Fangxian Heretical Path

Chapter 179 Five Days to Success, Overcoming Five Tribulations

Inside the quiet room, a rich aura of spiritual energy and medicinal fragrance constantly enveloped Fang Shu, creating a misty, ethereal scene.

He sat on the altar, his body covered with fine threads, which were the divine threads transformed from the extension of his spiritual root.

Although this item suffers considerable losses when transmitting spiritual energy, and the efficiency of spiritual energy entering the body is still limited to the main spiritual root within the body, it still plays a significant role in controlling spiritual energy, distributing medicinal power, and being vigilant against various external factors.

This process of polishing took more than a day.

Fang Shu suddenly opened his eyes, looked inward into his mind, and saw a line of text on the Taoist talisman:
[Realm Level: Capable of Transcending Tribulation (94% complete)]

After taking tonics to stimulate his vital energy, his overall condition had clearly been adjusted to its optimal state.

"It's time to submit to the evil spirits and undergo tribulation."

Fang Shu's heart was set on it.

Without further hesitation, he slapped the altar where he sat down.

With a snap, a mechanism in the altar was activated, a jade box shattered, and the evil energy stored inside immediately hissed out, corroding the spirit stones and changing their color.

It seems that there are not many of them, only one strand.

Fang Shu looked at the object with a serious expression. Instead of recklessly consuming it, he used magic to restrain it and released his own Gu worms to test the purity of the evil energy.

This evil energy is called "Three Insects Evil Energy" or "Three Corpse Insect Evil Energy," and it is the evil energy condensed by the master of the temple.

According to the other party, the upper and lower limits of this evil energy are extremely high or extremely low. The most common one, like the one she refined, uses three kinds of Gu worms as materials, which are buried underground to cultivate the evil energy of the three worms. The highest level uses the three corpse worms in the human body as raw materials, which are connected with the earth's energy to refine evil energy.

Although both are of the same kind of malevolent energy, their effects are completely different after they are refined. For example, the former will harm the body, while the latter will nourish the body and prolong life.

Having tested the quality of the owner's malevolent aura, Fang Shu determined that it was merely ordinary and still somewhat inferior to Senior Sister Fang Lu's peach blossom malevolent aura.

He pondered for a moment, then snapped the trigger, releasing several more bursts of malevolent energy.

These several kinds of malevolent energy were purchased for him by the temple master from other immortals in the town, and their effects and properties are all different.

Among them is the Cold Iron Corrosion Fiend, which belongs to the metal element and exudes a rusty smell; there is the Forest Piercing Wind Fiend, whose strong wind is like a knife and quite sharp; there is the Thick Earth Sinking Fiend, which is as solid as a rock and as heavy as mercury...

Fang Shu released six kinds of evil energy in one breath, and stored three more strands of evil energy in the altar for later use.

After testing them one by one, he looked at the malevolent energy, took a deep breath, and then used his own true energy to melt and process the substance.

The moment the two came into contact, his true energy seemed to boil, gurgling and making a sound.

Even though the true qi he cultivated had a unique nature and excellent quality, it was still as fragile as paper compared to the evil qi, easily overwhelmed, eroded, and reduced to nothing.

But it doesn't matter, there aren't many of these malevolent energies; they're just used as "poison."

Fang Shu, on the other hand, could continuously absorb and exhale spiritual energy, converting it into true energy. He also took out Qi-Nourishing Pills from his sleeve and swallowed six in one go, frantically generating true energy.

In this way, under the entanglement of a massive amount of true energy, the six different kinds of evil energy were finally dispersed, becoming mixed and familiarized by Fang Shu's true energy.

This process took him eight or nine hours.

The next step is the most crucial one. He needs to use these six evil energies as a "sharpening stone" to temper his six internal organs, enhance their ability to ward off evil, and make it easier to condense his own evil energy in the future.

Once this step begins, it cannot be stopped. You either go all the way through in one go, or if you interrupt it, you must recuperate for at least three years before you can try again.

Even at the very end, Fang Shu's mind was still filled with distracting thoughts: "Are six kinds of evil energy too many, too mixed? Is a 94% success rate still too low...?"

But the next moment, he suppressed these distracting thoughts and focused entirely on the present moment.

He suddenly stood up, took off his upper robe, and exposed his chest and abdomen.

With a series of pats, he moved around the spirit stone altar, affixing talismans in the shape of the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams, and then released Yin-Yang Gu worms to roam the quiet room, harmonizing the Yin and Yang energies within.

In an instant, the narrow, quiet room was filled with a sinister aura, talismans flew about, and insects chirped, creating a rather mysterious atmosphere.

As Fang Shu performed the ritual steps, he had already taken out six willow-leaf-shaped silver knives. He multitasked with these six silver knives, making them fly like flowers in the air above the altar, aiming three at his own internal organs.

To transcend tribulation by ingesting poisonous substances, one must not ingest them with the mouth, as this could easily burn the throat. Furthermore, once the poison enters the body, its uneven distribution makes it difficult to fully refine.

According to Fang Shu, the best method was to open the six internal organs and directly infuse the evil energy and other medicines into the body. Specific methods included using silver needles to deliver the medicine, using silkworm silk to guide the medicine, and even using knives and chisels to cut open the six internal organs.

Fang Shu has now chosen the method of chiseling and splitting.

This method is swift and effective, unlike the gradual approach of using silver needles and silkworm silk. However, it comes at a significant cost: if not handled promptly, the malevolent energy and poison can overwhelm the body within moments, causing the person undergoing tribulation to die instantly. Especially if the technique is poorly controlled and a slight tremor results in injury to one's own internal organs, the situation becomes even more dire, drastically reducing the chances of successfully passing the tribulation.

Fortunately, Fang Shu did not have this worry. His manipulation technique was already perfected, and he could wield the six silver knives more steadily than if he held them with his own hands.

Without hesitation.

With a soft thud, six silver knives were thrust into his front and back with a clumsy yet fierce motion, squeaking and cracking as they were squeezed by his muscles.

Six silver knives were stuck in his body, but Fang Shu only frowned and then showed no further change in expression.

Instead, he wandered around the altar, displaying his immortal skills. His body moved like a snake, and his energy flowed like a python. He constantly mobilized his true energy, as if he had nothing on his body.

After drinking three full cups of tea, he began to chant the incantation:
"The Yin and Yang energies, the deadly poison entering the body, my heart turning to the Dao, my body as strong as steel... Refining!"

Whizzing!

The malevolent energy accumulated on the altar immediately swarmed towards him like snakes and insects at his shout, then moved up and down, attempting to burrow into his body.

Fang Shu pursed his lips and closed his eyes, sealing off all nine orifices of his body, like a stone man.

Therefore, the mixed evil energy could only flow into his internal organs through the silver knife.

Hiss!

As soon as the evil energy entered his body, Fang Shu's body trembled uncontrollably, and he felt a pain as if knives were being twisted inside him. However, he only glanced at the talisman and then ignored it.

Finally, he found that all six internal organs of his body were filled with a poisonous substance.

Bang! He slapped his chest, and the six silver knives stuck in his body flew out and slammed into the stone wall of the quiet room.

Fang Shu ran his hand across his abdomen and waist, and the wounds left by the silver knife turned into a red line. However, while the external wounds healed quickly, the internal injuries continued to accumulate.

Using malevolent energy directly to temper the body and overcome tribulation is indeed more potent than using poison.

Fang Shu felt as if he had become a furnace, his internal organs on the verge of going out of control and being corroded and melted into a pile of slag.

His heart pounded like a drum, his temples throbbed, and his mouth and nose were filled with the smells of rust, earth, and insect blood, making him want to let out a long howl to expel all the filth from his body.

However, he resisted all impulses and simply sat cross-legged, focusing on his breathing through his nose.

One inhale, one exhale.

Fang Shu silently circulated his true energy, absorbing all the spiritual energy around him. Only when he occasionally felt his body was depleted would he use magic to draw upon the surrounding tonics to nourish his body.

He sat there for thirty hours.

In the quiet room, his body was wrapped in translucent divine silk, as if he had formed a cocoon.

The enormous cocoon would even pulsate slightly, like a human heart...

Finally, there was a ripping sound.

Fang Shu, inside the cocoon, suddenly opened his eyes and exhaled.

Its aura was grayish-black, like a sharp blade, which directly cleaved open the cocoon and flew around the quiet room, cutting and shattering all the divine threads. Even the boxes, talismans and other miscellaneous items in the corners were smashed and pierced.

This breath of grayish-black energy was the malevolent energy that he had sealed within his body, refining and tormenting his internal organs.

The fact that he spat it out at this moment signifies that Fang Shu's six internal organs have been successfully tempered and no longer need to be refined by others.

After exhaling a breath of turbid air, Fang Shu's face relaxed.

He lowered his head slightly, examined himself, and a look of joy appeared in his eyes.

From this point on, he had entered the fifth tribulation, belonging to the same tribulation level of immortals as the town's innkeeper and others. His six internal organs greatly increased, enabling him to swallow gold and jade, chew iron and cleave stones, ward off evil poisons, and fear no destruction.

All he needs is to obtain a suitable method for condensing evil energy, and after harvesting and refining it, he will be able to transform his true energy into corresponding evil energy, taking another step closer to Foundation Establishment!
After a few breaths of contemplation, Fang Shu rose from the altar.

He gazed at the chaotic, storm-swept room, and began to speak:
"Today we will overcome five tribulations, and tomorrow we will face great calamities."

"I fear neither a hundred evils nor a hundred injuries; even inner disciples are no match for me."

He laughed loudly a few times, and suddenly, he broke through the barrier, opened the door, and emerged from his tribulation.

(End of this chapter)