Chapter 457: Entering the Dao through Martial Arts, Ye Liyou Returns!
Time passed bit by bit. Shen Anyu's eyes opened and closed as he comprehended a great deal.
His foundation was formidable, built through a lifetime of combat honed to a razor's edge. With the formidable strength of a Heavenly Human Unity martial artist, his life force was not just a current but a raging torrent, a furnace of vitality burning within his chest. This immense power became the perfect catalyst, the bridge from the world of martial arts to the path of immortal cultivation. He didn't just stumble into the Dao; he strode into it with absolute confidence.
The transition was momentous. A tremor ran through his very soul as the dense, physical energy of his blood and qi began a miraculous transformation. It was like forging steel into something ethereal—a sublimation of raw power into a finer, more potent essence. A soft, emerald glow began to bleed from his pores, coalescing around him until he was bathed in a faint layer of green mystical light. It was the color of new life, the very first whisper of a power that could command creation and destruction. He sat cross-legged, the world outside fading away, his consciousness adrift in an ocean of newfound understanding. By the time half a day had passed in what felt like a single, elongated moment, a jolt shot through him. His eyes snapped open, a new, sharper light within them. Shen Anyu had officially stepped into the first level of the Qi Refinement Stage.
He took a moment to map out the new path in his mind. The Qi Refinement Stage was a ladder of twelve steps, a journey from mortal limits toward something divine. Levels one to three were the Early Stage, a period of foundation building. Four to six marked the Middle Stage, where one's power began to truly stabilize and grow. Seven to nine was the Late Stage, a world of considerable might in the mortal world. Anything beyond the tenth level was considered the Peak.
He recalled the information from the jade slip. Most ordinary cultivation techniques, the kind that littered the cultivation world like common stones, capped out at the tenth level. A cultivator using such a method could still, with immense effort and luck, break through to the Foundation Establishment Stage, but their foundation would be critically flawed, shallow and unstable. Their combat strength would be a pale imitation of what it could have been.
Only the truly supreme cultivation arts, the secret scriptures of ancient sects and celestial clans, contained the blueprint for the twelfth level of Qi Refinement. Reaching the twelfth level wasn't just about power; it was about achieving a state of Perfection. A cultivator who built their foundation upon such a perfect base would possess a sturdiness and an abundance of magical power that their peers could only dream of.
The Two-Aspects Life-Death Medical Scripture was no ordinary technique. As a High-Grade Nascent Soul True Scripture, it naturally held the legacy of the complete twelve-level cultivation method. It was a path to absolute power.
Shen Anyu began to clinically assess his current strength. Disregarding his more esoteric abilities for a moment—the indestructible Divine Steel Body, the crushing force of his God-level Telekinesis—his raw martial prowess as a Heavenly Human was already monstrous. He estimated that, in terms of sheer destructive output, it was roughly equivalent to a cultivator at the tenth level of the Qi Refinement Stage.
But then, he factored in his trump cards. The equation shifted dramatically.
His Divine Steel Body made him a walking fortress, capable of shrugging off attacks that would vaporize other martial artists. His God-level Telekinesis could snap a man's spine from a hundred paces without a single touch. And then there was the most terrifying ability of all: Supernatural Skill Sharing. If he brought Susan's reality-warping power into the mix, he could contend with, and perhaps even overwhelm, an Early Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator. Should the fight turn against him, the Supernatural Skill Love Infinite Teleportation was his ultimate guarantee. He could vanish without a trace, leaving his enemies choking on dust. He could be as reckless as he pleased, knowing he always had a way out.
The power of a Foundation Establishment cultivator was a complete departure from the mortal coil. This wasn't some exaggerated tale of an emperor taking a ten-meter step or a folk hero playing basketball with a mountain. This was real, tangible power that defied modern science. A cultivator who successfully established their foundation could stand firm against the bombardment of supersonic missiles, their body a shield against the pinnacle of mortal weaponry. They could traverse the world as they pleased, transcending the laws that bound everyone else.
And beyond that lay the Golden Core Stage. The thought alone sent a thrill through him. A Golden Core expert could withstand the fury of a nuclear bomb. At that level of power, no nation on Earth could truly threaten him. He would look down upon all of creation not as a man, but as a living disaster, a force of nature. Outside the five great nations, he himself could be considered the sixth.
"No wonder," Shen Anyu mused, a smirk touching his lips. "No wonder that 'Immortal Doctor' Lu Ran was so insufferably arrogant, even as a mere remnant thought. A Peak Foundation Establishment cultivator truly is a giant among men. In his prime, he could have treated this entire world as his personal playground."
But as he basked in the potential of his new path, a harsh reality set in.
"It's just... this concentration of Spiritual Qi in the mortal world..."
He let out a soft, helpless sigh. It was only after he officially stepped onto the path that he truly understood the problem. He opened his senses, reaching out to the ambient energy of the world, and what he found was… pathetic. He finally understood why the ancient cultivators had all abandoned this place, this "mundane mortal world," and sought refuge in the Xuanhuang World.
The Spiritual Qi was thin. It was beyond thin. It was practically non-existent.
It was so sparse it reminded him of the seaweed and egg drop soup from his school cafeteria in his past life: one pathetic string of egg whisked into a whole bucket of tasteless, lukewarm water. You could drink the whole thing and barely taste the egg. This was what cultivating here felt like—trying to draw nourishment from a barren wasteland.
With this pitiful concentration of energy, he seriously doubted he could even reach the Foundation Establishment Stage, let alone the legendary Golden Core. How could anyone cultivate immortality on a diet of dust and echoes?
Fortunately, he had an answer. The Two-Aspects Life-Death Medical Scripture was unique. It didn't solely rely on ambient Spiritual Qi. It allowed him to cultivate using the very concepts of life and death. If the world wouldn't provide him with fuel, he would generate it himself. Otherwise, he might as well give up and become a hermit.
This realization cast the history of the world in a new light. The slow disappearance of true cultivators and the subsequent rise of martial artists, spellcasters, witches, head-down masters, and ninjas—it was all tied to the decline of the world's Spiritual Qi. These other paths didn't require such a rich environment. While they were generally weaker and more limited than the immortal path, they had adapted, carving out their own niches in a world starved of its former magic.
"I'll have to wait," he concluded, his gaze turning inward. "Wait for the tree-planting endeavor and the investment returns."
His plan was already in motion. Ten million mu of saplings, planted across the vast, arid landscapes of the Great Northwest Desert and the Gobi. Once those trees began to grow, to flourish, the sheer amount of vitality they generated would be staggering. And through his system, a portion of that life force would flow back to him.
'When that happens,' he thought, a flicker of anticipation in his eyes, 'my cultivation speed will skyrocket.'
He had already checked on the project's progress. With his direct orders, the full weight of the Shen Corporation was behind it, a colossal mobilization of manpower, materials, and finances. The undertaking was so massive that it had even caught the attention of his mother, An Zhiyi, who had called to ask what on earth he was doing.
When Shen Anyu simply explained that it was crucial for his cultivation, she didn't press him further. Her acceptance was immediate and total. She only told him to come back to the Imperial Capital to visit when he had time.
"For now, I'll continue to cultivate," he resolved, pushing all other thoughts aside. "Fortunately, I'm not starting from scratch."
He was a Heavenly Human expert. His qi and blood were as abundant as a raging river, his vitality surging through every cell. He had a stockpile of rare medicinal pills and several hundred-year-old zhu fruits. This hoard of resources would have to be enough to push his cultivation forward for now.
He focused his mind, sinking back into a deep meditative state. Strength was everything. It was the bedrock upon which his empire of women, wealth, and power was built. Without it, he was nothing. The Children of Destiny he faced were only getting stronger, more dangerous. If his own power stagnated, everything he had clawed for would vanish like smoke in the wind.
Immortal Doctor Lu Ran had been a terrifying reminder. A mere wisp of a soul, a ghost of a once-great cultivator, had forced Shen Anyu to use every trick up his sleeve to win. What would happen if he encountered a true peak cultivator? A returning Immortal Emperor from a higher realm? Or some monster from an infinite-flow world?
It would all be over. Everything would turn to naught.
Enjoyment was essential, but the grind was eternal.
As he began to circulate the Two-Aspects Life-Death Medical Scripture, his body became a battlefield. His complexion shifted, alternating between a vibrant, healthy green and a deathly, sunken black. The two opposing forces of life and death coursed through his meridians, a volatile, flickering dance. Every inch of his being—muscles, tendons, bones, skin, even his internal organs—began to tremble violently.
At one moment, he felt like a traveler dying of thirst in a desert, his entire body crying out for the sweet rain of life force. The next, he was a towering, ancient tree in a primeval forest, so full of vibrant life it felt like he could sprout leaves from his fingertips. It was a cycle of decay and rebirth, condensed into every breath.
Even in the spiritually barren environment, he was making progress. Relying solely on the immense furnace of his own qi and blood, supplemented by the pills and mystical fruits, Shen Anyu advanced. He was truly entering the Dao through martial arts, and his cultivation speed was astonishing.
[Qi Refining Second Level!] A surge of power washed through him.
[Qi Refining Third Level!] His senses sharpened, the world becoming clearer.
[Qi Refining Fourth Level!] The mystical light around him brightened.
Time became meaningless. The golden crow and the jade rabbit—the sun and moon—chased each other across the sky. Three full days and nights passed in what felt like an eternity and an instant.
His seclusion was total. He had learned his lesson from last time. Before entering his meditative state, he had made sure to inform the women in the villa, preventing a repeat of Susan's yandere-fueled panic.
As the first rays of the fourth day's sun crested the horizon, Shen Anyu's eyes slowly opened. A brilliant light flashed within their depths, a swirling vortex of black and white mystical energy. A slow, satisfied smile spread across his lips.
"Entering the Dao through martial arts and reaching the seventh level of the Qi Refinement Stage in three days and three nights. It seems my aptitude isn't half bad," he murmured to himself. "But this is mostly due to my accumulated foundation. A Heavenly Human expert switching to the immortal Dao has a massive head start. The breakthroughs won't be this fast from now on. I'll have to wait for the tree-planting endeavor to start bearing fruit."
He raised his right hand, examining his index finger. "Furthermore, the Two-Aspects Life-Death Mystical Light has reached the first stage. Not bad at all."
At the tip of his finger, a mysterious light flickered, no larger than a grain of rice. It twisted and writhed, black and white intertwined like two warring serpents. The white light radiated a gentle warmth, a promise of vitality that could mend wounds and extend one's lifespan. The black light was its opposite—a chilling void that seemed to drink the very light from the room, a whisper of entropy that could wither life and shorten a man's years.
"This wisp of Two-Aspects Life-Death Mystical Light," he mused, a dangerous glint in his eye, "could easily extinguish a Heavenly Human expert. Even against a Land Immortal... I could use this to fight them, maybe even kill them, without having to borrow Susan's power."
It was, however, a weapon of last resort. For now, he had no reserves of life and death qi to draw from. Using the mystical light would mean consuming his own lifespan. A desperate, pyrrhic fighting style.
But it was a powerful new trump card in his arsenal. Once he accumulated enough qi of life and death, the power of this single technique would be unimaginable.
Shen Anyu's eyes crinkled with a smile, his mood vastly improved.
"Time to celebrate."
His newly enhanced senses reached out, catching the faint sound of splashing water and laughter from a distant part of the villa.
"Let's see... are Ruoshui and Ruoxue in the hot spring?"
A wicked grin spread across his face. "Surely, they wouldn't mind if one more person joined them."
...
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world.
A plane was descending towards Magic City. Inside, Yang Luoluo sat beside a woman with a chillingly beautiful face and an aura as sharp as a drawn blade. It was Ye Liyou, her Fourth Senior Sister, the assassin known as Blood Shadow Rose.
"Second Senior Sister, Seventh Senior Sister, and Junior Brother are all in Magic City," Ye Liyou said, her voice a low, cool melody. "It's a good chance to see them."
Her gaze drifted to the window, watching the clouds part to reveal the sprawling metropolis below.
"And, Senior..."
A memory surfaced—her harrowing experience in Sakura Country, and the man who had appeared like a god to save her. The cold, hard edges of the deadly assassin softened, her sharp brows gentling as a complex emotion flickered in her eyes.
"Senior, it's been a long time. Liyou has come to find you..."
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