Chapter 1078: The Path of the Extreme Immortal
At almost the exact same instant that Xu Qing’s mask appeared.... In another spatial fragment, Grand Emperor Devilbird was working with Netherflame’s clone to keep the empress under control. Apparently, Grand Emperor Devilbird sensed what had just happened, as his expression flickered, and he turned to look in the direction of Xu Qing. All of a sudden, rumbling sounds seemed to fill his heart and mind.
He knew exactly what that mask was! He had searched the Devilbird holy land for years looking for it. However, just as that black-robed man had said, the mask... didn’t want to be found. In fact, the more you looked for it, the less likely you would be to find it.
“I can’t believe he has it!” Grand Emperor Devilbird said, inhaling sharply. He turned, planning to break free from the fighting to go after the mask.
But then... the empress’ eyes glittered coldly despite being locked down by the Grand Emperor and Netherflame’s clone. Shē took a step forward, breaking free from all obstacles and bindings.
Grand Emperor Devilbird could not possibly break free.
***
The moment Xu Qing gave voice to his wish, the mask smiled broadly and gruishly. At the same time, a voice drifted out to fill the surrounding world.
“Granted. As for the price—”
The masks’ smile grew even more gruish as it spoke, but before the words were completely spoken, it crumbled into ashes.
As it disappeared, Xu Qing’s fleshly body rumbled loudly, and a force filled him, so powerful it was difficult to put into words. It surpassed the power of gods or cultivators or heavenly bodies or even the universe. It became a stream of energy that swept over Xu Qing’s current fleshly body. The void crumbled, separating from all things. Nothing could stop this force. Nothing could block it.
Xu Qing shivered from head to toe as his fleshly body started crumbling to pieces. It started with the face. Then the flesh seemed to lose its capacity to stick to the body and began peeling off. As it did, it turned into crystalline light.
Next, the half of the body covered with veins also collapsed, and also turned into crystalline light. Ultimately, both halves of the body crumbled because of the unimaginable wish power.....
The incredible life force within the body scattered. All elements that could sustain life were extracted. The flesh couldn’t remain as a whole, and the shocking power reverted it to its most primitive state.
The crystalline light actually came from countless transparent crystals that normally weren’t visible, which bound the flesh together.
Those crystals had no color. They simply reflected the color of the world around them. Because all impurities had been removed from them, any consciousness that had remained in them was wiped out. And as that happened, they became the ultimate origin of life force. They became primeval essence!
Xu Qing’s soul hovered within the light. And as his divine will spread out, the countless crystals began to swirl around and collide with each other....
As they absorbed Xu Qing’s color, and as they sucked in his energy, they began to form life force sparks that belonged to Xu Qing. They contained Xu Qing’s memories. They contained reversals of time and transpositions of space. They contained the intersections of daoist magics. In other words... they relied on Xu Qing’s soul to pulse with the soul essence of Xu Qing’s life force.
It was like a guidepost. Xu Qing’s soul essence guided the crystals to reverse engineer his body. It was a process that would normally take a long time, as it was essentially creating something from nothing.
Xu Qing opened his eyes in soul form. He looked at the huge cauldron and everything around it, including the countless blue worms.
“Eldest Brother, give me my remains.”
The moment he spoke via divine will, the blue worms started shining with blue light, and from within the forehead of each flew a gray light. The light converged to form a golden bone fragment. That fragment was what had been left behind when Xu Qing self-detonated. It was a physical manifestation of his essence!
It merged into Xu Qing’s soul, and the power of the wish began making his body anew. And this time, it was more perfect.
In an instant, the guidance of his soul caused the innumerable crystals to rush to the golden bone fragment. They became nutrients. They became the power of life force essence that caused the bone... to start growing! Gradually, it turned into a complete bone.
More bones began to grow. Then veins spread out, along with flesh. Then skin.... And then, as Erniu watched on excitedly, and as the surrounding world bore witness... Xu Qing’s familiar old body formed!
He was tall, with flowing violet hair, and a perfect face that could only be described as incomparably perfect. His aura was not that of an immortal. It was not that of a god. It was that of a mortal! He was back in his original mortal form! He was like a newborn infant. A sense of purity filled him. A sense of cleanliness inundated him.
Xu Qing’s soul was perfectly fused, and it was telling him... that this really was his own body. His soul was telling him... that this was the most suitable form for him.
Xu Qing opened his eyes. He felt as if he had been reborn. It was as if he had gone back to the very beginning.
“This is my true self,” he murmured. “The fleshly body made from Eminent Desolation is now a god clone of mine.”
He looked up. He wasn’t looking at the refinement going on in the cauldron. He didn’t look at the empress. Instead, he fixed his gaze on the crystalline light. Remolding his own body had only taken part of the life force essence from Netherflame’s body. And his new fleshly body didn’t even have a cultivation base. Now, an idea that had been percolating in the back of his mind for years was suddenly a real possibility.
I’ve walked the path of gods, and the limitations I faced made progress slow. Every step involved breaking through powerful shackles. In the end, I don’t think it’s the right path for me to walk. Maybe my god clone could walk it. I need to get that clone back... and let it walk the pure path of the gods. As for my true self, I need to walk... the pure way of immortals! That is the appropriate path for me!
Eyes shining with determination, he unhesitatingly inhaled. Instantly, the essence crystals shot toward him, entered his body, and turned into pure spirit energy. It flowed through his meridians, instantly giving a cultivation base to his mortal body.
First level of Qi Condensation! In the blink of an eye, the essence poured into him, causing his cultivation base to advance at freakishly indescribable speed. He went right to the tenth level of Qi Condensation. For most cultivators, the tenth level was the limit of Qi Condensation. But Xu Qing’s fleshly body had been made anew with primeval essence. Because of that, his limitations were beyond ordinary. He quickly jumped to the nineteenth level of Qi Condensation!
Only then did he break through to Foundation Establishment. 121 dharma apertures opened in an instant. But then, an additional 26 hidden apertures were blown open by the essence power. This was absolutely unprecedented! Rumbling sounds echoed out as 147 dharma apertures shone dazzlingly as they turned into life flames.
They didn’t become five flames. They became nine! And then, Xu Qing’s life lamps appeared beneath the nine flames. Life lamps were made from one’s blood. And Xu Qing’s life lamps looked like sundials. As they appeared one by one, his life lamps raged high.
Watching this happen left Erniu feeling deeply shaken. He had lived many lives, yet had never seen anything like this before.
However, I do remember hearing about... the legendary path of the extreme immortal in the Deep Earth star ring....
Meanwhile, Xu Qing’s cultivation base continued to climb. Nine flames erupted, giving rise to heavenly palaces.
Legend had it that in Deep Earth, there were a total of thirty-three heavens. That legend was now becoming a reality in Xu Qing’s sea of consciousness. Thirty-three heavenly palaces rumbled into being, becoming completely true and real. And within each of the heavenly palaces was a nascent soul, seated cross-legged and glittering with silvery light.
Each looked like an immortal. Every step Xu Qing took reached an extreme ultimate limit. This was the pure path of the immortal that Xu Qing wanted to walk. It was also the ‘extreme path of the immortal’ that Erniu had mentioned.
After Nascent Soul was Spirit Trove, and thanks to the stimulation of the primeval essence crystals, he reached the peak of that level as well. Nine huge troves erupted like nine staggering volcanoes. Rumbling sounds echoed out from within Xu Qing, spreading far and wide. If you looked closely, you would see that the nine secret troves were like erupting furnaces. However, they were empty inside. They had no divine abilities or daoist magics.
Xu Qing thought about all his divine abilities. And then, astonishingly, a dandelion seed appeared in one of his secret troves. That dandelion seed contained an imprint of the original divine ability that Xu Qing had fully mastered.
It was... Fishing the Moon in the Well!
Fishing the Moon in the Well’s substructure... is formed from the void. It’s about creating something from nothing. It is a dao related to space. And now, I make it one of my Spirit Trove secret magics. As for the second....
Xu Qing stared at the dandelion seed with Fishing the Moon in the Well in it, all while putting more thought into the subject. Suddenly, the dandelion seed superimposed on itself. Then, it split, becoming a host of dandelion seeds that spread through his sea of consciousness. Xu Qing’s heart sank at the sight of it.
At the same time, the profoundly ancient voice of a woman spoke by means of the dandelion seeds, her voice echoing in his sea of consciousness.
“There’s no need for such confusion. I’m using a secret magic to transmit my divine will to you. You’ve finally stepped onto the extreme path of immortals in Deep Earth. Last time, I gave you ten breaths of time to gain enlightenment of the immortal essence of Deep Earth. Today, based on the ancient agreement, you step onto the extreme path of immortals as a mortal, and therefore I’m giving you thirty breaths of time. [1]
“Deep Earth has a daoist magic called the Eight Extreme Daos. If you are connected to this daoist magic by destiny, you can obtain it. I have nothing more to say.” [2]
The voice faded away.
***
Outside of the Devilbird holy land, in the imperial capital of humankind in the Revered Ancient mainland, there was a bustling area within which was an ancient temple. Despite being in such a busy location, no passersby realized it was there. It was almost as if it didn’t exist within reality.
An old man was just on his way out of the temple. He looked bleak.
The very same palace lord that Xu Qing had met in the Summer Immortal Palace years ago was seated there cross-legged, looking sorrowfully at the departing figure.
Next to the palace lord was a little butterfly, who said, “Master, who was that old fellow? And why are you helping that other guy I hate? And also, why do you look so sad?”
The palace lord of the Summer Immortal Palace sighed softly. “He’s an old friend of mine. Unfortunately, a storm is coming, and I’m not sure if his umbrella can hold up to it.”[3]
1. Reference for “ten breaths of time” ischapter 808 . ☜
2. Most readers in Chinese seemed to agree that these Eight Extreme Daos are the same as the Celestial Ancestor’s Eight Extreme Dao(s) that were first mentioned in Renegade Immortal chapter 1917 , and were elaborated on inchapter 1957 and subsequent chapters of that novel. ☜
3. The ‘storm is coming’ here is literally a ‘transformation to sky/heaven’ and is also a common metaphor referring to a change in rulership, regime, or the general situation of a land/nation. I’m opting for the ‘storm is coming’ translation because of the way it flows here and in other places. The vast majority of readers in the comments section in Chinese seemed to take the umbrella to be a metaphor, although there were a couple comments mentioning actual umbrellas or parasols that existed in other novels in the Er Gen universe. ☜