundane plane.

Although one can use them to cast Daoist Techniques, to summon wind and rain, to move mountains and fill seas, it is ultimately just borrowed power. It is not one's own foundation, and with it, one can hardly enter the gate to the Great Dao."

Jiang Yi's gaze was profound as he thought to himself:

'The Five Virtues, however, are the creations of the Five Elements, the very condensation of the Great Dao. They are the metaphysical Dao itself.'

He slowly raised his palm. In its center, a small, crimson flame burned quietly. All sorts of phenomena wheeled within it, containing infinite mysteries.

'The Five Virtues reside above, with the Golden Positions beneath them, totaling thirty Dao Fruits. For example, Sword Edge Gold, Great Sea Water, or Covered Lamp Fire… Only by pushing one's own Daoist Technique to its absolute limit, transforming it into a level of cultivation acknowledged by heaven and earth, can one attract the favor of a Five Virtues Dao Fruit and have it bestowed upon oneself.'

The key to this was simple to describe but exceedingly difficult to achieve.

Even the True Inheritances of the Ancestral Sects found it hard to embark on this path. They might spend their entire lives merely dabbling in the Five Elements, never managing to enter the gate of the Five Virtues.

'Since I cultivate the Bing Fire Technique, I should follow the phenomena of the Fire Virtue.'

Jiang Yi's gaze sharpened.

'However, the Fire Virtue is also subdivided: the Furnace Fire that nurtures all things, the Mountain Peak Fire with its power to scorch the plains, the Thunder Fire with its explosive might, the Covered Lamp Fire with its light that illuminates the dark, and the Celestial Fire with its virtue of shining upon all.

The second mystery I wish to perfect is… World Burner!

This is a Fire Element Technique, magnificent and righteous, shining its light upon all. Its nature is fierce and domineering, incinerating all things, destroying all defenses!'

Before his thoughts had even faded, the cluster of flames in Jiang Yi's palm suddenly erupted!

The entire Water Moon Grotto Heaven was bathed in a crimson glow. The flame was no ordinary fire; it contained all sorts of mysterious and illusory colors. A single wisp, if leaked, could burn mountains and boil seas, causing the sun and moon to dim and the Great Dao itself to crumble.

Even something as elusive and intangible as fate or destiny would dissipate if touched by the slightest fraction of it.

'The time is almost here. The mortal realm cannot contain a Foundation Establishment True Master.'

Jiang Yi closed his eyes and focused, once again restraining the World Burner as he immersed himself in comprehending its profound phenomena.

His Primordial Gate's Divine Sense seemed to sink into a vast sea of fire, experiencing the myriad transformations of the Bing Fire Technique.

All kinds of fire-natured qi surged and churned around him, gradually condensing into rings. One ring encircled another, spreading outward in layers.

At first, the rings were just illusory glimmers of fire, but as Jiang Yi's comprehension deepened, they gradually solidified, turning into a tangible radiance born of his technique.

Each fiery ring contained the infinite true meaning of the Fire Element—some were scorching, some explosive, some radiant, some majestic.

...

Time flew by. One day, two days, three days...

The fiery rings around Jiang Yi multiplied, increasing from the initial nine to eighteen, then to thirty-six, seventy-two, and on, almost without end.

The entire Water Moon Grotto Heaven was like a fiery hell. If Jiang Yi hadn't set up measures to isolate it from the outside world, the entire Zhixuan Temple would have likely been reduced to ashes.

Amidst the vast sea of fire, his tall and straight figure remained perfectly still, his Heart Spirit completely immersed in the ocean of knowledge on the Bing Fire Technique provided by the Celestial Book.

Finally, at a certain moment.

HUMMM!

The layers of fiery rings suddenly contracted, collapsing inward and instantly condensing into a brilliant flame that shot into the space between Jiang Yi's brows.

World Burner—complete!

RUMBLE!

The very instant this mystery was perfected, the entire Water Moon Grotto Heaven trembled violently before disintegrating into dust, ceasing to exist.

Jiang Yi's body was exposed to the open world. He slowly opened his eyes, rose to his full height, and with a single step, appeared outside the former Grotto Heaven.

...

The heavens and the earth changed color!

Across the tens of thousands of miles of the mortal realm's rivers and mountains, countless crimson fire lotuses surged up from the earth. Each one bloomed with spectacular brilliance, its Spiritual Light shooting into the sky and illuminating everything in all directions.

These fire lotuses were not made of ordinary fire, but were spiritual flames born from the resonance of heaven and earth, containing the pure, true meaning of Bing Fire.

One by one, the fire lotuses took root where they landed, transforming into Spirit Veins that lay hidden deep within the earth.

Above, the dome of the sky was filled with boundless red clouds, dyeing the firmament the color of molten gold.

However, the instant Jiang Yi perfected the mystery of World Burner, a dull roar suddenly echoed from the depths of the sky.

It was not thunder, but the fury of the Celestial Lord!

...

This mortal world had its own rules of operation.

A Cultivator's practice was, by its very nature, an act of defying the heavens. But most were mere ants, not even qualifying as dust in the eyes of the Celestial Lord.

But the Jiang Yi of this moment was different from any Mortal. He had grown into a giant spirit!

His Divine Sense had ascended to the Foundation Establishment Level, and now, with the two mysteries of Illuminating the Dark and the Light and World Burner at his command, his aura far exceeded the limits the mortal realm could contain.

Heaven and earth were like a low-ceilinged room.

In the past, this giant spirit, Jiang Yi, could still stoop and bow his head, barely fitting inside.

But now, he had grown too tall, too large. The room had become far too small, far too cramped.

And yet, the Celestial Lord wanted to forcefully imprison him here, forbidding him from taking another step forward!

'My Divine Sense has ascended, but my body has not yet undergone tribulation. It's only right that I face this trial.'

Jiang Yi let out a carefree laugh.

"The Celestial Lord wishes to imprison me here? We'll see if it... has what it takes."

This wasn't the Yanfu Vast Land, where even a True Monarch occupying a Golden Position had to bow their head to the Celestial Lord.

Only a Daoist Monarch who ruled over all could stand as its equal.

'A mere Celestial Lord of a mortal realm… if I deign to give it some face, I'll show some respect. If not, what can it do if I poke a hole in its sky?'

'A Foundation Establishment True Master has undergone Body Transformation and Essence Refining; I have no fear of being struck by some lightning tribulation!'

As the thought flashed through his mind, the mystery of Illuminating the Dark and the Light unfurled!

In an instant, every inch of land in the world was reflected in his Heart Spirit.

The terrified common people, the bewildered martial arts masters... Jiang Yi perceived them all, one by one.

'When an emperor rages, a million corpses fall and blood flows for a thousand miles. When a "High God" like me rages… the entire mortal realm would probably sink beneath the waves.'

The thought passed, and with a shift in his gaze, Jiang Yi activated the mystery of World Burner!

Billowing fire-natured qi spread out, surging for tens of thousands of miles!

The Celestial Lord raged, sending down bolts of lightning and fire, attempting to suppress this giant spirit who dared to challenge its heavenly might.

But before the lightning and fire could even reach his body, they were completely devoured by World Burner, transforming into the purest Fire Element Primordial Qi and merging with Jiang Yi.

As the saying goes: Bing Fire is fierce, it scorns frost and insults snow.

The more it was suppressed, the more it fueled World Burner.

Only by cultivating a Xin Metal Technique could one hope to curb its flames and vent its power.

Wind and thunder descended abruptly, like the celestial river overturning, intent on extinguishing the crimson clouds that filled the sky.

But Jiang Yi just chuckled. The profound phenomena around him erupted, and with a sweep of his great sleeve, the storm of wind and thunder transformed into a gentle spring breeze and a soft rain before it could even fall, scattering over the mortal world.

'The Celestial Lord's fury is nothing special after all.'

Jiang Yi stood with his hands behind his back, his aura climbing higher and higher.

He was like a colossal giant spirit, growing ever taller, about to break through the roof of this low "house," about to tear open this tiny "cage"!

"The Celestial Lord would stand on high, but I laugh, for its deeds do not suffice."

Amidst the brilliant, glowing clouds, Jiang Yi, radiant as a divine being, ascended step by step, as if to contend with the Celestial Lord, to see who could stand taller.

In the blink of an eye, he vanished into the dim, chaotic void, leaving only the sight of his back to the masses below.