Chapter 625: It Turns Out, I Wasn't Ruthless Enough...

Elemental Body... three ways to die?

Xu Xiaoshou was momentarily stunned, and suddenly realized that Sang Lao was stepping forward to protect him.

After all, among the enemies he knew, there was only one Elemental Body—Yu Lingdi!

Before, Xu Xiaoshou had been tortured almost to death by Yu Lingdi. This was thanks to that enemy's mastery of Water System mysteries and his Elemental Body, which allowed him to control spiritual techniques to a terrifying degree.

That bizarre attack method...

Entry into the body!

It was the first time Xu Xiaoshou had encountered such a thing.

And now, the very attack he couldn't defend against at all, Sang Lao had just appeared and declared that an Elemental Body had exactly three ways to die?

Xu Xiaoshou felt an inexplicable excitement rise in his heart, and he lifted his head to watch intently.

Ahead,

The thin, dark figure under the boundless light seemed completely unconcerned, as if he was merely waiting for Xu Xiaoshou to wake up so he could impart a rare lesson.

"In order, from what you know to what you don't..."

Sang Lao withdrew his fingers, leaving only one extended. "Now, I will teach you the first way an Elemental Body can die: the Pill Refining Method."

His heart was stirred, his hands trembling.

This was roughly Xu Xiaoshou's state at the moment.

But upon hearing "Pill Refining Method," he still couldn't help but feel a moment of shock.

Are you kidding me?

Could pill refining really kill that Spiritual Department Head, the master of Water System mysteries?

"Pill refining isn't about exploding the furnace!"

Sang Lao seemed to know what Xu Xiaoshou was thinking, and quickly added a sentence before forming hand seals with a flick of his hand.

Several pill refining seals were cast, and the layer of white magma surging out of Shiwan Dashan suddenly trembled.

Mystically, everything within the mountain began to quake.

Rocks, fragments of space, distant ancient trees that had not yet been vaporized by the white flames, spiritual herbs...

Everything was like herbs in a furnace, controlled by a fixed intent, circulating in a way that was rich with the rhythms of heavenly principles.

Xu Xiaoshou was dumbfounded.

He felt that Sang Lao had truly mastered the art of "using the world as a furnace to refine heaven and earth!"

"Xu Xiaoshou, remember, from the very first time I taught you, I told you that the Jin Zhao lineage treats pill refining as merely supplementary. What truly makes it shine is still combat."

"The Jin Zhao pill refining technique was originally for fighting."

"See that..."

He pointed to the boundless white expanse, speaking calmly: "When your strength can support using Jin Zhao pill refining for battle, you don't really need a cauldron anymore."

"At that point, Longrong Jie becomes your cauldron for combat!"

Longrong Jie?

Xu Xiaoshou stared at the vast white world, his pupils suddenly contracting in shock.

This was Longrong Jie?

He was terrified!

Earlier, he had sensed a power in this white world that felt similar to his own, but he hadn't dared to think in that direction.

After all, his own Longrong Jie could only encompass a small hillside.

And the Longrong Jie of Sang Lao that he had seen before, though larger, had only covered the entire back mountain area of Ling Gong.

Xu Xiaoshou had thought that was the limit of Longrong Jie.

Little did he know, back in Ling Gong, Sang Lao had been holding back!

The new world of white flames rising from Shiwan Dashan—could this be the true form of Longrong Jie?

"Gulp." Xu Xiaoshou swallowed hard with difficulty.

He finally saw the gap between himself and Sang Lao, and realized how utterly out of reach his earlier idea of defeating this straw-hatted old man after completing his training had been.

"I see..."

He replied in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz.

Sang Lao nodded slightly, his gaze distant, his eyes taking on a profound and solemn air as he said:

"Use Longrong Jie as the furnace, heavenly principles as the walls, all living things as the herbs. Observe their meridians, sense their spirituality, control their paths."

"When herbs are refined, they form a pill, and within the pill's body, their properties remain, coexisting peacefully—this is itself a microcosm of the vast world."

"As the saying goes, one flower is a world, one leaf is enlightenment."

"You and I, born on this continent, are in the eyes of a pill refiner nothing more than a trace of spiritual medicinal power in a larger pill."

"Does that make sense to you?"

Xu Xiaoshou felt like this was the first time he was hearing such literary words from Sang Lao, but they weren't hard to understand.

It was similar to that old man's "cage theory."

This world was just a bigger pill.

Beyond the pill, someone was refining it.

Inside the pill, you and I are merely herbs.

He nodded: "So?"

Sang Lao knew Xu Xiaoshou was quick-witted and hadn't expected him to misunderstand, so after a pause, he continued slowly: "An Elemental Body may be a sacred body, but in the eyes of a pill refiner, it's just another sacred herb."

"In the Jin Zhao lineage, the cauldron is vast, and every spiritual herb that enters will try to escape."

"But no matter how much it wants to..."

Sang Lao looked up at the sky: "Once the cauldron lid is on, it can't fly away even with wings!"

"So, what we need to do is find that escaping herb's properties and master them?" Xu Xiaoshou asked in surprise.

He looked at the vast expanse of heaven and earth, full of doubt.

How to track it in Shiwan Dashan?

"Exactly!"

Sang Lao nodded with a smile, looking pleased, as if dealing with a promising student.

"Shiwan Dashan is just an auxiliary herb. Auxiliary herbs are important, but they're all the same, so controlling them is easy."

"The sacred herb is hard to find, but it's different from the auxiliaries."

"The sacred surpasses the spiritual; in the entire cauldron, wherever there's the most spirituality, that's where the sacred herb hides!"

Sang Lao's eyes suddenly gleamed, his pupils igniting with roaring white flames.

As he scanned the void, nameless flames erupted, spreading from points to surfaces in radiating lines, directly igniting the heavenly principles within all of Longrong Jie.

He formed more seals with a flip of his hand, his fingers leaving afterimages.

"I'm refining a sacred pill called 'Elemental Pill.' Taking it can lead to enlightenment in a spiritual mystery system, or at the very least, help a Wangzuo Daojing expert break through to the basic great dao."

"If it's used to shatter the Daojing realm, that's effortless too."

"But this pill lacks one main herb, called 'Elemental Body!'"

Xu Xiaoshou was stunned by what he heard.

He had already felt that his view of pill refining was far ahead of his peers.

But now, under Sang Lao's words, he still felt enlightened, like a sudden insight.

For the first time, Xu Xiaoshou realized just how vast Sang Lao's vision and scope were.

This old man had been hiding his true abilities in Ling Gong!

Who needs herbs when you can refine the great dao of heaven and earth into pills?

Look at the range of this Longrong Jie...

If he went anywhere and covered it with this, controlling any herb inside would just be a matter of intent.

Moreover, refining heaven and earth, with all things as catalysts, to form spiritual pills...

This was probably only the Jin Zhao lineage's style—utterly domineering!

Any ordinary pill refiner probably wouldn't even dare to think in that direction!

Though his heart was full of amazement, Xu Xiaoshou didn't interrupt.

After a moment of contemplation, Sang Lao finally smiled, slowly clenching his hand.

"The catalyst."

From far away.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

In the distant east and far west, sudden bursts rang out, igniting several dazzling white light points.

It looked like the water elements floating in the void had been ignited remotely by Jin Zhao Heavenly Flames.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

More bursts followed, and this time, Xu Xiaoshou felt the sounds were very close.

He lowered his head, and his expression changed dramatically.

"Damn it!"

The flames were actually starting to burn from inside his own body?

"Under attack, passive value +1."

"Under attack, passive value +1."

Xu Xiaoshou quickly realized that the elusive Yu Lingdi had dispersed his body—one part drifting in the void, the other hiding inside him?

"This guy..."

Xu Xiaoshou was in utter admiration.

The most dangerous place was indeed the safest!

Because since waking up, he hadn't even considered that Yu Lingdi would dare stay inside his body.

Before he could try to extinguish the flames, Sang Lao acted as if he hadn't noticed, casually beckoning.

"The herb, come."

It was like spiritual liquid being controlled by a pill refiner, its original will forcibly stripped away.

Not only were the elemental light points flickering in the distance drawn back to Sang Lao's side, but even those inside Xu Xiaoshou's body were involuntarily peeled out.

"So strong..."

Xu Xiaoshou watched as the white flames were slowly extracted from his chest, completely stunned.

He had never thought of using the method of manipulating medicinal liquid, with heaven and earth as the furnace, to enlarge the scale and separate Yu Lingdi from his own body.

This was just too bizarre—who else could come up with something like that?

Xu Xiaoshou thought his own thinking was already quite unconventional, but Sang Lao's actions still left him in awe.

Too powerful!

"You old bastard, how could you still find me like this!"

As the elemental light points were forcibly gathered and Yu Lingdi's form began to condense vaguely in front of Sang Lao, his face twisted in pain from the burning white flames, but he didn't even groan, only shouting hoarsely in anger.

Sang Lao remained indifferent, waving his hand.

"Xu Xiaoshou, now I'll teach you the second way an Elemental Body can die!"

Yu Lingdi's entire body, scorched by the white flames, deformed in terror.

Under the intent of heavenly principles, he felt like he had truly become the other man's herb, with every action dictated not by his own will, but by the pill refiner's.

"Damn it!"

With a low curse in his heart, Yu Lingdi had no way out. Staring at the straw-hatted old man before him, he gritted his teeth and plunged headfirst into his body.

"Watch out..."

Xu Xiaoshou reached out his hand, half-shouting in alarm, but saw Sang Lao looking over with a genial smile, adding: "Remember, when a poisonous pill enters the body, use the most rigid and dominant method of the Jin Zhao lineage."

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

His lips curved into a wide smile, though his voice was icy cold:

"The second way an Elemental Body dies is what I'm teaching you now: the combat pill refining method of sacrificing heaven and earth."

"Use your own body as the cauldron, your flesh as the walls, your muscles, bones, and meridians as the heavenly principles."

"Heavenly principles are intent, and rules are the foundation."

Sang Lao paused, his voice softening as if murmuring.

"The strongest aspect of the Jin Zhao lineage isn't the cauldron of heaven and earth—it's the body as the furnace. After all, that's something you've cultivated step by step as you grow."

"Its strength is something only you know."

Xu Xiaoshou was baffled.

Staring at Sang Lao's kind smile, he suddenly felt like this was the face of a demon.

When this old man said he was teaching the second method, it was before Yu Lingdi entered his body!

That meant he had already known what Yu Lingdi's next move would be.

Indeed...

This so-called last escape route was probably something Sang Lao had deliberately left for Yu Lingdi, just to demonstrate it for him to see.

What was a master manipulator?

This was it!

Xu Xiaoshou realized that his earlier sliver of worry had been unnecessary.

If it was this old man, what did he have to worry about?

The one who should be worried was Yu Lingdi, being toyed with in the palm of his hand!

Sang Lao flung his sleeves back, stirring up a gust of wind.

"Watch closely."

He finished speaking, lifted his eyelids, and a fierce chill filled his eyes.

"Hiss!"

He opened his mouth and inhaled sharply.

Suddenly, the web-like white flame threads spreading through the heavens and earth were all sucked into his body.

Sang Lao's belly swelled and then deflated back to normal.

He strolled leisurely over to Xu Xiaoshou and raised a finger.

"One principle."

"Huh?" Xu Xiaoshou looked up, full of confusion.

In his eyes, Sang Lao loomed like a giant from some illusion.

Sang Lao said: "When a volcano erupts in the world, outsiders don't feel the heat; when someone in the volcano watches it erupt, they go mad with heat; when the volcano erupts inside a body, the person inside that body will burn to death from the heat."

Xu Xiaoshou blinked, not quite processing it yet.

The next second.

"Ah—!"

"Hiss, hiss, hiss, you old bastard, you're insane, you want to burn yourself to death!"

"Let me out!!!"

Xu Xiaoshou's pupils contracted.

That...

Was Yu Lingdi's roar?

Was that tearful voice Yu Lingdi begging for mercy?

In that instant, he suddenly understood what Sang Lao had just said.

The temperature that could scorch the heavens, all concentrated in one body, gathering into such intense heat—inside Sang Lao right now, it was probably like the core of the sun.

He wasn't showing it, but that didn't mean a water cultivator like Yu Lingdi could endure it without a change in expression!

Xu Xiaoshou shivered, not daring to look straight at this straw-hatted old man anymore.

He was a demon!

The very devil incarnate!

Sang Lao ignored Yu Lingdi's miserable screams, continuing his lesson, lightly tapping Xu Xiaoshou's shoulder with that finger.

"When a poisonous herb enters the body, the first thing we do isn't to panic."

"Panic is for others."

"After all, when the herb enters the cauldron, the pill refiner should be delighted—how can we lose our composure?"

"Mhm, mhm, mhm." Xu Xiaoshou nodded like a pecking chicken.

Sang Lao chuckled: "Don't be afraid; this is your first time facing this, and it's my first time teaching it this way."

"This herb, since you're using your body as the furnace and your flesh as the cauldron..."

"Treat your muscles, bones, and meridians as the heavenly principles. In this small world of the human body, you are the master; you have the power to control everything."

"Whatever you intend, it becomes reality."

"For example..."

"If I want this medicinal liquid to come here, it has to come here."

As Sang Lao spoke, he gestured with his finger to the right.

"Ah—!"

The scream grew louder.

Bubbles formed at his fingertip, and a small, distorted water mass struggled, but was burned by the white flames, unable to move freely.

The water mass hissed and steamed continuously, like a herb undergoing a difficult purification process.

Xu Xiaoshou could hardly believe this was Yu Lingdi!

In just a short time since entering Sang Lao's body, that guy had been refined into something like "purified Yu Lingdi"!

"Or over here."

Sang Lao lowered his right hand and extended his left palm.

"Hiss, ahhh!!!"

A drop of water formed in his palm. Yu Lingdi could only scream now, devolving into incoherent yells that Xu Xiaoshou couldn't understand.

"Got it?"

Sang Lao clenched his palm, and the screams vanished.

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

As the master taught, the disciple listened intently.

In that moment, Xu Xiaoshou's worldview was completely reshaped. He wiped away the cold sweat from the shock and felt his blood beginning to boil, nodding vigorously.

"Got it."

In his heart, he added: Originally, it was because I wasn't ruthless enough...