The Stars Beyond

Chapter 288: Bountiful Reward

The Life Soil, shrouded in an ethereal fog, seemed like the most sacred land on earth, rich in vitality that nourished both body and spirit. Even with Wang Xuan's spiritual body not directly on the Life Soil, he could feel the remarkable changes and grew increasingly excited.

He finally understood Chen Yongjie's situation. Ever since using the medicinal soil, each encounter with Chen saw him mentioning an impending breakthrough due to the overwhelming life force.

Under this dense vitality, both physical form and spirit were being fortified by the extraordinary life essence from the Life Soil, making them irresistibly stronger.

"You're excited too, unable to contain yourself, wanting to reclaim all this, right? Haha..." Zheng Wu laughed heartily, meaningfully, unconcerned about Wang Xuan's scrutiny.

He dug a hole and planted the silver celestial medicine root, his smile disappearing as he became more transcendent, surrounded by an aura of immortality.

"Immortal nectar, the stuff of legends, capable of rapidly reviving the main root, promising a vigorous growth in the future," Zheng Wu remarked as he used another rare divine object to cultivate the celestial medicine, a scarce specialty from the immortal realms, unheard of by ordinary beings.

Instantly, the misty fog in the Life Soil thickened, becoming denser. A single breath in this environment made one feel almost ethereal, ready for ascension, as light rain descended in this realm.

Wang Xuan grew concerned. Could this rapid development cause him to break through his barriers too quickly, preventing him from solidifying and comprehending these realms, thus leading to an unstable foundation?

Suddenly, the planted main root began to quiver slightly, absorbing the surrounding mist and immortal nectar. The surge of life force subsided and then stabilized, reaching a balanced state.

At this moment, Wang Xuan's Life Soil was transformed. With the celestial medicine taking root, it gained a fresh aura and a new vitality.

The passage can be refined as follows:

"The ability to resonate with the spiritual world, drawing in threads of enigmatic substances into the Life Soil, seemed almost mystical. The roots absorbed these essences, breathing new life into themselves. Zheng Wu mused with a tinge of awe, 'Throughout history, how rare it is for someone to plant a divine herb in their nascent Life Soil? Obtaining such a herb in the herb-gathering realm is a stroke of inconceivable fortune.' His voice betrayed his emotions, 'Even my true self never had such luck. It was a longing that remained unfulfilled.' In the annals of history, even the mightiest beings found it daunting to enter the highest spiritual realms to harvest these herbs, facing immense perils. It was known that a great patriarch, an overseer of Immortals in the era beyond the Great Curtain, perished in such an endeavor.

Today, as Zheng Wu cultivates his demonic embryo and rebuilds his foundation, having this chance fills him with irrepressible elation and sheer joy, almost driving him to let out an exultant roar. 'Those legendary figures, the paramount powers beyond the Great Curtain, each had their serendipitous fortunes. How else could they have soared so high above the Immortals?' he whispered. Now, he too steps onto this path, poised to claim his spot among the exceptional.

In this epoch where myths wane, how can one transcend the limits of the transcendental realm? The answer lies in cultivating the strongest foundation and sowing a divine herb in the Life Soil! Turning back with a smile, Zheng Wu asked, 'Are you faring well?' His eyes, shimmering with rune-like brilliance, caught the essence of Wang Xuan's spirit.

'Do you still believe you can turn this around and seize what I've nurtured?' he asked, his smile exuding ease and confidence, his divine blood and fate resonating in unison.

Wang Xuan's frown deepened as he felt an unexpected wave of weakness, as frail as a plant severed from its roots.

Zheng Wu continued, 'Life Soil is the cradle of all laws, the primordial ground, the nurturer of life, where transcendence is birthed. Many have perused the scriptures, yet few grasp their true depth. Particularly wild cultivators like you, who have not entered the Immortal Realm nor received Immortal teachings, are even more in the dark, aware only of the superficial, not the underlying truths.'

With a hint of coldness, Zheng Wu looked down upon Wang Xuan, his tone laced with mockery. He knew Wang Xuan might retaliate, but did it matter now that he controlled the Life Soil?

'Before reaching the transcendental realm, on what basis did you dare to let someone invade your Life Soil? Losing control is akin to being a rootless duckweed, a fish deprived of water. By sealing the Life Soil and severing your subtle, mystical link, you're doomed to perish without my intervention.'

A chill ran down Wang Xuan's spine. He realized the enormity of the risk he had taken. The adage 'fortune favors the brave' often blinds people to the inherent risks. The scriptures indeed stressed the critical importance of the Life Soil, but he had underestimated its profound implications – a slight misstep here was a matter of life and death."

Wang Xuan spurred the ultra-material, frantically channeling it into the Life Soil, willing to drain himself dry if that's what it took to reclaim control. At this moment, he felt exceptionally weak, his dominion over the cradle of all laws perilously close to being sealed off, his capability to wield the God-Slaying Flag waning.

Reflecting on his situation, Wang Xuan realized how close he had come to catastrophe. Had it not been for his prior venture into the Great Curtain, his thorough foresight, and meticulous preparations, he might have truly capsized.

"It's futile; this place is now my domain. I won't give you any chance!" Zheng Wu declared, his tone calm yet laced with ruthlessness, intent on suffocating the host. His ultra-material silently permeated the Life Soil, his spirit rooting within, marking the territory as his own, ready to supplant Wang Xuan.

His divine blood and fate resonated, ready to spread throughout this body, usurping everything that belonged to the original owner.

Suddenly, Zheng Wu was seized with a profound sense of dread, his heart pounding erratically. He rapidly retracted the three lock chains, swirling them around him in a silver ribbon-like dance, protecting him like serpentine dragons.

What was happening? A deep unease gnawed at him.

The Life Soil was an enigma, invisible within the flesh and without any physical correspondence in the human body, yet it existed tangibly as a field of medicine, a land of life.

As Zheng Wu's ultra-material entered the Life Soil, and his spirit began to root, he felt a wave of panic. For the first time, his face paled with fear. He halted the flow of ultra-material, halting the rooting of his spirit.

However, his pause signaled Wang Xuan's fierce counterattack, the struggle to regain the Life Soil.

"No!" Zheng Wu tried to dominate again, but the reaction was even more terrifying. The next moment, an indescribable fear arose within him, sensing an imminent mortal danger.

Reluctantly acknowledging his predicament, he pondered abandoning everything he had brought – the five-colored soil from Mount Wuzhou, Zheng Yuan Tian's medicinal soil, the immortal elixir, and even the main root of the divine herb. Such treasures were hard to part with.

But he was no ordinary being. In a critical moment, he gritted his teeth, almost spitting out his divine blood in frustration, and resolved to flee. Yet, he discovered a shocking truth - he could not leave. His spirit, having rooted beneath the Life Soil, was now imprisoned, as if locked in place.

At that moment, Wang Xuan reestablished a connection with the Life Soil, pouring in ultra-material with a frenzy.

With a resonating hum, the true nature of the Life Soil was revealed – a dusty, ashen pool, revitalized by the nurturing ultra-material, now ready to devour souls!

This was the Pool of Rebirth, a legendary artifact said to transport souls to the afterlife. However, almost every soul swallowed by it vanished without a trace, never to reappear. After expending most of the ultra-material within the pool, Wang Xuan had buried it in the Life Soil, keeping it in a dormant state. Both he and his adversaries could reactivate it by infusing ultra-material into the Life Soil.

"How is this possible?!" Zheng Wu's pupils constricted in shock and fear, his heart filled with dread. Hailing from the celestial realm beyond the Great Curtain and widely knowledgeable, he had an inkling of the pool's nature. Recognizing the potency of the ashen pool, he was astounded, for it was an ominous entity known to betray and consume its possessors. Such a lethal weapon was a peril to be placed within the Life Soil, a threat to the soul itself.

Yet here it was, harbored within the Life Soil, defying all logic and not devouring its keeper. Zheng Wu found this incomprehensible.

The Pool of Rebirth, once activated, became an unstoppable force, indiscriminately consuming any soul in its path, friend or foe alike. Only beings of the utmost power dared to engage with such a dreadful weapon.

The pool exuded a nebula-like brilliance, seemingly capable of engulfing the stars themselves. In an instant, it tore a fragment from Zheng Wu's spirit. Trapped and unable to escape, with his divine blood and fate tied to his soul, Zheng Wu felt a profound sense of resignation. Was this where his journey ended, in utter defeat and frustration?

In a final attempt, golden radiance burst from his divine blood and fate, releasing nine characters that shone like nine suns within the Life Soil. These characters, imprinted within his spirit by the supreme master Zheng Yuan Tian, were a testament to his influence. Unfortunately, weakened by the constraints of crossing realms, they had lost much of their power. Now, these faint golden marks finally activated.

Struggling, Zheng Wu tapped into the power of the nine characters, barely clinging to life. With resentment and desperation, he attempted to rip apart the Life Soil, refusing to allow the creation of a formidable entity from his loss. If he couldn't have it, he would destroy it.

As he propelled the three segments of the silver chain, aiming to pierce and obliterate the Life Soil and even the divine herb's main root, interwoven golden patterns caused his spirit to crack. Zheng Wu trembled, overwhelmed by anger, fear, and a creeping sense of helplessness.

Wang Xuan, clad in his spirit armor and brandishing the God-Slaying Banner, stepped into the Life Soil with no hesitation, wielding the golden banner at Zheng Wu. "This is..." Zheng Wu felt an indescribable sense of defeat, astonished by one terrifying divine object after another. Especially now, the palm-sized banner could actually resist the devouring might of the Pool of Rebirth. What was this object that even historic records spoke of as a formidable weapon? Instantly, he deduced it was the lost God-Slaying Banner of ancient times.

Zheng Wu's spirit was torn into fragments, and at a critical moment, nine golden symbols descended, merging with his spirit in a desperate attempt to save him. But it was futile; the symbols, inscribed by a supreme being and dulled after passing through the Great Curtain, were no match for the spread of the golden patterns of the God-Slaying Banner. Zheng Wu's spirit was instantly fragmented into hundreds of pieces.

"Hmm?!" Wang Xuan paused, slightly restraining the banner, leaving the hundreds of spirit fragments intact. He stepped forward, his spiritual eye scrutinizing the fragments as if reading scriptures and cultivation diaries.

Zheng Wu's spirit, now dissected, lingered in a unique state, neither alive nor extinct. Wang Xuan delved into his memories, focusing on the past. Ignoring trivial and useless pieces, he concentrated solely on aspects related to cultivation.

For a time, the entire Life Soil calmed, shrouded in misty celestial fog, becoming immensely sacred. The Pool of Rebirth attempted several times to devour the spirit fragments of both Wang Xuan and Zheng Wu but was thwarted by the God-Slaying Banner, falling into utter silence.

After what seemed like eons in the Life Soil, with Wang Xuan's mental activity being intensely profound, he sighed, feeling as if he had traversed Zheng Wu's entire cultivation journey. This experience was priceless!

Amidst the fragments lay valuable teachings such as the "Yuan Tian Scripture" and "Immortal Embryo," exceptional and precious texts of the immortal path. The "Yuan Tian Scripture" was a text from the supreme Zheng Yuan Tian. The origin of "Immortal Embryo," also known as "Demon Embryo," was ancient and untraceable. Despite its power comparable to the highest scriptures, it was condemned for its malevolence and considered flawed, with cultivators facing divine retribution for practicing it, hence it was not classified among the highest texts.

However, it was not the scriptures that were most valuable, as Wang Xuan already had access to supreme texts. What was truly invaluable were the experiences and insights, teachings from renowned powerhouses who had once instructed Zheng Wu, including personal notes from Zheng Yuan Tian himself.

"Priceless treasure, to be verified over time!" Wang Xuan felt the profound impact on his cultivation, more precious than anything else. Borrowing the enemy's path to touch the true world of the Transcendents, understanding the various secrets and truths of cultivation, there was no better experience than this!

"Wang Xuan!" In the final moments, Zheng Wu awakened. His hundreds of spirit fragments resonated, and he was uncontrollably furious. His prey had turned the tables and was now hunting him? This was the host he had chosen for his Heavenly Blood and Destiny, the flesh and soil for reshaping his Demonic Embryo. But now, it was reversed, with the opponent observing his spiritual imprints, reaping his fortune, reducing him to a mere prisoner.

Was he, with his extraordinary talent, destined to die in such frustration? In the world beyond the Great Curtain, he was a genius gathering millions of gazes, yet in this mortal realm, he met such an end.

"Wang..." Zheng Wu began to speak, uttering just a syllable.

But the golden patterns interwove, and Wang Xuan wielded the God-Slaying Banner, not giving him a chance to speak further. Having obtained everything, he decided to let Zheng Wu depart with his regrets.

Puff!

The small golden banner swept over, shattering Zheng Wu's hundreds of spirit fragments and the nine dimming characters inscribed by Zheng Yuan Tian into dust.