Chapter 266 – Heavenly Spirits and Earthly Fiends Supernatural Arts, The Celestial Demon’s Origins!
by spirapiraSu Xing’s heart stirred when he saw this.
Earth Fiend supernatural arts—this was intelligence Su Xing had obtained in the Three Thousand Worlds.
Supernatural arts and techniques ranged from the most basic techniques to lesser divine arts, greater divine arts…
And above those were the Earthly Fiend and Heavenly Spirit supernatural arts!
Legend had it that in the Three Thousand Worlds, the Celestial Secrets Pavilion maintained rankings for all the supernatural arts mastered by prodigies.
Thirty-six Heavenly Spirit arts, seventy-two Earthly Fiend supernatural arts…
Heavenly Spirit ranked above, Earthly Fiend below!
This meant there was a fixed number of Heavenly Spirit and Earthly Fiend arts—only one hundred and eight could make the rankings!
And the most fundamental criterion for an Earthly Fiend supernatural art was the ability to fight above one’s level!
A Human Immortal Realm mid-stage cultivator who mastered an Earthly Fiend supernatural art could even defeat an Earthly Immortal realm early-stage cultivator by fighting above their level!
All possessors of Earthly Fiend supernatural arts were renowned prodigies in the Three Thousand Worlds, typically hailing from the Greater World. Even across hundreds of minor thousand worlds, one might not emerge…
Of course, supernatural arts had their limits in power, even Earthly Fiend supernatural arts.
At the Human Immortal and Earthly Immortal realms, one might be able to fight above their level, but above True Immortal and Mystic Immortal… it wouldn’t necessarily be possible to fight above one’s stage anymore.
Unless one mastered a Heavenly Spirit supernatural art!
“Heavenly Spirit supernatural arts… as long as you master even one, you’re a solid Golden Immortal candidate, someone with true hope of attaining the Great Dao…”
Su Xing murmured.
“However, eight hundred and eighty strands of sword aura probably can’t reach the level of an Earthly Fiend supernatural art yet. It should still be at the peak greater divine art level…”
“But if the number of sword aura strands reaches over a thousand, perhaps it could barely qualify as an Earthly Fiend supernatural art?”
Thinking this, Su Xing’s eyes lit up.
After all, the upper limit and potential of Protective Sword Aura depended on Su Xing’s mastery of sword intent and primordial energy…
If Su Xing’s comprehension of the Sword Dao was deep enough, the upper limit of Protective Sword Aura would also rise!
“Tsk tsk, looking at it this way, Protective Sword Aura will at minimum be an Earthly Fiend level supernatural art in the future… and might even reach the Heavenly Spirit level!”
Su Xing took a deep breath, feeling a surge of anticipation.
And aside from Protective Sword Aura, he also possessed another supernatural art—Five Elements Spirit Burst—which similarly held extremely strong growth potential!
Possessing powerful supernatural arts was undoubtedly good news. Once Su Xing achieved immortality, these supernatural arts would allow him to maintain his advantage of fighting above his level!
【The power of Protective Sword Aura further increased. You continued to cultivate diligently, never forgetting your original aspirations…】
【Thus, another three years passed.】
【In the twenty-third year, the number of your Protective Sword Aura strands reached nine hundred!】
【And your cultivation had also drawn extremely close to the late period of Mahayana Stage, Ninth Layer…】
【Thus, another two years passed.】
【In the twenty-fifth year, your Qi Refinement cultivation reached the late period of Mahayana Stage, Ninth Layer, and you began planning your final breakthrough.】
【You took out all the million drops of mid-grade spirit liquid you had accumulated and entered closed-door cultivation…】
【This session of closed-door cultivation lasted a full three years!】
【In the twenty-eighth year, knowing that the Double-Pupiled Demon Saint would soon arrive, you emerged from seclusion early.】
【At this point, your cultivation had reached the Peak of Mahayana Stage, Ninth Layer…】
【So you headed to Demon-Sealing Pass…】
【Sure enough, one month later, the Double-Pupiled Demon Saint arrived.】
【You executed your plan, preparing to stall for time…】
【In the blink of an eye, five years passed.】
【In the thirty-third year, the number of your Protective Sword Aura strands had reached over one thousand!】
【And this was still not your current upper limit…】
【Taking advantage of the Demon Saint’s withdrawal, you pressed forward in one go, preparing to break through to Mahayana Stage, Perfection…】
【You entered the spirit field grotto-heaven and began closed-door cultivation.】
【After half a year in seclusion, your aura reached its peak and the spiritual energy within your body surged rapidly…】
【At the critical moment of your breakthrough, the Spirit Vein Dragon, having received advance notice, exhaled a breath of pure spiritual energy…】
【Without any surprise, you successfully advanced to the Mahayana Stage, Perfection!】
【After breaking through to Mahayana Perfection, you vaguely sensed subtle changes occurring within yourself…】
【Cultivation was, in essence, a metamorphosis from mortal to immortal, and you had now reached an extreme. One more step forward, and you could enter the Immortal realm…】
【Your perception of origin and the Great Dao became sharper, as if what was once viewed from afar had now drawn closer, allowing you to see more clearly!】
【At this point, two choices lay before you: continue staying on Earth to resist the God-level aliens that might arrive in ten years.】
【Or leave Earth and venture into the Three Thousand Worlds for training…】
【After some deliberation, you decided to head to the Three Thousand Worlds!】
【You packed some essential supplies into your storage ring.】
【At this point, your mastery of spatial origin was sufficient to cover a storage ring of fifty cubic meters, allowing you to bring along the vast majority of valuable items…】
【Once preparations were complete, you headed to Demon-Sealing Pass, walking toward Red Moon’s direction…】
【After presenting your passage permit, you arrived at the interdimensional corridor.】
Seeing this, Su Xing nodded slightly and said:
“With my current strength combined with No Martial Virtue, I can definitely slay that God-level alien… but so what? It wouldn’t change anything!”
“Even if I temporarily hold Demon-Sealing Pass… in another decade or two, even more powerful aliens might descend…”
“Without possessing absolute strength, it’s unwise to defend to the death…”
“On the contrary, this simulation’s one-time-use opportunity would be better spent in the Three Thousand Worlds, where I can simulate for a longer duration…”
Su Xing thought to himself.
“So next, it’s time to further comprehend spatial origin!”
Su Xing said inwardly, “Activate immersive simulation, duration thirty days!”
【Ding…】
As the simulator’s notification chimed, Su Xing once again appeared in that peculiar space.
Chaotic spatial currents swirled around him. Without hesitation, Su Xing consumed the Spirit Awakening Pill, activated his heightened enlightenment state…
After a series of preparations, under the protection of Protective Sword Aura, he began comprehending spatial origin…
Soon, the immersive simulation ended…
Su Xing returned to the Real World, a look of regret on his face.
“What a shame. Thirty days of comprehension… equivalent to ten years of bitter cultivation, yet there’s still a considerable gap before reaching Perfection…”
Su Xing estimated that he would probably need another ten years’ worth before his comprehension of spatial origin could reach the Perfection level.
“Still… my current spatial origin should be sufficient to cover a storage ring of over a hundred cubic meters. That’s enough for now!”
Su Xing nodded slightly. Although he hadn’t managed to break through to Perfection in one push, his Origin Force had still grown considerably stronger.
Now, with a mere thought, Su Xing could instantly teleport anywhere within a radius of several dozen li.
Of course, each teleportation drew upon his spatial origin, depleting the spatial origin within his body. In a short period, Su Xing could use it no more than three times.
“Tsk tsk, anything involving space or time… those are things only immortals can access! Getting an early start on mastering them isn’t bad at all!”
Su Xing was fairly satisfied with this.
“The spatial Dao has an extremely high ceiling… life is long, so I’ll comprehend it slowly…”
Su Xing turned his gaze back to the simulation panel.
【By the time you came to your senses, you had already arrived in the northern part of the Hundred Thousand Mountains.】
【You were virtually uninjured, but maintaining consciousness during the crossing remained impossible.】
【You surmised this was because your divine sense wasn’t strong enough to endure world-crossing. If your divine sense were more powerful and your comprehension of the spatial Dao deeper, perhaps you could eventually arrive fully conscious…】
【After confirming your bearings, you set out for White Emperor City.】
【In the thirty-fifth year, you had been residing in White Emperor City for over a year.】
【At this time, White Emperor City was relatively peaceful, as the alien invasion had not yet reached this far.】
【But you didn’t dare let your guard down. You could sense the undercurrents surging beneath the surface of apparent peace…】
【Over these years, the number of Demon Kings in the Hundred Thousand Mountains had been gradually declining, and the Advent Cult’s activities had grown increasingly frequent.】
【Had you not been paying special attention to this intelligence, ordinary cultivators would have been completely oblivious…】
【Like the proverbial frog in slowly heating water, the aliens and the Advent Cult were steadily deepening their invasion of the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm. By the time cultivators realized what was happening, it would be too late…】
【In the thirty-eighth year, the number of your Protective Sword Aura strands had further increased, reaching one thousand and sixty-three!】
【You were confident that, combined with the No Martial Virtue talent, even a mid-stage Human Immortal Realm cultivator would struggle to withstand a single strike from your sword… and even a late-stage Human Immortal Realm cultivator would need to yield before your edge!】
【This year, you made a decision: to leak the Advent Cult and the aliens’ plans to humankind ahead of time…】
【And the method of disclosure would be through trading with the Celestial Secrets Pavilion!】
【With this intention, you stepped into the Celestial Secrets Pavilion’s branch office within White Emperor City…】
In the Real World, Su Xing frowned slightly at this.
“Wouldn’t leaking intelligence about the alien races and the Advent Cult ahead of time put myself in danger?”
Su Xing furrowed his brow slightly, but upon deeper reflection, perhaps in the future simulation he had already investigated thoroughly—the Celestial Secrets Pavilion was a relatively trustworthy force.
“So be it. It’s merely one simulation… Let’s see what happens if I leak the information about the alien races and the Advent Cult to the Celestial Secrets Pavilion ahead of time.”
With that thought, Su Xing silently recited: “Use immersive simulation, duration twenty-four hours…”
【Ding…】
As the notification chimed, Su Xing appeared inside a Celestial Secrets Pavilion shop.
“This fellow Daoist looks rather unfamiliar. Are you here to purchase intelligence?”
A young woman lounged lazily across the counter, stifling a bored yawn.
Su Xing raised an eyebrow at the sight, then leaned closer and asked in a low voice:
“Does your Celestial Secrets Pavilion buy intelligence?”
The young woman nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Of course. There’s so much intelligence in the world… naturally we purchase it!”
“However… exactly how much your intelligence is worth will need to be assessed by me…”
Su Xing nodded slightly. The profit from selling intelligence was secondary.
What he mainly wanted to see was how leaking the information early would change the future.
The young woman continued, “What is the intelligence you wish to sell about, fellow Daoist?”
Su Xing said in a deep voice, “It’s about the Advent Cult… and the alien races!”
Upon hearing Su Xing’s words, the young woman’s expression turned slightly serious. She waved her hand to erect a sealing barrier and said:
“Tell me the details… If the intelligence concerning the alien races and the Advent Cult proves authentic, you’ll be well compensated!”
Su Xing organized his thoughts and revealed the first piece of intelligence.
“Several cosmic cycles ago, the alien races invaded the world of Luo Tian… After that war, the world of Luo Tian was destroyed, but the alien races also suffered enormous losses!”
“Among them, an evil god codenamed Red Moon perished in battle. Its power should have been at the Grand Luo Golden Immortal level!”
The young woman glanced at Su Xing with surprise and frowned slightly.
These secrets from several cosmic cycles ago were things she had long known. If that was all there was, it naturally wouldn’t count as important intelligence.
“That’s it? If this is all the intelligence you have… please leave. Our Celestial Secrets Pavilion has long known about this!”
The young woman said lazily.
Su Xing naturally knew the Celestial Secrets Pavilion was aware—after all, he had bought this very intelligence from them.
But Su Xing didn’t leave. Instead, he dropped a bombshell:
“According to reliable sources, the evil god Red Moon is already preparing to resurrect!”
“At the earliest within ten years, at the latest within twenty to thirty years, Red Moon will be revived!”
“When that time comes, it will join the campaign to invade the Three Thousand Worlds… and the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm will be their primary target!”
Upon hearing Su Xing’s words, the young woman’s brow furrowed tightly. She shot to her feet and pressed repeatedly for confirmation:
“Are you certain this intelligence is authentic? We haven’t received any news about Red Moon’s revival!”
Su Xing replied with absolute certainty, “The information is one hundred percent true. I swear this on my Dao cultivation!”
Hearing Su Xing’s words, the young woman’s expression twitched several times.
The Celestial Secrets Pavilion had its own methods of reading people. Seeing Su Xing’s unwavering conviction, she was already eighty to ninety percent convinced.
“This matter is of great significance. We need to conduct a thorough investigation and cross-verify from multiple sources… We cannot confirm its authenticity for the time being.”
“However, I can give you ten million spirit stones as a reward for this intelligence. As for the remainder, that will be determined after the intelligence is verified!”
Su Xing was somewhat surprised—he hadn’t expected a mere piece of intelligence to be worth so much.
Seeing that the young woman wanted to hurry Su Xing along so she could contact someone, Su Xing didn’t budge. Instead, he continued:
“Wait! I’m not finished yet. There’s more intelligence…”
“I know the location of an Advent Cult branch—it’s in a valley in the southern part of the Hundred Thousand Mountains… A large number of evil cultivators have gathered in this valley, and their strength is considerable!”
“Among them, an assassin with a blood-code ranking around twenty should be permanently stationed there… There are also several others with blood-code rankings between fifty and one hundred in that valley…”
Su Xing gave the young woman the valley’s precise location.
The young woman nodded slightly but found the situation rather thorny.
Within the Advent Cult, a blood-code ranking around twenty meant strength between the Heavenly Immortal and True Immortal levels. Such power was already extremely difficult to deal with—perhaps it would require mobilizing the major orthodox factions to handle it.
“Understood. Do you have any other intelligence? I’ll settle everything at once…”
Su Xing nodded slightly and continued selling intelligence:
“There’s also information concerning the Hundred Thousand Mountains… Currently, the Hundred Thousand Mountains are suffering severe internal strife, and behind it all, the Advent Cult has been fanning the flames… Within ten years, perhaps one or two Heavenly Immortal realm demon cultivators will die on the battlefield…”
“Once the internal strife in the Hundred Thousand Mountains reaches a critical point, the invasion by the alien races and the Advent Cult will become even more ferocious!”
“The accuracy of this intelligence is above ninety percent… though exactly how much of it involves the Advent Cult remains unknown…”
After hearing Su Xing’s words, the young woman deliberated for a moment, then agreed:
“Very well. These three pieces of intelligence are worth a total of two hundred and fifty thousand high-grade spirit stones… Is that acceptable?”
Su Xing was momentarily stunned when he heard the price. Two hundred and fifty thousand high-grade spirit stones—an amount even an ordinary Tribulation Crossing stage cultivator would struggle to produce.
“Selling intelligence is this profitable?”
Su Xing muttered to himself, then shook his head slightly.
“I don’t want spirit stones… I’d like to exchange for corresponding intelligence instead!”
The young woman wasn’t surprised. She asked, “Then what intelligence would you like in exchange?”
Su Xing replied:
“I want intelligence on the Chief of Celestial Demon Prison—the Celestial Demon General!”
The young woman raised an eyebrow, growing ever more curious about Su Xing’s identity, but still said:
“The Celestial Demon General is a Grand Luo Golden Immortal. With these spirit stones, you can only exchange for C-class intelligence at most. Are you sure you still want to make the trade?”
Su Xing frowned slightly. C-class intelligence contained very few secrets; if he exchanged for it, the help it would provide would be rather limited…
Just as Su Xing was hesitating, he suddenly thought of something and added:
“Oh right, I have one more piece of intelligence—about Qingyunzi!”
“Hear me out and judge its value… Qingyunzi is currently at the critical juncture of Severing the Three Corpses to achieve sainthood, but instead of severing the evil corpse first, he severed the self corpse or the good corpse… The collapse of the Azure Cloud Sect’s Three Immortals Peak is related to this…”
“When Qingyunzi emerges from seclusion twenty years from now, his power will have surpassed that of an ordinary Grand Luo, reaching the half-saint level…”
Su Xing relayed this intelligence as completely as possible.
At this point, the Celestial Secrets Pavilion likely hadn’t received confirmed information yet. Selling this intelligence should fetch a considerable price.
Sure enough, upon hearing Su Xing’s words, the young woman’s expression shifted. When it concerned the leader of a top-tier power in the Three Thousand Worlds, she naturally had to take it seriously.
Moreover, the intelligence Su Xing described closely matched the Celestial Secrets Pavilion’s own conjectures, only far more precise…
The young woman nodded. “This piece of intelligence is quite valuable, with a very high degree of credibility…”
“If we combine all your intelligence together, I can sell you a B-class dossier on the Celestial Demon General, which includes some secrets that would normally only appear in A-class intelligence!”
“Of course, if you’d prefer not to exchange… I can give you five hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones instead! Your choice.”
Su Xing didn’t hesitate. “I choose the intelligence!”
The young woman rummaged under the counter for a moment, then produced a jade slip and handed it to Su Xing.
Su Xing took the jade slip with practiced ease and began reading through the intelligence.
After a long while, Su Xing slowly opened his eyes, a peculiar glint in them.
“So there’s actually a connection like that… the Celestial Demon General?”
Su Xing cupped his fists toward the young woman, then departed.
After Su Xing left, tens of millions of phantom images materialized behind the young woman, constantly shifting and evolving at a speed so rapid it was as if she were intercepting the flow of time itself…
(Imagine Doctor Strange’s scene of divining fourteen million futures…)
After a long while, the young woman murmured to herself:
“This person is so familiar with Luo Tian… Could he be the one who inherited Luo Tian’s legacy…”
“No, wait—then how would he also know about Qingyunzi? Could he be a disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect?”
“The person the Advent Cult was investigating a few years ago… Could it be him?”
“The information about the Celestial Demon General… Why does he care so much about it?”
…
The immersive simulation ended, and Su Xing returned to the Real World.
Recalling the intelligence in his mind, Su Xing took a deep breath.
“No wonder the Celestial Demon Prison and the Azure Cloud Sect are at odds… So there’s actually such a deep history between them!”
“The Chief of Celestial Demon Prison, the Celestial Demon General, is a great cultivator who has lived for over ten cosmic cycles… He has fought countless battles throughout his life with scarcely a defeat, yet he was defeated at the hands of Patriarch Luo Tian…”
After a pause, Su Xing murmured:
“And through that battle, a bond formed between them. The two apparently shared a period of friendship…”
“When the world of Luo Tian was under invasion, the Chief of Celestial Demon Prison, the Celestial Demon General, intended to rush to his aid… but was stopped by Immortal Yunhe, one of the Azure Cloud Sect’s three patriarchs!”
“The reinforcements arrived too late. In the end, Luo Tian was destroyed. The Celestial Demon General was furious and turned hostile toward the Azure Cloud Sect…”