Chapter 77: My Primordial Spirit (Second Update)

Once the affairs of the tribe had been dealt with, Luozu began to examine the state of his own primordial spirit.

First came the primordial spirit itself.

The primordial spirit was the manifestation of the foundation of his cultivation; it encompassed his true energy, the cultivation of his physical body, the mastery of one hundred and nine arts of the Dao, the refinement of his mind, and the merging of all these essences into one, thus forging this very primordial spirit.

Having achieved the primordial spirit, it then resonated with the natural world, blending with the power of heaven and earth. At this point, all one hundred and nine arts ascended to the seventh tier.

Seventh-tier arts could draw upon the mighty forces of nature. For instance, when wielding the art of fire, those giant beasts spanning dozens of miles could no longer resist; the internal explosion would genuinely occur within their bodies, detonating every piece of flesh.

Moreover, when Luozu now cast a fire spell, it would continuously draw upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, burning without the need for oil.

If he were to face that great dragon worm again, Luozu would not need cunning; he could confront it directly and slay it in just a few moves.

Yet, Luozu had grown cautious in this primeval wilderness. He knew well that he was still but a minor figure here, needing to tread carefully, always looking back, scanning left and right, lest a giant foot descend from the heavens and crush him—he might die thinking the sky had collapsed, that the world had ended.

Just like the Kua Fu sorcerer, who could stamp out a great lake with a single step; should such a foot truly descend…

Luozu feared he would first be pulverized by the fungal aura beneath that foot, or perhaps simply be killed by falling flakes of skin.

Additionally, the limit of arts Luozu could now master had increased—he estimated it could reach three hundred and sixty.

The number of arts the primordial spirit could store was more than three times that of the Yang spirit.

Furthermore, his true energy began to transform.

Previously, the one hundred and nine “golden pills” had already purified his true energy to the level of crystallization; now, with the forging of the primordial spirit, true energy fused with the arts and the natural world, giving rise to an even more mysterious and wondrous energy.

At this moment, Luozu’s primordial spirit contained just this single strand.

He named it Immortal Energy.

True energy permeates the flesh, while Immortal Energy is born from the union of the primordial spirit and heaven and earth.

Within this single strand of immortal energy lay the essence of Luozu’s one hundred and nine arts.

Should it be unleashed, it would be akin to the combined force of one hundred and nine seventh-tier arts.

When, in the future, Luozu cultivates three hundred and sixty arts and raises them to the ninth tier, their power will be even more terrifying.

However, as he now possessed only this single strand of Immortal Energy, it was naturally impossible to expend it. As for casting arts, that was a trivial matter—simple, effortless; he could invoke any art at will, without needing immortal or true energy. With a thought, a touch of spiritual energy from heaven and earth would transform into an art of celestial power.

As for refining Immortal Energy, it was easy: purify the one hundred and nine arts into “golden pills” and fuse them with celestial power to create a strand of Immortal Energy.

The primordial spirit could also only bear a limited amount of Immortal Energy—about the same as the number of arts it could hold, three hundred and sixty strands.

Luozu estimated it would take three hundred and sixty days to gather them all.

The main obstacle was acquiring enough energy to refine one hundred and nine golden pills; even draining all spiritual energy within ten miles would likely only yield a single strand of Immortal Energy.

To refine three hundred and sixty strands…

Even the spiritual energy within a hundred miles would not suffice.

Thus, Luozu’s gaze turned to the sun and moon above.

Only those great celestial bodies, ceaselessly radiating energy as if inexhaustible, could provide Luozu with such quantities in a short time.

But to absorb so much essence from the sun and moon in a short span would surely alert the powers of the demon clans who monitor those celestial bodies, so Luozu could only be clever.

Wool gathering is best done in a flock, not alone…

This brought to mind Luozu’s pocket world.

He had planned this earlier, but had not expected to realize it so soon.

Indeed, opportunity favors the prepared.

Otherwise, Luozu might have spent more than a decade slowly accumulating three hundred and sixty strands of Immortal Energy, perfecting his primordial spirit at its current level, and only then advancing to the next.

This would allow him to enter the realm of true immortals sooner, escaping his current predicament as a mere ant in the primeval wilderness.

Of course, a true immortal was still much like a small ant here, but he would at least be truly immortal, his lifespan presumably endless (though Luozu could not be certain), with boundless time to explore the path ahead, pursuing infinite ways with infinite years.

Furthermore, a true immortal was considered a minor overlord; within ten thousand miles, he could claim his own territory and pasture, able to sit at the negotiating table with the nearby sorcerer and demon tribes, no longer a mere dish upon theirs.

Beyond that, becoming a true immortal was a fundamental transformation of life.

From a weak and helpless mortal, one becomes an immortal who can begin to take control of their destiny.

Moreover, once Luozu attained immortality, he could summarize the method of becoming immortal and lead his group of “cave-dwellers” toward the immortal realm.

The primordial spirit, besides releasing Immortal Energy and communing with heaven and earth, also transformed Luozu’s mind; his mental reach was now more than mere “seeing” and “perceiving” his surroundings, no longer requiring concentration to achieve spiritual possession, allowing his will to descend upon objects or avatars. His thoughts could now split into thousands, merging with the extended spiritual consciousness.

Thus, this spiritual consciousness could be called Divine Thought.

Of course, spiritual consciousness remained spiritual consciousness. Now it could extend a thousand miles, forming a sphere with Luozu at its center, not just a flat circle.

Divine Thought was simply spiritual consciousness imbued with Luozu’s thoughts; once his mind dispersed, the spiritual consciousness would immediately become Divine Thought, so the distinction was subtle.

The uses of Divine Thought are vast—across a thousand miles, Luozu could employ it to cast arts, possess others, or inhabit objects.

He could even dwell in another’s mind, subtly transforming them into himself (Luozu).

And by inhabiting objects, he could realize his long-held aspiration of becoming a sword immortal.

Yet, not only a sword immortal—he could be a hammer immortal, a jug immortal, even a mountain immortal…

Yes, a mountain is a whole, its energy interlinked, and Luozu’s thoughts could attach themselves and command it.

But to control something so immense would require tremendous effort.

A mountain a hundred meters tall might connect with a hundred miles of earth veins below…

If Luozu had the power to control it, he would head to the Kua Fu Lake to fish.

If fishing failed, he would simply dive in and scoop them up.

Speaking of possessing the primeval wilderness itself…

Unthinkable, truly; it would be akin to merging with the Dao of the wilderness.

That is the business of the venerable Hongjun.

Gathering his scattered thoughts, Luozu had already attached his Divine Thought to his pocket world.

Not to the magical ability itself, but to the human realm and “immortal realm” he had created within that world.