Chapter 512 - 509: Undying Body - Resolving Future Troubles
At this moment, Qin Feng’s muscular body, standing at thirty feet tall, was pulsing with vigorous life force, brimming with immense power.
With his roar, the enormous iceberg began to lift at one corner, progressively rising higher and higher.
The Demon Refining Pot had already opened its mouth; Qin Feng only needed to drag the iceberg into the spatial opening of the pot to capture this several-hundred-feet-tall mass of ice.
Body Refining Cultivators who advanced to the Purple Mansion Realm had formidable physiques capable of manifesting Divine Skills, and their Physical Body Power was unparalleled. It mightn’t be said they could shatter a mountain range with a single strike, but they certainly had the strength to bear the weight of one.
Of course, the mountain referred to here was the size of a small hundred-feet mountain.
As for Divine Skills such as toppling mountains and overturning seas, those were abilities only Immortals could possess.
The several-hundred-feet iceberg before Qin Feng actually exceeded the capabilities of a Purple Mansion Body Cultivator. However, in addition to his own strength, Qin Feng had the mighty Ruyi Golden Snake, his Lifebound Spiritual Beast, and more critically, he was adept in Gravity Divine Power.
He now applied Anti-Gravity to the iceberg, instantly reducing its weight by a great deal. Without this, Qin Feng’s Physical Body Power alone would scarcely be sufficient to lift such a heavy mass of ice.
The iceberg slowly left the ground due to the force from the nine heads of the Ruyi Golden Snake, along with the effect of the Anti-Gravity Technique, and was about to be completely lifted by him.
Suddenly, at the far end of the valley, beneath the jagged cliffs, a pile of rocks stirred, and the shattered skeleton hidden within them suddenly moved.
A white bone raised its hand, and a dark flash, as swift as lightning, streaked through the void, penetrated the slender neck of the Ruyi Golden Snake, and pierced Qin Feng’s heart. What were originally defenses tougher than metal and scales harder than Spiritual Treasures were now as fragile as paper in front of the dark flash, easily punctured.
Thud!
The dark flash, having traversed through Qin Feng’s body, didn’t stop there: it drilled into the sturdy iceberg, even puncturing the skull of the Evil Dragon within before piercing through the other side of the iceberg. It finally depleted its momentum and with a ‘ding’, lodged itself in the rocks, with only a small portion of the dark iron cone visible.
“Bang…”
The sudden potent strike caused Qin Feng’s hands to loosen, the iceberg that had already been lifted halfway came crashing down to the ground with a thunderous boom, shaking the entire valley a few times.
He turned around dumbfoundedly, looking back at the battered white bones, somewhat dazed, “How is it possible? You… you’re still not dead?”
At this time, Qin Feng’s mind was filled with disbelief. How could this person’s life force be so terrifying?
Even renowned Body Cultivators, known for their strong vitality, couldn’t possess such formidable life force before they reached immortality!
The sight before him was gruesome; not a trace of flesh and blood remained, the skull was hollowed out by the wind, empty and lifeless, and even the bones were incomplete, missing arms and legs, with several ribs vanished.
With such severe injuries, it was truly beyond Qin Feng’s expectations that Luo Xiao had not yet died.
However, Luo Xiao’s strike had indeed been fierce—not only extremely fast but also endowed with tremendous penetration power, seemingly indestructible. Such a formidable attack could not possibly be a technique that Luo Xiao could have executed on his own.
“Hehehe…”
A sinister laughter emanated from the broken skeleton, and then, a faint and fluctuating soul shadow emerged from within the bones.
The skeleton abruptly stood up from among the stones, a pale skull opening and closing its jaw, Luo Xiao’s voice emitting from it: “No, thanks to you, my physical body is indeed dead!”
His tone was filled with resentment: “But you’ve forgotten, I am a cultivator from the Ghost City. The Ghost City is a power that has the most thorough understanding of souls and ghostly objects in Biluo. Even if my physical body dies, as long as my soul isn’t extinguished, that doesn’t count as true death.”
As he spoke, he controlled his skeletal remains to walk forward. However, having lost half of one of his legs, retaining only the thigh bone, he moved awkwardly, nearly collapsing to the ground with each step.
With an angry roar, Luo Xiao’s wavering black shadow detached itself from the skeleton, taking on his form that seemed somewhat illusory and transparent.
The bone structure, no longer supported by his soul power, clattered to the ground, but he did not spare it another glance. Instead, he floated lightly towards Qin Feng.
“It’s all because of you that I’ve fallen into such a state!”
In his soul state, Luo Xiao’s face was filled with rancor as he stubbornly fixed his gaze on Qin Feng.
Particularly after seeing the nine dragon heads behind Qin Feng, he felt a sense of familiarity and thought that the Ruyi Golden Snake’s head bore some resemblance to that of a Ghost Dragon, causing his brows to furrow and he spoke with some surprise and uncertainty, “You… you fused the Ghost Dragon into…”
“Indeed!”
Qin Feng nodded slightly, “You must have heard of the methods our Beast Taming Sect employs in cultivating spiritual beasts. Since a dragon species containing the True Dragon Bloodline fell into my hands, of course, I couldn’t let it go.”
“Hmph!”
Luo Xiao, whose form seemed somewhat illusory, sneered without getting angry and said lightly, “That’s fine too. If you could integrate the Ghost Dragon Bloodline into your spiritual beast and strengthen your Lifebound Spiritual Beast, that wouldn’t be too bad. This way, when I seize your body, it will be as if my own strength has increased! Heh heh, I heard that when your Beast Taming Sect cultivates to the Dharma Image stage, you merge your Lifebound Spiritual Beast into your Dharma Image. With such a powerful Lifebound Spiritual Beast that has fused with the Ghost Dragon Bloodline, once I cultivate it into a Dharma Image, I will surely shine in the cultivation world.”
“You want to seize my body?”
Qin Feng paused, looking at Luo Xiao’s unstable soul with some astonishment and skepticism.
Where does this guy get the confidence to seize my body?
“Of course, is there another person here for me to seize?”
Luo Xiao scoffed coldly, “It’s all because of you that I ended up like this, even my physical body has been destroyed. Isn’t it natural that I should seize yours?”
As he spoke, his eyes shone intensely, surveying Qin Feng’s body approvingly and nodding, “Honestly, your physical body isn’t bad at all, much more formidable than mine.
Uh, not only are you adept at the Transformation Divine Power, but your body has also produced the Power of Laws. This must be the result of your success in cultivating the ‘Dragon Summoning Divine Technique’ from your Beast Taming Sect, indeed not bad!
Moreover, you have an additional powerful Lifebound Spiritual Beast to help me develop a stronger Dharma Image. Heh heh, to be honest, just thinking about acquiring all these benefits from you, I don’t hate you that much anymore! Let me think… Perhaps after I advance to the Dharma Image stage, I could become the first in the history of Ghost Dragon City to cultivate a Nine-Headed Ghost Dragon Dharma Form!”
The more Luo Xiao talked, the more excited he became, even settling on his future direction of cultivation.
“Are you sure you can successfully seize my body?”
Qin Feng looked at him dispassionately, “You’ve fallen to such a state, and still you’re so presumptuous. Do you really think I am someone you can manipulate as you please?”
“Haha…”
Upon hearing this, Luo Xiao couldn’t help but burst into loud laughter, “If you were at your peak, of course I wouldn’t be sure of seizing your body, but can you still compare to your former self now?”
He spoke with sarcasm, “Do you really think my Ten Thousand Ghosts Banner’s Soul-Breaking Cone is just an ordinary Magical Treasure? Haven’t you felt that your soul has been severely damaged?
Hehe, even now, you still try to bluff me; truly unaware of life and death.
But no matter, I won’t completely devour your soul later. I will imprison it within the Ten Thousand Ghosts Banner, allowing you to watch me achieve Immortal Dao with your body and ascend to immortality, standing at the peak of the cultivation world. I imagine you will feel honored then! Don’t think about releasing your spiritual beasts to save your life; they can’t stop me. In fact, before they even appear, I could be inside your body.”
“Nonsensical!”
Qin Feng snorted coldly, his body trembling as he returned from the size of ten zhang back down to his original size. As he did, the wound that pierced his heart was visibly healing at a rate noticeable to the naked eye. When he returned to his original size, the wound on his chest had entirely healed, leaving behind only some bloodstains, making it impossible to tell that he had been injured.
With his Azure Dragon Daoist Body accomplished, his recovery power was already immense. Furthermore, after refining the Light Element Dragon Spirit Fruit and mastering the Light Element’s Self-Healing Technique, and since the Ruyi Golden Snake had also integrated the blood of the Nine-Headed Snake—which naturally possessed a powerful healing ability, capable of regrowing even if beheaded—
Qin Feng naturally also obtained the Nine-Headed Snake’s healing ability from the Ruyi Golden Snake. So for him, a mere external injury was not fatal. It wasn’t just about his heart being pierced; even if all his internal organs were shattered, as long as he had some time, he could regrow them.
In terms of physical strength, at this stage, he was not far from an Undying Body.
As for Luo Xiao’s mentioned Soul-Breaking Cone, it was indeed out of the ordinary.
The Soul-Breaking Cone itself was nothing extraordinary, merely a spiritual treasure, but the one Luo Xiao used had sealed within it a spell from an immortal of Ghost Dragon City, which was the reason why Qin Feng had been struck through the body without any reaction.
After being penetrated, Qin Feng indeed felt a raging force that could destroy a divine soul.
Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have been able to withstand this force, and his soul would have suffered severe injuries.
However, things were different now, as he was in a merge state with the Ruyi Golden Snake, which effectively meant he had two souls in one body.
His lifebound spiritual beast had only been stripped of its intelligence, not its soul, which gave Qin Feng a chance to escape this disaster.
He pushed the Ruyi Golden Snake’s soul to the front and hid his own divine soul behind it, which was why he emerged unharmed.
As for the damage to the Ruyi Golden Snake’s soul, it wasn’t something that couldn’t be repaired later.
During this trial, the Sect had been very generous, especially toward their most outstanding true disciples, offering them considerable support in secret. They had prepared quite a few precious elixirs to heal soul injuries.
After all, the Sect also wanted to secure a spot for the Chosen Son.
And their best hope for securing that spot lay undoubtedly with a few people including Qin Feng and Li Miaozhen, so of course, they would take good care of them.
The elixirs on him were enough to heal the Ruyi Golden Snake’s injuries.
Luo Xiao had no idea of Qin Feng’s current state and thought he was just putting on a brave face in an attempt to scare him away, so he didn’t care about Qin Feng’s taunting, merely sneered and directed his soul towards Qin Feng with the intention to pounce.
Seeing a grown man attempting to pounce on him instantly grossed Qin Feng out.
Even knowing it was just a soul body, he still didn’t want this guy to actually touch him.
Qin Feng opened his mouth to unleash a Ruyi Spiritual Golden Wind to annihilate Luo Xiao’s soul.
But just as he was about to release it, he suddenly retracted the Golden Wind and instead controlled the Demon Refining Pot to summon the Netherworld Water from within the space of the Netherworld Treasure Pearl in the pot’s sixth layer, confronting Luo Xiao’s soul.
He feared this man might have some other tricks up his sleeve, so he decided to draw his soul into the Netherworld and cut off his means of retreat once and for all!
“Ah…” Luo Xiao screamed in alarm, quickly retreating.
That Netherworld Treasure Pearl was originally his life-saving treasure, and of course, he knew its details well. Being a true disciple from the Ten Directions Ghost City, he was even more aware of the power of the Netherworld Water and dare not let it contaminate his soul.
While screaming and dodging the Netherworld, he yelled in disbelief, “Impossible, impossible! The artifact spirit in the Netherworld Treasure Pearl has acknowledged me as its master. How could you have subdued this treasure?
The artifact spirit within the Netherworld Treasure Pearl certainly wouldn’t dare to betray the Ten Directions Ghost City. You couldn’t possibly gain its recognition, so how can you control the Netherworld Water?”
“Indeed, the artifact spirit of the Netherworld Treasure Pearl was disobedient!” Qin Feng nodded. “Which is why I obliterated the artifact spirit within the bead!”
Upon hearing this, Luo Xiao’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.
He absolutely did not believe that Qin Feng had the power to obliterate the artifact spirit of an immortal treasure.
Yet, Qin Feng was now manipulating the Netherworld Water to attack him. It seemed that, apart from the obliteration of the artifact spirit, there was no other reason he could be doing this!
Luo Xiao moved swiftly backward, trying to avoid the onslaught of the Netherworld Water.
He knew that since Qin Feng could control the Netherworld Water, he certainly wouldn’t have a chance to seize Qin Feng’s body.
In that case, the only option left was to make a quick retreat.
Otherwise, with only his soul remaining, he would definitely not be Qin Feng’s match, and if he did not leave now, he feared he would have to stay here forever.
As for leaving this place, even if he couldn’t seize a body, it didn’t matter. As the heir of the Ten Thousand Ghosts Banner in this Undead Realm, he could still rise to prominence.
At worst, he would simply abandon his physical body and solely cultivate the Ghost Path, which was not unheard of in the Ten Thousand Ghosts Banner. Many cultivators who failed to overcome the Heavenly Tribulation had abandoned their bodies to cultivate the Ghost Cultivation Technique and become Ghost Immortals, achieving eternal life.
Although he no longer had a physical body and couldn’t return to Biluo for the time being, when the various factions of Biluo launched a large-scale expedition to this world in the future, he could still make contact with them. By then, he might even become a guide, perhaps commanding a large number of undead to join the battle. Returning to the Ten Thousand Ghosts Banner after the war was not impossible!
Luo Xiao’s thoughts raced as fast as lighting. Though he was now a soul body, he was a master of the Ghost Escape Skill, moving like a phantom to dodge the attacks of the Netherworld Water, planning to escape.
“Hmph!”
Qin Feng let out a cold snort. At this juncture, how could he allow this man to flee?
By now, the two of them had completely revealed their mortal enmity, naturally wanting to kill each other to eliminate future troubles, lest this fellow run back to Biluo at some unspecified time and cause him problems.
Whatever Luo Xiao could think of, Qin Feng had likewise guessed his scheme. This Undead Realm was vast beyond measure, millions of miles in every direction. Once Luo Xiao slipped into its depths, finding him again would be difficult!
From behind Qin Feng, nine ferocious dragon heads each opened their jaws and spewed forth a stream of Ruyi Spiritual Golden Wind.
The Golden Wind swept through rapidly, not only blocking Luo Xiao’s path of escape but even enveloping the entire valley in countless golden lights, completely cutting off Luo Xiao’s retreat.
With the assistance of the Ruyi Spiritual Golden Wind, the Netherworld Water flowed swiftly like a torrent. Amidst Luo Xiao’s screams of terror, his soul was engulfed by the waves, completely disappearing into the depths of the Netherworld Water without a trace.
After that, Qin Feng did not immediately retract the Netherworld Water. Instead, he used it to sweep up Luo Xiao’s bones as well, his Divine Sense sweeping over the valley to make sure there were no lingering dangers before finally collecting the Netherworld Water back into the Demon Refining Pot.
Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief, silently remarking to himself that this person, being a true disciple of the Ten Thousand Ghosts Banner, was indeed difficult to kill, with one life-preserving method after the other.
Fortunately, the other party had not used these tricks against him right from the start. Otherwise, whether it was the Soul-Breaking Cone or that ghastly green flame, both were powerful treasures. If they had been used for a surprise attack on him, Qin Feng really wasn’t confident that he could have withstood them unprepared.
After catching his breath, Qin Feng turned his gaze towards the Evil Dragon sealed within the ice mountain, frowning.
Because he had merged with the Ruyi Golden Snake, he had avoided the attack of the Soul-Breaking Cone. However, this Evil Dragon inside had no ability to merge with another soul, and its soul had been severely injured by the cone.
This Evil Dragon was already in critical condition, and now its soul had been damaged, compounding its injuries. It was truly at death’s door, and it looked as though it wouldn’t live much longer.
Frowning, Qin Feng hesitated no further, promptly summoning the White Dragon and the Soul Devouring Vine Demon to assist in lifting the ice mountain. If this creature died and its life force dissipated, he wouldn’t be able to fuse with its Bloodline Divine Power.
After laboring for a while with the help of the two Spiritual Beasts, he finally managed to place the ice mountain inside the Demon Refining Pot. He couldn’t help but reflect inwardly that he needed to acquire another powerful Spiritual Beast for manual labor in the future. The White Dragon and the Soul Devouring Vine Demon really weren’t cut out for such work.
As for the Qingluan and the Ghost-Faced Spider, Qin Feng didn’t even bother to summon them; they were even less suited for the task.
After the ice mountain was secured in the Demon Refining Pot, Qin Feng quickly put away the White Dragon and the Soul Devouring Vine Demon.
The turmoil here would undoubtedly attract the attention of powerful beings deep within the Undead Realm. If a strong undead was drawn here, Qin Feng would not be able to cope, particularly with the White Dragon and Soul Devouring Vine Demon, one bursting with pure Light Element power and the other brimming with life force—direct opposites to the Undead Realm. He dared not let these two linger any longer.
Immediately afterward, he released the Merge State, absorbing the Ruyi Golden Snake into the Demon Refining Pot and starting the Bloodline fusion straight away, lest he miss the opportunity when the Evil Dragon died.
Then, Qin Feng stepped forward, reaching the end of the valley and pulling out the Soul-Breaking Cone embedded in the stone wall.
Although the spell sealed within had already been used, and the Spiritual Treasure was damaged, Qin Feng was not willing to leave such an obvious item behind. If someone used the Soul-Breaking Cone as a medium to cast a tracing technique back to him, it would be troublesome. Better to give it to the Ruyi Golden Snake as a snack.
Having taken care of all this, Qin Feng immediately left the valley, unleashing the Dragon Summoning Divine Technique to its maximum, covering thousands of miles before slowing down.
Not long after his departure, the valley indeed became lively for a while.
First, several powerful undead arrived, followed by several formidable Evil Dragons.
Unfortunately, regardless of who arrived, they only found an empty valley. There was no sign of Qin Feng, let alone the ice mountain that had disappeared without a trace!