Free Web NovelChapter 380: Chapter 363: All for the Holy Statue
This had nothing to do with looks. The other four all carried an innate pride. Even if they tried to hide it, that swagger was irrepressible. But one of them, Number Two, possessed an indescribable calm. ’He’s just like Mingren.’
If that was the case, then Mingren’s Holy Light Demon Collapse Body must be truly extraordinary.
In truth, the five of them were also sizing each other up. Masks concealed their expressions, but whether they were openly part of the Extreme Dao Alliance or undercover in the Star Alliance, they were all surely prominent figures.
Wang Meng was starting to understand. The Extreme Dao Alliance’s strategy was to infiltrate the Star Alliance from within.
’Even some of the Sects that joined the Extreme Dao Alliance probably don’t engage in direct confrontation like the Celestial Secret Sect. With so much at stake—even life and death—it’s more likely they’re playing both sides. To put it nicely, you could call it lying low. To be blunt, they’re just fence-sitters, taking things one step at a time.’
’Wang Meng’s own intentions for coming here were clear. If the Extreme Dao Alliance and the Star Alliance were merely fighting over benefits, he would use the conflict to gain some advantages for himself. But if the Demon Race was truly involved, he would stand with the Extreme Dao Alliance without a second thought.’
The Dragon Transformation Hall Elder smiled faintly. "The five of you, please proceed. Your cave residences are in the northern ’Zi’ district. The Dragon Transformation Liquid has been prepared according to your specific constitutions. You may use it for one ancient hour each day." fгeewebnovёl.com
The five of them exchanged glances before walking inside. Only then did the Dragon Transformation Hall Elder turn to the others. "Next are those with constitutions suited for a Life Artifact. The eight of you will be in the southern ’Chou’ district."
The eight individuals with Life Artifact-compatible constitutions stepped forward, striding proudly ahead. The rest were likely just the ordinarily Talented.
They may have been elites in their own Sects or even at the Cultivation Academy, but the competition here was far fiercer. Still, every one of them was filled with silent determination. A special constitution only meant a greater opportunity; they had a chance as well.
Wang Meng found Number Seventy-Nine on the west side. The entrance to the cave was not large, but the moment he stepped inside, his eyes lit up. It was a true Sleeve Universe, a whole other world.
Directly ahead was a White Jade Pool large enough for four or five people. From dragon heads at each of its four corners flowed a fragrant, pale-white fluid—pure Elemental Power.
This was a Spiritual Liquid for cleansing the body and refining the marrow, something completely incomparable to Spirit Stones. Wang Meng was finally seeing it for himself. He had only heard of such things back at the Holy Hall, assuming they were just legends. They were sold at the Cultivation Academy, but the price was an absolute rip-off.
’To think it can be used so freely here,’ Wang Meng thought. ’This Extreme Dao Alliance is truly impressive.’
Wang Meng floated in the Spiritual Liquid, feeling a decadent urge. He didn’t let himself get too carried away, however. According to the sorting, his was the lowest grade—an already diluted Spiritual Liquid. The pure stuff was clearly reserved for the Cultivators with Holy Statue and Life Artifact constitutions.
The great and famous Sects all valued a strong foundation, especially before the Thirtieth Layer. They discouraged disciples from advancing too quickly, prioritizing a solid base. It could be said that before the fortieth layer, as long as one’s talent wasn’t poor and they had access to resources, advancement was relatively quick. Breaking through to Minor Perfection, however, was the first true hurdle.
In the parlance of the Cultivation Realm, Minor Perfection was the first true trial of Cultivation.
This was the point where Cultivators began to diverge. People like Thunderbolt, for instance, had failed to form a Life Artifact. Their options were to either remain and guard their Sect or enter the Great Yuan Realm and fight for their lives. Those who did succeed in forming a Life Artifact, however, became the treasures of their respective Sects and were nurtured with every available resource. If a Cultivator managed to form a Holy Statue, they would immediately become a member of the Star Alliance and the designated successor of their Sect.
On a table were two simple items: a tome and a White Jade Pill Bottle.
This was a place for seclusion. All who qualified to come here already possessed a solid foundation and were ready to make a push for Minor Perfection. After reaching Minor Perfection, raising one’s Elemental Power level would become much more difficult.
Therefore, it was crucial to navigate this stage properly. Successfully forming a Holy Statue or a Life Artifact would put a Cultivator a huge step ahead of their peers, granting them a future with limitless potential.
The tome was a handwritten copy, apparently a collection of insights on the path to Minor Perfection, compiled by some great master from the Extreme Dao Alliance.
Wang Meng had only intended to flip through it casually, but the more he read, the more engrossed he became. ’This is truly priceless.’
No one here would change their Cultivation Technique; they all had their own Sect’s unique methods, perhaps supplemented by their time at the Cultivation Academy. Compared to techniques, these insights were far more valuable.
Minor Perfection was humanity’s first true leap in power. At that moment, there was a chance of triggering a Celestial Tribulation. A Celestial Tribulation was actually a good thing, as it would only appear for those who formed something as heaven-defying as a Holy Statue or a Life Artifact. After weathering the tribulation’s baptism, one would become even more powerful.
Before reaching the forty-ninth layer, one only needed to use the Dragon Transformation Pool in conjunction with Dragon Transformation Pills. That was sufficient. But that wasn’t the crucial part. The crucial part was the single moment of stepping from the forty-ninth layer to the Fifty Layers.
How to seize that moment!
Advancing from the forty-ninth layer to the Fifty Layers would trigger a metamorphosis, a massive transformation of one’s entire being. An opportunity would arise within the Sea of Fate, giving birth to a Life Artifact nourished by the Sea of Fate and forged from one’s own consciousness!
A Holy Statue, on the other hand, was an opportunity born from the Sea of Heart. It was, in a sense, an amplification of one’s innate talent, manifesting as a unique ability that would be terrifyingly powerful in future battles.
However, neither a Holy Statue nor a Life Artifact could be artificially created. First, one had to possess the innate talent for it; only then did method and luck come into play.
Someone like Mingren, who had already shown his talent for a Holy Statue while only just past the Thirtieth Layer, was undoubtedly the cream of the crop. His chances were considered extremely high, and great hopes were pinned on him. Of course, nothing was certain until it was accomplished. If Mingren truly managed to form the Holy Light Demon Collapse Holy Statue, his future would take an entirely different path.
Wang Meng studied the details carefully: the nature of the opportunity for a Holy Statue or a Life Artifact, how to seize it when it appeared, how to cultivate it, and how to withstand the ensuing Celestial Tribulation.
「Within the Celestial Secret Sect」
Before the three Elders floated a massive mirror, which clearly displayed the situation inside each disciple’s cave residence.
The Celestial Secret Sect was responsible for such matters within the Extreme Dao Alliance. This was partly because their Magic was well-suited for the task, and partly so they could control core intelligence. These disciples were the future pillars of the Extreme Dao Alliance; their potential, their abilities, and even their identities were all crucial pieces of information.
Naturally, their focus remained on the five Cultivators who had the potential to form a Holy Statue.
Of the five, four had eagerly entered the Dragon Transformation Pool to cultivate after reading the Minor Perfection tome. Such treatment was a luxury only found in top-tier Sects, a rare and valuable opportunity for them. But Number Two was acting strangely. He leisurely flipped through the tome, seemingly in no hurry at all. After reading for a short while, he actually began to wander around his cave, showing no enthusiasm for cultivation whatsoever.
"What’s with that kid?" the Third Elder couldn’t help but mutter. "His Elemental Power level is the lowest of the five, yet he isn’t seizing this chance?"
"A Holy Light Demon Collapse Body is rare even among Sacred Bodies. For one to appear in a low-ranked Small Thousand Realm is nothing short of a miracle," the Great Elder said calmly, clearly much more composed than the Second and Third Elders. "However, we shouldn’t get our hopes too high. The chances of success for any of these candidates are slim. The better the constitution, the more difficult the breakthrough."
The Celestial Secret Sect seemed to know a great deal about Wang Meng and Mingren. Clearly, there were things that Wang Meng and the others were simply not privy to.
"Our development is still too slow. The Star Alliance is far too far ahead of us."
The Great Elder sighed.
"They have an Innate advantage. We had to scrape and claw for everything we have just to get this small opportunity."
"It’s not bad. We’re much stronger than we were before, and we’ve won over a good number of allies!"
"Let’s just hope one of them can produce a Holy Statue. Even one would be a success."
The three Elders were filled with anticipation. The Dragon Transformation Pills and Spiritual Liquid were both extremely valuable resources, and the Extreme Dao Alliance had expended great effort to gather them. If not a single Holy Statue or Life Artifact was produced, it would all have been for naught.
But the most outstanding disciples were almost always snatched up by the Star Alliance first, leaving them to try their luck with the next tier. Of course, some Sects completely loyal to the Extreme Dao Alliance would secretly hide their best disciples. A talent like Mingren slipping through the cracks was an incredibly rare stroke of luck.
Wang Meng read the tome on Minor Perfection again and again, and he finally understood why the Elders of the Celestial Secret Sect weren’t optimistic about his chances.
’Cultivating a Five Elements Body was difficult, yes, but with the right method and sufficient resources, it wasn’t so terrible before the Minor Perfection stage. Gaining power was actually quite easy. The real problem came at the Minor Perfection breakthrough. This hurdle was incredibly difficult to overcome, and there was no telling how many resources it would consume. Even if, by some heaven-defying luck, he did break through, the nature of a body with all Five Elements meant that no single element was prominent. A Holy Statue, however, required one element to be pushed to the extreme to manifest. And the more extreme the manifestation, the lower the chance of success. Mingren, with his Holy Light Demon Collapse Body—a type of anomalous law-based constitution—also faced immense difficulty. One could only imagine, then, that for Wang Meng and his Five Elements Body, the odds were practically zero.’
’Furthermore, even if he got incredibly lucky and a phenomenon—or even multiple phenomena—did appear, the Celestial Tribulation he’d face would be five times more powerful than an ordinary Cultivator’s. He would be struck dead, no question.’
’Humans weren’t part of the Demon Race; they couldn’t withstand that. It would all be for nothing. The only reason the Celestial Secret Sect was letting him try was because they assumed he wouldn’t be able to form a Holy Statue or a Life Artifact at all, thus avoiding a Celestial Tribulation. A Five Elements Body at the Minor Perfection realm would still be stronger than an average Cultivator at that level. All things considered, that wasn’t a bad outcome, even if it couldn’t compare to those with a Holy Statue or Life Artifact.’
Wang Meng himself wasn’t bothered. ’A Celestial Tribulation? I have something that’s already faced a supreme Celestial Tribulation locked inside me. How much worse can it get?’
After his Five Elements Technique had reached the Third Layer, his progress had slowed to a crawl. Facing an opponent like Dragon King Hua Jianyu, if he didn’t break through to the Fourth Layer, he would face certain death. He had to make an attempt, no matter what.
Wang Meng stepped into the Dragon Transformation Pool and began to circulate his Five Elements Technique. The sensation was completely different from using Spirit Stones. Immersed in the Spiritual Liquid, the Five Elements Technique was noticeably more active, and power surged into him endlessly. Time trickled by. Wang Meng completed a full Circulation, opened his eyes, and stepped out of the pool. He felt his spirit soar, his entire body brimming with power—not just his Sea of Fate, but his Sea of Heart as well.
This was an effect that Spirit Stones could never provide. Suddenly, he felt Sanmao calling to him. Wang Meng realized he hadn’t let Sanmao out in a long time. The moment it appeared, Sanmao blinked its big, innocent eyes, staring pitifully at the Dragon Transformation Pool. WHOOSH! It shot toward the pool, only to be seen struggling in mid-air a moment later.
Wang Meng grabbed Sanmao and pulled it back. "Behave. This isn’t our territory."
Sanmao gestured toward the Dragon Transformation Pool, then pointed to itself. It resorted to its ultimate pitiful-look-while-tugging-on-his-sleeve attack, leaving Wang Meng at a complete loss.
