Chapter 83: The Binding of Furnace Sky

As the final roar faded away, Rod’s brows furrowed tightly. It was already the second time—this time, Rod had used two magic beast cores at once, yet Furnace Sky showed no signs of change. Aside from its energy becoming slightly purer, there was no visible progress at all! It had been ten months since he entered this forest, and another two months had passed since he reached the mid-stage of the Saint rank.

During these two months, Rod hadn’t idled away. On one hand, he adapted to the nearly three thousand times stronger gravity, and on the other hand, he continued hunting in this forest. His gains over these two months were considerable. Although the beasts he encountered were all at the late-stage Saint rank, with his current strength and Furnace Sky’s support, they posed little threat.

After reaching the mid-stage, Rod underwent a qualitative change. Every move he made was far more fierce than before! What worried him the most—his Dark Combat Qi—not only failed to cause trouble but also played a crucial role in battles. Truly the most powerful combat qi, its devouring and eroding nature allowed it to easily break through an enemy’s defenses, making battles much easier. Over these two months, Rod gradually lowered his guard and began to control and utilize this trait in combat. As he grew more proficient, his strength saw another small leap. Now, he was confident enough to defeat beasts at the peak of mid-stage or even those at the early stage of late-stage! He was quite satisfied with such strength. In just one year, he had achieved what others might take a lifetime to accomplish, making him feel that this void space was well worth his journey.

However, the flaw was Furnace Sky’s lack of progress. Last month, under the influence of the magic cores, Furnace Sky had reached the early-stage of the Saint rank. But since then, Rod was shocked to find that Furnace Sky had stalled at that level with no sign of further improvement. Initially thinking it was due to insufficient energy from the magic cores, he decided to go all out today by providing it with two cores for absorption. Yet, just like before, after absorbing the energy, Furnace Sky’s strength showed no improvement beyond a slight increase in overall purity.

Watching Fen Tian’s exhausted appearance, Rod furrowed his brows tightly—this situation was rather strange! Fen Tian, now at the Saint level, was no longer as illusory as before. Since reaching the Saint level, he had undergone tremendous changes, as if his true form had solidified, freeing him from his illusory state. His physical form gradually became more solid, and his originally deep red body began to fade slowly, shifting toward purple! By this point, its length had reached ten zhang—about as thick as an adult’s thigh—revealing the true form of a five-clawed golden dragon! Rod, who should have been happy, could not suppress his doubts and concerns under such circumstances.

“Damn it, could it be that it absorbed too much external energy and got trapped?” Frowning slightly and feeling a pang in his heart, Rod muttered to himself, his expression changing drastically the moment this thought crossed his mind. Rod knew that there were some extraordinary herbs in this world. Skilled alchemists could use these recipes and herbs to create special pills that, if consumed by warriors, could instantly boost their strength, allowing them to leap several levels and reach a much stronger state. However, everything has its balance. Strength gained through pills is unstable and cannot compete with those who have truly cultivated to that level. Worse still, such individuals may get trapped, remaining stuck at that level for life with no further progress. In extreme cases, they might revert to their original state after a certain period, losing all their achievements. Such things had indeed happened before.

Fen Tian’s situation forced Rod to consider this possibility. His speed of improving strength had indeed been terrifying—leaping from the early stage of the Imperial level to the middle and late stages in less than a year, then surpassing the three stages of the Quasi-Saint level to reach the early Saint level. Such speed was truly astonishing! And it was all achieved through the energy from the cores of magical beasts, which was no different from using pills. The more he thought about it, the more alarmed he became. His brows tightened, his breathing grew heavier, and his expression changed rapidly—alternating between green and red.

“Damn it! Impossible! Beast souls grow and evolve by absorbing pure energy! Their strength should be controllable within three levels above or below that of their master—there shouldn’t be any problems. There are no side effects at all! It’s impossible!” Thinking about the ways beast souls grow, Rod immediately dismissed the terrifying speculation that had plunged him into despair and muttered to himself in urgency.

Indeed, as a special existence between heaven and earth, beast souls evolve through energy. With enough energy, they can grow to a level comparable to that of warriors, free from the so-called laws of heaven and earth or any side effects. As long as the beast soul’s level doesn’t exceed three stages above its master—which was the limit Rod could currently handle, the early stage of quasi-divine level—then no problems should arise. Yet the reality before him left Rod deeply troubled.

He had been lurking in this area for nearly half a year, and the preparations were almost complete. An attack or ambush on the Black Dragon could be launched at any time. All that was needed was the final step—Fentian’s growth. Such a problem at this critical moment really gave Rod a headache!

“Damn you!” With a fierce curse, Rod buried his hands in his hair, his face twisted in anguish.

Looking at the weak Fentian, he took a deep breath, drew it back into his body, and placed it in his dantian to rest and recover, using his own combat energy to nourish it. After all, his combat energy was the best nourishment for it.

Since the cyclone formed, the extra hole in its center had become Fentian’s resting place. This place was strange—once Fentian entered, both black and red combat energies could be utilized by it. Perhaps due to the cyclone, Fentian was also undergoing tremendous changes unbeknownst to Rod. Its attributes were shifting from the most primitive and pure fire attribute to a combination of fire and darkness. Rod was clearly aware of this, but he had no way to stop it.

“Alright, kid, stop worrying. This is normal. That little guy has grown so rapidly lately that it’s almost made heaven jealous. Do you really think growing such ancient artifacts is that simple? If it were, there would be countless strong beings in the world, not just rare ones like him.” Just as Rod was overwhelmed with distress, Xuanyuan’s words rang in his mind like a bomb, instantly clearing his confusion.

“Do you know what’s going on?” Rod hurriedly asked upon hearing the words of the Xuanyuan Sword Spirit.
“Hmph, could such a trivial matter stump me? You kid, never mind. That little guy’s cultivation is on par with yours. He’s now hit a bottleneck. It’s true that an animal soul grows by relying on the energy between heaven and earth, but don’t forget—its existence depends on its master’s survival. Once the master perishes, no matter how powerful the animal soul is, it will be destroyed as well. You are its physical form, so its growth mainly depends on the energy you provide. It’s already miraculous that it reached this stage solely through external sources. It’s fortunate that this strange place provides such rich energy for it to absorb. You should be smiling secretly—don’t be insatiable!
If you still want it to improve further, it mainly depends on your energy. On the other hand, the growth of an animal soul is closely tied to the strength of its soul. This is one of the reasons why powerful animal souls are so highly sought after! Weak animal souls are limited by the strength of their souls; once they reach a certain stage, they can no longer grow. So, the soul itself is also crucial.”
“The soul? A dragon is a divine-level beast, and with the Dragon Soul integrated into it, it should be comparable to any magical beast! How is that possible…?” Frowning, Rod was filled with confusion after hearing Xuanyuan’s words.
“That’s true, but do you think every animal soul can reach its peak from the start? Ridiculous! The growth of magical beasts also happens step by step. Could there really be a magical beast that’s already at the divine level at birth? That would truly mean the world is changing! Didn’t that powerful magical beast go through countless hardships and millions of years of trials to grow? The same goes for animal souls. It’s already a stroke of luck that this little guy has grown to this extent in such a short time by following you. Don’t be too demanding, or it won’t yield any benefits. If you want it to keep growing, just wait patiently for its soul to grow stronger, and then provide it with your energy to nurture it. As long as its soul breaks through its current level, growth is only a matter of time!”
“Is that so? I see!” Xuanyuan’s words suddenly enlightened Rod. Once the mystery was resolved, everything became clear, and his worries dissipated.
“Hey, it seems the plan needs to change again. But we can’t give up!” Since Fen Tian’s growth had deviated from his original plan, the plan to ambush the Black Dragon naturally had to be adjusted. Otherwise, continuing as before would surely lead to failure.

“Well, that thing can’t be given up; it might bring you quite a few benefits. The Black Flame Armor is surely no ordinary item—otherwise, that guy wouldn’t care so much about it. If I hadn’t concealed your aura during this time, he would have come after you long ago! Be careful!” Xuan Yuan also spoke thoughtfully in response to Rod’s words.
These words shocked Rod. He hadn’t expected so many things to happen during this seemingly peaceful time. What would have happened without Xuan Yuan’s help? And what would happen if his aura were exposed? Rod knew very well.
“Bastard, since you refuse to let me go, let’s see who will laugh last!” A cold glint flashed in his eyes as Rod muttered to himself, staring at the direction where the black dragon was, his fists clenched tightly. He was ready for a final struggle.