Chapter 113: The Indivisibility of the Immortal Path, the Inseparability of Sorcerer and Lich (Part Two)

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The Re-Wu Tribe has been sending frequent dispatches lately, mostly consisting of recent frontline battle reports. The Wu clan possesses its own methods for long-distance communication, but such messages are easily intercepted. Just as when the Qiu-Zhi demon tribe previously besieged the Re-Wu Tribe, they severed all channels, forcing news of the Re-Wu Tribe’s fall to be carried by tribesmen traveling over mountains and through rivers. Otherwise, the Yue-Wu Tribe would have known of the matter long ago and dispatched experts to deal with the Qiu-Zhi.

This time, however, two large-scale Wu and demon tribes are at war, and the conflict may even involve Great Wu and the celestial demon gods. What manner of beings are the Great Wu? They are the pillars of the Wu clan, second only to the Ancestral Wu. Since they all belong to the Dayi region, does this not imply that the Great Wu Houyi is guiding the operation from behind the scenes?

Shi specifically noted in his correspondence that this large Wu tribe is called "Ying," and it possesses one Celestial Wu and three Terrestrial Wu. As the Celestial Wu himself emerged from the Dayi region, it is highly probable that Great Wu Houyi is indeed involved. Even if he were to swear by heaven that he had no part in this, it is unlikely anyone would believe him. After all, even Shi harbors such suspicions.

For clarity, the hierarchy of the Wu clan is as follows: Wu People, Wu Priests, Terrestrial Wu, Celestial Wu, Great Wu, and Ancestral Wu. These correspond roughly to the demon clan levels: True Immortal, Celestial Immortal, Profound Immortal, Golden Immortal, Taiyi Golden Immortal, and Daluo Golden Immortal. Luo Zu does not yet fully grasp the nature of the Wu-demon struggle; he only feels that the spiritual energy between heaven and earth has become much more volatile today. Additionally, the stars in the sky are brighter than usual, and the essence of the sun and moon being drawn down is far more concentrated.

However, these matters do not concern Luo Zu. His attention remains fixed on deducing the three hundred and sixty Daoist arts. In such chaotic times, possessing formidable strength to instantaneously evacuate the "Peking Man" tribe and avoid this "man-made disaster" is his top priority. Yet, he hopes even more for this "man-made disaster" to resolve itself so he might gain more time to develop and avoid such rushed cultivation. Thirty-six Dharma bodies operate at high speed, with a flood of brilliant ideas pouring into Luo Zu’s mind. The subsequent deduction of the Primordial Spirit method is quite difficult, but with a wealth of samples, while the path ahead is arduous, it is not without direction. On the tenth day after the Re-Wu Tribe sent news of the Wu-demon war, Luo Zu finally managed to complete a draft for advancing the Primordial Spirit.

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The Yin Spirit, Yang Spirit, and Primordial Spirit—the cultivation changes between these are of a single lineage, all aimed at strengthening the soul and the true spirit, thereby allowing one to resonate with the heaven, earth, and nature without being assimilated by them. The stages Luo Zu has deduced are: Refining Essence into Qi, Refining Qi into Spirit, Refining Spirit to Void, and Refining Void to Dao. He is currently at the stage of Refining Void to Dao, and must now use the Primordial Spirit to "merge with the Dao" to become an Immortal.

In this era, the word "Immortal" is written in neither the Wu script nor the demon script as "person" and "mountain"; it is a more abstract form of expression, representing the "Dao" itself. It is the pure "Dao," not defined by any specific script. Thus, an Immortal is, in fact, "Dao." This is a definition handed down by a great being of immense power, not something the Wu or demon clans could articulate or distort through their own scripts. Therefore, the realm of the True Immortal is actually the realm of the True Dao—to witness the Great Dao and harmonize with the laws of nature.

"If that is the case, are the demon clans following the mandate of heaven, while the Wu clan, as the orthodox descendants of Pangu, are acting against it?" Luo Zu could not help but ponder this.

Thinking aside, Luo Zu’s deduction of the realms continued. To merge the Primordial Spirit with the Dao to become an Immortal, he had to understand the power of heaven, earth, and nature, and resonate with them. Mastering the laws of nature constitutes merging with the Dao, qualifying one as a True Immortal. This is simple enough; Luo Zu could do it now, but the most critical point is merging with the Dao without being assimilated by it. Only by achieving this balance can a living being’s essence undergo a revolutionary transformation, which is the true path to becoming an Immortal.

The difficulty is immense. Given the vastness of the Primordial Great Land and the strictness of natural laws, the probability of being assimilated upon merging is extremely high, while the chance of reaching the envisioned state of balance is infinitesimal. How do the Wu and demon clans handle this? The Wu clan possesses bloodline resonance, making advancement easier; as long as they maintain their innate nature, their Wu bloodline protects their true spirits from being assimilated into the Dao. The demon clans, due to their diverse origins, have many methods; however, Luo Zu is not of the demon clan, and Qing is merely a low-level underling of the Qiu-Zhi demon tribe, providing no useful intelligence. Yet, letters from Shi suggest that most demon clans simply endure it—those who survive become True Immortals, and those who fail return to the heaven and earth. Because the demon clans are numerous and their base is large, and because their powerful beings do not hesitate to propagate their Daoist arts, the demon clans are able to contend with the Wu clan across the Primordial land.

Luo Zu wants to endure it as well, believing he can succeed, but he must consider his followers. In the future, a large number of "Peking Man" will need to cross this threshold, and Luo Zu must forge a path for them. After a month of contemplation, Luo Zu finally reached a realization. It was not a specific method, but an understanding of what was most urgent.

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It was not a way to resist assimilation, but rather to become an Immortal first. Once he achieves immortality, with his elevated perspective, methods to resist assimilation would be easily within his grasp. At this moment, the ripples of the battle between the two great Wu and demon tribes reached his remote territory.

A storm swept across mountains and rivers from ten billion miles away, arriving at the Zihuan Mountain Range. It sheared the mountains in half and struck the Kuafu Lake, destroying nearly half of the lake's surface and filling it with the rubble of the shattered Zihuan peaks. Luo Zu watched with his own eyes as the storm swept past his "doorstep."

It was incredibly fast! Luo Zu could not even capture its form, let alone anything else. Its destination was not the Zihuan Mountain Range, but somewhere much further away. Everything in its path was leveled; high mountains became plains, deep waters were smoothed over, and any living beings—whether giant beasts or demon beasts—were annihilated. This valley-like flat stretch was a thousand miles wide, extending straight toward an unknown location.

This was perhaps merely a stray sword or blade aura from some great Wu or demon figure, yet such a casual attack brought terrifying consequences to the creatures of the Primordial land, directly threatening their lives.

"Chief... Chief, this..." Some tribesmen were caught off guard by the sudden catastrophe. Luo Zu’s expression darkened. A hunting party had suffered losses; seven people had died, having been caught in the path of the strike, becoming unwitting sacrifices to the Wu-demon war.

"It is nothing," Luo Zu said, not revealing the bad news immediately, instead comforting the tribesmen to prevent panic from spreading. Seeing this, Luo Zu would no longer delay his own path to merging with the Dao.

To become an Immortal, to become an Immortal. When will Luo Zu become an Immortal? This very day!