Chapter 1103 - 1092: Supreme Treasure of the Great Path - Prototype (2)

Chapter 1103: Chapter 1092: Supreme Treasure of the Great Path - Prototype (2)

Time flew by; in the blink of an eye, another half a Sixty Year Cycle had passed.

Under the arduous toil of Meng Biao, Shi Nianyao and the others, the Earth Yuan Array finally completed the Seventy-two Earth Fiends Magic; its might surpassed the past, such that even a Divine Immortal would have to shed a layer of skin upon arrival.

The Sixth Rank Demon Soul Generals left for them to command were all recalled into the Soul Refining Flag.

Shi Nianyao and the other two also returned the Mountain-moving Whip used to shift Immortal Mountains. Because it had been wielded by others for several decades, the Artifact Spirit of the Mountain-moving Whip was quite resentful; Shen Mo used the Spiritual Wisdom Skill to carefully nurture it for a time, then stored this treasure into his Dantian.

On this day, while Shen Mo was still condensing the Chaotic Yuan Dharma Phase, he suddenly felt a stir in his heart and lifted his eyes toward the Immortal Mountain where the Soul Refining Flag was. He saw tribulation Qi surging and rolling like wolf smoke.

"Banzhi Jiajun is about to advance to Class VII..."

Shen Mo murmured softly, then cast a spell and descended near the Soul Refining Flag.

But he did not release Banzhi Jiajun; instead, he left it within the flag to undergo tribulation, while the power of chaotic Yuan in his body surged into the blood flag like a tide, strengthening the connection between the Soul Refining Flag and himself, and reinforcing his control over this flag!

Before long, the sky above this lower grade Immortal Mountain changed color; wind and rain raged, thunder rolled, and the aura of tribulation enveloped the Soul Refining Flag.

"Boom!"

With the first bolt of tribulation lightning striking down, bolt after bolt of thunder light followed, constantly hacking at the Soul Refining Flag.

However, Shen Mo had not the slightest intention of shielding it from the lightning, allowing the tribulation lightning to bore into the blood-colored world within the flag and strike Banzhi Jiajun’s body.

Yet his expression grew increasingly strange.

The tribulation for a Demon Soul General to advance to Class VII was equivalent to a cultivator’s enlightment tribulation, except that the Thunder Tribulation’s power was extremely small, even inferior to the heavenly tribulation when Fairy Pei Yu and the other Demon Soul Generals advanced to Class VI.

Disciples of the Taiqing Sect who cultivated the Selfless Sutra not only advanced with astonishing speed, but seemed to cross the enlightment tribulation with exceptional ease... Only by gaining the favor of the universe’s will could one enjoy such treatment; now Banzhi Jiajun had also become a "favored child" of heaven and earth!

This Thunder Tribulation lasted only one day and night; it was thunder with little rain, completely lacking the terrifying might befitting a Class VII tribulation.

In the instant the tribulation clouds dispersed, Banzhi Jiajun smoothly stepped into Class VII. On the flag’s surface, its soul mark grew even more brilliant, like a Bright Moon amid countless stars compared to the other Gold marks!

At the same time, within the blood flag’s world, Banzhi Jiajun seemed to undergo ultimate sublimation, its entire being bursting forth with boundless immortal radiance, as if about to completely be refined into Dao and return...

Hum!

The entire Soul Refining Flag trembled violently, as though unable to bear the terrifying aura erupting when Banzhi Jiajun merged with Dao; cracks appeared along the main shaft, and gaps opened on the flag’s surface.

Shen Mo immediately manifested his Chaotic Yuan Dharma Phase; Mana surged in his body like a tide, magic Skills operated in unison, and he strove to maintain the God Slaying Array formation laid by the hundred million Demon Souls General within the flag, exhausting all his strength to sustain the link between himself and the Soul Refining Flag, and between the Soul Refining Flag and Banzhi Jiajun, while preventing it from being destroyed by the terrifying aura!

He did not know how long had passed before the Soul Refining Flag returned to calm, its circulating aura even more wondrous than before.

The Chaotic Yuan Dharma Phase gradually dispersed, revealing Shen Mo’s real body; his Mana was nearly exhausted, and even his Daoist body and mind had suffered quite an impact, requiring careful recuperation before returning to normal.

Yet his face showed a look of delight...

At the instant Banzhi Jiajun advanced to Class VII and Merge Body with Dao, he maintained the connection between Banzhi Jiajun and the Soul Refining Flag, causing this Seventh Rank Demon Soul General to imprint its Dao onto the blood flag!

In other words, although Banzhi Jiajun, who cultivated the Selfless Demon Sutra, finally still merged its body with Dao and used its own Dao to mend the incomplete Immortal Path, under Shen Mo’s forcible interference he made the Soul Refining Flag become the carrier of its Great Path... It was as though one cupped a handful of clear water in one’s palms and then placed the hands together into a water vat; the clear water naturally merged with the water in the vat, yet still existed within the palms at the same time.

The Banzhi Jiajun that had Merge Body with Dao, after turning into immortal light, had already "perished completely," seeming to vanish from the universe world entirely; even its soul mark had dissipated.

But as Shen Mo moved his mind, the vanished Gold mark slowly surfaced upon the flag’s face; the demonic primal intent, like a sea of blood, surged wildly, and then the disappeared Seventh Rank Demon Soul General Banzhi Jiajun gradually manifested once more...

Because Demon Soul Generals were an extremely special existence compared to normal creatures, as long as there was a Daoist imprint, its soul could be reassembled and a Soul General Vitality could be shaped for it!

Only, compared to before, the present Banzhi Jiajun was like a Dao’s incarnation; although it retained all its previous memories, it was without emotion or desire, lawless yet devoid of self, bereft of the slightest instinctive craving for blood food, with only the heart that pursues the Immortal Path remaining.

Furthermore, Shen Mo sensed that Banzhi Jiajun seemed to have gained a most terrifying supernatural means.

It could be born from the flaws in the Path Heart of powerful cultivators, incarnating as a Heart devil robbery, devouring their fleshly bodies, souls, Lifespan, and even their own Dao fruit—everything—thereby endlessly increasing itself!

However, although Banzhi Jiajun had mastered this wondrous means, it currently could not carry it out; it should be constrained by the Immortal Path, disallowed at the root of the Great Path... Only when many Heavenly Demons or Demon Soul Generals cultivated to Class VII and Merge Body with Dao, like the God Path completely fusing into the Immortal Path, would it be able to wield this wondrous means!

"An unexpected boon! In this way, the Soul Refining Flag’s backlash power will be weakened to the extreme. Moreover..."

Shen Mo’s mind moved, imprinting the Selfless Demon Sutra into the souls of all Demon Soul Generals, causing the hundred million Demon Souls General to all cultivate this method, striving to make more Demon Soul Generals Merge Body with Dao!

In this way, he could reap many astonishing benefits.

First, there was no longer any need for Demon Soul Generals to devour blood food to strengthen themselves; simply by cultivating the Selfless Demon Sutra they could advance rapidly, keeping pace with his Cultivation Realm, and in the future would only need sufficient nature’s spiritual energy supplied.

Second, after cultivating this method, even Demon Soul Generals would become devoid of emotion and desire, and the Soul Refining Flag’s backlash power would vanish.

More critically, through this means he could steal the Heavenly Demon Ancestor’s Dao;

At the same time, he could make the Soul Refining Flag serve as a carrier of the Great Path, transforming it into a top-grade celestial artifact similar to the God Path Wand in Empyrean Fairy’s hand. Once complete, its grade and might would far surpass ordinary celestial artifacts!

"In such a manner..."

"Once I cultivate to True Immortal, even if I cannot prove Empyrean in the short term, I can still wield a portion of Golden Immortal power through the Soul Refining Flag and glimpse the marvels of Empyrean!"

"Moreover, if the Heavenly Demon Ancestor wishes to become the incarnation of the Heart devil robbery strand and rely on this to achieve Empyrean, he must seize the Soul Refining Flag from my hands to perfect his entire Dao. Conversely, if the Soul Refining Flag can refine the Heavenly Demon Ancestor into a Demon Soul General, it can also grasp the complete Path of the Heavenly Demon and thereby transform into a supreme treasure of the Great Path!" Shen Mo pondered silently in his heart.

Once Dao struggle arose, it would be a situation of life and death with no respite.

But having gained the chance to glimpse the profound of the Eighth Realm, how could Shen Mo possibly abandon this great path from earth to sky out of fear of the Heavenly Demon Ancestor or worry over becoming enemies with him?

Much less when he already harbored the intent to obstruct the Heavenly Demon Ancestor’s path!

Thinking thus, Shen Mo’s mind once more sank into the Soul Refining Flag. The Demon Soul Generals within the flag had already begun to cultivate the Selfless Demon Sutra; including the Seventh Rank Demon Soul General Banzhi Jiajun, the hundred million Demon Souls General were simultaneously cultivating this method, causing the consumption of nature’s spiritual energy to reach an exceedingly terrifying level. The spiritual energy supply of a single lower grade Immortal Mountain was far from enough.

Even the entire Corpse Mountain Range could not bear the cultivation of the Demon Soul Generals within the flag...

Soon, Shen Mo cast his gaze toward the cave paradise of Hallow Venerable’s lair, located fifty million li to the southeast of Corpse Mountain Range!

As the cultivation Dao field of a top-tier Demon True Immortal, the density of nature’s spiritual energy in this place was not inferior to a Jade Spring Mountain–class high-grade Immortal Mountain, comparable to the total spiritual energy of all the middle-grade and lower grade Immortal Mountains in the Corpse Mountain Range.

Only the general environment here was extremely perilous: poisonous mountains and foul waters, miasma covering the sky, filled with all manner of poisonous insects and vile bugs; the breath of Primal Spirit contained in the spiritual energy was extremely scant, with the vast majority being Turbid Qi and Demonic Qi;

In addition, Hallow Venerable’s Fairyland cave paradise had been destroyed here by Jade Spring Fairy, making this place even more abominable, wholly unsuited for normal creatures to dwell and cultivate, with only countless Evil Insect and vile worms, insect-type Demon haunting this land!

Fortunately, Demon Soul Generals cultivating the Selfless Demon Sutra did not discriminate between kinds of nature’s spiritual energy; whether it was breath of Primal Spirit, Clear Spirit Qi, Five Elements Demonic Qi, or Poisonous Demonic Qi, all could be transformed into demonic primal intent.