Chapter 107: Refining the Azure Water Frost Pearl
Chapter 107: Refining the Jade-Cold Pearl
Chapter 12: The Spirit Mountain’s Transmission of the Profound Method — Soaring Ten Thousand Miles on Clouds Alone (Part Seventeen)
As Ye Hua slowly opened the book, he was startled—this book shimmered with a white light, yet it contained not a single word. "How strange! What kind of oddity is this?" he murmured, feeling a sudden lightness in his heart, as if he had no real desire to know its contents. Then he thought further: "Either this book was sealed by some restriction later on, or it was always meant to be wordless. It only appears blank, but what could that possibly mean?"
He returned the book to its place, and as the scenery shifted, the thirteenth layer restored itself to its original state, revealing dozens of neatly arranged bookshelves. Ye Hua’s expression grew serious. This trip to find a solution had indeed yielded some results; he now had several methods to refine and dispel the Jade-Cold Pearl, though their effectiveness remained uncertain. He would have to test them one by one within the Hundred Thousand Mustard Seed Sumeru Heaven.
As for the Nine Cauldrons of Huaxia, such a mysterious relic offered no clues at all. It was wise not to indulge too much curiosity in such secret matters to avoid unnecessary calamities.
After standing for a while, Ye Hua slowly left the thirteenth layer and returned to the eighth layer. There, he saw that the restriction on the Hundred Thousand Mustard Seed Sumeru Heaven had been lifted.
A dozen or so people were emerging, some men, some women, some old, some young—all clad in soft, azure armor. On their chests was an ancient pattern resembling several fish swirling and spreading outward in elegant and harmonious formation, exuding an indescribable depth and beauty.
Ye Hua’s heart tightened. “The Six Divisions of Beixi!” he thought.
From among them, a middle-aged man sighed, “The three divisions have been summoned. It seems the war is imminent.”
“Feng, didn’t we hear that the Holy Emperor has already dispatched Commander Cai to the front? Surely that should be enough to face the enemy?” a woman asked the middle-aged man.
“Heh heh, Sister Luo, Commander Cai and our Lord Yuan have always been at odds. There’s no way he would send his elite troops. It’s all for appearances! Among the thirteen provinces of Shenzhou, which military leader wouldn’t want to preserve their strength for ambitions of domination?” an elder chuckled dryly.
Ye Hua’s mind sharpened. “Could it be that the Battle of Cold City is about to erupt?”
---
At this thought, his heart churned restlessly. “What to do now? Sister Ling… Sister Ling must be careful... But with Master, Senior Brother, and dozens of senior uncles from the Grand Spirit Vulture Temple nearby, there should be no danger.” This gave him some comfort.
He watched as the dozen or so people passed through the restriction and slowly descended. “But this time, if we go, the odds are grim.”
“Alas! War has always been perilous since ancient times. What use is worrying now?” The bustling voices faded into the distance.
Once their figures vanished, Ye Hua’s gaze flickered toward the Hundred Thousand Mustard Seed Sumeru Heaven ahead, where stars twinkled intermittently.
Among the cultivators who had emerged, some appeared grave, some muttered curses under their breath, and some showed faint panic. Despite their differing expressions, none lingered on the eighth layer. Their forms flickered and soon disappeared in haste, numbering over a hundred in mere moments.
Seeing this, Ye Hua was certain: if not for the outbreak of war, there would be no such commotion in the Hundred Thousand Mustard Seed Sumeru Heaven, where cultivators typically remain focused on their cultivation for days without a single movement.
Yet now, he felt uncertain: “Given the capital’s situation, surely large forces must be heading toward Cold City soon. It wouldn’t be wrong for me to follow, but I promised the two Dao Ancestors to quickly master this Heavenly Discourse method and achieve some progress first. Going to Cold City now would cause too much delay.”
“It’s better to first refine the Jade-Cold Pearl within. Breaking through this bottleneck in the Heavenly Discourse cultivation will smooth the path ahead. Even while traveling, I can continue to cultivate. Right now, I must calm my mind and refine this Jade-Cold Pearl, a process fraught with danger that allows no disturbance!”
With his thoughts settled, he waved his hand, summoning a distant star that swiftly flew to him. Ye Hua leapt aboard and entered the space within.
---
Inside, Ye Hua searched for a mountain peak and sat quietly, regulating his breath and internal energy until his vitality was restored. Then, he carefully reviewed the various methods for refining the Jade-Cold Pearl he had gleaned from the thirteenth layer. The most straightforward was to use the power of divine consciousness to force the pearl out of the body. There were over a dozen variations of this method, so he decided to try them one by one.
When his mind cleared, he traveled spiritually outside himself and saw before him a vast ocean—the sea of consciousness he had glimpsed yesterday.
In the center floated a jade-green glowing orb, completely motionless. Ye Hua formed hand seals and waved his finger; ripples appeared on the water’s surface as a whirlpool formed, spinning rapidly with a roaring sound. Gathering momentum, it slowly moved toward the glowing orb. Around it, whirlpools connected one after another, gradually drifting toward the jade-green light.
Suddenly, the orb flashed a jade hue, and dozens of green beams shot out like arrows. The whirlpools emitted a pure light, forming a thin white veil that deflected each green beam.
The whirlpools beneath grew even more powerful, some merging together to form a massive force that surged rapidly toward the jade orb. Ye Hua, hovering above, felt a surge of joy. “I didn’t expect these secret methods to be dozens of times more powerful than my simple use of divine consciousness!”
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Yet, just as he thought this, the jade orb seemed to possess a spirit of its own. After easily deflecting the attack, its green radiance intensified, and a circle of verdant light spread across the water’s surface. The once turbulent waves fell utterly silent.
The dozens of whirlpools suddenly froze, as if frozen in place, then abruptly stopped. Moments later, they quietly dissolved, and the sea returned to its original calm.
Ye Hua’s heart jolted. “What... what is this?”
He let out a bitter smile. “As expected, this Jade-Cold Pearl is extraordinary! Another method must be used.”
Refocusing his cultivation, several droplets rose from the water and merged into an ice dragon. However, the jade pearl again emitted beams of green light, shattering the ice dragon.
Ye Hua shook his head and tried several more methods—transforming the water surface into a giant turtle, conjuring dozens of watery ribbons, summoning cold light and swirling snowflakes—all failed to penetrate the jade pearl by even an inch. When countless water blades dispersed in the final attempt, Ye Hua sighed deeply.
“It seems all these dispelling methods are utterly ineffective. I must refine it slowly instead. There is only one fundamental method: using the fire of my own refined consciousness to gradually melt the Jade-Cold Pearl. But this method is also time-consuming beyond measure.”
Settling his mind, Ye Hua opened his mouth and released a grayish light, which split into dozens of gray flames and surged toward the jade pearl.
The pearl spun swiftly, whipping out a green whip that struck the flames. Ye Hua’s face paled as he staggered back; the gray flames dissolved silently in midair.
Staring at the jade pearl, Ye Hua felt a profound helplessness. None of these dozen secret techniques worked against it. Neither dispelling nor refining was possible! Could it be that the fusion method spoken of by King Ma Sen was the only way?
He had also seen this technique in one of the secret manuals he observed earlier, which detailed its advantages and dangers.
If the method itself were merely dangerous, that would be one thing. But more critically, if the divine consciousness artifact fused into one, his sea of consciousness would begin to take on physical properties. In the future, upon breaking through to the Jade Blossom Realm of the Three True Sutras, he would need the five seas within his body to harmonize and become one. Currently, his sea of consciousness was in such a state, and this fusion might pose significant obstacles to future breakthroughs.
The secret manual concluded with a warning: “This technique is a whimsical creation of its inventor, never personally practiced. Its power is great but fraught with dangers and hardships. Practitioners must proceed with utmost caution…”
Ye Hua sighed quietly, knowing the path ahead would be fraught with trials.