Cultivation: When you take things to the extreme - Chapter 362
Chapter 362: Chapter 240: Shedding Exuviae_1
Within the Mysterious Heavenly Main Peak, amidst the Spirit Mountain jade pillars,
a figure sat cross-legged, silent and speechless.
He had the appearance of a youth, his hair white as frost, his clothing purer than the snow, yet he was bound tightly by grim chains.
The chains stretched backward, leading to a stark white jade tower.
The tower stood at the heart of the mountain, its size undiminished, towering into the heavens, each level inscribed with countless complex talismans and ancient characters. Iron locks on every floor were connected to various parts of the mountain, as well as to the body of this person.
Layer by layer, the tower’s nine stories were bound by a total of nine chains, securing the man firmly before the gate of the tower.
Yet his expression was calm, an air of indifference about him, showing no sign of pain or the fury of imprisonment.
Because he was no longer among the living, he was… a corpse, a body that had been dead for who knows how long.
The legacy of the Profound Heaven Sect, an ancient relic from an unknown number of ages past, had a corpse remained intact for this long?
This…
Xu Yang remained silent, merely illuminating the scene with divine light, and opening the Mysterious Mirror with his Heavenly Eye.
The Five Colors Divine Light, the Heavenly Eye Mysterious Mirror, just barely penetrated the defenses of the main peak, presenting the scenes inside the mountain before them.
“This…!”
Meng Fuyao and the other person were also taken aback upon seeing this.
This was…
“The body of an Ancient Immortal!”
“The Demon-locking Tower!”
Meng Fuyao took a deep breath to calm his agitated mind.
“After the ancient times, many Immortals ascended, with only a few selfless ones remaining behind, giving their lives to protect the world and seeking a way to break the demonic threat.”
“However, ultimately, it was to no avail. The Ancient Immortals, having lost the fruit of immortality due to the contamination of the demon realm, could only die with regret, leaving behind their resentment.”
“This one must be the Mysterious Heaven Ancient Immortal, who before turning to dust worried about changes in the seals, so he left his body in front of the Demon-locking Tower as the last protection, the last barrier.”
“Regrettably…”
Meng Fuyao sighed and said in a low voice, “Even the body of an ancient immortal remains undecaying for thousands of years, and unspoiled for tens of thousands, it still could not withstand the calamity of the Heavenly Demons, and eventually, the Demon-locking Tower showed flaws, leading to the destruction of the Profound Heaven!”
The body of the Ancient Immortal revealed the key, explaining the situation.
Only the Immortals of ancient times could leave their bodies like this, through thousands of years, undecaying and unspoiled.
Unfortunately, even so, they could not withstand the disaster brought by the Heavenly Demons.
Looking at the heavily chained body of the Ancient Immortal and the nine-tiered tower firmly sealed behind it, Meng Fuyao remained silent, and so did Xu Yang.
The Demon-locking Tower, a lower-grade Immortal Artifact, even superior to a Spiritual Treasure.
Yet they could not reach out, nor had the ability to do so.
Leaving aside the power of the Immortal Artifact, the corpse of the Immortal at the forefront of the tower, as well as the Sixth Order Immortal arrays of the Mysterious Heavenly Main Peak, all seemed like insurmountable chasms.
Meng Fuyao turned to Xu Yang, “Although the Demon-locking Tower has faults, allowing part of the demonic threat to slip by, it ultimately did not break entirely. The main body of the Heavenly Demon is still contained within it. From what we see, there should be no worries for a thousand years.”
There was an implication in his words.
Xu Yang did not respond but continued to observe the array of the main peak and the remains of the Ancient Immortal.
It was at that moment…
“Huff!”
A faint sound, barely discernible.
But it made the mountain shake and the tower tremble.
Immediately after, the Immortal corpse sitting before the tower suddenly opened its eyes.
“!!!”
Meng Fuyao’s pupils shrank, his face revealing shock.
Xu Yang kept his composure and simply swept the area with his divine light.
The Five Colors Divine Light, like a sword, burst forth, sweeping and cleansing.
“Hurrah!”
Within the heart of the mountain, the chains rattled loudly, and the Immortal corpse that had opened its eyes suddenly stood up. Despite being heavily shackled, he stepped outside the mountain and pointed directly at the divine light.
Immortal pointing the way!
With a single finger raise, even the array of the main peak showed its Immortal Spirit’s might.
“Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!”
The Five Elements Sword Qi, the Five Colors Divine Light, were as heavy as mountains, yet they couldn’t withstand the might of the Immortal Spirit; with five clangs, the Five Qi shattered to pieces.
The Five Colors Divine Light was instantly broken.
With one flick of the Immortal’s finger, its remaining force undiminished, the Immortal Light came piercing through the air, dazzling to the eyes.
Even faced with the Transformed Corpse Resolution and the presence of an ancient Immortal Artifact, Meng Fuyao still felt an overbearing disaster approaching, a sense of an imminent death tribulation.
How terrifying!
It was not that he was cowardly or weak, but rather with increasing awareness of the grandeur of heaven and earth, the more he felt his own insignificance.
The higher the cultivation, the stronger the realm, the better one knows the vast difference between each stage, as different as the earth is from the heavens.
What is a Transformed Corpse Resolution in the face of an Ancient Immortal? It is as insignificant as an ant!
And this wasn’t even a true Ancient Immortal, but just a corpse, a mere remains, and it still possessed such formidable power.
A great disaster loomed, a deathly threshold drew near.
The two were horrified, their hearts pounding to the extreme.
Xu Yang, wordless, stepped forward, with the thunder of twin palms appearing together, forming a divine light with swirling Qilin Seal amidst the muddied yellow energy.
The Five Elements Divine Thunder, the Divine Skills of the Spiritual Treasure, all converted into the power of Jitu Qilin, forming a unity of the Five Elements to create the ultimate defense, the Qilin Seal of Jitu.
Such a Seal met the Immortal Light!
“Boom!!!”
A thunderous strike shook the heavens and the earth, with waves spreading out like a tumultuous sea, impacting all directions.
Mysterious Heaven Immortal Light, Jitu Qilin, shattered in an instant, both vanishing in the collision.
A figure flipped back, stepping through the void, with every step causing rifts to form.
It was Xu Yang!
“Bang!!!”
With the last step, releasing all remaining force, the void broke open and his arm simultaneously exploded into pieces.
Indeed, his arm, his right arm, burst with explosive force, turning tens of thousands of magic artifacts to dust in an instant.
“Fellow Daoist!”
Meng Fuyao’s expression changed, his eyes wide with horror, yet he knew better than to approach.
Xu Yang did not speak, merely channeling his mana, and the Five Colors Divine Light was reborn. Within the earthen aura, tens of thousands of magic artifacts flew out, instantly forming and mending the broken arm.
A body of Spiritual Treasure, constructed of magic artifacts, as long as one amassed sufficient resources, possessed an undying strength.
In the three years at White Jade Capital, there had been considerable development, Xu Yang too had accumulated some possessions and was able to maintain the Spirit-Treasure Mecha Armour during battle.
Even so, facing the Immortal corpse within the Immortal array in the Mysterious Heaven Peak, Xu Yang did not dare to fight directly.
“`
“Go!!”
“`
A phrase was uttered, the Five Elements Divine Light escaped, heading outward.
Seeing this, Meng Fuyao dared not linger and closely followed along with Li Qiankun.
Moments later, outside the Demon Realm.
“Phew!”
The Demonic Qi shattered, the Escape Light pierced through, revealing the figures of three people.
“The Mysterious Heaven Ancient Immortal’s sixth-tier formation is indeed terrifying!”
Even though they had left the Demon Realm, the experience still left them in palpable dread.
Meng Fuyao took a deep breath and looked at Xu Yang, “Fellow Daoist… how are you?”
Xu Yang’s expression was unchanged, and his words were calm, “A minor injury, no harm!”
“That’s good to hear.”
Hearing this, Meng Fuyao didn’t know whether to believe it or not, but he didn’t probe further. Instead, he sighed and said, “The immortals of ancient times truly deserved their reputation. This Mysterious Heaven Sect was one of the Ten Great Immortal Sects of the Ancient Times. The ancient immortal they left behind was a genius of his era, and his cultivation was probably above the Return to Void Realm, having reached the realm of Integration Great Power.”
Xu Yang remained silent.
This world’s heaven and earth are limited, unlike the real Cultivation Realm, where only those who cross the Great Ascension Tribulation can be called True Immortals.
The ancient immortals of this world were generally within the Return to Void Realm; only the elite geniuses could reach Integration.
Beyond this threshold, the heaven and earth could not sustain them, and they would have to ascend.
Otherwise, the ancient battles would not have been so devastating.
Even the greatest immortals of the ancient times, when facing the Lust Realm Demons supported by Boxun’s power, did not have the upper hand. Although they managed a tragic victory, it was just that—a tragic victory, unable to resolve everything.
This Mysterious Heaven Ancient Immortal was an Integration Cultivator—an entity of great might in the mortal realm.
Although it’s unclear why this Integration Great Power chose not to ascend to the Upper Realm, but instead remained devoted to the world and became a Buddhist relic here, his presence here is like an unfathomable chasm that cannot be crossed or removed.
The higher a cultivator’s realm, the greater the disparity between levels.
Xu Yang, as of now, despite his formidable foundation and numerous methods, and the ability to rely on the Spirit-Treasure Mech Armor and Five Qi Divine Skills to face Divinity Transformation without falling behind, and even potentially emerge victorious, still had no advantage over an Integration Great Power that was superior to Return to Void.
Fortunately, it was just a corpse—a corpse that had been dead for millions of years. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to withstand that burst of Mysterious Heaven Immortal Light. The Spirit-Treasure Mech Armor made of a hundred thousand magic artifacts would have been utterly destroyed right there.
The might of Integration, the power of Great Ability, is evident.
Could such entities truly exist in this world?
It seems that the previous claims of being unmatched under the heavens were a bit overstated.
Who knows if other Immortal Sects and relics also contain such remains of immortal corpses.
The immortal corpses are secondary, after all, as the dead cannot move. The reaction just now must have been because his Admiring Eye of Heaven peered in, which when touched by the Demon-locking Tower and the main peak’s array, caused the sealed ancient immortal corpse to launch an attack.
As long as one stays away and avoids contact, there shouldn’t be much of a threat.
But the key issue is…
“That Demon-locking Tower!”
Seeing Xu Yang silent, Meng Fuyao seized the moment to press on, “Inside the Demon-locking Tower, there is a Heaven Demon that is immortal and indefatigable, a disaster that has persisted until today!”
“Although the ancient immortal sacrificed himself to suppress it, and the seal of the Demon-locking Tower has not broken, the demonic disaster has still managed to leak out. After thousands and millions of years, time erodes its strength, and this seal might not hold.”
“Once the power of the Immortal Artifact fades, and the Heaven Demon breaks free, a catastrophe will surely ensue, far worse than the Dark Chaos of the past.”
Meng Fuyao sighed deeply, indicating the gravity of the situation.
He then turned to Xu Yang and continued to explain, “That’s why we, the Four Sects, have spared no cost to seal the Blood Demon!”
“Because that Blood Demon is a newly born demon with sentience, not a mindless zombie. If he were to completely fall into the Demon Path and enter this relic, breaking the seal, then he might have the chance to release the Heaven Demon.”
“During the Dark Chaos, the demon objects had no sentience and acted purely on instinct, which is why the cultivators of this world managed to barely survive by creating the Corpse Resolution Immortal Technique to break the cycle.”
“If the Blood Demon ascends, becoming the master of the Demon Path in this world, it would be a calamity with only death, no life, inevitably leading the Demon Path to destroy the world.”
His words were clear and direct. Meng Fuyao looked at Xu Yang, persuading him once more, “Although you possess Divine Skills and Wonderful Skills, and have slain the Blood Demon, the state of the world is as such; the heavens and earth are tainted, and it’s difficult to ensure that a second Blood Demon won’t emerge. Moreover, with the root cause of the demonic calamity being so hard to eliminate…”
The rest of his words were left unspoken, yet their meaning was self-evident.
This… was a deadlock, a situation that not even the Ancient Immortals or those with Integration Great Power could resolve.
Your strength is indeed formidable, but how can it exceed that of the Ancient Immortals of yesteryear?
Even if the Blood Demon is annihilated, it’s difficult to ensure that another won’t appear, seizing the power of Boxun, and becoming the master of the Demon Path.
Once the master of demons emerges and the hordes of demons break their seals in the Death Land, this world will surely fall into ruin and extinction, with no one able to stop it.
Therefore, it’s better to ascend. Persistence is meaningless.
This was Meng Fuyao’s stance, still hoping that his fellow Daoist, Xu Yang, would board the Ascension ship offered by their Four Sects.
However…
“To succeed or not, I must try before deciding,”
Xu Yang spoke calmly, unchanging in attitude, “Having received three Spiritual Treasures, after I have finished studying their Cultivation Techniques, I will deliver them as promised. Farewell!”
With that, he bowed to Meng Fuyao and immediately soared away on a beam of Escape Light.
“…”
“…”
Seeing this, the two fell silent with mixed emotions, ultimately converging into a sigh.
“Forget it, let it be!”
…
Elsewhere, in a barren wilderness, within a dense forest.
A young man rushed frantically, his steps in disarray, his expression desperate.
“Running to where?”
A cold sneer followed, and a Flying Sword shot forth, instantly piercing the youth’s body; blood surged out.
“Ugh!”
The young man grunted, tumbling to the ground. His flesh convulsed, showing signs of demonic transformation.
The Flying Sword spun, thrusting downward to pin the transforming corpse.
Afterward, a streak of light descended, materializing a figure who took a Storage Bag from the corpse.
Killing and looting, a common affair.
However…
“Thump!!!”
With a dull sound, the Robbing Cultivator was taken aback, looking down at his chest to see a stinger pierced through, crimson like blood, its point sharp.
This was…
“Thump!!!”
With a twirl of the stinger, flesh and bone shattered to pieces, the Robbing Cultivator’s corpse fell to the ground, leaving only a long stinger withdrawing swiftly back into the body of the demonically transforming youth.
“Gurgle~Gurgle!”
As the Poison Scorpion stinger receded, the demonically-transforming youth’s body made strange sounds. Moments later, the streams of blood vanished, the fleshy sprouts retracted, and the dead youth propped himself up; his eyes, filled with surging bloodlight, looked to the north.
“Hmph!!!”
With a cold snort, the bloodlight exploded, and he vanished with Extreme Evasion.
