Deep night.
Sun Wudao’s thin and fragile body was kneeling in front of a freshly dug grave, eyes red and puffed up after a bout of crying. Wu Yu was currently wrapped in straw mats, the bloodstains on his body meticulously scrubbed away, lying peacefully in the ditch.
“Wu Yu, even though our meeting was a chance encounter and was very brief, it was a meeting of serendipity. This is a treasure passed on to me by my Ancestors; It’s over a few hundred years old already, and has turned into a useless lump of metal many years ago, but father has always insisted I pass it on. I have no wife nor child, so this “Godpearl Metal”, I gift to you, so you have one more thing to miss about this world you used to live in.”
Sun Wudao removed his red necklace and slipped it on Wu Yu’s neck, the “Godpearl Metal” lying like a pendant on his chest. After that, he bowed down 3 times in front of the grave, filled it up with earth, and erected a wooden tombstone which said “Here lies the Prince Heir of East Yue Wu Wu Yu.”
The Prince Heir of East Yue Wu, his brilliance shaking the heavens.
Sun finally knew Wu Yu’s identity in the Mortal Realm after their discussion on the green stone today.
“Your Uncle Sun will guard your grave for 7 days and 7 nights.”
After Su Yanli knew of the incident, she reportedly scolded Situ Jin and allowed him to bury Wu Yu, so the days passed by very idly.
It was night now, and Sun Wudao was leaning on a tree trunk, staring at the beautiful constellations in the night sky.
“Uh….”
At that very moment, the tombstone collapsed.
“What happened?” Sun wondered, because he was sure he had anchored the tombstone very deep into the ground.
Huo!
All of a sudden, an arm erupted from the earth, pale and ghostly in the moonlight, making him jump back in fright and collapsing onto the ground, face bloodless and white.
And right in front of his very eyes, the earth moved again to reveal a second arm, which proceeded to push the earth aside to reveal a hole.
A ruddy faced and flushed Wu Yu emerged from the hole, to stare at Sun with disbelieving eyes, “Uncle Sun, why did you bury me when I haven’t even died? I was nearly bored to death!”. He didn’t even know whether to laugh or to cry. But, his wounds still hadn’t healed yet, so getting out of the grave nearly pained him to death.
“You didn’t die?!!!”
Wu Yu’s appearance came as a startling revelation to Sun, who’d thought he’d died, because who could survive from those gruesome injuries? Surviving was a great miracle in and out of itself.
“Of course! Just a few whips won’t be able to take away my life!”. He felt that he’d just went to sleep.
“That’s good.” Sun stood up, revealing a rare smile.
“Come, let’s drink to celebrate your survival!”
Sun had stored away a flask of good wine for a good tens of years, and felt that it was a good fit for this joyous occasion. He had already poured out half of it onto Wu Yu’s grave earlier as an offering, so there was only half left. That was perfect, however, because they wouldn’t get drunk!
After finishing off the bottle of wine, they lay on the black earth, staring at the numerous stars in the night sky.
“Wu Yu, do you hate Situ Jin?”, Sun Wudao asked.
“Yeah, I want to kill him.”, Wu Yu replied frankly. The indifferent attitude that the “Shangxian’s” had and their disregard to mortals, viewing their lives as nothing had thoroughly incited his anger. Even Celestial Cranes were worth more than them in his eyes.
“Don’t hate; you’re not allowed to hate. Mortals cannot fight against Celestials, because that’s the universal rule. Wu Yu, answer me please!” Sun asked sternly.
Faced with this difficult question, Wu Yu didn’t know how to reply.
“They are favored by the Heavens, and were born to rule over us. We are Mortals, we are ants, we are weak. They can easily crush us to death, so you absolutely cannot hate them; The more you hate, the faster you’ll die.”
“Fine.”
Sun Wudao had taken care of him for many days whilst he was unconscious, had risked his safety by blocking the other servants from beating him, and was also willing to replace him and become a scapegoat; Wu Yu had already engraved these acts of kindness in his heart, never to be erased, so he absolutely cannot let Uncle Sun worry over him.
“Back then, I only missed out on becoming a Celestial by one step. If only I had succeeded…” Sun sighed, looking at the night sky.
This was Sun’s life’s greatest regret.
His regret was also Wu Yu’s current regret, because he knew the feeling of failing just by one step.
“Hey, where’s your “Godpearl Metal”?” Sun Wudao stared at Wu Yu’s chest, eyes wide in surprise. Wu Yu looked down and noticed that he was wearing Sun’s red necklace, but the metal had gone.
“Maybe it fell into the grave. Let’s check.”
The two searched for over an hour to no avail. The little piece of metal had just disappeared. The effort had tired out Sun, who’d collapsed on the floor, “It’s ok. It was just a piece of metal; if we lost it, then we lost it. You’re still alive, and that’s more important than anything else!”
Wu Yu was also exhausted.
With the sky as a blanket and the earth a bed, he slept sweetly.
In his dream, he saw a giant column that seemed to pierce the Heavens.
The Celestial Mist surrounded pillar charged through the clouds, its top thrusting into the sky, its bottom plugging into the endless ground, towering and domineering, radiating a brilliant golden light that shook the soul!
And engraved on it, were a few humongous words.
“Ruyi Jingu Bang*”
Each word was like a mountain that bore down on Wu Yu’s head.
Shocking, too shocking!
“This pillar… what is it?” At that time, Wu Yu still didn’t know he was in a dream.
Boom!
The words on the pillar started changing, breaking down and reforming into numerous smaller words that began with :“<
The whole mantra had a total of a thousand words, but no matter how hard Wu Yu tried, he could only remember the first thousand.
And that very first thousand’s name was : Indestructible Vajra Body, First Stage.
“I am Heavenly Celestial Domain’s Qitian Big Saint*, Nirvana Celestial Domain’s Battle Victory Buddha*! Fated one, inherit my legacy, rebel against the heavens, and raze those who stand in your way!” Suddenly, a vast, overbearing and sharp voice roared in Wu Yu’s head, causing his mind to split apart at the seams.
“Pa!”
It terrified Wu Yu so much that he sat up; ah… so it was a dream!
The sky had already brightened, the fiery sun high up in the sky, and Sun Wudao, who was beside him, was currently roasting a rabbit, sprinkling onto it some herbs and condiments. The delicious smell permeated the air, instantly freshening Wu Yu up, and Sun, who’d notice he’d already woken up, passed him a bamboo mug of hot water with his old, gnarly hands. “It’s morning. Drink!”
“I…..”
Wu Yu was still in shock over what had just happened in his dream.
The giant pillar that reached the Heavens, Ruyi Jingu Bang, Indestructible Vajra Body, and the voice from just now was just too domineering, too shocking! His mind hadn’t recovered, still buzzing and shaking nonstop.
What Sun Wudao said afterwards, he couldn’t hear.
“Uncle Sun, I’m going back first.”
The place where they were currently at wasn’t very far away from their house; crossing a short hill would bring him back.
Wu Yu was very desperate to get back, because he found out that he still remembered the thousand words he’d seen engraved on the pillar in his dream, the instructions on cultivating a “Indestructible Vajra Body”! He remembered it clearly, word for word, never to forget!
Sun Wudao did not notice Wu Yu’s wounds, because they had been covered by clothing, but if he did, he’d be really dumbfounded, because there were no wounds! All of them had healed, over a span of one night! Wu Yu felt like he’d been reborn with a new body! One thing that he could not confirm was whether the damage caused by the Soul Severing Powder had been repaired, so he was very eager to get back home, where everything was peaceful and quiet, to check.
“Ok.” Sun Wudao nodded his head.
Once back home, Wu Yu let Sun rest first, then returned to his own room to try and recite the mantra. And sure enough, he’d really remembered the incredible and complicated mantra word for word.
“Indestructible Vajra Body First Stage can be cultivated during the Mortal Body Forging Phase, and is Heaven Celestial Domain’s strongest, and most profound technique.”
“Heaven Celestial Domain… what is that place? And who is Qitian Battle Saint, Battle Victory Buddha?” Wu Yu pondered to no avail.
He knew that the world was very big; East Yue Wu had more than ten surrounding countries such as South Mountain Zhao Kingdom! North Peak Qin Kingdom! Just where is Heaven Celestial Domain?
But he didn’t need to know right now, because he’d been reborn, had obtained a something that was life-changing!
He could feel excitement that he’d never experienced before, but, he had to confirm.
Wu Yu tried executing one of the East Yue Wu’s Royal’s techniques, and it worked! If only he didn’t want to attract attention, he’d have roared in happiness!
This meant that the damage done by the Soul Severing Powder had been healed thoroughly! Even though he’d have to start again, but he could now cultivate! Even if he wouldn’t be accepted into the Celestial Sect, he still had 100 years to work hard at cultivating!
“I, Wu Yu, who had to bite the bullet, am finally reborn!”. The bitterness in it was unmistakable.“Ruyi Jingu Bang, Godpearl Metal, this legacy should’ve all come from Uncle Sun’s little piece of metal! This is his property, so I have to share it with him, and cultivate this “Indestructible Vajra Body” together.”
And as Wu Yu was about to find Sun Wudao, his head was suddenly wracked with pain.
“Seem’s like this legacy does not want me to share it with Uncle Sun; it’s probably scared it’ll be spread out to the masses.” Wu Yu didn’t even know what to say after figuring out this truth, because the legacy was originally Sun Wudao’s, but it didn’t let him return it to him.
He told himself to calm down.
“Uncle Sun’s already over 100 years of age, very old, so I reckon that even with the help of Spiritual Medicine, he won’t be able to cultivate.”
This train of thought led Wu Yu to give up on the idea of sharing the legacy with Sun.
“But, his dream when he was young was to be accepted into the Celestial Sect, and become a disciple of the Sword to Heaven Sect! If I get accepted into the Sect, then he’d be really happy! His days are numbered now, so I cannot let him down and let him regret. From today onwards, I’ll work hard to enter the Sect in one month! Yes, one month!”
On the green stone yesterday, Sun had told him that not being accepted into the Sect, just by one step, was his greatest regret.
In Wu Yu’s heart, a flame of desire was lit. He had to become a Celestial! He had to take revenge! He had to avenge his country, which his Ancestors had passed on for many millenia!
Today, Sun Wudao talked about the details of Cultivation.
“The 10 Heavenly Stages of Martial Arts, is the Mortal Body Forging Phase, abbreviated as the Body Forging Phase, in the dictionaries of Celestials.”
“The Body Forging Phase has a total of 10 stages, which are : Muscle Forging, Tendon Grinding, Bone Refining, Nei Zhuang, Blood Changing, Meridian Puncturing, Mind Condensing, Tuotai, Xianbian and Tongshen respectively. The first stage, Muscle Forging, is a stage where one has to forge, to shape, to refine their muscles, so that they can have the strength of a horse. A successful cultivation of the first stage will give your body the strength of one battlehorse!”
“The second stage, Tendon Grinding, will refine your tendons, so a successful cultivation would lead to a great increase in battle ability, giving your body the strength of 5 battlehorses!
“After that one has to refine their bones, strengthen their inner organs, change their blood, open the meridians Ren and Du, and puncture all the meridians in the body. Next, one has to condense their mind, combine it with their body, regenerate their body from the ashes, and then reach the Xianbian stage, where one has to prepare themselves for becoming a Celestial. The last stage, Tongshen, is when one acquires the strength of the Ghost God, giving one the strength of 2000 battlehorses!”
“And at that level, one man can block over a thousand men; This is the 10th Heavenly Stage of Martial Arts! People who can be called Martial Sovereign in the Mortal Realm are at this level!”
“But, in the eyes of Celestials, the Tongshen Stage is only a foundation in order to become a Celestial. Absolutely nothing.”
“The Phase after the Mortal Body Forging Phase is the Qi Condensing Celestial Roots Phase, which is abbreviated as the Qi Condensing Phase. Reportedly, it has something to do with condensing and cultivating mana, as well as planting Celestial Roots. Hao Tian Shangxian, and all the Core Disciples, such as Su Yanli, are at this phase, able to move oceans and rivers, do almost anything!
“But, the most powerful and impressive Celestials are above the Qi Condensing Phase; Sect Leader is an example of one, a Jindan* Celestial.
After hearing about that person, searing flames could be seen in Wu Yu’s eyes. If only he could become his disciple…..
————————————————————-