Golden flames erupted from within Zhang Wen's body the instant the Phoenix Emperor Pill slid down his throat. Scorching heat exploded outward from the center of his heart as if a sun had been born inside a human body. Every meridian trembled violently. Sharp cracking sounds of compressed energy echoed throughout the watery barrier he had erected.
"Ugh!"
Zhang Wen exhaled heavily. Emperor-grade flames burned him from the inside. Bones, blood vessels, muscles, and soul were all refined at the same time. This was not healing. It was complete destruction followed by total reconstruction.
Red-gold fire flowed across his skin. Ancient phoenix runes appeared in pulses before fading again and again. Each time they shone, his vitality surged explosively. His Pure Water Sacred Body, once calm and tranquil, was violently stimulated. Water and fire, two opposing forces, began to rotate together in a way that defied common sense.
His bones turned crimson gold. The blood within his body transformed into a radiant liquid resembling phoenix blood. A single heartbeat now equaled hundreds of full circulation cycles.
Suddenly, his aura soared uncontrollably.
Nirvana Level 2
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…
Nirvana Level 8
Nirvana Level 9
In the span of a single breath, a boundary that countless cultivators required thousands of years to cross was trampled beneath his feet.
Yet the pill's power did not stop there.
The barrier of the Nirvana realm shattered completely.
Boom!
A sound like the world splitting apart thundered within Zhang Wen's body. Vital energy, spiritual power, and destiny fused into one. The gate to the Heavenly Cavern opened without seeking acknowledgment from the heavens.
Heavenly Cavern Level 1
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…
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Heavenly Cavern Level 9
Zhang Wen opened his eyes. The phoenix flames within them slowly faded, leaving behind a profound stillness that concealed terrifying power. He murmured inwardly.
"My body conflicts somewhat with this pill. I cannot draw out its full effectiveness. It seems I did not even reach fifty percent."
But Zhang Wen did not stop.
Although the Phoenix Emperor Pill conflicted with his origin power, it did not damage his foundation in the slightest. Even if flaws appeared, he still possessed the Heaven Transcending Water to correct them.
After the first Phoenix Emperor Pill completely dissolved within his body, the remaining medicinal power continued to circulate without any sign of stopping. His body resembled a furnace whose lid had just been lifted. The flames still raged within. His meridians glowed red gold like molten metal awaiting the final hammer strike.
He raised his hand once more.
A second Phoenix Emperor Pill emerged from the void.
The instant it left the spatial ring and collided with the lingering power of the first pill, the temperature around Zhang Wen surged violently. The air twisted and warped. The ground beneath him began to melt into dark crimson liquid, while emperor-level pressure spread outward as if a divine beast had opened its eyes.
Zhang Wen did not hesitate.
He swallowed it in a single motion.
Boom!
Flames detonated from within his body. The thunderous roar echoed like lightning striking directly into the soul. The final boundary separating Heavenly Cavern cultivators from Saints was incinerated until not even ashes remained.
His vitality and cultivation surged wildly.
Bones cracked with deafening sounds. His blood boiled. Every meridian shattered and was reforged anew, transforming into streams of semi-liquid flame and energy that flowed freely like burning water.
At that moment, his soul was forcibly pulled from his body. He clenched his teeth and stabilized the circulation, forcing the pill's power and his origin energy to merge completely.
The origin of his Pure Water Sacred Body trembled violently. Water and fire, forces that should never coexist, began to fuse naturally, even more smoothly than before.
In that instant, the heavens above him changed color.
Sacred clouds gathered madly. Thousands of lightning bolts descended at once, crashing toward Zhang Wen.
Yet he remained calm.
He released 0.1 liters of Heaven Transcending Water just before the lightning struck.
Boom!
A colossal explosion erupted. His body was obliterated. Flesh burned to nothing. Bones turned to ash. Blood vaporized into mist.
But within the ashes, Zhang Wen's form began to reconstruct itself.
Bones were reforged from flame and water. Vital energy surged endlessly. His soul was tempered simultaneously by the Phoenix Emperor Pill and the Heaven Transcending Water.
When the light faded and the smoke dispersed, Zhang Wen floated in midair.
His clothes had disintegrated into dust. Red-blue flames coiled around his body like sacred wings. Golden lines emerged one by one across his skin, glowing like inscriptions of heaven and earth.
The aura of a mortal cultivator vanished completely.
A saint's pressure spread outward, vast and immovable.
The power of a Saint had been born.
Not a false Saint like before.Not a Heaven-granted Saint supported by the world itself.
But a Saint who had ascended solely through his own power.
Zhang Wen did not wait for the transformation to settle.
He sat cross-legged in midair, using his will to restrain his body, then began adjusting every internal balance to perfectly align with the fire element. He slightly reduced the proportion of water and precisely increased the amount of flame.
At that moment, a new kind of fire was born.
It was not red.Not gold.Not black.
It was a clear blue flame.
The blue fire flowed calmly around his body like pure water, yet every particle carried heat far more terrifying than infernal flames. It circulated gently through Zhang Wen's meridians without violence, but with every movement, the surrounding space twisted as if being silently incinerated.
Zhang Wen opened his eyes.
Using the power of the Phoenix Emperor Pill and the Heaven Transcending Water, he had reconstructed his physical structure to fully accommodate the fire element. Most of the pill's energy had been consumed in reshaping his body rather than raising cultivation, which was why his realm had only reached Saint Level 1.
But it was worth it.
From now on, his body could absorb emperor-grade pills with far greater efficiency.
He lifted the third Phoenix Emperor Pill.
The moment he swallowed it, sacred power surged without restraint. The boundary of the Saint realm shattered violently. Cracking sounds echoed within his soul as his body glowed brighter with every breath.
His cultivation advanced instantly.
Saint Level 2.
Sacred aura expanded outward in waves. Heaven and earth trembled continuously. The clouds split apart, forming massive rifts stretching thousands of li.
Yet Zhang Wen remained unmoving.
Seven more pills flowed into his body in succession. Phoenix flames transformed into a colossal vortex, devouring all heavenly and earthly energy in the surroundings.
When the sacred core shattered once again, the gate of power opened before him.
Saint Level 3.
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Saint Level 5.
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Saint Level 9.