Watching Guixian exclaim so dramatically, Shui Rou and the others standing nearby found it hard to believe. The probability of a Water Spirit appearing was significantly lower than for other spiritual entities, let alone one that had achieved Great Accomplishment in sentience and condensed into human form. In the history of the Divine Void Realm, Water Spirits that had just developed sentience had appeared, only to be immediately captured and refined.
Guixian snapped back to his senses, responding gruffly, "How could this old one be mistaken?"
Shui Rou hastily inquired, "Elder, what manner of being is cultivating over there?"
"That one? Likely a ninth-rank peak Illusion Stone. Hmm, there's an incredibly strong Fire Elemental aura within its body..."
Guixian narrowed his eyes to investigate for a moment, beginning his explanation, but his voice trailed off mid-sentence, his mouth growing wider and rounder. It wasn't until Shui Rou nudged his shoulder that he seemed to awaken from a trance, exclaiming in disbelief, "I wasn't mistaken, there is the aura of our Sea Clan within his body!"
The aura of the Sea Clan?
Guixian never ceased to utter shocking statements. The eyes of everyone nearby nearly bulged out of their sockets.
After a considerable silence, they gradually returned to reality, exchanging glances. In the eyes of each other, they saw an expression of utter incredulity.
"Could it be that he belongs to the Sea Clan as well?"
"When did the Sea Clan produce such a powerhouse?"
"Elder Guixian said he has a strong Fire Spirit power element within his body... those who can absorb Fire Spirit power elements are rarer than phoenix feathers and unicorn horns among our Sea Clan."
"..."
The crowd muttered, their expressions shifting vastly.
They didn't doubt Guixian's judgment. Guixian had passed the Second Spiritual Tribulation and was an Elder of the Sea Clan, governing thousands of miles of surrounding sea. He possessed the highest cultivation among them, and especially his perception ability, which was already extremely close to the Spirit God level. If he said the person carried the Sea Clan aura, it must be true.
Perhaps that person was indeed one of their own, otherwise why would he be cultivating near the edge of the Immortal Zither Sea?
"I shall go take a look. You may accompany me, but be cautious not to disturb them," Guixian instructed. A green shadow swiftly moved forward. Shui Rou and the others exchanged looks, almost entirely suppressing their auras as they followed behind Guixian. They were intensely curious about this individual suspected to be of the Sea Clan.
"..."
Dozens of miles vanished in an instant. Soon, everyone could clearly see the coastline.
"Stop!" Guixian suddenly halted in mid-air.
"What is it?"
Shui Rou and the others looked puzzled.
Guixian remained silent, his small eyes fixed intently on the center of the distant tornado, a subtle unease flickering in his gaze, as if he sensed something.
"Whoosh!"
Just then, a thick pillar of blood-red smoke suddenly shot out from the nearby mountain forest several miles away, piercing straight into the heavens. The night sky, which had just dimmed, was illuminated brilliantly. Simultaneously, an overwhelmingly immense aura vibrated outward from that pillar of smoke, nearly suffocating everyone present.
"Spirit God!"
The hearts of the crowd trembled, these two words exploding in their minds.
"Retreat!"
Guixian suddenly roared. Shui Rou and the others immediately snapped back to attention. Figures plunged into the water below, Guixian himself included. About fifteen minutes later, more than a dozen figures shot out of the sea surface again, hovering in the void, their eyes locked onto the distance. The blood-red pillar of smoke had vanished by then.
"There was a Spirit God hidden there! That scared me half to death!"
"It's a good thing they didn't pursue us, or we'd all be dead. It seems that Spirit God was just warning us to stay away."
"..."
The group sighed in relief, their hearts still pounding with residual fear.
Guixian murmured, "This old one can usually sense the aura of any ordinary Spirit God, but that Spirit God just now managed to conceal its presence completely... If this old one is not mistaken, she should also be a huā cǎo (flowering plant) type entity that achieved sentience, and furthermore, a female."
"Another spiritual entity!"
The news revealed by Guixian left everyone dizzy. Aside from the ninth-rank spirit beast, there was the Water Spirit, the Pill Spirit, the previously mentioned huā cǎo entity, and now this Spirit God... That cultivator of the Sea Clan, guarded by so many spiritual entities, what was his identity?
Not only Shui Rou and the others couldn't figure it out, even Elder Guixian's mind was in utter confusion.
In the barren hollow, Nie Kong remained motionless, like a sculpture.
"Boom!"
Mighty explosive roars continuously erupted from within his body. The heat generated by the burning "Chaos Heavenly Fire" condensed in every inch of space inside the fire orb. The four forces within, after countless intense collisions, finally separated and shattered completely. It was impossible to distinguish what was Chaos Origin power, what was Golden Divine Power, what was Intent Manifestation power, and what was Dharma Manifestation power... The four were intertwined, each existing within the other.
After such prolonged effort, they had reached this stage, and Nie Kong dared not let his concentration waver in the slightest.
More and more Heavenly Spiritual Energy poured into his body, preventing the burning of the "Chaos Heavenly Fire" from diminishing. The heat surged like monstrous waves, oscillating through the fire orb again and again.
This was akin to refining an alchemical pill. All the medicinal ingredients placed in the cauldron would dissolve into various medicinal powers, mixed in a complex array. At such a juncture, control over the firepower became extremely critical. If controlled well, these medicinal powers would gradually fuse, finally condensing into an extremely high-quality pill; if the control over the firepower was insufficient, the resulting pill would be terribly poor, or the cauldron might even explode during the fusion process.
Nie Kong absolutely would not allow such a thing to happen!
With a shift in his will, the "Chaos Heavenly Fire" burning on the upper half of the fire orb suddenly calmed, while the Heavenly Fire at the base of the orb became even more ferocious. The flames undulated rapidly like waves, the scorching heat rising entirely from below, fiercely impacting the mixed power inside.
"Thousand Layer Wave!"
This was a pill refinement technique, which Nie Kong was employing to melt and integrate his powers. The first wave of fire in the "Thousand Layer Wave" was several times stronger than usual. Based on this starting point, by the time it reached a thousand waves, the intensity of the fire waves would be hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of times greater than normal.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh...
Wave after wave of fire passed and reappeared, without the slightest pause. The heat within the fire orb increased in tandem with the rising intensity of the waves. Nie Kong had long since mastered this pill refining technique, but currently, what was burning was not Origin power, and what was being refined by the "Chaos Heavenly Fire" was not a pill, but power itself.
Under such powerful impact, the power within the fire orb grew increasingly compliant. When the waves overlapped three hundred times, the change Nie Kong had long anticipated finally manifested. The interwoven powers showed a tendency to fuse, and a small cluster of misty white aura flashed in the center of the fire orb.
"Chaos Divine Power!"
Nie Kong could no longer suppress his excitement.
However, this excitement was fleeting; in less than a second, Nie Kong's mind returned to a state of serenity. He exerted himself to the utmost, controlling the "Chaos Heavenly Fire" to apply the "Thousand Layer Wave" refinement technique to an apex level, causing more and more Chaos Divine Power to be generated within the fire orb!