Immortals of the End Times

Chapter 40: Breakthrough to True Nature, the Exquisite Grotto-Heaven
After taking the second Golden Jade Pill and refining it, Zhao Wuji trembled violently, and pale golden mist seeped from his seven orifices.

This is a sign that the medication was taken too much in a short period of time, resulting in excessive drug effects and causing some rejection, which the body could not fully absorb at once.

"Refine!"

Zhao Wuji's eyes blazed as he continued to intensify the ingestion technique. After his internal energy circulated throughout his limbs and bones, it suddenly surged through the Yuzhen acupoint.

"boom!"

It felt as if a thunderclap had exploded on the top of his head.

Three wisps of white vapor rose from the Baihui acupoint, gathered at the top of the head, and emitted wisps of white smoke. Sweat poured down the body like rain, cleansing the marrow and skin, as if ascending to immortality.

Ultimately, the profound internal energy returns to the dantian, embracing the unity and condensing into drops of crystal-clear true energy, like piled eggs, which is the realm of the Grandmaster of Returning to Truth.

At this moment, the sound of the night watchman's drum faintly came from a hundred feet away, and before they knew it, midnight had arrived.

Zhao Wuji felt that after the breakthrough, not only his body, which had undergone marrow cleansing, but also his soul and spiritual senses seemed to have become stronger, and were still slowly growing stronger.

The spiritual awareness surged like a tide, covering a hundred feet.

The crisp sound of snow falling from dead branches, the trembling of winter ants' antennae in the cracks of the ground, and even the sound of icicles melting from the eaves are all taken into my perception.

This level of perception, while not as exaggerated as that of the Immortal Dao Condensation Realm where one can travel tens or hundreds of miles, is still extremely astonishing.

The eunuch leader who died tragically in the past used this method to lock onto his vital energy, and now he can do it too.

However, thinking about the dangers of taking the medicine continuously just now, Zhao Wuji immediately reflected on his actions.

"Although I have the skill of ingesting food, it will take at least a few days to recover. Otherwise, there is a slight risk."

Feeling the abundant spiritual power and true energy within his body, Zhao Wuji was in high spirits.

At this moment, in the dantian, the true qi was crystal clear, like stacked eggs, while the spiritual power condensed into a ball shaped like a virgin pill, drifting slowly in wisps.

The Nine Yin Nine Yang Pearls revealed the cultivator's cultivation level.

"Cultivation level in Immortal Path: First level of Qi Refining (78/100), Cultivation level in Martial Path: Returning to Truth Realm (0/100)"

Having reached the True Realm, his martial arts had already reached the pinnacle of his time.

At this rate, he will be able to break through to the second level of Qi Refining without having to wait until the spring of next year.

However, compared to the immortal path, which depletes spiritual energy, martial arts are also an indispensable means of protecting one's path in this era of declining Dharma.

After all, one can't always deplete one's spiritual power by casting spells when encountering minor troubles.

He put away the other two pills, calmed his breathing, extinguished the furnace fire, got up and walked out of the pill room, calling the medicine boy Xiaoyue in to clean up the mess.

Three days later, battle reports suddenly arrived in the capital, turning the year-end into a bloodbath.

The news that Hou Chuchen, the Grand Preceptor of the Qian Kingdom, was personally leading 80,000 Wolf Armor Army soldiers to invade the border was like a thunderbolt, shattering the festive atmosphere of the imperial city and instantly making the atmosphere heavy.

Rumor has it that the Grand Preceptor Hou can summon wind and snow with a wave of his hand and freeze ice blades with his breath. Even Grand Preceptor Fang is no match for him, and Gushan Pass is in grave danger.

At the same time, doubts and rumors about immortality began to circulate among the people and became increasingly rampant.

Even the statement made by the National Preceptor Fang at the Penglai Immortal Gathering about accepting immortal disciples in the spring spread like wildfire.

However, people from different social classes have completely different feelings about this and know all the inside information.

Inside the eastern mansion of the imperial city, the Minister of War listened to his son's tale of his yearning for immortality, took a snuff from his snuff bottle, and scoffed indifferently: "Immortal cultivation? Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han sought immortality their whole lives, but in the end, weren't they all just a handful of dust?"
These national advisors nowadays seem to be able to command the wind and rain, but can they really achieve immortality?
Cultivating immortality requires talent that is one in a million, as well as resources. That is the power of royalty, how could ordinary people possibly have a glimpse of it?
That Imperial Physician Zhao from the inner city, obsessed with seeking immortality and enlightenment, look at what he's accomplished yet! He's getting on in years and still hasn't settled down!
You little brat, get back to practicing your martial arts! What's with this spring's qualification verification? If you dare go, I'll break your legs. You'd better start producing an heir for me!"

In a certain prefectural city, a salt merchant's daughter, upon hearing the battle report, gazed at her reflection in a bronze mirror and chuckled foolishly, "If the path to immortality is real, a person as intelligent and talented as me should be accepted as a disciple by the Imperial Preceptor... I've heard that cultivating immortality can grant eternal youth?"

The different rentier classes reacted differently.

Although they yearned for it, they also vaguely knew that the qualifications required and the control exerted by the royal family were unfathomable, a world that not just anyone could step into. Meanwhile, the common people at the bottom of society worried about the daily necessities of food and clothing, and the flow of information was also very limited.

Instead of worrying about the ethereal world of cultivation, I'd rather focus on whether this year's spring tax can be reduced by 30%, or whether the butcher can give me some of that half-price fat.

In the eyes of most ordinary people, it is normal for a great figure like the Imperial Preceptor to know some magic, otherwise how could he become the Imperial Preceptor?

Now that the Grand Tutor has personally led the army, the flames of war on the front lines will not reach our homeland, and the people will finally be able to live a good life.

Just as the world was abuzz with discussion, hundreds of miles away from the Xuan Kingdom's imperial palace...

The Hengyun Mountains resemble a soaring dragon coiled between heaven and earth, shrouded in mist and clouds, making them difficult for ordinary people to find.

Behind that towering cliff lies a secluded paradise, a paradise isolated from the world.

Outside the mountain, magnificent buildings are built along the mountain slope, with flying eaves and brackets appearing and disappearing among the sea of ​​clouds.

The mountain's surface is studded with numerous fragments of source crystals, which refract a rainbow of colors under the sunlight, resembling a cascading galaxy.

The entire cave was shrouded in a transparent barrier, like flowing water, which kept out the turbid air of the Dharma-ending Age.

Occasionally, a spirit bird would fly by, its wings creating ripples as they touched the barrier, producing a clear and melodious cry.

This is a pure land in the Dharma-ending Age, with extremely special terrain and feng shui. It is one of the surviving blessed lands after the depletion of spiritual energy, and is known as the Linglang Grotto Heaven.

At this very moment, in one of the stone halls, a gilded lion-shaped incense burner was exhaling a faint mist of ambergris.

Emperor Zhaoming leaned back on the jade couch, wearing a black Taoist robe with dragon patterns, his hair casually tied up with a green jade hairpin.

He tapped the table lightly with his fingertips, as if listening or deep in thought.

A middle-aged Taoist priest dressed in a cloud-patterned crane cloak sat opposite him, looking composed and clearly of great importance. They were discussing the great war that the Qian Kingdom had recently launched.

"Junior brother, what do you think of Hou Chuchen, the Grand Preceptor of the Qian Kingdom? He is a peerless immortal, and he has already mastered one of the Three Cloud Phoenix Techniques of the Cloud Phoenix Cave. Is your Grand Preceptor a match for him this time?"

"Hou Chuchen, the Imperial Preceptor of the Qian Kingdom?"

Emperor Zhaoming's eyes flashed with a cold light, but his voice was as calm as a clear spring, "He is just a 'fisherman of the cold river.' Even if he has some skill, Fang Shiyu is more than capable of assisting Fu Yuntao with his Heart-Clearing Staff and guarding Gushan Pass."

With a flick of his finger, the battle report on the table flipped open without wind, revealing a line of red ink annotation: "Cultivators from the Qian Kingdom participated in the battle wielding magical artifacts."

"What I am worried about is not Hou Chuchen, but Li Yanping."

The emperor sneered, "A mere commander of the Qian Kingdom dares to tear up the Tiannan Treaty and allow cultivators to slaughter mortals with magical weapons... If Yunfeng Cave Heaven didn't give him permission, how could he have such audacity?"

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged Taoist priest Yu Linzi flicked his whisk slightly and sneered, "Junior Brother Zhang is overthinking it. The old immortal Yunfeng is nearing the end of his lifespan, and his disciples are running out of successors."

This time, seeing that the Tiannan Secret Realm was about to open, and unwilling to fail to secure enough spots, they tried to cause trouble and extort some resources to prolong their lives.

Since she dared to tear up the Tiannan Treaty, not only my Linlang Cave Heaven, but also the Yun Kingdom's 'Xuanxiao Cave' and the Yu Kingdom's 'Qingming Cave' can all be wiped out!

"I'm afraid it's not that simple."

Emperor Zhaoming's eyes were deep. "Nowadays, the two kingdoms of Yun and Yu are also constantly at odds. The White Bone Path is stirring up trouble and is too busy to take care of itself. All they are doing is trying to secure the entry quotas for the Tiannan Secret Realm."

I have a feeling that someone with great power is deliberately stirring up trouble.

Yunfeng the Old Immortal seemed to have some insight into this, and seized the opportunity to act accordingly. She was already nearing her end and dared to risk her life, but which of the other cave masters would be so reckless?

Yu Linzi shook his head: "There's no need for you, Junior Brother, to worry about the power struggles between these cave masters."

Recently, rumors have been circulating throughout the Xuan Kingdom, suggesting that everyone aspires to become a dragon (a metaphor for achieving greatness) by discussing the revival of the immortal path.
Junior brother, our grotto is only mentioning that we'll recruit a group of qualified people in the spring to explore that secret realm in the future. We're not really going to give away resources for the whole world to share.”

Double rewards for four days only! Time to go, everyone! Please vote for me, my friends!

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(End of this chapter)