Chapter 558: Chapter 558

The fallen remains of Pale Origin looked like a chain of pitch-black mountains. Huge flakes sheared away and drifted in every direction like snow.

White Bird Holy Fist's figure flickered and returned to his original spot. He cradled a white seed the size of an apple in his aged palm.

Gold-red veins spread like flames across its smooth, bone-like shell. Originally, Pale Origin's heart had been as large as a small mountain but Flaming Sun Holy Fist's Inextinguishable Flame had forced the heart to shrink madly as it vaporized the impurities inside, leaving only the purest energy that was of tremendous benefit to a combat artist's Qi.

In the clearing, Cassius accepted the Pale Seed from White Bird Holy Fist. He then gently circulated his Golem Covert Martial Arts to enter Golem state in case there were any accidents. After all, Pale Origin had been a plant-type Ultimate Dark Form with parasitic effects.

Even though the seed had been tempered and Pale Origin had fallen, it could still have strange hidden tricks. If any eerie changes occurred after he swallowed the seed, he would drive his Golem Covert Martial Arts at full force and absorb the seed as life vibration energy.

Losing such a treasure was simply a necessary price.

Cassius bit straight into it and, within moments, had eaten the entire Pale Seed. The thing looked like a white apple and even tasted somewhat the same. Only its exterior was hard like bone. One could never chew it without a strong set of teeth.

Calming his mind, he started to investigate his body. He could feel a subtle chill stream coursing through every inch of his body. After a full circuit, it returned to its origin. Dense capillaries branched out from the stream, almost like the body's neural web. However, these streams were not substance but energy. They coated his Qi, not his flesh.

Cassius’s brow twitched; his pores opened and Qi slowly spurted forth. It gradually formed a translucent humanoid that sat cross-legged across from him.

However, the Qi figure was three or four times his size. Beside him, White Bird Holy Fist and Flaming Sun Holy Fist clearly saw a small white tree sprouting within the translucent Qi. Its trunk was the spine, its branches reached every limb, and dense roots replaced capillaries. At last, every region of the Qi figure was laced with pale roots, becoming a compact entity.

"That will do. Now your Qi will not suddenly disperse widely or disintegrate outright when the Inextinguishable Flame burns it..." Flaming Sun Holy Fist said. His arm, burning like fire, slowly reached for Cassius's back. "I’m going to ignite the shell of your Qi and begin three temperings! Remember, protect the Heart of the Dominator Fist—let no flame touch it, or you will burn as I do, endlessly and without reprieve... Or worse, since you are not yet in the Holy Fist realm, your Qi cannot increase without limit. You might burn for a time and then snuff out completely."

He cautioned, "If you can't endure, tell me at once..."

"Understood." Cassius drew a deep breath and set himself in an optimal state.

"Then... burn..." Flaming Sun Holy Fist let go of the Inextinguishable Flame, which ignited the whole of Cassius's Qi in an instant.

Crimson-gold flames blanketed every corner.

A Holy Fist Inextinguishable Flame!

Though his Will was unyielding and his spirit yearning for more, Cassius still shuddered and uttered a rare muffled groan. It was pain the likes Cassius had never known, covering every part and burning every cell. It was like a sharp sieve slicing him into pieces.

This pain differed utterly from losing an arm in battle or having bones smashed. It surpassed either in both degree and duration. It was as though every bone was crushed into dust by a steamroller, and was then scattered into the wind. Yet, they had to remain acutely aware, memorising each wave of pain.

Staying conscious throughout was sheer torment. A Qi body was different from human flesh. When the flesh met unbearable pain it could shut the feeling or force you to faint.

But Qi offered no escape—one could only endure.

After a short while, Cassius's brows knit tightly and his fists clenched. He was clearly bearing savage pain yet, fortunately, he could still endure.

At least, he could bear it for now!

Cassius's early Wind Elephant Covert Martial Arts used pain as a type of training. Later, the Southern Dipper Covert Martial Inheritance did likewise; every full-force battle damaged the body. And so, he had some experience in this.

The condensation of the Heart of the Dominator Fist also helped. It let his realm edge half a step forward beyond extreme combat artist and toward Dominator Fist. His Will kept condensing and advancing.

Lastly, a powerful body nourished invincible confidence. Qi influenced flesh and flesh influenced Qi. A body that was unbelievably strong could strengthen one's Will and spirit even more. His Golem Covert Martial Arts had always aided Cassius.

Thus, he withstood the Inextinguishable Flame. Moreover, he gradually bade Flaming Sun Holy Fist to raise the flame's heat to the optimal temperature. Flaming Sun Holy Fist obliged, heating the Inextinguishable Flame from crimson-gold to pale gold, and finally to pure gold!

At that point, Cassius finally cried halt. Any stronger and the gold would shift toward black, the pitch-black ultimate flame that had dealt Pale Origin its fatal blow. Even with his superb endurance and the Pale Seed's protection, he dared not brave that black flame.

Flames shot skyward in a clearing within the blackened wreckage, where Cassius sat cross-legged, hands on his knees. Qi gushed from his body, howling upward until it gradually formed a gigantic three-coloured phantom.

Golden flames continued to explode upon its surface. They crackled ceaselessly, searing his Qi and vaporising vast black smoke. That smoke was, in fact, the invisible impurities within his Qi. Once they were burned away, the remaining Qi became only purer and denser.

Because it was pure, it was powerful! The Holy Fist realm demanded precisely that purity. Limitless Qi growth rested on a solid base. What Cassius needed was to forge that firm base.

No one knew how long the flames lasted.

The huge Qi phantom had shrunk several times over; however, its texture had grown ever denser. It was as though a hazy gas had become a clear, gently flowing liquid.

"The first tempering succeeded. Shall we continue?" Flaming Sun Holy Fist looked at Cassius and asked.

"Of course." Sweating profusely, Cassius slowly opened his eyes and glanced at the progress bar in his vision's upper right.

The Golem Covert Martial Arts' Qi Embodiment, once at one hundred percent, had dropped.

No need to hesitate—fill it back up at once!

Pale Origin's life vibration energy quivered, and torrents of heat wrapped his body, making every cell rejoice. Strength gradually filled him and the Qi Embodiment Stage returned to completion.

Great swathes of Qi surged skyward again, merging into the phantom. It swelled back to its original vast size. It was like tossing more wood onto a bonfire.

"Very well, since you have a method, I'll help you to the end today..." Flaming Sun Holy Fist pointed from afar, and the Inextinguishable Flame roared anew. The world suddenly seemed to turn into a golden ocean.

Golden light rippled on that sea, disguising its lethal heat. Time passed again, until the Inextinguishable Flame gradually dimmed, and the phantom shrank once more. Yet the Qi forming the phantom now resembled a viscous liquid, like half-set translucent cement. Clearly, its density had increased again.

What would have required years of day-and-night tempering had been compressed into hours.

"Again. This is the last time." Cassius's eyes were bloodshot; the pain of the Inextinguishable Flame was truly dreadful. He had to wonder how Flaming Sun Holy Fist had endured it for tens of millennia.

He glanced to the upper right and, without hesitation, forced the Qi Embodiment Stage to completion again.

Beside him, Flaming Sun Holy Fist gauged Cassius's state. It was poor, but not on the brink, so he violently ignited the Inextinguishable Flame once more, covering every inch of the Qi phantom. ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by novel·fire·net

Several more hours passed, and the flame tempering ended for the final time.

The small white-rooted tree within the phantom split and began to crumble. Fragments were expelled, vanishing together with the fading golden flame without a trace.

Flaming Sun Holy Fist withdrew his hand and quietly watched Cassius, still seated cross-legged. After sitting motionless like a puppet for hours, Cassius trembled. His bones cracked and his joints popped like roasted beans.

He opened his eyes with the flash of a cold glint. Cassius rose slowly and swept his palm through the air. Scarlet Qi surged forth, instantly condensing into a fearsome spear.

Hard, flexible, and sharp, it seemed like both hardwood and metal. A watery lustre ran across its surface. His Qi was now so dense that it was almost solid. It had been refined to an incredible level, compared to an ordinary combat artist. At a glance, save for the translucent liquid-like coating, it scarcely differed from solid matter.

He looked to the progress bar at the upper right. His Golem Covert Martial Arts still read one hundred percent in the Qi Embodiment Stage. Yet in truth, it had undergone three compressions and upgrades.

Right now, Cassius felt purity. His body's Qi was like crystal glass, free of impurity and wholly cleansed. Power flowed as easily as flexing an arm. It felt unbelievably smooth and unhindered.

With a single thought, he could focus his Qi anywhere within his body. When issuing a command, there seemed to be no delay at all.

"Huuu..." He exhaled a heavy breath as every pore on his body relaxed.

It was an exhale of ecstasy from his newfound strength, but also of relief due to the cessation of searing pain. In contrast, his normal state now felt heavenly. His mood rippled slightly, then settled.

Cassius slowly turned and bowed to Flaming Sun Holy Fist. "Thank you, senior, for your aid."

"Hahaha..." Flaming Sun Holy Fist chuckled and shook his head, his grin oddly ferocious. "I merely lent a hand. Think nothing of it."

He turned to White Bird Holy Fist. "Your turn next..."

"White Bird? White Bird?" He repeated.

White Bird Holy Fist stood rooted, motionless, as if in a daze. Only after Flaming Sun Holy Fist called twice did he gradually come to himself.

"What's wrong? Is something happening to your true body?" Flaming Sun Holy Fist asked intently.

"Nothing much. I just drove those two off. They will not return soon. I was merely a touch harsher than usual..." White Bird Holy Fist spoke slowly, his expression unruffled.

The "two" he mentioned were, of course, Ultimate Dark Forms. Despite bearing the Moon God's curse and Dead Abyss seal, he had forcibly set foot on the World of Calamity's continent. Even with part of his power diverted into the surface world's Special Zone, he still managed to teach two allied Ultimate Dark Forms a harsh lesson.

White Bird Holy Fist truly lived up to his name... His fiercer strike a moment ago had naturally bought time to grant Cassius his gift.

White Bird Holy Fist slowly walked toward Cassius, who was watching him. "Cassius, the Southern Dipper Red Falcon Fist and Southern Dipper Sonic Snake Fist you cultivate have both reached fifty-two acupoints, the fifth stage... The gift I am about to bestow, you must have guessed, is the Southern Dipper Waterbird Fist. Moreover, this gift can take your Waterbird Fist straight into the sixth stage, beyond fifty-five acupoints."

"As for what height within the sixth stage you reach, that depends on your perception and talent. The crux is your resonance and affinity with the Southern Dipper Waterbird Fist. Naturally, I have confidence in you. Since you cultivated both Red Falcon Fist and Sonic Snake Fist to this level, there is no reason Waterbird Fist should be impossible!" White Bird Holy Fist strode forward.

Sixty-six white stars lit one by one on his thin frame.

"Southern Dipper Waterbird Fist, Cygnus constellation, Thorn Feather Force... Today, I shall teach you all of it!"