Chapter 80: The Soul-Devouring, Spirit-Concentrating, Heaven-Defying Art

As soon as the firebird took shape, it lunged directly at the ghostly fire talons. In just a few moments, it devoured several of the fused ghostly fire talons. The remaining talons quickly retreated, regrouped, and then transformed once more into a gigantic ghostly fire talon, almost as large as the firebird itself.

“The chieftain of the Ghostfire Talons?”

Qiu Han’s pupils contracted. He hurriedly formed several incantations, withdrawing his fire control technique. The moment the enormous ghostly fire talon was formed, an oppressive aura emanated—one that only a second-tier demon beast could possess. Before the firebird could even turn to flee, it was swallowed and absorbed by the massive talon.

Without hesitation, Qiu Han pulled a supreme-grade spiritual shield from his storage pouch, channeling spiritual power into it. The Ghostfire Talon King gazed at Qiu Han from a distance, then suddenly extended a flaming arm nearly thirty feet long, reaching towards him. The layers of protective energy around Qiu Han shattered like paper. At that moment, the supreme-grade shield’s defense was fully activated, standing in front of him. The ghostly talon continued its assault, striking the shield directly. The attack was completely blocked, but the recoil sent Qiu Han’s blood surging in his chest.

“Damn it. Wind Blade has no effect, so it stands to reason that spiritual weapons can’t harm it either. Now even my fire control technique can’t match this fused Ghostfire King—what am I supposed to do?”

After holding out for the duration of an incense stick, Qiu Han felt his spiritual power rapidly draining—less than half remained, and maintaining the shield was accelerating the depletion.

Another half hour passed. Sweat poured from Qiu Han’s forehead; his reserves were running low, and he was showing signs of exhaustion. Eyes fixed on the Ghostfire King hovering in the air, he suddenly closed them and sent his consciousness into the Celestial Compass.

After a short while, he opened his eyes again. Controlling the spiritual shield with his left hand, he extended his right, performed several incantations, and once more unleashed his fire control technique, transforming it into a smaller red firebird that shot toward the Ghostfire King.

The Ghostfire King halted its attack on Qiu Han, withdrew its talons, and lunged toward the firebird conjured by the fire control technique. Qiu Han watched, a cold smile curving at his lips, a glint of frost flashing in his eyes.

Withdrawing his consciousness from the Celestial Compass, he closed his eyes the instant the Ghostfire King pounced on the firebird, intent on devouring it. When he reopened them, flames flickered in both his pupils. In that moment, the firebird’s flames shifted from red to white.

A wave of searing heat surged forth; even the air itself shimmered with white smoke under the blaze of the white flames. The Ghostfire King was instantly engulfed and consumed, vanishing from midair. From the appearance of the white flames to the total destruction of the monstrous Ghostfire King, only a few breaths had passed—everything was over in a flash.

Qiu Han wiped sweat from his brow with a sleeve, pulled several spirit stones from his pouch, and sat cross-legged on the spot to meditate and recover his lost spiritual energy. After a full hour, he had restored most of his strength. Rising to his feet, he surveyed the surroundings—the area had returned to its original tranquility.

He spread his divine sense, covering a radius of a hundred yards. Finding nothing amiss, Qiu Han sat down again and meditated for another hour, finally restoring his spiritual power to its peak. Yet at that moment, he sensed something unusual—a feeling he had not experienced in a long time. He was about to advance!

“Of all times, I have to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage now. What should I do? I have no experience advancing to this stage, and my master once warned me: ascending to Foundation Establishment isn’t like minor breakthroughs. Each major breakthrough can take hours, even days, and must not be interrupted. Otherwise, at best, the attempt fails; at worst, demons invade the heart, and all cultivation is lost. That’s why such breakthroughs are usually undertaken within the sect’s safety.”

“But now I’m in the Misty Marsh, where danger lurks at every moment. If I choose to advance here and something happens… Yet there’s nothing I can do to stop the breakthrough that’s about to arrive… Wait, Nangong Li—perhaps he has a way to help me!”

At this thought, Qiu Han’s furrowed brow gradually relaxed. He sent his consciousness into the Celestial Compass and said respectfully, “Senior Nangong, this junior is facing a breakthrough to Foundation Establishment, but this place is far from safe. Might you have a way to help me delay the advancement?”

“Oh? About to break through? Wait a moment, let me think… Yes, I have it. There’s a technique that happens to suit your situation, but you must learn and master it within an hour, or it will be useless. Listen carefully—I’ll pass on the incantation to you now.”

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Qiu Han silently recited the technique in his mind, but then frowned again.

“Senior, may I ask the name of this technique?”

“There is one. I created it myself, of course it has a name… It’s called ‘Devouring Spirit, Concentrating Mind, Severing Heaven.’ It compresses your spiritual energy, transforming and condensing it into divine consciousness. I created it when my cultivation increased so rapidly that my body couldn’t contain the power and was at risk of exploding. By turning the excess energy into divine sense, I was able to make my spiritual consciousness as powerful as a peak-stage expert. If you master it, your divine sense will surpass others at your level, giving you a great advantage in battle.”

“One hour?” Qiu Han sank into contemplation.

Nangong Li paused, then continued, “Qiu, back in my day I was a peerless genius. I created this technique in a moment of crisis. You may not have my talent, but you’re passable. If you can’t master it within an hour, how do you expect ever to reach the Nascent Soul stage and help set me free? If you die, I wouldn’t waste a thought; I have no regard for trash!”

Qiu Han listened calmly, offered no reply, and found a large stone to sit cross-legged upon, closing his eyes to practice the technique. The time it takes to drink a cup of tea passed; Qiu Han sat motionless, eyes shut. In the Celestial Compass, Nangong Li watched with disdain. Another incense stick’s time passed, and Qiu Han remained unmoving. Nangong Li gradually turned away, closing his eyes and ignoring him.

Half an hour later, Nangong Li opened his eyes, turned to look at the exit of the Celestial Compass, but Qiu Han was still as before, unmoving.