Chapter 75: The Furnace

Chapter 75: The Furnace

The royal and aristocratic families ruled the world together. The distribution of interests throughout the entire world depended on the status of each family's martial paragons within the Artifact Sect. Aside from the Crimson Star and Snowdragon Empires, the status of the royal and aristocratic families in various countries was essentially identical. They were all disciples of the Artifact Sect. Therefore, these aristocratic families never lacked the courage to overthrow royalty. What they lacked was merely the strength to confront them.

"Strength... that's something I have," Yaoguang said softly.

He sat in his executive chair, eyes closed, nurturing his psyche. However, his psychic mind was already concentrated on that ancient tree, specifically, on the branch representing the Martial Dao, which was growing frantically.

1%, 31%, 61%, 91%...

Soon, this branch broke through the shackles of the seventh tier of God-Fiend Body Refinement and reached the eighth tier.

"The heaven-and-earth furnace has expanded further, transforming into a furnace domain," Yaoguang noted. Thus, the eighth tier could be called the Heaven-and-Earth Domain realm.

Unfortunately, after reaching the eighth tier, the experience gap widened once again. Even though Yaoguang had acquired 300 billion asters, the growth progress of the Martial Dao branch slowed down after surpassing the eighth tier and reaching 6% progress. It was expected to come to a complete halt at 7%.

"Does the manpower cost account for such a large proportion?" A strange look flickered in Yaoguang's eyes.

Then, he realized something. He was no longer a grandmaster; he was a martial paragon. The weight of a martial paragon was much higher than that of a grandmaster. Furthermore, the World Martial Assembly of the Crimson Star Empire was a life-and-death struggle between martial paragons, which was equivalent to making a martial paragon risk his life. The cost of the life of a martial paragon had to be deducted. This was different in nature from protecting the Su family or saving Yue Xingzhou’s life, so the manpower cost naturally soared.

"The Domain Realm," Yaoguang muttered.

Just as the fifth tier and the sixth tier served as supplementary realms for the fourth tier, the eighth tier could also be seen as an evolution of the seventh tier. This stage significantly expanded the heaven-and-earth furnace. Depending on the cultivator's realm and the strength of their psychic will, the diameter would increase, possibly reaching ten meters, dozens of meters, or even hundreds of meters.

Any living being trapped within this domain would face the tempering of the heaven-and-earth furnace. For those martial paragons who had not yet broken the limits of the human body, this was lethal. Moreover, the user could freely regulate the intensity of the furnace. Even a martial paragon with an inhuman physique would find it extremely uncomfortable. To resist the domain changes formed by the heaven-and-earth furnace, their blood and qi would inevitably fluctuate in strength, which greatly affected their performance.

A domain... This turns a heavenly being into a mobile natural disaster.

Yaoguang took a deep breath. He could not imagine what kind of changes such a powerful expert would bring if they chose to slaughter wantonly. Killing millions of people in a city would probably not take much time at all.

In ancient times, this kind of martial artist already possessed the power to destroy the whole world.

In the many martial arts novels he had read, whether low, middle, or high martial settings, nobody could compare to such an expert.

"If the eighth tier is already like this, what would the ninth tier be like? And what about the realm above the ninth tier, known as the great cultivator, who can become an elder of the Artifact Sect? How powerful would that be? Would it ensure basic personal safety, like the physical body resisting a nuclear explosion?" Yaoguang grew increasingly expectant.[1]

After a while, he finally restrained his psychic mind. The realm was there, but his own strength had only just completed the first round of physical transformation, entering the fourth tier. He was still far from the eighth tier, let alone the realm of a great cultivator.

He shifted his attention away from the power of the seventh and eighth tiers and focused on the Dao Fruit condensed from the perfection of the seventh tier. This time, the Dao Fruit was...

"Great Earth Furnace?" Yaoguang mused.

Knowledge of the Furnace Realm and his recent cultivation experiences flashed through Yaoguang's mind. The secret techniques, condensed by the Dao Fruit upon reaching 100% progress in a tier, were usually influenced by his experiences during that tier. His most profound experience during the transition from the sixth to the seventh tier was using the heaven-and-earth furnace to break the shackles between the third and the fourth tier. The secret technique derived from this was the same.

"Using the earth veins of mountains and rivers to condense the force of the earth, turning it into a furnace to forge oneself..." Yaoguang muttered.[2]

Since the forged furnace was not a complete version of the heaven-and-earth furnace, the burden on his psychic will was much smaller. Furthermore, by using external forces like the earth veins of mountains and rivers to temper the body, the effect was not much worse than the actual heaven-and-earth furnace. The specific results depended on the cultivation location found by the cultivator.

Yaoguang looked at the description of this secret technique. After a long time, he gradually understood.

"Is this... an array art?" Using the force of the earth as the array foundation and the practitioner as the array eye, he would be able to use the power of the formation to temper himself.[3]

Although it is becoming more and more like fantasy, it is good,

Yaoguang thought. Only through fantasy could he truly realize his wish of traveling to the northern seas in the morning and reaching the mountains in the evening.

Yaoguang stood up and went downstairs.

"Young master, are you going out? Do you need a vehicle arranged?" Ai Li asked.

"No need, I am just taking a walk," Yaoguang waved his hand, stopping Lei Yun, who wanted to follow.

He left the courtyard, glanced around briefly, and headed toward Yunjing Mountain. Because he needed to sense the earth veins, he did not walk fast. It took him half the night to circle Yunjing Mountain, which had an area of less than six square kilometers. Eventually, he stopped on the other side of the mountain.

His psychic will was triggered, and he gradually entered that state of replacing the will of heaven with his own will. He searched for the force contained within the earth veins and activated the Great Earth Furnace, allowing himself to merge completely into them.

Suddenly, he felt as if he had become a towering mountain. His breathing, pulse, and blood flow moved in sync with the mountain's rhythm. He also felt as if he had become the earth itself. His psychic mind became immersed in its eternal passage of time and vicissitudes. Like a silent witness, he watched the changes of all things in the world day after day, observing the rising and setting of the sun, the ebb and flow of the tides, and the transformation of the seas into fields.

One hour passed, then two, then three... Yaoguang cultivated from the middle of the night until the following morning. It was not until the sound of a bustling crowd drifted from nearby that he finally emerged from his meditative state. By then, he discovered that the mountain was already filled with early risers. As a park located near the center of Tiannan's capital, this area had always been a favorite recreational spot for citizens.

When Yaoguang opened his eyes, he even caught two young girls, who appeared to be from the university town at the foot of the mountain, secretly taking photos of him. Upon meeting his gaze, their faces flushed red, and they quickly hurried away.

"An entire night actually passed," Yaoguang remarked with some surprise.

Although he was immersed in the energy flowing through the earth veins, he had not completely lost his perception of the outside world. On the contrary, a certain mystical sense had become extremely acute. For instance, he could sense a massive amount of malice emanating from the direction of the royal capital.

However, because the perception of time of a mountain, a river, or an earth vein was fundamentally different from that of a human, what felt like a brief moment in the conceptual mind of the earth was an entire night for a human.

Recollecting his psychic mind, Yaoguang soon noticed he was exceptionally hungry. This was a signal that the process of blood renewal and marrow cleansing had consumed a vast amount of energy and urgently required replenishment. He immediately swallowed a Snow Ginseng Pill he carried with him, while simultaneously assessing the progress of his blood renewal and marrow cleansing.

After a few minutes spent examining his body, he reached a conclusion.

The effect is immediate.

Yaoguang made an estimation. At this rate, he could finish the process of blood renewal and marrow cleansing within three to five months. This was the progress achieved merely by borrowing the forces of earth veins while supplementing his nutrition. If he took specific blood-renewing medicinal pills, utilized specific cultivation techniques, and found areas where the forces were more pronounced, the time required for his advancement would be shortened even more.

𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"I can buy pills with money, which is nothing more than a string of numbers if it isn't spent. I already have the techniques. As for the forces of the earth veins..." Yaoguang thought of the mystical nature of this secret technique.

Arrays! Since the Artifact Sect possessed artifact-refining techniques, it naturally possessed methods for laying arrays. Those who set up arrays would often scout the trends of the earth veins.

"Famous mountains and great rivers," Yaoguang muttered, realizing something. The more famous a mountain or river was, the more prominent the forces of its earth veins would likely be.

"The capital of the Crimson Star Empire, Crimson Star City, was built against a mountain, but the imperial court was established on Zhaixing Mountain. In the Snowdragon Empire, the capital is also located at the foot of Jiulong Mountain..." Yaoguang said.

Previously, Yaoguang did not understand the mysteries of array geography, but now it seemed clear. The reason these two hegemons chose to establish their capitals at the foot of mountains was likely due to considerations of utilizing the forces of the earth veins.

"Putting aside Taihuang Mountain and Jiulong Mountain, the most famous site within Dayu is Yuhuang Mountain, located only forty kilometers from the royal capital. As for Tiannan, Yunding Mountain is quite famous and is only fifty kilometers from the provincial capital."

Yaoguang pondered for a moment but decided against heading there immediately. It would not be too late to do so after handling the issues with the Liao family. If things went smoothly, he would be able to quietly cultivate on Yuhuang Mountain in the future.

***

When Yaoguang returned to the villa, Yue Xingzhou was already waiting in the living room. Seeing Yaoguang return, the Yue family's grandmaster stood up immediately.

"Lord Yaoguang," he greeted.

"So early? Have you had breakfast?" Yaoguang asked.

Early? You’re planning to overthrow the royal family, yet you can still sleep? Do you have any idea how much of a shock the news of a teenage martial paragon like yourself caused in the aristocratic family circles when it spread yesterday? Well, you probably wouldn't care too much about that, but...

Yue Xingzhou thought.

"I have eaten," Yue Xingzhou said quickly. "Last night, the family head and several leaders of friendly aristocratic families discussed things until four in the morning. They intend to come and pay a visit to you, Lord Yaoguang. Do you think it would be appropriate?"

"Let them come," Yaoguang said. "A video call is indeed not as secure or direct as a face-to-face conversation."

He then paused and added, "How many families?"

"All of them," Yue Xingzhou said emphatically.

"The other nine aristocratic families are all coming?" Yaoguang glanced at him. "I recall that a few of them had already sided with the Liao family?"

"If they weren't left with no other choice, who would willingly give up some of their freedom?" Yue Xingzhou replied.

"Alright then. At what time?" Yaoguang asked.

"Any time is fine; we will follow your arrangements," Yue Xingzhou said immediately.

Hearing this, Yaoguang quickly guessed the situation. "Are they already here?"

"To avoid being too conspicuous and attracting the Liao family's attention, the family heads did not come in person. However, every representative is a core figure in charge of their family's martial force. When it comes time to deal with the Liao family, they will be the ones in charge of the operations," Yue Xingzhou said quickly.

"Fine. Set the time for one hour from now. The location will be the first conference room on the sixth floor of the Xingyu Center," Yaoguang said, quickly providing instructions.

"They will arrive at the conference room in thirty minutes at most to await your arrival," Yue Xingzhou said.

1. Editor's note: [url=

https://imgur.com/it94doJ

] Basic personal safety...[/url] ☜

2. Earth veins are invisible channels of qi flowing through the land, especially along mountain ranges, central to Feng Shui for finding auspicious sites for homes and tombs, symbolizing the earth's life force like blood in a body, and believed to bring prosperity if respected, with destruction causing misfortune. ☜

3. Array eye refers to the center of an array. ☜