themonasnovels Chapter 9 Xiong Zhou: Goodbye!
Chapter 9 Xiong Zhou: Goodbye!
Fei Yi's serpentine body coiled up again, and a deep red flame, like magma, suddenly appeared in her eyes.
An authoritative force belonging to the drought erupted, rapidly drawing away moisture from a radius of 100 meters, causing the grass growing on the plains to wither and turn yellow.
Within a ten-meter radius at the very core, everything containing moisture turned to ashes, and even the fertile ground beneath one's feet scattered into sand devoid of any moisture.
A region entirely covered by drought has formed, like a massive cage, trapping Xiong Zhou and restricting his movement like shackles.
However, as he sensed this enormous "cage," Xiong Zhou's expression became even more peculiar.
The power of [Authority: Abundance] was mobilized, transforming into fine threads that permeated the area formed by the authority of drought, enhancing several crucial and unmasked special nodes, making the "drought" even more "abundant".
In an instant, the power of the drought authority was catalyzed, transforming from a simple "drought" into a complex "climate circulation" involving the imminent Flaming Mountain and the unnamed grassland.
The definition of "drought" was shaken, and consequently, the domain constructed by the authority of drought collapsed at an incredible speed, like a set of dominoes.
Fei Yi stared at the scene unfolding before him, his pupils dilating rapidly in disbelief.
She exhausted the power of this clone, desperately activating the drought authority in an attempt to salvage the drought domain. However, the various realms involved within it far exceeded the scope that Fei Yi's drought authority could interpret.
"boom!"
Columns of fire shot wildly from the ground, bursting into beautiful lava sparks in the sky.
This is the power of drought, which is eliminated from the surrounding environment by the laws of nature and the logical order that operates.
Strands of the primordial energy originating from the earth's depths are evaporating, merging, and transforming. Guided by [Power: Abundance], they continuously sink into the earth, transforming from destructive power into the creation of nature.
All things and objects affected by the drought underwent a special cycle under the control of [Power: Abundance].
The withered, yellowed grass met its demise, merging with the sand and gravel to give birth to new fertile soil.
Seeds of grass, carried by the wind from afar, fall to this land, take root and sprout from the earth, transforming into new seedlings that grow strong and healthy.
In the blink of an eye, the drought-stricken land was transformed into a lush, green expanse, indistinguishable from the rest of the plain except for two more deep pits.
Fei Yi, no longer stunned, cried out in disbelief, "Impossible!"
"My authority is stronger than yours, and the power within me is greater than yours, so why have I utterly collapsed under your abundant authority!"
Xiong Zhou looked at the Fei Yi a thousand meters away. His expression was still solemn, but he was no longer nervous.
He had already seen through some of the details of this fat remnant, especially her cultivation of the laws of heaven and earth, her understanding of the myriad phenomena of heaven and earth, and the shortcomings of the path to sainthood she had built.
Within the "Qi Refining World," there exist many extraordinary systems, some of which developed locally, and others which were introduced from the outside world.
However, no matter how complex or numerous these extraordinary systems are, they are all divided into three categories by Dao Lord-level experts according to their cultivation philosophies.
【Refining Qi】, 【Sage】, 【Cultivating Attachment】.
All those who aim for immortality, transcend the constraints of heaven and earth, and escape the cycle of reincarnation are collectively referred to as "Qi Refining".
Those who aim to protect heaven and earth, possess a flawless and impartial heart, wield authority, observe the way of heaven, act in accordance with heaven, follow the natural cycle of reincarnation, and are worshipped by all spirits are called "Saints".
Anyone who takes their own attachments as their goal, not for immortality, not for transcendence, not for the world, but only for cultivating their own thoughts, is called a "personalized cultivator".
The representative of Qi Refining, and the mainstream path to transcendence, is undoubtedly the Qi Refiner.
The representatives of the "saints" are the innate deities, the acquired deities who attained enlightenment through the power of the will of all beings, the primitive totem gods, and other beings who hold the power over heaven and earth.
There is no representative of the [Cultivation Path], as there are very few extraordinary paths of this kind, and they may be transformed from [Qi Refining] and [Sainthood], or may be combined.
However, regardless of the category, before "attaining the Dao," the first priority is to comprehend the laws of heaven and earth, to comprehend one Dao after another, to take them as "materials," and to build a "path" that is unique to oneself and leads to a higher level of life.
The two realms of the mortal world and the four realms of immortality are the six realms before "attaining the Dao".
Each realm is a segment of the "path".
Now, this fat remnant represents a flaw in the path.
Seeing Fei Yi's shocked expression, Xiong Zhou shook his head inwardly and sighed, "No wonder the sect's elders refer to the vast majority of creatures outside as 'barbarians'."
"They pay no attention to the foundation of cultivation, nor do they broaden their cultivation realm; they merely fumble around in their own comfort zone, blindly pursuing power..."
"Cultivation follows the barrel principle. Being born with the power of drought is very powerful. But if a divine saint only pursues a more powerful 'drought' without comprehending the other principles of heaven and earth or observing the overall operation of heaven and earth, let alone attaining the Dao, the probability of even reaching a high level in the four realms of immortality is extremely slim."
"Moreover, if one only pursues power, the final result will inevitably be that one will not even be able to fully master the power that one should have obtained within this realm."
An immortal being's control over power is actually less than that of a mere mortal...
Xiong Zhou felt that he had learned something new.
At this moment, Fei Yi came to his senses.
Her eyes flashed with ferocity, and a dazzling flame ignited from within her body, unleashing the power residing within her to its fullest extent. This ignited the subterranean fire buried deep in the earth, causing terrifying cracks to rip open within a radius of a hundred meters.
The earth shook violently, and a vast amount of magma surged upwards, unleashing destructive power once again.
This time, Fei Yi intends to launch a comprehensive attack on Xiong Zhou using a covering method.
Seeing this, Xiong Zhou chuckled and circulated the Qi of Heaven and Earth within his body, along with [Power: Abundance], directly stepping towards Fei Yi.
With each step of the snow-white claws, magma would condense and transform into fertile soil. With each scattering of the power of [Authority: Abundance], Fei Yi's authority would vibrate, and the power belonging to this authority would be forcibly dispelled by the laws governing the workings of heaven and earth.
"Snapped!"
Fei Yi once again used his snake tail to lash out at Xiong Zhou, causing the air to distort slightly.
However, this was in vain.
Unable to conceal the secrets of heaven, driven by a sudden impulse stemming from his bloodline, Xiong Zhou sensed an attack that might befall him a few breaths in advance.
"boom!"
Another deep pit appeared on the ground.
Xiong Zhou's dodging became increasingly effortless, and he gradually became familiar with the combat methods inherited from his bloodline, using them with increasing fluency.
At the same time, the distance to Fei Yi is getting closer and closer.
100 meters... 50 meters... 30 meters... 10 meters... 5 meters...
"Snapped!"
With a whooshing sound, the fat relic suddenly took flight, its four long wings slicing across the sky. Its eyes were filled with ferocity and bloodlust, and with a sharp, almost piercing roar, it lashed out at the approaching large dog.
This time, it was too close, only three meters away. No matter how much of a premonition I had, it was difficult to avoid.
Fei Yi, with his higher level of power, attempted to crush Xiong Zhou.
As Xiong Zhou watched the snake tail rapidly approaching him, and the fat relic whose body was suspended in mid-air, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.
Faced with the lashing snake tail, it made no defensive move, not even a move to deflect the force of the blow.
"Splash..."
The serpent's tail, wreathed in flames, swept across Xiong Zhou's body, but as before, it missed, causing him no harm. It only made his body slightly blurry, like a temporary frame drop.
"call!"
[Goodbye, Fei Yi!]
The enormous dog paws, silently, encircled a terrifying authority, as if borrowing the power of heaven and earth to carry out executions on behalf of the heavens.
"Thump!"
The dog's paw, covered in fluffy fur, landed steadily on Fei Yi's head with a dull thud.
Strands of the power of punishment, derived from heaven and earth, flowed from the tips of Xiong Zhou's claws into Fei Yi's consciousness, permeating his mind.
"Pfft..."
"Clatter..."
The sound of flesh and blood bursting from the skull of the grotesque creature was deafening, followed by the echoing sound of a giant snake, more than ten meters long, falling to the ground.
The life force of this clone continued to dissipate, and soon it vanished completely.
Xiong Zhou stuck out his tongue and licked his dry lips, thinking to himself, "Although this body of more than ten meters is only an avatar of this Fei Yi, Fei Yi's understanding of the laws and principles of heaven and earth will not be lost for no reason."
"An existence at the fourth level of immortality, due to an unstable foundation laid previously, had a flaw in his path to sainthood, and his avatar was easily defeated by a mortal being."
"This is the consequence of not laying a solid foundation; we should take this as a warning."
Suddenly, a peculiar tremor reverberated within Xiong Zhou's consciousness, causing him to pause for a few moments before turning his gaze to the undamaged corpse before him.
After a moment of contemplation, Xiong Zhou raised his paw and placed it on the seven-inch spot of the Fei Yi clone's corpse, activating the [Innate Divine Power: █ (Pixel Block)].
"Whoosh!"
A pixelated fragment emerged from the corpse, transforming into a unique liquid cube.
The fiery heat, the constantly emerging sparks, and the rather viscous appearance all indicate its special nature.
Xiong Zhou stared at the cube, his dog eyes practically popping out of their sockets.
"magma?"
Why does fighting the Fel Relic cause a Lava Source to drop?
"I remember, isn't the appearance of the Fei Yi a harbinger of a severe drought?"
"The authority to drought should have fallen, so why did the authority to fire fall instead?"
This is unreasonable, absolutely unreasonable.
This unusual situation caused Xiong Zhou's brain to overheat slightly, and he was a little slow to process it.
-----------------
Deep in the earth.
Inside a black rock cave that is not filled with lava.
While extracting the fat remains of the fiery red giant bull, its body convulsed several times, and its breathing became unsteady.
As a fetus with "one head and two bodies", the backlash from the fall of her doppelganger has arrived.
First, there is a decline in life potential.
After her clone perished, her chances of breaking through to a higher realm plummeted to almost zero. If she doesn't obtain an opportunity to recreate her clone in the future, she will never have the chance to break through.
Secondly, the body's strength has slightly diminished.
The power that steadily suppressed the fiery red giant bull beneath it destroyed a small portion of it. The earth fire authority drawn from the fiery red giant bull totem was all taken away by an indescribable force and disappeared without a trace.
Finally, and most terrifyingly, comes the backlash from one's own consciousness.
A deep-seated fear of death and divine punishment surged from the depths of the true spirit, transforming into a terrifying behemoth that tore and devoured, eroding the clarity of the mind.
"Moo?"
The fiery red giant bull, pinned down and bitten on the neck by a snake's bite, suddenly brightened up as it drew upon the totem of the earth's fire power.
Despite the terrifying, drought-like heat raging within him, he abruptly rolled over, pinning the nearly unconscious Fei Yi beneath him, and opened his bull-like mouth towards Fei Yi's neck.
Strands of drought authority flowed from Fei Yi's body into the fiery red giant bull's body.
"Moo!"
The joyful mooing of cattle echoed underground.
Previously, it was Fei Yi who constantly exploited him; now, he wanted to experience the joy of exploiting Fei Yi.
-----------------
Tianli Dojo.
Xiong Zhou stared in disbelief at the drought authority that slowly materialized in Bai Yu's hand, speechless for a moment.
After a long pause, he finally spoke, "Senior Sister Baiyu, you didn't say that using the power of that authority mark would come at such a price..."
Immediately afterward, Xiong Zhou complained, "The power of drought is my spoils of war. Senior Sister, it's a bit too self-righteous of you to use the power of calamity to extract it from another realm so directly."
Senior Sister Baiyu smiled, put her hands behind her back, and turned her back to Xiong Zhou.
Her voice, slightly cold yet containing a hint of amusement, echoed throughout the hall: "The power of drought is completely unsuitable for you. The power of abundance should be matched with powers of the Wood Element, the Earth Element, the Life Element, and so on."
"This authority over drought shall be yours, a god, as an offering to me, the Lord God."
"With the addition of drought, your divine authority over calamities can be further perfected, the totem pantheon will be strengthened, and you will be able to borrow more power in the future."
"Junior Brother Xiong Zhou, you should be happy."
Then, Senior Sister Baiyu said with a serious expression, "From the perspective of a Qi cultivator, your asking me for help is the cause, and my taking your spoils is the effect."
"Only then is the cause and effect resolved."
Xiong Zhou's noodles trembled slightly; he didn't actually care much about the authority over drought relief.
After all, "drought" and "abundance" are naturally opposed, and without sufficient understanding of the laws of nature, it is difficult to govern them.
As a result, even if the authority over the drought is in their hands, they have no choice but to abandon it in order to avoid potential legal conflicts.
But to directly extract the largest share from the source and still give him this explanation, Senior Sister Baiyu is probably not all cunning.
Also, don't think that just because you don't tell him, he won't know that this so-called totem pantheon only has two totem gods in total.
The vast majority of the Tai Li Immortal Sect practitioners are traditional Qi cultivators who also cultivate the divine path and have built their own path to sainthood; such practitioners are extremely rare.
Of all the Tai Li disciples who have walked the path of sainthood, only one can be considered a primordial totem: the Abundance God, who is still in the mortal realm, and the Fierce Heaven God, who is at the peak of the Immortal realm. That's all!
To expand the totem pantheon?
Bigger my foot!
The Tai Li Immortal Sect only has two totem gods. No matter how much it grows stronger, its pantheon will remain in the "initial stage" for a long time.