Immortality from Taming Elephant

She suddenly remembered the news from the Moon God Manor some time ago.

Several ancient gods in the starry sky were stirring.

Could the target be Hongze?

...

When Xu Guang walked out of the valley, he happened to see Chu Monarch being oppressed by a force controlled by Murong Zhen that resembled the river of time.

Looking at Chu Monarch’s appearance, he seemed to be struggling to hold on.

How did these two end up fighting here?

Xu Guang thought but did not act hastily.

Moreover, there was something strange about Murong Zhen’s state.

The aura emanating from him...

An ancient god?

No, it seemed somewhat familiar.

Just as he was about to recall where he had encountered such an aura...

Murong Zhen seemed to notice Xu Guang’s presence.

He slowly raised his hand.

"I didn’t expect you to be here, my young friend."

My young friend?

Xu Guang furrowed his brow.

On the other side, Chu Monarch, caught in the river of time, also saw Xu Guang, "Help me."

The voice was urgent, lacking the usual composure.

Xu Guang didn’t approach — even Chu Monarch couldn’t deal with the opponent, was he supposed to intervene carelessly?

Besides, he didn’t believe Chu Monarch would easily fall.

At the very least, he couldn’t imagine Chu Monarch was without a Holy Artifact.

Chu Monarch’s current situation must have his own calculations.

Compared to Chu Monarch’s predicament, he was more curious about Murong Zhen’s attitude towards him.

He acted as if he knew him well.

"Does the senior know me?"

"Nine Heavens Divine Elephant Demon-slaying True Monarch."

With Murong Zhen’s words, Xu Guang’s expression changed drastically.

This was a title paid homage to him by Hanshang in that Dark World.

How did Murong Zhen know?

"Who are you?"

Murong Zhen looked at Xu Guang with a smile and then suddenly took a step forward.

Xu Guang instinctively retreated, his figure swiftly backing away.

Yet the distance between him and Murong Zhen seemed unchanging, as if it was fixed.

Hiss~!

The air around emitted sharp whistling sounds.

And then it seemed to undergo some peculiar changes.

Xu Guang stood his ground dreadfully, landing.

But everything before him had vanished.

Including Murong Zhen.

Xu Guang furrowed his brow, looking towards the distance.

Chu Monarch lightly landed.

Her gaze was strange as she looked at Xu Guang.

"Do you have a connection with that Pain Spirit God?"

Xu Guang shook his head.

"That Murong Zhen seemed more interested in you."

She said.

In fact, Xu Guang had already noticed.

The other party seemed not to care about Chu Monarch; his purpose here was to see him.

But after meeting...

Everything seemed so bizarre.

’When I have time, I must visit the Dark World to inquire Hanshang about what has happened there.’

He felt certain some inconceivable changes had occurred over there.

He took out the ring bearing the Moon God Manor symbol and handed it to Chu Monarch.

"Mission accomplished."

Chu Monarch was still observing Xu Guang carefully as she accepted the ring.

"I suspect today’s events might bring you big trouble. I somewhat regret the promise I made to you."

Xu Guang frowned.

"Do you know Murong Zhen’s condition?"

"Ancient God’s Apostle." Chu Monarch said, "For someone like Murong Zhen to submit, the power of that ancient god should be at the Venerable Level."

"Regarding the ancient gods in the starry sky, it’s not as though they haven’t appeared in Hongze. These occurrences have happened many times over the years in Hongze World, the most famous being the chaos of the nine gods of past times, where nine ancient star gods sought apostles, wreaking havoc."

Xu Guang fell into silence.

He had a thought forming in his mind now.

After Murong Zhen called out his title from that Dark World, he pondered whether the ancient god behind that dark world might be the so-called Pain Spirit God.

"Alright, these matters are not our concern; the chaos of ancient gods will naturally be handled by those experts in the starry sky."

Chu Monarch said, heading outside.

Xu Guang watched her back, deep in thought.

Parting ways with Chu Monarch, Xu Guang and General Wei also retreated from the fifth-level Fire Domain.

The dangers here were numerous; even approaching certain places made Xu Guang’s heart pound.

Yet, he found the fourth-level Fire Domain most suitable for him.

Many treasures were also found here.

Time passed quickly.

In the blink of an eye, three days had gone by.

Inside a deep cave.

Xu Guang slowly opened his eyes, with two lines resembling lively creatures manifesting in his eyes.

Though he didn’t move, the malicious fire before him seemed encased by invisible hands, with countless intricate heavenly patterns emerging and binding the flames entirely.

This is currently his sole heavenly pattern, Human Furnace Great Practice.

Exceptionally powerful, demonstrating strong combat prowess, it is already a typical technique for those at the Peak of Second Nirvana.

Of course, relying solely on this means to kill someone at the Peak of Second Nirvana is somewhat challenging.

After all, those who cultivate to such a degree are all experienced practitioners with numerous techniques.

Relying on one extraordinary technique is hard to succeed at this level of nirvana.

With comprehension of the heavenly pattern, he grew significantly more knowledgeable about Refining Pattern Masters.

This is a very mystical Dao.

Ordinary people employing Daoist Techniques do so by communicating with and reshaping the rules of the world.

Refining Pattern Masters, however, integrate Daoist Techniques with the nine Secret Realms, transforming them into nine Heavens, with heavenly patterns stemming from oneself, words manifesting as law.

The speed in casting spells and ability in improvisation are far superior to usual Daoist Techniques; since it comes from the nine heavens within, the aura fluctuations when casting are minimal, greatly impacting the outside world less.

It has an unexpected effect.

Of course, since it doesn’t rely on the earth, the power exerted is based on the depths of the nine heavens within oneself; if the foundation isn’t deep, the power isn’t inherently stronger than typical cultivators.

Overall, a Refining Pattern Master highly values their foundation.

Besides familiarizing with some combat styles of Refining Pattern Masters.

Xu Guang found two treasures comparable to Huang Li Jin, namely Wu Fire Falling Star Iron and Nanming True Jade.

Both can be used to craft Holy Artifacts.

Xu Guang was quite satisfied with the harvest.

However, it was time to cease exploring.

General Wei’s condition had deteriorated a good deal.

The demonic thoughts within the Fire Domain affected it greatly; Xu Guang decided to leave.

Thus, he proceeded outward with General Wei, planning to depart.

Just as they entered the third-level Fire Domain.

They encountered an acquaintance.

"Did you acquire the legacy of the Refining Pattern Master?"

This was Ling Xiao’s first words upon meeting.

Xu Guang was momentarily stunned.

"Is it that obvious?"

Ling Xiao’s eyes grew complicated, "You indeed comprehended the Refining Pattern Master seed left by Han Cuo?"

Xu Guang didn’t respond.

He relied on the uniqueness of Golden Finger for successful transformation.

Naturally, he couldn’t reveal the truth.

However, he remembered the agreement with Ling Xiao; upon leaving, he agreed to share some secrets about Refining Pattern Masters.

Whether the other could successfully condense heavenly patterns would be unrelated to him.

The key lies in transforming nine Secret Realms into nine Heavens, something he couldn’t help Ling Xiao achieve because he managed it with Golden Finger.

Ling Xiao didn’t probe further, only giving Xu Guang a deep look.

"The Fire Domain has grown dangerous; if unnecessary, leave soon."

Xu Guang nodded, sensing it intuitively.

The malicious fires in the air appeared to grow more restless.

...

Two days passed.

The two, along with an elephant, had left the range of the fourth-level Fire Domain.

Ling Xiao suddenly stopped, furrowing his brow.

Xu Guang was puzzled, then looked in the direction Ling Xiao stared, and his face turned aghast.

Three hundred miles away, there was a vast volcanic plain.

That wasn’t the focal point.

The focus was the hundred-mile area of pure land within the plain; there the ground wasn’t charred but was a dark golden glazed texture, countless dense black malicious fires flowed serpentinely like rivers, forming a grand and terrifying scene.

Central stood a towering shadow.

Dragon-headed, human-bodied, dark golden-scaled, crowned!

This form...

The two were familiar.

It was the soul transformation Dragon Monarch, a steed of the Supreme Dragon Sovereign.

But now, the Dragon Monarch’s aura was entirely different.

It was shrouded in a thin, nearly transparent golden cocoon of light.

The cocoon’s surface streamed with complex Dragon Race runes, each flicker spurring the magics and forces of the malignant fires within a hundred miles to crazily flow into the Dragon Monarch’s body.