Chapter Thirty-Three: The Breakthrough

“But the most urgent task now is to refine those two plant avatars.”

He drew in a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the urge to test the Blood God Gauntlet, and put it away. It wasn’t that experimenting with the Nine-Dragon Pattern wasn’t important, but rather that his hands were already full with too many pressing matters, and a single day was far too short; he simply had no time to spare and could only prioritize what mattered most. As for the experiment with the Nine-Dragon Pattern, that could wait until he reached the City Lord’s mansion.

…

Inside the secret chamber, his gaze fell upon the Yin Aster and the Century Mother Ganoderma, his expression complex. Ever since he had acquired the Shadow Guard Phalanx technique, he had been on the lookout for news of plant spirits, but had made no progress; the more he searched, the more alarmed he became. These plant spirits were not only rare, but so extraordinarily valuable that—even with his inscription skills, which far surpassed others—he doubted he could obtain one anytime soon, if ever.

He had all but given up hope.

But unexpectedly, not only had he now obtained a plant spirit, he had gotten his hands on treasures among plant spirits! Both the Yin Aster and the Century Mother Ganoderma were born as natural spiritual beings, fundamentally different from ordinary plant spirits and the most suitable materials for the Shadow Guard Phalanx technique.

What was even more extraordinary, among all the rare medicines in Gongsun Yan’s treasury, none had reached the point of birthing a plant spirit except these two, and they had even been stored together, as if especially prepared for the Shadow Guard Phalanx.

“How could this be?” He gave a wry laugh and shook his head. “No point in overthinking it—better get to refining.”

With that, Tu Lu’s eyes flashed with resolve as he looked at the Yin Aster, hesitating no longer. He slapped his palm against his own chest and spat a mouthful of heart’s blood onto the Yin Aster, then formed a series of hand seals as his whole body began to tremble violently.

A thin red thread slowly extended from his brain, visibly connecting to the heart’s blood on the Yin Aster. In that instant, a hazy window appeared in his mind—as if he had opened a doorway into the world seen through the Yin Aster’s eyes.

This was a fragment of his consciousness, fused into his heart’s blood and forcibly sent into the Yin Aster’s core.

“Success or failure will be decided now!”

Gritting his teeth, he inhaled sharply and pressed both hands firmly on the Yin Aster.

His consciousness surged forth, launching a fierce assault to seize control of the Yin Aster’s true body.

Suddenly, a chilling energy surged out from within the Yin Aster, violently rebounding against him. Not only did it numb the part of his consciousness he had sent into the Yin Aster, but even his main body’s complexion turned deathly pale in an instant. The vision in his mind wavered and blurred.

“This is bad!”

His heart skipped a beat and he snapped back to himself. In a rush, he bit the tip of his tongue to forcibly restore his consciousness, spat another mouthful of heart’s blood onto the Yin Aster, and split off even more of his consciousness to send inside.

Ordinarily, refining an avatar would not require so much consciousness, but at this moment, desperate for success, he could not afford to be cautious. As for his heart’s blood—with his current strength at the peak of the Moving Mountain stage, heart’s blood was precious and rare, but he cared not for cost or consequence, neither for his mind nor his vital energy.

He staked everything on this attempt.

Refining a plant avatar required it to be as one with the true body; it had to be governed by his own consciousness, driven by heart’s blood, and blended with a trace of the plant’s native spirit to succeed. That was why he used his heart’s blood as the vehicle for his consciousness.

This situation was unexpected. Perhaps there was another solution; if he had more time, he could have experimented at leisure. But now, time was too short. He might still have a chance to test the Nine-Dragon Pattern at the City Lord’s mansion, but as for practicing secret techniques—there was no way Gongsun Yan would give him the opportunity.

Besides, considering the origins of the Shadow Guard Phalanx, he dared not reveal it at the City Lord’s mansion.

With his relentless effort, sending more and more consciousness and heart’s blood into the Yin Aster, the cold energy within was finally suppressed. His own aura gradually stabilized, and the vision in his mind began to take form.

After nearly half a day, his energy finally settled completely, though it had dropped about thirty percent compared to his peak.

Meanwhile, nourished by his vital essence, the Yin Aster gradually assumed the form of a child, still growing. As time passed, the child became a youth, his aura steadily strengthening until it reached the early Moving Mountain stage—where it stopped.

Soon after, he and the Yin Aster avatar opened their eyes simultaneously—the true body stared at a smaller version of himself, while the Yin Aster avatar gazed blankly at its original. The two regarded each other in silence.

In truth, both bodies were controlled by the same consciousness. The sensation was not quite like looking into a mirror, but rather the unfamiliar and novel feeling of truly seeing oneself with one’s own eyes.

But he did not linger in this sensation. After swallowing a superior-grade Blood Replenishing Pill to stabilize his own cultivation at the mid-Moving Mountain stage, he began refining the Century Mother Ganoderma.

To his surprise, this time the process went remarkably smoothly. Unlike the Yin Aster, the Ganoderma did not resist; instead, its abundant vital energy flooded back into him, causing his aura to begin rising.

By the end, aside from the drop of heart’s blood he had sent out, not only had his cultivation returned to its peak before refining the Yin Aster, but even the lost vital essence had been fully restored.

He could even sense the vast reserves of vital energy stored within this new avatar. With such energy at hand, no matter how severe his injuries, as long as his core was not damaged, he would recover in an extraordinarily short time.

Except for that heart’s blood, of course—it was too unique, tied to his very essence, and even with the Ganoderma’s rich energy, it would not be easy for his original body to replenish.

Now, within his sea of consciousness, beside the central white sphere, two new perspectives had appeared on either side—if he focused on the same object, it was as if he could see it from three angles at once.

After quite a while, he finally emerged from the joy of refining two plant avatars.

“Next, I’ll break through my realm!”

He inhaled deeply, then used a secret technique from the Shadow Guard Phalanx, forming a seal with his hands.

The Yin Aster and Ganoderma avatars shrank rapidly and were absorbed into his body, entering his dantian. Instantly, his aura became perfectly complete—reaching an unprecedented peak.

The blood and energy coursing through his meridians surged like a great river bursting its banks, in a single instant shattering every restraint within him.

He didn’t even need to actively guide his essence; he simply broke through to the third tier of the Body Tempering Realm, and his aura continued to climb, soon reaching the very peak of the third tier—the summit of the Moving Mountain stage.

Boom!

With a fierce rush, a flush of unnatural crimson rose to his face, turning it bright red. His aura broke through the summit of the Moving Mountain stage, crossed the threshold into the Filling Sea stage, and stabilized at the early fourth tier of Body Tempering.

“Something’s not right.”

But at that moment, Tu Lu frowned.