Chapter 197: Earth Spirit Blessing

No matter how Jiang Li activated the token in his hand or how bright the spiritual light was, the passageway leading to the fifth level did not react at all.

"What's wrong, Jiang Li? You seem to have encountered some trouble."

When the Spirit of the Demon Subduing Pagoda saw that Jiang Li was still there, he went up and asked very enthusiastically. He seemed to really treat Jiang Li as a good friend from long ago.

"Senior Demon Subduing, my token can't open the passageway."

Jiang Li was slightly vexed, but he could roughly guess that it was probably not a fault in the token.

Reaching the fifth level of the Demon Subduing Pagoda as a Qi Refinement cultivator was already the highest record in the history of Shu Mountain.

Peak Master Wei and the others did not think that Jiang Li had the ability to continue downwards.

In addition, this Demon Subduing Pagoda was still a secret place of the Shu Mountain. The deeper one went, the more secrets there were. Some things below were not convenient for outsiders to see. It was too normal.

Therefore, the authority to open the door of this token should only allow him to reach the fifth level.

"Let me see."

Jiang Li hesitated for a moment before handing the token over.

The white-haired old man received the token and inspected it for a moment before quickly verifying Jiang Li's guess. The authority further down the token was insufficient.

In this way, Jiang Li could only sigh as he looked at the Five Elements Formation Disk that led to the sixth level.

He had tested it before. This Demon Subduing Pagoda was very, very solid. No matter how powerful the force was, when it struck it, it would vanish without a trace. At the very least, even with his full strength, he was unable to destroy a brick of the other party.

Without the authority to continue with the token, wouldn't that mean that he would stop here before he finished his mission?

There were a total of nine levels in the Demon Subduing Pagoda, and each level had a pagoda monument. Didn't that mean that he was still missing an entire half of the earth vein puzzle?

Just as he was feeling conflicted, the old pagoda spirit beside him saw through his thoughts.

"Young friend Jiang Li, do you still want to descend?"

"I still want to go down and challenge them, but I'm afraid I don't have the chance anymore."

Jiang Li nodded in agreement and revealed a very regretful expression.

"Little friend, don't be depressed. Didn't I say that I would give you a fortuitous encounter? With me around, it's not the time to give up yet."

"However, the next few levels are too dangerous. If you're not careful, you might lose your life. If you go down, you have to listen to my arrangements."

The words of the Demon Subduing Pagoda Spirit gave him hope again.

Due to the previous two times, Jiang Li had found some good demon beast materials under the guidance of the other party, and he was very grateful towards this.

In the eyes of the Demon Subduing Pagoda Spirit, both sides had already established a certain level of trust. Therefore, he made this request at the right time.

How could Jiang Li have any reason to refuse? He hurriedly agreed and thanked him excitedly.

Seeing this, the Demon Subduing Pagoda Spirit nodded in satisfaction. He took a few steps back, and then he raised his hand and directly pressed it on the pagoda monument that was shaped like his right hand.

The pagoda monument emitted five-colored spiritual lights. The surrounding array formation was also affected and began to flicker.

In next to no time, a familiar sound of stone rubbing sounded, and the Five Elements Formation Disk that blocked Jiang Li's descent finally slowly opened.

"Little friend, jump!"

"Thank you for your help, Senior. I can't thank you enough!"

After Jiang Li cupped his hands in thanks, he directly leaped down.

In the outside world, five elders and ten disciples who had already left the pagoda were staring at the floating golden figure.

At this moment, there was only a red dot left in the shadow of the pagoda, and it naturally represented Jiang Li.

"Look! He really passed the fourth level. How is this possible!"

"What an impressive junior. Is the resistance of a body refinement cultivator really so outstanding?"

"Peak Master Wei, the bodies of the Shu Mountain Five Elements Peak disciples are generally too weak. Should we increase our body cultivation in the future?"

An elder of the Earth Element Peak proposed a suggestion that he thought was very constructive.

However, Elder Wei shook his head without even thinking.

He knew very well that there was a reason why body cultivators were not welcomed by cultivators for so many years.

For most cultivators, the benefits of body refinement were far less than Qi Refinement.

Even if they spent time and effort to improve their physique, in the end, they still could not defeat the enemy they should not have been able to defeat.

Some of the freaks were indeed very strong in body refinement, but they could not expect everyone to be the same. At the very least, 99% of the Shu Mountain disciples were not worthy. Sword cultivation was their true forte.

"Quickly look! Jiang Li has actually gone to the fifth level. Unbelievable! Unbelievable!"

"This Jiang Li is too bold. Doesn't he know what kind of demons are locked in the fifth level?"

"However, on the fifth level, his speed finally slowed down. Now, let's see if he can pass through the group of demons on the fifth level and reach the location of the pagoda monument."

A few elders looked at the red dot that was walking and stopping with difficulty on the fifth level. Their hearts were sour with envy and emotions. They were all guessing if Jiang Li could create a miracle.

However, what was strange was that even though Jiang Li had clearly descended to the sixth level at this moment, there was utterly no sign of him on the shadow of the pagoda.

The red dot reflected on the Demon Subduing Pagoda's golden projection was much slower than Jiang Li's actual speed, and it seemed to be playing in slow motion.

This was clearly done by someone, but the people outside the pagoda and Jiang Li inside the pagoda were completely unaware.

...

Jiang Li was currently descending towards the sixth level in the narrow passageway. The air that assaulted him made his hair stand on end.

As soon as he landed, he felt his body tighten. The muscles in his body instinctively trembled and tightened, stiffening all the joints in his body.

This was the pressure of the aura of an invincible predator.

Even his master, Elder He, could probably only unleash his aura like this.

In terms of the aura above, it felt like moving through a swamp. Although it was difficult due to the pressure, he could still barely struggle.

Here, he seemed to be sealed in solidified concrete.

Even Jiang Li felt an immense pressure in this environment. While his body was hard, even breathing became abnormally difficult.

It was as if his body did not dare to breathe the air that carried the aura of a terrifying creature.

At this moment, Jiang Li's blood flow suddenly sped up, and the blood vessels on his forehead slowly swelled up while the skin on his entire body became crimson red.

The dragon blood in his body was boiling crazily. The dignity that had been flowing in its descendants' veins since ancient times gradually awakened.

A slight dragon roar that only Jiang Li could barely hear sounded, and a mouthful of scorching hot steam suddenly spewed out of his mouth. Only then did his stiff joints relax, and his chest and abdomen began to violently heave before he recovered his normal breathing.

Although it was only a mere six drops of dragon blood, coupled with his Sword Heart and Golden Core Dao Heart, it barely helped Jiang Li resist the terrifying aura that was present everywhere.

The demons on the sixth level did not exceed his expectations. Their strength rose to another level. There were probably terrifying demon kings who had completely transformed.

He did not expect that such existences could be captured by the Shu Mountain Five Elements Peak. Capturing them alive was different from killing. The difficulty level was far higher than the latter.

From this, it could be seen how powerful the Shu Mountain Five Elements Peak was.

"Little friend Jiang, follow me."

At this moment, the white-haired old man appeared from the wall again. After gesturing at Jiang Li to keep quiet, he actually waved his hand to open a secret passage and brought Jiang Li in.

It was too dangerous to directly pass through the cell area. The aura that spread to the entire sixth level was already so terrifying.

If it concentrated on his body, even if he had the protection of the mental statuses and the help of the parallel minds, he would probably suffer a huge loss.

Fortunately, he was lucky to have the help of the pagoda spirit. Only then could he silently pass through the secret passage and pass through the cell area.

Jiang Li heaved a sigh of relief. In any case, demon kings were not existences he could target.

Not to mention that he could not break through the defense, it was hard to say if he could stand firmly in front of those guys.

Like a ghost, he silently floated past the sixth level.

Here, he saw a huge bare rock head.

This head was the pagoda monument of the sixth level of the Demon Subduing Pagoda. If the first six levels of the pagoda monument were combined together, it would be a complete stone statue.

If this was not the bad taste of the Shu Mountain seniors, the raw materials of the Demon Subduing Pagoda Monuments might be a little special.

If he continued, what would the pagoda monument be?

"Little friend Jiang Li, sit down quickly. Calm your mind and let me help you with your cultivation."

The Demon Subduing Pagoda Spirit's performance was slightly urgent. Jiang Li did not refuse and directly sat down.

The other party did not need to burn incense. He slapped the pagoda monument again, and a familiar energy surged along the chain.

[Absorbing the Earth Vein Spirit Essence of the Five Elements Peak. Added Status: Earth Vein Spirit Essence (Head)]

With ease, Jiang Li obtained another Earth Vein Spirit Essence.

However, right after this energy entered his body, the six Earth Vein Spirit Essences suddenly changed violently together.

[There is a resonance of the Earth Vein Spirit Essences. Spirit Essence fusion begins…]

Before Jiang Li could even take a look at the attributes of the new status, the six Earth Vein Spirit Essence in his body started to attract each other without any warning as if they were firewood tossed into a fire, and they directly started to fuse together.

A strange ripple spread out. Jiang Li's body seemed to have become as stable and heavy as a mountain.

On the other hand, the Demon Subduing Pagoda Spirit beside him had a happy expression for some reason. It was as if he had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

However, one minute, two minutes, three minutes went by… As time passed, the Demon Subduing Pagoda Spirit revealed a confused expression.

Because to his and Jiang Li's surprise, the fusion process had strangely failed?

[There is an abnormality in the fusion of the Earth Vein Spirit Essences. Failed fusion… Failed fusion… Failed fusion… Failed fusion…]

As if it was a magnet's suction and instinct, although the fusion failed, the six energies did not give up. They began the fusion process again.

However, every time they fused, there would be abnormalities and failures.

Thus, in front of Jiang Li, these two messages began to continuously appear on the interface. The six energies were continuously fusing and failing.

Jiang Li was slightly stunned. What was going on?

While Jiang Li was surprised, the old spirit was even more stunned. This did not make sense, or at the very least, it should not be. The six Spirit Essences were connected together, and they should have attracted each other and merged into one. Why did it suddenly stop?

The Demon Subduing Pagoda Spirit was anxious to the point of running around in circles, whereas Jiang Li closed his eyes and started to inspect the situation in his body.

He made the parallel mind pay close attention to the situation outside, preventing a certain person from attacking while he was meditating.

He also sank his consciousness into his body and found the depths of the Qi Sea where the six Earth Vein Spirit Essences were hidden.

Just as the interface had said, the six wisps of energy in his body were almost identical in his eyes. They were trying to fuse together.

However, every time it reached a crucial point, for some reason, there was an Earth Vein Spirit Essence that could not be fused into it.

Eh, this Earth Vein Spirit Essence should be the one he had just obtained on the sixth level.

Jiang Li felt that he had grasped the key to the problem and carefully observed the fusion process a few more times.

Every time they fused, the process of fusing the first five Spirit Essences was very smooth. However, the Spirit Essence that had just entered the body was pushed aside and could not join them.

Then, the fusion would fail because it lacked the key essence that represented the head.

Moreover, every time it failed, the other five Spirit Essences did not change at all. Only this new Spirit Essence energy was shrinking at a visible speed.

Jiang Li ignored this information and flipped to the status bar to check. He discovered that the duration of the status called [Earth Vein Spirit Essence (Head)] had already dropped from 30 days to 17 days.

Furthermore, every time the fusion failed, the duration would decrease by another day.

Now, he understood.

The reason for this failure was that the fusion was too sudden. As a result, Jiang Li did not have the time to extend the new status [Earth Vein Spirit Essence (Head)] to infinite duration.

Therefore, although this energy looked similar to the other five Spirit Essences, they were vastly different.

The rule of Jiang Li's augmentation was that a higher-level buff from the same source would overwrite the lower-level buff status.

It was just like how 100 points of spiritual qi per second would overwrite the 50 points of spiritual qi per second.

Or for example, an overdosed pill status would overwrite an ordinary pill status.

The fusion of these six Earth Vein Spirit Essences would definitely produce an even stronger status and completely overwrite them.

However, five of these six statuses were infinite in duration, and the remaining one was only 30 days. Then, how long would the new status that was formed last?

With this issue, the fusion of the Spirit Essence could only fail repeatedly. However, the solution was simple.

Jiang Li pressed the plus button for five seconds after the [Earth Vein Spirit Essence (Head)] status. Sure enough, the fusion process no longer had any obstruction, and it quickly fused together.

In his Qi Sea, the dense earth vein energy was like a dough that continuously twisted and transformed. Gradually, a small rock person formed from the Earth Vein Spirit Essence became clearer and clearer.

The rock person quietly lay there, emitting warm energy currents to nourish his body.

[Fusion of the Five Elements Peak's Earth Vein Spirit Essences. Added Status: Earth Spirit Blessing (6/9). Talent: Earth Spirit Body (Incomplete) has been obtained.]

[Earth Spirit Blessing (6/9): Nourishment of the Earth Spirit's Essence will slowly increase aptitude. Strengthened harmonization of the five elements and greatly increases the success rate of Foundation Establishment. Great increase in the strength of the Dao Foundation when establishing it. Duration: ∞] (−)