Dao Equaling the Heavens
Chapter 282 - 188: He Will Surpass Me_2

Chapter 282: Chapter 188: He Will Surpass Me_2

Wu Kong’s smile lessened as he asked, "What do you want?"

Gu Wen replied, "An artifact for defense."

"A defensive artifact is worth three Taoist soldiers, but it’s fine to give one to you."

With a wave of his sleeve, Wu Kong produced a thin gold-threaded armor which flew out; without taking back the Taoist soldiers, he stepped away and vanished from everyone’s sight in a blink.

They could not tell by what means he had departed, as space itself had not even rippled.

Gu Wen donned the inner armor and then swallowed a medicinal fruit; the vast medicinal power surged, and his Heavenly Marrow increased by a hundred years at once.

[Heavenly Marrow: Four hundred and sixty years]

Afterward, everyone gathered around, inquiring about what had happened, and Gu Wen did not hide anything, recounting the whole experience and what he had witnessed.

Ao Tang grumbled, "Why didn’t Qingcang mention such an important thing?"

Yu Hua commented indifferently, "The Lord Emperor has his deep reasons. If most knew we were facing a Venerable just below a saint, Three Pure Mountain could not avoid having traitors appear."

"Ordinary True Monarchs and Venerables are like ants in front of an Immortal, not to mention half-Demis even above the Dao Realm."

Gu Wen deeply agreed; the disgraceful behavior of Xuan Yue and Chi Ling had already proven this.

As long as one is not Immortal, one is but an ant, a mediocre person.

Then, Yu Hua mentioned the Immortal Sword and the term Immortal Realm, recounting what she had heard and handing over the Jade Sword Talisman to Gu Wen.

"The Immortal Sword says you need to reach Dao Foundation Perfection at the Eighth Level before you can wield the sword."

Hearing this, Gu Wen was greatly disappointed. He squeezed the unresponsive Jade Sword Talisman and said, "Can’t we have the sweet before the bitter?"

Although he knew it wouldn’t be so easy to acquire the Immortal Sword, he still found such rigid requirements frustrating. Others might need to be hothoused, requiring some trials to unleash their potential, but Gu Wen didn’t think he needed further hardship.

Yu Hua smiled and said, "When you reach Dao Foundation Perfection at the Eighth Level, you won’t need the help of the Immortal Sword in the Immortal Land. If you fight the Devil Clan in the future, the Immortal Sword will grant you the power of an Immortal beforehand."

Such words made everyone envious. Becoming Immortal seemed distant, yet now Gu Wen had already been preordained.

Jun Yan, shamelessly, said, "Brother Gu, from now on, we’ll all rely on you when we go out."

He thought back to a few months ago when he could still tease the other, but now he had to address him as Brother Gu.

Xiao Yunyi’s stern face could not hide his amusement at the thought of an old friend’s obsequiousness turning to cheekiness.

He also spoke up, "I hope that one day my right arm will compete with the Sword Immortal."

Chan Xi leant forward slightly, a gleam of spirit light in her eyes, and raising a finger, she asked, "Can my master help me kill my other two selves?"

"If he doesn’t strike first, our killing is but slaughtering our fellow disciples."

Gu Wen forced a smile; he had no feud with the Three Pure Daoist, after all, he was nominally the eldest disciple.

If he really used the Immortal Sword to strike him down, it might affect him becoming the Yuqing Heavenly Venerate. Even though he might forcefully ascend with the Immortal Sword, he had never been one to create unnecessary trouble for himself.

Chan Xi was visibly disappointed and silently withdrew to one side with a quiet ’oh’.

Jade Sword Buddha pushed through the crowd to stand in front of Gu Wen, tippy-toeing slightly, looking earnestly into Gu Wen’s eyes.

"Benefactor, when the time comes, remember to give this little nun a complete corpse."

Gu Wen looked around, and at this moment, Yu Hua’s presence was so precious.

Madmen, dismemberment enthusiasts, slaughtering their fellow disciples, and even those who wanted suicide—none were normal!

Afterward, everyone calmed down and began to discuss their departures.

Chi Yu Zi needed no explanation; apart from staying by Gu Wen’s side, she had nowhere else to go, and Chan Xi could only follow Gu Wen as well.

Xiao Yunyi planned to return and report back, but he could be called upon to help at any time. Jade Sword Buddha also planned to leave, as her destined connection with Gu Wen had ended.

Gu Wen bid farewell to the two for ten miles at a mountain peak, untouched by the aftermath of the fighting. Xiao Yunyi soared into the sky on his sword, bowing his hand and saying, "Brother Hongchen, until we meet again."

With that, he turned into a streak of sword light and departed gracefully.

Casting aside sword maniacs and dismemberment enthusiasts, Xiao Yunyi fit the image of a Sword Immortal in Gu Wen’s mind.

Gu Wen turned to look at Jade Sword Buddha, the little nun standing under the moonlight appearing even more sacred, with a halo emerging above her head.

He reached out and rubbed it; it felt warm and smooth, a perfectly good bald head—no wonder Yu Hua liked to touch it so much.

Jade Sword Buddha showed a trace of confusion, but made no other move; perhaps confusion was the limit to which her humanity was exposed.

Gu Wen asked, "Master, will you remember me the next time?"

"The bond has ended, there is no need for future encounters."

Jade Sword Buddha’s voice was like a tinkling wind chime, and as distant as a bell echo from an ancient temple.

"But there is still a karmic connection through spirit light and the Immortal Sword, so I will remember the Benefactor."

The nun stepped forward, and golden lotuses sprung forth beneath her feet. Her white golden kasaya glowed under the moonlight as if Guanyin had descended to earth. Without looking back, she left.

Alone in this world, keeping a distance from all sentient beings, she was the ancient green lamp Buddha within the old temple, and also the great demon within the deep caverns.

Chi Yu Zi and Jun Yan’s problem still had a solution, but the Jade Sword Buddha did not; for she wasn’t human to begin with. Her existence merely signified which would prevail: Buddha or Demon.

And the Jade Sword Buddha did not seek to survive for herself; her pride surpassed that of Chi Yu Zi and Jun Yan. She aimed to overcome both Buddha and Demon and perish as a person.

A voice traveled over.

"Master, if you can remember my name in the future, I might help you."

The Jade Sword Buddha turned, her vermilion lips parting slightly: "Benefactor, what is your name?"

Gu Wen replied, "My surname is Gu, and I have but one given name: Wen."

"Mm."

The Jade Sword Buddha nodded slightly, unsure whether she would remember, then stepped into the rising dawn and departed.

Who could know whether there would be another meeting in the future.

-----------------

At high noon, the Ninth Grotto Heaven thunderously sealed.

Gu Wen rode upon Ao Tang, starting to move towards the ferry port. They planned to kill Daqian’s top general along the way.

To prevent any leaks and alert Wenren Wu that the Devil Clan had been slaughtered to near extinction, leading him to flee at the sight of trouble.

During the journey, Gu Wen took out the Taiyin Order to inspect it. The order had absorbed the Taiyin energy, its original profound black color turning into white jade.

It was no longer ice-cold to the touch but somewhat warm instead.

Extreme yin generates yang, Taiyin produces Taiyang.

With a probe of divine thought, the Taiyin Order in his view now required no fifty years of Heavenly Marrow.

[Taiyin, the extreme of Yin God, the beginning of Yang God, when Heaven and Earth are in harmony, one may step into the Xuanqi Dynasty as a True Saint, with Three Flowers Gathering at the Top, transforming the Seven Elements of life.]

[Taiyin Skill First Level, requires fifty years of Heavenly Marrow, the Nascent Soul attains one-seventh of its elements.]

Is the Taiyin Skill for cultivating the Divine Soul?

Without hesitation, Gu Wen injected the fifty-year Heavenly Marrow, and the First Level of the Taiyin Skill was instilled in an instant.

For cultivators, the Divine Soul is more important than the body. Many times, they would rather have a crippled body than a damaged soul.

The flesh dies, but the Divine Soul remains; conversely, if the soul dies, the Dao vanishes.

With the Nascent Soul strengthened a fraction, a faint floral imprint appeared on his forehead.

Following that, Gu Wen continued to invest Heavenly Marrow. The Taiyin Skill’s Second and Third Levels broke through one after another, using up a total of one hundred and fifty years of Heavenly Marrow.

Each Level consumed fifty years of Heavenly Marrow, without much variation.

[Taiyin Skill Third Level, Three Flowers reveal one, yin lifespan of a thousand years]

Gu Wen pondered for a long time, unable to discern what yin lifespan meant. He only knew the concept of Heavenly Life and Human Life but had never heard of a yin lifespan.

Could one become a ghost and live for a thousand years after death?

He asked others, but even the most experienced Ao Tang shook his head.

Jun Yan said, "Perhaps I could ask some Old Demons who cultivate the Ghost Path, but that’ll have to wait until we’ve killed Wenren Wu. I don’t want to be a drag later."

-----------------

Approaching the ferry port, standing on the mountaintop, one could see the military camp on the plain from afar, where Daqian’s banners fluttered.

Daqian had no national flag per se, but a bright yellow banner represented the Emperor, with a five-clawed golden dragon showing its fangs and claws.

Wenren Wu had not left; he probably didn’t know yet that the Devil Clan had already been annihilated. Messages in Immortal Land were heavily obstructed; contact between humans and devils was even harder due to deep-seated hatred.

Suddenly, a golden light flew from the horizon.

Yu Hua waved her hand; the golden light turned into an imperial decree, which she passed to Gu Wen immediately, as she had no interest in it.

Gu Wen unfolded it and saw the character for "escape" jump out at him first.

After reading through, the gist was clear: the Lord Emperor had received messages from beyond the heavens, and he was also questioning why Wenren Wu insisted on leading his troops into Nanshui.

Reading into it, one phrase [I am still grateful you did not enter Nanshui yet] indicated the message had gone through two rounds of transmission. It was leaked from outside, then verified by the Lord Emperor before he knew of Wenren Wu’s venture into Nanshui.

A commander wandering with an army, and the Emperor only learns of it after many days.

It sounds far-fetched, but on reflection that the dog Emperor had not held court for many years and Wenren Wu had been autonomously quelling rebellions for this decade, it was not a concern for two cultivators. But today, inevitably, a problem had arisen.

Even if this problem hadn’t emerged, Gu Wen had considered taking a detour to kill Wenren Wu.