Chapter 631 - 77: Fusion
"Crack..."
With a cracking sound, the stone wall slowly split apart to the sides, revealing a chamber of moderate size.
There wasn’t much in the chamber, just a few Jade Scrolls, a cloth pouch, and a Long Saber.
"The Jade Scrolls contain the Dharma Gate of the Yama Sect, including all except the top secret techniques passed down verbally by successive Sect Leaders."
"This is the Storage Pouch..."
The Town Mansion Spirit pointed at the cloth pouch and introduced:
"This Storage Pouch is crafted by the God of Craftsmanship, with an immense inner space. It’s a treasured heirloom of the sect."
"As for this Dragon Slaying Saber..."
"This saber is a relic from ancient times, its edge extremely sharp due to being soaked in Dragon Blood. However, its power was greatly diminished over time due to constant battles by successive Yama Sect Leaders, now serving merely as a symbol of the Sect Leader’s position."
Neither the Jade Scrolls, the Storage Pouch, nor the Treasure Saber bore any marks from their previous owners after over a thousand years.
Fang Zheng easily refined them by hand.
The Storage Pouch had an astonishing internal space, about the size of a soccer field, albeit empty.
He swung the Dragon Slaying Saber lightly, then paused momentarily.
"Senior."
Turning around, Fang Zheng spoke:
"Is there a hidden place in the Yama Secret Realm that outsiders find hard to enter? Or an unknown secret chamber?"
"A hidden place?" The Town Mansion Spirit stroked his chin:
"With the current master of the Secret Realm absent, outsiders can go anywhere, why are you asking this?"
"Hmm..."
As if something occurred to him, he looked at Fang Zheng with a sly smile:
"Avoiding tribulation?"
"Indeed."
Fang Zheng cupped his fist in respect:
"I would appreciate your guidance, Senior."
"Heh..." The Town Mansion Spirit shook his head, pointed a finger, and projected the surrounding landscape of the Yama Hall into Fang Zheng’s Sea of Consciousness, then said:
"As a senior, let me impart some experience to you."
"When faced with tribulations, they should be faced, not avoided. Avoiding a tribulation this time will bring even greater danger next time."
"Constantly avoiding will only lead to your own demise!"
"Thank you!" Fang Zheng understood:
"Senior doesn’t seem to be in a hurry?"
"What’s the point of being in a hurry?" The Town Mansion Spirit chuckled lightly at those words:
"I’ve lived countless years and have grown accustomed to waiting. No matter who refines the Township Stele, I’ll just..."
"Crack!"
Before he could finish, his expression suddenly changed.
The Town Mansion Spirit’s once tranquil face now bore a mix of shock, confusion, and a hint of uncertainty.
He slowly lowered his head, gazing at the crack that inexplicably appeared at his chest, reaching out to try to mend it.
He couldn’t.
The crack didn’t shrink with his actions but grew larger.
In the blink of an eye,
Countless fissures spread across the ’body’ of the Town Mansion Spirit, resembling a shattered porcelain that was haphazardly pieced together.
"Uh..."
He opened his mouth, bitterness showing on his face:
"Human Path Sacred Sword!"
The Deities are born from the faith of the Human Race, and as long as they are worshipped by humans, they will never perish.
It is precisely because of this.
The war of Ancient Gods was fought over believers.
The method of annihilating a deity is to burn all records of them, forcing their worshippers to renounce their faith.
When no one worships them, the deity will naturally fade away.
Aside from that,
the only way is to slay them with a Human Dao Sacred Artifact crafted by the sages of the Human Race, a technique of the first Celestial Master.
The Human Dao Sacred Artifact also harnesses the power of human faith, albeit one aimed at exterminating deities.
"Senior..."
Fang Zheng reached out, brushing his fingers through the Town Mansion Spirit’s ’body’, feeling insubstantial.
"Crack!"
The fissures spread.
The Town Mansion Spirit’s face was overcome with despair, shattering into countless pieces in front of Fang Zheng and being blown away by the wind.
This time,
He seemed truly dead.
*
*
*
Has the Town Mansion Spirit truly vanished just like that?
Fang Zheng didn’t know exactly what happened but could guess that there was a problem with the Township Stele.
Moreover,
it’s likely a Rogue Immortal tampered with it.
Otherwise, with the Town Mansion Spirit’s abilities, he wouldn’t have been so shocked and ultimately died inexplicably.
"Whoosh!"
With a flash, Fang Zheng appeared in a spacious hall.
Thanks to the map of the Yama Hall’s vicinity given by the Town Mansion Spirit, he found this relatively secluded spot.
Here,
is likely where successive Yama Sect Leaders practiced magic. The surrounding rocks are hard and reinforced by Forbidden Techniques.
Impervious to the outside environment.
With a sweep of his sleeve, he cleared the dust from the ground and sat cross-legged, forming a Seal Technique with his hands and silently operating the Cultivation Technique he practiced.
The Yama Heart Sutra!
Elemental Thunder Skill!
He had envisioned mastering both Cultivation Techniques to the Peak of Zhenren before merging them into one.
Leveraging the uniqueness of the Yama Heart Sutra to step into the realm of Rogue Immortal!
This is the path many masters of the Yama Sect pursued, achieving mastery before switching to other Cultivation Techniques to finally break through.
Previous experiences showed this method to be viable.
"Unfortunately..."
Fang Zheng sighed resignedly:
"Time waits for no one!"
With impending tribulations and the Celestial Secret Compass frequently sounding warnings, there was no more time for accumulation.
Well...
At this moment and in this place, let the two Cultivation Techniques blend into one, first to enhance strength to resist the ordeal.
As for becoming a Rogue Immortal...
Seek another opportunity!
"Heh!"
With a low shout, the Yama Dharma Aspect leaped out from the depths of his Sea of Consciousness, while his physical body activated the Elemental Thunder Skill.
Once activated, the two collided fiercely.
"Boom!"
A silent detonation echoed in his Sea of Consciousness.
......
It should be noted that the Elemental Thunder Skill is also from ancient times and was created by Ancient Divine Spirits for the Human Race’s physique.
The original intent was to elevate the believers’ cultivation base and expand their territories.
Sadly...
In the human-divine war, gods fell one after another.
"The Three Caves Daoist Canon divides cultivation into three steps: Refining Essence into Qi, Qi Refining and God Returning, Refining Spirit and Returning Void."
Refining Essence into Qi naturally involves tempering the physical body to generate True Qi or Mana.
Qi Refining and God Returning nurtures the Primordial Spirit with True Qi until advancing to the Zhenren Realm, where the Primordial Spirit coalesces into form.
Refining Spirit and Returning Void...
Corresponds to the Rogue Immortal and even Celestial Master Realm.
A Rogue Immortal’s Primordial Spirit can leave the physical body to roam the world, pierce through the void, and even observe past and future.
It possesses mysterious intricacies unknown to outsiders.
"Crackle!"
"Boom!"
Over time, the Yama Dharma Aspect deep within Fang Zheng’s Sea of Consciousness gradually transformed, starting to resonate with him.
Simultaneously,
Tiny electric sparks appeared inside the Dharma Aspect, traits of the Elemental Thunder Skill.
Moreover,
the physical body no longer solely pursued raw power but became more flexible with increased explosive strength.
This new Cultivation Technique isn’t the Elemental Thunder Skill, nor is it the Yama Heart Sutra.
It is...
Heart Martial True Skill!
"Boom!"
Upon opening his eyes, his internal energy surged sharply.
The merging of Elemental Thunder Skill and Yama Heart Sutra triggered a special reaction, causing a dramatic transformation in Fang Zheng from the inside out.
As if...
He underwent Rebirth!
"Bang!"
Suddenly.
A massive stone, about human height, appeared out of thin air, falling before him accompanied by a hasty shout.
"Brother Fang, here is the promised benefit, farewell!"
Huh?
Fang Zheng was momentarily stunned.
Then he realized.
Sword Ape!
This rock...
Part of the Township Stele!
What’s going on?
Fang Zheng was bewildered.
’I was peacefully hiding here, undisturbed, unaffected by the fights outside, and now you exposed this place with your actions?’
He guessed right.
The only one who truly saw through the Yama Hall’s Array was Sword Ape with its extraordinary Heaven-Reaching Dharma Eye.
Others, even if they knew someone hid here, probably wouldn’t care.
Now?
Several streams of light changed direction mid-air, heading straight for Fang Zheng’s hiding place, among them top experts.
"Boom!"
Streams of light tore through the earth.
With the loss of the Township Stele, the Yama Hall’s Forbidden Techniques failed, leaving a path blasted open.
"Leave the things behind!"
Accompanied by a furious shout, several figures rushed to Fang Zheng’s front.