Chapter 162: True Realm 161 – 6K

As a strong one, wherever and whenever, Wang Wu is always willing to accept others' challenges.

Eh, even if it's not a person, it's fine.

This is still Wang Wu's first time encountering a newly formed monster, but the place feels nothing like something newly formed; rather, it seems like a location that has existed for a long time.

Moreover, the environment of this place… how to put it, it looks nothing like the aesthetic of this world.

In fact, that time the Travelers' Inn was the same; its layout resembled the inns seen in period dramas Wang Wu had watched back in his hometown.

Such a layout for an inn does not exist in this world, or rather it only existed during humanity's primitive era.

Without particularly powerful transcendental forces, there is no real productivity; everything is very primitive.

Perhaps only at that time could places like the Travelers' Inn have existed.

As for here, this place is even more absurd. It's still Wang Wu's first time seeing architecture of this style.

Yes, this seems to be a city—a truly massive city.

However, whether here or in Wang Wu's hometown, no similar architectural style can be found.

Perhaps some fantasy works he has read before contain something similar, but the current Wang Wu can't recall any.

And he doesn't have time to think about it now.

As the battle grows more intense, Wang Wu also feels that the few monsters challenging him are already on the brink of collapse.

Squeak—squeak—

As Wang Wu's assault becomes fiercer, their bodies twitch and contort faster and faster, even leaving afterimages, and their mouths continuously emit a "squeak-squeak" sound.

Finally, accompanied by an extremely prolonged "squeak," the monster's body straightens completely, and a large amount of fluid gushes from its mouth.

Immediately afterward it turns to flying ash and vanishes entirely.

This is the last one.

Wang Wu puts on his clothes and glances at the mist-shrouded street.

Within the fog, Wang Wu can faintly see some shadows moving—perhaps the monsters he already eliminated with Pure Yang Power, or perhaps something else.

But whatever it is, Wang Wu doesn't care, because he is a strong one, and strong ones have always been fearless.

Well, the main reason is that he now has the Invincible Hearthstone, so he's not scared at all. Moreover, if needed, he can summon people, like his master who is now by his side.

"I tell you, kid, you're really defying the heavens, you kid?"

Yin Shenli, of course, was summoned here long ago by her disciple; unlike Qin Xiang, she isn't busy every day, so she has plenty of time.

In fact, Master Qin Xiang isn't usually very busy either, but besides his sect leader duties, he has other matters to attend to.

Like playing some game… ah no, like some trivial matters in daily life.

As for Yin Shenli, she really is relatively idle.

"You don't even let this thing go? Are you being too repressed? Don't you have many wives? Why is that?"

Regarding Wang Wu's behavior, it can't be called unattractive, but Yin Shenli truly finds it unacceptable and can't tolerate it at all.

After all, that thing…

"But their figures are really great, Master," Wang Wu said, "and they initiated the challenge themselves, they are harassing me, I have no choice, I'm just one person—how can I fend off several monsters pressing in at once?"

Facing Wang Wu's excuse, Yin Shenli says nothing, merely staring at him coldly, watching him to the point where Wang Wu feels a bit overwhelmed.

So, the somewhat embarrassed Wang Wu changes the subject and asks:

"Master, do you know where this place is?"

"How the hell would I know?" Yin Shenli, in her energy‑body state, rolled her eyes. "You, a local, don't even know, yet you ask this outsider?"

"I'm an outsider too, right?"

"Then does asking me help you?"

"B‑but, Master, aren't you all‑seeing, able to see through illusion?" Wang Wu asked his master, a bit confused.

"I've got a stye, I can't see anything now," Yin Shenli replied irritably to her disciple.

"But isn't a stye supposed to grow on the foot? Master?" Wang Wu asked curiously.

Facing Wang Wu's curious‑baby mode, spouting a barrage of questions and even talking back, Yin Shenli finally grew impatient.

"I'm fed up, can you stop the endless crap? You care about where this is? If you think it's dangerous, go back! If you're not scared, keep exploring! Are you still worried that, with me here, you can't survive??"

She shouted angrily while pounding Wang Wu's head, the blows thudding loudly.

Though in an energy‑body state, she can easily do this, striking Wang Wu so hard his eyes see stars and he feels dizzy.

"Master, stop hitting! Master, stop! I won't ask any more, I won't!"

After being beaten up, Wang Wu finally calmed down and stopped arguing with his master.

The two continued—no, actually a demon, no one, because Yin Shenli is merely an energy being.

They kept exploring within the fog, heading toward the spots where human silhouettes flickered.

Yet after approaching those places with moving silhouettes, Wang Wu found no such figures at that location.

As if they never existed.

The surrounding buildings—Wang Wu turned his head toward the houses on this street. They are low and gloomy, resembling black walls more than houses.

Though they have doors and windows, they're like the stage sets in games Wang Wu played as a child—just scenery, not enterable.

Yet inside these houses, Wang Wu can indeed sense that there are people inside.

"Is something living inside?" after staring at the house for a while, Wang Wu asked his master.

"I don't know." Yin Shenli's answer was as usual, not surprising Wang Wu.

Sighing, Wang Wu walked to a low building on the street whose color starkly differed from the neighboring houses, and reached out to knock on its door.

It seemed to be a wooden door, but knocking on it felt more like striking flesh.

Yet the sound it produced was indeed very close to that of a wooden door.

Still oddly strange, because the sound was only somewhat similar, not exactly the same.

Cicicic

His fingers knocked on the door, producing a very strange sound.

After knocking once, Wang Wu could clearly feel that something was standing behind the mountain gate. He couldn't say what that thing was, nor could he see the scene behind the door.

His eyes can see through illusion, but here they have little effect.

In this bizarre place, the only thing that might still be useful now is Wang Wu's vague "intuition".

That intuition has always been vague, yet often accurate; ever since Wang Wu cultivated the techniques of the Assassin Brother World, his vague intuition has never been wrong.

Cicicic

The thing had no intention of opening the door, so Wang Wu knocked again.

Cicicic

After waiting about half a minute, the other side still stood behind the door, standing there silently.

"Why won't you open the door? I know you're behind it."

Wang Wu shouted loudly at whatever was behind the door.

"I know you're inside, open the door quickly!"

"Open the door!"

Cicicic

Cicicic

He knocked heavily twice in succession, yet still received no response, which made him a bit annoyed.

"Why not just smash the door and kick it in to kill it? Such politeness?" Yin Shenli, watching nearby, grew impatient and suggested.

"No way." Wang Wu, bold enough to rebut his master on such matters, said, "I'm not the type who likes doing that, master. If he doesn't open the door, fine, but forcing entry would be illegal."

"Indeed." Yin Shenli recalled that trespassing a private residence is illegal, and if one also damages property, criminal liability follows.

Don't ask why a head of an assassin organization cares about this; the answer is, how can one be an assassin without knowing the law?

Although Yin Shenli never considered such matters when taking assassination contracts.

Yin Shenli differs from the so‑called number‑one assassin in the world; hiring her to kill isn't solved by a mere hundred thousand. She's not like some dimwit who would do such a thing for a hundred thousand, or even just a piece of cake…

At least she wouldn't kill someone's entire family just for a piece of baked bun.

"Open the door! Open the door! I'm a courier! Open the door quickly! You have a delivery!!"

Wang Wu kept shouting at the door, calling out while knocking.

Cicicic, cicicic, cicicic.

He didn't know how many times he knocked, but as long as the other side remained behind the door, Wang Wu would keep knocking.

"Open the door! Open…"

At that moment, Wang Wu's voice faltered, and his hand motion stopped.

The door opened.

Behind this massive door of unknown material stood a twisted, bizarre form that Wang Wu couldn't even describe what it resembled.

It could only be called a form, not what it truly was, because Wang Wu had never seen anything like it.

He couldn't even put words to describe the thing.

"My god, what the heck are you?"

Wang Wu was nearly startled by the monster, taking several steps back, his face filled with shock as he stared at it.

"That scared you?"

Although Yin Shenli's expression was also not pleasant, at least she didn't react like Wang Wu. Watching him retreat step after step, she immediately mocked.

"What, what, what are you exactly?!!"

Wang Wu looked at the form behind the door, at its eyes.

At least, on this form, Wang Wu could find something familiar: its eyes.

Staring at the pair of cloudy, shriveled "eyeballs", Wang Wu asked.

Gah… cough cough, gurgle…

Immediately, the thing's eyeballs cracked open, emitting a very eerie sound.

Alright, Wang Wu originally thought that even if those two things weren't eyeballs, they'd at least be a pair of lychees or something.

But when the voice came from those two opening and closing "eyeballs", Wang Wu realized he had overestimated his imagination.

Honestly, those two parts of the thing weren't very eye‑like. Still, Wang Wu had to find a comparable example from his own knowledge.

So he thought of eyes.

"I don't understand."

Wang Wu said.

"Use your skill? Your strong translation? You're already fourth rank, about to surge to the complete realm—don't tell me you can't do this! It shouldn't even need practice, right?" Yin Shenli again gave her disciple a hard knock on the forehead.

Wang Wu's head was directly smashed by her punch, denting inward; it took a long time to recover, and a huge "steamed bun" appeared on his head.

A steaming hot bun.

Nevertheless, under that punch, though stars still swirled in his eyes and birds flew above his head, Wang Wu managed to recover.

The so‑called "strong translation" is a martial artist using their highly developed brain to convey information to the other party in an extremely efficient manner.

Moreover, the most important point is that "strong translation" can ignore language barriers, perfectly delivering one's intended meaning to the other.

Of course, since the skill is called "strong translation", it naturally includes real‑time translation of languages one doesn't understand.

Sound is essentially the transmission of information flow, with the brain sending signals that the mouth then expresses.

A martial artist who has cultivated to a high realm can directly translate the opponent's brainwaves, forcibly decoding the information.

This is the terrifying aspect of a martial artist's "super brain". Of course, a mid‑third‑rank martial artist's brain is far from being a "super brain".

In any case, Wang Wu is now a fourth‑rank warrior, not far from the Complete Realm, so his brain performance is naturally extremely robust.

He can basically directly translate any language emitted by a living being.

"You are, what?"

So, after Wang Wu used strong translation to ask that sentence, he received a response from the other side:

"You, also are, what?"

"I, here, have stayed, how long?"

Although the skill is usable, because it is not yet proficient and Wang Wu's brain performance is not strong enough, both his speech and the translated words are somewhat halting.

That doesn't matter; as long as communication is possible, it's fine.

"Were you human before?" catching the key point in the other's information, Wang Wu asked.

"I am… human?"

Even though the strange syllables were completely devoid of emotion, Wang Wu could still sense the doubt in its words.

"I am not human. I am Ke Lai Te."

"But, according to your meaning, I indeed am human. A sentient being, I am," the other said.

"My name is Wang Wu."

"Yi De·La." The other also told Wang Wu its name.

Since they could communicate, many things could be asked directly, so Wang Wu immediately asked, "Where is this place?"

"My hometown," Yi De La said, the odd tone carrying immense sorrow:

"This is, my, home…"

"My hometown has already, already sunk, already merged into Kabilat, arrived."

"Are you here to save me? Or, like us, to sink here…"

Yi De La's words stopped before finishing, and in the transmitted information, Wang Wu felt immense fear.

At that moment, he abruptly turned his head.

The street on the left was still shrouded in mist, but within it he saw an enormously massive body.

And that thing, though it did not make Wang Wu feel anything amiss, Yin Shenli at this moment reminded his disciple:

"Go in first, into Yi De La's house."

"I'll go in first."

Without waiting for Yi De La's consent, Wang Wu stepped straight into the other's home and slammed the door of Yi De La's house shut.

Immediately after Wang Wu closed the door, he could clearly feel that massive body standing silently outside.

It did not move at all.

"It's outside," Wang Wu said to Yi De La.

"But you need not worry."

Speaking, Wang Wu reached out to Yi De La, "With me here, you need not worry about anything."

"What exactly are you?"

At this point, the now‑recovered Yi De La stared blankly at Wang Wu and asked:

"I am human—no, I am a demon, I come from the Heavenly Origin Realm, my hometown is Earth."

"Human… demon?" Yi De La read the two words together, causing Wang Wu's expression to twitch.

Nevertheless, his temper remained good, and he didn't mind the matter.

Wang Wu's information stream to Yi De La contained many things, explanations of "human" and explanations of "demon."

"I understand," Yi De La nodded, and his attitude toward Wang Wu became very respectful.

"Honored deity, I am Yi De La, merely a scholar here."

This is a deity; although Yi De La does not know the world He resides in, there is no doubt He is powerful enough.

"No need to be so reverent, relax a bit."

Wang Wu naturally could also sense the other's emotion, so he smiled and said:

"I am not any deity, just a person… er, a monster."

"So this is your hometown? But because of the True Calamity, it caused your entire city to sink into this place?"

"Yes, indeed." Yi De La nodded.

Kabilat, that is what Yi De La's side calls this area.

It is a reflection of the material world, the embodiment of countless desires and emotions in sentient beings' hearts.

It intertwines between the spiritual and material worlds, a twisted, malformed place.

Of course, this is the explanation of this place in Yi De La's world.

"Kabilat" means "Desire Realm."

In the Heavenly Origin Realm, cultivators call this place the "True Realm."

However, unlike Yi De La's civilization's description of the True Realm, people in the Heavenly Origin Realm have another interpretation of this area.

"True Realm" is the source of power for True Dao cultivators; their cultivation draws energy from the True Realm to strengthen themselves.

Exhaling and inhaling True Qi, cleansing the self, thereby rebirthing, stepping into transcendence.

Until the lofty realms, mortal flesh fully sheds, one ascends and becomes an immortal, achieving the "True Immortal" state.

"Is that all?"

While speaking with Yi De La, Wang Wu's mind was also maintaining communication with the outside.

After hearing Yao Qing's explanation over the phone, Wang Wu asked.

Yi De La's Kabilat and the cultivators' "True Dao" sounded, when heard, as if they were not the same thing.

But at a certain point, the two explanations can find common ground:

Kabilat/True Realm is an extremely dangerous place; if one cannot control its energy, it will swallow the cultivator.

The so‑called failure to break the realm, with true calamity entangling the body, refers exactly to that.

"That's all," Yao Qing replied to Wang Wu over the phone while looking at the master's mother.

Her master's mother is also a cultivator, and her strength surpasses the master's; she is a great practitioner of the True Realm.

The senior master mother is seventy years older than the master; the master is considered to have been raised by her since childhood.

Hmm, that sounds a bit too dangerous, so better not dig deeper.

"According to the master's mother, the True Dao seems to have been passed down to our human race by celestial immortals from beyond the heavens."

"Celestial immortal from beyond the heavens?" Hearing that title, Wang Wu was startled. "Then that immortal, is he the one you just mentioned who completely shed mortality and became a True Immortal?"

"Yes." After receiving the master's mother's affirmative answer, Yao Qing nodded. "An immortal who can traverse the void is naturally a true immortal."

"Then why does your previous True Dao system only reach the entry of the law? And why must the later realms be explored on your own?" Wang Wu was still a bit confused.

"Because the True Immortal left only half of the heavenly book before drifting away."

Hearing this, Wang Wu began to understand what was going on.

That immortal—he didn't know whether he was also a remnant of the Heavenly Court forces, but he felt it was unlikely.

Although the Heavenly Court has already died and rotted, the demonic cultivation power system of Yin‑Shang does indeed count as the "Heavenly Court orthodox law."

Suppress inner demons, devour inner demons, forge a divine body.

And the True Dao power system is clearly different from the Demonic Dao; they may be similar in some concepts, but that does not mean the two are alike.

After listening to Yao Qing's explanation, regarding the already vanished "True Immortal," for some reason, a slight unease suddenly arose in his heart.

If that so‑called "True Immortal" can traverse the void, its power must already be on the same level as his own masters.

The power system of this world is not low; the earlier Divine General had already demonstrated the great strength of individual entities in this world.

"Master, can you deal with that thing outside?"

At this moment, Wang Wu, who had already arrived in his living room with Idela, suddenly stopped his conversation with Idela, looked up, and gazed toward the door.

"W‑what's wrong?"

Noticing Wang Wu's gaze, Idela instantly became nervous.

Wang Wu turned his head and gave him a reassuring look, then continued to ask the master.

"Cannot," Yin Shenli answered bluntly, and it was not a joke.

"You have not yet reached the complete realm; even if I possess you, the strength boost I can provide is diminishing."

"The thing outside the door is extremely strange, encompassing this whole world as well."

"If you want to resolve this here, I fear I must come personally."

"Oh, right," Yin Shenli turned to glance at Idela, then added:

"This thing is also rather strange."

"Some of the words he says are actually not his own words."

"You'd better be careful."

Wang Wu was stunned.

(End of chapter)