Wet viviparity

Chapter 922 Tianquan, the Big Dipper
Ice shards flew, frost dust drifted, and the flames faded all around.

The two red snakes shrank to the thickness of rings, biting down on Ji Ming's pale earlobe, wriggling like earthworms.

After the primordial spirit of the infant was attached to the Xuanming star and transformed into this body, Ji Ming gained a deeper understanding of the Xuanming divine form. This understanding came naturally from the darkness, as if it were a gift he received naturally after doing something right.

The correct thing is undoubtedly that the infant enters the golden body of the divine general, which invisibly fits the meaning of "perfect in both form and spirit".

In this way, the star spirit gained divine charm, while the infant acquired the true form of Xuanming. Ji Ming seemed to have unintentionally unlocked a treasure he possessed.

The heat in the entire Glazed Garden gradually dimmed. As the heat cooled, the various pavilions in the garden took on a solidified, waxy appearance. This cooling sensation gradually spread towards the golden lotus at the center of the high temperature.

"Golden lotuses grow in fire!"

Ji Ming walked through the cold mist, his tone enigmatic. He then said to Zhu Tao in the lotus, "I don't want us to become rivals. The matter of Baozi Merit Spirit Court is beneficial to all living beings in Tiannan. In a stable and prosperous environment, demons and evil spirits will have nowhere to hide."

"You've become more talkative, which isn't a good habit in a battle of wits."

Zhu Tao sat in the lotus, facing the oncoming cold current, and said without changing his expression: "Your true body has not yet arrived. Although you have magic treasures and true skills that you can use at will, it is already remarkable that you can fight to this extent against me and the Zen Master with only these."

If we continue fighting, we may face a life-or-death struggle.

Your status is now vastly different, with far-reaching and complex entanglements behind you. You also bear the hopes for a thousand years of peace and stability for Tiannan. I truly do not wish for our struggle to escalate beyond this point, as that would be detrimental to both of us.”

As Zhu Tao spoke within the lotus, his body began to change.

It was a giant crimson bird with a head like a horse, a fiery mane flying on its neck and back, and a dragon's body behind the horse's head, covered with shiny round scales. Its wings were spread out flat, like a flying cloud, and it had a pair of eagle claws under its body and a peacock tail feather trailing behind it.

When these divine birds take a diving stance, flames ignite on their bodies, their fiery tails scattering gold and silver, creating a magnificent spectacle. Their unparalleled and powerful aura sweeps across the surroundings, completely dispelling the chill that once filled the area, as if the frigid current had been nothing but a dream.

"interesting."

Upon seeing Zhu Tao's demonic form, Ji Ming laughed and said, "I never expected that you, originally a divine bird, would be transformed into an infant after becoming human, and that you would advance in both demonic arts and alchemy to the highest level in the human realm."

Zhu Tao's horse-headed divine bird true form appeared, and the bright pearls on the dome of the glazed courtyard burst one after another. The jade pillars and golden steps turned into crimson liquid. Seeing that Ji Ming still had no intention of retreating, it began to swoop down. Its speed was slow at first, then gradually fast, and then violent.

Amidst the roaring roar, Zhu Tao's diving figure could no longer be seen, for his speed had already reached its limit.

Ji Ming's silver hair moved without wind, and two snakes on his earlobes suddenly raised their heads and flicked their tongues.

"Since you have revealed your true form, I will accompany you in this divine form."

As soon as he finished speaking, his body exploded into a cloud of frost dust with a roar. The two red snakes, the instant his body exploded, suddenly left his ears and intertwined in the air, transforming into a frost-spotted sword. The fourth star of the Big Dipper, Tianquan, appeared on the sword.

Outside the sword, Ji Ming solidified his body once more. The moment he gripped the sword, Zhu Tao roared through the air. In a rapid turn and wild leap, his body became a streak of fire, and he once again crashed into Ji Ming, shattering him.

And so, amidst the frost and cold mist, the fire line crisscrossed and twisted in the void, each time precisely shattering the golden body of the Star God General that Ji Ming had condensed.

Given the incredible hardness of this divine general's golden body, ordinary spells would find it difficult to break through. However, under Zhu Tao's impact, the golden body was no stronger than paper. Even with Ji Ming's solid foundation as a divine general, how many times could he condense it under such rapid impact?
Beneath Zhu Tao's wings, countless sparks flew out with a flap of his fan, and in his vision, all movement was extremely slow.

This was the result of his deliberate training. When he adapted to the incredible speed of his escape technique in the "Golden Lotus in Fire" state, his demonic body seemed to have achieved a breakthrough. His primordial spirit would gradually adapt to this speed, making everything seem to slow down.

This isn't all good. Once he leaves this state, he can't quickly return to normal sensations and reactions. His movements will always be much faster and less precise, and within a few breaths, he'll feel as if he's been crippled.

With a "hum," the frost-spotted sword trembled violently, its blade tinged with the unique azure hue of divine energy. The next moment, in the sight of an ordinary person, the sword had vanished in a flash, but in Zhu Tao's lightning-fast vision, the sword was thrusting towards him at an astonishing speed.

"Divine Sword Slash!"

Zhu Tao had naturally heard of Ji Ming's signature supernatural ability, which had been used to wreak havoc in the Three Frontiers War.

When Ji Ming emerged again, he saw the sword transformed from the precious sword cleave open the Glazed Courtyard. This small world, which was a self-contained realm within the star, had opened up, and through this opening, one could see the brilliant starlight outside.

"Missed it?"

Ji Ming was surprised.

The boundary between Liuliyuan and the outside starry sky was severed, but Zhu Tao's demonic form was not seen.

He reached out and touched the smoldering embers in the air, noticing something unusual.

A streak of fire shot out from a small, inconspicuous patch of embers and pierced through Ji Ming's chest.

With a "bang," Ji Ming's body exploded into ice shards once again, but this time it was different from before. His Xuanming Cold Power was even greater, sweeping away all the surrounding fire shards and cooling them to nothing. However, dozens of fire shards still stubbornly remained in place.

Under the erosion of the cold, these embers transformed back into golden lotus petals.

Clearly, Zhu Tao could freely pass through these golden lotus petals that had been transformed into fireflies.

These golden lotus petals broke free from the ice and, summoned by Zhu Tao, drifted to a certain place on their own. Unexpectedly, a cold wind suddenly rose, and frost particles blew, causing the lotus petals to dance wildly.

"How did Lingxuzi's magical power suddenly increase so much?" Even though he was suffering from discomfort in his primordial spirit, Zhu Tao forced himself to stop and erected the Five Virtues Divine Smoke around himself to protect his demonic body. Then he began to deduce the changes that had occurred to Lingxuzi from within it.

He could see it more clearly from Zen Master Caihu's perspective. With a sigh, he looked towards the opening between Liuli Temple and the outside world. Looking out from that opening, he could see seven stars drifting there.

Since this precious starry sky is composed of 3,682 star chambers arranged according to the constellations of the Big Dipper, there are naturally star chambers that imitate the arrangement of the Big Dipper. The Xuanming constellation originates from the Tianquan star in the Big Dipper, and is also known as the Xuanming Wenqu star.

This deity has been refined to its current state by Ling Xuzi, and is now able to command the power of the Big Dipper.

In this way, the replica of the Big Dipper here was easily summoned, becoming an excellent medium to invoke the power of the Big Dipper.

Zen Master Caihu landed on the ground with a complicated expression, coincidentally right on the altar. Qian Shou'er quickly withdrew his lotus-shaped clasped hands, knowing that the Pupil Divine Sense was one of his grandfather's secret trump cards and should not be exposed to outsiders.

"Don't hide it anymore. I know that you must have a very important treasure belonging to Lingxuzi," said Zen Master Caihu.

To be honest, Zen Master Caihu was somewhat absent-minded. He didn't know if he had made the right move. He knew very well that there must be some kind of scheme by Lingxuzi at this altar, perhaps he was just like him and wanted to gain some extra opportunities here.

He saw through that, and now he's going to destroy it.

Zen Master Caihu did not want to become mortal enemies with Lingxuzi, but he also did not want to be manipulated by Lingxuzi's words.

Not to mention that with his pride, he would never flatter Ling Xuzi, and he knew that even if he sided with Ling Xuzi now, he might not get what he wanted in the end. So he could only try to make Ling Xuzi submit.

Direct violence is not advisable, as it can easily turn into a "calling for help" style of combat, which would only ruin Ling Xuzi's plans and leave him with nothing.

(End of this chapter)