Chapter 1040: Eighth-level Nirvana

Feiyun gazed at the cliff with the runes again and said: "Could Her Excellency really be buried here?"

He was overwhelmed with emotions and wanted to pay respect to an idol.

"Don't go, that is the blood of a saint. Just the slightest contact will meld you." The turtle warned.

"If I can get a single drop of blood, maybe I can reach the eighth level." He gazed at the fiery river of blood. Anything that fell down would be burned down to nothingness.

Though the turtle talked about horrifying the blood was, it still started scheming due to the blood's preciousness. Its eyes darted back and forth with desire.

The blood was well-preserved due to the heavenwood. If it was placed anywhere else, it would have dried up long ago.

"Oh right, I can use the Trinity Flame Cauldron." He summoned the cauldron and activated eighteen formations.

It fell into the river and tried to collect the blood. Keep in mind that even one drop weighed more than a million pounds.

He wasn't greedy and only got a bit due to the heavy weight. If he had let it go down to the bottom, he wouldn't have been able to pull it back up.

Just the tiny bit required all of his strength already. The turtle saw Feiyun's success and didn't want to fall behind.

It took off its shell and hesitated for a long period before taking action. "Fuck it, so what if I don't have a shell later."

Nonetheless, its shell managed to withstand the heat so it got a total of three drops.

The blood still had an unbearable heat after leaving the river. Feng Feiyun and the turtle didn't dare to get close.

They commanded the cauldron and the shell to a place with the heavenwood spring.

"Splash!" The three drops of blood in the shell started condensing into three rubies due to the cold water.

However, the blood in the cauldron didn't follow the same pattern.

The turtle put the shell back on and laughed: "Haha, the flames in the cauldron won't die to the water alone, the same with the phoenix blood. You planned incorrectly this time, Feng Feiyun."

Feiyun smiled and said: "I didn't want them to freeze anyway, only for them to cool off a bit so that I can perform the eighth rebirth."

"Don't tell me you're entering the cauldron." The turtle was astounded.

"I've used this flame to refine myself during the rebirth, it won't kill me. The real challenge is the phoenix blood." Feiyun said before jumping into the cauldron.

"You're insane! This cauldron's flame is not the same as the one you used before, it even created Tyrant. Hmm, maybe not, that time included the primal flames of heaven and earth, this is just the trinity flame alone, it should be fine. Still awfully insane though." The turtle said before realizing something.

It put away the new essences and headed for the river of blood again. It naturally wanted more drops since it was perfect for improving one's cultivation. Even the top lords coveted them.

Ordinary people naturally wouldn't want to mess with the cauldron or the phoenix blood. Even paragons would be reduced to ashes.

However, Feiyun had saint ashes within him on top of a saint phoenix bone. It meant that he had a perfect harmonization with the phoenix kind. The blood shouldn't overly reject him.

Inside the cauldron was a puddle of blood, a few dozen drops or so. Feiyun's fifty bones lit up and hymns could be heard.

The blood's monstrous power completely annihilated his body in the blink of an eye.

"Buzz. Buzz." Not just his phoenix energy was being improved, even the Buddhist and saint energy within him were being refined.

The golden Buddhist light became increasingly radiant. They then turned into golden silkworms that look like mystical runes.

His saint energy was of a pitiful amount. At first, there were only nine strands. They came together to form a single one. The saint energy in the phoenix bone and blood began to condense within him as well.

Each of them resembled a divine dragon with immense energy. Though they were individually feeble, they eventually came together to form an orb the size of a rice grain inside his dantian.

Using saint energy to form an inner core was unheard of. Even saints during their youth couldn't do the same thing.

Only demons and beasts had something similar - demonic source and spirit core. Humans focused on the dantian. Only the saints would have something resembling a baby in their dantian. This was different from the inner core.

Now, Feiyun was using sacred energy to create one. His body has been reduced to blood and bits. If it wasn't for his special constitution, his soul would have been destroyed as well.

Nonetheless, he didn't give up and continued to absorb and refine the phoenix blood.

"Rumble!" Meanwhile, the cauldron seemed to be refining and creating a devilish genius instead of pills.

After half a month, its flame increasingly intensified and resembled a volcano. Phoenix screeches and Buddhist hymns could be heard from within.

"Boom!" Eventually, a ball of fire shot out from the cauldron. It had a humanoid shape with Buddhist runes everywhere.

Flames then entered his body and disappeared. Feiyun appeared once more with his dragon-phoenix armor equipped.

Fire flowed on his white and immaculate skin that would be all women's envy. His eyes became more charismatic and enchanting, possessing both a demonic and a Buddhist affinity.

He posed with his palms behind his back, looking like a phoenix strong enough to frighten Hell Yama.

"I've fully absorbed the phoenix bone and have sixty-three right now." He spread his palms and channeled his energy. All the bones were connected in a full rotation.

The original estimate for sixty-three bones required the first level of Heaven's Emergence. Now, he has done it at the eighth level of Nirvana!

Many saints only reached the seventh or eighth level during their youth. This was considered difficult for the elites from the dragon and phoenix race, let alone a half-demon.

"He... he actually did it..." The turtle watched from a distance, thinking that the seventh was Feiyun's limit.

He could kill a paragon with a single palm at the seventh level. Now, how strong would he be?

"I've thought of a way to reach Heaven's Emergence but there is no need to rush right now. I want the ninth level first." Feiyun said.

"Impossible, half-demons can't become paragons, definitely not reach the ninth level either." The turtle said.

Feiyun calmly responded: "I've created an inner core very similar to a demonic source or a spirit core. It is made from saint energy."

"Saint energy? A saint-level demonic source?" The turtle nearly fainted from fear after hearing this. It had vast knowledge but has never heard of something like this before.

"The inner core has energy from the saints' ashes, phoenix bone, and phoenix blood. It is not pure enough to be considered a demonic source." Feiyun shook his head.

"Obviously, pure saint energy is violent and mighty, it can't be stabilized enough for you to create an inner core. Is your core unstable right now?" The turtle said before thinking about something else: "Wait, a method for Heaven's Emergence? Don't tell me you want to do it the demonic way."

"If I can't open the lower dantian, then there is no need to do so. I don't even need a dantian, I will fuse the inner core together with the dantian for a new method of cultivation. This is the only way to break the curse but for now, ninth-level Nirvana is still the target." He revealed.