36: Chapter 36: The Strange Changes of the Creation Cauldron

He raised his right hand, palm facing upward.

With a slight shift in his thoughts—

Five-colored spots of light simultaneously appeared on his palm: golden radiance, azure glow, blue light, crimson flames, and a yellow halo.

The five-colored spots of light slowly rotated, forming a miniature version of the Five Elements Rotation formation.

"This is... true Five Elements Spiritual Qi." Xiao Yuan murmured.

He felt the changes within his Dantian.

The total amount of Spiritual Qi was a full five times more than when he previously Cultivated the five Cultivation Techniques individually!

The density had also increased several times over. Now, a single strand of his Spiritual Qi was worth five strands of a Cultivator at the same Realm.

"At the Qi Condensation 7th Layer, my Spiritual Qi is comparable to several times that of an ordinary Peak of Qi Refining Level 9..." Xiao Yuan estimated, "If I Cultivate to the Perfection of the 18th Layer of Qi Condensation, I'm afraid I'll be able to trade blows with the Early Foundation Establishment."

Of course, the price was also obvious.

He tried circulating the Cultivation Technique to absorb Spiritual Qi—

The thin Spiritual Qi around him poured into his body, and after being refined by the Five Elements Rotation formation base, it finally transformed into Five Elements Spiritual Qi. The efficiency... was outrageously slow.

Originally, Cultivating a single Cultivation Technique alone could absorb ten strands of Spiritual Qi in a day.

Now, practicing five concurrently allowed him to absorb only two strands a day—averaging 0.4 strands per Cultivation Technique.

"Indeed five times slower." Xiao Yuan smiled bitterly.

But the quality of these 0.4 strands of Spiritual Qi far exceeded the previous single strand.

Moreover, the Five Elements Rotation formation base possessed a Heaven-Defying trait—as long as the Spiritual Qi of one attribute increased, the other four attributes would passively gain a small boost through their generating relationship.

For example, if wood Spiritual Qi increased by ten percent, through wood generating fire, fire Spiritual Qi would automatically average out and increase by two percent; fire generating earth, earth Spiritual Qi would increase again... Through the chain reaction, all five attributes could benefit.

"This is the true meaning of endless vitality." A sharp glint flickered in Xiao Yuan's eyes.

He glanced toward the passage outside the thunder pool. Although those four people had left, those sixteen fellows probably wouldn't give up and would likely return.

Right now, his Realm was still not enough to deal with sixteen people simultaneously, but... it was almost there.

Once his Realm broke through to the Qi Condensation 9th Layer, he would no longer fear those sixteen people; even within the entire Spirit Stone mine, no one would be his match.

"No rush..." Xiao Yuan closed his eyes again, "First, stabilize the Realm and thoroughly consolidate the Five Elements Rotation formation base."

"When I emerge from seclusion..."

A smile curved the corner of his mouth.

Inside the Storage Pouch, there were still over forty thousand Spirit Stones and more than two thousand perfect marrow cleansing pills.

Coupled with the secluded environment of this Thunder Valley.

18th Layer of Qi Condensation?

"Give me time, and I'll pile it up even if it takes resources!"

The five-colored vortex slowly rotated in the Dantian, accompanied by the roaring of the thunder pool.

The Five Elements Rotation formation base leisurely spun in the Dantian, its five-colored brilliance circulating endlessly.

Xiao Yuan was blissfully experiencing the profundity of the Five Elements Spiritual Qi generating and assisting each other when suddenly—

"Hmm?"

He looked inward at his Dantian and discovered a strange thing.

Every time the Five Elements Rotation formation base completed a full cycle, about one-tenth of the generated pure Five Elements Spiritual Qi... took a detour.

It didn't go to nourish the Spiritual Roots, nor did it go to strengthen his Cultivation, but instead drifted upward and merged into the yin-yang creation cauldron suspended above the formation base.

The body of the cauldron trembled slightly, swallowing that strand of Five Elements Spiritual Qi.

Then, under Xiao Yuan's dumbfounded gaze, the five-colored Spiritual Qi inside the cauldron began to transform—metal generates water, water generates wood, wood generates fire, fire generates earth, earth generates metal... The generating rotation of the Five Elements accelerated, and finally, at the center of the cauldron, a wisp of faint, intertwined black and white...

Yin and Yang Qi?!

"This... what is this supposed to be?" Xiao Yuan was dumbfounded.

Didn't the creation cauldron need to rely on the "union of Yin and Yang" to replenish its energy? The kind where he had to find a female Cultivator to "charge up"!

How could the Five Elements Spiritual Qi he cultivated himself be absorbed and transformed by it now?

He was stunned for a long time, then a sudden realization flashed in his mind: "I get it!"

Yin and Yang produce the Five Elements, and the Five Elements transform into Yin and Yang.

This is a relationship of mutual generation and transformation!

What the creation cauldron essentially needed was Yin and Yang energy, and Five Elements Spiritual Qi, when transformed through a specific method, could also generate Yin and Yang Qi!

"Cauldron Grandpa, it turns out you aren't a picky eater!" Xiao Yuan was amused.

He observed carefully and found that this conversion efficiency... was a bit low.

The Spiritual Qi absorbed by the yin-yang creation cauldron in one day of the Five Elements Rotation formation base's operation was probably only enough to convert into energy equivalent to "charging" once with Ye Qingcen.

But its advantage lay in the steady flow, endless and continuous!

Moreover, as the creation cauldron absorbed these Yin and Yang Qi, the ancient patterns on the surface of the cauldron seemed clearer, and the aura it exuded became increasingly profound and mysterious.

"Accumulated over the years, this energy cannot be underestimated! Furthermore, once the creation cauldron absorbs enough energy, I'm afraid there might be further changes." Joy surged wildly in Xiao Yuan's heart.

Previously, he was still worried—once he went to the mine, where would he find a suitable "power bank"?

Now it was great, self-reliant and self-sufficient!

"However, relying solely on this is too slow..." Xiao Yuan rolled his eyes, "Shall I try a reverse operation?"

With a slight shift in his thoughts, he guided the energy stored within the creation cauldron—the one "charged" from Luo Ziyan previously—to flow in reverse into the Five Elements Rotation formation base.

Boom!

The speed of the five-colored vortex skyrocketed!

The Five Elements Spiritual Qi surged out like an open floodgate, frantically scouring the Meridians and nourishing the Spiritual Roots.

The Cultivation speed instantly increased by at least five times!

"Holy crap! This is the correct way to open it!" Xiao Yuan was so excited he almost jumped up.

But soon he discovered—this energy consumption was insanely fast.

At this rate of consumption, the energy of a full cauldron could at best support him in pushing the five Cultivation Techniques from the Qi Condensation 7th Layer to the Qi Condensation 9th Layer.

"Charge for an hour, Cultivate for five minutes?" Xiao Yuan's mouth twitched.

But having it was better than nothing.

He no longer hesitated, crossed his legs, closed his eyes, and ran the Cultivation Technique with all his might.

Days passed by one by one.

In the Thunder Valley, there was only the roaring of the thunder pool and the five-colored brilliance constantly flashing and alternating on Xiao Yuan's body.

The energy of the creation cauldron was consumed like flowing water, and the Realms of the Five Elements Cultivation Techniques rose steadily.

Middle Stage of the 7th Layer, Late Stage of the 7th Layer, 8th Layer, Middle Stage of the 8th Layer...

When the energy inside the cauldron was almost bottomed out—

Hum!

The five-colored brilliance surged simultaneously!

Yimu Azure Emperor Skill — — 9th Layer (1/8)

Gengjin Sword Soul Art — — 9th Layer (1/8)

Guishui Ice Emperor Art — — 9th Layer (1/8)

Binghuo Yang God Method — — 9th Layer (1/8)

Wu Tu Sacred Body Art — — 9th Layer (1/8)

The Five Elements Cultivation Techniques were all at the Qi Condensation 9th Layer!

Xiao Yuan opened his eyes, five colors swirling in his pupils, his aura several times stronger than before.

But the next second, his brow furrowed.

"Something is wrong..."

He tried to continue Cultivating and found that the speed was as slow as a snail crawling.

Perfect marrow cleansing pills? Eating them was like eating candy beans, the effect was negligible.

The creation cauldron automatically absorbed the Yin and Yang Qi produced by the Five Elements Rotation? That tiny amount wasn't even enough between his teeth.

Push Cultivation? The energy in the cauldron was almost empty, what the hell was there to push.

"The Qi Condensation 9th Layer is a hurdle..." Xiao Yuan sighed.

Although the energy of the creation cauldron could accelerate the Cultivation speed, there wasn't enough energy!

The Yin and Yang energy produced by the power of the Five Elements in a day alone was not even enough for him to run the Cultivation Technique for one-fifth of a full cycle.