Chapter 78: The Primordial Essence of Heaven and Earth (Part Three)

The worlds within the pot and the manipulation of creation—these two divine arts were of such lofty caliber that even now, Luo Ancestor had only elevated them to the level of Daoist techniques. Yet, owing to their inherent grade, even a first-tier Daoist technique among them could rival the seventh or eighth tier in power. Thus, Luo Ancestor believed that spells, Daoist techniques, and divine arts could all be classified by grade—where rank referred to their level, and grade described their quality. It was much like the weapons in those games: distinguished by purple, blue, yellow, and green qualities, and though the weapons could be upgraded, the purple ones possessed a finer quality than the blue, and each upgrade brought greater enhancement to their attributes. The same held true for Daoist arts of differing grades. Of course, the "experience" and "materials" required for upgrades would vary accordingly.

Naturally, Luo Ancestor would not use terms like purple, blue, yellow—those hardly befitted the mythic, immortal world. Instead, he chose the classic "Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow," somewhat old-fashioned, but apt enough for his purposes. In the primordial cosmos, the order was Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow, and he set eight grades in total. The worlds within the pot and the manipulation of creation were placed directly at the Heavenly grade. Techniques like fire control and water manipulation were set as Mysterious grade. As for the Yellow grade, such arts were perhaps even rarer than the Heavenly ones in the present age. No one among the human race had awakened divine arts of such humble quality. Perhaps it was simply that the vastness of the primordial world and the extraordinary constitution of these ancient beings—seen by later generations as relics—meant their exposure to the highest realms, hence no low-grade divine arts were ever born among them. Of course, Luo Ancestor merely mused over this.

He never ceased his analysis and contemplation of the worlds within the pot and the manipulation of creation. After all, if he could thoroughly comprehend the worlds within the pot, he could open up new heavens and earth in the void itself—a feat beyond imagining. Could even Golden Immortal Taiyi accomplish such a thing? Perhaps they truly could. After all, Tang had once said that the people of the Wu tribe could open up a "heartland" for themselves—a space to store things. How vast that heartland might be, Tang had not specified, but it was surely no small matter. The true immortals among the demon tribe likely possessed similar abilities. But what of the Celestial Immortals and the Wu priests? Where did the Celestial Immortal's connection to the heavens reside? Was it the heavens themselves, the Dao of Heaven, or perhaps the opening of a cave-heaven? Luo Ancestor had not encountered enough to say for certain, but he imagined it could not be simple.

At this moment, Luo Ancestor had already attached his divine consciousness to both the mortal realm and the "immortal world." Yet, attaching his consciousness was one thing; with the mortal realm stretching fifty miles and the "immortal world" twenty miles, for his divine consciousness to fully merge and become akin to the Dao of Heaven itself would take time and considerable effort. Difficult as it was, and time-consuming as it might be, Luo Ancestor pressed forward regardless. Once accomplished, he would be able to master all intelligence and wisdom within the mortal and "immortal" worlds far more conveniently. Moreover, the "immortal world" was still a chaotic haze; spiritual energy surged and storms raged unchecked. If Luo Ancestor's divine consciousness could fully merge, these disturbances would abate—even cease altogether.

Once this was done, the "immortal world" would finally be ready to open its doors. Meanwhile, his attachment to the mortal realm proceeded apace, with his divine consciousness split into many parts, though his primary focus remained on the mortal realm and the "immortal world." By now, the "flow of time" in the mortal realm had returned to its previous state: three hundred times that of the primordial world. One day in the primordial world equaled a year in the mortal realm—a true divide between immortals and mortals. Yet even with this "accelerated time," Luo Ancestor's process of merging his divine consciousness with the mortal realm did not quicken, for it was measured in primordial time, not mortal time.

As Luo Ancestor accelerated time, events in the mortal realm unfolded rapidly. News of the successor to the Barbarian God Hammer had stirred unrest in the rivers and lakes of the First Kingdom. Then came the announcement from one of the three greatest mortals—the Ghost Immortal Yang—that he would enter seclusion and concern himself no longer with worldly affairs. On the same day, the Five Viscera True Lord also declared his own retreat. The news of these two peerless experts withdrawing from the world, combined with the emergence of the Barbarian God Hammer successor, ignited a storm of rumors. Suddenly, tension gripped the land; everyone sensed the brewing storm, the world on the brink of chaos.

Yet before the tempest struck, the mortal realm was a picture of harmony: birds singing, flowers blooming, laughter everywhere. Luo Ancestor cared little for such things, but the Barbarian God Hammer successor, Gu, found himself utterly enchanted. After leaving his small town, Gu journeyed east, halting only upon reaching a bustling metropolis. Within days, he had already caused numerous incidents—saving some, slaying others, falling victim to treachery, and nearly losing his life. Thankfully, the Barbarian God Hammer he carried came to his aid in a crisis and saved him. Still, he was badly wounded, but rescued by others.

Thus, amid a series of melodramatic events, Gu encountered today's matter. The family who took him in had a daughter of ethereal beauty, like a fairy herself. She often sought Gu's company, entertaining him and relieving his boredom as he recuperated. Innocent to the ways of women, Gu was easily manipulated, unable to extricate himself. He even confided his origins and the Barbarian God Hammer to her.

"Brother Gu, you said yesterday you possess the Barbarian God Hammer—is that true?" she asked today.

Gu, despite the bloodshed and trials of the rivers and lakes, was still honest at heart. He replied, "Yes, yes, that hammer is always talking in my head about the Barbarian God, the Barbarian God—it's really vexing."

The girl smiled charmingly, "Brother Gu, could you show it to me? The Barbarian God Hammer?"

Gu shook his head. "I can't."

She paused, puzzled. "Why not?"

"I can't."

She snorted and turned away, running off. Gu was taken aback, scratching his head, "It won't come out, so I can't help it."

The Barbarian God Hammer, thanks to Barbarian Lord's spiritualization, possessed a wondrous divine ability—it could change size at will, hiding within the Barbarian tribe's bloodline. If not for this, it could not have maintained its current power without ritual refinement and nurturing; it relied upon the Barbarian bloodline to sustain itself.

"Sigh." Gu suddenly let out a breath.

He missed his hometown. He also thought of his days forging iron for his master—though the master was peculiar, always smelting iron blocks but never fashioning true weapons.

"I wonder if master has forged any famed weapons yet," Gu mused, looking around the courtyard and up at the blazing sun. He seemed to see again the red-gold glow of the iron blocks he once melted every day, just as fiery and brilliant.

"Hammer, do you think master... what?"

"Bad man? How could master be a bad man?"

"You say he's very powerful?"

"Of course I know that—he's stronger than anyone I've met."

"..."

The Barbarian God Hammer no longer responded.

Gu's brief happiness was soon cut short, as befell many old-fashioned protagonists: he encountered the strange truth that "the prettier the woman, the more likely she is to deceive." Fortunately, the Barbarian God Hammer ultimately saved his life, slaying and wounding thirteen attackers, enabling him to escape the encirclement of five hundred members from three city gangs.

Yet now, his escape left him with nowhere to turn—he was wanted throughout the rivers and lakes.

"He's becoming more and more like a protagonist," Luo Ancestor observed after reviewing Gu's experience, arriving at this conclusion.