Chapter 114: Reshaping the Body

The greenish liquid in the Godfiend Blood Pool was cool. As Meng Chuan entered and sat cross-legged, he felt an invisible energy permeate his skin and flow into his body. Immediately, a powerful life force surged within him; even his fingernails and hair began to grow at a visible rate.

Meng Chuan was well aware that the Godfiend Blood Pool could reshape one's physical body, marking a true ascent from mortal to Godfiend. However, it was also exceptionally precious, which was why many geniuses never got the chance to enter it.

"Master, I'm ready," Meng Chuan announced.

"Alright."

The Venerable, with his long hair flowing, stood in a nearby corner. He looked upwards, his gaze piercing through the rock ceiling to the vast sky.

"Boom!" The sky, which had been calm moments before, suddenly saw two enormous dark clouds form, with lightning flashing within them.

"The sky changed just like that?"

Liu Qiyue, observing from a distance, was quite shocked.

The Primordial Mountain Lord and Elder Yi also watched in awe. Though both were King Godfiends capable of influencing the world to a degree, they couldn't change the weather, summon wind and rain, or call down heavenly lightning on such a scale.

The two enormous dark clouds in the sky finally collided, and streaks of tree-like lightning struck down.

"Boom-CRACK!"

The lightning struck first, followed by a deafening roar that made ears ring.

After the two dark clouds collided, lightning struck wildly. Finally, a thick bolt of lightning twisted in mid-air as it descended, precisely striking the pointed top of the Godfiend Blood Pool cavern.

"The first heavenly lightning bolt." Liu Qiyue's heart clenched. Deeply concerned for Meng Chuan's safety, she had specifically researched the "Thunderous Extinction Fiend Body" in the library cavern. She knew that to pass this life-and-death trial, seven bolts of heavenly lightning would strike the body consecutively. Only by harnessing the power of the heavenly lightning, the Godfiend Blood Pool, and the integrated Nine Refinements Qi, could one ultimately achieve the Thunderous Extinction Fiend Body.

However, if one's foundation wasn't strong enough, the body could be reduced to ashes.

"Don't worry," the Primordial Mountain Lord said, seeing Liu Qiyue's anxious expression. "Meng Chuan's foundation is deep enough; nothing will go wrong."

Meng Chuan sensed something and looked up, seeing a blinding white lightning bolt, like a giant serpent, plunge down from the cavern ceiling. His consciousness thrummed as the heavenly lightning struck him directly.

"Pass the life-and-death trial, forge the Godfiend body!" the Venerable's voice resonated in Meng Chuan's mind.

"I understand, Master."

Meng Chuan's primal spirit remained clear. Although the strike momentarily stunned him, he immediately realized his physical body had been utterly shattered. This heavenly lightning bolt, specifically guided by the Venerable, was immensely powerful. A single strike had fractured all of Meng Chuan's bones and severed all his meridians, leaving him riddled with holes and his internal organs severely damaged.

This was already remarkable. Had he not cultivated the Thunder God Body, which offered high adaptability to lightning, and possessed the protective integrated Nine Refinements Qi, this terrifying heavenly lightning strike would have reduced him to ashes.

Even now, his injuries were extremely severe; outside the Godfiend Blood Pool, such damage would have been fatal within a single breath.

"Excellent," Meng Chuan thought, pleased rather than alarmed.

One must break to build!

He had to shed his mortal coil to truly achieve the body of a Godfiend!

The Godfiend Blood Pool, overflowing with endless vitality and possessing the near-miraculous ability to regenerate flesh and bone, was already rapidly healing Meng Chuan's injuries.

"Reshape my body."

Meng Chuan immediately used his Saber Intent to guide his True Essence, performing the method for reshaping the Godfiend body as described in the "Thunderous Extinction Fiend Body."

His True Essence didn't even need to flow through his meridians. Instead, it guided the destructive 'heavenly lightning power' and the internal Nine Refinements Qi directly to every part of his body—to fractured bones, severely damaged organs, everywhere. The heavenly lightning, representing divine punishment, possessed terrifying destructive power intended to obliterate the Nine Refinements Qi. However, the Nine Refinements Qi, primarily composed of the Six Desires Qi and formed from nine distinct types of Qi, was ethereal and virtually indestructible.

Guided by the method, the heavenly lightning and Qi intricately combined. Drawing power from the Godfiend Blood Pool, they began to reshape his bones, muscles, and internal organs.

"Not enough heavenly lightning power," Meng Chuan realized. His Nine Refinements Qi, cultivated for so long, was too formidable and pervasive throughout his body; the residual heavenly lightning power from a single strike was clearly insufficient.

"Boom."

As if on cue, what was needed arrived!

The second heavenly lightning bolt struck, hitting his body and once again damaging the partially repaired bones, muscles, and internal organs.

Meng Chuan continued to reshape his body, using his Saber Intent to guide his True Essence. The process was highly taxing, but the Godfiend Blood Pool's power continuously transformed into new True Essence within him. Simultaneously, this potent vitality stimulated the regrowth of Meng Chuan's sinews and bones.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"

As time passed, heavenly lightning bolts struck Meng Chuan one after another.

Meng Chuan, sitting cross-legged in the Godfiend Blood Pool, calmly continued to reshape every part of his body. Fragile areas were destroyed, making way for new sinews, bones, and muscles that were completely formed by the combination of heavenly lightning and Nine Refinements Qi, able to withstand the onslaught.

Meng Chuan was like iron, and the heavenly lightning was a heavy hammer, striking repeatedly, intent on refining him into steel.

Every part of his body was reshaped, and the 'mortal' components diminished with each successive lightning strike until nothing of them remained.

Each bone was a hundred times harder than before, imbued with the power of thunder and Qi from its very formation, and incomparably more resilient.

Every muscle, every meridian, and every internal organ had undergone a qualitative transformation.

Even if both were at the Saber Intent realm, this new physical body could instantly kill the Meng Chuan who hadn't become a Godfiend with a single slap!

"Hmm?" Meng Chuan was still reshaping his internal organs; many of them hadn't been fully reconstructed yet.

"Still not enough heavenly lightning power," Meng Chuan realized. Seven heavenly lightning bolts had already struck, yet his body reshaping was not yet complete.

"Boom."

The Venerable, who was nearby, was naturally well aware of Meng Chuan's physical transformation process and immediately induced another heavenly lightning bolt.

The eighth heavenly lightning bolt struck Meng Chuan. By now, even a terrifying lightning strike only caused him to be injured and spit some blood; he could still maintain seventy percent of his combat strength with such injuries. In fact, many parts of his body, like his bones and muscles, withstood the formidable lightning completely unharmed. Only the internal organs that had not yet been fully reshaped sustained damage, leading to the spitting of blood.

The Primordial Mountain Lord, Elder Yi, and Liu Qiyue, observing from a distance, had been mentally prepared for seven consecutive lightning strikes. However, when the eighth bolt struck...

"How can there be an eighth heavenly lightning bolt?" Liu Qiyue's expression drastically changed; the books had never mentioned an eighth.

"Don't panic," Elder Yi quickly interjected. "The heavenly lightning is guided by the Venerable; he wouldn't make such a mistake. There must be a special circumstance that requires an eighth bolt."

"As long as the body reshaping is successful, the Thunderous Extinction Fiend Body won't fear heavenly lightning," the Primordial Mountain Lord stated. "And the Venerable must have his reasons for doing this."

Liu Qiyue nodded, though her heart grew even more anxious.

This life-and-death trial was no joke; even a minor mishap could spell big trouble.

Even if the Thunderous Extinction Fiend Body was successfully reshaped, an extra lightning bolt could cause significant issues. Too much heavenly lightning power within the body would greatly hinder the final condensation of a 'Pill Cloud' and the complete entry into the Pill Cloud realm.

"Boom."

Another heavenly lightning bolt was guided down, striking the top of the Godfiend Blood Pool cavern.

"That's the ninth heavenly lightning bolt," The Primordial Mountain Lord and Elder Yi muttered, both anxious and puzzled. While they deeply trusted the Venerable, neither could comprehend why a ninth bolt was being guided down.

Liu Qiyue was even more frantic with anxiety, but she could only watch helplessly.

Being allowed to observe was already a special privilege for her; only a select few on Primordial Mountain could personally witness Meng Chuan's life-and-death trial. Everyone else was forbidden from ascending Mount Life-and-Death. Furthermore, with dark clouds gathering and lightning striking wildly, nothing could be seen or heard of the spectacle from outside the peak. At least for now, Mount Life-and-Death was completely isolated from the outside world.

Inside the Godfiend Blood Pool.

Meng Chuan sat cross-legged in the blood pool. His skin was translucent, and his bald head shone brightly. His robes had turned to ash, revealing his bare chest. His entire body exuded an inexplicable magical power, with faint lightning flickering beneath his skin. The greenish liquid in the Godfiend Blood Pool remained abundant, replenishing itself as quickly as it was consumed, so there was no concern about running out.

"Body reshaping is finally complete," Meng Chuan sighed in relief. He had previously found that the heavenly lightning power was insufficient for reshaping his body; it took the power of all nine heavenly lightning bolts to fully integrate with the Nine Refinements Qi and completely reconstruct his physical form.

Every part of his body had successfully transformed, completely shedding his mortal form to become a Godfiend.

However, a crucial next step remained: condensing the Pill Cloud.

Unlike the demon race, whose strength is primarily physical (about seventy percent from their bodies and thirty percent from demonic power), the human race is the opposite: thirty percent of their strength comes from their physical body and seventy percent from their Dantian True Essence. The so-called 'Pill Cloud realm,' 'Immortal realm,' 'Great Sun realm,' 'Dark Star realm,' and 'Seamless realm' refer to five distinctly different states of Dantian True Essence.