Plush!
Tang Jie’s answer almost made the assembled cultivators throw up blood.
They had seen materialistic people, but never anyone this materialistic.
When a person was willing to sacrifice themself for the sake of a tiny, almost insignificant wish, the intense contrast could turn a person’s world upside-down.
The cultivators gazed speechlessly at Tang Jie’s image, beginning to understand what sort of person he was.
Wu Xiuqian wasn’t concerned about the reply. He was worried that Tang Jie might not be able to get through the twelfth floor.
This was where his trial had ended.
The twelfth floor of the Spiral Flame had elite upper-grade Transformation fiends, and even Divine Connections would find it difficult to slay them.
And what else did Tang Jie have without the Divine Connection?
Tang Jie could keep using the Flesh Millstone.
Because the Flesh Millstone was using the black grain!
Divine Connections couldn’t be used until one was at Soul Transformation because one needed the Divine Will to link to the world to use such a powerful move, and the Divine Will only gained nascent form at Soul Transformation. Tang Jie had been able to use it in the past because of the transformation effected on his body by the Black Tortoise blood, which created a kind of innate talent within him. His reborn body had not come with this talent.
But the black grain solved the problem of no Divine Will.
The black grain was an extremely powerful tool for the soul, able to replace the Divine Soul or Divine Will in all aspects, whether it was attack, defense, or healing. It could also make up for the original body’s lack of a Divine Soul and link to the world for it, allowing him to use the Flesh Millstone Divine Connection.
Of course, this would expend some of the black grain, but not too much. Tang Jie had enough of a reserve to use it a hundred more times without a problem.
But if he really did that, he would have to worry that the Great Sun Sect might seize him and dissect him to see what exactly was going on.
Putting all that aside, after some rest, Tang Jie went up to the twelfth floor.
Whether or not he could overcome this floor, he should at least get his reward first. And if he couldn’t beat the twelfth floor, he could just call for help, right?
On the twelfth floor, Tang Jie saw no medicine, only a small basin in which a flame burned.
It was an icy blue flame, its chill light exuding no heat, instead feeling rather cool and refreshing.
“The Azure Ice Flame?” Tang Jie called out.
To his knowledge, this was an extremely rare exotic flame, and he hadn’t expected to find it here.
Of course, when he thought about it, it wasn’t that strange. The Flame Yang Domain was home to many exotic flames, and the Great Sun Sect was its number one sect and the master of flame arts, so this sect probably had many exotic flames stored away.
As for why it was being offered as a reward, just like with the Primal Astral Burst Pill, it was being used to test his Contraflame Mantra.
The Azure Ice Flame was of a slightly higher grade than the Extraviolet Flame, barely entering the middle grade. If Tang Jie was able to absorb it, the Contraflame Mantra’s value would soar.
But Tang Jie couldn’t help but feel like the Great Sun Sect was being too petty.
They could be testing him with an ultimate-grade exotic flame like the Deicide Flame, or at least an upper-grade flame like the Pale Cloud Flame.
Why one that barely reached the middle grade?
If they weren’t willing to pay the cost, how could they possibly probe the depths of his power?
As he inwardly scoffed, he opened his mouth and sucked the Azure Ice Flame up.
The Extraviolet Flame and Azure Ice Flame merged within Tang Jie’s body, transforming into an ever-burning flame that awaited Tang Jie’s command.
Meanwhile, the spectating cultivators were speechless at what Tang Jie had just done.
Someone echoed Tang Jie’s thoughts: “If we’re testing him, why not use the Triple Truth Flame? What’s the point of using this dumb Azure Ice Flame?”
The one who had said this was Fairy Hong Luan.
‘Dumb Azure Ice Flame’?
You have some nerve.
This was a middle-grade exotic flame!
Did she think exotic flames were cabbages? Any one of them was a priceless treasure, and a middle-grade exotic flame was much more valuable than the average divine treasure. If it weren’t for testing Tang Jie, the Great Sun Sect wouldn’t even be willing to take it out. Now that Tang Jie had just swallowed it up without a word of thanks, it made them seem cheap…
The people of the Great Sun Sect were indignant.
But then they thought: if they had used the Triple Truth Flame from the beginning and Tang Jie had failed to absorb it, wouldn’t that mean they would have been able to keep both flames?
Then again, if Tang Jie had been able to absorb the Triple Truth Flame, they would have lost that flame rather than the Azure Ice Flame.
It was a very painful choice, and even when they were making a choice in hindsight, they found it very difficult to decide.
At this moment, Yuan Tianzhong chuckled. “Regardless, anything that can absorb a middle-grade exotic flame is a divine art. It seems like I need to have a good conversation with our young friend.”
Chang Xiran said, “For this kid to be so bold means that he must have someone backing him. Sect Master, you may not succeed.”
“That’s fine,” Yuan Tianzhong replied. “I have no intention of taking it from him by force, but through trade. While he has a divine art, my Great Sun Sect should be able to afford it. And he seems like a person amenable to trade. You can see his desire to cultivate through how much he values resources. If he is willing to hand over the secret art, my Great Sun Sect can ask him how much in resources he wants in exchange.”
“Naturally. Since the Nether Domain is invading, we don’t even know if we can keep all those resources. Might as well exchange it for a secret art, so if this domain falls, Sect Master can run off with this secret art and rebuild,” Fairy Hong Luan coldly said.
Yuan Tianzhong solemnly replied, “My Great Sun Sect has a history of ten thousand years and is home to hundreds of thousands of disciples, so this Yuan is not willing to give up on it so easily. I swear to defend Flame Yang to the death.”
As the conversation turned to the current crisis, all the cultivators turned grave, declaring, “We swear to defend the country!”
They spoke with sincerity, but they didn’t say that they would die together with Flame Yang.
Some things were better left unsaid.
Meng Qihong replied, “Alright, alright, let’s consider all that stuff later. We should see how he gets through this last trial first. This time, even if he uses that Divine Connection again, it still might not be enough.”
Everyone caught on to what he was saying.
For this time, it wasn’t elite upper-grade Transformation fiends guarding the twelfth floor, but…
“Ghosts? It’s ghosts?”
There was no way Tang Jie could mistake the black fog filling the hall and the howling within.
He had never expected that this was what would be waiting for him on the twelfth floor.
This was understandable.
Resources depended on how convenient they were to obtain, and with the Nether Domain invading, there was no shortage of ghosts.
The guardians of the twelve floors were not unchanging. As cultivators made their way up, old guardians would die and new guardians would need to be switched in. Catching ghosts to fill their ranks was completely normal.
As ghosts had no blood, the Flesh Millstone’s ability to grow stronger through the blood of its enemies was ineffective, and elite Ghost Kings were also able to fight back somewhat against Divine Connections.
Tang Jie made some rough calculations and determined that if he wanted to use the Flesh Millstone to crush his foes, he would need to expend five times as much of the black grain as before, and this was if he did the same as last time and ground down the enemy to a certain extent first. Otherwise, he would have to use more.
Tang Jie was naturally unwilling to pay this price, but more importantly, Tang Jie didn’t need to go that far for ghosts.
Tang Jie smiled at the numerous high-tier Ghost Kings before him. “How truly interesting. It just so happened that my cultivation level has increased, letting me use something that I originally wouldn’t have had the chance to use.”
He formed various signs with his hands and then opened them up like a blooming lotus flower, upon which a holy energy rippled outward.
The third form of the Evil Punishing Seal, Soul Purging.
The Evil Punishing Seal was the counter to ghosts, and Tang Jie had already used Soul Purging once on high-tier Ghost Kings back at Yunhai Mausoleum.
But those Ghost Kings were all exhausted, whereas these ghosts were still brimming with energy. Soul Purging was strong, but not enough to instantly kill them. The ghosts screeched and deployed various methods to defend themselves while launching their own eerie counterattack against Tang Jie.
Tang Jie didn’t mind, drawing back his hands and calling out:
“Hum!”
With this Buddhist incantation, a golden light erupted around Tang Jie, blocking all of the ghost arts.
(TN: “Hum” is the last part of the six-syllable Buddhist mantra “Om Mani Padme Hum”.)
The fourth form of the Evil Punishing Seal, Sacred Protection.
This was the only defensive form of the Evil Punishing Seal, and it was effective against all ghost attacks.
The sacred light illuminated the entire hall with its dazzling radiance.
In this holy radiance, it seemed like countless Buddhas were burning incense and chanting scriptures to bring enlightenment to all living beings.
Even the lotus flower of Soul Purging seemed even more sacred and pure.
Its power grew, and the ghosts began to wail in pain.
The two elite Ghost Kings were unwilling to die like this and gathered up the black fog to resist the sacred light. At the same time, claws emerged from the black fog to grab at Tang Jie.
These were the equivalent of chiefs, so their combined attack was enough to make even a Violet Palace True Lord become a little more serious.
But to this, Tang Jie simply said:
“A pity that you’re ghosts!”
If they weren’t ghosts, Tang Jie would have been no match for two chiefs.
But because they were ghosts, Tang Jie countered them!
Tang Jie once more moved his hands, forming a circle and rotating them as if he was moving them around a ball.
The black fog was instantly sucked toward Tang Jie, breaking free of the ghosts’ control.
Tang Jie opened his hands, upon which the black fog turned into a cage and trapped the ghosts.
The fifth form of the Evil Punishing Seal, Black Prison Execution!
After the eleventh floor, Tang Jie finally entered late-phase Spirit Ring, allowing him to use the fifth form of the Evil Punishing Seal.
As the black prison fell, Tang Jie spread out his arms and shouted:
“Jailing Demon Embryo, go!”
A black bald person emerged, radiating a boundless pressure, like a demon descended to the world…