Chapter 303 Exercises (1)
There is never any benefit in this world that comes out of thin air.
People often only see the power and glory of innate deities, but few cultivators know the suffering of innate deities who have no source.
All natural deities depend on a source; if they are not replenished, they will wither away.
Layer upon layer of flesh and skin are forcibly consumed to nourish the divine essence within them. The divine essence absorbs this energy, tightly connecting with the authority, allowing it to communicate with heaven and earth, and providing feedback to the gods with the ability to exercise divine authority.
If this naturally born god abstains from the source for only one month or one year, naturally there will be no obvious effect.
However, if they do not drink from the source for decades, their flesh and blood will be consumed, their meridians will wither, and they will feel their divine bodies being held by divinity and authority, thus becoming slaves to divine power.
Those who attain godhood later in life are better off than the hybrid gods of the second generation and beyond. Although they also develop a divine spark within their bodies, they still retain the original spiritual energy channels within their bodies.
Therefore, gods like the Horned Jade do not need much lineage to nurture their divinity as long as they do not exercise authority.
The case of the Horned Jade is particularly special, because He did not merge with authority and attain divine status upon receiving it.
He would not choose to hide his authority within the depths of his soul, between his eyebrows, and suppress it with great difficulty.
This means that His four powers are already closely connected with His mind, so He no longer needs to rely on His divine status to exercise His powers like other gods.
After seeing Qingpingzi off, Ji Rong led Jiaojue to the third floor of the Shoudao Palace. They opened the layers of restrictions and entered the inner room.
The third floor of this Shoudao Palace was designed for the user's discretion; it simply had a storage array on the roof and floor tiles, which could hold quite a lot.
Therefore, there is only one main hall on the third floor of the Shoudao Palace.
The nine great shamans lay quietly in the coffins filled with talismans and arrays. Ji Rong held the huge storage ring she had borrowed from Jiao Jue. After looking at each of the great shamans' bodies, she said to Jiao Jue, "Brother, I'm going to cultivate now."
Jiao Jue nodded to Ji Rong. After closing the magic array for Ji Rong again, he sat cross-legged outside the third-floor hall.
The horned jade, having wandered outside the hall, opened its mouth wide, and golden light flashed within it. It then placed a protective array around the hall to block the flow of golden light.
Having listened to Qingpingzi's teachings for many years, possessed three bodies, and achieved the realm of an emperor, Ji Rong's vision was naturally different from before.
Looking at the nine great witch bodies again, she could see that the body of the last great witch of the witch lineage, who cultivated the path of wisdom, was somewhat lacking in crafting.
The great shaman had a furrowed brow and a downturned mouth; although he looked stern, he also had a hint of bitterness in his expression.
The inscriptions on her body, however, appeared to be poorly written and of varying depths.
It seems fine now, but when the day comes to use it, Ji Rong is afraid that before the divine body can be fully utilized, she will explode on the spot along with the great witch's body.
So Ji Rong took out a bottle of precious essence blood that her generous senior brother Qing Pingzi had collected for many years and then given to her. Using her wings and claws as pens, she began to carefully draw and supplement the inscriptions on the body of the Great Witch Chi.
After the painting was finished, the blood essence still showed no signs of drying. Ji Rong examined it repeatedly but did not find anything wrong with it, so she stopped paying attention to it.
After repairing the inscription, Ji Rong took out a large jade vat. She filled the vat with the sediment of the source flow, then flapped her wings and climbed into the vat, transforming the tree trunk into a form.
Having achieved the status of a demigod and ascended to the heavens, Ji Rong had reached the level of a half-saint. Compared to ordinary emperors, she possessed far greater capacity for spiritual energy and greater resilience of her divine soul. In theory, she could forcibly wield her authority.
But Ji Rong always believed that life was precious, so she would never take the risk.
She immediately focused part of her mind into the tree trunk, and then she plunged the tree roots directly into the foreheads of the nine great shamans. She absorbed all the remaining souls of these nine shamans and then incorporated them into the tree trunk.
As the divine soul was absorbed, Ji Rong keenly sensed that she had established a vague, thread-like connection with the nine great witch bodies.
She began to praise the great shaman Chih's true name, chanting the life story and abilities recorded on his body.
After Ji Rong finished reciting the past of the great shaman, she shouted, "Shaman, rise!"
Then the body of the Great Shaman Chi, which had been lying quietly in the coffin, stood up straight. Its eyes were closed, but its head turned directly towards Ji Rong's voice.
Seeing that the body was now under her control, Ji Rong was thrilled. She took out a handful of spirit crystals, scattered them on the ground, and used her mind to guide the body of the Great Witch to pick them up.
Separated by two layers of shells, Ji Rong found it very difficult to guide the Great Witch's body to collect spirit crystals; she often either crushed or shattered them.
Jiaojue, who was sitting outside, heard faint, popping sounds coming from inside the hall, so he cautiously poked his head in to take a look.
Seeing Ji Rong jumping up and down in a fit of rage, Jiao Jue buried his head back into his body and chuckled to himself.
After laughing enough, He added another soundproof barrier to the area, then closed His eyes and began counting the new treasures He had acquired.
Inside, Ji Rong tried to pick up spirit crystals with the Great Shaman's hands, but she couldn't get a single one. Frustrated, she frantically jumped and circled the Great Shaman's body.
Suddenly, she stopped, picked up her wing, and slapped it on her head, saying, "Hey, why should I use spirit crystals? It's a pointless waste of treasure. I should use pebbles. Even if tens of thousands of them shatter, I won't feel bad."
So Ji Rong shouted that she wanted to go out, but with several layers of soundproof barriers between her and Jiao Jue, she could no longer hear them.
After her calls went unanswered, Ji Rong quickly came up with another idea. She took out her simple storage rings, which had been damaged by lightning but which she couldn't bear to throw away, and used them as practice objects.
Ji Rong practiced for three hours, until her head was spinning and her mind was exhausted.
So, she plopped down on the ground and, leaning against the coffin of the great shaman, fell asleep.
As Ji Rong fell asleep, the tree's branches and leaves stretched out completely as if yawning, with golden veins flowing from time to time toward Ji Rong on the emerald green leaves; while the Great Witch remained quietly in place, motionless.
After sleeping for four hours, Ji Rong had another dream. She dreamt of an exceptionally tall and strong, aloof-looking three-eyed beauty walking on the sea. Upon seeing the beauty's familiar face, Ji Rong knew she must be dreaming.
So she immediately flapped her wings and chased after him, calling out, "Great Shaman! Are you the Great Shaman!"
The beautiful woman ahead seemed not to hear him and continued walking forward, so Ji Rong chased after her.
They came to a wide-open sea, where the tall, beautiful woman stopped. She stretched out a large hand that looked like a sharp claw and slowly stirred the seawater. When a thick layer of water crystal, like shards of glass, formed, she stopped stirring and started drawing on it with one finger.
Inscriptions were created from her hands and floated around her in the sea.
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