Li Mu’s gaze was like a torch, carefully examining Su Hongxiu’s four Fire Element Clones. He did not rush to comment, but instead flicked his finger, and an invisible Sword Intent shot out, heading straight for the Red Flame Clone’s glabella.
The Red Flame Clone’s eyes flashed, and flames burst forth, transforming into a fire shield at the last moment, barely blocking the Sword Intent. However, the fire shield instantly shattered, and the Clone’s body also swayed violently, almost dissipating.
“Not bad.” Li Mu nodded slightly. “Your ‘Nine Lotus Divided Soul Art’ and ‘Star Cloud Contemplation Method’ are combined very well. All four Fire Clones have nascent Dao Rhymes, especially the Red Flame Clone, which has already begun to show the potential to incinerate the heavens.”
He paused, then his tone shifted: “But the Dao of Fire is not limited to burning!”
Before his words finished, a chill emanated from his palm, and the Void Realm solidified with frost, surrounding the four Fire Element Clones. When the flames encountered the cold Qi, they immediately weakened, and the Violent Flame Clone even retreated repeatedly, almost losing its balance.
Su Hongxiu’s expression changed slightly. She quickly activated the Azure Fire Clone, using the principle of wood-fire mutual generation to stabilize the Foundation of the Earth Fire Clone; at the same time, the Red Flame Clone and the Violent Flame Clone joined forces to forcefully tear open the ice blockade. The four fires merged into one, finally breaking free from the shackles and re-forming a complete fire array.
Li Mu withdrew his palm and said indifferently: “Although your four fires are strong, they lack a ‘Master’ to unify them. If you can refine a fifth Origin Fire Body—for example, the ‘World Purifying Spirit Fire’—then you can control the fundamental essence of fire, causing the other four fires to unify, only then can you truly step into the Void Refining Realm.”
Su Hongxiu’s expression trembled, and she quickly bowed in salute: “This Disciple will remember Master’s teachings!”
Li Mu nodded, his gaze shifting to the next Disciple—Zhao Tianchen.
Zhao Tianchen took a deep breath, golden light flowing in his eyes. He stepped forward and cupped his fists, saying: “Master, this Disciple’s ‘Golden Palace Divided Element Art’ has already condensed five Metal Element Clones. Please guide me, Master!”
As soon as his voice fell, Zhao Tianchen stepped out, clenched his five fingers, and the Qi of metal weapons within him soared skyward. Five Metal Element Clones successively flew out from his body.
Five figures separated from his body, each containing a different Metal Element Dao Rhyme, sharp and brilliant, yet each possessing its own profound mystery.
The first Clone—Great White Clone
Its entire body was silvery white like frost, a sword pattern on its glabella, and dense Sword Qi swirling around it, like a flowing star river. It raised its hand and waved, and the Sword Qi transformed into thousands of silver threads, weaving into a net, actually engraving complex array patterns in the Void Realm, secretly conforming to the changes of heavenly mysteries.
The second Clone—Profound Gold Clone
Its entire body was dark gold in color, dense and heavy, its arms like blades, carrying unparalleled sharpness in every move. It took a step, and a fine crack silently appeared on the ground, as if even space itself was torn by its sharpness.
The third Clone—Flowing Gold Clone
Its body flowed like mercury, able to change forms at will, sometimes transforming into countless golden needles, sometimes condensing into nine Flying Swords, elusive and unpredictable. It lightly tapped its fingertip, and a wisp of golden liquid flowed, actually able to self-evolve Dao Laws and form Restrictions.
The fourth Clone—Star Gold Clone
Its body was covered with star patterns, carrying vast Star Power in every move. It opened its mouth and spat out a golden orb of light, which exploded in the air, transforming into thousands of star rays, each particle containing fierce Metal Qi, capable of piercing through mountains.
The fifth Clone—Geng Metal Clone
Its entire body was like glazed golden jade, its skin flowing with pure Metal Element Dao Rhyme, its eyes as sharp as swords. It pointed two fingers and slashed, and a pure Geng Metal Sword Qi was unleashed, cutting a small crack in the Void Realm that did not heal for a long time.
The five Metal Element Clones each had their own characteristics, yet they echoed each other: Great White governed change, Profound Gold governed sharpness, Flowing Gold governed agility, Star Gold governed vastness, and Geng Metal governed purity. When the five merged into one, they subtly formed a “Golden Light Sword Array,” with Sword Qi crisscrossing and unparalleled sharpness.
Li Mu’s gaze was like lightning. He suddenly raised his hand and pointed, and an invisible Sword Intent broke through the air, directly targeting the five Clones. This sword seemed simple, but it contained the changes of the Five Elements’ mutual generation and restraint, directly pinpointing the flaws in Metal Element Cultivation.
“Clang—”
The five Clones acted at the same time: the Great White Clone’s Sword Qi formed a net, the Profound Gold Clone’s blades blocked, the Flowing Gold Clone transformed into a golden shield, the Star Gold Clone scattered star rays to dissolve, and the Geng Metal Clone unleashed a pure Sword Qi to counterattack. Five layers of defense stacked one after another, barely blocking Li Mu’s sword.
“Not bad.” Li Mu nodded slightly. “The most difficult part of Metal Element Clones is to differentiate distinct characteristics without losing purity. The fact that you can make five Clones each possess Dao Rhyme and subtly conform to the changes of metal means you have grasped the true essence of the Metal Element.”
Xue'er suddenly chuckled: “Li Dage, your test is a bit too simple.”
Li Mu raised an eyebrow: “Then, in your opinion?”
Xue'er lightly raised her slender hand, and nine fox tail illusions appeared, pink light flowing in her eyes, and a captivating charm permeated the air.
—This was precisely the Heart Enchantment Art that the Heavenly Fox Clan was most skilled at!
Those who Cultivate Metal Element Laws are most afraid of a chaotic mind. Encountering a mental attack at this moment was their greatest weakness. Zhao Tianchen’s main body swayed, and the five Metal Element Clones also experienced a momentary delay.
“Metal is the virtue of unyielding uprightness!” Li Mu shouted in a deep voice.
Zhao Tianchen suddenly bit his tongue, and the five Clones instantly merged into one, transforming into a Dharma Idol with a body of glazed gold. This Dharma Idol held a sword in its left hand and a seal in its right, with five golden wheels rotating behind its head, successfully completely isolating Xue’er’s charm.
“To be able to merge five Metal Element Clones into one and evolve a Dharma Idol that restrains Heart Demons, it seems you have Cultivated the ‘Star Cloud Contemplation Method’ to the Realm of condensing the Divine Soul into a star, not bad!”
Xue'er withdrew her Divine Ability, smiled sweetly, and nodded in praise: “Your Golden Light Dharma Idol has already grasped the ‘Immortality’ true essence of the Metal Element. It will be of great use when you face the Heart Demon tribulation in the future.”
Zhao Tianchen dispersed the Dharma Idol, and the five Clones re-separated, respectfully saluting: “Thank you, Mistress, for your guidance.”
Li Mu stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze profound: “In Metal Element Cultivation, the greatest taboo is to blindly pursue sharpness. The path of combining rigidity and flexibility that you have shown today is the Righteous Path. However… the Fusion time for the Clones is still too short. Next, you should focus on Cultivating the Divine Soul Transformation into Cloud Realm of the ‘Star Cloud Contemplation Method.’ At that time, you can try to condense one or two more Metal Element Clones.”
“This Disciple will remember Master’s teachings!” Zhao Tianchen respectfully thanked him, the golden light in his eyes growing brighter. After this test, his understanding of the Metal Element Great Dao deepened by another layer.
Li Mu’s gaze passed over Zhao Tianchen and fell upon Zhong Ziyu, who had been quietly observing.
“Master, this Disciple has currently condensed four Ice Element Clones.”
As Zhao Tianchen put away his five Metal Element Clones, Zhong Ziyu quickly stepped forward, eagerly displaying his progress and seizing this opportunity to ask for guidance.
...
Just as Li Mu was guiding his Disciples, a scarlet fissure spanning a thousand miles suddenly tore open in the sky above the southernmost part of the Immortal Spirit Realm. The Parasol Divine Tree, where the Celestial Phoenix Emperor Palace was located, trembled violently, and the seven-layered World Protecting Grand Array simultaneously lit up with dazzling multicolored light.
“Caw—”
A mournful Phoenix cry shattered the clouds of the nine heavens. The glazed golden roof of the main hall of the Celestial Phoenix Emperor Palace exploded with a bang, and eighteen sky-supporting Phoenix pillars collapsed one after another. Golden feathers mixed with blood rain fell like sleet. Seven Phoenix Clan Elders, dressed in crimson-gold battle armor, flew backward, their bodies entwined with eerie gray-white chains.
The gray-white chains were not physical entities, but were composed of countless twisted Strange Dao forces. They wriggled like living things, continuously devouring the Elders’ Immortal Power, corroding their skin into gray-white humus.
“Be careful, Emperor! This is Strange Dao erosion!” The Grand Elder coughed up blood and roared, condensing scorching flames in his palm, attempting to burn through the chains. But as soon as the flames touched the strange chains, they bizarrely backfired. His arm instantly withered, his flesh shriveled like dead wood, but his bones strangely swelled, piercing through his skin, transforming into stark white bone spurs.
The Celestial Phoenix Immortal Emperor’s Phoenix eyes were filled with killing intent. Nine tail feathers, burning with different colored flames, unfurled from her back, each representing a type of extreme Fire Dao Law—World Purifying White Flame, Heaven Incinerating Fire, Red Lotus Karma Fire, Nirvana Fire… Nine fires erupted simultaneously, transforming into nine Fire Phoenixes of different colors. A scorching wave of fire swept through the entire Emperor Palace, temporarily forcing back the spreading strange mist.
“Playing tricks!” She coldly snorted, condensing a wisp of World Purifying White Flame at her fingertip and pointing it at the chains on the Grand Elder’s body. Wherever the white flame passed, the strange mist shrieked like snow encountering boiling oil, and the chains snapped inch by inch.
But just as she rescued the Grand Elder, the ground suddenly vibrated violently, and countless pus-filled bulges rose from beneath the earth, then violently exploded!
“Pfft—”
Sticky gray-white Serum splattered out, and from each puddle of Serum crawled out a distorted “Immortal Soldier.” They were still wearing the Celestial Phoenix Emperor Palace’s armor, but beneath their helmets were no longer faces, but swirling masses of gray mist. Within the mist, countless tiny eyeballs occasionally appeared, and sometimes “hands” made of fingernails and teeth extended. As they walked, they emitted slimy squelching sounds. Wherever they passed, the floor tiles corroded into pus, and even the air became foul-smelling.
“The Emperor Palace’s guards… have all been corrupted?” The Celestial Phoenix Immortal Emperor’s pupils constricted.
“Hehehe… Celestial Phoenix, long time no see.”
A chilling voice came from all directions, its tone eerie, sometimes deep like an abyss echoing, sometimes sharp like ten thousand ghosts wailing. The Celestial Phoenix Immortal Emperor suddenly looked up, only to see a figure stepping down slowly through distorted spatial ripples from the gaping hole in the shattered dome.
Jade Unicorn Immortal Emperor.
No… perhaps he could no longer be called an “Immortal Emperor.”
His Emperor robe was still magnificent, but countless transparent tentacles extended from its hem, each tentacle coiling around a corrupted Immortal Official. The faces of these Immortal Officials continuously twisted, sometimes returning to their original appearance, sometimes transforming into Yu Lin’s facial features, as if their Divine Souls had been completely devoured, becoming his Puppets.
The most horrifying thing was the Jade Unicorn Immortal Emperor’s eyes—originally azure like the sea, they were now completely gray-white, with countless tiny insects seemingly wriggling deep within his pupils. Just looking at them caused one’s Divine Soul to sting.
“Yu Lin!” The Celestial Phoenix Immortal Emperor shouted coldly, “You dare Cultivate the Strange Dao and pollute the Immortal Realm!”
“Strange Dao?” The Jade Unicorn Immortal Emperor chuckled, his voice shifting between male and female, as if thousands of people were speaking at once, “Celestial Phoenix, you are too pedantic. What is Strange Dao, and what is Righteous Path?”
Before his words finished, the Jade Unicorn Immortal Emperor suddenly raised his hand, and the entire Emperor Palace’s ground instantly turned into a gray-white mire. Countless pale arms stretched out from it, grabbing at the Celestial Phoenix Immortal Emperor’s feet. These arms were covered with decaying cracks and continuously churned with white strange mist.
“Mere parlor tricks!” The Celestial Phoenix Immortal Emperor snorted coldly, and bone-eating nether fire ignited under her feet. The eerie green flames instantly incinerated the arms into ashes. But the next second, hundreds of transparent tentacles suddenly rushed out of the mire, moving at extreme speed, instantly coiling around her nine tail feathers!
“Hiss—”
The flames on her tail feathers were frantically devoured by the tentacles. The Celestial Phoenix Immortal Emperor grunted, feeling an unprecedentedly chilling force invade her body, and the circulation of her Immortal Power immediately became sluggish.
“Your fire cannot burn away my ‘Formless Strange Mist,’” the Jade Unicorn Immortal Emperor said with a sinister smile, “because its essence… is ‘nihility.’”
The Celestial Phoenix Immortal Emperor gritted her teeth, fiercely activating the Fusion of her nine fires. A dazzling pillar of fire, like a great sun, shot into the sky, incinerating all the coiling tentacles. But just as she broke free from the restraints, the Jade Unicorn Immortal Emperor’s figure had already approached her like a ghost, pressing a palm to her chest!
“Boom—”
The Celestial Phoenix Immortal Emperor blocked in haste, but the Jade Unicorn’s palm suddenly split open into a hideous mouth, and stark white fangs fiercely bit her wrist!
“Ah!”
Excruciating pain surged, and she clearly felt her blood being frantically devoured. Even more terrifying, an eerie contaminating force spread from the wound. Her skin began to show gray-white patterns, like rotting tree bark.
“Get lost!” She roared in anger, and Nirvana Golden Flame erupted, forcefully pushing back Yu Lin. But the wound on her wrist could not heal, and the gray-white patterns continued to spread.
“It’s useless, Celestial Phoenix.” The Jade Unicorn Immortal Emperor licked the fresh blood from the corner of his mouth and smiled eerily, “Your fire cannot save you.”
The Celestial Phoenix Immortal Emperor gasped, her nine fires surrounding her body, but her aura had already begun to become chaotic. She stared intently at Yu Lin, then suddenly realized something, her pupils constricting: “You… are not Yu Lin!”
The Jade Unicorn Immortal Emperor’s smile became even more distorted: “Oh? Then who am I?”
The Celestial Phoenix Immortal Emperor did not answer, but instead suddenly looked up, towards the depths of the Emperor Palace—the Soul Hiding Pavilion, where the life lamps of successive Phoenix Clan members were kept.
There, three thousand Qingyu lamps exploded simultaneously. The splashing lamp oil condensed in the air into tear-shaped human figures. They held hands, surrounding the central throne, emitting silent wails.
And sitting on the throne was another “Jade Unicorn Immortal Emperor.”
No… perhaps that was the main body.
“You… what exactly are you!” The Celestial Phoenix Immortal Emperor asked in a cold voice.
The Jade Unicorn Immortal Emperor chuckled, his voice gradually becoming inhuman, like the murmuring of ten thousand Revenant:
“We… are ‘Hunger.’”
As his voice fell, the entire Celestial Phoenix Emperor Palace collapsed with a bang, and endless strange mist swallowed everything like a tsunami.
The Celestial Phoenix Immortal Emperor’s nine fires burned frantically in the strange mist, but the flames grew weaker and weaker. Her left shoulder had completely turned to bone, and the surface of the crystalline Emperor bone was covered with wriggling strange patterns. These strange patterns continuously eroded her Divine Soul, causing her to begin seeing illusions.
The Celestial Phoenix Immortal Emperor saw herself nailed to a withered Parasol tree, with thousands of transparent tentacles piercing into her limbs and bones, greedily sucking her Immortal Blood.
At the same time, the Celestial Phoenix Immortal Emperor saw the Jade Unicorn Immortal Emperor also imprisoned within the tree, blood tears flowing from his gray-white eyes, his lips moving, seemingly saying:
“Save… me…”
But the next second, the illusion shattered, and reality was even more cruel.
Her fire… extinguished.
The Celestial Phoenix Immortal Emperor heavily knelt to the ground, coughing up a mouthful of blood burning with gray-white flames. Her Phoenix crown completely melted, and golden liquid dripped onto her face, burning out black holes.
The Jade Unicorn Immortal Emperor walked slowly towards her, reached out and stroked her cheek, and whispered:
“Sleep, Celestial Phoenix… When you wake up, we… will be of the same kind.”
The Celestial Phoenix Immortal Emperor’s eyes were filled with despair, and her vision gradually darkened.
In her last moments, the Celestial Phoenix Immortal Emperor heard the sound of her own heart—the Dao Fire Origin—being slowly gnawed away by something. (End of Chapter)
