tkworld Chapter 158 Special Choice
Chapter 158 Special Choice
Chapter 158: Special Choice
"Is... is it over just like that?"
As they watched the calamitous clouds in the sky disperse and auspicious light envelop their bodies, the female cultivators, filled with immortal energy, still found it hard to believe that they had effortlessly overcome the terrifying tribulation that they once feared like a tiger, with the help of Qin Muling.
However, the meager amount of mana in their bodies couldn't deceive them. Especially after successfully transcending the tribulation and the formation of a brand new set of immortal laws, their physical bodies underwent a transformation from the inside out. Many of the female cultivators' appearances changed from mature and elegant beauties to youthful and radiant girls.
This was not surprising. Restricted by the laws of the Extreme Void Starry Sky, the lifespan of human cultivators in the Destiny Realm would not exceed ten thousand years at most. When their time was up, they would either perish or be reincarnated, and no amount of miraculous elixirs would be of any use.
Unless they were beings with the bloodline of ancient divine beasts, they could slightly surpass this iron rule of the heavens. However, the increase would not be significant. If they wanted a longer lifespan, they still had to rely on advancing their cultivation realm.
On the other hand, for Immortal Transformation cultivators who successfully transcended the tribulation, their lifespan would immediately increase to 129,600 years, which was equivalent to one yuanhui, an increase of more than ten times compared to the previous realm.
Therefore, Immortal Transformation cultivators could serve their sects for a longer period of time and create more value. Their status within the sect was usually beyond the reach of Destiny Realm cultivators, regardless of the Supreme Dao lineage or the influence of aristocratic families.
"Young Junior Brother, I really have to thank you this time. I will never forget your kindness!"
The twenty female cultivators stepped forward one by one and paid their respects to Qin Muling in the center.
For Qin Muling, it was just a small favor, but for them, it was a rebirth, a chance to start anew. It couldn't be measured by specific resources or numbers.
"Sisters, there's no need for such formalities. Go back and stabilize your cultivation as soon as possible!"
Qin Muling spoke gently. In fact, in order to seize this opportunity, they had all paid a hefty price beforehand. Some of them had even emptied their entire savings accumulated over many years.
But as long as they successfully transcended the tribulation, those external possessions were nothing. With stronger cultivation and a lifespan of over a hundred thousand years, it wouldn't be difficult to accumulate resources.
The female cultivators bowed once again and then retreated. Following the arrangements of the Heavenly Lord Yueyi, the second group of forty female cultivators surrounded the Transcending Tribulation formation, sitting in a circle and releasing their aura to provoke the heavenly tribulation.
Qin Muling calmly inspected herself and found that the depletion of her luck was less than one-thousandth. This expenditure was insignificant, not even worth mentioning. At most, she would need to cultivate in seclusion for a few days to fully recover.
Soon, the high sky once again underwent a change. The dispersed calamitous clouds gathered again, and amidst the flashes of lightning and thunder, the temperature in the space dropped sharply.
Since they had already succeeded once, both the cultivators inside and outside the formation were filled with confidence and prepared methodically.
"I think... after this, Junior Brother's status in the sect will skyrocket. I'm afraid even the Sect Master won't be able to compare!" Yu Lingzhou communicated with Heavenly Lord Yueyi through divine sense.
Heavenly Lord Yueyi glanced at her and said, "Isn't Junior Brother's current status high enough? Who in the sect doesn't treat him as a treasure? As long as he is willing, the position of the Supreme Sect Master will be his sooner or later."
"I didn't mean it that way. What I meant was, these disciples who have received his great favor will probably only listen to him in the future, no matter what he wants to do. If one day his will conflicts with the orders of the sect leader, these disciples will also stand against the sect leader for him!" Yu Lingzhou said.
For whatever reason, having two highest authorities in one faction at the same time is definitely not a good thing. If not careful, it will result in internal strife and division, and there must be a winner to quell the situation.
Yueyi Tianjun pondered for a moment, still unconcerned. "Even so, it's not a big deal. Can't you see the intentions of the sect leader and me? As long as Qin Muling is willing, let alone that position, even if he wants her, he will most likely get his wish."
"Alright, that makes sense."
Yu Lingzhou stopped talking. As long as there is no internal conflict within the sect, there is nothing to be concerned about. Qin Muling is the only man in the sect, so it doesn't matter who he has conflicts with in the future. After all, there are many suitable ways to resolve conflicts between men and women.
A day and night quietly passed.
Two hundred peak Destiny Realm female cultivators successfully transcended their tribulations in batches, and the number of elders in Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace's Immortal Transformation realm increased by two hundred. If we add the fifty-three Origin Immortals who are about to successfully transcend their tribulations, the overall strength improvement is quite significant.
Yu Lingzhou immediately ordered everyone to rest for seven days, giving Qin Muling enough time to recover, and then continue to support the disciples who are at the peak of the Immortal Ascension realm in transcending their tribulations.
For safety reasons this time, each batch of disciples transcending their tribulations did not exceed five people. The first batch consisted of three senior sisters, Cheng Yulan, Qi Yalan, and Luo Wanqing, plus two other elders.
When the heavenly tribulation was coming to an end, Qin Muling found that his qi fortune had only been depleted by one percent. He felt relieved because as long as the one-time depletion did not exceed five percent, it wouldn't be a problem, and recovery would be relatively easy.
He informed Yu Lingzhou of the result, and the domineering yet innocent-looking loli elder adjusted the plan accordingly, arranging only five disciples to transcend their tribulations each day, leaving the rest of the time for Qin Muling to rest.
So, in less than a month, all the disciples who went through the tribulation successfully transcended it and became genuine Origin Immortals.
"By the way, little junior brother, can you help resist the tribulation of a True Immortal now?" Yueyi Tianjun asked.
Qin Muling thought for a moment and cautiously replied, "There shouldn't be a problem, but currently, it's not advisable to have too many at once. How about one person at most each time?"
"That works. After I go back, I'll talk to the sect leader. There are also many elders in the sect who are stuck at the peak of the Origin Immortal realm! As long as you can help them successfully transcend their tribulations, they won't refuse any requests afterwards," Yueyi Tianjun said with a smile.
Qin Muling shook his head, pretending not to have heard her last sentence.
Due to the need for manpower to stay in Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace, Yu Lingzhou and the other women did not stay for long. After a brief exchange with Qin Muling, they hurriedly returned.
Only Qi Yalan was allowed to stay, after all, she is now Qin Muling's legitimate Dao companion and can accompany Senior Sister Luo Huan to cultivate with him day and night.
"I plan to go into seclusion for a few more days. After I recover to the peak state, I can then..." Qin Muling said to Qi Yalan. This was not an excuse, as he really needed time to recover his qi fortune and digest the gains from these days. The Innate Primordial Spirit Seed has absorbed too much heavenly tribulation power, and if not dealt with properly, who knows what adverse consequences there might be?
"Alright, junior apprentice, take your rest. This is not urgent."
When it came to the critical moment, Qi Yalan became somewhat shy, so she became more accommodating. Moreover, she was now a genuine Origin Immortal and also needed time to familiarize herself with the newly acquired Divine Ability.
Senior apprentice sister Luo Huan smiled faintly, "Retreating to recover is fine, but we should do it together. Without your Spiritual Light of Enlightenment, our cultivation efficiency is really low."
Qin Muling nodded. As long as they didn't disturb her, it was fine.
The three of them entered the secret hall together, closed the doors, and activated multiple layers of shielding formations.
Senior apprentice sister Luo Huan calmly took off her gorgeous dress, revealing her beautiful and snow-white body. Since she was already Qin Muling's Dao companion, her inner attire was quite bold and daring. It was a revealing outfit with several black ribbons, which allowed Qin Muling to appreciate her breathtaking beauty.
Qi Yalan gave her a disdainful look and also took off her conservative black robe, revealing her enchanting and beautiful body. She wore only a transparent red belly wrap and matching bottom pants, as well as suspenders and long silk stockings. She walked over to sit in front of Qin Muling, swaying her waist and exuding charm.
The three of them sat on the ancient cold jade cloud bed. As Qin Muling's consciousness sank into the depths of her sea of knowledge, the dark and mysterious Spiritual Light of Enlightenment slowly emerged and stabilized in an area three zhang away from her body.
The two senior apprentice sisters didn't dare to be negligent and immediately focused their minds, entering a state of deep enlightenment.
In the sea of knowledge, the Innate Primordial Spirit Seed and the six Azure Lotus leaves that had differentiated and emerged were covered with a thick layer of purple-black thunder, dazzling and suffocating with a destructive pressure.
As time passed, the purple-black thunder slowly dissipated and was absorbed and digested bit by bit by the Innate Primordial Spirit Seed. Compared to last time, the power of the heavenly tribulation that the Innate Primordial Spirit Seed intercepted was much stronger this time.
Every time a strand of heavenly tribulation power disappeared, the Innate Primordial Spirit Seed would release a large amount of chaotic qi, which contained a vigorous and vibrant power. It slowly integrated with Qin Muling's divine soul.
In other words, the benefits of the heavenly tribulation power were shared between Qin Muling and the Innate Primordial Spirit Seed. Although she might receive less, it was still an extremely rare and valuable gain.
Under the continuous influx of heavenly tribulation power, the Innate Primordial Spirit Seed continued to undergo changes. Its volume expanded by a circle, and the color on its surface became brighter and more vibrant. At the bottom of the spiritual seed, the differentiated chaotic light threads and roots became more numerous and denser, and they also became thicker.
These roots extended into the depths of different dimensional spaces, bringing back more refined spiritual essence and traces of profound Dao rhymes, which merged with Qin Muling's divine soul and physical body.
"If the Innate Primordial Spirit Seed matures in the future, wouldn't I be able to use its roots to freely travel through different dimensional spaces? Including the legendary higher-dimensional spaces of the upper realm?" Qin Muling pondered to herself. However, this goal was quite distant. With the position of this Innate Primordial Spirit Seed, it would be impossible to cultivate it to maturity without billions of years.
Putting aside this thought, Qin Muling focused her divine sense on the illusory images of the six Azure Lotus leaves. Immediately, she felt some hidden information surging into the depths of her divine soul.
"So that's how it is..." Qin Muling had a sudden realization. Her various innate talents and Divine Abilities actually came from these differentiated and derived Azure Lotus leaves. Moreover, as her cultivation realm improved, the power of these Divine Abilities would also increase.
Just like the Law Weapon that can contain space and carry a large amount of resources in and out of the Illusory Mist Secret Realm, it has now grown to a radius of one hundred li.
Qin Muling vaguely had a premonition that when he reached the Quasi-Saint Emperor realm in the future, this internal space might grow into a complete world, just like the legendary mustard seed of the Buddha's great power or the Buddha's country in the palm.
As for the sixth Azure Lotus phantom that emerged after Qin Muling advanced to the True Self Realm, it contained three different Divine Abilities for him to choose from.
The first Divine Ability possessed an extremely powerful defense, equivalent to having the bloodline of the ancient Black Tortoise divine beast, with thick skin, strong vitality, and greatly enhanced ability to withstand attacks once Qin Muling made a choice, his physical body would undergo a comprehensive improvement, greatly enhancing his ability to withstand beatings and protect his life.
The second Divine Ability naturally focused on attack, equivalent to having the bloodline of the ancient White Tiger sacred beast, allowing him to obtain an unparalleled and invincible killing Divine Ability.
This option tempted Qin Muling for a while, after all, he currently lacked powerful attack methods, and all kinds of Divine Abilities leaned towards auxiliary abilities. Even with the compensation of Law Treasures, they could not completely solve the problem.
However, after thinking about it, he decided to wait and see before making a choice.
At first glance, the third Divine Ability seemed somewhat mediocre because its cost of casting was somewhat exaggerated, consuming hundreds of years of lifespan at once. It could temporarily elevate one's cultivation by three major realms for half an hour. With the assistance of powerful Law Treasures and suitable tactics, it was easy to kill enemies of higher realms.
"To think there is such a method..."
Qin Muling secretly muttered to himself. In fact, the Extreme Void Starry Sky was not lacking in pills or Divine Ability spells that could temporarily elevate one's cultivation by a realm. However, the cost was always exaggerated. If there was no cost, then the price would be extremely exaggerated, like the Pure Yuan Reincarnation Pill that Qin Muling had used.
There were also pills that could elevate cultivation by two realms, but they were quite rare and would inevitably come at the cost of a significant lifespan. Pills without any cost were even rarer, and the cost of refining each one was sky-high.
As for resources that could elevate cultivation by three realms, they basically didn't exist. Even if they did, no one dared to use them because they would inevitably burn up all their vitality, life force, and soul origin. There was no way to save them afterwards. Apart from those specially bred cannon fodder in the demonic path, normal cultivators would never consider such things.
"Well, let's go with this one then?"
After weighing the options, Qin Muling made up his mind.
The cost of a hundred years of lifespan was indeed exaggerated, but compared to its terrifying power, it was still worth it.
A sense of impending crisis made Qin Muling understand that in the near future, he might encounter enemies that would be difficult to confront, and the Guardian would not always be able to protect him. At critical moments, he needed a means to protect his life.
This echoed a common saying in his previous life: "If your father has it, your mother has it, it's better to have it yourself."
With the cultivation of the True Self Realm, suddenly erupting with the strength of the Immortal Transformation Immortal Ascension realm, Qin Muling believed that there was no one of the same generation who could match him.
Moreover, Qin Muling felt that his physical body, being the Innate Primordial Spirit Root, might not be unable to break through the limit of ten thousand years of lifespan. So, using this life-saving Divine Ability in critical moments would not have much impact. As long as he could break through to a new realm in time, the consumed lifespan could still be replenished.
(End of this chapter)