Cultivation: I Can Traverse Otherworlds

TAP...

In the darkness.

A pristine white hoof materialized in the air.

And then.

To the crisp sound of hooves, a White Deer filled with a holy aura appeared in the tunnels beneath Funeng City.

Its winding, crooked antlers were held high, shimmering with a mystical luster that illuminated the surroundings completely.

Its long neck, powerful body, and nimble limbs—every part of it exuded perfect harmony.

If not for the pitch-black vertical eye on its brow, a symbol of its pact with an Evil God, this White Deer would have been the very personification of the word "holy."

TAP!

With a light tap of its four hooves, the White Deer’s form shifted from solid to ethereal. Like a phantom, it shot out from the dark underground and appeared amidst the towering skyscrapers.

At roughly thirty feet tall, it was a behemoth in the eyes of ordinary people, instantly causing a wave of screams and chaos.

Looking down at the humans scattering in every direction, a flicker of human-like disdain crossed the White Deer’s cold, dark eyes.

It then lifted a forehoof, about to bring it crashing down.

Just then.

"Stop!"

A streak of light pierced the sky, revealing a human figure.

The newcomer wore archaic armor that left his handsome face exposed. It was none other than Xie Zhongru, Patriarch of the Xie Family and one of Funeng City’s two Martial Saints.

Xie Zhongru was over two hundred years old. By the standards of this world’s genetic technology, he was already at the end of his life. He had barely made any public appearances in recent decades, so many people did not recognize him.

But he was a ’celebrity’ after all, and some people did recognize him.

Immediately, shouts rose from below.

"Master Xie!"

"Elder Xie!"

"..."

The crowd cheered repeatedly, as if Xie Zhongru’s appearance meant the danger had already passed.

Only a few noticed that something was wrong.

’Master Xie is one of the Human Race’s top experts. How can his aura be so much weaker than that strange White Deer’s?’

’Is Master Xie weak from old age?’

’Or...’

’Is that White Deer just that extraordinary?’

"Senior."

Xie Zhongru stood hovering in mid-air. He cupped one fist in the other hand and bowed towards the White Deer, speaking respectfully.

"This is a settlement of the Human Race, filled mostly with innocent civilians. I hope you will refrain from acting here."

Compared to the three-hundred-year lifespan of a Human Race Martial Saint, a Holy King Beast could live for tens of thousands of years.

In fact.

Some Holy King Beasts had lived since the Great Catastrophe.

A mere two hundred-plus years was not even the full juvenile period for a Holy King Beast, so addressing it as "Senior" was only natural.

"So what?" the White Deer opened its mouth, and sonic waves rippled out. Though the sound was strange, everyone could understand its meaning.

"The Human Race has killed countless beasts. As a Holy King Beast, isn’t it only natural for me to kill humans?"

It could ’speak’.

And it possessed considerable intelligence!

Although textbooks and schools taught that the most powerful Exotic Beasts possessed intelligence, very few people had ever actually seen such a being.

For a moment.

Even the chaos in the crowd seemed to pause.

"If you dare to start a massacre here, the Human Race Federation will hunt you down relentlessly."

A deep voice boomed from afar.

"The only thing waiting for you is a dead end!"

"Wang Chan!" someone in the crowd whispered.

"The one from the Wang Family."

As everyone knew, Funeng City had two Martial Saints: the Xie Family’s old ancestor, Xie Zhongru, and the Wang Family’s madman, Wang Chan.

Although Wang Chan was not as old as Xie Zhongru, his Cultivation and strength were rated higher by others.

However, his personality was fierce and domineering. He killed not only Exotic Beasts but humans as well, and thus was not well-liked.

"Are you threatening me?"

The White Deer’s eyes narrowed.

"Human, do you think I would be afraid?"

"I am merely stating a fact," Wang Chan’s voice carried over.

"Even Holy King Beasts are not without their weaknesses, and it’s not as if the Human Race Federation hasn’t killed one before!"

"If you leave now, Senior, we can pretend this never happened. We would even be willing to offer a generous reward."

"What do you say?"

"BELLOW!" The White Deer threw its head back and cried out, its voice resonant and far-reaching.

"The Human Race is truly worthy of having ruled the entire world before the Great Catastrophe. So wise and adaptable, you know when to advance and when to retreat."

"A pity..."

"Only the Deities can save my child, and He requires the people of an entire city in exchange."

’Not good!’

Xie Zhongru’s expression changed drastically.

The armor on his body instantly transformed, and dozens of finger-sized cannon barrels emerged from it.

"BOOM!"

With a deafening roar, dozens of shells completely enveloped the White Deer.

Star-Piercing Bullets!

This was a special type of shell. The barrels were rifled, allowing the projectiles to easily pierce steel armor from ten thousand meters away. The edges of the impact wounds would show radial cracks of molten metal. Their power was extraordinary, and they could be fired rapidly.

A faint white smoke appeared in mid-air.

The White Deer, enveloped by the shells, seemed like an illusion. It stomped its forehoof down violently.

"BOOM!"

A terrifying, savage power erupted from beneath its hoof. A skyscraper dozens of stories high shattered below, and cracks stretching for several miles crisscrossed the solid ground. Countless people were swallowed by the rubble, screaming in terror.

A single strike.

And no less than ten thousand people had perished!

The terror of a Holy King Beast was far beyond imagination.

"Damn it!"

Xie Zhongru’s eyes turned red. His body shot forward like a cannonball, and his fists became a blur of afterimages as they hammered down.

Magnetic Rail Star-Piercing Fist!

His armor was a product of the Federation’s most advanced technology. With its aid, his fists accelerated like an electromagnetic cannon. His arm bones crackled dozens of times in an instant before he punched through the air, his fists trailing a torrent of molten iron and emitting radioactive radiation.

The radiation, which affected even particles of Dust, swept out in all directions. Even the White Deer, which had turned ethereal, could not avoid being affected.

Its eyes flashed with a vicious light, and flocculent, ribbon-like substances suddenly sprouted from its back.

Like tentacles,

Or perhaps ribbons.

This White Deer was cataloged by the Federation under the name Nine Profound Spirit Deer, a reference to a certain Immortal Beast of legend.

The white filaments on its back, though they appeared light and airy, were in fact incredibly sharp and could manipulate the weather.

"BOOM!"

High in the sky.

Energy particles collided at high speeds. The clear sky was instantly blotted out by dark clouds, with lightning snaking through them.

A flash of lightning.

Xie Zhongru had no time to react. His body stiffened before he was viciously slammed into the ground below.

How fast is lightning?

At the very least,

Far faster than a Martial Saint.

*

*

*

"Are Martial Saints this weak?"

Standing on a low-rise building, Zhu Ju looked up at the sky, his brow furrowing slightly at the sight.

He had expected that a Martial Saint would be no match for a Holy King Beast.

But Xie Zhongru’s swift defeat was still a disappointment.

’This level of power might be able to contend with a Golden Core Grandmaster, but it’s much weaker than I imagined.’

He shook his head.

With a light wave of his long sleeve, a series of palm-sized Papermen flew out, silently heading underground.

The Papermen followed the route Qiann Lan had sent, making a beeline for the warehouses of the major Commerce Associations and corporations.

Source Crystals!

Research data.

’The Martial Saints are so weak. Funeng City is likely doomed. I can’t let the Evil God get his hands on these things.’

In the blink of an eye, the dark clouds had enveloped all of Funeng City, and bolts of lightning rained down.

One skyscraper after another collapsed.

Annihilation,

Seemed to be a foregone conclusion!

"ROAR!"

A roar echoed.

Wang Chan had finally arrived.

His body shone like brilliant Gold, and a layer of an Electromagnetic Shield covered his skin. He looked like a Divine Weapon descended to the mortal world as he threw a punch at the Nine Profound Spirit Deer.

Before the Fist Force could land,

A bolt of lightning as thick as a child’s arm descended from the sky, striking him first.

"BOOM!"

The lightning flared brilliantly.

"Oh?"

Zhu Ju raised an eyebrow.

Wang Chan, despite being struck by the lightning, seemed completely unaffected as his Fist Momentum continued unabated.

Polarized Golden Bell Shield!

A Faraday Cage!

The Polarized Golden Bell Shield, like the Myriad Phenomena Celestial Attraction, was one of the Federation Eighteen Secret Skills.

It was said that when this Secret Skill was cultivated to its highest Realm, it could theoretically grant immunity to all damage.

The Myriad Phenomena Celestial Attraction was based on Gravity, one of the four fundamental forces, while the Polarized Golden Bell Shield was based on electromagnetism and force fields.

"BOOM!"

As these thoughts passed through Zhu Ju’s mind, Wang Chan’s fist landed on the Nine Profound Spirit Deer’s Protective Spiritual Light.

The Fist Force erupted, but there was no earth-shattering impact. Instead, it felt like punching cotton.

Completely unresponsive to the force.

The Nine Profound Spirit Deer’s face showed contempt. Its body could shift between reality and illusion; pure physical attacks were useless against it. What good was a mountain-leveling force if it couldn’t land on a solid target?

The next moment.

Its expression suddenly changed.

’How could this be?’

An invisible force passed through the void and landed on its body, bypassing its defensive force field and directly sapping its stamina.

Mental fatigue, physical weakness...

Such a state was actually appearing in a Holy King Beast that possessed power over time itself.

"Weak Nuclear Decay Fist!"

Zhu Ju showed a hint of surprise and nodded slowly.

"So it’s that Fist Technique. No wonder they call him a madman."

The Weak Nuclear Decay Fist was also one of the Eighteen Secret Skills, and it was the most terrifying of them all.

To cultivate this Fist Technique, a Cultivator had to first inject some kind of decaying substance into their body, endure unimaginable pain and torment, and burn through a massive amount of their lifespan just for a chance to master it.

Anyone who could endure such torture would have to be insane.

"PENG!"

Wang Chan, cloaked in golden light like a Divine Buddha descending to the world, threw a chain of punches, blasting out focused beams of Muon Energy.

The Weak Nucleus Decay Power could penetrate armor without leaving a scratch, corroding the brain and destroying the mind like insects hollowing out rotten wood.

Even a Holy King Beast could not fully withstand it.

"BELLOW!"

The Nine Profound Spirit Deer threw its head back and cried out. The Spiritual Light bloomed All Over its Body, and a terrifying power erupted in a mysterious way.

"Physical Body Dive!"

Zhu Ju’s eyes lit up.

"The Divine Soul Power is perfectly integrated with the Physical Body. As long as its Divine Thought is not extinguished, the Physical Body will not be destroyed."

"A Holy King Beast..."

"This Power of Physical Body is even stronger than a Nascent Soul’s!"

A Holy King Beast was, of course, no match for a Nascent Soul True Man, but its Physical Body showed him a path forward.

Physical Body Dive!

The power of Divine Techniques lies not in the Divine Soul, nor in Talismans, but in the Physical Body itself.