Chapter 211: Body Of Gods and Demons

Chapter 211: Divine Demon Physique

The premise of this alliance felt somewhat awkward...

Both sides were "rebels," and unlike with the Maitreya Sect, there were no doctrinal conflicts; this alliance should have been a perfect match. What they ought to be discussing was the distribution of benefits—for instance, whether the Four Symbols Sect could become the state religion after the Wang family succeeded in their uprising, and so on...

Yet what came out was, "What was given to Changhe really works."

Wang Zhaoling thought to himself, we still have to kill Zhao Changhe; what use is it whether this thing works or not...

No... Xia Chichi's meaning was actually that the premise of the alliance was their attitude toward Zhao Changhe?

Wang Zhaoling frowned and asked, "Is this the will of the Vermilion Bird Venerable?"

Xia Chichi smiled sweetly. "Indeed. Without the Venerable's word, how could I represent the Holy Sect in making decisions?"

Wang Zhaoling nodded. "Please, Holy Maiden, enter and meet with my father to discuss the details."

Xia Chichi gave him a deep look, said nothing, and followed him into the Wang family compound.

In truth, the Wang family could agree on the surface while plotting assassination in secret—no one would know, and even if they did, there would be no proof. As more and more people began to suspect Zhao Changhe's identity, those who wanted him dead might also multiply, and no one would know who struck.

Once the two sides cooperated, such unsubstantiated matters would not affect the bigger picture.

Thus, this condition was merely a form of pressure, making the Wang family act with restraint—at the very least, they could not send people bearing the Wang family's clear mark to kill Zhao Changhe. This would, in turn, weed out a large number of experts from the Heaven, Earth, and Human Rankings, easing Zhao Changhe's burden considerably.

At this moment, Xia Chichi was quite puzzled as to why the Venerable wanted to protect Zhao Changhe...

Standing in the distance, Vermilion Bird was also helpless. Of course, she had to protect Zhao Changhe—she hadn't yet figured out his strange starry phenomenon, so how could she let anyone kill him casually...

This whole affair... anyone unaware might think the Four Symbols Sect had already struck some secret agreement with Zhao Changhe...

No one was more anxious than Vermilion Bird now. Though she knew who the Black Tortoise was and where he was, the journey was long, and the place itself was vast. She had already sent people to contact the Black Tortoise urgently, but reaching that dead turtle in a short time was too difficult... There was no choice but to protect Zhao Changhe first and figure out the rest later...

Vermilion Bird was even worried that Zhao Changhe might get into trouble with that wretched sea mud of his—she had never been this tense even when caring for her own son.

...

Zhao Changhe was not in trouble; he was feeling great.

Wrapped entirely in the sea mud, he felt a hazy, melting sensation, his thoughts drifting, his whole body at ease—as if countless little hands were massaging him in a grand spa, with strands of coolness seeping into his body, nourishing and repairing the hidden injuries of his flesh.

To put it more mysteriously, it felt a bit like returning to the womb... Zhao Changhe didn't know what it was like in the womb, nor why this thought came to him...

In any case, under careful internal observation, he could see that his past battles and the eruptions of killing intent had accumulated many invisible minor issues in his body over time, and the sea mud was slowly mending them.

Just this alone made the whole trip worthwhile.

As for his meridians, they weren't being forcibly widened; it was still the same concept as repairing the body—restoring these "unhealthy" meridians to a slightly healthier, thicker state.

Thus, as Wang Zhaoling had said, the effect on widening the meridians was only "slight," but because his expectations were low, this so-called "slight" already brought Zhao Changhe great surprise.

To give an analogy... suppose the meridian width of a prodigy like Yue Hongling was as thick as a finger; Zhao Changhe's might be no more than a toothpick.

So even though he possessed a peerless divine art, Zhao Changhe's internal energy cultivation remained extremely difficult because his meridians were too narrow to circulate much true qi. Breaking through the fifth barrier had required the trick of using the Four Symbols Sect's method of resonating with the stars. The further he went, the harder it became. This trick of the Four Symbols Sect at least required a certain foundation; if things continued like this, he might still rely on it for the sixth and seventh barriers, but by the eighth or ninth, he might never break through in his lifetime.

Yet Yue Hongling, younger than him, with no better techniques and similar talent and insight, had furiously broken through the ninth barrier at just twenty years old—this was the vast difference in meridian conditions.

When a finger thickens to the size of a toothpick, that is certainly "slight," but when a toothpick thickens to the size of a toothpick, that is doubling...

Zhao Changhe had never felt his internal true qi so surging and powerful—this was truly a river in flood, wasn't it? Before, it was just a stinking ditch!

He was certain that with his current "double toothpick" size, he could break through the sixth barrier without relying on the Four Symbols Sect's star method. All he needed to do now was accumulate enough true qi until he reached the threshold...

The poor meridians mainly affected output, including combat burst and barrier breakthroughs, but they did not affect the speed of accumulating true qi through the Six Harmonies Divine Art—in that regard, he had always been fast. It might not be long before his internal cultivation could also break through to the sixth level...

Zhao Changhe was almost in tears.

What divine substance was this sea mud?

Oh, right—could the Heavenly Scripture analyze it?

Zhao Changhe focused his mind into his bosom and sensed the gold leaf there.

The gold leaf did not react... What a pity. This page of the Heavenly Scripture should be about martial arts, not related to strange objects. That meant there should be another page corresponding to such objects?

Wait...

Zhao Changhe was astonished to find that the energy in the sea mud seemed to be "repairing" the Heavenly Scripture as well... The previously dull gold leaf began to glow slightly...

Further unsealing? Would unsealing it kill him first?

After a short while, a brilliant golden light appeared, and the "VR" display showed four characters: "Innate Dao Body."

Then nothing.

Zhao Changhe pondered silently. According to this page of the Heavenly Scripture, which only corresponded to martial arts, this likely meant that the ultimate goal of this body transformation and repair was a cultivation path called "Innate Dao Body." But because this clump of sea mud was too basic, the Heavenly Scripture could only interpret the name, with no specific cultivation method introduced.

This concept was quite interesting, because in this world, no one had ever heard of such notions as "some Dao Body" or "some Demon Physique" from various fantasy works—it all seemed very wuxia. Yet it appeared that such things existed in the previous era, only to be lost in the river of history.

If there was a greatest rift between the two eras, was it this? What Xia Longyuan, Wang Daoning, and others called "opening the three great treasures" was not the end of cultivation—was this the step they had missed? When the body transformed into a different kind of physique, did that become the boundary between humans and gods or demons?

Just as he was thinking this, the gold leaf oozed out specks of ice-blue energy, as if in rejection.

It seemed to have absorbed the energy to partially unseal itself, but then expelled the "residue," as if saying, "You are not worthy to merge with me."

Then the "VR" displayed new words: "Infiltration of special energy related to the Sea Clan. Recommend expulsion."

Zhao Changhe's heart skipped a beat.

So this sea mud had two sides: it could help improve the body, but at the same time, it could be infiltrated by some alien energy, potentially leading to control or assimilation later?

Zhao Changhe immediately activated the Six Harmonies Divine Art fully, using its "poison resistance" to check for any unusual energy within him. Soon, he detected strands of ice-blue lurking in his dantian, meridians, and even cells—hidden so deeply and nearly indistinguishable from his own inner breath that he would never have noticed without the Heavenly Scripture's warning.

Zhao Changhe broke out in a cold sweat. Carefully and thoroughly, he expelled these energies, then let out a long sigh.

Thank goodness for the Heavenly Scripture...

Judging by Wang Zhaoling's attitude, they probably didn't even know about this—it didn't seem like a scheme.

The Wang family's "urgency" and their puzzling actions—could they be related to this? Perhaps the Wang family had been infiltrated without knowing it themselves?

Zhao Changhe wiped the sea mud from his face and opened his eyes. Cui Yuanyang was sitting cross-legged in front of him, her knees drawn up, her eyes sparkling as she studied his snowman-like appearance, her expression tender.

Zhao Changhe's heart softened. This girl had really stayed here in this pitch-black, bone-chilling ice cave, watching over him without moving.

Seeing him poke his head out, Cui Yuanyang couldn't help but laugh. "All done?"

"Yeah." Zhao Changhe shook himself, and the sea mud scattered, its internal energy completely gone, turning into meaningless ice cream.

He gently embraced Cui Yuanyang. "How long was I wrapped in this? Are you cold?"

With her Purple Qi Clear River cultivated to the fifth level, how could she fear the cold of a mere ice cave? But Zhao Changhe subconsciously still thought of her as the little rabbit shivering in the rain, so he asked naturally.

"Over an hour." Cui Yuanyang snuggled into his arms, her eyes darting, and said in a coquettish voice, "I'm cold, Brother Zhao, hold me."

If the big bear dared to ask, the little rabbit dared to answer.

Neither of them realized that if she was cold, they could just leave... but both of them were thinking only of holding each other tighter...

And as they held each other, Zhao Changhe couldn't help but kiss her.

A gleam of triumph flashed in the little rabbit's eyes, and she pouted her little mouth.

This was so pleasant—after that kiss the other day, she really wanted to kiss again...