Celestial Refining Divine Scripture

An hour passed.

Xu Yang even let go of all his defenses.

The Fire Fiend failed to erode him.

His body was flawless, any Evil Qi that entered was quickly forced out or purified.

As for his Primordial Spirit, it was as solid as rock.

In the end, Xu Yang simply started practicing saber techniques in the dense Fire Fiend energy.

Ten Thousand Blades Melody, Blazing Heart-Burning Saber.

Once he began, he couldn’t stop.

Xu Yang was pleasantly surprised to find that, relying on the Fire Fiend here, his saber cultivation was twice as effective.

Blazing Heart-Burning, forcibly controlling the Fire Fiend with saber intent, fusing the Fire Fiend into the blade’s edge, burning the heart and charging at the spirit, the effects were remarkable.

"If I accumulate enough Fire Fiend, the Primordial Spirit strike power against an enemy will be even stronger."

Xu Yang’s eyes gleamed, saber light danced, and amid the whistling, a first-grade ink-black Immortal Saber tangled with dense Fire Fiend like strands of fiery-red hair, inch by inch adhered, refining into it.

As time passed, the saber’s edge became stranger, streaked with flashes of crimson and black due to the refined, overwhelming Fire Fiend, leaving minds utterly still!

At a certain moment.

Two hours had passed.

Bang!

Suddenly, the area of the second trial shook sharply, and a five-foot scarlet Immortal Jade materialized out of thin air, floating before Xu Yang.

Mid-grade first-tier Immortal Jade!

It radiated a shocking, wild power.

Countless times more astonishing than the Immortal Jade or Immortal Crystals normally used for trading.

Its contained energy was utterly vast.

"Good stuff."

Xu Yang summoned his Divine Cauldron to swallow it, then continued his cultivation.

Meanwhile,

beside the pillar of fire outside,

Old Wang, who had previously warned Xu Yang, suddenly froze, staring in disbelief at the fire pillar: "Look, someone broke Yang Yuan’s record in the second trial!"

"Hiss, it’s true!"

"Though it was an old record of Yang Yuan, at that time Yang Yuan was a seeded disciple, not someone just anyone could surpass."

"Xu Yang? Who is this? To surpass Xia Chen, he must be a top-tier Inner Sect disciple at least, but I’ve never heard of him."

"That name is unfamiliar to me too."

"Old Wang, you arrived earliest—did you see anyone?"

"I don’t know, didn’t see."

Old Wang shook his head.

The group stared at the name, completely at a loss.

But a Middle Stage True Immortal, ranking second in Fire Demon Cavern’s second trial—definitely not an ordinary person.

Another hour passed.

Swish!

The second trial’s rankings shifted again.

"Hiss!"

"Am I seeing things? First place, he even broke Ye Qingchen’s previous record."

"Good heavens, since when did our Inner Sect have a freak called Xu Yang?"

Compared to before, smashing the second trial’s record was far more shocking!

Everyone was dumbstruck.

"I really can’t recall anyone named Xu Yang—is he a newcomer this year? The one dragon and three tigers among the newcomers don’t include anyone called Xu Yang."

"Whatever, I’ll go out and ask around."

An Inner Sect disciple ran out.

Meanwhile in Fire Demon Cavern, Xu Yang had already entered the third trial.

The third trial.

This was when he finally felt some pressure.

Fire Fiend energy surged around him, making Xu Yang uncomfortable, his body felt burning, and his emotions involuntarily grew restless.

His Primordial Spirit seemed to be wrapped in intense, scorching flames, faintly shrouded in filth.

Xu Yang realized these were signs of close contact with Fire Fiend, and didn’t dare slack off, putting up defenses.

At the same time,

he summoned the Divine Cauldron.

Buzz!!

Clusters of Fire Fiend were swallowed by him into the Divine Cauldron, gradually transforming into Purest Essence Qi.

"The Essence Qi refined from the Fire Fiend in the third trial is almost no weaker than Immortal Jade. Here, if I use the Divine Cauldron to swallow for a few hours, it’s equivalent to a nine-foot long first-grade top Immortal Jade."

The longer he endures, the greater the harvest.

And by withstanding the trial, he could gain Immortal Jade as a reward.

Here, the reward is a first-grade top Immortal Jade.

Xu Yang’s gaze was fiery as he manipulated the Divine Cauldron to expand.

Bang!

Unleashing his full power, the Fire Fiend surging within over a ten-foot range suddenly disappeared by a third.

The discomfort from the Fire Fiend enshrouding him diminished substantially.

With the Divine Cauldron, the difficulty of enduring was greatly reduced.

"With my cultivation and grade-one Immortal Arms, enduring half an hour grants me three feet of first-grade top Immortal Jade; an hour, and I can break Yang Yuan’s third-place record; two hours to surpass Ye Qingchen’s second-place record, and three hours to reach first, shattering Zhao Beilin’s record!"

"If I break Zhao Beilin’s record, I’ll become the record holder for the third trial—oh, and for the second trial too!"

"To be first in the third trial—hiss, the reward is a nine-foot hundred-year Seven-Star Immortal Jade!"

Seeing the details of this reward, Xu Yang couldn’t help but gasp in shock.

Nine feet in size, no need to say more.

Hundred years, cultivated for a century.

Seven-Star Immortal Jade, a treasure far above Black Fire Immortal Jade.

Draws star essence from the black-and-white Astral Sky for a hundred years, with seven star marks imprinted on its surface.

What is the value of such an Immortal Jade?

Xu Yang didn’t know.

But someone did.

In a different pocket of Fire Fiend within Fire Demon Cavern’s third trial, another figure sat cross-legged, shrouded in fire mist, his body trembling, almost unable to hold on.

He was Ye Qingchen.

A seeded disciple, Late Stage True Immortal.

Yang Yuan’s return had severely motivated him.

So he came to Fire Demon Cavern intending to break Zhao Beilin’s record in the third trial.

To get that nine-foot hundred-year Seven-Star Immortal Jade reward.

This Immortal Jade was the pinnacle among first-grade Jades, packed with essence. Even with his Late Stage True Immortal cultivation, it would take over a month to fully refine!

Its value could easily reach a million ordinary first-grade Immortal Jades for trading!

Priceless and unmarketable!

After all, it contains Star Essence Qi accumulated for a century, massively boosting cultivation, refining Immortal Yuan and foundation. Who would sell such a treasure?

With this Jade, Ye Qingchen was confident of reaching the peak of True Immortal, and, combined with his prepared resources, maybe even breaking into the Celestial Immortal Realm.

But Zhao Beilin’s original record was set at Middle Stage True Immortal—enduring for four hours straight!

As a Late Stage True Immortal, Ye Qingchen would have to last nine hours to surpass!

As time dragged on, the Fire Fiend grew stronger and stronger.

Moreover, during erosion, it’s impossible to block all Fire Fiend perfectly, and as the state wanes, it grows harder and harder to persist.

Now, Ye Qingchen was agitated all over, even hallucinating.

His Primordial Spirit was shrouded in a layer of crimson-black hard to remove.

Just an hour and a half more!

"Hold on!"

"Ye Qingchen, you’re no weaker than Yang Yuan. So what if he’s on the Immortal Pride List?"

Ye Qingchen growled under his breath, desperately holding out.

Yet, after the erosion had triggered hallucinations, his inner unwillingness and jealousy of Yang Yuan erupted ever more fiercely.

Not even a quarter of an hour later.

Ye Qingchen convulsed like struck by lightning.

Spurt!

He coughed blood, his aura instantly in chaos.

Ye Qingchen snapped awake, let out a resentful roar, and decisively ended it.

"End trial!"

Shouting loudly, his Identity Token released a brilliant immortal light enveloping him, and he instantly vanished without a trace.

Outside Fire Demon Cavern, Ye Qingchen appeared out of thin air, half-kneeling on the ground, face pale as paper, his Qi chaotic and turbulent.

"It’s Ye Qingchen."

"The ranking didn’t change—he failed."

"Too bad, just another hour more and he might’ve done it."

"Zhao Beilin’s record is just outrageous—four hours at Middle Stage True Immortal."

"Mr. Ye, are you alright?"

...

Ye Qingchen vomited more blood, hurriedly swallowed a pill, barely suppressing the turmoil inside.

Feeling the leftover Fire Fiend inside, he looked bitter.

It would take him a few more days to expel all the Fire Fiend.

A failure!

He gazed unwillingly at the fire pillar.

Zhao Beilin’s name at the top—painfully dazzling.

"Why are there so many people here?"

Ye Qingchen suddenly froze.

At least dozens of people crowded around.

Were all these people here to see him?

Surely not.

He frowned.

Someone hurriedly said, "Mr. Ye, look at the second trial."

Ye Qingchen shifted his gaze downward, instantly stunned: "Who is Xu Yang?"

He’s actually ranked first in the second trial!

"I just went outside and asked around, talked to a lot of people, and finally figured out who this Xu Yang is."

"A newcomer this year, cultivation grade-one Immortal Arms!"