The sun was scorching hot...
Ever since Li Shiyin started building her foundation, she had never felt the sun of Mount Danfeng burn her like this. She could almost smell the sulfur under the Li Volcano.
A strong opponent...
It was an opponent who completely overwhelmed her - in speed, strength, swordsmanship, spiritual power, techniques and sword aura. She had woven a web to envelope Li Shiyin within.
But deep down, Li Shiyin knew her opponent was only using the strength from before building her foundation.
Could one reach such a level before building their foundation?
This question emerged in her mind as she, who had defeated several cultivators in the late Foundation Establishment stage, was being suppressed.
"Ding!"
A white feather flashed by as Li Shiyin quickly put up her purple star sword aura to block it. She couldn't completely withstand the power and retreated two steps back, stepping on a rock at the bottom of the lake and leaving a deep footprint.
But she had no time to care about the footprint as Bai Ruoxi's figure shook and attacked again. Li Shiyin exerted force against the rock to crush it, not bothering to counter attack. Instead, she charged towards Bai Ruoxi.
As the white and purple figures collided, countless white feathers and purple stars exploded...creating an extremely dreamy scene.
"This young girl has been trained well. The younger generation of the Lingnan Immortal Sect don't have much more capability than this," Su Changqing appraised. "And she is very aggressive by nature, a sword cultivator through and through."
"She just has some capability. Compared to the Sect disciples, there is no comparison," Qin Ran said modestly.
Qin Ran was actually very satisfied with Li Shiyin's performance. Although she was being suppressed, her opponent was the elite genius of the Lingnan Immortal Sect...Being able to endure instead of collapsing instantly was proof of Li Shiyin's strength.
As he watched the battle at the lake bottom, he suddenly asked Su Changqing, "How do you plan to deal with the Devouring Demon Willow in the depths of the Hengduan Mountains?"
"Hmm?" Su Changqing looked at Qin Ran and smiled knowingly without answering directly. Instead, he said, "I wonder if Brother Qin has studied the Tribulation Transcension stage."
"A little bit," Qin Ran replied.
"When the Nascent Soul transcends, it leaves the body to become an external avatar, preparing for integration," Su Changqing explained. "That is transcension."
Qin Ran nodded.
"But..." Su Changqing smiled and continued, "Sometimes transcension is also called soul division. What is soul division? It is splitting the primordial spirit transformed from the nascent soul into multiple primordial spirits to refine multiple avatars."
"Most cultivators at this stage would consider themselves fortunate to be able to handle that one external avatar properly. But some cultivators gifted enough are able to split their primordial spirit into two, four or even more, and consequently, would have the corresponding number of external avatars. The difference in strength between cultivators would be infinitely magnified at this stage."
Qin Ran already knew all this. But listening to it now, his expression changed slightly.
He had asked about the Devouring Demon Willow, but Su Changqing was talking about the Transcension stage. Could it be...
"What about integration? It is integrating the external avatars split out back with the body. So the difference in strength between a cultivator with one avatar versus multiple avatars can be imagined."
Su Changqing's expression was no longer calm and composed. He asked Qin Ran, "So what would happen if a cultivator at the transcension stage has endless avatars and integrates them all?"
"Are you saying the Devouring Demon Willow..." Qin Ran thought of the possibility and couldn't believe it as he asked, "It has countless avatars?!"
"Essentially each willow catkin is an avatar," Su Changqing explained. "This is due to the unique nature of the Devouring Demon Willow itself. Although its avatars don't have the same power as a normal cultivator's avatars, but...when it integrates, every single willow catkin would be a real avatar!
"Therefore, once the Devouring Demon Willow integrates, it would be the first ever cultivator at the integration stage in history, present and past!"
Who dares to claim to be first and undefeated?
This was the immortal cultivation world with a long and extensive history. No one dared to guarantee there were no extraordinarily horrifying cultivators ever in the long river of history. No one dared to easily claim to be first...
But because of the unique nature of the Devouring Demon Willow, it dared to claim to be first at the integration stage!
Qin Ran was shaken to the core hearing this as his expression changed rapidly. But finally he reacted and asked Su Changqing again, "So how does the Sect plan to deal with this Devouring Demon Willow?"
"Of course it cannot be allowed to live!" Su Changqing said decisively. "To achieve such power at the integration stage, how many innocent lives would it need to devour? If left alone to integrate, I'm afraid the Hengduan Mountains would cease to exist."
Qin Ran breathed a sigh of relief hearing this. As long as it will be dealt with then that's good. Otherwise he would have to flee immediately.
But thinking further, he suddenly realized something. With only Elder Ning, a cultivator at the Transcension stage on this trip, would he be able to handle it?
"Although the Demon Willow has not integrated yet, it is still horrifying enough..." He tentatively asked, "Does the Sect have any higher level cultivators coming as well?"
"Haha..." Su Changqing shook his head and laughed. "It seems Brother Qin has been frightened!
"Brother Qin, no matter how horrifying the Demon Willow, it is but a tree! I ask you, what tree does not bow to the might of man? Those that should fall still will. As terrifying as it is, it remains a tree."
Qin Ran thought about it and felt he was right. He himself was an example. His fleshly body cultivation was extremely formidable but he still couldn't fight.
"Of course..." Su Changqing continued, "A frontal assault is definitely impossible. We must wait for the right opportunity."
Qin Ran's heart tightened again. So that means they still can't overcome it!
He asked impassively, "What do you mean?"
"The Demon Willow has two moments of weakness," Su Changqing said. "When it prepares to integrate, it will disperse all its spiritual power outwards into the willow catkins. That is when its main body is the weakest. That is the opportunity. At that time, it can be easily destroyed without any effort."
Qin Ran nodded. Then he asked, "What about the other moment of weakness?"
"After it finishes integrating," Su Changqing answered. "At that time, it has to overcome the Heavenly Tribulation and its cultivation level will be at its lowest point. That is also its weakest moment."
"Since you have a plan, I am relieved," Qin Ran said. "I was worried about my own safety, thus I asked. Now that I know you have a way to deal with the Demon Willow, I am at ease. I will just focus on pill refining from now on at home."
"Brother Qin, please do not decline..." Su Changqing said. "There is another matter we wanted to discuss with you on this trip."
"What is it?"
"It is difficult to confirm exactly when the Demon Willow will start integrating. We need to locate it first to determine its current state," Su Changqing explained. "So we still plan to travel deep into the Hengduan Mountains. And to go that deep, we need sufficient understanding about the various beasts and demons there. And Brother Qin is an accomplished alchemist..."
"So we hope to invite Brother Qin to come with us to locate the Demon Willow."
"What?!" Qin Ran raised his voice in refusal, shaking his head repeatedly. "No, no, no, I won't go. I'm useless in a fight and would be no help at all."
"Brother Qin, please do not decline..." Just as Su Changqing was about to persuade further, the battle at the lake bottom was drawing to an end. He stopped and looked down.
At the bottom of the lake, Li Shiyin had fully activated the Stellar Light Introduction technique. Her entire body was glowing in a purple aura with crisscrossing purple sword qi. Every move and every stroke were aimed forcefully at Bai Ruoxi, pushing her back continuously.
Although her attacks were fierce with each sword qi blast gouging out the rocks, but upon striking Bai Ruoxi, they were easily deflected by the white feathers floating around her.
Bai Ruoxi seemed to be retreating but she was composed and in control. Or rather, she was intentionally letting Li Shiyin unleash everything she had to help push her to break through her limits. She was helping Li Shiyin cultivation.
After fully exerting the Stellar Light Introduction technique, Li Shiyin quickly ran out of spiritual power. She was drenched in sweat and breathed heavily as she conceded, "I lost."
Bai Ruoxi shook her head and went up to support Li Shiyin. "Don't be disheartened. You are already very outstanding. I just happened to have cultivated a bit longer than you."
As she spoke, she brought Li Shiyin up to the crater edge before Qin Ran and Su Changqing, kept her sword and took out her outer robe.
Bai Ruoxi put on her clothes and, as if suddenly remembering something, took out an antique thread-bound book from her Chaos Bag and handed it to Li Shiyin, saying: “You are quite good, I’ll give you this martial art technique.”
Li Shiyin looked at the book, which had the three big words "War Spirit Formula" on its cover. She did not take it, but instead looked at Qin Ran.
Qin Ran had a grave expression on his face as he looked at Su Changqing.
Su Changqing smiled faintly, not saying anything.
After a while, Qin Ran nodded slightly.