Chapter 355 – The Ancient Wu Clan Appears — A Fierce Battle!

The Sky-Mending Flower was an exceedingly rare specimen even among heavenly treasures.】

【Its enhancement of qi and blood, and its strengthening of vitality, astonished you… It was precisely because of its remarkable effects that you spared no expense to cultivate the Sky-Mending Flower multiple times.】

【Fortunately, the Luotian Mirror and Shennong Youtian did not disappoint you.】

【After over a hundred years of cultivation, the second batch of Sky-Mending Flowers matured successfully, and you expended your cultivation to bring out over a hundred stalks.】

【Afterward, you consumed one Sky-Mending Flower each year and, combined with blood essence, practiced the Great Shaman Body Forging Art.】

【Your physical limits were continuously broken through, and you drew ever closer to the Fifth Layer of the Great Shaman Body Forging Art…】

【Just like that, a hundred years passed in the blink of an eye…】

【One day in the four hundred and tenth year, while in the midst of cultivation, you felt an invisible shackle within your body shatter in an instant.】

【In mere moments, your physical body and life force both underwent a sublime transformation…】

【Upon the surface of your originally tough skin, a layer of white jade-like substance seemed to have emerged, multiplying your physical defense several times over.】

【An endless torrent of vitality surged forth from within you, as if no force in existence could annihilate your physical body…】

【Your raw strength increased several fold — shattering stars with a single punch was no longer just a dream!】

【Congratulations, your Great Shaman Body Forging Art has successfully advanced to the Fifth Layer!】

In the Real World, Su Xing saw this and trembled with excitement, every pore on his body quivering.

The Fifth Layer of the Great Shaman Body Forging Art, equivalent to a Mystic Immortal-level physical body — at this moment, it was finally achieved!

“The mysteries of the Great Shaman Body Forging Art’s Fifth Layer are absolutely not as simple as the simulator’s description suggests…”

“The terrifying improvements it brings can only truly be appreciated in reality!”

Su Xing didn’t know just how terrifying the Fifth Layer of the Great Shaman Body Forging Art was. After all, throughout history, very few members of the Wu Clan had ever cultivated to such a level.

But he knew that ordinary Mystic Immortals compared to True Immortals… the gap was simply too vast!

And at the Mystic Immortal realm, one could already become a dominant overlord within the Three Thousand Worlds…

No matter which faction one visited, they would be treated as an honored guest.

“Battles at the Mystic Immortal level are already more than ordinary worlds can withstand…”

“After advancing to the Fifth Layer of the Great Shaman Body Forging Art, my strength should have climbed another tier… Though I’m still far from Golden Immortal, within the Mystic Immortal realm, there should be very few who can threaten me, right?”

After a brief pause, Su Xing continued:

“Most importantly, I should now be able to venture into the Fifth Heaven!”

Su Xing felt a surge of excitement. If he could reach the Fifth Heaven, perhaps his simulation could last even longer!

Moreover, the Secret Realms within the Fifth Heaven and the treasures they contained were all waiting for Su Xing to explore…

With these thoughts, Su Xing turned his expectant gaze toward the simulation panel.

【After spending several months adapting to your explosively increased physical strength, you decided to venture to the Fifth Heaven for exploration.】

【You activated your Protective Sword Aura, released your Spirit Domain, and headed toward the location of the Fifth Heaven…】

【You entered the terrifying void tempest and felt those horrifying gale winds, seemingly capable of annihilating everything in existence.】

【But after advancing to the Fifth Layer of the Great Shaman Body Forging Art, both your physical body and primordial energy had grown even further.】

【Compared to your previous brute-force charge through the tempest, this time was far easier.】

【In the blink of an eye, a day and a night passed…】

【You weren’t sure just how vast the region of void tempest truly was, but it spanned at least several million li.】

【By now, your Protective Sword Aura had been completely shattered, and the Spirit Domain that had surrounded and shielded your body had also vanished entirely.】

【Occasionally you sent out a slash of sword qi to cleave through the void tempest, and occasionally you unleashed the Five Elements Immortal Burst to disrupt the gale winds’ trajectory… Even so, some tempest winds still struck your physical body.】

【But fortunately, the physical enhancement brought by the Great Shaman Body Forging Art allowed you to withstand the vast majority of attacks from the void tempest.】

【The tempest winds scraped across your body, leaving thin trails of blood, but ultimately failed to inflict any serious wounds.】

【And so, enduring the pain, you pressed onward toward the Fifth Heaven.】

【In the blink of an eye, another two days passed…】

【Finally, after passing through an invisible barrier, you felt yourself enter an entirely new world.】

【You had successfully arrived at the Fifth Heaven!】

In the Real World, Su Xing nodded slightly at this.

“Before advancing to the Fifth Layer of the Great Shaman Body Forging Art, I tried to cross this void tempest and could only hold out for a few hours…”

“I was even gravely wounded, on the brink of death…”

“But now, although I still get injured, the situation is vastly better than before!”

“This is the power of the Great Shaman Body Forging Art’s Fifth Layer!”

Su Xing estimated that after reaching the Fifth Layer, his qi and blood, physical body, vitality, and raw strength would all see a several-fold or even tenfold increase!

The path of Body Tempering grew increasingly difficult the further one progressed, with difficulty even surpassing that of Qi Refinement.

But the growth each realm brought was equally terrifying…

“Regardless, I’ve finally advanced to the Fifth Layer… As long as I can survive on this level, I can avoid being found by Qingyunzi at the five-hundred-year mark!”

Su Xing was curious about how long he could continue simulating after entering the Fifth Heaven.

His gaze turned to the simulation panel.

【After tireless effort, you successfully arrived at the Fifth Heaven.】

【But the moment you stepped into the Fifth Heaven, your expression changed drastically.】

【Because within the Fifth Heaven, void tempest winds also existed!】

【Though not as dense as before, these unpredictable gale winds still posed a constant threat.】

【This made you draw a sharp breath — anyone of insufficient strength who somehow managed to reach the Fifth Heaven would still find it nearly impossible to survive.】

【In just one month of exploring the Fifth Heaven, you encountered no fewer than a hundred instances of void tempest threats…】

【And the constant threat of void tempest winds made it impossible for you to focus on cultivation.】

【Therefore, your only option was to find a relatively safe Secret Realm and enter it for temporary cultivation.】

【With this intention, you began searching for Secret Realms…】

【After spending the better part of a year, you finally found a Secret Realm entrance.】

【But as you prepared to step into the Secret Realm, a sharp pain pierced between your brows as your Blessed by Fortune talent issued a frantic warning!】

【You had a premonition deep in your heart — if you entered this Secret Realm, death would be all but certain!】

【You immediately understood that within this Secret Realm, there existed at least a beast rivaling a Golden Immortal, or perhaps a Strange Voidbeast…】

【And so, you abandoned this Secret Realm and resolved to explore others.】

【Just like that, several more years passed…】

【Year four hundred and fifteen. Over these years, you attempted to investigate over a dozen Secret Realms, but every single one harbored dangers sufficient to destroy you body and soul.】

【If you remained outside the Secret Realms, the threats you faced were mostly from the void tempest. With enough caution, you might be unable to cultivate peacefully, but at least your life wouldn’t be in danger.】

【But if you ventured into a Secret Realm to explore, the odds would be heavily against you…】

【Therefore, you decided to search for a few more Secret Realms until you found a safe location.】

In the Real World, Su Xing let out a sigh at this.

“After advancing to the Fifth Layer of the Great Shaman Body Forging Art, my overall strength should be around Peak Mystic Immortal, right?”

“But even so… I’ve barely met the minimum threshold to enter the Fifth Heaven.”

“The weakest dangers in the Fifth Heaven are probably at the Mystic Immortal level… Even a Golden Immortal could fall if they’re careless.”

“So I must proceed with extreme caution!”

Su Xing knew his current strength was too weak. If he forced his way into those Secret Realms, the odds of survival were slim.

Better to find a safe location and spend more time cultivating. Once he grew stronger, he could explore!

“With the Heaven-Sent Fortune talent on my side, hopefully I can find a safe Secret Realm!”

With this thought, Su Xing turned his gaze to the simulation panel.

【In the blink of an eye, another five years passed.】

【Year four hundred and twenty. Over these years, you found another dozen or so Secret Realms.】

【Finally, one day, you stopped before a certain Secret Realm entrance.】

【Your Blessed by Fortune talent still issued a warning, but it was no longer as intense as before.】

【You immersed your consciousness into the sea of stars and employed the Lesser Celestial Cycle Star Observation Method to begin divination.】

【In the end, the divination result showed a hexagram of minor misfortune.】

【Though there was some danger, if you could overcome it, there would be certain rewards.】

【Although it was a hexagram of minor misfortune, this was already the best divination result you had encountered in ten years.】

【You decided not to waste any more time. Remaining in the open, you still couldn’t cultivate in peace — you might as well take the gamble.】

【And so, you channeled your spatial Dao and entered this Secret Realm.】

【…】

【This Secret Realm was not very large, spanning roughly only a hundred li (50 km) in radius.】

【A thought crossed your mind, and your divine sense instantly enveloped the entire Secret Realm.】

【According to your divine sense, this appeared to be an isolated island, only a hundred li (50 km) across. Beyond the island was formless void turbulence, extraordinarily dangerous…】

【But the ecosystem upon this isolated island astonished you.】

【This island seemed to be a kingdom of giants!】

【Upon the island, every flower, blade of grass, and tree was impossibly enormous.】

【Grasslands over ten meters tall, towering trees hundreds of meters high… Even a single stone was as large as a small mountain…】

【Within the range of your divine sense alone, you detected no fewer than several hundred enormous insects. Bugs that were originally just a few centimeters long had grown to the size of elephants.】

【You spent half a day carefully searching through this Secret Realm.】

【In the end, your gaze turned toward the center of the island — a volcano!】

【It was a dead volcano, yet its crater was a staggering ten thousand zhang (33.3 km) wide…】

【And your divine sense detected a terrifying life force within the volcano’s interior — one that was no weaker than your own, perhaps even stronger!】

【You knew instinctively that the danger originated from this volcano!】

【So you headed toward the crater, intent on investigating.】

【Then, you saw a terrifying giant standing several thousand zhang tall!】

【The giant resembled a human, possessing four limbs and five facial features… but its body was as massive as a mountain range.】

【What unsettled you most was the black aura coiling around the giant’s body, filling you with a deep sense of unease.】

【At this moment, the giant was fast asleep.】

【After observing it carefully, a vague suspicion formed in your mind.】

【This appeared to be… a member of the Wu Clan!】

【Standing several thousand zhang tall, humanoid in form… and possessing life force as terrifying as a blazing sun — every detail pointed to its identity!】

【Though you were tempted to awaken this Wu Clan giant, the stinging pain between your brows warned you that this being harbored ill intent.】

【After much deliberation, you decided not to wake it for the time being, and instead remained in the Secret Realm to cultivate.】

【However, just as you were preparing to leave…】

【The terrifying Wu Clan giant suddenly snapped its eyes open, revealing pitch-black pupils and sclera, radiating an aura of savagery and slaughter.】

【Instantly, you understood — this was a Wu Clan giant that had fallen to demonic madness!】

【Without the slightest hesitation, the ancient giant rose to its feet and swung its sky-blotting palm toward you.】

【You immediately channeled the power of space and teleported dozens of miles away.】

【At the same time, the terrifying volcano began to erupt. The entire crater was obliterated by the giant’s single slap, and vast rivers of magma surged across the land.】

【The next instant, the giant leaped into the air and landed upon the earth. The entire isolated island shook with a horrifying earthquake as the ground began to collapse…】

【Your heart clenched at the sight — not because you feared fighting the Wu Clan giant.】

【Rather, the battle between you would easily destroy this entire Secret Realm.】

【So you devised a way to lure the Wu Clan giant out into the void of the Fifth Heaven.】

【Having lost all reason, the Wu Clan giant gave no thought to the trap and chased after you, leaving the Secret Realm behind.】

【Only after departing the isolated island Secret Realm could you finally see the Wu Clan giant in its entirety.】

【Its body stood roughly three thousand zhang (9.99 km) tall, its weight beyond measure. Its expression was savage like a demonic god, its eyes a swirl of black and crimson, as though it wished to annihilate every living thing in sight.】

【With a single wave of its hand, hurricanes tore through the void, and a terrifying surge of aura came crashing toward you.】

【You hastily activated your Protective Sword Aura, shielding yourself firmly, then let out a thunderous roar as veins bulged across your body, bracing to withstand the blow.】

【But the monstrous force, like a falling star, sent you hurtling hundreds of miles before you barely managed to stop.】

【You looked down at your twisted left arm, a grave expression settling in your eyes.】

【In this first exchange, you had been thoroughly outclassed, just as expected…】

【The sheer advantage conferred by its massive frame, combined with the overwhelming power of the Wu Clan Bloodline, rendered the strength you once took such pride in utterly insignificant before it.】

【Watching the Wu Clan giant charge toward you, you steeled your gaze and unleashed your supernatural art — Heaven and Earth Dharma Manifestation!】

【Your physical body began to expand rapidly… one zhang (3.33 m), ten zhang (33.3 m), a hundred zhang (333 m), a thousand zhang (3.33 km)…】

【In the end, you transformed into a giant three thousand zhang (9.99 km) tall, and behind you appeared the phantom of a golden Ancestral Shaman with eyes wide open, roaring in fury.】

【Facing the onrushing Wu Clan giant, you showed no mercy and drove your fist straight into its face.】

【The punch connected, and dark crimson blood flowed forth, raining down upon the Fifth Heaven like a shower of blood.】

【With that single punch, you sent the Wu Clan giant flying a thousand miles away.】

【Feeling the numbness in your fist, you regarded it with a grave expression. After several exchanges, you now had a rough understanding of the giant’s true strength.】

【This was a late-stage Mystic Immortal Wu Clan giant that had, for unknown reasons, lost its sanity yet survived the ancient calamity, living on to this day.】

【It was not of the Star Shaman lineage, yet its raw power was even slightly greater than yours after activating Heaven and Earth Dharma Manifestation…】

【By virtue of its overwhelming Wu Clan Bloodline, this giant possessed strength comparable to a Peak Mystic Immortal.】

【But you did not retreat. Instead, you charged forward to engage it in close combat.】

【Battle between members of the Wu Clan was simple and unadorned…】

【Every punch struck flesh, and every casual motion was enough to shatter mountains and split the earth…】

【In the blink of an eye, you had exchanged several hundred blows, yet for the two of you, this was barely a warmup.】

【Seizing an opening, you channeled the terrifying Five Elements immortal power within your body and struck directly at the Wu Clan giant…】

【The devastating force of the Five Elements Immortal Burst was enough to annihilate an entire continent… yet when it landed on the Wu Clan giant, it merely wounded it, making it howl in pain.】

【The battle continued…】

【In the blink of an eye, three months had passed.】

【This battle had lasted nearly a hundred days. Having assumed your Wu Clan dharma manifestation, your stamina was as boundless as a god’s — a mere hundred days of combat left you still brimming with energy.】

【But the Wu Clan giant on the other side was even more terrifying…】

【You even had the illusion that these three months of battle had fully awakened something within it…】

【As the fight reached a fever pitch, you swept your hand outward, pointing straight up toward the Nine Heavens above, where stars seemed to glimmer.】

【Moments later, a whistling sound filled your ears as you retreated several thousand miles.】

【The next second, an asteroid a hundred miles in diameter, drawn from the Nine Heavens above by your power of the stars, hurtled downward at astonishing speed toward the Wu Clan giant.】

【The three-thousand-zhang (9.99 km) Wu Clan giant, before the colossal star, was as insignificant as an ant…】

【This technique — Myriad Stars Attraction!】

【After advancing to the fifth layer, the celestial bodies you could summon had grown ever more massive.】

【Having summoned this asteroid a hundred miles in diameter, you paused for a moment to catch your breath. Clearly, the Myriad Stars Attraction exacted no small toll.】

【Just when you thought this strike would grievously wound the giant, a terrifying sound erupted from thousands of miles away.】

【The next instant, the asteroid shattered into countless fragments of rubble, shooting off in every direction…】

【This Wu Clan giant had actually punched an asteroid into oblivion!】

【Though you had somewhat anticipated this, the failed strike still left a sour expression on your face.】

【After briefly recovering your strength, you closed in on the Wu Clan giant and engaged it once more.】

【In the blink of an eye, another nine months had passed.】

【Year four hundred and twenty-one — this was your first full year of battle against the Wu Clan giant. The fight had lasted an entire year.】

【You had fought across millions of miles, and the destruction left in your wake would have been enough to obliterate a lesser chiliocosm.】

【But this was the Nine Heavens Domain, the ancient battlefield… Your battle had merely disrupted the void tempest, without destroying the domain itself.】

【This year of high-intensity combat had drained your stamina enormously. You had consumed untold tens of thousands of jin of blood essence just to sustain your Heaven and Earth Dharma Manifestation.】

【This year of battle had also taught you that killing a late-stage Mystic Immortal of the Wu Clan was even harder than slaying a Peak Mystic Immortal cultivator!】

【You had clearly found dozens of opportunities to grievously wound it, but the Wu Clan’s terrifying vitality allowed it to recover from its injuries almost instantly.】

【However, this year and more of combat had also deepened your comprehension of the Great Dao and your Spirit Domain considerably.】

【With a thought, an invisible sword of the void materialized in your hand. This formless blade, several hundred zhang in length, was composed entirely of spatial Dao — capable of severing the void itself!】

【With a gentle swing, this blade of space cleaved through the Wu Clan giant’s body, its blood spraying for thousands of miles.】

【But the very next second, the giant’s severed limbs began to regenerate…】

【This kind of exchange had already occurred dozens of times over the past year.】

【The terrifying vitality granted by the Great Shaman Body Forging Art, Fourth Layer was also present in this Wu Clan giant, and its regenerative ability was even stronger than yours…】

【You knew that at this rate, while you would never be defeated, you could never kill this giant either.】

【So you began to earnestly contemplate the Great Dao you had comprehended. Within a radius of fifteen hundred zhang (5 km), your Spirit Domain merged into one, with over a dozen Daos responding to your will.】

【You closed in rapidly on the Wu Clan giant, then unleashed the Dao of cause and effect without reservation!】

【Using the Dao of cause and effect, you forcibly reversed the Wu Clan giant’s ability to heal its wounds, rendering it temporarily unable to recover from injuries…】

【But the price you paid was three thousand years of your lifespan!】

【Then, you layered the Dao of Killing atop your Sword Dao, and terrifying sword qi pierced through the Wu Clan giant’s body…】

【The Wu Clan giant, heedless of the damage, continued swinging its fists at you as it always had.】

【But then it discovered, to its fury, that the Bloodline power it relied on to heal its wounds… had seemingly vanished!】

【And you seized this opportunity to wage an all-out battle!】

【For each day you sealed the Wu Clan giant’s self-healing ability, you lost a hundred years of lifespan…】

【This battle continued for another six full months!】

【In total, you expended nearly twenty thousand years of lifespan to prevent the Wu Clan giant from healing its wounds, until it was finally ground down and killed through sheer attrition…】

【Year four hundred and twenty-two. After a grueling battle lasting a year and a half, you finally slew the Wu Clan giant.】

【Its immense body and powerful Bloodline still left you shaken in hindsight.】

【After slaying the Wu Clan giant, you returned to the isolated island Secret Realm, intending to cultivate there.】

【Through your investigation, you discovered that this island Secret Realm was extraordinarily wondrous, planted with many varieties of spirit plants whose names you could not identify!】

【These spirit medicines and immortal herbs all dated back to ancient times, and most of them had long gone extinct in the modern cultivation world.】

【Across the hundred-mile island, there were thousands of varieties of spirit medicines and plants, the majority of which were used for body cultivation…】

【Your heart surged with joy, and you began to form certain suspicions about the island.】

【This island was likely a world fragment from the ancient era — quite possibly a former dwelling place of the Wu Clan.】

【During that great ancient war, this island had not been destroyed, and so it had survived to the present day, lost and adrift in the Fifth Heaven…】

【Having killed the Wu Clan giant whose power rivaled a Peak Mystic Immortal, you settled peacefully on the island to cultivate.】

【And those rare treasures of heaven and earth would be of great benefit to your cultivation of the Great Shaman Body Forging Art, Fifth Layer, and to strengthening your physical body…】