Chapter 466 - 428: Seeing Dawn at Last

Chapter 466: Chapter 428: Seeing Dawn at Last

「Several months passed in the blink of an eye.」

The cave remained bathed in a crimson glow. Amidst the raging True Flame, a crimson Ancient Tower, about an inch in height, had already taken rudimentary form.

As the True Flame continued its scorching refinement, a stream of Techniques evolved into Array Prohibition Inscriptions, which were continuously being carved and sealed all over the tower’s body.

The Nine Dragon Divine Fire Array was a complete and massive Grand Array, so it was naturally impossible to copy it wholesale.

Back in the Secret Realm’s Inheritance Land, he had already adapted that Nine Dragon Divine Fire Array into the corresponding Nine Dragon Array Prohibitions.

As the Array Prohibitions were inscribed, dazzling dragon patterns also took shape upon the tower.

This process lasted for almost an entire month.

The True Flame still burned fiercely. Densely packed Array Prohibition Inscriptions, like endless pages of Daoist Scripture, manifested as countless seals that swirled and flashed all over the tower.

At this moment, Chu Mu suddenly let out a muffled grunt. His face instantly turned pale, and he spat out a globule of blood as crystalline as jade.

At the command of his will, the globule of blood slowly merged into the Ancient Tower. Tempered by the True Flame, the crimson tower took on a bewitching, blood-red hue.

As the blood merged with it, a profound, life-bound connection to the Ancient Tower began to manifest.

The connection was so intimate it was as if the tower was an extension of his own body, moving with his every thought.

It was just like the Divine Soul Blade in his Sea of Consciousness—completely subject to his will, its every action decided in a single thought!

And at that same moment, it was as if the crimson Ancient Tower had received its final, life-giving touch. The tower began to rotate slowly, seeming to have gained a glimmer of... spirituality!

The True Flame didn’t die down. Instead, fueled by an infusion of Magical Power, it surged even more violently, completely enveloping the Ancient Tower and thoroughly refining it once more, inside and out.

This process lasted for a full forty-nine days.

When the True Flame finally died out, the Ancient Tower floating before Chu Mu seemed to act on instinct, instantly appearing in his palm.

Chu Mu couldn’t hide the fatigue on his face, but it was clearly mixed with delight.

Nine Dragon Prison Suppression Tower!

It was complete!

Cradling the Nine Dragon Prison Suppression Tower in his palm, Chu Mu sent out a thought, and the layers of Array Prohibitions enveloping the cave instantly vanished.

He took a single step forward and, in the next instant, was hovering in the air above the island.

The azure sky stretched out, cloudless, like a gigantic, flawless piece of jade.

The sea was a vast expanse of mist and ripples. Occasionally, Low Tier Demon Beasts could be seen darting through the waters, their hunts periodically churning the surface and staining it with clouds of blood.

Chu Mu closed his eyes, his Divine Sense Perception enveloping the Ancient Tower. Through his life-bound connection to it, all of the tower’s functions became clear to him.

Although the Ancient Tower was still in a nascent state, its effects were already proving to be extraordinary.

The Nine Dragons formed its skin, the Fiery Sun Fusang its bones, and the Great Sun True Flame its core. Everything was exactly as he had designed it, without the slightest deviation.

Chu Mu’s eyes snapped open. He raised his hand, and the Ancient Tower hovered in the air. With a thought, the tower flared with crimson light, and a phantom image of the Ancient Tower, dozens of yards tall, materialized.

With resounding dragon roars, a torrent of red light poured down from the phantom tower. Nine Fire Dragons materialized, spiraling and intertwining amidst streams of light.

Chu Mu stood at the center, shielded by the Fire Dragons. With the Nine Dragon Prison Suppression Tower above his head, an unbreakable barrier of light formed in an instant!

It was just like the legendary Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Tower from his past life; with the Ancient Tower above his head, his Defense was peerless!

As Chu Mu briefly sensed its power, his eyes shone even brighter.

Then, with another wave of his hand, draconic roars echoed as several Fire Dragons spiraled down through the churning red sky. They crashed into the sea with a heaven-shaking BOOM, making the fabled scene of burning mountains and boiling seas a reality.

In a mere instant, vast swathes of seawater evaporated, sending up endless clouds of steam. Countless fish and Demon Beasts in the water, unable to escape in time, were instantly vaporized by the terrifying heat.

"Suppress!"

He let out a low cry, and the tower’s mighty power converged. A few Demon Beasts that were still trying to flee were instantly frozen in place.

Crimson chains coiled around them, pulling them all under the phantom tower. As fiery red light flowed, in the span of a few breaths, the Demon Beasts were imprisoned and forcefully refined into scattering ash.

"Excellent!"

Chu Mu was overjoyed. With a wave of his hand, the phantoms of the tower and Fire Dragons dissipated, and the exquisite little tower hovered in his palm. He admired it for a long time, unable to put it down, savoring each of its functions that he already knew by heart.

’This Nine Dragon Prison Suppression Tower is clearly very different from a normal Lifebound Treasure.’

’Once an ordinary Lifebound Treasure is successfully refined, its form is completely fixed.’

’Its potential for growth depends entirely on the Cultivation of its wielder.’

’The first special thing about my Lifebound Treasure is naturally its potential for future upgrades.’

’Such as adding the souls of the Nine Dragons, the Big and Small Ruyi ability, and the Jiezhi Space Skill.’

’The second is... my Great Sun True Flame!’

’The core source of the Nine Dragon Divine Flame is my Great Sun True Flame.’

’You could say that the Mighty Power of this Nine Dragon Prison Suppression Tower comes from two things. First, the quality of the Magical Treasure itself.’

’Second, my Great Sun True Flame.’

’The stronger the Great Sun True Flame, the stronger this treasure will naturally become!’

’It is bound to my life, and it is also mutually dependent on the Great Sun True Flame. They reinforce one another!’

’The Great Sun True Flame, in turn, is mutually dependent on the Great Sun Scripture and my own Immortal Dao Cultivation.’

’The relationship between the three is just like Essence, Qi, and Spirit—they complement each other and advance in tandem.’

’And as for the Grade of my Nine Dragon Prison Suppression Tower as a Magical Treasure...’

"A Lower Grade Treasure..."

Chu Mu’s gaze flickered. This Grade was not unexpected.

’Lifebound Treasures are, after all, different from ordinary Magical Treasures. To a large extent, the standard Grade divisions for Magical Treasures can’t really be applied to them.’

’The first reason is that during the Refining of a Lifebound Treasure, the efficacy of the Spiritual Materials is deliberately suppressed to preserve the treasure’s growth potential. A large portion of the materials’ power is converted into a foundation for its future growth.’

’This is unlike ordinary Magical Treasures, which are made to unleash the full, unreserved power of their Spiritual Materials.’

’Take the Fiery Sun Fire Essence, for example. If I had unleashed its full power as a Spiritual Material without holding anything back, I’m confident I could have refined a Top Grade Treasure, perhaps even something beyond that.’

’The second reason is the life-bound connection between a Lifebound Treasure and its Cultivator.’

’In other words, the Mighty Power of an ordinary Magical Treasure is determined by its Grade. A Lower Grade Treasure, for instance, has a power limit confined to the Lower Grade, which it cannot exceed in the slightest.’

’A Lifebound Treasure, however, through its life-bound connection, can always unleash Mighty Power far exceeding its official Grade.’

’Take this Nine Dragon Prison Suppression Tower in my hand. Even though it’s only classified as a Lower Grade Treasure, the Mighty Power it can unleash is likely no weaker than that of an ordinary Middle or Upper Grade Magical Treasure.’

’Furthermore, its growth potential is beyond anything an ordinary Magical Treasure could compare to.’

’Lifebound Treasures have many obvious advantages, but their drawbacks are equally severe.’

’The life-bound connection alone is a flaw that can almost be considered fatal.’

’If an ordinary Magical Treasure is damaged or even self-destructs, its wielder isn’t affected in the slightest.’

’But with a life-bound connection, any and all damage to the Lifebound Treasure is directly reflected upon the Cultivator themselves.’

’If a Lifebound Treasure is completely destroyed, it is tantamount to having one’s path of cultivation severed.’

’Back in Jingmen, the reason that Array Dao Nascent Soul expert abandoned his Grand Array and fled in a panic was likely due to this very fact.’

After admiring the tower for a long while, Chu Mu forcibly suppressed his myriad thoughts. Cradling the Ancient Tower, he took a step and returned to the cave.

He sat down cross-legged, the Ancient Tower hovering before him. The surging excitement on Chu Mu’s face slowly subsided, replaced by a grave and slightly apprehensive expression.

’So far, this Nine Dragon Prison Suppression Tower is turning out exactly as I envisioned.’

’But all of this was part of the plan, all within the predictions of my Artifact Refining Skill and my foundation in Arrays.’

’The only function that I merely hypothesized, without any concrete proof, is this treasure’s ability to combat and eliminate the Demonization Erosion.’

’I’m quite confident in this hypothesis, though.’

’But without sufficient data to back it up, I can’t have absolute confidence until I’ve confirmed it myself.’

Chu Mu took a deep breath. He closed his eyes, and as his Divine Sense flowed, the formerly dormant Ancient Tower once again began to glow with wisps of fiery red.

Soon, the phantom tower materialized once more. An endless fiery red light filled the cave, transforming into Nine Dragons that spiraled around Chu Mu.

At that moment, the dense Demon Patterns inscribed upon his Divine Soul seemed to have been provoked. Sinister Demonic Qi billowed forth, transforming into writhing Demon Snakes.

The Fire Dragons and Demon Snakes intertwined, just like the sea of fire and the Demonic Qi had years ago, yet they were as incompatible as fire and water.

Seeing this, the knot of anxiety in Chu Mu’s chest finally loosened.

For him, the tricky part of the Demonization Erosion wasn’t the erosion itself.

He could suppress the erosion with his own power.

The tricky part was its source: the countless Demon Patterns inscribed upon his Divine Soul!

To him, those Demon Patterns were something that clearly existed, yet he had no way to touch them.

Neither his Divine Sense, his True Flame, nor even his Sword Intent could affect the Demon Patterns in the slightest.

He could only affect the Demonization Erosion that stemmed from these countless Demon Patterns.

Obviously, affecting it this way was largely meaningless.

Even if he suppressed the Demonization Erosion completely, as long as he couldn’t deal with the Demon Patterns at the source, the scourge of the erosion could never be truly eradicated.

But now, with the Nine Dragons manifested and the Divine Flame gathered, the hidden Demon Patterns were being forced to reveal themselves to fight against the Nine Dragons’ Refinement...

For him, this was undoubtedly a breakthrough—an opening to completely resolve the Demonization Erosion!

Chu Mu’s spirits soared. With a single thought, he began to madly funnel his Magical Power into the Great Sun True Flame as fuel.

Under this massive surge, the Nine Dragon Prison Suppression Tower glowed even more brightly. The nine Fire Dragons roared and spiraled, moving as if unopposed as they savagely tore at the Demon Snakes manifested from the Demon Patterns.

The Demon Patterns seemed to sense the crisis. As sinister Demonic Qi billowed, all sorts of bizarre Demons began to manifest, and another round of savage fighting began.

As the confrontation continued, the outcome of the battle became quite clear.

It was just like back in the Heart of the Demon Realm; for every Demon he slew, he was forced to endure a backlash of erosion, but in return, he seized a sliver of control over the Heart of the Demon Realm.

And now, for every Demon manifested from the Demon Patterns that was refined and annihilated, one of the countless Demon Patterns on his Divine Soul would visibly dim.

The Demonization Erosion within his body seemed to lose its power source amidst this struggle. Its advance slowed considerably, to the point that his body’s own instinctual resistance began to suppress and even counteract its effects.

Chu Mu couldn’t hide his delight. Magical Power surged around him as he held nothing back, unleashing his full Cultivation to manipulate his newly forged Lifebound Treasure, as if recreating his slaughter in the Demon Realm.

Back then, however, it had been one man, one blade.

Today, it was the Nine Dragon Divine Transformation Flame, refining the evil of the Demon Patterns.

The Ring Array Prohibitions outside the cave slowly closed once more, sealing the grotto off from the rest of the world.

The cave was filled with a clamor of roaring dragons and a tide of Demons. Beneath the towering phantom of the Ancient Tower, the endless flames burned with profound mystery.

Amidst the churning sea of fire, the Demons seemed inexhaustible. As soon as one batch was refined and annihilated, another would manifest, an apparently endless cycle.

Only the Demon Pattern seals gradually fading from his Divine Soul offered any proof of his progress.

Just as Chu Mu had predicted from the very beginning, the day the Nine Dragon Prison Suppression Tower was complete... would be the day the tables turned.