Panic-stricken, Wu Qi sprung to his feet and glanced around. He was sweating profusely.
He was the only person in the chamber. He could find no second person around him, despite the fact that he had been glancing around with the Mystic Eyes of Universe, scanning every corner of the chamber with his divine will. He pushed open the thick, heavy rock door and ran into the mine. All of the several thousand cultivators were still working tirelessly in the pitch-dark mine. The bored Yakshas were squatted on some stalagmites; some were gambling, some were drinking, and some were mating in the shadows of a random corner.
He could see no stranger, nothing.
At the mine entrance, a group of fierce Yakshas was seen pushing a dozen pale-faced itinerant cultivators into the mine. They had bloody noses and swollen faces, evidence that they had been beaten. With kicks and punches, the Yakshas drove the cultivators into the mine. They were the new arrivals who the Yakshas had captured and brought here to work as coolies.
How could an existence who was able to transmit cultivation techniques into his spiritual ocean be captured by these Yakshas?
After spending some time to run his eyes around with fear, he clenched his jaw, spun, and returned to his chamber, then shut the heavy rock door with a slam.
He seated himself back to the hassock, cross-legged as he focused all his attention on his spirit ocean. Over and over again, he exerted all his strength to ask with divine will, "Who are you?" His loud voice echoed in the boundless spiritual ocean, "Who are you? WHO ARE YOU? WHO ARE YOU?"
Two hours passed, and suddenly, an old voice rang out in his spiritual ocean, "I am Qiong Chan."
His brain spun at high speed as he said with a loud voice in the spiritual ocean, "Lu Chan'er's grandfather? Grandpa Chan?"
The old voice laughed. "Yes, my little friend. It is nice for you to remember me!"
Wu Qi sunk into a silence. At last, he asked again, "What is the True Body of Heaven and Earth Scripture?"
The old man, Qiong Chan, burst into laughter and answered, "It is one of the cultivation techniques practiced by the human race of Great Yu, considered a pretty decent technique. Legends have it that when one cultivates to the last chapter, the Pangu Chaotic Chapter, and if he is lucky and has an excellent latent potential, he would be able to form the True Body of Pangu, and attain an overall strength similar to the Great Saint Pangu."
"There is no such thing as a free lunch under the heaven. Tell me, what makes you chose me?" Wu Qi's question was very direct. At the thought that he had been given a cultivation technique that could bring him to the legendary realm of the Great Saint Pangu, he felt his scalp tingle. Who would teach an incredible cultivation technique such as this to someone else without rhyme or reason?
"Mm!" Qiong Chan's laughter broke the temporary silence. "Do not be scared, and do not panic. Apart from the cultivation technique practiced only among the Imperial Clan of Great Yu, the rest of the human race's cultivation techniques are not something secret. Well, even the little girl who owned this Miao Ying Palace knew all the techniques of the True Body of Heaven and Earth Scripture. It's just that she will never practice it."
Wu Qi softly pressed his fist to the ground, leaving behind a fist print that was almost one-foot deep. "Why would she never practice it? It is an exceptional cultivation technique, one that could bring the cultivator to the realm of Pangu, the realm had only achieved by the ancient Saint who had created the heaven and earth. Who would give up a cultivation technique such as this?"
He did not receive an immediate answer, and Qiong Chan's voice only echoed out in his spiritual ocean after some moments of silence. "There is nothing strange about it. Practicing a cultivation technique from the human race would slowly modify their body constitution, gradually transforming an Immortal who could live forever back to a normal human being. And, no human beings can escape from decay, illness, and death."
The answer struck Wu Qi dumb. At last, he asked with a bitter smile on his face, "Surely it doesn't mean that the Great Saint Pangu would have to die as well?"
"If the Great Saint Pangu could escape death, where did Pangu Continent come from?" said Qiong Chan in a natural tone, "It was his body that formed the Pangu Continent, and he had created the universe around the continent with all his divine power before death. We, the human race, have inherited a portion of his bloodline. That is why we complied with the Heavenly Dao of this universe, and eventually become the race who dominated the universe."
It dawned on Wu Qi, and he suddenly realized the root cause of the harsh Heavenly Tribulation that the heaven used to punish the Immortal cultivators with. The Great Saint Pangu was the common ancestor for the human race, and cultivating immortality was, in fact, a process to separate oneself from the human race. On the whole, the conduct of Immortals had completely gone against the rules of the heaven and earth fixed by Great Saint Pangu. Therefore, whenever an Immortal made progress in his cultivation base, he would be punished by the Heavenly Tribulation. And the stronger was the cultivation base, the more powerful was the Heavenly Tribulation.
In essence, the Immortals were the cancer cells that plagued this world, while the principles of the Heavenly Dao were the immune system.
Wu Qi had more questions, but Qiong Chan did not give him the chance to ask.
The old voice rang out in his spiritual ocean like a sudden thunderclap, taking away all his strength and making him feel feeble.
"You don't have to know too many things, and with your cultivation base, you can't know too many things. In brief, the Old Blind is the first who had spotted you, Humpback the second, and I am the third. Your character is passable, and can be considered a useful talent. Therefore, after the three of us had a discussion, we decided to teach you the True Body of Heaven and Earth Scripture. As for how you are going to walk on your future path, it is all up to your own choice."
"If you chose to continue the Immortal cultivation, the True Body of Heaven and Earth Scripture is of useless for you! But, although you can live forever, the chances of being killed by someone are high."
"If you choose to cultivate the True Body of Heaven and Earth Scripture, perhaps you would soon be able to fight against a Gold Immortal, in just several dozens of years. And, if you could find and merge with a beast soul of fine quality, you could also live a long life of pleasure. Furthermore, there is always a slim chance of survival for the human cultivators. Hahaha!"
Qiong Chan roared in laughter and said, "Well, it is not necessary for me to tell you more about this now. Rest assured, we will not keep our eyes on you at all times. You are free to do anything based on your own will. You are not the first to whom we've taught the True Body of Heaven and Earth Scripture, and you will not be the last either. You are just one of the few candidates we've selected. Your future, whether it will be a bright or dim one, all depends on the choice you make!"
Wu Qi shook his head and cried out, "You've to provide me an explanation! Why me? What do you want me to do?"
Qiong Chan's voice was slowly fading away, and his laughter sounded like it was coming from a remote distance. "Why should I explain when you only have such a shabby cultivation base? In any case, you've been selected, and it is your own business to make that decision! You will never see us again until you've reached a certain level!"
In the end, his voice became so low that it lingered in Wu Qi's spiritual ocean like a faint rustle, "Remember, do not let the others know about this. If those Immortals learn that you've inherited the True Body of Heaven and Earth Scripture, they will wipe you out instantly, even if you are still an Immortal cultivator. Do not forget that! Haha!"
Wu Qi's mouth opened with a curse hanging at the tip of his tongue, yet he managed to hold it back.
Patriarch Miao Ying was crafting a magical treasure in the Dark Abyss below him. As she was a Primordial Immortal, the mine was like just placed right next to her nose, and she could learn everything in it easily. Using a very bizarre method, Qiong Chan had taught Wu Qi the True Body of Heaven and Earth Scripture, and even talked to him for a long while, yet no response was coming from Patriarch Miao Ying. This had proven that Qiong Chan's cultivation base was way beyond hers.
It sure felt good to curse somebody, but if Qiong Chan were still nearby and heard the curses, that good feeling might turn into an ill fate.
Wu Qi laughed a bitter laugh, then threw his head back and breathed out a long sigh. He was struck by a sense of powerlessness once again. 'Perhaps in the eyes of Qiong Chan and his peers, I'm less significant than an ant? He is right. With my current overall strength, I do not have the right to know anything!'
However, he would not allow these almighty experts to control him like a puppet. Regardless of what they were trying to achieve, he would try his best to escape from their control.
He had to obtain the innate Yang energy to form the innate Chaotic Spirit Body, so that he could free himself from the shackle of the principles of the heaven and earth. With that, these almighty experts would no longer able to control him. Wu Qi clenched his jaw and made a firm decision.
'I've to speed up and get things done as quickly as possible!'
'True Body of Heaven and Earth Scripture, good stuff indeed!' Wu Qi could vaguely see the hope of removing the Dark Yin Soul Captivation.
'Thanks for the generous gift. The reason why ordinary Immortal cultivators will slowly change into mortals after practicing True Body of Heaven and Earth Scripture is that they had been practicing with a wrong cultivation technique. But for me... hehe!' A bright gleam shone from his eyes, 'So long as I can form the Chaotic Spirit Body, the chaotic body that could hold everything and anything, I will be able to practice any cultivation technique under the heaven. Internally, I'll practice the Seven Foundation Elevating Technique and various divine abilities and magic spells, while externally, I'll practice this True Body of Heaven and Earth Scripture. This will surely give me a great advantage over the others!'
Even the shadowy figure who taught Wu Qi Scroll of Stealing did not manage to obtain any cultivation technique of body cultivators from the human race. During his time, the humans were still very weak, and they had yet to invent such cultivation techniques. But today, Qiong Chan had personally brought the technique to Wu Qi. It had literally saved him all the effort of looking for one!
He grinned and sat cross-legged down on the ground.
'Despite what schemes you have, I'll just carry out my business at my own will. Even if you do have mighty divine abilities, what can you do to me?'
As the cold smile lingered on his face, he retracted his mind back into his body, surrounded himself with a billowing fiend energy, and pretended like he was in a deep meditation. However, his mind had already connected with the celestial fiend puppet in the City Lord Mansion of An He City.
The puppet was sitting in the main hall of the mansion, munching on a few rare metals. Suddenly, his eyes shone with a bright light as he cried out with a deep voice, "Somebody, go to the backyard and invite the Palace Master here for a meeting... Hehehe, no matter what he is doing now, just tell him that I have a good proposal for him."
A few cultivators who had pledged their loyalty to the Euphoria Heavenly Palace were standing in the hall. They answered respectfully, and one of them, a middle-aged man, sprung up and flew straight to the backyard on a cloud. Before long, the layer of pinkish Buddhist light covering the backyard disappeared, and Lao Ai, who was bare to the waist and only covering his huge man part with a thin underwear, swaggered out of the back of the hall.
"Mm, what's the matter? I'm in the middle of exchanging insights of pleasure with fellow Daoist Three Flame. You better not delay my business!"
He cast a beam of Buddhist light and sealed off the void around the main hall, preventing any cultivators who waited outside from listening to their conversation. After that, Lao Ai pointed his finger at the puppet and said with a cold grin, "Hey, metal ingot incarnation, what do you want from me? You..."
Two beams of light shot nearly one-foot out of the puppet's eyes as Wu Qi's voice came out from within his body, "Prince of Changxin, it is me!"
Lao Ai was taken aback, then he quickly put on a smile and asked, "Oh, it is you! What's happening?"
The puppet gave a faint smile and said, "I have a great proposal for you."
A bright light shone from Lao Ai's eyes.