Exploring Immortality Cultivation-Chapter 1073 - 156: First Clash, Overwhelming the Elites
[Second explosion of the day, more to come]
When the black-clad figure charged out, the two Divine Separation Stage cultivators completely ignored him, continuing to operate their sword techniques without paying any attention to the mysterious black-clad man's intentions.
They could all sense that this guy was merely at the Core Formation Stage, perhaps out of his mind or with ulterior motives. However, a Golden Core Stage individual barging into a Divine Separation Stage combat zone was simply seeking death.
But for some reason, the two Divine Separation Stage cultivators suddenly felt an unparalleled boxing intent enveloping them. This boxing intent seemed to come from beyond the heavens, inexplicably landing upon them. Fear gripped their hearts and minds, not knowing which high-order expert intended to attack them, their sword moves suddenly spiraled upwards, launching fierce Sword Qi towards the dome.
This move left their front completely exposed.
The two sword cultivators were only about one zhang apart. The black-clad figure's fingertips each emitted blue lights, shooting the two Divine Separation Stage cultivators. The two cultivators shuddered simultaneously, feeling their mana go uncontrollable, as countless strands of Sword Qi burst from their hands, pulverizing the collapsing dome and falling boulders into dust, which the sword wind then pushed aside. Subsequently, the two cultivators collapsed to the ground, exhausted of mana.
This scene appeared extremely mysterious in the eyes of the other cultivators. To them, it seemed like the two Divine Separation Stage cultivators inexplicably attacked the dome, inexplicably exhausted their mana, and then were lightly pushed down by that cultivator.
"What's... going on here?"
All the cultivators looked at each other.
They couldn't comprehend what had happened, why such an unbelievable scene had occurred.
Why had high-order cultivators collapsed?
What exactly happened?
For a moment, no one could react.
— Oh, it couldn't be said that no one reacted at all. At least Mei Sicheng, Xu Xueqing, and other "insiders" were scared out of their wits.
"What's this guy doing exactly? Did he actually come to confront the Holy Emperor Venerable head-on?"
Because the dome was opened, after hundreds of years, sunlight shone into the Spirit Phoenix Island's underground city for the first time. That long and bright beam of light caused all the fighting cultivators to pause, looking here in confusion.
And the black-clad figure happened to be standing right in the sunlight.
Wang Qi looked at his shadow to confirm: "It's noon..." Then he raised his head and looked towards Fengxian Hall where the Holy Emperor Venerable resided: "Emperor, it's noon, it's time to settle some debts."
Someone yelled: "Hey, little brat, do you know what you're saying? Get down here quickly..."
Just then, from within the deep darkness of Fengxian Hall, the voice of the Holy Emperor Venerable emerged: "Who are you? Why do you speak such arrogant words?"
"Just a passing Modern Cultivator. As for why, there's no need to ask. Anyway, we're definitely going to fight..." Wang Qi raised his right hand, revealing a white ring: "After all, you need this thing too, right..."
Before Wang Qi could finish speaking, there was a "boom", and his whole body exploded into a mass of flesh, spreading evenly across a fan-shaped area on the ground. Then, with a flash of light, the white jade ring on his hand disappeared.
Seeing this scene, Ru Tianqi was about to lose his mind. He was firmly tied to Wang Qi's chariot, and now Wang Qi was risking his life like this...
At this moment, Mei Sicheng placed a hand on his shoulder: "Those Little Evil Demons' rings are black jade..."
Ru Tianqi was startled.
He knew the Holy Emperor Venerable was plotting an "Immortal Artifact set" from the Ancient Mathematicians in the Middle Ages, and he was familiar with one of the Holy Emperor Venerable's previous practices. He deliberately distributed replicas of certain pieces from that set, using numbers to try their luck, hoping to find other parts of the set.
That white jade ring was a similar Magic Artifact—a counterfeit with only the "sensing" capability.
Next, Xu Xueqing let out a cry of surprise: "That guy... isn't human!"
Many cultivators looked at her suspiciously, not knowing what she meant. At this moment, the Holy Emperor Venerable's voice sounded again: "Lady Xueqing, you may tell everyone your discovery."
Xu Xueqing bowed, stepped forward, and with a wave of her hand, numerous fragments of bone flew out from the fan-shaped mass of flesh, gathering before her and reassembling automatically.
All the cultivators let out cries of surprise.
A human body typically has 206 bones, divided into three main parts: the skull, the trunk, and the limbs. Among them, there are 29 cranial bones, 51 trunk bones, and 126 limb bones.
However, this human body was very different. Its skull had only two bones, one encompassing all parts above the upper jaw, and one for the lower jaw, with no more bones like the sphenoid bone inside, and the nasal bone fully integrated with the skull; in the limbs, there were no ulna and radius, or tibia and fibula distinctions, the forearms and lower legs were singular bones, the knee joint was simply a product of a thigh bone and a lower leg bone joined with a ball joint, without complex structures like the patella; its spine, when restored, only showed twelve vertebrae, half the usual twenty-four, and the ribs were merely two cartilaginous plates supporting it.
This is simply not a "human." No "human" could grow to look like this, not even a congenital deformity could explain it.
If forced to describe it, he resembles a humanoid species from a different evolutionary branch.
The Holy Emperor Venerable snorted coldly: "Neither does it possess a soul nor a true spirit. This is an avatar, and there is no divided soul residing within it."
Only then did everyone come to understand.
Xu Xueqing sighed slightly. In reality, she was the only one here who understood where these avatars originated from.
The flesh and blood in her basement were the raw materials for these creatures.
As early as when he had just entered the Foundation Establishment stage, Wang Qi could perform precise manipulations on the microscopic level within a small range. With his current cultivation, manipulating cells for directed growth or creating human bodies were not a big deal for him.
The only difficulty is that his biology, especially his physiology, is quite average. He cannot draw precise skeletal or muscular diagrams, nor does he know how to manipulate cells and mineral elements to form a skeleton. However, Wang Qi never intended to completely replicate the human clan's body. There's too much "design" in the human body that is unreasonable. One of evolution's principles is "as long as it doesn't affect reproduction," which is why many unreasonable structures persist.
Wang Qi just wanted some avatars that merely looked human.
These humanoid figures are mechanically structured to resemble a human skeleton overlaid with muscle, then filled with Mystical Thought Bodies. These Mystical Thought Bodies act as biological calculators to control the body and rely on the Life Flame to ensure the physical body doesn't die immediately.
They have absolutely no reproductive advantage, filled with mischievous design, and are destined not to live long.
However, in some aspects, these bodies are stronger than those of the human clan. Lacking complex structures like the patella, these body's knee joints are instead strengthened, and other joints become more flexible, capable of performing actions that many humans cannot.
This kind of shell, coupled with Wang Qi's research on the Artificial Law Foundation to replace Foundation Establishment, using Wang Qi's Artificial Golden Core to substitute Core Formation, finally integrated into the Heart Demon Mysterious Net, can also serve as a "decent" avatar.
The Holy Emperor Venerable spoke loudly: "Heterodox junior, you're not using this avatar just to greet me, are you? State your purpose."
"There's no need to speak of purpose."
Among the crowd, another "Wang Qi" stepped forward. He bore a similar face and the same vacant expression as the first person. He raised another piece of a white jade plate: "Can you feel it? This is another part of that set of Immortal Artifacts."
"Back then, what remained of this set of Immortal Artifacts in this world was just four pieces. Two belonged to Luofu Xuanqing Palace, one was taken by you, and one was sealed away. Then, you took one from Luofu Xuanqing Palace, and I obtained another. Recently, I acquired another piece from the ruins of the Mathematical Sect."
"Both of us have two pieces each. Do you want them? Do you want them?"
The Holy Emperor Venerable refrained from acting this time. He knew the piece in Wang Qi's hand was also a replica specifically made to sense the original artifact. He snorted coldly: "If you're willing to offer up these two Immortal Artifacts, I can let bygones be bygones."
Wang Qi raised a hand, showing a middle finger: "If you want them, find me and kill me."
The Holy Emperor Venerable finally appeared before the Fengxian Hall. He shook his head and spat: "Stubborn fool." Then he waved his hand: "Zhong Qing family, capture one Core Formation avatar of this person, and I'll reward his cultivation with a one-stage rise. Find this person's body, and I'll reward two stages. Destroy one of his avatars, and I'll reward half a stage."
In an instant, Spirit Phoenix Island was in an uproar. All the cultivators' Qi Mechanisms locked onto the figure in front of Fengxian Hall. Countless spells and Sword Qi surged forward. Amid the tumult of spells, that one Wang Qi struggled and faltered. However, those Ancient Method Practitioners were hindering each other, combined with Wang Qi's considerable cultivation, allowing him to hold on momentarily.
The Holy Emperor Venerable only then looked into the distance.
He had just sensed two powerful auras from afar. This was a battle between two powerful life beings. Though he didn't know why the aura only lasted a moment, he felt something was amiss.
—Has something happened to Lord Hongtian?
—I need to resolve this inexplicable Core Formation Stage cultivator quickly, then explore what happened on that side. Whether it's to assist in seizing the Dragon Clan's Lord Hongtian or to flee, it must be fast...
He still believed his subordinates could handle Wang Qi.
At this moment, a third similar voice came forth: "If you ask me, Emperor, your method is indeed too sly. It's wrong to bully the few with the many. I don't want to get caught up in a people's war."
The third Wang Qi was standing on the roof of the Jinshen Hall, looking down on everything below.
The Holy Emperor Venerable furrowed his brows, finally realizing the immense incongruity.
Using the Divine Country Technique, he monitored the surroundings, yet this Golden Core Stage fellow wasn't within his perception at all.
Countless people also noticed Wang Qi, as if they had found some Immortal Pill or Spiritual Medicine, flocked towards him. Wang Qi shook his head, gazing downwards, his voice reverberating in all directions: "If you ask me... worms. You are all worms."
