Chapter 439: Destiny, Supreme Physique!

The eunuch from the palace arrived at the General's residence.

This naturally drew the attention of the guests in the courtyard, each stretching their necks to eavesdrop on the sounds within.

Know this.

This Grand Eunuch Zheng is the emperor's personal attendant; his presence is equivalent to the emperor himself coming to offer birthday greetings.

Such circumstances.

Usually, only a handful of great figures receive such treatment.

And today.

This grand eunuch had traveled ten thousand li specifically to pay his respects.

Li Rui's prestige is immense.

Grand Eunuch Zheng made no effort to hide it; those present were all skilled, their hearing sharp.

Naturally, they heard every word clearly.

The foremost virtuous region of the south!

And it was personally decreed by the emperor.

This is no small matter!

The last family to be spoken of this way by the emperor was the Cui family, whose three generations produced chancellors.

What extraordinary favor!

Upon hearing those four words, everyone's thoughts began to stir.

Long had it been said that Li Rui enjoyed the emperor's great grace; now it was plain to see it was true.

If even the emperor's personal grand eunuch came all the way to Qinghe, what further proof could there be? This was the best proof!

Li Rui naturally understood the weight of "foremost virtuous region of the south."

Know this.

The emperor spoke of the entire southern region of Yu, not merely Yunzhou—this distinction was far from trivial.

He bowed: "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Grand Eunuch Zheng smiled and helped Li Rui to his feet: "Master Li is worthy of it; no need for such formalities."

Only then did Li Rui escort Grand Eunuch Zheng to the seat of honor.

"It has been many years since we last met, Master Li; your vigor surpasses even your younger days."

Grand Eunuch Zheng sat down and gazed at Li Rui.

Back then, when he brought Li Rui into the palace, Li Rui was merely a fifth-rank officer—a lucky fellow who caught the emperor's eye through his prowess in the martial examinations.

Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined.

Years later, Li Rui had not only risen steadily to the third-rank position of Marquis of Marquis Pingyuan, but had also entered the Below Tongxuan realm.

Even he felt considerable surprise.

Could people from Yunzhou ascend to greatness simply by eating hot pot with the emperor?

The last man to eat hot pot in the imperial garden, Jiang Lin, had emerged afterward as a sword immortal.

For this reason.

The emperor had boasted endlessly to Grand Secretary Zhang, dragging him along for hot pot every day.

But each time, Grand Secretary Zhang had refused.

Because Grand Secretary Zhang was from the south, and he could not tolerate spice.

Li Rui: "I am deeply grateful for the emperor's grace; Grand Eunuch Zheng, your journey of ten thousand li humbles me."

Grand Eunuch Zheng's smile widened.

"Master Li, please do not humble yourself further."

He had been studying Li Rui closely.

As a close minister of the realm, he had seen countless high officials and nobles; many had grown arrogant in their moment of glory, but few, like Li Rui before him, showed not a trace of conceit.

'Truly extraordinary.'

Grand Eunuch Zheng nodded inwardly.

Li Rui had met the emperor only once, yet had received imperial grace repeatedly.

It was not because Li Rui himself was particularly remarkable.

It was because the manager of Gu Tower frequently recommended him to the emperor.

But this time was different.

Grand Eunuch Zheng had come in person to serve as the emperor's eyes, to assess just what manner of man Li Rui truly was.

This meant Li Rui had truly entered the emperor's sight—the center of power.

Li Rui and Grand Eunuch Zheng exchanged many words of reminiscence.

The emperor sending a grand eunuch in person was already the highest honor.

Grand Eunuch Zheng even shared the birthday banquet with Li Rui.

Only after Li Rui's repeated entreaties did he politely decline to stay longer.

When Liang He had seen off the last guest.

It was deep night.

At this moment.

Li's residence once again fell into its former quiet solitude.

At most, the servants within were tidying up the remnants.

Li Rui shook his head with a faint smile.

Yang Yong gazed at the scene of splendor before him and sighed: "Old Li, can you believe how far we've come?"

Li Rui: "Indeed, it feels like a dream."

He then elbowed Yang Yong: "Old Yang, don't die on me—when you turn a hundred, I'll throw you a banquet just like this."

Yang Yong rolled his eyes.

Then he went straight into his room.

Li Rui, still smiling, was about to give a few instructions to Liang He and the other three.

When he saw a line of small characters appear on his panel.

【Congratulations, Host! You have completed the high-level plot achievement: "A House of Virtue."】

【A house of virtue accumulates blessings; a house of vice accumulates calamity. Only a good reputation endures. Congratulations, Host—you have received official certification of your virtuous name. Keep striving.】

【Achievement "A House of Virtue" completed. Reward calculation in progress.】

【Achievement rating: A.】

【Obtained 40 achievement points!】

【Achievement points reached 100. Reward acquisition in progress.】

【After encountering a deadly assault and dying in battle, you were unexpectedly blessed: a supreme being used great power to reshape your body, granting you the Supreme Physique.】

【Obtained Dao Physique.】

【Young hero, begin your perfect cultivation journey!】

【Name: Li Rui】

【Age: 25】

【Talent: Martial Bone, Extraordinary Comprehension, Insightful Eyes, Great Dream Immortal Travel, Demon-Slaying Expertise, Dao Seed, Dao Physique】

【Cultivation Art: Ten Thousand Ages Evergreen Art】

【Item: Spirit-Ascending Book】

【Achievements: 30/100】

Dao Physique?

Li Rui was stunned.

'It's the legendary physique, created solely for immortality!'

He now understood much about the cultivation world.

Among it was the Dao Physique.

Generally, a cultivator's talent consists of both spiritual roots and physique.

Spiritual roots determine the speed of spiritual energy absorption, governing the pace of realm breakthroughs.

But physique is far more unique.

Most people possess only mortal bodies; only an extremely rare few are born with special physiques, each with distinct effects.

Some enhance the power of divine arts, others strengthen the physical body.

Effects vary.

The Dao Physique was the physique all cultivators dreamed of.

Because it enhanced perception of celestial spiritual energy—effectively boosting spiritual roots directly, and most powerfully.

Li Rui never imagined.

This reward had granted him the Dao Physique outright!

But just as Li Rui rejoiced—

The panel displayed another line of small characters.

【Detected: Host performed exceptionally during the "Fame and Glory" achievement. Reward enhanced.】

【Begin enhancement.】

【Host possesses both Dao Body and Dao Seed; physique enhanced, acquired Primordial Dao Body.】

Primordial Dao Body!

Li Rui could no longer remain calm.

Adding "primordial" made a vast difference.

If a Dao Body appeared once every hundred years, a Primordial Dao Body appeared once every thousand.

In the cultivation world, such a physique was coveted by countless immortal sects.

He felt it was unreal.

Yet the small characters remained, continuing to appear one by one.

【Detected host performed excellently in completing the Achievement of Excelling as General and Minister; reward enhancement granted.】

【Begin enhancement.】

【Host possesses Primordial Dao Body, Martial Bone, and Dao Embryo; acquired Primordial Immortal Martial Dao Embryo!】

Gazing at the six characters: Primordial Immortal Martial Dao Embryo.

Li Rui felt a heavy weight in his heart.

This was no longer within the realm of ordinary discussion; those possessing such a physique existed only in ancient times and nearly all became Immortal Kings.

In other words, a vast, terrifying Dao path now lay before him.

The Dao Body had delighted Li Rui.

The Primordial Dao Body had filled him with ecstasy.

But with the Primordial Immortal Martial Dao Embryo, Li Rui grew calm.

This blessing was too heavy.

Too heavy for his current self to bear.

As he knew, the cultivation world had many ancient monsters whose progress had stalled, each fixated on promising disciples of major immortal sects, attempting to forcibly seize their bodies through soul possession to claim the Dao.

If any hidden exiled immortal monster detected Li Rui's physique, bloodshed would surely follow.

What he needed now was not to display his astonishing talent to surge forward, but to find every possible way to conceal his Primordial Immortal Martial Dao Embryo.

Good news.

Gu Gu Changsheng had left hidden measures on him; even beings as powerful as Great Witches could not fully perceive them.

As long as he cultivated carefully, he might avoid immediate discovery.

Of course.

Li Rui was not the type to place all hope in others.

And before such immense temptation, who could guarantee Gu Gu Changsheng would not be tempted?

【I must devise an excellent strategy.】

He pondered silently.

He had thought Emperor Sheng's congratulatory gift was the greatest present of this centennial banquet; he never imagined the Primordial Immortal Martial Dao Embryo was.

The banquet ended.

The splendor faded; all returned to its former peace.

Only a few days passed.

Wang Zhao, before the eyes of many, married Qiao Mai, a woman from the Witch Nation.

Both had no relatives.

The wedding was simple; Li Rui and Yang Yong acted as the elders for both sides.

A few days after the wedding,

Wang Zhao took Qiao Mai back to the Witch Nation.

Liu Tong did the same, leaving after only a few days with Lin Wan to return to Jiangnan.

Soon,

Only Li Rui, Yang Yong, and Liu Liu Tiezhu remained in the house.

The loneliness after the departure of splendor was most painful.

But Li Rui had many things to do; he had no time for melancholy.

The foremost task.

Of course was to find a way to completely conceal the Primordial Immortal Martial Dao Embryo.

So he sent Ning Ning Zhongtian and the others back to Qingwei Sect, while he stayed in Qinghe.

Qingwei Sect had many experts, with the world's top-ten powerhouse, Grand True Person Daoist Qing Ding, stationed there; he would not risk himself by going there.

Staying in Qinghe was undoubtedly safer.

Li Rui remained in Qinghe for two months.

During that time,

He naturally exhausted every possible means to find a method to conceal the Primordial Immortal Martial Dao Embryo.

But how could a technique capable of hiding from a Rank-One Land Immortal be easily found?

There were such techniques.

But they were nearly impossible to obtain.

Each was a sect's core scripture, guarded by the top Yu Kingdom sects; even their Elders lacked the qualification to practice them, let alone Li Rui, an outsider.

Two months passed with no success.

Most worldly affairs were like this; not everything went smoothly.

Methods to hide from Rank-One cultivators were not so easily found.

Li Rui was, after all, the official overseeing Qingwei Sect and the spirit mine; lingering too long in Qinghe would invite gossip and possibly draw the attention of those with ill intent.

So he left Qinghe.

Yet he did not return to Mount Changqing Peak; he stayed at the spirit mine.

Cultivating while searching for a method.

(End of Chapter)