Chapter 316: Heavenly Palace Golden Elixir

Blue light erupted intensely within the Sea Corpse Clan's territory, on the Seven Blood Eyes' Forbidden Artifact Altar. Its continuous duration drew significant attention from both the Sea Corpse Clan and the Seven Blood Eyes disciples.

The Sea Corpse Clan, in particular, was shaken to its core. Nearly all clan members had witnessed the blue light emanating from the altar over the past few days, and they naturally understood its cause. Precisely because they knew, their emotions fluctuated with increasing intensity after realizing how long the phenomenon had persisted. The same held true for the Seven Blood Eyes disciples stationed in the area.

Third Grandmaster watched Xu Qing on the altar below, enveloped in blue light, his entire body tinged blue and radiating an aura of death. His own mind was equally turbulent. Had he not known that Xu Qing was attempting to open 121 Dharma Apertures, and that the probability of him betraying the sect was extremely low, he would have wondered if Xu Qing was truly trying to transform himself into a Sea Corpse. Indeed, at that moment, with the integration of power from multiple Corpse Ancestor statues, Xu Qing's life force was rapidly approaching its limit, and the death aura covering his entire body grew increasingly potent.

After another three hours, as dusk faded and a bright moon hung in the sky, Xu Qing's body suddenly trembled. He had reached his limit. The purple crystal within his body, simultaneously suppressed by him and invaded by the external Corpse Ancestor statues' power, finally brought his body to within a hair's breadth of complete transformation. To the left of this sliver was life; to the right, death. This was the threshold between life and death.

However, this state was extremely unstable; a little less and it wouldn't be the threshold between life and death, but a little more... and he would truly transform into a Sea Corpse. At this crucial moment, Xu Qing's eyes suddenly opened, revealing a blue glow and an indifference devoid of any emotional fluctuation. He raised his right hand, which resembled that of a corpse, and slowly pointed at the black wood in front of him.

With that single point, the black wood immediately emitted strong fluctuations. The next instant, a massive illusory wooden door appeared before Xu Qing. Amidst a resounding roar, the door slowly opened towards him. A strong, dazzling white light, distinct from the surrounding blue light, suddenly emanated from within the wooden door, enveloping Xu Qing! This light was brighter and more brilliant than before. It had not been dulled by harsh truths or the world; it still existed, but had become somewhat cold, its warmth hidden deeper within.

The light from the black wooden door was the method Xu Qing had conceived to solidify his state between life and death. Whether it was during his previous confrontation with Sheng Yunzi or his subsequent research, he clearly understood that the wooden door, having undergone a second consecration, contained a light capable of sealing life force levels. This sealing, like freezing, would, in that instant, cause all of one's states to be solidified.

At this moment, as the light spread, Xu Qing's body suddenly trembled. His unstable state between life and death was now, under the light of the Profound Spirit Eternal Will Door, completely solidified, no longer wavering. His life force level seemed to be fixed.

The next moment, under the arrangement of Third Grandmaster, who was observing Xu Qing, the surrounding blue light from the Corpse Ancestor statues immediately dissipated. Then, as he performed a hand seal, the Seven Blood Eyes' Forbidden Artifact, the ancient bronze mirror, shone brightly in the sky, transforming into a beam of light that descended directly, striking Xu Qing's body before reflecting back. This caused Xu Qing's entire body to be completely enveloped in the light.

Xu Qing's body trembled. His consciousness was still clear, and his perception rapidly spread throughout his body, searching for his 121st Dharma Aperture. Seventh Grandmaster had said that the location of each person's Dharma Apertures was unique, especially the 120th. But at this moment, in this state between life and death, with the aid of the Seven Blood Eyes' Forbidden Artifact, after perceiving his entire body, Xu Qing finally found... his 121st Dharma Aperture.

This Dharma Aperture was surprisingly located within his Sea of Consciousness, not physically real, but in a state similar to an illusion. The instant he found it, Xu Qing didn't hesitate. His soul power immediately erupted, surging with full force towards the location he had found in his Sea of Consciousness. The next instant, Xu Qing's body began to tremble. Opening the 121st Dharma Aperture was more difficult than opening others, but Xu Qing was well-prepared. His soul power was once again activated from each of his Dharma Apertures, gathering to form a soul flame, which surged forward again.

A few breaths later, as cracking sounds echoed within his Sea of Consciousness, Xu Qing's body trembled, and the illusory 121st Dharma Aperture within his Sea of Consciousness suddenly... opened! With its opening, an unprecedented fluctuation of magical power directly erupted from within this 121st Dharma Aperture. It was fierce, boundless, and earth-shattering! The power emanating from this single aperture was like that of thirty Dharma Apertures combined. Because the magical power within it was so vast, it gave rise to the saying that "one aperture ignites one fire."

At this moment, with this eruption, Xu Qing's four burning life flames, though their colors had been altered by the Sea Corpse aura, quickly converged with countless threads of fire, and his fifth life flame instantly formed. The color of this fifth life flame was fiery red. In its intense burning, terrifying fluctuations spread from it. After affecting Xu Qing's entire body, his state between life and death was directly broken. The vitality of his life flames, after breaking his previous state, caused the death aura to begin dissipating.

Because the ritual had not been completely finished, Xu Qing had not fully transformed into a Sea Corpse, allowing for a reversal. He no longer suppressed the power of the purple crystal, other than having his shadow cover it to conceal it from exposure, thus accelerating the recovery of his life force. Gradually, two of his five life flames changed color to fiery red, followed by the third. Eventually, when all five life flames returned to their normal color, a rich life force was ignited within Xu Qing, spreading throughout his entire body. His skin color rapidly changed, and his hair was no longer withered.

After this process continued for four hours, Xu Qing's eyes suddenly opened; everything had recovered! He successfully reversed his state from the threshold of life and death and opened the 121st Dharma Aperture. This scene, observed by the seven Sea Corpse Clan members in the sky, filled them with immense regret while also bringing solemnity. No one dared to underestimate someone who had opened 121 Dharma Apertures, as this meant their Golden Core limit would reach its peak. This was especially true since they had recognized Xu Qing long ago and knew about his Life Lantern.

Third Grandmaster also breathed a sigh of relief, a look of appreciation in his eyes. He did not disturb Xu Qing, for he discerned that Xu Qing was about to advance to the Heavenly Palace Golden Core stage right there. So he immediately waved his hand, dispersing the surrounding Sea Corpse cultivators. After imposing a stricter blockade on the area, he personally guarded Xu Qing. This was something Seventh Grandmaster had entrusted him with. Third Peak Master would strictly carry out this task, whether from the sect's perspective or his personal obligation to Seventh Grandmaster. He would not allow any accidents during Xu Qing's advancement. In fact, in this forbidden land of the Seven Blood Eyes, it was difficult for accidents to occur; this place could be considered the safest within the Seven Blood Eyes.

After a while, Xu Qing opened his eyes. After a few silent breaths, he sensed Third Grandmaster's arrangements around him, so he closed his eyes again, ready to advance! Advancing with five fires was essentially a guaranteed success. To advance from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core, one needed to burn their life flames to their peak, raise them high within the body, and project the Heavenly Palace. The projected Heavenly Palace was illusory but would not disappear; like a spiritual rank, it would always exist. What cultivators needed to do in the years that followed was to materialize their projected illusory Heavenly Palace, and then place a Golden Core within it to suppress it, thus making it a true Heavenly Palace.

At this moment, as Xu Qing willed it, the five life flames within his body instantly flared brightly. The 121 Dharma Apertures were like 121 furnaces, especially the last one, where the fire intent was even stronger. They transformed into countless threads of fire, gathering within the five life flames and making Xu Qing's five life flames even more dazzling. Moreover, the Life Lantern manifested, and after the fire light was further empowered, it was raised high within Xu Qing's body.

The next moment, within his Sea of Consciousness, above the life flames, the first Heavenly Palace, which had previously only shown a faint, partial glimpse, seemed to have its veil lifted, revealing more and more of itself. Until a moment later, Xu Qing's first illusory Heavenly Palace was fully projected. The appearance of this Heavenly Palace was like a massive palace, filled with a sense of sanctity and majesty. This was the most basic appearance of a Heavenly Palace; for all humans, their illusory Heavenly Palaces were generally like this. This was determined by racial bloodline. During the materialization process, different changes would occur based on the cultivator's specific cultivation methods.

At this moment, as Xu Qing's five life flames burned and were raised high, soon... above the first illusory Heavenly Palace, his second illusory Heavenly Palace was also projected. Next came the third, then the fourth... His Sea of Consciousness was now roaring intensely, as if everything was trembling. Streaks of lightning surged in all directions, as if to tear everything apart, and then the fifth illusory Heavenly Palace also revealed itself. Looking at them, the five Heavenly Palaces, from bottom to top, were immensely vast. The light of the life flames continued to spread, causing the sixth illusory Heavenly Palace to also be projected into his Sea of Consciousness at that instant. Furthermore, above the sixth illusory Heavenly Palace, there was a dense mist, like a dome, preventing the fire light from entering.

Six Heavenly Palaces marked the limit for three-fire cultivators, because subsequent Heavenly Palaces existed within the fate mist and could not be projected without the intense light of life flames. But Xu Qing was an exception. As his five life flames flared up again, within the dense mist, the seventh illusory Heavenly Palace subtly formed. Immediately after, the eighth Heavenly Palace within the fate mist, under the dazzling light of the five life flames, had its mist pierced through and was projected.

The eight illusory Heavenly Palaces caused his Sea of Consciousness to tremble, roaring in all directions with astonishing momentum. Even outside his body, vortices appeared, sweeping in all directions while drawing in endless spiritual energy.

"Next... the Life Lantern will transform into a Life Palace!" Xu Qing murmured to himself, raising his Seven-Colored Wind Chime Lantern high within his Sea of Consciousness. After this lantern passed through six illusory Heavenly Palaces, it entered the fate mist. Piercing through the seventh and eighth illusory Heavenly Palaces, at an even higher position, it erupted with power that shook heaven and earth.

Incredibly dazzling light spread from the Seven-Colored Wind Chime Lantern, and the ninth Heavenly Palace, all of a sudden, slowly began to construct itself around this Life Lantern. It was not illusory, but substantial. After this entire process lasted for half an hour, Xu Qing's ninth Heavenly Palace was completely formed within the fate mist. Within it was enshrined the Seven-Colored Wind Chime Lantern, which would become an existence similar to a Golden Core, suppressing the Heavenly Palace there and making it instantly... complete!

The power of a Heavenly Palace overwhelmingly manifested from Xu Qing, who was sitting cross-legged, causing the world outside to change color and a deafening roar to resound.

It was not over yet. The large black umbrella-shaped Life Lantern was now raised high by Xu Qing!