Cultivation: When you take things to the extreme

Chapter 396: Chapter 257: Out of the Coffin_2

As if etched in the annals of time, memories arose like smoke, each and every one surfacing in his mind, striking his soul like the resounding chimes of ancient bells, instilling awe and trepidation.

Even in the face of death, one would still hold reverence for such an existence, let alone…

He was alive!

He was actually alive?

How was this possible?

Although there had always been rumors in the Martial World that when the Great Zhou Country was yet to fall, they extracted the Heaven Martial corpse that was in a meditative state in the Temple of War God and took it back to the Tomb Palace to be placed in a Mysterious Ice coffin. With the Holy King’s Relic, they continuously infused Qi Blood and essence, attempting to defy the heavens and bring the dead back to life.

But… that was just a rumor after all.

Defying heaven to change fate, resurrecting from death?

Not to mention him at that time, who had only opened his Martial Path to the Foundation Establishment realm, even the later, supremely powerful Divine Martial Venerable did not possess the capability to perform such a heaven-defying act.

At most, at most, it was about seizing a body for rebirth to live another life, but how could that equate to resurrecting from death?

Believing in such a rumor was less credible than believing in folk tales like consuming the Heaven Martial body to gain a thousand years of cultivation, turning dead flesh and white bones back to life.

Turning a corpse into medicine is absurd enough, but is it not more plausible than bringing the dead back to life?

So what exactly is going on now?

Everyone was filled with shock and indecision, not daring to act rashly.

Only Su Shaoqing, upon hearing his words, felt a huge weight lift from his heart and, with tearful eyes, said with a smile, “Ancestral Emperor, you… you’ve returned, we… we’ve succeeded… Ugh!”

In the midst of his words, his body trembled, spilling blood from his severe injuries.

Xu Yang cast his gaze downward, glanced at him, and without further words, extended his hand and pressed down, touching the Heavenly Spirit atop Su Shaoqing’s head.

Although he did not know the reason, this body indeed possessed a spark of life, not just a spark of life, but even its Martial Path cultivation and genuine Yuan Skill had been preserved. Thus, this time he was not starting from zero, but instead had fully inherited, no, returned to the state of “Xu Qingyang” back then.

Not just the vitality of flesh and blood, the cultivation of the Martial Path, but even…

Xu Xian (Xu Yang)

Lifespan: 885/1000

Cultivation: Foundation Establishment

Skills: Slaughter, Eating, Sleeping, Breathing, Medicine, Walking, Archery, Reading, Teaching…

Martial Training (Heaven rewards hard work, Cleansing Marrow, Eternal Youth, Martial Path Communicates with God, Founder of Martial Scripture, Unity of Heaven and Man)

…

Even the Attribute Panel he had cultivated back then, along with the Skill Traits, all had returned with him.

Although from his current perspective, this level of cultivation, these traits, were nothing remarkable, far from the achievements of his real body and the World of Dao and Law, compared to starting from scratch each time, this was already a decent starting point.

As Xu Yang’s hand pressed down, touching Su Shaoqing’s Heavenly Spirit, a burst of Spirit Light suddenly flickered into existence. Martial Path Yuan Skill transformed into mana and surged out, with the Martial Arts Scripture’s Life Scroll and the Taoist Scriptures’ Wonderful Skill working in tandem, combined with the power of the Skill Traits, protecting his severely injured body and preserving the spark of life within it.

“Is this… the Life Scroll?”

Su Shaoqing had been struck on the spine by a Subduing Dragon and Tiger stick unleashed with all of Shi Wei’s might. His spine shattered and heart channels completely severed, he had already entered the brink of life and death. His earlier speech was nothing more than returning light and fading vision, his last lingering moments, yet unexpectedly, under this touch, the dissipating spark of life in his body began to rapidly reconvene, showing signs of self-healing even for his shattered heart channels and spine.

Is this the Life Scroll?

No, the Life Scroll he knew, although a miraculous method of healing, surely did not have such divine effectiveness.

Could it be that the Ancestral Emperor was not really dead, merely wandering in the ethereal realm within the Temple of War God, comprehending the mysteries of the Martial Path, the truths of the War God, and now that he had achieved his goal, he was waking up from his dream and returning, which is why he had this even more miraculous Life Scroll?

Yes, it must be so!

Only such an explanation would make everything clear.

The Ancestral Emperor had not died, he had attained enlightenment and returned!

The lineage of Heaven Martial would surely be revitalized…

“The Life Scroll?”

“Almost, but not quite!”

“This…”

Su Shaoqing felt an overwhelming flood of emotions, while the four individuals from the Chen Cejun group were startled.

The Great Zhou Martial Scriptures, despite having fallen to second-tier status in the martial studies of the world more than ten thousand years ago after the era of the War God’s Atlas and the dawn of the Divine Martial Era, remained a subject of study and reverence for many. As high-ranking experts on the Heaven List, they were no exception, each having delved into it to some extent.

Thus, the four of them realized at a glance that this “Heaven Martial Emperor” was using the Martial Arts Scripture’s Life Scroll.

Yet it was almost, but not quite, different from the Life Scroll they knew, vastly different.

Could it be…

“Humph!!!”

Chen Pojun let out a cold snort, stepped forward boldly, advancing towards Xu Yang, and said with a cold voice, “Even the most powerful Divine Martial cannot defy heaven and resurrect from death. Who are you, some wandering soul or stray ghost, to dare put on airs and bluff in front of me, playing mysterious tricks?”

“This…”

Hearing Chen Pojun’s words, the pair from the Demon Sect exchanged glances, while the Divine Beggar, Shi Wei, furrowed his brows.

“A wandering soul or stray ghost?”

“Could it be a Grandmaster from the Heaven List, a Divine Bridge Martial Artist reincarnating in a seized body?”

“That would explain everything.”

“It’s not the Heaven Martial reincarnated, but which Heaven List Grandmaster, Divine Bridge Martial Artist has taken possession, making a home in another’s nest by seizing this Heaven Martial corpse?”

“No, that’s not right, the Heaven Martial Emperor had passed away over fifteen thousand years ago, and even if the Mysterious Ice Coffin had preserved his vitality and the Holy Relics infused essence, it could only maintain the integrity of the body; his Qi Blood has long since perished, who could possibly take possession of his body?”

“I’m afraid that the remnants of the Heaven Martial have used other methods. Although the Zhou Dynasty did not catch up with the grand climax of the Divine Martial Era, they still acquired many heavenly treasures before that, such as the Bodhi True Seed—there might be items capable of restoring life to the corpse.”

“This Chen Pojun is also quite bold to dare to challenge a Heaven List Grandmaster.”

“Heaven List Grandmaster, that was before. Now that they’ve possessed a body and been reborn, without having recovered their cultivation, what kind of Heaven List Grandmaster are they?”

“Back then, the Heaven Martial Emperor had only cultivated the Martial Path up to the Yuan Core realm. Even if a Heaven List Grandmaster occupies his body and is resurrected through possession, they would not surpass that limit.”

“This Chen Pojun, ranked thirty-fifth on the Earth List, is a grandmaster of Perfect Yuan Core, and with the Pojun Star Body, Mysterious Iron Divine Weapons, he has the upper hand against the possessing Grandmaster of the lower Yuan Core realm, naturally full of confidence.”

“Hmph, what if he’s not a possessor? That vague Life Scroll, can you recognize which Grandmaster’s technique it is?”

“The Heaven Martial Emperor of the past, although he had only cultivated the Martial Path up to the Yuan Core realm, was able to rule the world for eight hundred years with longevity and vitality. There must have been some secret reasons, right?”

“This…”

The three of them said nothing, but their exchanged glances spoke volumes of their doubts and made the situation clearer.

Chen Pojun took a steady step forward, pressing towards his opponent.

The person opposite him, is he truly a Heaven List Grandmaster resurrected by possession, or is it truly the Heaven Martial resurrected from death?

Honestly, he didn’t know.

But it didn’t matter.

Be it a Grandmaster or Heaven Martial!

When Martial Artists confront each other, strength is everything.

Say a thousand words, speak a myriad truths; the other party is merely of Yuan Core cultivation, while he himself has achieved a Perfect Yuan Core, enjoying a whole realm of cultivation advantage, along with the Pojun Star Body, Mysterious Iron Divine Weapons; in every aspect, he has the upper hand, even to the point of overwhelming.

With this, what is there to fear?

Just kill, and the Holy Relic must be seized.

Chen Pojun stepped out with a domineering presence, pressing hard against his opponent.

“Ancestor Emperor, be careful!”

Su Shaoqing also snapped out of his daze and hastily cried out a warning.

Although the Ancestor Emperor has returned enlightened, after all, he had been dormant for tens of thousands of years. Now having recently woken up, with his cultivation not yet developed, facing Chen Pojun—ranked thirty-fifth on the Earth List, a grandmaster of Perfect Yuan Core—he might…

Su Shaoqing dared not think further, and could only raise his voice in warning.

“Yuan Core?”

“Ha!”

Hearing this, Xu Yang finally lifted his hand that was healing Su Shaoqing’s injuries, and looking at Chen Pojun, who was approaching step by step with a knife, he actually laughed and said, “Not bad at all!”

Yuan Core is to Golden Core as Foundation Establishment is to Yuan Core.

Back in the day, he entered the Temple of War God and contemplated the War God’s Atlas for over a decade. With that accumulation, he derived the Martial Path Yuan Core realm.

After that, there was no further progress. The insights from that part of the War God’s Atlas only supported him to that realm. And in the World of Dao and Law, the Wanderer’s School’s focus on developing the Taoism Yuan Spirit and Heavenly Crafts Natural Creation meant that the Martial Path’s progress was inevitably sluggish.

Now, the existence of Yuan Core Martial Artists in this world likely means that after he passed away, someone further pondered upon the Martial Path mysteries of the War God’s Atlas and developed a broader Martial Path system.

Excellent!

It is just…

“Putting on airs, still oblivious in death!”

Hearing these words implied with satisfaction, Chen Pojun’s expression grew even colder. Raising his sinister long knife, a bloody red slash of Red Star energy cut through the air.

Pojun Star Body!

Mysterious Iron Divine Weapons!

Both were War God Heritage, treasures between heaven and earth.

This person’s cultivation was at most Yuan Core, with gaps in realm, cultivation base, and weaponry…

How could they stand against him, how could they?

Chen Pojun was brimming with confidence, his blade’s momentum growing stronger, threateningly closing in.

Xu Yang’s expression remained unchanged, only lifting his palm lightly.

Martial Path cultivation, constitution, divine weapons?

Indeed inferior, far inferior!

But he, with his achievements and accumulated potentiality, was no longer limited to the martial path.

A mere difference of one realm, what did it count for him?

His hand rose, his palm lifted.

In an instant…

“Boom!!!”

The wind and clouds changed color, thunder roared in alarm.

Unity of Martial and Tao, Divine Powers reveal the method.