Chapter 3: Water and Fire Descend from Heaven, Birthing the Innate

Tiemuzhan and the flood beast demon rapidly approached, soon arriving at the edge of the pond.

"Truly beautiful." Tiemuzhan looked at the two layers of enormous lotus leaves blooming under the morning sunlight, unable to suppress his awe, and the more he looked, the more wary he became. After all, he was at the late innate stage; though he had not yet reached the state of unity between heaven and man, he could vaguely sense the extraordinary nature of these two layers of lotus leaves.

"Master." The flood beast demon also looked at Tiemuzhan. "What now?"

"Don't rush. He's right in front of us; he can't escape. Let's test him first!" Tiemuzhan communicated mentally. With a wave of his hand, his externalized innate primal force directly drew a stone from the ground into his palm. Then he suddenly swung his arm, and the stone, wrapped in innate true essence, shot like a streak of light toward Ji Ning, who sat cross-legged in the distance.

Though it was just a casually thrown stone, it would have been enough to crush even a Nine-Fang warrior.

"Whoosh!"

When the stone entered the area several zhang in front of Ji Ning, within the range covered by the two layers of lotus leaves, it instantly stopped! The invisible grinding force acted upon it, and with a bang, the stone turned to powder.

The flood beast demon and Tiemuzhan both felt a tightening in their hearts. They exchanged a glance, clearly puzzled by the mysterious two layers of lotus leaves.

"I don't believe it." Tiemuzhan snorted coldly. A black vine whip appeared in his hand out of thin air.

"Whoosh!"

Tiemuzhan swung the whip in his hand. The black vine whip rapidly extended, directly coiling around a thick tree nearby. Then he exerted force with a sudden jerk! Rumble~~~ The entire tree was forcefully pulled out of the earth, bringing up a lot of soil. Then Tiemuzhan swung the whip again.

Boom~~ The tree, weighing tens of thousands of jin, smashed horizontally toward Ji Ning, who sat cross-legged in the distance. When the thick tree crashed into the semi-transparent two layers of enormous lotus leaves, parts of the branches and twigs began to shatter, but the tremendous impact force inherent in the tree itself caused the two layers of lotus leaves to tremble.

Ji Ning, who had been sitting quietly in meditation, also shuddered and opened his eyes.

Opening his eyes, he saw that the two layers of enormous lotus leaves surrounding his body had dissipated. A thick tree was smashing down toward him, while in the distance, Tiemuzhan and the black-clad man watched with cold smiles.

"Cutting off my opportunity!" The moment Ji Ning saw the dissipated two layers of lotus leaves, he instantly understood the gains of the past night and realized how precious his previous enlightenment had been. If no one had disturbed him, he might have continued to comprehend for even longer. He hadn't expected Tiemuzhan to ruin it. Enlightenment was truly a rare and unpredictable occurrence; he might not encounter such an opportunity again for decades or even centuries.

"Damn it!"

Ji Ning punched out directly. With a bang, the thick tree flying at high speed exploded, breaking into two halves. One half fell into the nearby pond, crushing countless lotus flowers, while the other half crashed into several other trees before falling to the ground, raising dust everywhere.

"Ji clan brat!" Tiemuzhan grinned fiercely. "You fled a thousand li into the mountains, but I still caught up with you! Today is your death day!"

Ji Ning gave him a cold glance and then began to activate the lunar force and solar force within his body. The previous night's enlightenment had given him a glimmer of understanding of the vague and elusive 'Dao.' This glimmer had already dispelled any doubts about how to break through to the innate stage with the 'Redmoon Nine Heavens Chart.' Nothing in the world is absolutely opposed! Just as night and day seem opposite but are actually two sides of the same day.

Just like the two layers of water and fire lotus leaves that had surrounded him earlier; they didn't cancel each other out but instead enhanced each other's power. Why?

A lotus flower has roots and stems; only then can the lotus leaves revolve around it!

The 'roots and stems' of the two layers of water and fire lotus leaves were Ji Ning himself!

How can lunar force and solar force be merged?

One must find the 'roots and stems' of the lunar and solar forces!

"Guide!"

Ji Ning's eyes held absolute confidence.

The fully activated lunar force and solar force within his body instantly filled every part of him—his hair, skin, flesh, internal organs, and even the tiniest particles... everywhere! Every strand of lunar force began to intertwine with the solar force, but their nature resisted fusion.

"Rustle rustle rustle~~" All the lunar and solar forces revolved around each other like lotus flowers spinning in the wind.

Or like two taiji fish chasing each other.

One lunar, one solar.

They chased each other continuously... carrying a trace of the Dao that Ji Ning had sensed earlier.

Gradually, amidst the chasing lunar and solar forces, a new force was born at the center!

Instantly—

From the depths of the endless void, separated by countless layers of worlds, the two enormous supreme stars—the Sun Star and the Moon Star—each descended a wisp of solar true fire and lunar true water, appearing on either side of Ji Ning, and automatically drew upon the water and fire forces of heaven and earth.

"Boom!" "Boom!"

Around him, vast flames and surging waters condensed out of thin air.

Though described slowly, in reality, Ji Ning had shattered the tree and immediately triggered the breakthrough within his body. Tiemuzhan and his flood beast demon witnessed the endless water and fire condensing into existence, and even felt fear. Where the water passed... everything froze into ice sculptures; where the fire passed, everything shattered and burned.

At the same time, within the rolling waves of water, the faint shadow of a moon rabbit could be seen.

Deep within the endless flames, the shadow of a three-legged golden crow appeared.

At the center of the moon rabbit and golden crow was Ji Ning!

"This, this..." Tiemuzhan's face changed in shock. "Could it be the legendary 'Redmoon Nine Heavens Chart'?"

The golden crow and moon rabbit appearing together!

Undoubtedly, it was the legendary number one divine body cultivation technique, the 'Redmoon Nine Heavens Chart.' Throughout the entire Yanshan region, at least in the past thousand years, no one had been reported to have become an innate lifeform through this technique. Although he had read about the technique and knew the spectacular scene during the breakthrough, this was his first time witnessing it in person.

"Hmph." Tiemuzhan produced a series of formation flags out of thin air. Then he dashed around, circling Ji Ning, who was enveloped in endless water and fire, while occasionally throwing out flags with his right hand. Each flag flew in a different direction and plunged deep into the earth in the distance.

In just a few seconds, eight formation flags were planted within a one-li radius.

Tiemuzhan stood in the distance.

"Master, attack now." The flood beast demon urged. "He's in the middle of a breakthrough; this is his vulnerable moment."

"No." Tiemuzhan shouted. "He's cultivating the number one divine body technique, drawing upon the power of the two supreme stars, the Sun and Moon! When breaking through to become an innate lifeform, these two supreme stars, piercing through layers of spatial barriers, each descend a wisp of solar true fire and a wisp of lunar true water to allow him to shed his mortal shell and nurture a true innate divine body."

"Then we must disrupt it even more." The flood beast demon was anxious.

"Didn't you understand?" Tiemuzhan's face was grim as he stared at Ji Ning, enveloped in endless water and fire. "He is now surrounded by endless ice water and endless flames. The core of the endless ice water is a wisp of lunar true water! The core of the endless flames is a wisp of solar true fire! Not just you and me, even a Zifu cultivator who dares to touch it would be instantly frozen to pieces or burned to ashes! Even the soul would be destroyed, leaving no chance to reincarnate in the underworld!"

"That powerful?" The flood beast was shocked.

"Of course it's powerful!" Tiemuzhan said solemnly. "This is the might of two supreme stars! Who dares to touch solar true fire and lunar true water?"

"Then, then we just watch?" The flood beast demon was anxious. "Watch this Ji clan brat become stronger?"

"Don't worry!" Tiemuzhan growled. "Right now, the two supreme stars are descending their power to begin his transformation, shedding his mortal body and nurturing an innate divine body. Once he breaks through, that wisp of lunar true water and solar true fire will disappear. After all, the lunar true water and solar true fire are not this Ji clan brat's own power."

Tiemuzhan sneered: "I have already set up the Yin Yang Two Qi Formation. Once this Ji clan brat breaks through and loses the protection of the two supreme stars, I will immediately activate the formation. No matter what, he's just become an innate lifeform and doesn't even have a single magic treasure. Meanwhile, I am at the late innate stage and have the formation to assist me!"

"Mm." The flood beast demon nodded.

"But this Ji clan brat is truly remarkable!" Tiemuzhan couldn't help but praise. "The 'Redmoon Nine Heavens Chart' is the legendary number one divine body cultivation technique. Almost every major tribe has it! Yet in the past thousand years on Yanshan, no one has managed to step into the innate stage through it. If left to grow, he would surely become the number one person of the Ji clan's five prefectures, even the number one person of Yanshan! But no matter how formidable, he's just about to step into the innate stage now. Haha... just thinking about killing such a monstrous genius is exhilarating!"

...

What is innate?

Only those born of heaven and earth are true innate lifeforms.

Ordinary Qi Refiners merely convert their internal energy into innate true essence, then wash their bones, muscles, and skin to achieve a light and agile state! This is actually the poorest kind of innate lifeform's body; a single sword thrust through the heart can kill them.

Divine body cultivation... fundamentally transforms the body, shedding the mortal shell to possess a divine body. Innate divine beings, even if their bodies are cut into eighteen pieces, will not die as long as their heads are intact! Most divine body cultivation techniques are relatively inferior, even requiring one to paint demonic or divine patterns on oneself.

The 'Redmoon Nine Heavens Chart,' however, draws upon the power of the two supreme stars, automatically generating two divine patterns.

When breaking through to become an innate lifeform, the two supreme stars descend solar true fire and lunar true water... water and fire working together to nurture an innate divine body! Such a divine body is no less than the bodies of true gods and demons at their birth in the age of gods and demons. That is why this technique is called the number one technique!

"Crackle!" Ji Ning felt every cell in his body explode in an instant. Then, guided by the Redmoon divine power, with the lunar true water and solar true fire as the foundation, new cells began to form. The wisps of solar true fire and lunar true water descended by the two supreme stars were completely absorbed and consumed during the nurturing of the innate divine body.

The mortal shell was shed!

The divine body was achieved!

Whoosh~~~~ The complete consumption of the solar true fire and lunar true water caused the gathered endless water and fire to dissipate, revealing Ji Ning clad in animal skins. Even though he had undergone a fundamental leap in life level, the animal skins on his body were not damaged in the slightest by the water and fire. Ji Ning's skin emitted a captivating luster, as if it were a crystallization of heaven and earth.

Ji Ning opened his eyes, looked at the distant Tiemuzhan and the flood beast demon, and uttered two words: "Die now!"

The lunar divine pattern and solar divine pattern on his back instantly drew upon their power.

Boom! Boom!

A massive fire dragon and a massive water dragon were born out of thin air. The water and fire driven by the solar and lunar divine patterns, containing terrifying destructive might, charged directly toward the distant Tiemuzhan and the flood beast demon! The 'Redmoon Nine Heavens Chart' records that once one steps into the innate stage, one can control water and fire!