Chapter 792: Gold and Fire

Zu'an looked wary. "You're not going to beat me up right now, are you?"

The Phoenix Nirvana Sutra could indeed increase one's power through beatings, but now that he was an eighth-grade cultivator, advancement required a massive amount of primal energy, not just a few light blows.

Mi Li rolled her eyes. "You're thick-skinned now; I couldn't be bothered to hit you. I'm talking about another power. That Old Man Mi tried to possess you and transfer all his cultivation into your body, but I sealed it away."

"I remember now!" Zu'an immediately teared up. "You said back then that you prevented me from absorbing that cultivation to avoid damaging my foundation, making me miss a chance to skyrocket my power! And now, after all this time, I've almost forgotten it even exists."

"Hmph, to ruin your path to true cultivation for temporary gratification? Of course, I had to be strict with you," Mi Li said. "However, with your current cultivation level, you should be able to absorb it now."

"Really?" Zu'an's eyes lit up. "Doesn't that mean I'll be able to move freely and without fear in the capital immediately?"

Back then, he was only around fifth-grade, and Old Man Mi's cultivation alone would have been enough to elevate him to Grandmaster. Now that he was eighth-grade, wouldn't he reach at least peak Grandmaster? Or even Great Grandmaster?

"You're dreaming," Mi Li retorted, using a catchphrase she'd picked up from him recently and found quite fitting. "You still need to cross the threshold from peak ninth-grade to Grandmaster yourself. Otherwise, you'll be pulling up seedlings to help them grow, which would ruin your future path to true cultivation. Furthermore, after reaching the Grandmaster stage, power increases aren't just about accumulating cultivation; it's even less likely to jump straight to the Great Grandmaster realm."

"So this time, I'll release one-third of the seals within you, which should be enough to push you to ninth-grade. By then, you should be able to awaken a divine bird."

Zu'an looked disappointed. "Only one-third?"

"Ninth-grade!" Mi Li said with displeasure. "How many people outside are stuck at eighth-grade their entire lives, unable to break through? And you're complaining when you reach ninth-grade in an instant?"

Zu'an replied, "That's the standard for ordinary people. I'm comparing myself to the overpowered protagonists in those stories."

"What nonsense are you spouting? Do you want this or not?" Mi Li said impatiently.

"Of course, I do," Zu'an immediately corrected himself.

"Focus your mind," Mi Li said, floating to his side.

Zu'an instructed Daji to continue maintaining the fox fire for refining the pills. After all, she was an independent entity and could complete certain tasks once given an instruction.

He then focused his mind, feeling Mi Li's fingertip touch a vital acupoint on his chest. Immediately, an incredibly surging primal energy appeared within his body out of nowhere.

He had no time to ponder where she had hidden Old Man Mi's cultivation or why he had never sensed it during his regular cultivation.

He quickly followed Mi Li's instructions, activating the Gluttonous Sky-Swallowing Art to transform the surging primal energy into his own.

"It's fortunate you learned the Gluttonous Sky-Swallowing Art," Mi Li's voice echoed in his ear. "Otherwise, thoroughly refining someone else's cultivation would take who knows how long, unlike how effortlessly you're doing it now."

Zu'an nodded, not daring to be distracted in the slightest, concentrating on refining Old Man Mi's primal energy.

He could clearly feel one magical formation after another appearing within his internal organs. Following that, these formations lit up at a visible speed: eighth-grade first-rank, second-rank, third-rank...

After breaking through to ninth-grade, the magical formations no longer appeared in specific body parts as before. Instead, his entire body became a self-contained space, like the vast universe.

One by one, formations appeared in that void space, then lit up one by one: ninth-grade first-rank, second-rank. When the fourth formation illuminated, Mi Li's voice came through: "That's enough!"

With a flick of her jade finger, the immense primal energy vanished without a trace.

"Just a bit more," Zu'an said, still wanting more. That feeling had been truly wonderful.

Mi Li shook her head. "Too much of a good thing can be harmful. While absorbing others' cultivation for your own use offers rapid advancement, it can easily destabilize your foundation. You just absorbed the Mosquito Daoist's power not long ago, so it's not advisable to absorb too much now. This should be the limit that won't harm your foundation."

Though Zu'an was reluctant, he trusted her judgment.

"What's your current cultivation level?" Mi Li asked.

Zu'an replied, "I'm already ninth-grade fourth-rank."

Mi Li nodded. "Not bad. Eighth-grade allows you to communicate with the power of heaven and earth, and at ninth-grade, you can begin to temper your spiritual essence. At this stage, you can briefly fly and manipulate objects from a distance. The Sword Control Art used by Han Fengqiu, who you fought earlier, is a ninth-grade ability. Of course, the weapons different cultivators wield aren't necessarily consistent; some use swords, some use blades, and others use different things. You need to explore and find the combat style that suits you best."

"Sword Control Art!" Zu'an's eyes lit up. Thinking of how cool those sword-wielding characters in TV shows from his previous life were, he instinctively reached out towards Daji. A golden hairpin from her forehead already appeared in his hand.

Daji glanced at him but showed no reaction.

Mi Li was speechless. "Your first reaction to gaining this ability is to flirt with women? You truly are a lecherous and shameless fellow."

Zu'an gave an embarrassed laugh. "I was just trying it out casually. By the way, why did the force feel a bit hard to control just now?"

"You naturally need to gradually explore and get used to this," Mi Li explained. "As your cultivation level increases, the distance you can manipulate objects from a distance will grow, and the force will become greater. However, the precision and accuracy of control require your own exploration; this cannot be obtained merely by accumulating cultivation."

Zu'an couldn't help but say, "Then is it possible for a ninth-grade first-rank cultivator to have higher operational accuracy than those at peak ninth-grade?"

Mi Li nodded. "Theoretically, it's possible. However, anyone who can cultivate to ninth-grade is a person of astonishing talent. How could they be easily outmatched in this aspect? After all, these control details require not only personal aptitude but also the accumulation of long-term combat experience at that level."

Mi Li's expression then became solemn as she seriously stated, "Your cultivation has advanced too quickly. In this regard, you are actually far inferior to cultivators of the same rank. Let alone ninth-grade object manipulation from a distance, even your proficiency in utilizing the power of heaven and earth at eighth-grade is likely no match for those eighth-grade cultivators who have been renowned for many years. For example, your father-in-law, and that 'Hermit Who Charges Extra' who ambushed you on your way to the capital last time. Although his realm was only ordinary, his use of techniques and mastery of his cultivation level impressed even me."

Zu'an knew she was speaking the truth. Although his practical combat ability was not bad, it relied more on the various miraculous "cheats" he possessed. If it were a true competition of understanding and application of his cultivation at his current level, he was still far behind those who had spent decades at that stage.

Mi Li was satisfied that he was no longer as frivolous as usual, knowing that he had indeed taken her words to heart. "These things cannot be rushed; they will ultimately take time. First, let's see if you've awakened those divine birds?"

Zu'an was startled and quickly initiated introspection. He found that the formations on the seventh layer had completely lit up, forming a new pattern: a chicken's head, a fish's tail, a snake's neck, and a tortoise's back, all shining golden.

It closely resembled the phoenixes he had seen in various films and television shows from his past life.

He quickly looked to the bottom right, where golden lines emerged, weaving into two ancient Small Seal Script characters: Golden Phoenix!

"It's not a Fire Phoenix?" Zu'an was a bit disappointed, especially since he still needed a Fire Phoenix for pill refining this time.

Hearing his words, Mi Li also sighed. "There's never been a definitive conclusion on which nine chicks the phoenix nurtures; many theories exist. One theory places the Golden Phoenix as the fourth. It seems you'll have to wait until your next divine bird awakening for it to be a Fire Phoenix. These medicinal ingredients will have to go to waste for now. We can continue collecting them later."

Zu'an was also somewhat unwilling. These medicinal ingredients were not easy to acquire, especially the Purple Heaven Spirit Flower, which even the Imperial Medical Institute in the palace lacked. Who knew when they would find it again?

Just as he was feeling disappointed, something stirred in his mind. "Wait!"

He realized that the lines of the magical formations on his major internal organs were now flickering, beginning to outline a new, strange bird pattern.

It then dawned on him that the Golden Phoenix should have appeared when he broke through from seventh-grade to eighth-grade. The reason for its previous inactivity was likely that he needed to reach a certain cultivation level within eighth-grade. Now that he had advanced to ninth-grade fourth-rank, he had most likely met the conditions for the strange bird that appears upon breaking through from eighth-grade to ninth-grade.

Zu'an couldn't even discern the exact shape of this strange bird, only seeing a mass of flames, vaguely discerning concentric circles of feathers spiraling around the fiery core.

Beside it, several wisps of flame outlined its name: "Fire Phoenix!"