Chapter 275: Heavenly Merit
"Do you have to go?" Xiang Yu asked inside Li Yao’s spiritual sea. He thought to himself that they had quite a number of enemies, and they were all so powerful. Li Yao going out, especially now that many people recognized her as a spirit, wouldn’t that just make her an easy target?
[Well, she doesn’t really have to go. But if she doesn’t, she’ll probably lose her spirit status,] the empress said.
"Then so what? She already has other forms. Do you really need the spirit form? It’s not even that strong," Xiang Yu spoke with concern.
Li Yao also nodded in agreement. She didn’t want to go either and wanted to hang out with senior brother more. She felt as though every time she lost sight of him, something dangerous would happen.
The empress sighed deeply. [It’s not that simple. The spirit form might not be the strongest, but the status as a spirit is really important.]
"How so?" Xiang Yu asked.
[Well...let me explain the other path of cultivation,] the empress began. [The normal path is the one I told you before, where after reaching the peak of soul and body integration realm, you undergo an immortal tribulation and ascend as an immortal if you succeed.]
[The other path...] She explained that once someone reached the peak of soul and body integration realm, they could undergo the immortal tribulation, but the change here was that they could use an immortal treasure or some other means to stop the ascension. When they successfully underwent the tribulation and evaded ascension, they entered the tribulation transcendence realm.
Although this realm wasn’t as strong as a true immortal, it was still several magnitudes stronger than the soul and body integration realm. In this realm, the cultivator could always choose to ascend at any moment and would directly enter the immortal realm without needing another tribulation.
[Think of this realm like building a stronger foundation for when you eventually ascend,] the empress explained. And after advancing in this realm to its peak without ascending, a person undergoes the mortal world tribulation - not to be confused with the immortal tribulation. After undergoing the test of the mortal world, the cultivator is then awarded the Mahayana realm, also known as the perfect being.
The Mahayana realm, at its peak, represented the absolute pinnacle of the mortal world. They could dominate the mortal world completely, move at the speed of light, jump to space and explore other worlds with ease. Although a tribulation transcendence being could also do similar things, it was at a limited range since they weren’t at the level of a Mahayana realm cultivator.
At its peak, a Mahayana realm cultivator could be considered half-step immortal. [With that kind of foundation, you’ll be even stronger when you break through to the immortal realm, at least a few times stronger than someone who ascended at the soul and body integration realm,] the empress explained.
[As to how all this is related to the spirit status, well... a spirit is considered a possession of the world. This means that you belong to this world and won’t need a treasure to stop the ascension. You can continue roaming free in this world even if you become an immortal,] the empress explained.
[This means that you can build the strongest of foundations before finally ascending,] she concluded.
Xiang Yu thought to himself that this made sense. If she became an immortal, she could continue protecting them without being forcefully ascended to the immortal realm. Besides, they had already agreed with the other sect masters to fight the demons anyway, so it wasn’t like anything had changed.
Actually, he preferred this sort of arrangement. If you ascended normally, you were just a beginner in a hardcore survival map, facing unknown dangers and powerful enemies. But if you became an immortal and remained here, you were essentially in creative mode. You could then use this time to build up your strength and ascend on your own terms when you were truly ready.
The empress then turned to look directly at Xiang Yu with interest. [Won’t you go too? There are many other benefits to hunting the demons,] she asked.
...
"Who? Me?" Xiang Yu asked, looking behind him as if there might be someone else the empress was addressing.
[Of course you, who else?] the empress spoke with exasperation.
"Senior brother is going too? It’ll be like a date!" Li Yao instantly jumped up in excitement.
"No, I’m not going. It’s too dangerous," Xiang Yu said firmly, shaking his head.
[Don’t you want to know the benefits?] the empress asked.
Xiang Yu thought to himself that he didn’t really care, there were no benefits that would possibly make him change his mind.
"What kind of benefits?" he asked.
[Well, since the world is in danger because of the demon invasion, people who contribute to saving the world by killing the demons are awarded heavenly merit,] she explained.
"Heavenly merit? Can Yao Yao eat it?" the small Yao Yao suddenly joined in, popping up from seemingly nowhere.
The empress stared at her with narrowed eyes, and she quickly hid behind Xiang Yu.
[Didn’t I tell you to sit there when adults are talking?] the empress spoke sternly.
"Senior brother, the granny is angry," she said, peeking from behind him.
[Granny?] The empress clutched her heart, looking genuinely wounded. She had never been called that in her whole life! Even if she was a little old, she was still a young girl in her prime. She would never lose out in beauty even in front of the love goddess or the phoenix saintess.
Xiang Yu patted Yao Yao’s head gently. "Yao Yao, don’t interfere when we’re talking. I’ll play with you once we’re done, okay?" he asked with a patient smile.
"Oki!" she said cheerfully as she ran away to entertain herself elsewhere.
[Ahem, as I was saying, when you kill the demons, you can receive heavenly merit,] the empress continued, trying to regain her composure.
"What’s that?" Xiang Yu asked.
[Think of it like a blessing from the world. You can use this heavenly merit to increase your cultivation, and if you have enough of it, you can even upgrade your talent,] she explained with enthusiasm.
Xiang Yu was shocked upon hearing this. Upgrade talent? But then he calmed down quickly. Well, his system could already do that anyway through the experience doubling effect. As he was thinking of this dismissively, his eyes suddenly widened as he realized something.
"Wait, does that mean...".
The empress smiled knowingly. [You figured it out?]
...
Author’s Corner
Hi guys, thanks for taking the time to read my book. It’s almost the end of the month, it went by so fast. We’ll probably reach tier 3 win win in the next day or two. I’ll do a five Chapter mass release as always before the end of the month.
Also, Volume 3 is ending in about thirty Chapters or so. I had planned to write a volume each month but oh well...