This time, Jing Qian chose to elevate his [Yang Qi Life Pattern], pushing it toward the Sumeru Great Dao Stele.
Amid the surging waves of primordial energy, it ascended straight into the realm of Heavenly Mandate, reopening a connection to the Sea of Primordial Qi and granting him a new wellspring of energy:
[Life Pattern]: Primordial Qi – Yang
[Rank]: Heavenly Mandate
[Origin of the Sea of Qi, Axis of Primordial Essence, Source of Yang Energy]
Now, only four taels and four qian of Life Measure remained unfilled.
But Jing Qian had long since decided how he would use them.
After apprenticing under Pure Yang Heaven, enduring countless hardships, he had obtained the Pure Yang inheritance, the Pure Yang Sword Scripture for Refining Immortals, and the Carved Sword Array Manual.
Within them lay a multitude of rare and powerful sword-path Life Patterns, perfectly suited to his own mastery of the sword.
For him, the final few Life Patterns needed to complete his Life Measure represented not only his greatest chance to raise his combat potential to new heights, but also the ideal way to strengthen the structure of his cultivation system.
From among the many sword-path Life Patterns, Jing Qian had already selected the finest four, each a Blue-Blood Rank Life Pattern:
[String Severance]
Rank: Blue-Blood
"When the string breaks, dimensions collapse, cutting through the layers of existence itself."
[Hidden Sword]
Rank: Blue-Blood
"The sword of the stars stirs within its sheath; frost blades glimmer within the sleeve."
[Sword Cage]
Rank: Blue-Blood
"Sword qi weaves the net of Rahu, sealing the Eight Desolations and Six Directions."
[Sword Formation]
Rank: Blue-Blood
"When the formation shatters, still one hears the sword immortal's laughter for within each tribulation lies another hidden tribulation."
These four sword Life Patterns shared a single defining trait:
Beyond their sword nature, they all contained attributes of the Void.
Even though Jing Qian cultivated both the Yanfu Dao and Pure Yang Heaven inheritances, his foundational path still rested upon the Sumeru Heavenly Mandate.
Thus, all four of these Life Patterns could link with the Sumeru path and receive the empowerment of his title Lord of Myriad Phenomena, and Sumeru their might multiplied severalfold.
More importantly, together they filled precisely four taels and four qian of Life Measure, fitting perfectly into his system.
Choosing these four was the most efficient and powerful solution
, a conclusion reached after countless simulations through the Six-Path Reincarnation Eye.
So Jing Qian hesitated not for an instant.
From within the Void Realm, he took out four lotus leaves streaked with violet and gold materials to forge the new Life Patterns.
These lotus leaves had been plucked before he departed from the Sword-Lotus Pond.
That pond, unique to the Pure Yang Grotto-Heaven, was steeped in immeasurable sword intent. Each lotus leaf within was a priceless treasure of the sword path, perfect for his purpose.
And since Shang Xi was too busy to supervise him, Jing Qian had, in typical fashion, harvested nearly every mature lotus leaf from the pond.
Seventy in total, more than enough for him to reforge all four sword-path Life Patterns to perfection in the future.
With materials ready and the path decided, it took him only half a day to refine the four sword Life Patterns, one after another.
At last, his Life Pattern System reached full completion
, very deficit perfectly filled, not a single qian remaining.
Flawless.
And with that, the second step of condensing his Dharma Body began!
Jing Qian swept his arm, summoning the Void Furnace out of the Void Realm itself.
The move startled even the fat snake within the Ghost Cauldron.
To so casually relocate a Life-Furnace that was something unheard of in all the worlds!
It never occurred to the fat snake that Jing Qian's Life-Furnace was not anchored into any earthly leyline at all. Instead, it was rooted in his own Life Patterns and personal Grotto-Heaven.
For Jing Qian, why bother channeling energy into the Void Furnace through a Shadow Furnace when he could simply move the entire Life-Furnace directly into the Ghost Origin Hall?
As soon as the Void Furnace settled into place, its Violet-Eyed fate-Fire blazed to its utmost.
The surrounding primordial energy within the hall began to surge and pour into it uncontrollably.
"Hey, you brat, No Money, you really don't know how to hold back, do you?"
"You've already hauled away so much energy gel, and you're still not leaving?"
"Your Snake-Grandpa worked hard to save up this stockpile! How can you just come here and clean me out?"
But Jing Qian paid him no heed. With [Eyeless]'s decree in hand, drawing upon Yanfu Dao's resources was his rightful due.
He formed a hand seal, lifted a foot, and stepped directly into his own Life-Furnace, sitting cross-legged within the roaring inferno.
Within the Yanfu Grotto's Nether Cycle of Yanfu Canon, there was a special section, the Chapter on the Dharma Body, separated from the teachings of Dragon-Elephant cultivation.
It catalogued the strengths and weaknesses of countless Dharma Bodies and recorded the intricate methods for condensing them, each technique refined over generations by the grand cultivators of Yanfu Dao.
Among them was one particular secret art: The Lotus-Forging of Fate-Fire, seventh revision,
designed specifically for Heavenly Mandate cultivators to burn their Life Patterns and forge a perfect Dharma Body.
However, the technique came with an enormous cost.
To perform it, one needed to command a high-grade Life-Furnace, and during the process,
It would drain the leyline's primordial energy to such an extent that entire lands could wither.
It was not to be used lightly.
In the past, disciples of Yanfu Dao were strictly forbidden to perform this technique within the Ghost Origin Hall.
But now, with the sect fallen and rules forgotten, no one remained to stop him.
As the last surviving heir, Jing Qian cared for only one thing: results.
In the Three-Life Reincarnation Eye's many divinations, this Lotus-Forging of Fate-Fire was revealed as his one true opportunity for enlightenment.
And so, after receiving Eyeless's decree and reaching the Ghost Origin Hall, destiny had already been sealed.
He activated the secret art.
A sea of primordial energy was devoured by the Void Furnace, transmuted into Fate-Fire,
and the flames roared across his body.
Under the art's influence, the Fate-Fire converted energy into Life Essence
at a speed astonishingly high, though horrifically inefficient.
Ordinarily, it would take fifteen minutes of burning to refine one Azure-Wing Life-Essence.
Now, thirty portions of energy would yield a single unit
instantly.
Though the loss was thirtyfold, the speed had increased far beyond that.
So long as his energy supply did not fail, Jing Qian's Life Essence would remain unending.
The Fate-Fire and surging energy intertwined beneath him, forming a blazing lotus throne.
Within his sea of consciousness, all depleted Life-Essence was replenished and soon reached its limit.
Then he ignited all of it.
A flame embodying his every foundation, his entire essence of Dao, erupted into furious blaze.
The Lotus-Forging of Fate-Fire continued relentlessly, the fire growing ever stronger.
At that moment, Jing Qian threw all of his Heavenly Mandates and Fate Stars into the flames, to be smelted together.
The raging fire instantly compressed its radiance, turning into blinding brilliance,
as countless Life Patterns shimmered within, like divine gemstones being tempered in the crucible.
Boundless Dao resonance began to drift outward, gathering through his sea of consciousness.
Faint outlines of a Dharma Body appeared, coalescing within.
At this moment, he possessed twelve Heavenly Mandates, corresponding to eighteen taels of Life Measure:
Sumeru, Qingping's End, Bian Yuan Weiyang, Hell Scroll (44 Ghosts), Yanfu Seal, Entwining Karma, Bridge of No Return, Three Thousand Tribulations of the Sword, Primordial Qi – Yin, Primordial Qi – Ghost, Primordial Qi – Nether, and Primordial Qi – Yang.
He also held two incomplete Heavenly Mandates, totaling two taels and eight qian:
Worldly Insight and Tushita Melting Furnace.
As for his nine secondary Life Patterns, aside from Lifespan, they carried six taels and eight qian, including:
Flesh-Bloom (Violet), Tidal Surge (Violet), Diamond Qi (Violet), Violet Thunder Qi (Violet), String Severance (Blue), Hidden Sword (Blue), Sword Cage (Blue), Sword Formation (Blue), and Lifespan (Half-Gold, 8 Days 6 Hours/Day).
In total, an overwhelming twenty-seven taels and six qian worth of Life Measure
Sixteen taels and three qian, which were distributed among his five Spiritual Constructs.
Such a terrifying foundation could place him among the top five disciples
across the entire legacy of Pure Yang Heaven and Yanfu Dao,
even compared with ancient lineages stretching back to the Dao Patriarchs themselves.
Within the decaying Yingfutu World, Jing Qian was a celestial beacon
, a living North Star descending upon mortal soil.
Yet refining all these Life Patterns, burning every trace of Dao within them, it was a long, grueling, and ruinously costly process.
Jing Qian steeled himself for a battle of attrition.
Even as his body burned within the fate-Fire, wracked with searing agony,
He did not waver for an instant.
Every preparation he had made in life was for this day.
He would not stop until every ounce of his potential was unleashed.
Time slipped by in silence.
On the first day, he consumed 4,200 Azure-Wing Life-Essences,
completely burning through the four newly forged Blue-Blood Sword Life Patterns.
Vast currents of Dao essence poured forth from them, not yet forming a Dharma Body, but rushing to strengthen his other Life Patterns as stored potential.
Even so, those four alone could not sustain a proper manifestation.
By the fifth day, the total consumption exceeded 50,000 Life-Essences.
The Life Patterns of Flesh-Bloom, Tidal Surge, Diamond Qi, and Violet Thunder Qi were refined completely,
Their Dao resonances flood his mind.
All eight lower-grade Life Patterns had now been smelted down.
A mid-grade Dharma shadow emerged as a Violet-Gold Blood Dragon Bodhi Tree.
But Jing Qian merely glanced at it and dismissed it.
"Pathetic," he thought, letting it fade into nothingness.
His divine sense remained focused, condensed into one core,
waiting for the true Dharma Body to appear.
By the seventh day, his cumulative consumption surpassed 100,000 Life-Essences
a thousandfold the norm for an ordinary Dragon-Elephant cultivator forging a Dharma Body.
With increasing mastery of the Lotus-Forging technique,
His mana conversion grew faster and more precise.
The two incomplete Heavenly Mandates: Tushita Furnace and Worldly Insight
were finally burned through.
The resulting Dao essences merged,
forming a high-grade manifestation: The Supreme Immortal Refining Furnace
a mighty spiritual treasure-form Dharma Body.
But again, Jing Qian simply let it dissolve,
muttering a single verdict: "Weak."
By the twenty-first day, at last, one of his Heavenly Mandates could no longer withstand the flames; its form scattered, transmuted into boundless Dao resonance.
It was the Primordial Qi – Yin.
Fueled by immeasurable Yin energy,
a new and far greater Dharma Body began to gestate.
Moments later, the Primordial Qi–Yang also collapsed,
It's Yang essence fusing into the same formation.
From their union, a superior Dharma Body was born: the Furnace of Yin-Yang World-Refinement.
This single manifestation, embodying a perfect balance of Yin and Yang,
was a seamless, radiant, and immensely powerful spiritual treasure-form.
Jing Qian glanced at it and gave a measured nod.
"Not bad," he said
, then once again, let it fade away.
By this time, the number of Azure-Wing Life-Essences he had consumed
had surpassed one million.
The fat snake had once again slithered out from the Ghost Cauldron, baring its fangs and glaring resentfully at "No Money" for digging up the very foundations of its home.
By the fortieth day, the consumption of Azure-Wing Life-Essence had exploded once more.
Over three million units of Life-Essence had been poured into the flames as though vanishing into a bottomless pit.
Within the Ghost Origin Hall, the solidified Primordial Energy Gel had already been depleted by fifteen percent.
That was a full three thousand years of the fat snake's hoarded wealth gone!
And in exchange, Jing Qian's sea of consciousness now surged with Dao resonance as vast and deep as an abyss.
Five of the Yanfu Heavenly Mandates, Bian Yuan Weiyang, Entwining Karma, Hell Scroll, Primordial Qi – Ghost, and Primordial Qi – Nether were finally burned through to completion.
From within the flames, a grand Dharma manifestation emerged:
The Ten Courts Yama Manifestation.
This Dharma Body, if fully condensed, would immensely empower all arts of the Ghost-Driving lineage
one of the supreme manifestations of the Yanfu path.
Jing Qian gave it a casual glance and remarked,
"Not bad."
Then tossed it aside like an unneeded trinket.
The remaining five Heavenly Mandates, however, were far more stubborn and unyielding after forty days of relentless burning, unmoved as iron nails buried deep within his mind-sea.
Jing Qian had no choice but to endure it, gritting his teeth and pressing forward.
Another twenty days passed.
His consumption of Azure-Wing Life-Essence had surpassed eight million.
The five stubborn Heavenly Mandates had begun to weaken, but each retained a kernel of unshakable power, nailed firmly into his consciousness.
At last, Jing Qian realized the cause was that his Void Furnace simply wasn't strong enough.
A Violet-Life Furnace was still a step short of true perfection!
He redirected part of his power, pouring it into the Life-Stove, feeding it energy to refine itself.
After ten more days, the Void Furnace attained a divine acknowledgment, granted the title of Sumeru Furnace, ascending formally to the fifth rank.
Inside the Void Realm, the black cat's power also skyrocketed
It broke straight through to the fifth rank as well.
Its mana grew so condensed and refined that its body shrank again,
transforming from a plump ragdoll into a palm-sized kitten,
a tiny Devon-resembling creature that barely filled two hands.
Across the entire Yingfutu World, there was no being whose cultivation advanced faster than Xi Li.
Its aura blazing like a comet, the little cat darted straight toward the Kitchen Hall, now bearing a formal title and newfound status; it was determined to flaunt its prestige before those gossiping stove spirits who had once mocked it.
Meanwhile, the Sumeru Furnace's ascension marked a turning point for Jing Qian's arduous struggle.
The two great Yanfu Heavenly Mandates, Yanfu Seal and Bridge of No Return, were finally refined,
and a flood of Dao resonance surged forth.
All of Jing Qian's accumulated essence converged under their command, coalescing into a supreme Dharma manifestation: the Six-Path Tenfold Hell Manifestation of Death and Rebirth!
This was one of the most exalted manifestations within the great sequence of Life, Death, and Reincarnation
, a supreme Dharma Body that only the most gifted disciples of Yanfu Dao across the ages had ever achieved.
The moment it emerged, an overwhelming sense of divine resonance pulled at Jing Qian's mind.
He could barely restrain his desire to merge completely with the Dharma Body.
He gave it his highest praise from the heart:
"Incredible!"
But before he could act further, the Qingping's End and Three Thousand Tribulations of the Sword Heavenly Mandates
Both belong to the Pure Yang sword path
erupted in turn, forging their own supreme manifestation:
A three-foot azure longsword, the Sword that Severed the River of Time and Became Infinite Tribulations.
As soon as it appeared, the sword-flash struck without hesitation,
slashing straight toward the Six-Path Tenfold Hell Manifestation!
Though its fundamental power was inferior, the sword's will was pure destruction
defiant, domineering, unwilling to yield to anything.
It fought.
In an instant, Jing Qian's sea of consciousness plunged into utter chaos.
The two grand Dao lineages, Pure Yang Sword Dao and Yanfu Ghost Dao,
were battling furiously for dominance.
Though the Pure Yang side had fewer Heavenly Mandates,
Its aggressiveness drew in Jing Qian's Spiritual Constructs, tipping the balance.
Among his five Spiritual Constructs, the Pure Yang lineage commanded the Three-Life Reincarnation Eye, the Qingping Sword Casket, and the Needle of Fate-Lock.
The Yanfu lineage, meanwhile, had only the Yanfu Heaven as its anchor.
The Xi Li Divine Seal, having now become an independent stove spirit, took a completely neutral stance
, too busy showing off its rank to care.
Thus, in the balance of power, Pure Yang held the advantage.
But blow after blow, the two sides remained locked in a dead heat.
Jing Qian's mind felt as though it were about to explode.
Both forces were his, his own hard-earned accumulations
, and yet their battle tore him apart from within.
In truth, the Yingfutu World had seen many dual-lineage cultivators over the ages,
But few had ever balanced two supreme paths to such heights
, and fewer still had dared refine them both simultaneously.
Their clash raged for seven full days.
Throughout those seven days, Jing Qian's Life-Essence consumption never slowed.
Another million Azure-Wing units were devoured
, and yet, there was not even a single spark of resolution.
By now, his Dharma Body condensation had lasted seventy-seven days.
The endless expenditure of Life-Essence had consumed more than half of the Ghost Origin Hall's three thousand years of stored energy.
In both time and resources, his undertaking exceeded that of any ordinary Dragon-Elephant cultivator by thousands upon thousands of times.
When the eighty-first and final day arrived,
and the ten-millionth Azure-Wing Life-Essence was consumed,
The last Sumeru Heavenly Mandate finally melted into completion.
As Jing Qian's foundational Life Pattern Sumeru had always opened independent worlds and drawn the richest supply of energy.
It alone possessed the right to dominate his entire Dao path.
Now, its Dao resonance erupted like a cosmic storm.
While the two raging Dharma Bodies were still locked in battle,
Sumeru swooped in like a fisherman seizing both catch and net.
It dove straight into Jing Qian's consciousness and fused with him at the deepest level.
Instantly, he felt vast spatial power unfurling within,
His divine sense expanding endlessly, his Dao-heart soaring.
The two battling Dharma Bodies sensed the intrusion
and, realizing a third force had intervened, they ceased their fight
and turned their focus toward merging with Jing Qian's spirit instead.
Thus
Space, Sword, and Reincarnation,
the three supreme Dao lineages,
finally converged as one.
And in that instant, Jing Qian felt something monumental stir within his soul, a vast, luminous Dharma Will bursting forth, his divine sense crystallizing…
into a human-shaped incarnation of pure consciousness.
That incarnated form seized the three-foot azure blade, the Sword that Severed the River of Time and Became Infinite Tribulations, and with a single sweep, struck the Six-Path Tenfold Hell Manifestation of Death and Rebirth.
In a flash of insight, Jing Qian merged his divine sense with the sword in his hand, then, through its edge, fused himself into the Six-Path Tenfold Hell Manifestation.
At that instant, all his power compressed into a single whole, interweaving and uniting to form an indescribably exalted Dharma Body:
The Sumeru Saint, Sword in Hand, Opening the Six Paths of Reincarnation.
Drawing on boundless accumulation, consuming immeasurable energy, and enduring unnumbered agonies, Jing Qian finally brought his foundation to perfect bloom, achieving a peerless Dao-level Dharma Body!
With this, he had fully completed the Dragon-Elephant stage; with a bit more mana accumulation, he could break through to the Longevity realm.
More importantly, this Sumeru Saint Opening the Six Paths surpassed the rank of "upper-grade perfected Dharma Body," stepping into a higher realm still.
A Saint Manifestation: among the myriad worlds, one in a hundred million, a true glimpse of the cultivation summit.
The moment the Saint Manifestation formed, Jing Qian fell into deep seclusion.
All of his cultivation was undergoing a profound, sweeping remolding.
The Lotus-Forging of Fate-Fire not only failed to cease, but it devoured the dense primordial energy even more fiercely, feeding it to him.
For ordinary cultivators, Dragon-Elephant is important, but whether one breaks into Longevity, gaining long life, is the true qualitative leap.
Yet for Dao-scion prodigies like the Pure Yang disciples or Ying clan heirs, it is precisely the Dragon-Elephant realm where the Dao foundation is forged that determines everything about the climb into the top three ranks.
If the Dharma Body formed here is not strong enough, then no amount of effort in the subsequent realms can make up for the foundational gap.
Conversely, if the Dharma Body is mighty, then Longevity, Subduing Spirits, even Earth-Fiend and Star-Seizer all become a smooth road.
Thus, everything Jing Qian invested in Dragon-Elephant was, in the long view, the most valuable investment of his life.
And now, that investment finally paid off.
With the Saint Manifestation achieved, his entire cultivation received inexhaustible empowerment.
The Qingping Sword Casket drank in Dao resonance and soared in grade, rocketing from seventh rank and, following on the heels of the Xi Li Divine Seal, rising to a fifth-rank Spiritual Construct.
Yanfu Heaven would not be outdone; its power surged likewise, also attaining a fifth-rank Spiritual Construct.
Even the Needle of Fate-Lock rode the tide, climbing to fifth rank.
To go further would be the fourth rank Star-Seizer, aligned with the heavens. Even with Jing Qian's Saint Manifestation, that could not be accomplished in an instant.
As for the Three-Life Reincarnation Eye, although it could rise no higher in grade, its cost of use was compressed sevenfold.
Now, opening the eye for one day consumes only one year of lifespan, a massive gain in efficiency.
With his Spiritual Constructs ascended, his mana swelled threefold, reaching two thousand Azure-Wing Life-Essences.
In sheer abundance of mana, even ordinary Earth-Fiend cultivators could no longer compare with him.
Jing Qian felt that the newly advanced Saint Manifestation held far too many mysteries worth exploring and deducing.
But the advance had not yet concluded; he pressed down the urge to probe the Manifestation and turned to his Lifespan life pattern.
With the Dharma Body complete, he immediately began to push for Longevity.
The Ghost Origin Hall contained inexhaustible energy, and the Lotus-Forging of Fate-Fire was supplying him with limitless Life-Essence.
Such a perfect cultivation opportunity could not be squandered.
Jing Qian split his mind in two while deriving and comprehending the might of the Saint Manifestation; he simultaneously reforged the Lifespan life pattern.
Two thousand Azure-Wing Life-Essences, just a light tap, and whoosh, they burned away in an instant.
His rate of consumption actually exceeded that of the Dharma Body condensation itself!
Beside him, the fat snake was on the verge of madness.
Was this "No Money" brat sent by Heaven to punish it?
Even when [Sickly] ascended to Star-Seizer, he had never squandered energy like this.
Three thousand years of the fat snake's accumulation had already been burned by more than sixty percent; keep this up, and there wouldn't be a hair left!
…
When Jing Qian condensed the Sumeru Saint, Sword in Hand, Opening the Six Paths, the Dao itself gave a strange echo, as if celebrating the birth of a Saint seed.
Manifested in the mortal world, this meant that a Saint's phantom descended from a higher dimension over the Yingfutu World.
Across the realm, not even second-grade grandmasters sensed a thing.
But a certain power that had been watching the Yingfutu World intently broke composure on the spot.
Despite a tight blockade and full suppression, not only had this world failed to decline
, but it had birthed a Saint seed?
For that faction, this was absolutely unacceptable.
Within a certain grotto-heaven, a one-eyed giant covered in beast scales sensed it, slowly waking from slumber. He spoke:
"Tell A Huo to act without restraint. I will go in person to the hall of Egao the High God and settle the score."
As his words fell, three demons of overwhelming presence awakened within the grotto-heaven and fled outward into the world.
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