The Divine Art of Earth Control

Chapter 49: The Divine Art of Earth Control

"Big brother! You... you killed an Earth Giant?" Seeing Mang Jun slay the Earth Giant with a single strike, Yin Yang trembled all over, terror filling his face as though a great disaster were about to befall them.

Looking at Yin Yang's expression, Mang Jun understood, but he remained utterly unconcerned. "Earth Giants possess a mysterious power of regeneration. I know it won't be long before a whole horde of them comes running."

The Earth Giant Clan's terrible strength lay in its vast numbers. Their origin was bound to the Primordial World's earth, making them eternal and undying. Whenever one of their people died, countless Earth Giants from the surrounding region would come seeking revenge. It was truly terrifying. Even those with exceptionally high cultivation, when faced with thousands upon thousands of Earth Giants, would have nowhere to plant their feet in the Primordial World unless they could take to the skies.

"Big brother, do you have a divine ability to withstand the revenge of so many Earth Giants?"

"I'm counting on them to come!" Mang Jun sneered, then looked down. Over the Bone-Grinding Ash-Scattering Swamp, a thousand mud faces surfaced. The face in the middle was enormous, no less than a zhang tall. Every face wore a look of shock and alarm; clearly, the Earth Giant's appearance had been beyond their expectations. Mang Jun merely smiled. "Shadow Emperor! I'm afraid the Giant Spirit Clan already knows what you've been up to. You won't escape trouble for long!"

"Now, perhaps you can tell me what you're after!" The Shadow Emperor's face darkened as he slowly emerged, light flickering in his eyes. Of the Six Races of the Eastern Wasteland, the Giant Spirit Clan was the one he dreaded most. Born as favorites of the earth, the Giant Spirits were one with the Primordial World's land. They had no shadows—or rather, the entire Primordial World's shadow was the Giant Spirits' shadow. Not only could those at the early stage of the Heavenly Immortal realm not manifest a shadow, but even Profound Immortals and those True Immortals who had existed for ages were unable to manifest one in the Primordial World!

Without the power to manifest shadows, the Shadow Clan's Earth Immortal cultivation in their true forms was worthless. Against the Giant Spirits, it would take no more than a hundred to exterminate their entire clan. If things truly came to that, they would have to use their last resort. But the consequences? Even thinking of them made his heart tremble.

"This time, we came to cooperate with your Shadow Clan! A war between the Six Races is inevitable. I can help your Shadow Clan dominate the Eastern Wasteland, and even help you forge a God-Devil True Body." Mang Jun spoke with a smile, as gently as a breeze brushing his face and clouds drifting across a clear sky, as though he were discussing nothing of importance.

"Help my Shadow Clan dominate the Eastern Wasteland? Hmph. You're making a rather bold claim. The other five races are no pushovers, and the Giant Spirit Clan alone is more than we can contend with. Besides, what do you stand to gain by helping my clan?" The Shadow Emperor curled his lip in disdain. Mang Jun's cultivation might be so high that few in the Eastern Wasteland could match him, but he would have little influence over the balance between the clans. After all, sheer numbers could crush anything!

"If we had ten thousand Giant Spirits and the War Ape Clan on our side, would that be enough to help you dominate the Eastern Wasteland? As for what I want, all five races' clan-guarding treasures will belong to me. Anything else that catches my eye will be mine too." Mang Jun spoke mysteriously, his confidence unshaken as he chatted with the Shadow Emperor.

"This...? The War Ape Clan? Ten thousand Giant Spirits?" The Shadow Emperor hesitated. He didn't care about the price Mang Jun had named. The clan-guarding treasures might be valuable, but they weren't his to begin with, and who they would belong to after he forged a God-Devil True Body was still uncertain. He could give them to Mang Jun; after all, once he dominated the Eastern Wasteland, he could answer for it to his own people. But he found it hard to believe Mang Jun could command ten thousand Giant Spirits and the War Ape Clan. They had already offended the Giant Spirit Clan, and the War Ape Clan was obsessed with battle. From the day they were born, they fought without end; aside from their own kind, they would fight any being to the death. Worse still, their cultivation surged after they recovered from grave injuries, and in their fury they could transform into towering apes hundreds of zhang tall, increasing their power tenfold. Their numbers exceeded three thousand, every one of them at the peak of the Heavenly Immortal realm, while the War Ape Emperor was an early-stage Profound Immortal. If not for their small numbers, the Eastern Wasteland would have been ruled by seven races.

"The War Ape Emperor and I have deep ties. As for the Giant Spirit Clan, I won't hide it from you, Shadow Emperor: I possess a divine art that can control ten thousand Giant Spirits for my own use. The Giant Spirits have little intelligence, so if I control ten thousand of them, their clan shouldn't make enemies of us. Their clan-guarding treasure will be ours for the taking. And the remaining four races...? Heh!" Mang Jun laid it all out. As he spoke of controlling ten thousand Giant Spirits, a trace of pride flashed in his eyes.

"What? Control ten thousand... Giant Spirits?" The Shadow Emperor and the other Shadow Clan members were stunned. Even Yin Yang was dumbstruck. Such a method was simply heaven-spanning, its divine power boundless!

Staring deeply at Mang Jun, the Shadow Emperor suddenly sighed. "What a fortunate encounter! I'm afraid that being behind you ranks among the very strongest of those existences."

"My divine art is called the Great Earth Control Art. Giant Spirits are earth spirits of the earth element, so they can be controlled. But my cultivation is shallow; even with the help of the Earth Control Spirit Flag, a low-grade Post-Heaven Spiritual Treasure, I can control only ten thousand at most." Mang Jun said nothing about the being behind him. Instead, he took out a dark-yellow, three-inch triangular flag. The flag looked ancient and plain, but one glance revealed boundless earth qi within. With a slight shake, a deep-yellow earth-element divine light enveloped its bearer. It was clearly a protective treasure—the Earth Control Spirit Flag Mang Jun had mentioned.

Two low-grade Post-Heaven Spiritual Treasures in succession left the Shadow Emperor shaken. Others might not know their subtleties, but how could he not? For Mang Jun to have two low-grade Post-Heaven Spiritual Treasures at his side meant his backing was terrifying—perhaps even beyond that of his own master.

"Your divine arts are wondrous and profound, truly enviable! I'm deeply grateful for your help this time, fellow Daoist. Once the deed is done, I'm even willing to present you with my Shadow Clan's clan-guarding treasure." The Shadow Emperor, more than ten zhang tall, smiled warmly, though he looked strange no matter how one viewed him. I'll use your strength to dominate the Eastern Wasteland first. Once I forge the God-Devil True Body, it'll be your death. I have my master, after all. Heh!

Mang Jun was overjoyed, as though the prospect of obtaining the Shadow Clan's clan-guarding treasure delighted him. But inwardly he sneered. The moment you forge the God-Devil True Body will be your death!

Both men harbored their own schemes, yet their thoughts were perfectly in sync.

Once their discussion was over, Mang Jun tossed the Earth Control Spirit Flag into the air and formed a hand seal with one hand. Streams of spiritual light poured into the flag, which rapidly expanded. In the blink of an eye, its banner had grown dozens of zhang wide, and its pole had become tremendously thick. Dense earth qi formed a deep-yellow mist that swirled around the flag as its treasure-light shot straight into the sky, shrouding a thousand li in every direction. A low-grade Post-Heaven Spiritual Treasure was already no ordinary thing, and in the hands of a Profound Immortal it could truly shake the heavens and earth.

Swish! Swish! Swish!...

The Radiant Golden Sovereign Radiance Wonderful Tree swept repeatedly through the air. Streams of golden light surged upward, gradually forming a profound and complex formation. The Earth Control Spirit Flag stood at its heart, fitting perfectly into the formation as it took shape. A vast, boundless, primordial aura from the chaos radiated outward.

Rumble!

Amid the thunderous roar, as heaven and earth changed color and the universe trembled, a zhang-wide Nine-Colored Talisman appeared in the formation. It contained an unimaginable power. The moment it appeared, the formation spun into action at tremendous speed. Deep-yellow earth qi spread out, covering hundreds of thousands of li. Countless earthy-yellow talismans flickered within it, and as they moved, a wondrous power emerged.

Talismans were manifestations of the Dao's origin. Those with profound cultivation and heaven-seizing abilities could use all kinds of talismans to wield Daoist arts and divine abilities that reached straight to the origin. Foremost among them were the Three Thousand Great Divine Arts. The Great Earth Control Art was one of them, standing alongside the arts of metal, wood, water, and fire as one of the Five Elements.

"The Great Earth Control Formation is now complete. We need only wait a little while, and I'll be able to control ten thousand Giant Spirits." As he spoke with a smile, Mang Jun waved his hand, and a Radiant Golden Lotus Platform appeared. He crossed his legs and sat upon it.

The Shadow Emperor and the others watched the Great Earth Control Formation in amazement. When they focused their minds on it, they felt that it held a profundity as vast as the universe; even comprehending the slightest fragment was difficult. They were deeply shaken and couldn't help but admire Mang Jun's methods.

One of the Three Thousand Great Divine Arts—how extraordinary was that? Though Mang Jun's Profound Immortal cultivation let him see through the art's mysteries, he could not perform it without the aid of a Spiritual Treasure and a formation. Even then, he could only unleash a fraction of its power. It was impossible to imagine how astonishing the Great Earth Control Art would be at its full strength. If an earth cultivator used it to practice, their progress would surely be astonishingly swift.

While Mang Jun used the Great Earth Control Art to control the Giant Spirits and pursue his ambitions, Xuanji was also wholeheartedly cultivating among the Sea of Chaotic Stone Forests.

The twenty-four Inner Mansion Primordial Spirits operated together. Though his cultivation was divided into twenty-four parts, Xuanji's power still rose at an astonishing rate. Meanwhile, within the Ancient Wild World, Dao Ming comprehended various Daoist arts and divine abilities. Combining his memories from his previous life with the principles contained in the Sun Moon Pearl, Blood Transformation Pearl, and Void-Trapping Seal, the Heavenly Dao deduced hundreds and thousands of Daoist arts and divine abilities, each with different forms and purposes.

One thing worth mentioning was the Crab Clan that Xuanji had taken into the Ancient Wild World. Ever since they learned that the two before them—Dao Ming and the Primordial Avatar—were both clones of the Crab Ancestor, they had been filled with excitement and awe.

After questioning them, Xuanji learned that the Crab Clan had only a few crude cultivation methods, utterly unworthy of regard. He casually bestowed upon them a superior cultivation art for crab demons, deduced by the Ancient Wild Heavenly Dao. As for the Eight Meridians Mystic Pole, that was his trump-card art and the foundation on which he would make a living in the future. How could he pass it on? Even so, the crabs were moved beyond words. To them, the art Xuanji gave them was incomparably profound. As soon as they began practicing, their cultivation shot upward. Many ordinary crabs followed the method to complete a minor cycle and immediately awakened their spiritual nature, their intelligence opening wide.

As more than a hundred crabs cultivated, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth in the Ancient Wild World began to grow thin. There were a few spirit veins underground, but they could not possibly support the cultivation needs of over a hundred crabs. Xuanji soon found himself troubled. There were only a hundred or so crabs so far, and none had even reached the Primordial Spirit realm, yet the strain was already this severe. Once native life-forms emerged in the Ancient Wild World, or if he took in more beings, they might even affect the world's natural evolution!

"It seems that after I finish cultivating this time, I'll have to draw a spirit vein from the Primordial World and make it the Ancient Wild World's earth vein. I'll need to search for one." The spirit veins in the Primordial World were all enormous, each low-grade vein stretching for thousands or even tens of thousands of zhang. Extracting one would not be easy for Xuanji. After all, spirit veins were bound to the earth and could only be pulled out with heaven-reaching magic power. But to solve the Ancient Wild World's shortage of spiritual energy, it had to be done!

Xuanji wanted to nurture the Ancient Wild World into the foundation of his power!