Chapter 502 – Absorbing the Nirvana Dragon Root … … … Xuan Wuji became increasingly mad as he thought about this adventure within the Demon God Imperial Palace. His South Sea Demon Region had eaten the greatest losses! “All that is left of my South Sea Demon Region is here and we’ve all been chased down by you for the last 10 miles. How can we possibly have obtained the Cosmic Melting Furnace and Nirvana Dragon Root?” “Old thief Xuan, do you think that such a weak excuse is good enough? When we broke through the palace’s protective array, the entrance remained open for a very long time. How hard could it have been for you to arrange for a disciple to sneak in and avoid our perception? You first pretended that you couldn’t open the array formation, and then you used the Cosmic Melting Furnace to lure me and Abbot Whitebrow to enter the cave. You used this chance to open the ancient array formation and steal away the Nirvana Dragon Root. Then, using the method of luring a tiger, you forced us to follow you and let your good little disciple obtain the second Nirvana Dragon Root and Cosmic Melting Furnace while we were away. At the same time, you could also use the transmission array to escape. This plan was truly far too perfect! Two Nirvana Dragon Roots and also the Cosmic Melting Furnace would all be within your palm! And you would be able to escape unscathed. But what a pity, life is full of twists and turns. The transmission array failed and you became trapped here with us. You missed your last chess move and now you’ve suffered the consequences!” As Nanyun Wang confidently spoke his opinion, Xuan Wuji’s face turned green. Xuan Wuji couldn’t help but acknowledge that Nanyun Wang’s nonsensical guess actually sounded quite reasonable! If Xuan Wuji were to reverse positions with Nanyun Wang, then he would probably have made this guess too! Xuan Wuji was depressed the point that he wanted to run into a wall. Through his thousands of years of cultivation, he was always the one that fooled others - since when did he become the one that was tricked? In truth, he also suspected that Lin Ming didn’t have this ability. But just who else could it be? Who could put him in such a miserable state? Or was it some fourth stage Life Destruction, or even fifth stage Life Destruction powerhouse that quietly entered into the Demon God Imperial Palace and took advantage of everyone? At this point, Abbot Whitebrow suddenly said, “There are more ashes on the ground.” “Mm?” Everyone glanced over and saw that there were three piles of ashes around the Cosmic Melting Furnace’s platform. Some of the more cautious Elders remembered that there were originally four others that died around the Cosmic Melting Furnace. And two of those piles of ashes had been collected into coffins already. There should only be two more piles of ash left over, but now there was a third. Could it be… Mu Fengxian suddenly paled and Mu Yuhuang also felt her heart stop, as if someone had tightly gripped it. Her breath caught in her throat, and beads of sweat began to form on her forehead. Lin Ming… he… he died here? Abbot Whitebrow hesitated for a moment and then walked over to the ashes. He squatted down, reaching over to touch them and then calmly said, “The ashes are still warm. He probably died less than a quarter of an hour ago, and was probably scorched to death by the Eight Dragon Jade Light Array…” As Abbot Whitebrow spoke, he fished out a spatial ring from among the ashes and used his divine sense to search within. Because the spatial ring had been charred by the Eight Dragon Jade Light Ray, the miniature unstable dimension within was already beginning to collapse, and was partially destroyed. There were already many things that couldn’t be taken out, but one could still clearly see what was inside. “Fairy Maiden Mu, come have a look.” Abbot Whitebrow handed over the ring to Mu Yuhuang. Mu Yuhuang’s fingers trembled as she received the ring. As she immersed her divine sense within, Mu Yuhuang only felt a faint dizzy spell; she saw the jade slip, one that had the first three levels of the ‘Vermillion Bird Forbidden Divine Chronicle’ recorded upon it… Her grip tightened on the spatial ring. Mu Yuhuang felt a deep weight press down on her heart. She had placed too many of her hopes and dreams on Lin Ming. She had even planned to betrothe Mu Qianyu to Lin Ming, but now… “Yuhuang, calm down. Lin Ming might not have died.” Mu Fengxian said to Mu Yuhuang with a true essence sound transmission. Although she was also worried, she didn’t believe that Lin Ming would have died here like this. “The Purple Comet Spear and Great Desolate Blood Halberd are not within the spatial ring…” “I know, but…” Mu Yuhuang was still unable to calm down. This spatial ring should be one of Lin Ming’s secondary spatial rings. As for the Purple Comet Spear and Great Desolate Blood Halberd, they should be placed within Lin Ming’s main spatial ring. It was possible that Lin Ming’s main spatial ring had been stolen away, or that the Eight Dragon Jade Light Array had completely burnt it away. Just depending on this single point could not prove that Lin Ming was still alive. “Xuan Wuji, what words do you have to say for yourself?” Nanyun Wang ominously said as his eyes flashed at Xuan Wuji. “Humph, you think that this pile of ash is Lin Ming? If Lin Ming really died at the hands of my disciple, then why wouldn’t he just completely destroy the corpse, and instead allow you to discover it?” “Hehe, perhaps you also thought of this point already and intentionally left it here to cover up for your crimes!” Xuan Wuji’s mouth twitched and his face distorted as he faced Nanyun Wang’s aggressive accusations. “Nanyun, it seems you in any case you will not believe me no matter what I say. Perhaps you might want to fight with me in a life or death battle? In a true life or death match, I may not have the luck to survive, but you won’t be any better off. I wonder just how you’ll leave the Demon God Imperial Palace!” Nanyun Wang sneered, “Humph, once I kill you and obtain the Demon Emperor’s jade slip, I will also know the secret techniques. How hard would it be for me to break through the barriers then?” “Haha, if I die then I will certainly destroy the Demon Emperor’s jade slip first. How hard would that be!” Xuan Wuji didn’t take a single step back and he was also disinclined to explain his situation. These old men had originally mutually suspected each other, not to mention that neither of them cared to listen to explanations in this sort of situation. If so, then it would better to show a tough side and hold Nanyun Wang’s own life against him in a desperate bid! And sure enough, when Xuan Wuji said that he would destroy the Demon Emperor’s jade slip, Nanyun Wang’s complexion also paled. …………….. One hundred miles away from the Demon God Imperial Palace on a series of array platforms, a white light flashed. The figure of a young man appeared in the shadow of the light at the center of the platform. The youth was handsome and his eyes were clear and bright. His aura was distinct and valorous, but also contained a hint of weary fatigue. This was Lin Ming, who had fled the Demon God Imperial Palace through a transmission array. “I’ve finally come out…” Lin Ming took a deep breath and wiped the sweat off his palms. During this trip to the Demon God Imperial Palace, he hadn’t had a single battle. However, it had been much more thrilling and perilous than his battles in the war against the South Sea Demon Region. With the powerhouses of several major forces struggling against each other, Lin Ming’s nerves were constantly on edge, without a single moment to relax. Ultimately, he used their own manipulations to pit them against each other and collect spoils; this was an extremely risky and dangerous gamble! When Lin Ming came out, he didn’t even take a moment to rest. He instantly rushed over to the other array platforms, completely changing all of the symbols upon them. He feared that Xuan Wuji also knew the position and method to use other transmission arrays. If he used other transmission arrays to come out, then that would put him in a dire situation! “Demonshine, how long is the defensive barrier around the Demon God Imperial Palace able to stop that group of old fellows for?” “Probably four or five days. In addition to the time they need to come out of the Demon God Imperial Palace, perhaps five or six days might be possible.” “Five or six days…” Lin Ming hesitated for a moment. That should be enough time. “Hey, are you thinking of summoning the Giant Leviathan Saint Beast that is slumbering within this broken world? You should forget about it. If you want to control the Giant Leviathan, you are far from some sufficient even if you have the secret technique to do so. You must also have the soul force and strength to support it, otherwise you wouldn’t even be able to summon it. With this Saint in such a pitiful condition, it is also impossible for me to take the Giant Leviathan.” Lin Ming shook his head and said, “The Giant Leviathan is useless to me right now. I have to go out and adventure, so how could I possibly bring a Giant Leviathan the size of an island with me travelling? If I gave the Giant Leviathan to Divine Phoenix Island, then it could be used to protect the sect. But since there are already some people suspecting me, if I also steal away the Giant Leviathan and keep it at Divine Phoenix Island, then that would really be pushing Divine Phoenix Island into a storm.” Lin Ming wasn’t too interested in the Giant Leviathan. If he could, he wanted to use some method to prevent Xuan Wuji from taking it. However, his cultivation was simply too low, and he didn’t have this ability. “Then what do you plan on doing in the next four or five days?” Lin Ming’s eyes flashed with a bright light. He said, “In these next four or five days, I will absorb the Nirvana Dragon Root!” “You…” The pug was shocked by Lin Ming’s words. “You, a mere late Houtian baby boy want to swallow the Nirvana Dragon Root? You are a madman!” Lin Ming’s eyebrows arched up in challenge, “What about it? Aren’t there any Body Transformation talents in the Realm of the Gods’ Holy Lands that will absorb a Nirvana Dragon Root at the Houtian realm?” “Hehe, little boy, let me tell you, within the Realm of the Gods there are very few people that walk down the path of essence and body dual cultivation. They either follow the Essence Gathering system and go down the Revolving Core and Divine Sea realm path, or walk down the Tempering Marrow and Eight Inner Hidden Gates Body Transformation path. Only those highest top tier talents with absolute belief in themselves would engage in essence and body dual cultivation. Although an essence and body dual cultivator will have a major advantage over a martial artist at the same level, they would also have to pay a price and effort dozens of times greater. Simply put, in the grand scheme of things, the gains simply aren’t worth the loss!” The pug spoke with a preaching demeanor. “So it’s like that?” Lin Ming was a tad surprised, and then immediately laughed at himself. He had assumed that all of the martial artists in the Realm of the Gods would have to go through Tempering Marrow, but now it looked as if he had inadvertently chosen a path that only geniuses within the Realm of the Gods would follow. Realm of the Gods genius… As Lin Ming thought of this, a strange color crossed over his face. Just what sort of boundary was a Realm of the Gods genius? The pug seemed to be addicted to his exhortations. He continued to say with a smug expression, “I advise you to take this step by step in an orderly fashion. You shouldn’t be too worried about Tempering Marrow for a while. Even those essence and body dual cultivators in the Realm of the Gods would usually wait until the late Xiantian or extreme Xiantian realm to complete Tempering Marrow. It’s still too early for you. Also, this Saint urges you to choose a main direction to focus on; either the Body Transformation system or the Essence Gathering system. This Saint believes that the Essence Gathering system is quite good. Body Transformation simply requires too many resources. In the Realm of the Gods, only large sects are able to support it!” Lin Ming ignored the pug’s advice and said, “You don’t need to bother yourself with worrying over me. I have to absorb this Nirvana Dragon Root, and I have no other choice but to do so.” As Lin Ming thought of Mu Qianyu, he knew he had to urgently increase his strength. Lin Ming no longer bantered with the pug. He deeply breathed, and then took out the jade box. Within the jade box, the Nirvana Dragon Root lay with all nine root hairs in pristine condition. The root hairs gripped each other like Horned Dragons, and it was difficult to distinguish between them. The Nirvana Dragon Root was wrapped in soil thick with origin energy. This soil was the best packaging to preserve the spiritual strength of the Nirvana Dragon Root.