Passing through a hidden canyon shrouded in thick miasma and fog all year round, Ian followed Tsunade and embarked on a long journey to Three Great Sacred Lands - Shikkotsu Forest.
Along the way, the surrounding environment became more and more primitive, with towering giant trees blocking the sun, and the air was filled with extremely thick humid vapor and heart-stopping Natural Energy. Ian was not in a hurry, but rather keenly seized this rare alone time, trying to further close the distance with the blonde female ninja during the long trek.
"Speaking of which, there is one thing that makes me curious." Ian casually pushed aside the huge vines in front of him and looked at Tsunade who was walking in front. "Since we met, why have you never asked me to fulfill that promise? Could it be that... you really don't want Resurrection, your brother Nawaki, and your lover Dan Kato?"
Hearing these two names deeply ingrained in his soul, Tsunade's footsteps suddenly stopped. The surrounding forest fell into a deathly silence, with only the rustling sound coming from the leaves.
After a long time, she sighed in an extremely complex manner and took steps again. "... I don't know." Tsunade's voice revealed a trace of exhaustion and vicissitudes that could not be concealed. "Over the years, I have been thinking about Nawaki and Duan crazily all the time. The pain that goes deep into the bone marrow is far heavier than you can imagine.
However, after experiencing so many separations in life and death, I have learned to grieve with great difficulty, and... gradually accepted the cruel reality that they have fallen."
"Is this the real reason why you have never tried to go to Resurrection or meet them all these years, even though you know that Shinobi World has a forbidden technique like 'Edo Tensei'?" Ian asked thoughtfully.
"Yeah." Tsunade nodded, "I can understand the pain of losing a loved one. However, I don't understand the mentality of always being addicted to the past, unable to let go and continue to look forward. The dead are gone, so are the living."
"Sounds like this is an extremely touching and philosophical story." Ian A slight arc formed at the corner of his mouth, but the smile did not reach his eyes.
"When I was extremely young, I also witnessed my parents die in an extremely ridiculous and meaningless war." Ian's eyes became a little deeper, as if penetrating the endless river of time, recalling that dusty past.
"In that unaccompanied, cold and cruel world, they were the only people who loved me and cared for me wholeheartedly. The days when I lost them were the darkest and most desperate lows in my life."
Tsunade turned her head and looked at him with some surprise. She had never thought that this alien monster, as cold and heartless as a god, could have such a miserable and fragile past.
"However, unlike you who chose to be extremely passive and 'accept reality and move on'." Ian's tone suddenly became extremely domineering and creepy, "I arrogantly rejected the arrangement of fate! I refused to accept their death! From that moment on, I embarked on an extremely crazy path, and I vowed to trample that superior Bleach under my feet, and I will completely conquer death!"
"Then... did you succeed in the end?" Tsunade's voice couldn't help but tremble slightly.
"Of course I succeeded. Death is no longer an insurmountable gap in front of me." Ian proudly raised his chin, releasing a high-dimensional coercion that looked down on all living beings without reservation.
"From the moment I pulled my parents back from Hell, I solemnly made a sacred oath - I will never allow anyone I cherish to leave me again! If this happens again, I will definitely use any means, even across tens of millions of dimensions, to take them back by force!"
"It sounds like... these words are full of extremely dangerous blood." Tsunade swallowed.
"Oh, you can't imagine the horror of this." Ian stared at her.
The moment their eyes met, Tsunade's heart suddenly twitched violently! She couldn't help but shudder. Through Ian's eyes as deep as the abyss, she seemed to see a horrifying doomsday scroll that would destroy the world and destroy the earth very realistically!
She has no doubt that if something unexpected happens to this man's family, he will definitely transform into Demon Gods and destroy the entire universe!
Regardless of whether those who stand in front of him are the aloof, omniscient and omnipotent Cosmic God mings; or those extremely cruel Abyssal Demonss who bring endless killings; or those saintly Buddhas who are full of benevolence, morality and compassion, as long as they dare to block his steps, they will all have to bear his monstrous anger that is enough to Annihilation everything!
"Okay, let's not talk about these heavy topics." Ian calmed down the suffocating terrifying pressure very naturally, as if everything just now was just an illusion.
"Okay." Tsunade looked away with great fear, "If you really make up your mind in the future, you can come to me at any time to fulfill your promise."
"I will."
After several days of extremely arduous trek, the two finally arrived at the final destination of their trip - Shikkotsu Forest.
This is an extremely vast primitive alien space filled with the aura of life. Thanks to Tsunade, a psychic who signed the highest level Blood Contract, who personally led the way, they passed extremely smoothly through the acid miasma and natural barriers that could corrode ordinary shadow-level experts in an instant, and entered the core area of this holy land.
However, out of respect for the owner of the holy land, Ian was temporarily arranged to wait outside the forest, while Tsunade went deep into the hinterland alone to report to the absolute Overlord--Slug Sage of this holy land.
A few minutes later, Tsunade walked out of the mist with a complicated look on his face. "The Great Immortal has agreed to meet you. After entering, you'd better show some respect to me and put away your arrogant behavior."
"It's natural. I always treat people with courtesy." Ian smiled slightly and followed Tsunade in very calmly.
After passing through the fog, what came into view was not a group of Katsuyu, but an extremely huge, terrifying soft-bodied creature that was like a continuous mountain range! This is Slug Sage, which has lived for countless epochs and can even cover the entire Shikkotsu Forest!
Facing such an extremely shocking behemoth, Ian did not show even a trace of surprise or cowardice on his face. He bowed slightly with great grace and without any faults, and thanked the other party for the meeting with extremely appropriate diplomatic words.
"Outsiders, I heard that you are eager to learn Sage Mode from our Shikkotsu Forest?" Slug Sage's extremely ethereal, soul-piercing ancient voice echoed in the forest.
"Yes, the great Slug Sage. I am extremely yearning for the mystery of Natural Energy." Ian replied neither humble nor arrogant.
"Since little Tsunade is vouching for you, I am naturally willing to give you a chance. But I must first conduct an extremely strict qualification and character test on you. Do you have any objections to this?"
"It's up to you." Ian spread his hands.
As soon as he finished speaking, an extremely bright sacred white light, which seemed to be able to see through all the sins and falsehoods in the world, burst out from Slug Sage's huge eyes, completely covering Ian! The Great Immortal's eyes looked up and down in the depths of Ian's soul extremely carefully.
After a moment, Slug Sage let out an extremely shocking exclamation. "What a dazzling brilliance! What a pure soul! I have lived for such a long time, and I have never seen such a loving, extremely kind and Merit immeasurably pure individual like you!"
Tsunade on the side heard this comment and couldn't help but yelled in her heart, "Fuck", her eyes almost popped out. She looked at the great immortal with great suspicion, and even began to secretly whisper in her heart whether this ancestor had lived for too long, resulting in Alzheimer's disease and dizziness.
Pure? Kind? Good person? Even if these words are related to Shinobi World, the most notorious rebellious ninja, there is absolutely no way that they have even the slightest connection with the alien Demon Gods who kills without blinking an eye, kills stars and destroys worlds at every turn, and treats all human beings as guinea pigs!
Although Tsunade did not say anything bad about Ian during the report, she definitely did not exaggerate to beautify him. She only stated Ian's unfathomable strength in an extremely objective manner, thereby hinting that the great immortal had better accept him, lest this madman raze Shikkotsu Forest to the ground in a rage.
As the target of praise, Ian still maintained an extremely humble smile on his face, but deep down in his heart he did not feel even the slightest bit surprised by this result.
Long before coming to this universe, ever since he deeply analyzed the underlying logic of 'Law of Causality', he has been eager to create a high-dimensional magic that can perfectly cover up his own killing sins and amplify 'Merit' Infinity.
This is because in the vast Multiverse, there are always some extremely difficult 'just side' gods or camps, who are extremely rigid and only willing to communicate and cooperate with 'lawful good' individuals.
In order to facilitate future cross-dimensional diplomacy, he decisively handed over this strategic issue to Queen Hermione, who was proficient in the laws of Law of Causality, to overcome. And Hermione did not disappoint him, and perfectly developed this deceptive method of disguise.
Of course, from an extremely strict technical level, what Slug Sage saw was not all false illusions. Ian has indeed done countless extremely great good deeds - in his Empire, he completely conquered terminal diseases such as cancer, ended famine and poverty, and provided absolute peace, free lifelong education, and perfect medical protection for trillions of creatures.
"Great Immortal, you are overestimating me. I just did what I should do." Ian responded extremely humbly.
"You must be extremely tired from the long journey. Next, Katsuyu will personally guide you in the practice of immortality. I hope you can continue to spread this kindness and love in the world in the years to come." Slug Sage said with great joy.
"I will definitely remember your teachings and thank you again for your generosity and hospitality." Ian saluted with great respect.
"I'll take him to the guest room to rest." Tsunade immediately volunteered. This extremely unusual and attentive move attracted extremely weird sideways glances from other Katsuyu around her, but Tsunade could no longer care about it at this time. Her heart was completely filled with extreme doubts and the fire of gossip.
As soon as he left the Great Immortal's sight and entered the secret tree cave guest room, Tsunade immediately lowered his voice and asked, "What on earth did you do?! Don't try to fool me! How did you insidiously deceive the Great Immortal's perception? Did you use your weird high-dimensional magic again?!"
"What kind of deception? What you said is so hurtful." Ian spread his hands very innocently, "I didn't lie to her at all. In my world, I have completely eliminated hunger and poverty, created absolute peace without killing, cured 99% of terminal diseases, and provided extremely complete free education and medical care for everyone. I am the protector and supreme guide of my hundreds of millions of people who are extremely devout."
He paused, and an extremely mocking sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth, "It's just... in order to achieve these extremely beautiful and grand goals, I very decisively used some extremely shameful, extremely cruel and bloody iron-blooded methods."
Having said this, Ian suddenly paused and looked at Tsunade with a very deep look. "To be honest, in your subconscious, what kind of extremely heinous villain do you think of me?"
Tsunade bit his lip and said very frankly, "In my impression, you are a Coldblood god who pursues power and the unknown Truth at all costs and even invades other planets at all costs. I originally thought that the last trace of humanity in you was extremely selfish and left to your family and wife."
"Although these words are extremely harsh, I should probably thank you for being so straightforward and honest. But don't worry, I'm not as crazy as you think." Ian responded lightly.
"I hope so." Tsunade curled his lips noncommittally.
In the early morning of the next day, the first ray of sunlight had just penetrated the thick fog of Shikkotsu Forest, and Ian had already arrived in the open space early, ready to start this extremely critical magical practice.
"Are you really sure that he can learn Sage Mode?" Katsuyu, who was responsible for the guidance, looked at Ian with great suspicion, his tone showing extreme unconfidence, "I can't feel even the slightest chakra fluctuation in this body!"
Hearing this, Tsunade on the side also turned his attention to Ian. Faced with the doubt, Ian had no nonsense. With a thought, the extremely vast pure magic power in the body instantly transformed through the transformation of the underlying laws, and turned into an extremely terrifying substantive chakra storm, which was displayed in front of Katsuyu without reservation! This is the most chilling advantage of magic as a high-dimensional energy - it is extremely versatile and can be perfectly backward compatible and simulate various low-dimensional energy systems!
"You... the amount of chakra in your body is so terrifying! In this case, we will immediately start the training of First Tier." Katsuyu was shocked and was a little incoherent. "The first step in practicing immortality is also the most dangerous step, which is to sense the wandering nature. Natural Energy in the body, and introduce it into the body extremely slowly. This process is extremely difficult, and if you are not careful, it will be turned into a stone statue by Natural Energy. However, Shikkotsu Forest has an extremely special clay that can greatly reduce the difficulty of this stage..."
"No need to bother." Ian interrupted her extremely arrogantly.
Before he finished speaking, he closed his eyes slightly. In an instant, Natural Energy within a few kilometers radius seemed to be summoned by some kind of supreme king. It poured into his body extremely crazily and docilely. After traveling around the meridians with extremely precision, it was excreted by him extremely smoothly.
Are you kidding me? As a Archmage who has reached the pinnacle, extremely precise control of various high-dimensional energies is his special skill, and he is an extremely rare energy control master in the universe!
This low-latitude energy traction is simply easier for him than drinking water. The only thing he needs to explore now is just the extremely subtle Fusion ratio among Shikkotsu Forest Sage Mode, Natural Energy, chakra and physical energy.
Witnessing this extremely appalling scene, Tsunade and Katsuyu's jaws almost dropped to the ground in shock. Katsuyu knows better than anyone else how difficult it is to perceive how perverted Natural Energy is, because even the stunningly talented Tsunade failed to cross this threshold.
Throughout the entire history of Shinobi World, the only one who can perfectly control Shikkotsu Forest's magic is First Hokage Senju Hashirama!
"I... I think we can skip the basics and enter the extremely critical Second Tier section: the perfect Fusion ratio of the three energies." Katsuyu stammered.
Next, Katsuyu explained the proportion requirements of Fusion to Ian in great detail. Ian listened extremely attentively and was not in a hurry to try it out. Instead, he proposed it very rigorously. A series of extremely profound data logic problems emerged. Unfortunately, Katsuyu's teaching method is more inclined to the extremely traditional "can only be understood but not expressed" practical exploration. It relies heavily on the practitioner's personal epiphany, so it can only answer a small part of the questions.
Ian did not embarrass her anymore. He closed his eyes again and forcefully pulled the Natural Energy around him into his body. As for the spiritual energy, it was Arcane Empire The soul strength in the system is the core foundation for him to control magic power, and it is easy to mobilize; as for the physical energy, Battle Aura, who has been practicing extremely domineeringly for many years, also has extremely deep control experience.
There was no surprise. In the first extremely arrogant attempt, Ian succeeded!
An extremely vast and ancient magical chakra exploded in his body. An extremely mysterious circular mark appeared in the center of his forehead, and the lines on the face of an immortal similar to Senju Hashirama also spread around his eyes!
"You... you succeeded in such a hasty way?!" Katsuyu exclaimed. Tsunade on the side was completely numb at this time. In her mind, no matter what miracle this monster man performed that was extremely contrary to common sense, it was no longer news.
Ian didn't pay attention to Katsuyu's exclamation at all. His brain was running rapidly, comparing extremely precisely the other two extremely precious materials he had just retrieved from his mind - one of which he had washed from Orochimaru before. The robbed 'Ryūchi Cave·White Snake Sage Mode', and the other was 'Mount Myōboku·Toad Sage Mode' which his clone obtained through an extremely rough soul search from Jiraiya's brain.
'Extremely interesting differences. The Toad Immortal Technique is extremely focused on the burst of dynamic nerves and extreme speed; the White Snake Immortal Technique is extremely focused on weird attack power and environmental assimilation; while Shikkotsu Forest's Immortal Technique places all its points on extremely abnormal physical endurance and absolute regeneration and recovery of severed limbs.'
Ian quickly understood the underlying differences of Three Great Sacred Lands Sage Mode.
'Then the next step is the beginning of the real highlight... Natural Energy, can it perfectly react chemically with my high-dimensional magic power (Mana)?'
Ian took a deep breath, and very decisively peeled off a trace of extremely pure magic power, trying to force it Fusion with the violent Natural Energy.
However, this time he encountered an extremely rare Waterloo. No matter how he adjusted the ratio of Fusion extremely delicately, these two extremely repellent energies were like water and fire, and were simply incompatible. With the energy micro-manipulation ability that is unparalleled in the universe, Ian struggled for several hours, but still ended in failure.
"There is definitely a crucial core medium missing in this very subtle way." Ian opened his eyes extremely irritably and said to himself.
"Are you okay?" Tsunade, who had been standing by extremely nervously, couldn't help but step forward and asked.
"Why would something happen to me?" Ian asked with great arrogance.
"But when you were at Fusion just now, your body was strangely and severely petrified several times! We were all extremely afraid that you would be swallowed up by Natural Energy and die!" Tsunade said with lingering fear.
"That level of elemental erosion won't hurt me at all, so don't worry about it." Ian waved his hand in an extremely perfunctory manner, and his eyes accidentally fell on Tsunade's face.
Suddenly, his eyes seemed to be attracted by a powerful magnet, and they were locked on the extremely conspicuous diamond-shaped mark Yin Seal (Strength of a Hundred Seal) in the center of Tsunade's forehead! His eyes moved extremely quickly between Tsunade's eyes and the mark on his forehead.
A bolt of lightning powerful enough to split Chaos struck his mind extremely suddenly!
"The geometric distribution of the triangle... the extremely stable energy structure of the three talents... that's it! I was extremely stupid to ignore this!"
Ian's eyes erupted with an extremely bright and fanatical light. He closed his eyes again with great urgency, but this time, he did not use his magic power to collide with Natural Energy with extreme audacity. He extremely boldly aroused the energy in his body The extremely domineering Battle Aura uses this as an extremely perfect buffer medium to knead together the three completely different power systems of Battle Aura, magic power and Natural Energy in an extremely violent manner!
Just like his extremely accurate deduction, after experiencing the first few extremely thrilling energy rampages and trial and error, he finally perfectly captured the fleeting ultimate balance point!
"Buzz--!"
An extremely frightening high-dimensional terrifying aura that seemed to be able to directly crush Space Law rose from Ian's body! The previous immortal facial makeup appeared on his face again, but this time, those extremely mysterious lines had completely transformed into an extremely noble deep purple full of endless arcane destructive aura!
The supreme 'Magic Sage Mode' - or it can be said to be 'Arcane Sage Mode', at this moment, was forcibly created by Arcane Archon, who is proud of the stars!