Chapter 625: It Turns Out, I Was Not Ruthless Enough...

An elemental body… Three ways to die?

Xu Xiaoshou was startled, then suddenly realized, "Is Elder Sang going to stand up for me?"

He knew that among all known opponents, there was only one elemental body: Yu Lingdi!

Earlier, Yu Lingdi had tormented him to no end, using Water-elemental profound mysteries and an elemental body to display supernatural control over spiritual techniques.

That incredible method of attack... entering the body! Xu Xiaoshou had never seen anything like it.

Now, with an attack method he couldn't even partially counter, Elder Sang, upon his appearance, dared to declare that an elemental body had three ways to die?

Xu Xiaoshou felt an inexplicable excitement in his heart and looked up, watching intently.

Ahead, the gaunt, dark figure under the endless light seemed genuinely unconcerned, merely waiting for Xu Xiaoshou to awaken so he could give one of his rare lessons.

"In order, from what you know to what you don't..." Elder Sang withdrew his fingers, leaving only one extended. "Now, I'll teach you the first way an elemental body can die: the alchemy method."

As the saying goes, an excited heart and trembling hands. This was largely Xu Xiaoshou's state at the moment.

But when he heard "alchemy method," he couldn't help but be taken aback. "Are you kidding? Alchemy can refine the Spirit Department Head, the master of Water-elemental profound mysteries, to death?"

"Alchemy isn't about exploding a furnace!" Elder Sang seemed to know what Xu Xiaoshou was thinking, adding, then formed a series of hand seals.

As several alchemy hand seals were cast, the layers of white magma surging from the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains suddenly trembled.

Inexplicably, everything within the mountains began to tremble: rocks, spatial fragments, distant ancient trees not yet consumed by the white flames, spiritual herbs...

Everything, like herbs controlled within an alchemy furnace, began to shift and move according to the dictates of a steady will, imbued with the rhythm of the Heavenly Dao.

Xu Xiaoshou was dumbfounded. He felt that Elder Sang had truly mastered the method of "using the world as a furnace to refine heaven and earth!"

"Xu Xiaoshou, remember this: from the very first time I taught you, I told you that for the Jinxiao lineage, alchemy is merely supplementary. What truly makes it shine is combat."

"Jinxiao alchemy was originally meant for fighting."

"Do you see..." He pointed to the boundless white expanse, stating calmly, "When your strength is sufficient to wield Jinxiao alchemy in combat, an alchemy cauldron is no longer very necessary."

"At that moment, the Dragon Fusion Realm becomes the cauldron you need for battle!"

Dragon Fusion Realm? Xu Xiaoshou stared at the vast white expanse, his pupils suddenly trembling. "Is this the Dragon Fusion Realm?"

He was terrified! Earlier, he had sensed a power in this white world that felt like it originated from the same source, but he hadn't dared to think in that direction at all.

He knew that his own Dragon Fusion Realm could only envelop a small hilltop.

And while Elder Sang's Dragon Fusion Realm, which he had seen before, was larger, within the Spirit Palace, it could only encompass the entire back mountain.

Xu Xiaoshou had thought this was the limit of the Dragon Fusion Realm. Who would have thought that Elder Sang had been holding back in the Spirit Palace!

This new world of white flames rising from the distant Hundred Thousand Great Mountains... was this, then, the true form of the Dragon Fusion Realm?

With a "gulp," Xu Xiaoshou swallowed with difficulty. He finally saw the gap between himself and Elder Sang, realizing just how distant his earlier thought of giving that damned straw-hatted old man a good beating after completing his training was.

"I see..." he replied, his voice barely a whisper.

Elder Sang nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping out with a profound, distant quality in his eyes, and he spoke gravely:

"Use the Dragon Fusion Realm as the furnace, the rules of the Heavenly Dao as the walls, all living beings as the ingredients. Observe their lifelines, grasp their spiritual essence, and control their trajectories."

"Only by refining herbs can a pill be formed. Within the pill, the medicinal properties remain, coexisting peacefully. This, in itself, is a microcosm of the vast world."

"As the saying goes, 'a single flower is a world, a single leaf is a Bodhi tree'."

"You and I, born on this continent, are merely tiny spiritual essences within a larger spiritual pill, in the eyes of an alchemist."

"Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Xu Xiaoshou felt as if it was the first time he had heard Elder Sang speak in such a refined manner, but the words weren't difficult to understand. It was very similar to the old man's "cage theory."

This world is just a large pill. Outside the pill, someone is refining it. Inside the pill, you and I are merely herbs.

He nodded, "So?"

Elder Sang knew Xu Xiaoshou was sharp and never expected him not to understand. He paused, then slowly said, "Although an elemental body is a sacred physique, in the eyes of an alchemist, it is also a sacred herb."

"The alchemy cauldron of the Jinxiao lineage is vast. Every spiritual herb that enters it will choose to try and escape on its own."

"But no matter how much it wants to escape..." Elder Sang looked up at the sky. "Once the cauldron lid is on, it's impossible for it to fly away!"

"So, what we need to do is find the escaping essence of the spiritual herb and control it?" Xu Xiaoshou asked in surprise and doubt. He looked at the vast world and found it hard to believe. In the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, where would one find its trace?

"Precisely!" Elder Sang, however, smiled and nodded, looking as if he was teaching a diligent student.

"The Hundred Thousand Great Mountains are merely auxiliary ingredients. While auxiliary ingredients are important, they are uniform, and controlling them is quite easy."

"A sacred herb is hard to find, but it's also different from auxiliary ingredients."

"The sacred transcends the spiritual. Looking at the entire cauldron, wherever there is the most spiritual essence, that is where the sacred herb is hidden!"

Elder Sang's eyes suddenly gleamed, and blazing white flames ignited within them.

As his gaze swept across, nameless fires spontaneously erupted in the void, radiating threads from points to surfaces and to bodies, directly igniting the rules of the Heavenly Dao within the entire Dragon Fusion Realm.

He turned his hand and formed more seals, his hands leaving continuous afterimages.

"I intend to refine a sacred pill, named 'Elemental Pill.' Consuming it can grant complete understanding of an elemental profound mystery, or at the very least, enable a cultivator at the Sovereign Dao realm to comprehend fundamental Grand Dao."

"If used to break through the Dao Severing realm, it would also be effortless."

"However, this pill lacks one main ingredient, which is called the 'Elemental Body'!"

Xu Xiaoshou listened, profoundly shocked. He had previously felt that his worldview on alchemy was already more advanced than his peers by more than just one level.

But now, under Elder Sang's pronouncements, he still felt as if enlightenment had suddenly struck him.

For the first time, Xu Xiaoshou perceived that Elder Sang's vision and scope were so incredibly vast.

This old man had truly been holding back in the Spirit Palace!

If one could refine the Grand Dao of Heaven and Earth into a pill, what need would there be for other ingredients?

Look at the coverage of this Dragon Fusion Realm... If it truly encompassed any location, once it was cast, wouldn't wanting any herb within it simply be a matter of mental manipulation?

Moreover, refining heaven and earth, using all things as guides, forming spiritual pills... Only the Jinxiao lineage would dare to be so overbearing, wouldn't they?

For an ordinary alchemist, they probably wouldn't even dare to think in this direction!

Amazed in his heart, Xu Xiaoshou did not speak to interrupt.

After a moment of contemplation, a smile finally appeared on Elder Sang's face, and he slowly bent his hand.

"The catalyst."

In the extremely distant reaches, *pop, pop!* suddenly burst forth in the far east and west, igniting several brilliant, dazzling white points of light.

From their appearance, these were water-elemental essences drifting in the void, ignited remotely by the Jinxiao Heavenly Burn.

*Pop, pop!* Again, several cracking sounds. This time, Xu Xiaoshou felt the sound was very close. He lowered his head, and his expression instantly changed drastically.

"Damn!" This fire, it was actually burning from within his own body?

"Attacked, Passive Points, 1." "Attacked, Passive Points, 1."

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly realized that Yu Lingdi, who had escaped to who-knew-where, had actually dispersed his physical body, with a portion floating in the void. Another portion was still hidden inside him?

"This guy..." Xu Xiaoshou was utterly amazed. The most dangerous place was indeed the safest!

Because ever since he woke up, he hadn't even thought that Yu Lingdi would dare to remain inside his body.

Before he could even try to put out the fire or save himself, Elder Sang seemed to pay no mind, merely gesturing casually.

"Come, herb."

It was as if a spiritual liquid had been controlled by an alchemist, its established will forcibly removed.

Not only were the elemental light points flickering with white flames in the distance recalled to Elder Sang's side, but even those within Xu Xiaoshou's body were involuntarily stripped out.

"So powerful..." Xu Xiaoshou watched the white flames being extracted bit by bit from his chest, completely stunned.

He certainly hadn't thought of using the method of manipulating medicinal liquids, taking heaven and earth as a furnace, expanding the scope, to strip Yu Lingdi from within himself.

For anyone else, it would be impossible to even conceive of such a bizarre method!

Xu Xiaoshou felt that his own way of thinking was already quite unconventional. But every time Elder Sang made a move, it still managed to shock him. Too powerful!

"Old man, you can still find me like this!" The elemental light points were forcibly manipulated to converge, and Yu Lingdi gradually coalesced into an illusory form in front of Elder Sang.

His face was contorted with the pain of being burned by the white flames, yet he uttered no hoarse cry, only furious exclamations of shock.

Elder Sang was unperturbed, and with a wave of his hand, he spoke.

"Xu Xiaoshou, now I will teach you the second way an elemental body can die!"

Yu Lingdi's entire body, scorched by the white flames, was distorted with terror.

Under the will of the Heavenly Dao's rules, he felt he had truly become the opponent's spiritual herb; all his actions were not what he desired, but what the alchemist desired.

"Damn it!" Yu Lingdi cursed under his breath. With no way out, he looked at the straw-hatted old man before him, gritted his teeth, and plunged headfirst into his body.

"Be careful..." Xu Xiaoshou reached out a hand, half-crying out in alarm, but then saw Elder Sang looking at him with a beaming expression, adding, "Remember, when a poisonous pill enters the body, use the Jinxiao lineage's most domineering method."

"No need to detoxify or neutralize. Just refine it on the spot."

His lips were stretched wide in a grin, but his voice was full of coldness:

"The second way an elemental body can die is also the second method of combat alchemy, refining heaven and earth, that I intend to teach you."

"Use your own body as the cauldron, your physique as the walls, and your tendons, bones, and meridians as the rules of the Heavenly Dao."

"The Heavenly Dao is thought, and rules are the foundation."

Elder Sang paused, his voice faint, as if whispering.

"For the Jinxiao lineage, the strongest is not the heaven-and-earth alchemy cauldron, but the physical body as a furnace. After all, this is what you have cultivated step by step as you grew."

"You yourself know its strength."

Xu Xiaoshou was utterly bewildered. He looked at Elder Sang's benevolent smile and suddenly felt that this was true evil.

This old man had said he would teach the second method *before* Yu Lingdi entered his body!

This meant he already knew what Yu Lingdi's next move would be.

Sure enough... this so-called last escape route was indeed a trap Elder Sang had set for Yu Lingdi, to demonstrate for him, wasn't it?

What is a chess master? This is a chess master!

Xu Xiaoshou felt that his previous slight worry had truly been excessive. If it was this old man, why should he worry at all? The one who should be worried was Yu Lingdi, who was being toyed with in the palm of his hand, right?!

Elder Sang flicked his sleeves back, and a gust of wind rippled.

"Watch closely." He finished speaking, lifted his eyelids, and cold energy surged in his eyes.

"Hiss!" He opened his mouth and inhaled.

Suddenly, all the white flame threads that had spread out in a regular, net-like pattern across heaven and earth were completely absorbed into his body.

Elder Sang's abdomen bulged, then flattened back to its normal state.

He casually paced over to Xu Xiaoshou, raising a single finger.

"A common principle."

"Huh?" Xu Xiaoshou looked up, completely bewildered. He felt that Elder Sang before him was impossibly tall, like a giant he had seen in an illusion.

Elder Sang said, "When a volcano erupts in the world, outsiders don't feel the heat. When a person watches a volcano erupt from within it, they'll be driven mad by the heat. When a volcano erupts inside a human body, the person inside that body will burn to death from the heat."

Xu Xiaoshou blinked, still seemingly not having reacted.

The next second, "Ah—" "Hiss, hiss, hiss, old man, you're crazy! Do you want to burn yourself to death?!" "Let me out!!!"

Xu Xiaoshou's pupils trembled. This... was Yu Lingdi's scream? This tearful voice, was Yu Lingdi begging for mercy?

At that moment, he suddenly understood what Elder Sang had just said. The kind of temperature that could vaporize heaven and earth, now concentrated within a single body, the intense heat that gathered—Elder Sang's body at this moment was probably like the core of the sun.

The fact that he didn't show it didn't mean that Yu Lingdi, a mere water cultivator, could endure such pain with an unchanged expression!

Xu Xiaoshou shivered, feeling a bit afraid to look directly at the straw-hatted old man. This was a demon! A demon personified!

Elder Sang seemed oblivious to Yu Lingdi's miserable cries. He continued his teaching, still using that same finger to lightly tap Xu Xiaoshou's shoulder.

"When poison enters the body, the first thing we do is not panic."

"Panic is an emotion others should have."

"After all, when a herb enters the cauldron, an alchemist should be delighted. How can one lose composure?"

"Mm-hm, mm-hm," Xu Xiaoshou nodded like a pecking chick, simply agreeing.

Elder Sang chuckled, "Don't be afraid. It's your first time encountering this situation, and it's also my first time teaching you this way."

"Now, this herb, since you use your body as the furnace and your physique as the cauldron..."

"Similarly, regard your tendons, bones, and meridians as the rules of heaven and earth. Within the small world of your human body, you are the master; you have the authority to control everything."

"Whatever you wish, it shall become reality."

"For example..." "If I want this medicinal liquid to come over here, it will come over here."

As Elder Sang spoke, he pointed his finger to the right.

"Ah—" The roar grew louder. His fingertip gurgled and bubbled, and a small, distorted water mass struggled, but it was being burned by the white flames and couldn't move freely.

The water mass continuously hissed and steamed, as if the spiritual herb was undergoing a difficult purification process.

Xu Xiaoshou could barely imagine it; this was Yu Lingdi! After only such a short time inside Elder Sang's body, this guy had been refined into "pure Yu Lingdi"!

"Or over here." Elder Sang lowered his right hand and extended his left palm.

"Aahhh!!!" A drop of water formed in his palm. Yu Lingdi was now only capable of roaring, reduced to incoherent wails that Xu Xiaoshou couldn't understand at all.

"Do you understand?" Elder Sang squeezed his palm, and the roars vanished.

All was silent, save for the faint crackling of burning.

The master taught, and the disciple listened intently. At this moment, Xu Xiaoshou's worldview was completely refreshed. He wiped away the cold sweat that had appeared from watching the astonishing display, feeling his entire body's blood begin to boil, and nodded emphatically.

"I understand." *It turns out I'm just not ruthless enough...* Xu Xiaoshou added this thought to himself.