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Chapter 246: Chapter 243: The Second Heavenly Monarch
Apart from Gu Jinlai, in the Qiushan Cave, there were also Zhang Lihuo, Zhang Yukan, Si Tianyan, and Guan Xingyun, four Great Heavenly Masters.
As for Xiang Fengyun...
Having joined Lingxiao City for a short time, he still hadn’t earned Gu Jinlai’s full trust.
At this moment, the four Great Heavenly Masters were looking at the ripples emanating before them, with expressions of tremendous shock on their faces.
"Here, there actually exists a rift leading to the Demon Realm."
"Over these years, was it Heavenly Monarch Gu who alone was responsible for suppressing this demon rift?"
"A demon rift... What a catastrophe it is. Had it not been for Heavenly Monarch Gu being in Star State, suppressing the opening of the rift several times, the number of Upper-level Demons within Star State would have perhaps multiplied several fold by now. If we had waited another three to five years, and these Upper-level Demons grew to their peak, the whole of Star State would be plunged into misery. The original State Lord Mansion would not have been able to withstand it. From this perspective, Heavenly Monarch Gu saved the entire Star State."
One after another, the Great Heavenly Masters expressed their thoughts.
What they said was by no means an exaggeration.
Although those sudden appearances of demon rifts were hard to prevent and kept cropping up, ultimately, only small, and at most medium-sized, Demon Spirits came through them.
The growth potential of these Demon Spirits was limited, or rather, they had extremely long growth cycles. Although they could bring considerable chaos, under concerted suppression, peace would soon be restored.
What was truly terrifying was the stability of such a demon rift.
Such a rift would grow larger over time, and the Demon Spirits that emerged from it would become increasingly powerful.
Waiting another three to five years, the first batch of Demon Spirits that transformed into Devils, growing into Upper-level Demons, would sweep through Star State, and it would be no laughing matter.
After all, in all of Star State, there was only Xin Tianqi, a Primordial Spirit True Monarch.
"I have brought several Heavenly Masters here for two reasons, one is as a precaution, to avoid wasting the spiritual energy gained from refining Demon Spirits, and the other is to show you the true might of the Grand Sun Nine Refinements Visualization Method when it reaches the Perfect Level," Gu Jinlai said.
This speech of his was mainly directed at Si Tianyan and Guan Xingyun.
With Gu Jinlai’s help, the two of them had now switched to cultivating the Grand Sun Nine Refinements Visualization Method, and their cultivation had clearly diminished.
At this moment, he was laying down the groundwork for their confidence.
Si Tianyan and Guan Xingyun exchanged glances and said in unison, "Heavenly Monarch Gu, the Grand Sun Nine Refinements Visualization Method you taught us is far more powerful than the cultivation techniques we practiced before, especially the Grand Sun Core... it is simply astounding. It is hard to imagine just how one could understand the Great Sun in the sky to such an extent."
After all, even during the heyday of the Heavenly Master Civilization, few creators chose to descend upon the Great Sun and deeply comprehend such a vast and mighty force.
Guan Xingyun also added, "Although the total amount of our spiritual sense has decreased compared to before we switched cultivation techniques, our overall strength is stronger than before the switch, so we understand your good intentions, Monarch, and also thank you for your trust..."
As she spoke, she seemed to remember something and quickly corrected herself, "I should address you as Venerable Daoist Elder."
"That’s alright. I have said before that you can maintain your lineage’s traditions, I do not force you to join our Great Sun Heavenly Sect," Gu Jinlai replied with a wave of his hand.
Si Tianyan and Guan Xingyun looked at each other and smiled wryly.
As Gu Jinlai slowly began to disseminate the revised and perfected Grand Sun Nine Refinements Visualization Method among a small group of Heavenly Master Apprentices, from now on, what survival possibility would their lineage have?
Compared to his Grand Sun Nine Refinements Visualization Method, their techniques, whether in terms of efficiency or power, were far too inferior, lacking any competitive edge whatsoever.
The group engaged in brief conversation.
Gradually, the ripples in the space before them began to intensify.
As this intensification reached a certain degree, a visible crack momentarily appeared in the center of the cave.
"It’s here!"
Zhang Lihuo said solemnly.
Immediately after, they saw a Demon Spirit struggle and rush out from the pitch-black demon rift.
"Venerable Daoist Elder, please allow me to demonstrate the progress I’ve made in my cultivation," said Zhang Yukan, giving a bow.
Gu Jinlai nodded.
Zhang Yukan then began her visualization, and a Great Sun, no less dazzling than the core shown by Gu Jinlai, emerged behind her, exuding boundless light and heat.
The light and heat were such that ordinary people might not clearly feel it, but the five people present—four Great Heavenly Masters and a Heavenly Monarch—could clearly sense its impact on spiritual energy.
If this light and heat were even slightly more concentrated, it could easily scorch the spirituality of a Heavenly Master and even burn through to their soul, annihilating them.
"The power of the Great Sun..." Si Tianyan and Guan Xingyun both had looks of longing in their eyes.
They had both switched to cultivating the Grand Sun Nine Refinements Visualization Method, but the Great Sun they visualized had not yet reached the level of Zhang Yukan’s.
Therefore, as they felt that intense and brilliant light and heat, their eyes were filled with envy.
Brilliant light flashed.
The small Demon Spirit that had burst forth did not have a chance to cause any trouble before being reduced to ashes by the Great Sun Eternal Radiance Technique, powered by the Great Sun force that Zhang Yukan had gathered.
The speed of this astonished everyone present.
Zhang Lihuo’s eyes especially sparkled with brilliance, "I’d anticipated that forming a new Great Sun Core would substantially enhance the power of the Soul Secret Technique, but as there has never been a suitable target for testing, the results were uncertain. Now it appears... it’s not merely substantial, it’s a qualitative change! The Great Sun Eternal Radiance Secret Technique’s damage to Demon Spirits has increased by at least three to four times! With this, it’s not just small Demon Spirits we’re talking about— even medium or large Demon Spirits, we could incinerate them head-on."
A hundred years ago, the Heavenly Masters mainly guarded the stable rifts into the Demon Realm, yet the real threat to the world were those smaller and medium-sized Demon Spirits that surged out from temporary rifts.
These Demon Spirits appeared unpredictably and hid profoundly, causing immense fear and harm to the world.
Moreover, they could grow rapidly into large or catastrophic Demon Spirits by devouring myriad spirits.
Under such circumstances, the ability to directly and forcefully slay medium and large Demon Spirits became the sole criterion for the strength of a Heavenly Master.
In other words, if Zhang Yukan were to go back a hundred years, given her efficiency in slaying Demon Spirits, the treatment she would enjoy would not be much inferior to that of a Heavenly Monarch.
"Do not waste the spiritual energy refined from these Demon Spirits,"
Gu Jinlai instructed.
"Yes."
Zhang Lihuo, Si Tianyan, and Guan Xingyun acknowledged the instruction.
They stepped forward and quickly infused the spiritual energy extracted from the Demon Spirits into the engine, continuously refining its precision.
Gu Jinlai also extracted deuterium from heavy water and then tritium from super-heavy water, preparing the fuel rods as reserves for the Nuclear Fusion Engine.
The entire process, it must be said, was not difficult.
From time to time, medium-sized Demon Spirits would emerge from the rift, but since their side had four Great Heavenly Masters, including Zhang Lihuo, who was only a step away from the Heavenly Monarch Realm after reforming the Great Sun Core, these emerging Demon Spirits didn’t require Gu Jinlai to lift a finger; the Great Heavenly Masters took them down one after another.
He almost just needed to focus on refining the nuclear material and devote some effort to help Co-spirit with a Nuclear Fusion Engine.
The process was, compared to the previous two times, immeasurably easier.
However, as time went on and the Demon Realm Rift expanded to its largest, the number of Demon Spirits surging out increased significantly, among which were no shortage of large ones.
Zhang Lihuo and Zhang Yukan were visibly beginning to struggle.
At that point, Gu Jinlai stopped letting them practice and said, "I will now perform the Visualization Great Sun at a slower pace, and enact the Great Sun Eternal Radiance, Eternal Heavenly Curse, and related Soul Secret Techniques. You may freely observe my Great Sun Core and see clearly how the spiritual energy is mobilized. As for how much you can learn, that is up to you."
"Thank you for the guidance, Venerable Daoist Elder."
The four Great Heavenly Masters bowed again.
Gu Jinlai wasted no time.
A blazing Great Sun appeared in the sky, its dazzling splendor sending shockwaves, even to the likes of Zhang Lihuo and Zhang Yukan, who had already seen it before.
"Great Sun..."
Zhang Lihuo murmured, utterly mesmerized.
Through harnessing the power of nuclear fusion with the help of Zi Yang, Gu Jinlai had reached a deeper understanding of the "Great Sun."
Especially now that he could barely touch upon the True Spirit Realm and could enact the "Great Sun" mystery on the spirit level, this touched the highly sensitive Heavenly Masters even more.
Si Tianyan and Guan Xingyun were less affected,
having only recently switched to practicing the Grand Sun Nine Refinement Visualization Method and thus had a shallower comprehension.
But Zhang Lihuo and Zhang Yukan were staring wide-eyed, constantly perceiving the subtle changes in spiritual energy as the Visualization Great Sun formed.
As Gu Jinlai summoned the Power of Great Sun, effortlessly releasing Great Sun Eternal Radiance, Eternal Heavenly Curse to obliterate Demon Spirits rushing out from the Demon Realm Rift, something seemed to click for Zhang Lihuo.
The spiritual energy inside him vibrated sharply, and his divine sense seemed to ascend.
This sudden change signaled something to Zhang Yukan, Si Tianyan, and Guan Xingyun, their faces simultaneously revealing excitement and disbelief.
"Could it be..." 𝚗ovp𝚞b.𝚌om
"Shush!"
Under the gaze of the three, the ascension of Zhang Lihuo’s divine sense led to the elevation of his soul’s thoughts.
Already at the Peak of the Great Heavenly Masters, and having progressed in his cultivation through the Great Sun Demon God Body Refining Method, he spontaneously began Refining Essence into Energy, Qi Refining and God Transformation, using the power of his Essence Qi Spirit and the force of his ascended soul to begin condensing his True Spirit.
Yes!
True Spirit!
Zhang Lihuo captured the opportunity to advance to the Heavenly Monarch Realm and stepped into it at that moment.
Gu Jinlai watched this scene with a slight smile on his face.
Lingxiao City, at last, had its second Heavenly Monarch.
This would inevitably boost the manufacturing efficiency of his Military Workshop.
Moreover, since Zhang Lihuo already had a bit of fame in the Heavenly Master circles within the Qiantian World, his ascension to Heavenly Monarch under Gu Jinlai’s guidance after joining Lingxiao City would make an excellent promotional story.
Heavenly Monarch! That was the goal that many Heavenly Masters pursued their whole lives.
With this exemplary case, the number of Heavenly Masters joining Lingxiao City was sure to surge for a while.
As the number of Heavenly Masters grew, it would inevitably lead to increased productivity in the Military Workshop.
It probably wouldn’t be long before Lingxiao City could overwhelm all Devils with artillery barrages, employing a tactical advantage soon to come.
