Chapter 245: Chapter 196: You’re Testing the Daoist With This?

The Profound Light seemed to originate from within Jiang Yi’s body. It required no effort to control, moving freely with his every thought. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

The Bing and Ding Fire swirled up and down, fusing into a single entity. It unleashed a scorching, blindingly brilliant radiance, as if a furnace had been overturned or a candle flame had erupted. The spectacle was magnificent!

Jiang Yi chanted aloud:

"A brilliance bright between the brows,A Profound Light crowns my head.When primal chaos wakes at dawn,I’ll wander freely ’cross the heavens!"

As his voice faded, the golden-white radiance descended like a guillotine, cleaving the solitary cliff in two.

The solid rock, cut as smoothly as tofu, split apart. Fiery red magma scattered and splashed, and the searing heat instantly vaporized a nearby waterfall into plumes of white steam.

’The Profound Light can cut through anything. Its power is truly extraordinary.’

Jiang Yi’s primary focus was the Fire Element. The Profound Light, refined from the fusion of the Bing and Ding Fire, was inherently of the utmost firmness and pure yang, pushing the ferocious might of his fire techniques to their absolute limit.

With a mere thought, he retracted the external Profound Light, enveloped himself in it, and flew out of the Spiritual Truth Abode.

As his Qi Mechanism spread out, the entire pocket dimension, which unfolded like a picturesque scroll, trembled violently as if on the verge of collapse.

The array spirit’s face filled with terror, afraid this Daoist would shatter the dimension and destroy the core of the Changming Heavenly Pool’s formation.

Fortunately, Jiang Yi only used his Profound Light to perform a few short flights and didn’t resort to any Magical Combat techniques.

He maneuvered effortlessly. His flight speed was far beyond what simply riding flames could achieve. Like a blazing rainbow, he could cross dozens of li in the blink of an eye.

He even felt this pocket dimension was too constricting, not giving him enough space to fly freely, so he immediately said to the array spirit:

"Send me outside."

The middle-aged Daoist immediately activated a technique. It was as if a great gate opened between heaven and earth, and in an instant, Jiang Yi was sent away.

Jiang Yi felt his body pass through a tunnel, a fleeting sensation of profound darkness washing over him. The next moment, he found himself high above in the boundless azure sky.

The Bing and Ding Fire formed a canopy above him, descending to envelop his body and part the turbulent atmosphere.

A streaking rainbow flickered like lightning. With just a few flashes, he had moved a hundred li, a speed rivaling that of a sword light. It was an extraordinary, dazzling sight that shot across the heavens.

’Even a Sword Cultivator might not be able to match me!’

His water-blue Daoist Robe whipped in the wind. Jiang Yi once again commanded his Profound Light. The raging fire howled and danced, then suddenly condensed, weaving and twisting into a massive, crimson palm with five distinct fingers.

He placed one hand behind his back, a smile playing on his lips.

The ninety-foot-tall crimson palm suddenly pressed down!

CRACK! With a tremendous roar, a vast stretch of mountain forest was instantly crushed, sending a great cloud of dust and debris soaring into the sky.

A feeling of sheer exhilaration filled Jiang Yi’s chest. With a single thought, the massive hand seal rose again and swept sideways. An entire mountain ridge cracked and crumbled at the motion.

’This is a true Daoist Skill! A real method of Magical Combat! The power to move mountains, overturn seas, and pluck the very stars from the sky!’

Jiang Yi was still eager for more, but his Magical Power was already mostly depleted.

He had only just entered the Qi Cultivation Tenth Layer, and the True Qi throughout his body had not yet fully condensed into Magical Power.

The massive hand seal, formed from the convergence of the Bing and Ding Fire, slowly shrank until it became a tiny flame on his fingertip.

"You’re in high spirits, Daoist Jiang."

A figure in green, wrapped in the light of a sword, soared into the sky. It was none other than Qiao Yu.

He hadn’t seen her in ten days, but Miss Xiaoqiao was as graceful as ever. Her bright eyes sized up the triumphant Jiang Yi.

"Have you already gathered the three components of the Great Medicine?"

"I only managed to gather ’Void Primordial Qi,’ ’Essence of the Spirit,’ and ’Li-Filling Fire’."

Jiang Yi’s tone held a bit of regret.

"I was actually somewhat confident about gathering the ’Tai Yang True Lead,’ but you only get one chance to gather the three upper components of the Great Medicine. If you make a mistake, there’s no turning back."

"So I held back at the last moment. I plan to wait until my entire body and Inner Mansion are filled with Magical Power before making another attempt."

"You managed to gather three components in just ten days, and from the sound of it, you’re still not satisfied?" Qiao Yu gritted her teeth in frustration. ’This guy is unbelievable!’

"Now that I’m the Daoist, I have to be exceptional. It’s the only way to earn the respect of the Eight Peaks True Inheritance."

Jiang Yi gave a faint smile, then activated his Profound Light to envelop his body and descend back to the main hall of the Changming Heavenly Pool.

"Cultivation can’t be rushed. Even Ji Fuyao of the Immortal Dao had to cultivate bitterly for three thousand years to attain his current power."

Qiao Yu’s expression grew serious as she advised him earnestly.

She was genuinely worried that the pressure from Tai Yang would push Jiang Yi to rush his progress, which could easily lead to a cultivation deviation.

"You have a point, Miss Xiaoqiao."

Jiang Yi sat upright on the jade chair, but his mind had already drifted far away.

He was already considering which Daoist Skill to prioritize once his Primordial Essence True Qi was fully formed and his Magical Power became inexhaustible.

The Chixiao Void True Qi was versatile and unpredictable. It could create a divine fire clone and also dispel an opponent’s spells, making it excellent for both offense and defense.

The Bingding Crimson Divine Light, on the other hand, was a pure offensive technique. A single use could decide a battle of life and death, but its only drawback was the immense consumption of Magical Power.

Jiang Yi voiced his dilemma to Qiao Yu, who was seated below him. The green-robed young woman gave him an unexpected answer:

"If you ask me, you should practice a fire escape technique first."

’A fire escape technique?’

Jiang Yi raised an eyebrow, a flicker of confusion in his eyes.

"My father once said that all escape techniques require incredibly fine control over one’s Magical Power. If your control is lacking, it’s very difficult to cultivate them to the Perfection Realm."

Qiao Yu sat sideways, proudly raising her head.

"Daoist Jiang, you’ve just reached the Qi Cultivation Tenth Layer. Rather than learning offensive techniques, you should focus on mastering an escape technique. Once your fire escape technique reaches Great Success, your Profound Light will be stronger and your Magical Power vast. By then, learning other Daoist Skills will be far more efficient."

Jiang Yi mulled it over and realized she had a very good point.

He was in the Changming Heavenly Pool, where he had few opportunities for Magical Combat. Besides, who among the Eight Peaks True Inheritance would dare lay a finger on him?

Even if they wanted to test him, they would have to find a suitable ’talent’ from within the Qi Cultivation Realm to do so.

"Speaking of escape techniques, there’s a suitable one in the scripture pavilion."

True Master Xuanmiao popped up out of nowhere. It and the array spirit had been working tirelessly day and night to organize and inventory the various treasuries of the Changming Heavenly Pool. Even so, they had only managed to get through about forty percent of the work.

"You’ve worked hard, Cat Master."

Jiang Yi beckoned, and True Master Xuanmiao darted forward, hopping onto his lap.

"I am content so long as I can be of the slightest help to Xiao Jiang."

True Master Xuanmiao nuzzled obediently against Jiang Yi and spoke. After it finished, it even glanced back at Qiao Yu, like a favored courtier vying for the emperor’s attention.

"What was that escape technique you mentioned, Cat Master?"

Jiang Yi asked, gently stroking the cat.

"The *Great Divine Fire Escape*. It was in the previous Daoist’s scripture pavilion. I just came across it two days ago while cleaning."

True Master Xuanmiao never missed an opportunity to take credit.

"Once you master this escape technique, you’ll be able to travel a thousand li in an instant and traverse the Qingming itself. Your speed is determined by the depth of your Magical Power—the more you have, the faster you’ll be, like a bolt of lightning or a shooting star. You’ll be nearly unstoppable."

Jiang Yi nodded. The Cat Master was truly a veteran of the Foundation Establishment Realm; the escape technique it had chosen was a perfect fit for him.

"Please trouble yourself to fetch it for me, Cat Master."

After sending True Master Xuanmiao on its way, the array spirit, in the form of a middle-aged Daoist, floated into view again.

"Reporting to the Daoist. He Shouzheng, master of the Lower Courtyard’s Cloud-Receiving Hall, requested an audience seven days ago."

"You were in seclusion at the time, so I turned him away."

"However, this Master He insisted on leaving a pair of sisters behind, saying they were for the Daoist to use in his Refining Technique."

Jiang Yi frowned slightly. ’Testing the Daoist with Furnace Cauldrons?’

’How ridiculous!’

"What’s the story with these sisters?"

He asked casually.

"They are an extremely rare type of ’Magic Slave’."

The array spirit answered.