Mang Jun's Ancestor

Chapter 43: Ancestor Mang Jun

Thick, roiling demonic energy surged upward, shrouded in black smoke, as countless terrifying auras emanated from below. The Yin Yang Spirit hovered in the void, his flaming eyes peering down, a trace of trepidation flickering within them: To think that Big Brother's cultivation has reached such a realm? If all one hundred and eight avatars already possess the peak of the Heavenly Immortal stage, then what of his true form? At this thought, he could not help but shudder.

Whoosh!

The Yin Yang Spirit descended at high speed, plunging into the black demonic smoke. As the surging power of Yin and Yang enveloped him, the demonic smoke recoiled in every direction. He landed safely on the ground, only to find it filled with hideous, gargantuan trees and grotesque, wicked flora. Countless branches of varying thickness twisted and coiled like living creatures; at first glance, one would mistake them for a writhing mass of serpents and pythons. They were covered in demonic thorns that shimmered with an inner blue light and emitted a faint, cloying fragrance—the flowers and grasses were no different.

Seeing this, the Yin Yang Spirit knew well the danger lurking within. These demonic trees and plants were at least at the early Heavenly Immortal stage, and the one hundred and eight strange, brilliant golden trees were at the peak of the Heavenly Immortal stage. Most terrifying of all were the demonic thorns; no matter how formidable one's armor, these thorns could easily pierce through and embed themselves into the body. They contained a virulent poison that, in a mere two or three breaths, would dissolve soul, flesh, bone, and viscera into black, bloody demonic miasma.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

As the Yin Yang Spirit arrived, thousands of branches lashed out like a swarm of serpents and pythons. The demonic thorns vibrated, ready to fire upon the slightest contact to pierce the body and release their toxins.

"Big Brother, your younger brother Yin Yang has come to pay a visit!" Although these attacks were no less than those of an early Heavenly Immortal, they were of no concern to the Yin Yang Spirit. However, he dared not damage even a single leaf. He held his mysterious Big Brother in such extreme awe that he dared not cause the slightest offense.

The branches suddenly froze, then retracted, coiling and winding incessantly. At the same time, a steady, warm voice resonated: "Is that you, Yin Yang? Come in!" The voice sounded like that of a youth of about twenty.

Hearing this, the Yin Yang Spirit quickly cupped his hands in a salute and hurried inside. As he walked, he passed the strange, towering trees—one hundred and eight in total. Each stood hundreds of feet high and several feet thick, their entire bodies a brilliant, dazzling gold. Their foliage was lush, each leaf the size of a winnowing basket and perfectly round. Upon them, thousands of pale golden talismans flickered with obscure, profound meaning, as if containing the supreme principles of morality. A mere glance caused the Yin Yang Spirit's eyes to ache, and he was struck with horror: This is merely an avatar, yet Mang Jun can affect me so? Big Brother's cultivation is... truly terrifying!

As he reached the depths of the forest, his eyes brightened at the sight of a forty-nine-foot-tall golden tree. It was identical to the others he had seen, only much smaller, yet the Yin Yang Spirit understood that the power contained within it far surpassed that of the golden trees at the peak of the Heavenly Immortal stage.

A figure sat cross-legged beneath the golden tree. It was a youth, appearing to be about twenty years of age, exceptionally handsome, and dressed in a striking, brilliant golden Daoist robe embroidered with ten thousand trees bowing toward the heavens. He wore a golden crown and held a forked golden branch in his hand. His eyes were as vast and deep as the starry cosmos, unfathomable.

Seeing the youth, the Yin Yang Spirit stood dumbfounded, staring in confusion. The youth smiled calmly: "You need not be perplexed. This is a Pangu Dao body derived from my magic power, not my true transformed form. What brings you to my abode?"

Feeling the youth's cultivation—which was clearly higher than his own—the Yin Yang Spirit stiffened, his face filled with reverence: "Big Brother's divine abilities are vast, and your magic power reaches the heavens and spans the earth. I am in awe. I have come to disturb you today because there is a matter I wish to ask for your help with." He cupped his hands again, his demeanor entirely sincere.

The youth waved his hand, and the Yin Yang Spirit found himself unable to complete his bow, which left him utterly shaken. He knew his own cultivation had reached the early Xuan Immortal stage, yet before this youth, he felt like a mere child. And this youth was only a manifestation of magic power, possessing at most one-tenth of his true form's cultivation. It was truly terrifying!

It seems Big Brother's cultivation has likely reached the supreme realm of the peak Xuan Immortal stage, he thought in shock.

"Speak your mind on why you have come!" The youth slowly closed his eyes and began to breathe in and out, two wisps of spiritual energy flickering at his nostrils. Above his head appeared a clear, water-like auspicious cloud of light, spanning an acre. The phantom images of three flowers appeared and vanished upon it, and five-colored qi radiated from his chest, dividing the five elements. To the Yin Yang Spirit's senses, the youth seemed to have merged perfectly with the surrounding heaven and earth.

Unity of Heaven and Man!

True Unity of Heaven and Man!

When one's cultivation reaches the early He Xu stage, one can achieve a form of Unity of Heaven and Man, borrowing the power of the surrounding nature for one's own use. But that is not true unity; it is merely the extraction of power through divine abilities. Yet, this youth was so natural that he could exert the immense power of heaven and earth with a mere gesture, without the need for forced extraction. The two were not even in the same league.

He watched with envy as the youth displayed the "Five Qi Converging at the Origin" and "Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown"—this was the true path of cultivation! It could not be attained through self-realization alone; it required great fortune, great divine ability, and great opportunity. The Yin Yang Spirit was also at the early Xuan Immortal stage and ready to condense his own flowers and qi, but he lacked the proper method. Though the youth was his brother by convenience, he had never imparted the technique.

Hearing his Big Brother's inquiry, the Yin Yang Spirit dared not delay and poured out the entire sequence of events. 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 and Devil True Body? Heh! The Illusion Emperor has indeed planned well!" After listening to the Yin Yang Spirit's tale, the youth retracted his auspicious clouds, the three flowers, and the five qi. He opened his eyes and sighed, a sharp glint flashing within them. His expression remained as calm as water as he flickered the golden branch in his hand. A sheet of golden light radiated outward, and his golden robe shimmered in response—a true master of the Dao.

"I have come this time hoping that you, Big Brother, will decide for me." As the Yin Yang Spirit pleaded, he knelt and kowtowed. The youth watched him with a smile, making no move to stop him, and said calmly: "Set your heart at ease. The Sun Moon Pearl requires tens of thousands of years to gestate; it cannot be lost. I am actually surprised by the Shadow Emperor's audacity and ignorance!"

"Hm? Ignorance? Why does Big Brother say that?" the Yin Yang Spirit asked in astonishment, confused by the youth's words.

"The God and Devil True Body belongs to the Chaos; the rules of the Primordial World do not tolerate it. You must know that my master... you must know that even they need to rely on the Primordial World's innate spiritual objects, exotic beasts, and plants to anchor their spirits and demonic souls. A mere Shadow Emperor, only at the early Xuan Immortal stage, dares to attempt this? He truly does not know how to value his own life!" The youth mocked, though he began to calculate in his heart. He knew full well the price of condensing a God and Devil True Body; hence, despite the significant benefits, he had never entertained the thought. But now that the Shadow Emperor was acting, he began to weigh his options.

The youth's words left the Yin Yang Spirit uncomprehending, yet he felt they were profound and far beyond his own understanding. He could only sigh in his heart, acknowledging that his Big Brother's insight was beyond his reach.

"Very well! You are my brother; it is only natural that I stand up for you. This time, I shall leave the mountain with you to plan, and incidentally, spread the fame of Ancestor Mang Jun. In the future, I may even establish a sect and become the ancestor of that region!" Mang Jun knew well that the merit of teaching and transforming others brought immense benefits, allowing one to accumulate destiny, which was of great advantage to cultivation.

"With Big Brother coming out of the mountain, the mere Illusion Clan can be wiped out with a flick of a finger. The Illusion Emperor is only at the early Xuan Immortal stage; had it not been for their numbers, I could have killed that wretch myself." Upon hearing Mang Jun's words, the Yin Yang Spirit was ecstatic. He had originally planned to seek out another close friend of similar cultivation if Mang Jun refused, but with Mang Jun's help, he was full of confidence and no longer needed anyone else.

The Yin Yang Spirit's words made Mang Jun feel a secret disdain. Although the six clan emperors were only at the early Xuan Immortal stage, they possessed... even he would have to be wary if he faced them!

Sigh! It is a pity that my true form, the Junmang Wood, is a low-grade innate plant, making transformation difficult. Since Pangu opened the Primordial World, I have cultivated for more than an eon, and with great opportunity, I obtained a supreme cultivation method, yet I still cannot transform. Looking at the forty-nine-foot golden tree behind him—his true form, the low-grade innate Junmang Wood—Mang Jun sighed in sorrow. Transformation was truly as difficult as ascending to heaven! However, thinking of those other existences, Mang Jun felt balanced; they would need several times the effort he had expended just to transform!

(Innate spiritual roots are remnants of Chaos, generated by heaven and earth. Innate plants, exotic beasts, and spiritual treasures are divided into low, middle, and high grades, all generated after the opening of the Primordial World.)

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Bang!

Mang Jun cast several rays of golden spiritual light onto his avatars. Immediately, the one hundred and eight giant Junmang Wood trees, each hundreds of feet tall, began to move slowly, arranging themselves into a formation. If Xuanji were here, he would have noticed a resemblance to the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, yet it was profound and mysterious to an unimaginable degree. Ancestor Mang Jun's mastery of formations was already extraordinary.

After arranging the formation to guard his true form, Mang Jun and Yin Yang departed on golden clouds, heading straight for the Shadow Clan's lair, flying westward at high speed...

Rumble!

A massive waterfall, hundreds of feet high, suddenly encountered a powerful, upward-surging force and began to flow backward, only crashing down again after a long while due to its own momentum.

Xuanji sat cross-legged beneath the waterfall, allowing the massive impact—capable of shattering rock—to hammer against his body. He sat steadily, his expression calm, treating the force of the hundreds of feet of water as if it were nothing. From time to time, an invisible momentum radiated from his body, surging upward; accompanied by this force, the waterfall would flow in reverse, only falling after a long time, in an endless cycle.

After enduring the waterfall's massive impact dozens of times, Xuanji, who had been sitting with eyes closed, suddenly opened them. Two beams of black and white dazzling light shot out, and within his pupils, two Taiji Diagrams rotated—one clockwise, one counter-clockwise—perfectly complementing each other in a profound manner.

Bang!

Struck by Xuanji's Yin Yang Pupil Light, two water columns dozens of feet high exploded from the pool beneath the waterfall, and the bottom of the pool was pierced through by more than a thousand meters. To possess such power from a mere pupil light at a depth of a hundred meters was truly terrifying.

The early He Xu stage—finally completely stabilized. Now that my true form is at the early He Xu stage, my Primordial Avatar at the early Earth Immortal stage, and with a low-grade spiritual weapon (Xuanji Sword), a middle-grade spiritual weapon (Xuanji Cauldron), a middle-grade immortal weapon (Primordial Sword), and a high-grade immortal weapon (Yin Yang Treasure Pagoda), I could even contend with a mid-stage Earth Immortal beast without relying on the power of the Ancient Wild World, he mused. Beyond this, he had two trump cards: the power of the Ancient Wild World and the power of the Sun Moon Pearl. Both combined could forcibly elevate his Primordial Avatar to the Heavenly Immortal realm, but the cost would be immense—damaging the Ancient Wild World and the Sun Moon Pearl, and requiring the Primordial Avatar to recover afterward. It was not to be used unless absolutely necessary.

It seems the Yin Yang Spirit has likely begun to deal with the Illusion Clan. I should go and give him a hand, Xuanji sneered. Now that the Shadow Emperor was condensing the God and Devil True Body and the "Illusion Clan" had stolen the Yin Yang treasures, the other four clans were also harboring their own intentions regarding the Shadow Clan. If he added fuel to the fire, a war between the six clans would be inevitable, and he could fish in troubled waters to reap the benefits.

Whoosh!

A three-colored auspicious cloud carried Xuanji away like a bolt of lightning. His speed was more than double what it had been before; having fused with the Yin Yang Qi, its essence had improved significantly. Now, he could travel hundreds of miles in an instant, and a single somersault could cover two or three thousand miles. The legendary speed of the Somersault Cloud—one hundred and eight thousand miles in a single somersault—no longer seemed so unreachable. To possess such speed at the early He Xu stage was simply terrifying.