243: Chapter 242 Bing Fire!

Five days after the Inner Sect Minor Competition concluded, the Disciples of Red Fire Peak were still enthusiastically discussing that duel.

Jiang Hanzhou, however, had shut himself inside Hanzhou Residence, not stepping out for three whole days.

Inside the cultivation room, the Spirit Gathering Formation was operating at full power; thick Spiritual Qi surged within the narrow space, nearly condensing into a physical substance.

He sat cross-legged at the center of the formation, his body surrounded by a dark golden glow. Within that light, red and blue patterns could be seen slowly circulating—a sign of the harmony between water and fire, bolstered by Dragon Blood Power.

Before him, a palm-sized jade box lay quietly open.

Inside the jade box lay a Medicinal Pill that was translucent white throughout.

The Medicinal Pill was only the size of a longan, its surface swirling with fine golden dragon patterns. With every rotation, a faint, ethereal medicinal fragrance wafted out from the pill.

The fragrance was extremely light, yet it contained an indescribable vitality and Spiritual Qi; just one breath made the circulation of blood and Qi in his body thirty percent faster.

The spirit essence pill.

The key Medicinal Pill for breaking through from the Peak of the Primal Form Realm to the Dragon Fetus Realm.

Jiang Hanzhou stared at the pill, remaining silent for a long time.

The Dragon Fetus Realm was a watershed on a Cultivator's path of Cultivation.

The Primal Form Realm cultivated the "image," the condensation and manifestation of True Intent; whereas the Dragon Fetus cultivated the "fetus," nurturing a Dragon Fetus within the Dantian to lay the Foundation for the future Dragon Elephant Mutual Harmony.

Upon stepping into the Dragon Fetus Realm, one's Lifespan would increase to two hundred years, True Intent could be projected outward for a hundred zhang, one could fly through the air, and more importantly, one could mobilize Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi for their own use, possessing immense power in every gesture.

But the difficulty of breaking through to the Dragon Fetus Realm was ten or even a hundred times that of the Primal Form Realm.

The greatest obstacle was "capturing the Heaven And Earth Spiritual Essence."

Heaven And Earth Spiritual Essence was one of the most fundamental powers between heaven and earth.

It was everywhere, yet untraceable.

It could be the vitality contained in the first ray of morning sunlight, or the killing intent lurking in the darkest depths of the night; it could be the gentleness of a spring breeze brushing against the face, or the piercing chill of a bitter winter.

Capturing Heaven And Earth Spiritual Essence required not cultivation base, nor True Intent, but—Comprehension Ability.

A type of Comprehension Ability that resonated with heaven and earth and synchronized with the Great Dao.

The function of the spirit essence pill was to amplify the consumer's Divine Sense tenfold within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, allowing them to perceive the Heaven And Earth Spiritual Essence that was normally impossible to detect.

But whether one could capture it, incorporate it into the body, and condense it into a Dragon Fetus ultimately depended on the individual.

Jiang Hanzhou took a deep breath and placed the spirit essence pill into his mouth.

The moment the pill entered his stomach, an indescribable power exploded within him!

That power was not fire, nor frost, nor sharpness, but vitality.

A primal vitality so pure it seemed to come from the dawn of creation.

That vitality surged into his Meridians, into his blood and Qi, into his Dantian, and finally into his Sea of Consciousness.

Deep within the Sea of Consciousness, the Heart Blade suddenly jolted!

The Sea of Consciousness, which had been as calm as a mirror, was now like a lake hit by a massive boulder, kicking up monstrous waves!

Those surging waves amplified and expanded his Divine Sense layer by layer—double, triple, fivefold, tenfold!

His perception was pushed to an unprecedented height at this moment.

He could sense every speck of dust falling outside the cultivation room, the trembling of every bamboo leaf outside Hanzhou Residence, and the flow of every wisp of Spiritual Qi across the entire Red Fire Peak.

His perception continued to expand, passing over Red Fire Peak, over Heavenly Sword Peak, and over the entire Dragon Abyss Palace.

He sensed it.

Heaven And Earth Spiritual Essence.

It wasn't Spiritual Qi, nor True Intent, nor any power he had ever encountered before.

It consisted of wisps of ethereal aura, circulating, intertwining, and colliding between heaven and earth. They had no fixed form or attributes; every wisp was unique, and every wisp contained a sliver of the True Intent of the Great Dao.

Some were as blazing as fire, some as cold as frost, some as sharp as a blade, and some as continuous as water.

Jiang Hanzhou's Divine Sense moved through those wisps of Heaven And Earth Spiritual Essence, attempting to capture a wisp of power that resonated with him.

But it was too difficult.

Those essences were like swimming fish; as soon as his Divine Sense approached, they scattered and fled.

He chased, cornered, and enticed them, using every method possible, yet he remained unable to incorporate any wisp of essence into his body.

Time was passing.

The time it takes for an incense stick to burn is neither long nor short. But in this moment where perception was amplified tenfold, every breath felt as long as an hour.

Fine beads of sweat broke out on his forehead, and his face grew paler and paler.

He couldn't capture it.

Why?

He closed his eyes, forcing himself to calm down.

Heaven And Earth Spiritual Essence could not be captured by chasing. What it required was resonance.

It was the resonance of your Dao with the Dao of Heaven and Earth.

He stopped chasing those essences and instead withdrew his Divine Sense, focusing on himself.

Within his body, four types of True Intent were slowly circulating: the continuity of Tide, the heat of Pure Yang, the sharpness of Metal Sharpness, and the Fusion of Heavenly Fire.

Four completely different Concepts intertwined within him, forming a unique Dao Chart.

That Dao Chart was the Dao he had cultivated until now.

His Dao was not pure water, not pure fire, not pure sharpness, and not pure Fusion.

His Dao was to encompass all seemingly contradictory forces, allowing them to find balance in conflict and achieve Fusion within that balance.

As he realized this, a wisp of Heaven And Earth Spiritual Essence quietly approached.

That wisp was extremely minute, so much so that it was almost imperceptible.

It was dark red throughout, emitting a blazing aura, yet within that heat, there was an indescribable... softness.

It circled around him once, and then slowly merged into his Dantian.

The moment it merged—

Boom!

Deep within the Dantian, that three-colored flame suddenly expanded!

The power contained within that wisp of essence was not ordinary fire-element power, but Bing Fire!

One of the three most fundamental flames in the world, representing the "Yang within Yang," the most unyielding and intense fire.

The moment the Bing Fire entered his body, the Heavenly Fire True Intent was like a raging fire doused in hot oil, burning wildly, growing wildly, and transforming wildly!

The dark red light within that three-colored flame suddenly brightened!

The light was dazzling and brilliant, illuminating the Dantian as if it were broad daylight!

As the flames surged, a small dragon shadow could be seen swimming within them—a sign of the further Fusion of Dragon Blood Power and Heavenly Fire True Intent.

Heavenly Fire True Intent jumped from Minor Achievement to Major Achievement!

Thirty percent Peak!

And his cultivation Breakthrough to the Dragon Fetus Realm was imminent.

But he was in no hurry to Breakthrough.

He took a deep breath and slowly suppressed the surging power, letting it settle and stabilize within his Dantian.

Then, he opened his eyes.

In his eyes, a dark red light flashed and vanished.

He looked down at his hands.

Beneath the skin of his hands, those dark golden dragon patterns were deeper than before, and a dark red halo had appeared around their edges.

Those were the traces of the Fusion between Bing Fire power and Dragon Blood.