Chapter 253 : Bestowed Beginning of the Scene
Chapter 253: Bestowed Beginning of the Scene
Shen Yuanbao's right hand trembled slightly, his knuckles turning pale from the forceful grip.
In the eyes of some cultivators, this was undoubtedly fear of absolute power, and unwillingness toward a cruel reality.
However, in Chen Beiwu’s eyes, Shen Yuanbao’s expression revealed not a trace of fear. Instead, his gaze burned with intense fighting spirit.
“Good, very good!”
Shen Yuanbao’s voice clearly brimmed with excitement. “Chen Beiwu, you really didn’t let me down.”
Defeating the weak meant nothing.
Only those who transcended human limits—peerless prodigies hailed across the Immortal Alliance—could ignite his desire for battle.
To engage in a duel, to test each other's cultivation paths, to surpass, and to use the opponent as stepping stone toward the higher realms of immortality.
This was undoubtedly the blood-stirring instinct each Immortal Alliance prodigy experienced when encountering a formidable foe.
“To face someone like you, if I don’t go all out, it’ll be hard to find a chance for victory.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the mana in Shen Yuanbao’s dantian and qi sea erupted, unleashing a shockwave of lightning energy visible to the naked eye.
In that instant, his hair stood on end, his pupils turned violet-white under the influence of thunder, and his aura surged from mid-stage Foundation Establishment to late-stage.
Chen Beiwu’s gaze shifted slightly, though his expression remained calm.
A genius from an immortal sect naturally had secret arts capable of temporarily enhancing cultivation levels.
But such arts had their limits—unstable cultivation, hard to control—suitable only for combat.
Even if Shen Yuanbao pushed his cultivation to the peak of Foundation Establishment, it would still be a hollow realm, unworthy of fear.
“This is your full strength?”
Chen Beiwu frowned faintly. Behind him, the Golden Egg seemed to sense something. Under the Companion Contract's augmentation, it unleashed pressure far beyond the Foundation Establishment level.
Compared to the golden fish-dragon that could blot out the sky, even with his secret art, Shen Yuanbao seemed overshadowed.
“This is merely an appetizer.” Shen Yuanbao took a deep breath and swiftly formed hand seals.
“Next, I’ll show you my limit.”
As he spoke, Shen Yuanbao suddenly bit his tongue, spitting a mouthful of essence blood into his palm.
“Buzz!”
The blood didn’t fall, instead transforming into countless crimson lightning runes that instantly surged into the body of the Violet-Electric Thunder Leopard.
“Purifying World Thunder Lotus—Awaken!”
With a thunderous roar from Shen Yuanbao, the Violet-Electric Thunder Leopard howled toward the heavens. Its entire body lit up like a blazing purple sun exploding into brilliance.
In an instant, thunder converged, and heaven and earth changed color.
Substantial bolts of lightning poured from the beast’s body, enveloping and elevating it.
The next moment, a thunder lotus fully purple-gold and about five zhang wide slowly bloomed.
At its core, a pulsating violet-white lightning glow stirred the hearts of all cultivators watching, altering their expressions.
“How interesting. Shen Yuanbao actually mastered the Purifying World Thunder Lotus...” Ye Xinya murmured.
The Purifying World Thunder Lotus was the Shen Clan’s secret technique, passed only to male descendants. It consisted of nine levels, each requiring the lightning lotus’s baptism to master—something only those with immense willpower could accomplish.
Even the first level of the lotus, the Initial Calamity: Lotus Lock, was a power typically wielded by Golden Core True Persons.
For Shen Yuanbao to master such a secret art during Foundation Establishment—perhaps calling him invincible among his peers was exaggeration, but saying he had no rivals at the same level was completely justified.
Even Gu Xiao, ranked second on the Rising Stars List, might not be able to suppress Shen Yuanbao now.
As for Chen Beiwu?
Ye Xinya narrowed her beautiful eyes, gazing at Chen Beiwu with a strange look.
Her intuition told her that Chen Beiwu was still hiding something, and even if Shen Yuanbao revealed his trump card, he might not be able to do anything to the former.
“So troublesome. These geniuses who grow stronger the more they fight just don’t follow common sense.”
In the spectator seats, Gu Xiao let out a long breath.
The reason he surpassed Shen Yuanbao and held the second place on the Rising Stars List was solely due to his higher cultivation level.
If they were of equal cultivation, even Gu Xiao couldn’t confidently claim victory. At best, he might achieve mutual defeat—or even lose.
Now that Shen Yuanbao had mastered the first level of the Purifying World Thunder Lotus, he had compensated for his cultivation weakness.
“Chen Beiwu... if it were you, how would you handle this?” Gu Xiao’s gaze deepened.
The first level of the Purifying World Thunder Lotus had a simple and pure effect.
Moreover, Shen Yuanbao’s Violet-Electric Thunder Leopard was a thunder-attribute exotic beast and a Third-Tier Treasure Beast, allowing it to resonate with the lotus and enter the Lotus Mark state.
What was the Lotus Mark state?
Under the lock and protection of the Purifying World Thunder Lotus, the Thunder Leopard could temporarily transform into lightning, ignoring all physical and spell attacks.
Only Third-Tier Treasure Arts used by Golden Core True Persons with Earthly Sha True Qi could harm it—and even then, the lotus would negate 80% of the power.
Beyond that, coexisting with the lotus allowed the Violet-Electric Thunder Leopard’s cultivation to surge, pushing its strength to the peak of the Second Realm for Lesser Beasts—
That was, four hundred and ninety-nine years of cultivation, just one step away from becoming a Beast General of the Third Realm.
“Boom!”
Sensing the power surging within, the Violet-Electric Thunder Leopard raised its head, staring down the golden fish-dragon soaring in the clouds.
With its current strength, it could even face a Golden Core True Person in battle—let alone a fish-dragon yet to evolve into a Flood Dragon.
In this battle, it would bring victory to its contract cultivator!
‘Purifying World Thunder Lotus?’ Chen Beiwu’s eyes lifted slightly.
Due to his family background, he had never heard of the Shen Clan’s secret art.
But the aura radiating from the Thunder Leopard told him that his opponent’s strength had undergone a dramatic transformation.
If he didn’t get serious soon, the Golden Egg might suffer a tough blow.
“Suppress!”
Shen Yuanbao pressed down with his right hand, causing the lotus to shrink abruptly. A solid lotus mark appeared on the Thunder Leopard’s forehead as arcs of lightning burst forth from its body.
With that done, Shen Yuanbao quickly retreated. A Third-Tier Thunder Bow appeared in his hand, aimed directly at Chen Beiwu.
Meanwhile, the Violet-Electric Thunder Leopard, eyes gleaming with excitement, dashed through thunder toward the Golden Egg.
Its speed surpassed the perception limits of any Foundation Establishment cultivator. Even the Golden Egg didn’t have time to react.
“Boom!”
Thunder exploded. With just one strike, the Golden Egg’s massive body crashed into the Dueling Platform, sending dust billowing into the sky.
‘Chen Beiwu, this time I’ve won!’
Seeing this scene, Shen Yuanbao’s lips bled slightly, but he released his taut bowstring, launching a thunder arrow that pierced through the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
To prevent any reversal in the battle, he had to hold back Chen Beiwu until the Violet-Electric Thunder Leopard finished off the Golden Scale.
“Is this your limit?” Chen Beiwu frowned slightly and asked once more.
In order to better gauge the scope of his own strength and the upper limits of flawless Foundation Establishment prodigies in the Immortal Alliance, he had held back considerably, not revealing his strongest stance right away.
Otherwise, this duel could have ended in an instant.
Upon hearing that, Shen Yuanbao was slightly stunned, the smile on his face freezing.
What was going on?
From Chen Beiwu’s question, he actually sensed a trace of dissatisfaction, as if his current strength was below expectations—as if he should have been stronger.
The next moment, Chen Beiwu activated his qi sea and mana, raised his right hand, and—under Shen Yuanbao’s astonished gaze—caught the incoming thunder arrow with two fingers.
Seeing this, Shen Yuanbao’s heart clenched. He realized he had overexerted himself and no longer had the strength even to stall Chen Beiwu.
Fortunately, an overwhelming aura of Second Realm cultivation suddenly erupted from the Dueling Platform, forcing the previously dominant Violet-Electric Thunder Leopard to retreat and instantly teleport in front of Shen Yuanbao.
Golden Scale’s defense was simply too terrifying. Even with a higher cultivation, it would be hard to defeat him in a short time.
If during that period Shen Yuanbao lost to Chen Beiwu, then even if the Thunder Leopard defeated Golden Scale, it would still lose the support of the Purifying World Thunder Lotus and fall to Chen Beiwu.
“You’re not the only one who’s mastered secret arts of the Immortal Alliance!”
With a flick of his sleeve and a tap of his finger into the air, Chen Beiwu’s essence, energy, and spirit transformed into a slowly unfolding, ancient scroll painting.
After all, once his cultivation reached the peak of Foundation Establishment, all obstacles preventing him from forming the rudimentary Companion Beast Landscape had disappeared.
The True Spirit Diagram of the Dragon Gate had also transformed under the combined simulation of Chen Beiwu and Golden Egg into a true landscape, echoing True Monarch Su Miao’s lecture: “Marvelous Method in Heart, Landscape Naturally Forms.”
The gathered cultivators were all experienced students from immortal sects. With a glance, they recognized the secret art Chen Beiwu had activated as the Marvelous Method of Companion Beast Landscape.
Next, they saw that once the scroll was fully unfurled, a majestic mountain stood tall between heaven and earth, constructed from five-colored divine stones, with gold, wood, water, fire, and earth spiritual light flowing across its cliff faces.
At the summit of the Five Elements Mountain, mist coiled, and a heavenly river cascaded down from the sky like a silver thread dividing the worlds.
Below this silver thread lay a world of turbid energy, dense like mercury.
A Heaven-reaching Divine Tree rose from the earth, supporting mountains and rivers, plants, insects, and fish.
A plump Golden Scale swam upstream through this realm, appearing especially eye-catching.
Its body glistened with golden scales, its tail fin splashing against the heavenly river’s waves, scattering droplets of radiant light as it tried to leap across the silver boundary separating earth from sky—transforming into a dragon and soaring to the heavens.
Above the silver thread was a realm of pure qi, light as mist, ascending to the Ninth Heaven.
There, a mysterious true dragon, its full form obscured, loomed high above, coiled within the upper realm.
Its serpentine body stretched endlessly, hidden within shifting clouds and glimmers.
Only a pair of golden vertical pupils—eternal like sun and moon—coldly looked down upon the ever-leaping Golden Scale.
‘Absolutely absurd!’
Sensing this landscape’s all-encompassing Companion Aura, Gu Xiao’s expression lost its calm.
It was because this Marvelous Method of Companion Beast Landscape resonated with the principles of Five Element cycles, water-wood symbiosis, heaven-earth ascension and descent, and bloodline transformation—its conceptual depth far surpassed anything he’d imagined.
“This isn’t just a rudimentary landscape... it’s a Bestowed Beginning of the Scene!” Ye Xinya couldn't suppress her astonishment, whispering in disbelief.
Unlike the Three Pure Ones Marvelous Method of Companion Landscape Immortal Art, the Marvelous Method of Companion Beast Landscape theoretically had a lower entry threshold.
Seven or eight out of every ten prodigies entering the Thirteen Immortal Sects could comprehend it during Foundation Establishment, so Ye Xinya shouldn't have been so shocked.
But how long had Chen Beiwu been in the Yuqing Immortal Sect? Barely a year!
Ye Xinya knew very well that to condense a rudimentary landscape required not only visualizing forms but also a prolonged period of nurturing one’s essence, energy, and spirit alongside one's Companion Beast to form a Bestowed Beginning of the Scene.
Back then, she had to remain at the peak of Foundation Establishment for forty years before barely forming her own Bestowed Beginning prior to Core Formation.
And yet—even then—the landscape she had formed paled in comparison to what Chen Beiwu now revealed.
At least in terms of conceptual and visual depth, she was far inferior. Calling her landscape crude was no exaggeration.
‘Could it be... Chen Beiwu hasn’t cultivated the Marvelous Method of Companion Beast Landscape, but rather the Three Pure Ones Marvelous Method of Companion Landscape Immortal Art?’ The thought suddenly surged in her mind.
She couldn’t be blamed for thinking so. She had already been a Golden Core True Person for 115 years. The Bestowed Beginning of the Scene she forged through the Marvelous Method of Companion Beast Landscape had reached its limits and could achieve a Bestowed Middle of the Scene at any moment.
If it were a pure contest of conceptual depth and phenomena—ignoring raw power—Ye Xinya had to admit she was one notch below Chen Beiwu.
‘This proves that Chen Beiwu’s comprehension and potential even surpass Shen Yuanbao. In the future, he might truly cultivate a Supreme Companion Beast Landscape!’
At this thought, Ye Xinya’s eyes gleamed.
Clearly, someone like Chen Beiwu wasn’t a person Cousin Yao could hope to bind.
She had no choice but to step in personally and recruit him as a son-in-law for the Lingyuan Ye Clan.
Meanwhile, facing the Bestowed Beginning of the Scene, Shen Yuanbao’s expression changed drastically. He clearly understood the power of the Marvelous Method of Companion Beast Landscape.
Even more so, he knew well that the Purifying World Thunder Lotus was actually part of the Shen Clan’s top-grade Companion Landscape—Divine Firmament Purifying World Nine Calamity Thunder Beast Subjugation Diagram.
“Roar!” A dragon’s cry rang out.
At the moment when the Landscape Diagram of Heaven-Reaching Tree, All-Encompassing River, Ascending Profundity, and Five Elements Unified Dragon Transformation merged with the Golden Egg, the Flood Dragon blood hidden within him instantly erupted.
A golden radiance tore through the sky, as if heralding the descent of a true dragon.
In that moment, the horn atop Golden Egg’s head shattered, replaced by a crystalline dragon horn.
His scales fell off, replaced by radiant flood dragon gold scales.
Four five-clawed limbs grew beneath his belly, and his tail fin transformed into a true dragon’s tail.
Under the wary gaze of the Violet-Electric Thunder Leopard, perhaps in a moment—or perhaps after a full quarter-hour—the Companion Beast Landscape of Golden Egg finally completed its transformation.
And then, the sky suddenly darkened!
A golden flood dragon coiled across the heavens, its hundreds-of-zhang-long body swimming slowly through the mist, as though stretching its limbs and adjusting to its bloodline transformation.
Then, its dragon head lowered. Golden vertical pupils calmly stared at Shen Yuanbao and the Violet-Electric Thunder Leopard.
There was no release of dragon pressure, nor any eruption of mana. Its mere presence alone made every cultivator instinctively hold their breath.
The Violet-Electric Thunder Leopard trembled, tail tucked between its legs, involuntarily retreating half a step.
From this flood dragon, it actually sensed the immortal golden nature only possessed by Golden Core True Persons.
“This aura... this cultivation... how is this possible?!”
“This is a Third Realm Beast General, transcending the limits of Foundation Establishment!”
Shen Yuanbao’s mind trembled violently, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Beast Taming Secret Arts could amplify a Companion Beast’s cultivation and strength, but it was nearly impossible to cross the boundary between Second Realm Lesser Beasts and Third Realm Beast Generals.
This was common knowledge among Beast-Taming cultivators of the Immortal Alliance.
After all, Foundation Establishment and Golden Core were fundamentally different states of existence.
No matter how powerful the Marvelous Method of Companion Beast Landscape was, it couldn’t break the limits of heaven and earth—unless Chen Beiwu had cultivated the Three Pure Ones Marvelous Method of Companion Landscape Immortal Art!
“How about it—do you still want to keep fighting?” Chen Beiwu stood with his hands behind his back.
His intuition told him that the Third Realm Flood Dragon above his head only needed to press down lightly to crush Shen Yuanbao and the Thunder Leopard.
But the cost would be total depletion of his qi sea, mana, and spiritual consciousness.
Even his body would suffer immense strain from channeling the Landscape Diagram of Heaven-Reaching Tree, All-Encompassing River, Ascending Profundity, and Five Elements Unified Dragon Transformation.
“I concede.” Shen Yuanbao lowered his head slightly, letting the shadow of the flood dragon fall upon his face.
With his temperament, even if defeated, he would rather fall on the stage than admit defeat.
But faced with such overwhelming disparity in strength, resistance was futile—and would only cause the Thunder Leopard unnecessary harm.