Aspiring to the Immortal Path - Chapter 541
Chapter 541: Genius
Among Dao armaments, the Myriad Immortals Cauldron was ranked rather high. As the cauldron which governed the heavens and earth, it possessed boundless Dao Arts and unfathomable power. But for this very reason, Tang Jie found that he couldn’t do anything with it.
Back then, even a peerless genius like Wang Juemie had only been able to endure a projection of the Seven Inferno Heaven Treasures.
The Myriad Immortals Cauldron was many times stronger than that, so even though Tang Jie was much stronger than Wang Juemie from back then, he was still far from being able to use this treasure.
In truth, this treasure was so obscenely powerful that just standing in front of it was difficult.
Only Tang Jie’s Diamond Body could endure the pressure. The likes of Xian Tao and Hong Yuan couldn’t even get close. Xu Miaoran and Xi Canhen were somewhat better off, but they also didn’t dare to get close.
Ultimately, while he couldn’t use it, he also couldn’t give it up.
Tang Jie grabbed a Mustard Seed Bag and attempted to put the Myriad Immortals Cauldron inside.
When he grabbed the Myriad Immortals Cauldron, the Dao Runes flowed with light, and waves of energy swept out from them and slammed into Tang Jie’s body. His mountainous body immediately bent over, and he threw up blood.
And this was with the seal on the Myriad Immortals Cauldron removed! The little bit of power created by the flow of the Dao Runes had been enough to heavily injure him, and Xu Miaoran and the others were all alarmed.
But a moment later, Tang Jie still grabbed the Myriad Immortals Cauldron and put it into the Mustard Seed Bag, which had an adjustable mouth. But Tang Jie had just put the cauldron into the bag when the bag suddenly began to erupt with light.
Tang Jie instantly knew this was bad and shouted, “Get down!”
Everyone instantly lunged to the floor, and there was a boom as the Mustard Seed Bag exploded. As the Mustard Seed Bag was a spatial tool, when it broke, it created a small spatial storm. But when this storm struck the Myriad Immortals Cauldron, it instantly disappeared, passing over like a gentle breeze.
Everyone got up from the ground and saw the Myriad Immortals Cauldron sitting there as if nothing had happened.
Thankfully, Tang Jie had used an empty Mustard Seed Bag, so all he had lost was one bag. Otherwise, everything inside would have been destroyed.
It seemed like it was impossible to put the Myriad Immortals Cauldron into a Mustard Seed Bag, and carrying it out was suicidal. Unable to think of a way, Tang Jie could only leave the cauldron there for now. Turning to Xi Canhen, he asked him what his plans were.
Tang Jie said, “I think you shouldn’t go back to Godhead Palace, so you might as well come back with me to the Basking Moon Sect.”
After some thought, Xi Canhen also thought that this was a good idea. He had gone to Godhead Palace in the first place because he had accidentally become a wanted criminal of Sageheart. With Tang Jie around, this was now a minor affair. Godhead Palace had failed its mission, and basically everyone had died, so even if he wasn’t exposed, nothing good awaited him if he returned alive. It was much better to join the Basking Moon Sect. In the end, cultivating alone was not the proper path, and only with a major sect did he have any prospects.
Tang Jie was delighted to see that he agreed. “Great! Let’s take this chance now, while Godhead Palace still hasn’t received the news. I will write a letter, and you can take it and head back to the Basking Moon Sect first with your little sister.”
“What about you?” Xi Canhen asked.
“I have to stay here a little longer.” Tang Jie pointed at the Myriad Immortals Cauldron. “I have to get that thing settled first. Besides, this underground palace is itself a fortune.”
The Court of Myriad Domains had been shockingly opulent. Every building, every tile, was made from rare metals and jewels. Any precious material one could think of could be found here, and the buildings themselves could be called a rare metal mine.
How could Tang Jie give up on such a valuable place?
Thus, long before this, Tang Jie had already decided to take this entire palace with him.
But his avatar heading off to the Blood River Domain had ruined his plans.
Taking the Myriad Court fragment required the Mountain River State Diagram.
It had to be understood that while it was called a “fragment”, it was actually massive. If all the buildings were dismantled, they could form a mountain. The limited space of a Mustard Seed Bag just wasn’t enough.
If he really had to use Mustard Seed Bags, he could fill an entire wagon train.
Without the Mountain River Diagram, Tang Jie would have a hard time taking all this with him.
Thus, Xi Canhen frowned after hearing Tang Jie say this. “It isn’t that easy to take. Digging some out and taking it with you isn’t a problem, but taking it all… I think it’s even harder than taking the Myriad Immortals Cauldron.”
“That’s why I thought of an idea,” Tang Jie replied.
“And what is that?”
He answered, “If I can’t take them away, I’ll have them take themselves.”
“‘Take themselves’?” Xi Canhen didn’t get it.
Xu Miaoran casually replied, “If they’re turned into puppets, can’t they take themselves?”
Xi Canhen was enlightened.
These rare materials were perfect for making puppets. If all them were converted into puppets, then there truly would be no need to worry about transportation. Oh, not even all of them. Half would be enough.
“But that would mean you have to stay here for a while,” Xi Canhen said. “If you want to turn all these materials into puppets, it wouldn’t be a matter of days, but years.”
“Don’t worry.” Tang Jie smiled. “I have nothing but time.”
Body refining was different from art cultivation. Art cultivation was useless with purely resources, as one also needed things like comprehension and cultivation. But the body refining of the Parting Classic simply needed sufficient resources to improve, so resources were the only limiter.
For this reason, staying here to loot the place was the same as cultivating for Tang Jie.
He said, “Once you get back, tell Wei Tianchong to come over.”
He really needed this guy’s help to make puppets.
“Are you not worried about Godhead Palace finding you if you stay here too long?”
“They’d have to know that I’m here first,” Tang Jie replied with a smile.
Xi Canhen was enlightened.
Almost everyone had died in this battle.
While Xu Mingyue had returned alive, she had already prepared an excuse: because of Ling Tianqi, Nan Ningjiang no longer considered her important, so she had stormed off alone in a fit of rage, never participating in the battle in the Spirit Mountains. As a result, she didn’t know anything.
It was an excuse Tang Jie had made up for her, as it was much better than everyone else having died while she managed to somehow survive.
To handle Godhead Palace, Xi Canhen simply needed to take a few corpses with him and fabricate evidence that Tang Jie had left.
Thus, Godhead Palace would never know that there was a fragment of the Myriad Court in the Great Mountain, nor that Tang Jie had been bold enough to remain in the Spirit Mountains. Frankly speaking, even if they did know, would they have the guts to charge back in?
He Changan’s death was a massive loss to Godhead Palace, and Tang Jie’s one year of roaming about Nadir Hill had also done immense damage to Godhead Palace’s economy and dignity.
In these circumstances, making concessions to avoid trouble was perhaps the best choice.
Moreover, Tang Jie had also set up a concealment formation around the area, so even if they wanted to find him, it wouldn’t be easy.
Once he understood all this, Xi Canhen naturally had no more objections, and he agreed to Tang Jie’s request.
Looking at the palaces around him, he enviously said, “Remember to leave me one.”
“What nonsense are you saying?” Tang Jie patted Xi Canhen and said, “You’ve done so much for me! You naturally deserve a part of all this. How could I just leave you one?”
He took out a Mustard Seed Bag and gave it to Xi Canhen. Xi Canhen looked inside and saw that it was Cang Qingfeng’s Mustard Seed Bag. Other than the pill treatise and the herbs, everything else was inside—all the art relics, talismans, and pills.
The value of all these things put together was at least one million coins, and Xi Canhen was stunned when he saw it all. “Big Brother Tang!”
Tang Jie chuckled. “It’s your just reward. Once I finish with this underground palace, a part of it will also be yours. Alas, there’s no way to divvy up the Myriad Immortals Cauldron, so your big brother will have to be a little greedy and take it all.”
It was precisely because the Myriad Immortals Cauldron couldn’t be divided that Tang Jie had given all the items in the Mustard Seed Bag to Xi Canhen. Compared to a priceless treasure like the Myriad Immortals Cauldron, a million spirit coins truly wasn’t much.
Xi Canhen said, “I can’t even touch it, let alone take it. I basically didn’t do anything in this battle. I’m already very satisfied with what Big Brother is willing to give me.”
“There is no such thing as being satisfied on the path of Immortality, and one million in resources is commonplace,” Tang Jie loudly said. “You don’t need to be greedy, but you also can’t be satisfied. The Immortal path is long, so you must always keep pressing forward. I will be waiting for you up ahead!”
Xi Canhen deeply bowed to Tang Jie.
That night, he shared a feast of python with Tang Jie. When he thought about how Godhead Palace had gone to such great lengths to find Tang Jie in order to get at the Martial Lord’s secret treasury while Tang Jie was right now looting the lands of Godhead Palace, Xi Canhen felt like the world was truly a fickle place. Heartily laughing, he took his leave.
Tang Jie and Xu Miaoran took up residence in the underground palace.
Tang Jie first cleaned the underground palace of fiends and demons, only leaving behind those ghosts in the garden to do as they willed. He then began the work of dismantling, taking apart palaces every day.
All of these palaces were made of valuable metals and were exceptionally tough. In the past, even when numerous experts here had been blasting away, they had failed to do anything to the palaces. For this reason, even though Tang Jie had a Diamond Body, he still needed to use all his strength to take off a single roof tile.
But Tang Jie wasn’t in a rush, treating it as a kind of cultivation. His routine became one of working during the day and then getting passionate under the covers with Xu Miaoran at night, a wonderful life that almost made it seem like he had retired to the countryside. Moreover, with the deaths of numerous experts like He Changan, Zhu Yun, and Master Xuan Zhong, this place was rich with spiritual energy. Tang Jie used a formation to seal it up so that it didn’t disperse, making the place seem even more like a small paradise.
Other than dismantling buildings, Tang Jie also spent his days studying the Myriad Immortals Cauldron, plumbing its secrets while also trying to figure out how to move it.
The flowing Dao Runes on the Myriad Immortals Cauldron were suffused with countless mysteries and unfathomable might. Just by sitting next to the cauldron and observing, Tang Jie felt awestruck.
After looking at it for long enough, perhaps because he adapted to it, he felt less awestruck and started to find the Dao Runes familiar. What had once been blurry characters that mortals were not meant to glimpse gradually clarified.
As those Dao Runes infused with the principles of the world fell upon his eyes, they conferred upon him an indescribably profound experience.
Thus, Tang Jie made time every day to sit down in front of the cauldron. With the Dao of Wisdom, Tang Jie put all he had into analyzing the Dao Runes on the Myriad Immortals Cauldron, deepening his understanding of the Dao of Yin Yang.
Today, Tang Jie had spent two hours comprehending the Myriad Immortals Cauldron before returning to Xu Miaoran’s side.
Xu Miaoran was reading a book.
Tang Jie sat next to her and gave her a hug. Only then did he look at the book, and he discovered that Xu Miaoran was reading the pill treatise left behind by Cang Qingfeng. Smiling, he said, “What’s this? Are you interested in pill refining?”
To his surprise, Xu Miaoran earnestly replied, “Yes, I’m planning to start properly studying pill refining.”
“Oh?” Tang Jie was amazed. “Why is that?”
Xu Miaoran didn’t reply, but the nearby Hong Yuan, who was making dinner, rolled her eyes and said, “It couldn’t be for you…”
She started chattering away.
It turned out that being used as bait to lure Tang Jie into direct combat several times by Cang Qingfeng had been a psychological blow to Xu Miaoran. She realized that she was too weak, only serving to drag him down rather than help Tang Jie in battle.
And this was after they had been trained by Tang Jie. Without that special training or the Supreme Mystery Bell, they would have done even worse.
With this precedent in mind, Xu Miaoran felt like she was better suited to help her love in other aspects to help take the pressure off his shoulders, like pill refining.
Cultivators needed resources, and pills and medicines were one of the most important resources on the path of Immortality.
Every checkpoint had its own resource requirements.
Tang Jie didn’t have the time or energy to refine pills. That being the case, Xu Miaoran felt like she should help him using her own time.
Put simply, she wanted to be Tang Jie’s personal pill refiner.
Tang Jie was taken aback by Hong Yuan’s explanation.
He hugged Xu Miaoran and softly said, “I love you!”
Even someone of Xu Miaoran’s personality blushed at this public display of affection. Gently pushing him away, she said, “Don’t be like this. Everyone else is here.”
Hong Yuan and Xian Tao looked away, pretending not to see, but when they took a peek, they saw Tang Jie giving her a big smooch, upon which they both inwardly shouted, No shame!
After being kissed, Xu Miaoran explained, “You don’t need to be too grateful. I only got the idea when I saw this pill treatise and that Myriad Immortals Cauldron. But I don’t know whether I have any talent in this field. In the end, I might end up producing nothing but awful medicine, so you had better not blame me.”
“Who cares if it’s awful? I’m satisfied with just the consideration.”
Despite what he said, Tang Jie currently only had rare materials, so he naturally couldn’t let a rookie like Xu Miaoran practice with them. Thus, Tang Jie personally took a trip out of the Spirit Mountains, buying some low-grade herbs in a nearby city and also buying a pill furnace for Xu Miaoran.
As expected, he encountered no obstacles on this trip.
Godhead Palace had probably realized that they had lost the opportunity to capture Tang Jie. The corpses scattered across the outer zone of the mountain were the best proof of this. Nobody believed that Tang Jie was still in the mountains, so Tang Jie easily got out of the mountains and easily got back in.
Starting from this day, everyone busied themselves with their own work.
Tang Jie dismantled buildings and analyzed the Myriad Immortals Cauldron while Xu Miaoran put all her focus on studying pill refining. Occasionally, she would also come to study the Myriad Immortals Cauldron, but as she was too weak, only looking at it for a little while would make her dizzy. In the end, she had to give up on it.
Time quickly passed.
In the blink of an eye, more than a month had passed.
Tang Jie finally made some progress in comprehending the Myriad Immortals Cauldron. In his first battle against Feng Buzhi, he had already comprehended a little of the principles of Yin and Yang, but in the face of the Myriad Immortals Cauldron, that little bit of insight was basically irrelevant. But this time, he suddenly made a huge leap of progress in the Dao of Yin Yang.
Before this, the Dao of Yin Yang was the Dao Will that Tang Jie had the shallowest insights of, but as he studied the Myriad Immortals Cauldron, his comprehension of it had increased so much that it was second only to Insight.
On this day, as Tang Jie saw through the principles of another Great Dao, he was suddenly enlightened, and his eyes shone as they manifested Yin and Yang. His left eye was like a crescent moon, gleaming with a pure cold light, and his right eye was like a blazing sun, shining bright. This moon and sun interchanged between his eyes, rising and falling like the shifting of Yin and Yang.
Even though all of this lasted for only a moment, Tang Jie’s aura still became completely different.
If someone had been here to witness all this, they would have definitely yelled, for this was the first sign that someone was about to enter the Dao.
To comprehend the Dao was simply to understand its principles and how to use it. To enter the Dao was to place one’s body onto the Dao. The gap between these two was far beyond what one could imagine.
If one had to make an analogy, then one could liken it to bureaucracy. The Dao comprehender was an outsider, only knowing some of the bureaucracy’s rules and how to interact with bureaucrats. This made it easier for them to handle affairs, and if they did well, they could get some special treatment. But the Dao enterer was a bureaucrat, and they enjoyed many more conveniences than the outsider.
In terms of practical function, the gap was even bigger.
In most cases, the Dao comprehender couldn’t use the power of the Dao directly, and they mostly used the Dao in a supportive fashion. The Dao enterer could directly use the Dao, with the Great Dao Realm being its most obvious manifestation.
It was for this reason that only one who entered the Dao could be called a Celestial Sovereign.
Tang Jie naturally couldn’t be said to have entered the Dao yet, but the light of the sun and moon in his eyes were an indicator that he was extremely close, only missing one last step.
This last step was to merge one’s body with the Great Dao. No longer would one comprehend purely through thought. Instead, one would fuse one’s flesh with the Dao Will, becoming a part of the Dao. This could be compared to the official civil service exam. Only by passing this checkpoint could one step into the Dao. But the difficulty was just as great as the official exam.
For this reason, even though Tang Jie was extremely close to entering the Dao, this last breakthrough was the most difficult part. However, so long as the Myriad Immortals Cauldron was still around, Tang Jie was sure that entering the Dao of Yin Yang was only a matter of time.
Meanwhile, Xu Miaoran was making even more progress than Tang Jie.
No one could have imagined that Xu Miaoran was actually a genius in pill refining.
The art of pill refining was a profound one, and it was extremely demanding on a cultivator. Not only did the pill refiner have to be familiar with the various characteristics of herbs, how they interacted with each other, and which medicines and pills were what, they also needed to be proficient with the methods of pill refining. This required powerful sensory capabilities, like the ability to sense a subtle shift in the medicinal scent in the air, rapidly analyze the situation in the pill furnace, and take timely action.
Knowledge and method were all things that could come with practice, but powerful senses, the ability to sense the situation in the pill furnace through odor, temperature, and luster, needed a certain level of talent.
And Xu Miaoran just so happened to have it.
Her knowledge wasn’t rich enough, and her methods weren’t proficient enough, but Xu Miaoran could already keenly sense the transformation taking place in the pill furnace. And this grasp directly decided the chances of success and quality of the pill. These two were the most important standard for determining who was an outstanding pill refiner.
With this level of talent, Xu Miaoran was bound to be a famous and powerful pill refiner in the future.
Everyone was shocked by this.
Horizon Ocean Pavilion had always been the weakest among the six major sects when it came to the auxiliary fields. Other than its ability to craft palace-type tools, it had basically zero capability in all other aspects, which was exactly why it was good friends with the Seven Absolutions Sect.
Who could have imagined that True Lord Xu’s daughter was a pill refining genius?
On this day, Xu Miaoran refined her first batch of Essence-Refining Pills.
She had a success rate of 80%, 20% of which were quality goods, one of them even being an upper-grade Essence-Refining Pill.
These grades would be great even for an official pill refiner. Considering that she had only been learning for a month, Tang Jie couldn’t help but silently append: This is a monstrous genius.
