Chapter 155: Encounter

It can be said that magical treasures handed down from ancient times in the Tianlong Continent are generally much scarcer and more valuable than those forged nowadays.

Among treasures of the same rank, even an inferior-grade ancient magical treasure has the potential to rival a medium-grade magical treasure in power. However, intact ancient magical treasures passed down to the present are extremely rare.

The reason ancient magical treasures are more powerful than their contemporary counterparts of the same rank lies in the exceptionally rare materials used to craft them. Even an inferior-grade ancient magical treasure might incorporate a large chunk of heavenly gold, allowing its might to stand out remarkably among weapons of the same tier.

In ancient times, all kinds of resources were extraordinarily abundant.

The present era, having undergone millions of years of plundering, cannot possibly compare; the disparity is vast.

In the ancient epoch, heavenly gold might have been scarce, but it had not yet reached the verge of extinction.

However, as millions of years have passed, the quantity of heavenly gold produced in the Tianlong Continent can be described as pitifully meager. Perhaps only ancient sects and powerful factions retain a certain amount in stock.

If there are still large deposits of heavenly gold mines left anywhere in the Tianlong Continent, they would only be found within the fierce beast forbidden zones of the three great restricted areas.

It is no exaggeration to say that the resources harbored there account for more than half of the entire Tianlong Continent.

Even sects with such long-standing legacies as the Heaven-Breaking Sect and the Inviting Moon Cult probably do not possess many superior-grade ancient magical treasures. A single superior-grade ancient magical treasure would be enough to serve as a sect-鎮pa (foundational) treasure.

One can well imagine how much attention from various factions and secluded entities was triggered by the emergence of an ancient spatial magical treasure.

This was a supreme treasure a hundred times more precious than a superior-grade ancient magical treasure, holding a pivotal role for any faction.

The ancient spatial magical treasure known as the Heaven-Square Pagoda was discovered by a temporary team exploring the fringes of the ancient battlefield restricted zone. Yet, on account of the pagoda, that very team turned on one another in a bloody melee.

Later on, the Heaven-Square Pagoda was seized by a disciple of a minor sect who managed to escape completely.

Although that hastily assembled team suffered heavy casualties with most of its members dead, a few survived, and thus the news leaked out.

As word of the Heaven-Square Pagoda's appearance spread, nearly everyone in the Dragon-Suppressing City sprang into action, scattering in all directions to track down the whereabouts of that minor sect's disciple.

The news was transmitted via messaging jade talismans in an instant to major powers such as the Tianlong Dynasty, the Heaven-Breaking Sect, and the Inviting Moon Cult.

Upon receiving this heaven-shaking news, powerhouses from all sides rushed over at full speed.

Deep within the Myriad Volcanoes, Yi Tian was completely unaware that the outside world had become a tempestuous storm, with countless formidable experts gathering at Dragon-Suppressing City.

He was still using the Earth Fire Bead to cultivate his Great Sun Heavenly Scripture and the Vajra Indestructible Profound Art. His physical body grew stronger by the day, and the primordial core in his Dantian shattered and reformed over and over again.

Yet, the time required for Yi Tian to truly condense an exceptionally solid primordial core capable of withstanding the full, explosive might of the Great Sun Heavenly Scripture was by no means short.

Yi Tian had some inkling of this.

It could only be said that the tier of the Great Sun Heavenly Scripture he practiced was simply too high, making the difficulty of condensing the Great Sun Primordial Core a hundredfold greater than other cultivation methods.

Amidst the repeated shattering of his primordial core, Yi Tian suffered backlash every single time.

Fortunately, his physical body was incomparably robust, nearly breaking through to the third level of the Vajra Indestructible Profound Art, and his Dantian space had also become exceptionally firm. Consequently, such primordial core collapses did not inflict severe damage upon him.

After all, this was not a primordial core self-detonation, but rather a dispersion due to failure of condensation, so its destructive force was not as immense as one might imagine.

"To condense the Great Sun Primordial Core, I am afraid it will take two or three months!"

Yi Tian felt somewhat helpless.

The Great Sun Heavenly Scripture he practiced was far too profound. Although his Great Sun True Essence was already extremely refined, it had not yet reached the peak of the scripture and required a vast amount of time to be polished.

Without the assistance of the Earth Fire Bead, he reckoned it would take several years just to condense his primordial core.

"Since that is the case, I will throw my full effort into breaking through to the third level of the Vajra Indestructible Profound Art! That way, my physical body can rival the Earth Demon Golden Body of that Demonic Palace disciple, and my strength will soar!"

With that, Yi Tian concentrated his entire mind on practicing the Vajra Indestructible Profound Art.

Backed by the full assistance of the Earth Fire Bead, over two thousand spiritual apertures across Yi Tian's body operated at maximum capacity. Wisps of heterogeneous true essence, evolved from the Vajra Indestructible Profound Art, were continuously generated. They permeated outward from every single spiritual aperture, blending into his blood, bones, tendons, skin, membranes, and internal organs.

At every moment, Yi Tian could feel every inch of his flesh and blood becoming increasingly solid.

This was the transformation and sublimation of the physical body.

After an unknown duration, a sudden roar echoed within Yi Tian's body. The spiritual apertures operating the Vajra Indestructible Profound Art lit up with wisps of golden light. Faintly, one could discern a slightly intricate talismanic script, gleaming with golden light, looming in and out of view, exuding a trace of an indomitable, immortal Vajra will.

The third level of the Vajra Indestructible Profound Art was achieved.

At this very moment, Yi Tian successfully forged the third level of the Vajra Indestructible Profound Art, endowing his physical body with the caliber of a top-tier inferior-grade magical treasure.

It could be said that relying on the third level of the Vajra Indestructible Profound Art, he could go toe-to-toe with top-tier human-realm experts at the primordial core level. Unless struck by weapons of the same caliber as a top-tier inferior-grade magical treasure, nothing could harm him.

When Yi Tian glanced at the Earth Fire Bead in his hand, he could not help but freeze in surprise.

At this moment, the luster of the Earth Fire Bead in his grasp had dimmed considerably; at least twenty percent of its earth-fire essence energy had been absorbed by him.

Following this, Yi Tian placed the Earth Fire Bead directly into the magma of a volcano.

The Earth Fire Bead frantically absorbed a massive amount of earth-fire energy. The volcanic magma solidified at a speed visible to the naked eye, and within the span of a cup of tea, an entire volcano was drained of all its earth-fire energy.

One, two, three...

The Earth Fire Bead absorbed the energy of over a hundred volcanoes before finally recovering to its peak state.

Otherwise, had Yi Tian left it unattended, absorbing the ambient primordial qi of the void to recover would have taken at least a decade or two—an exceedingly long duration.

It was time to leave.

Yi Tian took one last look at the Myriad Volcanoes and resolutely departed.

For him, continuing to cultivate within the Myriad Volcanoes would yield no further results.

If he wanted to make a breakthrough, he had to search for opportunities everywhere. Only thus could he lead step by step and leave those who practiced behind closed doors far behind—though within such pursuits, opportunity and mortal peril coexisted, and he might well have to pay with his life.

By the time Yi Tian departed the Myriad Volcanoes and reached the outer periphery, a great number of volcanoes had already cooled down, their magma having solidified—at least over a thousand of them.

These dead volcanoes might take several years, or perhaps even longer, to transform back into active ones.

Scarcely had Yi Tian traveled a thousand miles away from the Myriad Volcanoes when he spotted a battle unfolding ahead.

"What is going on here?"

Yi Tian looked with mild surprise at the combat taking place dozens of miles away, where two parties of cultivators were locked in fierce battle.

A team was locked in mortal combat with a single man.

That man possessed immense strength, standing at the peak of the primordial core realm. Wielding a top-tier inferior-grade magical treasure longsword, he slashed out torrents of peerless sword qi to battle the entire group. Although that team consisted of over a dozen people, the majority had already been cut down by the man, leaving only five desperately holding their ground.

"Duo Feng, you cannot escape! Obediently hand over the Heaven-Square Pagoda, or your doom is not far off! We have already sent word to our sect, and our elders will arrive very soon!"

"That's right! Even if you kill us, you will still die. The news that the Heaven-Square Pagoda is in your hands has already spread. If you know what's good for you, hand it over to us; otherwise, death is your only way out!"

The remaining five fought fiercely against the man while occasionally trying to shake his psychological resolve, hoping he would relinquish the Heaven-Square Pagoda.

Hearing this, Duo Feng burst into hearty laughter: "A supreme treasure like the Heaven-Square Pagoda is well worth risking my life for! As long as I keep you here and then go into hiding to cultivate for a few decades, once I break through to the Earth Realm and refine a small portion of the Heaven-Square Pagoda, I will fear no Earth-Realm overlord!"

Duo Feng could scarcely believe his own astonishing luck.

He never imagined that as a mere ordinary cultivator within Dragon-Suppressing City, he would actually manage to track down that disciple of the minor sect who had acquired the Heaven-Square Pagoda.

In the end, he used a precious Earth-Realm talisman he had hoarded for ages to catch the disciple off guard, obliterating him and seizing the Heaven-Square Pagoda for himself.

He had initially thought fortune was smiling upon him, only for the news to leak out swiftly, drawing relentless hunts from various factions. Relying on his familiarity with the terrain around Dragon-Suppressing City, he had managed to stay safe until now—only to cross paths with these disciples of the God-Suppressing Sect and trigger a fierce confrontation.