Demon Taming: Start by synthesizing a Lantern Ghost with Divine and Demonic Talents

Chapter 144-143: Heavenly Rank - Phantom Clone, Dragon Fish Taiyi
More than a month has passed in the blink of an eye, and Lu Yun'er has successfully overcome three tribulations.

This time, she listened to Li Chunfeng's advice and did not risk pursuing godlike status, only barely obtaining a perfect rating.

Li Chunfeng wasn't worried about her safety during the Abyss Tribulation. She had mastered the Xuan-level 'Void Walking' escape technique and was protected by the powerful vitality of the Five-Colored Deer. As long as she didn't do anything reckless, the Abyss Tribulation, which was at the first level of the Realm Abyss, wouldn't be difficult for her.

At the same time, Li Chunfeng's fourth tribulation is also approaching.

During this time, they formed a group centered around Li Chunfeng, naming it the "Yin Shen Class." Their goal was to all achieve the Yin Shen Realm level while still in school.

These guys are usually very competitive, competing for everything from cultivation level and grades to academic credits.

Take the Tower of Swords for example. After learning that there are rankings for clearing the Tower of Swords, people start competing with each other. Whoever climbs one more floor today, tomorrow, someone will definitely break that floor's record even if they don't eat or drink.

Compared to them, Li Chunfeng felt that he had been somewhat lax lately.

Aside from attending classes, cultivating, and occasionally going to Yuancheng to maintain his points on the Sword Debate Arena, he has been busy on Fish-Dragon Island, having traveled to almost every corner of the floating island.

The number of arowanas was counted at approximately 19,000, which is not a large number relative to the island's extensive water environment.

The dragonfish with the highest cultivation level actually possessed the strength of a fourth-tier cultivator.

It's truly extraordinary; heaven knows how many dragon scale fruits it has stolen over the past five hundred years.

However, within the island, there was a powerful array suppressing the enemy, so even a fourth-tier being couldn't cause any trouble.

If it manages to escape the island, it will likely suffer even more, facing the full force of the Hunyuan Heluo Formation. Once identified as an escaped alien, it will be instantly reduced to nothing.

Why was Li Chunfeng so interested in dragonfish?
It's all because he recently took a class called "Bloodline and Soul Inheritance".

Only then did I realize that the inheritance of demon bloodlines and the inheritance of divine souls are remarkably similar. In essence, the so-called bloodline inheritance is actually the transmission of ancestral power by fragments of the divine soul's true spirit.

Therefore, his "Soul Fusion" technique was effective on the Fish-Dragon Grass.

Li Chunfeng was constantly torn about whether or not to make the dragonfish his third demon pet.

All because this fourth-tier dragonfish gave him a tremendous surprise.

[Dragonfish: A fourth-tier spirit fish. Contains a trace of true dragon bloodline. True dragon bloodline talents: Fish-Dragon Transformation, Size Control, Azure Thunder Sword, Wood-type Fish-Dragon Armor, Fish-Dragon Diving into the Abyss, and Soaring Through the Clouds.]

This is the approximate attribute of a fourth-tier dragonfish as observed by the Mind's Eye.

Compared to its unremarkable state at the third tier, its bloodline showed a significant increase after entering the fourth tier.

The most outrageous thing is that this dragonfish, which evolved from the fish-dragon grass, might actually transform into a real dragon!!

"This... is just too tempting."

However, there are many kinds of true dragons, and Li Chunfeng was not sure which true dragon the dragon fish originated from.

Li Chunfeng was torn about whether or not to form a contract with this dragonfish as his third demonic pet.

Although he was very tempted, he still didn't act rashly. He would make a decision only after comprehensively considering all factors—primarily whether the upgraded Fish-Dragon Grass was easy to cultivate.

After all, a fish-dragon grass that doesn't reach a certain level is just a plate of pickled vegetables.

Relying solely on quantity is a huge waste.

After this period of research and hands-on planting experiments, his mind had gradually begun to shift.

In the past month or so, Li Chunfeng's strength has improved significantly.

Even with the fourth tribulation approaching, he can handle it calmly. He is no longer the novice who was frantically catching lantern ghosts everywhere to improve his natal demon pet in order to prepare for the first tribulation.

Strength is the foundation of confidence.

They would be even less likely to make a hasty decision for the sake of a third natal demon pet.

Time is in my hands.

A lot has happened in the past month or so.

First and foremost, his Heavenly Capital Sword has finally returned.

The Heavenly Capital Sword successfully completed its upgrade and became a third-tier magic weapon flying sword.

[Tian Du Sword: A third-tier magic weapon, a flying sword. Forged with the twelve divine spirits of Tian Du, it possesses twenty-seven layers of earthly fiend restrictions, undergoing four rounds of form refinement and four rounds of quality refinement. The flying sword inherently possesses the sword aura of Tian Du, a sword aura of astonishing power! Once the flying sword's restrictions are fully activated, it can summon a great fiend with unfathomable power to attack the enemy. It is also imbued with fiendish divine lightning.]

The power of a third-tier magic weapon is greatly enhanced.

Li Chunfeng also took advantage of this newly created opportunity to refine three more layers of restrictions, bringing his total to nine layers.

For the rest, he planned to follow Master Shen's advice and adopt unconventional methods of sword consecration in order to complete the consecration of the Heavenly Capital Sword as soon as possible.

This month, [Evolutionary Technique] also successfully completed the derivation of [Shattered Void Blade].

【Shattering Void Blade: Earth Rank 1 (123/1000)】

The deduction has just been completed; it's an Earth-rank spell. No wonder it took so long.

This [Evolution of the Law] only consumed 1,800 strands of luck, leaving more than 6,000 strands of luck remaining.

Although Li Chunfeng greatly coveted the spatial magic, he did not choose to use it.

After all, good fortune is hard to come by.

So far, apart from gaining luck in the Qingyun Ranking Competition, he has not been able to find any trace of luck elsewhere, let alone earn it.

This bit of luck may well be a rootless source.

Therefore, he plans to find an opportunity to enter the Black Abyss again.

He used to think that the four levels of the "Black Lotus Scripture of the Turbid World" would be enough for a long time, but in the blink of an eye, he has become a cultivator in the Divine Embryo Realm, and the next step is the Yin God Realm.

The four-fold technique is clearly insufficient.

He will mostly use this fortune to deduce the fifth level of the "Black Lotus Sutra of the Turbid World".

Aside from that, Li Chunfeng's biggest achievement during this period was in synthesizing Lantern Ghosts.

The previous batch of 630 million Lantern Ghosts were all fused together, but there is still a gap before 'Soul Devouring' can be upgraded to the middle grade of the Heavenly Rank.

Left with no other choice, Li Chunfeng had to invest another 20 million Dao power.

They obtained over 210 million lantern ghosts.

This batch of commissions was relatively small, and the return was quick.

He has already completed the fusion of souls with all of the more than 840 million lantern ghosts.

With the addition of 3.89 million souls already fused, the 'Soul Devouring' talent was finally upgraded from the lower-grade Heaven Rank to the middle-grade Heaven Rank.

The properties of lamps also underwent significant changes.

[Lighting the Lamp]: Level 1 Netherworld Spirit (Tier 4)

【talent】:
1. Soul Devouring (Mid-grade Heaven Rank)

(Soul-Capturing Whip, Soul-Devouring Fang Armor, Nine Netherworld Demon Eye, Death Soul Curse Mark, Living Soul Perception)
II. Heart Lamp (Mid-grade Celestial Rank)

(Heart Light Halo, Heart Light and Shadow Embryo Great Barrier, Dawn Halo)
[Spell]:
鬼魅影遁（地阶10级）、灵魂火弹（天阶8级）、念力护盾（天阶6级）、念力拳头（天阶3级）、幻影分身（天阶1级）、烽火狼烟（地阶3级）。

Theoretically, it would take another 34.9 billion to 0.7 million Soul Devourers to progress from mid-grade Heaven Rank to high-grade Heaven Rank.

With the Soul Devouring talent upgraded, the power of the five inherited talent spells that come with it also increases significantly.

Even Ran Deng's cultivation level successfully advanced to the fourth rank.

In fact, when Randeng advanced to the Netherworld Realm, it caused quite a stir.

However, since the natal demon pet is one with the cultivator, advancement is not that difficult. Moreover, Burning Lamp's accumulation is much greater, making it much easier for him to advance to the Divine Embryo Realm than for Li Chunfeng.

After advancing to the Netherworld Realm, Randeng's soul power has exceeded three million Dao.

It's hard to imagine that such a small lantern, with its big belly, could contain so much soul power.

Of all the spells of Ran Deng, apart from 'Beacon Fire and Wolf Smoke' which is more of a support spell and is only of the lower Earth rank, even 'Ghostly Shadow Escape' has the potential to be promoted to the Heaven rank.

The rest are all Heavenly Rank techniques.

The best way to enhance one's strength is, of course, to create a phantom clone that advances to the Heavenly Rank.

To test the power of his Heavenly Rank Phantom Clone, Li Chunfeng had already quietly arrived at Wangyou Sea via the teleportation array at the bottom of Yulong Island.

The Sea of ​​Looking Darkness is a secret little world where ghostly creatures and aquatic demons coexist.

The Water Moon Crab was probably caught from the Sea of ​​the Dark.

Lantern ghosts also frequently appear here, though not as many as in the Ghost Realm.

Deep within the Nether Sea, powerful ghosts and water demons also exist. Kunlun Academy has a base in this small world of the sea, but its development is clearly neglected, with large protective arrays often left unused.

Thus, it became Li Chunfeng's private swimming pool.

He occasionally comes here to perform rituals.

When the lamp first attempted to use its Heavenly Rank Illusionary Clone technique, it failed and pleaded for its master's help.

assistance?

What kind of aid?
Li Chunfeng was somewhat bewildered at the time.

When he learned that he would need to use his soul power to support him, Li Chunfeng's face turned ashen, as if a spice jar had been shattered, a mixture of emotions swirling within him.

It was only because he used the Heavenly Rank Illusionary Clone technique once that even with the more than three million soul power of Ran Deng, it was still not enough. He also had to draw away most of Li Chunfeng's soul power before he could successfully cast the spell.

In total, each spell requires 3,333,333 strands of soul power.

Based on past experience, this number will certainly not be small.

Even if his divine soul pressure increases, the soul power he consumes cannot be less than this amount.

He really didn't understand why the consumption of numbers was so varied, with both whole and odd numbers, and what secrets were hidden within them.
Fortunately, the power of the Heavenly Rank Illusionary Avatar that Li Chunfeng had been longing for did not disappoint. A total of one hundred and eight avatars covered a large area of ​​the Wangyou Sea.

The appearance of the lanterns illuminated a large area of ​​the dark sea.

However, even a Heavenly Rank clone only possesses 38% of the strength of the original body and has not gained any further power boost.

Furthermore, as the rank of spells such as Soul Fireball and Psychic Shield increases, the casting cost also increases. This results in the clones being unable to sustain themselves for long once they enter combat; once their soul power is exhausted, they immediately dissipate.

With Li Chunfeng and Randeng's current soul power reserves, it is clearly insufficient to sustain the clone.

Even so, the simultaneous appearance of 1.08 million lantern ghost clones was still astonishing.

It was precisely because of the great transformation in Ran Deng's strength that Li Chunfeng dared to handle the information about Yu Long at a leisurely pace.

However, not long after, on a whim, he took an elective course on "Annotations on Herbs of Alchemy" and had no more doubts about the growth of the fish-dragon grass.

Fish-Dragon Grass is inherently highly resilient, possessing a vigorous vitality akin to wild grass. This lesson also resolved Li Chunfeng's doubts. It turns out that as long as there is sufficient spiritual energy, Fish-Dragon Grass has a high probability of continuing to grow over time, which is a characteristic of spiritual plants.

On Yulong Island, there is no shortage of natural wonders.

Therefore, many things seem to be predetermined.

Li Chunfeng quickly made a decision to make the Fish-Dragon his third natal demon pet.

His selection of his three natal demon pets was not based on much hesitation. From the Lantern Ghost to the Six-Winged Mosquito, and then to the Fish-Dragon Grass, they were all very ordinary things. The main point was to be fast, accurate and ruthless.

Having chosen his third destined demon pet, Li Chunfeng no longer hesitated and immediately began talking to the fourth-tier dragonfish that he had been raising.

"Moo~"

This wasn't their first meeting.

When they met again, even though they were separated by a protective array, the dragon fish still roared at him, spewing water jets from its mouth in an attempt to break through the barrier.

It was just a fish, yet its cry was as deep as a cow's, clearly indicating that it was in a bad mood.

Li Chunfeng wouldn't tolerate it.

"You don't need to shout. With your intelligence, you should already know what this island is. This is a human dwelling place. Under the cover of the great formation, if you dare to escape the floating island's range, you will be instantly annihilated, your soul and body destroyed. As for your origin, you are merely a Fish-Dragon Grass planted in the medicinal field of the floating island. Benefiting from the rich spiritual energy of heaven and earth on the floating island, you developed intelligence. Afterwards, you stole countless Dragon Scale Fruits, which led to your current achievements. Everything you have is given to you by humans. I am the current island master of Fish-Dragon Island. We have no past grudges or present enmity, so why roar at me?"

The dragonfish remained silent, its enormous eyes still fixed on Li Chunfeng.

"Now I'm giving you a chance to form a soul contract with me and acknowledge me as your master. I can help you transform into a true dragon. In the future, when I achieve the Yang God status and live a long and healthy life, you will be my true dragon general, transcending the Three Realms and the Five Elements, and you can also share the fruits of immortality with me."

"Moo~!" the dragonfish roared.

"You won't agree? Hmph, you don't need to pretend to be tough in front of me, that's not like you. If you don't believe me, I can release the array restrictions right now, but do you dare to step out of the floating island?"

"Moo?" the dragonfish taunted.

Li Chunfeng sneered inwardly, then simply waved his hand and released the restrictive formation that had been holding it captive.

The fish and dragon were somewhat incredulous when they saw the barrier suddenly dissipate.

His fish-like eyes were no longer so angry, and his massive body moved closer to Li Chunfeng, almost face to face.

Li Chunfeng remained calm and fearless, facing the fourth-tier dragonfish with ease.

The dragonfish ultimately did not make a move. Despite its remarkable talent, it was not actually skilled in fighting during its more than five hundred years of life.

"Please, I have released the array restrictions. You can leave Fish-Dragon Island, which has trapped you for more than 500 years, at any time."

Li Chunfeng's generosity made Yulong hesitate.

After a slight hesitation, it took to the air and flew away, circling the island for a long time. The restrictions that had previously confined their areas had indeed disappeared. Could it truly leave this cage?
It flew quickly to the edge of the cliff, about to soar through the sky, but suddenly stopped.

The fourth-tier fish-dragon, possessing a trace of true dragon blood, is extremely intelligent and can sense that there is indeed hidden danger in the sky.

That person didn't lie to it.

But what do we do now?
Moo... Doesn't Fish have any pride?
"How about it? Forming a contract with me is your best option, otherwise you'll face certain death." Li Chunfeng's voice appeared in its ears at just the right moment.

"hold head high?"

Li Chunfeng laughed, "You asked me how to transform you into a true dragon? That's my talent. I could have ignored your question and forced you into a contract, which you couldn't have resisted. But I'll show you something to convince you.

As he spoke, he pointed a finger into the air and struck the dragonfish's forehead.

It was an image of someone successfully using a phantom clone in the Wangyou Sea, which was transmitted to the fish's mind through divine thoughts.

The arowana was deeply shocked after watching the video.

It couldn't figure out what kind of supernatural power this was, but it at least showed that this human was indeed extremely powerful, and Yu Yu was no match for him.

but……

"Moo~"

"You want to eat dragon scale fruit?"

Li Chunfeng turned to look at the bright red orchard, "Make a pact with me, and you will be responsible for planting that orchard from now on."

"Huh?!" (Is this really true?)
Li Chunfeng chuckled, "It's absolutely true. I wouldn't stoop to lying to you over such a trivial matter."

"Then come on."

Although he is quite intelligent, he is simple-minded and will definitely need to be nurtured in the future.

Li Chunfeng immediately led the dragon fish to the cultivation room at the top of the mountain.

The dragonfish swayed in the air and transformed into a young Taoist boy. The boy's skin was as clear as jade, his eyes were large and bright, and his hair was sky blue.

"Is this what you look like in human form? You've transformed quite thoroughly."

"Ang~"

The Taoist boy, despite his human appearance, spoke in a manner resembling the roar of an ox or the cry of a dragon.

"Oh, you don't know the common language yet. That won't do. It seems I'll have to work part-time as an early childhood educator for a while. Sit on the futon first, don't be afraid, relax."

As instructed, the dragon fish sat on the futon, its large eyes looking at Li Chunfeng with curiosity.

Li Chunfeng sat cross-legged opposite him, giving his final instructions: "Open your mind and do not resist. Your senses should be able to feel my sincerity."

The arowana nodded. "Come on."

Without further hesitation, Li Chunfeng immediately began to condense a soul contract, placing a seal on the dragon fish's brow.

This was his first time contracting a high-level demon pet, and one with extremely high intelligence at that.

However, since the two sides had already reached an agreement, this soul imprint only encountered slight obstacles before successfully penetrating and deeply imprinting itself into the dragonfish's true spirit.

The soul imprint fell, taking root and sprouting like a seed.

A subtle connection suddenly formed between Li Chunfeng and the dragon fish.

Because it was an active contract and the affinity was sufficient, even the final backlash did not occur.

The contract was successful!
At the same time, scenes from the past surfaced in Li Chunfeng's mind; these were Longyu's memories of the past.

The dragonfish's life was extremely monotonous. Just as Li Chunfeng had guessed, it developed intelligence in the medicinal field and learned to walk on its own. Pulling its roots out of the soil, it wandered around curiously, and then, following its instincts, discovered the Dragon Scale Fruit Forest. At first, it ate the fruit by itself, but later it led a large group of its kind to steal the spiritual fruit.

After that, I lived happily every day.

Fortunately, he had a simple personality; otherwise, such a monotonous life would have continued for over five hundred years. If it were a monkey who liked to make a fuss, it would probably have died of depression.

Li Chunfeng also saw in the dragonfish's memory the scene of him taking care of the dragon scale fruit tree. As for other dragonfish that tried to damage the dragon scale fruit tree, he would choose to drive them away and teach them a lesson.

He's a guy who understands sustainable development; having you take care of the dragon scale fruit trees is clearly part of your job.

The dragonfish blinked, and a greater sense of closeness grew between it and its master.

Li Chunfeng reached out and gently placed his hand on the dragonfish boy's hair bun. The dragonfish tilted its head in surprise, then took the initiative to put its head into his palm and rub against it.

Li Chunfeng chuckled, "Let me give you a name. From now on, you'll be called... Taiyi, how about that?"

"Huh? (Taiyi, what does that mean?)"

Li Chunfeng patiently explained: "The term Taiyi has rich meanings. It can refer to the origin and essence of all things in the universe, and it is also used as the name of celestial gods and constellations. Taiyi is also called Taiyi or Taiyi. Originally, it was a philosophical concept, referring to the source of all things in the universe, that is, the Dao. It was also used to refer to the chaotic energy before the separation of heaven and earth. At the same time, in the constellation system, Taiyi is also another name for the Emperor Star and the North Star, which is related to the phenomenon of the center of heaven and the worship of the stars."

"You might not understand all this. Just know that I have a good talent for naming, and this name will definitely not bury your talent."

Upon hearing this, the young Taoist nodded frantically.

Li Chunfeng smiled and said, "Come on, repeat after me: Tai, Yi."

“Tai…Yi, Tai…Yi, Tai Yi!” The young Taoist boy repeated with difficulty.

After reading it, she stared at him with wide eyes, her gaze expectant, as if waiting for praise.

Li Chunfeng: "...Although it's not very standard, since you pronounced it as Taiyi the first time, it means that the name Taiyi is more destined for you. Let's just call you Taiyi."

"Too...one, too one, too one."

The young Taoist priest's chanting became increasingly fluent. With a leap, he transformed into a fat-headed fish, flying wildly around the room. When he touched any calligraphy or paintings, he would spit out a mouthful of saliva, wetting them.

Li Chunfeng was also infected by his naive nature and did not blame him for messing up the decoration of the cultivation room.

Only after he had finished playing did Li Chunfeng say, "I'll take you to see the Soul Aperture; perhaps you'll prefer it there."

With that, he waved his hand and sent Taiyi into his soul aperture.

The warm and humid environment seemed like the best place in the world, and Taiyi immediately fell in love with the soul aperture. As he fantasized more and more, the environment within the third soul aperture also changed, gradually manifesting a pool, artificial hills, pavilions, and waterside terraces.

He plunged into the water, then found a warm rock by the shore and lay down comfortably to sunbathe.

Seeing this, Li Chunfeng focused his attention on the incomplete jade disc to examine Taiyi's specific attributes.

(End of this chapter)