Chapter 145 |
“Or perhaps you wish to debate the dharma with me?”
Seeing Zhaxi cowed by his words, Sangji pressed forward relentlessly.
Zhaxi’s face flushed crimson, his entire body turning red with rage, yet he dared not accept the challenge.
Everyone knew Sangji’s tongue could bloom lotuses and that he excelled at dharma debates. In his youth he had wandered the Hidden-Treasury Domain, convincing countless high monks to willingly sever their own heads and offer him their cultivation, flesh, and dharma artifacts.
“Hmph… I will not debate with you.”
Zhaxi turned and left, though inwardly he felt helpless. ‘I have already cultivated the Wrathful Heart. I intended to provoke this man into rushing his attempt at the irreversible Dharma King stage so the shock from the [Bi Moon] Golden attainment would shatter him. Who could have guessed he would be so patient? His White Bone Heart truly sees through everything.’
While the two Gurus confronted each other, high in the void, Sen Chen sat cross-legged behind a halo of colorful light. He gazed with a faint smile at the several Dharma Kings before him. Each of them had manifested their golden bodies: some with three heads and six arms, others appearing as both male and female in one form, displaying serene or wrathful visages. Heavenly flowers scattered and golden lotuses sprang from the earth.
All of it was formed by divine abilities. The countless techniques linked together, their colorful radiance merging until the heavenly secrets became utterly chaotic.
“Haha… Mo Luoshi, those juniors of yours are quite entertaining.”
“You jest, fellow daoist,” Mo Luoshi replied.
The emaciated monk stood atop a ferocious golden body with a blue face and savage fangs, looking as if he might collapse at any moment. He simply pressed his palms together. “If you wish to watch my disciples perform for amusement, I need only send out a few more and let everyone enjoy the show.” Though his words carried a hint of concession, he still held his ground.
To him, the Dao Foundation perfected Sangji and Zhaxi, as well as the disciples from Cloud Grazing Cliff, were nothing more than pigs, dogs, cattle, or sheep.
“You, great monk, are not far from condensing your third divine ability.”
A jade pot and jade cup appeared in Sen Chen’s hands. He poured himself a drink, glanced at Mo Luoshi, and sighed with emotion.
For Purple Mansion cultivators, condensing one divine ability marked early-stage Purple Mansion, two marked mid-stage, and three marked late-stage. Those who reached the third divine ability were called Great Spiritual Masters, much like the Great Cultivators of the Qi Refining path. They held overwhelming superiority over early- and mid-stage cultivators and were therefore deeply respected.
In the current era, with True Lords in seclusion and Purple Mansion peak cultivators who had condensed four divine abilities also focused entirely on closed-door cultivation to seek the method of attaining Golden Rank, Great Spiritual Masters represented the pinnacle strength of any major power.
“Sen Chen. What kind of benefits did that old monster Su Wu from the Azure Bird Tribe offer you to make you yield so easily?”
At that moment, another Great Spiritual Master spoke up.
He wore plain robes, had ordinary features, and carried a wooden sword on his back. He was a late-stage Purple Mansion great sword cultivator.
“Merely some spiritual materials. Since fellow daoist Su Wu wishes to attain Golden Core, I naturally have to help him achieve it.”
Sen Chen took another sip of wine and chuckled lightly. “Once this Golden attainment is over, I will settle accounts with the Azure Bird Tribe.”
The early and mid-stage Purple Mansion Dharma Kings present did not dare interrupt. They knew Sen Chen was narrow-minded and skilled at divination.
The Azure Bird Tribe would likely suffer greatly in the days to come.
But none of them cared. Until one condensed divine abilities, nothing entered their notice. They simply continued discussing how this great demon of the Azure Bird Tribe would fare.
“[Bi Moon], its emergence heralds great chaos across the world. I already see signs of it.”
“Heh heh… The world is vast. Right now only Ancient Shu is in turmoil. The Southern Border and the East are merely children playing house. The Esoteric Hidden-Treasury Domain and the even more distant Supreme Unity Mysterious Gate have never been disturbed. If one uses this as proof, one would immediately perish and lose the Dao!”
“I believe fellow daoist Su Wu has other plans. We need only wait and see.”
The sky darkened as a silver moon hung high.
A patch of black clouds drifted in from nowhere, bringing a cold drizzle.
Inside a certain cave dwelling.
Li Rulong sat cross-legged. Several spiritual items and pills of Dao Foundation rank lay beside him as he quietly awaited the right moment.
‘With the princess’s influence, receiving even one chance is already rare. I must seize it with everything I have.’
‘This cave dwelling was once reserved for great demons. Now it has been granted to me. Yet the supplementary breakthrough items are only Dao Foundation rank. Better than nothing, I suppose.’
Golden scales shimmered across his body. He had clearly made up his mind. ‘If the Su Wu Demon King fails its breakthrough, I will surely die. If it succeeds, it will be even better for me than swallowing a [Bi Moon] Purple Mansion spiritual item. But whether I can condense a divine ability still depends on only a twenty or thirty percent chance.’
The difficulty of condensing divine abilities was plain to see.
Yet if he missed this opportunity, he might never have even a ten percent chance in the future!
“Begin!”
After sitting quietly for a long time, clouds and mist rose around him. Feeling that his essence, energy, and spirit were perfectly harmonized, Li Rulong pulled out the stopper and swallowed a pill.
The moment the pill entered his stomach, his eyes flew wide open. “This is not the Three Talents Pure Qi Pill. This medicinal power far exceeds any Dao Foundation spiritual pill!”
“Little princess?”
“Impossible. She has no authority to mobilize Purple Mansion spiritual items!”
Li Rulong’s heart turned cold. He realized he had fallen into yet another scheme. His five organs burned as if on fire.
The Purple Mansion great pill’s efficacy was astonishing. It constantly stimulated the Dao Foundation within his body, attempting to transform it into a divine ability, yet it ultimately fell short and could not break through smoothly.
“Ah…”
At that moment, a hoarse, unpleasant voice rang out, sounding like a crow cawing at night.
Inside the cave dwelling, another demon had appeared without warning.
The newcomer wore silver robes and had ancient, peculiar features. He stood with hands clasped behind his back, silently watching Li Rulong. “In the end, the stimulation was too strong. It lacked that final layer of accumulated foundation. No matter how much you pile on, it is difficult to rush Purple Mansion. But this old man can wait no longer.”
“Su Wu Demon King?!”
Li Rulong’s heart filled with despair. He steeled himself, preparing to activate a secret technique to destroy his own body and deny the demon any benefit, but he discovered his entire cultivation was frozen in place.
The cave suddenly darkened. Then strands of bright white silver fire appeared.
The flames burned silently like hidden fireflies, their light contained within, illusory yet real. Their glow resembled moonlight hidden behind clouds. Li Rulong recognized them instantly: Pu Shanjun’s Mysterious Yin Silver Fire!
“Even the mid-stage Purple Mansion Pu Shanjun.”
That was the only thought in Li Rulong’s mind before he realized with horror that the Mysterious Yin Silver Fire was rising from his own mouth, nose, and seven orifices.
“The pill I just swallowed… was a human pill refined from Pu Shanjun?”
“I swallowed a Purple Mansion cultivator, and one whose divine abilities matched perfectly, yet I still could not break through?”
Li Rulong felt a wave of sorrow for himself. With his own aptitude, attaining Purple Mansion in this life was likely hopeless.
He gave a tragic smile. His body was enveloped by the Mysterious Yin Silver Fire and transformed into rising clouds and mist.
The mist shimmered with five colors and faintly took the shape of dragon and tiger.
After an unknown length of time, the clouds dispersed and the rain ceased. All phenomena vanished, leaving behind only a single crystal-clear pill with dragon and tiger coiling around it.
“The Dragon-Tiger Great Pill has finally formed. Unfortunately this person failed to reach Purple Mansion, so it lacks a portion of medicinal power.”
“Fortunately Li Rulong and Pu Shanjun both possessed decent fate, each carrying dragon-tiger destiny. Now that dragon and tiger have merged, the great pill is complete. It can still serve as compensation.”
The silver-robed elder’s low, hoarse voice echoed as his figure vanished in an instant.
“One year has passed.”
Minor Huan Sea, Taibai Island, inside the cave abode.
Fang Qing focused intently, watching the live scene with full concentration.
He saw Sangji and the other Hidden-Treasury Masters standing together as they arrived at a lake.
A crescent moon hung high. The lake itself resembled a full moon, and in its center stood a tall silver platform. Atop the platform rested an enormous silver disk covered in complex, profound demon script.
All around, the void held Hidden-Treasury Golden Bodies or great sea demons, towering like mountains and half-hidden in clouds and mist. Immortal palaces and pavilions stood silently in wait.
Sangji and the other masters, who could command the winds and rain outside, were mere small fries here. They stood at a distance, gazing toward the lake and silver disk.
At some point a patch of black clouds drifted over, bringing frost, rain, and snow.
Amid the cold pool, moon shadows, wind, frost, rain, and snow, the figure of a silver-robed elder suddenly appeared above the platform. He stood upon the silver disk and declared in a clear voice, “This demon, Su Wu, thanks all of you for traveling so far to witness today’s [Bi Moon] attainment!”
Before his words faded, he burst into laughter. Layer upon layer of palaces manifested around him.
Jade and snow formed the steps, osmanthus flowers blanketed the ground, resembling the Moon Palace in the heavens yet shrouded in a layer of dark, gloomy radiance.
This was the [Bi Moon] divine ability: the Supreme Nether Palace!
The moment the Supreme Nether Palace formed, wind, frost, rain, and snow descended. The cold qi was bone-piercing. Dao Foundation cultivators retreated in fear, and many fire-virtue cultivators, even with Purple Mansion elders watching over them, turned pale and were already injured.
“Frost Dissolving Rain!”
As the frost rain fell, the crescent moon in the sky shone with blinding brilliance. Threads of imperial flowing nectar seemed to descend with the rain, seeping into the Supreme Nether Palace.
Suddenly the world darkened again. Even cultivators who had trained eye techniques could see only an incomparably deep black curtain that wrapped the entire Supreme Nether Palace. The darkness churned like coiling serpents and flood dragons, faintly nurturing something within.
This was “All Light Recedes!”
High in the void.
Sen Chen watched the scene without blinking, sometimes frowning, sometimes clapping in admiration. “What a fine old monster Su Wu. We Purple Mansion cultivators seek Golden Nature, Core Nature, Buddha Nature, or Divine Nature through divine abilities, In the end it is all the same. Burn away the four divine abilities and obtain Golden Nature, then one may attain the fruition position. The ancients called it swallowing gold to prove the position, or ‘proving the Dao and becoming an Immortal’.”
Throughout history, every method of attaining Golden ultimately sought that single wisp of Golden Nature!
“Fellow daoist Su Wu’s accumulation is profound. The Golden Nature is already gestating inside him, waiting only to break free from its shellm Then he will ascend to the position and achieve the fruit of a Buddhahood!”
Mo Luoshi pressed his palms together, smiling, yet his eyes had turned completely golden as he stared fixedly at the patch of darkness.
The darkness surged and churned, then suddenly contracted until it resembled a chicken egg covered in cracks, as if something inside was about to hatch.
Crack!
A great force pressed down. Heaven and earth resonated, and even the crescent moon trembled violently.
Across the entire world, no matter where they cultivated, every cultivator seemed to hear an unpleasant, hoarse crow’s caw in their ears.
Heaven and earth overturned. This was the divine ability: “Overturning Heaven and Earth!”
Yet after the fourth divine ability manifested, the clump of darkness still failed to transform smoothly.
Amid the crow’s weeping, an old and unpleasant voice suddenly rang out: “Golden Positions have shifted, the divine abilities no longer respond!”