Chapter 362 - 353: Bright King Perfection, Brocade Kasaya

Chapter 362: Chapter 353: Bright King Perfection, Brocade Kasaya

In his current state, Fu Juemin had no doubt he could add another Talent to his [Flame Monarch] form, upgrading from "Five Souls in One Body" to "Six Souls in One Body."

[Lifting Power] wasn’t a Talent that caused dramatic physical changes. Integrating it might not significantly increase the strength of his Demon Body, but the instantaneous burst of combat power should be greatly enhanced.

This was the fundamental reason Fu Juemin was in such a hurry to condense his Demon Magic Dharma Form.

Without a powerful, core will to command the various Demon Souls, and without a clear path for advancement, simply stacking Talents would make the changes to his Demon Body completely uncontrollable.

The initial fusion would likely create a "monster" similar to the one he became when fighting Luo Zhengxiong. It would require repeated adjustments and refinements, and even then, the final result might not be the optimal solution.

As he considered this, Fu Juemin tested the other two Talents.

Those two, however, held no more surprises for him.

The [Enchanting Heart] Talent also produced effects of confusion and illusion. It could be applied to any part of the body, meaning that with [Enchanting Heart] active, his attacks would carry hypnotic, confusing, and disorienting properties.

’The Blue Banner Shu Family’s Human-Faced Demon Python is all show and no go. An embroidered pillow stuffed with straw. It had the biggest body but the weakest strength, and its Talent is utterly useless...’

Fu Juemin shook his head, rendering his verdict.

The [Iron Armor] Talent from the Two-tailed Giant Crocodile was just as its name described. Activating it would cover his body in iron armor, similar to the Two-tailed Giant Crocodile’s own Frost Crocodile Armor.

Fu Juemin had witnessed the Two-tailed Giant Crocodile’s defense firsthand; it was certainly worthy of its Blue Level grade.

In terms of pure Defense Force, it was far superior to [Copper Hide].

’I could consider replacing [Copper Hide] with [Iron Armor], and I already have two snake-type Demon Souls. But [Enchanting Heart] is a garbage Talent, nowhere near as useful to me as [Soft Bone]...’

In truth, [Copper Hide] had its own irreplaceable aspect: its ability to restrain and compress from within.

[Iron Armor] lacked this feature.

Fu Juemin thought for a moment and decided that devouring one Talent with another was the best solution.

Devouring a Talent meant having the Demon Soul Seeds within him devour each other.

Fu Juemin gave it a try, immersing his mind in the attribute panel...

"ROAR—"

Driven by his will, the Two-tailed Giant Crocodile’s Demon Soul let out a terrifying, low roar deep within the dark void of his Consciousness. It slowly lumbered toward the Iron-Maned Demon Boar.

The boar was far inferior to the giant crocodile in both strength and grade. Faced with such absolute suppression, it had no desire to resist, cowering and trembling in a corner.

Meanwhile, the Demon Souls of Fu Juemin’s first acquisition, the Black-Scaled Snake Demon, and the Human-Faced Demon Python also emerged. A similar power disparity existed; though Fu Juemin’s will encouraged the Black-Scaled Snake Demon to fight, it lacked any real ability to resist...

’This won’t work!’

Fu Juemin instantly halted the so-called Talent devouring process.

His eyes flickered, his expression calm as he contemplated the issue.

’What I want is a fusion of Talents, not for them to devour each other.’

The difference was immense. The former would preserve the essence of both Talents, while the latter meant completely sacrificing one to empower the other.

’It’s the same problem again. The outcome is uncontrollable!’

’The Demon Magic Dharma Form... only after the Dharma Form takes shape can I use my will to completely suppress and guide the process. That’s the only way I might get the result I want...’

At this thought, Fu Juemin took a deep breath, his gaze shifting to the Cultivation Technique section of his attribute panel.

He had seven Skill Points, enough to raise the Bright King Shackles Skill to the Perfection Realm.

Once the Bright King Skill reached Perfection, his Heart Scene and Dharma Form could finally take complete shape.

With a flicker of intent, the golden "+" sign after Bright King Shackles Skill flashed. The "Great Success" status beside it instantly changed to the word "Perfection."

In that instant—

BOOM!

A blazing white bolt of light, as thick as a bucket, suddenly descended from the heavens and struck Fu Juemin directly on the crown of his head!

Beneath Fu Juemin’s tightly closed eyelids, his eyes rolled wildly for a moment before gradually settling.

"AAAAH!—"

In the illusion of his breakthrough, "Fu Juemin" stood atop a mountain peak, his body pierced by a bolt of lightning, completely bathed in a cascading torrent of explosive light.

The sensation of his entire body being torn apart inch by inch was so real it felt as though he were being melted alive by the raw, violent might of the heavens.

Amid the agony, countless insights bloomed like lotuses, fell like rain, and rose like light!

Pharmacist, Dragon Elephant, Bright King.

Creation, birth! Abiding, solidifying! Binding, restraining, fixing, locking...

—BREAK!!

BOOM!

In what felt like a single instant, Fu Juemin broke free from that state of agonizing, near-death dissolution.

A brilliant light erupted within his mind, and it felt as if layer after layer of invisible shackles around his body had been shattered!

A mind unconstrained, a body unbound—this was to be Unshackled!

Light began to emanate from Fu Juemin’s entire body. His skin, flesh, bones, and organs hummed in resonance, and a faint phantom of the Great Virtuous Vajra materialized behind him.

His physical body began to transform, taking on the color of Dark Gold Glaze until it no longer seemed made of flesh. Beneath this glazed surface, streams of amber-like golden liquid flowed continuously, coalescing into countless microscopic, swastika-shaped runes...

Time passed, second by second.

Gradually, the strange phenomena around Fu Juemin receded. His skin began to shed its Dark Gold Glaze luster, returning to the texture and color of normal human flesh.

The Great Virtuous Vajra phantom at his back also faded away, little by little...

When all the commotion had ceased, Fu Juemin finally, slowly opened his eyes.

"Huuu—"

He exhaled a breath of turbid air. It was like fire, like a blade, scraping against the walls of the quiet room and causing them to grate.

’The Bright King Skill, at the Perfection Realm!’

Fu Juemin’s pupils held a faint golden glow, and his entire aura had changed. An intangible sense of majesty radiated from him, growing so intense that a single glance seemed enough to force anyone to their knees.

’The breakthrough condition for the Perfection Realm of the Bright King Skill is to draw heavenly lightning into the body!

That’s an incredibly harsh condition. For an ordinary person, it would be a near-certain death sentence...

Elder Huai Hai of Panxiang Temple definitely hasn’t reached Perfection. If he had, a lightning strike like that would have made him see past all worldly attachments. How could he still be troubled by a Heart Demon...?’

Fu Juemin rose with a sigh of emotion and inspected his body.

The Perfection of the Bright King Skill provided an attribute boost that pushed both his [Attack] and [Defense] past the sixty-point mark.

He wasn’t sure if it was because all three of his Iron Body Strange Skills had reached Perfection, or because his attributes had broken sixty, but his physical body had once again undergone a qualitative transformation.

’My physical strength right now is probably even a bit higher than my basic "Three Souls in One Body" Demon Body form...’

Fu Juemin assessed his power for a moment and came to this conclusion.

He had a human body that could rival a Demon Fiend, and that was without factoring in the boosts from his Skills—a pure comparison of base stats.

’This... is probably the peak of Iron Body cultivation.’

’Did Martial Ancestor Mahakala once suppress all the Demon Fiends in the world single-handedly?’

’How do I compare to a Grandmaster?’

Fu Juemin estimated that with three great Iron Body Strange Skills at Perfection, while he might not be able to crush a Grandmaster, he should at least have no problem contending with one.

He had never met a Grandmaster, so he didn’t know how accurate his benchmark was.

The Fifth Layer of the Bright King Skill: Unobstructed Shackles.

According to Elder Huai Hai, at this realm, the body becomes as translucent as Dark Gold Glaze. All attacks slide off on contact, blades find no purchase against the skin, one can withstand a Siege Hammer without flinching, walk through a sea of fire without one’s clothes burning, and cross a glacier without a single snowflake touching them...

One can go anywhere in the world!

Unrestrained and unfettered, without obstruction or shackles!

But Fu Juemin hadn’t just cultivated the Bright King Skill, so naturally, his abilities were not limited to this.

At this very moment, a multitude of inspirations emerged in his mind, like the ceaseless Spiritual Light before a Buddha.

The Celestial Blessing Four Great Iron Body Skills were like a single Brocade Kasaya that had been torn into four pieces.

Fu Juemin had now collected three of those pieces. By fitting them together, he could already see the many dense, exquisite, and perfectly natural patterns on the Kasaya.

The four-word mantra of "Creation, Abiding, Decay, and Void" revolved in his mind like a Dharma Wheel, generating all manner of wisdom with each rotation.

’With the Bright King Dharma Form added to the mix, the formation of my Heart Scene and Demon Magic Dharma Form is indeed much faster.

Now, all I have to do is wait for it to bear fruit...’

Fu Juemin’s eyes flickered as he thought to himself, ’I should also take this opportunity to properly organize everything I’ve learned on the Martial Dao.’

Fu Juemin sat down again on the soft couch.

He glanced up at the skylight of the meditation room. Beyond the latticed window, the sky was completely dark, and he could faintly make out a few sparse, cold stars.

He had only been in seclusion for a single day.