Shi Mu closed his eyes and stood completely motionless. It seemed as if he was absorbed in thought, and he appeared to be recalling something important.

　　Some time passed. He then raised his right hand, and another mass of fireball emerged out of thin air. It then darted towards another square-shaped boulder.

　　A burst of fluorescent radiance gushed into Shi Mu’s eyes as he saw the fireball was on the verge of touching the surface of the boulder.

　　Then, a burst of tiny and hazy fluctuation occurred in the void. After that, a long and slender invisible chain emerged. It then formed a connection between Shi Mu and the fireball.

　　Shi Mu’s mind moved, and the fireball abruptly halted in front of the boulder. It had stopped barely a foot away from the boulder.

　　Then, the fireball turned in a swift manner, and bombarded at a spot behind the boulder. Masses of flames flared up along with a loud explosive sound. And, layers of stone fragments scattered in all directions as a result.

　　Shi Mu’s heart brimmed with exultation as he witnessed this scene.

　　The twelfth stage of the Art of Accumulating Spirit Power recorded several strange magic techniques. However, a practitioner needed various kinds of strange and unusual conditions to practice those techniques.

　　For example… this invisible chain could control the trajectory of the magic arts very conveniently. This technique was derived from a kind of magic art that was called “Magic-Controlling Spirit Chain”. The magicians who fulfilled two conditions could practice this magic technique. First, a magician needed to possess above four degrees in spatial element induction force. Second, one needed to possess formidable spirit sense.

　　Practitioners who commanded formidable spatial element induction force could attach the power of their spirit sense to the magic art they would cast. In fact, they could form a long and freely retractable spirit sense chain in this process. However, this chain couldn’t be detected with the naked eye since the power of the spirit sense was invisible in nature. In addition, the stronger the spirit sense would be… the farther the distance of extension could become.

　　Shi Mu had scored five degrees in the spatial induction force. He had also assisted Young Master Ju in entering the Dead Spirit World back then. However, he had never used this power ever since then. In fact, he had rarely seen a magic art that was so compatible to his strength. So, these factors obviously drove him to practice it plenty of times in an unrestrained manner. He practiced it for some time, and felt that the result was indeed pretty good.

　　He was about to return when his heart suddenly thumped. He pondered something while standing in the same place. Then, he flicked his right hand and flames flashed in succession. Then, two fireballs darted out.

　　A fluorescent light flashed across his eyes as the two long invisible chains flashed and connected separately with those two fireballs.

　　The two masses of fireballs were similar to two fiery-red butterflies chasing each other in the air. Also, it seemed as if an invisible hand was controlling them.

　　Shi Mu swept his gaze over another huge boulder that lay nearby; it was a hundred feet in height. Then, the two bright red lights flashed past in front of his eyes.

　　A burst of intense rumbling sound rang out.

　　The boulder was engulfed by a turbulent blazing flame for a moment. Then, it shattered into pieces.

　　Shi Mu’s fingers curled into a fist in excitement when he saw this scene.

　　The method he had just used to control these two fireballs was a brilliant idea that had occurred to him a moment ago. This was basically a method of splitting his spirit sense into two parts. This was a kind of Spirit Splitting Technique that was recorded in the book – “Transcending Heaven Imperial Spirit Determination.”

　　It seemed that Transcending Heaven Immortal Cult was quite proficient in such techniques. The Spirit Splitting Technique was mentioned in this book was a very exquisite technique. This technique enabled the practitioner to divide his spirit sense into several parts and exercise a subtle control over each respectively.

　　This strange thought had sprouted in his mind because had read about the technique. And, this had left him with a desire to test whether he could unify the Spirit Splitting Technique with the Magic- Controlling Spirit Chain to control multiple magic spells at the same time.

　　However, he hadn’t expected that he would get success at the first attempt!

　　Shi Mu continued to practice this technique for some time. And, he eventually discovered that he could divide his spirit sense into as many as three parts based on the present strength of his spirit sense. This meant that he could control three fireballs within a radius of nearly fifty feet.

　　He looked quite satisfied when he realized this. He then turned around and walked down the mountain. Then, he walked over to his temporary cave dwelling which was located at the bottom of this mountain.

　　Shi Mu wanted to avoid all unnecessary troubles during his travel. Therefore, he often stimulated the Qi Cloud Technique to travel along the national border of the Great Qin Kingdom and the Lu Shan Kingdom over the next few months.

　　However, he had consumed a lot of spirit stones during this period. He had done so to replenish his magic power since he wanted to maintain rapid flying speed. But, such heavy consumption was still insignificant in his eyes since he hadn’t encountered any trouble en route with the help of this strategy.

　　He had finally arrived at the common boundary of the Lu Shan Kingdom, Great Qin Kingdom and ancient Xixia country one month ago. After that, he had located a mountain range with a fire reserve here.

　　He had then set up a temporary cave house in this place after a little consideration. His intention was to undergo seclusion practice before he’d set foot in the ancient Xixia country. He had planned this because he wanted to enhance his strength.

　　After all, the Xixia country was quite mysterious. Moreover, it was the origin place of the Dark Moon Cult. So, it was always good to do little more preparation before going there.

　　Shi Mu had now achieved the goal of breaking through the twelfth stage of the Art of Accumulating Spirit Power. In addition, he had also practiced the sixth stage of the Art of Breeding a Strong Evil Ape to its consummate level. But, he had missed the breakthrough of the last step of the sixth stage since it related to the body tempering process.

　　A quarter of an hour later… Shi Mu appeared in a simple stone house that was several feet in size. There were no other basic amenities except for a stone bed.

　　Heat waves were constantly billowing inside the cave… it seemed as if one was sitting next to the stove. In fact, an ordinary person couldn’t even live in this condition.

　　However, such high temperature didn’t have any effect on Shi Mu.

　　He went to his stone bed and sat down with his legs crossed. He then controlled his breathing and adjusted his mind to reach its optimum state. After that, he took out a yellow vial and a white jade bottle from his Vast Earth Ring.

　　He then placed the white jade bottle on top of his thigh. Then, his left hand moved and removed the cork that plugged the yellow vial.

　　A wisp of red fog gushed out from the bottle; it was mixed with a nasty fishy smell. Then, it coiled around the bottle’s mouth, and took the shape of a lifelike miniature of a monkey. Raging flames were flaring around its tail. It seemed to contain ample spirit property.

　　Shi Mu then ejected his Real Qi, and the small monkey’s hazy image dispersed. Then, he made it return inside the yellow vial.

　　After that, he promptly opened the lid of the white jade bottle, and flipped the yellow vial over it. The extracted blood essence of the red-tailed macaque flowed into the white jade bottle.

　　The black fog-shaped Qi of an evil spirit in the bottle started to billow in a violent manner. Then, the black fog gradually condensed, and turned into a black Python and a small red monkey. And, these two images began to fight immediately-after.

　　The small monkey had occupied a very small area. So, it struggled for a couple of second. However, it was eventually torn to shreds and gobbled-up by the black python.

　　After that, the black python rolled and dispersed into the form of black fog again. However, a wisp of red light was radiating amid the fog this time.

　　Shi Mu’s heart overwhelmed with happiness. He quickly covered the lid of the white jade bottle and put it aside. After that, he closed his eyes and began to practice the sixth layer of the Art of Breeding a Strong Evil Ape.

　　Countless tiny crystals emerged in his body after some time; they couldn’t be seen easily. Then, the heavenly spiritual aura gradually gathered around him from the surrounding. However, it continued to linger outside his body, and was unable to seep into his body.

　　Shi Mu opened his eyes and grasped the white jade bottle. Then, he pulled out its cap and poured his Real Qi into the bottle. A mass of black fog gushed out from the bottle and enveloped his whole body.

　　Then, a burst of crackling sound began to spread from inside his body. Blue veins protruded on his forehead. He had also begun to sweat profusely. Even his face had distorted and revealed a hint of unendurable suffering.

　　Shi Mu had already expected that he would have to stimulate the operation of his spirit sense during this process. So, he retained a glimmer of clarity in his mind and started to read the Soul-Comforting Spell.

　　His face gradually relaxed, and the hint of endurable pain also began to slowly recede. However, the crackling sound that was spreading from his body grew even more intense. In fact, it sounded as if beans were crackling. Soon, a ball of black dirt began to emerge on the surface of his skin.

　　This process lasted for almost two hours. The black fog that had wrapped his whole body finally dissipated.

　　Shi Mu’s complexion turned slightly pale, but his face was gleaming with a delightful smile.

　　He had eventually practiced the sixth stage of the Art of Breeding a Strong Evil Ape to its acme!

　　Shi Mu hadn’t expected that the pain of body tempering process in the sixth stage would be nearly twice the pain he had experienced in the fifth stage. Also, the duration of this suffering was longer than the fifth stage.

　　However, the sixth stage’s harvest was much larger than the first five stages of the Art of Breeding a Strong Evil Ape. In fact, it could be said that the sixth stage had ushered-in a qualitative change.

　　Shi Mu could feel an abundance of strength surging inside his body. He had a vivid impulsion that his Real Qi might break through the primary stage of the Xian Tian realm if he shot out his punch using the Stone Breaking Fist at this time.

　　Moreover, the most noticeable thing was that the tenacity of Shi Mu’s body had increased by a big margin. Now, his Xian Tian primary stage’s Real Qi could resist attacks even if he didn’t initiate the slightest defense. In addition, his Real Qi wouldn’t let the other party cause him any serious injuries to him.

　　The requirement of demon ape’s extracted blood for each subsequent layer of the Art of Breeding a Strong Evil Ape would increase exponentially from the beginning of the seventh stage. Moreover, the inexplicable pain his body would suffer during the tempering process would also become more and more intense. However, it was also certain that the result of each breakthrough would be more astonishing than the previous ones.

　　But, Shi Mu didn’t have the extracted blood of a demon ape for the seventh layer. Therefore, he wouldn’t be able to continue with his practice for a while.

　　Shi Mu had already prepared a bucket of water in his house. He used that water to wash the dirt and filth off his body’s surface. Then, he set out towards his bedroom.

　　His residence was inside a huge underground karst cave; it was several dozen feet in size.

　　Countless stalactites hung from the ceiling of this limestone cave. And, several even rose from the floor. This constituted very strange scenery inside the limestone cave.

　　A deep but vaguely visible passageway could be seen at the other end of the bedroom. This meandering passageway stretched all the way to the underground.

　　Shi Mu quickly arrived at the channel’s opening. Then, he walked down the channel along the passageway.

　　A wisp of brightness appeared before his eyes after some time. After that, a massive space appeared in front of his eyes; it was thousands of feet in size.

　　Suddenly, a scorching airwave hit him in his face. The surrounding air also began to twist and distort. Each subsequent breath made him experience a fervent feeling within his body.

　　A large fiery-red pond had occupied most of the entire space. Many pointy rocks could be seen standing valiantly in this pond. Fiery-red bubbles were bubbling from the surface of the pond in a constant manner.

　　Shi Mu stopped dozens of feet away from the rocky pond. Then, he turned around and walked into a fire room through a gap in the rock wall.

　　Shi Mu had dug out this fire room for his practice when he had found this place.

　　The fire-attribute vitality of this fiery-rock pond was unusually strong. Therefore, the outcome of practicing the Art of Flaming Red Ape was a lot better here than it was in the Black Demon Sect.

　　The fire room was absolutely empty. Shi Mu walked in and sat down in the centre of the room with his legs crossed. Then, he took out an All Yang Pill from his storage ring and swallowed it down.

　　There was an immensely rich fire-attribute aura in the atmosphere. So, Shi Mu stimulated the operation of the Qi Palace within his body by following the process of the Art of Flaming Red Ape’s seventh stage. He then released a wisp of Real Qi from within, and guided it to flow in his limbs and bones. The tiny wisp began to circulate in his entire body through his veins and meridians. Shi Mu’s body had seemingly gotten shrouded in a mass of bright red radiance very soon.

　　…

　　One particular day… after a month or so…

　　A joyful whistling sound spread from the fire room.

　　Shi Mu was in the fire room and the upper part of his body was bare. His whole body was curled-up in a layer of red mist. And, his face was brimming with inexplicable excitement.

　　The fact was that Shi Mu had finally made a breakthrough to the seventh stage of the Art of Flaming Red Ape. In fact, he had even reached the eight stage’s boundary after this period of practice. And, his body’s Real Qi had also recorded an exponential growth as a result.

　　This signified that Shi Mu had finally stepped into the Xian Tian middle stage. Moreover, his fire-attribute element induction force had also escalated by a great extent. In fact, he wasn’t far from reaching the ‘six degrees’ mark now.

　　Shi Mu had been able to practice so quickly due to the combined effect of the Sun-Swallowing Art and the special power of this fire room. In addition, the effect of the All Yang Pill was also far better than Amassing Yang Pill’s.

　　The pupils of Shi Mu’s eyes congealed; it seemed as if he was pondering over something.

　　If his assessment of the passage of time was correct… the Ascension to Immortality Ceremony was about to begin in the Heavenly Yu City.