Chapter Ten: One Year

Half a year has passed since Fire Lord entered the cultivation space. During this time, among the disciples of Tongzhou Hall on Peak Juehuo, there has been a topic that has been hotly discussed.

“That Fire Lord is really that strong? A One-Star Human Soul Immortal who dared to stab the peak master with a sword at the Initial Enlightenment Pavilion, yet the peak master is an Upper-Rank Soul Immortal!”

“Good heavens! That Fire Lord actually dared to call the peak master fat—how bold! What’s even stranger is that the peak master didn’t punish him at all.”

“Idiot, I heard the peak master went to the Initial Enlightenment Pavilion on his own and even opposed Peak Master Lenggu, just to snatch Fire Lord away. It’s clear the peak master values Fire Lord greatly.”

“I heard from Senior Songtao that the peak master copied all the formation patterns of our Peak Juehuo and gave them to Fire Lord the very next day. Could it be that Fire Lord has such great talent to deserve such attention?”

“What’s even more astonishing is that Fire Lord went into the cultivation space. As a newcomer without any mission points, it must mean he has plenty of Origin Stones. His background is even more mysterious.”

“The cultivation space—most of our disciples on Peak Juehuo haven’t been there in a hundred years. Fire Lord went there just two days after arriving on the peak. He’s truly unmatched.”

“According to news from Peak Duohuo, Senior Xiaoqiang personally took Fire Lord to the cultivation space cave on the main peak and also knew that Fire Lord would cultivate there for a year.”

……

The rumors about Fire Lord among the disciples of Peak Juehuo have never faded. No one has ever seen Fire Lord, yet these rumors strongly attract all the disciples, who wish they could rush to the main peak, break into the cultivation space, and take Fire Lord out to take a good look.

Meanwhile, Peak Juehuo’s master, Zhen Nantian, has been unable to focus on cultivation.

“That Fire Lord has actually caught the attention of entire Tongzhou Hall. What an act!”

“Sigh, my reputation is now so tarnished that no amount of cleaning can restore it. As a single Soul Immortal, I was called fat by a Human Soul Immortal, received no punishment, and was laughed at by the other seventeen peak masters.”

“Am I crazy? How could Fire Lord, just a Human Soul Immortal, learn all the formation patterns of Peak Juehuo in just a year? What was wrong with me back then? I believed him and foolishly copied the formation patterns and gave them to him.”

“That Fire Lord must be incredibly wealthy. I thought he just wanted to experience the cultivation space for a couple of days. I never imagined he would actually stay there for a year.”

Zhen Nan Tian also couldn’t focus on cultivation because of Fire Venerable. Of course, it wasn’t just the disciples of Juehuo Peak who discussed Fire Venerable; the entire Tongzhou Hall had spread word of his deeds widely. This not only caught the attention of the eighteen peak masters but also attracted Yun Zhouzi, the hall master.
※※※
In the cultivation space now, Qu Yi’s five avatars—Gold Venerable, Wood Venerable, Water Venerable, Fire Venerable, and Earth Venerable—were constantly cultivating in the Origin Pools. However, the five venerables had already gone to other Origin Pools.
Gold Venerable spent four months in the Origin Pool of Firmness Energy, fully comprehending it, before moving on to the Origin Pool of Severity Energy, where he remained ever since.
Wood Venerable spent three and a half months in the Origin Pool of Stretching Energy, fully mastering it, then went to the Origin Pool of Growth Energy, where he is still.
Water Venerable spent three months in the Origin Pool of Nourishing Energy, quickly mastering it, before heading to the Origin Pool of Cold Energy, where he remains.
Earth Venerable took four months in the Origin Pool of Carrying Energy to fully understand it, then entered the Origin Pool of Nurturing Energy, where he is still.
Among the five venerables, Fire Venerable had comprehended the most Origin Energies. With the help of the Enlightenment Stele, he spent just two months in the Origin Pool of Warmth Energy to fully master it, then went to the Origin Pool of Soaring Energy, where he mastered it in just three months.
Now, Fire Venerable had been cultivating in the Origin Pool of Ascension Energy for a month. At this moment, Qu Yi’s true self emerged from the Cunjie Ball. With a faint smile, he glanced around the cultivation space before calling out, “Fire Venerable, half a year has passed. You have already mastered Warmth Energy and Soaring Energy, meaning you have comprehended three types of Origin Energies—thus becoming a Three-Star Human Soul Immortal. Now, give the Divine Formula Card to Gold Venerable so he can use the Enlightenment Stele to cultivate for three months.”
Fire Venerable and Gold Venerable both stopped cultivating and opened their eyes.
“I understand, my true self,” said Fire Venerable with a faint smile, immediately tossing the Divine Formula Card to Gold Venerable.
It turned out that Qu Yi was worried Fire Venerable would cultivate too quickly using the Divine Formula Card. In just half a year in the cultivation space, he had already mastered two new Origin Energies. If he mastered two more in the next half year, he would have four new Origin Energies and five types of Fire Energy Origin Energies—such a rapid pace of cultivation would surely draw the attention of the strong ones in Tongzhou Hall.
A Human Soul Immortal disciple of Tongzhou Hall could only master one new Origin Energy in a year.

If Fire Lord could comprehend four new primal forces in just one year, it would not only draw the attention of the strong ones in Tongzhou Hall but likely all the powerful beings in the Immortal Realm as well.
Qu Yi didn’t want to attract the attention of the entire Immortal Realm when his own strength wasn’t enough to protect himself, as that would lead to being hunted by everyone in the realm.
So, Qu Yi wanted Fire Lord to put down the Enlightenment Stele and use his own abilities to comprehend the Power of Ascension.
Gold Lord took the Divine Formula card and smiled, “Three months—perfect. I can comprehend the Power of Purity by then.”
Qu Yi’s true self nodded, then disappeared immediately, returning to the Tiny Realm Sphere.
The cultivation space returned to calm, with Qu Yi’s five avatars continuing to comprehend primal forces in their respective primal pools.
……
Another three months passed in the cultivation space.
Gold Lord had now fully comprehended the Power of Purity and entered the primal pool of the Power of Pressure.
As agreed, Gold Lord handed the “Five Energies and Three Flowers” Divine Formula card to Water Lord, then used his own abilities to comprehend the Power of Pressure.
During these three months, Water Lord had already comprehended the Power of Cold through his own efforts and entered the primal pool of the Power of Coolness. Now, he relied on the Enlightenment Stele to further understand the Power of Coolness.
※※※
It was almost a year since Fire Lord entered the cultivation space.
At this time, eight people arrived at the main peak of Tongzhou Hall: Zhen Nantian, Xiao Qiang, Leng Gu, and five other peak leaders.
This group quickly entered the cave in the cultivation space and focused their gaze on the rectangular object inside, waiting for Fire Lord to emerge.
The rumors about Fire Lord had become extremely popular within Tongzhou Hall. Instead of fading over the past year, they had only increased everyone’s curiosity. Thus, those who had had contact with Fire Lord couldn’t resist and rushed to the cave right away, hoping to meet Fire Lord first and observe his changes.
The eight of them waited quietly in the cave.
Meanwhile, in the cultivation space, Qu Yi’s five avatars continued to comprehend primal forces, seemingly unaware of the passage of time and thus unaware that their cultivation period was coming to an end.
At that moment, Qu Yi’s true self emerged from the Tiny Realm Sphere.
“Gold Lord, Wood Lord, Water Lord, Fire Lord, Earth Lord—almost a year is up. Stop cultivating all,” Qu Yi said with a smile.
Soon, the five lords opened their eyes and stepped out of their primal pools, each wearing a smile.
Over the past year, the five lords had each comprehended several primal forces.
Gold Lord: Power of Strength, Power of Purity, Power of Pressure;
Wood Lord: Power of Stretching, Power of Life;
Water Lord: Power of Nourishment, Power of Cold, Power of Coolness.

The Fire Lord embodies the powers of warmth, ascent, and elevation; the Earth Lord embodies the powers of support and nurturing. The Gold Lord, Wood Lord, Water Lord, Fire Lord, and Earth Lord, along with their respective original powers of sharpness, flexibility, moisture, heat, and bearing, thus possess four, three, four, four, and three primal powers each. Currently, the Gold Lord, Water Lord, and Fire Lord are Four-Star Human Soul Immortals, while the Wood Lord and Earth Lord are Three-Star Human Soul Immortals. “Our Lord!” The five lords said in unison with smiles after emerging from the Primal Pool. The true form of Qu Yi nodded and smiled, saying, “You all have made great progress in your cultivation. It’s a pity that we only have one year left; we can’t continue cultivating in this space indefinitely. In the future, we’ll find a way to obtain another cultivation space to help you quickly master all these primal powers.” This cultivation space in Tongzhou Hall is still too small. Through the life core of the Soul-Connecting Flower, Qu Yi had searched through the memories of Zong Xi, Feng Qu, Yan Xuan, and Qiu Rui and learned that there are some powerful sects in the Immortal Realm whose cultivation spaces can accommodate tens of thousands of people at once. Additionally, cultivation spaces are also sold in the major trade alliances of the Immortal Realm, though at extremely high prices. In the past, Tongzhou Hall almost exhausted all its resources to obtain this low-grade cultivation space. Yet Qu Yi wasn’t worried at all, as his true form could absorb spiritual energy and convert it into primal energy, which could then be infused into ores to create Primal Stones. Thus, he had no concerns about the source of Primal Stones. Therefore, after seeing the advantages of this cultivation space, he conceived the idea of purchasing one. “Good, our Lord,” the five lords replied happily. The true form of Qu Yi nodded again, then turned to the Fire Lord and said with a smile, “Over this year, the God of Tools has taught me all the formations of Juehuo Peak and also shared some formations that can greatly improve the efficiency of artifact refinement there. I’ll pass them all to you.” As soon as he finished speaking, the entire body of the Fire Lord flew into the true form of Qu Yi, and the two merged into one body again. Qu Yi had six bodies with a single soul. Although their souls were connected, transferring the contents of their souls required them to merge first so that their souls could blend together. Soon, the Fire Lord left the true form of Qu Yi’s body and reappeared. “Thank you, our Lord!” the Fire Lord said with a faint smile. Qu Yi nodded and then said with a smile, “Well, it’s time for cultivation. Let’s enter the Inch Realm Sphere.” In an instant, the true form of Qu Yi, the Gold Lord, Wood Lord, Water Lord, and Earth Lord all disappeared and entered the Inch Realm Sphere together. Then, the Inch Realm Sphere entered the Fire Lord’s soul space.

Suddenly, Fire Lord’s body also disappeared. Inside the cave, a rectangular shape suddenly emitted a burst of white light, and then Fire Lord’s figure reappeared.
“Fire Lord, you’ve finally come out,” Zhen Nantian said, raising his fists as if ready to strike.