Dao Equaling the Heavens
Chapter 224 - 160: The Body Will Be the Cage of the Divine Soul

Chapter 224: Chapter 160: The Body Will Be the Cage of the Divine Soul

Grotto Heaven secret realm.

Chi Yu Zi’s vestment robe was tattered, and unavoidably some parts were exposed, revealing skin filled with various scars and a slim figure that couldn’t be considered voluptuously exposed.

Her shapely legs were covered in bloody holes, with tiny green vines twisting inside them.

Thump!

Her calf suddenly stomped on the ground, causing the ground to crack in a circular pattern three meters around. The immense force from her contracting muscles ejected the green vines from her body and, right after, the wounds healed automatically.

In just a few breaths, Chi Yu Zi’s wavering aura had recovered. She began to gather mana to repair her tattered clothing.

She glanced at Gu Wen, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground, breathing deeply to recover his energy, his forehead a patchwork of blue and purple, looking quite in a sorry state.

About two hours later, Gu Wen slowly exhaled a breath of dull energy and opened his eyes, asking, "How are your injuries?"

"They’re healed."

Chi Yu Zi’s words were concise. Gu Wen examined her and couldn’t help but feel surprised, gaining a deeper understanding of the indestructible Taoist Body.

From the weakness when they were trapped to now, when her aura had settled, only two hours had passed. It was comparable to a person being hacked by a few knives and then bouncing back to life within minutes.

It was known to Gu Wen that his exhaustion was from overextending his mana, and even two hours of meditative breathing hadn’t allowed him to fully recover.

Mana was akin to a Cultivator’s physical strength. For mortals, running a marathon required a week’s rest, and for Cultivators, recovering from a magical battle required a few days. Of course, they could also choose not to rest, continuously extracting their endurance until their meridians suffered damage.

Chi Yu Zi’s healing ability was comparable to healing through breathing; employed in battle, it could exhaust an opponent to death.

"About that Vine Demon earlier, it seemed like you couldn’t overcome her," Gu Wen asked again.

Despite possessing an indestructible Taoist Body and the Golden Light Spell and being able to rise two levels to defeat enemies, Chi Yu Zi was only one level behind fulfilling the Vine Demon.

Even if both were top talents, one shouldn’t be completely suppressed in a fight.

"She isn’t a demon but a Primordial Spirit," Chi Yu Zi shook her head, picking up a vine from the ground and continued, "If not born a Primordial Spirit, a being from the Devil Clan can only become one through cultivating the Immortal Skill to become a Demi Immortal."

Gu Wen’s expression became solemn, "If it’s a Demi Immortal, by logic, it should be, at the very least, the ninth level Daoist Foundation."

Daoist Foundation wasn’t influenced by realm, but the realm was influenced by the Daoist Foundation. The latter was the foundation, determining how far one could progress—Venerable ones needed at least an eighth-six Daoist Foundation, and a Demi Immortal needed at the very least a ninth-seven, with a Demi Immortal usually at ninth-eight.

Every three levels of the Daoist Foundation was a watershed, and every fulfilled three levels was a world of difference.

Beyond the seventh level, each step upwards was a whole new realm; fulfilling the Dao Realm of the seventh level was promising, fulfilling the eighth level granted aptitudes of a Demi Immortal, and fulfilling the ninth level equated to becoming an Immortal.

"It may be some sort of Primordial Spirit. We could ask your Three Pure Sect’s Divine Beast; he might know something."

Gu Wen and Chi Yu Zi approached Ao Tang, who had taken the form of a donkey and was guarding Yu Hua, who was dozing off.

He took the vine, swallowed it, and chewed it for a while, then sucked in a breath and pondered for a while.

"It feels somewhat familiar, but it’s hard to judge. Among plant spirits, those that are primordial are mostly some types of Immortal Elixirs lacking sentience. Regarding Primordial Spirits from the Devil Clan, at the very least they possess the power of a Demi Immortal, and even the newly born wouldn’t ordinarily sacrifice themselves to the cause."

Chi Yu Zi added, "Her techniques somewhat resemble what’s recorded in our sect about the Penglai Vine Demon."

Ao Tang shook his head, "The Penglai Vine Demon was eradicated by our Daoist Sect thousands of years ago. Plant spirits need to take root, and Penglai vines using Grotto Heaven as their territory could only escape as remnants. Similar to a Cultivator’s avatars, even if they survive, they are inconsequential."

"She had a greenish young branch that could block the Immortal Sword."

Gu Wen provided further information.

This was what concerned him the most—it was the first time something could withstand the Immortal Sword.

Such existence, where being cut yet not dying was comprehensible, but blocking it was preposterous.

Being hit and blocking were both incidences of contact with flesh, but the nature and extent of injuries were different.

According to common sense, only beings of the same level could counterbalance each other. A Demi Immortal would have already possessed the power level of an Immortal, aside from their lifespan.

"Could it really be some kind of Demi Immortal? But why only a seventh-level Daoist Foundation?"

Chi Yu Zi scratched her head, thinking demands using the brain, which she despised due to her impetuous nature.

"Perhaps the Patriarch may know something."

A gentle voice tinged with sleepiness reached them.

Yu Hua rubbed her eyes and yawned, "That young branch feels somewhat familiar to me, yet I have never seen it. Thus, it could only be that Patriarch must have seen it. Gu Wen, come here and help me ask Patriarch, you are somewhat closer to him than I am."

Her Yuqing Daoji was inherited from Patriarch, while Gu Wen’s was self-cultivated; strictly speaking, he was the true successor.

"Oh."

Gu Wen walked over and naturally took Yu Hua’s hand, which made her lips curl into a smile, "No need to hold hands; you just need to be within ten steps of me. Through the Yuqing Daoji, you can communicate with Patriarch."

Gu Wen tried to let go but was gripped tighter by Yu Hua; no matter what realm he reached, he couldn’t help but feel the same with her as in Bianjing.

"Though this might increase the success rate of communication."

A Daoist father, being manipulated.

Gu Wen didn’t mind, closed his eyes, and invoked his Daoji, followed by his Divine Thought uncontrollably stretching towards Yu Hua’s body.

In a moment, he found himself in a vast expanse, endless in all directions.

He bowed and said, "Disciple Gu Wen, seeks to inquire about one matter."

Without needing him to explain the reasons and consequences, a faint mysterious voice responded, "Branch of Jianmu, my nemesis."

The Branch of Jianmu?

Gu Wen immediately connected numerous clues—firstly, the name Jianmu was extremely renowned; it served as the main stronghold for the Devil Clan.