Chapter 109: The Three Great True Disciples

“Earth Fiend Heavenly Wave Hand? This ultimate technique was once used against me by the Owner of the No-Life Island, and its power was immense. Unfortunately, I cannot further cultivate other Nether Techniques before reaching the True Nether Realm, lest the conflicting Nether Energies from different sources cause instant death!” Upon seeing this demonic tome, Jiang Feng recalled his battle with the Owner of the No-Life Island, when a single palm strike condensed Nether Energy into a hand shrouded in sinister magic. Even his Wood Emperor Nether Energy could not withstand it; the power was truly formidable.

“That deadly Nether Energy within the Earth Fiend Heavenly Wave Hand cannot be cultivated by you, but you may read it to comprehend the method of Nether Energy condensation and the application of the technique,” advised Jue.

“Of course, I understand that,” Jiang Feng replied mentally. “But the No-Life Island Lord carried no valuable treasures—only exquisite Nether artifacts. Not a single treasure of true worth.” In truth, Jiang Feng was secretly delighted. At the very least, he now possessed ten gourd pills and no longer needed to expend great effort concocting blood pills. He could focus wholeheartedly on cultivation without worrying about sustenance.

For Nether energy cultivators, worrying about pills is akin to farmers fretting over their rice crops—an endless cycle of toil.

Only upon reaching the Nether King can one harness sheer force to draw upon the void Nether Energy, nourishing both body and spirit, thus freeing oneself from the shackles of medicinal pills and achieving the immortal state of “Breath-Eating Divinity.”

“White Nether Saint Artifacts are rare. For a lone cultivator to have acquired so many is commendable,” Jue remarked. “Especially those thirty-six flying swords, all refined with his No-Life Nether Energy. If he could refine the Celestial Absolute Array Diagram and form the Celestial Absolute Great Array, it would be capable of slaying both men and ghosts, magnifying its power tenfold. I suspect he captured the Red-Eyed Black Water Serpent solely for its skin, to refine the Celestial Absolute Array Diagram!”

“How is the Celestial Absolute Array Diagram refined?” Jiang Feng’s interest was piqued, though he remained more captivated by the various formations within the White Emperor Glazed Cauldron.

“That requires the True Nether Realm to refine. Within one array diagram are many formations, and one must also refine various Nether beasts. You must expedite your progress to the True Nether Realm.”

“How long will it take at my current pace?” Jiang Feng asked.

“About fifty to sixty years.”

“That long?”

“That’s actually fast—a rapid advance. Take that Cang Bai for example; even after two hundred years, he won’t reach the True Nether Realm. But now that you have the White Emperor Glazed Cauldron, you can go to the Central Sea Market and buy some herbs...” Jue rattled off over a hundred kinds of soil-based spiritual herbs and minerals. “Use Golden Water to brew a decoction with these herbs to further cultivate your body. Once your body reaches the stage of taking root in the land—the ninth level of the Void Nether Realm—the surging Nether Energy within will accelerate your cultivation. You could reach the True Nether Realm within ten years.”

“Ten years to reach the True Nether Realm is still too long. I want to become a Nether King within ten years!” After some thought, Jiang Feng turned to Duan Xingyun. “Senior Brother Xingyun, what level has the strongest person in the Langya Guild of Jiuyan Town reached? Do you know anything about it?”

Xingyun pondered. “The strongest elder is probably Hua Tianjin. No one can see through his cultivation, but he overcame the Sandfall Tribulation over sixty years ago and attained the Heavenly Law Form. He may have advanced further by now, perhaps to the third level of the True Nether Realm.”

“True Nether Realm, third level!” Jiang Feng’s heart skipped a beat. He turned to Jue and communicated mentally, “Jue, when will I become a Nether King?”

“Uh!” Jue did not answer immediately. After a long pause, he said, “If nothing unexpected happens, roughly three hundred years. But you won’t live that long, so you likely won’t become a Nether King in this lifetime. Don’t be fooled by what they say about Hua Tianjin; even at True Nether Realm level three, he may never pass that threshold. Defying fate... defying fate... is fate so easily changed?”

From Jue’s words, Jiang Feng sensed that the Nether King was like an insurmountable barrier, forever out of reach.

He stopped asking and silently gathered all his spirit and Nether Energy, equivalent to the eighth level of the Void Nether Realm, and poured it into the cauldron.

The White Emperor Glazed Cauldron immediately began to spin, radiating vigorous Nether Energy! As Jiang Feng delved deeper into his spirit, he discovered more and more grand formations layered within, each a forbidden law like a labyrinth nearly overwhelming his consciousness. Now a true disciple of the Langya Guild in Jiuyan Town, he understood some mysteries of formations and had seen many artifacts—but none contained as many grand formations as this.

“The No-Life Island Owner himself didn’t master all the formations in this pill furnace. The White Emperor Glazed Cauldron is indeed formidable!” Jue exclaimed. Through spiritual probing, he too felt the cauldron’s power.

The No-Life Island Owner had only refined a few basic grand formations; most remained unrefined.

Not even with Infinite Devouring could Jiang Feng break through one grand formation after another.

“How many grand formations are there?”

Under the cover of Infinite Devouring, Jiang Feng’s Nether Energy delved deeper into the cauldron, traversing layer after layer—each like a majestic palace, infinitely complex.

“Jue, give me a hand!”

Jiang Feng surged his Nether Energy fiercely, breaking through over a hundred grand formations. Exhausted, he quickly summoned Jue, who responded instantly. With a loud rush, Nether Soul Energy poured down, merging with Jiang Feng’s force. Together they broke through relentlessly, reaching the bottom!

A total of nine hundred ninety-nine grand formations!

All were mastered under their combined assault, each stamped with Jiang Feng’s Nether Energy imprint.

Such an imprint was far stronger and more enduring than mere spirit marks.

“Good heavens! So many grand formations! Only one core formation remains to transform it into a Dao artifact. Unfortunately, this core formation requires a True Nether Realm expert to arrange; otherwise, it cannot become a superior Nether artifact. But even so, it is already a top-tier Nether artifact—the treasure among treasures, the king of all Nether artifacts. No wonder it’s called the King Cauldron! Jiang Feng, with this King Cauldron, your offense and defense are unified, and your power will increase tenfold! If you strengthen your Nether Energy further, even Fang Chuhan will find it hard to kill you,” Jue marveled.

“The more formations an artifact has, the greater its power. But ordinary materials can’t sustain the operation of many formations. This King Cauldron can contain nine hundred ninety-nine grand formations—I wonder what it’s made of.”

Indeed, more grand formations in an artifact means greater power, but also greater strain on the material. Like the Nine-Bend Chain Ring Saber: if a formation that enhances speed is added, adding another formation could cause the blade to shatter under the strain.

While Jiang Feng controlled the King Cauldron, suddenly from the horizon several sword auras like long rainbows charged fiercely toward him.

Their momentum and speed rivaled Jiang Feng’s full-power use of the Twenty-Five Style Shadow Dance Soul-Shattering Step.

“Jiang Feng, we have a situation!” Duan Xingyun was the first to react. She knew Jiang Feng was at a critical moment refining the White Emperor Glazed Cauldron; there was no room for negligence. As soon as the first sword aura appeared, she was alerted, standing abruptly and releasing star sand. Within a one or two-acre area in the sky, she spread a thin veil of mist.

Though appearing slight, this mist was star sand fog; anyone who touched it would instantly be compressed into blood foam, dying from the star sand’s assault on the heart. Now at the sixth level of the Void Nether Realm, and having refined star sand with the Azure Dragon Ring, her use of star sand had become increasingly skillful.

“What? Who is it? Could it be that Cang Bai is unwilling to give up? Did he send a signal before dying to gather others to kill me? It doesn’t seem to be Cang Bai… who then?” Jiang Feng was also roused. Dividing his spirit, he looked skyward and saw the sword auras sharp and interwoven with Nether Energy. The attackers were numerous, all experts above the eighth level of the Void Nether Realm. They did not resemble Cang Bai’s group, though Jiang Feng could not discern their sect. Duan Xingyun soon provided the answer.

“That is the sword aura of the Langya Guild from Lingbo Town! Their flying swords are usually Taiyi Divided Light Swords, capable of dividing sword light and weaving it into threads—extremely powerful! How did the Lingbo Town Langya Guild find us? Clearly, their intentions are hostile—no friend would come like this,” she observed with greater insight than Jiang Feng.

“Langya Guild!”

Jiang Feng prepared to invoke Nether Techniques, but a wave of exhaustion swept over him, his eyelids heavy, a drowsiness so deep that closing his eyes meant instant sleep.

This was from excessive Nether Energy consumption.

His physical strength was stored in his dantian, Nether Energy in his meridians—a vast power! When heavily depleted, one feels faint and may even lose consciousness, akin to complete exhaustion.

Now, having spent nearly ninety-nine percent of his Nether Energy refining the White Emperor Glazed Cauldron, Jiang Feng needed a full day’s rest to recover. Even standing or flying was difficult.

“Damn it! Trying to rob me in the heat of battle! But I won’t let them succeed. Luckily, there are many pills inside the White Emperor Glazed Cauldron. This time, I’ll have to bite the bullet. I was hoping to exchange pills for other Nether artifacts at the Central Sea Market!” Jiang Feng thought urgently. With a mental command, the pills stored within the Jiangshan Bottle silently floated out. Pure Nether Energy was absorbed from them, nourishing his parched mind.

Bang, bang, bang! One after another, the pills cracked and turned into ordinary stones as their Nether Energy was drained, all rendered useless. This absorption wasted about one-third of Jiang Feng’s stock, but finally his mind cleared, Nether Energy restored to ninety percent, and the drowsiness vanished.

Jiang Feng’s Nether Energy was now so dense it was difficult to replenish. Without Infinite Devouring, even the Nether Energy gained from the Red-Eyed Black Water Serpent would not have required so many pills.

Seeing all his stored pills crack and become stones felt like tearing flesh from his own body.

“Brothers of the Langya Guild from Lingbo Town, what brings you to this forsaken island? I am Duan Xingyun, a true disciple of the Langya Guild from Jiuyan Town. Our Langya Guilds in each town defend each other, neither trespassing nor harming, and aid each other against demons and Nether beasts. Your aggressive approach puzzles me—what is your purpose?” Duan Xingyun floated amid the star mist, standing in midair as she addressed the sword auras suspended in the sky.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Three sword lights halted first. The air was filled with the aura of Geng metal, and within the sword light appeared three Nether Energy cultivators clad in purple-gold Taoist robes embroidered with the Eight Trigrams. Their eyes sparkled like gems, glowing brilliantly in the night, revealing formidable physical strength.

Jiang Feng glanced briefly and felt these three, in terms of physical prowess, might even surpass his own body, which was tempered with Ice Soul Liquid. Void Nether Realm level nine experts have great Nether Energy, but their physical bodies remain limited unless they have learned special body tempering techniques.

Such secret body tempering methods are closely guarded by sects and usually only taught to true disciples or those with special connections.

Jiang Feng’s own body could now pull the equivalent of twenty to thirty fierce horses—six times stronger than an average Void Nether Realm level nine expert. But these three’s physical auras were even stronger—truly terrifying.

“I am Lei Peng, true disciple of the Langya Guild from Lingbo Town!”

“I am Su Bing, true disciple of the Langya Guild from Lingbo Town!”

“I am Huo Liu, true disciple of the Langya Guild from Lingbo Town!”

The three Nether Energy cultivators fixed their fierce gazes on Duan Xingyun, their expressions cold and commanding, like imperial envoys delivering a royal decree. Their tone held no emotion. In that moment, Jiang Feng felt as if facing an imperial magistrate dispatched from the throne.

Swish, swish, swish! Behind them, a large group of disciples swiftly arrived on flying swords, orderly and disciplined, following closely like a military unit. Their formation was impeccable, the atmosphere solemn and strict—nothing like the more relaxed and casual Langya Guild of Jiuyan Town.

Merchant guilds typically have lax disciples, each doing their own thing without strict rules like those found in secular society. Otherwise, their focus would be on disciple cultivation.

Yet the Lingbo Town Langya Guild seemed to take the opposite approach, breaking the relaxed mold of Nether Energy cultivators, causing Jiang Feng’s heart to chill.

“Three true disciples, what is your business here?” Duan Xingyun asked coldly.

Lei Peng spoke emotionlessly, “You exterminated the pirate demon lord, Owner of the No-Life Island, at Ghost Demon Gorge and seized one of his supreme Nether artifacts—the White Emperor Glazed Cauldron, a great pill furnace. This cauldron belonged to the great demon lord White Emperor from eight hundred years ago. It was forged with Nine Heavens Fallen Iron, Five Qi True Steel, Seven-Colored Divine Stones, Blood Shadow Souls, Eight Extremes Divine Wood, Earth Essence Soil, and the blood sacrifice of 365 demon kings. The White Emperor demon lord once wreaked havoc in the mortal realm but was wounded by our Lingbo Town Langya Guild’s senior brother Sheng Mingzi and fled. Over these eight centuries, his lifespan ended, his spirit dissipated, and this demonic treasure fell into the hands of evil spirits. We now demand its return to the Lingbo Town Langya Guild to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands and endangering the mortal world!”