Chapter Forty-Seven: Tempering

“It seems this is the only place where I can stop to cultivate.”
The surrounding environment was utterly beyond Yuan Wuyi’s reach; even the aura of Geng Metal emanating from the mountain peak was extremely difficult for him to refine.
What Yuan Wuyi had not anticipated was that the mysterious pearl appeared uninterested in the aura of Geng Metal—instead, it resonated powerfully with the essence of Geng Metal.
Yuan Wuyi would not allow the mysterious pearl to act recklessly; he forcibly suppressed it, unwilling to let it cause any calamity he could not bear at this moment.
“Ninefold Elixir Transformation.” Yuan Wuyi sat cross-legged atop the mountain peak, circulating the Ninefold Profound Technique to absorb the aura of Geng Metal from the space around him.
As the Lady of Metal Spirit had said, this space contained only the Dao of Geng Metal. When he circulated the Ninefold Profound Technique, only the Geng Metal Golden Core within him turned; his Tiangang Golden Core and Myriad Demon Golden Core were suppressed, unable to operate.
Yet, the Myriad Demon Golden Core and Tiangang Golden Core still produced faint ripples—this secret realm of Geng Metal could not fully suppress them.
Yuan Wuyi slowly guided the aura of Geng Metal into his Geng Metal Golden Core, now able to direct it only bit by bit, unable to do as he pleased.
Compared to the first time he implanted the aura of Geng Metal, the difficulty was much less. His former Geng Metal physique grew stronger step by step under its tempering.
With continuous absorption, Yuan Wuyi’s dantian was nearing perfection, and he felt once again the barrier he had encountered when breaking through to the Taiyi realm.
Previously, Yuan Wuyi had stopped himself from breaking through this barrier, but now he found it unexpectedly difficult to do so.
“Fortunately, time in this space is proportional to that in the mortal world—otherwise, I couldn’t afford the delay.”
He circulated the Ninefold Profound Technique for the first time, absorbing enough to perfect the Geng Metal Golden Core and attempt to break into the Taiyi realm, only to fail.
The second attempt—he absorbed more, but still fell short.
The third attempt—still not enough.
…
The hundredth attempt—still unsuccessful.
“Why does it never work?” Yuan Wuyi couldn’t understand why he always failed, always just a hair’s breadth away.
He continued to absorb the aura of Geng Metal; now his entire body exuded a murderous energy. The right half of his body was not only suffused with evil, but seemed like a demon king crawling from a pile of corpses; the left half like a war god whose hands were stained with blood.
The only constant was the tuft of pink monkey fur at his center.
“Could it be that the aura of Geng Metal cannot satisfy the Golden Core? Must I absorb the essence of Geng Metal? But my master said the essence is not something I can absorb now.”

“No matter—if the aura is useless, I must absorb the essence.” Yuan Wuyi muttered quietly.
He looked again at his body, which was now unprecedentedly powerful; every movement brimmed with aggression.
“Ninefold Profound Technique, first cycle.”
He tried to guide the essence of Geng Metal from beneath the mountain. As soon as it entered his body, its fierce energy burst open a bloody hole in him.
“Ah… ah!”
“I refuse to believe I can’t absorb it!”
Ignoring the bloody wounds, Yuan Wuyi forcibly guided the essence toward his dantian. Yet, as he did so, both the Myriad Demon Devil Heart and the Heaven-Devouring Devil Heart simultaneously exerted a suction force, dividing the essence into three parts, two of which were absorbed by the Myriad Demon Golden Core and Tiangang Golden Core. Though suppressed by the secret realm, the devil hearts were not, and now began to absorb the essence Yuan Wuyi had guided into his body.
The divided essence had lost its previous fierceness and was instantly absorbed by the Tiangang Golden Core.
The Geng Metal Golden Core, nourished by the essence, immediately gained momentum to attempt the Taiyi breakthrough again. Yuan Wuyi circulated the Ninefold Profound Technique to absorb more essence from beneath the mountain.
This time, not only did the Geng Metal Golden Core turn, but after absorbing the essence, the Myriad Demon Golden Core and Tiangang Golden Core also began to operate, albeit with difficulty.
The simultaneous operation of the three Golden Cores produced intense suction, drawing vast quantities of essence toward Yuan Wuyi.
“Buzz buzz.”
The mysterious pearl, which Yuan Wuyi had temporarily suppressed, now broke free and rushed toward the essence.
At the moment the pearl escaped, the two devil hearts again exerted their suction force.
The pearl was forcibly crushed by the devil hearts, and as it shattered, a beam of golden light shot out, madly flying toward the essence.
Under the pressure of the two devil hearts, this was futile; the golden light split in two and was drawn into Yuan Wuyi’s body. Yet it did not nourish the two Golden Cores—it was instead implanted within his bones.
“Hiss, ahhh—”
Unlike the agony of flesh, it felt as if white ants crawled over his bones, gnawing relentlessly, riddling them with holes inside and out, over and over, ceaselessly.
As Yuan Wuyi writhed in pain, the essence of Geng Metal surged toward him, pain and itching alternating across his body.
The itching of the bones and the pain of the flesh—such inhuman torment must come with immense reward.
With the operation of the Ninefold Profound Technique, the Geng Metal Golden Core absorbed a vast amount of essence and broke through to the Taiyi realm in a single leap. Though the Myriad Demon Golden Core and Tiangang Golden Core could not rotate fully due to suppression, they still absorbed substantial amounts.

Originally, with the Myriad Demon Golden Core and Tiangang Golden Core, the role of the Geng Metal Golden Core had seemed less dazzling. Now, however, the killing aura emanating from it was utterly astonishing.
Upon breaking through to the Taiyi realm, Yuan Wuyi’s agony continued. His flesh was as if reforged; the torrent of Geng Metal essence brought an astounding transformation, and even a casual strike now surpassed the full might of a Taiyi wandering immortal’s divine power.
Such a mighty physical body required an even more powerful foundation—Yuan Wuyi’s bones shone with blood-red and gold light. Where once such radiance emanated from his flesh, now it poured forth from his bones.
This was true metamorphosis.
Time flowed ceaselessly, and the radiance around Yuan Wuyi grew ever stronger.
While Yuan Wuyi suffered, a great event took place outside.
A golden ray pierced the Hall of Supreme Cloud.
The Jade Emperor knew precisely what was happening, yet with the decree from the Dao Ancestor, he had to play his part.
“Who dares flaunt their powers here?” the Jade Emperor declared.
Li Jing: Summon Clairvoyant and Wind-Ear.
Clairvoyant and Wind-Ear: Your humble servants are here.
Li Jing: Who flaunts their powers here?
Li Jing knew some of the truth, but since the Jade Emperor had spoken, he had to accompany him in the performance.
Clairvoyant and Wind-Ear: Reporting to the Jade Emperor, the golden light originated from the borders of the proud little kingdom of Eastern Victory Divine Continent, known as Flower-Fruit Mountain. There, a mystical stone produced an egg, which, upon encountering the wind, transformed into a stone monkey. It bowed to the four directions, and its eyes emitted golden rays that pierced the heavens. Once it submits to water and food, the golden light will naturally extinguish.
Venus, the Jade Emperor’s confidant, also knew the situation, but it was not yet time to reveal it.
“Observe closely, lest any anomaly arise.”
“No need to worry, my faithful servant; this is born of the pure essence of Heaven and Earth, nothing strange.”
And so, the little drama came to a close.