Chapter 362: Chapter 138: A Great Windfall: The High-Grade Ancient Treasure Ten Thousand Souls Banner! Beginning Bitter Cultivation of the "Demon Dragon Celestial Spirit Scripture

The ring was warm and smooth to the touch, with none of the usual coldness of metal.

He hadn’t expected this seemingly stern Demon Suppression Envoy to be so generous, and a grin immediately split his face from ear to ear. "Sir, this must be very valuable, right? How much silver would it cost to buy one?"

"Silver?" Yue Mankong said. "This isn’t something you can buy with silver... If you absolutely had to buy one, you would need Spirit Jade. You’ve killed so many cultivators in the Divine Power Realm; have you ever seen any of them wearing a Sumeru Ring?"

Chu Fan smiled awkwardly. "Actually, I knew it was precious—even Ghost Moon, the disciple of the Divine Sacrifice Envoy Lingkong Jade, didn’t have one."

Yue Mankong then briefly taught him the technique to communicate with the Sumeru Ring, reminding him of the key points: to store or retrieve items, he had to focus his mind, calm his breath, and activate it with his Primordial Qi...

With his astonishing talent, Chu Fan mastered it in no time.

He excitedly picked up the bulging packages he had looted from Zhang Yunpeng and the others, and began trying to store them one by one.

He was having the time of his life, watching them disappear into the ring with a flash of white light.

"Alright, my business here is concluded. Finish up your own affairs as soon as you can and head to Qing Province."

After offering a final piece of advice, Yue Mankong’s figure gradually faded, as if melting into the very air, until he disappeared completely.

Chu Fan stood alone in the room, admiring the Sumeru Ring on his finger, unable to bring himself to put it down.

He narrowed his eyes, focused his mind to connect with the ring, and his consciousness seemed to enter a strange, hazy gray space.

The space was about six zhang long, and three zhang in both width and height. Though it couldn’t hold living creatures, it was more than enough to store everything he had plundered over the past few days.

Seeing his belongings piled neatly inside the space, a smile of both relief and contentment finally spread across Chu Fan’s face.

’Finally, I won’t have to lug around several large cloth sacks anymore.’

Taking a deep breath, he cleared his mind of distractions and settled himself, preparing to explore the mysterious Cultivation Technique that originated from the Demon Suppression Stele: the Demon Dragon Celestial Spirit Scripture.

He sat cross-legged on the couch, his eyes half-closed, his breathing growing long and steady.

’Although the Twelve Forms Fist and the Ninefold Thunder Shock Saber are extraordinary Martial Arts, they are ultimately still bound by mortal limits.’

’But the Demon Dragon Celestial Spirit Scripture... the vision described in its opening Chapter alone points to a mythical realm, far beyond reach.’

The thought filled him with both yearning and immense pressure.

He had obtained this scripture when he went through the Refinement of the Demon Suppression Stele, but without any Primordial Qi at the time, it had been impossible to begin practicing it.

Ever since undergoing Mortal Transformation and gaining control of his Primordial Qi, he had been bogged down by matters concerning the Moon Worship Sect, forcing him to delay his cultivation until now...

Now, his consciousness sank deep into his Sea of Consciousness. Countless ancient and obscure golden Runes swirled, combining to form the complete incantation for the first level of the Demon Dragon Celestial Spirit Scripture.

Its concepts were vast, its power immense.

"Draw upon the Dragon Qi between heaven and earth, open eighty-one Dragon Acupoints, have the Qi Sea Transformed into the Divine Sea, gather myriad forces into Divine Power, and forge the supreme Divine Body..."

This was no longer a simple matter of Qi Refining to strengthen the body. This was about reforging his very foundation and stepping onto a completely different, heaven-reaching path!

It involved transforming a mortal Martial Artist’s Qi Sea into a Divine Sea capable of containing and converting any energy in the world, and then using that as a foundation to create the legendary Divine Body!

The sheer ambition and difficulty of this first step alone far surpassed any Cultivation Technique Chu Fan had ever known.

He calmed his racing mind and, following the Spell’s guidance, began to circulate the Primordial Qi within his body.

The core of the first level of the Demon Dragon Celestial Spirit Scripture was to open eighty-one hidden Dragon Acupoints throughout the body, draw the ethereal Dragon Qi from the world into himself, and condense a nine-layered protective aura of Demon Dragon Celestial Spirit.

The Gang Qi would form at a thought, becoming an indestructible shield!

Once all the Dragon Acupoints were opened, the heaven-shaking transformation would occur: the Qi Sea Transformed into the Divine Sea, marking the first step toward achieving a Divine Body! 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Opening the Dragon Acupoints required three arduous steps...

’Step one: Scattering Qi into a Map.’

Chu Fan focused his mind and calmed his breath, carefully guiding the stream of Primordial Qi within his Dantian Qi Sea.

Instead of flowing along the familiar meridians, the Primordial Qi completely dispersed, transforming into countless warm streams, each finer than a strand of hair. It then forcibly flooded every single meridian in his body, both known and unknown!

It was an exceedingly painful and delicate process.

Countless meridians he had never used—some of which had even atrophied—were forcibly blasted open and stretched taut. A dense, overwhelming wave of sharp, stabbing pains and aching soreness washed over him.

He had to remain perfectly lucid and in control, using his consciousness as a brush and his Primordial Qi as ink to sketch a complex and profound Spirit Array Map upon the invisible "scroll" of his own body—

This Array Map was the fundamental framework required to later draw in the Dragon Qi and open the Dragon Acupoints!

Time trickled by in the silence...

Chu Fan was completely immersed in constructing this internal landscape, and the passage of time in the outside world seemed to lose all meaning.

Fine beads of sweat broke out on his forehead, and his body trembled slightly.

These were signs of an excessive drain on both his spiritual energy and Primordial Qi.

Only when the last sliver of daylight was swallowed by the encroaching night, plunging the room into darkness, did Chu Fan’s body suddenly jolt. He slowly opened his eyes.

["Demon Dragon Celestial Spirit Scripture" Experience Points +2]

Chu Fan’s eyes were filled with exhaustion, yet they held a glint of triumphant relief.

Step one, "Scattering Qi into a Map," was finally complete!

Using Introspection, he looked within himself. Countless meridians, now illuminated by Primordial Qi, faintly formed the vast and obscure prototype of an Array Map, which emanated a weak Spiritual Light.

But merely constructing this framework had completely exhausted his already limited reserves of Primordial Qi. Not a single drop remained in his Dantian.

’The difficulty of cultivating this Demon Dragon Celestial Spirit Scripture is countless times greater than I ever imagined...’ Chu Fan mused.

This was only the most basic first step. He hadn’t even begun to assault the Dragon Acupoints, yet the toll was already this terrifying.

’Without external aids, relying solely on my own slow accumulation, it would take ages to succeed.’

He dared not delay. He took a jade vial from his robes, tipped out a fragrant, longan-sized Essence Enhancing Pill, and popped it into his mouth.

As soon as the Elixir entered his stomach, it dissolved into a gentle, pure medicinal energy that nourished his parched meridians like a welcome rain, slowly gathering in his Dantian and replenishing his spent reserves.

Once a portion of his Primordial Qi had recovered, Chu Fan rose to his feet.

’Cultivation can’t be rushed. Right now, there are more urgent matters to attend to.’

He picked up the Thunder Blade at his side, his gaze regaining its usual sharpness.

Just then, the sound of flapping wings came from outside.

Chu Fan raised his left arm, and the strange bird he had seen earlier in the crabapple tree at the Seven Stars Gang’s courtyard immediately flew in and landed on his forearm.

It was a messenger bird raised by the Cao Family.

When Cao Yan had been trapped in the Mist Marsh, he had used this very bird to send a message for help.

Chu Fan untied a small strip of paper from the bird’s leg.

On the strip of paper were just three words—"North City Gate"!

The North City Gate. That was the area he was responsible for according to the plan.

The other city gates were being guarded by Master Cao, Tianxing, and the others, as well as Cyan Snake and White Snake.

It seemed to be the will of heaven.

Those people wouldn’t be able to escape, even if they grew wings!

It was about time...

Time to collect the "reward" that the Demon Suppression Envoy, Yue Mankong, had promised him.

He pushed open the door. The night air was cool.

With a flicker of movement, Chu Fan’s figure melted into the night like a wisp of smoke, flitting toward the North City Gate.

His feet barely seemed to touch the ground, as if he were carried by the wind itself, making not the slightest sound.

The moon was dark, the wind was high...

A night for slaughter!