"This should be the right direction."
After obtaining the directions from Di Tian, Chen Junting briefly rested and recuperated within the Valley of Life before resolutely setting off for the depths of the other side of the Forest of Destruction—where the Altar of Life was located.
Accompanied by a wave of spatial distortion, Chen Junting set foot in the Forest of Destruction once again. Although it wasn't the same spot he had entered from, the scenery stretching before his eyes looked largely the same.
As he got closer to the location Di Tian had provided, the patches of purplish-black destruction fog grew increasingly dense.
Yet, all of this was still within his limits of endurance.
He didn't know how much time had passed, but the instant Chen Junting took another step forward, a smile suddenly curled up at the corner of his mouth.
"Found it."
Immediately after, Whoosh, Chen Junting's entire figure vanished from sight.
...
Dead silence seemed to be the overarching theme of this forest.
However, deep within this forest that seemingly brimmed with a destructive aura stood an altar, appearing utterly out of place. Yet, the rich life aura it emitted seemed to seamlessly blend into the forest without altering its underlying dead silence.
"This is indeed different from the Valley of Life."
At this moment, as Chen Junting shuttled through the woods, he also sensed that the destructive aura within this space wasn't particularly dense. Its thin concentration formed a stark contrast with the Forest of Destruction that was merely "a wall away" from the outside world.
Soon, Chen Junting arrived in front of the Altar of Life.
The scale of the altar wasn't grand. Although it was related to gods, its appearance—constructed from massive stones—seemed rather plain and unadorned. In the center of the altar's surface, a stick-like scepter stood quietly, emitting a soft yet dazzling emerald-green glow. Moreover, a thick pillar of emerald-green light, centered around the Scepter of Life, shot straight up into the sky, as if connecting the life veins between heaven and earth, enveloping a five-meter radius.
This arrangement was identical to the Altar of Destruction he had seen earlier, only containing a completely different attribute.
Other than that, there was one more difference: this "scepter" could be probed with spiritual power.
Life energy wasn't as overbearing as destruction energy, which would completely shatter even the probing of spiritual power.
At this moment, through the perception of his spiritual power, Chen Junting discovered that the "scepter" was like a piece of dead metal, without any fluctuations, yet its divine profoundness was very obvious.
Furthermore, Chen Junting also realized that the position where this "Scepter of Life" was inserted wasn't just the center of the Altar of Life, but also the central point of this entire space; it was as if this space existed solely for it.
At this thought, "Interesting." Although it felt slightly abrupt, Chen Junting smiled.
Standing below the altar, the life energy radiating from the pillar of life brushed past and extended out of the altar like a gentle, warm breeze.
The destructive energy inherent to the Forest of Destruction retreated in its presence, offering no obstruction whatsoever, allowing Chen Junting to directly face the life energy that was so dense it was almost materializing.
The moment the life energy brushed over him, he felt as if every pore on his body was cheering with joy.
Moreover, after traversing through the dense Forest of Destruction, every cell in his body was like a long-dried patch of land, guzzling down and greedily absorbing this life force that nourished all creation.
"This life energy is truly astonishing..." Chen Junting took a deep breath and slowly stepped onto the altar.
As he walked, that life energy washed over his body increasingly, bringing a warm and comfortable feeling, as if all the exhaustion and discomfort throughout his body were swept away at this very moment.
Step by step... as Chen Junting ascended the stairs, the moment he fully stepped onto the altar, the gentle life energy transformed from a soft, flowing stream into a rushing torrent. Furthermore, with every step Chen Junting took toward the "Scepter of Life", the life energy surged ever more violently! Until, finally, Chen Junting arrived right before the "scepter".
The moment he stepped into the pillar of life, in a flash, a vast and majestic divine-level life energy surged into his body like a turbulent flood. This energy was powerful and pure, instantly filling his meridians and dantian, elevating his condition more and more.
Not only that, but this life energy also flowed along his spiritual power, pouring into his Spiritual Sea like agile elves.
This undoubtedly caused a massive transformation in Chen Junting's Spiritual Sea!
A massive amount of life energy shone like brilliant stars, radiating alongside that "sun" suspended above the Spiritual Sea, nourishing Chen Junting's soul and spiritual power, and causing the "seawater" of the Spiritual Sea—which had regained its mirror-like calm—to continuously rise.
Moreover, as a massive amount of life energy integrated into it, it dyed the entire Spiritual Sea into a vibrant, lively emerald green.
A similar change had only occurred twice before, back when the Life Gold integrated into Chen Junting's Spiritual Sea.
However, this time, the wondrous feeling perhaps even surpassed the past.
He could see the life energy morphing into various forms resembling marine creatures within the Spiritual Sea. They swayed gracefully, as if playing joyfully in this ocean of the mind.
At the same time, in another part of the Spiritual Sea.
The four great soul spirits, residing within Chen Junting's Spiritual Sea, naturally bathed together in this incredibly abundant life energy, causing their already powerful origins to become even more robust and profound.
The Snow Empress's icy aura gained a touch of softness; the Tyrant's destructive power seemed to harbor a hint of vitality; the Mad King's resilient physique appeared to gain a trace of agility; and the Evil Emperor...
Even Electrolux reaped some benefits.
Such phenomena were too numerous to mention one by one.
While the majestic life energy was still washing over him, Chen Junting stepped forward without hesitation, walked up to the "Scepter of Life", and firmly grasped its shaft.
Immediately after, Buzz buzz buzz— Six red, one orange, one rose-gold, and one golden-red soul ring instantly shone forth!
With all his soul rings unleashed, the soul skills possessing amplification effects lit up brilliantly.
Under these amplifications, Chen Junting instantly felt all his attributes and capabilities comprehensively soar. His essence, energy, and spirit were elevated to their absolute peak at this very moment. With a loud shout, he raised both hands and gripped the long handle of this stick-like scepter with all his might.
In an instant, an electric shock-like sensation spread throughout his entire body.
The shaft of the scepter felt like divine iron weighing thousands of jun, its heavy and solid presence filling his grasp. Furthermore, the textures on the "Scepter of Life" felt warm to the touch, as if bloodlines were flowing within the patterns.
At first, Chen Junting was confident and composed, his expression unchanged.
However, as more and more life energy poured in, Chen Junting's body gradually became unable to withstand this immense force.
His entire body began to swell up, his skin stretched taut until it glowed, making him look entirely like a balloon about to burst.
Clearly, there was too much life energy. If he allowed this situation to continue, Chen Junting would undoubtedly be burst apart by the massive amount of life energy, ending up shattered to pieces.
The Seven Kill Sword was released. In an instant, Chen Junting directly activated his Martial Soul True Body, and a towering sword brimming with awe-inspiring killing intent appeared out of nowhere!
Killing intent layered upon layer; the Seven Kill Domain unfolded accordingly, carrying the sword's killing intent and completely enveloping his entire body.
Because he worried that using the power of destruction might backfire, Chen Junting instead mobilized the purest killing intent and murderous aura to eradicate and wear down the life energy within his body.
However, the problem was not so easily resolved.
The energy contained within the pillar of life had already reached the divine level; how could mortal killing intent and murderous aura possibly eradicate it?
Even though Chen Junting also utilized the soul bone imbued with Rakshasa divinity, how could the power of a First-Class God possibly compare to the methods left behind by the majestic God King, the Goddess of Life?
Faced with such a critical situation, Chen Junting, who was in the "Sword God Without Self" state, displayed an abnormal calmness, his eyes indifferent and devoid of emotion. It was as if, in this crucial moment, maintaining a clear head was exactly the way to quickly find a solution. (T/N: I saw in another manhua that translated it as "Egoless Sword God" and it threw me off so bad I had to look up the original text lol)
Consequently, as his indifferent emotions suddenly dissipated, he fiercely concentrated his mind and communicated with Electrolux, who was currently redirecting the excess life energy within the Spiritual Sea, saying: "Teacher, lend me a hand! This life energy is too massive; my body can barely hold on! I must find something to contain it, and I reckon Life Gold is the most suitable!"
Since this massive life energy was about to burst him apart, he would just store all of it into the Life Gold—storing as much as it could hold. This would perfectly make up for his previous consumption, and might even increase the volume of the Life Gold itself.
That being the case, he would plunder as much as he could. If he waited until later, he might never get such a great opportunity again!
He just didn't know if his teacher could pull it off.
Right at this moment, "Do not panic." A weathered yet steady voice resonated in Chen Junting's mind. "Leave this matter to this old man. You continue to focus your attention and concentrate on what you need to do!"
As soon as his voice fell, Electrolux, who was currently in the Spiritual Sea, summoned his staff and began chanting incantations. The very next second, he cast his magic. Countless magical runes spread across the Spiritual Sea, but the source of every single rune traced back to the "sun" suspended above the Spiritual Sea—the Life Gold.
As for the ends of the magical runes, they connected to every meridian and every bone in Chen Junting's body... As a beam of light lit up within the Spiritual Sea, Electrolux held his staff and waved it gently, mobilizing the countless magical runes. Like a pair of invisible giant hands, they began to methodically manipulate the surging life energy.
He then cleverly guided the life energy that was pouring into Chen Junting's body, continuously channeling it into the Spiritual Sea, and then slowly drawing it into the "sun"—the Life Gold—to strengthen it.
Under Electrolux's exquisite methods, the surging and turbulent life energy within Chen Junting's body gradually became docile. It no longer rampaged violently, and his body slowly returned to normal.
Having averted the crisis, Chen Junting concentrated all his strength.
He tightly gripped the scepter with both hands, clenched his teeth, and gathered every ounce of strength in his body, preparing to pull out the "scepter" in one go.
Boom—
With his exertion, the "Scepter of Life" trembled slightly, and the surrounding emerald-green pillar of light flickered along with it.
However, the "Scepter of Life" seemed to have merged into one with the altar; pulling it out would be no easy feat. Just from making it budge, he felt a powerful resistance transmitting from the "scepter", as if the entire altar was resisting his attempt to take it away.
Seeing this, Chen Junting took a deep breath!
He mobilized his newly nourished and fortified blood essence power, soul power, and spiritual power. The three forces intertwined and converged into a majestic torrent, instantly surging into both his arms.
Immediately after, the Seven Kill Sword behind him trembled repeatedly. The two major assault-type soul bones in Chen Junting's legs also instantly erupted. The full extent of a Limit Douluo's combat power was thoroughly and undeniably displayed at this very moment!
Crack—
The surface of the altar suddenly fractured!
In an instant, even Chen Junting's bones let out a series of crackling sounds. The next second, the "Scepter of Life" completely moved!
Although this movement was somewhat slight, it was indeed slowly moving upward under Chen Junting's all-out effort.
"Come— OUT!!!" On his arms, every vein bulged like the coiled roots of an ancient tree.
Surging with momentum, his blood essence soared to the skies!
At this moment, the trembling and upward movement of the Scepter of Life became increasingly obvious, and even the emerald-green glow grew more intense.
Ten breaths later, "Come out!" Accompanied by a loud roar, an unprecedented emerald-green light illuminated the entire Altar of Life.
At this very moment, as the scepter was pulled out, an earth-shattering roar resounded, and the entire Forest of Destruction trembled because of it. The emerald-green pillar of light shot up into the sky, illuminating the entire heavens while simultaneously dispelling the dead silence of the forest, causing this Forest of Destruction to directly undergo a metamorphosis and radiate with vitality!
The instant the light of life shone down, Chen Junting felt an unprecedented scorching warm current abruptly transmit into his body, instantly sweeping across his entire being. The "Scepter of Life" in his hand seemed to tremble, and then, golden patterns lit up across its surface.
Subsequently, starting from where Chen Junting gripped it, faint golden patterns began to spread. Each golden line diffused alongside the release of a life aura, and then took on a crimson, blood-like hue.
It turned out that after that scorching warm current transmitted into Chen Junting's body, it returned carrying his blood essence. The scorching textures on the shaft of the "Scepter of Life" constantly trembled; this action directly broke through Chen Junting's mortal-peak physical body, causing a significant amount of blood to seep from his palms and continuously soak into those faint golden patterns on the "scepter".
This scene instantly made Chen Junting understand. This "Scepter of Life" was acknowledging its master. And the method was precisely this blood-dripping technique before his eyes.
It was just that... the amount of blood it demanded was honestly a bit much.
"You're quite the greedy one, aren't you."
Chen Junting held up the "Scepter of Life", gave it a once-over up and down, and then suddenly paused, looking it up and down once again.
However, this second inspection carried a hint of disbelief compared to the first. His slightly furrowed brows seemed to indicate that he had encountered something even he found hard to comprehend.
After a brief moment of silence,
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—
Chen Junting twirled the staff in a flashy display. After a burst of vigorous wind, Clang! he planted it down onto the altar surface.
"Are you sure this damn thing can really be a scepter!?"
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