Chapter 63: Martial Artists Battle Immortals

Soon, another month passed.

Inside the cave dwelling, Lu Yang sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, yet in his palm, a mass of white qi surged and churned; after a long while, Lu Yang gently tossed it outward.

Boom!

After a loud crash, the white qi rapidly expanded, reassembling into a human form that revealed a face identical to Lu Yang's, though the vital energy emanating from it was entirely different.

This was because the vital energy of Lu Yang's true body was ethereal and immortal, possessing the Daoist mystery inherent only to superior true qi of a genuine cultivator, whereas the Lu Yang formed from the white qi before him brimmed with overflowing blood essence, every movement carrying the weight of a thousand jin, and his upright, handsome features exuded an imposing dignity without anger.

"Not bad, not bad!"

Looking at the 'Primordial One Qi Avatar' he had painstakingly refined for a month, Lu Yang nodded with satisfaction: "I didn't expect the Martial Path to have such uses."

Generally speaking, a Primordial One Qi Avatar has no way to break through.

Because its essence is a mass of white qi, gathering and scattering unpredictably, unable to cultivate, just like when Lu Yang previously cultivated the Heavenly Demon Blood-Transforming Divine Light and eventually transformed into a blood shadow.

However, the Martial Path changed all of this.

Without treading the path of immortal cultivation, the Martial Path is simply the nurturing and refining of blood and qi, which happens to be perfectly suited for the Primordial One Qi Avatar, allowing it to break through the shackle of being unable to cultivate!

"Pity, I still do not quite understand how to proceed with the fourth step."

At this moment, the 'Primordial One Qi Avatar' possessed only the strength of the third step of the Martial Path; although Lu Yang had deduced the fourth step, he had still been unable to find the correct path.

Therefore, for this outing, Lu Yang planned to go to Heaven Capital City first.

He intended to meet the 'Sage-Heart Scholar' Wang Poyuan, who had founded the fourth step of the Martial Path, hoping to gain some inspiration from his words.

"I shall let you go out and forge a path for me."

With a thought from Lu Yang, the Primordial One Qi Avatar immediately dissolved on the spot, transforming into a streak of white qi that vanished into the horizon, flying toward Heaven Capital City.

"Finally moving!"

Almost simultaneously, within the Wei family estate in Heaven Capital City, the ten-year-old 'Wei Yun' suddenly lifted his head to gaze at the sky, a bright light flashing abruptly in his black pupils.

Yet the next second, he furrowed his brows: "No, it is an avatar."

Seeing the result of the divination, the Cloud Family Patriarch immediately gritted his teeth in anger.

After waiting bitterly for ten years and expending tremendous effort to drive karma, the result was merely hooking out an avatar; could that little demon really be in no hurry at all?

The Demonic Sect always emphasized bold and vigorous progress, yet suddenly such a cautious old tortoise appeared... For the first time, the Cloud Family Patriarch felt the situation was tricky, but he soon adjusted his plan: since you let your avatar come out, I will devise a way to destroy your avatar and see if your true body can still remain seated!

Of course, he would not act personally, as that would only alert the snake by striking the grass.

The best method was still to have the martial artists within the Secret Realm kill Lu Yang's avatar, which would also allow them to learn the truth of the Secret Realm and thus rise up in rebellion.

Of course, the rebellion would definitely not succeed.

The Cloud Family Patriarch did not care whether they succeeded; what mattered was the process of rebellion, getting these martial artists to fight their way out of the Secret Realm, which was the true key.

As long as they left the Secret Realm, even if they died, their souls would fall into reincarnation, and even if the Dao Lord acted, it would be impossible to capture them back.

Although they would thus lose their lives, they would gain freedom.

When they reincarnated, these hundreds of millions of living souls could fill into the great karmic net between heaven and earth, which for him constituted a merit so vast it could overwhelm the heavens.

"Perfect, I can have that person act..."

Thinking thus, the Cloud Family Patriarch immediately formed a hand seal with his fingers, driving karma.

"What secret exactly is hidden within this Heavenly Book?"

In Heaven Capital City, within the imperial palace, one of the seven current Martial Heavenly Beings, 'King Zhenwu' Ji Xiongying, frowned tightly as he examined a golden book before him.

The Heavenly Book had four volumes, with Daoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism each holding three.

Rumor had it that the final volume was lost among the common people and vanished without a trace, yet no one knew that in reality, the Great Zhou imperial family had secretly taken it into their possession.

It was precisely relying on this Heavenly Book that Ji Xiongying could complete the three steps of the Martial Path by the age of thirty, and furthermore, after the 'Sage-Heart Scholar' Wang Poyuan revealed the method for the fourth step of the Martial Path, he created the 'Authority of the World', condensing the great momentum of an entire nation to bless himself, finally breaking through successfully to become a Heavenly Grandmaster.

However, the more he delved into the Heavenly Book, the more worried he became.

"Where did the Heavenly Book come from?"

"All things must have a source; since the Heavenly Book is so profound, if someone truly created it intentionally, 怕 only the immortals of legend could have done so."

Thinking of this, boundless ambition immediately arose in Ji Xiongying's heart.

Because even after achieving the status of a Martial Heavenly Being, he discovered that his lifespan had not increased at all compared to ordinary people; how could he accept this?

"I want immortality! I want to reign for ten thousand years!"

"I desire to become an immortal...!"

A trace of blood-red gradually flashed in Ji Xiongying's eyes; his desires, already not weak, were now deliberately provoked, and it was at this critical moment—

"Who goes there!"

Suddenly, Ji Xiongying lifted his head; his 'Authority of the World' allowed him to sense changes in the national fortune of the entire Great Zhou, and the capital of Great Zhou, Heaven Capital City, was nearly equivalent to his domain; at this moment, he detected an obvious 'foreign object' intruding into his domain.

With a thought from Ji Xiongying, the great momentum of the entire nation instantly blessed his body.

At this moment, it was as if hundreds of millions of Great Zhou citizens were lifting his body, allowing him to break through the shackle that martial artists could not fly, soaring straight into the depths of the clouds.

Then he saw a figure.

The visitor was a great cultivator, drifting and floating, riding the void through the air, with clouds of qi rising beneath his feet, ethereal like a person among immortals, yet the gaze directed at him carried a hint of surprise.

"You can actually fly?"

Lu Yang looked at the martial artist before him, counted on his fingers, and immediately understood Ji Xiongying's identity: "So that is it; a Heavenly Being has indeed broken through the shackles of the Martial Path..."

Ji Xiongying likewise stared at the Lu Yang before him, frowning as he said: "Your qi is not condensed, your blood is not refined; only your spiritual intent is passable. It seems you are a rogue cultivator who took an unorthodox path, yet you can fly; could it be you obtained some secret method? Never mind, let me capture you first, and naturally I will learn the whole story!"

Having spoken, Ji Xiongying actually acted directly!

In the past, although he was domineering, he would not act indiscriminately without distinguishing right from wrong, yet at this moment, his heart was filled with anxiety due to desires he could not satisfy.

Moreover, in his view, Lu Yang was not a Martial Heavenly Being.

If one was not a Heavenly Being, one had no qualification to converse with him as an equal; since that was the case, he might as well capture the other party and also vent the fire in his heart.

"Come here!"

The next second, Ji Xiongying's form moved, instantly appearing before Lu Yang, his five fingers grabbing for his neck, the airflow at his fingertips emitting a mournful, sharp explosion.

Lu Yang and Ji Xiongying were close enough to nearly touch; one could even faintly hear a sound like a great river rushing forth emanating from within his body—that was his blood and qi surging, and the beating of his heart sounded like a heavenly drum being struck; what kind of powerful physique was required to support such blood and qi?

"Absolutely comparable to the Great Perfection of Qi Refining."

Lu Yang felt amazed in his heart; speaking solely of the sturdiness of the physique, Ji Xiongying even surpassed him when his Sage Thief was partially successful, truly describable as inhuman.

"But it seems he has only the physique..."

Slash!

The next second, blood splashed everywhere.

Ji Xiongying suffered a heavy blow as if struck, his figure retreating violently as he looked at Lu Yang in extreme shock, while a 'white line' was gradually dissipating between the two of them.

It was precisely this 'white line' that had just sliced open his palm.

"What martial art is this?"

"Sword Qi Talisman."

Under Ji Xiongying's shocked gaze, Lu Yang merely smiled calmly, then took out a piece of yellow paper covered in ghostly scribbles and ignited it with a flame.

Boom!

In an instant, Ji Xiongying felt excruciating pain in his brow, while the sword qi that had just torn the flesh and blood of his palm erupted from the burning talisman!

Under the brilliant sword qi, a bewildered face was reflected.

What, what is this thing!?

(End of Chapter)