Chapter 171: Condensing the Human Pill

As these words fell, the entire audience plunged into a dead silence, their divine senses instantly converging on the spot.

The Demon King burst into hearty laughter and said, "I never expected that during today's discourse on the Dao, someone would actually experience a breakthrough—and in the peerless, miraculous Six Paths Sword Decision, no less! This proves that our painstaking efforts were not in vain; it has yielded immediate and remarkable results. This young man is the very first fruit of peace between the human and demon races, and he should be fully supported as an exemplary figure. Do not worry, junior. If you were to leave this place now, it would inevitably disrupt your comprehension. Why not advance right here? I will provide you with boundless spiritual Qi."

With that, he formed hand seals and cast a spell. The earth trembled violently as a colossal mountain, a thousand zhang tall, was uprooted from the ground. It was smoothly shifted ten miles away and set down with a thunderous roar. The mountain remained entirely undamaged, as lush and verdant as before, while the birds and beasts upon it seemed completely oblivious, continuing their carefree and leisurely lives.

This grand divine ability of "moving mountains and filling seas" was executed with such profound subtlety that it fully demonstrated the Demon King's flawless mastery of Daoist techniques.

He Changqi’s pupils constricted. Knowing that a distinct gap still existed between himself and the Demon King, a jolt of alarm ran through his heart. He immediately said to the other three, "The Demon King wishes to pry into the advancement of our human cultivator; we must never let him succeed! I have heard that Han Li of the Formless Sect is a grandmaster of array formations. Why not have him set up an array to conceal the young man's breakthrough process? To cultivate the Six Paths Sword Decision to such a degree—such exceptionally high comprehension is truly rare! We cannot allow the Demon King to gain enlightenment from this!"

Meng Jian, the master of the Formless Sect, wore a fierce look in his eyes and said, "Indeed. The Demon King's strength has already reached the pinnacle. If he is allowed to gain insights from this, it will likely prove extremely detrimental to our human race. Han Li, prepare to set up the array immediately!"

A handsome, smiling young man with a powerful aura and the cultivation base of the late Deity Transformation stage stepped out respectfully from behind Meng Jian and said, "Yes, Master. This disciple will never let the demon race gain even the slightest advantage!"

Han Li thought to himself, *To think this brat has actually cultivated the Six Paths Sword Decision; no wonder his Daoist techniques are so miraculous and bizarre. Had I known earlier, I would have employed forbidden arts to seize him back then. The Heavenly Star Sect was utterly incapable of protecting him, and now that he has caught the attention of a Void Return-stage mighty figure, I can only look on and sigh in helplessness. I must harbor no other intentions; however, if I tamper slightly with the array while executing the prying technique, I might perhaps reap some minor insights.*

At that moment, the place where the gigantic peak had been moved away revealed a spiritual spring about a zhang wide. Pure spiritual Qi instantly gushed forth like a wild horse breaking free from its reins, transforming into a mist of spiritual energy that dissolved directly into the colorful auspicious clouds hovering above Ge Qian's head.

Infused by this spiritual mist, the colorful auspicious clouds expanded at a visible rate, swelling to a size of a thousand zhang in the blink of an eye.

The Demon King said with great delight, "This spiritual spring has been suppressed here for a thousand years to prevent it from neutralizing the demonic Qi of this place. I never imagined it would share a karmic bond with you. Today, I am opening this spring simply to bear witness to how glorious the fruit of mutual trust and shared destiny between the human and demon races truly is!"

He Changqi praised approvingly, "Daoist Brother Demon King speaks well. To think this young man could experience a sudden epiphany and breakthrough today! As a living bridge of friendship between the human and demon races, not the slightest mishap can be allowed to occur. We all know that a cultivator's advancement is most vulnerable to disturbance; therefore, our human race has specially deployed a grand concealment array to assist in his breakthrough!"

Having spoken, he exchanged a meaningful glance with Han Li. Han Li, who had long been prepared, flicked his broad sleeve. Thousands of array flags fluttered and flashed, reversing according to the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams formations, and landed in succession around Ge Qian. With a flash of spiritual light, a massive protective barrier enveloped Ge Qian entirely.

From the outside, nothing could be seen except for flowing radiance; the interior was completely empty, leaving not a single trace of Ge Qian's shadow.

The Demon King swept his divine sense outward, a look of astonishment appearing on his face. Despite his formidable divine sense, he was utterly incapable of perceiving any of the scenery within.

He thought to himself in secret, *He Changqi is truly willing to part with rare treasures. It is actually the Nine Palaces Mystery-Void Array! This array is an ancient and wondrous formation; simply the spirit stones consumed by it amount to tens of thousands of top-grade spirit stones.*

*The old immortal is actually scheming against me.* He turned to Liu Qian, who stood behind Li Qing, and said, "You are also a prodigy in array formations. Do you have a way to break this array?"

Liu Qian furrowed her brows, feigned reluctance, and said respectfully, "Reporting to the Demon King, this formation is the Nine Palaces Mystery-Void Array, and its concealment abilities are top-tier. The links are closely intertwined; with this junior's humble capabilities, I cannot break it. However, this junior can set up another array to enclose his formation entirely. In this way, just as we cannot see them, they will likewise never even dream of seeing us!"

The Demon King's expression first darkened slightly, then he gave a faint smile and said, "Good, haha, let us do just that! Since I cannot see, the human race shall not lay eyes on it either. Go and set up the array immediately!"

Liu Qian was inwardly overjoyed. Thanks to the medicinal pills transmitted to her by Ge Qian, coupled with Li Qing's wholehearted cultivation and the profound mysteries of the *Six Desires Captivating Heart Art*, she had now stepped into the ranks of the Core Formation stage, and her strength was considerably more formidable than that of other cultivators of the same realm.

Ge Qian's sudden epiphany and breakthrough this time had made her sweat for him. Now that matters had developed to this point, it was precisely the moment for her to showcase her skills. Not only would she be helping Ge Qian, but she would also win the trust of the Demon King—why wouldn't she do it?

At this thought, she reached out to retrieve sixty-nine array flags and tossed them into the air. They transformed into fierce gray eagles that soared on wide wings and assembled into an incantation symbol in mid-air. With a rapid spin, the symbol dissolved into specks of spiritual light and vanished into the upper reaches of the Nine Palaces Mystery-Void Array.

In an instant, the sky and the earth appeared completely vacant, and everything vanished from sight without a trace. Even a Void Return-stage cultivator, without destroying the array, would be unable to discern the scenery within.

The Demon King nodded in satisfaction toward Liu Qian and said, "Not bad. By incorporating the soul of a gray eagle and the spirit of heaven and earth into the array, the effect is indeed extraordinary! I have taken note of you, and I will nurture your potential well."

"Thank you for your generous favor, Demon King!" Liu Qian said respectfully.

He Changqi frowned slightly and asked, "Han Li, can you break this array?"

A brilliant light flashed in Han Li's eyes, and a look of helplessness appeared on his face as he replied, "The concealment power of this array is on par with my own. Furthermore, her formation has been modified and infused with an array soul. However, I can sense that my own array has not been broken; she has merely used her formation to cloak mine. This clearly shows that they cannot see the situation inside either."

Inwardly, however, he thought: *Where did this junior come from, possessing such an exceptionally high mastery of array formations? I must find an opportunity to eliminate him. Moreover, none of you know that a wisp of my split soul already entered the interior while the array was being set up. I must obtain the secrets of the Six Paths Sword Decision.*

Hearing this, He Changqi asked no further questions and could only let nature take its course.

At this moment, the Demon King proclaimed in a loud voice, "Let us continue our discourse on the Dao!"

The colorful spiritual auspicious clouds in the sky had expanded to the size of a hundred acres, forming a massive vortex shaped like a funnel that poured directly into Ge Qian's advancement site.

The situation inside was completely impervious to any external detection.

Qin Chuchu, leading her sect members alongside other cultivators from the State of Zhao, had long since retreated to the side. Po Zhan sneered inwardly, thinking: *Having caught the eye of the Demon King, brat, you are in for a bitter time.*

Ge Qian sat cross-legged as the colorful spiritual Qi poured in through the crown of his head. He drew the hundred-acre funnel of colorful auspicious clouds directly into the small tree within his Dantian. The tree's branches and leaves trembled gently, and another lush, verdant branch sprouted anew, upon which three black leaves fluttered in the wind. The two branches whipped outward abruptly.

An incomparably pure spiritual liquid of the seven emotions and six desires was shaken loose into the human- Dao vortex of Qi.

Ge Qian felt the human-Dao vortex expand and swell instantly, as if it were about to burst. Yet he did not panic; drawing upon his previous experience, he circulated his cultivation art. Within the human- elixir vortex of Qi, dense and endless threads emerged, intersecting horizontally and vertically, connecting and condensing until they slowly compressed into a primal core. Its volume shrank while its density increased, and the internal pressure surged drastically.

This was the pressure-spinning and elixir-tempering process of advancing to the Core Formation stage, wherein the gaseous vortex was refined into a tangible primal core.

Ge Qian drove his cultivation art to its absolute limit. The threads within the turbulent primal core slowly fused into a single entity, and an egg-sized primal core finally took shape and stabilized.