Chapter 449

Chapter 449: Absorption Again

"How infuriating!"

Seeing his junior brother fall after just two encounters, the late Void Refinement stage cultivator felt no desire for revenge in his heart.

The enemy held a spiritual treasure, exuding an air of confidence, while he was gravely injured and could not match the opponent.

"I will fight you!"

The late Void Refinement stage cultivator shouted.

But after shouting, he did not hesitate to retreat, trying to leave the area.

As the cultivator fled, Ji Yang did not rush to pursue him.

After all, there was no way to retreat from this place; the man could not escape.

Before long, the late Void Refinement stage cultivator sensed something was wrong. The path he had come from had disappeared, leaving only the path forward, which led to Ji Yang holding the spiritual treasure.

Realizing there was no way to retreat, the late Void Refinement stage cultivator’s eyes instantly turned fierce:

"It seems you are forcing my hand."

As soon as he spoke, endless thunder fell from above once more.

With a charred smell in the air, Ji Yang finally withdrew his attack.

However, the battle that had seemed easy had drained quite a bit of his magical energy once again.

After dealing with the two, Ji Yang set his sights on the nearby River God.

After absorbing the greed from the hearts of the two, the River God had grown stronger. Even under the relentless assault of the spiritual treasure, he still had a bit of resistance left.

However, this resistance was gradually weakening, showing that despite the essence’s power, it could not entirely avoid the attacks from the spiritual treasure.

Ji Yang had planned to slowly wear down the River God’s strength before finally subduing him.

But at that moment, numerous auras of cultivators approached from the distance, and there were more than just two.

Feeling this, Ji Yang furrowed his brow. The more cultivators there were, the stronger their essence would be. Having just absorbed the greed from two individuals proved challenging; if he absorbed the desires of several more, it would undoubtedly cause numerous complications.

Moreover, this essence could tempt the greed within others, leading them to lose their reason.

As the group quickly arrived at the scene, Ji Yang hesitated no longer. He urged his spiritual treasure while swiftly moving toward the River God!

He aimed for a quick resolution.

The River God seemed to sense the presence of the other cultivators as well, and his previously weakened form became agitated once again.

However, Ji Yang was already upon him. Faced with the River God’s resistance, Ji Yang snorted softly and slowly closed his right hand.

As he did so, numerous powers of lightning calamity surged from his palm. By the time Ji Yang made a fist, enough power of lightning calamity had gathered on his fist.

"Boom!"

In the next moment, Ji Yang swung his fist outwards. The River God, confined by the spiritual treasure, had no way to dodge. Even though it tried to transform its body into water to wear down Ji Yang’s attack,

the domineering power of the lightning calamity erupted within its body in an instant.

"Zzz!"

In less than a moment, the essence that had transformed into a humanoid form began to slowly dissipate, and the water flowing from its body collapsed as if it had lost control, plummeting straight down.

After the water completely dissipated, a candlestick appeared before Ji Yang.

This candlestick seemed ordinary, but around it, a layer of profound essence flowed, occasionally emitting a flame that was clearly the earlier observed Flames of Greed.

Seeing this essence return to its true form, Ji Yang did not hesitate to reach out and grasp the candlestick in front of him.

Just like before, when Ji Yang held the object tainted by this essence, he quickly comprehended it in his heart.

Indeed, as he had estimated, this was an essence of greed that could tempt the desires of cultivators and transform them into a part of his own essence. In terms of effect, it was similar to the Essence of Fear, but its outward expression was even more impressive.

As Ji Yang held the candlestick, several figures quickly approached, witnessing the scene before them.

They were other cultivators who had arrived shortly after, numbering five or six in total.

At this point, the battle had subsided, and everyone could only see Ji Yang standing on the stone bridge, holding the candlestick.

When they noticed the candlestick in Ji Yang’s hand, their gazes were drawn toward it.

What attracted them was not the candlestick itself, but the essence it contained; Void Refinement stage cultivators were sensitive to essence, and now that they saw the candlestick, they understood immediately what it was.

This was clearly an object tainted with essence!

Many cultivators revealed looks of greed in their eyes. Had they not come here to seek essence? Although the essence was currently in another’s possession, how could they know this essence would not belong to them if they did not try to seize it?

However, two of them, upon seeing the two corpses on the ground and the spiritual treasure in Ji Yang’s hand, displayed a hint of fear.

After a fierce battle, this person showed no signs of injury, and with the spiritual treasure in hand, this cultivator was no ordinary one. He might be a true heir of some sect that had already mastered essence.

Although they were also Void Refinement stage cultivators, a Void Refinement stage cultivator who had mastered essence was not someone ordinary cultivators could match.

Even with a flicker of greed in their hearts, they did not dare to act recklessly.

As several of them displayed their greed, the candlestick in Ji Yang’s hand began to struggle, trying to break free from Ji Yang’s grasp using the newfound power.

However, with a firm grip, Ji Yang quelled the candlestick’s struggle once more.

At this moment, a prompt appeared before Ji Yang again.

[Detected Essence of Greed, do you wish to absorb it?]

[Yes? No?]

Facing this choice, Ji Yang chose yes without hesitation.

Yet between absorption and fusion, Ji Yang hesitated.

He had already witnessed the effects of this essence; the greed within people ranged from Great Ascension stage cultivators to ordinary individuals.

With just a slight push, it could be lured out.

Moreover, in practical battle, the Essence of Greed triggered more readily than the Essence of Fear, leading to even stronger effects and more impressive performances.

This was also why Ji Yang hesitated; he may not encounter such an essence again.

But after some inner turmoil, Ji Yang ultimately chose to merge it with his Essence of War.

Since he had already selected a type of essence, he might as well integrate it thoroughly.

Most importantly, his Essence of War had only a 6.3 degree of condensation, even after absorbing an Essence of Fear.

If he absorbed this Essence of Greed, he had no idea how long it would take before he could actively use it, significantly delaying his essence condensation progress and prolonging his advancement to Unity with the Dao.

In the Cultivation World, this Essence of Greed was not even the strongest type of essence—thinking of it this way, he no longer felt it was a loss.

After absorbing the second essence, Ji Yang once again looked at the condensation level of his Essence of War.

[Essence of War: 9%]

Previously, it was only 6.3%, but the absorption of this essence of greed had directly raised its condensation to 9%, an even better effect than the Essence of Fear he had absorbed before.

With the complete absorption of this essence of greed, Ji Yang felt that the surrounding world had become much clearer. He could clearly sense that he was now just one step away from Unity with the Dao.

Just one more step, and he could break through the Void Refinement stage to become a cultivator at the Unity with the Dao stage!

If he relied solely on his own comprehension, this step would block countless cultivators!

However, Ji Yang possessed the Xuantian Breathing Technique, and as long as luck was on his side, he believed he wouldn’t need much time.

Besides, he was still within the secret realm, and he could absorb another essence to break through this invisible barrier.

Though he felt quite clear about it, Ji Yang still could not actively stimulate this essence.

It seemed he would have to wait until he truly reached Unity with the Dao to activate the essence.

After Ji Yang completely absorbed the essence from the candlestick, the various cultivators below were left dumbfounded, their earlier expressions of greed vanishing along with the essence.

Before being absorbed, the essence was an object without a master, and after stealing it, they could take their time to comprehend the essence on it. But once it was absorbed by another cultivator, it could no longer be understood by the others.

When a cultivator fell, the essence would also disappear, unless the cultivator who mastered the essence was extremely strong, having achieved mastery, in which case a trace of the essence they had once wielded might remain.

Most of the essences in the secret realm were produced in this manner.

Moreover, the absorption of the essence indicated something more complex than it appeared.

For a Void Refinement stage cultivator to effortlessly absorb essence meant that this cultivator already mastered essence themselves, and since this essence matched their attributes, they could absorb it so quickly.

These were the thoughts that arose in the minds of the onlookers, unaware that it was not Ji Yang’s essence attributes at play; it was entirely due to Ji Yang having extraordinary advantages.

Regardless, at this moment, the others had given up any thoughts of opposing Ji Yang.

A late Void Refinement stage cultivator, holding a spiritual treasure and mastering essence—such a cultivator was not someone they could contend with.

When Ji Yang cast his gaze their way, the approaching cultivators looked away, not daring to meet his eyes, fearing that Ji Yang might target them.

Seeing that they showed no intention to seize the essence, Ji Yang slowly withdrew his gaze and tossed aside the candlestick that had lost its essence.

Looking at the now silent river below, Ji Yang reached out, and an iron pick shot out of the water, landing in his hand.

In addition to the iron pick, Ji Yang also found a glowing lamp, a treasure recently activated by the River God, but it was clear that this treasure belonged to other cultivators, as the energies from them had not completely dissipated.

Ji Yang did not hesitate to tuck it into his storage bag.

As for the storage bags belonging to the two Four Symbols Sect cultivators, Ji Yang took those as well, placing them together, planning to examine his spoils after leaving the secret realm.

The other cultivators present merely pretended not to see Ji Yang’s actions.

After Ji Yang crossed the stone bridge and gradually disappeared from view, the others finally relaxed and hurried forward.

Although they hadn’t obtained this essence, the mansion was so large that there must be other essences to discover.