"It can even defile divine weapons and treasures. This blood light contains a decaying power."
Within the blood-red glow, Yi Tianxing instinctively sensed an eerie corrosive force assailing his war spear. It was insidious—like maggots on rotting bones—nearly impossible to escape once it latched on. Even supreme treasures weren't immune. With enough of this tainted energy, even divine weapons could corrode into worthless scrap.
Worse still, this was merely the blood light produced from a single Blood Spirit Sacred Beetle's death. Yet now, countless of them—tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands—swarmed forward like a blood tide.
"Die!"
Yi Tianxing frowned slightly, but there was no time to hesitate. The beetles surged toward him, bringing certain destruction if they reached him. Without hesitation, he swept his bronze war spear across the swarm.
Boom!
Dozens of beetles were instantly obliterated. Upon death, their bodies exploded, unleashing a devastating annihilation force that engulfed Yi Tianxing. However, all this force was blocked by his Chaos War Dragon Robe, which shimmered with protective ripples as a divine dragon roared from within.
Meanwhile, the explosive power was drawn into the Heavenly Emperor's Tower, refined as nourishment.
But then, streaks of blood light wrapped around his bronze war spear, enveloping it completely. Some tendrils even seeped toward Yi Tianxing's body, trying to invade him.
This corrosive blood light could rot not just treasures, but even living flesh.
"This is a curse."
Yi Tianxing quickly realized its nature. Even Nascent Soul cultivators would struggle with such a vile force. The curse clung like a parasitic worm, threatening to dissolve flesh and blood.
"Unfortunately for you, it's useless on me."
Without panic, Yi Tianxing summoned a radiant crystal tree above his head.
Its leaves were strange—some shaped like conches, zithers, bells, drums, flutes—all resembling various instruments and divine artifacts. This was the Innocent Heavenly Sound Treasure Tree (无邪天音宝树).
From the tree came a divine melody—celestial tones washing over the battlefield.
A miraculous purifying power poured down. In moments, all the cursed blood light—whether on his body or the spear—was completely purified. The corrosive energy vanished, transformed into pure vital essence.
The refined blood energy flew into Yi Tianxing's body like swallows returning to their nest.
Astonishingly, each strand of blood light boosted his physical strength, accelerating his body cultivation.
His current physique was at Crimson Cauldron – Fifth Chime. Over five million catties of strength surged within him.
Now, with every purified trace of blood energy:
Ten thousand catties!Twenty thousand!Forty thousand!
As the purified blood light fully merged with his body, a Crimson Cauldron manifested inside. A Supreme Asura gradually took shape within it. The Asura Undying Sutra (修罗不死经) operated naturally, absorbing the killing aura from the recent slaughter and refining it into Asura Power, which further tempered his flesh and condensed Dao patterns.
In that instant, six consecutive cauldron chimes rang out—Crimson Cauldron – Sixth Chime!
His strength surged to over 6.3 million catties. His blood essence blazed like a molten sun, capable of boiling seas and scorching skies.
"What a treasure. These Blood Spirit Sacred Beetles—every part of them is valuable."
Yi Tianxing's eyes gleamed. This encounter, though he had been dragged into it like a pawn, now seemed like an unexpected blessing. His desire for strength surged even more fiercely. Refining the body was far harder than refining Qi—requiring exponentially more resources.
But now, a shortcut lay before him. He wouldn't waste the opportunity.
"To be immortal in soul, indestructible in flesh."
His Qi cultivation was already at the Nascent Soul level, but his body refinement was only at the third transformation, Crimson Cauldron Realm, equivalent to the Fate Diagram stage in cultivation. However, body refiners weren't weaker—in close combat, they could crush most Qi cultivators of the same level. Body refinement meant unequaled combat.
Yi Tianxing stowed away his bronze spear.
In a flash, he summoned the Myriad Talisman Banner (万符幡). As he waved it, numerous talismans appeared:
Ice Talisman
Ice Blade Talisman
Freeze Talisman
Wind Talisman
These fused into a Divine Talisman Technique—Frozen World (冰封千里)!
A freezing wind erupted from his location, spreading rapidly. Even the air crystalized, the ground froze over, and countless Blood Spirit Beetles were turned into ice sculptures mid-flight. Some even shattered on the ground, releasing more blood light.
Yet even this blood light could not be frozen. Drawn by fate, it flew into Yi Tianxing's body or onto the Myriad Talisman Banner.
"Good, now purify!"
Yi Tianxing chuckled lightly. The Innocent Heavenly Sound Treasure Tree once again resonated, purifying all cursed power and leaving only the purest vital energy.
"With such a feast of essence, let me stew it in my cauldron."
With a thought, his Food Cauldron (食鼎) opened inside his body, unleashing a devouring force that swallowed the blood light whole—refining it like delicacies.
This wave of beetles numbered in the hundreds of thousands, maybe even over a million.
The immense blood vitality surged through his flesh, evolving him once more.
Although the benefits of each strand diminished as he grew stronger, the sheer quantity propelled him to the Seventh Chime of the Crimson Cauldron—seven million catties of strength!
His very presence now boiled the air. Dao patterns glowed beneath his skin, etched into flesh and bone.
"A feast indeed."
With a relaxed smile, Yi Tianxing gripped the Myriad Talisman Banner and walked forward.
Power always brought satisfaction.
Sadly, the remaining beetles seemed to sense danger and vanished. Even as he smashed statues along the way, he saw no more of them. They came mysteriously—and vanished just as strangely.
Soon, he traversed a long stretch of corridor.
Before him appeared a set of dark passageways.
At a glance, there were over a dozen paths. But before stepping into any of them, it was impossible to know what lay beyond.
"So many branching paths—this must be a true Endless Maze."
These passageways had appeared spontaneously. Yi Tianxing noticed some vanished shortly after forming. Clearly, these were not permanent. They appeared and disappeared at random—completely unpredictable.
Without hesitation, he stepped into one at random.
The moment he did, the corridor behind vanished—no, not vanished, but rather concealed. These passageways were likely shifting constantly, moving like living entities.
There was no discernible pattern.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Suddenly, the sound of sharp blades cutting through air echoed.
Yi Tianxing saw golden flying daggers darting through the corridor like serpents. Each dagger could pierce the body—and soul—of a Nascent Soul cultivator. They exuded pure killing intent—Slaughter Daggers.
Their speed was terrifying. One moment, the corridor was empty; the next, the daggers were upon him.
Yi Tianxing waved the Myriad Talisman Banner again.
Diamond Talisman
Water Spirit Talisman
Earth Shield Talisman
Fire Ring Talisman
Wood Armor Talisman
These combined into a powerful divine technique: Five Element Barrier (五行罩)!
A five-colored shield manifested around him, glowing with elemental power. The daggers slammed into it but only caused ripples before bouncing off. The shield remained unbroken.
Then, a massive Five Elemental Hand emerged, collecting the daggers and sealing them into the Heavenly Emperor's Tower.
In moments, the corridor was cleared.
At the far end, a sealed chamber came into view.