LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 278: Changes in the Battlefield
Gongyi Zi Yu's reminder was one Chu Zheng had heard many times before.
The path of Qi Refining was not an easy one, something he had experienced firsthand, but it was a path he could not possibly abandon.
The Immortal Path was one Chu Zheng might not be able to follow to the very end; if the people of Cangyun Realm could not merge with Immortal Blood and become Immortal Descendants, then his achievements on the Immortal Path would be capped at True Immortal Perfection.
Countless examples throughout history had proven that, aside from Zhao Tingxian and Shang Cangyun, no Immortal Path Cultivator from Cangyun Realm had ever broken through the threshold of the True Immortal Realm. At most, they could become a Celestial Lord, forever hopeless of reaching the realms of Immortal Venerable.
Chu Zheng did not feel that he would necessarily be an exception to this rule.
True Immortal Perfection, although a realm that stood above the myriad of living beings, capable of overturning star domains and controlling the life and death of all creatures,
was far from enough for what Chu Zheng wanted to achieve.
Such cultivation was not even considered a main force in the wars between the great Taoist orthodoxies.
In order to secure a sufficient position in the conflicts between the Taoist orthodoxies and act unfettered throughout the Great Universe, one needed at least the cultivation of an Ancestral Dao to have a chance at achieving this.
Moreover, even Ancestral Dao figures had long disappeared without a trace, and not the slightest bit of news had come out about them.
No matter what, Qi-refining Techniques were still the means by which Chu Zheng hoped to access higher realms, and to stop now was absolutely not an option.
From the information he obtained from Gongyi Zi Yu, Chu Zheng's impression of the Vast Universe had significantly changed.
Why should the souls fall into the Vast Universe after the deaths of living creatures?
The more he contemplated, the more the existence of the Vast Universe seemed to him like the Yellow Springs, the place of reincarnation, which he remembered.
Reincarnation, for the entire Great Universe, was still an unproven notion.
Those beings capable of overturning time and space, traveling to the past and future, had not found where exactly the Yellow Springs lay.
The only tangible contact was with the Vast Universe.
Gongyi Zi Yu's impression on Chu Zheng, compared to the evil demons Chu Zheng had known before, was vastly different, capable of normal communication, with no evidence of flawed logic, and did not show the innate bloodthirstiness that Geng Yiyang had described.
Aside from being born from a residual soul, Gongyi Zi Yu had nearly no differences from ordinary living creatures.
This might be related to Chu Zheng's current state as a Yin Corpse, yet Gongyi Zi Yu's consciousness was clearly lucid, capable of normal interaction.
In fact, Gongyi Zi Yu was the first being Chu Zheng had encountered that originated from the Vast Universe; and considering Geng Yiyang's level of cultivation at the time, his statements were not necessarily the truth.
Most importantly, Gongyi Zi Yu was very familiar with the name Daoist Venerable Zheng Chu, a piece of information that was well worth Chu Zheng's deep contemplation.
The age of the Taoist Temple, according to his judgment, did not conflict with his estimations; it truly might date back to a billion years ago, or even traceable to the Primordial Era.
During this period, there must have been many secrets unknown to others, some of which were related to him.
Lost in thought, Jian Shier stopped in front of a cluster of low buildings.
Here in this core area, he had found a new place for Chu Zheng to seclude himself—a room that was somewhat cramped but was several times better than the previous Underground Palace.
"From now on, you will cultivate here."
After speaking, Jian Shier tossed a black Command Token to him, "If there's an urgent matter, activate this token, and I will come to find you."
Compared to when he arrived, his gaze held a trace of disappointment. Chu Zheng's talent was not sufficient to impress the Great Commander, and the reward he hoped for was as elusive as trying to scoop the moon from water.
However, he did not harbor any dissatisfaction towards Chu Zheng; even if not earth-shattering, Chu Zheng's rate of growth was evident to him, becoming a Great Commander in the future was not an impossibility.
"Thank you, senior." Chu Zheng bowed in gratitude.
No matter what Jian Shier's motives were, he had helped him significantly, and Chu Zheng would try his best to repay this favor before leaving the Great Tomb.
Chu Zheng did not plan on staying long in the Great Tomb. According to what Jian Shier had said earlier, the entrance to this Great Tomb would be closed again within a hundred or two hundred years, at which time another bloody slaughter would ensue.
Once the entrance was closed, everyone who stayed in this tomb would die.
Chu Zheng did not wish to be involved, nor did he want to be trapped in this corner of the world. He wanted to go to the center of the Tianwu Realm, to see the Heavenly Wutong and along the way, gather more information about the Vast Universe, if possible.
In fact, the most efficient way to learn about the Vast Universe would be to directly ask Gongyi Zi Yu.
But Chu Zheng did not want to take that risk. Aside from Gongyi Zi Yu, these Yin Gods in the core of the Great Tomb had no connection to the Vast Universe.
Here, Chu Zheng could not be certain what role Gongyi Zi Yu truly played. If he carelessly asked about secrets he should not know, this embodiment and tribulation journey could come to an end prematurely.
This would delay Chu Zheng a lot of time; not every reincarnation and tribulation journey could proceed as smoothly as this one, consuming a vast amount of Tribulation Qi in the most convenient way.
After Jian Shier left, Chu Zheng pushed the door open and stepped into the house, no more than ten paces across, which reminded him of the Filth Room he stayed in when he first entered Cangyun Realm.
Inside the room, apart from a circular mat made of black jade, there was nothing else.
The mat radiated a very pure Yin Qi, so pure that Yin Dew had condensed on it.
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Such an environment was indeed beneficial to Chu Zheng's cultivation, but it was somewhat less friendly to Qi-refining techniques.
Fortunately, Qi-refining techniques could extract some Yang Qi from extreme Yin, sufficient to support cultivation, albeit with difficulty.
Chu Zheng did not rush to begin his seclusion but instead turned and left, circling the entire Underground Palace.
He needed to collect enough fragments of ancient artifacts to absorb Primordial Qi to enhance his cultivation and repair suitable treasures.
This Underground Palace, having endured through lengthy epochs, contained numerous spiritual artifacts that had lost their energy, appearing to be burial accompaniments of varying qualities, but not a few of them were of the Seventh or Eighth Order.
After a rough search, Chu Zheng returned to his room with satisfaction,
Seated on the Jade Mat, his mind slightly cool, his thoughts gradually emptied, and he shifted most of his consciousness back to his original body.
This breakthrough saw significant changes in his main body, changes he had yet to spend time addressing.
...
...
Myriad Realms.
In the Qingyun Realm, in the Northeast Territory,
veils of incense and willpower wafted like clouds amidst the sprawling Divine Palaces, with rosy glows steaming upward.
Inside an inconspicuous secret chamber, Chu Zheng sat cross-legged in his armor, faint cracks visible on his face, through which Immortal Light leaked.
Leveraging the heavenly tribulation of this incarnate form, his cultivation had surged to the Fifthfold of Immortal Tribulation, which was undeniably astounding.
Although the incarnate form had endured the tribulations for hundreds of years, the total years of cultivation his main body had experienced did not exceed twenty, and yet his cultivation had already stepped into the realm of a Demi Immortal.
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Not even the whole Immortal Alliance could find a second one.
That was also the reason Chu Zheng was eager to leave the Immortal Alliance; such an abnormal speed of cultivation would soon attract the attention of the Alliance's higher echelons, an attention he could not avoid.
An abrupt increase in cultivation often came with side effects, such as an unstable foundation and difficulty in controlling the surge of Immortal Power.
However, for Chu Zheng, once he had dealt with the troublesome Tribulation Qi, he would have plenty of time to compensate; he only needed some time to adjust.
As time passed, the cracks on Chu Zheng's cheeks gradually healed, and the Immortal Light slowly retreated.
From the perspective of his original body, looking at the incarnate form again felt wholly different, especially the changes in the Repair Master's interface.
Beneath the vast discrepancy in the flow of time, with every incense stick burned, the experience of the Repair Master steadily increased. Following this pace, once this incarnation's tribulation ended, his Repair Master level would surely advance to the Eighth Order.
Once elevated to the Eighth Order, should he be able to repair Seventh Order treasures without limits, Chu Zheng's strength and foundation would enter a new round of rapid growth.
After temporarily suppressing his internal injuries, Chu Zheng took out the Spirit Communication Jade Scroll and glanced at it, his eyebrows furrowing at the empty pages.
After a long silence, the once-easy contact with Song Lingxue had gradually become infrequent.
This time, nearly four months had passed without any message.
Every time Song Lingxue sent a message, he always felt the content was incomplete, just like the letters he sent, which withheld more than they revealed, sharing only good news and not the bad.
After a moment's hesitation, Chu Zheng drafted a message, pushed down the faint restlessness rising in his heart, and his Divine Sense reached out of the secret chamber, sending a communiqué to the master of this Divine Palace, 'Jade Pot Spirit Lord.'
In a few breaths, the Jade Pot Spirit Lord, draped in a Divine Robe, appeared before Chu Zheng, greeting him with full respect:
"Supreme Deity, I pay my respects."
"Have there been any news recently? Tell me everything, both within and beyond the realm."
Chu Zheng lacked access to the native forces of the Myriad Realms, limiting his news channels. He had chosen this particular Divine Palace because of the many people coming and going, which made the news spread faster.
"Nothing noteworthy has happened recently. Rumors say a Qi Cultivator has come nearby, intending to transcend tribulation amidst the Red Dust. Many powers are wary of getting involved, hesitant to make any moves for fear of consequences."
The Jade Pot Spirit Lord pondered for a moment before hastily continuing,
"Apart from that, there are rumors from beyond the realms. The Myriad Realms have suffered setbacks on the battlefield and need to replenish their forces. Many have been called up from various realms. I, too, have received an order from a Supreme Deity to pay tributes of Incense Fire Willpower on time."
"Battlefield setbacks?"
Upon hearing this, Chu Zheng's first reaction was not one of surprise. From a superficial perspective, there was a full ten percent of Heavenly Fate separating the Myriad Heavens and Realms from the Immortal Alliance and the Martial Hall.
Moreover, compared to the highly coordinated organizations like the Immortal Alliance and Martial Hall, the Myriad Heavens and Realms were nothing but a scattered mess, each fighting on their own.
Without the advantages of time, location, or unity, it would be a huge problem if the Myriad Heavens and Realms won the battle.
But why did the Myriad Heavens and Realms initiate the battle knowing they couldn't win?
Not only did they not give up after suffering defeats on the frontlines, but the Myriad Heavens and Realms also chose to further deplete their resources from various realms and continue to expand the battlefield.
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