All Heavenly destiny reduced to ashes
Chapter 409 - 52 Body Refinement with Formation (2/3)

Chapter 409: Chapter 52 Body Refinement with Formation (2/3)

In the eyes of An Jing, a Martial Arts practitioner who had reached Perfection in the Imperial Heaven and Houtu Method, it was very easy to notice the progress Huo Qing had made in Martial Arts.

Last time, Huo Qing had only achieved minor accomplishments in Abyssal Qi Nourishing; his Mysterious Steps and Piercing Armor True Strength could only be said to be understood in theory, and there were still many problems with their practical application.

But this time, in just a few days, in An Jing’s view, Huo Qing’s aura around his whole body was perfectly integrated, indicating that he had made considerable progress in the three body cultivation techniques of the Imperial Heaven Method, almost reaching great achievement!

This was truly incredible, and An Jing was quite curious about it.

"Actually, it was a combination of circumstances."

Huo Qing recalled with lingering fear, "If it hadn’t been for a life-and-death situation, I could never have had such a breakthrough."

After An Jing had left last time, Chonggang Town was attacked by a demon beast horde as usual, and as usual, the Purple Mansion Great Formation easily dispersed the beasts, and Huo Qing continued his research on formations.

But on the second day, the beasts attacked again, which surprised everyone, because unless it was two different groups of demon beasts staging staggered attacks, no demon beasts could afford the losses of a failed siege twice.

However, both attacks were carried out by fire crows, suggesting that either this group of fire crows had gone mad or that their numbers had reached such a high level that the practitioners from Xuanye City would have to be dispatched to exterminate their nests.

And on the third day, which is today, while the Purple Mansion Great Formation was still in maintenance, a horde of fire crows, far exceeding the previous numbers, attacked Chonggang Town, and even... a fire crow of the Sun Flame bird demon lineage, a demon at the Demon King Realm level, the Three-legged Golden Crow, came to besiege the town!

"At that time, I was a bit tired from studying formations and was practicing Martial Arts to refresh my mind."

Huo Qing admitted, "Upon seeing the demon beast attack and the appearance of the Golden Crow, the whole town immediately went into martial law, and I was so frightened that I immediately activated the Concealment Great Formation and hid in it."

"But it was of no use, the Purple Mansion Great Formation was still in maintenance and was initiated in an emergency. Chonggang Town had no protection, and the sky rained down charred meteorites, striking the town and killing many people."

"Our area was also hit by a meteorite, and even with the Concealment Great Formation, as long as the fire crows could sense that there were traces of human presence, they would continue to attack this location."

"At the moment of life and death, I exerted all my strength to stimulate the Concealment Formation, intending to cover the entire warehouse—simultaneously, I also exerted my full strength to stimulate Abyssal Qi Nourishing and Mysterious Steps, trying to blend my own aura with the surroundings, to become nonexistent."

"It was at this instant that I suddenly realized, how similar was all this to formation techniques?"

"Abyssal Qi Nourishing, isn’t that just a Spirit Gathering Array?"

"And Mysterious Steps, aren’t they just a type of Concealment Array?"

"As for Piercing Armor True Strength, which I failed to grasp, isn’t it just about storing up energy, concealing intention, and then exploding at a critical moment, releasing a burst of strength beyond what the enemy could imagine?"

As he said this, Huo Qing raised his hand, and a point of gray-silver light shone on his fingertip, which, as his fingers moved, extended into a neat curve to form a circle.

The silver line shimmered slightly, branching into many intersecting lines that created a complex and intricate Formation Pattern, "At that moment I thought, yes, this is formation, and then I incorporated the formations I comprehended into the Concealment Array, then activated it with the True Intent of ’Unquestioning Spirit Penetration’, instantly spreading the Concealment Formation to cover the entire warehouse!"

"While maintaining the formation, I found that my physical body was also being refined by the Formation, and before I knew it, I actually grasped the True Intent!"

"Wow..." An Jing listened with astonishment, clapping his hands unconsciously, and exclaimed, "Incredible... You’ve learned both the Formation Path and body refining!"

"In a life-and-death crisis, inspiration flashes but for a moment." Huo Qing said modestly, "Moreover, I have been practicing for over half a year now, and I had previously refined my body with a very solid foundation. That’s why I have achieved this minor success; it’s quite ordinary."

Indeed. Compared to others among the Children of Calamity, Huo Qing’s progress couldn’t be considered fast, especially given that he also practiced the Dietary Nourishment Method which naturally should speed up his Martial Arts training.

But An Jing was very aware that Huo Qing’s main study was Formation Path—practicing Martial Arts was just a way for him, similar to fitness, to enhance his physical strength and vigor.

He had an instant moment of enlightenment and then reached Perfection in the Imperial Heaven method, comprehending the means of Formation-based body refinement!

And more importantly...

An Jing looked at the silver Array lines that the other had outlined with his true intent and suddenly had a realization, "This feeling... Is it somewhat similar to the structure of Hanging Fate Manor?"

"If these Formation Patterns were replaced with towers, manors, and mountain terrains... Hmm, could it be? The entire Hanging Fate Manor is actually a Great Array that can accelerate the learning speed of those living within it?"

"No wonder the Children of Calamity grasp the Imperial Heaven method so quickly, achieving Minor Achievement in just a few months! And Huo Qing’s initial slow progress wasn’t because he wasn’t focused on practicing Martial Arts, but because he lacked the assistance of a Formation?"

——This is incredible; these True Transmission Secret Manuals truly embody profound wisdom, occasionally allowing one to comprehend new things within them!

An Jing felt an immense sense of emotion within him. He had not learned Formation Arts, naturally unable to deduce related Formations from the Imperial Heaven and Houtu Method. And even in the aspect of body refinement, if he had not understood the true intent and attempted to deduce, study, and even achieve Enlightenment on his own, he certainly would not have reached Perfection.

Such Enlightenment manuals from the Embracing the Void realm, if followed superficially, only amount to copying without learning the real skills!

"You are really amazing."

Huo Qing, through the great terror at the brink of death, had comprehended the Imperial Heaven Formation Art. An Jing felt that no matter how much he praised or admired him, it was never too much, "If you can comprehend the Formation of the Houtu Skills, then with the two Formations combined, even if you can’t comprehend the Divine Essence like I have, you would at least be considered a Grandmaster of this discipline!"

"It’s very difficult," Huo Qing admitted frankly, "Imperial Heaven skills are external; they can be sought through Formation. But Houtu Skills are internal. I believe what’s needed is not the Formation Path but ’Alchemy Dao’. That, I truly don’t know."

"No, no, no... Alchemy Dao? Huo Qing, you truly are a genius!"

Hearing this, An Jing’s eyes widened, and he had an epiphany, "Right! The Houtu Skills expand the meridians, hone the mindset, and internally condense Divine Intention. Isn’t that just like refining a pill of Divine Intention and Essence Qi within the body? My talent is too good, I was able to achieve results by following the method, but I forgot that such profound techniques cover everything, missing out on many details I could have explored!"

"I don’t think that counts as missing out... You inherently knew how; you just didn’t need to think about using it that way," said Huo Qing, stroking his chin. Although he had been consistently praised by An Jing as a ’genius’, able to understand things differently and forge his own path, in his opinion, someone like An Jing who tread the path of Martial Arts steadily and straight to the highest echelons, seemed ordinary yet was the true rarity among geniuses.

Could it be said that An Jing wouldn’t know the Imperial Heaven Formation and Houtu Elixir? He simply wasn’t aware of them, but if Huo Qing just mentioned them, An Jing could swiftly comprehend all the essentials and grasp the deeper true intent of the techniques, thereby advancing even further.

Just like now, Huo Qing saw An Jing effortlessly using the Houtu Skills to Embrace the Pill, pushing forward with an empty hand, and sending out a vast, invisible wave, exerting force through the air, and blasting the charred meteorite that had smashed the storehouse door straight away!

Such prowess was something Huo Qing felt he wouldn’t be able to reach or utilize even if he practiced for several more years—he only knew of it and had not even experimentally verified it, while An Jing had already learned how to use it!

After all, forging one’s own path... was still just an auxiliary path, not the grand main one.