Dao Equaling the Heavens
Chapter 284 - 189 Cultivating Immortality Not Humanity, Becoming an Immortal Also Turns One Mad and Demonic_2

Chapter 284: Chapter 189 Cultivating Immortality Not Humanity, Becoming an Immortal Also Turns One Mad and Demonic_2

"You are carefree," said the Lord Emperor, his voice indifferent as if he were looking at an ant.

He never considered carelessness to be a praiseworthy quality; to him, it was merely the resignation of someone powerless, a mediocrity seeking death because they could not reach transcendence.

All things must come to an end in death, only transcendence could provide release.

Half-Immortals feared death because they had a chance at becoming Immortals; seeing the beauty of Immortality, they feared death because of their lifespan. That was normal for Half-Immortals.

It was not a disgrace; on the contrary, he felt it was a realm unattainable for the mediocre.

"I am here to save you, without you, Daqian would be in complete chaos, and you cannot die yet."

Wenren Wu said, "Your Majesty, can you fight the Heavenly Girl? Or do you have a plan to send your servant away?"

"Neither, the aura of the Heavenly Girl has locked on to this place, and even a strand of my Divine Thought cannot escape," the Lord Emperor shook his head and continued, "I will talk, do everything humanly possible, and leave the rest to fate."

Wenren Wu wanted to laugh but had grown accustomed to it.

Since the emergence of the Immortality Pill, many powerful Immortals had joined the fray, and he had grown numb. It was not strange that even the Lord Emperor, once like a God, was so suppressed. If he truly possessed that ability, there wouldn’t be so many problems now.

He said, "It’s fine if the Heavenly Girl kills me or if it’s other prodigies. I just want to know who is stronger between me and Gu Wen? If he is stronger, then death today is worthwhile. If he is weaker, then I will rub off some of his sharp spirit."

"You can’t fight him. Even if he alone took action, you would have no chance of survival," the Lord Emperor said.

"I can’t fight him?" Wenren Wu frowned, disbelief written all over his eyes, "He has been away from Bianjing for only about four months, and I heard the news about one and a half months ago. Even if I assume he has reached the Fifth Level Dao Foundation, even if he is at the Sixth Level, so what?"

"He is now on the Heavenly List, ranked ninth."

With that statement, the Lord Emperor silenced Wenren Wu.

The Heavenly List, only those who achieved Immortality were eligible for it, which is why Yu Hua, the top of the list, was so feared. This was not a realm within the reach of prodigies. Many founders of sects were beneath Yu Hua.

After a while, a gust of wind brought in a clear sound.

"Great General, it has been months since Gu visited to ask for instruction."

Suddenly, the wind howled, the army flags fluttered, and a chilling aura spread.

The heart pumped violently, then quickly calmed down as Wenren Wu swung his arm, and his armor transformed into flowing light that enveloped him. Holding his weapon, he stretched his body like a fierce tiger.

"Cowards seek death and will eventually die, today I shall test this Immortal talent to see if one year can match my thousands of years of accumulation."

The Lord Emperor produced a Pill and handed it to Wenren Wu, saying, "This Pill can temporarily elevate you one level, to complete the Sixth Level Dao Foundation."

"Does it matter? If I use my methods, the Heavenly Girl can intervene. Now that this junior has come to seek instruction, why should I embarrass myself?"

"It’s very important to me. I must break Gu Wen’s undefeated spirit. His momentum is already established, and if not suppressed now, even I won’t be able to stop him in the future."

The two looked at each other, the first discrepancy between them arose in thousands of years.

A few traces of surprise appeared in the always calm eyes of the Lord Emperor. Wenren Wu, much larger than him, slowly knelt down, touched his forehead to the ground, and called out a title he had not used for a long time.

"Master, please allow your disciple to act willfully just this once."

There were four elites of the Golden Generation, apart from Yun Miao, Huayang, and Xuan Wufeng, who were from top Major Sects. There was another who climbed from a small sect. It was only by selling all the possessions and Spiritual Mountain of his sect that he could barely afford the entry fee to Immortal Land.

Heavenly Venerate Demon Saints could project themselves into Immortal Land, Half-Immortals could freely enter and exit, while others needed to spend a great cost from Two Realms City.

Immortal Land was not a place they were meant to tread.

That year, a poor genius without even a protector entered Immortal Land and eventually emerged as a Venerable.

His name was Zhao Sanming, and his sect was known as the Mixed Element Sect, ranked third among the martial families.

Once, many Immortal Sects discussed unifying the countless mortals at the core of the Human Race, from fragmentary to integrated, for better management. This would prevent conflicts between the time awareness of Cultivators and mortals and the issues of inefficiency in many City Lord Mansions.

So that it wouldn’t take decades to solve a problem, and it could effectively utilize the power of heartfelt wishes and incense.

Their Mixed Element Sect was undoubtedly the most suitable, but then Zhao Sanming deceived many Immortal Sects, leading the elites of the Mixed Element Sect to Immortal Land, and thus Daqian was established.

Then utilizing Secret Techniques to survive the five hundred years in Immortal Land, he returned to the throne and used the kingdom as a cauldron and the people as firewood to refine Immortal Pills.

Wenren Wu was a direct disciple of the Lord Emperor, and he was the only disciple left; the others had perished in battle.

"Disciple has served diligently for hundreds of years. Today it is the disciple’s turn. All I wish is to die a dignified death in battle."

"You’ll be facing an Immortal Sword, and you lack a comparable weapon, so you will have to rely on this medicine."

Lord Emperor bowed his head in conciliation, his voice slowing slightly as if to regain a trace of humanity.

Wenren Wu retorted, "Not anyone can wield the Immortal Sword, his ability to use the Immortal Sword in combat is his own skill. Just like a disciple receiving the enhancement of military formations, using thirty-six thousand valiant soldiers for the small cycle, ten thousand for the Grand Circulation, it’s enough to shake a Venerable."

The nature of the Immortal Sword and military formations are one’s own skills, there are no divine weapons in the world that everyone can simply take.

In the next moment, a hand suddenly grasped Wenren Wu’s neck, an incomparable force lifted him up, sealing his dantian and preventing his mana from circulating.

Everything happened too abruptly, Wenren Wu almost couldn’t react, and he had never suspected the Lord Emperor.

"Master...Father?"

Wenren Wu squeezed out the words through clenched teeth, disbelieving as he looked at the old Taoist before him.

His own master had become unbearably strange.

"But if you don’t break his momentum, it will hinder my Immortal Ascension."

The Lord Emperor’s voice was as cold as frost and snow, to the extreme. He stuffed a Pill into Wenren Wu’s mouth, controlling the other to refine it.

Madness intermingled with a calm as if devoid of all emotion, his eyes only held the utmost desire to pursue the Dao, the thought of transcendence!

He was the true seeker of the Dao; Wenren Wu was just a mediocre talent who couldn’t become an Immortal!

"The Heavenly List allows for Immortal Ascension, his talent will be second only to Qingcang. If I ultimately become immortal, but cannot remove him, then transcendence is also useless."

Immortals can also die, as Qingcang Immortal had proven.

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

Outside the military camp.

Numerous soldiers stood as if facing a formidable enemy, the armor-clad troops at the gate holding shields and spears, none daring to step forward.

The matter of the Immortal had long ceased to be a secret, with mortals aware of great powers battling and the Devil Clan invading, but life still went on. Mortals who stumbled upon Spiritual Medicine would consume it, but without a Dao foundation, they could not refine the properties and would simply expel it from their bodies.

But they recognized Gu Wen, for he had been slaying devils.

Cloaked in black, sword in hand, the one who had been vigorously slaying devils throughout Nanshui was him alone.

Also, due to the propaganda by the Nanchun Army, Gu Wen’s fame had spread widely, along with that, rumors of the Emperor’s abdication in Bianjing had also been heard.

Some said he was a reincarnated Saint, the rightful Emperor, while in Nanshui, the more popular rumor was that of a Sword Immortal. A plain yet accurate moniker.

"All troops, emerge from the tents and form up!"

A rich voice sounded, and a hint of spirit light appeared in the eyes of tens of thousands of soldiers, no longer harboring an ounce of fear.

Mechanical, efficient, and precise, they arranged themselves into various square formations.

But they merely stood within the camp, not stepping out by half a step. Military formations did not require their physical presence; previous clashes between armies with everyone’s collective will was but a shallow application.

In the Cultivation World, military formations were never formed with mortals as soldiers; without exception, they required cultivators, and most were substituted with puppets.

A towering figure, nine feet tall, emerged from the camp, each step in heavy armor resounding with immense weight.

Wenren Wu, exhaling hot breath, felt his power steadily climbing, having reached the strength of an eighty-six Dao foundation.

He clasped his hands in salute with a voice like a bronze bell, "Wenren Wu, today, I shall test the prestige of your ninth place on the Heavenly List!"

"Great General, please do not hold back." Gu Wen returned the salute, his eyes alight and the corner of his mouth raised, and he declared loudly, "There will be death."

As the words fell, the ground shook with two booming sounds, and the two kicked up a storm of dust.

Clang!

The Chopping Clouds Sword clashed with the heavy spear, the dull impact rippling through ten thousand meters.

Then above the battlefield, a myriad of floral lights blossomed, the sword and spear seemingly colliding a million times in an instant. Followed by one last tremendous noise, the ground where they stood sank within a hundred meters as if stepped on by a giant.

The two figures parted, Gu Wen stepping back just one step, Wenren Wu three.

He gazed at the youth before him, astonished, surprised, and in disbelief; the young man had actually rivaled him, and it took only a matter of months.

All the astonishment and shock finally turned into a hearty laugh, "With time, one should perceive the other in a new light. But in your case, it’s as if you have been completely transformed."

Gu Wen shook his sword lightly and said, "It seems the Great General did not exert his full strength."

"Just now, I consumed a Pill to force a breakthrough."

Wenren Wu clenched his fist to his chest and spoke openly, "But today, I only employed the power of an eighty-five Dao foundation!"