Heaven's Devourer

"Enjoy it slowly. I did not tell you about the difficulty because I was afraid you wouldn't have chosen to come down. Now that you have, it's better to just work hard. Cough, cough...." 

Towards the end, Ming Long didn't dare to say a word. 

When she started forging her Nanwu Treasured Moon Golden Vajra Body in the past, she was way different from the current Wu Yu. If she had felt it unbearable then, it would likely be worse for the current Wu Yu. 

Having just immersed himself into the lava, he could already felt that it was more terrifying than being submerged in molten metal. Although Wu Yu had forged the Vajra Buddha in him, he was struggling to keep himself alive. The pain of absorbing all the surrounding lava into his body to forge the third tier of Invincible Vajra Body was unimaginable. 

Throughout this process, the most important factor was probably not one's talent or one's understanding of the spiritual art. Instead, it had to be one's resolve and will to live on.Although that spiritual art was complicated, Wu Yu had a solid foundation. After reciting it a few times, he could already roughly understand the profound meaning behind it. The crucial thing was still how he could withstand and resist the Subterranean Treasured Moon Furnace. 

"Treasured Moon." 

Looking down from where Jiu Ying was, that golden pool of lava looked more like the round moon that was underground. 

Two hours had passed and there was no sign of Wu Yu. If not for the fact that he could still sense Wu Yu's vitality, Jiu Ying would have assumed that Wu Yu had been reduced to dust within the lava. 

"I only know that he has a strong body. However, I never would’ve expected him to have achieved it through such forging methods. Cultivation isn't just about one's talent. One still has to have a will that is beyond that of ordinary men." 

Jiu Ying was deeply influenced by Wu Yu. He couldn't imagine the torment that Wu Yu was experiencing right now amidst the lava. How could he resist the urge to charge out? 

At the depths of the lava, the surrounding lava had already started circulating, with Wu Yu as the center. The scorching heat of the surroundings had torched the majority of Wu Yu's flesh. In fact, some areas were left with only eerie-looking, white bones. 

His skeletal structure looked as though it was forged with gold as the lava covered it. 

The truth was that for the first half of the process, it wasn't forging, but modification. It was the preparatory phase and the most painful portion. It required the use of the spiritual art of the third tier of Invincible Vajra Body to modify one's body while one's body was being burned by the lava. At the same time, Wu Yu had to create billions of suction points on the surface of his body to absorb the surrounding lava, forming a net. The last step would then involve the perfect fusion of Wu Yu and the Subterranean Treasured Moon Furnace. 

Luckily, this process wouldn't last too long if one could withstand it. 

If it lasted a long time, the torture would be worse than death. 

Even so, it was equivalent to the most brutal experience in the world. This greatly shocked Wu Yu and made him wonder how the Invincible Vajra Body was created in the first place....

Towards the end, he was almost numb to the pain, and he focused on systematically creating suction points. 

He had many reasons in mind that supported him to carry on. These included his desire to reach the peak of the Clear Sky of Shushan, his longing for the people of Heavenly Sword Sect, Wu You, who was in the palace in Dong Wu, and Nangong Wei, who was in the Shushan Reincarnation Realm. They had all become the driving forces behind him and enabled him to continue. 

Finally, his body was decorated with billions of golden dots. 

Half a day had passed. Jiu Ying looked down and finally saw something different. At the depths of the lava, there seemed to be something that was shining even brighter, overwhelming the brilliant light of the lava. It was as though a sun was in the middle of it. 

Besides that, the still lava suddenly started raging and boiling as though there was someone boiling it from the bottom. During this process, the amount of lava seemed to be decreasing. 

At the same time, violent and coarse shrieks of pain and roars erupted with the boiling lava.

Looking from afar, the entire Treasured Moon Furnace was trembling. 

It was as though a giant beast had awakened within it and was letting out a huge roar. 

"He has probably succeeded." Jiu Ying stopped his actions. After spending half a day, he still wasn't sure how far he was from the surface of the earth. At this moment, he had placed his hopes on Wu Yu. 

What Jiu Ying was not expecting was that Wu Yu was trying to absorb all the lava into his body to forge a stronger and more horrifying physical body. 

For Wu Yu, this moment was similar to a phoenix rising from the ashes! 

Why was he shouting? That was because of the pain and the tough process. 

However, this wouldn't stop him. His heart was filled with his desire to become a real immortal, the desire to become stronger, the responsibilities he felt towards the lives of mortals, and especially so, his hatred for Ghostly Wings of the Black Mountain. This granted him endless willpower to succeed! 

Suddenly, he recalled a saying in the Heavenly Sword Sect. 

"Martial cultivation is plunder. Only the strongest rule!"

Martial cultivation was about plundering. Plundering the spiritual qi amidst heaven and earth, plundering the assets of others, and even plundering the essence within the lava. Everything that was powerful shall be plundered. And only by being strong could one achieve what he set out to do and roam the world with a heroic heart. 

If one was weak, they could be killed easily by others. There was no purpose in heroism then. 

Because of this, Wu Yu was exceptionally determined. No matter what he was enduring, he wanted to grow stronger and stronger. 

He couldn't let over ten thousand martial cultivators suffer such a tragic death, whether he knew them or otherwise. 

Therefore, he out a huge roar and didn't slow down his pace at all. 

Bang, bang, bang!

Below Jiu Ying, the lava splattered in the eruption. Some fell on him and started burning instantly, leaving a few bloody holes on him. Jiu Ying shrieked in pain and was clearly stunned. Through this experience, he finally understood that the lava below him wasn't ordinary. Its temperature was way beyond what he had imagined. If he were to fall in, he would likely be reduced to dust in a few breaths. 

"How did he do it?" Hearing Wu Yu's beast-like roar, Jiu Ying was confused. 

At this moment, he noticed something too. The level lava below him was rapidly decreasing at a pace visible to the naked eye. As for the brilliant object in the middle, it was shining brighter and brighter. This undoubtedly suggested that Wu Yu was absorbing the lava to forge his body! 

Standing above, he could see the round pool of lava getting smaller.

"This guy is truly a demon-like genius amongst humans." Jiu Ying had never been impressed by others. However, he willingly accepted that he was inferior to Wu Yu this time. This wasn't in the aspect of talent, but in the aspect of one's will. 

The truth was, Wu Yu only gained this will and determination after being deeply influenced by the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal and having a few experiences where he struggled on the edge of life and death. It was especially so when he vividly experienced despair before escaping from death brought upon by the Heavenly Immortal.

Since then, he was more determined than others for opportunities that might arise. 

Just like this, Jiu Ying watched on as the entire round pool of lava shrank, being absorbed by Wu Yu. As for the location where Wu Yu was, it had become similar to a miniature sun. That blazing sun constantly sent out shockwaves of flames. In the eyes of Jiu Ying, Wu Yu was even hotter than the lava that was surrounding him previously. 

The truth was that it wasn't a blazing sun that was formed on Wu Yu. Instead, it was a treasured moon. The moon in the sky was a weakened version of a blazing sun. It was just that the moon was similar to a blazing sun in the eyes of Jiu Ying. 

Hu, hu, hu!

Flames raged and spread to the surroundings. A day had passed, and the entire Subterranean Treasured Moon Furnace had almost dried up. Jiu Ying was no longer afraid of falling into it. What replaced the pool of lava was Wu Yu, who had turned as bright as the full moon. Standing from afar, Jiu Ying could vaguely see Wu Yu sitting within the round pool. His eyes were closed as he rested, and one could vaguely sense an ongoing dramatic change to his physical body. 

The forging of the Nanwu Treasured Moon Golden Vajra Body had entered the last stage, or the consolidation stage. At this moment, all the pain and miseries had passed. This basically meant that Wu Yu had succeeded. 

As an outsider, Jiu Ying couldn't tell the miseries Wu Yu had endured and couldn't experience the horrifying struggles Wu Yu had been through over the day. However, he had a rough idea and was sincerely happy for Wu Yu at this moment. 

"What's more important is that with the lava gone, I don't have to worry about falling in. Perhaps I can destroy as I wish and smash open a path towards the surface directly." 

Previously, the only worry he had was falling into the endless lava pool below. However, it was almost gone now. 

As for Wu Yu, he clearly picked up the pace. In about half an hour, the entire Subterranean Treasured Moon Furnace had been absorbed into his body. The current Wu Yu had snow-white skin decorated with golden lights. Looking from the outside, he didn't seem to have changed from before. However, his forging of the Nanwu Treasured Moon Golden Vajra Body was successful. Overall, he was completely different from before. 

Looking closely, he realized that there seemed to be a round moon behind him that was blinding. His body, skeletal structure, skin, meridians, bloodline, and head had been strengthened by over ten times. A wave of his hand could even shake the mountains and earth! 

At this moment, Wu Yu opened his eyes abruptly. Rays of light shot from his eyes towards the sky. At this instant, two paths that led towards the surface were blasted open. In just the time of a few breaths, he had opened paths that were even longer than what Jiu Ying had created over a day. 

This was the first release of the power accumulated in his physical body.

In fact, forging the Nanwu Treasured Moon Golden Vajra Body didn't just grant him a body strength that was ten times stronger than before, it also included various techniques. The piercing force of his eyes was just one of the techniques. From here onwards, Wu Yu estimated that no matter how strong his opponent might be, they would feel a strong sense of pressure if they looked him in the eye for long. 

Although his eyes were still black, the vitality and demeanor they exhibited were unparalleled. 

From top to bottom, as long as he exercised strength, the golden meridian network in his body would surface. What was most terrifying was that the fluid flowing within these golden networks was none other than the lava Wu Yu had absorbed a while ago. His current body held the entire Subterranean Treasured Moon Furnace currently. He could even eject lava from his mouth and burn a large number of Jindan experts to death if he wished.

As for his current cultivation level, he was still just a third tier Jindan Dao cultivator. However, the strength of Wu Yu's physical body exceeded even his own Jindan essence! For others, their Jindan essence would at least be 10 times stronger than their body. However, for Wu Yu, the strength of his body had exceeded his Jindan essence. He could be considered as one in a million in the world. For example, elite demons like Jiu Ying could only employ body strength that barely reached half of their Yaodan essence. Under most circumstances, the amount was closer to one-third. 

Obviously, the quality of Wu Yu's white Jindan was exceptional too. 

Currently, Wu Yu didn't feel like he was a martial cultivator. Instead, he felt like he was closer to a martial artist of a higher level. The strength of his attacks wasn't from dao techniques. He could already fight by merely throwing bare punches or battle techniques. This was something extremely insane to even contemplate.

He stood up and could immediately hear his bones cracking. Even Jiu Ying gasped upon meeting his eyes.