Chapter 56: Innate Talent

The Fourth World was shrouded in darkness.

Luo Hongyan stood in the center of the scattered Profound Yin stones on the fifth floor of the Divine Spirit Pagoda. She had changed her clothes, and her slender figure was now adorned in an intricately designed dress.

The Profound Yin stones glowed faintly, blanketing her skin in a snow-like radiance and making her appear like an exquisite white lotus.

Her eyes gleamed inquisitively and her gaze lingered in the direction where Pang Jian had vanished. Knitting her brows, she murmured to herself, "Have I finally breached that greedy boy's defenses?"

With a smirk, she sought out Ning Yao in Ning Yao's sea of consciousness.

"Did you see that? That kid always takes my side. I've used your body to gain his approval just by altering the way I approach and interact with him."

In the quiet and vast expanse of Ning Yao's sea of consciousness, Luo Hongyan was breathtakingly captivating. Adorned in a vibrant red dress, she could enchant the hearts and minds of all who beheld her.

Having absorbed some Profound Yin energy from the Profound Yin stones, Luo Hongyan's ethereal form had solidified significantly, and the veins under her skin became more distinct.

Only those with an ethereal form like Luo Hongyan could use the energy in the Profound Yin stones to wash away the impurities in their souls.

Meanwhile, Ning Yao was trapped within her own sea of consciousness and had to watch the proud Luo Hongyan show off. She had to admit that the evil woman was truly stunning, a beauty the likes of which she had never seen before in the mortal realm.

Luo Hongyan had only become prettier after absorbing Profound Yin energy, and Ning Yao could not help but feel ashamed of her inferiority.

If this was Luo Hongyan's true appearance in her original body, her beauty would have brought kingdoms to their knees.

Even the revered beauty of Shangguan Qin seemed utterly insignificant in the face of the evil woman before her. She was not even worthy of being mentioned in the same breath.

The more Ning Yao looked at Luo Hongyan, the lower her self-confidence dropped. Therefore, she turned away and responded coldly, "When Pang Jian and I explored the first bone of the Celestial Phoenix, I saw a piece of cracked gray rock in his bamboo basket. It was a stone containing both spiritual power and Profound Yin energy."

Luo Hongyan hesitated before asking, "Are you saying he knows I'm using the Profound Yin stones to refine my ethereal form?"

"I think so. Remember, he's been here multiple times. He destroyed the soul array and fractured it into Profound Yin stones. Now that you've absorbed the Profound Yin energy from the Profound Yin stones, they've all turned into normal stones. He might've noticed something."

Ning Yao had observed the battle through her own eyes and had been reflecting on her behavior. She had to admit that she had been short-sighted.

Although Pang Jian had yet to embark on the path of cultivation and was just a normal hunter at the time, he still had many redeeming qualities.

Furthermore, she failed to notice Pang Jian's mysterious nature.

"He knew that I could use the Profound Yin stones to cultivate so he conceded them to me? Hehe, he truly does care about me." Luo Hongyan chuckled as she activated her cultivation methods amidst the pile of Profound Yin stones.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

From the outside, cold strands of Profound Yin energy rushed toward "Ning Yao's" brows, vanishing into Ning Yao's sea of consciousness where Luo Hongyan absorbed it.

The radiant light within each Profound Yin stone was extinguished one by one.

***

Night descended, and everything was engulfed in profound silence.

Atop the small hill, dozens of zhang[1] away from the white pagoda, Pang Jian and Zhou Qingchen sat together by a bonfire. They conversed over the rations previously prepared by the members of the He Clan.

Zhou Qingchen retrieved several strong liquor jars from his spatial bracelet and gave one jar to Pang Jian.

Pang Jian slipped the bamboo basket off his back and threw aside his Dragonwood Spear. He took the jar of strong liquor and knitted his brows.

"Give this jar of hard liquor a try!" Zhou Qingchen encouraged, tearing open the sealed paper on the jar and boldly gulping it down.

Following Zhou Qingchen's lead, Han Duping also gulped down the liquor with gusto. He exclaimed, "This liquor is really something!"

Pang Jian hesitated briefly before mimicking their actions and taking big gulps of the strong liquor.

When the liquor rushed down his throat, Pang Jian coughed violently. However, although he was not accustomed to the taste of liquor, he gradually got used to it.

"Big Brother Zhou, could you also give me a jar?" Su Meng pleaded softly.

Looking into her grief-filled eyes, Zhou Qingchen knew that she had yet to overcome Su Yuntian's death. He handed her a jar of liquor and whispered, "When my father passed away, I was just a child. I wasn't as strong as you are now. I cried for a long time before I got over it."

Su Meng held the jar with both hands and gingerly sipped the liquor. She neither ate nor spoke.

Zhou Qingchen chatted with Pang Jian about other topics.

He described how he and Han Duping had contacted each other with their secret technique after escaping from Blackwater Pond.

After meeting up again, they believed that Hong Tai and the other members of the Shadow Specter Sect had killed everyone aside from Shangguan Qin.

They did not want the Shadow Specter Sect to guess their whereabouts, so they did not rush to leave and instead ventured deeper into the dangerous northernmost region.

They both believed that the assault party of the Shadow Specter Sect would not dare to set foot in the northernmost region of the Solitary Mountain Range, where the bizarre mist could be found.

Along the way, they stumbled upon several bones of the Celestial Phoenix. Unfortunately, none of them had stabbed into beings with strong life energy and therefore failed to produce any essence of the Celestial Phoenix.

On their journey to Black Orchid Lake, they did not encounter any other cultivators, although they did come across the corpses of wild beasts.

Pang Jian omitted many details of his experiences and only mentioned that the Black and White King Python had aided his escape at Blackwater Pond.

After both sides recounted their experiences, the intoxicated Han Duping could no longer hold back his curiosity and asked, "Did you really open up four meridians in one go?"

Zhou Qingchen also turned to him with drowsy eyes.

Slightly dizzy from the alcohol, Pang Jian nodded and softly affirmed, "Yes."

"You opened up the four meridians in your arms soon after breaking through to the Meridian Opening. This proves one thing," Zhou Qingchen said with a hint of envy, "Your spiritual sea below your dantian is larger than that of other cultivators in the same cultivation realm.

"Only those with a sufficiently broad spiritual sea and a far superior reserve of spiritual power can achieve such a feat! And yet, you still claim to have poor cultivation talent!"

When Zhou Qingchen recruited Pang Jian back in the stone pile, Pang Jian had told him that his cultivation talent was poor. He had comforted Pang Jian, saying that cultivation talent was not the sole indicator of a cultivator's future, and advised him not to dwell too much on it.

Han Duping shook his head and sighed. "If Pang Jian's cultivation talent is poor, then the young generation of the seven major clans are all garbage. Even you, young Zhou, only opened up half a meridian when you entered the Meridian Opening Realm before your spiritual power was depleted.

"Among the seven major clans, you have an outstanding, top-notch cultivation talent! Others like Ning Yao or He Ziren, couldn't even open up a single meridian when they just advanced to the Meridian Opening Realm!"

Han Duping and Zhou Qingchen had a warm relationship, with Han Duping playfully calling him "young Zhou" all the time. Zhou Qingchen did not mind at all, smiling and joking along.

Su Meng had been taking small sips of the liquor when she suddenly raised her head to stare blankly at Pang Jian. Based on Han Duping's words, Luo Hongyan's praise for Pang Jian seemed too conservative in comparison.

Luo Hongyan had said that only Pang Jian was qualified to challenge Dong Tianze in the same cultivation realm and that apart from Pang Jian, there were no others deemed worthy of doing so, including Zhou Qingchen.

Su Meng's clan members had told her about Dong Tianze. When Dong Tianze reached the Meridian Opening Realm, the number of meridians he had opened up was significantly fewer than Pang Jian.

"The spiritual sea often expands with every breakthrough into a higher realm. Pang Jian, your spiritual sea is already impressively vast considering your cultivation realm. As you reach even higher cultivation realms, it will only expand further!" Zhou Qingchen clicked his tongue in wonder. Although envious, he also could not resist boasting, "I didn't misjudge you at all!"

Pang Jian silently took another sip of his liquor.

Four meridians had not been his limit. His spiritual sea had actually retained some spiritual power. However, he had stopped opening more meridians in order to swiftly destroy the soul array and conserve his strength for the subsequent battle with Dong Tianze.

"I've heard that cultivation prodigies from the upper world, with the help of their mysterious cultivation methods, can also open up multiple meridians just after reaching the Meridian Opening Realm," Han Duping said dreamily, gazing at the pitch-black sky. "The upper world I am referring to here is not the Third World."

***

At the bottom of Central Lake Island, a portion of one of the thick stone pillars' base had been excavated, forming a small cave large enough for someone to take shelter in.

The cave was located on the sole of the black turtle's foot.

The severely wounded Dong Tianze lay curled up in the cave. The eye-catching Celestial Phoenix Imprint shone brightly from between his brows.

Gasping for air, he used the blood essence of the black turtle to heal the wounds caused by the Dragonwood Spear.

Dong Tianze's incredibly tenacious vitality and astonishing self-healing abilities allowed him to slowly heal his wounds.

However, his consciousness teetered on the blink of collapse from the exhaustion caused by the Spirit Devils' self-immolation.

With his cultivation realm, he could not restore his extreme mental fatigue through cultivating and could only remedy it through deep and prolonged sleep.

Dong Tianze eventually drifted into a deep slumber. Meanwhile, the Celestial Phoenix Imprint on his forehead continued to glow brightly in the dark cave.

In his sleep, he sensed the presence of his master.

His master had previously bestowed upon him a thread of power. He sensed that his master was far away in the upper world, observing him through a divine artifact.

Dong Tianze's mind trembled.

As the essence of the Celestial Phoenix formed and fused into his heart, he underwent a rare and formidable tribulation.

If he could not overcome this great tribulation, he would end up like Ouyang Duanhai, heart devoured by the essence of the Celestial Phoenix and turned into a mindless puppet.

After enduring the great tribulation, the essence of the Celestial Phoenix moved from his heart to his sea of consciousness, merging with his soul to become an imprint.

As the sacred imprint of the Celestial Phoenix formed, Dong Tianze let out a long sigh of relief. He now had a master.

His master was a mysterious and omnipotent existence. Residing in the upper world, his master wielded an artifact capable of determining the life and death of the Divine Guards of the Celestial Phoenix.

At this moment, his master used the artifact to observe him from the upper world.

Enduring the pain in his body, he kneeled, bowing his head down in the small cave, hoping to show his master his sincere humility and devotion.

He could sense his master's vast, majestic aura and unparalleled dignity and understood that he had to continuously demonstrate his abilities and loyalty to garner even fleeting attention from his master.

The reason for his existence was to one day answer his master's call and protect him in the upper world.

He had earned his master's favor and received a thread of power to sustain his life because his master held a special affection for the spiritually barren and desolate Solitary Mountain Range.

Previously, Dong Qianfeng, my foster father, saved my life. This time, it's my master.

Unaware of the distortion inflicted upon his soul by the imprint of the Celestial Phoenix, Dong Tianze quietly reaffirmed his conviction. His thoughts were solely dedicated to how he could earn his master's trust and win his favor in the days to come.

In Dong Tianze's heart, his master's authority and glory surpassed everything, even his own life.

Protecting their master was the lifelong goal of every Divine Guard.

1. zhang(丈) is a traditional Chinese unit of length, equivalent to 10 feet or 3.3 meters. ☜