Immortality Cultivation

Chapter 289: Subduing [5]

Indeed, Fang Hao’s right fist had its skin split and healed multiple times during his previous confrontation with the Soldier Soul giant axe and his subsequent forced Fusion of the two fires while completing the "Golden Qi Marrow Cleansing." Although his recovery ability was astonishing after the "Golden Qi Marrow Cleansing" reached Perfection, the newly formed flesh was relatively fragile. Just now, when he shattered the Soldier Soul’s chest with a full-force punch, several tiny wounds split open again on his knuckles, and wisps of platinum-lustered blood seeped out.

At this very moment, the streak of fire transformed from the soldier fiend spirit fire plunged into those tiny wounds with lightning speed!

"What?!" Fang Hao was greatly alarmed in his heart and wanted to pull back his hand, but it was already too late! The speed of the fire streak was too fast, and it wasn’t attacking; it felt more like... some kind of active Fusion, or perhaps, attachment?

As the fire streak entered his body, Fang Hao’s whole body shuddered violently! A force of fire, even purer than when he had forcibly fused them before, yet more violent, scorching, and incomparably sharp, surged crazily into his body through the wounds on his right fist! This fire power was no longer the unconscious, violent resistance from before, but carried a peculiar spirituality, as if it were "recognizing its master." Although still domineering, it lacked much of the repulsion and was actively surging towards his Dantian!

Meanwhile, the Soldier Soul, on the verge of disintegration, saw the soldier fiend spirit fire actively throwing itself towards Fang Hao. The dark red flames in its hollow eye sockets suddenly erupted with a final brilliance. In that radiance, there seemed to be a trace of relief, a trace of release, and a trace of... indescribable, complex emotion. It took one last look at the streak of fire that had entered Fang Hao’s body, then looked at the charred hole on Broken Blade Cliff. Then, its illusory figure could no longer maintain itself, collapsing with a boom, turning into the purest Evil Qi and sporadic fragments of weapon phantoms, slowly dissipating into the air. Only a barely audible, sigh-like fluctuation of intent remained for an instant before completely annihilating within the eternal Evil Qi of the Valley of Buried Soldiers.

At this moment, Fang Hao had no time to attend to the dissipation of the Soldier Soul. Although the fire streak transformed from the soldier fiend spirit fire was no longer violently resisting after entering his body, its inherent scorching heat and sharpness still caused a massive shock and burden to his not-yet-fully-stabilized Meridians and Physical Body.

"Not good!" Fang Hao’s heart sank, and he immediately sat cross-legged, sinking his consciousness into his body. He saw that streak of dark red and platinum intertwined fire charging through the Meridians of his arm. Although it was no longer wantonly destroying, its scorching and sharp aura still made his Meridians burn with pain. The fire streak finally rushed into his Dantian, heading straight with a clear target towards the new flame core that was slowly rotating, blending with his Chaos Spiritual Power, and had already stabilized after fusing a trace of the soldier fiend spirit fire’s Origin!

This new flame core had been formed during the "Golden Qi Marrow Cleansing" process when Fang Hao forcibly fused the Earth Core Flame Fire with a portion of the soldier fiend spirit fire’s Origin. It possessed a hazy Chaos color, with fire sprouts of intertwined reddish-yellow, dark red, and platinum on the periphery. Although initially stable, in essence, the Earth Core Flame Fire held the dominant position; the soldier fiend spirit fire’s Origin had only been forcibly decomposed and fused with a trace, far from reaching a true balance and Fusion.

At this moment, this newly surging, purer, and more complete soldier fiend spirit fire Origin fire streak seemed to have found "its own kind," or perhaps it had been "summoned" by something, and it unhesitatingly slammed into this new flame core!

Boom—!!!

Fang Hao’s Dantian felt as if a red-hot branding iron had been thrown into it, and it began to vibrate violently again! The Chaos Spiritual Power that had just calmed down was triggered once more, spinning crazily! After merging with this complete soldier fiend spirit fire Origin, the newborn flame core suddenly expanded in volume, its light blazing brilliantly, with reddish-yellow, dark red, and platinum colors crazily intertwining, clashing, and devouring one another!

This conflict was even more intense than before! Because this was no longer an external force being forcibly fused, but the Origin of the soldier fiend spirit fire attempting to "reverse the host and guest roles" and seize dominance! As Fang Hao’s natal spirit fire, the Earth Core Flame Fire had long been connected to Fang Hao’s consciousness, so it naturally refused to be devoured or suppressed, immediately erupting with all its power to resist!

Two Heaven and Earth spirit fires, equally domineering yet with vastly different attributes, once again launched a fierce struggle within Fang Hao’s Dantian! This time, because the soldier fiend spirit fire’s Origin was more complete and powerful, the Earth Core Flame Fire instantly fell into a disadvantage, and the flame core was being eroded and compressed by the dark red and platinum flames at a speed visible to the naked eye!

"Hmph!" Fang Hao let out a muffled groan, his face instantly turning deathly pale. His aura, which had recovered somewhat due to the "Golden Qi Marrow Cleansing" reaching Perfection, began to fluctuate violently again, and a trace of blood even spilled from the corner of his mouth. He felt that his connection with the Earth Core Flame Fire was being weakened, while the sharp Evil Qi of the soldier fiend spirit fire was eroding his Dantian and Meridians, and there were even faint signs of it backfiring against its master!

"What a soldier fiend spirit fire! Truly unruly and difficult to tame!" Fang Hao’s heart was cold; he knew the most critical moment had arrived. Before, it was forcibly fusing a trace of the Origin; now, the complete Origin had entered his body, attempting Possession! If he allowed the soldier fiend spirit fire to take the lead and devour the Earth Core Flame Fire, he might indeed obtain a more powerful fire, but this fire was heavy with Evil Qi, unruly, and difficult to tame; it would very likely backfire on him, and might even contaminate his Chaos Dao foundation!

"How can I allow you to act wantonly in my Dantian!" A fierce glint flashed in Fang Hao’s eyes as he crazily circulated the Chaos Derivation Art once more! This time, he did not attempt to forcibly reconcile or fuse them. Instead, using his own will, he communicated with the Earth Core Flame Fire, while simultaneously driving his Chaos Spiritual Power to transform into an invisible net, shrouding the soldier fiend spirit fire Origin that was expanding crazily and attempting to devour everything!

"With my thought, I command my fire! With Chaos as the furnace, ten thousand fires return to the sect! Refine for me!"

Fang Hao roared in his heart, pouring all his consciousness into controlling and refining the two fires in his Dantian. He no longer viewed the soldier fiend spirit fire as an outsider that needed to be fused, but as "provisions" that needed to be conquered and refined! He wanted to use the Earth Core Flame Fire as the foundation, the Chaos Spiritual Power as the furnace, and his own will as the fire to forcibly refine this soldier fiend spirit fire, completely decomposing and absorbing its Origin to supplement and elevate his own natal spirit fire, rather than being usurped by it!

This was a more dangerous and difficult process, but it was also the only way to completely resolve the hidden danger and gain the greatest benefits!

The net formed by the Chaos Spiritual Power slowly contracted, wrapping and suppressing the soldier fiend spirit fire’s Origin. Under the drive of Fang Hao’s will, the Earth Core Flame Fire erupted with tenacious resistance, desperately guarding the core. And Fang Hao’s will, like the hardest hammer, constantly hammered and penetrated into the violent flame core of the soldier fiend spirit fire, attempting to disintegrate its spirituality, strip away its Evil Qi, and refine its Origin...

Beneath Broken Blade Cliff, dead silence returned once more. Only Fang Hao, sitting cross-legged, had the reddish-yellow, dark red, and platinum-intertwined light flickering on his body surface from time to time. His aura fluctuated incessantly, and his face displayed an expression intertwined with pain and determination. The wounds on his back had already scabbed over due to the strong recovery ability of his Physical Body, but a new crisis was fiercely unfolding within his Dantian.

Fusion or refinement? Conquest or being backfired upon?

This great task of subduing the soldier fiend spirit fire had reached its most dangerous and critical juncture.