“Die and be done with it!”
Arrogant voices kept ringing in from outside. Ye Chu’s face darkened. Looking at Tan Miaotong, who was clearly struggling from holding her breath, he gave a cold snort and roared outwards, “If you want me dead, I am afraid it will not be that easy.”
Ye Chu took out the stone box from his robes and retrieved the Primal Spirit True Source within.
As soon as the Primal Spirit True Source appeared, the surrounding Spirit Moulding Qi surged madly towards it. But this was merely a drop in the bucket, nowhere near enough to resolve the deadly crisis facing Ye Chu and Tan Miaotong.
“What are you going to do?” Tan Miaotong looked at Ye Chu. Her heart gave a violent thump as a certain possibility flashed through her mind.
Ye Chu smiled at Tan Miaotong without a word. His finger suddenly pressed down on the Primal Spirit True Source. Spiritual energy instantly wrapped around it. A cut opened on Ye Chu’s fingertip, and fresh blood seeped out, dripping onto the True Source.
“You… you…” Tan Miaotong pointed at Ye Chu with a trembling finger. Her beautiful eyes widened in shock. She had never imagined Ye Chu would actually do this. Refining a Primal Spirit True Source required extensive preparation. Otherwise, the danger was extreme. After all, this was the True Source of a great cultivator. The power it contained was unimaginable, more than enough to easily obliterate an Innate Realm cultivator.
Yet right now, Ye Chu was boldly attempting to refine the Primal Spirit True Source bare-handed. Did he think refining a True Source was a game?
“Ye Chu! Do not take the risk!” Tan Miaotong urgently warned him. “The True Source of a great cultivator is terrifying. If it erupts, it can instantly kill you.”
“Do we have any other choice?” Ye Chu said to Tan Miaotong. “Just give it a try! If I can refine the True Source, I am confident my strength will surge! Then those three outside will be nothing to worry about!”
“But…”
Tan Miaotong still wanted to say more, but Ye Chu paid her no attention. His finger remained pressed against the True Source, allowing it to devour his blood. The demonic red crystal grew even more vividly crimson.
When the entire crystal had turned a thoroughly eerie blood-red, it finally stopped absorbing blood from Ye Chu’s finger. Instead, the blood it had just devoured began flowing back into his fingertip.
As the blood returned, the originally demonic red crystal gradually lost its colour, turning into a nearly transparent stone with not a trace of aura left on it. When the last hint of colour vanished, Ye Chu casually tossed the crystal aside and sat cross-legged on the ground.
Watching Ye Chu sit in meditation, Tan Miaotong clenched her fists tightly. Her heart pounded so hard it felt ready to leap out. Her gaze burned as she stared at him.
If Ye Chu could successfully refine a great cultivator’s Primal Spirit True Source, he would gain unimaginable benefits. But if he failed, even if he survived, he would suffer severe injuries.
“Ye Chu, you have to hold on!” Tan Miaotong silently prayed for him.
At this moment, Ye Chu sat motionless on the ground. The blood carrying the essence of the True Source flowed through his body. With every circulation, his body temperature rose another degree. In a short time, Ye Chu’s body had become scalding hot.
Seeing steam finally rising from Ye Chu’s body, Tan Miaotong gripped her fists even tighter.
Ye Chu naturally understood the danger of refining the True Source. Under normal circumstances, such reckless and unprepared refinement was a nine-in-ten chance of death. Yet right now, he could only hope that the body technique taught to him by the old madman would prove effective.
As the blood circulated, the power of the True Source continuously seeped into Ye Chu’s body. He could feel his primal spirit being wrapped tightly by a wondrous force. It slowly integrated into him, gradually strengthening his primal spirit.
More and more power coiled around Ye Chu’s primal spirit. These forces almost solidified, firmly protecting the primal spirit and preventing any external Spirit Moulding Qi from approaching.
Ye Chu knew that the power wrapping his primal spirit was the refined Spirit Moulding Qi of the great cultivator. Having been purified through the great cultivator’s refinement, it could be absorbed directly. It had the highest affinity with the primal spirit, caused no harm, and integrated in a gentle, gradual manner.
Of course, Ye Chu could not absorb all of the great cultivator’s Spirit Moulding Qi at once. The power coiling around his primal spirit was meant to be drawn upon gradually in future cultivation. At the very least, below the Primal Spirit Realm, he would no longer need to worry about Spirit Moulding.
But at the same time, the True Source was formed from the great cultivator’s primal spirit. It carried his intent and power. This intent and power now rampaged through Ye Chu’s body, as though trying to tear him apart.
“Old madman, you had better be reliable!” Ye Chu thought with anticipation. His previously motionless body suddenly began to twist wildly, moving in strange, bizarre angles.
With every movement, light flashed across Ye Chu’s arms.
“Madman Form!” That was the name the old madman had given this set of movements. He had said that performing these odd actions could dissolve violent forces within the body.
The old madman had once boasted that as long as the power did not instantly overwhelm and heavily injure the cultivator, this set of movements could slowly neutralise it.
Ye Chu had never truly believed these awkward movements could have such miraculous effects. He only hoped they could somewhat resolve the violent force inside him. That would be enough to thank the heavens.
Under Ye Chu’s movements, the intent and power brought by the True Source all surged towards his arms. His arms turned a terrifying fiery red, their temperature far exceeding that of the rest of his body.
“Damn it! The old madman really tricked me!” Ye Chu cursed inwardly. Was this not supposed to resolve the force? Why was nothing being resolved? Instead, everything was accumulating in his arms. If this continued, his arms would explode.
Tan Miaotong watched from the side. She could clearly see spiritual energy pouring into Ye Chu’s body. His strength was growing. That much was obvious to her. Yet she also saw his fiery red arms.
“What on earth is Ye Chu doing?” Tan Miaotong frowned as she watched him perform those strange movements. She had no idea what he was trying to achieve.
Tan Miaotong stared fixedly at Ye Chu. She had never seen an Innate Realm cultivator refine a True Source before. She did not know to what extent Ye Chu could grow from this, or whether he might truly obtain some of the great cultivator’s techniques.
If Ye Chu gained access to a great cultivator’s techniques, dealing with those three outside would be nothing at all.
Though his arms ached unbearably, Ye Chu had already begun the old madman’s movements. He could only grit his teeth and persist. The longer he persisted, the more intense the swelling pain in his arms became.
“Ah…”
In the end, Ye Chu could not hold back a pained cry. It felt as though the next moment his arms would explode from the pressure.
Ye Chu clenched his teeth and completed the final few movements. By now, his arms were red-hot, like roasted pork.
“Ye Chu!” Tan Miaotong wanted to rush forward and stop him, but Ye Chu suddenly leapt up. Under her stunned gaze, he dashed straight to the boulder.
In Tan Miaotong’s incredulous stare, Ye Chu’s arm smashed down hard against the boulder. In that instant, she witnessed a scene she could scarcely believe. Her delicate little mouth fell open wide as she stared blankly ahead.