Chapter 794: Chapter 518: Southern Dipper Phoenix Fist
A seven-colored palace tore through the strange surging waves of the Ruins Sea, shuttling through kaleidoscopic dimensions.
Behind the palace, a double-winged dragon beast, covered in black scales and exuding a ferocious, menacing aura, wings spanning ten thousand zhang, gave relentless chase.
"A palace-type treasure that can traverse the Void requires a massive amount of energy. Without an Eighth Realm expert to drive it, how long can it last on only the energy stored inside?"
Inside the Aurora Palace.
The crowd was restless and uneasy.
Being hunted by a Demon Saint who would be considered a top-level expert even in the entire Great Wilderness—even within the safety house, that invisible spiritual pressure and the sense of death approaching were enough to shatter the defenses of those with unsteady minds; a sense of despair filled the air.
Many people were unable to even cultivate normally.
But as for Lu Chenzhou, he was in seclusion.
...
In the blink of an eye.
A month passed.
Buzz—
The Heaven and Earth Power danced and surged toward the highest peak at the center of the Grotto Heaven, transforming into a swathe of seven-colored clouds and mist.
Such commotion alarmed many.
Wang Xian smiled and said, "It must be junior brother breaking through again. This kind of phenomenon—he must have created a Supreme Divine Skill."
The roiling clouds parted, carrying with them the clear cry of a phoenix. A pair of wings that could cover the sky pulled aside the clouds, revealing the phantom of a seven-colored divine bird, wings stretching a thousand meters.
The Grandmasters of the Xia Realm looked up.
"It’s a phoenix!"
"Looks like Lu Heavenly King’s Phoenix Form Fist has advanced further. Dragon, Tiger, Phoenix, Turtle—just as I thought, Lu Heavenly King is pioneering a new Four Symbols Fist Technique."
"Compared to the Four Symbols Personnel’s peacock, serpent, turtle, and white ape, this is the true and orthodox Four Symbols. Its power must be extraordinary, but the cultivation difficulty is surely frightening as well."
"Only Lu Heavenly King could cultivate this. Even if you gave me such a method, I couldn’t succeed."
Even the Three Suns Palace elders, who didn’t understand Xia Realm Martial Arts, secretly nodded, marveling at the Hall Master’s abilities.
Three Suns Immortal said, "Creating any technique above the Fourth Rank can trigger a phenomenon. This friend’s phenomenon is at least a Sixth Rank technique. My Three Suns Palace, after accumulating over generations, only has eighty Sixth Rank divine methods to date."
Cold Moon Immortal pondered and then said, "Master, after interacting with cultivators from the Xia Realm recently, I feel we’ve become too conservative, lacking innovation and pioneering spirit. The blessings left by our ancestors run too deep, making us complacent. Xia Realm Martial Arts has only existed for less than ten thousand years, yet from nothing, dozens of Heavenly Realm experts have emerged. By contrast, our Three Suns Palace once had seven at its peak, but now just two remain."
Three Suns Immortal nodded: "That’s right. After learning of our ancestor’s vision from this young friend Lu, I’ve realized how stagnant we’ve become, and how far we’ve drifted from Aurora Palace. If we find a new world this time, we must change."
During this period, the impact Lu Chenzhou and the Xia Realm Grandmasters brought to the upper echelons of the Three Suns Palace had been immense—they were reflecting deeply.
Perhaps, in this era, pursuing ever faster, higher, and stronger Martial Arts is the true answer; the path of Qi Refining for longevity may not keep up with the revival speed of the Forbidden Zones.
Inside the secret chamber.
Lu Chenzhou opened his eyes.
The Martial Arts Tree soared to 330,000 zhang.
His Qi-Blood surged ever higher as well.
[Please name the new Fist Technique]
"Southern Dipper Phoenix Fist."
New branches and leaves emerged.
[Southern Dipper Phoenix Fist: Perfection]
[Divine Seed·Southern Dipper Phoenix (Ninth Rank)]
Effect 1: Phoenix Wisdom Ninth Level.
...
Effect 8: Phoenix Flying Lightning—by burning Qi-Blood, increases movement speed threefold for a short time beyond the previous foundation; the higher the attainment in Lightning Dao, the better the result.
Effect 9: Phoenix’s Words—using the Heavenly Heart Mark of Phoenix Form Fist as a medium, communicate with the will of the ancient true spirit Phoenix slumbering within the universe, and summon a True Spirit Projection to descend.
Note: The True Spirit Projection will be one Great Realm higher in power than the summoner, up to an Eighth Realm maximum. Each summon consumes a portion of one’s lifespan, Qi-Blood, True Gang, and primordial stones to construct an energy body; after summoning, the Phoenix’s will falls into slumber, and the next awakening depends on the origin consumed.]
Lu Chenzhou’s eyes showed a hint of surprise.
"I can understand Effect 8; that was my main research focus this time—fusing Phoenix Form Fist with Lightning Dao, so the tunneling speed can triple for a short while. But what’s with Effect 9? Summoning ancient true spirit will?"
True spirits are mainly dragon and phoenix types.
Besides those, other non-human Great Powers who achieved the Dao, such as the Ape God Patriarch, can also be true spirits.
Kua Zu, Golden Winged Thunder Peng, as well.
According to eldest senior brother, before Qi Refiners appeared, true spirits and divines coexisted and ruled the Great Wilderness.
During the Divine War, true spirits were the main force against enemy demigods and, like the Great Powers, were almost entirely annihilated.
Of course, some true spirits have unique means—it’s possible some survived to today by slumbering and such, but overall, they can mostly be ignored.
He focused his mind on Effect 9.
[To summon the will of the ancient Phoenix, 100 years of lifespan is required, as well as 30,000 Qi-Blood foundation, 10,000 spiritual foundation, 10,000 mid-grade primordial stones (or 1 high-grade primordial stone and other Seventh Rank heaven and earth treasures of equal energy), and all the current True Gang in the body. The projection can descend for a quarter of an hour, with projection realm at early stage of Seventh Realm.]
Lu Chenzhou’s face changed slightly.
"That price... is too steep."
Any one of these alone is more than he can bear. A hundred years of lifespan needs no comment—currently he has six Jiazi, so a year or two is fine, but more than ten years must be carefully weighed.
Thirty thousand Qi-Blood foundation and ten thousand spiritual power foundation—that means his cultivation level could even drop after summoning.
The external resources, at least, are manageable.
"Instead of wasting such a price, I might as well figure out how to get more heaven-reaching spirit weapons to keep on me. Although spirit weapons are certainly not as powerful as true spirit projections... In any case, the Four Symbols White Tiger and Phoenix are preliminarily formed; only the Grey Dragon and Spirit Turtle remain to achieve perfection. Now, my limit tunneling speed is already faster than many Absolute Peak experts."
Survival ability +1.
He walked out of the chamber.
Everything was normal within the Grotto Heaven.
Some people cultivated, others worried.
During this period, Black Mountain Demon Saint would now and then burst out with speed, catch up to the Aurora Palace and launch attacks; though he could not break its defenses, the resulting tremors shook the Grotto Heaven again and again.
A cold voice echoed in his mind.
[Master, resisting Eighth Realm attacks and maintaining regular cultivation for everyone both require massive energy expenditure. With the current stored energy, Aurora Palace can last at most another year.]
"That’s enough."
Lu Chenzhou flicked his hand; a projection floated before him. Out in the Ruins Sea, the double-winged dragon beast opened its bloodstained maw—scorching dragon breath tore space asunder, engulfing the Aurora Palace.
"Truly persistent."
Lu Chenzhou felt utterly calm inside.
The Aurora Empress was a late-stage Eighth Realm expert, and this Aurora Palace was her life’s work—the rare treasures of heaven and earth it consumed would empty dozens of worlds.
Of course, limited by the refinement technique, this treasure is a middle-grade Eighth Rank spirit weapon, but its value surpasses even most top-grade Eighth Rank war soldiers; this is common knowledge throughout the Great Wilderness.
Of all spiritual weapons—
Palace and Grotto Heaven-type spiritual weapons are the most valuable.
Next come certain auxiliary spiritual weapons with heaven-defying functions.
Then defensive spiritual weapons.
Finally, war soldiers.
This is quite similar to the Da Xia Divine Weapon System.
In summary, as long as energy is sufficient, even early-stage Black Mountain Demon Saint couldn’t break through the Aurora Palace in a year.
The Eighth Rank defensive array set up outside the palace was refined by an Eighth Rank array master the Empress invited, named [Illusion Realm Yin-Yang Array]. It can create bubbles to neutralize most attacks and reduce tremors within the Grotto Heaven as much as possible.
"By the way, if the Aurora Palace runs out of energy, how do I recharge it? Do I have to wait for natural recovery?"
[One high-grade primordial stone can keep Aurora Palace running in non-defense and non-offense mode for a year. In the current state—frequent activation of defense arrays—it’s recommended that Master keep 1,000 high-grade primordial stones or about 10 million mid-grade primordial stones on hand. The most cost-effective method is to acquire an Eighth Realm servant, or twelve Seventh Realm servants, whose life energy can be consumed to fuel Aurora Palace. Considering Master’s current strength, there’s a final option: capture 360 Sixth Realm servants as substitutes. Though the effect is inferior, it’s the most feasible.]
Lu Chenzhou felt a headache coming on.
Indeed, this palace treasure is a plaything for the wealthy. Even Seventh Realm experts couldn’t stand this level of consumption.
A hundred high-grade primordial stones buried underground could cultivate a never-ending vein of mid-grade ore.
If you dug up the high-grade ore vein in Yuan Mountain Cave Heaven, you could get plenty of high-grade primordial stones—but that’s meant for everyone’s cultivation.
If the old ancestor found out, he’d rise from his casket in rage.
"Can Eighth Realm demons be used as servants?"
[No, the demonic power of the demon race can corrode the treasure’s arrays, pollute the Grotto Heaven. The higher the rank, the more dangerous; furthermore, Demon Saints often have close ties to divine bloodlines, and making them servants risks attracting the attention of Evil Gods.]
"Looks like I can only capture Sixth Realm. But Sixth Realm experts are powerhouses within their worlds; finding three hundred and sixty of them is no easy task."
[Master need not worry. So long as there are no attacks, the Aurora Palace currently has enough energy for you to wander the Void for a hundred years. With your talent, you should reach Heavenly Realm within a century, at which point you can capture Seventh Realm servants.]
"How exactly do I capture them?"
[I will take Master to a place.]
...
Endless starry sky.
Countless black coffins float there, some containing already-decayed corpses devoid of any trace of spiritual essence.
[Master, this is the Eighth Rank Circulation Star Acupoint Formation, composed of 360 Sixth Rank black coffins, 12 Seventh Rank black coffins, and one Eighth Rank black coffin. In fact, to support Aurora Palace’s battle consumption is a heavy toll even on Eighth Realm experts, so the Empress had someone design this array. Captured experts will be suppressed here for eternity, their divine souls controlled by the array core, and refined into ’black slaves.’
Outside of battle, black slaves can cultivate as normal and serve you in war, or plunder resources. When faced with formidable foes, black slaves can channel their energy through the array, converting it into the energy needed by the palace, fueling Aurora Palace’s defense and offense systems, forming a sustainable energy cycle.]
"..."
The Great Wilderness truly is cruel—a top-level expert, famed in their own world, could still end up a black slave.
"Black slaves need resources to cultivate as well, right?"
[Yes, but black slaves do not require actual cultivation progress—just enough primordial stones to prevent dropping below their current realm, so the consumption is minimal. In peacetime, black slaves can be left to roam a local world or made to mine, in turn supporting Aurora Palace.]
"What if some are killed off while roaming?"
[Simple—just capture new black slaves to replenish them. The Three Thousand Worlds are vast, and there’s no shortage of people. Before the Divine War, the Empress once refined the entire leadership of a hostile world-civilization into black slaves.]
"..."
Lu Chenzhou couldn’t help but question—
Might the Empress have been tainted by an Evil God?