Chapter 311: God Emperor Mid-Stage, Birth and Destruction Dao

Inside a small building within the Pill Tower complex, Di Ming and two assistants were inspecting pills. Countless pills floated in the air.

“Purity Pills: 935 high-grade, 72 excellent-grade,” one assistant stated after observing the pills and making his assessment. For the alchemists of the Pill Tower, producing mid-grade pills was considered a significant failure, let alone waste pills.

“Confirmed!” the other assistant affirmed.

Di Ming glanced at them, nodded with satisfaction, and instructed, “Store these pills in two separate locations!”

He was currently the Deputy Hall Master of the Purity Hall within the Pill Tower, exclusively responsible for the relatively simple task of inspecting and collecting pills, specifically only Purity Pills. These pills were the best-selling foundational medicine in the Pill Tower, accounting for roughly thirty percent of its total sales. The collection of materials and the alchemy process were handled by more specialized personnel.

“The alchemists of the Hall Master already verified these pills once, then I inspect and store them, and they’ll be verified again before being sold. How could anything go wrong?” Di Ming found his job exceedingly easy. The most complex and crucial aspect of the Pill Tower’s operations was alchemy, but his skills were not suited for that.

“By following Brother Luo Feng, I can serve as a Deputy Hall Master in the Pill Tower’s Purity Hall, earning two hundred Origin Crystals every epoch. Living so leisurely, I can accumulate two million Origin Crystals in ten thousand epochs!” Di Ming was very content with this work. This job, combined with free accommodation in Luo Feng’s cave dwelling, allowed him to amass a significant fortune.

“Deputy Hall Master,” one of the assistants said, “our production of Purity Pills has been steadily increasing in the past epoch!”

“We’ve heard that the Insectoid Hive is quite displeased!” one assistant remarked.

“Will the Insectoid Hive take action?” another assistant worried. As ordinary members, they were well-informed and knew that conflict had long existed between the Insectoid Hive and the Pill Tower. In the past, the Pill Tower had conceded, but now it was dramatically expanding production. Given the Insectoid Hive’s aggressive nature, it was unlikely to tolerate such a move. Naturally, these ordinary members were somewhat anxious.

“Why are you panicking? The Hall Master and God-Emperor Luo Feng are both stationed at the Pill Tower. What do you have to fear?” Di Ming reprimanded them.

“Deputy Hall Master, you’re from the Source World, so you’re not afraid, but we are! We’ve been living in the Pill Tower recently; we’ve even temporarily given up our rented accommodations!” The two assistants voiced their concerns. While important figures like Luo Feng and some key alchemists in the Pill Tower complex were provided with small, dedicated cave dwellings for secluded cultivation, the lowest-level staff had no such facilities. Living indefinitely in the Pill Tower prevented them from cultivating peacefully.

“You’ve given up your rented places?” Di Ming asked, surprised.

“We don’t dare leave the Pill Tower now. Since the Insectoid Hive can’t harm the Hall Master, they might take their anger out on us!” The two assistants dared not let their guard down, as they had no clones.

Di Ming nodded, having learned from Luo Feng that the Insectoid Hive Master’s psychic clone had already clashed with Luo Feng once. He suspected the Insectoid Hive Master would seek revenge again.

“You definitely need to be careful,” Di Ming advised. He knew he could offer no help in a confrontation between the Insectoid Hive Master and Luo Feng, who operated on a completely different level. The Pill Tower members were uneasy but unwilling to give up such a good job, so they resolved to be cautious. Luo Feng and Hall Master Chang Qing were equally prepared; from the outset of what was termed ‘normal competition,’ they had anticipated a confrontation with the Insectoid Hive Master.

“Her psychic clone suffered a setback; given her temperament, she will absolutely seek revenge!” Hall Master Chang Qing declared with certainty.

“If her true body makes a move, I will have to rely on array formations for defense,” Luo Feng said, acknowledging his limitations. “However, I am confident in my ability to simply hold my ground.”

“Holding your ground is all that’s needed!” Hall Master Chang Qing chuckled. “After all, this is Raindrop City, and there are laws against infighting within its walls. So, she can’t act wantonly or recklessly here. Outside the city, she would be free to act!”

“There are still many restrictions within the city, but with her vengeful nature, she will certainly come to retaliate against me. I estimate she will make a move within a few epochs!” Hall Master Chang Qing concluded.

“My clone will be stationed here for the long term, just waiting for her to arrive!” Luo Feng chuckled.

Time flowed, epoch after epoch. Ten epochs passed in the blink of an eye, yet the Insectoid Hive Master never appeared. Luo Feng and Hall Master Chang Qing, who had been waiting in full readiness, were both somewhat perplexed.

“The Insectoid Hive Master just swallowed such a loss?” Hall Master Chang Qing couldn’t believe it. “That’s not her nature. Everyone in Raindrop City knows how domineering the Insectoid Hive Master is. The three leaders of the thieving and plundering factions—the Insectoid Hive Master, the Master of the Ghost Alley, and the Master of the Myriad Shadows Pavilion—are all formidable and terrifying. However, the Master of the Ghost Alley and the Master of the Myriad Shadows Pavilion are known for planning before they act. The Insectoid Hive Master, on the other hand, is known for her ‘those who obey me prosper, those who defy me perish’ attitude, utterly arrogant and overbearing!”

“Could it be that after her psychic clone’s skirmish with you, Luo Feng, she felt she stood no chance?” Hall Master Chang Qing asked, looking at Luo Feng.

“I used a secret technique to injure her, but I estimate it was only a minor wound!” Luo Feng said, sounding puzzled. “Such a slight injury should be negligible! Although the Yuan technique of the illusory insectoid hive pierced her, that single wound, compared to the entire illusory insectoid hive, certainly doesn’t fall into the category of severe injury.”

“It’s possible that matters in the Dark Sacred Realm are delaying her retaliation,” Hall Master Chang Qing speculated.

“Indeed,” Luo Feng nodded.

The years passed slowly. Luo Feng and the Pill Tower Hall Master waited patiently, constantly preparing for the Insectoid Hive Master’s potential assault. Unbeknownst to them, more than two hundred epochs had already gone by. Meanwhile, deep within the vast Insectoid Hive…

“Finally, the contamination is stabilized!” The Insectoid Hive Master’s face showed clear signs of exhaustion. The sudden loss of hundreds of millions of Spirit Altar Ghost Tokens was an immense blow to her. These imprisoned souls, tormented for endless epochs yet still undissipated, constituted a quarter of her power; losing so many was truly painful.

“I consumed another group of cultivators in my homeland to restabilize my spiritual power. My mind has finally completely suppressed the contamination,” the Insectoid Hive Master mused. With her formidable power, everything in her home Source World served as her resource; she could utilize the lives of countless cultivators at any time. However, her mind could only accommodate a finite number of souls.

“Although the contamination is stable, if my true body were to clash with Luo Feng and be hit by his will-based secret technique again, I fear I would suffer another heavy blow!” The Insectoid Hive Master had spent a long time stabilizing herself and was unwilling to endure another Yuan technique strike. “I need a sufficiently powerful secret treasure that can withstand will-based attacks!” The Insectoid Hive Master thought, a headache forming.

She did possess a formidable secret treasure, but it was located in the Dark Sacred Realm, primarily because her clone there encountered far greater dangers and challenges. Half-Origin level beings were common in that realm, and some even wielded will-based secret techniques superior to Luo Feng’s. The Dark Sacred Realm was her top priority.

“As for Raindrop City, I’ll have to find a way to acquire a suitable secret treasure myself. Without a good secret treasure that offers sufficient psychic protection, I cannot engage Luo Feng again!” the Insectoid Hive Master decided.

“Unfortunately, my resources are severely depleted; I can only manage to scrape together three billion Origin Crystals at the moment. A secret treasure like the ‘Immortal Heart,’ which provides ample protection for the mind and consciousness while also perfectly suiting its wielder, is extremely difficult to come by!” Three billion Origin Crystals was merely a standard price for such a secret treasure. These types of artifacts were exceedingly rare; if a powerful being put one up for sale, it would instantly be bought at a premium by their acquaintances. Without such a treasure, she had no choice but to endure. While normal elders, whose mental will had reached its limit, might only suffer minor, quickly recoverable injuries from Luo Feng’s Yuan technique, it was precisely the Insectoid Hive Master who feared Luo Feng’s Yuan technique the most.

Over three hundred epochs had passed since Luo Feng’s clash with the Insectoid Hive Master’s psychic clone, and Luo Feng had yet to see the Insectoid Hive Master make a move. Life in Raindrop City was now remarkably peaceful.

Inside the Star Tower on the Origin Continent, Luo Feng sat cross-legged, his Eye of Creation and Destruction on his forehead observing the 195th portion of Origin Bloodline from the early God-Emperor stage. Each portion of Origin Bloodline unveiled a hint of the ‘breaking free from the cage’ mystery to Luo Feng.

He could sense countless intricate patterns and profound principles merging beautifully, forming a seamless, natural whole. Yet, his own path was still far from achieving such perfect integration and natural harmony. Luo Feng also perceived his own progress. The more he observed, the more patterns he uncovered. His understanding of how creation and destruction combined was now exceptionally thorough; his mental reconstruction was already ninety percent similar to the Origin Bloodline.

“Mere combination is too common!”

“The true qualitative leap lies in the complete fusion of creation and destruction into a single entity!” A natural inspiration surged in Luo Feng’s mind, and he attempted the fusion of creation and destruction. Suddenly, a newly integrated path emerged within him: the Path of Creation and Destruction had achieved a breakthrough! Luo Feng was somewhat surprised. “So fast?” The last time the Path of Creation and Destruction advanced from the ‘God-King Ultimate Realm’ to the early God-Emperor stage, Luo Feng had to meticulously ponder and comprehend it. This time, he hadn’t deliberately pondered or engaged in focused comprehension. Instead, he had been engrossed in studying the profound mysteries of each Origin Bloodline. His understanding of the ‘creation and destruction combination’ grew increasingly thorough. When his accumulated insights became sufficiently profound, the Grand Dao of Creation and Destruction naturally advanced into the middle God-Emperor stage.

“I truly must thank Hall Master Yuan Xiang. With the five billion Origin Crystals he gifted me, I have an abundance of resources for my comprehension and cultivation!” Luo Feng felt a surge of exhilaration. “The supplementary pills I’ve procured from the Pill Tower over these past three hundred-plus epochs have also been in constant use!”

“It is precisely this consistent aid that has allowed me to comprehend the Origin Bloodline at such an accelerated pace. I haven’t even finished assimilating the early God-Emperor Origin Bloodlines I gathered initially! And beyond that, there are even more profound Origin Bloodlines from the middle, late, and even complete God-Emperor stages!” Luo Feng was brimming with confidence.

“Now, the Path of Creation and Destruction has already progressed into the middle God-Emperor stage!”

“Once I’ve comprehended all these Origin Bloodlines, how far will my own Path of Creation and Destruction advance?”

“Boom!” With a single thought from Luo Feng, an endless sea of blood manifested around him. The Path of Creation and Destruction at the middle God-Emperor stage represented a qualitative transformation compared to its early God-Emperor counterpart.

“The Path of Creation and Destruction at the middle God-Emperor stage should now be comparable to an ordinary path at the Half-Origin level!” Luo Feng made a brief attempt and instantly recognized the enormous leap in his cultivation realm. This significant advancement in his realm made him even more powerful than when he had previously relied on the ‘Immortal Heart’ within his palm-sized world.

“Haha, what a joyous day!” Luo Feng was in excellent spirits.

After a period of profound tranquility, a thought stirred within him: “Oh, I haven’t delivered the various gifts I brought for my masters yet!” Upon his return to the Origin Continent, he had immersed himself feverishly in comprehending the Origin Bloodline, only now finding leisure to visit his masters. Luo Feng immediately gathered his gifts and first departed for Chu Capital to visit his master, Emperor Lin.