During this time, Willow Deity had been studying the contents of the Primitive True Explanation's Transcendence Chapter.
It was a supreme scripture describing the Dao fruit of a Mortal World Immortal.
How did a Mortal World Immortal come into being? In the conventional sense, one continually prolonged one's life in a Dharma-ending age where becoming an immortal was impossible, until the years could no longer leave their mark. By elevating oneself to attain an immortal Dao fruit, one became a Mortal World Immortal.
Only by entering the immortal domain with this kind of Dao fruit could one claim to have a solid foundation in the immortal Dao.
An ordinary True Immortal's Dao fruit would be weakened in a Dharma-ending age. In the most severe, spiritless Dharma-ending conditions, heaven and earth would even slowly drain away their immortal essence and undying substance, until they withered and died.
A Mortal World Immortal, however, could produce undying substance at a rate far exceeding an ordinary True Immortal and had no fear of such weakening. Even a spiritless Dharma-ending age would cause only slight differences depending on the depth of their Mortal World Immortal Dao fruit. But a Mortal World Immortal was a Mortal World Immortal; the power of a Dharma-ending age could not take them away. Any shortcomings could also be perfected through continued cultivation of that Dao fruit.
After all, a Mortal World Immortal could eventually reach the pinnacle of immortality, bringing the power of their body, primordial spirit, and Dao attainment to the Immortal King level without actually holding the cultivation rank of an Immortal King. Once they became a king, they might step straight into the ranks of the titans, or even sweep through their peers without a worthy opponent. Differences in a Mortal World Immortal's tempering would only affect how far they stood from the pinnacle of immortality.
A Mortal World Immortal could also be called an admission ticket to becoming a Dao Ancestor.
Every Quasi-Immortal Emperor, also known as a Dao Ancestor, had once possessed a Dao fruit no weaker than that of a Mortal World Immortal.
The stretch between an ordinary Mortal World Immortal and the pinnacle of immortality was an important source of the credits and grade points needed for that Dao Ancestor admission ticket.
Did one have to cultivate into a Mortal World Immortal in a Dharma-ending age? That probably was not the case.
On the Pollen Path of Above the Heavens, the late Great Cosmos and late Ultimate stages were equivalent to the True Immortal realm. It was also explicitly stated that reaching the peak of both paths and unifying Cosmos and Ultimate could produce a Dao fruit equivalent to that of a Mortal World Immortal.
Perhaps Above the Heavens was simply so rich that it had managed to devise a path to becoming a Mortal World Immortal without the tempering of a Dharma-ending environment.
Thus, a Dharma-ending age was not the sole standard by which to judge a Mortal World Immortal.
If one truly wanted a better standard, another concept had to be mentioned: alternative immortalization.
The pinnacle of the supreme Dao was a very long stretch of cultivation, but most people regarded it only as the last stepping stone before immortality, treating it as half a realm leading to transcendence. This was a mistaken notion. Even the Desolate Heaven Emperor had made this mistake at first.
The pinnacle of the supreme Dao could itself be a complete major realm, but its later reaches were inaccessible without peerless talent or a fortuitous encounter.
Continuing along the pinnacle of the supreme Dao would lead into a domain where one possessed True Immortal-level power without becoming an immortal. This domain was called alternative immortalization. It bore some resemblance to the pinnacle of immortality: in both, one possessed the power of the next major realm without having broken through.
During his final battle, Great Elder Meng Tianzheng had entered the domain of alternative immortalization at the pinnacle of the supreme Dao. Though still standing within the mortal Dao, he could defy the divide and slay immortals. As a result, when he truly underwent his tribulation and became an immortal, his combat strength soared further, allowing him to gradually suppress an Undying One before finally blasting his opponent apart in a head-on clash.
Reaching the end of the alternative immortalization domain at the pinnacle of the supreme Dao, then making the ultimate leap, produced a Mortal World Immortal.
Even Cao Yusheng's stacking of Reincarnation Seals and the Ruthless Empress's separation of her Dao fruits were, in truth, methods meant to ultimately reach the end of the pinnacle of the supreme Dao-the utmost limit of alternative immortalization.
Unfortunately, in an environment where immortality was possible, it was difficult to remain in alternative immortalization for long. One would be forced to undergo tribulation and become an immortal, as Meng Tianzheng had been. This was why Mortal World Immortals mostly arose in Dharma-ending ages. Without such an age, reaching the end of the pinnacle of the supreme Dao was difficult, and so was becoming a Mortal World Immortal.
Then if one could not find a world in a Dharma-ending age and could not become a Mortal World Immortal, wouldn't one be left a helpless muggle?
The Primitive True Explanation's Transcendence Chapter actually addressed this very issue and offered a method to avoid it.
Besides theoretical guidance on struggling across the mortal world to attain immortality, the Transcendence Chapter also contained a method for maintaining alternative immortalization in a world outside a Dharma-ending age, without being targeted by heaven and earth and forced to undergo tribulation.
Emperor Bone Brother certainly lived up to his reputation. His vision reached far into the future.
Over nearly a year, Willow Deity had fully absorbed the previous nourishment returned to her and recovered to the pinnacle of the supreme Dao. She would soon return to the immortal domain. At that point, she only needed to gather the various powers of nirvana she had once stored in the outside world and release the Dao fruit sealed within her through nirvana. That would be enough to leap straight back into the Immortal King realm. After recuperating for a time, she would once again become an Immortal King titan.
But beyond healing herself through nirvana, Willow Deity's original plan had also included trying her luck, hoping to ride the momentum of nirvana one step further. Now that an opportunity had delivered itself to her door, she would be a fool not to take it. She decided to remain at the pinnacle of the supreme Dao for now. As she recovered, she would follow the Transcendence Chapter's guidance and exploit the loophole to stay in alternative immortalization, going as far as she could in pursuit of that Mortal World Immortal Dao fruit.
Meanwhile, a large number of dandelion trees had appeared in Stone Village's medicinal fields.
A Pu Demon Tree that did not eat meat was, of course, a dandelion. It was just a little bigger, that was all.
Its seeds had fluff and drifted on the wind. It was a dandelion!
"Achoo!" Many children began sneezing after passing the dandelion trees. Some felt cold, some developed fevers, and some simply became dizzy and muddleheaded. Fortunately, their symptoms quickly faded once they moved some distance away. Thus, apart from initially scolding them not to approach the strange things Brother Chen Yao had planted, Stone Village's adults eventually stopped interfering.
Once they learned that repeated exposure helped temper their children's Blood Moving Realm cultivation and further invigorate their blood and qi, they simply dragged their children over every day to "exercise."
Medicinal baths were not available every day. If there was a more convenient way to temper their bodies, why pass up what was close at hand to seek something farther away?
"Anyone who can't last ten minutes within ten meters of your Brother Yao's disease demon trees isn't allowed to go hunting with the elders!"
With a clear standard in place, they could righteously refuse the little brats who pestered them to tag along. The adults were each more delighted than the last.
Passing a group of little brats competing to see who could hold out longest without sneezing, Chen Yao toyed with yet another new Heavenly Demon Seed.
"It incorporates approaches beyond the liver's wood aspect and the eye apertures, combining a large number of heavenly demon ailments that can likewise shut down the eyes-even a Heavenly Demon Outer Tribulation powerful enough to obstruct the primordial spirit's sight. I wonder whether this one will grow successfully. All the previous ones failed."
Chen Yao planted the new seed. A five-colored Phoenix Divine Ring appeared behind him and swept over it. The little Everlasting Spring dragon, which had been leaking water every day since its baptism in creation immortal qi, eagerly drew over pond water infused with some of its own essence and poured it over the seed. In the Everlasting Spring's sand and soil, strengthened by an array, another new giant dandelion tree rapidly grew tall, flowered, and produced seeds.
Chen Yao beckoned, and seeds bearing different runes fell into his hand. He examined them carefully, rejecting them one after another, until almost all had been discarded.
But this time, one passed the test.
By continually adjusting the original seed's evolutionary potential, setting its broad direction, and then using the Phoenix Precious Technique to catalyze mutations in the new generation of seeds, he had finally succeeded once more.
"Blindness Seed! Eye Technique Nemesis!"
Chen Yao examined it closely. The new Blindness Technique seed had outstanding effects.
It went beyond the previous method of using the liver's wood aspect to affect the eye apertures. It also worked through the body's various functions and every possible mutation that could produce secondary effects-or simply act directly on the eyes. It could truly be called the ultimate art of blindness.
Three types had already been completed:
Paralysis seed-severed the connection between spirit and flesh, suppressing the body's spirituality so it could no longer move;
Yin-yang seed-disrupted the body's yin and yang, making essence, qi, and spirit fluctuate between dormancy and excessive activity, causing damage through imbalance;
Slumber seed-directly targeted the primordial spirit, inducing confusion or even unconsciousness, slowing reactions, and diminishing spiritual awareness.
With the latest Blindness Seed, that made four.
Unlike before, the power of the Heavenly Demon Tribulation could now be carried entirely within Pu Demon Seeds. The seeds replaced bodily contact, and clashes between Precious Techniques could also transmit their effects effectively. For Chen Yao, who possessed Qi-State Origin-Flow, clashing Precious Techniques was truly a joyful thing.
His enemies' magical shields were all made of paper, barely able to withstand Qi-State Origin-Flow.
Perhaps only magic immunity could keep him in check.
Before you continue