Rise of Humanity

by <unknown>

  After that, Zhong Yue had taught them the ways to break there the 64 layers of seals, and after the elders and Jun Sixie learned it, they immediately went down again to enter the secret realm.

  However, these elders and Jun Sixie were more aggressive than Zhong Yue. The eleven experts forged the totem godly pillars with mystic gold and implanted them into the 64 layers of seals, forcibly establishing a stable path that would allow safe passage for the others disciples to travel across freely.

  After that, they entered the secret realm and scouted it out thoroughly, marking the areas according to their levels of danger, so that the Swords Gate disciple would be able to avoid specific areas to prevent meaningless deaths. Through the months that the survey lasted, Jun Sixie and the elders had finally finished going around the secret realm, and they kept the two divine weapons away. However, the god's corpse was left untouched so that the disciples could head over and study it.

  These events were of utmost importance, but it was no longer something that was related to Zhong Yue.

  Nowadays, he was in closed-door training, cultivating and preparing to absorb the saint herb.

  Now, I think it’d be a suitable time to absorb the lotus into my psyche ocean?

  Xin Huo said that there weren't any resentment and hatred of the dead gods in the lotus and that even if there were, it would only be to a negligible degree. But Zhong Yue still opted for caution over expedience. Hence, he had cultivated these few days to get himself into his peak form, even bringing his cultivation up to the peak of the Atman Body level.

  Zhong Yue took out the cage and meticulously removed the totem patterns sealing talisman.

  Jun Sixie knew that the lotus was with him, but she didn't ask much, because Zhong Yue had already selflessly handed over the Swords Gate secret realm to them. Even the two divine weapons were left behind for them. Thus, Jun Sixie felt that letting him keep the lotus was the least she could do to repay him.

  After the totem pattern sealing talisman was removed, the cage opened and released the lotus on the altar. The cage was a sealing medium, and once the talisman was taken down, the cage opened like a blooming morning glory.

  Zhong Yue scrutinized it from top to bottom, and he thought, This Nine-pillared Ao Dragon Cage is an incredible soul weapon, Feng Wuji is really rich! Although the Saint Spirit is fake, if he dared to take these two things to seal the Saint Spirit, then these two must be really strong. They should even be able to compete with gods!

  This Nine-pillared Ao Dragon Cage was strong, but that totem pattern sealing talisman was even stronger! It must have been the work of that Xiao Mang ancestor. Its power was definitely earth-shaking!

  Feng Wuji's incarnation, Elder Pu, brought two of these totem pattern sealing talismans, using one to open the Swords Gate secret realm, and the other on sealing the Saint Spirit. None of those tasks would have been easy without the support of these talismans!

  Zhong Yue then kept the talisman in his Yuan Shen secret realm while thinking, I might be able to use it in the future….

  He then reached his hand out to the lotus; it had many roots that coiled together, and it was tens of times bigger than the ordinary flowers. The roots swung in the air as if they were alive.

  There wasn't any more jade liquid left in the altar. The jade liquid formed by the spirits of the gods would disperse and expire as time went on. Not long after the Saint Spirit had matured, the jade liquid had dried up, and Zhong Yue could only feel regret for the waste.

  Zhong Yue breath in slowly, and he surged his psyche to lift the lotus, bringing it into his psyche ocean.

  When the lotus entered his psyche ocean, it suddenly enlarged and grew to hundreds of feet in radius. Zhong Yue's Yuan Shen flew over and sat on the lotus, and with his palms pointing up, he visualized the Sui Sovereign.

  Instantly, his Yuan Shen morphed into the form of Sui Sovereign. A moon and a sun appeared in his eyes as he started absorbing the energy in the lotus.

  Krong——

  He triggered the energy in the lotus and in an instant, an incredibly pure wave of energy engulfed his Yuan Shen like a tsunami!

  Zhong Yue's soul and spirit became filled in a split second, and he quickly calmed his mind and started refining the energy. But his visualization speed was not fast enough….

  Zhong Yue's Yuan Shen was quickly inflated to 200 feet tall before it broke through the limit and continued growing in increments of ten feet every second!

  His Yuan Shen secret realms were spinning rapidly, expanding at a crazy speed that resulted in their sizes doubling nearly every second!

  "Oh … I think this saint herb's efficacy is a little more than what I initially expected…." Xin Huo mumbled to himself while he stared vacantly at it.

  Zhong Yue was shocked, and he asked anxiously, "Xin Huo, if the medicinal efficacy is too strong, will there be any problems?"

  "Well ... not that I know of…."

  A tiny little tail emerged behind the little flame's back, and he scratched his head and answered, "But … if the Yuan Shen grows at a rate that exceeds the limits of its endurance … then the excess energy will crush you, and your secret realms will also burst like a balloon. Mhmm, I think that's what should happen, do you consider this as a problem?"

  Zhong Yue's Yuan Shen quickly stood up from the lotus. The raging Zhong Yue hollered, "What do you think? My secret realms will explode, and my soul will be crushed! What can we do now!?"

  Meanwhile, the tsunami-like energy continued to billow through his body, strengthening his Yuan Shen and expanding his secret realms without pause.

  Zhong Yue yelled, and he quickly cultivated the【Mystic Duplication Technique】to alleviate the burden on himself. After a period of cultivation, his【Mystic Duplication Technique】was seeing huge improvements; both of the Great Sun Demon Spirit and Star Toad Monster Spirit had grown stronger. However, this technique was indeed hard to cultivate, requiring that he split his concentrations into two to nurture his other two incarnated spirits. This was why his other two incarnated spirits weren't too strong.

  As the medicinal efficacy of the saint herb billowed over, the Great Sun Demon Spirit and Star Toad Monster Spirit continued to strengthen.

  Zhong Yue could feel them nearly ascending to the next step, the Yuan Shen third form; however, at this rate, even these other two spirits of his would burst due to the overly excessive energy!

  Chapter 326: Curse of the Gods |

  Zhong Yue had to split his concentration between the Great Sun Demon Crow that cast the【Monster God Ming King Art】and his true self that visualized the Sui Sovereign Fire Order Place. He would be absorbing the medicinal efficacy on both fronts so that his Yuan Shen would not explode due to the excessive energy.

  At the same time, he was trying to make use of the abundant medicinal efficacy to condense his own inner core; as such, he would be able to consume a substantial amount of the excessive medicinal efficacy.

  Totem patterns were waltzing around him, threading through one another and revolving around him as he tried to condense the inner core.

  All of a sudden, Zhong Yue's face changed drastically, and he felt an abnormality emerged from within the medicinal energy. A cacophony of godly voices sounded in his ears, seeming saintly yet nefarious. It significantly hampered his cultivation progress by steering his concentration off track, causing the nearly-condensed inner core to dissipate.

  This was no doubt the remnant hatred of the dead gods that were hidden in the inner core. It felt as if they only existed to destroy everything they could!

  These negative emotions rushed into his Yuan Shen, and although it was not possible to kill Zhong Yue with only this, it was enough cloud his thoughts and throw him into a state of mental disarray. If this continued, he would only be slowly destroyed by the incessant distractions

  Zhong Yue's mind turned muddled, and he growled, "Xin Huo, can you not be so unreliable. Really … please…."

  "Quick, go up to the upper lightn
ing zone!"

  Xin Huo quickly said, "Use the lightning to smite away the hatred!"

  “It’s fine now.”

  Zhong Yue ran a full check on his Yuan Shen and said puzzlingly, “I think they are gone already.”

  "No, they are still in you, they are feeding you illusions to deceive you into thinking you are safe!"

  Xin Huo said anxiously, "Those that were infected would not realize it until it is was too late. Your mind has been clouded by it, and now, you should have felt like you have full control over the medicinal energy, but the last thing you will see at the end of that would be your own Yuan Shen exploding and yourself dying! So quickly go to the lightning zone and let the Pure Yang lightning banish their hatred out of you. Refine your Yuan Shen and exhaust the excess medicinal efficacy!"

  Indeed, Zhong Yue felt as if he had control over the medicinal efficacy, just like how Xin Huo described. He was even initially surprised by this as he understood well how difficult it was to control.

  He knew that the medicinal efficacy was more than sufficient to fill his Yuan Shen to the brim and cause it to ultimate. Even now, his Yuan Shen and the incarnated spirits were still growing bigger and seemed like they would continue to do so until they completely burst apart. If it wasn't due to the gods' remnant hatred, how could this have happened?

  Although these curse and hatred of the gods were only scarce emotions lingering in the mortal world after the gods' death, they were still deadly enough to kill without its victims even realizing a thing at all!

  Zhong Yue rocketed straight up toward to the sky and disappeared into the thick clouds. As soon as he entered the lightning zone, the thunder started rumbling, and lightning could be seen flicking past the sides.

  Xin Huo was shocked, and he quickly said, "Too high, too high! You've been deceived again, you've lost your usual keen judgment. This level of lightning can kill you in just a single flash! Quickly get down, go lower, lower! Stop, here, right here, this is the spot, don't go any higher or any lower."

  The little flame was very nervous, the gods' resentment was now influencing Zhong Yue; he couldn't make any right decisions, and a single mistake at a time like this could cost him his life. It was a dangerous period he was in right now!

  "This whole affair seems way more difficult than I initially anticipated…."

  The little flame was in a gloomy mood, he mumbled softly to himself, "I expected that visualizing the Sui Sovereign would be sufficient to smite the curses and resentments away, but now we had to use the Pure Yang lightning. Sigh, it seems like Brat Yue will have to endure some bitter times … En, I think it's best to just keep quiet and chalk it up to him being too weak to endure it rather than admitting that it was my fault … Mhmm, let’s do that….”

  The lightning zone was divided into several levels according to the intensity of the Pure Yang lightning. The Pure Yang Lightning Zone was the strongest, even stronger than the lightning zone he was in with the 36 Xiao Mang experts during the South Barren interception battle.

  The lightning here was of a higher purity. There were little to no impurities in it, and they were said to be capable of smiting all evil away.

  All of a sudden, a flash of lightning struck down right at him and charred him black. His hairs stood up like bristles, and his skin ruptured open.

  But the gods' resentment also controlled his senses, numbing his sense of pain and causing him to cast his Yuan Shen out to be willingly struck by lightning.

  This also meant that even if he were beheaded now, he wouldn't feel any pain. Without that sense of pain to guide him, there would be no sense of danger. He wouldn't feel his life being threatened, and as such, there would be no countermeasures he could take to prevent death.

  How disastrous, Brat Yue's cultivation base is still too weak to reap the benefits of enduring the Pure Yang lightning. But with the medicinal efficacy of the saint herb, he will only have to suffer a little bit. He wouldn't die.

  Xin Huo whistled as he thought, and he turned his head to the other side and acted as though he didn't see anything at all.

  They were at the outermost rim of the Pure Yang Lightning Zone, and the Pure Yang lightning striking onto Zhong Yue was also the weakest; but even so, this was still too much for Qi Practitioners like Zhong Yue to endure.

  Ka-cha … Ka-cha ——

  The Pure Yang lightning rained down on him, and one after another, Zhong Yue became charred black like charcoal.

  But the energy of the lotus was incredibly strong, even if his mortal body were severely damaged, he was still kept alive. His blood and flesh regenerated at rapid, rate and his blood essence remained bursting with vitality.

  Under the saint herb's nourishment, he was like a magnate who had cultivated the Immortal Body. His mortal body was recuperating with its medicinal efficacy, and every time it regenerated, his mortal body would become stronger than before!

  It was only the weakest Pure Yang lightning that struck on him, but they still managed to inflict such heavy damage to his mortal body. Let alone his mortal body, if his Yuan Shen were to suffer such harm, the consequences would be disastrous.

  Zhong Yue's Yuan Shen was 300 feet tall; but when the first lightning bolt struck him, his Yuan Shen nearly exploded. In just one strike, his Yuan Shen had been shrunk by over 30 percent, leaving it only two hundred-some feet tall!

  Meanwhile, the Great Sun Demon Crow and the Star Toad Monster Spirit were reduced to only tens of feet tall!

  When the second lightning bolt struck down, his Yuan Shen had already grown to two hundred and forty-some feet, but when it was struck, it returned to being only over a hundred feet tall. His other two incarnated spirits only now nearly five feet tall.

  When the third struck, his Yuan Shen was 140 feet tall, and the other two spirits were the size of a washbasin.

  When the fifth came, the Great Sun Demon Crow and Star Toad Monster Spirit became the size of a little cup.

  Um … the Pure Yang lightning is a little too strong. His Yuan Shen will be struck into nothingness if it keeps on going like this.

  Xin Huo was shocked, and he quickly said, "Brat Yue, quick, take out that lotus and absorb the medicinal efficacy in it, else you will be struck to death by the lightning!"

  Zhong Yue quickly took out then lotus and sat on it, absorbing the energy in it. His Yuan Shen suddenly inflated at an appallingly rate again.

  But when the Pure Yang lightning struck it, his Yuan Shen was shrunk again!

  The Pure Yang lightning is too strong; they strike down like divine swords. Every strike could diminish a considerable portion of his Yuan Shen. But the silver lining was that he resulted in the rapid strengthening of his Yuan Shen and the speedy growth of his other two incarnated spirits. The rate of improvement he was experiencing was, without doubt, much faster than cultivating on his own.

  At the same time, Zhong Yue could feel the gods' resentment being eradicated with every strike of the Pure Yang lightning.

  His full consciousness started to return, and his thoughts regained its usual clarity. Knowing where he stood now, he quickly absorbed more energy from the lotus to nourish his Yuan Shen while he was also casting the totem patterns of the Immortal Body, trying to make use of this golden opportunity to successfully cultivate the Immortal Body.

  This lotus was the medium in which the Saint Spirit was nurtured. The Saint Spirit was stolen, but the lotus still had an incredible energy in it. Even though Zhong Yue was now sucking away the energy in it, it seemed like there wasn't any reduction of energy at all. Indeed, it was worthy of being called a saint herb.

  His Yuan Shen, along with the Great Sun Demon Crow and the Star Toad Monster Spirit, was growing at an alarming rate. Even his mortal body was being strengthened to a new level. Zhong Yue could feel the muscles in his mortal body being disintegrated by the lightning, and in the next second, the tissue would regrow even stronger than before with the help of the saint herb. With each cycle of decomposition and regrowth, his morta
l body would become even stronger!

  The Great Sun Demon Crow and the Star Toad Monster Spirit were weaker in comparison, but with them undergoing the same process, they were also becoming stronger, clearer, and more corporeal!

  If he had cultivated the【Mystic Duplication Technique】at his usual pace, he would have taken ages to cultivate it to the end successfully; but now, with the help of the Pure Yang lightning and the medicinal efficacy of the saint herb, he would be able to save years of time!

  The Pure Yang lightnings should have stricken him dead in just one strike, while the gods' resentment in the saint herb should have given him with a tragic death.

  And yet with these two destructive forces attacking him together, his strength and cultivation base grew by leaps and bounds!

  As time passed, the two incarnated spirits were now filled with an abundance of arcane energy. Zhong Yue could even tell that these two incarnated spirits of his now already had 30 percent of his true prowess.

  Now the two incarnated spirits were at the peak of the Rebirth level, and they were on the brink of achieving their third forms.

  At this rate, it wasn't even an issue for the Great Sun Demon Crow and Star Toad Monster Spirit to ascend to the levels of Atman Body, or even condense their own inner cores to ascent to the Inner Core level!

  But without a demon cultivation method, Zhong Yue couldn't make the Great Sun Demon Crow condense a demon inner core. While on the other hand, he had the【Monster God Ming King Art】for the Star Toad Monster Spirit to condense a monster inner core.

  After condensing the inner core, he could then try to cultivate a second Yuan Shen and nurture it with his blood to ultimately transform it into his Long Yue incarnation!

  After a while, the Great Sun Demon Crow suddenly shuddered violently, it flared its wings out and transformed into its third form — a three-taloned, bird-headed celestial being. While at the same time, the Star Toad Monster Spirit also achieved its third form — a six-eyed, three-legged celestial creature.