Once the "Limit Body Tempering Great Technique" was confirmed to be viable, Mo Yunyi, Han Hai, and the others treasured it like a divine artifact, compiling it into a book and designating it as a top secret of the Ji family, taught only to the most resolute and uniquely talented young men of the clan, with Ji Yusheng selecting the appropriate spiritual treasures for their cultivation.

Those chosen Ji family youths were rigorously tight-lipped, revealing none of the technique's mysteries to anyone, dedicating themselves entirely to practice. All who successfully passed the technique's trials advanced at a speed that was simply astonishing. Ji Yuxing and his faction were immersed in the immense joy of this success, channeling all their focus into enhancing the strength of the Ji family disciples.

As the creator of the Great Technique, Ji Changkong found himself unexpectedly liberated. Neither Mo Yunyi nor Han Hai disturbed him further, ensuring he had the necessary time to continue his own cultivation.

Inside the stone cave, a faint cyan light flickered. Ji Changkong sat cross-legged, clutching a Wood Origin Crystal tightly, his expression solemn.

Three days had passed. Cultivating with the Wood Origin Crystal, he had not moved an inch. The crystal in his hand, once its wood elemental power was entirely depleted, reverted to an utterly common piece of wood—a truly miraculous transformation.

He had already used his Vital Energy to refine his entire body—sinews, flesh, marrow, and brain—using the elemental powers of Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. This time, he chose the Wood element. The reason for selecting Wood energy was that his Heavenly Thunder Strength cultivation was exceptionally fierce and tyrannical. He had already undergone meditation within the Sea of Consciousness of the Azure Dragon sacred beast. Once his body was refined again by the Wood elemental energy of the Five Elements, the power of the Heavenly Thunder Strength would become even more terrifying!

Driven by the desire to fully unleash the "Nine Heavens Thunder Roar" power of the Heavenly Thunder Strength, the moment his cultivation of the Fire element was nearly complete, he immediately began cultivating the Wood element.

A single Wood Origin Crystal quickly degraded into a piece of ordinary wood. Casually tossing the wood aside, Ji Changkong awoke from his meditation. He opened his eyes, but his gaze held a hint of confusion.

The fusion of the Five Elements was proving far from simple. After using the Fire Phoenix Bone to refine his physical body once, he had expected to refine it easily again with the Wood Origin Crystal. Yet, when he actually started, he realized things were far more complicated.

Although the Wood elemental power contained within the Wood Origin Crystal was not as terrifying as that of the Fire Phoenix Bone, it was still an exceedingly precious primordial stone in the world. For ordinary Heavenly Masters cultivating the Wood element of the Five Elements, the most coveted supplementary item would be the Wood Origin Crystal. Logically, it should have been perfectly suited for his current stage of cultivation.

However, as soon as the Wood elemental energy from the crystal flowed into his body, he sensed a subtle repulsion from his internal sinews, flesh, bones, and marrow. Not only could they not accept the Wood energy, but they actively formed a counter-resistance. The Wood energy circulated through his body once, and before long, it vanished without a trace, failing to provide him with any benefit whatsoever.

In other words, the arduous practice of the past three days had been completely futile!

The Five Elements, the Five Elements must be able to fuse. But why was he encountering such a strange situation just when attempting to cultivate the second element? A flicker of doubt arose. This time, he did not resort to brute-force cultivation with the Wood Origin Crystal. Instead, he began to seriously ponder the problem.

According to what Li Hentian, Fei Tuobalie, and others had said, there indeed existed people in this world who could cultivate all five elements. Although this path was incredibly difficult, it should be navigable, right? Why was he encountering such oddities immediately upon attempting the second elemental power?

He rose and paced within the dim stone cave, frowning as he repeatedly wrestled with the issue.

After a long while, he still found no clear solution, but he did not give up. He knew the path he was on was correct; he simply hadn't grasped the precise key yet.

The Profound Void Secret Record was one of the most miraculous Heavenly Master secret arts in this world, placing utmost importance on the concept of "Fusion" (Rong). For someone taking the step toward the Five Elements Heavenly Realm like Ji Changkong, the most crucial element was also this concept of "Fusion"!

Suddenly, Ji Changkong realized: if there was any profound secret regarding the fusion of the Five Elements in this world, it must reside within the Profound Void Secret Record!

He took a deep breath, calming himself. Ji Changkong stopped his aimless pacing and settled his mind, focusing his attention on the Profound Void Secret Record within his mind.

The moment this thought formed, the Profound Void Secret Record, usually shrunk down to a minuscule size tucked away in a corner of his mind, suddenly expanded and appeared vividly within his consciousness. Following his mental command, the pages flipped backward one by one, quickly reaching the detailed instructions for the Five Elements Heavenly Realm.

Passages of profound formulae, imbued with the philosophy of heaven and earth, appeared on the pages. He closed his eyes and meticulously read the records concerning the Five Elements Heavenly Realm...

Wood generates Fire, Fire generates Earth, Earth generates Metal, Metal generates Water, Water generates Wood—a cycle of endless generation.

Wood overcomes Earth, Earth overcomes Water, Water overcomes Fire, Fire overcomes Metal, Metal overcomes Wood—a cycle of mutual restraint.

The powers of the Five Elements, generating and overcoming each other, are perfectly natural, following the Way of Nature; they cannot be defied!

A familiar chant suddenly sprang into his mind, an electric flash seeming to cross his brain. He snapped his eyes open, his gaze overflowing with sharp light, and he broke into a relaxed, broad smile.

These past few days, he had been so focused on arduous practice that he forgot to study the Profound Void Secret Record. Indeed, there was no secret art better suited to explain the profound mysteries of "Fusion" than the Profound Void Secret Record! It turns out, the reason he couldn't continue was that he had violated the cultivation sequence dictated by the Way of Nature!

Ji Changkong suddenly saw the light, realizing his previous practice had gone astray. The Five Elements Heavenly Realm must be cultivated according to the rules of the Way of Nature; reckless deviation was absolutely impossible.

Fire generates Earth. After refining his body with the Fire elemental energy of the Five Elements, he should have proceeded to cultivate the Earth elemental power of the Five Elements!

Fire does not generate Wood. Following immediately with the cultivation of the Wood element was a violation of the natural laws of heaven and earth; naturally, it was blocked. It was fortunate he was cultivating the fundamental powers of the Five Elements. If he had immediately cultivated the Metal element, the consequences might have been even worse?

Metal restrains Fire. If he had truly tried to cultivate the Metal element, not only would he have made no progress, but his cultivation would likely have regressed significantly. Forcibly attempting it might have led to qi deviation, resulting in the complete annihilation of his form and spirit—it was hard to say.

Having understood this principle, he felt both startled and delighted. Delighted that he had finally found the correct method of cultivation, and startled that had he continued recklessly, he would have suffered a severe lesson.

He resettled himself in the stone cave. This time, he took out an Earth Origin Crystal. Following his usual cultivation method, he began to use the power of his spirit to envelop the crystal, using the vital energy within his body to guide the energy from the Earth Origin Crystal.

Indeed!

The Earth elemental energy from the crystal flowed smoothly into his body. Furthermore, his internal sinews and bones did not exhibit any rejection; instead, they actively pulled a portion of the energy, guiding the formless Earth elemental force as it slowly flowed through him. Wherever the Earth energy passed, it left a faint residual power within his sinews and bones, power that condensed but did not disperse, remaining gathered within his tissues.

This is right! Ji Changkong was overjoyed. Suddenly, he took out over a dozen Earth Origin Crystals from his storage pouch, arranging them on his palms and legs, and began applying his full strength to draw in the Earth elemental power from the crystals!

Earth Origin Crystals were not comparable to treasures like the Phoenix Bone. The energy contained within a single piece was limited, insufficient to trigger Ji Changkong’s ultimate potential or allow him to fully deploy the "Limit Body Tempering Great Technique."

Therefore, he adopted a method of making up for the lack of quality with sheer quantity, taking out ten times the amount that a normal practitioner would use. This meant the Fire elemental energy his body would endure would be far greater than that of an average cultivator!

When his body began to ache, Ji Changkong was not alarmed but delighted. He immediately began to intensify the collection of power from the Earth Origin Crystals, making the pain in his body even more acute!

Suddenly snapping awake from his arduous cultivation, Ji Changkong’s pupils contracted, his eyes shooting out sharp light. He abruptly stood up and moved the massive boulder blocking the cave entrance.

The sky was filled with stars, the moon like a silver platter. The valley was utterly silent; it was the dead of night.

A faint, fleeting silhouette moved slowly toward the Ji family Scripture Repository, its movements extremely secretive.

His expression turning cold, Ji Changkong leaped out of the stone cave. Deploying the "Thousand Shadowy Glides," he moved with ghostly silence toward the figure, his toes barely grazing the green grass. The grass only bent slightly; the ground beneath was not truly touched!

During his cultivation, he had suddenly sensed a faint fluctuation of elemental energy flashing by. Having cultivated the Profound Void Secret Record, he possessed extreme sensitivity to elemental fluctuations. He immediately detected that the trajectory of that fluctuation did not correspond to any technique practiced by the Ji family members. Clearly, the visitor was not one of them.

In the middle of the night, an intruder with considerable strength secretly infiltrating the Ji family—the intent could hardly be friendly. This immediately alerted the cultivating Ji Changkong.

The figure’s target was clearly the Ji family Scripture Repository. However, upon reaching the patch of grass behind the repository, the person made no further move, merely observing the repository quietly, his thoughts unknown.

Another, even fainter, fluctuation of elemental energy suddenly emanated from within the Scripture Repository, sweeping toward the approaching Ji Changkong. His eyes lit up with an expression of surprise.

He could sense that the faint fluctuation coming from the repository originated from Mo Yunyi!

Normally, he spent every day with Mo Yunyi and had attempted to sense her cultivation level before, but even with the marvel of the Profound Void Secret Record, he couldn't precisely gauge Mo Yunyi's true realm.

But just then, a tremor ran through the elemental energy within Mo Yunyi, and he finally perceived her realm clearly: the Seven Star Heavenly Realm!

Not rushing to act immediately, Ji Changkong quietly took a position in the corner of the bamboo dwelling where Ji Changle resided, observing the repository from a distance.

Mo Yunyi was inside the repository but made no move, seemingly still cultivating or sleeping. The external figure also remained motionless, simply staring at the repository, lost in thought.

After a short while, the figure quietly withdrew and swept away toward the outside of the Profound Origin Valley.

The repository remained completely unresponsive, as if Mo Yunyi had been entirely unaware of the secret surveillance; she had taken no action.

Mo Yunyi took no action, but Ji Changkong had no intention of letting this person leave so easily!

In the dead of night, an intruder dared to spy on the Ji family. Regardless of their purpose, Ji Changkong would not allow them to exit the Profound Origin Valley unscathed!

However, given the late hour, Ji Changkong did not wish to alert the other Ji family members, so he followed stealthily.

Once outside the Profound Origin Valley, Ji Changkong materialized silently from behind an ancient tree, adhering to the figure’s back without a sound. He pushed out both hands, and surging waves suddenly manifested in the night sky, rushing straight toward the retreating figure’s back!

Yu Luan, having received instructions from Baili Ke, was extremely curious about Mo Yunyi. Relying on the fact that Ji Yuxing and Ji Yusheng had not yet forged divine weapons, he assumed their spiritual consciousness would be inferior to his own high realm, which gave him the audacity to secretly probe the Ji family's foundations.

In Yu Luan’s estimation, apart from the mysterious and unfathomable Mo Yunyi, no one else in the Ji family should be capable of detecting his presence. His visit to the repository was merely to confirm Mo Yunyi’s true strength; he had no intention of causing a major incident.

The trace of fluctuation he released earlier had yielded no response from the repository. He immediately drew a conclusion—Mo Yunyi’s realm must be higher than his!

With such an obvious fluctuation, anyone in the Five Elements Heavenly Realm inside the repository should have reacted! Mo Yunyi's complete lack of movement allowed for only two possibilities: either her strength was still below the Five Elements Heavenly Realm and she couldn't detect the fluctuation—which was highly unlikely given Mo Yunyi’s reputation.

The other possibility was that Mo Yunyi had sensed his fluctuation but had completely concealed her aura, rendering him unable to detect any abnormality!

The latter possibility seemed more probable, confirming Yu Luan’s belief that Mo Yunyi’s realm was deeper than his. He paused for a moment. Seeing that Mo Yunyi had no intention of pursuing trouble, and having obtained the information he needed, he naturally began to retreat quietly, as he hadn't planned on engaging in a large confrontation anyway.

Just as he was hurrying back to the Green Bamboo Forest to relay the news to Baili Ke, Yu Luan suddenly felt a rather potent force strike his back. A chill shot down his spine, and he spun around sharply.

Five layers of surging waves churned violently, rolling forward with immense power. The semblance of the Sacred Beast Black Tortoise vaguely appeared within the torrent.

Startled, Yu Luan assumed Mo Yunyi had followed and attacked him in the valley. He immediately became gravely cautious, launching his life-bound divine weapon, the "Purple Moon Disk."

Under the canopy of stars, the "Purple Moon Disk" took on the shape of a full moon, radiating glittering purple light as if filled with starlight.

A slender beam of light, thin as a ray, suddenly shot out from the "Purple Moon Disk," directly meeting the five layers of waves. Where the beam and the colossal waves collided, a sky-filling rainbow light burst forth, scattering in all directions.

With his advancement in realm, the Surging Waves Art could not only form five layers of waves but these layers became continuous, with hardly any temporal gap between them. Before one set of waves fully dissipated, the next, even more formidable wave would instantly follow, relentlessly surging forward.

Yu Luan relaxed slightly. He realized that while the five layers of waves were wondrously unusual, the "Purple Moon Disk" seemed to handle them without much difficulty. Yu Luan couldn't help but feel a degree of condescension, muttering that Mo Yunyi’s strength was probably limited to this.

He had been quite worried earlier that Mo Yunyi might disrupt the Sect Grand Assembly, forcing him into a difficult position where he’d have to hand over his vested interests. Now, seeing that the fluctuations of the five waves, though fierce, seemed limited in power, he began to feel reassured, thinking, It’s nothing special after all.

Rumble! Rumble!

Suddenly, the sound of Heavenly Thunder roared from within the final layer of waves. The previously orderly, continuous wave pattern instantly turned tyrannical and overbearing. An explosive force erupted from the fifth layer of waves!

Amidst the furious roar of the Heavenly Thunder, this wave surged forward like an unbroken wild horse. The purple rays emitted by the "Purple Moon Disk" were utterly incapable of blocking the power of this final wave, charged with Heavenly Thunder energy. As soon as the rays approached, they were shredded into dust!

This final wave, destroying everything in its path, pulverized all his purple light and struck him with a fierce, surging, and domineering force.

Yu Luan’s back suddenly turned icy cold. A flicker of chaos crossed his pupils as he frantically mobilized the vital energy within his body, waving his hands like a madman, releasing the divine skill "Rain of Purple Light"—purple rays rained down like a downpour.

Yu Luan was at the peak of the Six Harmony Heavenly Realm and had already forged his divine weapon. Only by fighting with his life could he barely withstand the overwhelming force of the fifth colossal wave.

Thump!

A dull thud suddenly sounded. An overwhelming force, like a collapsing mountain, struck Yu Luan’s back. His body lurched, and a stream of scarlet blood erupted uncontrollably from his mouth, mixing with the "Rain of Purple Light" before him, lending the purple shower a touch of crimson!

And only then did the power of the fifth wave completely dissipate!

He spun around violently, enraged, "Old hag, backstabbing is not—"

He abruptly cut himself off, his face filled with disbelief as he stared at the cold, ruthless youth. His expression froze, "Who... who are you?"

"Who am I? That's precisely what I should be asking you," Ji Changkong replied with a chilling smirk. "Who are you? What business do you have lurking around my Ji family in the dead of night?!"

The sharp pain in Yu Luan’s back, the feeling that several bones might be broken, and the lingering Heavenly Thunder energy wreaking havoc inside him—forcing him to divert focus to resist the invading power—left him shocked and terrified, his mind a chaotic mess as he stared at Ji Changkong.

Who was this? Who on earth was this? Such terrifying strength from someone so young!

A sliver of light flashed across his mind. Yu Luan’s expression shifted slightly, and he finally recalled one person. He pointed a trembling finger and cried out, "Ji Changkong! You are Ji Changkong?"

"Who are you?" Without answering, Ji Changkong advanced step by step toward Yu Luan, thunder roaring in his palms, his face icy cold. He repeated his question: "Who are you? What business do you have in my Ji family?!"

Yu Luan was intimidated by his imposing aura and instinctively stepped back, asking somewhat flustered, "What... what do you want to do?"

"Dead men don't get to talk," he declared, raising his hands. The power of the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder was poised, his posture signaling an imminent charge. He gave one last query.

"Green Bamboo Forest, Rain of Purple Light. I am the Sect Master of the Rain of Purple Light. I only came to the Ji family to check on the situation; I meant no harm, truly no harm..." Yu Luan felt utterly disheartened, suddenly realizing how pathetic he was, being forced into such a desperate state by a mere junior from the Ji family.

Before arriving, he had been full of ambition, planning to suppress the Ji family during the Sect Grand Assembly, even arrogantly claiming the Ji family had no worthy successors. Who knew that just this Ji Changkong was enough to leave him severely wounded, unable to even muster the will to resist?

"So you are the Sect Master of the Rain of Purple Light? The Yu Luan who intended to compete with our Ji family for cultivation grounds?" Ji Changkong halted his advance, coldly sizing up Yu Luan.

"Yes, it's me..." Yu Luan backed away several more steps, his voice sounding strange.

With a sneer, Ji Changkong shook his head, finding the situation darkly amusing. He didn't spare Yu Luan another glance, turning to leave. "With this sort of skill, you dared to contend with my Ji family for cultivation grounds! Laughable..."

These words were harder to endure than death. Watching Ji Changkong turn away with an expression of disdain, leaving behind that final comment, Yu Luan was consumed by shame; he felt like dying.

The esteemed Sect Master of the Rain of Purple Light, a man in his sixties, a Six Harmony Heavenly Master who had managed to forge a divine weapon, was completely dismissed by a junior. Yu Luan sank onto the ground, staring blankly at the sky.

"Oh, right. I seem to recall something," Ji Changkong said, his figure almost disappearing from Yu Luan's sight, as he turned back with an amused expression. "Our Ji family has no intention of contending for those cultivation grounds vacated by others. What we want are the three newly discovered sacred sites from this time! Sect Master Yu need not be upset. Those crooked, rotten places... we truly don't hold them in high regard. There's no conflict between us."

After saying this, Ji Changkong shook his head and chuckled, feeling that Yu Luan was truly pitiable.

Yu Luan remained stunned, his eyes vacant, his face as ugly as it could possibly be.

After a long silence, Baili Ke and Baili Xiu suddenly appeared from who knows where. Baili Xiu frowned, looking at Yu Luan. "What happened?"

Yu Luan seemed not to hear Baili Ke’s question, remaining in a state of shock, as if he had suffered some immense scare.

"Sect Master Yu!" Baili Ke’s voice rose slightly, carrying more force.

Startled from his stupor, Yu Luan replied with a face like a funeral shroud, his eyes dull, "I lost. I lost..."

Baili Ke’s expression shifted slightly. He nodded gently. "Mo Yunyi’s strength is formidable; I suspected this long ago. Sect Master Yu, you shouldn't be too upset. Losing to a Seven Star Heavenly Master is no disgrace..."

"No, I didn't lose to Mo Yunyi," Yu Luan was on the verge of tears. "I lost to Ji Changkong! He... he is only in the Five Elements Heavenly Realm!"

Baili Ke and Baili Xiu, father and daughter, gasped. Baili Ke’s face changed drastically; he stepped forward, helped Yu Luan up, and anxiously asked, "Just what happened?"

Yu Luan sighed deeply, briefly recounting the course of events.

After Yu Luan finished speaking, Baili Xiu’s expression flickered between gloom and uncertainty. After a moment, Baili Da’s face settled into a serious cast, and he addressed Baili Xiu, "Xiu'er, take off those pair of jade bracelets and return them to Sect Master Yu!"

Baili Xiu tossed the bracelets off her wrists without hesitation, her face full of disdain. She threw them toward Yu Luan without a trace of reluctance, muttering under her breath, "Sect Master of another sect, what a disgrace."

Yu Luan truly wanted to weep...

"Sect Master Yu, I fear I will be useless at the Sect Assembly. Since I cannot offer any assistance, I feel unworthy of accepting these items. I beg your understanding." With that, Baili Ke gave a slight bow, then immediately took his daughter, Baili Xiu, by the hand and left without looking back.

"They simply—they simply don't care for the cultivation grounds I desire," Yu Luan mumbled after the Baili father and daughter departed, his face bleak, as if he had just been brutally violated. Suddenly realizing that another Alliance Leader had been added to this book... Little Ni dares not accept this honor humbly; this brother has truly held him in too high regard. Despite the poor statistics of this book, good brothers keep offering rewards and support, providing Little Ni with enough to eat. He truly doesn't know what to say now. Tears streamed down his face...

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