Grandmaster Mang Jun

Chapter 43: Grandmaster Mang Jun

Billowing demonic qi surged straight upward, black smoke spreading and curling through the air. Countless terrifying auras rose from below. The Yin Yang Spirit hovered in midair, its flaming eyes gazing down, a trace of wariness showing through. "I never imagined Big Brother's cultivation had already reached such a level. All one hundred and eight of his avatars have attained the peak of the Heavenly Immortal realm. Then what of his true body?" At the thought, he couldn't help shivering.

Whoosh!

The Yin Yang Spirit plunged down at incredible speed and entered the black smoke of demonic qi. Yin-yang power surged around him, forcing the demonic qi and smoke to give way. He descended to the ground without trouble, where he saw nothing but sinister giant trees and grotesque flowers and plants. Countless branches of varying thickness twisted and coiled like living creatures; at a glance, they looked like countless snakes and pythons. Their surfaces were covered with demonic thorns, their inner blue light glimmering and their fragrance faint. The flowers and plants were much the same.

Though the Yin Yang Spirit knew the dangers hidden in the scene before him, these demonic trees and flowers were all at least early-stage Heavenly Immortals in cultivation. The one hundred and eight bizarre, brilliant-gold giant trees had reached the peak of the Heavenly Immortal realm. Most frightening of all were the demonic thorns. No matter how powerful the armor, the thorns could pierce it with ease. They contained a deadly poison that, in just two or three breaths, would turn soul, flesh, bones, and internal organs into black blood and demonic qi.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!...

With the Yin Yang Spirit's arrival, thousands upon thousands of branches swept toward him like a thousand snakes and ten thousand pythons. The demonic thorns trembled, ready to shoot out at the slightest contact and pierce his body, unleashing their poison.

"Big Brother, your younger brother Yin Yang has come to pay you a visit!" These attacks were no weaker than those of an early-stage Heavenly Immortal, but they posed no threat in the Yin Yang Spirit's eyes. Even so, he didn't dare damage anything. He was deeply wary of his mysterious Big Brother and wouldn't dare offend him in the slightest.

The branches abruptly stopped, then withdrew, continuing to coil and twist. At the same time, a steady, gentle voice rang out. "So it's Yin Yang. Come in." The voice sounded like that of a young man in his early twenties.

Hearing it, the Yin Yang Spirit quickly cupped his hands in greeting, then hurried inside. As he went, he saw one strange giant tree after another—one hundred and eight in all. Each stood several hundred zhang tall and several zhang thick, its entire body a dazzling gold. Golden light blazed from their luxuriant branches and leaves. Each leaf was the size of a dustpan, perfectly round, and faintly marked with thousands upon thousands of pale-gold runes, obscure and profound, as if containing the ultimate principles of the Way. Just looking at them made the Yin Yang Spirit's eyes ache. Shock filled his heart. "These are only avatars, yet Junmang can still affect me. Big Brother's cultivation... terrifying!"

As he went deeper into the forest, his eyes suddenly brightened. A brilliant-gold giant tree, forty-nine zhang tall, came into view. It was no different from the trees he had seen before, only much smaller. Yet the Yin Yang Spirit understood that the power it contained far surpassed that of those golden trees at the peak of the Heavenly Immortal realm.

A figure sat cross-legged beneath the golden tree. It was a young man, around twenty years old, exceptionally handsome. He wore an eye-catching golden Daoist robe embroidered with myriad trees reaching toward the heavens. A golden crown rested on his head, and in his hand he held a forked branch of brilliant gold. His eyes were vast and deep as the cosmic starry sky, impossible to fathom.

Seeing the young man, the Yin Yang Spirit gaped in bewilderment. The young man saw this and smiled calmly. "You needn't be confused. This is a Pangu Daoist body conjured from my magic power, not a transformed body. What brings you to see me?"

Feeling that the young man's cultivation was no lower than his own, the Yin Yang Spirit shuddered, his face full of admiration. "Big Brother's divine abilities are vast, and your magic power reaches to the heavens and earth. I, your younger brother, am in awe. I've come to bother you because there's something I'd like to ask your help with." As he spoke, he hurriedly cupped his hands and bowed, his manner utterly sincere.

The young man raised a hand, and the Yin Yang Spirit couldn't bow any lower. His heart shook with astonishment. The Yin Yang Spirit had already reached the early stage of the Profound Immortal realm, yet before this young man, he was like a child*. And this young man was only a manifestation of magic power, with but a tenth of his true body's cultivation. Truly, he was terrifying!

"Big Brother's cultivation has probably already reached the supreme heights of the peak Profound Immortal realm," he thought in shock.

"Whatever brings you here, just tell me." The young man slowly closed his eyes and began to inhale and exhale. Two strands of spiritual energy extended and retracted within his nostrils. Above his head appeared a clear, watery mass of auspicious cloud, more than a mu in size, glowing with treasure light. The phantom images of the Three Flowers surfaced on it from time to time. Five-colored qi filled his chest, dividing into the five elements. At that moment, in the Yin Yang Spirit's perception, the young man seemed to have become one with the surrounding natural world.

The unity of heaven and man!

True unity of heaven and man!

Upon reaching the early stage of Hexu, one could unite with heaven and man, borrowing the power of the natural world nearby for one's own use. But that wasn't true unity of heaven and man; it was a divine ability drawing in that power. The young man, however, was utterly natural. With a mere gesture, he could unleash the immense might of heaven and earth, its natural power, without using divine abilities to forcibly draw it in. The two were worlds apart.

The Yin Yang Spirit watched the young man's Five Qi Towards Origin and Three Flowers Gather at the Crown with envy. This was the true path of cultivation! It couldn't be reached through self-realization alone; one needed great fortune, divine abilities, and an immense opportunity. The Yin Yang Spirit had now reached the early stage of the Profound Immortal realm and was ready to refine the Three Flowers and Five Qi, yet he had no way to enter the path. The young man was no more than a sworn brother to him, and had never imparted the method.

Hearing his Big Brother's question, the Yin Yang Spirit didn't dare delay. He quickly recounted everything from beginning to end. When he spoke of the Illusion Emperor stealing his Sun Moon Pearl, Yin Yang Soil, and yin-yang qi, his face twisted with hatred.

"Oh? A God-Devil True Body? Heh! The Illusion Emperor certainly has quite the scheme!" After hearing the Yin Yang Spirit's account, the young man withdrew his auspicious cloud and Three Flowers, as well as the Five Qi in his chest. He opened his eyes and sighed, a faint glint flashing in them. His expression remained as calm as still water. He shook the brilliant-gold branch in his hand, and golden light suddenly spread everywhere. His golden Daoist robe gleamed in response. What a true cultivator of the Way!

"Your younger brother came here hoping Big Brother would take my side." As he pleaded, the Yin Yang Spirit couldn't help dropping to his knees and kowtowing. The young man smiled at him without stopping him and merely said, "Put your mind at ease. It'll take tens of thousands of years for the Sun Moon Pearl to mature. It won't be lost. But even I'm surprised by the Shadow Emperor's audacity and foolishness!"

"Hmm? Foolishness? What do you mean, Big Brother?" the Yin Yang Spirit asked in surprise. The young man's words baffled him.

"A God-Devil True Body belongs to chaos. The laws of the Primordial World won't allow it. You should know that even my master... No, even they need to rely on innate treasures, exotic beasts, and plants from the Primordial World to anchor their souls and demonic spirits. And yet a mere Shadow Emperor, an early-stage Profound Immortal, dares to do this? He truly doesn't know the meaning of death!" the young man scoffed. Yet he had begun to consider the matter. He knew exactly what it cost to condense a God-Devil True Body, and so, despite the considerable benefits, he had never given it a thought. But now that the Shadow Emperor had acted, he, too, began to turn the matter over in his mind.

The young man's words left the Yin Yang Spirit perplexed, but they also seemed unfathomably profound, far beyond his understanding. He could only sigh to himself that his Big Brother's knowledge was beyond his reach.

"Very well! You are my younger brother, so naturally I'll stand up for you. I'll leave seclusion with you this time and help you make plans. At the same time, I'll spread the fame of Grandmaster Mang Jun. One day, I can open a sect and become the founder of a tradition!" Mang Jun knew that teaching and guiding others brought great benefits and could win him fortune and destiny. It was advantageous to cultivation in a hundred ways.

"With Big Brother coming out of seclusion, the mere Illusion Clan can be wiped out with a flick of the finger. The Illusion Emperor is only an early-stage Profound Immortal. If the clan weren't so powerful, your younger brother could have killed the wretch by myself." At Mang Jun's words, the Yin Yang Spirit was overjoyed. He had been prepared to seek help from another close friend of comparable cultivation if he couldn't persuade Mang Jun to come. But with Mang Jun's help, he was brimming with confidence and no longer needed to ask anyone else.

Hearing the Yin Yang Spirit's words, Mang Jun scoffed inwardly. The six clan emperors might only be early-stage Profound Immortals, but they possessed... Even he would have to be wary if he faced them.

"Alas! My true body, Junmang Wood, is only a low-grade innate plant, so taking human form is difficult. I've cultivated ever since Pangu opened the Primordial World, for well over an era, and even had the great fortune to obtain the supreme cultivation method, yet I still can't take human form." Looking at the forty-nine-zhang brilliant-gold giant tree behind him—his true body, the low-grade innate plant Junmang Wood—Mang Jun sighed. Taking human form really was harder than climbing to the heavens! Still, thinking of those beings, Mang Jun felt better. They would need several times his effort at the very least before they could take human form!

(Innate spiritual roots were remnants of chaos, formed by heaven and earth. Innate plants, exotic beasts, spiritual treasures, and the like were divided into three grades: low, middle, and high. They had arisen naturally after the Primordial World was opened.)

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!...

Bang!

Mang Jun sent several streaks of brilliant-gold spiritual light into his avatars. The one hundred and eight Junmang Wood trees, each hundreds of zhang tall, began to move slowly, forming an array. Had Xuanji been there, he would have noticed that it aligned to some extent with the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Sha, but was so profound and mysterious as to defy imagination. Grandmaster Mang Jun's attainments in the Dao of formations were already formidable.

After setting up the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Sha Formation to guard his true body, Mang Jun and Yin Yang immediately rode off on a brilliant-gold cloud and an yin-yang cloud, heading straight for the Shadow Clan's lair at top speed, flying west...

Rumble!

A colossal waterfall, hundreds of zhang tall, suddenly seemed to meet an immense force surging straight upward. At once, it reversed course and flowed upward. Only after a long while did it crash down again under its own momentum.

Xuanji sat cross-legged beneath the waterfall, letting its tremendous force, powerful enough to shatter rock, pound against his body. He sat steadily, utterly composed, treating the force of the hundreds-of-zhang waterfall as nothing. An invisible force often surged straight upward from his body, and, following that force, the waterfall flowed in reverse before descending again after a long while. The cycle continued without end.

After enduring the waterfall's immense force dozens of times, Xuanji abruptly opened his tightly shut eyes. Two streaks of black-and-white light shot out. Within his pupils, two Taiji Diagrams revolved, one clockwise and one counterclockwise, complementing each other in a way of utmost mystery.

Crash!

Struck by Xuanji's Yin Yang Pupil Light, two columns of water dozens of zhang high erupted from the pool beneath the waterfall. The bottom of the pool was pierced through to a depth of more than a thousand meters. Even though the water, a hundred meters deep, weakened the light, it still had such terrifying power.

"Early-stage Hexu... at last, it's completely stabilized. My true body is now at the early stage of Hexu, and my Primordial Avatar is at the early stage of the Earth Immortal realm. With a low-grade spirit weapon (Xuanji Sword), a mid-grade spirit weapon (Xuanji Cauldron), a mid-grade Immortal Artifact (Primordial Sword), and a high-grade Immortal Artifact (Yin Yang Treasure Pagoda), I can now fight a mid-stage Earth Immortal Giant Beast even without relying on the Ancient Wild World Power." He considered the matter to himself. Besides these, he had two trump cards: the Ancient Wild World Power and the Sun Moon Pearl. With both empowering him, he could forcibly raise his Primordial Avatar to the Heavenly Immortal realm. But the cost would be tremendous: the Ancient Wild World and Sun Moon Pearl would be damaged, and afterward the Primordial Avatar would need time to recover. He couldn't use them unless absolutely necessary.

"It seems the Yin Yang Spirit has started dealing with the Illusion Clan. I should go help him out!" Xuanji sneered. Now that the Shadow Emperor was condensing a God-Devil True Body, the "Illusion Clan" had stolen the Yin Yang treasures, and the other four clans were also eyeing the Shadow Clan to some extent, he would add a little fuel to the fire. A war among the six clans was bound to erupt. Then, while the waters were muddied, he could fish for benefits.

Whoosh!

A three-colored auspicious cloud carried Xuanji away like a bolt of lightning, more than twice as fast as his cloud had been before. Having fused with yin-yang qi, its nature had improved considerably. It could now cover hundreds of miles in an instant, and in the time it took to perform one somersault, it could fly two or three thousand miles. The difference between its speed and that of the legendary Somersault Cloud, which covered a hundred and eight thousand miles in a single somersault, no longer seemed so unreachable. To have such cloud speed at the early stage of Hexu was simply terrifying.