Journey to the West: Treasure Vase of the Great Dao

The air around instantly became unbearably hot, and Chenxiang ducked his head under the water, feeling the temperature rising higher and higher.

As the temperature increased, his body became hot once again, and steam seemed to rise continuously from his flushed cheeks. With a light point of his finger, Lu Yu made the Great Dao Treasure Vase stand horizontally in the sky, pouring Spiritual Water that directly landed on the top of Chenxiang's head, instantly wrapping his whole body in comfort.

In between this comfort and pain, Chenxiang wavered continually, as the Golden Core inside him began to be digested, merging into his body with the help of external forces.

Seeing this, Lu Yu nodded slightly; this way, the potential risks caused by the rapid improvement of the body would disappear, leaving no impact on Chenxiang's future.

Chenxiang also noticed the changes in his body. He opened his eyes, looked at Lu Yu with surprise, and shouted, "Teacher, what is this?"

"Don't get distracted, focus on the change happening in your body!" Lu Yu shouted loudly.

At the same time, Mana surged out, the flames became even stronger as if they intended to set the entire mountaintop ablaze, and then a miraculous scene occurred. The previously ordinary mountaintop suddenly sparked with light.

If one were to observe from afar, they could see that this light connected together, forming a huge Eight Trigrams Formation Map, with Chenxiang right in the formation's eye.

The monkey couldn't help but pale as he said, "Isn't this where I was born? How can this be?"

"It is to borrow the place of your birth to seize the creation of heaven and earth. There isn't a second place like this anywhere else in the world," Lu Yu said with a hearty laugh.

Lu Yu flew into the sky, Mana roiling within him, the Fire Rule within his body shining brightly. Mighty flames surged out, enveloping the entire mountaintop.

The monkey, curiously observing at the side, felt more and more that this scene resembled his own experience within the Eight Trigrams Furnace and asked in astonishment, "Scholar, what are you doing?"

Seeing that the monkey had figured it out, Lu Yu did not conceal the truth and replied with a smile, "That's right, it is indeed modeled after your experience in the Eight Trigrams Furnace. Only by doing this can the Golden Core inside him be completely digested."

The words reminded the monkey of those not-so-pleasant memories, but truth be told, without those times, he would not have achieved what he had today.

"You, back then, devoured countless Peaches of Immortality, stole Golden Cores, and drank Jade Liquor, which is why nothing but the Eight Trigrams Furnace would do. Now, Chenxiang has only consumed a Golden Core, which is already more than enough for him."

"Don't forget, Lao Shun, I am naturally born and raised, inherently Vajra Indestructible. Chenxiang is after all a mortal; although he has activated the Celestial God bloodline, how can he withstand such raging flames!"

"That's why I am using Spiritual Water as backup!" Lu Yu said with a smile, pointing at the Great Dao Treasure Vase hanging in the sky.

Whenever Chenxiang's vital energy weakened and he couldn't hold on, a stream of Spiritual Water would fall from the sky, nourishing his body and helping him overcome the crisis.

Thanks to this method, Chenxiang managed to endure within the fierce flames. Over time, as the Golden Core within his body merged into his every part and was refined by the flames, purging the impurities, his body shone with the luster of glaze.

On this day, the weather was clear, with a blue sky and not a cloud in sight. However, the sky over Huaguo Mountain was flashing with red light, and a scorching wave of air rushed forth, forming a strong wind sweeping across all directions.

The entire Huaguo Mountain seemed to be enveloped by flames, and the ethereal Eight Trigrams shone brightly between heaven and earth, as though separating Huaguo Mountain from the rest of the world.

This astonishing spectacle had persisted for thirty-six days. At this moment, Chenxiang stood amidst the fierce flames, seemingly oblivious to the surrounding heat. His body appeared translucent like glaze, shining brilliantly in the reflection of the flames, and his internal organs glowed intensely too, vaguely revealing the circulation of the Five Qi within his body.

Lu Yu and Monkey quietly watched Chen Xiang, who had already fallen into a deep sleep, a faint smile tugging at the corners of their mouths. Chen Xiang's body had long since transcended the mortal realm, strong enough to stand out in all three worlds.

"Chen Xiang, if not now, when!" Lu Yu whispered.

The sound gradually grew louder in the air and when it reached Chen Xiang's ears, it was like the sound of thunder, startling him awake. He scanned his surroundings and recalled his predicament; gently clenching his fist, he felt as if he had boundless strength.

A long howl echoed through Huaguo Mountain, causing all creatures within the mountains to look up towards the summit in alarm.

A gleam of delight flashed across the eyes of Rakshasa Princess; she knew Chen Xiang had finally completed his retreat.

"Haha, Chen Xiang is about to emerge! Let's see if those big-shot monkeys can still be arrogant in front of me. I'll have Chen Xiang beat them to a pulp!" Sun Shier laughed heartily, looking exceedingly proud.

The recent times had been frustrating for him; his rivals on Huaguo Mountain had provoked him time and again. In the past, they would have been beaten by Chen Xiang to the point of being unable to fend for themselves, but with Chen Xiang in closed-door cultivation, Sun Shier, without his backer, had been bullied miserably. Now that Chen Xiang was about to emerge, how could he not be overjoyed?

After the howl, Chen Xiang leaped into the air and flew over the sea of flames, landing in front of Lu Yu and Monkey.

His eyes shone upon heaven and earth, emitting two beams of golden light so powerful that they disturbed the Jade Emperor in the Lingxiao Palace.

The Immortal Monarchs looked around, wondering where this golden light originated from. In the past, the supreme ruler of the three realms would have already sent Clairaudient and Clairvoyance to investigate, but today, for some reason, he remained unperturbed as if he saw nothing.

"Your Majesty, should we investigate this golden light?" Devaraja, standing to one side, stepped forward to inquire.

"It's fine, it's simply that a being in the lower realm has made significant progress in their cultivation and couldn't contain themselves for a moment. There's no need for alarm," said the Jade Emperor, his voice containing a special power that could soothe the hearts of others.

Li Jing glanced at the supreme ruler of the three realms seated on the throne and felt that his mood was particularly good.

Little did he know that at this very moment, the Jade Emperor's heart was also relieved of a great burden: years of planning were finally bearing fruit. In the future, their side would most certainly gain a powerful ally, which would be extremely beneficial for his future schemes.

"It was truly the right decision to entrust Chen Xiang to Lu Yu!" thought the Jade Emperor to himself, yet his face revealed no change, remaining as usual.

In Huaguo Mountain, Chen Xiang looked towards heaven and earth and reabsorbed the golden light in his eyes before bowing to Lu Yu and saying, "Thank you, teacher!"

At that moment, a surprised cry suddenly reached his ears, and he saw Rakshasa Princess covering her face while looking at him.

Chen Xiang was perplexed, not understanding why the princess had such a reaction.

"Aren't you going to put on your clothes quickly, or do you intend to show off your physique to us?" Lu Yu teased.

Only then did Chen Xiang realize his clothes had long been incinerated in the flames, and he was now completely naked. He now understood why Rakshasa Princess reacted that way.

Hastily, he used his hands to cover his exposed body.