Chapter 795: Chapter 519: The Divine’s Giant Skull
The Yaochi Immortal poured a cup of tea for Lu Chenzhou.
"Little Lu, did your Phoenix Form Fist make a breakthrough?"
"I integrated the fast-attack concept of the Lightning Dao with the Phoenix Form Fist and created a new Martial Method called ’Southern Dipper Phoenix Fist.’ This is the cultivation method—I invite Senior to take a look."
Lu Chenzhou drank the tea in one gulp.
The Yaochi Immortal’s eyes gleamed with a smile at the corners.
"And you’re just handing over your exclusive secret technique to me like this?"
"I want to see if there’s any room for improvement."
In reality, Lu Chenzhou wished for other Absolute Peak experts to verify whether the special effect, Phoenix’s Words, was unique to him.
If others could cultivate it as well, it would grant them another lifesaving trump card; with Heavenly Realm cultivation, the projection summoned would be of Eighth Realm strength, enough even to face off against a Demon Saint.
In truth, he had long tried passing on his self-created Martial Methods to others, such as the ’World Tiger Fist’...
But just like his foundational martial art, "Tiger Spirit Divine Fist," the most crucial Acupoint special effect could not manifest for others. Also, cultivating "World Tiger Fist" itself consumed immense time, primarily to advance Acupoint cultivation—akin to forsaking the near for the far. If the Great Xia Martial Arts Dao wished to resolve the Acupoint issue, they still needed to make an article on the Nine Apertures Exquisite Grass.
Alternatively, they could fundamentally reform Acupoint Martial Arts, for instance, by optimizing the Dragon and Tiger Heavenly Pile. The Elder Council’s Martial Arts Committee had continued researching this for ages, as well as the "Invisible Elephant Chapter," but all these required copious amounts of time.
The revolution of Martial Arts is far from an overnight feat.
The Yaochi Immortal glanced once and instantly sensed its profundity.
She could not help but mutter to herself, "Though I don’t cultivate Phoenix Form, I can already feel that the intent of this method is lofty—there’s already a trace of the essence of the Heavenly Phoenix within. It seems one can use Martial Arts as a bridge to achieve the effect of Summoning God."
Lu Chenzhou’s heart stirred.
"Seems like it truly holds promise."
He explained, "Though Dragon and Phoenix are already things of the past, the will of such powerful True Spirits still leaves traces in the universe. If one can leverage them through Martial Arts, it’s possible to borrow their power, just like the Heavenly Heart Mark of our Da Xia."
The Heavenly Heart Mark is a product of the Xia Realm.
Once you leave Xia Realm, it ceases to work.
But the will of Great Power (True Spirit) reflects upon all Three Thousand Worlds—they’ve nearly reached the level of the Divine.
Some gods of the Divine Court that have perished may have also left their will imprinted in time and space, only that there aren’t any available means to borrow them.
These were Lu Chenzhou’s speculations.
The Yaochi Immortal said, "Yes, not bad. But unlike our Da Xia’s Heavenly Heart Mark, if we wish to borrow the power of True Spirit’s will, we probably need to pay quite a price."
Lu Chenzhou nodded.
Conversing with an Absolute Peak expert was always pleasant.
Their perspective was broad, able to directly analyze the essence of Divine Skills.
The Yaochi Immortal smiled and said, "This method is useful for us at Absolute Peak. I’ll pass it on to others. Do you mind?"
"If you seniors can use it to develop even better cultivation techniques, just pass a copy down to your junior—that’s all I ask."
A single person’s wisdom is always limited.
Pooling intellect together is, after all, the proper way.
The Yaochi Immortal nodded. "It seems there is great potential in Elephant Form Fist. Among True Spirits, there’s far more than just the Phoenix; there are also the Dragon Clan and other beings. If we can find ways to create summoning methods and invite their projections to descend, then the overall strength of Xia Realm could advance another stage."
Once the review was done, the Yaochi Immortal’s eyebrows rose.
"Here, give me your hand."
Lu Chenzhou suspiciously extended his palm.
A seven-colored crystal radiating potent Creation Power landed there, and just one breath of it filled him with delight and refreshment.
"Is this a High Grade Primordial Stone?"
"This thing is a strategic resource. Even though we Absolute Peaks travel the Three Thousand Worlds, we haven’t gathered much of it. If you refine it directly, it can greatly augment your Qi-Blood—but that’s wasteful, so after collecting them, we had the Wanbang Council establish some mid-grade ore veins for Da Xia. This one’s for you. Place it in your cultivation chamber to purify spiritual qi."
"Thank you."
High Grade Primordial Stones are on par with Heaven and Earth Treasures. In the Great Wilderness, the ratio of Mid-grade to High Grade Stones is 10,000:1, but High Grades are simply too rare. Unless your realm is so low you can’t use them, no one would ever trade them away.
Bzzz—bzzz—
The Grotto Heaven trembled.
The Yaochi Immortal looked up.
"Can the Aurora Palace still hold on?"
"No problem."
"Summon the Three Suns Immortal and Cold Moon Immortal—we need to discuss the next phase of the battle plan."
...
Time passed.
Two streams of radiance darted through the Ruins Sea.
The Black Mountain Demon Saint was extremely patient.
"My lifespan is long; you’re unable to replenish cultivation resources and energy within the palace. How long can you persist?"
Mainly, the Three Suns Palace was carrying many dependents. Such a tiny Grotto Heaven was simply unable to support the survival of so many people for long.
By its estimation, at most one year and Lu Chenzhou’s group would be forced to seek world descension to replenish resources.
That would be when it would strike!
Behind the Black Mountain Demon Saint, a most inconspicuous white-robed figure trailed silently at a distance.
It, however, did not sense a thing.
...
In the blink of an eye,
another month had gone by.
Within a secret chamber, Lu Chenzhou was delving into the "Sky Escape Chapter" technique, his body enveloped in Lightning Dao Essence growing ever denser.
[Heavenly Escape: Sixth Layer (1%)]
"Two months now, from Beginner up to Sixth Layer. Post-Entering Dao, cultivation truly feels like crushing lower dimensions."
’Sky Escape Chapter’ has nine layers in all; the first three are foundational, suited for the Mountain Realm. The middle three layers mark the formal start of Lightning Dao cultivation, suitable for the Sea Realm. With his Fourth Rank Lightning Dao, he could theoretically reach the Seventh Layer. By then, his normal tunneling speed would reach a thousand times the speed of sound.
The Eighth Layer, three thousand times the speed of sound.
The Ninth Layer, more than eight thousand times the speed of sound.
Even some Eighth Realm experts are outpaced by him now.
Upon perfection at the Ninth Layer, he could transition seamlessly into the ’Aurora Chapter’, embarking on a romantic...journey of Chasing Light.
"Lightning, Aurora, Surpassing Light—these are the three major realms of the Speed Extreme Dao en route to the Great Power Realm. Beyond that lies the Universe Wuji Realm envisioned by Wuji Dragon Lord."
At this thought,
Lu Chenzhou transported himself to a starry sky.
This was a training arena only he could reach.
A figure radiating aurora manifested.
"Chasing Light, let’s spar."
The Light Chaser transformed into a beam, darting into the universe.
Lu Chenzhou followed close behind. Before long, he grabbed the Light Chaser with one hand, delight unconcealed in his eyes.
"No need for the Kun Character Technique. With just the ’Southern Dipper Phoenix Fist’ and ’Heavenly Escape’ at Sixth Layer, I can effortlessly catch the Light Chaser. My normal speed should be about four hundred times the speed of sound. If I burst forth with the Kun Character Technique, I can nearly reach eight hundred times the speed of sound."
A thousandfold is a threshold.
The Lightning Demon Venerable’s standard state is at this level. Who would have thought that, in just two months, he’d get this close to a Demon Venerable.
...
Ancient Origin Realm.
This place once saw a Great Power battle, shattering the world’s Heavenly Dao; now it lay desolate and lifeless.
"Are the array and Daoist Soldier preparations set?"
"They are ready."
"This battle is pivotal. Should we succeed in slaying a Demon Saint and the news spreads across the Three Thousand Worlds, it will mark the first shot of humanity’s rebellion against the Forbidden Zone—and uplift Xia Realm’s prestige."
"All is ready, save the Demon Saint’s entry. But knowing Black Mountain’s temperament, he’ll surely be wary?"
"Black Mountain is very confident. Even if he knows it’s a trap, he’ll barge in. He doesn’t believe anyone in the Three Thousand Worlds can detain him—much less is he aware we possess Eighth Realm combat power."
"Who could have imagined—after just a few short years, Lu Chenzhou has grown so much. If this Demon Saint hunt succeeds, it will be a deed of Great Merit for him."
...
In the blink of an eye,
half a month more passed.
The Aurora Palace pressed on amidst turbulence.
Behind them, a Double-winged Dragon Beast gave chase.
In the Void, worlds receded one after another.
One day, the Aurora Palace swept past an unimaginably vast world, a giant whose diameter was a thousandfold that of the Kun Gu Realm.
Lu Chenzhou and the Yaochi Immortal stood side by side.
Before them was the projected environment surrounding the Aurora Palace.
"Excluding special dimensions like the Xia Realm which contain starry skies, this is the largest world I’ve ever seen,"
Lu Chenzhou’s pupils reflected a scene of a vast gray-white world.
"I have traveled the Three Thousand Worlds for ages and have never witnessed such a world." The Yaochi Immortal couldn’t help clicking her tongue in awe.
The Artifact Spirit’s voice sounded.
[This is the Gale Great World—Desolate God Yin Yin Hu’s domain. Before the Divine War, some of the Great Wilderness Gods would delight in spreading their fame across the Three Thousand Worlds. Some earned a good renown, like Zouyu; others, a foul one. They reveled in it... We had best make a detour.]
"Let’s go around. I once heard from a senior about the deeds of the Gale World Venerable. He, like his ancestors, is notorious far and wide—their evil blood runs in the bone."
The Yaochi Immortal’s brows furrowed.
Lu Chenzhou remembered as well.
During the previous Water Mansion trial, the Heavenly Wing Divine Race of the Gale World had indeed been troublemakers, leaving a poor impression on him.
Only the Red Feather Divine Race and Purple Beard Divine Race left a worse one.
By contrast, the Sea Dominating Royal Family, Ice Heart Spirit Clan, and Green Light Divine Race—who represent water, ice, and wood—came off much better.
"Artifact Spirit, mark these coordinates."
Lu Chenzhou suddenly commanded.
[Marked.]
The Aurora Palace circled widely around.
The Black Mountain Demon Saint also avoided the Gale Realm.
"Although the Gale World Venerable’s strength falls short of mine, within the Gale Great World he can exert the power of a Middle Realm.
If I don’t use god-level means, I’m no match. Also, descendants of the Seven Divine Races usually possess ancestral Demigod Artifacts as clan-treasures—hard to handle at present. But these Divine Races are all remnants of a past era. According to the Witch Master, they’re nothing to be feared. The real threat comes from humanity of the Fire Seed Worlds, especially from Xia Realm."
...
Gale Great World.
Here, the Gang Wind Layer is a million miles thick. Aside from the Heaven-born Heavenly Wing Divine Race in control of the Wind Element, even ordinary Demon Venerables struggle to traverse it, creating a natural protective barrier.
Coupled with the dominance of the Divine Race, even the revived Evil Gods didn’t choose to invade here first—thus, compared to other worlds, here one barely senses the presence of Demon Energy.
Lack of external pressure has made the Gale Divine Race exceedingly self-assured: aside from other Divine Races, none of the Three Thousand Worlds’ civilizations are their match—after all, their ancestors were gods.
All a god need leave is just a bit of legacy, and mortals of other worlds start the race eons behind.
At the very heart of the million-mile Gang Wind Layer, there is a colossal vortex, its diameter rivaling that of Jupiter—a maw to the Abyss.
The tearing gales spew forth from here, having filled the Gale Great World through the ages.
At the vortex’s core lies a giant avian skull like a small planet, still exuding savage aura after eons of death. Dense Wind Dao rules manifest as myriad roaring hurricanes.
The empty sockets of the skull light up.
A sixteen-winged Divine Person flies out, eyes bright as lanterns.
The Eighth Realm experts of the Divine Race are titled "World Venerable."
The Gale World Venerable’s expression grew somber.
"There is Demon Energy!"