Chapter 281: Fleshly Dharma Body
"So this is a Void Refiner? What terrifying physical strength." In the crowd, Azure Venerable and the other two native Soul Transformation cultivators stared at the elder, their hearts filled with shock.
They didn't know much about the Void Refining realm. All they'd ever heard was that it was a stage of tempering the body, but clearly it wasn't as simple as just refining the flesh.
"Greetings, Senior!"
After waiting for a long time, Azure Venerable and the other two finally got their chance to meet this Void Refiner.
"Mm."
The Void Refining elder gave a faint nod. Three Soul Transformations from small worlds like these couldn't possibly arouse his interest. Were they not natives of this realm, they wouldn't even have been given the chance to see him.
The three knew he looked down on their status. After a simple greeting, they withdrew. Their visit was less about seeking favor and more about showing respect—when such a great figure descended, the local forces naturally couldn't be neglectful.
"Let's go. First, we'll take a look at that Immortal's relic." The Void Refiner knew very well why he had come. Avenging the sect's fallen Soul Transformation disciple was hardly his main goal.
The Corpse Immortal, and the Immortal's relics—those were what truly mattered.
Speaking thus, the group entered Tianyuan Immortal City. The Void Refiner strode straight into the exchange hall. His eyes fell on the Supreme Purity Mirror, and from them shot a divine radiance—clearly some special technique.
When the light struck the mirror, its glow rippled and shifted, revealing the Immortal relics hidden within.
The Void Refiner's eyes flared with brilliance. Even for him, such treasures held tremendous allure. In truth, below the Immortal realm, no cultivator could resist such relics.
The higher one's cultivation, the more precious these relics became; whereas for weaker cultivators, they were often too advanced to even wield properly.
With the relics before him, the Void Refiner reached out directly to seize them.
As a Void Refiner, in this small world he was practically invincible, so he saw no need for restraint.
But his hand was blocked by a faint light—a restriction left behind by Su Xin Immortal Spirit, preventing powerful outsiders from simply plundering.
"Mm!"
The elder frowned as he probed the light, then withdrew his hand. His instincts told him that if he forced it, the restriction would trigger and cast the treasures into the void.
"So be it."
If he couldn't break the rules, then he would abide by them. With his strength, hunting zombies was child's play, and soon enough these relics would all belong to him.
"Quick, quick! The legendary Void Refiner is about to act—what a spectacle this will be!" The news spread instantly: the Void Refiner would personally strike against the zombie tide. Countless cultivators rushed to the front lines, eager to witness his power.
For most, a Nascent Soul True Lord was already an exalted figure; a Soul Transformation was one they could only look up to. To hear that above Soul Transformation lay the Void Refining realm—many were only learning this now.
The elder didn't stop the gathering crowds. He intended to show his strength precisely to awe these natives into obedience.
Perhaps it was for lack of deterrence earlier that one of their Soul Transformation disciples had been slain by a native. This time, once he displayed his might, he would see who still dared resist.
With that thought, the Void Refiner strode toward the zombie tide. With each step, his form swelled, until he became a towering giant.
Void Refining cultivators trained the body, but it wasn't merely about hardening flesh. It was the process of condensing the Fleshly Dharma Body.
The Fleshly Dharma Body was different from the Nascent Soul's Dharma Body. The latter commanded the power of heaven and earth, while the former was pure physical strength.
But that did not make it weaker—on sheer destructive power, the Fleshly Dharma Body far surpassed the Nascent Soul's.
And once condensed, the cultivator awakened physical divine abilities. The most common was Rebirth from a Single Drop of Blood.
Some with special gifts awakened offensive divine abilities, and such Void Refiners were terrifyingly powerful.
This elder's divine ability was the ordinary Rebirth from a Single Drop of Blood—not much of a boost to combat power, but unrivaled for survival. As long as a drop of essence blood remained, even if his body was destroyed, he could be reborn.
"Humph. How unpleasant."
The Void Refiner frowned. As he manifested his Fleshly Dharma Body, he felt this world's rejection. He had to restrain its power. At full strength, his body should have been several times larger than now.
Still, even at this size, the sight shook all who saw it.
So much so that when he swept through the zombie tide like a storm, crushing everything before him, it didn't feel as shocking by comparison.
For such a mighty cultivator, annihilating the zombies was nothing more than a casual gesture. Truly—every flick of the hand slew countless undead.
He didn't need techniques or spells; with his colossal Fleshly Dharma Body, he simply crushed his way forward.
At last, the Void Refiner reached the edge of the Nine Nether Domain.
There, three Devil Sect Soul Transformations, their strength recently risen to the late stage, looked on grimly. They felt no chance of victory.
Though the giant's aura was only at Soul Transformation Great Perfection, his power and means were at the Void Refining level.
"My lord, we can't stop this man." The three quickly transmitted to the remnant soul.
"He won't dare enter."
The remnant soul's tone was calm. If the Void Refiner dared set foot into the Nine Nether Domain, the remnant soul would call upon its true body's power to crush him instantly.
And as expected, the Void Refiner remained outside.
The Corpse Immortal's death site was not so easily entered. Still, this slaughter had earned him considerable contribution points—enough to exchange for some relics.
"What a pity."
Watching him finally withdraw, Azure Venerable and the other two sighed with regret. If he had truly forced his way into the Nine Nether Domain, perhaps they might have had a chance to suppress the Corpse Immortal.
But that was only wishful thinking. Without the remnant soul, perhaps a Void Refiner could have fought through. But with it there—even a Body Integration cultivator wouldn't dare step inside.
This means that to once again suppress the Corpse Immortal, the only way is to keep consuming the power it leaks, gradually weakening it until it can finally be sealed.
But that process would take a very long time.
If the zombies formed from the Corpse Immortal's power could be destroyed quickly, however, the process could be accelerated. For now, only that Void-Refiner elder had managed to rampage through, cutting down the zombie tide and forcing it all the way back into the Nine Nether Domain.
Though as long as the Corpse Immortal exists, the zombie tide will eventually rise again, this at least bought everyone some time to recuperate.
Taking advantage of that respite, the Void-Refiner elder intended to thoroughly explore this minor world in search of the true immortal relics. He was certain that what had appeared at the exchange point was only a small portion.
The real prize—perhaps even an immortal inheritance—must be hidden somewhere within this small world. If he could obtain such a legacy, he might very well step into an even higher realm.
Meanwhile, in the Nine Nether Domain.
At this moment, the remnant soul's mood was violent. The Void-Refiner elder's intervention had ruined his plan. With the zombie tide slaughtered back into the Nine Nether Domain, his scheme of soul-hunting could no longer proceed.
And souls were his crucial means of restoring power—he could not remain suppressed like this. He needed to strike back.
Yet against a Void-Refiner who had suppressed his own cultivation, ordinary late-stage Soul Transformation cultivators stood no chance. And since the ceiling of this small world was Soul Transformation great perfection, even if the remnant soul created a zombie at Void-Refiner level, it would be instantly rejected by the world itself.
Unable to directly create Void-Refiner-tier zombies, the remnant soul could only strengthen those at Soul Transformation great perfection—for instance, by teaching the three demonic sect Soul Transformation cultivators powerful divine abilities and secret arts, or by fashioning special late-stage Soul Transformation zombies.
Though all of this consumed his strength, at this point he had no choice but to make such investments. Fortunately, having devoured many souls earlier, he still had reserves to draw on—enough to forge a zombie host capable of resisting the Void-Refiner.
"There's actually another continent here."
While the Void-Refiner elder scouted for immortal relics, he inevitably noticed the Qinghe Cultivation Realm. Naturally, he could not overlook it. However, by now the Qinghe Realm was already cloaked in a grand formation. Even the Void-Refiner elder could not slip in undetected.
But he had no need for stealth. He could simply break through. Though this formation derived from an immortal array, it was not the genuine article, and its weaver was no immortal. Its true advantage lay in sheer scale.
By virtue of its vast scope, the array was enough to bar Soul Transformation cultivators. But against the Void-Refiner elder? It could not hope to hold.
"Rumble!"
With a thunderous crash, the formation was torn apart. The Void-Refiner elder stepped directly into the Qinghe Realm. As a Void-Refiner powerhouse, he naturally acted without scruple—after all, within this small world, none could truly threaten him.
Only the Corpse Immortal of the Nine Nether Domain, and the hidden immortal relic, might pose danger. Everywhere else, there was nothing to fear.
"What's happening?"
The destruction of the array startled the entire Qinghe Realm, including Gu Mo himself. To break through the formation by force—it clearly meant ill intent.
"We did not know of Senior's honored arrival, please forgive our failure to welcome you!"
The first to respond was, of course, the Qinglu Sect. One of their elders rushed forward to pay respects. Given current intelligence, only the foreign Void-Refiner could have broken the grand formation.
In the face of such power, even with the array destroyed, the cultivators of the Qinghe Realm could only bow and smile.
"Who is the strongest among you?"
The Void-Refiner elder released his divine sense. With the array gone, his mind swept through the entire Qinghe Realm in an instant. Yet he found no trace of an immortal relic.
But considering it was the work of an immortal, it was no surprise he could not sense it. A local would surely know.
"This…"
The Qinglu Sect elder hesitated. It was obvious this formidable visitor bore no goodwill. If he revealed—
Just as he tried to think of a diversion, a crushing grip seized his head. A fierce divine sense blasted into his sea of consciousness, rifling through his memories.
"Shennong Valley's true heir."
Moments later, the Void-Refiner tossed aside the elder, whose soul was already shattered, and headed straight toward the Qinglu Sect's mountain gate. From the memories he had pried free, he had learned what he needed.
Qinglu Sect, Spirit-Field Courtyard.
"Where is the immortal relic of this world?" The Void-Refiner elder fixed his gaze on Gu Mo, questioning directly. As he spoke, an invisible pressure bore down on him.
If Gu Mo were an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator, this pressure would have stripped him bare. But Gu Mo was no ordinary Nascent Soul.
Within his sea of consciousness, a vast reservoir of primordial spirit power had already gathered.
"Sigh…"
Activating his primordial spirit to resist the pressure, Gu Mo let out a long sigh. He had not wanted to push things to this point. But if someone forced his hand, he could only respond without mercy.
"Hmm?"
That sigh made the Void-Refiner elder uneasy. That a Nascent Soul possessed primordial spirit power was surprising, but hardly enough to make him feel danger.
Yet even as suspicion flickered in his mind, the void behind Gu Mo twisted—and an icy blue energy pea appeared, streaking toward him.
"Such gall!"
To think a Nascent Soul dared strike at a Void-Refiner! The elder could not help but laugh. Dispensing with further words, he prepared to seize Gu Mo outright. If not for the risk of damaging memories, he would have used soul-searching from the start.
"Boom!"
Trusting in his cultivation, the Void-Refiner elder made no attempt to dodge the icy blue energy pea, taking it head-on.
An instant later, frigid power erupted across his body. Though it failed to wound him, it did slow him slightly—and that was enough.
For in that brief moment of delay, a massive purple maw bristling with spikes gaped open, swallowing the Void-Refiner elder whole.
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