Gu Yang raised his right hand, palm facing upwards.
Whoosh!
A wisp of golden flame suddenly flared up, dancing in the darkness.
This was the Golden Crow Origin Fire.
Previously, he could only crudely use its high temperature to fight enemies, like a toddler wildly hacking about with a peerless sword.
But now, with the Great Sun Heaven-Incinerating Sutra, this sword finally had a sword manual.
Gu Yang no longer hesitated, pressing the crimson jade slip against his forehead.
A massive and tyrannical torrent of divine sense instantly shattered the defenses of Gu Yang's sea of consciousness.
It was not some gentle textual inheritance at all; rather, it was like a blazing sun carrying the ancient Fire God's maddened will to incinerate the eight desolates, forcefully branding itself into the depths of his soul.
Pain.
Extreme scorching heat.
It felt as if someone was pouring boiling molten iron directly through the crown of his head, letting it flow through every inch of his meridians and every piece of his bones.
Take the body as the furnace, view all creation as kindling.
That cold and ruthless true intent exploded in his mind.
The Golden Crow Origin Fire within his body seemed to receive some kind of summons, letting out an extremely excited cry as it followed the bizarre and overbearing circulation route of the Great Sun Heaven-Incinerating Sutra, beginning its first major cycle.
The temperature in the originally cold, damp, and musty cave dwelling suddenly soared.
The moss in the corners instantly yellowed, curled, and turned to ash.
Dripping water droplets turned into white steam with a hiss in mid-air before they could even hit the ground.
Gu Yang was like a piece of stubborn iron thrown into a steel-making furnace, repeatedly forged and reshaped in the raging fire.
...
There are no calendars in the mountains; in cultivation, one forgets the years.
But for this past month, every single day was crystal clear to Gu Yang.
Because every night at midnight, the faint blue system light screen would appear on time, reminding him of the passing of time.
However, high-level intelligence was something that could be encountered but not sought.
Most of the intelligence refreshed over this month was nothing to write home about.
White Intelligence: Last night in the small woods of the back mountain, outer sect disciple Zhang Mazi had his freshly roasted spirit chicken snatched away by a passing wild dog. That wild dog is actually a crossbreed of some low-tier demonic beast, and its meat is quite delicious.
...
White Intelligence: Law Enforcement Hall Deacon Li Tiemian is in a bad mood today because his spirit cat named Little Flower went missing. It was actually caught by an alchemy boy in the pill refining room to test medicine.
...
Green Intelligence: Faint spiritual light was discovered in an ancient well in a mortal village at the foot of the Falling Cloud Sect's mountain. A low-grade spirit stone raw ore is hidden at the bottom of the well, worth about twenty low-grade spirit stones. Click to view coordinates.
...
All of his energy was poured into cultivating the Great Sun Heaven-Incinerating Sutra.
Enduring the severe pain of a raging fire burning his body, he refined his spiritual energy and purified the Golden Crow True Fire over and over again.
...
One month later.
The originally dark and damp cave dwelling was now as dry as a brick kiln that had been abandoned for years.
A thick layer of dust covered the ground; it was the product of the dust in the air being repeatedly scorched by high temperatures.
On the stone bed, the figure that had sat withered for a month finally moved.
Phew...
Gu Yang slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.
This breath appeared a bizarre grayish-white. As soon as it left his mouth, it unexpectedly brought a trail of tiny sparks into the air, as if what he exhaled was not air, but still-burning cinder.
Swish!
He abruptly opened his eyes.
Deep within his originally pitch-black and profound pupils, two clusters of golden flames flashed and disappeared, replaced by a warmth that was restrained to the absolute limit.
This warmth was not the coolness of jade, but rather like obsidian formed from cooled magma; beneath its icy exterior, it suppressed a high temperature capable of destroying everything.
Perfection of the Qi Condensation realm... the absolute limit.
Gu Yang clenched his fists.
The air let out an overwhelmed popping sound in his palm.
Although his cultivation realm had not broken through to Foundation Establishment, he could clearly feel that the spiritual energy within his body had undergone a qualitative change.
If his spiritual energy was previously a surging river, then now, what flowed in this river was no longer water, but heavy, viscous, and highly destructive mercury.
I've reached the entry level of the Great Sun Heaven-Incinerating Sutra. Let's test its power.
His gaze fell on the Sword Testing Stone in the corner of the cave dwelling, which was used to test the power of spells.
This pitch-black boulder was made of Black Iron Rock specially crafted by the sect. It was incredibly hard; a full-strength strike from an ordinary peak Qi Condensation cultivator would at most leave a white mark on it.
Gu Yang walked up to the Sword Testing Stone. Without mobilizing much spiritual energy, he casually raised a finger.
Above his fingertip, a wisp of golden flame quietly emerged.
It no longer violently radiated heat to the surroundings like before. Instead, it was as quiet as a harmless golden lotus, with all its temperature firmly locked within the stamen.
Go.
Gu Yang tapped his fingertip lightly.
That wisp of golden flame floated down lightly onto the Sword Testing Stone.
There was no earth-shattering explosion, nor was there a deafening roar.
There was only an extremely light sizzling sound, like a hot knife cutting into butter.
The flame was like a living creature, greedily attaching itself to the stone. Not only did it not extinguish, but it actually used the stone itself as fuel, its blaze skyrocketing!
Sizzle sizzle sizzle!
Pungent blue smoke spiraled upwards.
In the blink of an eye, the half-human-tall Sword Testing Stone seemed to be devoured by some invisible giant maw, directly burned through with a gaping hole from front to back!
Moreover, the golden flame remained attached to the edge of the hole, stubbornly eroding inward without any sign of extinguishing.
With a thought, Gu Yang cut off the supply of spiritual energy.
However, the flame continued to burn for a full three breaths of time. Only after completely burning the surrounding circle of stone to ash did it slowly extinguish, seemingly still unsatisfied.
What an overbearing undying attribute.
This Black Iron Rock possessed no spiritual energy, yet it was burned to such a state.
What if it were a cultivator's flesh and blood?
Wouldn't the abundant spiritual energy and vitality within them be the best accelerant for this Great Sun True Fire?
The only drawback was that it consumed too much spiritual energy.
Gu Yang casually waved away the remaining ashes on the Sword Testing Stone.
The void before his eyes twisted once more, and the faint blue light screen arrived as expected.
The hour of midnight had arrived.
Daily Intelligence Refreshed Successfully
White Intelligence: First Elder Zhao Wuji used his authority over sect resource allocation to withhold the Nine Revolutions Ice Heart Pill, the crucial main ingredient Shen Qingyue needs to suppress her cold poison. He is using this as a bargaining chip, attempting to force Shen Qingyue to bow her head to him.
Old bastard, his methods are getting more and more despicable.
A glint of cold light flashed in Gu Yang's eyes.
However...
Since she no longer has the Nine Revolutions Ice Heart Pill, Master must be having a very hard time these past few days, right?
Gu Yang's gaze shifted downward, locking onto the piece of intelligence emitting a faint blue light.
Blue Intelligence: Due to the previous detoxification incident, a crack has appeared in Shen Qingyue's Dao Heart. She has set up a hidden Heart-Questioning Illusion Array within the Cold Moon Palace. Two days from now, she will summon you and simulate an illusion within the array of her cold poison flaring up with her clothes disheveled, using this to test whether you harbor any insubordinate and wicked thoughts toward her.
Heart-Questioning Illusion Array?
Gu Yang looked at the small, faint blue text on the light screen, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
Master, oh Master, are you trying to find yourself a reason not to kill me?
Two days from now, huh... That timing falls perfectly after the Biluo Secret Realm.