Transformation Diagram: Starting as a Skinny Dog-Chapter 554 - 356: Outer Firmament

The Jiang family, a great clan that has inherited and continued for a thousand years in the land of Dragon Abyss, does not believe that the current provincial capital, Yan Capital, is the core area of Dragon Abyss, even though Yan Capital was once the capital of Yan Country three generations ago.

In the eyes of the Jiang family, only their family’s origin, ’Heng State,’ should be the center of Dragon Abyss. In fact, Heng State does rank in a way that, whether in terms of wealth, number of experts, or customs and practices, it arguably has the qualification to contend with Yan Capital.

Within the Jiang family.

The enormous ancestral temple resembles a royal palace.

A group of core elders of the Jiang family have all learned of this news.

"News from Yan Capital, Yufei has died, killed by a brat from the Qiu Dragon Mansion..."

"How useless, to be subdued by a bumpkin brat, it’s truly disgraceful to our Jiang family."

"That’s not entirely fair to say. According to intelligence from our branch in Yan Capital, that brat from the Qiu Dragon Mansion, though only at the Seventh Realm Inner Firm cultivation, can display power beyond his ’Six Great Limits,’ able to challenge the Eighth Realm peak. Particularly... he also possesses part of the Hero King Treasure."

"Yufei might have tried to seize the Hero King Treasure from that boy, only to capsize."

"Hero King Treasure?!"

"Really?"

"This is an opportunity!"

"Indeed, an opportunity. With Yufei’s death, we elders now have the reason to act, to capture the boy. If we truly obtain even a hint of the Hero King Treasure secrets, it will undoubtedly bring new vitality to the family."

Of course, not everyone at this Jiang family meeting acted with such urgency.

Occasionally, there were a few dissenting voices:

"Now the Nine Major Sects in Yan Capital have allied with the Imperial Court to establish the Divine Martial Hall. With that brat from Qiu Dragon Mansion showing such prowess, he’s likely caught the eye of the Divine Martial Hall. If we openly move against him, we might sour relations with the Imperial Court. Besides, our Jiang family’s millennia of heritage hasn’t been fully digested by our descendants; we need not place so much emphasis on the Hero King Treasure."

"That’s what I think as well."

These few voices were quickly overwhelmed by the will of the majority.

Finally, a unanimous decision was made.

"Let’s send Elder Yan Chang. If we truly retrieve something from the Qiu Dragon Mansion boy, perhaps we can help Elder Yan Chang break through his barrier, adding another pillar of support to the Jiang family."

The Jiang Family’s Ninth Elder, Jiang Yanchang, a veteran who has long reached the Ninth Layer of Blood Exchange, stands at the Ninth Realm peak, merely a step away from entering the Tenth Realm, the Primordial Heaven Realm, reversing the innate and living a thousand-year life.

But this final step is a monumental gap for most, a bottleneck that may trap them for life, unable to advance further.

The path from Heng State to Yan Capital is not too far.

An expert of the Ninth Layer of Blood Exchange can reach it in half a day.

...

"The Jiang family has sent someone, reportedly an elder who was renowned throughout Dragon Abyss two hundred years ago. He rose during chaotic times, witnessing the history from the establishment of Daji to the present."

Within Yan Capital, an informed Jianghu tabloid promptly published this news.

Xiao Tianzuo and others looked at the tabloid in their hands, all showing concern on their faces.

Duan Qingxuan said silently: "My mother said that Yuchan Mountain should not lightly interfere with this matter, or it would lead to gossip, making others think that we at Yuchan Mountain also covet the Hero King Treasure. The matters behind this treasure involve the Ten Great Rebel Kings of the past. Yuchan Mountain has always been a secluded place, unwilling to get entangled in these affairs."

Not every person and faction is swayed by treasure.

Especially the sects with the character ’宗’ granted by the Imperial Court, which have masters above the Tenth Realm suppressing their gates and boast strong sect foundations.

If it were the complete Hong Dynasty Treasure, it might stir their hearts.

But a piece of rumored, incomplete treasure, supposedly one of the ten divided parts of the Hero King, is not enough to draw everyone’s pursuit. Some sects, even fear getting involved in such troubles.

"Our family has sent word that after I told them about Brother Chen’s talent, they expressed willingness to say a word for Brother Chen at the right time, though... they won’t directly oppose the Jiang family." Xiao Tianzuo sighed.

"Have we still not found Brother Chen?"

Helan Qing frowned:

"Brother Chen... could he be hiding from the city after killing Jiang Yufei, afraid to return? That would be terrible. In two days, it’s the Divine Martial Hall’s recruitment time. Missing this opportunity, if he can’t enter the Divine Martial Hall, he’d lose his greatest shelter."

Xiao Tianzuo was also anxious about it.

Thinking of Chen Ku’s actions before leaving the city, he sighed:

"Brother Chen probably knew that leaving the city would invite followers to ambush him, yet he didn’t want to drag us all into it, planning to face it alone. This... he doesn’t consider us as friends at all."

......

Just as the outside world was abuzz with the news of Chen Ku slaying Jiang Yufei and the Jiang family elder rushing to Yan Capital overnight,

Below the cliff in the back courtyard of Guanyin Monastery.

Chen Ku sat cross-legged, placing the horn on his knees, holding it in both hands, activating the Huntian Overlord Body, and voraciously devoured the ’Thunderbolt Essence’ within as if swallowing a cow’s drink.

Swoosh~~

Behind him stood the barefoot final great monk of Putuo Mountain, Master Tian Hai, with one hand on Chen Ku’s crown, assisting him in accelerating the refining of this Thunder Spirit object.

"The Single-Horned Red Kui horn you obtained contains at least five hundred years of Thunderbolt Essence, from a demon beast at the Eighth Realm peak. Though refined by the Red Kui, it’s no longer violent, yet still a demon essence. You practice the Five Thunders Decision within the Huntian Overlord Body, requiring you to re-refine this Thunderbolt Essence to avoid your cultivation being tainted by Demonic Qi."

Master Tian Hai spoke calmly:

"However, with my help, I can significantly reduce your workload. I will be responsible for eradicating the Kui Beast Qi Mechanism from the Thunderbolt Essence, and you only need to focus on integrating the refined essence into your Cultivation Body to achieve twice the result with half the effort."

"Thank you, Master Uncle."

Chen Ku closed his eyes, fully aware of the immense help Master Tian Hai was providing.

Whoosh~~

He felt the Vital Energy within the Kui Horn in his hand being extracted by Master Tian Hai in a mysterious manner, far beyond what he could achieve on his own.

If Chen Ku had tried to refine the Kui Horn himself, it would have taken at least a month. But with Master Tian Hai’s assistance, the process could be expedited tenfold, and it would take about three days to fully refine the essence.

Meanwhile,

Chen Ku also felt Master Tian Hai’s hand placed on his head, the energy flowing from his palm was not Gang Qi or True Qi, but a power similar to the state he achieved after the Gathering Spirit and Dispelling Qi.

"Is this the ’Innate True Essence’ gathered within the body of a Tenth Realm master after reversing innate energy?"

Chen Ku seized this opportunity to not only practice the Five Thunders Decision but also to experience the state of Innate True Essence.

Unlike the Primordial Qi he couldn’t control,

Master Tian Hai’s Innate True Essence was entirely controllable, a ’Innate Primordial Qi’ that could be manipulated at will. Chen Ku sensed that these True Essence entering his body had their own consciousness and intelligence, imbued with the distinctive energy of Master Tian Hai’s cultivation technique.

And the reason he could refine the eighth realm peak’s Kui Horn at more than ten times the normal speed was inseparable from the energy characteristics of Master Tian Hai’s ’Innate True Essence.’

This is why the Tenth Realm is a huge watershed in the cultivation path of a Martial Practitioner.

The simplest distinction is between innate and postnatal.

Before stepping into the Tenth Realm, the powers within both Martial Practitioners and Demons were at the postnatal level, tainted with numerous impurities, not pure, and the essence was not close to the origin of the world.

At the innate level, however, it involved grasping some of the essence between heaven and earth, finding the crucial point of ’innate primordial qi’ in the level of life, and transforming the whole body to become an innate physique from the inside out.

Once in this realm, the suppression over all postnatal qi becomes overwhelming, a fundamental difference in quality.

That’s what is happening now.

With Master Tian Hai’s help, that Thunderbolt Essence from the Kui Horn was purified like brine removing tofu’s impurities, leaving only pure thunderbolt will and power to merge into Chen Ku’s body.

Chen Ku only needs to follow the ’Five Thunders Decision’ cultivation path, transforming the Thunderbolt Essence throughout his body to consolidate the ’Five Thunder Technique.’

"Transform Thunder into the body, use thunder as the constitution, to lead the five internal organs’ qi, forming a small world within the human body, nurturing the five thunders from the five internal organs, which is the Five Thunders Decision. Once this decision reaches great achievement, one can swallow lightning and thunder, using thunderbolt to refine the body, capturing the heavenly might of thunderbolt..."

With the assistance of Master Tian Hai,

Chen Ku’s body seemed like an insatiable Taotie, never ceasing the cultivation of the Five Thunders Decision.

Unlike the birth of Five Elements True Qi from nothing,

The birth of Five Thunder True Qi was actually derived from Five Elements True Qi.

Chen Ku could clearly perceive that his body didn’t generate a seventh True Qi and Gang Qi.

Instead, based on the Five Elements True Gang, electric arcs and thunder light began to appear.

However,

Simply having electric arcs and thunder light wasn’t enough.

Chen Ku continued to observe the changes in the Five Elements True Gang, until, during the operation of the Five Thunders Decision, it started to actively devour the Black Wind True Gang...

Next,

The six True Gang within his body suddenly seemed to be drawn together by a powerful force, starting to twist into a spiral pattern...

A thick True Gang, gleaming with seven-colored light, formed!

In the instant this seven-colored True Gang appeared, a fierce aura of five elements rotation and wind and thunder surged from within his body, signaling the birth of a great annihilation energy.

"This is... the Five Thunders Decision?! It actually twisted all the True Gang within the body into one!"

Chen Ku was astonished.

He thought there would be a seventh True Qi, but it was fused instead.

In just one day, the Five Thunder True Gang was consolidated within his body.

It wouldn’t have been possible without the assistance of a Tenth Realm master.

Thus, with Master Tian Hai’s help, the vast Thunderbolt Essence from the Kui Horn kept being refined by the seven-colored True Gang within Chen Ku.

Chen Ku originally remained at the stage of Inner Firmament, only able to protect his internal organs and bones with Gang Qi. But at this moment, it’s as if a seed is spreading from the inside out.

On the second day, a seven-colored Gang Qi began to appear on the surface of Chen Ku’s body, resembling a protective cover formed by a seven-colored rainbow, enveloping him entirely.

Lo and behold, it’s proof of the Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, Thunder—seven types of Cultivation Bodies—all simultaneously reaching the peak state of ’Outer Firmament,’ where Gang Qi can be projected externally.

However, stepping into Outer Firmament was just the beginning of Chen Ku’s practice of the Five Thunders Decision.