Chapter Seventy-Three: Having Both Fish and Bear’s Paw

“Achieving immortality is not difficult. What I want to know is, which kind of immortality do you mean?” Wang Li had barely finished speaking when Master Sheng interrupted him.

“There are different kinds of immortality?” Wang Li thought he must have misheard.

“Of course. Different people have different definitions of immortality, so naturally, their pursuits vary as well.” Master Sheng’s tone suggested this was only natural.

Wang Li’s mind was completely muddled. He searched his memory but could find no other explanation for immortality. He began to suspect that Master Sheng was just making up another theory.

Master Sheng instantly sensed his thoughts and shook his head, saying, “The world calls me mad, but I laugh at those who cannot see through things. Where you stand determines what you see. You’re still on the first level, while I, Master Sheng, am looking from outer space. The divide between us is so vast that it already affects our normal communication.”

“What on earth are you saying?” Wang Li was even more confused.

“I’m speaking plainly—you just don’t understand.” Master Sheng clasped his hands behind his back and gazed upward, forty-five degrees into the swirling chaos above, lamenting, “Life is lonely, a true confidant hard to find. Ah! When will this snow-like loneliness ever end?”

Wang Li couldn’t comprehend Master Sheng’s demeanor and, ever the pragmatist, pressed on with questions about immortality.

Why practice cultivation?

His limited knowledge told him cultivation was simply about seeking immortality—nothing deeper.

Master Sheng’s melancholy musings fell on deaf ears. Seeing Wang Li’s bewildered expression, he quickly lost interest, shook his head, and disappeared from sight.

Master Sheng gone, Wang Li stood dazed. “Don’t go, Master Sheng! I still don’t understand what kinds of immortality there are.”

“If you don’t understand, stop asking, you fool!” Master Sheng’s voice rang out, driving Wang Li from that chaotic realm.

He wasn’t truly angry—there were things he couldn’t say just yet. Wang Li was still too weak; knowing too much would do him no good.

It took Wang Li some time to grasp Master Sheng’s meaning. Any irritation he’d felt melted away. Though their conversation had been rather awkward, it actually strengthened Wang Li’s trust in Master Sheng.

Of course, it might have simply been Wang Li’s own perception. Master Sheng’s plump, pale figure seemed much more approachable than the image of an irritable old man, giving him a sense of closeness.

Once he realized Master Sheng wasn’t upset with him, Wang Li settled his mind and began to focus on cultivating the “Second Enhanced Edition of Purple Qi from the East.”

The description of the “Second Enhanced Edition of Purple Qi from the East” was apt. If, before its upgrade, the “Advanced Edition of Purple Qi from the East” absorbed and converted spiritual energy with an efficiency of one, the upgraded version’s efficiency was ten or even twenty. Wang Li couldn’t quantify the difference precisely, but by his own estimation, it was undeniable—the improved technique was incredibly powerful. The spiritual power he gained from just this one technique now surpassed what he’d previously achieved by running all three of his methods at full force.

“No wonder it’s a mid-tier Profound-level technique! Its strength is truly extraordinary!”

Amazed by the power of the Profound-level technique, Wang Li tried combining the “Second Enhanced Edition of Purple Qi from the East” with “Righteous Thunderbolt” and “Soul Suppression Formula.” He found the two high-grade Yellow-level techniques still enhanced his absorption and conversion efficiency, but they clearly struggled to keep up with the rhythm of the upgraded “Purple Qi from the East.”

“The gap in quality between the techniques is just too great—they can’t work together perfectly.”

“I’ll need to find an opportunity to upgrade ‘Righteous Thunderbolt’ and ‘Soul Suppression Formula’ as well.”

But he didn’t have enough thunder-attribute or spiritual-type techniques on hand, so he had to set the idea aside and turned his attention to the offensive spells within the “Second Enhanced Edition of Purple Qi from the East.”

When synthesizing this technique, Wang Li had deliberately increased the proportion of attack spells, with gratifying results. The complete “Second Enhanced Edition of Purple Qi from the East” not only boasted an impressive absorption speed, it also included three fire-attribute attack spells: “Blazing Sun Mountain-Cleaving Palm,” “Golden Wheel of Purple Qi,” and “Rapid Shadow Sword.”

“Blazing Sun Mountain-Cleaving Palm” was an enhanced version of “Furious Fire Vajra Palm,” suited for both close combat and ranged attacks. Its power was several times greater than its predecessor, though it also consumed several times more spiritual energy. Fortunately, Wang Li’s cultivation had advanced; he no longer needed to worry about exhausting his energy after just a few strikes.

The “Golden Wheel of Purple Qi” was a pure long-range attack. It condensed fire-attribute spiritual power between the hands into a spinning, crimson golden flaming disc, which could be hurled at the enemy. This spell not only retained the burning qualities of fire-attribute attacks, but also added a slicing effect. It was designed for tough-skinned or armor-clad opponents. In simulated battle scenarios, Wang Li found that when he unleashed the “Golden Wheel of Purple Qi” with all his might, he could break through Jin Lan’s mid-tier Profound-level armor and the protective energy shields conjured by the Lin brothers at the fifth stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

However, being able to break the Lin brothers’ energy shields didn’t mean Wang Li could defeat a fifth-stage Nascent Soul expert. The brothers’ combat experience was vast—he might not even get a chance to attack in a real fight.

Still, it couldn’t be denied that Wang Li now had a trump card. When facing Nascent Soul cultivators, he finally had a means of self-preservation.

“Rapid Shadow Sword,” meanwhile, was like a fire-attribute enhanced version of the “Soul Suppression Formula’s” ultimate move. When used, three thousand crimson sword shadows imbued with spiritual and fire-attribute energy would appear behind Wang Li, launching simultaneous physical and spiritual attacks at his opponent. The technique was formidable—unless the enemy’s soul was much stronger than Wang Li’s, or they had a specialized soul-protecting artifact like Jiang Yue’s, they would be vulnerable to a surprise spiritual assault while distracted by the fiery sword shadows.

Wang Li was very pleased with all three attack spells. He practiced them constantly in simulated battle, determined not to falter in real combat.

As Wang Li steadily grew stronger, New Vengeance City was changing before his eyes.

The most remarkable change was the disciples’ rapid improvement. In just a few months, several experts at the Core Formation stage had emerged in succession. Jiang Yu had successfully passed her tribulation and formed her core; Hong Luanfeng and Nan Qi had reached the fourth level of Core Formation; and Zhou Qian was the most astonishing of all—after his tribulation, a battle spirit took up residence in his core, and he immediately reached the peak of the second level.

Ling Xiao truly lived up to his reputation as a child of destiny. When forming his core, he attracted a ninefold heavenly tribulation—a calamity that only appeared when cultivators at the Great Ascension stage shed their mortal shell. Yet he emerged unscathed, not shedding a drop of blood, and his body in the Core Formation stage was as strong as that of an Earth Immortal. It was enough to make anyone envious!