Realm-Hopping Martial Master-Chapter 481 - 287: The Slumbering Artifact Spirit! Becoming an Immortal! Becoming an Immortal!_2
In harmony with nature, embracing all things.
Jiang Shu cultivated ceaselessly, as if he had completely forgotten everything around him.
He forgot that Xuanxing was still in crisis.
He forgot about Zhou Yan in the True Martial Sect, a major hidden danger possessing the potential to enter the True Inheritor Seed list.
He even forgot all Divine Skills and Cultivation Techniques.
He became increasingly close to a state where internally he did not feel his own existence, and externally he did not recognize heaven and earth.
His spiritual power persistently moved forward.
Fifty steps.
Forty steps.
Thirty steps.
Twenty-eight steps.
Finally, not knowing how much time had passed—it felt like hundreds of years, yet also as if only a moment had gone by—Jiang Shu’s spiritual power touched the stone gate.
The stone gate, for the first time, clearly presented itself in his mind.
Every Dao Pattern was like a Divine Skill.
The core, in particular, emitted a surging presence as vast as the heavens and earth.
Suddenly, a sigh emerged from it:
"Another one has come?"
"Merely at the Primordial Pill Realm..."
"Ah... wake up..."
A faint, ancient voice resounded in Jiang Shu’s mind. It was soft, yet it abruptly pulled Jiang Shu out of his immersive cultivation.
Heaven and earth, how vast they are.
The Great Dao, how profound it is.
A Vientiane Realm Dao Venerable, despite spending thousands of years, had only grasped one path of it.
Although Jiang Shu was exceptionally talented, possessing a panel that enabled him to achieve eternal verification with a single success, he was ultimately still only at the Primordial Pill Realm.
His lifespan was limited.
His understanding of the Great Dao was limited.
If he truly became completely immersed, there was a great possibility he could not extricate himself. He might wholly escape into the Great Dao and thus forget time, until his demise.
PHEW.
Opening his eyes, the consciousness that had been immersed in comprehending the Great Dao suddenly returned.
Cold sweat involuntarily broke out on Jiang Shu.
By now, how could he not understand? Some of the Nirvana True Monarchs who had passed away here had reached their lifespan limits. Others, perhaps like him, had become lost in comprehending the Great Dao, forever sunken. If it had not been for this ancient voice, he might truly have perished.
"This junior, Jiang Shu, greets the senior."
Suppressing a trace of palpitation in his heart, Jiang Shu did not have time to speculate about the nature of the existence behind this voice.
"May I know if the senior is also trapped within this mysterious hall?" Jiang Shu’s voice was utterly respectful.
Having been in this hall for many years, he had explored almost every corner thoroughly. Only today had he truly touched the stone gate. Since this ancient voice only now emerged, it was very likely because it had always been within the stone gate.
Indeed, the ancient voice paused for a while, then said, "Yes, and no."
"How is the outside world now? How many major sects are there?" Without directly answering Jiang Shu’s question, the ancient voice asked in return.
"There are eight major sects: the Dao Yi Sect, Heavenly Puppet Sect, True Martial Sect, Beast Taming Sect, Creation Sect, Hidden Sword Sect, Dan Fu Sect, and Douxing Sect."
Although after joining the True Martial Sect, Jiang Shu rarely paid attention to the power dynamics of external forces, he still knew the basic layout.
He then talked about the cultivation methods of the major sects. This senior, who could pull him out in time when he was immersed in the Great Dao, undoubtedly harbored no malice. He was also happy to talk a bit more. One reason was to reciprocate the goodwill. Another was that he wanted to try and get more information about the mysterious hall from this senior—like why this place could control the flow of time, and why the link between heaven and earth was severed in this place.
"After the most basic Six Martial Arts Realms come Furnace Cultivators, True Master Yuan Dan, Nirvana True Monarch, Myriad Phenomena Daoist Monarch, Mixed Cave Daoist Venerable, and Returning to Void Taoist Master."
After Jiang Shu finished explaining what he generally understood, the aged voice, after a moment of silence, slowly said, "If we say the first six realms are a kind of development of one’s own body, then the next six realms are about completely merging with heaven and earth, entering the Dao through martial arts."
"But do you know what comes after the Returning to Void Realm?" The aged voice, filled with deep reflection, sounded as if it had come through the ages.
"This junior does not know. Currently, in the Cang Mang Domain, the strongest are only the Supreme Sect Leaders of the sects, the Mixed Cave Daoist Venerables." Jiang Shu stood, adopting a posture of seeking instruction.
Although he had joined the True Martial Sect, most of his time was actually spent in cultivation, with very little interaction with his masters and seniors. His understanding of realms also remained at a very superficial stage.
For example, Lords of the Vientiane Realm are those who transition from cultivating Divine Skills to comprehending a Great Dao. Such powerful beings can control all changes within their domain. They can even transform a person into any life form—creating something out of nothing, manifesting objects from the void, transforming stones into gold, and turning drops of water into oil. It is simply unthinkable, indescribable.
Thus, any Vientiane Realm Dao Venerable holds the position of a peak master in one of the Eight Great Sects, with a status that far exceeds that of various elders.
Fuhai City has always stood unyielding in the various wars between the Human Clan and the Demon Race. Fundamentally, this is also because of the existence of Lord Sea Covering.
As for Mixed Cave Realm Daoist Venerables, they have comprehended the Space Dao. They are almost capable of living as long as heaven and earth. So long as heaven and earth are immortal, they are immortal. It is truly a realm of longevity, with a lifespan far exceeding ten thousand years.
"The master of this hall," the aged voice spoke indifferently, yet it was like a peal of spring thunder, making Jiang Shu, whose mental cultivation was exceptionally pure, feel his pupils constrict, "is an existence of the Returning to Void Realm."
"The Returning to Void Realm is almost one with the Dao. It can be said that such a being is part of the Dao itself, naturally able to manipulate all time and space."
"But this is not the final destination of cultivation. The ultimate end is... becoming an Immortal."
"One can live as long as heaven and earth. However, even heaven and earth will one day decay, grow old, and die. Only by becoming an Immortal can one truly transcend."
"Unfortunately, the path to becoming an Immortal is extremely difficult. The difficulty of progressing from the Returning to Void Realm to becoming an Immortal is billions of times more challenging than an ordinary person reaching the Furnace Cultivator stage."
"Because this path is severed. No one knows how to become an Immortal. During the integration with the Dao, the entire cultivation process enters a dead end."
"How do you think they all died?"
The aged voice paused for a moment and said, "Inside this stone gate is recorded the master’s process of comprehending the Heavenly Dao. Cultivators immersing themselves in it will feel as though they are permanently merged with the Dao. This greatly benefits their cultivation."
"But later, they will encounter a sight they will never forget until their death—merging with the Dao means becoming the Dao, dying within the Dao."
"For their entire lives, they are puppets of the Heavenly Dao. Some of these died in despair, and some were literally scared to death."
"This is why the most powerful beings in the outside world are only at the Chaos Hole Realm—because one step further, and they might never be able to turn back."
The reflective voice echoed in the hall.
The Cloud Winged Flying Crocodile also awoke from its cultivation, squatting far away and trembling. It felt an incredibly strong presence and dared not approach.
"Master?" Jiang Shu directly picked out the keyword in the aged voice’s speech and couldn’t help but repeat it as a question.
"Yes, I am the Artifact Spirit of Wenxian Palace. Its creator is naturally my master."
"My master reached the Returning to Void Realm tens of thousands of years ago. It was only at that time he realized he had taken a wrong step."
"But there is no turning back on the path of cultivation. He spent his whole life thinking about how to transcend and attain immortality."
"It is said that Immortals are truly transcendent from their world—profound and mysterious—being both the starting point and the ending point of a world."
"Only by becoming an Immortal can one truly attain eternal life."
"But, where are the Immortals? If there are no Immortals, there is no path. Perhaps the existence of Immortals is merely a fantasy of my master." The voice of Wenxian Palace’s Artifact Spirit couldn’t help but sound somewhat mournful.
The stone gate vibrated slightly, and a giant character for "Immortal" appeared before Jiang Shu’s eyes.
"This is the last character left by my master. It contains all his understanding of cultivation, and you may slowly comprehend it."
"If you want to leave, you can tell me."
"As an Artifact Spirit, I will always slumber within the stone gate. You merely need to touch the stone gate with your spiritual power to awaken me."
