Chapter 438: Chapter 156 Taihao Heaven
As Jiang Li’s legs fused together and transformed into a serpent’s tail, star maps that resembled the cosmos spun rapidly around him. One by one, the star symbols left the ground and walls, jostling to embed themselves into the acupoints throughout his body.
And Jiang Li, he was powerless to resist.
Even Gongsun Yuanxi found herself unable to resist, for she was now affected by Jiang Li’s tumultuous True Qi, which was continuously pouring into his body.
The external power, upon coming into contact with the Innate Qi, merged with it, and was then seized by the rampaging "Yin Talisman Scripture" cultivation technique, driving the Heavenly Dharma forward relentlessly. As the Heavenly Dharma evolved, it integrated with the star symbols entering Jiang Li’s body, transforming into imprints imbued with the ancient and vast aura of the primeval world, merging into his acupoints.
The Heavenly Dharma was originally meant to transform the heretical into the sacred, turning the human body into the majestic heaven. Yet at this moment, it was the opposite, turning that which was sacred into the manifestation of Fuxi.
Contained within the star symbols that had entered Jiang Li’s acupoints were the profound mysteries of Fuxi’s appearance, which, upon mingling with the Heavenly Dharma, forcibly initiated the transformation into Fuxi’s appearance.
"Heaven and Fuxi, are they truly from the same origin..." Jiang Li had now confirmed his previous conjecture, but the uncontrollable changes brought him no pleasure whatsoever.
His journey had been smooth sailing up to this point, or at least unobstructed, but the current metamorphosis conveyed to him that things might not turn out as he wished, and that the Great Venerable might have had some arrangements after all.
This setup seemed to be specifically tailored for him, Jiang Li.
The newly appeared imprints merged into Jiang Li’s acupoints, clashing with the original talismanic seeds, and even interacting unpredictably with Jiang Li’s own bloodline. His Qi Mechanism surged wildly, his blood boiled, and he felt as though he was about to explode.
At this moment, an object resembling a pot that had detached from a mural slowly floated above Jiang Li’s head.
The entirety of the pot was in a bronze hue, seemingly made of bronze, approximately three inches tall and engraved with intricate patterns, forming countless mythical creatures from primordial times. As the bronze pot drifted, the patterns flowed as if the ancient beasts engraved on it were about to take flight from the pot.
Demon Refining Pot!
Without uttering a word, as soon as she saw the pot, the name "Demon Refining Pot" flashed through Gongsun Yuanxi’s mind.
Once the Demon Refining Pot floated above Jiang Li’s head, the lid shifted, opening a crack, and then the body of the pot tilted, pouring out a wisp of green light.
Like gas yet like liquid, the green light cascaded from the air, forming a droplet shape as it fell, and landed precisely on Jiang Li’s forehead without deviation.
Boom!
It was as if thunder roared in his mind, and in an instant, Jiang Li felt his Primordial Spirit soaring, as if reaching the ninth heaven, touching the boundless sky and facing the unfathomable and ineffable vastness.
His cultivated Pure Yang Primordial Spirit took on a hint of azure, imbued with the aura of the eternal sky, ethereal and unfathomable, lofty and unseen.
The imprints scattered in his acupoints suddenly found their core, fully connecting, assimilating his Yinglong Transformation, mingling with Emperor Yan’s Bloodline. His flesh writhed insanely, his bones snapped and crackled, and an unprecedented transformation manifested within Jiang Li.
"Fuxi’s Blood!" Gongsun Yuanxi gasped upon witnessing the changes brought by the wisp of green light.
With only the imprints but without the bloodline, the aberrant Heavenly Dharma could not stop the rejection between Jiang Li’s own bloodline and the gathered cultivation techniques. However, the introduction of this wisp of Fuxi’s Blood provided the bloodline, and subsequent to that, Fuxi’s appearance suddenly had a foundation, taking root within Jiang Li’s body completely.
"Is all this just to trigger Jiang Li’s metamorphosis?" Gongsun Yuanxi, still pressing her palm against Jiang Li’s chest, furrowed her brow.
By now, Gongsun Yuanxi had fully realized that her plans were exposed and the strategies she laid out had been ingeniously exploited by the Great Venerable.
Yet one thing puzzled her: Why would the Great Venerable go to such lengths, even using the Demon Refining Pot and gifting Fuxi’s Blood, a foundational bloodline, just to induce Jiang Li’s metamorphosis?
All the effort, just to offer Jiang Li an opportunity?
Intuition told Gongsun Yuanxi that there was more to it, yet the intricacies remained elusive.
...
...
"Is all this just to trigger Jiang Li’s metamorphosis."
Above Taihao Hall, a massive head slowly descended from the sky, its dragon eyes piercing through architectural barriers, viewing the scene inside the hall.
"This is a deduction, an experiment. The cultivation technique Jiang Li practices is an emulation of the Heavenly Technique. If he can metamorphose into Fuxi’s appearance, it means Heaven could as well."
"Some things are due to return to their rightful owner."
"Moreover, only when Jiang Li becomes one of our kin, will he truly stand on the same ground as us."
The being Gongsun Yuanxi identified as Dharma now revealed Spiritual Wisdom, overseeing the changes in the hall from above, even manipulating the situation from afar.
"It’s a success."
The red Dragon God murmured inwardly, its dragon eyes reflecting profound meaning.
But just then, he suddenly stiffened.
...
Within the Taihao Hall, the strange transformation continued.
Jiang Li’s tail, formed by the merging of his legs, started to lengthen delightfully, and with the fusion of Essence, Qi, and Spirit, the metamorphosis of flesh and blood, and the alteration of bloodlines, Jiang Li’s energy also gradually became inhuman and vast.
As the tail lengthened, the scales on the tail began to transform; no longer were they the fine scales of a snake but instead took on the broad size of dragon scales.
His arms too were covered with dragon scales and became claw-like, complete with horny protrusions, and atop his head, phantasmal shapes changed, as something seemed to be pushing up from beneath the skin.
It seemed that the integration of the Form Tomb Cultivation Technique and Emperor Yan’s Bloodline had ultimately caused Jiang Li’s human-headed-snake-bodied form to undergo a transformation.
The snake tail now more closely resembled that of a dragon’s, its tip unchanged yet its scales vastly different from that of a snake’s body; his arms too had turned into dragon claws, and pointed horns were growing on his forehead.
However, from an overall perspective, this transformation was benign.
But at that moment, Gongsun Yuanxi lightly waved her hand, a ray of light obscured Jiang Li’s vision, and then her body shone with starlight, with tiny stars rotating around her, arranging and changing, before abruptly entering her body. Upon closer examination, it was clear that the sequence and acupoint positions through which these stars entered were identical to the star symbols previously integrated into Jiang Li’s body.
She even drew out a stream of Pure Yang Qi from within Jiang Li, absorbing it into herself, just as Jiang Li had previously borrowed her energy for his metamorphosis; now, Gongsun Yuanxi extracted a stream of Essence Qi from within Jiang Li.
"Have you fully comprehended the secrets of Fuxi’s Dharma and turned them into your own, evolving through the Form Tomb?" Candle Dragon watched clearly from outside, amusement showing in its draconic eyes, "How interesting. The two have already merged their True Qi in Dual Cultivation."
If not for this, Gongsun Yuanxi would never have been able to extract Pure Yang Qi from within Jiang Li forcibly.
Since they had already undergone True Qi Dual Cultivation, this time was easier than the first; she skillfully used this connection to draw upon the evolved energy of Jiang Li, inversely aiding her own transformation.
This metamorphosis benefited both Jiang Li and Gongsun Yuanxi.
Gongsun Yuanxi’s legs merged together, and beneath her Dao Robe, a slender and graceful snake tail slowly appeared, while her Qi Mechanism also underwent fierce changes, resonating with Jiang Li.
However, just as the transformation proceeded, Gongsun Yuanxi suddenly raised her other hand.
Earlier, due to the rampage of her True Qi, she had been desperately suppressing it, unable to act; but now, having drawn on Jiang Li’s energy and evolved into the Dragon and Snake Dharma, she had tamed the wild True Qi. The Yin Qi she had injected into Jiang Li’s body even flowed in reverse, granting her an opportunity to act.
And her target, undoubtedly, was the Demon Refining Pot!
She extended her palm towards the Demon Refining Pot; a stream of Yin Qi was unleashed, touching it and eliciting faint green light.
Gongsun Yuanxi’s True Qi, after passing through Jiang Li’s body and now having evolved into the Dragon and Snake Dharma, had become extremely Yin and grand, evolving into the Kun Yin True Essence, which astonishingly resonated with the woman depicted in the mural.
She used the Form Tomb to steal Nuwa’s appearance and infused the Kun Yin True Essence into the Demon Refining Pot, which responded to her, and the bronze pot began moving toward Gongsun Yuanxi’s palm.
"Well done, it’s not enough to purloin the abilities of this seat, and now you even wish to take away the Demon Refining Pot."
Inside the Taihao Hall, strong gusts surged, and a voice like thunder exploded as a giant hand covered with crimson scales pierced through the hall’s ceiling, reaching down to grasp the Demon Refining Pot.
One above and one below, two disproportionately-sized palms faced each other across the bronze pot, and suddenly, a magnificent energy burst forth.
Behind Gongsun Yuanxi, a vague phantom adorned with a starry sky emerged, her delicate hands appearing to support all the stars, seemingly insignificant yet with majestic presence.
And the giant hand beneath showed flowing light and shadow, cycling through spring, summer, autumn, winter, day, and night, commanding the seasons, seemingly immense yet ethereal in energy.
The two contradictory forces clashed in mid-air, both striking the Demon Refining Pot simultaneously, causing the ancient artifact to emit an indescribable aura; divine, saintly, grand, powerful, omnipresent, it even swept into the void.
’The Wa Emperor Dao Fruit is indeed within the Demon Refining Pot.’
Gongsun Yuanxi’s pupils had now taken on a vertical shape, her gaze fixed on the Demon Refining Pot, where she saw a shadowy figure flitting by.
Suddenly, the void changed, space twisted, leading countless specks of dust to solidify, and the collision of three powers created a fantastical scene within the Taihao Hall, distorted and chaotic, suddenly exploding outward, and then collapsing in a blink.
The Divine Skills hidden in Wushan began to shift unpredictably, the vast shape of the mountain appearing and disappearing in the outside world.
"Boom!"
The power twisted to the extreme finally erupted, reducing the Taihao Hall to ashes in an instant, even the nearby buildings felt the aftershocks.
In the twisted space, Gongsun Yuanxi’s hair fluttered with the wind, and her clear, beautiful face rippled like water, with different visages manifesting behind her.
She withdrew her energy and suddenly pressed a palm behind her, creating a vortex, then she and Jiang Li swept back, escaping into the void before the force fully detonated.
Afterward, the exploding flux, like a destructive storm, threatened to obliterate everything, but just before it could spread further, it suddenly halted.
The storm of destruction was stifled, and time at that moment froze.