Chapter 45
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Chapter 45: Elder Huang Becomes a Saint
Apart from this, Fu Tianxing couldn’t think of any other reason.
“Old Fu, the outer chamber of the tomb of Panwu the Great Sage holds nine opportunities to become a saint. Surely, you don’t intend to hog them all by yourself?” The grey-robed semi-saint of the Heavenly Corpse Dao let out a creepy laugh, saying, “I fear your ambition exceeds your lifespan.”
The atmosphere immediately grew tense.
Nine opportunities to become a saint, eleven semi-saints—how should they be distributed?
This group were virtually all old, long-lived beings. They had cultivated for a lifetime solely for the purpose of becoming a saint.
With the opportunity right before their eyes, who could remain unmoved?
Old Ghost Fei snorted coldly, “Dear friends, the opportunity to become a saint isn’t something easily obtained. To seize the opportunity, one must first pass the trial of the formation.”
“All of you are restless and plagued by heavy greed—how could you possibly pass that trial?”
“In my view, this very formation will likely eliminate a considerable number of people.”
Upon hearing this, the atmosphere eased slightly.
“Old Ghost Fei speaks sense.”
The handsome, refined-looking middle-aged man smiled lightly. He was the Grand Sect Master of the He Huan Sect, also a semi-saint.
The He Huan Sect, as the name implied, was a dual cultivation sect, jointly ruled by two sect masters.
“What we should consider now is how to break the formation, not how to scheme against each other and waste our strength pointlessly.” The captivating woman of the He Huan Sect spoke, her tone soft and alluring, her demeanor bewitching.
“That makes sense.”
The remaining people voiced their agreement.
“Hmph!”
The grey-robed semi-saint flicked his sleeve, his expression unfriendly.
Fu Tianxing’s gaze turned sharp, and killing intent arose within him.
The Heavenly Corpse Dao specialized in refining corpses; their methods were sinister and ruthless. The reason the grey-robed semi-saint dared confront the two of them alone was because he possessed a heavenly corpse with semi-saint strength.
If a real fight broke out, Fu Tianxing and his companion wouldn’t come out unscathed either.
“Enough talk. Everyone relies on their own ability.”
Old Ghost Fei took the lead, flying into the spatial portal first.
The others closely followed.
“Nine Palaces, Nine Gates; Lock the Heart, Refine the Way.”
A grand, majestic voice resonated above their heads, filled with authority and imposing presence, “Welcome to the Nine Palaces Heavenly Lock Formation.”
Boom!
Nine enormous gateways materialized in nine different directions.
Divine patterns were etched onto the gateways, emanating a profound aura, seemingly serving as nine entrances.
The Nine Palaces were the Qian Palace, Kan Palace, Gen Palace, Zhen Palace, Zhong Palace, Xun Palace, Li Palace, Kun Palace, and Dui Palace. Anyone involved in formation arts had some understanding of them.
The Nine Palaces were profoundly mysterious; formations based upon them were especially enigmatic.
Facing the nine doors before them, everyone frowned deeply.
"Generally speaking, among these nine doors, only one is the door of life. The rest are all doors of death," said Old Ghost Fei, the Ancestor of Qi Xian Sect. When it came to formation arts, he was undoubtedly the most profound among them.
"Unless we find the door of life, we have only death awaiting us."
"How should we test it then?" a grey-robed semi-saint sneered coldly. "With nine doors, one wrong step means death. We have just a one-in-nine chance."
"Old Ghost Fei, you seem to have forgotten that the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion told us this is a formation testing one’s Dao heart," Fu Tianxing interjected. "Therefore, as long as we withstand the trial of the Dao heart, we pass."
"Thus, I believe this Nine Palaces Heavenly Lock Formation cannot be approached by conventional reasoning."
"What if the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion was wrong?" scoffed the grey-robed semi-saint.
Old Ghost Fei’s gaze flickered thoughtfully.
"The master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion possesses vast divine abilities. He guided us to the Tomb of the Great Sage from hundreds of thousands of miles away. I doubt his assessment of the formation is mistaken," Old Ghost Fei stated.
"My dear, I shall enter the Central Palace. You take Gen Palace."
Fu Tianxing had no patience for further debate. After instructing the white-haired old woman, he flashed into the central door.
"They’re gambling with their lives," observed a semi-saint from Qing Ling Sect, his pupils contracting sharply.
"All of us here resorted to buying intelligence just to reach the Tomb of the Great Sage. If we don’t risk our lives now, achieving sainthood will remain impossible," calmly replied the refined man from He Huan Sect. He turned to his companion and said, "I will enter Qian Palace. You go to Kun Palace."
The pair departed one after another.
A quarter-hour later, the remaining figures each vanished into a door.
The grey-robed semi-saint’s eyes turned venomous. A thirty-foot-long heavenly corpse, forged like divine gold and covered in bizarre divine patterns, burst forth from his Purple Palace. Golden-faced with fangs, its aura was ferocious, exuding thick corpse energy.
He charged into Zhen Palace.
Crack!
After all eleven semi-saints had entered the doors, a vast Nine Palaces diagram materialized above the nine divine doors, as if a mechanism had been triggered.
Mysterious divine patterns swirled through the void, weaving layers of arcane wonders.
Clang!
A bell’s toll echoed through the outer chamber.
At that moment, the Nine Palaces Heavenly Lock Formation unleashed its power.
All eleven semi-saints were plunged into the trial of their Dao hearts.
As Fu Tianxing had said, this formation tested Dao hearts alone—there were no true doors of life or death.
Failure to surmount the obstacle of the Dao heart meant even what might seem a door of life became a path of death.
Every one of them faced brutal interrogation of their deepest convictions.
…
Still, at Godfall Ridge.
Within a gloomy subterranean palace, unyielding battle will and undying heroic souls endured.
Elder Huang of the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace was locked in combat against hordes of battle souls.
This was the Tomb of the Battle Saint.
Elder Huang had been fighting for three days.
He was almost completely exhausted.
One after another, the battle souls were slain by him, transforming into vast waves of battle intent that surged into his sea of consciousness, filling Elder Huang with intense mental exhilaration even as his magical power drained rapidly.
After an unknown length of time.
Elder Huang fought his way through the underground palace until he saw a giant.
This giant had a heroic countenance, wore armor, stood so tall he seemed to hold up the heavens and tread upon the earth, and gripped in his hand a Divine Axe that could Split the Sky. His eyes shone with divine light, ablaze with ferocious fighting spirit.
Even in death, he still maintained a posture of combat.
Battle souls never perish.
"Is this the Battle Saint King?" Elder Huang looked up at the Battle Saint King, awe filling his heart.
This was a true cultivator, born for battle. Even in death, his battle intent remained unextinguished.
Then.
Elder Huang saw the small Bodhi tree.
This tree was crystal-clear all over, like agate, etched with mysterious and wondrous patterns. It was only slightly over ten feet tall, appearing like a seedling beneath the feet of the Battle Saint King.
Merely approaching the small Bodhi tree and sensing its aura plunged Elder Huang into a state of ethereal tranquility, his mind devoid of distracting thoughts.
Upon the small Bodhi tree hung a Bodhi seed, agate-like in appearance, its essence pure and serene.
"The Bodhi seed…"
Elder Huang cried for joy.
Over these past days, constantly battling heroic souls until utterly weary, he had fought solely for this one Bodhi seed.
After all, he was obstructed by an inner demon. Without eliminating this inner demon, he could not become a Saint.
Even if he obtained the Battle Saint King’s legacy and refined the Battle Saint King’s inner world, achieving Sainthood would still be impossible.
This Bodhi seed was his most crucial objective.
"Truly, the revered ancestor was a divine being."
Elder Huang was filled with unspeakable gratitude. He had finally glimpsed the chance to attain Sainthood.
All of this was entirely thanks to Ye Xu.
"Today, this old man shall achieve Sainthood in one fell swoop."
Trembling, Elder Huang plucked the Bodhi seed. It felt searing hot, scorching his skin, but he paid it no mind.
Composing himself, he swallowed the Bodhi seed whole instantly.
In that instant, the inner demon concealed in the depths of his Dao heart erupted.
Elder Huang confronted the inner demon directly.
Grotesque, twisted, eerie, and evil.
This inner demon was Elder Huang’s lifelong nightmare.
Buzz!
Once ingested, the Bodhi seed transformed into a misty, pure light that enveloped Elder Huang’s body.
Pure Energy rose into his Purple Palace. Warm and gentle, like the very first ray of sunlight, it shone upon the inner demon.
At this moment, the inner demon stopped spreading. It was suppressed.
Wisdom flowed into Elder Huang’s heart in wisp after wisp. He reached enlightenment.
Elder Huang’s aura grew steadily stronger.
Within the Purple Palace, the inner demon weakened little by little. It roared ferociously, snarling madly, yet it could not disturb Elder Huang’s state of mind at all.
Aided by the Bodhi seed, he had plunged into profound enlightenment.
One day passed…
Two days passed…
The inner demon was continuously weakened by the Bodhi seed’s power, finally turning into a wisp of smoke that dissipated within Elder Huang’s Dao heart.
With the inner demon eradicated, Elder Huang’s Dao heart became whole and complete.
BOOM!
A mighty aura erupted from his body. Elder Huang opened his eyes, his gaze shining with divine brilliance, his hair and beard lifting as if blown by a wind.
He had stepped into the Saint realm.
