Chapter 285 – Refining Sha Into the Body: Profound Yellow Qi

Profound Yellow refers to the intermingling of heaven and earth, with heaven being profound and earth being yellow.

Profound Yellow denotes heaven and earth, encompassing a broad scope.

The so-called Profound Yellow Sha is not truly named Profound Yellow—rather, any Heavenly Gang Qi or Earth Sha Qi that can combine to form ‘Profound Yellow Qi’ can be referred to as Profound Yellow Sha.

“All things blend into one wave, profound and yellow, vast and formless… Profound Yellow exists beyond heaven and earth and can also be called chaos, while Profound Yellow Qi can also sublimate and transform into chaos qi.”

As is widely known, the world was born from chaos, and thus Profound Yellow Qi can be called the mother qi of all things, capable of evolving into everything.

—Because of this characteristic, conversely, many Earth Sha Qi and Heavenly Gang Qi can trace their origins and transform into Profound Yellow Qi. Therefore, there are quite a few Gang and Sha Qi referred to as Profound Yellow Sha.

For example, Dragon Vein Sha, Mountain River Sha, Five Virtues Earth Sha… are all Earth Yellow Sha.

Clear Spirit Gang Qi, Jade Purity Gang Qi, Calamity Thunder Gang Qi… can all be called Heaven Profound Gang.

When the two combine, achieving Gang Sha Unity, that is the true Profound Yellow Sha, or rather, Profound Yellow Qi.

…

While recalling the information about Profound Yellow Sha that Yan Yunyu had taught him in bed, Mu Lin simultaneously discerned which type of Earth Yellow Sha the baleful qi beneath his feet belonged to.

After a short while, Mu Lin remembered the name of this baleful qi—Central Wuji Sha.

He also recalled its characteristics.

“According to Yun Yu, this is a Heavenly Grade Earth Sha. Its greatest function is that it can blend with Heaven Profound Gang to condense Profound Yellow Qi.”

“Aside from that, its function is the common earth attribute Earth Sha ability of Earth’s Protection—meaning that while standing on the earth, one can continuously recover spiritual energy and stamina, and the power of earth attribute spells is doubled.”

The Earth’s Protection characteristic was actually somewhat redundant for Mu Lin, as he hardly had any earth attribute spells to use.

Fortunately, as a Heavenly Grade Earth Sha, Central Wuji Sha not only had common characteristics but also a unique supernatural trait of its own.

Its characteristic is named—Unchanging and Immutable.

‘To rectify the four directions, first stabilize the center.’ As a wedge anchoring the four directions, Central Wuji Sha can remain unchanged in nature for thousands upon thousands of years.

“This attribute, akin to ‘eternity,’ is likely why the Grave Lord used it to construct the path of inheritance.”

After this reflection, Mu Lin hesitated little before absorbing the Central Wuji Sha, refining it into his mana.

Heavenly Grade baleful qi is inherently rare to find, let alone Central Wuji Sha, which is an excellent choice among baleful qi.

Being able to cultivate Profound Yellow Qi goes without saying. Beyond that, just one point made Mu Lin unwilling to give it up—it could make his mana more enduring.

With the same breath, ordinary Taiyin Life-Nurturing Qi from Mu Lin could animate a paper figure for the time it takes an incense stick to burn.

But after refining Central Wuji Sha, Mu Lin’s mana would gain the Unchanging and Immutable characteristic.

Although this characteristic is faint and cannot achieve true immutability, it could still allow Mu Lin’s mana to last two to three times longer.

Additionally, Unchanging and Immutable could also multiply the resistance of Mu Lin’s mana.

Those anomalies and corruptions would find it no longer easy to taint Mu Lin—this can also be seen from the Yellow Mud Road.

The Evil God’s resentment is so bizarre and terrifying, yet this Yellow Mud Road has persisted within the Grave Lord’s Tomb for thousands upon thousands of years. After refining it and obtaining the characteristics of the Central Wuji Sha, if others attempt to corrupt Mu Lin, the Central Wuji Sha will also repel them from the outside.

“Truly worthy of being Heavenly Grade. This ability is nearly perfect.”

While marveling, Mu Lin continued to absorb the Baleful Qi.

Because he still hoped to gain something within the Grave Lord’s Tomb, Mu Lin’s absorption inevitably became somewhat hasty—he wanted to quickly reach the completion of Sha Refinement and advance to Gang Condensation.

Then, as he absorbed rapidly, Mu Lin felt his body gradually stiffening.

And this was precisely the danger of refining Baleful Qi.

As a high-quality energy between heaven and earth, although Baleful Qi could supplement human deficiencies, it was not of the same origin as humans. Forcibly refining it naturally led to various anomalies.

Among these, refining Earth Sha carried the risk of petrification.

Refining Gengjin Sha would cause the body to feel as if being sliced by a thousand blades; the slightest carelessness could lead to dismemberment.

Refining Fire Sha easily resulted in spontaneous combustion.

Wood Sha tended to take root and sprout, turning one into a plant.

Water Sha directly dissolved the body.

All types of Baleful Qi were dangerous, and the higher the quality, the greater the harm to the human body.

Without a sufficiently solid foundation, cultivators simply could not refine high-quality Baleful Qi. Midway through, they would either petrify, be sliced apart, or burn to ashes.

Mu Lin, however, faced no such risk. His Mana had already been elevated to Heavenly Grade, enabling him to withstand the erosion of the Central Wuji Sha.

Yet, Sha Refinement was a meticulous and gradual process. Even with his solid foundation, due to his haste, Mu Lin could not avoid physical mutations.

Under normal circumstances, Mu Lin should have stopped at this point.

After halting the refinement, Mu Lin would need to nourish his body with Mana. Only when his body was fully restored could he resume the refinement process.

Thus, Sha Refinement typically delayed ordinary cultivators for one or two years, or even a decade (including the time spent searching for Baleful Qi).

Fully aware of this, Mu Lin… chose to continue refining.

“Swish!”

As he continuously refined the Central Wuji Sha, the petrification of Mu Lin’s body uncontrollably worsened.

Hands, feet, face, internal organs… As Mu Lin recklessly refined the Central Wuji Sha, his external body gradually transformed into a stone figure.

This scene was also witnessed by others on the Yellow Mud Road, as well as by cultivators outside.

Indeed, cultivators outside could see inside the Grave Lord’s Tomb.

Although they could not enter, the temptation of a Deity’s burial site was too great. The powerful individuals gathered in Ping’an Ancient County still used various methods to spy on the Grave Lord’s Legacy Realm.

Among them, those with the clearest view were the Jade Purity Sect, the Demonic Sect, Prince Liang, and the East Sea King.

From the name alone, it was clear that the last one, the East Sea King, was also a prince of the Great Spirit Imperial Dynasty.

Prince Liang was not welcoming of his arrival.

Although they were relatives, these princes had already grown distant from each other hundreds of years ago.

Moreover, Jade Province was Prince Liang’s territory. How could he allow others to sleep soundly beside his own bed?

If possible, he absolutely did not want other princes meddling in Jade Province.

However, not all princes were the same. Prince Liang was weak in influence and felt anxious about the impending crisis and disaster, merely wishing to survive it peacefully.

However, the East Sea King was different. Having amassed immense wealth from opening the sea trade, he viewed this calamity as an opportunity.

The vast disparity in power meant that when the East Sea King wanted to enter, Prince Liang was utterly powerless to stop him.

What made Prince Liang’s expression even more unpleasant was that the East Sea King intended to drag him onto the same chariot.

“Seventh Brother, that must be your niece Lingsha. Truly a natural beauty, one who could topple cities and kingdoms.”

“Since ancient times, fair and virtuous ladies have been the desire of gentlemen. My third son was captivated by your niece Lingsha at first sight. I wonder if Seventh Brother would be willing to part with her and grant this happy union.”

The East Sea King’s words drew a cold laugh from Prince Liang’s heart.

‘Hmph, seeking to marry my Lingsha? What you truly want are the resources, soldiers, and even the life of my Prince Liang’s Manor.’

Understanding the East Sea King’s intentions, Prince Liang had no desire whatsoever to get involved.

Thus, he wanted to refuse on the spot.

However, unwilling to offend the powerful East Sea King, he still found an excuse.

“Fourth Brother, your third son grew up before my eyes. If he wishes to marry Lingsha, I would naturally be willing—it would strengthen our familial bonds. However…”

At this point, Prince Liang sighed and said:

“However, that child Lingsha is very willful and simply doesn’t listen to me. Moreover, she has already set her heart on someone else. So, I’m sorry, Fourth Brother, it seems my Lingsha lacks the fortune for this match.”

This was an excuse. Anyone clever could easily grasp Prince Liang’s meaning—he did not want to marry off his daughter.

Yet, though the East Sea King was clever, he was unwilling to follow Prince Liang’s lead.

Thus, he did not let the matter drop but pressed further:

“Oh? I wonder what kind of person could catch the eye of your niece Lingsha. I would like to meet him.”

“Uh…”

This left Prince Liang speechless. Just as he was pondering how to respond, an unexpected scene unfolded within the Grave Lord’s Legacy Realm.

Ji Lingsha encountered Mu Lin.

“It’s you!”

Upon seeing Mu Lin, Ji Lingsha immediately placed her hands on her hips, her gaze toward him turning somewhat hostile.

Clearly, Prince Liang’s attempt to play matchmaker that day had angered her.

However, while she called out, Mu Lin… did not recognize her at all and had no intention of paying her any mind.

All his attention was focused on refining the Baleful Qi.

Due to the petrification, Mu Lin’s senses were somewhat dulled.

Thus, upon encountering Ji Lingsha and hearing her call, Mu Lin did not even turn his head but walked straight past her.

“???”

(End of Chapter)