Chapter 148: Finally Complete

Within the pristine white space, Xu Chen was completely immersed in the selfless cultivation of the Nine Transformations of the Candle Dragon.

A massive phantom of the Candle Dragon hovered and coiled above Xu Chen.

From the first form all the way to the eighty-sixth form, the frantically surging power of blood and Qi was kept under Xu Chen's control, smoothly integrating into his body.

Beyond the eighty-sixth form, Xu Chen suddenly felt as if he were walking on the edge of a blade. Every single form had to be executed with extreme caution, lest he trigger any chaos within his body's blood and Qi.

Sometimes, the more one fears something, the more likely it is to happen.

Right at the eighty-ninth form, the power of blood and Qi slightly disordered, and Xu Chen once again burst apart into a mist of blood.

After a few breaths, his conscious avatar recondensed within the pristine white space.

Xu Chen recalled the scene that had just transpired.

"My mind was distracted. I shouldn't have worried too much. To forge ahead with a single-minded and undisturbed focus is the right path."

"Almost there."

He once again shook his blood and Qi power.

This time, Xu Chen devoted himself even more deeply to cultivating the Nine Transformations of the Candle Dragon within the pristine white space.

He practiced all the way to the ninety-eighth form. When he tried to push further, a sense of dread lingered in Xu Chen's heart.

The power of blood and Qi within his body was increasing at an even more terrifying speed, yet all these changes seemed to have nothing to do with him.

He remained utterly focused on cultivating the Nine Transformations of the Candle Dragon.

"Bang!" Xu Chen burst apart into a mist of blood once more.

His conscious avatar recondensed.

"The one hundred and second form. Almost there." A glint of light flashed in Xu Chen's eyes.

Xu Chen's consciousness returned to his physical body, and he directly adjusted the defensive array into seclusion mode.

Afterward, he re-entered the pristine white space to continue grinding away.

Seven days later, inside the pristine white space.

Having cultivated the Nine Transformations of the Candle Dragon to the one hundred and seventh form, Xu Chen could no longer hold on, and once again burst apart into a mist of blood.

"I've been stuck for three days, and my control over the blood and Qi power has been flawless."

"Where is the problem arising?"

Xu Chen carefully reviewed everything, but still could not find the root of the issue.

"If I can't find the problem, I'll just keep going. Sooner or later, it will break through."

Xu Chen continued to agitate his blood and Qi power, cultivating the Nine Transformations of the Candle Dragon.

The Candle Dragon phantom in the sky grew increasingly spiritual, coiling above Xu Chen, as if radiating a genuine dragon might.

As Xu Chen's movements shifted, the demeanor of the Candle Dragon in the sky changed in tandem.

By chance, as Xu Chen executed a form called the Candle Dragon Reaches Out Its Claw, he caught sight of the illusory will in the sky, and in a trance, he suddenly understood why he had kept failing.

"Bang!"

Xu Chen burst apart into a mist of blood.

After his conscious avatar recondensed, an expression of sudden enlightenment appeared on Xu Chen's face.

"A thousand people have a thousand faces, and the Nine Transformations of the Candle Dragon is no exception."

Xu Chen closed his eyes and began to recall the Candle Dragon he had witnessed within the experiential world of the Nine Transformations of the Candle Dragon.

It withstood the might of heaven and earth, awed the mortal realm, and roamed freely through the cosmos.

Especially the scene where the Candle Dragon confronted heaven and earth—although Xu Chen had gained insights back then, he had never delved deeply into it.

The imagery replayed in Xu Chen's mind over and over again. Only when he slowly began to grasp the true essence did he finally stop.

Blood and Qi surged, bearing the power of ten dragons, embodying the Nine Transformations of the Candle Dragon.

This time, the Nine Transformations of the Candle Dragon practiced by Xu Chen underwent a subtle transformation. The Candle Dragon phantom behind him walked through heaven and earth, emanating supreme dragon might.

As the postures of the Nine Transformations of the Candle Dragon shifted, the region where Xu Chen sat alternated between blinding light and utter darkness.

At this moment, Xu Chen had entered a state of epiphany, feeling as though he himself had transformed into a Candle Dragon wandering through the mortal world.

Of the one hundred and eight forms of the Nine Transformations of the Candle Dragon, Xu Chen made subtle modifications to thirty-six of them.

When the one hundred and eighth form was finally completed, a dragon-patterned lamp materialized within Xu Chen's Dantian, emitting a faint, immortal aura.

Regaining his senses, Xu Chen felt as though he had stepped into an entirely new realm. Every single movement of his seemed capable of summoning the might of heaven and earth.

"I've succeeded."

As his consciousness returned to his physical body, a wave of dizziness washed over him, causing Xu Chen to fall directly into a deep sleep.

Three days later, Xu Chen slowly opened his eyes.

He immediately checked his condition and discovered that he was still at the extreme limit of the Blood and Qi realm.

"Should I try it once more in reality?"

Muttering to himself, Xu Chen stepped out of his dwelling and onto the outdoor practice arena.

Just as he was about to agitate his blood and Qi to reach the power of ten dragons, he suddenly paused, turned around, and re-entered his dwelling, stepping back into the pristine white space.

The newly recondensed conscious avatar in the pristine white space was just as Xu Chen had expected, reset to the state before the lamp was lit.

"I only have one life; I cannot leave it to luck."

"Let's experiment a few more times in the pristine white space first."

Xu Chen initiated the agitation of his blood and Qi power and practiced the Nine Transformations of the Candle Dragon.

After the one hundred and eighth form, a dragon-patterned lamp condensed within his Dantian.

Carefully sensing the dragon-patterned lamp inside his Dantian alongside the transformation of his ten-dragon blood and Qi power,

Xu Chen's lips curved upward into a slight smile, and his consciousness immediately returned to his physical body.

Shortly after, he re-entered the pristine white space.

"Matters of life and death demand caution. The success rate must be one hundred percent."

Xu Chen continued to agitate his blood and Qi power.

Through a complete set of the Nine Transformations of the Candle Dragon, a dragon-patterned lamp condensed in his Dantian once again.

After carefully experiencing the sensation, Xu Chen's consciousness returned to his physical body and re-entered the pristine white space.

Repeating this cycle over and over, until the sixth time when Xu Chen burst into a bloody mist once more, instead of feeling discouraged, an expression of excitement crossed his face.

"Good thing I tested it out." Xu Chen carefully reviewed the cause of the explosion.

"My mental state was good, but I was indeed somewhat overly excited and agitated. It seems I'll need to calm my mind beforehand in the future."

Xu Chen continued his experiments.

He spent a full half-month on this. During this period, Xu Chen continuously condensed four to five hundred dragon-patterned lamps, growing so proficient that further practice was redundant.

On this day, after enjoying a sound and peaceful sleep, Xu Chen woke up and walked out to the practice arena outside his dwelling.

Just as before, he agitated his blood and Qi power until it reached the level of ten dragons.

Free of sorrow or joy, Xu Chen devoted his entire being to cultivating the Nine Transformations of the Candle Dragon.

Smooth as flowing water and completed in a single breath, an ancient and exquisitely crafted dragon-patterned lamp materialized deep within Xu Chen's Dantian.

The very second that the dragon-patterned lamp appeared—

Within the Human Emperor Great Continent, inside the Human Emperor Palace,

The Human Emperor Bell, which guarded the destiny of the human race, emitted a crisp and melodious chime.

The immortal official guarding the Human Emperor Bell wore an expression of sheer joy.

"Quickly report to the Human Emperor! Another supreme prodigy of the human race has emerged!"

An illusory figure appeared above the Human Emperor Palace, gazing down at the immortal official.

"There is no need to report. I am already aware."

"Bestow a hidden reward. Assign an extra personal guard to accompany him when he enters and exits the border battlefield."

"Obey the Human Emperor's decree!" The immortal official bowed.

Meanwhile, at the Daxi Sect, Xu Chen—now possessing the blood and Qi power of ten dragons—felt the dragon-patterned lamp within his Dantian, and a smile involuntarily tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"If I don't use the ultimate configuration, how could I possibly live up to this cheat?"

Xu Chen felt that right now, he could easily defeat ten of his previous self at the extreme limit of the Blood and Qi realm.

"Having reached the ten-dragon blood and Qi power, I should first make a trip to the Immortal-Ascending Road. Once I collect the remaining human race contribution points, I can study the cultivation techniques to advance into the Precious Body realm."

For this day, Xu Chen had exerted far too much effort.

Just at that moment, a courier immortal crane flew over the defensive array.

"Drop it down." Xu Chen commanded the array to open a small gap.

A spatial box drifted down gently.

Xu Chen opened the spatial box and discovered it was a birthday gift sent by his parents.

"Today actually happens to be my twenty-third birthday." Recently, Xu Chen had been so engrossed in cultivation that he had almost lost track of time.

"A double blessing."

In the Human Dao Realm, Xu Chen arrived at the plaza of the Immortal-Ascending Road. Just as he was about to step into the teleportation array of the Immortal-Ascending Road, he was suddenly pushed back by an invisible force.

"Having ignited the lamp of flesh and bone, there is no longer any need to traverse the Immortal-Ascending Road."

A voice echoed beside his ear.

"This..."

"Why didn't you say so earlier? Do you have any idea how many human race contribution points this cost me?" Xu Chen suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart.

Exiting the Human Dao Realm, Xu Chen picked up the jade slip of the Nine Dao Origin Scripture.

"To gain it is my fortune; to lose it is my destiny. It's just over a hundred contribution points; I'll always have a chance to earn them back later."

Pressing the jade slip of the Nine Dao Origin Scripture against his glabella, Xu Chen put it down shortly after and let out a deep sigh.

"The most supreme cultivation technique utilizes the most supreme Dao scripts."

"To actually comprehend it, I'll need to study for quite some time."

"To think that after igniting the lamp, I would suffer two blows back-to-back."

"No matter, I've practically finished learning anyway. If I push hard for another two or three months, I'll be able to understand these techniques."

"Isn't it just grinding? My entire body is made of grit!"

Just as Xu Chen ignited his fighting spirit and prepared to charge back into the Human Dao Realm, a voice sounded beside his ear.

"Young friend, I am outside your array. May I come in for a chat?"

"I have been dispatched by the Human Emperor to protect you."

Hearing these words, Xu Chen's expression instantly turned solemn.

He knew that igniting the lamp would inevitably trigger a reaction in the human destiny, after all, very few human prodigies were capable of lighting the lamp.

"Senior, please enter."

Inside the dwelling's living room, a man in long brown robes looked Xu Chen up and down with an approving smile.

"Boundless destiny, immense perseverance, excellent!"

"Such a brilliant flower has actually bloomed on such barren soil," the man marveled.

"Greetings, Senior." Xu Chen bowed respectfully.

"Xie Changming. You may call me Senior Changming."

Xie Changming wore a benevolent expression, highly satisfied with the little flower he was assigned to protect.

"I've come this time to tell you that whenever you head to the frontlines or leave the territory of the human race, I will be protecting you."

"However, this protection only ensures that you do not die, or at least preserves your soul."

"The lamp of flesh and bone is concealed within your Dantian, existing in another form—somewhere between the soul and the physical body."

"Under normal circumstances, with a bit of concealment and provided no one searches your soul, even a Golden Immortal would be unable to detect the lamp of flesh and bone within your body."

"Among our human race, prodigies who have ignited the lamp of flesh and bone like you are divided into two categories: the overt and the covert. Why is this? Because our human race still has quite a few enemies."

"Some you can see, and some you cannot. You will surely come into contact with them in the future."

"You have been assigned to the covert group. You lose a bit of fame, but you also lose a fair share of danger. Of course, your benefits are identical to those of the overt lamp-igniting prodigies."

While Xie Changming spoke, Xu Chen served him a cup of freshly brewed spiritual tea.

"Senior, what exactly are these benefits?" Xu Chen's eyes lit up with intense anticipation.

"A one-time reward of three thousand contribution points, and an award of two hundred every century until you reach the Immortal Dao."

"From the Immortal Dao up to the Golden Immortal realm, five hundred every century."

"And what about after reaching the Golden Immortal realm?" Xu Chen could not help asking.

"What? After receiving benefits for so many years, you still wouldn't contribute to the clan?" Xie Changming glanced at Xu Chen.

"Prodigies like you who have ignited the lamp, once you advance to the Golden Immortal realm, you become absolute apex powerhouses."

"Contribution points of this scale will no longer catch your eye."

"Do you have a communication artifact? Add me, and I'll be off."

Xu Chen took out his communication artifact and tapped it against Xie Changming's communication immortal tool.

"Senior, some of my friends know that I was going to ignite the lamp."

"Rest assured, everything has already been taken care of."