Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Mr. Lin, refine whatever you want immediately. The activation of this Heaven & Earth Furnace might attract unexpected situations so it’s best to hurry in case something changes,” Tianzun said gravely.
Lin Jin didn’t know what Tianzun meant by ‘changes’ but he didn’t seem to be joking. Lin Jin immediately responded by feeding Xiao Huo a Golden Tian Luo Pill and then having him jump into the furnace.
He had placed the Purple Thunder Needle inside Xiao Huo’s body, so after Xiao Huo was inside, Lin Jin could work on his body from outside. With the help of the Golden Tian Luo Pill and Heaven & Earth Furnace, Xiao Huo had a high chance of advancing to Rank 8.
Xiao Huo was just as excited. He transformed into a ball of flame and entered the furnace.
Lin Jin sat down cross-legged, closing his eyes. He began working the Body-Recast Psyche-Refining Needle.
He had fulfilled the basic requirements stated by the museum for Xiao Huo’s evolution. He even had the Heaven & Earth Furnace to supplement the process so he was confident in succeeding.
The Heaven & Earth Furnace operated at full strength in a stunning display. Like a burning sun right before their eyes, it dazzled and seared.
All clouds around it had been forced back, rolling away like tidal waves.
The immortals who came along with Lin Jin couldn’t bear the heat so they had their pet beasts help them endure it. Those who couldn’t endure it backed away. Even after retreating more than a thousand feet away, they still kept going.
Only Lin Jin and Tianzun remain leisured.
It became obvious that differences still existed between them even if they all had mortal bodies.
Lin Jin was able to spare some attention now so he asked Tianzun about the ‘changes’ out of extreme curiosity.
Tianzun was just about to speak when he saw a massive cloud rushing over speedily, soon arriving where they were in just a few seconds.
“This is what you wanted to ask about,” Tianzun answered solemnly, indicating the arrival of an enemy.
Lin Jin observed the black rolling clouds to see a human silhouette standing on it. The man was clad in black robes, exuding a mysterious aura as a malicious glint flashed in his eyes.
He wasn’t a human or a monster, nor was he an immortal.
He looked rather familiar.
Lin Jin turned to look at Tianzun, then back at that incoming enemy. Both of them looked exactly the same.
There must be a story here.
But now wasn’t the time to ask about that. The Black Tianzun was now charging toward the Heaven & Earth Furnace.
“Don’t let him enter the furnace!” Tianzun called. Without needing him to mention it, Lin Jin knew they mustn’t let this person enter the furnace. No one should.
Xiao Huo was in a critical state now, about to advance to Rank 8, so how could Lin Jin let anyone disturb him?
Lin Jin would fight whoever came to cause trouble.
Issuing a mental command, the hybrid beast sped over to hold off Black Tianzun.
The hybrid beast was the strongest Rank 6 beast, making it the strongest half immortal. It could hold its ground even against a profound immortal without having anything to fear.
And yet, it was defeated in an instant by Black Tianzun.
This Black Tianzun was obviously strong.
Fortunately, this wasn’t all Lin Jin could do.
The Clear Wind Sword flew over, joining the hybrid beast in engaging Black Tianzun.
Just to be safe, Lin Jin unleashed his blood ghost clone, carrying ghost worms to join the fray. It then became a three-versus-one fight.
Tianzun didn’t stay idle. He took out a chess piece that had the word ‘soldier’ carved on it.
“Go!”
Tianzun tossed out the soldier chess piece and it gleamed in the air. When it fell, the chess piece transformed into a nine-feet-tall soldier wearing golden armor and brandishing a long sword.
This soldier was made by magic, a manifestation of a spell. Despite being only a spell, this golden-armored soldier was quite strong. In Lin Jin’s opinion, it was definitely stronger than most half immortals.
With four against one, they could now achieve a certain balance.
Lin Jin could see that Black Tianzun wasn’t overwhelmingly powerful either so he relaxed slightly. However, there must be a reason why the enemy looked exactly like Tianzun.
“Tianzun, this is…” Lin Jin inquired.
Tianzun looked passive as always. “One time, when I was crafting pills, I accidentally let my mind stray and ended up ruining a batch of pills. After deep contemplation for seven days, I realized that I was being influenced by an inner demon so I forced it out to slay it. Only, despite its weak cultivation, it had an indestructible body so even I couldn’t eliminate it. After that, every time I crafted pills, this inner demon would come to give me trouble due to resentment. It has been more than a thousand years since I restarted the furnace. I thought he wouldn’t come anymore, but it seems like I was wrong.”
He paused and then added, “But you don’t have to worry. It’s only a small issue. I used to be able to squish it to death with just one finger.”
That, in turn, made Lin Jin more concerned.
“Then, what about now?”
“Now?” Tianzun seemed stunned. “Of course I can’t do that now. I’m only a mortal. I may still have some tricks up my sleeve but I can’t do much to him anymore. To be honest, I’m quite baffled that this thing hasn’t been swallowed up by the immortal devouring beast. It really is mysterious.”
Lin Jin now understood why Tianzun hadn’t activated the furnace for two thousand years. He even put it out, so it seemed like this was the reason.
Although Tianzun showed no traces of guilt, even looking quite calm, Lin Jin had a feeling he had just been tricked.
How was this mysterious? The immortal devouring beast’s target was immortals. This inner demon wasn’t an immortal, so naturally the immortal devouring beast wouldn’t pay it any mind.
Also, Tianzun was still an immortal back then with cultivation superior to the immortal emperor’s. An inner demon that even he couldn’t kill proved just how indestructible this inner demon was.
To put it simply, Tianzun couldn’t do anything to this inner demon even at the peak of his strength. He could only chase it away, again and again, continuously killing it. Still, the inner demon continued to return with Tianzun having no means of getting rid of it permanently. Now that Tianzun was a mortal, he couldn’t do much to this inner demon anymore.
It was no wonder he mentioned that something might occur.
Still, even if he had been tricked by Tianzun, Lin Jin would just submit to this fate. He couldn’t possibly leave now or surrender. Xiao Huo had reached a crucial state, so forget one inner demon, Lin Jin would fend off even a hundred inner demons.
“Since we can’t kill it, let’s not try. We’ll just stun it for now.” After knowing what to do, Lin Jin flipped his hand and the Demon Slayer of the Museum of Deadly Beasts appeared.
He rarely used this item. It was used to slay a few demons in the past and then used to seal the headless zombie, that was born of an obsession, in Shu Xiaolou’s painting realm. This blade’s main use was to deal with demons.
Tianzun’s inner demon may be powerful. It even had an indestructible body, but Lin Jin didn’t plan on killing it. Just as he said, he only wanted to stun it until after Xiao Huo’s evolution was complete..
