“Wang Xiao! Stop playing tricks. Do you dare come out and fight me?”
Qingquan held nothing back. Her entire cultivation base erupted, connecting with the heaven and earth.
In the southeast territory of the Cloudsea Immortal Pavilion, a towering Goddess Dharma Form materialized at Biluo Peak.
To the outside world, she appeared as a cold, majestic woman draped in blue water silks.
The rivers and mountains surrounding Biluo Peak resonated with her presence, and the entire area was soon shrouded in dark clouds. In an instant, a torrential downpour began.
The Dharma Form unleashed a strike toward the distant opposite side of the Cloudsea Immortal Pavilion, piercing through 10,000 miles of clouds and heading straight for Danyi Peak in the northwest.
In a flash, Wang Xiao responded. The entirety of Danyi Peak glowed with fire, and from the flickering flames rose a six-armed demon god dharma form.
Its crimson eyes were piercing, and the waves of flames erupting from its body were hot enough to melt the earth itself. The demon god’s six arms converged, condensing a sphere of fire to block Qingquan’s strike.
The residual power caused Danyi Peak to tremble. The mountain-protecting array flickered into existence, and countless disciples stared at the sky in terror.
“Hoho, they’ve started fighting.” Within the Pavilion, there was no shortage of cultivators who enjoyed a good spectacle.
Many reclusive Gold Core cultivators flew above the cloud layer to watch the two Immortal Lords battle.
“These two have been at it for hundreds of years. Now, it seems there will finally be a conclusion.”
“Sigh, I don’t know what Lao Gong is thinking. Does he really want them to tear down the Pavilion? I was in the middle of seclusion and got shaken awake.”
“If it succeeds, one will ascend to become a Nascent Soul Immortal Emperor. If not, one will die and their path will vanish. The battle for the Nascent Soul path is truly cruel. I only fear they will both suffer and perish together. It’s not like there isn’t a precedent…”
The two Dharma Forms moved almost simultaneously, rushing toward one another. As their divine abilities collided from a distance, the very space between them began to tear.
At the literal center of the Cloudsea Immortal Pavilion—which was not the main peak, but the heart of the Great Spirit Gathering Array—a crack in space revealed Qingquan’s figure within the Tribulation Space.
At the same time, the Starfire Distracting Array laid out by Wang Xiao was visible.
“Daoist friend, why not obediently let me refine you to fulfill my path?” Wang Xiao’s cold voice echoed from all directions, reverberating throughout the Tribulation Space.
“You think you’re worthy of calling me a friend?” Qingquan’s expression turned cold. She raised her right hand, continuing to drive her Dharma Form outside.”
“Torrential rain followed wherever she went, and her Dharma Form’s figure became even more solid. “Today, I shall extinguish your fire of life. From now on, there will be no more Wang Xiao in this world.”
As their Dharma Forms clashed repeatedly across the distance, Qingquan’s expression grew strained. She wasn’t just fighting; she was trapped within an array and being refined by Wang Xiao.
Had it not been for her extremely abundant lingqi, she likely would have been ground down by now.
Wang Xiao drove his Dharma Form to attack while simultaneously heading toward his true body. Standing above the Great Array, his expression held a hint of surprise.
He knew Qingquan’s methods best. He had assumed that even if she survived the tribulation of the unnamed fire, the lingqi in her body should have been completely exhausted.
Yet, Qingquan still had the strength to resist. To be more precise, he was facing a Qingquan who seemed to be in peak condition, which was very troublesome.
However, Wang Xiao had already anticipated potential variables. This array was suppressed by divine fires in all eight directions. He had prepared for over 100 years to finally complete it.
“Oh? I just noticed. How did a little bug get in here?” Wang Xiao noted the white soul fire floating beside Qingquan.
As his divine sense swept over it, Wang Xiao realized the soul fire possessed consciousness. Furthermore, this white flame looked very familiar.
“Though your cultivation is weak, you reached this place without being blocked. I imagine you have means I cannot see through. Could you be… a reincarnation of a great power?” Wang Xiao’s tone grew slightly more serious.
“I am no great power. I simply share a karmic bond with Qingquan,” Gu Ze replied calmly.
“A bond? How can anyone believe in something so ethereal? Little friend, why not help me refine Qingquan instead?”
“Once it is done, I can guarantee you a path to the Nascent Soul realm. I will personally refine pills for your journey,” Wang Xiao said, offering an olive branch.
He didn’t know what benefits Qingquan had given Gu Ze, but he refused to believe Gu Ze had come to help her face a tribulation based solely on the word “bond.”
“Refining pills? By turning people into pills?” Gu Ze mocked.
Wang Xiao remained indifferent, his tone frank. “Why not? Humans are nurtured by heaven and earth; they are naturally excellent materials.”
“Compared to medicinal herbs, they simply have a bit more wisdom. Do spirit plants not have life? Pulling a weed and killing a person are the same in essence.”
“The Way of Heaven is to take from the surplus to supplement the deficient, while the Way of Man is to take from the deficient to serve the surplus. Cultivators harvest from heaven and earth.”
“The rarer the heavenly materials and earthly treasures, the more people fight for them. To survive, one uses any means necessary. It is all to ensure one’s own surplus at the cost of the world’s deficiency.”
“Refining humans into pills is a process of using surplus to supplement surplus, and even supplementing the world itself. With one less person, the world suffers one less drain, and I gain one more jiyuan.”
The white soul fire flickered. Gu Ze gave a cold laugh, clearly disagreeing with his view. “Ridiculous. If you compare humans to immortal herbs and spirit plants, then humans are also a part of nature.”
“Immortal herbs grow by absorbing the world’s nutrients, and humans cultivate by absorbing the world’s lingqi. Both are nurtured by the world and are part of its natural cycle.”
“A person’s life will eventually end, and everything they gained will return to the world. Who are you to slaughter people here?!”
“It seems you are not a fellow traveler on my path. Since our words do not align, there is no need to argue further. Let me see how the two of you break this situation.”
As Wang Xiao spoke, the light of the disaster stars flickering in the eight directions grew even brighter. Qingquan felt the lingqi in her body begin to drain at an accelerated rate.
Gritting her teeth, she activated her divine abilities to blast the surroundings, but the attacks were all neutralized by the connected divine fires.
The power of eight different Golden Core divine fires clearly exceeded the limits of what Qingquan could handle.
“Daoist friend, this place is too dangerous. If you aren’t careful, you will be refined as well. You have already helped me so much. I will face the remaining tribulation alone. Leave this place quickly,” she urged Gu Ze.
It wasn’t that Gu Ze didn’t want to leave, but he couldn’t even if he tried. If it were truly easy to exit this Great Array, he would have loved to take Qingquan and escape to safety.
“I told you, we share a bond. Today, I will stay until the end to witness your Nascent Soul formation,” Gu Ze said solemnly.
Qingquan, however, held almost no hope. Hearing his words, she gritted her teeth, her face flushing. “What a ‘bond’! Are you truly doing this for me? I have never met someone like you in my entire life.”
“Fine. There are very few people I consider worthy of being called a Daoist friend. So, how do you plan to break this situation? The current circumstances are very unfavorable for both of us.”
“There is no need to ‘break’ it. Wang Xiao may have clever methods, but is refining a pill always successful? He also has to face the risk of the furnace exploding,” Gu Ze said in a low, steady voice.
Upon hearing this, Qingquan had a sudden realization, and a look of determination flashed in her eyes.
“True. Why should I fear Wang Xiao? He has always been my defeated opponent.” As she spoke, a water lotus bloomed in her hand, its petals blasting out in every direction.
The disaster stars glowed again, neutralizing Qingquan’s divine ability.
But suddenly, Qingquan’s body jolted, and she looked toward the Gen position in the northeast. That was the direction where the Burning World Heavenly Fire was stationed.
Without a word, she rushed toward that position. Vaguely, she felt a shift in the variables.
Outside the array, Wang Xiao watched Qingquan’s every move and couldn’t help but laugh.
“Interesting. When I laid this array, I only had seven kinds of divine fire. I could barely form the array, but it might not have been enough to trap you completely.”
“I have your good disciple to thank for personally delivering the Burning World Heavenly Fire into my hands.”
“Now, you are rushing toward the Burning World Heavenly Fire like a moth to a flame. Between the two of you, there truly is an indescribable bond.”
Qingquan did not slow down, casually dispersing the flames that tried to interfere with her. “You want to disrupt my heart of the dao? You should know that I have never regretted taking a disciple.”
“And how did your last disciple betray you? Do you still not understand?” His words were like a heavy hammer falling on Qingquan’s heart. This topic was almost a taboo for her.
In that brief moment of distraction, a flame that had been hidden nearby erupted, lunging toward Qingquan.
“Watch out!” Gu Ze followed closely behind her. Seeing her pause, he reacted the moment he noticed the sneak attack.
**[Li Xunmiao’s full-power strike]**
Gu Ze used the reward the system had given him previously without hesitation.
A sword qi shot out from the white soul fire, imbued with the Qi of the Yellow Springs and wrapped in a flame that sought to burn everything to ash.
This strike was even more powerful than the one at Danyi Peak. For a moment, even Wang Xiao was slightly surprised. He wasn’t surprised by the sword qi’s power, but rather by the fact that this specific sword qi, which he had seen before, appeared here.
The two forces collided. Even though the sword qi was unstoppable, it could not shake the Golden Core power. It only blocked the fire for a moment before being dispersed.
Qingquan also snapped back to her senses. She raised her hand and carefully shielded the fragile soul fire in her arms. In her rage, torrents of water poured down, washing away the surrounding flames.
“That was close. Thank you for the warning, Daoist friend.” Qingquan felt the lingering traces of the dispersed sword qi, her eyes flickering.
If Wang Xiao could recognize it as Li Xunmiao’s sword qi, she, as the master, certainly wouldn’t mistake it. Though its sharp edge far exceeded what it used to be, it was undoubtedly Li Xunmiao’s sword.
‘Who exactly is this Daoist friend? How can he use a technique identical to my disciple’s?’ Qingquan was full of doubt, but now was not the time for questions.
Outside, Wang Xiao’s surprise was far from over.
“Huh? This power… Why do you also have the Burning World Heavenly Fire?” His face gradually darkened.
The Burning World Heavenly Fire was a unique product of the Weijin mountain secret realm. Since the hidden realm appeared, it had only been produced once.
It was possible someone could have harvested a Burning World Flower elsewhere and obtained the fire. But if Li Xunmiao was involved, it was a different story.
It was impossible for Li Xunmiao to have two portions of the Burning World Heavenly Fire. Now that the opponent could use it to release a divine ability, it meant there was a problem with the divine fire in his array!
He had been watching from the sidelines, but now he could no longer remain calm.
‘Could it be…?’
The moment that doubt arose, the position suppressed by the Burning World Heavenly Fire in front of Qingquan shattered. it dissolved into a pale mist of etheric qi and vanished.
The once-perfect Heaven and Earth Pill Furnace suddenly cracked open with a massive gap. The waves from Qingquan’s divine ability gushed out, creating a waterfall in the sky. Looking from a distance, one could even see a rainbow hanging over it.