Chapter 82

The spiritual acupoint between the spleen and stomach was opened due to the cultivation of the 'Heavenly Pivot Illuminating World True Scripture' and the Stone Brightness Essence Flame. It is one of the acupoints in the human body most suitable for Daoist magical techniques.

Therefore, Zhuang Wudao never considered starting with martial arts to凝聚 his second pseudo-mystic technique.

However, even excluding martial arts, the fire and earth elemental Daoist techniques recorded in the Heavenly Pivot Illuminating World True Scripture number over sixty. Among them, ten have remarkable power and are suitable for use with the 'Stone Brightness Essence Flame' within the body.

Each of these techniques has its unique and remarkable effects, making it difficult to choose.

The one that most captivated Zhuang Wudao was a technique called 'Stone Fire Warrior.' Using divine consciousness and true essence, it can summon the power of the Heavenly Pivot star and earth fire to form a three-zhang-tall stone fire giant. This giant not only possesses astonishing divine power but also has flames that can melt gold and refine iron, equivalent to the combat strength of a Qi Condensation realm cultivator. The higher the cultivation, the stronger the 'Stone Fire Warrior' summoned, with its maximum power comparable to that of a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator, effectively providing an additional bodyguard.

In terms of power, it is unparalleled among first-tier fire and earth techniques, and even compared to some second-tier mid-grade techniques, it is not inferior.

Once he elevates this technique, integrating his own blood, heart, and divine consciousness, and combining it with the 'Stone Brightness Essence Flame,' the 'Stone Fire Warrior' he can summon will not only increase from one to three. The strength of the Stone Fire Warrior will also surge, making it impervious to blades and swords. The flames around its body will also transform into Stone Brightness Fire, which can petrify anything it touches.

Another technique, 'Stone Fire Divine Spear,' involves summoning hundreds or thousands of stone fire spears around the body, which are then launched to instantly obliterate enemies. Even if they can block, they will still be burned to death.

There is also the 'Stone Fire Shield,' which uses the power of the Heavenly Pivot star to form a stone fire shield in front of the body, combined with magnetic elemental power. Its defensive capabilities are on par with the Bull Demon Body.

These three techniques, one offensive, one defensive, and one for summoning stone fire puppets, each have their strengths and weaknesses.

In Zhuang Wudao's mind, thousands of thoughts flashed by, gradually leaning towards 'Stone Fire Divine Spear.'

While the 'Stone Fire Warrior' has formidable combat strength, its movement is relatively slow. Once it encounters an opponent with agile movements, its usefulness is minimal. The 'Stone Fire Shield' can only passively defend, and with the Bull Demon Body, his defensive capabilities are already sufficient. If someone can break through the magnetic elemental aura around his body, adding another layer of 'Stone Fire Shield' would likely be ineffective.

However, the drawback of 'Stone Fire Divine Spear' is that it cannot last long, and shaping true essence is relatively difficult, requiring extremely high divine consciousness. It would be best to improve it by combining the strengths of other techniques.

At this moment, Yun'er's voice echoed in his mind again.

"Self-awareness is precious. The Stone Brightness Essence Flame is a third-tier low-grade spiritual fire. Even after a late-stage Foundation Establishment realm cultivator refines it, they cannot control it at will. Does the Sword Master truly believe he can freely control the power of the Stone Brightness Essence Flame?"

Zhuang Wudao was alarmed, realizing how absurd his previous thoughts were.

The three Daoist techniques he had in mind are indeed the strongest first-tier techniques in the 'Heavenly Pivot Illuminating World True Scripture.' Once he condenses a pseudo-mystic technique, it will at least be at the fourth-grade supreme level. Combined with the Stone Brightness Essence Flame, the power of this pseudo-mystic technique before the Golden Core realm can rival third-grade extraordinary mystic techniques, not inferior to his own life-bound mystic technique, the Bull Demon Dance.

However, he forgot that although he successfully refined the Stone Brightness Essence Flame into his body, he could not control it at will. Before the Foundation Establishment realm, he could only draw out a small portion of the Stone Brightness Essence Flame's power.

Greedy for completeness would only result in failure.

"Since that's the case, then it will be the 'Star Fire Divine Butterfly'!"

This is a relatively simple and powerful mystic technique in the 'Heavenly Pivot Illuminating World True Scripture.'

Zhuang Wudao subconsciously recalled the day he was surrounded by countless fire butterflies in Dongchuan Alley.

This technique is enduring and powerful, leaving a deep impression on him. The fire butterflies fly slowly but are actually very fast. With a thousand or more surrounding, there is no way to avoid them. As long as true essence is not exhausted, they can be infinitely generated.

The 'Fire Butterfly Technique' that Mr. Mo Da used that day was not the complete version but a simplified form of 'Star Fire Divine Butterfly.'

The true 'Star Fire Divine Butterfly' is only slightly inferior to the previous three techniques. The process is extremely simple. Just imagine the shape of a butterfly, draw out the Stone Brightness Essence Flame, and combine it with the power of the Heavenly Pivot star to transform it into a butterfly.

All things have spirits. Zhuang Wudao only needs to use divine consciousness to imbue the fire butterflies with spirit. These fire butterflies will then dance according to his will.

An additional benefit is that even after the Golden Core and Nascent Soul realms, when the Stone Brightness Essence Flame's power is minimal, this pseudo-mystic technique can still maintain a fourth-grade supreme level.

With his mind set, a 'Fire Butterfly' condensed in his pseudo-spiritual acupoint.

At this moment, Zhuang Wudao felt his entire body's blood and true essence still surging. Another wave of pain came from his abdomen.

"Another pseudo-spiritual acupoint, this is—Great Boulder Hand?"

Zhuang Wudao was overjoyed. His Great Boulder Hand had already reached the first level. However, Yun'er's 'Great Boulder Hand' only included usage methods and body-strengthening techniques, without information on the corresponding twenty-seven pseudo-spiritual acupoints.

He had thought he had no hope, but unexpectedly, with the help of the Stone Brightness Essence Flame, he not only found the specific location of this 'pseudo-spiritual acupoint' but also had the hope of breaking it open.

His mind raced, and Zhuang Wudao dared not be distracted. He suppressed his joy and gathered all his blood and true essence towards his abdomen.

At this moment, on the eaves in front of Zhuang Wudao, Beiting Wan'er raised her eyebrows involuntarily.

"Hmm? Strange, this is—"

"Gathering heart blood, condensing qi source. It's a pseudo-spiritual acupoint! This is the second pseudo-spiritual acupoint."

Beiting Qin's eyes were filled with envy and confusion: "At the Qi Condensation realm, he already masters four mystic techniques! I can hardly believe his talent and bone structure are only at the fifth grade."

Like Beiting Qin, her talent is also at the fifth grade. However, she is only at the mid-Qi Condensation realm and only masters one mystic technique, which is not even her life-bound mystic technique. The gap between her and Zhuang Wudao is immeasurable.

At this moment, if she were to engage in a direct battle with Zhuang Wudao, her chances of winning would be less than fifty percent. In just three months, does Zhuang Wudao really rely solely on the power of 'earth marrow'?

"He is already at the fifth level of the Qi Condensation realm! The Stone Brightness Essence Flame has been fully refined, indicating that the fire seed has been successfully fused. Your brother's future is boundless."

Gu Yu also glanced sideways at Qin Feng, baring his teeth in a smile: "Lord Qin, there's no need to worry. Now that he has entered the fifth level of the Qi Condensation realm, even if Gu Yue Ming and Fei Xiu grow a thousand arms overnight, they cannot defeat him. I believe he will soon wake up safely."

Qin Feng exhaled a deep breath, and his tense mind finally relaxed. Gu Yu is one of the top fifty strongest in Yuecheng, with extraordinary insight and vested interests. If he says so, Zhuang Wudao is likely to win.

However, Qin Feng's mood was still complex and melancholic. He could not understand his brother, who grew up with him, and perhaps in the future, they will drift further apart.

Gu Yu, however, was oblivious, his words filled with admiration and anticipation: "Two mystic techniques in one night! Truly incredible. I am curious, what kind of pseudo-mystic technique did he condense today, and how does it compare to the Dragon Seizing Tiger?"

***

The third pseudo-mystic technique Zhuang Wudao prepared to condense is called 'Great Rock Splitter.' The technique is simple, with only one strike from start to finish. Using the power of the waist and abdomen, he then simply strikes with one palm. This palm combines all the essence of the Great Boulder Hand, pushing the technique to its peak and integrating it into one strike. The goal is to achieve invincible and destructive power!

However, before testing the effectiveness of this 'Great Rock Splitter,' Zhuang Wudao could not be sure of the power of this strike.

It might be due to the body's potential being completely exhausted by the Stone Brightness Essence Flame. The process of breaking open this pseudo-spiritual acupoint was particularly difficult for Zhuang Wudao.

He sat in the backyard for a full day and night, barely completing the task. However, it was a blessing in disguise. During the process of breaking open the pseudo-spiritual acupoint, all the fire toxins in his body and a small portion of the residual Stone Brightness Essence Flame were infused into this acupoint.

This allowed each of his future 'Great Rock Splitter' strikes to draw on part of the Stone Brightness Essence Flame. Each strike would have the power to burn and petrify.

When Zhuang Wudao opened his eyes again, he saw Qin Feng and Beiting Wan'er still standing in front of him, their expressions filled with surprise and anticipation, as if they had countless questions to ask. Zhuang Wudao smiled and was about to get up. However, his clothes tore apart, most of them turning to ashes, leaving only a few strips of fabric, exposing most of his body.

"Senior Zhuang, you are shameless!"

Beiting Wan'er's cheeks turned slightly red, but she did not look away. Instead, she examined Zhuang Wudao's well-built physique with a composed expression.

Zhuang Wudao was taken aback for a moment but then smiled, showing no sign of shame. He sighed inwardly, knowing that the tearing of his clothes was due to the burning of the Stone Brightness Essence Flame and the sudden surge in his true essence, which he had yet to adapt to.

Similar to when he initially formed the Bull Demon Body three months ago, his strength had greatly increased. However, he needed time to adapt to the surging true essence and power in his body.

Otherwise, this sudden increase in strength would not only fail to benefit him but would also be a hindrance.

Fortunately, he had experienced nearly two months of adjustment before fully refining the Stone Brightness Essence Flame. With two days left until the competition, he had the almost omniscient Yun'er to help him—

He had no time to celebrate with Qin Feng and the others. For the next two days, Zhuang Wudao practiced boxing in his spiritual room without rest.

This time, he did not care if the spiritual room would be damaged. When using the Great Boulder Hand, he exerted full strength, continuously releasing his qi to expel the residual fire toxins from his body and gradually tame the newly generated true essence and magical power in his meridians. Occasionally, he tried to channel the Stone Brightness Essence Flame into his palms, but it often failed, causing fires to break out in the spiritual room.

However, Zhuang Wudao did not feel discouraged. After a short break to reflect on his gains and losses, he would start his second attempt.

When Zhuang Wudao emerged from the spiritual room two days later and boarded the carriage to Lichen Academy with Beiting Wan'er, the house, which had cost at least a hundred gold pieces to build, was in ruins, with only a shaky, leaky frame remaining.

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