CHAPTER 70: CHAPTER 69: MAJOR INITIATIVES

The path chosen in the dream is neither of Stars nor of fire; it is...

Wu Wang muttered to himself, instinctively wanting to consult his old mother through the necklace around his neck, but then he thought he should stand on his own and not be too dependent on her.

Moreover, although his mother was an expert in the Praying Star Technique, she did not comprehend the path of cultivation.

The Spirit Platform is the abode of the Divine Soul, not solid but ethereal, representing the heart, consciousness, reason, soul, Dao, and law—an extension of the heart.

Human Domain cultivators generally believe that the Spirit Platform resides in the back. It is where the ’spirit’ of ’essence, qi, and spirit’ resides.

As one’s cultivation level rises, the Spirit Platform also evolves, manifesting various phenomena, and ultimately transforming into an Immortal Realm to nourish one’s Primordial Spirit.

Just as Wu Wang was about to introspect, his consciousness shifted to the Nascent Soul within his Spirit Platform.

What was once a hazy gray Spirit Platform now conjured up an Immortal Realm, with a vague little figure sitting cross-legged inside.

It seems that I myself am that little figure. That little figure is the incarnation of my consciousness, perfectly fused with my body, without a sense of any gap.

This was the Nascent Soul, and for Wu Wang, it was the first sublimation of his ’spirit’.

At this time, the Immortal Realm was only in its rudimentary form, and everything about it was somewhat faint.

The Yan Emperor Order quietly floated before the Nascent Soul, emanating strands of profound Daoist rhythms, as if guiding the Nascent Soul forward.

But Wu Wang’s Nascent Soul was enveloped in a seven-colored radiance, keeping the Daoist rhythms of the Yan Emperor Order at bay. Instead, it reached out and connected with the Yan Emperor Order, keeping it steadily in place.

Previously unnoticed, Wu Wang now realized that this Yan Emperor Order was itself a treasure.

Capable of switching between the immaterial and material—that alone was remarkable enough.

A thought flickered in Wu Wang’s mind. As he sensed his surroundings through his Nascent Soul, the world suddenly appeared crystal clear; his vision became exceptionally vast.

He could see the sky towering with layers of clouds and the expansive earth with its withered wilderness and mountains.

Outside the pavilion, the silhouettes of the discussing elders were clearly imprinted in his heart, with Elder Miao’s alluring beauty even more pronounced, her delicate skin seemingly poreless.

And the Grand Elder, with his blood-red hair—were there traces of gray at the roots of that flamboyantly cool blood hair...?

Wu Wang: ...

So, this vigorously dyed blood hair was just for scaring the kids during lectures?

Looking at the Golden Core inside his body, there were even more extraordinary phenomena.

The Golden Core, as the convergence of ’essence, qi, and spirit,’ is the reliance for becoming an Immortal. However, due to Wu Wang skipping over the Golden Core and Spiritual Silence Realms, his Golden Core was already quite mature.

Looking at his lower abdomen, there was a sea-like spiral galaxy swirling within. It was mixed with endless starlight, with a constantly pulsating flame at its center.

Right below the flame was his Golden Core, but this Golden Core...

This is quite unusual.

Wu Wang had read enough about the Golden Core Realm of cultivation to know that a normal Golden Core should be solid and stable, the foundation of the Dao, encompassing one’s own Dao within.

At the time of becoming an Immortal, one releases this Dao to perfectly merge with oneself.

Before the Nascent Soul Realm, cultivators of the Golden Core and Spiritual Silence Realms use the Golden Core to regulate their breath and comprehend Heaven and Earth.

After the Nascent Soul Realm, the Nascent Soul becomes the ’commander’ of the body. The role of the Golden Core is to stabilize the sea of qi, follow the orders of the Nascent Soul, and cultivate the Dao.

Of course, it can also be used to explode during a duel.

Exploding the Golden Core is tantamount to destroying one’s Dao foundation, and the explosion effect is not too strong. If the Nascent Soul and the Golden Core explode together, it results in a direct self-detonation, creating a mushroom cloud and other spectacular effects.

The scene would be quite splendid.

Now, concerning Wu Wang’s Golden Core, it rejected both the Star and the flame Daos.

A typical Golden Core is shaped like an elixir, with records of sizes ranging from mung beans, jujube pits, to dates and longans.

Perhaps due to the Star Dao, Wu Wang’s Golden Core was a silvery-white fluid sphere, surrounded by a flame.

With a mere thought, the flame completely enveloped the silvery-white Golden Core, revealing the Dao of Fire in his aura.

Thoughts shifted again. The little Nascent Soul lifted his hand high. The ’spiral galaxy’ revolving around the Golden Core shone brightly, allowing him to clearly sense the many large stars in the starry sky.

A faint golden light began to emerge in various parts of Wu Wang’s body; scales were about to form.

He quickly stopped the circulation of power and calmed the power of the stars, allowing the Dao of Fire to take over again.

He gently slid his finger forward, and a streak of bright light burst forth from his fingertip. The barrier of mana he had just erected instantly shattered, while the vast expanse of qi within him surged unceasingly.

A sense of mastering Heaven and Earth naturally arose!

Wu Wang: ...

Don’t be smug, don’t swell with pride. I am just at the Nascent Soul Realm, and there are many in the Human Domain far stronger than myself.

But Wu Wang could distinctly feel a power within him that was difficult to describe, and there was a sense of discomfort if he did not release it.

Now that my cultivation realm has reached this point, what about my combat power?

To know yourself and your enemy is to be victorious in every battle. If he could not ascertain his own strength, he would likely make incorrect estimates when facing foes later on.

And it could also easily lead to...

"Young Master?" Lin Suqing called out softly from the side. "Would you like some more tea?"

Wu Wang raised his hand and with a gentle gesture towards the teacup, it shot out with a WHOOSH, smashing against the wooden pillar of the pavilion and shattering into pieces.

I could easily injure my own people.

WHIMPER. Lin Suqing’s lips pursed, her head turned, her eyes gradually dimming.

"Heh heh, just sleep and you reach the Nascent Soul Realm... Did I mock you just so you could retaliate against me like this?"

Wu Wang chuckled. "It was also your inspiration that had me stumble upon this path, instead of choosing between the two previous paths."

"What Dao are you cultivating, Young Master?"

"My Dao, the Dao of the True Self... Come, take a look at this."

Wu Wang raised his hand and sketched in the air; from his fingertips wafted streams of vital energy, forming a character that was powerful and elegant.

Lin Suqing subconsciously stared at the character, momentarily mesmerized, as she held onto the tray and gazed in fascination.

"Take your time to comprehend it."

Wu Wang spoke warmly, stood up, and walked to one side. He put on a pair of trousers, found matching short boots, let his long hair down, and stepped out the door.

Looking back, he saw Lin Suqing sitting in front of the character for ’Dao’, her small face filled with seriousness.

Wu Wang nodded in satisfaction, walked out of the formation, and called for the Grand Elder.

He wanted to have a spar with the Grand Elder to ascertain his strength after the ’Golden Dragon Transformation’ and to have the Grand Elder put some pressure on him, helping him stay alert and not become arrogant.

Inside the pavilion, some time passed after Wu Wang had left.

Lin Suqing’s face showed a sudden realization. She got up, moved to Wu Wang’s former seat, sat down, and let out a slight sigh of relief.

"That’s more like it."

Just now, watching the character upside down for so long, I wondered if the character for ’Dao’ had something to do with demons when looked at in reverse... Later, I’ll sleep here and perhaps break through a bottleneck or two. My plan is a success!

「...」

The spiritual energy that Wu Wang had drawn away had recovered to its normal levels in less than half a day.

However, Wu Wang’s breakthrough during his dream evidently had a tremendous impact on the entire Annihilation Sect.

Putting aside those things that were beneficial to the image of the Sect Master.

For instance, for over half a month after Wu Wang’s breakthrough in his dream, a large number of Demonic Cultivators did nothing but find a comfortable place and lie down...

To sleep!

They slept on tree branches, amidst the mountain mists, on the earth’s veins, and atop sheer cliffs, striving to have insights to aid their dream cultivation.

Suddenly, artifacts aiding in sleep became popular within the sect.

As a consequence of Dao companions choosing to sleep together instead of meditating separately, seven or eight female cultivators of the demon path announced their joyous news in just half a month, which was considered joy upon joy.

Really, Wu Wang was only a step away from deciding to rename the Annihilation Dark Desire Lin Feng Great Demon Sect to...

The Sect Where Dreams Come True.

Did I make such a breakthrough by sleeping? Indeed, it seems so.

Upon careful contemplation, Wu Wang realized it was indeed because he had fallen asleep. His spiritual mind relaxed and merged with Heaven and Earth, combined with the accumulation of his cultivation practice and the outburst of the Star God’s bloodline, that had led to his sudden breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Realm.

It was not a dream, but a state of oblivion to both self and matter, where the Divine Soul merged with the Great Dao, and from within the Divine Soul, his own Dao burgeoned.

This Dao has no name; it can be referred to as Heaven and Earth, or as the true heart.

Wu Wang did not add any labels to his Dao, and his path forward had already become very clear.

As the saying goes, "Mystery upon mystery, the gateway to all wonders."

I am now truly standing inside this ’gateway’.

Moreover, in the subsequent one-on-one exchanges with the Grand Elder, Wu Wang quickly discovered many unusual aspects.

For a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, Wu Wang’s divine thought was excessively powerful and showed many divine skills. It could enhance perception, strengthen the physical body, and directly manipulate the spiritual energy within hundreds of miles.

The Grand Elder and Wu Wang secretly left the sect, found a desolate and dead mountain, and the Grand Elder set up barriers to block detection.

This was one of the benefits of the Golden Dragon matter being exposed: the Grand Elder was willingly acting as a sparring partner and felt that such sparring was making a great contribution to the Human Domain.

Wu Wang tested the strength of his transformed state.

Of course, he did not scratch and claw at the Grand Elder but merely experimented with his strength.

One punch, and half a mountain ridge exploded into pieces, shattering six layers of the Grand Elder’s barrier.

The Grand Elder nearly invoked half of his mana, propping up one barrier after another, even isolating the spiritual energy outside.

Wu Wang tried running back and forth, striving to adapt to this power. After exerting himself for an hour, he felt deeply fatigued, immediately stopped his movements, took elixirs, and sat down to meditate to recover his spirit and vitality.

Indeed, transforming into a Golden Dragon consumed a lot of energy.

But by dissipating the Golden Dragon incarnation before energy was exhausted, he would not fall into a helpless state.

The Grand Elder, watching by the side, kept sighing with emotion, saying that with such a transformation, Wu Wang could now face a True Immortal Realm pinnacle body cultivator in direct combat, and was eighty percent likely not to lose.

Wu Wang, however, automatically lowered such an evaluation to the ’mid-stage of True Immortal Realm’ in terms of body cultivator strength.

The elevation of the Dao Realm did not greatly enhance the strength of the transformation.

Clearly, to gain stronger transformation power, one needed to explore from a ’non-cultivation’ perspective.

Wu Wang meditated for several days and nights before finally getting rid of such fatigue.

The Grand Elder had been guarding by his side the whole time, and his gaze upon Wu Wang had become like looking at his own nephew; his entire being seemed to have gained more vitality.

Wu Wang then tried using Spells with his transformed body, without employing his Nascent Soul Realm strength, but the results were not satisfactory.

Dao Realm is Dao Realm;

The power of the Star God’s bloodline is the power of the Star God’s bloodline.

The two were distinctly separate, making it difficult to create a ’synergistic’ effect.

In response, the Grand Elder consoled him, "Sect Master, you must not feel down because of this. Such transformation techniques are unheard of. Once you become an Immortal and continue refining your body, you will naturally gain stronger power."

"Does the Grand Elder mean that if I follow the path of Body Cultivation, it will be beneficial to my transformation?"

"Sect Master is truly wise."

"In that case," Wu Wang pondered a moment, "after the feast at the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion, I will need to find some body cultivation techniques to practice."

The Grand Elder nodded with a smile upon hearing those words.

"Sect Master, when shall we set off?"

"Once I’ve fully concealed my aura," Wu Wang said, "for this trip to the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion, I cannot let others see my flaws. Grand Elder, please help me find some treasures to hide my aura. The more, the better. I will take care of all the expenses myself."

"Yes, Sect Master."

The Grand Elder promptly agreed without mentioning anything like ’the sect will pay’.

Demons don’t bother with such pretenses.

Yet Wu Wang had not truly revealed his full strength...

Upon activating the Golden Dragon Transformation to sense the starry sky and using the Praying Star Technique, it seemed that the power had already increased significantly.

Looking at the Yan Emperor Order suspended above his Spirit Platform, Wu Wang once again fell into deep thought.

Which of my two identities is more dangerous? The holder of the Yan Emperor Order? The Little Golden Dragon of the Human Domain? Considering the current situation, it’s clearly the latter.

Although I feel that the Grand Elder and others are reliable deep down, for safety’s sake, I can’t afford to take them lightly. I must maintain a degree of skepticism and observe them more in the future.

In that case, this trip to the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion is indeed quite necessary.

Firstly, it would let his incorrigibly mischievous father-in-law know his current whereabouts, thereby indirectly applying some pressure on the Grand Elder and the others.

Secondly, he had to go and ask Shen Nong!

Why did he compose a jingle for him without his consent?

Shaking the Heaven Palace and subduing the Hundred Races—wasn’t this putting him on the hot seat?

His flourishing alliance of the Northern Wilderness Hundred Races was doing so well. If it was exposed one day that he, the Young Master of the Northern Wilderness, was actually the Human Domain’s Little Golden Dragon, and news spread back to the Northern Wilderness, wouldn’t that easily tarnish the reputation of the clans?

The Human Emperor’s scope of thought is too narrow. To confront the gods, I must make more friends and fewer enemies. Everyone seeks survival; the goal is quite unified.

"Sect Master," the Grand Elder, who was meditating beside him, reminded him in a low voice, "When we go to the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion, you should try not to attract too much attention. In my opinion, there’s no need for attendants. We could just sneak over quietly. If we encounter someone familiar, I will take the liberty of posing as your master. How about that, Sect Master?"

Wu Wang pondered carefully for a while, his mouth slightly curling.

"No, for this visit to the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion, not only should we not be too low-key, but on the contrary, we need to be high-profile."

Wu Wang spoke seriously, "A Nascent Soul Realm Sect Master of one of the top hundred Great Demonic Sects is already intriguing enough to people. The more low-key and profound I appear, the more I will invite suspicion, and there’s a ninety percent chance of being targeted by the Ten Evils Hall. Instead, I need to present myself as a prodigal son of the second generation, making people think my position as Sect Master is due to parental favoritism and that I’m devoid of talent and virtue. By doing so, it’s actually better for self-preservation."

As he spoke, Wu Wang looked at the Grand Elder beside him, who was slowly nodding. Wu Wang revealed a calm smile and handed a Bracelet to the Grand Elder using his mana.

"Grand Elder, take this and spend as you wish. Make this trip grand and special—the more luxurious, vulgar, and superficial, the better!"

"Sect Master," the Grand Elder whispered, "What if the Human Emperor dislikes your approach..."

Wu Wang smiled faintly.

He was already looking forward to meeting the old senior.

Father-in-law, your hand better not shake when pouring wine.

TSK.

「...」

MHM?

In a tasteful mountain forest somewhere, a barefoot elder clad in a straw cloak looked at the tranquil river before him, raising his hand to rub his nose.

At his level of cultivation, he could already sense the subtle workings of fate.

Is the Little Golden Dragon thinking about my daughter again?

The elder smiled slightly, and ripples formed on the river before him, creating a blurred image within.

It was a treasure pond shrouded in faint Immortal Light, with a sphere coated in faint golden light, quietly suspended in the middle.

Around the sphere sat more than ten elderly women in white robes, each exuding an immensely powerful aura.

Why worry for no reason? My precious daughter’s birth is still at least forty-eight years away. Forty-eight years—is it too much to ask for him to become an Immortal by then? Is that demand too high? The youth nowadays are impetuous and don’t understand the importance of steadfast cultivation.

"Your Majesty," a figure floated up from the river, "the inspection immortal envoy Mao Aowu, who proposed the three strategies for stabilizing the sea, has been brought here."

"MHM, he is a man of great potential. Have him come over and join me for a simple meal."

"Your subordinate obeys."