Regret filled Zhou Yuan’s heart.
However, just as his exhausted self was about to withdraw, he suddenly saw the Saint Rune sphere violently shudder. Ripples spread across its surface as the sphere turned somewhat transparent.
To his shock, Zhou Yuan discovered that there was something inside the sphere!
What is this? It seems to be some kind of fragment?!
An indescribable power spread from the mysterious fragment that made respect rise within one’s heart. Moreover, Zhou Yuan felt a familiar feeling from it.
This is...
After several seconds of silence, Zhou Yuan's heart began to thump violently, and his eyes widened abruptly as shock filled his pale face.
The item hidden inside the Saint Rune sphere was...a fragment of the Cangxuan Saint Stamp?!
In the great battle of Canxuan Heaven, Zhou Yuan had ultimately borrowed patriarch Cang Xuan’s power to shatter the Cangxuan Saint Stamp. The stamp was smashed into numerous fragments that scattered throughout Cangxuan Heaven. Zhou Yuan never imagined that a fragment would be swept along with the four Saint Runes, hiding together with them in his Divine Dwelling!
Moreover, Zhou Yuan could clearly sense that this fragment was likely the biggest of them all!
“This…” In the face of such a discovery, even Zhou Yuan could not restrain his astonishment.
This was the Cangxuan Saint Stamp. Anyone who possessed it could become the master of an entire heaven. Such power and status were hard to even imagine. In the face of a true natural ultimate treasure like it, even the supreme sovereigns would be tempted.
Zhou Yuan gulped. It was no wonder the four Saint Runes had taken the form of a glowing sphere. It was likely to seal the fragment’s aura. Otherwise, who knows what the supreme sovereigns in Hunyuan Heaven may do if they discover its presence?
It was his earlier probing of the fourth rune that caused a disturbance in the sphere, resulting in the Saint Stamp fragment hidden deep within it being revealed.
To be honest, Zhou Yuan already had a faint feeling that there was something inside the sphere the moment the sphere had appeared. However, he had assumed he was overthinking things and did not give the matter much thought. Who could have expected that he would stumble upon such a discovery…?
His shock lasted for a long time before slowly fading away.
Zhou Yuan’s eyes twinkled in thought. Even with the Sacred Palace’s capabilities, it would likely take them some time to gather all of the fragments. However, once they collected all of the other fragments, the final fragment’s existence would likely be discovered even with the seal of the four Saint Runes sphere.
That old dog Sheng Yuan would never let him off.
However...
“If that time comes, who knows whether I will be the one who won’t let him off!” Iciness flashed in Zhou Yuan’s eyes. The day would eventually come when he would return to Cangxuan Heaven for his revenge. The old dog Sheng Yuan made Yaoyao fall into a deep sleep and nearly destroyed the Cangxuan Sect. Every single one of these debts was clearly carved into Zhou Yuan’s memory.
Zhou Yuan's continuous growth over the years was akin to a race with the Sacred Palace. He needed to return before the Sacred Palace gathered all of the Saint Stamp fragments. Otherwise, no one would be able to stop a recovered Sheng Yuan who had the majority of the Saint Stamp’s power.
In addition, Zhou Yuan owed a huge debt of gratitude to the Cangxuan Sect, and his parents were still in Cangxuan Heaven. Hence, there was absolutely no way he would idly sit by and watch the Sacred Palace lord over Cangxuan Heaven.
Zhou Yuan released a deep breath as his expression turned a little grave. What a tremendous amount of pressure.
However, he also understood that he could not rush his progress. He was already growing at a rapid pace, and it would only hurt his foundations if he were to single-mindedly pursue cultivation speed. That was a mistake he could not afford to make. The many factions in Cangxuan Heaven were well aware of the Sacred Palace’s ambitions. Hence, it would not be easy for the Sacred Palace to gather all of the Saint Stamp fragments.
“Old dog Sheng Yuan, let’s see who’s faster…” A determined light blossomed in Zhou Yuan’s eyes. He soon closed his eyes and began to recover his depleted Spirit power.
Half a day later, Zhou Yuan, fully recovered, opened his eyes and looked towards the magma lake below. It’s time to master the Purgatory Great Flame Devil...
Chapter 1041 Cultivating the Purgatory Great Flame Devil
Countless ancient runes were carved into the walls around the lava lake. These runes completely sealed off the lava lake below, making the place akin to a cauldron with a constantly rising heat.
Zhou Yuan stood on the cliff, his face turning a little solemn as he felt the heat wash over him. The high temperature was already faintly tingling his skin, a small taste of how frighteningly hot it would be when he ventured deeper.
Chi Jing had helped inscribe the runes to create this unique training environment for Zhou Yuan because the environment was necessary to cultivate the Purgatory Great Flame Devil art.
Zhou Yuan patted the spatial bag at his waist. Light rapidly flashed around him as several cases appeared, each case as tall as a human.
The cases opened, revealing their insides filled to the brim with scarlet-red crystals. Faint white smoke rose from the crystals as a terrifying heat rippled from them.
These were fire smoke crystals, a material that would only form deep underground after being refined thousands of times. The crystals absorbed the fire Genesis Qi deep underground and gave off extreme heat.
With a flick, Zhou Yuan sent all the fire smoke crystals pouring into the lava lake.
Rumble!
Giant waves rose from the lake as its scarlet-red hue deepened. The temperature began to rise at an alarming pace, and even the air started to distort a little.
Zhou Yuan did not stop there. He took out several dozen different rare ingredients and also threw them into the lake.
The environmental conditions to cultivate the Purgatory Great Flame Devil art was exceptionally demanding and required a mix of numerous precious resources. Fortunately, Zhou Yuan had a very special position in the Tianyuan Region. Otherwise, a mere chief pavilion master would never be allowed to waste resources so freely.
The preparations were complete two hours later.
When one looked towards the lava lake again, one would see a lot of scarlet-red crystal dust sparkling within it. The terrifying temperature made the corners of Zhou Yuan’s mouth twitch a little.
He had a feeling that some of the weaker initial Heavenly Sun experts would quickly turn to ash if they jumped into the lake.
And he had to train in this very same lake...
The Purgatory Great Flame Devil art was truly terrifying. Who knew how much suffering it would take to master it?
Huu.
Zhou Yuan took a deep breath as determination arose in his eyes. There was no such thing as an easily gained power in this world. Others only saw how he repeatedly created miracles, but how could they imagine the amount of effort behind each one?
He took a step forward, and his body plummeted from the cliff.
Splash!
His figure fell straight into the lava lake.
Lava rushed towards him from every direction, accompanied by a dreadful heat. It instantly burned Zhou Yuan’s skin, and his flesh groaned in misery as all the hairs on his body burned away.
An intense burning pain erupted. Zhou Yuan felt as if he was being melted; however, the mangled flesh on his face made it impossible for anyone to tell what expression he was wearing.
The Purgatory Great Flame Devil art was an extremely tyrannical skill. To learn it, one needed to have a body with good foundations. If one’s body were too weak, it would be burnt to cinders even before cultivation could begin.
Chi Jing had chosen this body refining little Saint Art for Zhou Yuan because he perfectly fulfilled this
condition.
Jade light began to blossom within his flesh to withstand the dreadful heat’s invasion. Abundant life energy rapidly repaired his destroyed skin and flesh. It was the handiwork of the Tiayu Green Wood Mark.
Zhou Yuan silently sat deep inside the lava lake as his body underwent a continuous cycle of destruction and regrowth.
He had thankfully endured the first trial. Only when the body was able to survive in this harsh environment would he be able to begin training.
Zhou Yuan clenched his hand, and a scarlet-red jade strip appeared in his palm. His Spirit quickly entered it.
Boom!
A loud boom rang out in his head. It seemed as if a volcano was erupting, causing endless lava to rain down from the sky.
Amidst the falling lava, a giant scarlet-red devil towered over the land.
Lava flowed down the devil’s entire body, and it even spat molten rock from its mouth, turning the entire world into a sea of fire.
Zhou Yuan focused and began to visualize the great flame devil.
A small transformation began to occur in his body. Some of his flesh turned scarlet-red like magma as the blood in his body began to circulate with more force.
An indescribable searing energy rose within his body. The energy was like the flames in a furnace, refining a piece of metal and purging it of its impurities.
Zhou Yuan’s flesh seemed to turn transparent little by little, such that even bone could be seen at several parts of his body.
He was clearly under a tremendous amount of pain.
However, Zhou Yuan stubbornly gritted his teeth and endured. He could feel new drops of golden blood being produced in his heart, a phenomenon that had not occurred for a very long time!
The Purgatory Great Flame Devil was indeed a top-tier body-refining little Saint Art! It far surpassed the Mythic Saint Body in both power and profoundness.
However, the process consumed Law Domain Source, and there was not much left in the scarlet jade strip. An ordinary practitioner would use it very sparingly each day. But this was no problem for Zhou Yuan because he had obtained a tremendous amount of Law Domain Source in the Law Domain statue from the nine regions tournament.
With his supply of Law Domain Source, Zhou Yuan could indulge as he pleased. Hence, he could progress in his cultivation far faster than any ordinary person. This was one of the reasons why he was confident in reaching the elementary level after a month.
With a thought, he began to consume the Law Domain Source in his Divine Dwelling.
Zhou Yuan did not feel any pain at the loss of the precious energy. The Law Domain Source was not a power he could wield in his current state. Since it could be used for a Genesis technique that could strengthen him, there was no need to hide it away.
When he grew strong enough in the future, there would naturally be a chance to obtain more Law Domain Source.
He remained composed as he allowed the terrifying heat to wreak havoc in his body. It was as if a volcano was erupting within him.
The underground world of magma was completely silent. Only the popping of magma bubbles could occasionally be heard.
A month quietly passed.
Chapter 1042 Huge Growth
The month was not very peaceful for the Tianyuan Region.
The root cause was naturally the twin tower battle with the Great Five Alliance. Although many did not understand the deeper implications behind this battle, they could feel that it would substantially impact the war between these two enormous entities.
There was one issue that the Tianyuan Region kept arguing over: the preliminary participant list.
Numerous Heavenly Sun experts signed a petition to change the participant list, but the higher-ups ultimately suppressed it. However, a forceful suppression only further incited them. For a time, it seemed impossible to put a rest to the dissenting voices.
The internal conflict naturally drew the attention of the other factions in Hunyuan Heaven. All of them could not help but sigh at how far the Tianyuan Region had fallen from its former glory.
Regardless of the details, the twin tower battle had undoubtedly become the focal point of the various Hunyuan Region factions over this period.
Some of the sharper factions could faintly sense that it was no simple clash between the two sides. After all, there had originally been a large-scale war between the two parties. But in the blink of an eye, it had suddenly turned into a lukewarm tower battle?
There was definitely more to this matter than the eye could see.
They had a feeling that the tower battle would greatly change the situation in Hunyuan Heaven.
Such a grand occasion naturally drew countless factions over. The various factions gathered around the tower battle sites, making it seem as if a storm was gathering on the Tianyuan Region’s two borders.
...
Tianyuan Utopia, a certain underground lava lake.
Terrifying heat filled the underground cavern, constantly melting the surrounding rock walls.
The lava lake had shockingly shrunk from its initial size, and only a small lava pool remained of the once giant lake.
A figure was silently seated at the center of the pool, allowing the boiling-hot magma to flow over him. Faint ancient scarlet-red markings were on his body, seemingly stretching across his skin like red stripes.
It was naturally Zhou Yuan.
He had undergone a tremendous transformation. His body seemed to have grown several sizes larger, and his skin was scarlet red. It looked as if magma was flowing under his skin while an extremely domineering aura brewed within his flesh. Each quiver of his muscles rippled the surrounding space.
Moreover, if one took a closer look, one would realize that Zhou Yuan was slowly absorbing the surrounding magma, draining it little by little.
His body had nearly devoured the enormous lava lake!
Gugu!
A strange noise suddenly sounded in the silent underground, originating from Zhou Yuan’s flesh.
Scarlet light blossomed from his body as his tightly shut eyes abruptly opened. His eyes were completely red as if they contained a raging world of fire. However, the burning rage did not affect Zhou Yuan’s mind.
Instead, his mind was in an untouchable state of calmness.
He could feel the dreadful power circulating in his body.
Zhou Yuan opened his mouth and sucked. The remaining magma immediately whizzed into the air, turning into a river of red as he swallowed it into his body.
Ssss!
Thick white fog rose from Zhou Yuan’s body, the frightening heat distorting the air. His large body began to shrink bit by bit as the ancient scarlet-red markings slowly receded. In the end, he returned to his normal state.
Zhou Yuan lowered his head and slowly clenched his fist.
Rumble!
Scarlet-red lava flowed out from his fist and covered his entire arm.
Boom!
Zhou Yuan threw a punch. The ground below his feet crumbled, cracks extending in every direction. The entire underground cavern shook violently as boulders began to tumble from the ceiling.
The underground magma cavern had nearly been destroyed by a single punch. In addition, the terrifying and domineering magma had melted a giant pit in the ground.
“What tyrannical power…”
Zhou Yuan grinned from ear to ear. The Purgatory Great Flame Devil’s destructive power far surpassed the Mythic Saint Body. The force of magma was also surprisingly destructive.
After nearly a month of training, Zhou Yuan had finally reached the elementary level of the Purgatory Great Flame Devil art!
Such progress was exceedingly astonishing but also within expectation. Zhou Yuan had consumed a tremendous amount of Law Domain Source and had spent almost every waking moment of the past month cultivating the Great Flame Devil art. None of this art's past practitioners could squander resources as extravagantly as him.
Furthermore, Zhou Yuan’s talent and the training envir
onment created by Chi Jing were also indispensable.
Boom!
Zhou Yuan collected himself, then soared into the air. He instantly melted a hole in the rock wall as he charged out from the underground cavern with a few flickers and appeared in the sky.
Phew.
As he gazed upon the spacious land once more, Zhou Yuan felt very relaxed and carefree. He howled at the sky. His howl was akin to thunder as it rumbled across the land.
Bzz!
As his howl echoed, he suddenly heard the sound of rushing wind. A streak of light arrived, shooting straight towards Zhou Yuan.
When Zhou Yuan saw this, even more happiness flooded his eyes. Due to the relationship between them, he could naturally sense the mottled black brush within the light...
The Heavenly Yuan Brush!
Furthermore, the Heavenly Yuan Brush gave him an extremely mystical feeling. It seemed as if it had undergone a complete metamorphosis.
Bzzbzz!
The Heavenly Yuan Brush gleefully danced around Zhou Yuan with astonishing liveliness. The surrounding Genesis Qi surged over and was absorbed into the brush.
Zhou Yuan reached out, and the mottled black brush slowly landed in his hand under his gratified gaze. Both hands closed around the brush as the Genesis Qi in his body poured into it.
Bzz!
A condensed aura of Genesis Qi converged in the Heavenly Yuan Brush’s snow-white tip. A beam of Genesis Qi abruptly shot out, rippling the surrounding space as it turned a mountain in the distance to dust.
The brush’s Genesis Qi amplification ability had grown stronger.
With a flick of his finger, the brush returned into his body. He could feel numerous new and amazing abilities from it.
He lightly shut his eyes. Snow-white hairs extended from his body, forming a pair of white wings.
Rumble!
With a flap, Zhou Yuan’s figure vanished from the spot.
His figure appeared ten thousand feet away. He clenched his hand, and a snow-white sword appeared within it. With a light swing of the sword, a slash of torrential sword light was sent flying forward.
Dragon Prince Yuan c1-1251 Page 539
