Chapter 114 - 106: Ten Fleeting Years, the Eve of the Great Tribulation

There were men and women, old and young, and even some demon fiends and monsters.

The more Spirit Wang Xiao poured into it, the more lifelike the wood carving became.

Wang Xiao also finally began to slowly fuse the Gang Qi he had tempered over the years with the Ten Thousand Lights into his Five Viscera.

The Five Viscera—the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys—are the central hub of the human body.

All bodily functions revolve around the Five Viscera.

As the Gang Qi fused into the Five Viscera, they seemed to begin emitting a radiant glow.

The connection between them grew even tighter.

This was a sign of the Five Elements Cycle, and also the prerequisite for the Five Viscera Concealed God!

The lungs were Metal; the heart, Fire; the liver, Wood; the kidneys, Water; and the spleen, Earth.

The Five Elements supported and generated one another in an endless, self-perpetuating cycle.

As Wang Xiao’s craftsmanship grew more exquisite, his carvings became increasingly lifelike, even radiating a unique spiritual charm.

Word of Wang Xiao gradually began to spread.

More and more people came to his shop to buy the wood carvings.

Among them were even some Cultivators, drawn by his reputation.

They discovered the carvings could actually intimidate ghosts and deities, and could be used directly as Dharma Artifacts.

However, Wang Xiao didn’t change his ways just because he had more customers. He still produced only one wood carving a day.

And just like that, five years passed in the blink of an eye.

「Another winter arrived.」

The winter snows came earlier this year than in years past.

Great flakes of snow, like goose feathers, drifted down from the heavens, swirling as they landed on the ground and on the houses.

It turned all of Jiangnan Prefecture into a vast, white expanse.

A string of icicles also formed on the eaves, water seeping from them drop by drop. DRIP. DRIP.

Inside the wood carving shop.

As usual, Wang Xiao held a carving knife, meticulously sculpting a piece of wood.

But something was different. This time, he also held a small flame in his hand.

As the flame flowed and shifted, countless images seemed to flicker forth.

A scholar who studied bitterly for ten years, then passed the imperial exams in a single day, his horse’s hooves swift with the pride of his success.

A merchant traveling far and wide, haggling over daily profits and losses, over a few taels of silver.

A poor farmer toiling day and night, only for his harvest to be meager, shedding tears and stamping his feet in despair.

A filial son sitting at a bedside, tending to his gravely ill mother, his face dark with sorrow.

An impoverished couple, looking at each other without a word, weeping in secret, feeling that all light had faded from their lives.

A heroic swordsman championing justice, roaming the world, freely repaying kindness and taking revenge.

Wealthy merchants and nobles, living in revelry night after night, their wine goblets clinking in endless toasts.

A single flare of the Ten Thousand Lights reflected the great, wide world and the myriad facets of human life!

As the Ten Thousand Lights manifested, the wood carving in Wang Xiao’s hand constantly shifted, revealing the faces of all living beings.

Until, at a certain moment...

CRACK—

The wood carving abruptly took shape, finally revealing the likeness of Wang Xiao.

To find one’s true self among all living beings!

This was the culmination of Wang Xiao’s ten years of hard work.

RUMBLE!

Wang Xiao’s Five Viscera began to shake violently.

Endless Gang Qi surged, fusing completely with his Five Viscera until they were indistinguishable from one another.

A Divine Light began to bloom from his Five Viscera.

Within each of the Five Viscera—the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys—it was as if a Divine Spirit in the likeness of Wang Xiao sat cross-legged!

Just then, a True Flame ignited in his Purple Mansion and entered his Five Viscera.

After cycling through the Five Viscera, it surged to Wang Xiao’s fingertips.

The moment the True Flame surged, the Ten Thousand Lights in Wang Xiao’s hand instantly ignited!

It then transformed into a streak of light that merged into the wood carving in his hand.

In that instant, the wood carving seemed to come alive.

It was even more miraculous than any City God Statue!

And at that very moment, Wang Xiao finally achieved his seventh Limit Breaking, stepping into the Saint Realm!

’Five Viscera Concealed God, self-perpetuating and without end.’

Wang Xiao felt the changes in his body, containing all the resulting phenomena within the shop and preventing any major disturbance.

Having cultivated to this Realm, he could already control his Gang Qi with perfect ease.

Ten years of accumulation had culminated in a single moment of epiphany.

Everything had fallen into place naturally.

Just then, a small head suddenly peeked in from outside, revealing half of a delicate, jade-like cheek.

Wang Xiao rose to his feet, stirring a gentle breeze, and smiled at the five- or six-year-old girl before him.

"Ruru, what brings you here today? Don’t you have school?"

The little girl was none other than Li Youcai’s daughter, Li Ruru.

Li Ruru said,

"Today’s the Winter Solstice, so we have the day off. Brother Wang, why were you glowing just now? It was so magical."

Wang Xiao smiled.

"You’ll understand when you get the chance to practice Cultivation one day, Ruru. I have to go now. Here, this wood carving is for you."

He handed Li Ruru the wood carving he had personally sculpted, the one into which he had fused the Ten Thousand Lights.

Their five-year acquaintance was a kind of fate.

This wood carving contained all the insights he had gained over the past five years.

Keeping it close would ward off all malevolent spirits and nourish the Divine Soul.

Li Ruru tilted her head and looked at Wang Xiao curiously.

"Brother Wang, where are you going?"

Wang Xiao stepped out of the wood carving shop.

"To see some old acquaintances and settle some old scores."

Li Ruru looked back curiously, only to find that Wang Xiao had already vanished without a trace.

...

「Dragon Tiger Mountain, Celestial Master’s Mansion.」

Wang Xiao looked at the old place he hadn’t seen in sixteen years, and a thousand emotions surged in his heart.

Thirty years ago, he was but an infant at the mercy of others.

Thirty years later, he now stood at the pinnacle of this world.

As his thoughts swirled, he strode before Dragon Tiger Mountain. His voice gathered into a roaring torrent that echoed outwards.

"I, Wang Chongyang, twelfth-generation disciple of Dragon Tiger Mountain, invite the Elder Celestial Master to come out and face his Death!"