Chapter 470 - 242: Qi Mansion Celestial Spirits (2)

During this process, he guided the Geng Metal Spiritual Qi within his body with the Qi Mansion condensation technique from the "Geng Metal Refining Form Skill," allowing it to flow into his Qi Mansion.

After the Star Acupoint submerged into the Qi Mansion, this Qi Mansion was no longer a bottomless pit of only outflow, but transformed into a space capable of accommodating vast amounts of Spiritual Power.

Liou Yuan now needed to fill this space with his Spiritual Power.

Then, using the "Geng Metal Refining Form Skill," he would temper the Qi Mansion a thousand times until the Spiritual Power within transformed into True Essence.

Only then could Liou Yuan be considered to have truly entered Foundation Establishment.

This was an extremely lengthy process, ranging from one to two years at the shortest, and three to five years at the longest.

The advantage of abundant Spiritual Power was evident now; outside this environment, merely filling this newly developed Qi Mansion initially would take one to two years of meticulous effort.

This hermetic chamber on Xiang Mountain was specially prepared by the seven families for their high-ranking family members or prodigies, with Spiritual Qi concentration comparable to any cave in the Outer Sect of Five Extremes Mountain.

Additionally, leveraging the properties of the Profound Yin Cold Marrow Stone, Liou Yuan only needed four to five months to complete this step of Spiritual Power accumulation, saving a lot of effort.

Four months later.

The spring snow outside Xiang Mountain’s cave had long ceased.

The melting snow transformed into streams, carrying delicate flower petals down Xiang Mountain, pooling into a reddish pool at the foot of the mountain.

Newly sprouted rushes pierced the water surface, resembling thousands of ink-dipped brushes, gradually outlining the contours of summer on the paper mirrored by the sky.

In the chamber within the cave, the Profound Yin Cold Marrow Stone emitted a gentle light, rendering the space a serene blue, akin to an underwater world.

Liou Yuan had also completed the initial filling of the Qi Mansion.

Now, the Qi Mansion brimmed with golden Spiritual Power, as tranquil as a pool of gold.

Upon the meditation stool, the seal skill Liou Yuan had maintained for several months suddenly changed.

He directly activated the final step of the "Geng Metal Refining Form Skill" to condense the Qi Mansion: "Thousand Hammer Tempering."

With the flick of Liou Yuan’s fingers, the Spiritual Qi within the chamber was drawn to him, converging before him to form two spirit power hammers of considerable length.

The hammerheads were as thick as an adult’s waist, entirely of the same color as the Geng Metal Spiritual Qi.

They floated in midair, their faces facing Liou Yuan, as if held by two invisible cultivators.

With a thought from Liou Yuan.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The two hammers simultaneously swung towards Liou Yuan’s body.

Clang! Clang!

The successive loud sounds echoed.

The hammers struck Liou Yuan’s body with a resounding clash of metal.

The blow caused Liou Yuan’s physical form to tremble.

The meditation stool beneath him shattered into countless pieces with that single strike, scattering throughout the chamber.

Shifting the view to the Qi Mansion within Liou Yuan.

With the fall of these hammers, an indescribable energy rippled through the Qi Mansion.

Even the interior of the Qi Mansion, filled with Geng Metal Spiritual Power, rippled.

The scope of the Qi Mansion subtly contracted by an unseen margin.

This is the "Thousand Hammer Tempering" method of condensing the Qi Mansion from the "Geng Metal Refining Form Skill."

It’s not only a tempering of Liou Yuan’s body but also a grinding of the Qi Mansion.

This process will continue until the Qi Mansion solidifies.

This brutal hammering method is indeed a torment for the cultivator; at first, with just a few hammer strikes, Liou Yuan’s face winced with pain.

But after dozens of strikes, Liou Yuan gradually adapted to this pain.

In the chamber, the incessant sounds of hammering filled the air.

During Liou Yuan’s seclusion to condense the Qi Mansion, Five Extremes Mountain was also not peaceful.

Because the unexpected intrusion of the Dark Prison Ship, triggered by Liou Yuan’s Heart Demon, disrupted the calm of this thousand-year-old sect.

Even though Xuanyi eventually repelled the Dark Prison Ship, the resulting aftermath stirred waves within the Inner Sect of Five Extremes Mountain.

The Foundation Establishment Great Cultivators of the Inner Sect, following Xuanyi’s direct order, began collecting intelligence on the ghost ship; nearly five thousand years of bookshelf records from the Inner Sect library were thoroughly examined.

Trying to identify the suddenly appeared and vanished ghost ship outside Five Extremes Mountain.

This clearly demonstrated Xuanyi’s emphasis on the matter.

As for the final outcome, whether the high-ranking members of Five Extremes Mountain found information on the Dark Prison Ship remains unknown.

But this unforeseen calamity experienced by Five Extremes Mountain was too significant to conceal.

Merely the mountain masses leveled by Xuanyi’s single sword and the abyssal ravines left by the battle were enough to attract the suspicion of other sects.

Soon, the news of Five Extremes Mountain being attacked by an unknown force spread across the Jin Dynasty and Jiuli State.

The Golden Core cultivators of Jin Dynasty and Jiuli State all showed subtle expressions, unable to fathom who dared provoke Xuanyi, the God of Slaughter, in both regions.

Every existing Golden Core cultivator harbored apprehension toward the reclusive Hundred Ghosts Asura.

The only reasonable explanation was that the attack likely came from areas beyond the two regions.

Linlang Domain became the primary suspect.

When Five Extremes Mountain’s senior officials didn’t respond to the incident, various sects just speculated without coming to any conclusions.

As time passed, the matter gradually faded from public concern.

Also noteworthy was the whereabouts of Liou Hexuan, the former patriarch of the Liou Family.

Despite the comprehensive siege by the Disciplinary Hall’s five elders and a deputy hall master, Liou Hexuan remained at large.

It wasn’t because his strength was formidable enough to face the entire elite of the Disciplinary Hall.

Rather, he directly fled Jiuli State and went to Linlang Domain, seeking refuge with the Five Extremes Mountain’s mortal enemy, a sect called Moon Burial Valley, practicing Demon Dao.

Moon Burial Valley is also one of the recent emerging five major Golden Core demon cultivators’ sects in Linlang Domain, led by Master Moon Eclipse.

A true Golden Core Demon Sect.

The Disciplinary Hall’s members dared not cross Linlang Domain, let alone go to Moon Burial Valley to capture him.

Upon learning of this, Xuanyi waved his hand and directly ordered several elders of the Disciplinary Hall to relinquish their elder tokens and be punished at the Wall-Facing Cliff for a year.

This was the most severe punishment Xuanyi had issued to his disciples since assuming the position of sect leader.

Fortunately, Xuanyi didn’t suggest the five elders retire early, or else the Disciplinary Hall would face a major reshuffle.

Another significant matter was Liou Yuan’s seclusion to breakthrough Foundation Establishment.

Qiu Ming, Zhao Feiyue, Bai Ling, these near-peak Qi Cultivation geniuses also successively announced their seclusion to breakthrough Foundation Establishment.

Among the Five-Star Star Acupoint disciples who entered Five Extremes Mountain alongside Liou Yuan, only two remained in the Qi Cultivation Realm, accumulating their strength.

Two years later.

Blade-like morning mist infiltrated Xiang Mountain, and the moss on the stone steps leading to Liou Yuan’s abode had faded to a dry brown.

The ancient cypress outside the abode first sensed the autumn’s approach, its full green foliage suddenly transforming into crimson gold, the branches lightly trembling in the wind, and the falling maple leaves making a clear sound like striking metal and stone, startling the sleeping koi in the pond below the steps.

Inside Liou Yuan’s chamber, the sound of clashing metal that had resonated for two full years abruptly ceased.

Sight shifted to within his Qi Mansion.

The golden Geng Metal Spiritual Qi flowing within had transformed into a liquid, like molten gold flowing through the Qi Mansion.

The Qi Mansion, after two years of tempering, also completed its metamorphosis.

The liquid-like spiritual power merged naturally, emitting an overwhelming pressure.

Liou Yuan’s body had become sharper through the years of hammering, his skin gleaming with a metallic luster, sitting cross-legged on the ground, glowing like a statue forged from gold.

Suddenly, Liou Yuan opened his tightly closed eyes after two years.

Bang! Bang! Two beams of golden light shot forth from the depths of his pupils.

The piercing golden rays, like swords, pierced through the stone wall of the abode, soaring from Xiang Mountain into the sky, vanishing into the mist behind the clouds.

The Liou Family members atop Xiang Mountain raised their gaze, staring in astonishment at the two rays piercing into the clouds.

They all knew where the rays were shooting from.

The beams of light only lasted a brief moment, and Liou Yuan’s eyelids swiftly closed, and when he opened them again, there was no trace of light in his eyes.

Yet within him, a terrifying pressure surged at that moment.

Under the pull of the pressure, Liou Yuan’s body slowly rose from the ground, floating in mid-air within the chamber.

It seemed there was a glimmer within his body that grew brighter over time.

The source of the light was his Qi Mansion.

Poof! Eventually, that glimmer erupted.

Liou Yuan’s entire body was engulfed in golden, liquid-like True Essence.

His aura climbed higher and finally broke through the barrier of Foundation Establishment.

Boom! The domineering Geng Metal True Essence instantly swept out from the chamber, enveloping the entire Xiang Mountain.

"Qi Mansion Celestial Spirits!" Liou Yuan closed his eyes, silently feeling the transformation within him.

After the Foundation Establishment, heaven and earth could no longer constrain his physical form; with a single thought, he could soar freely between them.

Moreover, with the True Essence empowering various magic spells, their power increased tenfold.

Compared to the Qi Cultivation Realm, it was practically a qualitative leap.