This Human Immortal Is Too Serious-Chapter 521 - 519: Set Sail!
Not bad at all.
The feeling of handing over the decision-making power for the Heavenly Dao to launch an offensive was spot-on.
In the bedroom of Young Master in the Celestial Court, Wu Wang embraced his goddess, his fingers gently gliding over her smooth back, enjoying the lightness and leisure of the moment. Young Master, however, had fallen into a deep sleep, nestled in Wu Wang's arms, her lips curled into a sweet smile. A soft, thin blanket covered them, while curtains around the bed fluttered in the breeze.
As for Wu Wang, sleep was out of the question. Being able to snatch moments of marital warmth was already a luxury for him. The worsening situation in the Outer Sky, the restless stirrings of the gods in the Eastern Wilderness, and the looming 'Nameless' Tribulation ahead constantly forced him to stay on edge, calculating where mistakes might arise and where risks might lurk. Even minor disruptions like the slight disturbances among the Human Domain cultivators and the intensifying standoff between Immortals and Demons required his extra attention. A great forest fire could be sparked by a single ember.
Before Young Master awoke, Wu Wang quietly returned to his main hall to resume the state he was in before his secluded cultivation. Before he left, he planted a kiss on her forehead, eliciting a soft whimper. Seeing the lazy blush on her face, Wu Wang almost didn't want to leave.
Wu Wang observed the Heavenly Dao's operations for a while, 'inspecting' a Great Dao it had recently unearthed. The pace at which the Heavenly Dao unearthed Great Daos had become increasingly slow. This wasn't a sign of the Heavenly Dao regressing. It was simply because, as the Heavenly Dao controlled more Great Daos, those that were easily discovered and had never before birthed an Innate God were becoming fewer and fewer. The universe operates by rules that require the Heavenly Dao to continuously deduce and explore, discovering the existence of these Great Daos before gradually gaining control of them. The process of unearthing Great Daos had become more complex.
As long as the Heavenly Dao was unharmed, the world remained stable. Wu Wang let out a soft sigh, his spiritual mind sinking into his Outer Sky avatar. 'Martial Artist Qing Shan,' who was meditating, gradually opened his eyes.
DING!
"Master!"
Zhong's playful voice came just on cue. After a brief chat with Zhong, Wu Wang sat under a tree, resting his chin on his hands and pondering for a while.
I need to make a breakthrough in my realm soon.
Wu Wang murmured to himself as he stood up from under the tree where he had been meditating.
Since the Goddess of Fortune arrived in Liuli City, she had taken up residence at Wu Wang's home. Consequently, Wu Wang had been reluctant to return home recently. When not cultivating outside the city, he was accompanying Jin Wei in the city's central spire.
Why should I go home? To be dissected and scrutinized by the Goddess of Fortune?
The one consolation Wu Wang took was that having the Goddess of Fortune living at home was quite a good perk for Uncle Shan and Aunt Qing.
With a light tap of his toes on the ground, Wu Wang leaped up, tracing a silent arc through the forest canopy, accompanied by the resonant dao charm left behind by the Martial God. His long hair flowed with the wind, the night his companion. Like the day before, Wu Wang bypassed his own door and headed straight for the city's central spire, experiencing the proverbial 'thrice passing by his own door without entering.'
He found an unoccupied priest's rest area, played with the ring on his thumb for a while, and took out several Spirit Fruits and an Elixir. There were Elixirs in the Outer Sky too, but their concoction methods were rather simplistic, and the variety was not well-developed. The Martial God, based on hints from Suiren in the past, had fumbled through alchemy without even proper alchemical furnaces; it was considered good that he managed to produce Elixirs at all. Usually, the main purpose of Elixirs was to transform Spiritual Medicines and Spirit Fruits, which could not be stored for long, into medicinal potency that could be preserved indefinitely. An Elixir that could convert around sixty percent of its medicinal potency was considered a good one in the Outer Sky.
Well, no point in complaining.
Wu Wang grimaced, swallowing the Elixir and Spirit Fruits before him, wrapping them in Spiritual Power as they went down to begin digesting slowly. Originally, Wu Wang had no desire to increase his strength in this way. Spiritual Power gained from consumption was naturally not as pure as the Spiritual Energy absorbed slowly from heaven and earth. But now, with the rapid changes in the Outer Sky situation, which could no longer be compared to a few years back, there was no longer much time for him to cultivate leisurely. He had to resort to this more drastic method.
The two Spirit Fruits and one Elixir that Wu Wang had consumed were tremendously precious treasures for other Martial Artists, let alone for low-ranking Divine Generals. And he had several boxes of such treasures in his thumb ring! If one were to calculate, these were actually the 'inheritance' that his teacher, the Martial God, had prepared for Wu Wang. The Martial God had always intended to fight the Candle Dragon to the death and had long before planned his 'final affairs.' After taking Wu Wang's jade thumb ring, he had left Wu Wang with plenty of treasures and Spirit Fruits. The Martial God's million years of accumulation were not empty words.
When Wu Wang took back the jade thumb ring, he was moved too. Although the Martial God had now given up the idea of fighting alone, Wu Wang was not planning to return these treasures. Time is pressing. It's better to transform these treasures into the strength of this avatar as soon as possible, then work hard to repay the benefits Teacher Martial God has given me!
A faint green light emanated around Wu Wang. As he breathed in and out, the green light flickered and dimmed, and his own aura gradually took on a green hue. Before long, a crackling sound came from within Wu Wang's body. The realm which had already been poised to advance was now steadily rising, with consistent momentum to push further.
An hour later, Wu Wang's robes suddenly burst apart. Sweat the size of beans beaded on his forehead, and his facial muscles twitched uncontrollably.
Spiritual Power running rampant?
Wu Wang snorted coldly. A glint of golden light flickered on his forehead as a phantom seemed to appear within his body. His Divine Soul materialized! The Spiritual Power within him that was on the verge of boiling over gradually stabilized, and Wu Wang's complexion eased.
At the top of the spire, the Goddess of Liuli, who was observing this scene, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. She had noticed something unusual about Wu Wang. Indeed, she had been worried about such a situation occurring ever since watching him consume so many precious Spirit Fruits in one go. The fact that Wu Wang was able to suppress the surging Spiritual Power within his body before it ran rampant was truly beyond the Goddess of Liuli's expectations. However, such hasty and reckless actions were indeed improper. Even if one could break through rapidly by leveraging a surge of Spiritual Power, it might lead to instability in one's realm...
Suddenly, the stone chamber where Wu Wang was located was filled with a blue light.
"Is this the Martial Spirit Realm already?" the Goddess of Liuli murmured, a trace of a smile crossing her eyes. At this moment, she had no idea what she was about to witness. Usually, accumulating Spiritual Power and forcefully breaking through might produce effects ranging from weak to strong; but even the strongest effect would only allow one to break through one or two minor realms at most. After all, this was not the proper path for cultivation. The Goddess of Liuli felt this way too at the moment, believing that Wu Wang might at most reach the second rank of the Martial Spirit Realm. But the series of anomalies surrounding Wu Wang soon changed the Goddess's expression. Her beautiful eyebrows knitted increasingly tighter, and her expression gradually turned rigid. Wu Wang's breakthrough speed was unstoppable!
Ordinary Martial Artists would rely on a sudden increase in Spiritual Power to break through their own limitations when consuming Spirit Fruits. But Wu Wang had consumed Spirit Fruits before today's breakthrough simply because he was about to advance through quite a few realms and feared that his own supply of Spiritual Power would not keep up, hence he made a reserve within his body in advance.
What does the Martial Spirit Realm cultivate? Nothing but the Divine Soul. His original Primordial Spirit was already considered invincible in the current age, proudly traversing the Great Wilderness. Even during his cultivation in the Human Domain, he had followed the path of spiritual cultivation, cultivating alongside Fairy Ling and gaining Enlightenment in Dream. Unreservedly speaking, he was even more proficient in the cultivation of the Martial Spirit Realm than the Martial God. Following the insights into Martial Arts he had already comprehended and mastered, Wu Wang steadily elevated the cultivation realm of this avatar of his.
To condense an image of the Divine Soul and to fill the body with a jade-like essence embodies the Martial Spirit Realm. After that, initially fusing the Divine Soul with the physical body to enhance the six senses and internal Spiritual Power marks the early stages of the Martial Spirit Realm, being the first and second rank. Once the Divine Soul and physical body merge completely, forging a 'perfect' physique unique to oneself, and one attempts to grasp the Great Dao of Martial Arts and understand one's own path of Martial Arts, one can advance into the middle stage of the Martial Spirit Realm, namely the third and fourth rank.
Wu Wang almost traversed the first two realms at the speed of light. He was in no hurry, sitting in meditation calmly for an hour, allowing his Divine Soul and body to fuse gradually and in proper order. The Soul and the body have no superiority over one another; the two have always been one entity and are inseparably intertwined.
Gradually, a vortex of Spiritual Power formed around Wu Wang. The Spiritual Energy near the spire seemed drawn by him, converging toward the stone chamber. At this moment, the Goddess of Liuli played a crucial role. She pointed at Wu Wang from a distance, summoning pure Spiritual Energy from heaven and earth with the authority of a Divine Spirit, and filling the stone chamber with it. Wu Wang, focused on his breakthrough, did not notice such details. He felt the speed at which he absorbed Spiritual Energy suddenly increase, and the quality of the Spiritual Energy improved significantly, mistaking it as an unexpected gain of the Martial Spirit Realm.
Another hour passed, and Wu Wang suddenly opened his eyes. Two beams of Spirit Light burst forth, while a sound like mountains collapsing and tsunamis ensued from his entire being.
Martial Spirit Realm, third rank!
Abruptly, the phantom of the Martial God appeared above Wu Wang's head, gently striking Wu Wang with a palm. This phantom was the mark left by the Martial God on the Great Dao of Martial Arts; this palm was the response from the Great Dao of Martial Arts to Wu Wang!
"An Immortal bestows his touch and grants eternal life when one's hair is tied."
"The Martial God taps our head, breaking free from the mundane to bestow the Martial Spirit!"
The fall of that palm meant an increase of two hundred years to a Martial Artist's Lifespan! Of course, these two hundred years had little meaning for Wu Wang. As the palm shadow passed through his body, Wu Wang's Divine Soul and body merged even more tightly. His skin all over took on the hue of azure jade, and his aura abruptly elevated.
Wu Wang took a deep breath, his body slightly expanding, and from the pores around his body oozed droplets of 'impure blood.' Within moments, Wu Wang was covered in filth, but with a slight tremble of his body, that filth was shaken into dust, scattering and forming a thick layer on the stone bed. Without pausing for a moment, he began to directly assault the fourth rank of the Martial Spirit Realm, aiming for the latter half of the Martial Spirit Realm.
A bottleneck? Nonexistent.
Even using an avatar, it would be quite abnormal for the mighty Eastern Emperor to be hindered by a cultivation bottleneck.
「…」
The Martial God hurried back to the Liuli Realm. He had just convened a meeting with the eight most formidable Weapon Gods to discuss building defenses for the outer periphery of the Martial God World, as well as establishing an effective internal patrol system. The Martial God World was about to mobilize fully for war. He had just finished this important matter when the Martial God received a summons from his sweetheart. He thought his goddess was feeling lonely, so he dashed back, completing mouth rinsing and cleansing procedures before entering the Liuli Realm.
But the situation seemed to be developing differently from what the Martial God had expected. The Goddess of Liuli was pacing back and forth on top of the spire, with Little Jin Wei beside her wearing a worried expression. Several Martial Emperor Realm experts of the Liuli Realm knelt in the distance. After being summoned by the Goddess of Liuli, these experts had been asked several strange questions related to Martial Arts but were not dismissed, so they remained kneeling obediently. The Goddess's questions were indeed a bit odd.
"Is it normal for a Martial Artist to break through from the Martial Soul Realm to the Martial Emperor Realm within three days?"
How could that possibly be normal? Even advancing through the Martial Spirit Realm within three years would be unthinkable; that would require top-tier talent.
At this moment, with the arrival of the Martial God, these Martial Emperor Realm masters were so excited they wanted to kowtow in salute. Only then did the Goddess of Liuli remember them. With a flip of her slender hand, she immediately sent them out of the spire, leaving the old men with a sense of loss and regret.
"What's wrong?" the Martial God frowned and asked. "What has happened?"
The Goddess of Liuli sighed and said hurriedly, "I'm not sure if this is good or bad. You should ask Little Jin Wei."
"That..." Jin Wei stood with her hands clasped in front of her, stepping forward demurely, yet she was extremely calm at the moment. She said to the Martial God, "Martial God, my brother consumed six of the Spirit Fruits you gave him within three days and broke through from the Martial Soul Realm to the initial stage of the Martial Emperor Realm. My brother is still in seclusion; it seems he wants to prepare himself for another breakthrough."
The Martial God's eyes widened. "How many?"
"Six."
"Six?! Isn't this reckless?!" The Martial God stamped his foot and turned to dash towards the stone door between realms. But after a few strides, he stopped, remembering that he had a decent grasp on the Dao of Heaven and Earth, and teleported directly to Wu Wang's stone chamber.
The chamber was filled with thick mist, a phenomenon of extremely concentrated Spiritual Energy. With a wave of his large hand, the fog in the room immediately dissipated, and the Martial God saw Wu Wang sitting amongst a pile of dust. The Martial God's ox-like eyes widened as he carefully sized up Wu Wang, gesturing with his hands. After a while, he let out a long sigh of relief. It was good he hadn't exploded from the pressure. This guy sure was tough. At this time, his realm was only somewhat unstable, but his original essence had not been overdrawn, and the Martial Emperor physique he had formed was near perfect.
The Martial God grinned. Worthy of being my Disciple! A normal Martial Soul Realm cultivator would explode from consuming just one Spirit Fruit, yet he swallowed six in a row without issue, and all of it transformed into his own cultivation. Impressive, my teaching is truly impressive.
Divine Light flickered by his side as the Goddess of Liuli arrived with the beautiful girl. The Goddess of Liuli's Heaven and Earth Divine Art was a bit rough, and the Heaven and Earth ripples she incited disturbed Wu Wang, who was meditating and comprehending, causing him to quickly open his eyes.
"Brother!" Jin Wei called out with a smile. "Teacher and the Martial God are very worried about you."
"Me? I'm fine," Wu Wang replied with a smile. Looking around at the mess, he immediately jumped out. "Teacher, when did you return?"
"Just now," the Martial God laughed. "Your teacher's wife was worried about you. Why the rush to break through? You said that cultivation must be steady and firm, and you'd even refuse Spirit Fruits before."
Wu Wang spoke earnestly, "Only by becoming stronger quickly can I help you, Teacher, in the upcoming great battle."
The Martial God turned to look to the side, his nose feeling a little tingly, and he sighed with deep relief. Such an expression made Wu Wang feel slightly embarrassed. The Martial God had always shown genuine kindness to him, while from the beginning, he himself had harbored some calculations. He could only make it up to the Martial God after the affairs of the Outer Sky had concluded.
"Teacher," Wu Wang said, "I will go wash up first, and then come to the top level to pay my respects."
"Go on, go on," the Martial God waved his hand. "I'll wait for you on the top level."
"I'll be there shortly." As soon as Wu Wang spoke, he immediately started jogging away.
"Brother, let me scrub your back!"
"What are you doing?" Jin Wei, who was about to follow, was stopped by the Goddess of Liuli's raised hand, who chided, "Even though you grew up together, you are not yet married. You shouldn't be so intimate."
Jin Wei immediately pouted in displeasure. "It's not like I haven't scrubbed his back before!"
Several dark lines clearly appeared on the forehead of the Goddess of Liuli. She almost threw Jin Wei directly into the bathtub Wu Wang was about to use.
About half an hour later, Wu Wang, now dressed in casual short clothes, appeared fresh and invigorated at the dining table on the top floor of the spire. The pleasure of continuously breaking through realms, that constant sense of improvement, was also quite nice. The Goddess of Liuli had prepared some exquisite dishes, Jin Wei had arranged the bowls and chopsticks, and the Martial God cheerfully opened two jars of fine wine, ready to celebrate with Wu Wang.
Unexpectedly, as soon as Wu Wang took his seat, his first words were, "Teacher, I want to go out for experiential training."
The Martial God's hand, which was pouring wine, paused. He looked at Wu Wang, somewhat bewildered, and said, "So suddenly? It's chaotic outside now. Four Divine Realms have turned into wastelands overnight. Going out at this time seems unwise, Qing Shan."
The Goddess of Liuli also added, "Don't forget, you're potentially a target our enemies wish to capture."
"Brother," Jin Wei whispered, "it's all messy out there right now..."
"This trip is a must for me." Wu Wang's gaze was steadfast. "Teacher, you should understand. I want to become stronger, strong enough. While the situation outside has not stabilized, and the Candle Dragon has not gathered all his forces, I will strive to become as strong as possible. I need to experience real battles, go to those dangerous lands, fight fierce beasts, challenge Divine Generals, and then step by step strive for higher positions. Teacher, your sparring provides me with many benefits, but it's still not life-or-death combat. The Divine Power of the Goddess of Fortune has been expended on me; I cannot let this Divine Power go to waste."
The Martial God met his gaze, his eyes filled with a mix of worry and reluctance. The Goddess of Liuli and Little Jin Wei tactfully remained silent.
"Go," the Martial God said, putting down the wine jar and speaking softly. "Be careful."
"Mhm," Wu Wang replied, his lips pursed slightly. He stood up and gave the Martial God a Martial Artist's salute. Between them, there was no need for further words.
「Two days later.」
Late at night, at the north gate of Liuli City. Wu Wang, carrying a long spear on his back, now had his long hair cut short. His face was slightly altered, adding two or three layers of disguise to himself. The thumb ring was also made into a necklace, kept close to his body. Several figures stood atop the city wall: the Martial God, the Liuli god, and the somewhat drowsy Goddess of Fortune. They watched as the Martial Artist named Qing Shan stepped out through the city gate, passed the scrutinizing inspection of the gatekeeping Soldiers, and rode slowly northward on a common Guan Shu beast.
"Where's Xiaowei?" the Martial God asked in a low voice.
"She said she couldn't make it," the Goddess of Liuli spoke softly. "They spent two days together and probably said all their farewells. Xiaowei is actually quite strong-willed; she naturally wouldn't want to cry in front of us."
"Mm," the Martial God nodded, sighing with emotion. "It's still my lack of strength as a teacher that forces my Disciple to gamble on his future."
The Goddess of Fortune spoke indifferently, "His choice to seek experience is actually correct."
"Why?" the Martial God asked, full of curiosity.
"By your side, even if his strength were forcefully increased to a high-ranking Divine General through Divine Power infusion, it would be of no help in the upcoming situation," the Goddess of Fortune huffed. "Don't forget, I gave him the power to bring misfortune to all his enemies, and also my own source of good fortune."
But the Goddess of Liuli said, "Talk of destiny is somewhat nebulous."
"Then ask him to return my Divine Power to me!" the Goddess of Fortune huffed. "Originally, I wanted to interact with him more to see what was so special about him, but I didn't expect him to keep avoiding me."
The Martial God sighed. "Let's go back too. We should get busy with what we need to do. Believing in Qing Shan is enough."
The Goddess of Fortune huffed, "Are you planning to follow him secretly?"
"Impossible," the Martial God said with a serene smile. "I trust my Disciple."
The Goddess of Fortune tilted her head slightly, somewhat puzzled. That doesn't seem like this brute's style.
However, the Goddess of Liuli subconsciously moved closer to the Martial God and raised her hand to link arms with him.
On the back of the Guan Shu beast, Wu Wang fiddled with the jade disk in his hand, his eyes filled with emotion.
「A moment before.」
Wu Wang had just bid farewell to Xiaowei. Disguised and about to leave Liuli City, the Martial God had stealthily pulled him aside and handed him this object. If he encountered danger, by crushing this object, the Martial God could arrive instantly at his side. If he was too late to crush it, the jade disk could also preserve Wu Wang's Divine Soul, ensuring it remained Immortal, and send him back to the Martial God's side. Reconstructing a body wouldn't be a major issue. It was a life-saving treasure given by his Teacher, the Martial God. Wu Wang was naturally very grateful for it, but… He glanced at the seven or eight life-saving treasures stored in the deepest part of his jade thumb ring, and the corner of his mouth twitched. Isn't my safety factor a bit too high?!
Come out, Wu Wang called in his mind.
With a soft tinkle, a wisp of faint Divine Light condensed on Wu Wang's wrist, forming a small bell: Zhong's manifested projection.
Wu Wang asked in his heart, Alright, where to first?
The bell swayed gently, and Zhong's figure appeared directly in front of Wu Wang, about three inches tall, floating in the air, visible only to him.
"Master, from now on it'll be just the two of us alone!"
"Be serious. You're a future Artifact Spirit; don't always say things that cause misunderstandings."
"DING DING! Master, look! Emperor Suiren's footprint map!" Zhong said cheerfully. "As long as you follow this footprint map and complete three-quarters of it, it will be enough to integrate the dueling aspects from Emperor Suiren's memories and absorb Emperor Suiren's dueling experiences in the Outer Sky."
Wu Wang raised an eyebrow. The Daoist liquor that the venerable Shen Nong had given him back then truly had a powerful, lasting effect. Originally, he had intended for his avatar to grow stronger step by step, slowly accumulating dueling experience and perfecting his own shortcomings. But he hadn't expected the Candle Dragon and Emperor Shun to be in such a hurry to stir up trouble… In that case, he didn't need to hold back anymore. Retrace Suiren's path, and single-handedly challenge the gods of the Outer Sky.
"Giddy-up!"
"Master, a Guan Shu isn't a horse. Do you even know how to ride one?"
Wu Wang's lips quirked. "Zhong, transform into a horse for me to ride."
"No way! Taiyi's Divine Artifact has its dignity!"
Eastern Emperor Taiyi pulled out the design schematics for the Eastern Emperor's Bell.
A little later, Wu Wang rode a majestic white horse, galloping swiftly along the main road in the Liuli Realm, quickly disappearing into the night. Naturally, only he could see the white horse; what others saw was still that common, unremarkable Guan Shu beast with mottled fur.
「Five years passed in the blink of an eye.」
