CHAPTER 874: CHAPTER 597: MIXED CAVE FURNACE TECHNIQUE

All along.

The reason why the Evil Gods came to the Land of the Stars, how they came, has always been an unsolved mystery in history.

They appeared so abruptly, descending upon the Great Universe, delivering an unprecedented blow to the Divine Court that fancied itself as the master of the universe. Amidst panic, endless internal strife, and betrayal, the Divine Court was destroyed.

These are but what the histories record.

The answers have long dispersed into the wind.

Throwing aside the distractions in his mind, Lu Chenzhou no longer paid attention to these grand narratives, focusing on the present moment.

[Please name the new cultivation technique.]

"Mixed Cave Furnace Technique."

[Mixed Cave Furnace Technique: Tenth Rank]

[Divine Seed·Melting Furnace Hundred Refinements]

[Effect: Heaven and Earth Furnace, greatly increases the upper limit of Qi Sea capacity. When energy is exhausted, if inside the Xia Realm, you can quickly replenish your energy from the outer heavens and earth (current maximum attempts: 6 times); if outside Xia Realm, then the number of uses is halved.]

"Within Xia Realm, heaven and earth grow alongside me, all things are one with me, and energy flows ceaselessly. My Dantian is already vast, and now I can instantly fill up True Gang six times. This means, within a short period, I can use the [Nine Tribulation Lotus] over ten times. As everyone knows, there’s no enemy that one strike of Nine Tribulation Lotus cannot send off—if there is, fire ten more shots."

Outside Xia Realm, the effect drops greatly.

But three uses is enough.

The greatest strength of the "Mixed Cave Furnace Technique" lies in the Divine Skill it nurtures—peerless through the ages.

[Divine Skill·Mixed Cave Gate]

[Quality: Lower Grade·Thirty-Six Patterns]

[Level: Intermediate]

[Introduction: While in Xia Realm, you can consume "Cosmic True Gang" to open a Mixed Cave Gate. The Mixed Cave Gate ignores spatial distance, allowing you to quickly reach any place in Xia Realm that you have been to. Places you have not reached yet cannot be teleported to.]

"With this Divine Skill, who in Xia Realm could kill me? Even the Dragon and Tiger Great Saint couldn’t catch me. Even if a Great Power arrived in Xia Realm—what could they possibly do to me?"

Lu Chenzhou’s confidence was overflowing.

"That said, I still mustn’t get careless. After all, teleportation takes time. The Eighth Realm is alright—they shouldn’t be able to insta-kill me... but if I come face-to-face with a Great Power, I might be killed in a single thought."

Lu Chenzhou never became arrogant.

"The greatest use of this Divine Skill is still to help me find Star Oddities and save travel time."

Lu Chenzhou gazed at the distant Xia Star. He extended his spear tip, Cosmic True Gang surging. Using the spear as brush, he drew a circle in the void. A pitch-black vortex appeared.

...

Yun Meng City.

On the bustling, traffic-filled streets, a pitch-black vortex solidified into form. It seemed hidden in another dimension; though crowds of passersby flowed by, no one saw it.

Lu Chenzhou returned from a distant journey, covered in dust and grime. He strolled leisurely along the streets, savoring the aura of human life.

"I’m about to go to the Mystic Sky Realm. Why not use the Mixed Cave Gate to tour all of the Human World while I’m at it?"

He walked alone through the Human World, observing the multitudes.

The past decade and more—too much has happened.

Li Yao advanced to Great Grandmaster;

Shi Ruyu and Ji Feiyan had long since become Grandmasters, staying on as staff at the academy. Feiyan started a family and is now a mother, her personality still lively as ever.

After Shi Ruyu achieved Grandmaster, she gained new insight and inspiration. She didn’t stop moving forward, continuing to chase her Martial Arts dream—to try for Great Grandmaster.

Master Ji founded a small Martial Arts Academy, not for profit, but to try his luck—to see if he could uncover a second Lu Chenzhou for Tianxia Civilization.

Little Fengxian returned from Void City, advanced to Heavenly King, and passed the Mystic Sky Expeditionary Army selection. In her heart, she still missed her eldest brother Bai Feng.

Wang Gang, who once ran wild with Lu Chenzhou doing nothing serious, also became a Great Grandmaster skilled in both inner and outer cultivation.

Hong Tianxiang, Zhang Lingmiao, Xuan Kong and other peerless geniuses also advanced to Heavenly King in these years, joined the Elder Council, and became pillars of Tianxia Civilization—youthful voices resounding ever more.

In contrast, many of the older generation of Heavenly Kings either passed away having failed to Breakthrough Seven, or retreated into seclusion.

After Tianxia Civilization was established, ethnic and cultural gaps still existed, and minor friction cropped up from time to time.

These—no matter if Lu Chenzhou advanced to Great Power, or even became a God—could not be solved... The diversity of humanity is its essence; while he can change the world, he cannot change the minds of all beings.

In a sense, having an appropriate external common enemy is actually beneficial for internal unity of civilization.

These years, it has been too peaceful in the Human World.

The Forbidden Zone seemed to have completely abandoned the Xia Realm.

No more Demon Emperors were sent over.

After traveling the Human World for seven days and nights, Lu Chenzhou returned to Primordial Mountain Cave Heaven, and told Mr. Turtle what he’d seen of the [Star Prison Divine Chain].

Mr. Turtle laughed and said, "Besides the Star Prison Divine Chain, didn’t you find anything else?"

"Could there be other treasures?"

"Haha, you’ll understand in the future."

Mr. Turtle continued to squint and nap.

Lu Chenzhou thought for a moment and asked, "Big Brother, could it be that the [Star Prison Divine Chain] was deliberately left there by Ancestor?"

Mr. Turtle nodded slightly. "That’s right. How rare are Red Star Wonders? Under normal circumstances, even if you traversed the whole Tianhe System, it’d be hard to find one. Before Ancestor fell, he had already prepared both Red and Black Star Wonders for his inheritors. As long as they have enough cultivation to retrieve them. As for the [Yuan Magnetic Star Ring] you obtained, that is indeed just your good fortune."

"I thought so. How could my luck be so good—I searched only three Constant Star Systems and already found a Red Star Wonder..." Lu Chenzhou smiled.

"By the way, little junior, what sort of cultivation method did you create this time?" Mr. Turtle asked.

Lu Chenzhou roughly explained to Mr. Turtle, but did not mention the [Mixed Cave Gate].

This Divine Skill, for now, he did not wish to tell anyone—this would be his greatest trump card in the Xia Realm.

"Impressive."

Leaving Primordial Mountain Cave Heaven,

Lu Chenzhou uploaded the "Mixed Cave Furnace Technique" to the Candle Dragon Source Space for all of Da Xia’s Seven Realms to observe and share. However, the essence of this method lies in "World," "Mixed Cave," and "Withering and Flourishing"—if you cannot comprehend these, at best you just increase your Qi Sea capacity; the quality of True Gang will not fundamentally improve compared to the other four great inner strength methods, and there’s no way to give birth to [Mixed Cave Gate].

Clatter—

100,000 Mid-grade Primordial Stones were transferred to Lu Chenzhou’s Lighting Order from the Candle Dragon Source Space—someone had purchased it.

Soon after, the projection of Eternal Immortal appeared.

"A fine idea." Eternal Immortal had already read the "Mixed Cave Furnace Technique;" its profundity definitely surpassed his own "Eternal Immortal Scripture."

"Hope it serves as a reference for everyone."

Lu Chenzhou smiled slightly.

"Your current strength should already rank top five in Tianxia—overtaking me is just a matter of time."

Eternal Immortal’s gaze was full of comfort.

"Still need to work hard."

"These years have been tough for me—you monsters should’ve surpassed me long ago. I saw it early: you and Dragon King are not ordinary people."

As the former peak of humanity, standing tall upon the tides, Eternal Immortal seemed to have seen something.

Lu Chenzhou was also reflecting.

The Martial Arts Tree—was it really his own talent, or some Supreme Treasure beyond his imagination?

Before disappearing, Eternal Immortal instructed:

"Now that there are Eighth Realm experts already on the field in Mystic Sky Realm, to be safe, you’d best have the power to match the peak of Seventh Realm or even challenge the Eighth Realm before going. Compared to short-term wins and losses, you are more important to us. Besides, as far as I know, for certain reasons, the Divine Alliance still has not taken control of the Eastern Extreme Border Tower. We still have time to develop, so there’s no rush."

"Understood."

"Also, when traveling through the Three Thousand Worlds, I want you to watch out for a few people—they may have the power to kill you instantly. If you encounter them, absolutely do not act rashly."

"Please, senior, tell me."

"First is Blood Demon Grandmother—I mean her true body. According to my intelligence, this demon is not far from the late stage of Eighth Realm, and rules over all the revived Demon Saints in Star Palace. Blood Demon Grandmother has many clones and her eyes and ears are everywhere in all realms—not someone to provoke."

"I’ve encountered one of her clones before; she’s indeed strong. Her vision and power far exceed normal Demon Venerables."

"The main body of the Blood Demon is from the Nine-Pattern Demon Clan, just like Red Lotus, and both are Divine Sons. Moreover, her father is Blood God—one of the three giants of the Forbidden Zone—which is even more terrifying. For a long time, she will be our number one enemy."

Eternal Immortal went on.

"Second is the Black Boat Ancestor—I recently learned of her while traveling in the West River Territory. She’s also approaching late stage of Eighth Realm, and is a remnant of the Ancient True Demon Sect. Volatile and greedy by nature, while the True Demon Sect was not among the Four Heavenly Sects, it still produced Great Powers like [Mo Hou Daoist] and had a brief glory. Because they acted with no scruples, the Heavenly Sects wiped them out. Yet their legacy endures, and it’s suspected they’re supported by the Forbidden Zone behind the scenes, so the sect survives in the Three Thousand Realms to this day. There’s nothing to be done—your information was made public by the Shadow Stream Dominator, so even many righteous orthodoxies envy you—let alone Black Boat Ancestor, a Demon Cultivator."

"Black Boat Ancestor..."

Lu Chenzhou nodded, indicating he had made note.

He’d also heard about the Ancient True Demon Sect from his senior brother—essentially a high-end version of Carefree Travel, dissatisfied with the Order set by the cultivation world’s Four Heavenly Sects.

"By the way, Black Boat Ancestor is suspected to have received the legacy of another half-step Great Power of the Demon Dao, [Spell-Destroying Elder], and possesses at least one quasi-Supreme Treasure. Spell-Destroying Elder is skilled in the Immortal Talisman Dao, and she may also be proficient in it. Be cautious—Immortal Talisman Dao and Array Dao are the tools of the wealthiest moguls in the Great Wilderness, often overpowering the strong with the weak. Just imagine—dozens of Eighth Rank Immortal Talismans thrown out is like unleashing dozens of Immortal Techniques at once. No matter how talented you are, they could just bury you in money."

Lu Chenzhou had also encountered Immortal Talismans. They’re just like arrays—Tianxia can mass produce the lower-ranked ones.

This stuff is indeed fierce.

The only drawback is the exorbitant cost.

"The two above are both nearing the late stage of the Eighth Realm. By my current information, there are at least a handful of late-stage Eighth Realm and even peak powerhouses hidden behind the scenes in the Three Thousand Worlds. Since they’ve only revealed glimpses, I dare not be sure—like Kunxu Ancestor. These people all have half a foot or even a full foot in the ranks of Great Powers, at least having mastered one Dao at the Eighth Rank, or even approaching the Ninth Rank of Mastering Dao—these are figures standing atop the Destruction Era. West River, South, Beiluo, and Eastern Extreme—the Four Great Realms—all have them spread through."

"Are there any in the Divine Race?"

"Hard to say. I’m investigating. The reason I haven’t waged all-out war in Mystic Sky is precisely because of this. The Divine Race all have Clan’s Sacred Artifacts passed down from their ancestors. Though they’re damaged by the Divine Wars, they can still wield Supreme Treasure-level power. Of course, using them requires a blood sacrifice of a Divine Race member’s divine blood, so they generally won’t use them."

"That’s good."

"The Heavenly Person List is also a quasi-Supreme Treasure. If the four great Town Vein Treasures are united, their power is inexhaustible. The pity is they consume the accumulated power of incense rapidly. If you meet danger outside the Xia Realm, don’t be stingy with using them."

Eternal Immortal spoke like a mother bidding farewell.

After understanding the Three Thousand Worlds’ structure, Lu Chenzhou actually felt more anticipation for his coming journey.

He longed to battle with the strong.

Next,

Lu Chenzhou, rare for him, slept for a whole day. When he awoke the next day, he found over a million Mid-grade Primordial Stones in his Candle Dragon Order account.