Chapter 593: Greed

"Oh? If you have any other requests, just speak them out; if this old man can, I will certainly satisfy you!"

The Great Prophet was clearly very surprised. If it were any other cultivator who had obtained these good things before them, they would have long been grinning from ear to ear! Yet Zhang Nuo actually still had requests! What a strange fellow!

"Great Prophet, I practice a technique called the 'Shangqing Sword Art'. According to the normal progression, the full set of the technique should be completed by the Spirit Severing Stage, but this technique is missing the final three layers, which has resulted in me being unable to raise my cultivation any further because of this matter!"

"Shangqing Sword Art?"

The Great Prophet's brows furrowed slightly, and the copper ring on his nose trembled a few times, flashing with a patch of Golden Light! It appeared to be caused by his brief, rapid breathing!

Zhang Nuo looked at the Great Prophet with an expressionless face, but in his heart, he was praying that he could help him find the final three layers of the sword art. In this way, not only could he complete the 'Shangqing Sword Art', but his 'Spirit-Driving Return-to-One Illusion Immortal Art' would also see significant progress!

These two sets of techniques, combined with the power of merging the Nine Divine Seas, might allow him to successfully advance to the Late Void Refinement Stage! The connections within Zhang Nuo's body were like interlocking chains; once one link in the middle broke, he would accomplish nothing! Even if he merged the Nine Divine Seas, he would likely be stuck at the Void Refinement Stage for the rest of his life!

After a long while, the Great Prophet shook his head slightly and said:

"This old man has truly never heard of the technique you speak of. However, based on your description, if it can be completed at the Spirit Severing Stage, it shouldn't be a very profound technique; at most, it could be considered a mid-grade technique in the Immortal Domain! Since this technique is very important to you, I will mobilize some manpower to help you search for it!"

The look in Zhang Nuo's eyes dimmed. Seeing that the Great Prophet had already lived for over a million years, yet he still did not know of the existence of the 'Shangqing Sword Art', perhaps this sword art was truly just an extremely ordinary existence!

Respect speed above all! Nothing cannot be broken by speed! These were the essentials of the Shangqing Sword Art. These eight simple words summarized the entire sword art! Zhang Nuo had always believed that although the sword art looked ordinary, it could not be a common object! Especially the final three layers of the technique; they must surely hide some kind of mystery.

But could a sword art that even the Great Prophet did not know be what he thought it was? With no certainty in his heart, Zhang Nuo stood where he was, head bowed, deep in thought!

"Zhang Nuo! This old man has a word to gift to you!"

"Please speak, Great Prophet!"

Raising his head, Zhang Nuo said with a look of surprise.

"Worldly affairs! Ten are perfect, nine are beautiful! It is impossible for everything to go as one wishes! Although it is said that without greed there is no progress, do not be too demanding of perfection! That will only cause you to sink deeper and deeper!"

The Great Prophet's words were saying that Zhang Nuo was too greedy. Since he had already obtained the nine divine objects and the location of the Yin and Yang Qi, he should be content. If he were to force the pursuit of other things, it would be of no benefit to a cultivator's state of mind!

"Is the Great Prophet telling me to let nature take its course?"

"The Buddha says: Cannot be spoken! Cannot be spoken!"

The Great Prophet smiled, his aged ox head looking a bit more benevolent, and then he said again:

"Do your best and leave the rest to fate! Just like what we are doing now; relying on your strength, whether this matter can be accomplished, this old man does not know either. We are just doing our best!"

Listening to these words that sounded like Zen, although Zhang Nuo understood the logic in his heart, it was somewhat difficult for him to actually do it!

"Alright! From now on, you will practice here with me! Only when you have merged the Nine Divine Seas can you walk out of this Underground Palace! Otherwise, you will stay and keep this old man company!"

After finishing this sentence, the Great Prophet closed his eyes and did not even look at Zhang Nuo! Looking around, Zhang Nuo walked toward one of the rooms in the Underground Palace!

Although the Demon World was on the verge of collapse, the Spiritual Qi here was far superior to the outside world. Thinking about it carefully, going into seclusion here was not a bad thing!

Not long after Zhang Nuo left, above the Great Prophet's head, a flash of spiritual light passed by, and then this cluster of spiritual light gradually transformed into a faint human figure!

"It seems this kid is much stronger than the previous few!"

The figure was very ethereal, to the point where one could not even see the facial features or appearance clearly, and the voice was even mixed with subtle static!

"How so?"

The Great Prophet did not even lift his eyelids, just asking casually, as if the appearance of this faint figure was already within his expectations!

"Zhang Nuo's supernatural powers are such that I fear even when I was at his level, I would have had no way to achieve them! Not to mention, the special constitution of merging with a Spirit Beast makes me very envious!"

The figure said with a calm, unruffled tone.

"Perhaps! It is just that before the plan begins, there are too many variables, and now is not the time to draw conclusions! By the way! You must have spent a lot of Dharma power to transmit your voice across the boundary, right? It would be better to save that energy and properly handle the Demon Beast Tide! Although we are joining hands to deal with the Underworld this time, the Demon World is about to be destroyed, so we must give the demon cultivators a place to settle!"

The Great Prophet suddenly stood up, his massive body like a small mountain, and he slowly turned his head to look at the figure in front of him and said.

"Rest assured! I will handle this matter myself!"

The ethereal figure seemed not to want to discuss this issue further, and with a perfunctory sentence, he stopped speaking!

"You of the Immortal Domain have let the Demon World suffer for so many years; if you don't give an explanation, how will the numerous demon cultivators agree? Hmph! Sow good causes, reap good fruits! The Immortal Domain should also pay some price for the mistakes made back then!"

The Great Prophet was very unhappy with the figure's attitude!

"I say, old ox, it's all in the past, why still hold onto it? Before the Demon World collapses, won't I just give the numerous demon cultivators a place to settle? Furthermore, this Demon Beast Tide has erupted for such a long time, have I ever made a move? Otherwise, relying on those little brats of demon cultivators, would they still be rampant until today?"

"Make a move? If you don't let the demon cultivators vent this anger, even if you are willing to divide up the territory of the Immortal Domain for them to move into, I fear it won't be able to quell the future disputes, right?"

The Great Prophet's face turned angry, and he reached out and grabbed at the figure in mid-air; the figure immediately dissipated!

"You had better just sit tight and guard the Sixteen Chambers!"

After the figure disappeared, the Great Prophet sat back down in his original spot, but his aged facial skin twitched a few times, as if there was a sky-high rage in his heart with nowhere to vent! However, having been in seclusion here for many years, his state of mind had long reached an unprecedented height, and after thinking for a moment, everything returned to normal!

Zhang Nuo sat cross-legged in one of the rooms of the Underground Palace, his face brimming with joy. Looking at the nine divine objects in front of him, his heart skipped a few more beats!

All of this was like a dream, yet the nine divine objects before his eyes were real. As long as he had them, merging the Divine Seas was only a matter of time!

With a slight movement of his body, Xuan Jin and Qiong Qi flew out of his body.

"To what extent have you two practiced the Myriad Phenomena Map?"

"We have just touched upon it and have not yet made any substantial progress!"

A metallic luster flashed in Xuan Jin's eyes as he spoke. Zhang Nuo was not surprised at all; after all, it had only been a short time, so it was unlikely they would have achieved anything.

"Since that's the case, then help me merge the Nine Divine Seas first! Your 'Myriad Phenomena Map' can wait for later!"

"Has Master truly thought it through? Merging the Nine Divine Seas now might have some impact on your body!"

Qiong Qi, who was always quiet, said this time with a worried look on his face.

"Rest assured! I would not do it if I didn't have seventy percent certainty! Although there are some risks, the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. What's more, forcing you to practice the techniques left behind by the True Immortal is also a burden on my current body!"

Xuan Jin nodded slightly. Since Zhang Nuo had decided, they had no choice but to follow along! It was just that Zhang Nuo's constitution was completely different from other cultivators, and the matter of merging the Divine Seas needed to be considered carefully; it had to be foolproof!

Immediately, Zhang Nuo stated the method of merging he had in mind, and Xuan Jin and Qiong Qi listened, constantly helping to improve it! The three of them deliberated for several months! In the end, they settled on a method that all three agreed upon!

From this day on, Zhang Nuo completely entered a state of seclusion!

Twenty years later, around the room where Zhang Nuo was located, countless green branches and leaves grew out. These branches and leaves were intertwined, wrapping the entire room inside, and at the same time, a large amount of Spiritual Qi in the Underground Palace gathered toward the room!

At the beginning, the Great Prophet didn't feel anything, but as time went on, he discovered that the Spiritual Qi reserves of the entire Underground Palace were almost about to be drained by Zhang Nuo!

Standing up, he glanced toward Zhang Nuo's room, and a look of shock constantly flowed from his large ox eyes!

Another twenty years passed. This time, above Zhang Nuo's room, a ball of Spirit Power light about a foot in size emerged, emitting massive Spirit Power from within, shrouding the entire room! The specks of spiritual light were like stars in the night!

"This brat! If things go on like this, even my Underground Palace won't be able to hold on!"

The Great Prophet kept muttering to himself, but he still did not go to disturb Zhang Nuo!

In the blink of an eye, a hundred years passed, and the entire Underground Palace would often shake gently, with countless gravel falling from the ceiling; at the same time, the surrounding Demonic Qi began to overflow! Like black ribbons, it surged toward the room where Zhang Nuo was located!

The light formed by the intertwining of Spiritual Qi and Demonic Qi caused the entire room to begin emitting a dazzling radiance; seen from afar, it looked like a collection of many forces, appearing extremely unstable and likely to erupt at any moment!

Witnessing this scene, the Great Prophet no longer had the strength to say anything! He simply had not expected that a small cultivator at the Integration Stage would cause such a huge commotion by merging the Nine Divine Seas!