Chapter 240 - 238: Refinement of the Heaven and Earth Origin Gold (Part 2)

BANG! The Heaven and Earth Origin Gold slammed into Little Confusion’s Dao Bone, sending it flying. The Dao Bone had always been nurtured in the True Destiny’s position within the second Life Palace, but now, the Heaven and Earth Origin Gold had forcefully ejected it.

It should be known that Little Confusion’s Dao Bone had an earth-shattering origin, yet today, it could not contend with the Heaven and Earth Origin Gold! Its position was instantly snatched away.

"Damn, that’s pretty tyrannical," Li Qiye was rendered speechless. He had no choice but to put away Little Confusion’s Dao Bone. A Life Palace could only nurture one Treasure Artifact at a time, and there was nothing to be done about that.

However, Li Qiye wasn’t too surprised by this scene. After all, this piece of Heaven and Earth Origin Gold was a Supreme Treasure Gold; it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it the greatest gold under heaven.

The moment the Heaven and Earth Origin Gold took the place of Little Confusion’s True Destiny, a humming sound, HUMMM, filled the air as the gold unexpectedly summoned the Water of Life from the Life Palace’s Spring of Life. Then, with another HUMMM, it successively called forth the Power of Life from the Tree of Life and the Life Runes from the Pillar of Life.

For a time, the Heaven and Earth Origin Gold bathed in the Water of Life, the Power of Life, and the Life Runes, appearing to enjoy it immensely. As time went on, the Heaven and Earth Origin Gold began to transform. Immersed in the nourishing bath of water, power, and runes, it slowly started to generate Spiritual Qi. Then, the Heaven and Earth Origin Gold actually began to imprint itself with the Life Runes. Li Qiye’s Life Runes branded its body, slowly weaving together to form a Great Dao. Guided by its innate Nine-Character True Words, the countless Life Runes seemed to be forging themselves into a Chapter of an Immortal Scripture.

Watching this, Li Qiye was deeply moved. ’This is self-refinement.’ Typically, a cultivator’s Treasure Artifacts—and even their True Artifacts—require personal refinement. To strengthen their artifacts, cultivators not only nourish them with Heaven and Earth Essence Qi and Life Blood Qi, but also use Supreme Cultivation Methods to refine them, imprinting the technique within the artifact to increase its might.

But this piece of Heaven and Earth Origin Gold was refining itself, requiring no interference from Li Qiye whatsoever. He didn’t need to worry about it at all, and for that, Li Qiye was more than happy to be left in peace!

As the days passed, the Heaven and Earth Origin Gold continued to draw upon a massive amount of Li Qiye’s Water of Life, Power of Life, and Life Runes for nourishment. The gold began to change. Gradually, it was no longer just a piece of primordial gold, but was refining itself into a weapon. With the passage of time, the Heaven and Earth Origin Gold slowly took form, gradually transforming into a bow!

Li Qiye couldn’t help but marvel at it self-refining into a divine treasure. ’If this bow truly completes its own refinement, it will be something else entirely. If I carry the Celestial Mandate and become an Immortal Emperor one day, then this will surely become the greatest weapon in the world.’

Li Qiye couldn’t help but feel a thrill of excitement at the thought that the world’s greatest weapon would one day come from his own hands. He had lived for eons, seen Immortal Emperor True Artifacts, weapons of True Gods, and even the more ancient, legendary Qimen Treasures!

Throughout the ages, many weapons and treasures had been hailed as the world’s greatest weapon, such as Guchun Immortal Emperor’s Ancient Pure Copper Sword, Immortal Emperor Feiyang’s Feiyang Banner, Bu Zhan Immortal Emperor’s Step Battle Halberd, and the Celestial Slaughter Banner, among others.

But in Li Qiye’s eyes, this bow was different. ’In the future, once I carry the Celestial Mandate and become an Immortal Emperor, this bow will undoubtedly suppress all other weapons in existence and become the undisputed number one!’

While the Heaven and Earth Origin Gold was refining itself, Li Qiye did not slack in his own Dao Practice, training relentlessly.

Li Qiye had now entered the Heavenly Essence Realm. Prior to this, he was in the Nirvana Realm. However, during his Tribulation Crossing, Li Qiye had seized the perfect celestial and geographical opportunity, managing to leap from the Great Perfection of the Canopy Realm all the way to the Great Perfection of the Nirvana Realm in one go. In a single day, Li Qiye had cultivated through an entire Great Realm. This was an absolute miracle, one that was likely unmatched in all of history.

Li Qiye had always believed in taking things one step at a time. Despite possessing a Supreme Longevity Technique like the Moon Vortex Sun Wheel Technique and an Immortal Emperor’s Destiny Technique like the Kunpeng Six Transformations—techniques that could rapidly advance his Dao Practice—he still insisted on solidifying his foundation with each and every step.

And yet, he had traversed the entire Nirvana Realm in a single step, completing a whole Great Realm in just one day. It was simply the most divine speed the world had ever seen!

This, however, was only possible because he had seized a perfect opportunity, controlled the Body Control Demon, seized Creation, and borrowed the Nether Water, allowing him to complete the process in one breath and instantly achieve the Great Perfection of the Nirvana Realm! It could be said that this Great Perfection was absolutely flawless. Even Li Qiye, who prided himself on solidifying his foundation one step at a time, was extremely satisfied with this great leap.

But Li Qiye was also perfectly clear that such a situation was impossible to replicate. After all, an opportunity like that was a once-in-an-eternity occurrence.

Now that he had entered the Heavenly Essence Realm, Li Qiye returned to his solid, step-by-step cultivation method.

The Heavenly Essence Realm is a major watershed for cultivators. Once a cultivator enters this realm, they can be considered an expert, a true powerhouse. Many cultivators refer to those below the Heavenly Essence Realm as ordinary cultivators or disciples, but upon entering this realm, they are acknowledged as the powerful.

The most crucial aspect of the Heavenly Essence Realm is refining the Celestial Essence, which is to say, Refining True Destiny. Within this realm, once one’s True Destiny is refined to Perfection, it becomes known as a "Celestial Destiny Primordial Spirit." This is also the origin of the realm’s name, "Heavenly Essence."

Once a cultivator’s True Destiny reaches Perfection and becomes a Celestial Destiny Primordial Spirit, their physical body can be reconstructed. For instance, if you encounter a powerful enemy and your body is maimed or even destroyed, as long as your Celestial Destiny Primordial Spirit remains—even if your Life Palace shatters and your physique is ruined—you still have a chance to survive!

More importantly, the quality of one’s Celestial Destiny Primordial Spirit directly determines their future in cultivation. It could even be said that one’s ability to eventually vie for the position of Immortal Emperor and carry the Celestial Mandate is, to a large extent, dependent on the quality of their Celestial Destiny Primordial Spirit.

After passing the Heavenly Essence Realm, cultivators enter the God Nurturing Realm, followed by the Profound Fate Realm. Cultivators in these two realms are known as Heroic Heroes and Princes. In the current era, Heroic Heroes and Princes are the mainstays, and Prince Level cultivators in particular hold positions of immense influence.

The Heavenly Essence Realm has three stages, from lowest to highest: First Enlightenment, Second Quenching Destiny, and Third Bridge Building!

When a cultivator reaches the third stage, Bridge Building, they can cross a thousand miles without relying on any treasures. This is the foundation for a cultivator’s future ability to perform Heavenly Escape and Earthly Entrance—to ascend to the Nine Heavens and descend to the Nine Netherworld!

During his cultivation, Li Qiye used the Moon Vortex Sun Wheel Technique to power his Life Wheel, while the Dao Foundation refined by the Kunpeng Six Transformations supported his True Destiny. At this moment, the Dao Foundation was like a supreme Dao Chapter. When its Dao sequence unfolded, runes began to float. It was as if the True Destiny itself was speaking True Words, or as if the Dao Foundation had opened its Dao Chapter and was lecturing the True Destiny on an Immortal Scripture.

Nourished by Heaven and Earth Essence Qi and stimulated by his Life Technique, his True Destiny seemed to resonate with the sound of the Great Dao. It was as if it had begun to preach a scripture, and the words that came forth were the Kunpeng Six Transformations!

However, what Li Qiye did not expect was that his True Destiny—and even the Tree of Life and Pillar of Life within his Life Palace—were all being influenced by the Heaven and Earth Origin Gold. As his Life Palace nurtured the gold, the aura of chaos it emitted began to seep into the Life Palace itself. Before he knew it, both his True Destiny and Life Palace were becoming suffused with chaos!

This scene moved Li Qiye. It was a process of mutual nourishment. His Life Palace was nurturing the Heaven and Earth Origin Gold, and the gold, in turn, was using its most fundamental and ancient Aura of Chaos to nourish his Life Palace. Otherwise, given the profound nature of the Heaven and Earth Origin Gold, Li Qiye’s Power of Life would not have been able to sustain it for long.

After all, for a personal treasure, a weapon nurtured within the Life Palace, if it is too powerful, the Life Palace simply cannot support it. If the weapon excessively absorbs Life Essence Qi, it becomes a self-defeating act, akin to draining a pond to catch the fish—a lose-lose situation.

But now, as Li Qiye’s Life Palace nurtured the Heaven and Earth Origin Gold, the gold nourished the Life Palace in return with its Chaos Qi. This was a win-win situation, beneficial to both parties!

After returning to the Xiyan Ancient Sect, Li Qiye trained relentlessly, completely shutting himself off from the outside world. After all, his current Dao Practice was still not strong enough. While he had countless methods for defeating his foes, true power came from one’s own strength. That was the only path that mattered.

Of course, Li Qiye wasn’t the only one training hard at the Xiyan Ancient Sect. In fact, the atmosphere in the sect was excellent these days. The disciples, especially those of the younger generation, were all incredibly diligent. This was in no small part thanks to the example set by senior disciples like Luo Fenghua, Zhang Yu, Qu Daoli, and Xu Pei.

ZING, ZING, ZING... A melodious tune drifted from the Guqin. Within the building once known as the Ghost Tower, Li Qiye gently strummed the ancient instrument, the notes echoing softly.

In his spare moments away from cultivation, Li Qiye would inevitably come here to play. The Guqin in his hands was no longer an Emperor’s Treasure; the battle at Celestial Ancient City had completely exhausted its Emperor’s Immortal Power.

This Guqin was one he had once gifted to Mingren Immortal Emperor, and this place held far too many memories. As the last note faded, Li Qiye couldn’t help but let out a soft sigh.

After Li Qiye’s soft sigh, another sigh echoed his. An indistinct shadow had been standing there all along, quietly listening, captivated by the music.

"Flowing streams, a family home—" Su Yuhe, who was but a wisp of lingering affection, sighed softly. She was neither ghost nor human, but a lifeless wisp of devotion!

"In the end, it doesn’t sound as good as when Mingren Kid plays, does it?" Li Qiye said with a smile, his song finished.

Su Yuhe sounded melancholic. "The Immortal Emperor merely took pity on me. You, Great One, are of a higher realm, unparalleled in this life. Your Dao has a different rhythm from the Immortal Emperor’s."

Li Qiye gently shook his head. "This is no way for you to go on. That era is long past. Why do you insist on this suffering?"

Su Yuhe, the wisp of lingering affection, fell silent, saying nothing.

"Forget it." Li Qiye shook his head gently. "How about this: I will make a trip to the East Hundred Cities and send your remains on their way. It’s time for what should scatter to finally scatter. For millions of years, you’ve been neither human nor ghost. If Mingren Kid were still around, he wouldn’t want to see you like this."

"Thank you for granting my wish, Great One." Su Yuhe bowed low. "Buried beneath the peach blossoms, I will have no more attachments!"

"I was the one who moved your body to the foot of Wanggui Peak back then. The bond between you and Mingren Kid... I orchestrated that as well," Li Qiye said with a helpless tone. "Today, I will bury you beneath the peach blossoms, and that will be the end of your story with Mingren Kid. It was a tragic romance, and it deserves a proper conclusion."

"I have no way to repay your great kindness, Great One," Su Yuhe said, filled with gratitude.

Li Qiye gently waved his hand and sighed. "This affair began with me, so let it end with me as well. Once you are buried beneath the peach blossoms, you should rest in peace and let go of this eons-long attachment. As for Mingren Kid..." He trailed off, saying no more.

He didn’t have much to say about Mingren Immortal Emperor. He had cultivated far too many invincible beings in his lifetime. And Mingren Kid... he had been one who supported Li Qiye from start to finish. No matter the situation, Mingren Immortal Emperor never had a single word of objection, supporting him unconditionally to the very end.