Jiang Zhu continued cutting stones. Before long, he uncovered a pink fruit-a Human Origin Fruit, which could be used to refine life-extending pills.
"You brat, you've got so much Divine Medicine and Treasure Medicine on you. Give this Human Origin Fruit to me!"
The Black Emperor lunged as he spoke, opening his enormous maw to swallow the Human Origin Fruit.
Jiang Zhu flicked out a finger and sent him flying. "Since when did a bald-tailed dog like you lack lifespan?"
"How would a greenhorn like you know whether I need it?" the Black Emperor snapped. Being called bald-tailed was his greatest taboo.
Jiang Zhu could not be bothered with him. He put away the Human Origin Fruit and continued cutting stones, picking through the remaining material before finally selecting a piece.
At first, nothing seemed unusual. As the stone's outer skin peeled away, however, dark-red mist suddenly seeped from within. Its bloody stench assaulted the nose, and the surrounding temperature plummeted.
The instant the stone cracked open, a tiny grain of divine source and strands of scarlet hair emerged from the fissure, writhing like living things and steeped in an eerie, ominous aura.
The slime clinging to the red hair resembled bloodstains. Black runes could vaguely be seen flowing through it, as though some curse had taken physical form.
A curse laid by the Underworld using the Heaven-Penetrating Underworld Treasure!
"Woof! What is this thing? A Source Heavenly Master's curse?"
Yin energy radiated from the red hair. The villagers exposed to it immediately began foaming at the mouth, their souls damaged.
Jiang Zhu reached out and closed his hand around empty air, gathering the yin energy to keep it from doing further harm to the village while suppressing the red hair.
The suppressed red hair stubbornly resisted, trembling incessantly as it tried to burrow into his body.
"Does practicing any secret art related to source make you a target for the curse?" Jiang Zhu wondered.
He then drew a flicker of flame from the Demon-Refining Pot. The instant the red hair touched it, it ignited, flaring into a mass of pitch-black fire before letting out a piercing shriek and crumbling to ash.
Looking at the remaining stones, Jiang Zhu shook his head. He had no intention of cutting any more.
The Fifth-Generation Source Heavenly Master had left plenty of good things for later generations. Unfortunately, the passage of time had ruined nearly all of them, leaving little of value.
Now that the Black Emperor had returned, it was time to discuss serious business.
"Something changed inside Purple Mountain. Have you been back in since you came out?"
At those words, the Black Emperor sprang to his feet, then lay back down and lazily waved a paw. "I haven't been back, but the old bell's there. Nothing too serious can happen!"
Then Jiang Taixu must have triggered the change. Could he have finished refining the Hundred Herb Liquid S... Ultimate Edition and tried to break out of his seal, alarming the Primordial Race? Jiang Zhu wondered inwardly.
Since no major upheaval had occurred, he could not be bothered to investigate further.
As for Jiang Taixu, he should still be reasonably safe. At worst, Gu Tianshu was also in Purple Mountain. He would not die anyway, so Jiang Zhu would leave him to stir things up.
That evening, the villagers prepared a whole roasted lamb especially to welcome him. Fragrant branches blazed with crimson flames, and golden fat continually seeped from the meat, giving off an enticing aroma.
Under the gentle moonlight, the people of the stone village sang and danced. Off to one side, the Black Emperor demonstrated how to eat an entire lamb in three mouthfuls, while Jiang Zhu leisurely ate his mutton and watched it all.
Since the destruction of the Azure Cloud Sect, the bandits around Purple Mountain had scattered. With banditry gone, peace had come to the stone village, and everything was so wonderful.
Once full, the Black Emperor clamored about taking human pets and teaching Wang Shu and Erlengzi some cultivation methods.
Whenever either of them made a mistake, the Black Emperor swung his paws and smacked them with resounding thumps.
Nearby, two delicate-featured women watched them with amusement in their eyes.
"Their bloodlines are unusual!"
"You noticed too?" Having spent a long time in the stone village, the Black Emperor had gradually discovered what set the two apart. Erlengzi possessed boundless innate strength, while Wang Shu had keen perception.
"They're of the Silver Blood Race."
"Really? I only noticed something unusual about their bloodlines. I never imagined the Silver Blood Race's bloodline still survived in this age!" The Black Emperor was delighted. The two human pets he had casually taken in were actually of the Silver Blood Race.
The Silver Blood Race was known as one of the universe's "ten strongest royal races." Though it had never produced an ancient emperor, it had ruled over the world several times and earned the title of an uncrowned imperial race.
Its bloodline bestowed powerful gifts and astonishing combat strength, enough to contend even with the ancient imperial races. However, the entire race had been destroyed in an attempt to enter the Immortal Mausoleum, leaving only a few remnants of its bloodline.
"Now I'll have to drill them even harder!" A distinctly human smile spread across the Black Emperor's canine face.
The bonfire feast lasted deep into the night. Everyone celebrated, while Jiang Zhu remained seated where he was, drinking the Northern Region's strong liquor and savoring the atmosphere.
The next day, Jiang Zhu went to an abandoned ancient mine tunnel, preparing to continue cultivating.
Last time, he had been interrupted just as he was getting into his cultivation. It had practically been an edging challenge.
Now, he covered the area around the mine tunnel with powerful formations and began cultivating.
After cultivating four divine treasuries, Jiang Zhu increasingly appreciated the profundity and subtlety of the Dao Palace Secret Realm. Five dragons rose within his Dao Palace, while five qi soared into the sky outside his body.
The five divine treasuries were shrouded in haze. Behind them, five lofty, majestic divine temples flickered in and out of view.
When he entered cultivation with nothing else on his mind, he heard waves of heavenly Dao sounds, like meditative chanting, crossing time and space from the distant past.
Ancient texts recorded that this was the "departed self" reciting scriptures for the present life.
The "departed self" endured, giving rise to five qi and lingering within the Dao Palace to chant scriptures, connect with heaven and earth, capture Dao marks, and nourish the flesh, making the "self" of this life immortal.
It was a notion profound beyond profundity, one few could explain clearly.
However, exceptional cultivators did not believe in so-called past lives, nor did they accept that the "departed self" was the "self" of a previous life.
Apart from the "departed self," there was another explanation: the "Dao self."
The human body was like heaven and earth, corresponding to the greater world. The Dao Palace was called the Dao Palace because the "Dao self" dwelled within it.
According to this explanation, those heavenly sounds and meditative chants were actually the "Dao self" resonating with the world, connecting the body's small cosmos with the vast universe outside.
"In other words, the Dao-aspected side of myself is comprehending the Great Dao, capturing Dao marks, and nourishing me. Those resounding voices aren't heavenly sounds at all, but the sound of my own enlightenment!"
"As expected of a cultivation method created by Milk Baby, who stood alone in judgment over all eternity. All of this goes somewhat beyond comprehension."
For now, however, there was no need to dwell on it. He only needed to follow the road his predecessors had traveled.
Time flew by. Jiang Zhu continually circulated the Dao Scripture, and the heavenly sounds within his Dao Palace connected with heaven and earth, constantly nourishing him and making the "self" of this life immortal.
Within his Dao Palace, five qi flowed, coiling and dancing. Outside it, his flesh grew crystalline and his body shone, continuously transforming.
Vast quantities of precious blood essence and divine source essence were absorbed into his body. A drop of White Tiger Immortal Medicine liquid was refined, and his lung divine treasury reached perfection as well.
Terrifying blood energy surged skyward, repeatedly scouring the abandoned mine tunnel. The rock walls teetered on the verge of collapse, and his blood roared like mighty rivers as it raced through his body.
Essence surged throughout him, and endless dragon qi circled outside his body, making him resemble a divine dragon descending upon the world.
Once his lung divine treasury reached perfection, he immediately began breaking through to the final divine treasury!
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