Each stab resulted in a bloody wound; it looked too cruel to look at. After the Flame Rock Sovereign had stabbed Xiao Chen nine times, nine finger-sized wounds surrounded his heart, forming an average-sized circle.
Dong! Dong dong!
Xiao Chen’s heart beat rhythmically. Every time it beat, his body absorbed a vast amount of Primordial Energy.
His physical body could explode at any moment. His current state truly embodied the phrase heart-pounding anxiety.
Although Xiao Chen did his best to absorb all the Primordial Energy into his Heart of an Emperor, his efforts were still far from enough.
If the Flame Rock King did not take precautions, Xiao Chen would really explode after a mere moment.
There was still one final Primordial Pill, which the Flame Rock Sovereign did not use, in the bottle. After capping the bottle, he used one hand to quickly prod Xiao Chen’s chest.
The Flame Rock Sovereign’s fingertip lit up with light. Every time he prodded Xiao Chen’s body, a beam of light soared into the sky from Xiao Chen’s body.
After he prodded Xiao Chen nine times, a small formation appeared on Xiao Chen’s chest and slowly revolved.
A formation also appeared under Xiao Chen’s feet. Furthermore, the nine beams of light formed a similar formation in the air.
“This set of formations is known as the Nine Revolution Universe Origin Formation. In the past, Immortal Cultivators used it to temper the Immortal Spiritual War Body. After I obtained it, I altered it. Firstly, it can protect your physical body, preventing it from exploding as a result of the Medicinal Energy from the Primordial Pill. Secondly, it can increase the effectiveness of the Medicinal Energy. With every cycle, it will increase the Primordial Energy by half.”
The Flame Rock Sovereign withdrew his hand, fatigue written on his face. He said, “This set of formations represents heaven, earth, and man. The three are connected; none of them can be missing.
“If you cannot endure the pain from the Medicinal Energy and give up halfway, the formation on your chest will be destroyed. When the formation loses balance, you will be destroyed along with it.”
Xiao Chen smiled bitterly in his heart. The intense pain precluded all speech. If he could, he would definitely curse loudly. The Flame Rock Sovereign truly pushed him down the path of no return.
Xiao Chen had not expected the Flame Rock Sovereign’s cultivation method to be so dangerous.
The Flame Rock Sovereign smiled faintly and said, “I’m going to drink some wine. Little Friend, do your best to endure. Otherwise, if you explode, my Flame Rock castle, which has been passed down for thousands of years, will be destroyed along with you.”
The Flame Rock Sovereign forced out a smile and left quickly like he was avoiding a human bomb—which made Xiao Chen very frustrated and wish he could rush over to kick him.
While the Flame Rock Sovereign looked like he left with a carefree heart, he was actually not far away. He drank wine together with Ao Jiao at a tall pavilion. As long as they tilted their heads a little, they would see Xiao Chen seated cross-legged on the ground.
“Little Ba, isn’t forcing Xiao Chen like that too ruthless?” Ao Jiao asked worriedly as she looked at the wounds on Xiao Chen’s chest that had not healed and heard the pulsation of his heart.
Xiao Chen’s skin was all torn apart, staining his white robes with blood and turning them completely scarlet. Blue veins bulged on his forehead, and blood obscured his facial features. It was not clear what sort of pain he was undergoing.
The Flame Rock Sovereign replied sullenly, “We have to be ruthless. If he wants to condense one hundred strands of Primordial Energy as a Consummation quasi-Emperor, even with the Primordial Pills, his half-step Golden Body, and my Nine Revolution Universe Origin Formation, he will still have to stake his life on it.
“If a heaven-defying path does not have any danger at all, it would not be heaven-defying.”
Ao Jiao put down her winecup and frowned slightly. “I hope there will not be any accidents. This is simply like dancing on a knife’s edge. It’s very worrying.”
The Flame Rock Sovereign smiled and said, “Relax. With his resilience, he will definitely make it. If it were really something that surpasses his capabilities, I would not have forced him into it.”
Ao Jiao smiled faintly and turned her head. “Little Ba, this time, it’s all thanks to you. I offer you a toast on behalf of Xiao Chen.”
The Flame Rock Sovereign smiled abashedly. “Elder Sister Ao Jiao, why are you being so polite with me? He inherited the Thunder Emperor’s inheritance, and you also asked me for help. How can I refuse? Without you or the Thunder Emperor, there would not be the Flame Rock Sovereign of today.
“Furthermore, this little guy is also an unpolished gem. His potential is not completely used up yet. Who knows, I might have to seek his advice in the future.”
Xiao Chen had guessed that the Flame Rock Sovereign’s willingness to teach him was tightly connected to Ao Jiao. However, he would not have guessed that Ao Jiao had personally asked the Flame Rock Sovereign to do so on his behalf.
A bit of thought would make everything clear. Without a deep relationship, which Sovereign Martial Emperor would teach an outsider their consummate technique that was not passed on to others?
Furthermore, which Sovereign Martial Emperor would waste one month of their time to personally instruct an outsider? No one in the world would treat another so nicely without any reason.
The setting sun descended from above the tall pavilion, washing the young-looking face of Ao Jiao a deep red.
She put down her wine cup and looked melancholically at Xiao Chen, muttering to herself, “Little Ao Jiao is useless. I can only help you up to here.”
“Dong! Dong dong!”
—
Three days later, Xiao Chen’s heartbeat finally slowed down. However, even though it slowed, the amount of Primordial Energy it carried with each beat was even vaster and denser.
It was like an ancient divine bell ringing, shocking everyone. The entire Flame Rock castle trembled with every beat.
However, this time, the Flame Rock Sovereign had the foresight to lay a formation outside the castle, cutting off all sound.
Otherwise, with these heartbeats resounding in the sky like a divine bell, they would definitely attract all the cultivators in the entire Dark City again.
Up in the tall pavilion, the Flame Rock Sovereign’s expression relaxed. He said to Ao Jiao, “The situation has already stabilized. Even if he gives up now, his body will be in no danger of exploding. Now, it’s just a matter of how much he can gain.”
Joy flashed on Ao Jiao’s face. “How so?”
The Flame Rock Sovereign explained, “This Nine Revolution Universe Origin Formation relies on the cultivator’s talent. Under perfect circumstances, it can use nine Primordial Pills to condense ninety strands of Primordial Energy.”
Ao Jiao found his statement strange. She said, “I know about the Primordial Pill. Although it is hard to refine and is rare in the Kunlun Realm, its effect should not be that horrifying. One pill should be able to condense only one strand of Primordial Energy.”
The Flame Rock Sovereign said, “This is what Elder Sister Ao Jiao is not aware of: my Nine Revolution Universe Origin Formation, which is a formation from the Immortal Epoch, amplifies the effects of Medicinal Pills. In the hands of an expert formation master, each cycle will double the effects. After nine layers, it can reach an astronomical number.
“My Nine Revolution Universe Origin Formation is only a simplified version and is not that horrifying. However, it more or less can achieve eighty-one times the effect. Do you still think that I am exaggerating?”
Ao Jiao muttered to herself, “Eighty-one times. That would be more than seven hundred Primordial Pills. Given that, then it is not exaggerated.”
“However, no matter what, it still depends on his own fortune. If his mind is not resolute enough, it would not be strange if he condenses only ten strands of Primordial Energy,” the Flame Rock Sovereign said.
Ao Jiao asked, “How many strands of Primordial Energy do you think Xiao Chen can condense in the end?”
The Flame Rock Sovereign thought for a while before voicing his opinion. “Right now, for every day that he endures, he will obtain ten more strands of Primordial Energy. I believe he will be able to last another five more days and condense sixty strands of Primordial Energy in the end.”
Ao Jiao countered indifferently, “I feel that he will be able to last all nine days. Before he finishes absorbing the Medicinal Energy, he will not stop.”
The Flame Rock Sovereign argued, “That is impossible. Could it be that he experienced something even more painful than this before?”
Ao Jiao smiled but did not say anything. Xiao Chen had indeed experienced something like this before. That lightning tribulation that he underwent in the Sky Dome Realm was much more painful than this.
—
Five days passed in a flash. The time that the Flame Rock King estimated for Xiao Chen arrived. However, Xiao Chen showed no signs of stopping.
“How did this fellow do it?” the Flame Rock Sovereign exclaimed in shock.
With the three layers of the formation—heaven, earth, and man—Xiao Chen’s current aura surged to a terrifying level. A faint Emperor’s Might spread behind him, lingering for a long time and layering over each other.
The Flame Rock Sovereign’s eyes lit up like lanterns as he peered through the thick layers of light. He saw that Xiao Chen had already condensed sixty strands of Primordial Energy.
All the strands of Primordial Energy were extremely dense like they were True Dragons. They swam around the Heart of an Emperor in a powerful and majestic manner, roaring endlessly with each heartbeat.
“This fellow actually did not forget to refine the strands of Primordial Energy when he was condensing them.”
The shock in the Flame Rock Sovereign’s heart was indescribable. By doing so, Xiao Chen would be able to completely control them when he finished absorbing all the Medicinal Energy.
—
The sun rose and set. Another three days passed.
The Emperor’s Might behind Xiao Chen had layered up and already become boundlessly thick, nearly solidifying.
“The medicinal effect is over already. It should be time for him to open his eyes,” the Flame Rock Sovereign muttered.
As the Flame Rock Sovereign looked at the Emperor’s Might behind Xiao Chen, he felt deeply moved. He had personally helped to forge this miracle.
A Consummation quasi-Emperor cultivating one hundred strands of Primordial Energy. When Xiao Chen opened his eyes, it would be like a new Martial Emperor being born.
The Flame Rock Sovereign had just spoken when Xiao Chen suddenly opened his eyes. The Emperor’s Might behind him suddenly erupted at this moment.
“Bang!” The Emperor’s Might that had been suppressed for so long shot up to the sky like a rainbow, immediately breaking through the Flame Rock Sovereign’s formation.
After that, it pierced through the clouds and turned into many colorful clouds spreading out, encasing the entire Dark City.
Rainbow-colored light and Emperor’s Might spread everywhere.
All the cultivators in Dark City looked up and felt shocked in their hearts when they saw it.
Which lucky fellow cleared his Great Tribulation of wind and fire, becoming a Martial Emperor?
Only a newly advanced Martial Emperor would cause rainbow clouds to spread through the sky, due to a lack of control over their Emperor’s Might. However, when they thought about it, that did not seem possible. The Great Tribulation of wind and fire would cause a great commotion. How could there not be any signs at all?
Only the thirteen Great Bandits in Dark City could guess what was going on. They all revealed smiles on their faces at the same time, thinking that they were right to give out their engraved cards. That person was worthy of their praises.
In the Flame Rock castle, Xiao Chen floated over and said with a smile, “Senior, I did not fail to meet your expectations. I succeeded in enduring.”
The Flame Rock Sovereign laughed, “Congratulations. However, I’m afraid that I will not be able to teach you the final thing.”
Finding the statement strange, Xiao Chen asked, “Why is that?”
The Flame Rock Sovereign explained helplessly, “Originally, I was preparing to simulate a Great Tribulation of wind and fire, to let you feel what it is like in advance. However, you grew too fast, beyond my expectations.
“I am already no longer capable of simulating your Great Tribulation of wind and fire. If you managed to clear the Great Tribulation of wind and fire that I simulated, it would give you a false impression. Not only would it be useless, but it would also cause you harm.”
