Chapter 351: Chapter 355: The Mad Disciple of the Eternal Temple_1
Qin Wudao did not rush to leave; instead, he began to examine the information.
Chaos Qi is a potent energy that existed before the creation of the heavens and earth. It can transform into myriad forces, surpasses all other forms of energy, and can only be absorbed by a Chaos Divine Body.
...
Name: Li Jing!
Cultivation: Peak Semi-Emperor Martial Artist!
Cultivation Technique: "Military God Warfare Achievement"!
Profile: One of the twenty-four meritorious officials of Lingyan Pavilion. He destroyed the Xiao and Liang states, defeated Fu Gongshi, conquered the Eastern Turks, and pacified Tuyuhun. Undefeated in all his battles, he was acclaimed as the Military God of the Great Tang Dynasty!
...
Name: Sun Simiao!
Cultivation: Early-stage Quasi-emperor Realm!
Cultivation Technique: "Thousand Gold Medical Secrets"!
Profile: A medical scholar and Taoist of the Tang Dynasty, revered as the "Medicine King." He highly valued folk medical experience, constantly accumulating it through visits and diligent recording. He completed the masterpiece "Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold Pieces," and in the fourth year of Emperor Gaozong’s Xianqing reign, he finished the world’s first national pharmacopoeia, the "Tang New Materia Medica."
...
Name: Book of Life and Death!
Alias: Book of Life and Death!
Function: It is a register used by the Underworld to manage the lifespans of all sentient beings. It is overseen by the Judge assisting King Yama and records the appointed time of life and death for every human and creature in the mortal realm. This includes the duration of their earthly life and their time in the afterlife. Its primary purpose is to control life and death, containing all life information from birth to demise!
Note: Although the Host controls the Book of Life and Death, he cannot arbitrarily tamper with the information of living beings!
...
After reviewing all the information, Qin Wudao was profoundly astonished. The system’s rewards this time were exceptionally generous, especially the Earthly Book, which was on par with the Investiture of the Gods.
To hold the Book of Life and Death, to command the mortal and immortal lifespans of all beings—that was supreme authority.
It’s important to understand that the Investiture of the Gods and the Book of Life and Death are typically controlled by two different divine entities. One is supreme in the Celestial Realm, the other in the Underworld, yet he, with his own power, now controlled both.
The Investiture of the Gods controls deities; the Book of Life and Death controls mortals.
Doesn’t that mean that all the creatures in the world are now under his control?
"Little Master, at the center of the medicinal garden, there is a mountain that only you can see. At its peak, there’s a World Stone. Drip a drop of your essence blood onto it, and you’ll be able to control the medicinal garden!" Four Incompatible reminded Qin Wudao softly, seeing him in a daze.
It assumed Qin Wudao was ecstatic about obtaining four Innate Spirit Treasures and, without overthinking, transformed into a jade pendant and hung itself around Qin Wudao’s neck.
"Mountain? Where..."
Qin Wudao was startled awake. He remembered not seeing any mountains when he first entered the medicinal garden!
But when he looked up, he saw a colossal mountain piercing the clouds at the center of the garden. Its cliffs were precipitous, like a stone sword thrust into the earth.
"A Formation set up by the Master protects the mountain from the outside. Only the Master’s successor can see it. Go quickly! I sense something strange about this medicinal garden!" Four Incompatible replied lazily before falling into a deep sleep.
Qin Wudao smirked and, employing his movement technique, flew towards the towering mountain. He wanted to gain control of the medicinal garden as quickly as possible.
Countless extinct spiritual medicines, fertile land—these were all priceless treasures in his eyes. Properly utilized, they could significantly enhance the strength of the Qin Dynasty Saint’s Court.
The key to leapfrogging ahead lay in this medicinal garden.
Meanwhile, the slaughter in the garden had reached its peak. Dongfang Zhantian had found three more prodigies and informed them of the Eternal Temple’s conspiracy.
However, as he searched for the fourth prodigy, Soul Martial Ancestor caught up to him. A fierce battle erupted, and Dongfang Zhantian fled, wounded.
During this time, Jin Qianbao and the three prodigies who knew the inside story also found other prodigies. They explained the Eternal Temple’s conspiracy and formed an alliance.
Thus, more and more prodigies learned of the Eternal Temple’s plot.
With their lives at stake, all the prodigies abandoned picking spiritual medicines and began hunting down Eternal Temple disciples. This caused the disciples hiding in the shadows to complain incessantly.
"Damn it! Damn you, Dongfang Zhantian! I, this seat, swear that we cannot coexist!"
In a small valley, Soul Martial Ancestor gathered the Eternal Temple disciples and roared in anger, his tyrannical aura making the nearby disciples tremble.
"Young Master, the prodigies from the major factions have formed an alliance! We have no opportunity to strike!" the disciple at the very edge reported, his expression extremely grim.
If their plan failed, they would face severe punishment upon their return—a fate worse than death.
Thinking of the Eternal Temple’s punishments, they couldn’t help but shudder. It was a fear that seeped deep into their bones.
"We can only resort to that method!" Soul Martial Ancestor said gravely, having calmed his emotions.
The disciples’ faces changed slightly; some were reluctant. Within the Eternal Temple, they controlled a powerful secret art that could seize the essence blood of special physiques, transforming others into counterfeit special physiques.
For special physiques they had captured multiple times, the Eternal Temple would employ this secret art to transfer their essence blood to deathsworn they had cultivated from childhood.
These individuals were all bearers of counterfeit special physiques!
Although counterfeit special physiques were inferior to genuine ones, their cultivation speed and the Divine Skills they could wield were far superior to those of ordinary prodigies.
And the technique Soul Martial Ancestor mentioned involved incinerating the essence blood of a special physique to increase one’s strength tens of times over.
Once this technique was used, they would revert to being ordinary martial artists.
This was why they hesitated. The Eternal Temple did not support useless individuals; without the aid of special physique essence blood, they would quickly be eliminated.
"What? Do you want to return and face the sect’s punishment? Many of the prodigies who entered the medicinal garden this time are repeats from previous incursions. After the mission is complete, I will request the Pavilion Master to perform the secret art for you and transfer new essence blood!" Soul Martial Ancestor stated coolly. His words carried a double meaning: the first part was to apply pressure, and the second was to offer hope.
No one noticed that beneath his calm gaze, his eyes were already filled with impatience, as if he would kill anyone who dared to refuse.
"Young Master, I agree!"
"I agree too! Worst case, we just capture a few more prodigies and get new blood when we return!"
"We will obey the Young Master’s command!"
Hearing that they could still have essence blood transferred, the Eternal Temple disciples no longer hesitated and all agreed.
Soul Martial Ancestor revealed a stiff smile, the impatience in his eyes vanishing without a trace. He then said, a more natural smile forming, "Rest assured, the Eternal Temple will not forget your contributions!"
"Essence Blood Incineration!"
A dozen or so Eternal Temple disciples formed hand seals. Flames of various colors erupted behind them, creating diverse phenomena: purple light surged to the heavens, black ice ignited into fire, myriad swords blazed...
RUMBLE!
Powerful auras erupted from them. Their cultivation realms generally increased by five levels; the weakest reached Seventh-Rank Saint King, and three achieved Ninth-Rank Saint King.
After their strength increased, they saluted Soul Martial Ancestor and then tore through the air, departing.
Time was critical. They had to capture as many special physiques as possible before their essence blood completely burned away. While completing their mission, they also hoped to secure an extra special physique each, so they could transfer its essence blood to themselves.
"This time, let’s see how you resist!"
"Great Master, you will soon walk this world!"
Soul Martial Ancestor stood with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing up at the firmament, feeling incredibly thrilled, excited, and fervent.