I Became the Alchemy Master by Picking Up Trash-Chapter 314 - 312: Realm Lord Seal
Wang Yao smiled sweetly at Li Xing. Just as she was about to grasp the World Heart Stone, he lightly waved his fan, and Li Xing, like Sun Wukong blown away by the Palm Leaf Fan, was once again knocked off course, hurtling in the wrong direction.
Li Xing exerted all energies and finally stopped her trajectory, her eyes reddening with anger. "What does the Immortal Venerable mean by this?" she demanded.
"Isn’t it obvious? I’m stopping you."
Li Xing wanted to argue further, but she forcefully swallowed her words back.
How could she have forgotten, this wasn’t a place of inheritance, Wang Yao the Immortal Monarch’s soul remained here not to wait for a successor, but to protect the World Heart Stone. Her actions to seize the stone were akin to burglary, and as the master of this place, it was already gracious of Wang Yao not to kill her on the spot.
Understanding this key point, Li Xing quickly restrained her anger and respectfully bowed, saying, "Immortal Venerable, to be clear, I recently battled the remnants of the Mingmeng Clan; my Dantian shattered, my cultivation regressed, and I urgently need to refine the Chaos Qi within the World Heart Stone to restore my physical body. I implore the Immortal Venerable, considering my contributions to the Qianyuan World, to reward me with a few World Heart Stones."
"I know you’ve rendered service. Otherwise, why do you think you’re still alive now?"
"Then the World Heart Stone—"
Wang Yao shook his head like a rattle, "You can ask for any reward you like—Cultivation Techniques, pill recipes, arrays—but I cannot give you the World Heart Stone."
"Why is that?"
Wang Yao used his fan as a pointer, gently tapping it, and in Li Xing’s eyes, the seemingly immovable grit of the World Heart Stone took flight like it had wings, gathering from all directions into a large, oval stone above Wang Yao’s palm. Even so, slight grit remained suspended in the void, emitting a faint blue glow.
"The worlds of humans are divided into great worlds, middle worlds, and small worlds according to their levels. A great world boasts three World Heart Stones, a middle world two, and a small world one. The battle between humans and demons ten thousand years ago caused Qianyuan World to degrade from a great world to World Fragments, and its three World Heart Stones were destroyed."
"I, this Immortal Monarch, exhausted all efforts to preserve even a fraction of one World Heart Stone’s remnants, nurturing it within the Inverse Realm. The World Heart Stone is the essence of a realm; as long as three can be gathered again, Qianyuan World can return to its status as a great world."
"Even a sand-sized piece of World Heart Stone requires nearly a thousand years to condense slowly. I have guarded this place for nearly ten thousand years, and the total quantity of World Heart Stone has just surpassed one piece, not enough to make a middle world. How can any be given to you?"
Li Xing, unwilling to relent, said, "Immortal Venerable, I merely need a few small fragments to restore my cultivation; it won’t impede your goals."
Wang Yao snorted, shaking his hand. The complete World Heart Stone again fragmented into various-sized pieces, scattering throughout the Inverse Realm.
"The technique you practice is the Eternal Evergreen Technique, which is known for its rapid cultivation speed and lacks bottlenecks. Logically, many should have practiced it, yet since ancient times, very few have chosen this method, and even fewer have achieved mastery, simply because there’s insufficient Chaos Qi for cultivation."
"Now, without your previous cultivation, you’d need multiple or even tens more Chaos Qi. Despite how nicely you put it now, when it comes to real practice, I’m afraid my World Heart Stone fragments might not suffice for you! No, no, you’re just a Taotie that devours Chaos Qi, stay away from my treasures."
Wang Yao waved his folded fan, and a gust instantly swept Li Xing away into the distance. Li Xing was terrified; if Wang Yao had truly resolved not to let her touch the World Heart Stone, she was doomed. She had to think of a plan quickly.
"Immortal Venerable! I have an idea that could allow Qianyuan World to reclaim its status as a great world within a millennium!"
Li Xing’s voice echoed from afar as Wang Yao’s expression grew conflicted. Finally, he gestured with a virtual grasp, pulling Li Xing by the collar to face him.
"Speak, what plan do you have?"
Li Xing swallowed and tentatively said, "Immortal Venerable, please promise me one thing first. If my plan succeeds, reward me with enough World Heart Stone fragments to restore my cultivation. How about it?"
After pondering for a moment, Wang Yao nodded, "Agreed."
Li Xing: "Immortal Venerable, could you first inform me how many pieces the Qianyuan World originally fractured into?"
"Countless small fragments, three major fragments in total, with the Qianyuan Continent being the largest piece."
"And the other two pieces?"
"They drift through the cosmos, their whereabouts unknown."
"Do you think there might be remnants of the World Heart Stone within those two pieces?"
Wang Yao nodded, "It’s very likely. When I sought the World Heart Stone back then, I considered this possibility but was too gravely injured to sense or search for the remaining World Fragments."
"This matter isn’t difficult. Like how you gathered countless bits into one complete World Heart Stone just now, you could use the World Heart Stone here as a lead to summon those of the same origin."
Wang Yao was taken aback, then tapped his head with his folded fan in regret, "Why didn’t I think of that earlier!"
Seeing his reaction, Li Xing knew her plan had succeeded. As World Heart Stones slowly accrue and condense over time, it’s likely that the fragments within those other World Fragments had increased significantly over ten thousand years. With the more than one piece here, there might already be enough to form three full pieces, maybe even with some to spare.
"Since my plan seems viable, Immortal Venerable, could you fulfill your promise?"
However, Wang Yao still shook his head, "The plan is a good one, but it’s impracticable."
"Eh? Why?"
"Because I’m just a residual soul, capable of aggregating in the Inverse Realm, but unable to summon the remaining fragments scattered across unknown locales."
The flicker of hope in Li Xing’s eyes instantly extinguished. Despite being a residual soul, Wang Yao was far superior to her, and without his consent, there was no way to forcefully obtain what she needed. If she’d known earlier, she might as well have stayed in the Heaven-Reaching Tower, at least someone there could collect her remains.
As Li Xing felt despair overwhelm her, Wang Yao spoke again, "However—"
Wang Yao narrowed his eyes, reassessing Li Xing, and continued, "If you’re willing to succeed me as the next World Master of Qianyuan World, I can entrust all the World Heart Stones here to you, and you may use as much as you wish."
"World Master?" Li Xing was bewildered, "What is this position of World Master you speak of, Immortal Venerable?"
"It’s not a task; the World Master is the sovereign of a realm. All living beings within Qianyuan World would revere you."
The heavens never drop pie, Wang Yao had been unwilling to part with even fragments of World Heart Stone, so why suddenly change his mind to make her sovereign of a realm and allow her free access to World Heart Stone?
There must be a conspiracy!
"Before I lost my cultivation, I barely reached the Nascent Soul Realm. How could I possibly govern Qianyuan? Immortal Venerable, you must be joking."
"Are you aware of how low your cultivation is?" Wang Yao sighed, "Indeed, among the three thousand minor worlds, not one has a Nascent Soul Realm ruler. Alas, I have no choice, since I can no longer fulfill the duty of World Master, and you are the sole cultivator in the past ten thousand years to enter the Inverse Realm. I have none other to choose." Wang Yao’s look of disdain made Li Xing feel like a lump of dirt, which frustrated her, yet she had no means of retort. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦
"But there’s no need to worry. As long as you become the World Master, your words will hold sway in this realm; even a Daluo Golden Immortal could not harm you here. Low cultivation may be, but perseverance in practice can eventually make up for it."
Having said this, Wang Yao promptly formed a seal with his hands, and an azure small seal emerged from his forehead, vanishing into Li Xing’s brow before she could see clearly.
