Devour

Chapter 385: The Indestructible Holy Lotus King

Ren Yijian agreed deeply. "Besides, entering the secret realm only requires collecting the necessary items. If outside candidates are willing to put in the effort, there's still hope. Those who blindly challenge dangerous existences and overestimate their abilities, even if they manage to survive, will have limited future prospects and should indeed be eliminated."

Diao Zha wiped his sweat and said humbly, "Yes, yes, I appreciate your advice!"

Master Li then spoke slowly, "These kinds of questions are set because the Five Continents are in urgent need of relevant materials, and we need the help of the examinees to balance the overall situation. Most people in the world are ignorant and full of delusions, always tending to overcomplicate things."

After a brief pause, Master Li continued, "Because the last imperial examination was suspended, the talent pool has been accumulating. The strength of this year's elite is far beyond the Confucian scholars' expectations. Perhaps they can achieve what others cannot!"

Cheng Bai asked, "Could you tell me the specific exam questions for the two secret realms?"

Master Li smiled and said, "Everything is going well now, so there's no problem with the announcement. The Dragon Tomb will collect Earth Dragon Fruit, and the Alchemy Association will be responsible for supervising the examination. The Lost Ocean will search for the Five-Colored Stone, and the Guile Society will be in charge of supervising the examination. Both are in short supply across the five continents and have been long-awaited by all the sects for years."

Everyone was silent for a moment after hearing this. Diao Zha wanted to say a few more words, but a stern look from Tu He, who was sitting next to him, silenced him.

Min Wushuang broke the silence and said with a smile, "Master, your arrangements are very appropriate."

Elder Wen and Elder Feng whispered privately, "Many sects and dynasties fought for the right to supervise the exams. Countless battles ensued, but in the end, it fell into their hands. The balance of power is impeccable!"

As night fell, the friendly symposium came to a successful conclusion.

Looking at Tianning Village inside and out, it was in ruins. After the war, everywhere was scorched earth, and even the Wucan Mountain was reduced to only four peaks.

Cheng Bai stepped into the mountains alone, a golden pagoda floating above his head and the inheritance cube in hand. He dared not neglect anything. "Master, it will take a day or two to discuss the details and reorganize the personnel. We will go our separate ways soon. This forbidden mountain area must be hiding secrets that are worth exploring."

Li Tong discerned the real from the fake and revealed the truth, "It appears to be the remains of a damaged formation, originally called the 'Yin Yang Life and Death Void Formation.' Powerful demons, immortals, and gods were once trapped here, but now they've escaped, leaving only the outer shell. Its essence has been almost completely lost, and it's on the verge of becoming a true land of the Five Remnants."

Cheng Bai recalled the fierce battle during the day and speculated, "Could it be that the giant beast with a human head, tiger body, and wolf hair escaped? His combat performance when he first emerged seemed to be no less impressive than Master Li's."

Li Tong led the way and pointed out, "That's where the remaining Yuanling essence is the most concentrated. It must be the important and secret place where the array's core was originally hidden. Let's go and take a look!"

Going deep into Wucan Mountain, Cheng Bai arrived at the place where Pan Zhonghan took away Wang Xiongwu's bloodline. He was completely unaware of the importance of the journey.

"From the outside, it looks like an ordinary mountain, except for the presence of more landslides and debris." Cheng Bai looked around, observing the surroundings with his spiritual eyes. "Looking closely, this place once gathered the essence of the five peaks, but unfortunately the formation has been broken and little remains."

He sniffed again and said, "The air is filled with a strange smell of blood, mixed with the smell of strong drugs, which makes people's minds confused and their spirits extremely excited."

Li Tong reminded him, "The key is that the Yuanling essence is very unique and is a perfect environment for refining weapons."

"I came here specially for this, of course." Cheng Bai said with a smile and quickly started to act.

He first placed the Four Symbols Cauldron, took out the Blood Jade Fishing Rod and placed it inside, saying with satisfaction, "I've considered this for a long time. The rune arrays that can be engraved on this fishing rod are limited, making it difficult to upgrade. However, I have a great opportunity right now to take a big step forward."

Li Tong agreed with a smile: "The Corpse Bone Pill just happens to possess the power of chaotic symbiosis, which is enough to elevate the Blood Jade Fishing Rod to the level of reality, illusion, and the soul world. Maybe in the future we can catch some unexpected treasures!"

"The precious materials obtained from the journey to the Nine-Layered Abyss will also greatly help in my smooth advancement!" Cheng Bai selected five ice hound hairs from the inventory, placed them into the cauldron together with the corpse bone pill, and activated the furnace fire to carefully temper the magic weapon.

He carefully controlled the power of the brilliant spiritual fire to fuse the various precious materials, observing the gradual changes over time. The blood jade fishing rod gradually underwent a qualitative change, requiring a new spiritual gathering.

The artifact spirit Siye supervised the refining process within the cauldron, carefully considering the details and saying, "Master, the Shiba Bone Pill requires very high quality residual souls, and the fragments found nearby are clearly insufficient."

"Very strange!" Cheng Bai thought more and more puzzled, and asked doubtfully, "Tens of millions of people have died in the surrounding area in recent days, many of them were cultivators with excellent skills. This should be an excellent place to gather souls, so why is there a shortage of collected residual souls?"

Li Tong speculated, "Yoshiye wouldn't be wrong. Unless someone got there first and already collected a massive amount of residual soul fragments, the consumption would be terrifying!"

The unexpected situation did not faze Cheng Bai. He immediately took the initiative to transfer the remnant soul of Sha Ke from the Shengjin Pagoda and put it into the cauldron, increasing the intensity of the furnace fire: "We can't let accidents delay things. If we add this remnant soul of the demon general, the effect may be better!"

Wucan Mountain welcomes a new night in silence. The moonlight falls like water, covering the mysterious ancient land with a hazy silver gauze.

Cheng Bai, who was sitting cross-legged in front of the Four Symbols Cauldron and practicing attentively, suddenly opened his eyes and was alerted to the fact that a creature full of terrifying aura was slowly approaching.

The hatred and resentment were accompanied by a violent impulse for revenge, as if a deformed demon had just crawled out of the abyss of hell beside him, which made Cheng Bai feel terrified.

You must know that since he has been carrying a magical weapon to protect his body, ordinary pressure can't pose any threat to him at all.

Cheng Bai inhaled his True Essence, channeling his Phoenix Force like a gentle breeze to calm his mind, and fixed his gaze on the newcomer. He had a humanoid figure, but was covered in yellow hair and bore some animalistic features. His face seemed familiar.

"This immense and unique force of all things is the transformation of yesterday's giant human-headed beast." Cheng Bai couldn't help but feel unprecedented shock. He used vague clues to deduce the other party's origins and tentatively asked, "Protector Wang?"

Wang Xiongwu's eyes widened upon hearing this, a hint of joy flashing in his pupils, and he couldn't help but blurt out, "You recognize me? Haha! It seems that I'm not much different from my previous heroic image."

Cheng Bai said calmly, "Looking at their appearance alone, their facial features are slightly similar. But in other aspects, they are very different. Their aura and mannerisms are completely different."

"Then how do you recognize me?" Wang Xiongwu's eyes rolled, and he shouted sternly, "I understand. You are using deceptive rhetoric to feign acquaintance and extract details. Humph! I am not Wang Xiongwu, but the indestructible Holy Lotus King."

"I am still the ancestor of the White Emperor who created the world and swallowed up the eight wastelands!"

Cheng Bai joked casually, but he was actually surprised. "I didn't even call him Wang Xiongwu, but he introduced himself first. This guy is too smart, and his morals have never changed. It's definitely him, but now it seems like some strange things have happened and he's become even more stupid."

Wang Xiongwu was choked by the long list of impressive titles. After a moment's silence, he came to his senses and said, "I won't argue with you. In short, I am no longer a humble person. From head to toe, inside and out, every aspect of my being has been completely transformed. This is the essence of Nirvana and sainthood!"

He shook his head, his yellow hair fluttering in the wind, and said confidently, "In the eyes of this venerable, you are all ants."

Cheng Bai also had to admit the current situation: "Venerable Wang has indeed made great progress. His cultivation level before and after is as different as heaven and earth."

Wang Xiongwu suddenly felt heroic, and with a "huh" sound, a long-handled weapon that looked like both an axe and a knife gushed out from his mouth with magic power. The weapon grew larger in the wind and became more than seven feet long. It was the Canglong Sword that no one cared about.

"I swear to annihilate all those who have wronged me, starting with the one who has committed the greatest evil. Hehehe! Jingtao Sect... you used a fake map of immortal gold to trick me into leading the disciples of the nine sects and ten schools to die in the North Sea. You have no good intentions! Pan Zhonghan, you hypocrite! And Wang Hong, the biggest mastermind behind all this! I'm going to kill you all."

Wang Xiongwu muttered to himself, filled with resentment and anger, and his roar echoed even more harshly in the silent mountains.

Cheng Bai listened to him complain calmly, and suddenly realized, "So the internal struggle within Jingtao Sect is extremely fierce."

Wang Xiongwu glared at the young man fiercely and shouted, "And you, liar! If it weren't for you repeatedly deceiving me, how could I have fallen into such a miserable state?"