Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)-Chapter 531: Ten Suns High in the Sky

Under the relentless bombardment of fireballs and metallic energy, the entire Fire Vein trembled as if on the verge of collapse. A fierce gale swept past, dispersing the smoke and dust, revealing a massive crater in the ground. All the Lava Essence Stones had been annihilated into nothingness; even the Taciturn Daoist Priest had disintegrated.

“Your Five-Elements Sect elders are really ruthless, huh?” Lu Yang clicked his tongue, appearing beside Meng Jingzhou. What on earth did Shifu do to provoke such fury from the Five-Elements Sect?

Yuan Gang nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Lu Yang, as if he had seen a ghost. “How are you here? Who was that just now?”

Lu Yang lazily replied, “A clone, obviously. Couldn’t you tell? It was a wooden clone. Isn’t a wooden clone a perfect match for a wooden sword?”

If not for that, the Fire Branch and Metal Branch elders wouldn’t have attacked with such overwhelming force.

Had I used my real body to turn into Shifu, I wouldn’t even know how I’d died.

“Heh, as expected of disciples from the Dao-Seeking Sect. They’re quick-witted.” Song Duantian’s hearty laughter echoed from an isolated space as the Fire Branch elders and Qiu Jin’an emerged one by one.

“Yuan Gang, you must know that beyond every person is a greater person, and beyond every sky is a higher sky. Learn from this lesson and never let your arrogance get the better of you.”

Setting aside Meng Jingzhou’s manipulation of the continent’s gravity and Lu Yang’s provocation by transforming into the Taciturn Daoist Priest, even Li Haoran’s infinitely accelerating ox-hair needle showcased a concept of artifact refinement that far surpassed Yuan Gang’s capabilities.

“Yes, Shifu. Your disciple will remember this lesson.” Yuan Gang tactfully retreated.

“This match goes to your Dao-Seeking Sect,” Song Duantian conceded. “That foolish disciple of mine promised you could freely pick a true fire here, and that prize still stands. This is your fated opportunity. You may select from our Fire Branch, but each of you has only one chance. Whether you succeed in mastering it and whether you comprehend its arcane meaning depends entirely on you.” He chuckled, not thinking much of it.

What’s true fire? They’re something even Golden Core cultivators struggle to grasp. Even if gifted individuals could grasp true fire, with a hundred and eight varieties in existence, how could they possibly learn them all?

The only way to grasp true fire is by finding one most suited to themselves. As for what’s considered “most suited,” that’s not what humans can decide—it’s completely up to fate.

Song Duantian snapped his fingers. The ground cracked open, crimson soil crumbling inward as plumes of white smoke surged out, and the air grew blisteringly hot.

Clusters of true fires emerged—some ethereal and shrouded in mist, some emitting the mellifluous cry of a phoenix, and others resembling blooming crimson lotuses and concealing mysterious profundities...

“Hundun-Chaos True Fire, Nirvana True Fire...” Li Haoran muttered the names in awe. These true fires have immense power and solid foundations, a tier higher than those Shifu commands.

Song Duantian smirked with pride. “How could the true fires collected by the likes of Zhou Xin compare to this esteemed one’s? These are the accumulations of my Five-Elements Sect’s Fire Branch over a hundred thousand years!”

Indeed, a single individual’s collection couldn’t rival an entire sect’s accumulation of a hundred thousand years.

The Five-Elements Sect disciples watched with envy. How many missions would we have to complete to earn just one true fire?

“Although you two didn’t compete, you are still disciples of the Dao-Seeking Sect. Come and choose.”

Tao Yaoye and Man Gu hadn’t expected to be included. However, they were neither fire-type cultivators nor did they possess Lu Yang’s heaven-defying comprehension. They weren’t certain whether they could obtain a suitable true fire.

“Is this the Six Ding Divine Fire?” Li Haoran paused before a ball of flame, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

The Six Ding Divine Fire is another true fire ideal for artifact refinement. The martial and civil fires it encompasses, combined with its Qimen Dunjia[1] momentum, can devour impurities. It’s unparalleled for engraving inscriptions!

Fifth Elder also possessed the Six Ding Divine Fire, passed down through generations of peak masters. Li Haoran had originally planned to learn it from his shifu after returning from the Five-Elements Sect, but now that fate had presented the opportunity to learn it, he couldn’t let it slip away.

With Golden Core cultivation, one could at most master two types of true fires. Any more would become a burden instead. Since Li Haoran had already grasped the Extreme Calculations True Fire, he naturally reserved his second slot for the Six Ding Divine Fire!

“Luna True Fire?” Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou were still browsing the true fires when a white and chilling true fire caught their attention.

“Old Meng, you should learn this. With your Pure Yang True Fire, adding the Luna True Fire would complete your yin and yang!” Lu Yang nudged Meng Jingzhou with a mischievous grin.

“Get lost! With my measly cultivation, wielding both yin and yang would make me explode!”

“Phoenix Nirvana Fire?” The two soon found another location where the cries of a phoenix could vaguely be heard.

“It’s said that this is a bloodline true fire of the phoenix race, capable of rebirth through nirvana.” Meng Jingzhou studied the Phoenix Nirvana with keen interest.

But as it was a bloodline true fire, mastering it as an outsider would be fraught with difficulties.

“Don’t get your hopes up about rebirth through nirvana. That’s just a rumor,” Lu Yang said upon recalling the Everlasting Immortal Fairy’s story about a phoenix’s rebirth.

“But while nirvana is fake, its healing properties are real. It suits you well.” Since Meng Jingzhou often fought with his body and suffered injuries, he could use the true fire to compensate for his vulnerabilities.

“I’ll go with this then!” Meng Jingzhou declared firmly.

That left only Lu Yang. His gaze was drawn to a blazing flame, within which the faint silhouette of a Jinwu golden crow flickered in and out of view, as if it was sentient—this was the Sun True Fire.

Also known as the Jinwu Golden Crow True Fire, it stood alongside Meng Jingzhou’s Pure Yang True Fire as one of the two supreme yang-attribute true fires, renowned for its devastating offensive power.

Ancient legends spoke of ten suns high up in the sky. Ten Jinwu golden crows took flight together, scorching the earth barren. As calamity and destruction spread, an immortal couldn’t bear to see the world in suffering and shot down nine, leaving one to illuminate the land. This alone attested to the perils of the Jinwu golden crow.

“Since my Three Flavor True Fire lacks offensive power, the Sun True Fire can make up for it,” Lu Yang murmured to himself.

“Ah, Jinwu golden crow. The Nine-Layers Immortal loved those,” the Everlasting Immortal Fairy suddenly remarked.

“The Nine-Layers Immortal?”

“Mmm. Back then, he was researching the Yin-Yang Dao Fruit but hit a bottleneck, so he went around trying all sorts of methods. One of them was to find the supreme yang Jinwu Golden Crow and the supreme yin Jade Rabbit,[2] then let them mate. He wanted to see if their union would birth insights into the Dao of Yin and Yang.

“Worried that one pair wasn’t enough, he gathered ten Jinwu Golden Crows and ten Jade Rabbits. Those ten Jinwu Golden Crows had to mate day and night until they couldn’t bear it anymore. One night, they all fled, and ten Jinwu Golden Crows took flight together. The heat was unbearable! The Nine-Layers Immortal saw his test subjects escaping and thought it was disastrous. Thus, he grabbed his bow on the spot and shot down nine, though he didn’t kill them because he still needed them for his experiments.

“Back then, I was right beside him. I pointed to the tenth crow and said I’d never tasted one before, suggesting he shoot the tenth one too so that I could prepare a feast for the four of them. The Nine-Layers Immortal’s hand trembled, and the arrow missed, letting that Jinwu Golden Crow get away. What a pity.”

The Everlasting Immortal Fairy shook her head, still lamenting the lost opportunity.

1. It’s an ancient Chinese divination principle. ☜

2. In Chinese mythology, the Jade Rabbit is said to live on the moon with Chang’e. ☜