Chapter 248: Immortal Supplements |
Everyone inside the illusion path formation watched in awe and wonder as gusts of wind blew around Black Moon. Like Lo Jik, they also had greater reach and knew a few things about immortal ascension. However, only now did they get a chance to witness the act in person. The thought of it made everyone view Black Moon in a different light as the mysterious legacy disciple had insisted on letting other study her break through. Her appointment for the position of the sect's current generation fairy was well-deserved.
Admiration, envy, fear, competitiveness, and many other emotions burned within the distant viewers. Many among them were rank 5 gu masters, and a minuscule portion of the group had reached peak stage rank 5 cultivation, such as the old sect leader now acting as the Inheritance Hall's elder. Yet, they did not take a step forward. There were several reasons for it, including the inherent risks of destroying the aperture and the lack of support from other gu immortals during the ascension, and so, they envied Black Moon.
Even Lo Jik, the sect's most brilliant disciple, did not receive the sect's support for immortal advancement. Despite slaying a desolate beast, he was still a mere mortal. He was like the rest… a toddler in the world of gu immortals.
'No matter how brilliant Lo Jik is, he ruffled too many feathers or the sect's higher-ups would have supported his breakthrough.' Jirou Na pondered. 'Shu Zhe, however, has deeper contributions. She's the individual I must focus on and must be kept from gaining more influence. The fact that Shu Zhe was not allowed to witness her sister-wife's breakthrough shows how most of Lo Jik's relationships are deeply disturbed and turbulent.'
Jirou Na was an ambitious woman. She left northern plains and rose through the ranks in Spirit Affinity House, displaying her high potential. Needless to say, being stagnant as a rank 5 gu master for the rest of her life wouldn't do.
Le Tao, although not as ambitious and hungry for power, also held an innate adoration for the thought of shedding his mortal roots and obtain his own blessed land.
The world didn't stay still as the witnesses stewed with their thoughts. A blanket of thick and black clouds covered the sky above Black Moon as a mystical change surrounded the woman of the hour. The lengths of her short black hair whipped with the sharp, whistling wind. The blades of grass under her feet nearly tore from the ground. There were no trees around Black Moon, only long stretches of pasture.
As if challenged by her very existence, more and more clouds moved inwards.
Gasps echoed among the spectators.
'Black Moon is relatively young, but how much human qi does she possess to bring about such a change?'
Other elders had similar thoughts.
Black Moon managed to cause such a scene without the use of any gu worms. A storm threatened to destroy miles of area around them without the use of a single gu worm!
A heavenly force slowly pulled Black Moon into the air. Unperturbed by the changes in her surroundings, she appeared cool and collected.
"Shattering the aperture brings about a change in heaven and earth. Responding to our will to advance, heaven and earth bestow us with the necessary ingredient to refine the immortal aperture," muttered Elder Ya as his heart pounded with greed. He was an insatiable man by his very nature. He once tried extorting more human path research from Bai Shou before being almost scared to death by Lo Jik's accomplishments. However, he was old and experienced. He approached the act of immortal ascension with the unique perspective of a refinement path gu master.
The first step was to destroy the aperture. From a certain point of view, it was the same as preparing the first material—the gu master.
The clouds swirled and descended upon Black Moon as she floated higher, appearing no different from a massive mouth belonging to a primordial beast. The ground trembled in response. Heaven and earth resonated with Black Moon as lightning flashed in the pillar of churning clouds above and dust and smoke rose from the ground, churning in a similar fashion like grinding millstone with Black Moon in the center.
Thunder rumbled in the dark clouds and explosions rang in the dusty purple smoke from waves and waves of dust being shaken off by the quaking ground.
Anticipation in everyone's eyes deepened as a clear glow rained down from the sky amidst rumbling thunder and flashing lightning, and a golden wave rose from the churning dust and exploding smoke.
"Heaven and earth qi!" Someone gasped from the crowd.
Heaven qi was light and clear. Earth qi was dense and profound.
The two streams of qi were attracted to Black Moon due to the mystical pull of the hole that once accommodated her aperture. Her body shook and milky-white qi escaped from her pores.
Human qi!
"Such a dense amount of human qi!" Jirou Yi's heart shook.
Heaven qi, earth qi, and human qi were also known as the three elements of immortal ascension. They were the three most important ingredient of one's breakthrough and the formation of an immortal aperture.
Heaven and earth qi were endless. However, human qi was limited. It was cultivated through one's experiences, luck, knowledge, strength, aptitude, and much more! It was the expression of sum total of a gu master's 'substance' in the gu world. The dense human qi wrapped around Black Moon like a cocoon as heaven and earth qi fused into it to form a multicolored lump.
'The second step.' Elder Ya gulped, the trace of curiosity quietly deepening in his aged gaze. 'How does it feel like to interact with the very cornerstones of the gu world?'
"Impressive enough." Black Moon surmised the entire scene as she watched the interior of the illusion formation alongside Shu Ye.
"The lump of human qi is just below what is usually seen from someone with a gu master possessing an extreme aptitude." Shu Ye informed plainly. "It should be enough to spread rumors of your talent."
Black Moon remained quiet as Fairy Mo snickered in her mind.
"That lump of human qi isn't even comparable to the actual thing during your ascension."
The masked woman did not reply and watched the multicolored lump with discreet intrigue. Despite being a gu immortal, even she wondered how it felt to interact with heaven and earth. After all, her immortal ascension was quite different.
<<<>>>
Golden Crow, Ouroboros, White Tiger, and Red Dragon kingdoms occupied four grand territories in Immemorial Desolate Grotto-Heaven led by four noble clans, super forces with one gu immortal, alongside a court of weaker clans and organizations.
The Zhi Clan treated Golden Crow fairly, promoted trade and countless martial festivals to enrich the kingdom with wealth and combatants. The Xue Clan was an autocratic power ruling White Tiger Kingdom with an iron fist. The successors of the kingdom engaged in conflicts to choose the fittest seed. The Zhao Clan of the Red Dragon Kingdom was the most decorated, boasting the gu immortal with a fire path immortal gu worm and several powerful immortal killer moves. Lastly, the most mysterious was the Farlier Clan. The gu immortals of the other three kingdoms were cautious of the enigmatic soul path gu immortal due to the rumors that Farlier Clansmen were the direct descendant of the grotto-heaven's creator.
Gu masters and mortals alike lived under these four powers or belonged to the heavenly spirit, boasting names and traditions distinct from the main continents. Surnamed Zhao, the Red Dragon's gu immortal and hidden leader was named Claw. It was just like how Blood Pot Sect's leader stood out from the rest.
The four gu immortals cultivated in solitude when they sensed something amiss. Their expressions changed once they activated a few investigation gu worms. Discreetly so, they used mortal killer moves to quickly move towards one undeveloped location in the grotto-heaven. This spot left the four gu immortals recollecting some fond and frightening memories—it was the same spot they all endured their immortal ascension after obtaining the heavenly spirit's support!
Claw's pupils briefly shrank as he noticed a gu immortal already present besides the dwarven heavenly spirit. The first gu immortal was dressed in flowing black robes. Dark smoke covered her face and extended behind her head like hair.
"Mistress Lin," greeted Claw Zhao after paying his respects to Old Man Desolate. He scrutinized the mysterious woman and wondered what methods she used to get her before him. He was the strongest gu immortal among the four with the most profound killer moves. Everything about the four gu immortals was a contest of life and death. While they had the heavenly spirit's approval, it did not stop them from conspiring against each other.
The remaining two enslavement path gu immortals of Golden Crow and White Tiger Kingdoms arrived on the backs of their enslaved beasts.
"Hmm." Old Man Desolate stroked his thick beard and smiled at the four. "You four sensed your new brethren. Aye, there will be another gu immortal."
As if his words were a signal, the ground underneath the group started trembling while clouds gathered in the sky and darkened conspicuously.
'Such a reaction?' Claw was shocked. The area of influence of the immortal ascension effortlessly surpassed all known mortal records and it still kept going!
"Who is this youth?" inquired Lin Farlier, curiosity bleeding into her cold voice.
"He's called Gu Yue Lo Jik," announced the old man.
"Eh? Quite a strange name… Did you buy a slave from Treasure Yellow Heaven, Old Heavenly Spirit?"
"Wait!" Another man gasped. Square-jawed and blonde, the man looked proud and upright. His red eyes instantly noticed something strange as his outburst attracted his peer's attention. "What gu is that, Old Man Desolate?"
Others finally noticed it, something that made Claw even more alert. His investigation killer move had entirely missed the strange gu worm until pointed out by White Tiger's king.
"Haha, you lot finally noticed." Old Man Desolate laughed. "You've improved, Little Xue. Tell me, did you finally refine your vital gu to rank 6?"
Xue Percy chuckled bitterly. He knew of the Heavenly Spirit's blunt personality and understood he risked losing his relationship with Old Man Desolate if he spun his words around. Furthermore, Percy held a debt of gratitude towards Old Man Desolate.
So, he nodded reluctantly, muttering under his breath.
"I did."
"Congratulations, Brother Xue." Claw smiled warmly. "Refining Tiger Feed Immortal Gu must be quite the challenge."
Tiger Feed was an enslavement path immortal gu, capable of making the user of the immortal gu worm feed tigers and bond with them better without needing Beast Enslavement Immortal Gu Worm.
"I've never seen such a gu worm before. It looks like a crow made of golden sun." The leader of Golden Crow Kingdom folded his arms behind his back.
"Eh?" Percy blinked. "It looks like my first wife."
Claw's heart shuddered.
It looked like a dragon's reverse scale to him.
"Love…" Lin suddenly uttered a name as the remaining three gu immortals froze.
"Yes!" Old Man Desolate laughed heartily. "It's the legendary gu from <<The Legends of Ren Zu>>! Love Immortal Gu!"
An ominous feeling rose in the quartet's heart as they suddenly felt their connection with their blessed lands get severed.
A powerful wave of suppression forced the four gu immortals to their knees. It wasn't just the grotto-heaven's heavenly power but also the brightening formation around them! Furthermore, Old Man Desolate's words caused their hearts to sink into a world of horror.
"Master was right in not underestimating you four. How can you all not possess more secrets when even Percy refined an immortal gu worm? Alas… there wasn't enough time to prepare and extract your gu worms."
The four struggled intensely but appeared still due to the formation. As if aware of their confusion, Old Man Desolate merely grinned.
"I raised you all. Hehe, not just the Farlier Clan but every single human in this grotto-heaven is a descendant of my main body. You are all mine to raise and slaughter. Become the nourishment you were fated to be for my master!"
*Boom*
*Boom*
*Boom*
*Boom*
The four of them exploded right away, expanding into an endless plume of qi.
*Rumble*
The ground and sky shook in response. The world darkened visibly as clouds crackled with lightning and descended into a spiral, the sheer size massive enough to swallow a kingdom whole. The forest around Lo Jik lost its trees, each tearing open and flying about around the clouds and dust.
Old Man Desolate's expression eased.
'Master was right. How could he possess such inhumane intensity of human qi?' Even the heavenly spirit was shocked. 'The tribulation he would have created must have been the things straight from nightmare.'
Lo Jik perceived everything even from the distance. He saw how all the qi made from the foundation of four gu immortals rush in his direction as if the hole in his heart had a suction force no worse than a microscopic black hole.
He had already completed the first step by shattering his second aperture. Meanwhile, he planned this assassination for the second step.
Heaven and earth qi were two of the three most necessary ingredients for one's ascension. Lo Jik's experience and knowledge might not be the greatest, but he possessed two apertures, several immortal gu worms, and ungodly levels of attainment! Even if limited, his human qi was bound to be impressive. But it led to another issue.
Human qi attracted heaven and earth qi. Heaven and earth qi were boundless in the gu world. This, unfortunately, was not the gu world but Immemorial Desolate Grotto-Heaven. It was a unique world and possessed limited amount of heaven and earth qi. While certainly possible to use the grotto-heaven's reserves, drawing from it meant weakening Old Man Desolate. After all, a heavenly spirit strength depended on the health of the immortal aperture.
Back then, Ba Gui Land Spirit was so weak due to the deterioration of his blessed land.
The same would be the case for Old Man Desolate and it might invite trouble from the four gu immortals. So, Lo Jik wanted to convert the problem into a supplement before all this transpired.
His figure was less than a speck of sand in between two churning behemoths threatening to swallow him whole. Old Man Desolate observed things and restricted the extraction of the grotto-heaven's heaven and earth qi as dense and thick jets of milky white human qi rushed out of Lo Jik's body. It easily covered him in a house-sized sphere as heavy golden earth qi and unrestrained heavenly qi entered the lump of human qi.
<<<>>>
"Ah! Look, the excess heaven and earth qi are forming a calamity and tribulation!" The spectators shook as they watched the churning tribulation clouds and calamity dust spew more and more green heavenly qi and golden earth qi. Black Moon's human qi had its limits and could not absorb the endless amount of heaven and earth qi. As she blended the lump of three streams of qi, the rest accumulated above and under her until it achieved a qualitative change. Everyone watched the creation of a tribulation and a calamity!
What came next was a thrilling event where Black Moon tackled her tribulations while stranded in between the second and third step of her ascension. It wasn't long until the hidden and mysterious supreme elders helped her deal with the calamity and tribulation as they dissipated into pure heaven and earth qi again, madly charging into Black Moon's completed immortal aperture.
She had successfully advanced as a gu immortal!
"Hmph… calamities and tribulations." Black Moon's gaze flashed as she watched the recording.
"I remember my breakthrough. Most of us gu immortals cannot make the most of the profound experience in the second step due to these tribulations. Only someone like Lo Jik, the inheritor of Divine Concealment, could hope to gain the greatest benefit. Alas, this interaction lasts for a short while based on the human qi we accumulated and the depths of our attainment. Second step is the greatest hurdle. It is simply too easy to get drunk by the teachings of heaven and earth and lose one's control."
Shu Ye spoke to herself as Black Moon snorted coldly in her heart.
'That greedy fellow cannot endure such treasures. He dared extort me. His appetite is simply too much.'
<<<>>>
Lo Jik felt extremely sensitive yet dazed at the same time. Human qi was milky and gentle, heaven qi was green and warm, earth qi was golden and profound. Three streams of qi came from different sources. Human qi was the summation of Lo Jik's life. Years of memories resurfaced in his mind as he blended and balanced the three qi streams. Heaven and earth qi cleansed his body, soul, and mind. Every inch of him was being elevated to a higher state of existence. Strands of brown hair grew from his scalp and eyebrows, growing longer and longer before falling off and restarting the process. His mind felt clearer and his soul felt substantial without any change in its strength.
However, Lo Jik could not lose himself in this beautiful and ethereal sensation. Each step in the gu immortal's ascension was filled with danger.
Breaking the aperture led to the second step of balancing the qi. If Lo Jik absorbed too much heaven qi, he would disintegrate into the sky and perish. Absorbing too much earth qi would lead to fossilization and suffocate him to death. Even the extracted human qi was dangerous since absorbing low amount of heaven and earth qi would lead his human qi to explode and kill him.
Rewards coexist with risks.
In this case, the reward was more than enough and it wasn't just the chance of becoming a gu immortal.
Old Man Desolate watched the converted heaven and earth qi from four gu immortals being a sufficient supplement as the speed of extraction of heaven and earth from the grotto-heaven lowered. While substantial, it wasn't enough to cause a grotto-heaven's collapse.
Lo Jik absorbed more and more heaven and earth qi, blending it with his human qi as the massive sphere around him grew denser.
Still, Lo Jik's human qi was not endless. Even more heaven and earth qi accumulated around him. Clear and unrestrained heaven qi formed into a misty green pool above Lo Jik while golden earth qi appeared like a sea under him.
Old Man Desolate watched with a grim expression. He was ready to tackle any calamity and tribulation formed by the tribulation clouds and calamity dust.
He waited for a while before noticing how docile the two streams of accumulated qi acted.
'There will be no tribulation and calamity!' Old Man Desolate cheered. 'Master was right. Divine Concealment hides him from the deductions of heavenly mechanism and cannot be touched by any tribulation!'
Even Lo Jik exhaled a sigh of relief. This effect of Divine Concealment had been a theory. After all, Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable created Divine Concealment after becoming a venerable and did not need to test this theory.
As such, he closed his eyes and dove in to experience the benefits of the second step completely.
***
Alternate Title: Black Moon's generosity; Awe and wonder; Duping the sect's elite; The praiseworthy sect fairy; First step; Inhumane human; Everyone thinking: Lo Jik suppressed, lol *Meanwhile Heaven's Will finding itself ravished by Lo Jik: Somebody suppress him!*; Cursed Leylin Farlier timeline; Warlock of the Gu World; Immemorial Desolate Warlock; Leylin in Magus World: Deadbeat harem *Leylin in Gu World: Dead*; Claw: Everyone is getting stronger *Lo Jik: You should have greater concerns… like, staying alive*; Boom; Becoming nourishment; Fang Yuan said it best—External beauty is… manure *Peak dad joke without spawning a single devil*; Beauty of Divine Concealment; Unholy human qi; Big house sphere; The advantage of being… grandmaster in every path; The second step's benefits?; Blending qi; The three elements of ascension; Dangers of second step; No tribulation; Docile qi; Regrown hair; Pubes be like: Daddy's home
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A/N: I always wanted to add other novels in ri through grotto-heaven. Immemorial Desolate Grotto-Heaven is just the first. I'm also planning a second similar addition that might have an otherworldly demon… or maybe not. I haven't decided the details yet.
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