Chapter 181: Enlightenment Leads to Stomach Pain.
Thunder, Buddha Land, Taiyin (the moon), Vajra...
In less than a day, Li Su had completed the integration of the four supreme scriptures.
Ability is the soil for the Tao and its methods.
The Dao is nurtured within power.
The shattered Buddha Land, the unformed Vajra Realm, the Black Light White Thunder that can only be entrusted to the Heart Blade, and the four great supernatural powers of Taiyin existing in the shadows, along with their compatibility with the abilities, begin to change.
It is a transformation, a qualitative change, a re-emergence in this real world, the true face within the World Fragment.
.
Li Su opened her eyes halfway, sensing the changes within herself, and couldn't help but take a breath.
The Buddha Land and the Ghost Domain began to tremble.
A precious light began to emanate from behind him, and a kingdom appeared. His shadow trembled beneath his feet, and the earth was outlined.
Corpses, countless corpses.
The corpses that had absorbed supernatural power during the slaying of the insect swarm began to be relentlessly strangled by these two domains.
In the Buddha Land, light overflows, transforming into a raging fire that burns the corpses of insects, extracting their Spiritual Qi and using their ashes as soil.
In the Ghost Domain, the moon shone brightly, causing everything to wither. Insects were melted, rapidly melting away. Spiritual Qi rose, corpses descended, and black mud began to grow.
Aside from a portion being absorbed by the two great supernatural powers, most of the Spiritual Qi energy flowed into Li Su's body.
The Heart Blade began to absorb and nurture the Black Light White Thunder, which landed on his heart, took root, and inoculated him.
The entire heart was encased in the Heart Blade, and Dao patterns began to appear on the left and right atria, one side black and the other white.
The power of punishment and the power of calamity are being conceived and growing.
The Indestructible Diamond Divine Art was also absorbing energy; its magnetic field was undergoing a dramatic change, transforming into countless particles that were being reconstructed, based on the Vajra Dragon Realm.
Each grain of sand is a realm, and within each realm resides a divine dragon. Each divine dragon is composed of ten thousand units of power. A single grain of sand represents a single wish, and three thousand grains of golden sand can form a world, transforming into the Great Diamond Dragon Realm.
Under the influence of the four great supernatural powers, deep within Li Su's body, the two Dao Fruits that had been sealed due to insufficient cultivation were vibrating, with great power growing and the Dao Fruits radiating precious light, recovering and reviving.
Whew!
After an unknown amount of time, Li Su opened her eyes and let out a long breath.
There was the joy of progress and the happiness of enlightenment in his eyes.
And then there's the frustration of stomach aches.
My stomach hurts so much, it really hurts so much.
It's ulcerated, it's bleeding, no, it's gushing blood.
So poor, so poor, I'm so damn poor.
Li Su's heart was bleeding.
Do you know how many insect swarms he devoured? More than 500,000, although Chengdu insect soldiers, the lowest-level kind!
Even so, that's equivalent to more than 500,000 Martial Dao Realm experts.
What does that mean?
An energy comparable to that of an ox was used, yet not one of the four great supernatural powers was fully perfected. The Buddha Land and the Ghost Domain had more, but even they only reached five percent.
To feed them all, it would probably cost at least five million, not just one, but five million for each one.
Forty or fifty million!
By the way, "feeding" here simply refers to the Daoist techniques and supernatural powers themselves reaching the limit of the Dao Arts Realm; the Dao Attainment after merging with the Dao is not included.
Dao Attainment would likely require even greater expenditure of energy.
What the heck? Why is it consuming so much energy?
The amount consumed would likely be enough to reach the peak of the Divine Power Realm, right?
Recall that the more advanced crystals that Master Zhu gave him were equivalent to about ten insects each, but the crystals contained special spiritual energy, so one piece was roughly equivalent to fifty insects.
In other words, 400,000 are needed?
Li Su didn't believe he would only retain four supernatural abilities; he was certain he would gain more next time. At the very least, the number of supernatural abilities should match his overall power, right? Otherwise, it would be too wasteful, wouldn't it?
That means there are still five Supreme Scriptures? That's equivalent to one million high-level crystals and fifty million insect corpses?
Haha, with this quantity, is he going to devour one of the three pests —Insect Calamity— entirely?
Do ordinary Immortals even need this amount of resources?
Let me tell you, you don't need to!
Why?
After merging with the Dao, Li Su's internal mana decreased by about 40%. His mana was compressed due to the merging, but even so, after entering World Fragment once to reach the threshold of the Divine Power Realm, Li Su's dantian can currently withstand 300 units of mana, and his inner river can hold 150 units. This means that even with another strengthening, it would only be 600 units. One unit is equivalent to his total absorption in a year. One blue crystal is equivalent to three days' worth of absorption, so he would need about 121 crystals a year. Filling 600 units would require approximately 70,000 crystals.
This is the normal rhythm we should be in!!!
Opening an SR card costs one million crystals? Only a lunatic would open one!!!
Li Su became withdrawn, feeling that it wouldn't be a matter of a few months of hard work for him to reach the Dao Arts Realm, but rather decades or even centuries.
Otherwise, should I apply to go to the border right now and kill pests every day?
That can't be right. After all, pests also have rest periods; they rest for half the year. Otherwise, where would so many of them come from?
You pest, what are you taking a break for?
I'm asking you to work 24/7, 365 days a year, okay? I'll keep you company, won't I?
After a while, Li Su calmed down, feeling utterly exhausted and disillusioned.
He didn't know how Ying Zhan and the others had managed to reach the Great Perfection of Dao Attainment, and now he was already about to vomit just seeing his own Divine Power Perfection.
"Have you finished cultivating?"
Old Zhu's voice rang out, carrying an almost imperceptible weariness.
Hmm? You asked him why he was so tired? Could it be due to an overreaction? Hmm, that's certainly possible. After all, watching Li Su practice his skills is truly, truly impactful. It can make one question the meaning of life, leading to feelings of having wasted one's life, or even, in severe cases, self-doubt, a complete loss of faith in one's own talent, resulting in depressive illnesses like depression.
Of course not. Although Elder Zhu was shocked, Li Su is only at the Dao Arts Realm, not yet at the Dao Divine Power Realm or the Immortal Realm, so he can still comfort himself by saying things like, "I'm stronger," or "The other person is still far behind," or "Want to catch up with me? Waaah!"
Getting back to the main point, while one-third of the reason was Li Su's talent, two-thirds was genuine exhaustion.
After all, Li Su had been meditating for over twenty days, and he had also been using his supernatural powers to shield the other party for over twenty days. Over twenty days! For a man, even if he changed into three different forms every day—one with a seductive figure, one skilled in magic, one who was unrestrained, and one with extremely high difficulty—it might be novel at first, but after over twenty days, wouldn't he be exhausted, both physically and mentally?
Minister Zhang has already left. More than twenty days ago, aside from being slightly upset because it had been so long, he also had to stay and oversee the outer perimeter of the Earth Immortal Realm. He also took Ying Zhan and Zhang Shengying with him. Firstly, the two children could go to the Earth Immortal Realm, which would undoubtedly be better for them to advance to the Divine Power Realm. Secondly, he was afraid that if the two children woke up and saw Li Su's situation, they would also have a mental breakdown.
After all, although they might be mentally unstable, their skill level is still what it is. A little self-doubt is enough for them, but if they were on the same level as Li Su, they would completely collapse. Li Su's future is important, but the two younger ones are extremely important right now.
"Yes, thank you Grandpa Zhu for looking after me!"
Li Su forced a smile. His trip to the Black Domain had been very rewarding, especially regarding stomach pain, which had made him realize the extent to which his stomach was full of ulcers.
Seeing Li Su's reaction, Old Zhu became somewhat nervous. Although they were somewhat frustrated by Li Su's talent, they were also overjoyed by his exceptional talent. They might be counting on Li Su, who had caused them so much distress, to break the deadlock in the future. He couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong? Is something amiss?"
Li Su took a deep breath, looked up at the endless black void, and after a long while said softly, "No, it's just that after I found my strength improved, my demand for resources also increased."
Old Zhu was taken aback, then couldn't help but burst into laughter. After all, the Dao Arts Realm was different from the Martial Dao Realm, so an increase in resources was inevitable. Without thinking much, he subconsciously asked, "How much is lacking? How about Grandpa Zhu helps you out?"
Li Su was stunned for a moment, then his face lit up with joy. A Celestial Realm expert supporting him? That's great! One million blue crystals might be a lot for him, but it shouldn't be a problem for a Celestial Realm expert.
However, considering that he might later comprehend supernatural powers and techniques, meaning that supernatural power cultivation alone would require approximately two million blue crystals, and then there's the path to enlightenment— for Dao Attainment, if that were one million... that would be nine million?
Not much, just twelve million blue crystals.
Li Su coughed up a mouthful of blood, shook her head, and said, "Forget it, I'll take it slowly."
If it really comes to that, even if I took my pants off, I still wouldn't be able to pay it back.
Huh? You mean it's only after the Divine Power Realm? Hah, does reaching the Divine Power Realm mean you don't need to spend money?
"Haha, worried about not being able to pay off your debts? No problem, Grandpa Zhu has plenty. It's fine if you owe him money; we won't charge you interest. You can pay it back slowly when you have the money. If you really can't pay it back, it's no big deal..."
Who is Old Zhu? He's the kind of person who'd offer benefits for no reason, let alone when the other party needs them. Of course, he didn't have the idea of bringing Li Su closer to the Dove Faction. In fact, he wasn't just shameless and manipulating the Hawk Faction; he was trying to bring out some of the overly hawkish Hawk Faction who were clearly a bit muddle-headed. With the whereabouts of the strongest fighting force unknown, they couldn't easily start a war with the Demon Race.
So we had already discussed it with Old Zhang beforehand, and we would provide Li Su with as much support as possible so that she could grow up quickly.
As for repaying the money? It's fine if you really can't repay it. Just marry my granddaughter, like a first wife, the kind of first lady.
What's yours will belong to the Zhu Family, and the Zhu Family will still belong to the Zhu Family.
Li Su's eyes lit up, and he immediately said, "Great! Grandpa Zhu, give me ten million blue crystals first!" The other party had already given him quite a lot earlier; there were almost a thousand in one bag. Blue crystals are definitely more expensive than red ones, and one blue crystal is worth as much as a hundred red ones.
If a red one is worth 100,000, then a blue one would be worth at least ten times that, or one million. After all, those at the Martial Dao Realm cannot directly absorb blue, so their value cannot be calculated at a hundred times.
In other words, the other party just handed him a billion dollars, making him a true super-rich tycoon.
"Okay, only a thousand. Wait, how much was it again?"
"Ten million, preferably twelve or twelfth million..."
Hiss~!
Old Zhu stared blankly at Li Su in disbelief. "Why so much? Like a pig? Even a pig couldn't eat this much!"
Li Su took a breath and said helplessly, "The main problem is that my supernatural powers are at their peak. I just refined about 500,000 pests, and only two of my supernatural powers reached 5%, while the others were still around 1%. 500,000 insects are roughly equivalent." He told Elder Zhu the result he had calculated.
Hearing Li Su's explanation, Old Zhu was dumbfounded and completely stunned.
Damn, he forgot that Li Su's supernatural powers and techniques are all fundamental laws. It's not an exaggeration to say that a million crystals are needed to Dao Attainment enlightenment. He used quite a lot of them back then, Dao Attainment five times, each time costing more than the last, spending a total of about 1.8 million crystals.
The expenses are really high. Even though the Zhu Family has a large fortune, they are complaining that they can't afford it anymore, and the clansmen are almost starving.
Twelve million? So they still want to get their hands on the Supreme Scripture???
You know what, with his comprehension, the chances are pretty high.
This is just unbelievable! Nine times to Dao Attainment? Is that even possible? Old Zhu's eyes darted around, and he discovered an extremely unbelievable fact: he couldn't refute it.
Nine times to Dao Attainment, wow!
Holy crap, if this works, he suddenly felt pity for the Demon Race. If this thing reaches the Divine Power Realm, wouldn't it be able to make even ordinary Immortals cry?
It seems he's about to reach the realm of immortals, so whether the Xia King returns or not doesn't really matter anymore? Maybe he shouldn't come back at all, that bastard.
No, no, no.
It's not that simple. Putting everything else aside, just the Dao Attainment alone requires nine attempts. No, even achieving enlightenment twice, according to the fundamental principles of the Supreme Scriptures, is terrifying enough.
However, the thought of the other party's exhaustion gave Old Zhu a headache.
One million eight hundred thousand almost bankrupted the Zhu Family. Twelve million? If the Zhu Family wrote that number for a hundred years, they'd probably be eating dirt.
Don't be surprised that the Zhu Family can't come up with that much money. Money is easy to come by, but that's not the problem. It's resources that are being constantly consumed.
It's fair to say that demand exceeds supply.
Why are all the human race's Divine Power Realm in the Earth Immortal Realm? Besides the fact that the Earth Immortal Realm has more particles, the main reason is to let them make money on their own; the Xia Kingdom simply can't afford to support them.
Looking at Old Zhu's expression, Li Su felt a little uneasy. Sure enough, even a big shot like him couldn't handle this number.
He had a stomach hemorrhage.
"It's alright, Grandpa Zhu. At worst, I'll go to the border, kill the pests, and exploit them for decades, even centuries. I'll eventually make my fortune..."
Old Zhu paused, then thought, "Wait a minute? Insect Calamity? Right, this kid just said he'd digested over 500,000 Insect Calamity?"
"Wait, Su'er, what did you mean when you said you could digest worms? You ate those things?"
Li Su froze, choked, and felt utterly nauseous. She spat several times, breaking out in goosebumps all over her body. "That's divine power refining, not eating!!!"
Old Zhu's eyes lit up. He was helpless against crystallization, and he was afraid that Zhang Tao and the others would also have a headache if they were all here—there were just too many.
But what if we don't give it to them? Maybe they might.
What did he just hear? This kid can eat insects and absorb nutrients?
"Really? Really? You can eat bugs?!" Old Zhu couldn't help but mutter. Insect Calamity are a real nuisance, not only because they aim to destroy the human race, but more importantly because their flesh is poisonous! They are extremely difficult to handle. So, after killing the insects, cleaning up their corpses is more troublesome than dealing with plastic waste, just like nuclear waste in the technological world.
It's not about eating!
Li Su was getting a little frantic; only a fool would eat that stuff.
"Very good, Su'er, I'll take you back first. Wait for me at the Military University for a few days. Resources are no problem; I'll get you a bug feast, I guarantee you'll be full!"
I already said, it's not about eating!!!
Li Su couldn't help but want to shout. Although resolving the resource issue was a good thing, he cared a lot about this word, really cared. Going to the Military University to wait for the other party? What if he came back and said something like, "Su'er's here to eat bugs," and then he wouldn't be able to face anyone?
Before he could speak, everything went blurry, and he was back in the cave.
Old Zhu's voice rang out from outside, "Su'er, you go back first, I'll come in a few days."
Standing at the cave entrance, Li Su took a deep breath. He decided to shout loudly, to clearly tell the other party that he absolutely did not eat insects.
Boom!
Suddenly, the Black Domain trembled, attacked from the outside. In an instant, the black space, which resembled a door, began to shake and disappeared, returning to the original land.
Ah! Ah! Ah!
Li Su couldn't help but roar in frustration, feeling that her future was bleak.
Hmm? What's that?
Just as the Black Domain space broke apart, Li Su's eyes suddenly flashed as he noticed fragments falling from the vanished Black Domain.
It is a very strange Daoist charm, its nature is indescribable, and it does not conform to people's understanding and aesthetic appreciation of the Dao at all.
However, to Li Su's surprise, it was intact; the Black Domain doesn't have any complete fragments.
He couldn't resist reaching out and covering it with his magic power, wanting to examine it closely, but he found that the Daoist aura shattered even faster once it encountered magic power.
Untouchable by magic?
Li Su paused for a moment, then pondered for a second. The Black Shadow beneath his feet trembled, and black mud overflowed, transforming into a hand that reached out and grabbed another, more intact piece.
As he watched the fragments in the Ghost Domain being gradually reclaimed and sunk into his shadow, his eyes couldn't help but flicker.
This thing... is kind of interesting?
Wait, something's not right. Does anyone have Old Zhu's contact information? I need to explain, I really don't eat it, it's supernatural power, supernatural power!
I've written 10,000 words; everyone has those days when they need to relax. I need to take a break first.