Immortality Cultivation

Chapter 275: Geng Metal Qi

The atmosphere in the stone chamber was as stagnant as if it had frozen. Crimson Phoenix’s body was flickering with a crimson halo, like a burning flame, illuminating her stunning face in alternating light and shadow. Her delicate hand, gripping the phoenix feather flying sword, tightened slightly. The sword emitted a faint hum, and sharp Sword Intent was ready to be unleashed, firmly locking onto Fang Hao. If Fang Hao made even the slightest move, a thunderous strike would certainly greet him.

However, she did not act immediately. In her beautiful phoenix eyes, shock, anger, annoyance, wariness, and a trace of imperceptible curiosity flashed by. She stared fixedly at Fang Hao, as if trying to see through all his secrets from his calm, ripple-free face.

A Perfected Golden Core Cultivator who could deceive even her, a guy with such a formidable Physical Body and strange Chaos Spiritual Power, a mysterious person who, right under her nose, had silently triggered a hidden Restriction she hadn’t even noticed and drawn out that pure Geng Metal Qi... This was definitely not the ordinary Loose Cultivator she had previously thought she could manipulate at will.

"Let’s talk again?" Crimson Phoenix’s voice remained crisp, but it carried an icy chill. A hint of mockery curled at the corner of her mouth. "Just because you hid your cultivation and toyed with me?"

Fang Hao was unperturbed by her mockery and said calmly, "Miss Chi Huang, that is not the case. You and I are strangers. In this Black Dragon Mountain Range, keeping a few trump cards is only human nature. Didn’t you also treat me as a stone to test the path earlier? How can you call it toying with you?"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the dried-up spring, and continued, "As for the thing underneath... If not for my fortuitous Opportunity to trigger the Restriction and draw out the aura, I fear that even if you rested here for several days, you might not have discovered it. Now that the Opportunity is before us, rather than wasting energy here, letting the Opportunity slip away, or even attracting other unknown dangers in the valley, why not set aside our prejudices and explore it together? We can discuss how to distribute the treasures based on our strength and contributions. What do you think, Miss?"

Fang Hao’s words were neither humble nor overbearing, pointing out their current situation—mutual wariness, mutual need. Crimson Phoenix had formidable strength, but Fang Hao was no weakling either. If they truly fought in this eerie Valley of Buried Soldiers, it was unclear who would win or lose. The greater possibility was that both would be injured, or worse, they might alert even more terrifying existences in the valley, which would be a loss that outweighed the gain. The Geng Metal Origin Qi under the spring was an Opportunity they both discovered; working together benefited both, fighting harmed both.

Crimson Phoenix was silent for a moment, the crimson halo around her body fluctuating slightly, showing her inner unrest. She naturally understood that what Fang Hao said made sense. A Perfected Golden Core Cultivator who hid so deeply would definitely not be weak; even if she could win, she would likely have to pay a significant price. Moreover, her goal for this trip was not here; that item deep in the Valley of Buried Soldiers was crucial to her. She could not waste too much energy here, much less cause complications due to a fight.

It was just that she was naturally arrogant and accustomed to ordering others around. Being "tricked" by a guy who "disguised" himself as a weakling but was actually a peer, and even having to talk about "cooperation" as equals, made her feel extremely unhappy.

A moment later, the crimson halo around Crimson Phoenix slowly receded. Although the phoenix feather flying sword in her hand had not returned to its sheath, the sharp Sword Intent that had locked onto Fang Hao quietly dissipated by more than half. She looked at Fang Hao coldly, her tone still distant but no longer as murderous as before: "Hmph, you certainly have a silver tongue. However, you had better remember that if it weren’t for the special circumstances here, I would definitely have to settle the score with you."

This counted as a tacit agreement to Fang Hao’s proposal: a temporary truce to explore together.

Fang Hao felt a slight relief, his expression unchanged, and he cupped his hands: "Miss is discerning. I wonder what your thoughts are on this Restriction?" He steered the conversation toward the Restriction under the spring, both to test Crimson Phoenix’s knowledge and to pave the way for the subsequent exploration.

Crimson Phoenix walked to the edge of the spring, sensed it carefully for a moment, and her willow eyebrows furrowed slightly: "This Restriction... is extremely ancient and obscure. If you hadn’t triggered it just now and leaked a trace of aura, even I would have been hard-pressed to notice it. Judging by its patterns and residual fluctuations, it is not a modern technique, but rather looks like... some kind of ancient sealing art. Moreover, it subtly harmonizes with the Evil Qi and the aura of weapons in this Valley of Buried Soldiers, borrowing the terrain to persist to this day."

She paused, looked at Fang Hao, her eyes filled with scrutiny: "How did you trigger it just now?" This was the question she cared about most. Even she found it hard to detect this Restriction, yet Fang Hao could trigger it silently and even draw out such pure Geng Metal Qi. There must be secrets about this person.

Fang Hao had already prepared his excuse and said calmly, "To be honest, Miss, I accidentally obtained an obscure technique for breaking Restrictions in my early years and have studied ancient Restrictions a little. Coupled with some good luck, I managed to sense a trace of fluctuation and tried to break it, not expecting to startle you." He attributed everything to an "obscure technique" and "luck," a mix of truth and lies that made it hard to distinguish.

Crimson Phoenix looked at him deeply, clearly not fully believing him, but she did not continue to ask. Everyone had their own secrets. In the Black Dragon Mountain Range, digging for the truth was a major taboo. As long as it did not affect cooperation, she could tolerate it for the time being.

"Although this Restriction is ancient and damaged, its core is intact, and it is connected to the underground Evil Qi. Forcibly breaking it might trigger a backlash of the local Evil Qi or even trigger more powerful killing moves," Crimson Phoenix analyzed. Coming from an extraordinary background with extensive knowledge, she quickly saw the key to the Restriction.

"Miss is absolutely right." Fang Hao nodded. He had used his Chaos Divine Sense to sense it earlier and had reached a similar conclusion. "This Restriction uses the Evil Qi of the Valley of Buried Soldiers as its source. Forcibly breaking it is equivalent to fighting against a portion of the valley’s underground Evil Qi, which is definitely not a wise move. In my opinion, perhaps we can try ’diverting’ or ’assimilating’ it."

"’Diverting’? ’Assimilating’?" A strange look flashed in Crimson Phoenix’s eyes. "You have a way?"

"We can try." Fang Hao did not speak with absolute certainty. "My obscure technique might be able to simulate some of the aura fluctuations of this Restriction, slowly infiltrating it to open a temporary gap without triggering the Evil Qi’s backlash. It just requires time, and it requires you to act as a Protector and isolate the aura to avoid unnecessary trouble."

Crimson Phoenix thought for a moment and nodded: "Fine. I will act as your Protector, but if you harbor any evil intentions, or if you cause uncontrollable complications..." She did not finish her sentence, but the meaning was clear.

"Rest assured, Miss. I also want to find out what is going on and will not bring trouble upon myself." As Fang Hao spoke, he walked to the edge of the spring and sat cross-legged. He did not act immediately, but first took out a few Spirit Stones of average quality and set up a simple sound-isolating and breath-concealing Formation around him. Although crude, it was better than nothing.

Seeing this, Crimson Phoenix also waved her hand to cast several crimson Talismans, which sank into the surroundings of the stone chamber, forming a more powerful isolation barrier, firmly locking their auras and spiritual power fluctuations within the stone chamber.

Once prepared, Fang Hao closed his eyes and sank his consciousness into his Sea of Consciousness. In his Sea of Consciousness, the walnut-sized Chaos vortex rotated slowly, emitting an aura of inclusion and evolution. He carefully separated a wisp of Divine Sense, more solid than before and carrying a strong aura of Chaos, and probed again toward the Restriction at the bottom of the spring.

This time, he no longer hid it and brought the inclusive and assimilating characteristics of the Chaos Derivation Art to the extreme. That wisp of Chaos Divine Sense, like the gentlest flowing water, or the perfect key, slowly attached itself to the ancient Restriction.

Crimson Phoenix stood to the side, fully on guard, while carefully sensing Fang Hao’s movements and the changes in the Restriction. She saw that Fang Hao was emitting an extremely strange and indescribable aura fluctuation. The fluctuation seemed to contain an ancient charm from before the world was created, and it subtly produced a subtle resonance with the Restriction, and even with the Evil Qi and weapon aura of the entire Valley of Buried Soldiers.

"What... is this Cultivation Technique?" Crimson Phoenix was shocked. She came from a noble background and had seen countless top-tier Cultivation Techniques, but she had never seen such a unique aura. This made her even more curious and vigilant about Fang Hao’s identity.

Under the slow infiltration of the Chaos Divine Sense, that layer of ancient and fragile Restriction, like snow meeting warm sunshine, began to soften and dissolve bit by bit. This time, Fang Hao was even more careful, controlling the rhythm so that not a single trace of Geng Metal Qi would leak out prematurely.

Time passed bit by bit. The stone chamber was silent, with only Fang Hao’s long breathing and the almost inaudible "hissing" sound produced by the contact between his Chaos Divine Sense and the Restriction.

About half an hour later, sweat had already appeared on Fang Hao’s forehead. Clearly, the process of "assimilating" the Restriction consumed a great deal of Divine Sense and spiritual power. But the results were significant; a stable crack in the Restriction, large enough for one person to pass through, was slowly forming.

Just as the crack was about to open completely—

"It’s done!" Fang Hao gave a low shout, his hands forming a seal, and that wisp of Chaos Divine Sense suddenly retracted!

Hum!

A faint sword hum, as if from ancient times, came from the crack! Immediately following, a Geng Metal Origin energy, purer, more majestic, and carrying supreme sharpness and ancient Killing Intent than what had leaked out before, surged out from the crack like a torrent that had been suppressed for countless years!

In an instant, the entire stone chamber was illuminated in a pure, dazzling white-gold that one dared not look at directly! Sharp, cutting Qi permeated the air, and the ground and walls were sliced with fine marks by the invisible Geng Metal Qi! If not for the isolation barrier set up by Crimson Phoenix, this aura would likely have shot straight into the sky!

"What pure Geng Metal Origin!" Crimson Phoenix’s beautiful eyes lit up, and she couldn’t help but gasp softly. Even with her background and knowledge, such pure, ancient, and majestic Geng Metal Origin Qi was extremely rare! This was definitely a supreme treasure for refining Flying Swords and improving Sword Intent cultivation! It even had immense benefits for her Natal True Fire!

Fang Hao’s heart was also pounding wildly. This Geng Metal Qi was even purer and more majestic than he had imagined! He felt that the Chaos Spiritual Power liquid in his Dantian, as well as the Chaos vortex in his Sea of Consciousness, were all crazily yearning and cheering!

"Miss Chi Huang, there is no time to lose, absorb and refine it quickly! This aura is too astonishing; the isolation Formation probably won’t hold for too long!" Fang Hao said in a deep voice. As he spoke, he had already sat cross-legged and was fully operating the Chaos Derivation Art and the Hundred Refinements Golden Body Art.

The Chaos Derivation Art was like a huge vortex, crazily devouring the surging Geng Metal Qi. Once the pure and sharp Geng Metal Qi entered his body, it was immediately wrapped, decomposed, and assimilated by the Chaos Spiritual Power, turning into the purest energy that merged into his limbs and bones, tempering his Meridians, bones, and internal organs, and finally flowing into his Dantian, merging with the Chaos Spiritual Power liquid. The Chaos Spiritual Power liquid became more viscous and refined at a speed visible to the naked eye, and its color also seemed to take on a hint of white-gold sharpness.

The Hundred Refinements Golden Body Art was like a long-awaited rain after a drought, greedily absorbing the Geng Metal Qi. On the surface of Fang Hao’s skin, the jade-like golden light flared, and white-gold light faintly flowed. His bones emitted a slight clanging sound like metal striking metal, and his Physical Body strength, power, and sharpness were all rapidly improving!

Seeing this, Crimson Phoenix did not hesitate and immediately sat cross-legged. She seemed to be cultivating a top-tier fire-element Cultivation Technique, which was not of the same source as the Geng Metal Qi and even somewhat conflicted with it. But she clearly had a special method; she pinched a seal, and a great crimson light flared around her body, as if she had turned into a burning lotus of fire. When the surging Geng Metal Qi approached her, it was not directly absorbed but was scorched and refined by the fire lotus, removing its overly rigid and violent characteristics, extracting the purest Innate Metal Qi, and then slowly merging into her body, tempering her Flying Sword, Meridians, and even causing the aura of her Natal True Fire to take on a hint of sharpness.

The two of them, one on the left and one on the right, each used their own methods, crazily absorbing and refining the gushing Geng Metal Origin. In the stone chamber, the white-gold and crimson lights complemented each other, energy surged, and the aura was astonishing.