hooklinebooks Chapter 491 - 76: Digging One’s Own Grave
Chapter 491 - 76: Digging One’s Own Grave
May 5, 2018
Zhao Chenlu was not grateful for the so-called hell training of the Celestial Divine Sword. During the Jiuzhou Era, she had already deeply understood the true meaning of the word "hell," an experience so extreme that it made one question which side was truly the Demon Race. Apart from Li Jiulong, none of the Jiu Immortal Venerables could participate with a smile— even Shen Kaishan generally lost consciousness with a blank expression.
So it was indeed remarkable that Li Jiulong could become the number one mount of the Celestial Divine Sword, surpassing competitors like Zhao Chenlu and Shang Lanfei.
Recalling Li Jiulong, Zhao Chenlu came to her senses and said, "Dear, back then, Jiulong helped you perfect the Sword World with Sword Forging Skill, but now it seems that Sword Forging Skill has completely been lost. I investigated in Cyan Cloud City and found out that today the Li Family has entirely lost the inheritance of Sword Forging Skill. The next successor is even on the verge of losing the Nine Dragon Sword Heart, shifting focus to develop the Shen Family’s Immovable Tyrant Body... are you alright with that?"
Wang Jiu said, "A bit troublesome, but it can be overcome."
The Sword World of the Celestial Divine Sword in those days was mostly derived from a blood sacrifice ritual. The life-long cultivation of the Nameless Sword God formed the main body of the world, several Core Techniques laid the grand and majestic pillars of the world, and the jiuzhou treasures collected by the Jiu Immortal Venerables became the building complexes beneath those pillars. Furthermore, a large portion of the building complexes also stemmed from years of bloody battles after rebirth.
While slaying the Demon Race, the Celestial Divine Sword, through Li Jiulong’s Sword Forging Skill, built new structures within the Sword World, and it was only after years of accumulation that it became the invincible Divine Sword that could crush the Demon Emperor in the final battle. If relying solely on the Sword World at the beginning of rebirth, it would pale in comparison to the Demon Emperor during the final battle.
Now, as the Celestial Divine Sword is reborn in Xiangzhou, the Sword World begins from scratch, no longer benefiting from the convenience of the initial blood sacrifice, making the recovery period considerably long, and the loss of the Li Family’s Sword Forging Skill makes things worse.
"Actually, I suspect that the Saint Sect still has some reserves." Zhao Chenlu said, "For the past 100 years, they have been accelerating the development of the Primordial Ruins, depleting the savings left by several generations of Sect Leaders over the past few hundred years. Considering the Primordial Ruins around Xiangzhou, over 30% of them are from the original Central Province, and the Li Family’s hometown is also in Central Province, so..."
Wang Jiu said, "That gives all the more reason to explore the Saint Sect. What’s the earliest we can set off?"
Zhao Chenlu said, "According to the original plan, we ought to be at the Saint Sect by now, but some new situations have arisen which might delay us a bit. Dear, are you in a hurry?"
Wang Jiu said, "There’s no urgent reason, but there’s also no reason to waste time, is there?"
The Celestial Divine Sword is eternally indestructible, never aging, even if ten or a hundred thousand years later the entire Xiangzhou Continent were to be destroyed due to the shifting tides of Chaos, the Celestial Divine Sword could still thrive. Thus, its pace of life could be slower than anyone else’s, but Wang Jiu, by nature, values efficiency and does not like to waste time.
"Then 10 days later, 10 days should be enough for me to wrap things up here."
Wang Jiu pondered for a moment and said, "By ’wrapping things up,’ do you mean bullying Shen Qingming and Lu Xin?"
Zhao Chenlu was surprised, "How did you know!?"
"Lu Xin came by just now." Wang Jiu pointed towards the entrance of the arena. "And at that moment, a thought of showing off martial prowess crossed your mind, but the tense battle situation left you no opportunity to act on it."
Zhao Chenlu lowered her head helplessly, "You’re still omniscient and omnipotent on the battlefield like before; I can’t hide even a subconscious thought from you. Yes, at the time, I did think about scaring her a bit, but it was just a thought."
Wang Jiu said, "But as for Shen Qingming, you’ve already taken action multiple times."
"Uh..." Thinking of her glorious record of bullying the little, Zhao Chenlu awkwardly smiled, "Yes, considering her young age, low Intelligence Index, and that she’s a junior after tens of thousands of years, I went easy on her. It’s not because my feelings for you are any less sharp, um, I’ll change from now on."
This sincere declaration made Wang Jiu shake his head and say, "On the contrary, I hope you won’t waste energy bullying her anymore in the future."
"Why?" Zhao Chenlu was surprised, "Objectively speaking, she’s just a 15-year-old powerless little girl, but once she steps into the ring, she should have the awareness of being suppressed by stronger opponents. I was rather gentle, if it were that Shang Girl, she might have to resort to medication just to maintain basic character. Speaking of Shang Girl, I’m planning to spend some time cultivating Qian Yue in the next few days, and the dirty work of bullying juniors can be left to her..."
Wang Jiu interrupted, "There’s no need, you’ve wasted too much energy on these pointless things, delaying your own cultivation."
"I just..." Zhao Chenlu hurriedly defended.
"I’m very disappointed." Wang Jiu interrupted lightly.
These words made Zhao Chenlu’s face instantly turn pale.
"The Jiu Immortal Venerables are among the few true friends I had during the Jiuzhou Era. Given my circumstances, I generally didn’t require social connections in the human world, but the situation with you all is different, making me willing to devote some energy to maintain such relations."
Zhao Chenlu softly added, "Because we are the ones closest to you in terms of cultivation. Although to a limited extent, we can interact with you in various aspects and move forward together."
Wang Jiu said, "But if it were the you now..."
"Yes, I’ve indeed been somewhat lazy," Zhao Chenlu sighed. "Compared to Jiuzhou, the overall Immortal Dao civilization in this new world is lagging behind, and with the threat from the Demon Race also gone, over the years I haven’t been as diligent as before. However, this is also human nature, because no matter how hard I try, it’s tough to return to the Jiuzhou Era level, let alone advance further at the top and explore the world beyond the Heaven Shattering Realm. This Xiangzhou is too small, the foundation of civilization too weak, unable to support the grand flourishing of the Jiuzhou Era. When I was 10, I spent half a year calculating the limits of my cultivation in this life. My dear, with your calculating ability, you should quickly figure out the result..."
"Mid Earth Split Realm." Wang Jiu promptly provided the answer. "Considering Xiangzhou’s environment and your innate talent, mid Earth Split Realm is the theoretical limit. With full dedication to cultivation, approximately by age 80..."
"Hey, where did the 80 years come from?!"
Recalling his old friend’s eccentric insistence, Wang Jiu corrected, "Alright, cultivating for 80 years to the age of 17, you will advance to mid Earth Split Realm, then due to insufficient Heaven and Earth Spirit Wind and Earth Spirit Vein intensity, it will be hard to continue advancing."
"Indeed, during the Jiuzhou times, after 80 years of cultivation, I had already reached the threshold of the Heaven Shattering Realm—it was quite extraordinary for a human! There’s no comparing you, who crossed the shore within fifty years. And now, I struggle to break through bottlenecks to advance to the Sea Overturning Realm, which I previously accomplished overnight without pain. Thus, cultivation in the Xiangzhou era is fraught with a sense of defeat, and whenever setbacks occur, one can’t help but question: what’s the point of such arduous cultivation? There’s no strong competitor, no threat from the Demon Race, even being at mid Earth Split Realm is enough for me to become a pinnacle difficult to surpass in the coming centuries."
To Zhao Chenlu’s complaints, Wang Jiu gave a very simple response.
"Immortal cultivation is, of course, out of interest."
"Interest... I have that too, but..."
"If you weren’t born in the Zhao Family, would you not cultivate? Without the Demon Race, wouldn’t you cultivate? Aren’t you happy when you cultivate?"
The string of three questions rendered Zhao Chenlu silent for a long time.
"I can’t be as happy as you. You cultivated to the shore in fifty years, and people all over the world envied you, but that fifty years of cultivation process, we couldn’t achieve even if we were killed. I, on the other hand, am of such a mundane disposition, enjoying wasting precious time and energy on eating, drinking, playing, enjoying relationships, and bullying little ones like Shen Qingming... There’s no helping it, it’s just as inherent as my natural beauty, impossible to change."
Hearing these words, Wang Jiu wasn’t surprised, knowing well these so-called human elites, Immortal Venerable Cultivators, aren’t as flawless as they appear.
So external assistance is needed.
"I understand now; cultivation against one’s nature isn’t really cultivation, so I won’t force you to act against your nature. If bullying Shen Qingming is your nature, then feel free to bully her from now on."
"Hey, really!?" Zhao Chenlu was overjoyed, "You’ve finally had enough of that little girl and want to break up with her?"
Wang Jiu said, "No, I’ve decided to invest more in her training, to cultivate her into a master not inferior to Shang Lanfei."
"...What?"
"I considered what you just said and found it very reasonable. Humans are imperfect beings, naturally tending towards laziness without external pressure. Forcing a change in nature is unrealistic, so the right approach is to increase external pressure. Given your high interest in Shen Qingming, I believe cultivating her into your arch-enemy might effectively boost your cultivation motivation."
"Wait, an arch-enemy!?" Zhao Chenlu immediately jumped up. "How could she be qualified to be my arch-enemy!? In terms of talent and experience, we are not even on the same level; at most, she’s on par with Qian Yue. I suggest making them fight to the death and then tell them they are sisters?"
Wang Jiu said, "Indeed, Shen Qingming’s personal qualities can’t compare to yours, but with my full assistance, the gap in personal qualities wouldn’t be feared. So, from now on, I will dedicate myself to cultivating Shen Qingming with the standard of your arch-enemy in mind."
"..."
In that instant, Zhao Chenlu felt as if he was digging his own grave.