178: The beginning of transformation

Cang Lanzi ignored the roar of the Netherworld Devil Monarch and instead controlled the flames to land on Li Xiangyun.

Just as the Nine Netherworld Divided Fire was about to touch the spiritual light on Li Xiangyun's body, Cang Lanzi uttered a low syllable: “Set.”

As this word fell, it was as if all sounds in heaven and earth were drained away.

The violent Nine Netherworld Divided Fire instantly reined in all its ferocity, transforming into a black crystal the size of a broad bean, which accurately landed on Li Xiangyun’s glabella.

There was no earth-shattering collision, only an almost inaudible “pop” sound, as the black crystal, like a drop of water entering a lake, silently seeped into his flesh.

The next moment, a sudden change occurred.

It was as if a Nine Nether Purgatory had exploded within Li Xiangyun’s body, or perhaps a scorching sun had risen.

The frigid power of the Netherworld Darkfire and the warm spiritual power of the Jade Marrow Liquid furiously clashed within his limbs and bones, yet under Cang Lanzi's invisible will, they wove along his Meridians into a vast black and white intertwined net.

Wherever this net passed, Li Xiangyun’s Meridians visibly widened and toughened, and star-like specks of light appeared on the surface of his bones.

Even the faint golden halo of his Sea of Consciousness intensely churned, and a two-colored flame, intertwined with quietblue and shimmering white, ignited on his Divine Soul.

“Om—”

Along with it, a hum, as if from primordial times, erupted from within Li Xiangyun.

The Spiritual Qi mist around him suddenly contracted, then violently expanded, forming a ten-zhang diameter light cluster.

Within the light cluster, countless tiny threads of spiritual light rapidly coiled and wove, initially forming a translucent thin cocoon, which in a blink of an eye became as thick as jade, completely enveloping Li Xiangyun.

The surface of the light cocoon flowed with jade-colored and quietblue streams of light, sometimes transforming into a surging spiritual river, sometimes condensing into a roaring Fire Dragon, vaguely revealing countless runes flickering within the cocoon—these were the imprints of the hundred-year spiritual marrow of the Jade Root Tree and the Origin of the Netherworld Darkfire intermingling.

Cang Lanzi stood outside the light cocoon, waving his large hand, smoothing out all the surrounding chaotic Spiritual Qi aftershocks.

He looked up at the light cocoon, suspended in mid-air and radiating a magnificent Divine Might, his eyes calm, as if he had merely completed a trivial task.

“Boy, how far you can go depends on yourself.”

“I look forward to the day you break out of the cocoon and become a butterfly!” Cang Lanzi said softly.

As he spoke, Cang Lanzi's phantom began to dissipate into points of light.

Just then, the light cocoon in mid-air emitted a faint hum, as if responding to Cang Lanzi’s words.

Seeing this, Cang Lanzi's eyes flashed with a smile of relief, and then he completely disappeared.

And the nether soul guiding lamp also completely lost its light, falling powerlessly to the ground.

Inside the light cocoon, the world was stripped down to its purest sensations.

Li Xiangyun felt as if he was in a peculiar state, his consciousness floating in a Sea of Chaos, comprehending various chaotic and scattered Dao Rhymes.

Meanwhile, his limbs and bones were repeatedly scoured by two torrents.

The warmth of the spiritual marrow liquid was like melting ice in spring, flowing through his Meridians, bringing forth the vitality of sprouting vegetation everywhere it passed, every inch of his flesh and blood humming with satisfaction.

But the frigid cold of the Netherworld Darkfire was like an ancient glacier, seeping along the bone patterns, bringing tearing pain, yet at the same time forging an indestructible resilience in the painful areas.

These two forces, which should have been incompatible like fire and water, now circulated within his body along some profound trajectory, sometimes colliding into brilliant sparks, sometimes merging into a Yin and Yang Taiji-like vortex; each cycle elevated his Physical Body strength and Spiritual Qi purity by a notch.

“Ho…” A suppressed groan escaped his throat, not entirely from pain, but more from the immense power that almost seemed to burst his body.

He could clearly feel that the Golden Core in his Dantian was madly devouring Spiritual Qi, its surface Dao patterns evolving from blurry to clear, from sparse to dense.

The already sizable Golden Core was still expanding at a visible rate, its edges even glowing with a lustrous jade-like sheen—a sign of Spiritual Qi condensed to its extreme.

Li Xiangyun could feel that he now only needed an opportunity to Breakthrough to the Golden Core Peak.

But just then, a chilling, evil black Qi invaded, and his originally golden Sea of Consciousness was instantly enveloped in darkness.

The aura was chilling to the extreme; wherever it passed, the Sea of Consciousness barrier formed layers of black ice, and even the halo on the surface of his Divine Soul shivered from the cold.

A grotesque ghost face vaguely emerged from the Qi cluster, which was precisely the Divine Soul imprint of the Netherworld Devil Monarch.

“Li Xiangyun, Cang Lanzi, that old fellow, was truly overconfident. He actually didn’t help you expel this Demonic Lord. Since that’s the case, this Demonic Lord won’t be polite.”

The Netherworld Devil Monarch’s chilling voice echoed in Li Xiangyun’s mind, making his Sea of Consciousness rumble.

That Netherworld Qi, like a maggot in the bone, frantically spread along his Divine Soul patterns; wherever it passed, his originally solidified soul body was corroded with fine holes, causing Li Xiangyun’s consciousness to almost collapse from the pain.

“Old dog, you’re courting death!” Li Xiangyun fiercely clenched his mind, operating the Yin-Yang Life-Death Dao Intent to its extreme, resisting the invasion of the Netherworld Qi.

This was already his tried-and-true method for resisting the Netherworld Devil Monarch; after all, the Netherworld Devil Monarch himself was already dead, with only a wisp of a remnant soul remaining, so confronting him with the Yin-Yang Life-Death Dao Intent naturally had a miraculous effect.

Otherwise, he would have been subjected to Possession when he first encountered “Chen Qinghai.”

Correspondingly, this was also why the Netherworld Devil Monarch insisted on possessing Li Xiangyun.

Because only the Yin-Yang Life-Death Dao Intent could truly help him reverse life and death and recreate vitality.

Otherwise, he would have possessed Chen Qinghai long ago.

However, even though Li Xiangyun’s Divine Soul had been strengthened by the spiritual marrow liquid, he was still steadily losing ground under the Netherworld Devil Monarch’s invasion.

In a blink of an eye, more than half of the entire golden Sea of Consciousness was dyed black.

This made Li Xiangyun somewhat anxious, but he knew that since Senior Cang Lanzi dared to allow the Netherworld Devil Monarch’s remnant soul to remain in his body, he must have a backup plan.

Sure enough, just then, an extremely dazzling dual-colored light suddenly bloomed in his Sea of Consciousness.

Immediately following, a shimmering white vitality surged like a tide from the core of his Divine Soul; wherever it passed, the Sea of Consciousness, corroded by the Netherworld Qi, visibly repaired itself, and even tender, sprout-like new soul patterns grew in the holes.

That was the “Dao of Life” contained in the spiritual marrow liquid combating the “Deathly Evil.”

At the same time, the quietblue power of death and destruction condensed into tens of thousands of fine needles, precisely piercing the most concentrated areas of the Netherworld Qi; each needle shadow that fell could tear open a void, completely annihilating a portion of the Yin-Evil power.

“Yin and Yang cycle, life and death intertwined!”

Li Xiangyun’s spirit was greatly shaken; his Divine Soul will transformed into a long roar, and the dual-colored light stream within his Sea of Consciousness suddenly accelerated, forming a slowly rotating Yin and Yang vortex.

At the edge of the vortex, the forces of life and death continuously collided and annihilated, yet also continuously merged and regenerated, forming an indestructible barrier that firmly blocked the Netherworld Qi outside the core.

“Damn Cang Lanzi!”