Chapter 575 7: Void Demon Embryo

A flash of sword light streaked past, and the restrictive light surrounding the palace instantly shattered.

Fang Cheng strolled into the circular, domed hall, which stood a hundred zhang tall. Inside, the floor, paved with red gold, was smooth, flat, and spotless.

In the center of the floor was a circular totem made of countless Spiritual Mechanism gears, rotating slowly with an extraordinary and divine aura.

Fang Cheng studied the totem for a few moments, then swiped his hand. A Sword Aura slashed open the floor, revealing a deep, dark passage.

He entered the passage and descended for several dozen zhang, arriving before a grand and imposing Bronze Gate.

Eight tall figures stood before the gate, watching him as if facing a great enemy.

Mo Liushang.

Silver hair, a cold, stunningly beautiful face, and a body that was half Spiritual Mechanism yet still alluring. Their auras were profound; all were at the Peak of Dharma Form cultivation.

After performing a Soul Search, Fang Cheng already knew she had nine Spirit Mechanism Incarnations, and that her true divine soul resided within one of them.

This woman was a product of the Spiritual Palace City Lord's divine soul experiments. Her soul was peculiar and naturally compatible with the *Celestial Craft Creation Scripture*, making her a major weapon for the Nine Heavens Spiritual Palace City.

Moreover, after the Soul Search, Fang Cheng had discovered another secret about her.

She possessed an extremely high talent for Artifact Refining. Of her nine Spirit Mechanism Incarnations, seven had been forged by her own hands.

Fang Cheng stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the Bronze Gate behind Mo Liushang. "What," he said lightly, "are you going to stop me?"

Mo Liushang remained silent.

Before their conflict over the Black Buddha, she had underestimated Fang Cheng's strength and been subdued in a single move, then subjected to a forced Soul Search.

Now that he had entered the Tribulation Realm, even with her Eight Great Spiritual Mechanism Incarnations, she was no match for him.

The Spiritual Mechanism beauty lowered her stance and said respectfully, "I would not dare."

Fang Cheng looked at her and said, "It seems fate has brought us together. I can remove the Divine Prohibition your master left in your divine soul, but you must stay by my side for a hundred years and do some things for me."

He had long considered subjugating her. With her potential, advancing to the Tribulation Realm would not be difficult. In the future, whether for fighting others or for refining Magical Artifacts, Feather Divine Soldiers, and Spiritual Mechanisms for the Fang Family, she would be the perfect choice.

Fang Cheng even planned to refine some of his own Divine Techniques into Divine Power Relics and bestow them upon Mo Liushang to greatly increase her combat strength.

As for the hundred-year agreement, it was merely a gesture to win her loyalty, which was the only way to make full use of her abilities.

If she weren't a Spiritual Mechanism Body, Fang Cheng could have just taken her as a concubine... saving him a great deal of scheming.

Mo Liushang pondered for a moment. Then, all eight of her Spirit Mechanism Incarnations knelt on one knee in unison. "I greet you, Master," she said softly.

Fang Cheng formed a spell, and a profound Buddha Light appeared behind his head.

At the same time, within Mo Liushang's sea of consciousness, a towering Golden Buddha slowly rose. The golden Buddha Light shone everywhere, instantly making everything in her sea of consciousness seem to turn transparent and ethereal.

"Hm?"

Soon after, while dissolving the Spiritual Palace City Lord's Divine Prohibition for Mo Liushang, Fang Cheng unintentionally glimpsed her Spiritual Memory and couldn't help but let out a soft sound of surprise.

Fang Cheng had always thought that she was the one who reported him for taking the Black Buddha's Spiritual Mechanism to the Spiritual Palace City Lord. He believed that was why the City Lord had searched the Profound Nether Domain and eventually found him just as he was consolidating his Cultivation after his tribulation.

After all, when he had sealed away that one Spirit Mechanism Incarnation of Mo Liushang's, he had completely severed its spiritual connection to her other incarnations. It took him several months to break through to the Tribulation Realm, so it seemed logical that it would take the Spiritual Palace City Lord several months to find him...

But strangely, Mo Liushang had never told the Spiritual Palace City Lord about the Black Buddha!

The Spiritual Palace City Lord had already been in seclusion for many years at that time, uninvolved in worldly affairs. Mo Liushang had been ordered to watch over the Black Buddha, but after the incident, she had harbored ulterior motives and deliberately failed to report it in a timely manner.

'This woman seems to hold a significant grudge against the Spiritual Palace City Lord... so how did he manage to track me down?'

Fang Cheng gave Mo Liushang a meaningful look, his mind filled with doubt.

Mo Liushang stood respectfully in place, her gaze lowered in a docile and obedient posture.

Fang Cheng didn't dwell on it. He casually flicked out a beam of sword light, instantly breaking the restriction on the Bronze Gate. Then, with a sweep of his sleeve, he opened it.

This was one of the Treasure Vaults of the Nine Heavens Spiritual Palace City, containing the Spiritual Palace City Lord's private collection. Mo Liushang was usually the one stationed here to guard it.

Fang Cheng walked into the Treasure Vault. One of Mo Liushang's incarnations followed him inside, while the other seven remained outside the gate.

Inside the Treasure Vault, countless treasure chests were stacked and sorted by category. The surrounding walls were lined with neat rows of shelves, from low to high, also filled with all sorts of treasures.

The Spiritual Palace City Lord had dominated an entire domain, and his wealth far exceeded Fang Cheng's expectations. There were more than ten different Tier Five Spiritual Objects in the Treasure Vault, enough to make even Fang Cheng's heart race.

These treasures would be miraculously effective for Alchemy, Artifact Refining, or aiding cultivation. They were likely rare materials the Spiritual Palace City Lord had accumulated while forging Spiritual Mechanisms.

The rest—a large quantity of Spirit Stones, Talismans, medicinal pills, Magical Artifacts, Five Elements Spiritual Objects, and so on—were all Tier Four, probably intended as rewards for the cultivators under his command.

In the center of the Treasure Vault also sat a Golden Jade Exotic Stone. A multicolored mist rose from it, glowing like embroidered clouds and illuminating the Underground Palace Hall, making it extremely conspicuous.

The stone was exceptionally sturdy. Fang Cheng activated his sword light and struck it over a hundred times in the exact same spot before finally cutting it open.

The exotic stone suddenly split apart, revealing seven apertures inside, each containing a treasure that shimmered with spiritual light.

With Fang Cheng's level of Spiritual Cultivation, a single glance was all it took to see all the treasures clearly.

The topmost aperture held three treasures: a Star Robe, a fiery red gourd, and a purple jade box.

Both the Star Robe and the fiery red gourd were Fifth-rank Magical Artifacts, shimmering with precious light. The former seemed to be a defensive treasure, while the latter emitted a dense Great Sun True Fire Qi Mechanism.

In the next aperture was a jade box. Inside the box was a mass of constantly writhing flesh that exuded an astonishingly vigorous life force, as if it could transform into a man-eating Fierce Beast at any moment.

The third aperture contained an Ancient Bronze Cauldron, also a Fifth-rank Magical Artifact. On it were inscribed the two ancient characters for "Crossing Calamity."

The fourth aperture quietly held three crystal-clear, gem-like Divine Power Relics, which occasionally flashed with a strange and brilliant light.

These three Divine Power Relics seemed ready to stir at any moment. Their vast auras were bound within a tiny space, giving off a dangerous feeling.

These must be relics formed when the Spiritual Palace City Lord killed a Tier Five Celestial Demon and a Tier Five Fierce Beast and refined their Talent Divine Techniques.

To a Spiritual Mechanic Cultivator, these were supreme treasures. If these three Divine Power Relics were refined into a Spiritual Mechanism, its power would increase dramatically.

The fifth and sixth apertures held two Celestial Books: the *Celestial Craft Creation Scripture* and the *Sutra of the Buddha's Hidden Talisman*, the two texts Fang Cheng was most interested in.

The former was a fragmented scroll.

In the final aperture lay a Thunder Roc Wing Bone. Some residual blood essence remained on it, and it faintly flickered with Thunder Light.

Fang Cheng intuitively gauged that this Fierce Beast must have been at the Tier Five Late Stage, or perhaps even the Tier Five Peak, when it was alive.

That was an existence comparable to a Nine-Tribulation Great Power.

Aside from the two legacy scriptures, this was the most valuable treasure.

This Golden Jade Exotic Stone was incomparably sturdy. Even Fang Cheng had to strike it a hundred times to cut it open. If it were in the hands of any other Tribulation Realm cultivator, it was likely that no one below the Six Tribulations would be able to open it.

No wonder the Spiritual Palace City Lord had hidden so many treasures within this exotic stone.

Furthermore, Fang Cheng discovered that this exotic stone possessed the Power of Space and couldn't be stored in a storage-type Magical Artifact. It was truly a rare and wondrous treasure of heaven and earth.

Fang Cheng took out the two Celestial Books and examined them closely, a look of satisfaction appearing on his face.

Both the *Celestial Craft Creation Scripture* and the *Sutra of the Buddha's Hidden Talisman* could be considered the absolute finest among top-tier legacies.

The former, in particular, contained the wisdom of Spirit Immortals. It was profound and vast, a complete path of cultivation that could lead directly to the Spirit Immortal Realm.

Flesh is weak; Spiritual Mechanisms ascend!

Although this scripture was a fragment, the Spiritual Mechanism methods within were enough to establish a sect and support an entire Cultivation Civilization.

The *Sutra of the Buddha's Hidden Talisman* was a Divine Soul Cultivation Method created by the Spiritual Palace City Lord. He had combined the *Celestial Craft Creation Scripture* with a Divine Soul Cultivation Secret Technique from the Buddhist Sect and conducted countless cruel experiments.

Its core principle was the law of the jungle: plundering the power of others' spiritual cultivation—that is, the Spiritual Essence of Divine Sense—to supplement one's own.

The Spiritual Palace City Lord created this method to better control a Spiritual Mechanical Body and increase his power.

What Fang Cheng valued, however, were the Secret Techniques within it for strengthening and toughening the divine soul, as well as for replicating and splitting it!

With these two scriptures, he could refine the Feather Divine Soldier "Celestial Venerable of Universal Transformation" into a Spiritual Mechanical Body, then split his divine soul to make it an external incarnation.

With the *Primordial Celestial Demon Strategy* as its foundation, it could devour endless Celestial Demons and Fierce Beasts to light up the nine Thunder Pools. Combined with the profundity of a Spiritual Mechanical Body, Fang Cheng was confident he could elevate this incarnation to a level comparable to a Nine-Tribulation Great Power.

This was Fang Cheng's true goal.

When the time came, this one Spirit Mechanism Incarnation alone would possess power on par with Feng Yan.

When facing the Demon Lord, he would also have more confidence.

But that was a matter for another time.

At this moment, Fang Cheng pointed to the strange mass of flesh in the jade box in the second aperture and asked, "What is this?"

Mo Liushang said softly, "This is called a Void Demon Embryo. It comes from a Celestial Demon Secret Realm in the Outer Void. It has the special ability to regenerate from a single drop of blood and proliferate infinitely. It is also a supreme material for refining Spirit Mechanism Incarnations. Every time 'he' refined a Spirit Mechanism Incarnation, he would cut a piece of flesh from this Void Demon Embryo."

Fang Cheng's eyes lit up when he heard this. "An excellent treasure!" he praised.

Mo Liushang added, "This treasure can be used to refine ten Tier Five Spirit Mechanism Incarnations at once. If you only take one piece for refining, it can regrow itself in a hundred years at most."

A glint appeared in Fang Cheng's eyes as a crazy plan began to form in his mind.

Theoretically, if he had enough time, he could refine hundreds, even thousands, of Spirit Mechanism Incarnations comparable to Nine-Tribulation Great Powers.

When that time came, he could use the *Sutra of the Buddha's Hidden Talisman* to split his divine soul and control these incarnations. Even if the Demon Lord recovered his full strength, he would dare to fight him!

"Unfortunately..."

He couldn't help but sigh internally.

'For one, the Demon Lord won't give me that much time. Besides, although the *Sutra of the Buddha's Hidden Talisman* is profound, according to my deductions, I can only split my divine soul into nine parts at most.'

'Not everyone can possess a heaven-defying talent like Mo Liushang's, who can split her divine soul thirty-three times.'

'Even so, to find a path to slay even Spirit Immortals upon returning to the Red Profound Realm is truly an unexpected delight.'

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