Chapter 324
Chapter 324
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 0
Chapter Title: Xuanling Realm's Elite Arrives
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Outside the Ten Thousand Men Pit, in a remote mountain forest.
Accompanied by a blaze of intense white light, more than a dozen figures emerged from within. They blended seamlessly into the surroundings, appearing utterly indistinguishable from ordinary mortals at first glance.
It was the group from the Xuanling Realm!
Leading them was the Xuanling Realm's Celestial Immortal Minghua, current head of the Three Immortal Officials and confidant to the realm's supreme authority.
Following behind him were three Earth Immortals and seven Human Immortals.
The Xuanling Realm had come with a hit-and-run mindset, after all, dispatching only one-third of its upper echelons while the rest guarded the homeland.
“How far is this place from the Ten Thousand Men Pit?”
Before Celestial Immortal Minghua had even finished speaking, a Human Immortal stepped forward on his own initiative, cupping his hands.
“Reporting to Master, the two-realm instrument anchored us a thousand li away.”
This Human Immortal was named Cheng Xian.
Though merely a Human Immortal, he was in fact Celestial Immortal Minghua's personal disciple, whose own dao arts traced back to the supreme authority of the Xuanling Realm.
If Celestial Immortal Minghua was the crown prince, then Cheng Xian was the imperial grandson.
Thus, with him stepping forward to reply, the other three Earth Immortals raised no objections. Instead, they each kept their eyes on their noses and noses on their hearts, opting for silence.
Celestial Immortal Minghua nodded inwardly at the sight, pleased with the three Earth Immortals' deference.
“Cheng Xian has done well. The Ten Thousand Men Pit formed by the Fallen Mortal Realm is too conspicuous a target. Teleporting straight there would be dangerous if the enemy had prepared an ambush.”
“Celestial Official is wise.”
Only then did the Earth Immortals voice their agreement.
Having disciplined his subordinates, Celestial Immortal Minghua shifted the conversation.
“Very well. Our objectives this time are just two: Shen Jin and the traitor Yu Shao!”
The former was for harvesting qi to bolster the Xuanling Realm.
The latter—to eliminate future threats. After all, the Xuanling Realm's plan was to grab and go, so they had to prevent anyone from playing guide for pursuers.
“Both have been marked with the Supreme Purity Sense Talisman.”
“With our combined divination, they cannot escape!”
Under Celestial Immortal Minghua's lead, the group immediately began casting spells and forming hand seals to sense the targets' locations. But soon, they all froze in unison.
Celestial Immortal Minghua even raised an eyebrow slightly.
“The two targets... are together?”
In his senses, Shen Jin and the traitor Yu Shao were in the exact same direction—within a region less than three thousand li from their position!
‘A trap?’
The thought flashed through Celestial Immortal Minghua's mind almost instantly, but he quickly regained his composure.
‘So what if it is a trap?’
‘According to the intelligence from Qi He, that Primal Saint Sect dominates the northern river regions. Its acting sect master is merely at peak Foundation Establishment, on par with me. Beyond him, they have few Great True Persons equivalent to Earth Immortals. With my strength, I can handle it—or escape at worst.’
Not to mention he wasn't alone.
‘Qi He made no mention of Yu Shao, meaning he hasn't joined the Primal Saint Sect. He must have gone to the Sword Pavilion instead.’
‘But with his power, how many could he muster?’
‘No matter what, one Heavenly Immortal, three Earth Immortals, seven Human Immortals... Unless the supreme authority comes personally, victory is ours!’
Jiangnan, aboard the boat.
After being accepted by Perfected Being Demon-Quelling, Lu Yang had been granted permission to find a secluded chamber within the vessel for closed-door cultivation, intent on properly digesting all his recent gains.
First, he sealed the chamber with an array.
Ensuring no divine sense could probe inside—and that any attempt would alert him immediately. Only then did he produce a storage pouch.
Inside, besides Shen Jin, were True Person Qi He's assets—along with most of the wealth from the Secret Gallery Street he had opened. Now that Qi He had ridden his crane westward, his inheritance naturally fell to Lu Yang, who accepted it without ceremony. He dumped it all out, then released a majestic illusory form.
The Qianheaven Omnicomprehensive Myriad Phenomena Dharma Body!
The dharma body rose, wreathed in black fire like a massive cauldron, devouring whale-like every spiritual item Lu Yang had taken out—refining them indiscriminately, good or bad.
Gradually, a sense of satiety welled up in his mind.
‘The limit.’
Lu Yang understood clearly. This dharma body of his had reached the peak of its current stage. To advance further, he would need to harvest qi once more.
“As described in the Qianheaven Primordial Unified Grasp of the Myriad Heavens Divine Method, cultivating the Qianheaven Omnicomprehensive Myriad Phenomena Dharma Body roughly divides into five steps. The first is what I've achieved now: successfully condensing the dharma body. The next three steps involve extracting its essence and discarding the dross.”
“Second step: discard the ‘Dharma Body.’”
“No longer bound to a fixed form, merging freely with the self, coalescing and dispersing at will.”
“Third step: discard the ‘Myriad Phenomena.’”
“No longer bound to imagery, transforming endlessly, birthing all things.”
“Fourth step: discard the ‘Omnicomprehensive.’”
“No longer relying on crude control; everything flows naturally, integrated with heaven and earth. With a single thought, heaven and earth respond in kind.”
“Fifth step: discard the ‘Qian.’”
“Leaving only ‘Heaven,’ truly linking to the fruition of the Wanwu Realm—and capable of fully drawing it into the main world!”
Five qi harvests, each more difficult than the last.
Especially the final step, which invited the Wanwu Realm's frenzied backlash—something few peak Foundation Establishment Great True Persons could survive.
The difficulty of a second-rank true merit was plain to see.
‘But for me, it's just reopening five times. As for re-entering the Wanwu Realm... it doesn't have to be through the Saint Sect.’
‘After all, I hold the corresponding Qianheaven Primordial Unified Grasp of the Myriad Heavens Divine Method. Hand it to the Sword Pavilion, and their True Lords could deduce and pinpoint the Wanwu Realm's location. The only issue is it would harm the Saint Sect's interests.’
What? In this life, I'm with the Sword Pavilion?
No problem then!
Satisfied, Lu Yang glanced once more at Shen Jin, stowed him away, and produced the Ten Thousand Spirits Banner instead.
Upon the banner, besides Chen Xin'an—who had just awakened after devouring Gou Yue—there was another banner spirit: the burly giant Kui Gang from before.
‘It's time.’
Lu Yang drew a deep breath, then shattered the banner spirit Kui Gang. The dissipating true spirit and innate qi all nourished the still-slumbering Ancestor Tingyou.
‘Revive! My once-in-a-lifetime genius!’
Though the ancestor's foundation was peak Foundation Establishment, since his fifth reincarnation hadn't returned to that realm, one Foundation Establishment banner spirit was more than enough.
Soon, a figure materialized within the banner.
“...Hm?”
Ancestor Tingyou manifested as a luminous shadow. Bewilderment flickered in his eyes at first, then understanding dawned. He looked toward Lu Yang and sighed.
“The divination is complete?”
“Ancestor sees truly.”
Lu Yang nodded. After the Book of a Hundred Lives' baptism, the banner spirits subjectively remembered everything from before, but their cognition had been altered.
To Ancestor Tingyou now, all their prior experiences with Lu Yang were mere divined futures, not reality. This moment was the true one, and any inconsistencies were naturally overlooked—the Book of a Hundred Lives had flawlessly patched every bug.
“Apologies for the trouble, Ancestor.”
Lu Yang bowed respectfully once more, according full emotional respect. Then he laid out every dao art he had obtained in this life.
True Explanation of Cavernous Void Internal Contemplation of Heaven and Earth
Supreme Bright Golden Cup Jade Light
Supreme Void Sacrificial Rite Marvelous Method
The first for creating blessed lands and cavernous heavens, the second a secret art for sensing Covered Lamp Fire, the third for connecting to the Heaven of Non-existence.
All of supreme quality and immense value—yet ones Lu Yang suspected had issues, though he could find no flaws no matter how he scrutinized them.
“...”
Gazing at the three secret arts in hand, Ancestor Tingyou glanced helplessly at Lu Yang, then shook his head.
“Fine. Let me study them first.”
Lu Yang's face lit with excitement.
“Thank you, Ancestor!”
Perfect! My once-in-a-lifetime genius is about to shine!