Nine Star Hegemon Body Art c1-2048
Page 525
“Fuck, this isn’t an oil refinery! Am I supposed to use that for stir-fry?!” Long Chen cursed furiously as he crazily pushed his limits, squeezing out his potential. In this life and death moment, he had to go all-out.
As he crazily pushed himself, the Raging Flame Prison continued to shrink. The Eight-Arm Horned Devil was no longer able to move. In fact, it couldn’t even roar. It was just a deathbed struggle.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Long Chen’s sweat continuously fell to the floor. He was growing paler and paler, and his breathing was becoming labored. He had reached an absolute limit.
They were at the final moment. Long Chen was like a lamp that had run out of oil, but the Eight-Arm Horned Devil was also on the verge of death. Victory would be decided by who could endure to the end.
Suddenly, the Raging Flame Prison, which had shrunk to just five feet, expanded. Long Chen sighed inside. It was over.
The flame prison had expanded because he had finally reached his limit. He was unable to keep compressing it, and the Eight-Arm Horned Devil still wasn’t dead. It crazily forced back the flame prison.
Long Chen sighed. He had truly done all he could. There was no way around it. Right now, the only thing he could do was interrupt Blooddrinker’s seclusion. Otherwise, he was definitely dead.
Just as the Raging Flame Prison was growing weaker and weaker, looking like it would shatter at any moment, chanting filled the air.
Chapter 818 Mysterious Figure
The chanting was grand and powerful. It was like the murmuring of the gods. It grew louder and louder. The cavern was shaking as the chanting filled the entire world.
“The Nirvana Scripture!”
Long Chen’s heart shook. He hadn’t done anything and wasn’t the one who had activated the Nirvana Scripture. It was the Nirvana Scripture that had automatically activated itself.
Back in the Pill Tower when he had obtained the Nirvana Scripture, he had used it to resist the suppression of the Cry of the Heavenly Daos even without the divine ring. Its power was incredibly great.
But once he had left the Pill Tower and abandoned his identity as Long San, he had no longer needed to conceal the divine ring. So he hadn’t used the Nirvana Scripture again.
Although the Nirvana Scripture was powerful, it was greatly lacking compared to the divine ring. But now it had appeared on its own.
All of Long Chen’s spiritual yuan and attention was focused on controlling the Raging Flame Prison. He hadn’t had the slightest bit of energy left over to activate the Nirvana Scripture.
As the Nirvana Scripture activated, the chanting grew more and more resounding. Long Chen suddenly noticed that the Raging Flame Prison, which had been on the verge of collapsing, had suddenly begun to grow stronger. Its runes grew brighter and brighter.
“The Nirvana Scripture can actually draw out all the flame energy in the world for me to use!” Long Chen suddenly realized that he had underestimated the Pill Tower’s sacred flame canon.
He hastily formed hand seals, supporting the Raging Flame Prison. At the same time, he also began to chant. Although he didn’t know the scripture’s meaning, when he had cultivated the Nirvana Scripture, that sound was deeply imprinted in his head. He was unable to forget it even if he tried, and he felt a subtle closeness toward it.
His voice wasn’t the slightest bit sluggish as he chanted. The words just floated out of him. As he chanted, the chanting in the air grew even louder.
The flame energy of the world flowed toward the Raging Flame Prison. It grew stronger and stronger, no longer seeming on the verge of breaking.
“Flame Prison Deathblow!”
Long Chen was excited as he activated the deathblow form. The Raging Flame Prison instantly shrank, compressing the Eight-Arm Horned Devil.
As it shrank, the three-meter Eight-Arm Horned Devil was also forced to shrink. Its skin had already begun to char this time, and black layers of it began to shed. When that skin shed, it instantly turned to ash.
As that skin fell, Long Chen suddenly noticed a mass of runes where the Eight-Arm Horned Devil’s flesh should be.
That was a slight secret to how this puppet had been made. Those runes should be the crux of how the Eight-Arm Horned Devil had maintained eighty percent of its power, while also retaining some of its battle instinct.
Long Chen continued to chant the Nirvana Scripture as he compressed the Raging Flame Prison. Heaven and earth raged. The flame prison’s power continued to increase. The Eight-Arm Horned Devil was now just compressed into a five-foot cube. It was impossible to tell its original figure anymore.
BOOM!
Finally, the Eight-Arm Horned Devil was compressed to the peak and exploded. Its flesh and runes had only just erupted when they were burned to ash. The runes were instantly ignited with flames, and a piercing burning smell gushed forth.
Long Chen also collapsed on the ground and fainted. This time, he had harshly overdrafted his spiritual yuan and Spiritual Strength.
If the Nirvana Scripture hadn’t appeared in the end and let him see some hope, he probably wouldn’t have been able to endure for so long.
Even unconscious, he felt like a million needles were stabbing into his head. He was filled with pain.
He knew this was a self-protective instinct of the soul. It was using this pain to provoke him, not letting him enter a state of quasi-death. If his soul did enter a quasi-death state, then it would be impossible to awaken without some outside force.
Furthermore, in that state, his Spiritual Strength might completely run out. Then he would really die.
After an unknown amount of time, Long Chen opened his eyes. The cavern was still there, but that fierce Eight-Arm Horned Devil was gone.
His head still hurt intensely. He consumed a soul nourishing pill to alleviate the pain.
However, his body was still in a weak and feeble state. It was like he was ill. That was a symptom of overdrafting his spiritual yuan, but that wasn’t something he was worried about. Overdrafting spiritual yuan wasn’t as bad as overdrafting Spiritual Strength.
Consuming some Yuan Qi Pills as well as some complementary pills, Long Chen’s pale face gradually grew rosier. After two hours, he was capable of standing and walking.
“That really was too dangerous. Fuck, I’m stupid. The quality between ancient and current cultivators is ridiculously great. Even peak experts in the current era were nothing in the ancient era. I don’t even know if my power can count as average,” sighed Long Chen. He felt regret. This mistake had almost cost him his life.
That Eight-Arm Horned Devil had been too powerful. Long Chen also experienced just how powerful the ancient experts had to have been. It was unexpected that it would be the Nirvana Scripture that saved him in the end. It seemed he would have to study it in the future. A scripture that could be considered a sacred canon by the Pill Tower definitely had to have extraordinary origins.
Taking a deep breath, Long Chen checked his body over and became delighted. While he had been unconscious, something had happened to the Enlightenment Palace Star, and it had entered the eighth star transformation.
That was three advancements. It was just one step from reaching the peak. Then he would be able to summon the true four-color divine ring and Four Star Battle Armor.
Before the Enlightenment Palace Star reached the ninth star transformation, the battle armor he was summoning was more accurately the Three Star Battle Armor. It was stronger than the original Three Star Battle Armor, but when compared to the power of the true Four Star Battle Armor after the ninth star transformation, the difference was like that between heaven and earth. Just thinking about such an intense upgrade made him feel endless excitement.
“Although it hasn’t reached the peak, each advancement increases my power a great deal.” However, he knew that he probably wouldn’t have a chance to make such explosive gains in the future. Even now, he didn’t know what energy this trial was bless
ing him with for the Enlightenment Palace Star to be able to absorb it.
But there was one discovery Long Chen made. When the Enlightenment Palace Star absorbed that energy, it didn’t directly absorb it. Instead, it first transformed it into another kind of energy. During that process, a portion of the original energy was rejected, while the other was absorbed by the Enlightenment Palace Star.
Although he only knew that little, it was a good sign. In the future, he would be more attentive. Perhaps he would be able to find more kinds of energy other than medicinal energy that could be absorbed.
The nine star transformations became more difficult the closer they got to the end. The number of medicinal pills required could only be described as an ocean’s worth. If that energy had to be absorbed relying only on the mouth, it really would be unbearable.
“That’s right, where’s the reward? Where’s the Flying Rainbow?”
Long Chen suddenly thought of the reward. Having almost lost his life just now, it seemed now was the time to reap the rewards.
Carefully looking around, he suddenly noticed that a path had opened in a wall. Walking through it, he saw a sword lying on an exquisite platform.
It was an extremely simple sword. An ancient aura washed over him once he got closer. The sheath didn’t have any runes decorating it, and the hilt was also very simple. There didn’t seem to be any extra craftsmanship. It was just an extremely primitive sword.
When he unsheathed it, there was also nothing extraordinary about it. The sword’s body even seemed a bit dim, and there were some speckles on it as if it had rusted. There were also scratches that looked like someone had used sandpaper on it. It looked very worn down.
But Long Chen immediately saw that it wasn’t ordinary. Although those speckles and scratches made it clearly look like an unremarkable old sword, his vision had surpassed others. Through those speckles and scratches, he saw countless runes that were practically impossible to notice with the naked eye. Those speckles and scratches were actually formed of runes.
But those runes were too small, so small that they were almost impossible to notice. If Long Chen hadn’t known that this was a Treasure item, he really might have been tricked.
He slowly sent his spiritual yuan inside it. Those speckles and scratches lit up, and a faint layer of light appeared over the sword.
He lightly swung it. As a result, it was like space was cut through, and a light sound rang out. He was practically unable to sense any spatial resistance.
The thing that made Long Chen the most delighted was that when the sword’s edge met the wall, that incomparably sturdy wall was cut through cleanly.
“What a sharp blade!” Long Chen let out a startled cry. The walls here all had formations supporting them. Even in his fight against the Eight-Arm Horned Devil, he hadn’t been able to break them. But this sword cut through them like they were tofu.
Carefully examining the sword, he found that once he scattered his spiritual yuan, the sword returned to its shoddy appearance.
“Hehe, it’s very similar to my own temperament. Dressing like the pig to eat the tiger,” laughed Long Chen.
Flipping the sword, he saw two immortal characters on the other side: Flying Rainbow.
“So you’re the Treasure item: Flying Rainbow. Hehe, I’ll be relying on you in the future,” laughed Long Chen. All his previous regret and depression vanished like smoke.
Currently, his spiritual yuan was too limited. He wasn’t able to investigate more of Flying Rainbow’s secrets. Thus, he left that for later.
Suddenly, the platform that Flying Rainbow was on descended. A large gate appeared and light came from the other side. Long Chen laughed. He could finally leave.
But then once he entered, he was dumbfounded. He had actually entered another cavern. But what was inconceivable was that this cavern was hundreds of miles wide.
He had only just entered when he saw a beam of light in front of him. Within that beam was a figure. Long Chen’s heart sank to an all-time low.
Chapter 819 The Final Level
“What? There’s another level?!”
Countless spirit stones were shining, lighting up the entire room as if the sun were shining. Although he was still underground, this place looked as luxurious as a palace.
There were one hundred and eight white jade pillars throughout the room. The ceiling was a mile high and shaped like a pointed dome. The spirit stones in the ceiling were like stars, but they were much brighter.
A beam of light was shining down from the center of the ceiling. Within that thirty-meter-thick beam of light, there was a single figure standing. It didn’t give off any fluctuations; thus, Long Chen wasn’t able to sense anything about it.
He didn’t dare to move. The Eight-Arm Horned Devil had truly made him worried. He was worried that he would accidentally activate this level. Then he really would be doomed.
Buzz.
Countless runes suddenly lit up on the one hundred and eight pillars. Rays of light shot out from them toward Long Chen.
Long Chen was appalled and he hastily tried to dodge. But those rays were too fast and had come without warning. He was struck before being able to react.
Just as he thought he was dead, endless energy poured from the light into his body. His spiritual yuan and Spiritual Strength instantly reached their peaks.
“What…?” Long Chen was stunned. This time, he had harshly overdrafted his power. Without ten to fifteen days, it would have been impossible for him to completely recover.
But this light released endless energy into his body, allowing him to instantly reach his peak. It was like he had been completely reborn. It was practically miraculous.
Feeling that endless energy surging within him, Long Chen felt like his power was overflowing. He even had an urge to once more fight the Eight-Arm Horned Devil. Currently, his Enlightenment Palace Star had reached the eighth star transformation, and he had Flying Rainbow now. His power had greatly risen, and he wouldn’t be afraid of facing the Eight-Arm Horned Devil again.
Just as he was filled with confidence, a stone slab rose out of the ground in front of him. There were two identical buttons on top of it.
The one hundred and eight pillars once more released light, creating a screen on top of the stone slab. There were words in that light screen.
“From the start until now, a total of 8736 people have challenged the ninth and final level.”
Seeing that, Long Chen jumped. The eighth level had a nine in a thousand chance of success. How could there have been so many people to challenge the ninth level?
“Could it be?”
If there was a nine in a thousand pass rate, then the number of people who had participated in this trial was ridiculous. Ten thousand people meant ninety people had passed, a hundred thousand meant nine hundred, and… Wouldn’t that mean that over a million people had managed to reach the eighth level before?!
Thinking of that number, Long Chen was both shocked and amazed. Just what kind of era had that been? It was truly too terrifying. He hastily continued reading.
“Up to now, only three people have managed to pass this level. The others all failed. This is a life and death level. Victory is life, defeat is death. There is no room for leeway. Your opponent will be extremely powerful. Be careful, very careful!”
Long Chen cursed, “Fuck, what a hateful phrase. Be careful, very careful?! Last time I was almost conned to death by you!” He continued to read.
“This level’s difficulty is terrifying to the peak. Countless heavenly geniuses have fallen because of it, which is why it is not included in the main path of the Immemorial Path. Those who could come here are all either extremely lucky, or extremely unlucky. But a cultivator’s motivation is a heart to get stronger. That motivation is also the blade that takes their life. Cultivators must maintain a reverent heart.
“This level’s reward is a Heaven Earth Spirit Source which was condensed by the purest energy of heaven and eart
h. By using it, there is a ten percent chance of mutating a person’s Spirit Root, reviving the Spirit Blood, and giving birth to a Spirit Bone.
“This Heaven Earth Spirit Source is one of the Immemorial Path’s seven supreme treasures! It is exceptionally precious! For those who are greedy or brave, be careful, very careful!”
Mutate the Spirit Root, revive the Spirit Blood, and even allow an expert to create a Spirit Bone? Was that extremely precious?
In the Xuantian Dao Sect’s trial, through the Reincarnation Mirror’s projection, he had already seen a glimpse into his past. He knew he had a special Spirit Root, a divine Spirit Bone, and supreme Spirit Blood.
He had always thought that those weren’t so amazing. But now seeing these lines, it seemed he had misjudged his original talent.
His Spirit Root, Spirit Blood, and Spirit Bone had all been extracted. He had thought that it was just a cruel reprisal. But now it seemed he had been thinking too simply.
Even in the Immemorial Path’s golden era, a Heaven Earth Spirit Source that could transform a cultivator’s original talent was one of the supreme treasures of the whole path. There definitely had to be secrets here that he was unaware of.
“Damnit, are you trying to entice me again? You want me to reconstruct what I had? Hehe, this time, I won’t be fooled!”
Long Chen laughed. The treasure was definitely enticing. But first he would have to keep his life. That Eight-Arm Horned Devil had already almost taken his life. This time, Long Chen had learned his lesson. The Immemorial Path’s trials were for those ancient experts, and they were frighteningly difficult. The current age had already declined. Although Long Chen found this to be a bit unsatisfactory, he had to admit that there was an insurmountable wall between the current geniuses and the ancient ones. Therefore, he calmed himself down and continued reading.
“If you don’t want to participate in this level, you can press the first button and you will be transported back to the entrance of the trial.”
As expected, this level was too difficult. It was clearly discouraging people from trying to challenge it.