"Useless! Can’t even move me!" Zhang Chen grumbled as he got up.
At this moment, upon hearing Zhang Chen’s mockery, Fox Fairy Nannan glared at him with raised brows: "Kid, I can move a hundred pounds, but you must weigh at least one hundred and twenty pounds now, right? How rude of you! Don’t you know your own weight? And I, the ancestor, have dignity and intelligence. Can you discuss with me before ordering me around every time? Respect me a bit?"
The words of the Fox Spirit carried a sense of grievance and a hint of humility!
Zhang Chen, hearing this, glanced at the Fox Spirit, not bothering to respond. A mere ’humanoid skill’ had no rights in front of him.
However, the Fox Spirit’s lack of strength disrupted his plan to fly, and he needed to think of a way to enter the underground crack.
But this was not a problem for Zhang Chen. With just a thought in his mind, the underground river water rose up, turning into a staircase made of water that appeared beneath Zhang Chen’s feet.
"This ability of yours?" Fox Spirit was dumbfounded upon seeing Zhang Chen’s Water Control Technique: "It’s absolutely amazing!"
"Lead the way," Zhang Chen said to the Fox Spirit.
The Fox Spirit didn’t dare to delay and hurriedly led the way, with Zhang Chen following behind. Wherever they went, the water bridge constantly changed, turning into icy steps supporting his stride across the void.
"With such means at your disposal, you can freely influence the material world. Really enviable indeed."
Fox Spirit looked at the winding water bridge under Zhang Chen’s feet, a trace of envy in their eyes.
"What? Is this skill rare?" Zhang Chen inquired nonchalantly.
The Fox Spirit’s eyes turned greedy green: "Extremely rare! You’ll understand in the future."
Saying this, the Fox Spirit looked at Zhang Chen cautiously probing: "You were clearly an ordinary mortal before, why do you suddenly have so many mystical abilities overnight? Could it be you obtained them from the Ancient Celestial Human Tomb?"
The Fox Spirit suspected Zhang Chen had entered that Ancient Celestial Human Tomb and acquired abilities from there, which gave him the opportunity to retaliate against them. Otherwise, how could he be so sure there was a tomb within the stone wall?
Thinking of this, the Fox Spirit felt regretful, almost jumping on their feet. How come they didn’t examine diligently before, and now someone else picked up the treasure, reducing them to a slave.
With deep sadness, they lamented the misfortune that despite guarding this place for over ten years, they found nothing. Why couldn’t such fortune reveal itself to them?
If time could be rewound, the Fox Immortal Ancestor Nannan would surely turn the land upside down, relentlessly searching for the Ancient God’s tomb to obtain such heaven-defying skills, so as to enslave this lad, have him carrying a sedan for them, washing and folding clothes for them.
The Fox Fairy Nannan’s thoughts were written all over her face, seeing which amused Zhang Chen, though he said nothing. It was a wonderful misunderstanding.
Soon the two of them arrived at the gorge, but fortunately, Zhang Chen was holding a Luminous Pearl and wasn’t afraid of the darkness ahead. The Fox Fairy Nannan led the way to a stone wall on one side, where there was a slightly uneven stone platform about two meters in size. It was dry with some pots, pans, salt, and firewood.
However, seeing those pots and pans, Zhang Chen’s face immediately darkened because those items were very familiar—they were from his own house.
"You are still making a fire and cooking here?" Zhang Chen didn’t bother arguing with the Fox Spirit, but simply asked. Since they had become his skill now, there would be plenty of opportunities to command and retaliate in the future, creating greater value for him.
"Five years ago, my ancestor fought with someone and was gravely injured, hiding here to recuperate. For two years, I came here day and night to cook and serve." Fox Fairy Nannan replied.
"Ancestor?" Hearing this, Zhang Chen couldn’t help but freeze, a tingle of dread running through him—there’s actually another Fox Spirit? And an ancestor level one at that?
That’s terrifying!
Just one Fox Fairy Nannan was already difficult to handle, let alone the Fox Immortal Ancestor?
"Where’s your ancestor?" Zhang Chen asked seemingly casually, though secretly cautious.
"It seems they were scheming something with you humans ’Yellow Something Dao’, and haven’t returned since they left back then." Fox Fairy Nannan said.
"What stage is your ancestor’s cultivation?" Zhang Chen asked.
"Already condensed a Yin Spirit!" Fox Fairy Nannan spoke with a hint of pride.
"Condensed a Yin Spirit? What realm is that?" Zhang Chen was puzzled.
"It’s one level higher than mine." Fox Immortal Maiden Nannan replied.
"Tell me about the cultivation levels." Zhang Chen inquired with curiosity.
Fox Fairy Nannan had a peculiar expression as she replied, "Strictly speaking, there are no cultivation levels in this world. The levels I mentioned are merely based on the development of the spiritual world by cultivators."
Perplexed, Zhang Chen listened as Fox Spirit explained: "Humans have Martial Dao, which goes through Ming Jin, Dark Force, Huajin, Core Embracing, and then Seeing God. Seeing God means seeing one’s own soul, which is the divine spirit within a person’s body. The realm of Seeing God represents the limit of physical strength, and once at this realm, the path of cultivation is essentially cut off."
"During Ancient Times, beings possessed superpowers, using them as guidance, paving a path of cultivation for the common world. However, later on, something unknown happened to Heaven and Earth, and the secret technique for soul cultivation beyond Seeing God was lost. Until sixty years ago, a Seeing God expert roamed famous mountains and rivers, searching for reclusive master, seeking the wonderful technique to breakthrough beyond Seeing God, pursuing extraordinariness against the mysterious world with a human body. Accidentally slipping into an Ancient Divine Tomb, found a tattered manuscript and discovered the Refining God method within, luckily breaking through to the Soul Emergence realm, thus pioneering the postnatal cultivation technique and opening a new Chapter."
"Therefore, I say we, born with superpowers, are natural divine beings. Those so-called Refining God Mantras are merely post-cultivation techniques. If we find fleshly bodies with such techniques, we can easily slay them, hence not worthy of concern." Fox Spirit remarked.
Zhang Chen listened, deep in thought, yet dared not underestimate spiritual cultivation techniques. The spiritual world surely wasn’t as superficial as the Fox Spirit described.
"What do you mean by saying there are no cultivation realms?" Zhang Chen inquired.
Fox Fairy Nannan explained: "The spiritual domain is so mysterious; everyone has been exploring it for less than sixty years, naturally cultivating in their own ways. My references to Yin Spirit or Soul Emergence, are just talents born after the soul grows stronger."
"However, cultivating in the spiritual domain is extremely mysterious and difficult. Among your humans, only a minuscule number have unearthed transmissions, but it’s uncertain if they’ve truly stepped in. I’ve heard that among you, around a dozen Grandmasters at Seeing God stage suddenly went mad on some day, likely encountering setbacks during Soul Emergence." Fox Fairy Nannan continued: "Spiritual cultivation is not a simple affair. If unsuccessful, it can severely damage the soul, causing insanity."
"The cultivation realms I mentioned are merely what my ancestors verified themselves, with abilities gained during cultivation determined each stage’s name. The first stage allows for Soul Emergence. The second stage permits moving at night. The third stage renders fear of the sun unnecessary, allowing movement under the blazing sun. The fourth stage allows for object manipulation. The fifth stage ignores life’s magnetic field and lets you possess a living body. The sixth stage enables manifestation in front of a mortal’s naked eye. The seventh stage allows you to seize another’s body. The eighth stage is Yin Spirit, yet even I don’t understand this realm as my ancestor has only just stepped into it without detailing it to me."
The Fox Fairy Nannan didn’t withhold anything.
"Humans haven’t tread in the spiritual world, yet your ancestor reached the Yin Spirit stage?" Zhang Chen’s pupils shrunk rapidly, filled with disbelief.
He really wanted to ask: Why?
"My ancestor is different; she is a born divine being, wielding energy that can influence the soul, naturally mastering cultivation like a fish in water. Additionally, my ancestor possesses a unique ability to quickly heal soul injuries, allowing quicker and farther progress." Fox Fairy Nannan said with pride on their face.
Gazing at the Fox Fairy Nannan, myriad thoughts churned within Zhang Chen. Yet he felt that spiritual cultivation wasn’t as simple as Fox Fairy Nannan portrayed it. Couldn’t humans also use inherent skills for rapid cultivation just like the Fox Spirit? Aren’t there naturally-born superpower users among the human race?
But all this was too distant for him, his current task was to excavate that Ancient Divine Tomb!