Chapter 897: Within Reach
Translator:Nyoi-Bo Studio
Editor:Nyoi-Bo Studio
Weng! Weng!
A thick layer of smoke lingered in the spacious cave. It contained extreme pure spiritual energy essence, which was causing it to shake and emit a subtle humming sound. It would be difficult for a Grade One Sovereign, even if he took a whole month, to cultivate spiritual energy that was equivalent to just one puff of this smoke! Hence, this cave was actually filled with a vast amount of spiritual energy!
The lingering smoke suddenly swayed, as a whirlpool appeared. The smoke was drawn to the whirlpool, which was deep within the cave. The smoke then disappeared.
A figure could be vaguely seen. It was sitting, like a rock, on the other side of the whirlpool. The smoke had been completely inhaled into the body of the figure.
The figure was actually Mu Chen, who was trying to make a breakthrough to the Grade Five Sovereign in his current retreat. The more smoke that he inhaled, the more red and hot his skin became. He was streaming with sweat, but the sweat evaporated as soon as it touched the surface of his skin.
Mu Chen was frowning very hard. Apparently, it was not easy to refine the spiritual energy essence in the Meteorfall Alchemy. The spiritual energy essence was too pure. If he wanted to absorb it thoroughly, he had to dilute his own spiritual energy first. Only then could he absorb it into the Sovereign Sea for his own use. But, this method was too slow.
Mu Chen knit his eyebrow, while he continued cultivating. He did a quick calculation. Given his current speed, he would need nearly two months to absorb the whole lot of 20,000 pills.
Apparently, this was beyond his expectation, since he was currently in the midst of the Big Hunting War, where it was even more dangerous than the Nine Nether Palace. After all, anything could happen here. Even if he could wait for nearly two months, any variable factors that occurred during this period would cost his cultivation to fail.
Moreover, he would be hurt by his own spiritual energy. So, he determined that he must shorten the amount of cultivation time as much as possible. But, this was no simple task.
Mu Chen had combined his spiritual energy with the unperishable flame, so his refining speed was already faster than anyone else's. But this was still not enough.
Refining the essence required the use of the best spiritual firepower. As such, Mu Chen would have to ignite a bigger fire, should he wish to speed up the refining process.
But, he needed an even better idea than this. Mu Chen was only using the unperishable flame at that time. Although he knew that the Netherworld Thunder Heart could help in the refining process, its effect was still not as good as the unperishable flame.
Perhaps there are other fires...
Mu Chen was thinking hard. After a while, an idea flashed in his mind. His mind then went deep into the Sovereign Sea of his body.
Majestic spiritual energy roared, sweeping up currents in the Sovereign Sea. The scene was magnificent. This was the source of energy for every sovereign master.
The spiritual energy was forming on top of Mu Chen, as he looked at the vast and violent Sovereign Sea. When he lifted his head, he could see that spiritual energy was being supplied continuously to the Sovereign Sea. However, Mu Chen was still not pleased with the speed of the exchange.
"I shall give it a try."
Mu Chen was muttering to himself. He bit his teeth. Then, without any hesitation, both of his palms made two different strange seals.
Weng Weng.
With the seal changes, violent waves swept out from the Sovereign Sea. Meanwhile, the immense spiritual energy continued to roar. The waves stopped in mid-air, then gathered to form a black, glowing tower. The big tower appeared above the Sovereign Sea.
It was eluding an ancient and mysterious fluctuation, which no one dared underestimate. But, this tower was no stranger to Mu Chen. He recognized it as the Great Pagoda, which had been unseen for a long time.
The black pagoda was refined from the Great Pagoda Art. It was mysterious and powerful. Even Mu Chen could not fully comprehend its vast abilities.
Back in the Northern Heavens Continent, his mother, who was just a spirit, could use it to reduce a Yellow Dragon Sovereign and his Sovereign Celestial Body into nothing! Most of the top powers were shocked by such a feat.
Although Mu Chen could do the same thing at his present level, there was a big difference between the feat being performed by a spiritual body versus a real body. Regardless, the previous act of his mother had already displayed the magnificent power and prowess of the Great Pagoda.
But, Mu Chen had seldom used it since he came to the North Territory. When he left the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy, Ling Xi warned him that he should not display the Great Pagoda. Otherwise, he might attract trouble, should anyone spot it, and thus receive an inkling that would lead to the connection with his mother.
Meanwhile, Mu Chen stood in the air, watching the Great Pagoda. He drew his lips tightly, then clenched both of his palms.
Despite still having great room for improvement, he could see his own growth. It had been two years since he had reached the North Territory. Back then, he was just a Grade One Sovereign, who did not even have his celestial body.
Now, he was going for the level of Grade Five Sovereign. Using all of the techniques that he had learned, as well as the strength from the fighting spirit, he was not even afraid of a Grade Six Sovereign!
He was improving at an extremely rapid rate. So, he had ultimate confidence that he would become a real top power, sooner or later. At that time, he would no longer fear the Luo God Clan or his mother's mystery tribe.
Moreover, he believed that he could stand with all of the leading figures in this world! All he needed was time...
Phew…
Mu Chen took a deep breath, suppressing his intense feelings. He then turned his attention to the enormous pagoda. The pagoda that he had cultivated was much bigger than his previous one. This pagoda was quaint and dignified. Dragons were engraved on each level of it, and the entire pagoda looked mysterious and grand.
Mu Chen stared at the Great Pagoda. He changed his hand formations once again. As the formations changed, the dragon engravings on each level brighten up.
Roar!
A thunderous roar from the dragons was heard. The Great Pagoda let out a golden glow. Suddenly, all of the golden dragon engravings turned into real dragons, then flew out of the pagoda. Within seconds, more than 30 dragons had appeared!
These dragons all rushed into the pagoda, while simultaneously turning into blazing a golden flame. The blazing flame gathered in the pagoda.
It seemed to be able to burn down anything in this entire world, as it eluded a terrifying, tyrannical fluctuation. This bizarre flame was cultivated from the Great Pagoda, and it was exactly what Mu Chen needed right now!
"This fire is so overbearing! It should be very effective, should it be used to refine the spiritual energy essence!"
Mu Chen looked at the golden flame in the Great Pagoda. His activation skills seemed to grow more powerful each time, coinciding with his improved strength. Previously, Mu Chen was only able to circulate five dragons, when he activated the pagoda. But now, he had circulated six times the amount of dragons!
However, he was still far from mastering activation of the hundreds of golden dragons that his mother had been able to circulate. Mu Chen could not help but admire his mother's daunting capability, which was comparable to the Heavenly Sovereign Spiritual Array Grandmaster.
Mu Chen shook his head, suppressing his admiration. While he was thinking, the space on top of the Sovereign Sea was torn. A large amount of smoke had gushed in, and the scene was overwhelming. It looked as if it the whole world was about to end.
Weng Weng.
As the pagoda was vibrating, it emitted a buzzing sound. Under Mu Chen's control, the pagoda rose from the ground. A scary suction force broke out, shaking the pagoda.
The gushing smoke was sucked up by a strong force, and it looked as if all of the dragons were on fire. The smoky dragons were now dashing into the pagoda.
The golden flame in the Great Pagoda suddenly exploded. The blazing fire swallowed all of the smoke that had entered the pagoda. The high temperatures this scene gave off were staggering!
The smoke began to boil and disintegrate. Pure and boiling spiritual energy was bursting out of the misty smoke, like a great flood.
The Great Pagoda was rumbling. Torrents of spiritual energy, accompanied by the influx of the smoke, began to infuse themselves into the pagoda. The spiritual energy was gushing down into the Sovereign Sea.
The Sovereign Sea was getting violent, as the spiritual energy fluctuation continued to pour in. The calm Sovereign Sea, which had been previously remained static at sea level, started to rise again.
Mu Chen heaved a sigh of relief when he saw it. He gave a gentle smile, then sat down again. With the pagoda's help, refining the Meteorfall Alchemy would be possible now. This meant that it was only a matter of time until he could achieve his breakthrough.
Grade Five Sovereign was within his reach!