Chapter 398: Mentality-Vitality Fusion!

　　Energy Room

　　“Instructor, don’t rush it! Chen Yunxi says that she’s about to acknowledge you as her godmother!”

　　Smack!

　　Fang Ping had just finished shouting when Wu Kuishan gave him a hard slap, hissing, “Don’t add fuel to the flames!”

　　Looking glum, Fang Ping explained, “Didn’t they say that Chen Yunxi and…and my senior sister bear some slight resemblance to each other?”

　　Wu Kuishan frowned slightly, ignoring him.

　　However Chen Yunxi might resemble Lu Fengrou, she was still someone else’s daughter.

　　In the room, Lu Fengrou was still merging both energies forcefully; whether or not she had heard those words was open to question.

　　Helplessness was written all over Fang Ping’s face. Wu Kuishan did not need to tell him what to do anymore as he continued pouring in Life Essence. There were less than 30 grams in the tiny bottle now.

　　“Instructor, I’m already a Rank-5. Achieving Rank-9 is only a matter of one to two years. I’ll help you finish off the lord of Sky Gate City sooner or later!

　　“It’s true. You know my cultivation speed, don’t you? I’m about to complete honing my internal organs. I’ll be a Middle-stage Rank-5 in a few more days. Reconstructing my blood vessels is no big deal—Rank-6 isn’t far off!”

　　“After sealing off the Sanjiao Gate, I may just achieve Rank-8 right away. It’s really fast!”

　　“…”

　　“Shut up!”

　　Outside the room, everyone hissed at the same time!

　　Motherf*cker, was he not aware that he was cutting her to the quick?

　　In fact, he was cutting everybody here to the quick!

　　In the energy room, Lu Fengrou’s expression had changed slightly. She might have felt the sting of those words.

　　What Fang Ping said made a lot of sense!

　　The little bastard might really achieve Rank-8 soon.

　　After observing what happened, Fang Ping thought his strategy was quite effective, and yelled again, “I’m already sneaking past Rank-9s at Rank-4. At Rank-7, it’ll be really easy for me to trick a few Rank-9s to death!”

　　“If you’re still mad, I’ll bash the Vice-chancellor up for you later?”

　　Seeing that Wu Kuishan was eyeing him, Fang Ping whispered, “I’m trying to pacify Instructor.”

　　It was true that Lu Fengrou wished to kill the lord of Sky Gate City, but to say that she did not loathe Wu Kuishan was definitely impossible.

　　She had always thought that it was Wu Kuishan’s fault and that he should not have brought their daughter into the Catacombs—what more when he was unable to hold off the lord of Sky Gate City. The rest had all died or been injured to the point of disability, yet Wu Kuishan alone was unscathed. This enraged Lu Fengrou even more.

　　If Wu Kuishan had either died or been disabled, then Lu Fengrou would not detest him. If he had been disabled, their relationship might not have turned out this way.

　　Seeing that Wu Kuishan’s expression had changed and he had fallen silent, Fang Ping continued yelling, “If bashing him up doesn’t make you feel better, I’ll break his legs for you!”

　　The corner of Wu Kuishan’s eyes twitched a little. Was this what Lu Fengrou really wanted then?

　　“Shut up!”

　　This was Lu Fengrou screaming.

　　After screaming, Lu Fengrou shouted, “Do you have any Life Essence still? Pour more in at one go!”

　　Fang Ping’s expression froze. He did not have much left.

　　Gritting his teeth, Fang Ping poured a little more Life Essence in. After thinking about it, he set his teeth again and poured all the remaining Life Essence inside!

　　The concentration of energy in the room surged suddenly.

　　The seven openings of Lu Fengrou’s head were bleeding profusely; her Celestial Bridge was much dimmer than before.

　　“I don’t have any more.”

　　Fang Ping looked at Wu Kuishan, saying helplessly, “Vice-chancellor, why don’t you try inserting some Celestiality?”

　　Wu Kuishan frowned, saying, “It’s not that I don’t want to. But… Celestiality is too potent. She’s currently pushing it. Once I insert Celestiality and she absorbs it forcefully, it will cause her Celestial Bridge to collapse easily.”

　　Fang Ping pondered, and said, “Your only option now is to try it out. Fight fire with fire. Perhaps the Life Essence’s energy is too soft so it can’t merge both energies.”

　　Although Wu Kuishan thought that this made some sense, he was still hesitant and a bit afraid to try.

　　If he collapsed her Celestial Bridge…

　　Fang Ping saw his reaction and gritted his teeth. “If it collapses, let it. At worst, she’ll drop to Rank-3. Instructor has been stuck at this point for so long. The longer she’s here, the more extreme she’ll become!”

　　If Lu Fengrou had broken through a long time ago, she might not be as extreme as she was right now.

　　The more impossible it was for her to break through, however, the more impatient, irritable, and radical she became.

　　Fang Ping figured that they should give her a boost once and for all. If she could not break through, then she could collapse the Celestial Bridge. At worst, she would be critically injured and drop to Rank-3.

　　As for the possibility of death… Wu Kuishan was present, hence her chances of dying were low.

　　If she dropped to Rank-3, Lu Fengrou’s chances of taking revenge would be close to zero. She might not continue being so radical then, constantly thinking about breaking through.

　　Seeing that Wu Kuishan was still hesitant, Fang Ping said in dissatisfaction, “Spineless and indecisive!”

　　After letting out a snort, Fang Ping shouted loudly, “Instructor, I’ll insert Celestiality directly. Absorb it as much as you can. The worst-case scenario is that you’ll collapse your Celestial Bridge. Life and death are ruled by fate. If you become a Rank-3, I’ll have your back in the future!”

　　In the room, Lu Fengrou spit out a mouthful of blood. Whether it was caused by anger or a backlash, no one knew.

　　Song Yingji looked on with an expression of infinite sorrow. MCMAU was truly different now.

　　Fang Ping… Every word he said cut people to the quick.

　　Fang Ping ignored everyone. Though the words came easily out of his mouth, his expression was very solemn. Taking a deep breath, he said, “It has come to this point anyway. Leave it to luck then. If it succeeds, then she’ll attain Mentality-Vitality Fusion; if it fails, then her Celestial Bridge will collapse. No big deal!”

　　That said, Fang Ping rapidly condensed a ball of Celestiality between his hands.

　　Wu Kuishan and the rest’s expressions changed slightly. That was fast!

　　Old Man Li was slightly dazed. This brat’s condensation speed was too fast!

　　Fang Ping ignored them and immediately poured the Celestiality he was holding into the funnel.

　　This time, there was no explosion.

　　Once the Celestiality was poured into the funnel, the walls quivered for a moment. Then, a surge of potent energy suddenly appeared in the room, repelling the surrounding Life Essence residue.

　　Even Lu Fengrou’s Celestial Bridge began quivering when it came in contact with this energy.

　　“Instructor, wrap the Celestiality around the Celestial Bridge to compress it inward. If the compression explodes it, it’ll shatter. If the compression doesn’t explode it, then it should start merging!”

　　“Fang Ping!”

　　Wu Kuishan’s expression was constantly changing. This involved Lu Fengrou. He found it impossible to behave like Fang Ping.

　　Fang Ping turned his head to look at him, saying in a low voice, “Take a chance, Vice-chancellor. Do you really want Instructor to enter the Catacombs and search for energy mines all the time? If she drops to Rank-3, then she can retire!”

　　“This…”

　　Wu Kuishan’s expression changed yet again. He gritted his teeth suddenly, condensing a surge of Celestiality in his hands that was more powerful than what Fang Ping had produced earlier. He slammed it into the funnel!

　　At this moment, the walls in the cultivation room began quivering.

　　“Fengrou, I will definitely kill the lord of Sky Gate City! Believe me, I will!”

　　Wu Kuishan’s voice trembled. “Yes, I was incapable then. It’s all my fault for not protecting Duo Duo properly! It’s not your fault that Duo Duo is gone. It also has nothing to do with you. I should be the one to blame, not you…”

　　“Shut up!”

　　In the room, Lu Fengrou’s eyes snapped open as she howled in fury, “Get out!”

　　“Fengrou!”

　　“Leave!”

　　Wu Kuishan’s expression showed his immense pain. Fang Ping saw what was happening and said quickly, “Instructor, ignore him. Absorb the Celestiality. Don’t worry. It’s fine if the Celestial Bridge collapses—you can start afresh anyway if it does!”

　　“You shut up as well!”

　　Lu Fengrou was about to lose it. Were these two bastards here to intentionally piss her off?

　　Old Man Li did not utter a word. Song Yingji also felt particularly awkward now.

　　Breaking through to Grandmaster level was supposed to be a big deal. Fang Ping made it seem like a joke.

　　“Instructor, go on, absorb it!”

　　Fang Ping pleaded mournfully, “I’ve poured so much Life Essence in. If you don’t break through, I’ll suffer huge losses! If that’s the case, you should just become a Rank-3. At least I won’t think that I’m wasting money. At least there would still be some effect, even if the effect isn’t so good…”

　　“Shut up!”

　　“It’s really a lot of money. I’ve already poured one catty inside. 500 grams. Someone would definitely buy it even if I sold 1 gram for ten million! That’s 5 billion. Would anyone spend 5 billion and not break through…”

　　“Enough!”

　　Lu Fengrou was already at breaking point. Without further ado, she began furiously absorbing the Celestiality into her Celestial Bridge.

　　Cracks appeared instantly on her Celestial Bridge.

　　Even Wu Kuishan did not know what he was supposed to say now.

　　Old Man Li and Song Yingji were also freaking out. At this time, did Fang Ping still have the audacity to blackmail Lu Fengrou?

　　Did he really pour 500 grams in?

　　Fang Ping acted as if he had seen nothing. What did Lu Fengrou know? She was sitting inside anyway.

　　Seeing that Lu Fengrou’s Celestial bridge was starting to collapse, Fang Ping took a deep breath, saying in a low voice, “Be prepared for the worst. We’ll save her first and see if we can keep her alive afterward.”

　　No one said anything more. Things had already progressed to this point. All they could do was to give it a shot.

　　Wu Kuishan said nothing more either. He condensed Celestiality repeatedly and poured it into the funnel.

　　In the cultivation room, huge amounts of Celestiality were being continuously absorbed. The dazzling Celestial Bridge gradually dulled, its cracks becoming more and more visible.

　　Lu Fengrou did not care anymore either as she continued to absorb forcefully.

　　As the Celestiality exerted forceful suppression, both energies began merging gradually within the Celestial Bridge.

　　However, this merging was like water and oil coming together. Even though they were mixed, they were still in a state whereby they were clearly distinct.

　　Fang Ping saw what happened and frowned again. He shouted, “Try blowing up your Mentality!”

　　Wham!

　　Wu Kuishan sent him flying with a kick, his expression thunderous. Was he trying to trick his Instructor to her death?

　　Old Man Li could not help scolding Fang Ping as well, “Shut up!”

　　Self-detonating Mentality—did Fang Ping think that everyone was like him? This could kill someone.

　　It was too late, however!

　　At this moment, Lu Fengrou was already thoroughly enraged. Since she could not break through, it was better to die!

　　As soon as the words left Fang Ping’s lips, a faint muffled sound was heard!

　　Click…

　　A crisp, clear crack resounded. A small part of the Celestial Bridge had cracked!

　　In the greater part of what was left of the Bridge, Mentality was being cut off and self-detonated. This time…it had truly merged with Vitality Force now.

　　As for Lu Fengrou, she was now completely bathed in blood. Massive amounts of blood flowed out from the seven openings of her head and her body swayed slightly.

　　Fang Ping had only just run back. He saw what was happening and shouted, “It’s merged! Mend it quickly!”

　　The energy of the Life Essence that he poured in earlier had not been consumed entirely. It had been repelled aside by the Celestiality.

　　Lu Fengrou was slightly dizzy. She did not care much anymore either. After shaking away the Celestiality around her, she began absorbing life energy.

　　The cracked Celestial Bridge was beginning to mend.

　　Wu Kuishan, Old Man Li, and the rest were so nervous that their heads were drenched in sweat. Old Man Li inhaled and exhaled, turning his head to look at Fang Ping. “Continue pouring in some Life Essence…”

　　“I honestly don’t have anymore.”

　　Fang Ping looked completely speechless. How could he still have any?

　　“It’s not enough… I’m afraid it can’t be mended well.”

　　Old Man Li’s eyebrows were knitted together. Even Wu Kuishan looked worried. If it was not mended properly, even if there were hints of merging, the Celestial Bridge would still collapse very quickly.

　　Something suddenly occurred to Old Man Li. He gritted his teeth and the middle of his palm split open suddenly. A streak of blood appeared. Massive amounts of blood began to drip through the funnel.

　　Fang Ping saw what Old Man Li had done and realized something as well. He heaved a sigh of relief and said, “That’s right, you’re considered half an energy being…”

　　Old Man Li ignored him. That day, he had absorbed too much Life Essence. Even now, he had not finished consuming it.

　　At present, his Vitality Force carried massive amounts of life energy.

　　The effect would definitely be less potent than pure life energy. The disparity would not be too great though. By right, the Vitality of half golden body powerhouses was extremely powerful from the start and their recuperation ability was extremely strong.

　　…

　　Following the influx of massive amounts of blood and Vitality Force, the cracked Celestial Bridge began to mend considerably faster than before.

　　But, Old Man Li could not sustain this much longer now. After all, he was not a Rank-8.

　　At this moment, Wu Kuishan seemed to have thought of something. He pushed Old Man Li aside and his palm began to split as well. Golden gleams of light seeped into the funnel.

　　Old Man Li’s expression changed. He hissed, “The imperishable substance!”

　　Actually, Rank-8 golden body powerhouses harbored huge amounts of the imperishable substance. This also guaranteed that a Rank-8 golden body would have enormous recuperative abilities.

　　Legend was that even if a Rank-8 golden body powerhouse was killed, as long as the imperishable substance was not completely obliterated, they could still toughen up gradually and heal themselves.

　　Perhaps one might even be able to resurrect from the dead!

　　Of course, this was only a rumor.

　　Once the owner of the imperishable substance had died, the imperishable substance would be difficult to replenish, which meant it would be difficult to continue growing stronger. As for whether or not resurrection was possible, it was only a theory for now.

　　It might require hundreds of thousands of years, or even more.

　　Perhaps one might never resurrect at all, even.

　　After all, legends were only legends.

　　Old Man Li’s outburst caused Fang Ping to take a look involuntarily. He could only see a faint golden glow, but he did not sense anything major.

　　“Imperishable substance?”

　　Fang Ping mumbled. Was this substance really imperishable?

　　Old Man Li frowned, muttering, “Old Wu… this…”

　　The imperishable substance was the foundation of a Rank-8 golden body. Once depleted, other than being extremely difficult to replenish, it could also easily cause problems like having an incomplete golden body.

　　That would be like the old Vice-chancellor, fighting battles for so many years until his imperishable substance was pretty much obliterated. As a result, he had always been heavily injured and unable to recover fully.

　　Wu Kuishan was quiet. As he poured in the imperishable substance, his face had also begun to turn pale.

　　In the room, Lu Fengrou’s Celestial Bridge began to re-condense slowly following the influx of energies that were pouring in.

　　As the imperishable substance surged out and was absorbed, a moment later, Lu Fengrou’s Celestial Bridge released a faint, dazzling golden glow!

　　“Condense!”

　　An explosive shout burst forth. In the room, Lu Fengrou was bathed in blood. The Celestial Bridge outside her body emitted a brilliant ray of light—immediately after, a burst of Celestiality coalesced and appeared within the Celestial Bridge!

　　This was not from Wu Kuishan and Fang Ping but Lu Fengrou herself!

　　Boom!

　　A loud boom sounded and the cultivation room began to quiver.

　　Lu Fengrou’s Mentality and Vitality Force sprang up once more. This time, however, they did not go through the Celestial Bridge, instead springing up outside her body. Then, both energies merged immediately. A burst of Celestiality appeared, replacing every other energy.

　　“It’s formed!”

　　Fang Ping was beaming with joy. It really had formed. The merging was complete!

　　Upon seeing this, everyone heaved a sigh of relief. Old Man Li pushed Wu Kuishan away. If he continued channeling the imperishable substance, he might not be able to maintain his golden body anymore.

　　Wu Kuishan’s face was pale, though he did not say a word. He looked inside the room and a faint smile broke out on his face.

　　The merging had happened!

　　Beside them, Song Yingji also began to exhale again and again. It had formed, but with great difficulty.

　　Life Essence, Celestiality, imperishable substance…

　　Lu Fengrou’s difficulty in attaining Mentality-Vitality Fusion could drive people insane.

　　If everyone was like her, there might not be so many human Grandmasters.

　　Where would anyone find so much Life Essence to consume—where would there be so many selfless Rank-8 powerhouses who would even supply the foundations that made up a Rank-8?

　　…

　　Inside the cultivation room, Lu Fengrou opened her eyes.

　　Upon seeing her own Celestial Bridge carrying a hint of golden glow, she frowned slightly. It was uncertain what had sprung up in her mind; her expression was constantly changing.

　　After pausing for a moment, Lu Fengrou did not bother to heal her wounds. She made her way out of the cultivation room instead.

　　When she saw the people standing outside, she scanned each of their faces. Finally, her gaze stopped at Wu Kuishan who was still ghostly pale. After letting out a soft snort, she strode out and left!

　　Fang Ping was a little stunned. He said hurriedly, “Instructor, I forgot to ask. How many shares do you actually have in the pill company?”

　　Lu Fengrou stopped in her tracks. A split second later, she did not show any signs of lingering but left immediately.

　　What was the little bastard thinking in that brain of his?

　　Fang Ping saw her leaving in a hurry and could not help calling out, “What is this? We agreed to exchange shares in return for the Life Essence…”

　　The remaining three people pretended they had not heard a thing. Wu Kuishan and Old Man Li left immediately as well.

　　Although Song Yingji could not leave, he no longer looked at Fang Ping. After returning to his counter, he began playing games.

　　Of course, he was not as calm internally.

　　Lu Fengrou had not achieved Grandmaster yet, but she had now attained Mentality-Vitality Fusion. Judging from the strength of her Mentality, it could manifest very soon.

　　MCMAU was about to have another Grandmaster!

　　Song Yingji could not tell whether he was feeling joy or sorrow. The old Vice-chancellor’s passing had happened not so long ago and MCMAU already had two additional Grandmasters. At last MCMAU’s high-end powers were not weak and vulnerable anymore!

　　Why was he still slightly weighed down with sorrow then?

　　From the corner of his eyes, he darted a look at Fang Ping. This brat might be the reason for his sorrows. He could not help thinking that Fang Ping was a deviant. Now this brat’s instructor was about to break through and Li Changsheng was also fully supporting him. MCMAU had really changed.

　　“Five High Grandmasters…”

　　He mumbled in his heart. If Tang Feng broke through as well, that would be a total of six High Grandmasters, exceeding the five that were at CCMAU!

　　Yesterday, no one took Fang Ping seriously when he talked about a two-digit breakthrough in the number of Grandmasters.

　　But now, there were already six Grandmasters or even powerhouses who were about to become Grandmasters.

　　For the remaining four… this brat Fang Ping might just be achieving it soon too, right?

　　As for the remaining three, the Peak Rank-6 deans might stand a chance, or perhaps it might be someone among the new generation of powerhouses.

　　Song Yingji’s thoughts gradually drifted further as he zoned out slightly.