Starting with Proficiency Panel-Chapter 496 - 493: Seeing you is harder for me than killing me

Beside him, Sun Wukong watched intently, exclaiming in surprise, "What did you just absorb into your body?"

"The authority of the Mountain God."

Lu Ren answered casually, while a slight thought activated in his mind, causing the displaced soil and stones around to swiftly writhe, reassemble, and finally settle. Except for the already shattered temple, there wasn’t a trace of destruction in the surroundings.

Witnessing this scene, Sun Wukong’s eyes bulged wide; his expression showed remembrance, followed by a sudden tap on his head, as he shouted in amazement, "Holy crap, holy crap, is this truly the authority of the Mountain God?! Such a divine relic in this world?!"

Observing Lu Ren continuously wielding the power of the authority to erase the traces of destruction made by a punch, the soil, stones, and vegetation around seemed to come to life, easily controlled by Lu Ren’s gentle finger movements. Sun Wukong was hopping up and down in impatience.

Seeing his adversary obtain such a chance and being unable to seize it, he could only watch helplessly; this agony was worse than death for him.

With his face twisted in frustration, Sun Wukong stared at Lu Ren, his expression filled with jealousy and resentment, wishing he could replace him.

It’s infuriating!

Lu Ren maintained a calm demeanor, sensing Sun Wukong’s maliciously jealous gaze. This monkey, being the leader of mind apes, never concealed his feelings.

With a thought, Lu Ren caused the earth’s authority to shoot from the sea of consciousness at his brow, transforming into a complex golden anomalous rune in his palm, intricate to the extreme. If magnified and closely examined, one could see these intricate runes composed of smaller, cell-sized runes interlocking and locking like a ceaselessly surging tide.

Just by looking at it, one could feel it seemingly embodying the mysteries of the Earth Path Principle.

At this sight, Sun Wukong’s eyes nearly burst from staring too hard, his hand trembling slightly as he suddenly lunged forward, attempting to grab hold of it.

Lu Ren raised his hand slightly, avoiding Sun Wukong’s lunge, with a smile on his face, he said, "Great Saint, what are you doing? This is my prize, with your character, you wouldn’t really come over to snatch it, right?"

Sun Wukong stared intently at the mountain god authority suspended in Lu Ren’s palm, his eyes gleaming green; this was the true foundation for longevity.

It should be noted, even Immortal Human, Earth Immortal, and Celestial Immortal realm Immortal Path practitioners, upon condensing their Taoism Fruit and anchoring it to the void, have ultimate lifespans. Avoiding the Three Disasters and Five Calamities, countless tribulations, living naturally until life’s end, without any means of prolonging life through slumber, simply living naturally without slowing down their Primordial Spirit, even for characters at the super Great Power Level in the Celestial Immortal realm, their lifespan is capped at a million years.

Once they reach the million-year mark, they’ll naturally disintegrate, returning entirely to the world, leaving nothing behind, this is the limitation of condensing Taoism Fruit to anchor in the void.

Immortal Gods are meant to be eternal, but everything has a beginning and an end, as dictated by the Cosmos’ rules.

Yet the Mountain God authority in Lu Ren’s hand could surpass the million-year limitation, granting true longevity and vision.

Such a thing, even a Celestial Immortal would unhesitatingly seize it, potentially triggering an all-out Immortal Path war, just to compete for this Mountain God authority.

It wasn’t just vital for longevity; it was crucial for advancing to the next stage.

Hearing Lu Ren’s teasing voice, Sun Wukong, knowing his current strength stood no chance against Lu Ren, remained aware that Lu Ren had somehow bypassed the Taoism Fruit, possessing a Realm comparable to an Immortal Human.

Despite his curiosity, Sun Wukong understood Lu Ren would never share or tell him about such a new path.

"Ha, haha," Sun Wukong forced out a laugh, stubbornly ignoring the authority rune in Lu Ren’s palm, gathering the green light in his eyes, pretending to be indifferent, "This object is heavenly bestowed; naturally, it’s meant for a being like me, born of Innate Holy Spirit. Fellow Taoist Lu, this thing isn’t quite destined for you... You should entrust it to Old Sun for safekeeping. I might even discover a Secret Technique that lets you master the true power of the Mountain God authority."

Lu Ren smiled silently.

Seeing this, Sun Wukong understood he had no chance of obtaining it, and with a cold snort, he remarked, "This thing, even seeing it would compel the Supreme to make a move; don’t you think it’s a hot potato?"

Lu Ren responded leisurely, "Devoid of virtue still holding position, there would be a heavenly disaster, wouldn’t there?"

Sun Wukong’s expression sharpened, "Of course, naturally, hand it over to me; this innate Holy Spirit can fully withstand it!"

Lu Ren glanced at him, the look he gave was that of one perceiving idiocy, prompting Sun Wukong’s anger to flare, wanting to rush over and clash with Lu Ren but recalling something midway, he coldly eyed Lu Ren before hurrying off.

Lu Ren couldn’t help but shout, "Hey, Monkey Sun, where are you going?"

Without turning back, Sun Wukong retorted, "This world’s full of shrines, Old Sun doesn’t need just this one from you!"

Hearing this, Lu Ren got anxious too; Monkey Sun, born as the universe requires, anchored by the Spiritual Ape, was definitely of the Innate Holy Spirit stature, indeed likely to easily attract the favor of the earth’s authority.

Lu Ren shouted, "You damn monkey, wait for me!"

In his words, a large pit exploded at the original spot, as he turned into a blur pursuing Sun Wukong.

In just half a day’s time, the man and monkey reached a nearby mountain top, where a shrine sat solemnly.

Sun Wukong, spotting the trailing Lu Ren, replied irritably, "This world claims to have eight million deities, with countless shrines dedicated to them; what’s following Old Sun all about?"

Calmly arriving at his destination, Lu Ren said, "I merely wanted to see how you lure and destroy these deities."

Seeing Lu Ren acting all superior, Sun Wukong sneered repeatedly, "Though my Taoism Fruit has dissipated, even relying solely on my physique and refining my Primordial Spirit, not even an Immortal Human would stand well against me!"

Lu Ren raised an eyebrow, "I hope to see you show your prowess, Great Saint."

With a cold snort, Sun Wukong then looked at the shrine ahead, overgrown with moss and neglected for ages. Instantly, he settled into a stance, deploying a technique akin to the Long Arm Fist, punching out with a crisp sound like thunder, with visible fist strength wrapping a golden qi thread into a rolling dragon sweeping towards the temple, furrowing the earth deeply as it passed.

Yet the fist strength, which nearly collapsed half the mountain, dissipated quietly upon approaching the shrine.

Lu Ren’s eyes flickered at this, the surroundings seemed to slightly brighten then quickly returned to normal.

That punch from Sun Wukong wasn’t solely wielded with physical power but infused with the power derived from Lu Ren borrowing a trace of Buddhist True Essence.

Unbelievably, within mere days, this Monkey Sun had forcefully cultivated a Qi Seed, forming an Original Qi Seed of his own.