Terran Guardian - Chapter 3973

Chapter 3948 The Safest Way to Help a Celestial Being Achieve the Five Signs of Decay

After exchanging pleasantries,

Shen Changqing got straight to the point.

“I’ve come today with a matter I’d like to ask Elder Lu for help with.”

“Is it for refining pills?”

Lu Changge immediately asked.

Shen Changqing nodded: “I possess a pill formula called the Chaos Sacred Bone Pill. It requires the essence blood of a Chaos Divine Elephant as a guide, supplemented with other rare and precious materials, to be successfully refined.

Elder Lu knows that my alchemy skills are far inferior to yours.

If it were ordinary first or second-grade Half-Saint pills, I could still refine one or two.

However, not long ago, I slew a Chaos Divine Elephant at the Third Tribulation Half-Saint level and wish to refine a Chaos Sacred Bone Pill of the same level.

Therefore, I wish to ask Elder Lu for your assistance in refining this pill!”

The highest grade of the Chaos Sacred Bone Pill is the ninth grade of Half-Saint.

The Chaos Sacred Bone Pills Shen Changqing had refined earlier were at most first or second-grade Half-Saint pills.

Anything higher…

With his current alchemy skills, the chances of actually refining it were slim.

Most importantly,

the quantity of Chaos Divine Elephant Essence Blood and other corresponding rare and precious materials was limited.

If he failed several times, the losses would be considerable.

To put it another way, refining only a second-grade Half-Saint Chaos Saint Bone Pill would be somewhat wasteful.

Fortunately,

Lu Changge was there.

As an eighth-order, third-grade alchemy grandmaster, his involvement in refining the Chaos Saint Bone Pill would make things much easier.

This was why Shen Changqing had personally come to his door.

“The Chaos Saint Bone Pill… this is the first time I’ve heard of such a pill. If you wish to refine it, I need to see the formula first,”

Lu Changge said after a moment’s thought, without refusing.

Shen Changqing, of course, was prepared.

With a thought, a jade slip appeared before Lu Changge.

“This jade slip contains the method for refining the Chaos Saint Bone Pill. Elder Lu, you may take a look.”

“Alright!”

Lu Changge nodded, then grabbed the jade slip. With a mere sweep of his divine sense, all the contents recorded within appeared in his mind.

A moment later,

Lu Changge exhaled, his expression solemn: “The refining method for this pill is profound and unfathomable. Even the refining method for the eighth-rank, third-grade pill is top-tier among those of the same rank.

I need to go into seclusion to study it before I can confidently attempt to refine it myself.”

At this point,

Lu Changge paused, then added, “However… there is something I must clarify first.

Even if I were to refine this pill myself, the success rate wouldn’t be very high. Sect Master, you should be prepared.”

“That’s natural,”

Shen Changqing smiled.

To him, as long as Lu Changge was willing to refine it himself, that was enough.

As for the success rate, it was still much better than refining it himself.

Unless…

If he could also break through to the eighth-tier, third-grade level, then he would be qualified to compete with Lu Changge.

However—

in alchemy, after reaching the eighth tier, each grade advancement is not easy.

It requires not only talent and comprehension, but also time for refinement and honing.

Many eighth-tier alchemy grandmasters have spent billions of years struggling to advance further.

Even with his confidence, Shen Changqing knew he couldn’t reach that level in a short time.

Furthermore,

even among eighth-tier, third-grade grandmasters, there are differences.

Lu Changge has spent countless years breaking through to the eighth-tier, third-grade level; his accumulated experience at this level is far beyond what a newly promoted eighth-tier, third-grade grandmaster can match.

Therefore,

Shen Changqing naturally trusted Lu Changge.

If the other party truly failed in refining, there was nothing to say.

Even the top alchemy grandmasters wouldn’t dare claim a 100% success rate in refining the same grade of immortal pills.

Success is good

, but failure is also understandable.

Shen Changqing was mentally prepared for these things.

As for…

It was perfectly normal for Lu Changge to go into seclusion.

Refining pills at this level required more than just understanding the refining techniques; it demanded a deeper understanding of the profound principles of the Dao contained within.

To put it bluntly ,

the incredible energy of semi-saint pills wasn’t solely due to the abundance of top-tier natural treasures, but also because they contained the mysteries of the Dao and the secrets of creation.

In short,

refining pills at this level was far more than just about techniques.

The Dao!

That was the most crucial element.

Only by understanding the Dao and glimpsing the mysteries of creation could one refine pills with ease.

Otherwise, even if one managed to refine a pill, it would be merely a facade, unable to withstand the trials of the pill tribulation.

After Lu Changge went into seclusion to comprehend the Dao, Shen Changqing didn’t disturb him but turned and left,

returning to the Cangyun Immortal Mansion.

He too immediately went into seclusion to cultivate.

Currently, Lu Changge is studying the pill formula, and Shen Changqing cannot idly wait for him to comprehend it. Naturally, he must seize every minute to cultivate the Heavenly Fiend Immortal Scripture to improve his own strength.

As a cultivator who has stepped into the extreme realm of Immortal Emperor, Shen Changqing’s cultivation has long reached its limit.

However,

his cultivation time so far is not very long.

Even including the time spent in the Seven Profound Divine Tower, he has only cultivated for a little over a billion years at most.

The lifespan of an ordinary Immortal Emperor is a hundred billion years.

Although a billion years old is not young, it is nothing compared to the lifespan of an Immortal Emperor’s hundred billion years.

Moreover,

Shen Changqing is not an ordinary Immortal Emperor. He has

achieved sainthood in his physical body.

His lifespan is ten times that of an ordinary Immortal Emperor.

Even if he cannot achieve immortality, Shen Changqing can live for a hundred billion years without dying.

Not to mention…

With a large number of immortal stones, Shen Changqing had effectively achieved immortality.

Therefore, he could naturally devote a significant amount of time to cultivating the Heavenly Fiend Immortal Scripture.

For other cultivators, focusing on physical cultivation would be much more difficult.

After all,

those who do not attain immortality aim to achieve it,

and those who do still need to overcome the Five Signs of Decay.

Every step of cultivation advancement requires unwavering dedication.

In contrast,

Shen Changqing was different.

His cultivation had reached its limit,

and he had accumulated abundant Heavenly Dao merit.

Even if he later attained the rank of Half-Saint and faced the Five Signs of Decay, Shen Changqing could directly overcome them using his Heavenly Dao merit.

… While Shen Changqing was in

seclusion, the external situation was constantly changing. In

the Eastern Bright Immortal Continent,

due to the events involving the Taiyi Immortal Sect and the Jidu Jiang family, many forces were implicated, affecting the power of the Demon-Slaying Alliance.

As a result, the calamity in the Eastern Bright Immortal Continent was already showing signs of spiraling out of control.

However, both the Taiyi Immortal Sect and the Jiang family indicated

they would stop. For both sides, the conflict had already reached a point of no return.

Since things had come to this, even if they couldn’t completely destroy one side, they should at least suppress and severely damage it, ensuring it couldn’t recover its strength in the short term and thus wouldn’t threaten themselves.

Whether the calamity was out of control or not was no longer so important.

Or rather,

as long as the calamity didn’t spiral out of control to the point of threatening their own foundation, then there wouldn’t be much of a problem.

If the situation truly developed to that point, then it would be a different story.

However,

these disputes

had little impact on the Seven Profound Dao Sect.

While Shen Changqing was in seclusion, the sect was jointly managed by the twelve peak masters. They accepted numerous large and small tasks from the Demon Extermination Alliance, depending on the situation.

After all, the rewards from the Demon Extermination Alliance were generous, and many treasures were rare outside. In

fact,

many cultivators in the Seven Profound Dao Sect now regarded the Demon Extermination Alliance’s tasks as an important source of cultivation resources.

Although the sect also had its own cultivation resources, the gap was obvious compared to behemoths like the Demon-Slaying Alliance.

In fact,

this wasn’t just the case for the Seven Profound Dao Sect.

The entire Taiyuan Prefecture, and even most of the Dongming Immortal Continent, were in the same situation.

…

“Peak of Immortal Emperor!”

“After tens of millions of years of arduous cultivation, I’ve finally reached this level!”

Inside the Qingqiu Peak Immortal Mansion, Ji Yang opened his eyes. Within his physical body, the nine universes had been completely opened.

The primordial power of the nine universes had merged with his divine soul.

As soon as Ji Yang’s thoughts stirred, a vast and powerful force erupted from the nine inner universes.

This level of power was more than ten times stronger than when he was at the initial stage of Immortal Emperor.

“Compared to my previous life, I broke through to the peak of Immortal Emperor much faster this time!”

Ji Yang thought to himself.

In his previous life, it took him a full three billion years to reach the peak of Immortal Emperor.

Then another two billion years of accumulating power.

Finally…

He had only broken through to the Great Tribulation to attain immortality.

But in this life, Ji Yang only took less than thirty million years to reach the peak of the Immortal Emperor realm.

This was not simply due to inheriting some memories from his previous life, but also because of his awakening of his innate immortal body and the abundance of cultivation resources he obtained.

He consumed more than one rare and precious material like the Primordial Dao Fruit.

It should be known that

the Primordial Dao Fruit is extremely rare.

Even an ordinary Immortal Emperor would find it difficult to obtain even one, even if they exhausted all their resources.

Before attaining the Dao Venerable realm in his previous life, Ji Yang also struggled to find such a rare material to aid his breakthrough.

But now it’s different.

Having consumed several Primordial Dao Fruits and relying on his own talent and resources, Ji Yang successfully opened up the rest of his inner universe, stepping into the peak of the Immortal Emperor realm.

At this level, the next step is to challenge the Half-Saint realm.

Ji Yang has no doubt about whether he can break through to the Half-Saint realm.

His greatest advantage lies in possessing fragments of his past life’s memories.

For other Immortal Emperors, the Path to Immortality is like viewing flowers through a fog, its mysteries difficult to truly comprehend.

But for Ji Yang, stepping onto the Path to Immortality and reaching the Half-Saint realm wouldn’t be too difficult.

The only thing he might be wary of is the Five Signs of Decay of Heaven and Man.

Overcoming such a tribulation is no easy feat.

However—

to break through to the Half-Saint realm now, he needs to wait for the next great tribulation.

As things stand, that time is still quite long, and Ji Yang isn’t in a hurry.

After all, he reached the pinnacle of Immortal Emperor status in this life in relatively short time, and the lifespan of an Immortal Emperor is still long. Without the threat of lifespan limitations, many things are naturally not something to rush.

Of course—

even so

, Ji Yang doesn’t intend to slack off.

Even if he can’t break through to the Half-Saint realm now, secretly accumulating resources and preparing for the next great tribulation’s breakthrough is inevitable.

“The Five Signs of Decay of Heaven and Man are not to be underestimated. Even with some memories of my past life, I could still be caught off guard and suffer a setback.

To safely weather this calamity, I must accumulate sufficient resources.

With my current trump cards, I’m still lacking in dealing with the Five Signs of Decay of Heaven and Man!”

Ji Yang thought to himself.

If the Five Signs of Decay of Heaven and Man were easy to overcome, there wouldn’t be so many ancient semi-saints hiding in the forbidden zones of life, afraid to show their faces.

How many of those who can break through to immortality and reach the semi-saint realm are truly mediocre?

In any era, those who can break through to the semi-saint realm are worthy of the title of genius.

If they weren’t geniuses,

they would have no right to reach the semi-saint realm.

Even so, very few of these semi-saints can truly withstand the tribulation without fear of the Five Signs of Decay.

This alone shows that the Five Signs of Decay are not to be underestimated.

Ji Yang looked at his current resources; he had many treasures and abundant cultivation resources, but he was still far from being able to overcome the Five Signs of Decay.

“The safest way to truly be unafraid of the Five Signs of Decay is to accumulate enough Heavenly Dao Merit.

Once a complete Golden Wheel of Merit is formed, the Five Signs of Decay can be ignored.

Otherwise, we have to think of other methods—”

Ji Yang’s eyes flickered slightly. Heavenly Dao Merit is both the easiest and the hardest to obtain.

It’s easy because you don’t need to do much; as long as you do things that benefit the Heavenly Dao, you will receive corresponding Heavenly Dao Merit.

As for the hardest part, that’s simple too.

The Heavenly Dao is impartial!

It treats all living beings like straw dogs.

Finding something truly beneficial to the Heavenly Dao is destined to be difficult.

But in this era, with rampant evil spirits and disasters, it’s actually much easier.

After all…

As long as one slays the evil beasts, one will be considered to have rendered meritorious service to the Heavenly Dao, and thus gain Heavenly Dao merit.

Although the Heavenly Dao merit contributed by ordinary evil calamities is negligible, with slow accumulation, it is not entirely impossible to truly condense a golden wheel of merit.

Moreover,

the many mission rewards currently offered by the Demon Extermination Alliance are tempting in Ji Yang’s eyes.

Some of these treasures are even key to overcoming the Five Signs of Decay of Heaven and Man.

And the missions of the Demon Extermination Alliance are almost all focused on suppressing evil calamities.

In this way

, things will be much more convenient for Ji Yang.

With both approaches working together, overcoming the Five Signs of Decay of Heaven and Man can be done with ease.

Of course,

the more generous the reward, the greater the difficulty of dealing with the evil calamities.

But Ji Yang is not worried.

He has now stepped into the peak of the Immortal Emperor realm. Although he has not broken through to the Half-Saint realm, with the foundation of his previous life, Ji Yang is confident that his strength is enough to not fear any Immortal Emperor of the same level.

Even if he goes a step further, he may not be without the qualifications to contend with a true Longevity Half-Saint.

In this era, truly capable immortals are few and far between.

This level of strength naturally gave Ji Yang ample confidence.

With this

in mind, he made his decision.

However—

Ji Yang didn’t immediately emerge from seclusion. Instead, he closed his eyes and silently cultivated again.

He had only recently broken through to the next realm, and his foundation still needed consolidation. (End of Chapter)