444: Chapter 444 Five Elements Body Tempering

Ghost Girl was arranged in a quiet room at the inn. Her face was still pale, but her eyes had regained clarity, though they carried deep exhaustion and lingering fear.

"Young Master Ye."

Seeing Ye Tian, Ghost Girl bowed slightly, her voice weak.

"Miss Ghost Girl, how are you feeling?" Ye Tian asked.

"I won't die."

Ghost Girl twitched the corners of her mouth, wanting to smile but failing: "Thank you, Young Master, and Brother Han, for taking care of me along the way."

"We are in the same boat; it is only right."

Ye Tian paused and asked: "Miss Ghost Girl, do you have any understanding of that Yin Wujiang's Cultivation Technique?"

Mentioning Yin Wujiang, Ghost Girl's eyes narrowed. After a moment of silence, she whispered: "When I was unconscious, I was not completely without perception. His Death Qi... reminded me of a place recorded in our Sect's ancient texts: the Nether Abyss."

"The Nether Abyss?"

"It is a legendary place, existing between life and death, said to connect to the true Nine Netherworlds. The living beings there do not Cultivate by absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi like normal Cultivators! They primarily Cultivate Death Qi, mastering stillness and extinction, seizing life force to extend their own lives. Their Cultivation Technique has similarities with the extremely Yin and cold Qi of our Xuanming Way, but it leans more towards seizing—it is overbearing and vicious."

Ghost Girl slowly continued: "The characteristics of Yin Wujiang's Cultivation Technique are very similar to the Life-Devouring Origin-Seizing Great Art of the Nether Abyss recorded in the texts. Moreover... he seems exceptionally eager for your mark. I vaguely felt that the aura of that mark seems to be related to some kind of Origin of the Nether Abyss... or perhaps, something the Nether Abyss craves."

The Death Gate of the ruins core!

Ye Tian instantly connected the two. The Life and Death Gates of the ruins core—the Life Gate leads to the outside world, and the Death Gate connects to the ruins abyss!

Could this ruins abyss be the Nether Abyss that Ghost Girl spoke of? Or at least related? Did Yin Wujiang come from there? Did he come here through the Death Gate of the ruins core? Or did he track the aura of the mark?

"People from the Nether Abyss coming to the Lower Realm to snatch the mark... why?" Ye Tian asked.

Ghost Girl shook her head: "I do not know. The ancient texts record very little, only saying that the Nether Abyss is mysterious and unpredictable, rarely appearing in the world. But whenever it appears, there must be a reason, and it is often accompanied by disaster. Young Master Ye, you possess the mark and have been targeted by him; you must be extremely careful. His goal is likely not just to defeat you, but to... seize everything you have."

Ye Tian's heart felt heavy.

As expected, the trouble was greater than he had imagined. This was no longer just a simple dispute over rankings on the Supreme Ranking.

Night fell again.

Ye Tian was alone in his room, with several jade boxes placed in front of him. Inside were some spiritual items he had obtained from the Secret Realm, as well as some he had accumulated previously.

Among them, in one jade box, lay a glossy red-gold Lingzhi, shaped like a flame, emitting astonishing heat. This item was called the Golden Flame Lingzhi, a Medium Grade Earth Rank fire-attribute Spirit Medicine, containing overbearing Golden Fire power, which he had obtained earlier from the Land of Flowing Fire. He had originally intended to save it for breaking through to a higher Realm or for refining Medicinal Pills in the future.

Five Elements Body Tempering requires spiritual items of the five attributes—Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth—to guide, temper the five internal organs, and balance the Five Elements. He had some on hand now, but they were not complete, especially the Metal and Fire attributes, which had higher requirements. This Golden Flame Lingzhi contained both Metal and Fire attributes and was extremely rare, but its medicinal power was also extremely overbearing; a moment of carelessness could lead to being burned by fire.

According to the feedback from the chaos bead, Five Elements Body Tempering is the key to solidifying the Foundation and breaking through the Bottleneck. And the death threat brought by Yin Wujiang was only two days away. There was no time to slowly collect them and proceed cautiously.

Ye Tian picked up the Lingzhi. "Wealth is sought in danger; the path of cultivation is, by nature, defying the heavens to fight for one's life." He whispered to himself, and there was no more hesitation in his eyes. "I will use you to gamble for this glimmer of survival!"

Ye Tian sat cross-legged and looked at the five jade boxes lined up in front of him. Besides the Golden Flame Lingzhi in the largest box in the center, the other four jade boxes contained a thousand-year-old wood heart, a bottle of Profound Yin Heavy Water, a handful of Breathing Soil emitting a pale yellow light, and several pieces of Metal Essence Stone.

The Five Elements spiritual items, while not the top tier, were complete, and their attributes were relatively pure. Especially the Golden Flame Lingzhi, as the main medicine, was sufficiently overbearing.

"Let's begin." Ye Tian took a deep breath, his eyes firm.

He first picked up the thousand-year-old wood heart. Wood governs growth and is gentle and nourishing, suitable for starting. He circulated the Chaos Derivation Art, wrapped the wood heart with a trace of Chaos True Essence, and slowly extracted the pure Wood Qi, introducing it into his body. Following the guidance of the Mind-Cultivation Technique, it flowed into the Wood-attribute Meridians corresponding to the liver. As the Wood Qi entered his body, it nourished the liver Meridians, which had been damaged by consecutive battles, bringing a sense of comfort.

Ye Tian controlled the rhythm, neither fast nor slow. Then, the Qi of the Profound Yin Heavy Water was introduced into the kidney Meridians. The Qi of the Breathing Soil was introduced into the spleen Meridians. The Qi of the Metal Essence Stone was introduced into the lung Meridians. Finally, it was the turn of the Golden Flame Lingzhi.

Ye Tian's expression was solemn. He held the Lingzhi with both hands, carefully drawing out the Qi within. The moment the Qi left the body, the room's temperature soared, and red-gold light and flames danced between Ye Tian's palms, as if they wanted to break free from their restraints and incinerate everything.

"Suppress!" Ye Tian shouted in a low voice. Chaos True Essence instantly bound the violent Qi, forcibly stripping it away strand by strand and introducing it into the heart and lung Meridians. This process was extremely painful. The Qi traveled through the Meridians, causing searing pain and conflicting with the other four types of Qi introduced earlier. The five internal organs immediately became a battlefield. At this moment, Ye Tian's whole body trembled; his skin flickered with green light, then yellow, then red-gold. Sweat had long since soaked his clothes, only to be steamed into white vapor by the high temperature within his body.

"Hold on... Five Elements rotation, Chaos as the Foundation..." Ye Tian gritted his teeth, almost biting through his lips. Relying on the mantra of the Chaos Derivation Art and his powerful willpower, he tightly guarded his consciousness, not letting himself pass out.

Outside the room, Elder Xing Tiexin and Elder Qinglan sensed the abnormal energy fluctuations and high temperature. They arrived at the first moment, set up protective Restrictions outside the door, and stood guard for Ye Tian.

Shui Qingdie, Yun Wuji, and others were also alarmed and gathered in the corridor in the distance, looking anxiously at the door that emitted five-colored radiance.

"Is Junior Brother Ye... Body Tempering?" Yun Wuji felt the fluctuations of Spiritual Qi leaking from the cracks in the door, astonished and uncertain.

"Judging by this commotion, it is no small matter." Yu Miaoqing also looked worried. "Drawing on the Five Elements Spiritual Qi simultaneously—a slight carelessness could lead to an explosion of the body. Junior Brother Ye is taking too much of a risk."

Shui Qingdie clenched her hands, her beautiful eyes staring unblinkingly at the door, wishing she could share the pain for Ye Tian.

Just then, above Ye Tian's room, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi suddenly surged violently, forming a Spiritual Qi vortex several zhang in diameter, madly absorbing the surrounding Spiritual Qi and pouring it into the room below like a funnel!

"This is... Chaos aura? And the phenomenon of Five Elements rotation?" Elder Qinglan exclaimed in shock, meeting Elder Xing Tiexin's eyes, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes. Such a Body Tempering phenomenon was unheard of!

The appearance of the Spiritual Qi vortex immediately alarmed everyone inside and outside the inn, and even more, it shocked countless gazes in the Imperial Capital.

"What is happening over there? Such a large Spiritual Qi vortex!"

"It's the direction of the Liuli Xuan Sect's inn!"

"Is someone breaking through? Or cultivating some world-shaking Cultivation Technique?"

On a high building, that brocade-robed envoy suddenly appeared out of thin air. His gaze pierced through the night and landed on the Chaos-colored Spiritual Qi vortex. In his calm, waveless eyes, a ripple finally appeared: "Chaos evolving into Five Elements... It really is the aura of the Chaos Dao Mark, and it seems... a certain Physique is Awakening? Interesting, there is actually such a talent in this Lower Realm."

A transmission jade talisman appeared in his hand, and he injected his Divine Thought into it: "Target Ye Tian, Body Tempering triggered the Chaos Five Elements phenomenon, suspected initial Awakening of Innate Chaos Physique or Five Elements Chaos Physique. Potential rating upgraded. Recommend observation, can consider recruiting."

Almost at the same time, deep within the Imperial Palace, a pair of eyes reflecting the sun, moon, and stars slowly opened. Looking towards the inn, an aged voice whispered: "Chaos appears, Five Elements turn... This little guy is even more interesting than expected. When things here are settled, bring him to see Me."

Further away, at the Heavenly Sword Sect's station, Li Xuanxiao pushed open the window, looking at the brilliant Spiritual Qi vortex, his eyes cold and complex. "Five Elements Body Tempering, Chaos as the Foundation... He wants to make up for his Foundation and break through to the fifth level of the Huahai Realm? Good courage. Unfortunately, there is not enough time."

He quietly closed the window: "Tomorrow, let you test the depth of Yin Wujiang first."