Chapter 9: Purple Firmament Divine Thunder, Trial Battlefield
After the arrival of Sect Master Ouyang Xiu, he casually tossed a bottle of pills to Xiao Fan, telling him to hurry and recover his spiritual power to face the coming Purple Heaven Divine Lightning.
Then he turned and came directly to your side.
“Not bad. I never imagined that besides me, someone else could actually cultivate the Heavenly Lightning Body-Refining Art.” Ouyang Xiu looked you over, clicking his tongue in praise.
“Thank you for the praise, Sect Master.” You cupped your fists in response.
“But unfortunately, you don’t have long to live!” Ouyang Xiu’s words shocked everyone.
“What does Sect Master mean by that?” you asked, frowning.
You knew that your body had already been ravaged beyond recognition by the power of Heavenly Lightning, but there was a force within you slowly repairing it.
So how could you not have long to live?
As if seeing through your thoughts, Ouyang Xiu explained, “Although there is a force within your body helping you recover from your injuries, but! This force cannot possibly last forever.”
“Once this force is exhausted, the injuries within your body will erupt. In the end, there will be only one outcome: death and the dissipation of your Dao.”
“Is there a way to solve this?” you could not help but ask.
Ouyang Xiu let out a bitter laugh and pointed at his own body. “See for yourself.”
You released your divine sense to probe inside Ouyang Xiu.
What you found shocked you: within Ouyang Xiu’s five organs and six viscera, the power of Heavenly Lightning raged unchecked!
Every moment, it was destroying Ouyang Xiu’s body.
If not for Ouyang Xiu’s powerful cultivation, allowing him to forcibly suppress the Heavenly Lightning within his body with his own strength and alleviate his injuries…
He likely would have long since perished, his Dao dissipated!
“This… how can it be?” You were utterly shocked. Neither had you expected that even a Nascent Soul cultivator could not fully master this technique.
Could it be that cultivating this technique is certain death?
“No. After years of research, I suspect it may be related to the missing other half of the technique.” Ouyang Xiu voiced his conjecture. “If the technique could be completed, perhaps this problem could be solved!”
“May I ask, Sect Master, what is the origin of this technique?” As long as you could learn the technique’s source, it might be possible to complete it, you thought silently.
“The Trial Battlefield.” Ouyang Xiu let out a breath and spoke slowly.
“This technique was brought back from the Trial Battlefield when I was in Foundation Establishment!” Ouyang Xiu said.
Only then did you understand why Ouyang Xiu had told you so much.
“The Trial Battlefield opens once every fifty years. There are still twenty years until the next opening.”
You showed an expression of “just as I thought,” and quietly waited for what came next.
“And this Trial Battlefield was forged from an ancient battlefield. Now it serves as the trial ground for our five great sects, for the Foundation Establishment disciples within our sects to undergo their trials.”
Ouyang Xiu did not notice the expression on your face and continued to explain, “If you want to live, this is currently the only way.”
Damn, I’ve become the protagonist. You thought to yourself. Such a familiar scene could not help but remind you of novels you had read in your past life.
“Twenty years is too long. Given my current condition, I’m afraid I won’t live to see that time.” You let out a bitter laugh, complaining while observing Ouyang Xiu’s expression.
Clearly, you were disappointed. Upon hearing this, Ouyang Xiu’s face showed no particular expression. He merely gazed at the Purple Heaven Divine Lightning about to descend from the sky, silent.
Suddenly, boom———— with a sound, the legendary Purple Heaven Divine Lightning descended, striking straight at Xiao Fan!
Xiao Fan had no choice but to use every method at his disposal.
Various artifacts appeared, among them mid-grade Mystic-rank and even high-grade Mystic-rank artifacts!
“Good kid, you’ve been hiding your depths. I never imagined you were this wealthy.”
“This guy actually has more treasures than a Golden Core cultivator like me!”
The elders of the Body-Refining Sect all complained among themselves.
The great battle continued for a long time. Under the consumption of Xiao Fan’s various artifacts, the power of the Purple Heaven Divine Lightning finally dissipated.
The tribulation clouds scattered. The spiritual power within Xiao Fan’s dantian condensed, gradually transforming into a golden Golden Core.
The tribulation was successfully crossed. The Golden Core stage was achieved!
Everyone stepped forward to congratulate him. When you snapped back to your senses, you found that Sect Master Ouyang Xiu had already vanished.
That night, Xiao Fan, having broken through to the Golden Core stage, dragged you and Li Chen along to drink heavily all night.
The next morning, you returned to the Outer Sect and resumed your duties as an Outer Sect Deacon. Only this time, Li Chen was by your side.
It added a splash of color to your dull cultivation life.
To test your own strength, you began sparring with Li Chen.
Having barely ever fought, facing Li Chen, who was battle-hardened and far above you in cultivation, you were defeated in just three rounds.
A month later, you sparred with Li Chen again. This time, you lasted a full ten rounds.
You learned from your painful reflection and continued cultivating.
Three months later, you fought Li Chen for fifty rounds, exhausting your physical strength and spiritual power before losing.
Half a year later, having rallied your spirits, you sparred with Li Chen once more. With your prior experience, you did not clash head-on.
Relying on your Foundation Establishment physique, you fought while running, kiting him.
During the kiting, you became proficient in the techniques you had learned.
After a hundred moves, you were defeated once again.
This time, you fully recognized your own shortcomings: your offensive methods were severely lacking!
Your primary technique, the Longevity Art, was never an offensive technique to begin with.
And because the Heavenly Lightning within your body still could not be removed, you simply could not use the offensive methods within the Heavenly Lightning Body-Refining Art.
The only techniques you had that could deal damage were Jinghong and the Palm Strike from the Heavens.
After two moves, you were at your wit’s end!
You decided to go to the sect’s Treasure Pavilion to study new techniques.
“Senior Brother, why go to the Treasure Pavilion and spend that money? I can teach you.” Li Chen volunteered. He had studied quite a few techniques in the Treasure Pavilion.
Hearing this, you shook your head and refused.
“The sect has rules. Techniques exchanged for oneself are strictly forbidden to be taught to others. If discovered, it is punished as the crime of betraying the sect!” You did not want to take such a huge risk over such a small matter.
“If we were discovered, I’m afraid the two of us would lose our lives here.” You knew that the reason the sect could develop to such a scale was by selling techniques!
If you really did this, it would be no different from snatching food from a tiger’s mouth. The result was self-evident.
“Alright then. I still have some spirit stones here. I won’t be needing them anyway. Senior Brother, take them.” With that, Li Chen took out his storage bag and handed it to you.
This time, you did not refuse. You silently put away the storage bag.