Chapter 203 - 119: 3-Origin World-Preserving Body, a Forge in the Flames

After a few more moments, Xuzhuang's eyes snapped open. Two beams of golden light, like jets of flame, shot out a full ten feet, causing the room's temperature to soar. Xuzhuang frowned slightly. With a thought, the intricate golden symbol between his brows vanished, and the golden light dissipated without a trace. Only then did the room return to normal.

After successfully forming his Nascent Soul, Xuzhuang had considered his profound mastery of the Five Elements Dao Technique and finally decided to refine the Great Sun True Flame. He spent about forty-nine days and at last managed to completely assimilate it. From then on, he no longer needed any kindling. With a mere surge of his Magical Power, he could conjure boundless True Flame and command it at will.

Withdrawing the True Sun Flame, Xuzhuang did not rise but remained seated. The other two Xuzhuangs, however, stopped what they were doing and walked over. They stepped onto the ice bed and, like popping bubbles, merged back into Xuzhuang's body.

It turned out that Xuzhuang's true body had been cultivating in the cave chamber all along. The Xuzhuang in the main hall who had been guiding Zhou Jun and Yuan Hao, and who had received Dongguo Yi, was nothing more than an avatar.

And it wasn't just Zhou Jun and the other two. Even other visitors from the past, including some Nascent Soul Venerables, had been received by Xuzhuang's avatar, yet none had ever detected anything amiss.

Back in the Celestial Waterfall Realm, Xuzhuang had witnessed Meng Fusheng's disastrous attempt at refining the Three-Element Elephant Body. This, however, had sparked an insight within him. After returning to his sect, he had several discussions with the Book Immortal Taoist, receiving much guidance. He studied numerous past techniques for creating doppelgangers and avatars, and in the end, he developed an avatar technique of his own.

Xuzhuang named it the 'Three Elements World Residence Great Method'. As the name implied, the technique was born from the Three Elements Elephant Body Technique. It was based on the Tai Su principles of false form, shaping, and imbuing substance—a Daoist art that split his three-element Magical Power into three bodies.

The two bodies split off by the Three Elements Residence in the World Technique each possessed Magical Power and Divine Techniques identical to Xuzhuang's true body. Although they lacked Magical Treasures and Artifacts, Xuzhuang himself was not heavily reliant on external items. With this technique, his combat prowess had been more than doubled. And this was with his three-element Magical Power not yet even cultivated to its true state of perfection.

Furthermore, for a Nascent Soul Cultivator, spirit and qi are united. Since the three-element avatars possessed Magical Power, they naturally had their own consciousness. They were perfectly capable of handling miscellaneous tasks while his true body cultivated, freeing Xuzhuang from the problem of being 'unable to be in two places at once'. This was how he had been able to guide Zhou Jun and Yuan Hao's cultivation while simultaneously organizing his Dao techniques and refining the True Flame.

Such an avatar technique already bore some resemblance to the legendary Second Primordial Spirit. If it had any flaw, however, it was that the avatars could not cultivate or restore their own Magical Power. They had to be reabsorbed by the true body to recover.

Of course, given Xuzhuang's vast reserves of Magical Power, even a single element's worth was more than enough to sustain an avatar for ten or twenty years, provided it wasn't engaged in a battle that consumed large amounts of Magical Power to cast Daoist arts.

During those hundred days, Xuzhuang's two avatars had not fought anyone. One had occasionally demonstrated Daoist arts while guiding Zhou Jun and Yuan Hao, but that was nothing significant. The other, however, had been toying with 'turning stone into gold' and had consumed a fair bit of Magical Power, which was why they needed to be reabsorbed to recuperate.

Another night passed before his three-element Magical Power was finally restored to its peak. Xuzhuang formed a Magic Formula, using his main body's Magical Power to shape and imbue substance. He then split off two elements' worth of Magical Power and cast the Three Elements Residence in the World Technique again.

Xuzhuang's true body remained seated on the ice bed as two shimmering, bubble-like doppelgangers stepped out from him. They landed on the ground and rapidly solidified, becoming indistinguishable from a real person in a matter of moments.

Xuzhuang took out the Fire Vein Map, along with the Primordial Jade Gui, Furnace Sand, Cloud Mica, Star Sand, and other materials he had long since prepared. After a moment of thought, he produced a small pouch containing a few formation flags, Spirit Stones, materials for setting up restrictions, and other miscellaneous items. He handed everything to the avatars. Now, the preparations were complete.

Xuzhuang was sending his avatars to find a place to perform Artifact Refining with Earth Lung Fire. The two avatars took the items. There was no dramatic scene of them bowing to each other; they simply walked out of the cave chamber in unison.

'This avatar technique really is convenient.' A smile touched Xuzhuang's lips. He paid them no more mind, taking out the *Five Elements Origin Combination Art* and beginning to study it intently.

Let's leave Xuzhuang's true body to his secluded cultivation of the *Five Elements Origin Combination Art*. His avatars had already left the estate. With a flick of their robes, they transformed into two streaks of rainbow light and soared into the sky. Forming a hand seal, they summoned a bank of clouds and mist. Using the Five Elements Escape Skill to ride the clouds, they appeared to be drifting along leisurely, but in truth, they moved with lightning speed, leaving Yunmeng Marsh behind in mere moments.

Outside Yunmeng Marsh, hidden within a fissure in the rock, a bloodshot eyeball twitched. It seemed to pierce through the heavy clouds, spotting a flying cloud that was speeding southeast through the air before it vanished without a trace a moment later.

Deep inside the mountain, a long-bearded Daoist's eyebrow twitched. He muttered, "Who was that? Such a high cultivation level... This old Daoist didn't dare take a closer look."

The long-bearded Daoist stroked his long beard, thinking, 'That person was headed southeast. Could they be reinforcements for the Celestial Abyss Sect? Should I warn the Bone Sect?'

At this time, Xuzhuang was unaware that his movements had been spotted by an unknown spy. After flying on the cloud for less than an hour, his avatars followed the map to a mountain range. They located a mountain saddle and, after a careful search, found a deep, dark cave.

Xuzhuang stepped inside and proceeded for a good ten li. Logically, a cavern like this should have grown damper and colder the deeper one went, but this place was the exact opposite. The farther in he went, the drier it became. Xuzhuang raised an eyebrow and thought to himself, 'It really is a Fire Vein that leads straight to the Earth Lungs.'

Thus, Xuzhuang wasted no more time. The two avatars transformed into wisps of clear wind, zipping through tunnels and passages. As they delved deeper, the surroundings grew progressively hotter. In less than half an hour, the walls were steaming with heat. Knowing he was on the right path, Xuzhuang increased his speed. About a quarter of an hour later, he burst into a fiery cavern.

This place was not yet the Earth Lungs, but impure flames were already spewing forth, and sparks of heat flew everywhere. Far from being alarmed, Xuzhuang was delighted. He formed the hand seal for the Fire Escape Skill and followed the fire energy, plunging deep into a crevice in the earth. The heat grew more and more intense. Though Xuzhuang was not afraid of it, an ordinary cultivator would likely be steamed and cooked through in an instant by this heat.

Xuzhuang found a more spacious area and materialized, taking a moment to gauge the heat. 'This level of fire is already sufficient,' he mused. 'This will do.'

Although he had decided on this location, he couldn't just start the Artifact Refining here. He still needed to construct a refining chamber. Xuzhuang's Spiritual Sense swept out, surveying the area. He soon found a stone wall that glowed red-hot like the wall of a furnace. Channeling the Five Elements Escape Skill, he pointed at the wall. A low hum filled the air, and the entire rock face seemed to tremble.

After a few breaths, Xuzhuang withdrew the Daoist art. He then used Earth Escape and slammed into the wall, passing right through it. Behind the stone wall, Xuzhuang had hollowed out a stone chamber a few hundred feet wide.

Xuzhuang looked around the chamber and nodded in satisfaction. He took out his materials, and the two avatars began setting up the restriction formations separately. They worked for about a quarter of an hour before finishing. By then, the walls were covered with restrictions that insulated the chamber from the heat, making the stone room feel suddenly cool compared to the cavern outside.

With that step done, the simple refining chamber was mostly complete, but a crucial step remained. Xuzhuang walked to the outermost stone wall, pointed at it, and opened a hole, revealing a small chamber that resembled a furnace hearth.

This chamber was situated between the refining chamber and the Earth Fire, and it would serve as the 'fire outlet'. Xuzhuang carefully laid down more restrictions to regulate the fire's intensity. Finally, he took out a pile of jade-like coals from his pouch and placed them inside this Fire Chamber.

With that, the setup was finally complete. Xuzhuang pointed at the outer wall of the Fire Chamber again, opening another hole. Immediately, impure fire surged into the Fire Chamber. The jade coals, scorched by the Earth Fire, ignited with a WHOOSH, releasing billowing waves of pure qi. The pure qi and the scorching flames churned within the small Fire Chamber, burning fiercely. In just a few moments, they transformed into a superior-grade, impurity-free, and non-toxic flame, perfect for Artifact Refining.

Xuzhuang then activated the restrictions. The purified Earth Fire from the Fire Chamber burst through the opening and into the refining chamber. The chamber was now ready for use.

Xuzhuang's other avatar had not expended any Magical Power this whole time. Only now did it say, "Good," before taking the materials from the pouch and officially beginning the Artifact Refining.

Xuzhuang had sent both avatars here for the Artifact Refining as a precaution: one to perform the refining, the other to handle miscellaneous tasks and act as a guardian. Thus, after setting up the refining chamber, the second avatar was now idle and began to meditate.