Chapter 178 - 176: Preparing Against The Shadows

Su Mei proceeded to explain the various events that happened, not simply regarding Long Chen, but his companions as well. According to her, amongst their entire group, only Long Chen had sufficient talent and skill to immediately become a Nascent Dust Disciple, completing all nine floors. As for the others, such as Lian Yu, Wu Baozhai, and Lin Ziyan, they qualified as Null Disciples.

There were a few interesting details, such as Ming Shufeng's disappearance and a few promising members from the Myriad Yore Continent that became Nascent Dust Disciples alongside Long Chen. He contemplated whether he should find a few good seedlings from this group.

As for Ming Shufeng, Su Mei couldn't locate her, gather any hint as to where she went, or determine if she was still alive. However, Wei Wuyin didn't believe a Seer like her would suffer misfortune.

After becoming disciples, Lian Yu entered the Extreme Origin Mountain as a Null Disciple and the other three entered the Extreme War Mountain together. They stayed with Long Chen, but an incident happened regarding a Mortal Common Disciple and Lin Ziyan. This led to the fierce clash against Long Chen and the Mortal Common Disciple, Ji Yu. Due to a moment of carelessness, Long Chen had killed Ji Yu in an unexpected triumph.

However, Ji Yu originated from a mid-level clan called the Ji Clan that had a peak Mortal Captain as Clan Lord, and he was the Earthly General's descendent and promising candidate to succeed his position as Clan Lord. This led to further conflict which was mitigated by the timely assistance of an Earthly General named Xian Hu. Due to his actions, the Ji Clan didn't directly use their Power of Authority to suppress Long Chen.

However, they were still in the midst of conflict with him, and many clan members were taking action to hinder or directly remove Long Chen from the world of the living.

"Huh. So much trouble…" Wei Wuyin shook his head. Long Chen's life had always been filled with conflict and enemies, so much so that he gave birth to Slaughter Intent. He knew Zuhei had killed like a bloody monster after suffering tremendously horrific loss to develop his Intent, so Long Chen must have experienced similar circumstances.

'As long as his Karmic Luck is sufficient, he'll avoid certain calamity. That being said...this might not extend to his women.' Wei Wuyin didn't find Long Chen killing a Mortal Common Disciple odd. In truth, when he heard about the abrupt overturning of a battle at a critical moment, he knew it had something to do with that ring of his.

Long Chen was fearless even against Wu Jiao, so he had sufficient trump cards to ensure his life against Astral Core Realm experts, or at least a source of confidence. Unfortunately, this protected just him, and the dead allies at the wedding were proof of this.

Qing Qiumu had been accepted as a disciple of a Prime Imperial Sage, her ancestor, and was currently in secluded cultivation to make-up for her wasted cultivation time during her youthful years. It's unlikely she'll be seen for quite some time.

Long Tingyu had entered the Extreme Demon Mountain and hasn't been heard or seen since. Even Su Mei couldn't glean much information about her from her sources, and it seemed there was a shroud of mystery around her current state of affairs. While this was mildly thought-provoking, Wei Wuyin's interest in that biased little girl was to the floor.

After a moment of thinking, he dismissed his thoughts of them and asked: "How is Zuhei's recovery?"

"He had suffered immense damage to his meridians, organs, cells, dantian, and sea of consciousness due to his crippling. It was quite thorough, but the alchemical products you provided should be enough to support a full recovery. Thus far, he's regained his innate reflexes and a consistent reaction time. It might take a year or two before he could digest all the products and regain his full strength," Su Mei assessed and relayed.

Nodding, Wei Wuyin couldn't help but think how frustrating it was that cultivators required weeks, months, or even years to digest alchemical products. He had originally experienced that exact issue, but since his Natal Souls could externalize, he was capable of bypassing his own innate talents and entirely digesting alchemical products in minutes or hours.

This couldn't be helped. Therefore, he didn't feel too down.

Suddenly, his eyes brightened with an extremely blazing light. His original goal had been to overcome the Astral Tribulation and make a trip to the Bloodforge Continent, but with his Draconic Natal Soul undergoing its transformation, he decided to wait until it completed the process.

He didn't know if his Astral Tribulation would be divided or combined, and having a single Natal Soul out of commission might not just affect its transformation if success is achieved, but lower his chances of succeeding. He knew that the higher the Mortal State, the greater the Astral Tribulation's level of difficulty. In fact, there were numerous factors that affected the Astral Tribulation's strength, and Mortal State was merely one of them.

It was best to walk the side of caution lest he commits an irrevocable and irredeemable mistake.

"It's time to settle my debts. Bring all the requests from the Extermination of the Grand Axis Faction. I'll handle them all now. Then, I want you to send a message to the sect leader of the Rainbow Crane Sect. The best I can do for Mei Mei is ensure a safe path of cultivation from the shadows." Wei Wuyin gave Su Mei her assignments and she nodded in understanding, leaving to execute his orders.

After being left alone, he rubbed his chin softly. "I have forty years before the Second Calamity of Hell; I need to look beyond that, however. My goal is to create the most supreme foundation for cultivation, with sufficient cards to ensure my life for any and all obstacles. The Calamity of Hell is an active danger to my life, but its a danger that I'm acutely aware of. The true dangers are the ones I'm mostly ignorant of, the ones in this world."

The San Clan, the Alchemist Association, and other hegemonic forces and enemies that would seek to hinder Myriad Monarch Sect's rise by any means necessary. His existence had spread widely, and after learning about his title that was widely circulating—Prince of Everlore, he felt an unprecedented shadow of lethal danger lurking.

He had never been one to venture out without sufficient cards in his hands to ensure his life. While his cultivation base was a priority, and definitely the most reliable card in his entire life, it was also his current limitation.

'My first goal is to cultivate this Celestial Eyes of Spiritual Divinity.'

-----

Two Months Later.

Since acquiring the Celestial Eyes of Spiritual Divinity Method, Wei Wuyin had spent quite a while deliberating whether the risk and difficulty of cultivating this technique was worth it or not. In the end, he felt that it should be. This cultivation method felt as if it was connected to him in a profound and inexplicable manner, and since the old man had recommended it, there was likely a reason for that.

The Celestial Eyes of Spiritual Divinity might've been placed on the first floor of the Martial King's Dao Pavilion, but it was by no means easy to cultivate, but its overall abilities were rather vague.

It wasn't divided into levels, and when cultivated, its either a complete success or a horrific failure with insane consequences. Once cultivated, there was no more need for improvement because it'll happen naturally as you cultivate and improve your mental, physical, and spiritual energies. This could be likened to the Haven Heart Qi Method. While it was divided into step by step directions for cultivation, after completion, there was no further need to seek any improvement of the overall technique.

The technique's primary ability was a spell called the Gaze of a Celestial Spirit. Wei Wuyin wasn't unfamiliar with ocular-based spiritual spells, having cultivated quite a few before, but this spell could be considered somewhat different, because it wasn't a 'spiritual' spell but simply a spell. Unlike ocular-based spiritual spells, this spell focused all senses into the eyes, spiritual, mental, and physical into one.

According to it, one can even view various forces with their eyes, like the world's mana, 'revokers of reincarnation', and the intricate laws of the world, but this was dependent on cultivation level. He didn't know exactly what 'revokers of reincarnation' meant, but it could be referring to fabled ghosts or souls that aren't accepted into Hell.

As he knew about the matters of Hell, he realized many myths such as ghosts, spirits, and phantasms likely exist.

The other three abilities were called the Eye of Illusion, Eye of Truth, and Eye of Immortality. They were simply named, but boundlessly profound to the point that Wei Wuyin still couldn't understand their abilities exactly.

The Eye of Illusion was described as being able to invoke changes in the senses of others, creating a false reality. This had limitations and consumed an immense amount of mental, spiritual, and physical energies. He believed it would allow him to temporarily 'project' illusions to others, hence the name. However, it seemed like it wasn't that simple.

The Eye of Truth could see the trend of the world, the origins of all things, and view the unseen divinities. Just as before, he didn't know what that meant. At first, he thought he would gain the ability of a Seer, but it didn't seem to be the case. It was weirdly worded, but he'll only really know if he successfully cultivated the technique.

The Eye of Immortality…

It didn't have any detailed description, just a single word: "Eternal."

Each ability was more vague than the last, but he was still adamant on cultivating it.

He took a deep breath.

Then, he slowly exhaled.

"Let's begin."