"Not good!" In an instant, the clay sculpture emitted an even stronger surge of power from Fubei Continent, enveloping Zhang Guodong and imprisoning all his magical power and life force, rendering him completely immobile. Zhang Guodong's expression changed drastically. This was a disaster!
"I have defiled this female body. I'm afraid the owner of this sculpted female body had this plan in mind all along and was prepared to punish the person who defiled it!"
Zhang Guodong truly sensed something was wrong this time. The thought of these arrogant, cold-blooded cultivators, who preyed on the weak and viewed those of lower strength as ants, filled him with anxiety.
"Enter Peach Blossom Spring!"
What?! Failure!
This creature's Peach Blossom Spring throbbed in its heart, as if responding to its master's call, but then the power enveloping it forcibly severed the connection! When the spiritual link encountered this power, it crumbled at the slightest touch; they were simply not on the same level.
Zhang Guodong's face was deathly pale, devoid of any color. What kind of power could sever his connection with Peach Blossom Spring? He was utterly horrified.
Even the greatest masters wouldn't be able to detect the existence of Peach Blossom Spring, let alone know about the existence of spiritual power!
The instant Zhang Guodong was imprisoned, two beams of blood-red light shot from the eyes of the female sculpture and instantly pierced into Zhang Guodong's forehead.
"ah"
Zhang Guodong's eyes suddenly went blank.
The dividing line between all evils of the Heavenly Dao
The two streaks of blood-red light pierced Zhang Guodong's forehead and instantly invaded his mind and dantian. Sensing the invasion, the demonic vines within his dantian immediately activated their defenses, attacking the two streaks of blood-red light.
But then something astonishing happened to Zhang Guodong. The demonic vine's true form's spiritual attack pierced through the two streaks of blood-red light without any resistance, as if they were nothingness.
The crimson light, unrestrained and unpredictable, began to shift.
A crimson cloud formed in the Purple Palace, and Zhang Guodong's eyes were instantly blinded by its piercing light.
"No, I'm a spiritual being, so why would I feel the glare?"
But regardless, the area of the crimson cloud grew extremely vast, quickly enveloping Zhang Guodong's boundless dantian! That mere drop of blood-red energy could actually fill his dantian?
It would be a lie to say Zhang Guodong wasn't panicked. What exactly was this power? They had to stop it from expanding, or even his Purple Mansion would collapse.
As if hearing Zhang Guodong's request, the red cloud finally stopped.
At this moment, a beam of blood-red light condensed in the center, quickly forming a graceful, middle-aged man with a handsome face and refined demeanor, dressed in a white robe.
"this"
Zhang Guodong stared in astonishment, his mouth agape. No matter how he looked at it, this middle-aged man was incredibly tall, as if he himself were an ant, being looked down upon by this man. Yes, that was exactly the feeling.
This is purely a psychological pressure.
"Such a weak human?" Just as Zhang Guodong was lost in thought and feeling uneasy, the middle-aged man fixed his gaze on Zhang Guoji's spiritual body and frowned as he spoke.
"What? You're alive and can talk?!" Zhang Guodong exclaimed in surprise.
He initially thought it was some kind of projection, but this person actually declared him weak—what else could he be but a living person? His expression darkened further. From the moment that irresistible force enveloped him, his fate seemed to have spiraled out of his control. He hated this feeling!
"Silence!"
A cold, murderous shout nearly shattered Zhang Guodong's spirit; the feeling of his soul being scattered was probably similar to this.
"Hmph, I don't know how someone as weak as you could even get in here and obtain the 'Appraisal Aura.' But even so, without reaching the first step of cultivation, entering there would be a certain death!"
The middle-aged man saw through Zhang Guodong's cultivation level at a glance.
"Plant cultivation and body cultivation simultaneously? Hmph. Even so, you're nothing but ants!"
Zhang Guodong snapped out of his shock and realized that the middle-aged man didn't want to kill him. His confidence immediately returned.
"Senior, why are you in my Purple Mansion? What is the identification of spiritual light?" Zhang Guodong asked.
At this point, angering the other party could easily lead to his being crushed like an ant. Therefore, Zhang Guodong tried his best to maintain a humble, obsequious, and ingratiating smile, keeping a low profile. This time, he narrowly escaped death.
At the very least, we should figure out what's going on with these inexplicable things.
Furthermore, the other party was completely unsurprised that he was simultaneously practicing plant cultivation and body cultivation. He had many questions about body cultivation and wanted to ask them for guidance.
The middle-aged man seemed quite impatient, but seeing Zhang Guodong's humbly seeking knowledge, he finally spoke up: "That sculpture is a work I created 100,000 years ago. In the eyes of the sculpture, the 'Appraisal Aura' that entered your forehead is sealed! That is also where my projection clone is located!"
"What is the purpose of this 'identifying spiritual light'? Also, what exactly is the purpose of passing the test of 'identifying spiritual light'? And another question, what is the first step for a cultivator?" Zhang Guodong immediately asked.
He then gave an awkward smile.
"Senior, please don't laugh. I've always been learning cultivation on my own, so there's a lot I don't know. Just now, you noticed at a glance that I'm a body cultivator, but in this world, body cultivators seem to have disappeared. Only plant cultivators exist, so..."
"The Body Cultivation lineage has disappeared? How is that possible?!" the middle-aged man exclaimed in surprise. "The Body Cultivation lineage is the most powerful among cultivators, possessing extremely high talent in combat. It's only been 100,000 years. How could it have disappeared? What about the Plant Cultivation lineage?"
Zhang Guodong briefly recounted the events in the plant cultivation world, then quietly observed the other man. He was already certain that this middle-aged man was indeed an ancient cultivator, but he didn't know whether he belonged to body cultivation or plant cultivation.
"The cultivation lineage sealed away? Ancient ruins?" The middle-aged man muttered to himself, momentarily lost. He seemed to be recalling the past, but his eyes were filled with confusion.
Clearly, the sealing of the Plant Cultivation lineage occurred within the last 100,000 years. 100,000 years ago, the world was not like this; it should have been very prosperous. "Of the same generation?"
"kindness?"
"Senior, that's all in the past. However, the seal is now incomplete, and many cultivators have entered the outside world through weak points in the spatial barrier. Unfortunately, the spiritual energy outside is less than one-tenth of that in the Plant Cultivation World, making cultivation much more difficult. The outside world now lacks crystal veins, medicinal herbs, and minerals; it's a dilapidated place," Zhang Guodong sighed. "I wonder if the outside world was like this 100,000 years ago?"
"Nonsense!" the middle-aged man said angrily. "Ten thousand years ago, the spiritual energy outside was so dense that it was not difficult to find medicinal herbs that had been growing for ten thousand years. Materials for refining weapons were even more plentiful. There were countless planets in the starry sky, so finding materials and ores was a very easy thing."
Zhang Guodong gave an awkward smile, but inwardly rolled his eyes.
"But senior, nowadays, only experts above level 80 are likely capable of exploring the starry sky, and the risks are extremely high. However, cultivators above level 80 are very rare."
These were the words of the Grand Elder.
There may be level 80 plant cultivators in the plant cultivation world. However, most of them have already gone into seclusion to strive for higher realms and rarely appear in the world. The Grand Elder once said that level 50 is a major hurdle for plant cultivators, eliminating all those with insufficient aptitude. And level 80 is a further elimination for even the most skilled plant cultivators.
Cultivation is inherently defying the heavens. It requires not only talent but also opportunity.
"Level 80?" The middle-aged man had never heard of such a level before.
Zhang Guodong quickly described it again.
"Not even a first-stage cultivator!"
"Senior, what is the first step for a cultivator?" Zhang Guodong heard this clearly. The middle-aged man's words were full of disdain and contempt.
first step?
"Hmph, the remaining plant cultivators are getting worse with each generation. You'll probably only be considered to have taken your first step into cultivation after you break through level 100. At that point, you'll be able to grasp a portion of the power of the laws, and that's what makes a true cultivator."
Level 100 or higher? Holy crap!
How many years would it take to reach level 100? Wouldn't it take at least a thousand or eight hundred years? Zhang Guodong simply stopped thinking about it. Forget level 100, even level 50 was beyond his reach!
But what about the power of laws?
Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he remembered the unfamiliar power enveloping him. So he asked, "Senior, is that power that imprisoned me the power of the laws?"
"Oh, you little rascal, you're quick-witted! Yes, but that's only a very weak part. It only has a binding effect, and it's perfectly fine for binding cultivators below level 100. Alright, my projection clone doesn't have much energy left, so I need to explain some related issues to you!" The middle-aged man exclaimed in surprise. But then he changed the subject and became impatient again.
The projected clone is not a living entity at all; it is merely a false body formed from a trace of soul imprint and magical power. Once the magical power is exhausted, the clone collapses.
That's considered a great supernatural power!
Zhang Guodong almost drooled.
Chapter 380 The "Ascension Token" used for farming.
The middle-aged man created a "projection clone" and remained in this cave for 100,000 years, awaiting the arrival of his successor. His purpose was to pass down an "Ascension Token" and simultaneously convey a message: those above level 100 have further cultivation realms to reach, which ancient cultivators referred to as the "first step" in cultivation.
That's what a true cultivator is.
But the outside world 100,000 years later is completely different. Zhang Guodong didn't take the "first step" or "second step" to heart at all. For him, being down-to-earth was more important.
As for where those who reached the "Di Ren Bu" realm went, that's not something Zhang Guodong can concern himself with right now. It's predictable that, barring unforeseen circumstances, it will be a thousand or eight hundred years—that's a very distant time!
Although Zhang Guodong wasn't particularly interested in the points the middle-aged man made, he wrote them all down.
The "Ascension Token" is the "identity guide" for cultivators who have reached level 100. Without this "Ascension Token," level 100 cultivators cannot advance to higher levels.
Although the middle-aged man held Zhang Guodong, this young cultivator, in utter contempt, he still reluctantly spoke of the many advantages of that place. The spiritual energy there is at least ten thousand times, possibly a hundred thousand times, or even a million times greater. Medicinal herbs are of the lowest quality, even those from ten thousand years ago. Minerals, like the space jade used to create teleportation arrays, are considered ordinary materials there.
The cultivators there, even the lowest-ranking ones, possessed magical artifacts. Non-magical tools and the like were unacceptable. Zhang Guodong vividly imagined it to be a far more ideal cultivation environment!
It would be a lie to say I'm not envious. If there were so many medicinal herbs, materials, and such abundant spiritual energy, cultivation would be like riding a rocket.
"In this realm, powerful cultivators all possessed 'Ascension Tokens.' They left these behind before departing. These tokens could easily recognize a master, but once the master died, the token would become ownerless again," the middle-aged man reminded Zhang Guodong, who was lost in thought.
"Can't protect its master?" Zhang Guodong woke up with a start.
"Those with the ability and the right fate will obtain it!"
"Depend on!"
Zhang Guodong naturally understood the meaning of those words: "Don't let anyone see you, otherwise you'll be killed or robbed, and it will belong to someone else."
"Senior, this 'Ascension Token,' doesn't it have any other use?"
"have!"
Unexpectedly, Zhang Guodong's spirits lifted.
Luckily, I asked one more question, otherwise, that talk of ascending to immortality... that's hundreds of years from now, wouldn't it be of little help to him now?
"It can help with farming!"
"What?" Zhang Guodong was stunned for a moment. Farming?
"How dare you underestimate farming?" The middle-aged man seemed to sense Zhang Guodong's disdain and inability to accept farming, and said with a cold snort. "Cultivation is about cultivating the Dao, and everything has its own Dao. Why can't one cultivate the Dao by farming?"
"Plant cultivator, how did this title come about? I'm afraid most modern plant cultivators have forgotten."
These words shocked Zhang Guodong. Indeed, why call him a Plant Cultivator? Is it simply a name derived from the Demon Vine? That certainly seemed far-fetched.
If what this middle-aged man said is true, then the meaning of cultivation seems to be the right path.
Everything contains the "Tao"—its sowing, sprouting, growth, maturity, fruiting, and death. This entire process contains the traces of the "Tao," the way of creation.
"Farming allows you to experience the 'way of creation' of different plants. Once you gain insight into it, you can accelerate your cultivation. Things will fall into place naturally. After reaching the first step, the insights become even more important!"
Perhaps feeling that what Xuan was saying was like casting pearls before swine, Zhang Guodong looked completely bewildered.
Insights?
He never actually did. What did he learn from that?
However, Zhang Guodong felt he had gained a great deal this time. It seemed he needed to return to his roots, become a farmer, and start farming again.
After some conversation, Zhang Guodong proved to be a diligent and inquisitive learner. The middle-aged man, having probably waited far too long, expressed his displeasure but couldn't resist Zhang Guodong's persistent questioning and ended up sharing a considerable amount of common sense.
"Junior Zhang Guodong dares to ask your name, senior? Your teachings have enlightened me greatly, comparable to the kindness of a master and disciple. Once I achieve success in my cultivation, I will surely repay you!" Finally, Zhang Guodong inquired about the other party's name.
Of course, my intention wasn't to repay anyone. If that day ever came, wouldn't this title be something I could use to intimidate others?
"Since you are sincere, it's alright to say it. I am Huang Huatian, Huangji Sanren!"
Huangji Sanren!
"Then, senior, what stage have you reached in your cultivation?"
Huangji Sanren was momentarily speechless at the question, but then said, "I have been at the peak of the first step for ten thousand years! Alright, time is running out. After accepting the 'Ascension Token,' my projection clone will soon disappear!"
"Senior, please wait! My cultivation is too low. I'm afraid I'll embarrass you if I go out and people ask what I am, the successor of Huangji Sanren. What will I do then? Senior, since this is just a projection avatar of yours, you can't really use anything from this world. Could you lend it to me? Once my strength improves, I will be eternally grateful and won't let you down!" Zhang Guodong quickly stopped him, brazenly saying this.
This is such a great opportunity, you won't find another one like it.
paradox
This cold snort expressed Huang Ji Sanren's dissatisfaction. Zhang Guodong's spiritual body had nearly collapsed, and he sensed the approach of death. He hurriedly stabilized his spiritual body, his heart filled with great horror.
Is this the first step of cultivation? He only has a projection avatar that has existed for 100,000 years. A single humming sound from him has severely injured his soul and almost caused him to collapse.
Zhang Guodong knew that the other party had shown mercy. Otherwise, a mere snort would have been enough to finish him off.
"By accepting the 'Ascension Token' and inputting your magical power, the power you cultivate will be able to find its source."
After saying this, Huang Ji Sanren's projection clone immediately dissipated. Just as the red cloud was about to dissipate, a tremendous suction force suddenly came from Zhang Guodong's heart, and the red cloud actually rushed towards his heart in an instant.
Zhang Guodong felt that Hongyun was struggling violently, but the suction from her heart was too great, and Hongyun could not resist.
"It's a nine-story pagoda!"
Zhang Guodong was astonished. This nine-story pagoda had actually absorbed the red cloud!
Even a fool would know that this red cloud must be something good.
Zhang Guodong sensed that after the nine-story pagoda absorbed the red cloud, a tremendous change occurred inside. He even felt a sudden, explosive sound, as if it had reached the outside world.
Just as Zhang Guodong was anxiously wondering if any unknown changes had occurred and whether they would affect the first and second floors, a massive surge of magical power emanated from his heart and filled his body.
"not good!"
Zhang Guodong realized that this magical power might cause him to burst. With a thought, he successfully entered the second level of the nine-story pagoda.
An immense weight pressed down on him, slowing the rate of expansion, but still happening incredibly fast; his body was stretched to twice its original size. Zhang Guodong couldn't worry about anything else and immediately headed deeper into the area. It was still a hundred meters from the shore, but Zhang Guodong walked fifty meters in one breath. Only then did he feel the expansion within his body equalize with the external pressure.
But at this moment, Zhang Guodong was completely covered in blood.
ah"
The raging magical power within his body was extremely violent. Zhang Guodong was in excruciating pain. He quickly forced himself to calm down and began practicing his punches move by move.
There was no other way; only this fist technique could allow the body's magical energy to be absorbed more quickly. Even now, Zhang Guodong hadn't found a more suitable body cultivation method. He should have mentioned it to Huang Ji Sanren earlier, but it was too late for regrets now. He had too many things to know, and for a moment he had completely forgotten about body cultivation techniques.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye, yet the cave remained as peaceful as ever. No, the Bamboo Emperor was unwilling to lose any hope, so he came once more, only to find nothing.
Half a day later, he left.
However, the fish in this area suffered, and the scene was bloody, which took two days to dissipate.
It is said that after the fishermen in this area discovered this, they did not dare to go out to sea for several days.
Bloodshed can attract sharks and other large creatures. A small, crappy ship really can't withstand the attack of those sea monsters.
On the fourth day, a person appeared in the cave.
"I didn't expect three days to have passed in the blink of an eye!" This person was Zhang Guodong. As soon as he appeared, the broken clay sculpture melted, and countless blood-red lights flashed, forming a palm-sized crimson token in the air, which fell into Zhang Guodong's hand. "Ascension Token," the three words immediately caught his eye.
"Is this the 'Ascension Token'?"
Note: I just wrote it all together because I felt comfortable with it. Please subscribe!
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