Cultivation Begins From The Desert-Chapter 797 - 780: The True Monarch Returns to the Mortal World, The Immortal Technique

Time flew by, and five years passed in the blink of an eye.

After five years of traveling and collecting, Lu Xuewei finally returned to the bottom of the Celestial Pit with the materials Lan Daoist needed.

Once all the materials were in place, Lan Daoist immediately began setting up the array within the Secret Realm space.

After the array within the Secret Realm was set up, he left the realm and, following Zhouyang's guidance, set up another teleportation array at a location tens of thousands of miles away from the Celestial Pit.

Once everything was set up, he officially began to extract the piece of [Innate Five Elements Jade].

From the outside, the five-colored giant stone birthing the [Innate Five Elements Jade] stood several zhang tall and two zhang wide.

But after unearthing this five-colored giant stone and extracting the [Innate Five Elements Jade] within, it could be seen that this spiritual object, arguably the most precious treasure in the current "Spirit Realm," was actually only the size of a human head.

This head-sized [Innate Five Elements Jade] glowed with a five-colored brilliance, causing the entire Secret Realm space to tremble upon its emergence.

"Quick, Fellow Daoist Zhou, quickly secure this item and take it out of the Secret Realm; I must wait until it's gone before I can take its place in the Stone Clothing Line!"

Lan Daoist urged Zhouyang hastily, tossing the extracted [Innate Five Elements Jade] to him hurriedly.

Seeing this, Zhouyang didn't have time for a closer inspection of the rare treasure in his hand. He quickly used a stone box, refined from the fragments of the five-colored giant stone, to seal the [Innate Five Elements Jade] inside, and then hurriedly left the Secret Realm space.

At this point, Xiao Ying and the others had already left the Secret Realm space, and once Zhouyang came out, he immediately severed the connection between the Secret Realm space and the outside world.

Next, they needed to wait for Lan Daoist to completely stabilize the Secret Realm space with the [Innate Five Elements Jade] before they could enter again for cultivation.

Since they couldn't enter the Secret Realm space for cultivation at the moment, Zhouyang, who came out, reopened the stone box with the five-colored stone lid to admire the rare treasure inside along with everyone else.

"Such rich Five Elements Spiritual Power, it's simply as if the object is purely condensed from spiritual power!"

Lu Xuewei looked at the five-colored jade stone in shock, her eyes full of amazement.

Looking at Xiao Ying and Qin Yue'Er, their eyes were also sparkling as they stared at the item in the jade box, without blinking.

Innate spiritual objects contain the power of the world origin and naturally hold great allure for cultivators, even though those who haven't reached the Tribulation Crossing Stage can't use this spiritual object, it doesn't affect their desire to possess it.

The situation Zhouyang observed, however, differed from Lu Xuewei's.

Through Zhouyang's careful observation, he could see that after the [Innate Five Elements Jade] was exposed to the outside, the Five Elements attributes' laws in the surroundings were more active than before; this object could easily influence the operation of Heaven and Earth Laws!

"Such a treasure, and to hand it over so easily, truly makes one reluctant!"

Zhouyang sighed deeply inside, longingingly taking a few more glances at the item in the box, but ultimately gritted his teeth, waved his hand to close the lid, and stored the item into his storage ring.

The [True Monarch Donglai] had indeed done him a great favor, and without inheriting this great divine power user's legacy from [Donglai Immortal Island], Zhouyang might not have been able to cultivate to the Late-Stage Nascent Soul within a few centuries, or he might have perished under the hands of the Great Demon Mu Qingyun back then.

Repaying kindness is a principle Zhouyang has always adhered to, and he has never reneged on promises he's made. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Back then, to repay Zhu Zizhen's favor, he handed over the extremely precious Tier Seven Immortal Artifact [Vermilion Bird Fan].

Even now, although the [Innate Five Elements Jade] is unparalleled and an exceedingly rare treasure, he has no reason to break his principles and breach his promise for such a lifeless object.

Thinking Lan Daoist might not be able to deal with it temporarily, and even if he sorted out the Secret Realm space, he couldn't easily come out again.

Therefore, Zhouyang quickly decided to leave Lu Xuewei and Qin Yue'Er to guard the Celestial Pit while he took his Dao Companion Xiao Ying to ride the Cyan Flood Dragon Green Luo back to the Rhino Horn Continent Oasis, preparing to set up an array to deliver the item to the Upper Realm.

The Flood Dragon favors aquatic environments, and a place like the Boundless Desert Sea is absolutely its least favorite.

Zhouyang, possessing a flying spiritual artifact but using the Cyan Flood Dragon Green Luo as transport, was clearly a deliberate punishment.

Even though Cyan Flood Dragon Green Luo was aware of this, she could do nothing about it.

According to the agreement, she had to serve under Zhouyang for two to three hundred years before gaining freedom. Before that, even if Zhouyang killed her, she would have no means of resistance.

In fact, having journeyed through the cultivation world with Zhouyang, especially witnessing Zhouyang's abilities in the prior battle against the [Thousand-legged Earth Dragon], Cyan Flood Dragon Green Luo had completely lost the confidence to resist him.

Even if Zhouyang released her now, she would likely never fully muster the confidence to oppose Zhouyang for the rest of her life, fleeing to the ends of the sea, never to face Zhouyang again.

But releasing her early wasn't something Zhouyang would do.

In reality, bringing her to the Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm this time wasn't just to punish her but also because he needed her assistance in certain matters.

Or put another way, he needed her to do some hard labor.

Sure enough, upon returning to Rhino Horn Continent and pointing at the lake on the oasis, Zhouyang instructed, "You will reside in this lake unless summoned by me, help expand the underground waterway beneath the lake, draw more water to enlarge the lake, and bring down a heavy rain on the oasis each month!"

A majestic Tier Six Flood Dragon being driven to dig and water was an enormous insult to the Cyan Flood Dragon.

Yet when she tried to argue, an overwhelming force flowed from Zhouyang's feet pressing on her back, forcing her to swallow her words tightly lodged in her throat.

In the end, she could only reply sullenly, "Yes, I obey."

From then on, many cultivators from the Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm traveled thousands of miles to Rhino Horn Continent, just to catch a glimpse of the true form of the Flood Dragon they'd previously only seen in ancient records.

After reprimanding the Cyan Flood Dragon, Zhouyang ignored such minor matters and devoted himself completely to contacting [True Monarch Donglai].

The [Donglai True Monarch Temple] on Lingxi Peak had been chosen as the place for array formation, where he used the massive amount of array materials the Zhou Family collected under his orders, arranging them strictly following the secret array atlas imparted by [True Monarch Donglai].

After spending nearly a month setting it up alone, Zhouyang finally completed the secret array, leaving nothing to chance.

Once the secret array was ready, Zhouyang stepped before the True Monarch statue within the temple, waving to retrieve an item.

This item was none other than the Pseudo Immortal Talisman personally made for him by the incarnate [True Monarch Donglai].

For so many years, this item had been carefully preserved by Zhouyang, never easily shown to others.

Now, to communicate with True Monarch Donglai, he still needed to rely on this item to play its role.

As he relaxed his hand, the pseudo immortal talisman flew toward the statue within the temple, finally landing in the statue's hand.

Simultaneously, Zhouyang's fingers swiftly moved into a spell, quickly activating the prepared secret array.

Upon activation of the secret array, no astonishing phenomena appeared, only a faint and strange force that Zhouyang could barely detect dispersed, landing on the statue within the True Monarch Temple.

Stimulated by this strange force, the originally faint spiritual light emanating from the True Monarch statue immediately became intense, exploding into a dazzling brilliance.

At the same time, the pseudo immortal talisman, which seemed only for intimidation, also suddenly burst into rich spiritual light that adhered to the statue.

Then, a will from the void suddenly descended upon the statue, bringing the wooden statue to "life."

The statue's eyes flashed with spiritual light, the divine radiance looked directly at the only living person standing in the temple, asking in a solemn and mighty voice: "It should only have been six or seven hundred years in the Lower Realm. Why summon my will to descend so early using the secret array?"

"Hmm, that's not right, your cultivation…"

The majestic and loud voice suddenly paused, revealing disbelief, surprise, and incredulousness.

The tall statue's eyes fixed tightly on Zhouyang, giving him the feeling of being seen by a living person even though it was just a will embodiment.

He couldn't comprehend what kind of divine technique this was, only marveling at the Returning Void True Monarch's mystical immortal divine technique.

He slightly bowed to the statue, saluting, "Disciple Zhouyang, welcomes the immortal presence of Master."

Without waiting for the statue to reply, he straightened himself and said solemnly, "The reason for summoning the celestial presence of Master using the technique imparted by Master is that I have found and brought back the Innate Five Elements Jade Master sought according to the clues Master left behind, and I am about to present it to Master!"

Indeed, upon hearing the words "Innate Five Elements Jade," the statue's attention immediately shifted from Zhouyang's cultivation.

Only to hear an impatiently eager voice say, "Has the Innate Five Elements Jade truly formed? Quickly bring it out for me to see!"

Judging by these words, even True Monarch Donglai was not entirely sure whether the initial Five Elements Jade could truly transform into the Innate Five Elements Jade.

Zhouyang didn't overthink it. He responded immediately, waving his hand to retrieve the five-colored stone box containing the Innate Five Elements Jade, and presented it before the statue.

"Indeed, it is truly an innate spiritual object!"

"Hahahaha, there is hope for me to reshape my immortal body, and finally, there is hope to continue my path to immortality!"

Clasping the five-colored stone box, the statue let out a wild, joyous laughter filled with a sense of relief, akin to a prisoner who had been confined for millennia finally seeing the light of day.

Hearing this laughter, Zhouyang's expression turned slightly odd.

Though he had suspected something was off with True Monarch Donglai when he mentioned his realm had reached the Returning Void Stage,

now, hearing the implication in his laughter made it clear it wasn't merely an odd state; it seemed like even his physical and immortal bodies might have been destroyed!

Though Zhouyang's mind was racing with thoughts, his expression quickly returned to calmness, quietly waiting for the statue's emotional outburst to subside.

After waiting for a while, once the statue's emotions calmed down, it then refocused on Zhouyang.

"Very well, you have done excellent work; I am very pleased!"

The statue didn't hide its appreciation and satisfaction as it spoke to Zhouyang.

"However, I am also curious, how did your cultivation improve so rapidly? If I remember correctly, the things I left behind shouldn't contain much that could significantly enhance cultivation."

Upon hearing this, Zhouyang respectfully replied, "Master sees clearly, there are indeed many factors contributing to my rapid cultivation improvement. If Master has enough time, I can detail them for you."

Upon hearing this, the statue immediately waved his hand to stop him and said, "Let's not; cross-realm communication also takes a considerable toll on me; it isn't worth wasting time on these matters."

He paused briefly, then continued, "Considering your cultivation, you should now be contemplating transcending the tribulation to become immortal. This is a crucial threshold for our human cultivators; do you have any certainty?"

"Certainty? To be honest, I have no certainty at all!"

Zhouyang shook his head with a bitter smile, then solemnly bowed deeply to the statue: "With Master watching over, I seek nothing else this time but ask Master to guide me on the path to immortality, allowing me a chance to glimpse the true scenery of the Immortal Dao!"

Regarding breaking through to the Tribulation Crossing Stage, Zhouyang indeed had no clues right now.

Not only him but even top-tier major sects like the Profound Sun Immortal Sect offered little substantial help in this area.

Zhouyang could still significantly increase his success rate in Core Formation or Nascent Soul Formation with auxiliary spiritual objects like the Jade Liquid Golden Pill and Holy Infant Fruit.

But regarding impacting the Tribulation Crossing Stage, he had no idea what could assist him.

Originally, Zhouyang planned to wait until his cultivation reached the Ninth-Layer Nascent Soul and then use the Void Celestial Pearl Master Chongyang, Du Chongyang, left to consult the Tribulation Crossing True Immortal predecessor about this matter.

However, since he had established contact with True Monarch Donglai, the Returning Void True Monarch, he naturally had a better choice.

In terms of both cultivation and insight, True Monarch Donglai was clearly far superior to Master Chongyang.

"Impacting the Tribulation Crossing Stage in the Lower Realm is indeed a highly challenging task because it's almost impossible to find spiritual treasures aiding in the breakthrough here."

"However, countless exotic techniques abound in the Upper Realm, and there are indeed some secret techniques that, once mastered, can aid cultivators in passing this stage. I happen to have one such technique to pass to you."

"Also, if time allows, try to cultivate some cultivation technique divine techniques that enhance divine sense and physique, which can also aid in impacting the Tribulation Crossing Stage."

True Monarch Donglai's statue's gaze focused on Zhouyang, responding deeply to what he sought.