The long-lost pain surged like a tide.

Wang Wu, like a mortal drowning in a sea of bitterness, perfectly exhibited the level of seeking survival but unable to find death.

Truly, very rare indeed.

To have his current Creation Immortal Body, even his Divine Soul, fall into the abyss of agony was exceedingly difficult.

Especially with the Five Elements Cat Array also breached, leaving no contingency, no sense of luck, no reliance—this despairing pain was worth cherishing indeed.

Wang Wu wailed inwardly, and time seemed to slow down.

Wanting to be quick was impossible; in this state, he was the weakest and most helpless.

And this could last for three to five years.

Fortunately, the environment he set for himself and the situation he fostered was sufficient.

Day by day passed, and Wang Wu’s Creation Immortal Body even emitted a foul smell, like a pool of mud, unable to even wriggle.

Occasionally, small, seemingly harmless currents would leap and slide over, flaunting their prowess.

A month passed, and Wang Wu did not improve at all, but his lifespan had plummeted by 5000 years!

And it continued unabated.

Two months later, his Creation Immortal Body remained a pool of mud, even beginning to decay, with his lifespan having cumulatively plummeted by 11000 years.

Terrifying.

At this rate, it seemed, it would take sixty thousand years to max out Resistance to the Three Calamities, not fifty thousand.

Perhaps this is differing situations requiring different approaches.

After three months, Wang Wu had directly expended fifteen thousand years of lifespan.

Too terrifying; he spent fifteen thousand years resisting Evil Wind, twenty-five thousand on Yin Fire, but it seems Yang Thunder would take at least thirty thousand years.

Back then, some even said Yang Thunder required the least lifespan expenditure—clearly, they hadn’t been hurt to the core.

It’s different.

Finally, good news came in the fourth month: after cumulatively expending eighteen thousand years of lifespan, Wang Wu’s situation finally stabilized.

No more loss of lifespan, and the Five Elements Cat Array spontaneously attempted to resume, showing signs of simulating Yang Thunder, which was, of course, impossible without Yin and Yang Qi providing directional guidance—the Five Elements Cat Array was just a small kitten.

In the fifth month, Wang Wu heard someone outside urgently calling his name, saying there was an order from the Bear Emperor Armor for all members to fight, as if Li Huo Monarch were attacking again.

But at this moment, Wang Wu didn’t even have the basic ability to speak, let alone fight—what fight?

Do as you please; if you have the guts, surrender, and I’ll just accept it.

Or break in and kill me.

Wang Wu had no other means.

As a result, everything quieted down.

About three days later, the sound of an Old Bear was heard outside the cave, very weary and somewhat sorrowful.

It was the Bear King City speaking; evidently, the battle had ended, and it was brutal—likely, even a Taiyi of the Ancient Bear Race had perished.

"Wang Wu, I understand you may be eager to seclude yourself for cultivation, so you did not respond to the call to arms. It’s all right; though you bear the identity of Sin Bear, you have done great merits for Great Wilderness City and deserve such preferential treatment. However, the situation outside is dire. Li Huo Monarch returned with a vengeance, and his fierce assault almost took Hidden Origin Town. Two-thirds of the Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix Array you set up was destroyed, and even the old Gray Sparrow is gravely injured."

"Six precious Ancient Bear Taiyi of our Great Wilderness City have fallen in battle—a price steep and cruel. I’m telling you this today to let you know that after today’s battle, the Mang Mountain Ancient Bear owes you no further grace. Next time Li Huo Monarch launches an attack and you hide behind the excuse of closed-door cultivation, I will have no choice but to bind you and present you to Li Huo Monarch to buy some time, as he seems hell-bent on obtaining you."

"I’ve said all I can; take care of yourself!"

——

So difficult!

Wang Wu thought arduously, unable to smile nor complain—he’d maneuvered this far, and that was remarkable enough. Was the Bear Emperor Armor not appearing because it’s injured?

Had the Nine Extremes Divine Talisman not been deciphered, or had it been and proved ineffective?

Wang Wu pondered quietly, without haste—hurrying was futile.

He indeed was recovering; after the Five Elements Cat Array’s recovery, it began repairs and recorded the Yang Thunder Resistance, yielding impressive results.

But complete recovery still required time.

In a blink, another three months flew by, and Wang Wu finally regained some ability to move—this speed was already exceptional, yet even dreaming of battle seemed ludicrous.

The good news was that, thus far, Li Huo Monarch had not launched another attack; outside was peaceful.

Wang Wu chose not to overthink it.

The gap between Li Huo Monarch’s last two attacks was five months, indicating underlying issues.

In fact, the second attack not being led by a Half-step Daluo hinted that the competition among the six Half-step Daluo had reached a fever pitch.

With Great Wilderness City having paid a steep price, could Li Huo Monarch even afford another assault?

Such matters require strategic precision, not reckless persistence.

One attacks, one defends, inherently holding a massive advantage.

Thus, the third attack must be as powerful as a thunderbolt, it must be a fight to the death.

But it definitely won’t be rushed, hasty, or a disgraceful attack.

This is highly probable.

Then, another three months passed.

Wang Wu already initially restored twenty percent of his strength.

At this point, his recovery finally began to accelerate comprehensively.

Half a year later, his strength was basically restored to seventy percent.

Not easy indeed.

He consumed 18,500 years of lifespan, successfully obtaining 8890 points of Yang Thunder Resistance.

Almost achieving it in one step.

Next, Wang Wu decisively exited seclusion, he could wait no longer.

As a result, as soon as he came out, he saw that the entire Great Wilderness City was filled with joy and laughter, the beauties of the Ancient Bear Race were singing and dancing, as if celebrating something.

So what happened?

Wang Wu directly grabbed an Ancient Bear Earth Immortal who was rushing by, and before he could ask, the other party quickly said: "The Twelve Daluo Golden Immortals have issued a decree, every hundred thousand years, there will be an opportunity to cross the Celestial Tribulation and ascend to Daluo, everyone has a chance, and once again the Twenty-four Solar Terms will be opened, though reduced, it is still beneficial to maintaining the normal order of the Cultivation Realm. Moreover, the decree also said, the Heavenly Dao is constant, the might of the heavens is unpredictable, do not commit evils!"

"So now, the six Half-step Daluo have stopped the war, the array seals are removed, everything has returned to normal, and we are safe again!"

What!

Those twelve Daluo finally compromised?

As Wang Wu breathed a sigh of relief, he also realized that even those Twelve Daluo could not accept the current state of raising gu in the Cultivation Realm, or perhaps the slaughter among the six Half-step Daluo, using Earth Immortals and Taiyi to refine Immortal Pills, though not necessarily shocking, could indeed carve out a bloody path.

What if the Nine Heavens Passage is closed?

What if the ascent channel is gone?

If there’s really no way to survive, then carve out a path!

Of course, there’s also a possibility that something else happened on the Outer Heaven side?

While thinking about this, he suddenly heard the Ancient Bear Earth Immortal say excitedly: "The ancient ancestor of our Mang Mountain Ancient Bear just received an Immortal Decree yesterday, instructing the Clan Leader to select five hundred Taiyi, regardless of race or faction, to form Guardian Immortal Soldiers, which will maintain the order of the Cultivation Realm. The excellent ones can take a special passage to ascend to All Heavens Immortal Realm and become Celestial Soldiers and Generals without needing the body of Daluo."

"This time, we all have hope."

After saying this, the Ancient Bear Earth Immortal hurried away, while Wang Wu found it absurd, realizing that even those Twelve Daluo could make mistakes and amend their previous orders, well, fine, let some interests trickle down to avoid raising gu at the bottom.

As for those six Half-step Daluo, they were probably pacified.

One Heaven-defying Alliance, one Heaven-Breaking Alliance, haha!

And these Guardian Immortal Soldiers, Celestial Soldiers and Generals, hum, though late, they will surely come, who said there is no Immortal Realm? Didn’t it just arrive?

It is estimated that from now on, the Taiyi within the Cultivation Realm will become increasingly scarce. When even Earth Immortals can ascend to become Celestial Soldiers and Generals, the remaining cultivators will truly be those below First-Grade.

Then erase relevant structures, cultivation techniques, records, weaken the Twenty-four Solar Terms to one percent, fine, a perfect bottom-tier Cultivation Realm is thus formed.

When First-Grade Cultivators finally break through the void and ascend, they will find they are nothing more than large cattle and horses, hahaha!

At this moment, Wang Wu felt a slight stir in his heart, looking up at the sky, he saw snowflakes drifting down. It was the Azure Sea Cold Qi coming, but the concentration was only about one-fiftieth of the original, yet it still drew cheers.

Many Ancient Bear Earth Immortals, even Taiyi, soared high into the sky, seizing the Azure Sea Cold Qi to their heart’s content.

After two brutal wars, even a wealthy place like Great Wilderness City was running out of resources.

If Great Wilderness City is like this, Hidden Origin Town must be worse.

"Wang Wu, you seem to have not gained much from this seclusion!"

At this time Bear King City appeared before Wang Wu, his demeanor calm, with a relaxed air as if after enduring tribulations and reaching relief.

Wang Wu was about to speak when Old Bear continued: "The Clan Leader wants to see you, come with me, don’t worry, we won’t arrest you to atone for sins. What I said before, don’t take it to heart, it was just that the previous battle was too brutal, breathtaking, if another battle comes, I’m not sure if Great Wilderness City would really survive, we truly thought of going down together, I hope you understand."

"It was my oversight, I encountered a problem during seclusion, nearly fell into Qigong Deviation."

Wang Wu didn’t delve into it; he took the offered way out.

Besides, it was true that he avoided the most brutal battle.

One mustn’t take advantage after reaping benefits.

"Wang Wu, was there a problem during your seclusion this time?"

Upon seeing the Bear Emperor Armor, as soon as it opened, it asked this question, and seemed rather regretful.

Wang Wu’s status was indeed somewhat poor, only a seventy percent recovery, many injuries he thought would heal in a while were quite terrifying in others’ eyes.

Of course, Bear Emperor Armor should see more, but he didn’t want to delve deeper either, only saying meaningfully: "I am to carry out the Immortal Decree to soon form Guardian Immortal Soldiers, five hundred in total, among which three hundred slots are allocated to our Ancient Bear Race, the rest will be given to the Taiyi of Hidden Origin City, do you also want a slot?"