Chapter 67: The Duel of Divine Essences

On Long Street.

Zhao Xuanhai’s corpse was completely cordoned off, with no escape in sight.

The government had already dispatched their men. Officers in black coats draped the body in a white cloth and dispersed the curious onlookers.

In a distant, silent corner, a magnificent horse neighed and exhaled puffs of hot air.

Inside the carriage.

Xu Helil and Xu Beihu sat respectfully, and opposite them stood the ancestral Divine Wood Carving.

The palm-sized carving instilled such deep reverence in both Xu scions that they sat in utmost devotion.

“Old Master, is that Li Che… really all right?”

Xu Helil furrowed his brow uncertainly as he asked.

He still sensed something odd about Li Che – a gut feeling he couldn’t shake.

“I’ve looked into it; there’s nothing wrong…”

“Ogre is not him. This fellow’s qi and blood have achieved complete Bone Tempering, and his body reflects that perfection. With my divine perception, he can’t be hiding any true cultivation.”

“As for his divine essence, it’s exceedingly weak – virtually negligible… exactly matching the level a newly minted Wood Carving Master would possess.”

“Therefore, he can’t be the Ogre.”

No divine foundation cultivator, even if not seeing a person’s true form, would misjudge such details.

Divine foundation cultivators, with their honed minds, have perception far superior to that of ordinary cultivators.

Upon hearing this, Xu Helil finally dispelled all his doubts.

“Zhao Xuanhai is dead… and he died as the Lingying Sect’s Incense Master. This is going to be troublesome…”

“It was you who informed Zhao Xuanhai about Li Che’s elevation to Wood Carving Master that led to his death midway. The Xu Family now has a stain that just won’t wash off.”

“Li Che might have his doubts, but it shouldn’t be a major issue.”

“The real problem is City Lord Cao Guang. If he starts suspecting anything, it will be disastrous for the Xu Family.”

“I’ll head to the City Lord’s residence. You all return to the Xu Family compound and stay put – don’t wander, especially you, Helil.”

“And remember, if the Ogre could kill Zhao Xuanhai, he certainly has the power to kill you too…”

At his words, Xu Helil got goosebumps, every hair standing on end.

Beside him, Xu Beihu shivered in response.

The Divine Wood Carving shot Xu Beihu a glance and said, “There’s no need to tremble. The Ogre probably doesn’t even bother to kill you. And if he did, your shaking wouldn’t help – you’d be better off by meeting a swift end.”

Xu Beihu’s lips twitched, leaving him speechless.

“Additionally, the City Lord is determined to host the ‘Thousand Buddha Carving Feast.’ I, along with other divine foundation cultivators, have agreed to support him. When the feast succeeds, our divine foundations stand to benefit handsomely!”

“This is a grand event – you all must take it seriously. Especially you, Helil; prepare well and seize the opportunity to forge your divine foundation in one fell swoop!”

The wood carving intoned in a deep, solemn tone.

Xu Helil’s breath caught slightly as a gleam of joy flickered in his eyes.

“Divine foundation… if I can really seize this chance, it would be a tremendous boon.”

How many cultivators on the Yangxing Ruhe path find themselves stuck at the stage of forging a divine foundation?

Although forging a divine foundation through the ‘Thousand Buddha Carving Feast’ is unorthodox and might yield an unstable result,

even a marginal divine foundation would be enough!

Once forged, with an added two centuries to one’s lifespan, what more could one ask for?

……

……

“Can I cultivate two types of divine essence?”

Li Che’s eyes blazed as his heart pounded with anticipation.

This isn’t about siphoning someone else’s divine essence with the Thousand Analysis Hand to merge two types; it’s about truly cultivating two divine essence techniques so that, in the future, he can forge two divine foundations.

“Others might falter, their minds overwhelmed by the collision of two essences, but I’m different…”

“I have the Dao Fruit 【Pure Heart】—a pure, immaculate divine essence—so I have a chance to try.”

Two divine essence techniques… that could eventually lead to forging two divine foundations.

This would massively boost his combat prowess.

After pondering the feasibility for a moment, Li Che didn’t dwell any longer and began leafing through the golden-paneled manual, “Great Jing Temple: The Eight Extremes Fen Nu Mi Tuo Yangxing Technique!”

“Great Jing Temple…”

Li Che drew a deep breath. This was unmistakably an official mark.

Undoubtedly, this cultivation method came from the Great Jing Court.

Moreover, its rank was even higher than the Nine Luminaries Chin Ku Zhen Gui he had previously gleaned from Si Mu Bai.

In other words, 【Fen Nu Mi Tuo】 is an Eight Extremes-level cultivation technique!

He opened the manual and read every word carefully.

Thanks to his prior experience with 【Chin Ku Zhen Gui】, Li Che’s understanding was far sharper now.

“Fen Nu Mi Tuo… requires training with qi and blood cultivation – channeling your own qi and blood to surge through your mind, letting blood-fury rise…” Li Che pondered every detail.

Once every detail was etched in his mind, he rose, clenching his fingers. From the Pure Heart’s qi space emerged an 800-jin heavy refined iron broadsword.

Gripping the long blade, he felt its weight surge through his hands, while he maintained steady breathing as his internal qi and blood began to flow.

Though he knew no particular sword technique, he effortlessly combined the power of the White Tiger Turbulent Wind Fist with the blade, letting his inner qi and blood surge wildly.

The sound of the blade slicing through air was a whining, howling roar—like rolling thunder!

It was as if a furious dragon was weaving through his meridians, his muscles quivering and his tiger-like bones roaring in anger!

Li Che’s body quickly flushed red as heat surged; even the falling snow evaporated in an instant. In accordance with the 【Fen Nu Mi Tuo】 method, he was nurturing his divine essence!

Throughout the world, the wandering divine essence gradually converged.

It resembled crimson sparks spreading all around.

Suddenly, Li Che’s heart skipped a beat as the Dao Fruit 【Chess Sage】 burst forth, condensing into a black chess piece in his palm.

This chess piece… was formed solely from the divine essence of 【Fen Nu Mi Tuo】!

Deep in thought, Li Che suddenly clenched his fist as if a furious Mi Tuo had let out a resounding roar.

Thin wisps of white sweat drifted out from beneath his skin.

The fierce divine essence within the chess piece was now merging into Li Che himself.

A glowing mud pellet appeared between his brows as his eyes turned a deep crimson.

Cultivating divine essence necessitates opening the inner realm via the mud pellet, where that essence is stored…

But since everyone possesses only one inner realm, Li Che would have to harbor two types of divine essence within the same space.

And that is the root of the chaos!

Li Che’s expression grew somber as he meticulously gauged his inner realm; if anything went awry, he would abandon the second essence’s cultivation.

Thump, thump, thump…

Suddenly, the world fell into profound silence, and Li Che could clearly hear his own heartbeat.

It pounded in his ears like rolling thunder.

Then pure, immaculate divine essence surged from the Dao Fruit 【Pure Heart】 and flooded into his inner realm.

The two emotional divine essences – 【Chin Ku Zhen Gui】 and 【Fen Nu Mi Tuo】 – were nearly boiling over, colliding fiercely.

However, the surge of Pure Heart’s divine essence gradually smoothed them out.

It was as if it acted as a perfect harmonizer and lubricant…

Under the soothing influence of 【Pure Heart】, both essences settled peacefully and steadily.

In the courtyard.

The icy chill of snowflakes against his face made Li Che open his eyes.

A flicker of delight shone in his eyes.

“【Fen Nu Mi Tuo】 is complete!”

An unexpected delight!

Li Che never imagined he could directly refine the 【Fen Nu Mi Tuo】 divine essence using a chess piece!

If he refined eighteen chess pieces, wouldn’t the power of 【Fen Nu Mi Tuo】 reach the Yangxing Ruhe level?

“If I could take down a divine foundation cultivator practicing 【Fen Nu Mi Tuo】, wouldn’t that guarantee a one-step forging of my own divine foundation?”

Li Che couldn’t help but think as his heart pounded.

The interplay of Dao Fruits seemed far more potent than he ever imagined.

Within his inner realm, slowly refining the 【Fen Nu Mi Tuo】 divine essence would take time.

So Li Che paused his divine essence cultivation and began perusing a second golden-paneled manual.

This manual detailed the secret defensive technique “Mi Tuo Golden Garment” – a method that, once mastered, dramatically boosts one’s defenses by forming a protective golden layer around the body!

Unafraid of blades and invincible to fire or water!

Li Che’s eyes hardened as he took a deep breath…

The defensive technique made him think of his own Nanmu Gatling Muduya. Once the Mi Tuo Golden Garment forms and provides automatic defense, his firepower just doesn’t seem as threatening.

If you can glimpse a leopard through a narrow tube, then with a Mi Tuo Golden Garment, other defensive divine essence techniques are bound to emerge…

No wonder that night they couldn’t annihilate Zhao Xuanhai and the others…

Even if they infused Muduya with divine essence to enhance its explosive power, simply increasing the number of Nanmu Gatling Muduya doesn’t seem effective against a defensive technique.

If faced with a divine foundation cultivator activating the Mi Tuo Golden Garment, breaking through that defense might prove impossible.

Li Che furrowed his brow, a sudden, inexplicable anxiety gripping his heart.

“Perhaps I need to try employing the blessing of the 【Xiangong】 Dao Fruit to forge a weapon…”

“Nanmu Barrett Muduya?”

PS: Keep reading, everyone! You must reach the last page. Stick with it and don’t give up on Old Li – there’s still a chance to turn things around!