Free Web NovelChapter 1779 - Consecutive Breakthroughs
Zuo Yang seemed to have anticipated Ye Linghan's question all along, for his expression remained utterly placid.
"You don't have to worry about that. I've already picked out ten mentors for you, and they will arrive shortly. You can choose a few of them to assist you," Zuo Yang said as ten figures appeared outside the courtyard.
The ten mentors ranged from young to old. Some had come because Liu Wuxie's reputation was soaring, while others were attracted solely by the generous salary. After all, teaching was teaching regardless of where they worked, and if Ye Linghan's class offered better pay, why would they turn it down?
Ye Linghan's lips parted slightly. Only now did she understand what Liu Wuxie had meant last night when he said every problem would soon disappear. The two concerns that had weighed on her heart vanished with astonishing speed.
She could not help looking toward Liu Wuxie's room, her curiosity deepening once more. Could that man truly possess the ability to predict the future?
After Ye Linghan made her selections, five mentors remained. The five represented alchemy, spiritual arrays, blacksmithing, talismans, and martial cultivation, respectively. As for the other five, they could only leave disappointed.
"Mentor Ye, what should we do now?" the five mentors asked respectfully. Although everyone who remained was older than Ye Linghan, they treated her with the utmost respect.
"You may all return and rest for now. Gather at the courtyard by the Southern Lake in three days," Ye Linghan replied.
The five mentors bowed slightly before taking their leave. Several times, she had the urge to rush into Liu Wuxie's room and speak with him, but in the end, she restrained herself.
Right then, a terrifying aura swept out from Liu Wuxie's room, announcing that he had stepped into the sixth-level High Immortal Realm.
Time drifted by slowly. After refining the Ancient Orchid Whale Brain, Liu Wuxie spent two hours stabilizing his cultivation. Yet he did not stop there and immediately took out the Indigo Moon Essence. With the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron, he summoned a black hole that swallowed the Indigo Moon Essence whole.
In just three breaths, the Indigo Moon Essence dissolved into a mass of indigo liquid and poured into the desolate world.
The Desolate Devouring Art circulated without pause, drawing immortal energy from across the entire Azure Flame Dao Hall toward him.
Many mentors came to reason with him, only to be blocked by the spiritual array. Soon, curses erupted outside, all accusing Liu Wuxie of acting far too overbearing.
Only a small number of people silently watched Liu Wuxie's region. For a mere High Immortal to absorb such a terrifying amount of immortal energy, there had to be something extraordinary about him. They could not help wondering whether his body could withstand it without bursting apart.
Over the past few days, many students had applied to transfer into Liu Wuxie's class. This immediately plunged the entire Azure Flame Dao Hall into unease, especially the mentors with poor reputations, whose students began leaving in large numbers.
If this continued, even the courtyards by the Southern Lake would not be enough to hold all the students.
In the end, the upper echelons decided to implement a lottery system, accepting only one thousand students before the matter finally settled down. During this period, bribery, favors, and connections unfolded every day.
By the second day, Liu Wuxie's breakthrough gradually settled. The Indigo Moon Essence had merged into the desolate world, transforming into an indigo mass that slammed toward the gateway to the seventh-level High Immortal Realm.
Then, with a thunderous rumble, the gate shattered into pieces and sank into the desolate world.
By late night, Liu Wuxie took out the Heavenly Luo Fruit, leaving the Immortal Marrow for last. Each of the four treasures possessed different effects, and in terms of grade, the Immortal Marrow ranked the highest, while the Ancient Orchid Whale Brain ranked the lowest.
The further Liu Wuxie advanced, the more difficult every future breakthrough would become, so it was only natural for him to save the Immortal Marrow for the end.
Meanwhile, Ye Linghan had been overwhelmed these past few days. Although classes were suspended, many students still gathered outside the courtyard and refused to leave unless they received an answer.
The courtyards by the Southern Lake already stood empty, and she brought Shi Wa and Xiao Qian along to clean them up.
After Xiang Rulong and the other students learned of it, they also volunteered to help their mentor.
......
Inside a mysterious valley, seven immortal emperors gathered once more.
"This is outrageous. It has been such a long time, and why is there still no news from the mortal realm?" a refined elder asked, swinging his fist in frustration.
They had carefully selected twenty-seven experts to descend into the mortal realm, yet after so many months, they hadn't received any information.
A middle-aged man stepped out from the crowd. "Elder Xiao, something doesn't seem right. A barrier now separates the celestial and mortal realms. Could something have happened to them in the mortal realm?" With every step he took, the aura of an immortal emperor rolled outward, forcing the surrounding immortal kings and immortal venerables to lower their heads.
"As expected of the youngest immortal emperor among us. He even knows about the Heavenly Sealing Array!" the refined elder said, his gaze piercing through space. He had once tried to send immortals to the mortal realm, only to be blocked by the Heavenly Sealing Array.
"Did we make a mistake? It should be impossible for him to grow from a mortal to an immortal in just a few years," another immortal emperor said, suspecting that the information they had received was incorrect and that Liu Wuxie hadn't truly returned.
"Do you think Liu Wuxie has already ascended to the celestial realm?" an immortal king asked carefully.
Immortal kings stood high above countless beings in the celestial realm, yet before immortal emperors, they were pitifully weak.
"That possibility remains. Mobilize every force under you and search for him. You have all seen his martial techniques and immortal arts before. As long as he reveals even the slightest clue, we will find him," the refined elder said, issuing an order.
Everyone gathered there represented half the power of the entire celestial realm. Among them were sect masters, clan patriarchs, supreme elders, and even secluded powerhouses. If any one of them stomped their foot, the entire celestial realm would tremble.
"We have already begun the investigation, but there are simply too many people named Liu Wuxie in the celestial realm. Even after screening them, none showed any connection to the person we're searching for."
The celestial realm was boundless, so it was only natural for countless people to share the same name and surname.
"If he has truly ascended to the celestial realm, there is no way he would continue using his old name. He will surely hide his identity until he regains his strength," the refined elder replied with a shake of his head. A name was merely a symbol, something one could change at any time.
Everyone nodded in agreement. If they stood in Liu Wuxie's position, they would also conceal their identity and quietly recover their strength.
When Ye Linghan had registered Liu Wuxie, she had used his real name, and Liu Wuxie hadn't bothered to stop her. After all, Eastern Emperor City lay in a remote region, making it far from easy for others to trace him there.
......
In the Wen Clan, fury swept through the entire household when news arrived that Liu Wuxie had killed Wen Yi.
"You bunch of garbage! So many of you went, yet you couldn't even kill a High Immortal?!" Wen Changxing slammed his palm onto the table in rage, smashing the furniture to pieces.
The surrounding clansmen and elders did not dare to breathe loudly. Wen Qi stood below, looking guilty, for he bore an inescapable responsibility for Wen Yi's death.
Wen Yi had been a prodigy of the Wen Clan and also the patriarch's nephew.
"Patriarch, this matter doesn't rest on the third elder alone. Ye Linghan intervened. If not for her, we would have already killed Liu Wuxie," the other elders said.
Although Wen Qi was a mentor in the Azure Flame Dao Hall, he was also the Wen Clan's third elder.
Wen Changxing gritted his teeth the moment he heard Ye Linghan's name. "Ye Linghan, it's her again!"
"Patriarch, I have a plan," a fierce-looking elder said, slyness flashing in his eyes.
"Speak!" Wen Changxing urged.
"We can attack the City Lord Mansion and force Ye Linghan to return. Once that happens, Liu Wuxie will be left alone in the Azure Flame Dao Hall, and we will have our chance to kill him," the elder suggested.
The other elders nodded. "This is a good idea," they replied.
If Ye Linghan learned that the City Lord Mansion was under attack, she would certainly rush back. As her assistant, Liu Wuxie would then be left alone in the Azure Flame Dao Hall.
Wen Changxing immediately sank into deep thought, for attacking the City Lord Mansion was no different from mutual destruction.
"Patriarch, we can merely fake the attack to lure Ye Linghan back home," the elder added.
The City Lord Mansion and the Wen Clan matched each other evenly in strength. If the two sides clashed directly, both would surely suffer mutual destruction. Otherwise, he would never have needed to rely on the Nine-Tailed Heptabane Serpent to poison Ye Guhai.
"We'll discuss this later. You can all leave now!" Wen Changxing ordered. He did not immediately agree to the proposal, for he could decide to go to war on a whim.
......
After the Heavenly Luo Fruit entered the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron, it dissolved swiftly within a few breaths. It transformed into pure energy that coursed through Liu Wuxie's limbs and rapidly raised his unity with heaven and earth.
The momentum of his breakthrough gradually subsided. Anyone else who made two consecutive breakthroughs would naturally need time to consolidate their cultivation. Liu Wuxie, however, did not. As long as he had enough resources, he could continue breaking through without restriction.
"Time to prepare for my breakthrough now!" After the Heavenly Luo Fruit's energy entered the desolate world, the vegetation within began devouring it rapidly and breaking it down into wood-attributed energy.
As Liu Wuxie's aura climbed steadily, he reached the seventh-level High Immortal Realm and stood only one step away from the eighth.
In just two days, the immortal energy above the Azure Flame Dao Hall had thinned considerably. The other mentors and students gradually grew accustomed to it, for they knew Liu Wuxie was behind it and they could do nothing about it.
With the Heavenly Luo Fruit's help, Liu Wuxie successfully stepped into the eighth-level High Immortal Realm on the third day. This time, he planned to spend some time consolidating his cultivation.
Only half a day remained before classes began, and Liu Wuxie was still in seclusion. He took out the Immortal Marrow and placed it on his palm.
The Immortal Marrow was only the size of an infant's palm, with light flowing inside it like clusters of liquid drifting within.
The conditions required for the formation of the Immortal Marrow were extraordinarily harsh, and only a tiny amount would appear after several hundred years. This piece of Immortal Marrow was at least five hundred years old.
Liu Wuxie took a deep breath before tossing the Immortal Marrow into the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron. Over the past two days, he had consumed two hundred thousand immortal stones, and such a terrifying consumption rate looked absolutely monstrous.
Even so, the desolate world had expanded more than twice its size during this time. Liu Wuxie did not know his current combat strength, but based on his estimation, ordinary high-level True Immortals would no longer be his match.
With only a few hours left before classes began, Ye Linghan stood outside Liu Wuxie's room. Dawn had already arrived, yet Liu Wuxie still had not emerged.
The Immortal Marrow contained powerful energy that surged like a raging flood, pouring into the desolate world. His unity with heaven and earth rose even further, and the High Immortal Realm laws he possessed had already reached the ten-million mark. If others learned of it, they would surely be shocked.
"I need to make my breakthrough!" Liu Wuxie gradually grew anxious, for the gateway to the ninth-level High Immortal Realm still refused to appear.
The Desolate Devouring Art circulated to a terrifying degree, and the surrounding immortal energy could no longer satisfy him. He consumed another hundred thousand immortal stones, dissolving them into liquid that flowed within the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron.
"Again!" Liu Wuxie roared, pouring all the liquid into the desolate world in a single breath.
In that instant, he felt the energy inside his body swell violently, as though his body was about to burst apart.
