Chapter Twelve: Early Stage of Fusion

By the lake in the Inch Realm, Qu Yi had been sitting in meditation for three days, focusing on adjusting his physical condition.
Now, Qu Yi opened his eyes!
Smiling, confident, and composed.
He glanced at the five Yuan Ying in the middle stage of fusion on the jade platform ahead. Pressing his lips together, he simultaneously activated the five elemental cultivation methods within his body, allowing the energies of the five elements to flow throughout his physique.
“Golden Splendor,” “Revival of All Plants,” “Unity of Water and Sky,” “Spreading Stars,” and “Majestic Imperial Land”—these five methods coordinated with each other to increase in speed, repeatedly purifying the five elemental energies within his body.
When the five elemental methods reached their highest speed, Qu Yi’s six-headed, human-shaped Yuan Shen left his body and floated above his head, surrounded by a layer of gray mist-like substance, giving it a hazy appearance.
With his Yuan Shen separated from his body, Qu Yi opened his eyes again and looked at the five Yuan Ying on the jade platform.
“Five Yuan Ying enter the body, dividing into the five elements; the Yuan Ying reach perfection, and the Dharma body merges!”
In an instant, the five Yuan Ying on the jade platform flew into Qu Yi’s mouth and entered his dantian, where they were quickly broken down by the combined Yuan Ying into the energies of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. These energies then flowed into the Yuan Ying within his lungs, liver, kidneys, heart, and spleen.
Since Qu Yi’s body had been immersed in the chaotic energy layer on Tianyi Star in the Tianhuo Star Region, the mixed energies were no longer chaotic. With just a thought from Qu Yi, the energies of the five elements could be freely and rapidly transformed. Now, as these five Yuan Ying entered his dantian, they were quickly completely broken down, and the elemental energies flowed into his internal organs.
The Yuan Ying of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth received this vast flow of energy and immediately spun rapidly, drawing all the energy into themselves, further purifying and condensing their own energies.
As the elemental energies surged into the internal organs, the five Yuan Ying could not absorb them all at once. Suddenly, they all left their bodies and appeared at five positions above his body, corresponding to the five internal organs. The elemental energies within his body were also drawn out and spun rapidly as the five Yuan Ying rotated outside his body, further condensing into them.
The six-headed, human-shaped Yuan Shen above his head trembled slightly upon seeing the five Yuan Ying leave his body. In particular, its five small heads seemed eager, each gazing at one of the Yuan Ying as if wanting to leave the Yuan Shen and enter those Yuan Ying.

During the Divided Mind phase, the original spirit leaves the body to wander through the void, directly communicating with various energies to understand their properties and seeking more advanced forms of the five-element energies, ultimately tracing back to the primal energies of the five elements. In the Unified Body phase, the Yuan Ying energy body merges with the physical body, and the original spirit also fuses with the Yuan Ying, turning the entire body into a Dharma body. This allows the Dharma body to directly interact with various energies, enabling one to be immersed in the flow of energy, achieving a state where body and movement are unified and in harmony with nature.

A few days passed again. Qu Yi opened his eyes, and a sharp glint appeared in them.

“The Yuan Ying has entered the body, the original spirit has taken residence, body and movement are unified—my cultivation has reached a new level!”

As Qu Yi spoke, the five highly condensed Yuan Ying suddenly disappeared, entering his body. Instead of returning to the five internal organs, they went straight into the dantian. Inside the dantian, the merged Yuan Ying appeared almost transparent, with only a faint layer of ripples floating on its surface, resembling a pentagram.

The five Yuan Ying entered the dantian, each corresponding to one of the five elements—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—and attached themselves to the five corners of the merged Yuan Ying, fully integrating with it. At this point, the original spirit floating above his head also entered the body, arriving above the merged Yuan Ying and fusing with it. The main head merged with the merged Yuan Ying, while the five smaller heads aligned with the five corners, seemingly controlling the Yuan Ying at those points.

Qu Yi finally succeeded in reaching the early stage of Unified Body cultivation.

With his cultivation level broken through, he didn’t rush to end his meditation but focused on stabilizing it before truly utilizing the powers of this early stage. Thus, he continued to sit quietly by the lake inside theinch realm ball, deeply immersed in understanding the cultivation of the early Unified Body phase.

……

Gou Huo Zhenren, the leader of the Qian Huo Palace, led all the cultivators at the Unified Body and Divided Mind stages to eradicate the Yin Yun Sect, but they were all killed by Qu Yi, with only Gou Huo Zhenren surviving by chance. Had he not been fortunate enough to encounter two demon cultivators who bought him time, his life would have been lost as well.

After escaping, Gou Huo Zhenren did not return to the Qian Huo Palace but headed straight to the northeast of the Fei Yun Continent, where the Thousand Demons Forest lay.

The northeast part of the Fei Yun Continent was covered in vast forests, filled with lush green ancient trees, shrouded in mist, and alive with the scent of flowers and the sounds of beasts. This forest was a paradise for demon beasts, home to several powerful ones.

Monsters in the later stage of merging into two forms: the Four-Eared Earth Splitter Rat and the Sky-Eye Ice Dragon. There are also monsters in the stage of merging into five forms: the Golden Fur Tiger, the Yellow-Crowned Eagle, the Two-Headed Snake, the Underground Cold Silkworm, and the Wind Roaring Ox. However, the Golden Fur Tiger and the Yellow-Crowned Eagle have already been killed by Qu Yi, so now there are only five monsters in the stage of merging into five forms in the Thousand Monsters Forest. The core area of the Thousand Monsters Forest is located in a valley filled with floral fragrance. Inside the valley lies a natural cave brimming with endless spiritual energy, making it ideal for monsters in the merging stage. Thus, usually, the monsters in this stage in the Thousand Monsters Forest practice inside this cave. At that moment, the figure of True Man Gou Huo appeared above the valley and landed directly at the entrance of the cave. Whoosh! Two figures immediately flew out of the cave—one with a sharp face and mouse-like eyes, having four ears, and the other radiating coldness with eyes like stars. These were the guardians of the Thousand Monsters Forest: the Four-Eared Earth Splitter Rat and the Sky-Eye Ice Dragon. “Gou Huo, what brings you to our Thousand Monsters Forest?” the Four-Eared Earth Splitter Rat asked suspiciously. The Sky-Eye Ice Dragon, who never liked to talk, merely stared coldly at True Man Gou Huo, ready to attack at the slightest sign of deception. True Man Gou Huo glanced at the two of them, his face showing pain, and said seriously, “My lords, I’ve come to inform you that a master has arrived on the Feiyun Continent. Someone from the Taiyuan Sect has taken over as the leader of the Yinyun Sect. This person is only at the late stage of the Divided Mind cultivation level, but he possesses powerful magical artifacts. He has already defeated all the sects beneath our Qianhuo Palace and even killed True Man Gou Yun from our Qianhuo Palace. Most importantly, your Golden Fur Tiger and Yellow-Crowned Eagle from the Thousand Monsters Forest have also been killed by this leader of the Yinyun Sect.” Upon hearing this, the Four-Eared Earth Splitter Rat and the Sky-Eye Ice Dragon were instantly shocked, their faces twitching uncontrollably. “Gou Huo, is this true? If you’re lying to us, your Qianhuo Palace will never know peace,” the Four-Eared Earth Splitter Rat demanded immediately. The Sky-Eye Ice Dragon also stared intently at True Man Gou Huo, its star-like eyes seemingly able to see through a person’s true intentions. If True Man Gou Huo said a lie, it would attack right away. “It’s absolutely true. I saw with my own eyes that person kill the Golden Fur Tiger and the Yellow-Crowned Eagle,” True Man Gou Huo replied angrily. Then the Four-Eared Earth Splitter Rat suddenly asked, “Where did you see it?” Only the Four-Eared Earth Splitter Rat and the Yellow-Crowned Eagle knew the place where those two monsters had gone. If True Man Gou Huo had really seen them, he would be able to name the location. If not, he would hesitate or guess, and the Sky-Eye Ice Dragon could tell.

After all, the Dry Fire Palace and the Thousand Demons Forest were in opposition to each other. The Four-Eared Earth Rat wouldn’t dare trust Guo Huo Zhenren just based on his word alone.
“The Spray Cloud Mountains!” Guo Huo Zhenren blurted out.
“Ah!” At that moment, both the Four-Eared Earth Rat and the Sky-Eye Ice Dragon exclaimed in shock.
The core area of the Feiyun Continent was precisely those Spray Cloud Mountains, where tens of thousands of peaks had summit vents that spewed white mist like volcanoes. The Golden Fur Tiger and the Yellow-Crowned Eagle, two demon cultivators, had gone there because they noticed something unusual at the entrance of one of the mountain caves and wanted to observe it in hopes of finding treasures.
Guo Huo Zhenren watched the two demon cultivators calmly on the surface but was actually smiling inwardly—they must now believe him.
The Four-Eared Earth Rat calmed down and looked at Guo Huo Zhenren, asking, “Guo Huo, why have you come to our Thousand Demons Forest this time and brought us this news?”
Guo Huo Zhenren replied angrily, “I want to ally with your Thousand Demons Forest as well as the Green Cloud Tower. If the three of us unite, we can eliminate the Hidden Cloud Sect. In the past, the three sects were at odds and also hesitated due to the might of the Taiyuan Sect, so we gave the Hidden Cloud Sect a chance. But then a ruthless figure from the Taiyuan Sect caused us great harm, so we no longer need to be cautious. We’ll eradicate the Hidden Cloud Sect. After all, each of us has one of the ten major sects backing us, so we needn’t fear retaliation from the Taiyuan Sect.”
Behind the Dry Fire Palace lay the Green Flame Peak, while behind the Thousand Demons Forest was the Hundred Beasts Peak.
After hearing this, the Four-Eared Earth Rat remained silent for a while before asking, “You say the new leader of the Hidden Cloud Sect, with his cultivation at the late Stage of Divination, killed Guo Huo Zhenren. What method did he use?”
Rats are naturally vigilant, and the Four-Eared Earth Rat was even more so. After all, Guo Huo Zhenren was a renowned strongman at the late Stage of Fusion throughout the entire Feiyun Star, yet he had been killed. Since the Four-Eared Earth Rat and the Sky-Eye Ice Dragon were also at the late Stage of Fusion, they were in danger as well. Of course, they wouldn’t agree to an alliance with Guo Huo Zhenren right away.
Guo Huo Zhenren’s face immediately turned sorrowful as he recalled the battle in the skies above the Hidden Cloud Peak, then recounted how Qu Yi used the Heavenly Fire Rock Heart Thunder. However, he didn’t mention anything else about Qu Yi.
“Fire thunder? He actually has fire thunder powerful enough to kill someone at the late Stage of Fusion?” The Four-Eared Earth Rat was shocked and somewhat panicked.
The Sky-Eye Ice Dragon was moved and clearly felt wary as well.

Gouhuo Zhenren nodded and added, “But you don’t need to worry. There can’t be many such powerful fire-thunder bombs with that new leader of Yinyun Sect. He used one to kill Gouhuo Zhenren and two to kill the Golden Fur Tiger and the Yellow-Crowned Eagle. He surely can’t have any more of those powerful fire-thunder bombs.”

This was a lie from Gouhuo Zhenren. It was Qu Yi who had directly killed the Golden Fur Tiger and the Yellow-Crowned Eagle. He said this to ease the concerns of the two demon cultivators.

When the Four-Eared Earth Rat and the Sky-Eye Ice Dragon heard this, a glimmer appeared in their eyes, clearly feeling much more relaxed.

“Gouhuo, our Thousand Demons Forest cannot decide to ally with your Qianhuo Palace right now. I need to send people to investigate before making a decision,” the Four-Eared Earth Rat said suddenly, his eyes moving.

The Four-Eared Earth Rat was always vigilant and still felt that Gouhuo Zhenren was not trustworthy, so he wanted to go and scout on his own.

Gouhuo Zhenren sneered coldly and shouted, “Four-Ears, Sky-Eye, do you in Thousand Demons Forest still want to live in comfort? You’ve already seized a lot of land that used to belong to Yinyun Sect. Do you think Yinyun Sect will let you off? You’re both short-sighted. If you don’t join forces with us three sects now while Yinyun Sect isn’t yet stable to eradicate it, it will be even more impossible for you to deal with it later. Eventually, your Thousand Demons Forest will also be wiped out by Yinyun Sect.”

After hearing this, the Four-Eared Earth Rat and the Sky-Eye Ice Dragon trembled all over, cold sweat pouring down their backs.

“Fine. Our Thousand Demons Forest is willing to ally with your Qianhuo Palace and Biyun Tower. But let’s make it clear—all the magical treasures on that new leader’s person will belong to our Thousand Demons Forest,” the Four-Eared Earth Rat shouted.

Gouhuo Zhenren sneered. The Four-Eared Earth Rat was still concerned about such things, but he didn’t want to argue.

“All I can promise is that our Qianhuo Palace won’t compete with you for those magical treasures. I just want to kill that new leader and avenge Gouyun Zhenren,” Gouhuo Zhenren said calmly.

Next, Gouhuo Zhenren had to head to Biyun Tower as well to form an alliance with them. Naturally, he couldn’t promise this condition on behalf of Biyun Tower.

“Good. We agree to eradicate Yinyun Sect,” the Four-Eared Earth Rat immediately smiled.

Gouhuo Zhenren nodded and said, “Half a year from now, we’ll meet near Yinyun Peak, and then the three sects will attack Yinyun Sect together to completely destroy it.”

The Four-Eared Earth Rat and the Sky-Eye Ice Dragon nodded in agreement.

Immediately after, Gouhuo Zhenren flew away toward the west of Feiyun Continent, where Biyun Tower, one of the three major forces on Feiyun Continent, was located.

In the Spray Cloud Mountains, with tens of thousands of peaks, the cave openings at their summits continuously spewed out white clouds. These clouds gathered together, merging with other clouds to form even larger ones that floated in the air, carried by the wind across the entire Fly Cloud Star.

It had been two months since Qu Yi jumped down from the cave opening at the peak.

Inside the Dimensional Sphere, Qu Yi suddenly jumped up from his seated state, full of energy, laughing wildly and shouting, “Instrument God, I’ve finally reached the early stage of attaining unity! From now on, whoever dares to look down on me will be destroyed by me!”

Before his words could fade, Qu Yi’s spiritual essence felt as though it had been poked by the Instrument God, causing intense pain as he rolled around on the grass.

The Instrument God, lying on the soft chair nearby, said indolently, “Why the noise? I still want to sleep!”

Qu Yi managed to endure the pain and slowly stood up. “Instrument God, can’t you at least spare me some face? Please stop poking my spiritual essence, okay?”

The Instrument God closed his eyes and smiled lightly. “We’ll talk about that later. But since I just poked your spiritual essence and felt happy, I can tell you some good news as compensation.”

Qu Yi was overjoyed at these words and immediately asked, “Instrument God, hurry up and tell me—what’s the good news?”

The Instrument God chuckled. “At the bottom of this cave lies a path leading to the core of Fly Cloud Star. There’s a mineral there that will be extremely useful to you in the future.”

Qu Yi’s throat tightened with excitement. If even the Instrument God called it valuable, it must indeed be so. His face was filled with longing.