Apotheosis – Ascension to Godhood

Chapter 81: Half-step Into The Nature Level

Zen positioned himself as per the illustration in the Heavenly Ogre Fist book.

Since this was a refinement method for Ogres, it would take human beings a lot of time, energy, and effort to master if they cultivated diligently.

Luckily, Zen was physically stronger than ordinary people. For anyone else, it would be impossible to complete the first step of the Heavenly Ogre Fist during the refinement.

After the force coursed through his body, Zen's eyebrows furrowed a bit, as he didn't feel the demonic life energy inside his body.

Zen wondered why.

Yesterday, only a small amount of demonic life energy had been produced inside Zen's body after his refinement of the Heavenly Ogre Fist. Afterward, the demonic life energy engulfed Zen's Purple Light Fist life energy as though it were a beast. In the end, all the life energy from Zen's Purple Light Fist had turned into demonic life energy.

But as soon as he made the first move of the Heavenly Ogre Fist, which was known as Ogres Shaking the World, the demonic life energy inside his body had been completely consumed...

In general, one's cultivation would be smooth for a period as long as he found the key to the refinement method. Once a level was overcome, it was like a door was opened to the next stage.

Very few men would retrogress in cultivation like Zen.

He had been able to produce and utilize the demonic life energy the previous day, but now he had failed...

Why? Did he forget a move?

After thinking it over for a while, Zen still couldn't figure it out. Since the Heavenly Ogre Fist was a tier five cultivation method, its power would be immense. However, it was so hard to practice this refinement method. It was far more difficult than Zen had expected.

How were his practice methods different from what he had done the previous day? Zen was lost in deep thought.

He had almost died when he confronted Vale on Hell Mountain. In that critical situation, Zen knew that he was fighting a losing battle, but he repeatedly tried to use the Heavenly Ogre Fist, still hoping to survive in spite of the slim chance. After several attempts of this refinement method, a little demonic life energy had finally condensed.

Today, Zen tried to make use of the Heavenly Ogre Fist on Drizzle Peak, where he was safe.

As Zen thought about this, it dawned on him that Heavenly Ogre Fist might only work when one was on the verge of giving up hope.

On the previous day, when he was thrown into absolute adversity, Zen felt himself behaving under an unbelievable state that he could hardly comprehend or describe in words. When faced with such a crisis, he had repeated and thought about each move very slowly.

Now, Zen was in his room, racking his brain to recall what and how he felt the previous day.

Zen paced back and forth in his room. He was so lost in thought that it seemed as though he was enchanted. He had been so consumed with his thoughts that Zen didn't notice that he had spent over half an hour just pacing.

All of a sudden, his eyes gleamed as an idea flashed through his mind. Quickly, he jumped to his feet. As his feet touched the floor, Zen made the first pose for Heavenly Ogre Fist.

“Maintain forces on the upper and lower body. Repel ogres' intent with heart if any...”

Zen lightly swung his arms along a direction. After rotating his arms, all his forces were concentrated near his belly. It was not until this moment that a trace of dark purple demonic life energy appeared between his hands.

Excitement lit up Zen's face when he saw the slight trace of demonic life energy.

On the previous day, he had experienced and witnessed the power of the Heavenly Ogre Fist. He had been able to confront a man at the Illuminating Soul Realm by using one move known as Ogres Shaking the World.

Zen had known that it would be impossible for him to defeat a man who had reached the Illuminating Soul Realm by using the Heavenly Ogre Fist as he was only at the marrow refining level. However, when attacked by Zen's Heavenly Ogre Fist, Vale had no choice but to counterattack. Vale's reaction had proven the might of a tier five cultivation method.

Despite his small victory, Zen had been challenged to condense the demonic life energy. Just now, he had refined the cultivation method for a lap, but only a faint trace of demonic life energy had been condensed. If this was going to be the pace, it would take several months for Zen to fill his belly with demonic life energy...

After further thought, an idea came to Zen.

Since demonic life energy could engulf other types of life energy, Zen thought he might not have to condense it.

When fighting Vale, Zen's body had been full of life energy from the Purple Light Fist. But after a trace of demonic life energy had condensed, it absorbed all life energy from the Purple Light Fist. In addition, the demonic life energy engulfed Vale's life vitality by consuming the lotuses.

Since the demonic life energy was so mystical, Zen decided to take advantage of the energy.

At this thought, Zen brought his knees together and started practicing the mind method of Purple Light Fist that had been passed down to him from the Luo Clan.

Through years of cultivation, Zen had acquired a good command of the Purple Light Fist. While forces were flowing along Zen's arms to his entire body, streaks of life energy from the Purple Light Fist sprang up from his belly.

When this life energy was exuded in large quantities, the faint trace of demonic life energy in Zen's belly instantly flew toward it, swiftly engulfed it, and then converted it...

Zen had just tried cultivating the mind method of Purple Light Fist. However, the more Purple Light Fist life energy filled Zen, the more the demonic life energy he was able to consume. Soon, it began accumulating inside his body. About two hours later, his belly was finally filled with demonic life energy.

As Zen stretched out his arms, demonic life energy spiralled up and out along his arms. To Zen, it looked like a purple-black demon was fluttering around his hands.

At this sight, Zen flicked the demon with his fingers. Immediately, the little purple-black demon jumped out of his palm and into a corner. The demon continued to hop once it had reached the ground.

“Huh! The life energy can be exuded out of my body!”

This scene shocked Zen who although, practicing this refinement method, had never heard of such a thing happening.

A corporeal form had five levels. Life energy could only exist in vivo or on the surface of the body. The energy should vanish once it left Zen's body, just like plants couldn't survive without roots.

Life energy could be only separated from the body of refiners who had been a half-step into the nature level.

Zen remembered this because he had seen his uncle Bryson pour his life energy into his long sword. Then, he manipulated the life energy inside and killed his enemies with the sword. This was only possible for cultivators who were half-step into the nature level.

However, Zen was still at the marrow refining level. Although he was also capable of pouring life energy into a weapon, the energy would dissipate and lose its effects once the weapon left his hand.

But now, the purple-black nature-level life energy hadn't disappeared after it was separated from Zen's body.

'Have I reached a level higher than the marrow refining level?' wondered Zen.

Before entering Hell Mountain, Zen had been able to estimate that he had reached the peak of the marrow refining level.

On the previous day when he battled Vale on Hell Mountain, Zen's body had been severely battered by Vale's lotuses. Under their assault, Zen found that it was almost impossible to bear the heavy pressure. At that time, he had been fighting for his life, and so, Zen hadn't paid much attention to changes in his body. However, in retrospect, Zen remembered feeling a great surge of warm currents inside his body. As in all other situations, the currents refreshed his physical form.

Had impurities been completely cleared away from his marrow at that moment?

Since Zen had been focusing on defending against Vale, he hadn't noticed that all the impurities in his marrow had been refined and purified. Now, as Zen felt the warm stream of currents inside his body, he concluded that it was highly likely that all impurities had been removed from his marrow.

At this thought, Zen examined his body carefully. Once he confirmed his theory, a smile grew on Zen's face. In the heat of the battle with Vale, his marrow had been incomparably purified, and so Zen had upgraded to a cultivator half-step into the nature level.

Five levels of body refining were the foundations for practicing and mastering martial arts.

Only when a person's physical form was free from impurities could he become a nature creature.

However, reaching the half-step into the nature level was different from entering into the nature level because of the difference between life energy and life vitality. A person couldn't become a nature creature before his life energy was converted into life vitality.

Although Zen didn't accomplish his goal of freeing Yan from Hell Mountain, he had unexpectedly reached the half-step into the nature level, which was a great achievement for him. After this revelation, Zen spent the whole day consolidating the skills he had mastered and exploring how to exude life energy.

He didn't leave his room for almost three days!

During this period, outer disciples continued to busy themselves with cultivation as usual at Drizzle Peak.

However gifted disciples might be, people who joined Cloud Sect were required to be unyielding. They also knew that they should never get infatuated with the outside world. The practice of martial arts also taught them that God helped those who helped themselves.

However, Zen was a special and extraordinary disciple of Cloud Sect. Other disciples' eyes gleamed with a strong sense of admiration when they met Zen. Within Cloud Sect, a considerable number of outer disciples treated Zen as their role model. Just as Zen tried to cultivate diligently, these outer disciples also made unremitting efforts to cultivate themselves.

“Zen, it is time for us to get our refining pills today. Are you going to take them?” As Zen just stepped out of his room, Nory and Sean who had been headed to his room stopped and asked.

The refining pills were being distributed today?

Zen was dazed. He had been so preoccupied with the cultivation that he had forgotten about this.

Naturally, disciples of Cloud Sect enjoyed benefits such as refining pills and elixirs, which were distributed to them every month. The type and quantity of such supplies were dependent on the level and status of disciples.

Zen nodded. As a member of Cloud Sect, he thought he deserved the supplies reserved for disciples. And so, he walked toward one side of Drizzle Peak with Nory and Sean.

As usual, Nory began to share some of the gossips he had heard while they were walking.

“Zen, you have been engrossed in your cultivation and haven't stepped out of your room. Have you ever heard what happened on Hell Mountain?” Although Nory joined Cloud Sect later than Sean, he was now more informative than Sean.

Zen pretended as if he didn't know and responded in feigned surprise, “Huh? What occurred on Hell Mountain?”

“Ooh, you've missed it. Several days ago, a disciple at the Illuminating Soul Realm presented his mighty power on Hell Mountain. It was a fairly sensational spectacle. In his show of power, a light column leading to the sky was visible even from Drizzle Peak!” While Nory was describing the spectacle, he was so excited that spittle flew from his mouth. Nory spoke with such enthusiasm that it seemed as if he had been present that day on Hell Mountain.

Zen was astonished to hear Nory's descriptions. He had been under the impression that cultivators in Hell Mountain couldn't mingle with other people freely. He had never expected that the whole of Cloud Sect would learn of what transpired between him and Vale. But Zen felt relieved and lucky as he could judge from Nory's tone that his friend didn't know the names of the people who had been on Hell Mountain.

“A top refiner at the Illuminating Soul Realm is really awesome!” Zen nodded approvingly. He looked as though he strongly wished to have witnessed the scene.

Only after seeing Zen's expression that Sean interrupted and said, “Top figures at the Illuminating Soul Realm are often seen during our annual large-scale challenges at Cloud Sect in spite of their usually rare presence. It is strange that the top figure at the Illuminating Soul Realm battled an outer disciple who was only at the marrow refining level...”

“Huh?” Zen questioned in feigned astonishment, “That is incredible.”

“I think that is impossible!” Sean responded while shaking his head. Afterward, he added, “That was going too far. Do you know what the Illuminating Soul Realm is? A man at the Illuminating Soul Realm can kill a refiner at the marrow refining level only by the overbearing power exuded from the combustion of life vitality. The differences in the power of such refiners are like that of an ant and an elephant.”

“You can't say that for sure! Zen is an exception. He defeated a nature creature even though he was only at the marrow refining level.” Apparently, Nory was blindly optimistic about his belief that the weak could defeat the strong.

However, Sean, who had been at Cloud Sect for a longer period, understood how huge the gaps were between realms, and so he continued, “Nory, perhaps you don't quite understand the Illuminating Soul Realm. As far as we know, the Burning Sky Empire has a vast territory and possesses abundant resources. Its population is as large as hundreds of millions, but how many of them can reach the Illuminating Soul Realm? The gap between the Illuminating Soul Realm and nature level is far wider than you expect. I suggest that you shouldn't take this rumor that seriously.”

“Unlike you, I believe that miracles happen...”

“Do you mean that something like an ant eating an elephant would happen?”

The two of them argued with each other about the issue all the way. They didn't stop until they arrived at the other side of Drizzle Peak and got their refining pills.