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Chapter 360: Chapter 357: Path of Divine Weapon
Zhou Yi’s words had a profound impact on Gu Jinlai.
The creators were indeed powerful, but their power was not without cost.
All things have spirits.
The Spirit Realm represents sentient beings, the sun and the moon, everything, time, and space.
One can imagine the immense impact that fully merging with the Spirit Realm would bring.
If a plant suddenly became a human, just adapting to a beating heart, churning stomach, flowing blood, eyes receiving signals, and limbs working would require innumerable amounts of time and energy.
If one cannot properly control this body, coordinating the work of various organs, death will be the only outcome.
"The Cultivator System, when transforming oneself into the semi-energetic form of a Saint Body, must condense an Undying Will. Their Undying Will is meant to confront the impact caused by the change in their life form. Yet, even with an Undying Will and Saint Body, which are still semi-energetic forms that maintain a structure similar to a human body, a large number of Devas fail at the step of becoming a Saint...."
Zhou Yi, looking at Gu Jinlai, remarked with a sigh, "In the three thousand years of Xuanji Sect’s history, over one thousand Devas were born, to be exact, one thousand and forty-four, yet there were only thirty-six Saints. On average, only one in twenty-nine individuals can condense the Holy Body and achieve Saint status."
Even with the foundation of an Undying Will, while maintaining the human body model and transforming the body from a life form to a semi-energetic form, the failure rate is still this low.
This is simply...
"If it weren’t for the fact that upon understanding ’Dao’ for themselves, Earthly True Immortals transform their Undying Will from intangible to tangible, provoking heaven and earth’s backlash and triggering Heavenly Tribulation to strike at them, the peril involved in Devas achieving Saint status would be even higher than that of a Saint becoming an Earthly True Immortal."
Zhou Yi said.
"From the Refining God Realm’s Divine Thought, the Divinity Transformation Realm’s Yin God, the Primordial Spirit Realm’s Primordial Spirit, to the spiritual sublimation in the Devas Realm and the Undying Will in the Saint Realm, as well as the power of ’Dao’ in Earthly True Immortals, every step seems to be tempering their spirit and will. But what about the Heavenly Master lineage?"
Gu Jinlai suddenly asked, "Besides the accumulation of Spiritual Sense, does the Heavenly Master lineage have no other way to strengthen themselves against the impact of the True Spirit Realm?"
"Of course, there are other ways."
Zhou Yi replied, "True Spirit, True Spirit Crystalization - these are forms of enhancement."
"But it’s not enough."
Gu Jinlai asserted, "From Heavenly Monarch to creator, it seems as if a step, even two, has been skipped, rushing into the domain of creators imperfectly, thus facing endless hidden dangers after becoming creators...."
He looked at Zhou Yi, "Can Heavenly Monarchs not become cultivators?"
"There is almost no such possibility."
Zhou Yi explained, "What is the ultimate purpose of a True Spirit? It is to constantly adjust the state of one’s soul until it can finally merge with the Spirit Realm and become a Spirit Realm Life, but the Undying Will and ’Dao’ of cultivators are about repeatedly piercing through the fog of the heart and firming up oneself. There is a fundamental difference between the two."
"What about Master Wushi? He was originally an Earthly True Immortal."
"But has he ever shown the power of an Earthly True Immortal level since then? Has he not?"
Zhou Yi continued.
Gu Jinlai recalled briefly.
It seems...
After the battle with Emperor Tianji, Master Wushi indeed had no records of ever taking action again.
Could it be...
"We know the shortcomings of the Heavenly Master Path. Over sixteen hundred years ago, a creator raised a similar question to yours, but... time did not permit."
Zhou Yi explained, "At that time, the threat of the Demon Spirits was still present. We urgently needed more creators to eliminate the Demon Spirits, and even to counterattack the Demon Realm. A slight flaw... was inevitable."
He looked at Gu Jinlai, "Just like the current system of Demon God Warriors, the risks of this lineage are much greater than those of the creators, yet still many continuously become Demon God Warriors. The external environment leaves them no choice."
Hearing this, Gu Jinlai gradually calmed down, "So when the creators decided to address this issue, the civil war erupted?"
"Perhaps, the outbreak of the creators’ civil war itself is related to this event."
Zhou Yi speculated.
"The civil war is related to this event?"
"What is the greatest achievement of the creators after the Ruins Beasts?"
Zhou Yi asked and answered himself, "Divine Weapons! Divine Weapons forged from the materials left by Innate Divine Beasts. Needless to say the divinity of Innate Divine Beasts, the creators, with the rich experience they gathered in Artifact Refining and using Innate Divine Beasts as materials, eventually forged each Divine Weapon, and almost every one of them is equivalent to an entire path!"
"An entire path!"
Gu Jinlai thought of the True Understanding of Celestial Immortals he had seen.
The True Understanding of Celestial Immortals that sprang from Tianji Emperor’s comprehension of the Sky Extreme Sword, but what he "saw" in the True Understanding of Celestial Immortals was not just one path.
"In itself, a Divine Weapon is almost a perfect path. Therefore, once anyone becomes recognized by a Divine Weapon, it’s as if a complete path is laid out in front of him. If he follows this path, one day he will achieve the level of an Earthly True Immortal and even... attain the True Immortal Dao Fruit, living long and prosper, his life spanning thousands of years."
Zhou Yi likened this to getting the answer before solving the problem.
Gu Jinlai nodded in agreement.
"The original intention of the Heavenly Masters in refining Divine Weapons was perhaps to borrow an external force or to use the path of the Divine Weapon as a coordinate, ensuring that they would not be washed away by the power of the Spirit Realm until they get lost in the Spirit Realm."
Zhou Yi spoke and sighed, "But for some unknown reason, they failed as well, and even sparked an unprecedented civil war that destroyed the Heavenly Master Civilization overnight."
"They failed...."
Gu Jinlai frowned.
Why did they fail?
Using the path of the Divine Weapon as a coordinate for guidance should theoretically be achievable.
Where did the problem lie?
At that moment, his Thousand-mile Light and Shadow Mirror began to vibrate.
The Thousand-mile Light and Shadow Mirror had two modes: light and vibration.
The former indicated ordinary messages.
The latter...
Signified that something significant had happened.
Gu Jinlai gave Zhou Yi an apologetic look and took out the Thousand-mile Light and Shadow Mirror, which soon revealed the image of Xin Tianqi.
"Palace Master, this matter must be kept strictly confidential."
Xin Tianqi reminded immediately.
Gu Jinlai glanced around before standing up and moving to the side.
This wasn’t a matter of trust.
It was that some things are better left unknown, for the benefit of others.
"Speak."
Gu Jinlai instructed.
"Venerable Xuan Yue from Sanqing Hall has arrived at Starlight City, seeking an audience with the Palace Master, with the intention of allegiance. Xuan Yue once resonated with Qiantian’s second Divine Weapon World Sword. After Master Wushi’s fall, he became the new World Sword Master," Xin Tianqi quickly stated the pros and cons, then added in a serious tone, "An hour ago, Venerable Xuan Tian suddenly arrived at our Starlight City, found Xuan Yue, but did not exterminate this disciple of Immortal Wushi, the new Sword Master of the World Sword. Instead... he handed over the World Sword to him."
Upon saying this, he quickened his pace, "I have already placed Xuan Yue under house arrest in the name of protection, along with another member of the Sanqing Hall, Xue Ying, who accompanied him. Please instruct me on the next steps, Palace Master."
"The World Sword!?"
Gu Jinlai was taken aback upon hearing Xin Tianqi’s words, "I know of the fact that Venerable Xuan Tian seized the World Sword from Immortal Wu Zhong. But he actually gave this sword to Xuan Yue, the new Sword Master of the World Sword? And this Xuan Yue just happened to come to Starlight City, intending to defect to our Lingxiao Palace?"
"Unbelievable as it may seem, this is the reality," Xin Tianqi remarked, somewhat emotional.
He could understand Xuan Yue’s actions.
After Master Wushi’s death, Immortal Wu Zhong would necessarily seek to eradicate this new Sword Master in order to monopolize the World Sword. His defection to Lingxiao Palace is indeed an option.
After all, he could not possibly defect to Di Luo.
And regarding the fall of Master Wushi...
There were rumors involving Emperor Qian’s influence.
So the only ones capable of withstanding the pressure from Sanqing Hall were Li Mufeng and himself, Gu Jinlai.
But the subsequent series of events...
It was quite hard to keep up with the pace.
"Palace Master, this matter is of great importance..."
"I know," Gu Jinlai said in a deep voice, "I’ll return to Starlight City immediately."
"Then I will await the Palace Master’s esteemed arrival in Starlight City," Xin Tianqi responded.
Gu Jinlai turned off the Thousand-mile Light and Shadow Mirror and redirected his gaze back to Zhou Yi.
Considering Zhou Yi’s achievements as a Heavenly Monarch...
He said with a smile, "Lord Zhou must have heard of my War Spiritual Artifacts, including not only the Cheng Ying Mecha but also the Mystic Bird Fighting Machine?"
"Yes," Zhou Yi nodded, expressing admiration, "A war spiritual artifact with a flight speed faster than Devas and Saints... Such artifact refinement achievements are truly astonishing."
"Would Lord Zhou like to experience it personally?" Gu Jinlai asked.
"May I try it out?" Zhou Yi’s eyes lit up.
"Of course," Gu Jinlai nodded.
"I would not miss it for the world," Zhou Yi immediately accepted with joy.
At once, Gu Jinlai asked Zhang Liefeng to continue entertaining Hong Ye and Yun Ling, while he took Zhou Yi to the nearest landing site for the Mystic Bird Fighting Machine, also teaching him the operational techniques for the machine.
He had assessed Hong Ye’s cultivation level.
He also learned of the newly-promoted Deva’s relationship with Purgatory Sect from Lu Zhanxian.
With this relationship in mind, he naturally felt assured letting them assist on the front lines.
His task was to lure this Heavenly Monarch, Zhou Yi, back with him.
In his view, the weight of this Heavenly Monarch was no less significant than that of the World Sword.
For this reason, even at the cost of delaying his return to Starlight City, it was worth it.
... 𝔫𝖔𝔳𝖕𝖚𝔟.𝔠𝔬𝖒
The battle in Mu State raged for over three months, with Lingxiao Palace also producing various War Spiritual Artifacts, and existing war machines were modified according to the situation.
For example, the Mystic Bird Fighting Machine, which can be used as an early warning aircraft.
And the manned Mystic Bird Fighting Machine that Zhou Yi was piloting.
Even though carrying a person affected its flight speed, the physique of Heavenly Masters normally far exceeded that of Martial Artists in the Refining and Blood Swapping Realm, maintaining double the speed of sound without trouble.
Less than half a day after Xin Tianqi relayed the message, the Cheng Ying Mecha piloted by Gu Jinlai and the Mystic Bird Fighting Machine operated by Zhou Yi had descended in the internal square of the former City Lord Mansion of Starlight City.
After disembarking from the Mystic Bird Fighting Machine, Zhou Yi’s eyes were filled with awe, "Seeing is truly believing. Such war spiritual artifacts represent a monumental achievement for our Heavenly Master lineage."
"I will further improve this fighting machine later, and design a set of special clothing to reduce the machine’s overload. That way, when Lord Zhou pilots it, the experience will be even better," Gu Jinlai said with a smile.
Right after, he turned his gaze in a certain direction, "Now, let us witness the marvel of Qiantian’s second Divine Weapon—the World Sword."
