From Now On, Cut Through Thorns and Thistles

Chapter 35

In the thatched cottage deep in the mountains, Li Changmeng let out a bitter laugh.He held the jade slip containing the cultivation technique, but there were no words on it—only a blank space."So, both Master and I were deceived."

By this time, Li Changmeng had a vague suspicion in his heart. That strange bug had once taken up residence on the jade slip. And he himself was probably parasitized when he acquired the cultivation technique—that was when he experienced that strange dream.

"Damn it! No wonder that bug told me to walk my own path."

Li Changmeng felt quite speechless. It was acceptable to be deceived, after all; the cultivation technique could still be practiced to some extent. It was a residual version of a technique that could at least lead to the Golden-Core stage.But now that the technique on the jade slip was blank, wasn't it forcing him to start exploring the next step on his own?

"Fortunately, I can still practice from the Foundation-Establishment stage to the Core-Formation stage. It's just that there are many spells I haven't mastered yet—I can only evolve spells through the Dao of Flesh and Blood."

He put away the jade slip. Even though it no longer bore a cultivation technique, it remained the object that had set him on the path to immortality.

The root of spells came from the Dao. The Dao was a law between heaven and earth; the realm of comprehending the Dao only represented the degree of understanding of that law. And spells were the means to express the Dao.Even if one had no deep understanding of the Dao, they could still use spells to evoke its power. But if one wanted to create their own spells, they must have at least reached the Realm of Understanding the Dao.

"Fine. Anyway, I have to take this path sooner or later."

Li Changmeng did not oppose the idea of creating his own spells too much. The spells he had learned were the results of others' understanding of the Dao. He could use them, but they were not as effective as those born from his own insight. It was just that, before reaching the Nascent Soul stage, he hadn't had much time to create his own spells.

"The Dao of Flesh and Blood lies in the control of all flesh and blood. I can try to deduce some spells based on my own supernatural powers."

Coincidentally, it would take time to accumulate living souls in the deep mountains—and Li Changmeng now had the opportunity to study spells.

Time passed quickly in the mountains. Ten years had flown by in the blink of an eye.Qianzhu Mountain gradually transformed from a favored hunting ground for hunters into a place they avoided at all costs. At first, all kinds of fat-headed, big-eared prey roamed the area. Later, strange and grotesque beasts began to appear, leaving people to wonder what was happening deep within the mountains.

"The Incense-Transforming Spirit Spell! It's successful!"Within the writhing, flesh-like abode, a hooded figure laughed wildly.

In ten years, Li Changmeng had grown from a child to a teenager. He removed the hood. Under his eyes, there was an additional long and narrow eye. His lips had vanished, replaced by brown tentacles reminiscent of an octopus's, resembling a thick beard. Below his head, it was even more exaggerated: beneath the shadow of his tall, pale body, countless eyes peered out. His hands were as strong as those of a wild beast, with fine hairs that were, in truth, tentacles swaying without a breeze. His lower body had split into more than a dozen tentacles that writhed chaotically, supporting his form.

"This appearance... It seems that the Ancient Immortal Sect has developed well."

With his divine sense covering the area, he could perceive the changes within his spiritual sea. Yet at this moment, having clarified his own path, he was not surprised at all. His current appearance was the result of the combined influence of the strange bug and the incense. The power of incense wishes had provided the force for change, while the residual influence of that strange bug had given direction to the transformation. The purpose of the bug was probably to make him transform into a member of its race—but at present, his appearance had little in common with that of the bug.

With a thought, his inhuman visage gradually shifted into that of a handsome young man. This was a small application of the Dao of Flesh and Blood—a disguise that, however, was ineffective against the soul. Moreover, his strength would be suppressed by 50%; once a fierce battle commenced, he would have to reveal his true form. The reason for his change in appearance was to prepare for his upcoming journey to the Heavenly Star Domain.

Looking within his body, he found that in these ten years, besides researching spells, he had transformed all 108 acupoints into blessed lands and paradises. They were all interconnected. Through these living souls, Li Changmeng learned that the Ancient Immortal Sect called this domain the Dream-Realm Divine Kingdom.This was an apt name. For ten years, he had continuously employed the Soul-Stabilizing and Summoning Method on believers through the incense statues. Now, there were already 108,000 living souls within the entire Dream-Realm Divine Kingdom. This was the upper limit Li Changmeng could currently accommodate—he could only expand it further when he reached a higher realm in the future. However, 108,000 living souls were enough to provide far more power of incense wishes than he required. If other cultivators of the Incense Path knew about this method, they would surely go crazy, for it could shatter the shackles that bound them to one place by the power of incense.

"I wonder what grade the Incense-Transforming Spirit Spell is."It was impossible to judge the power of this self-created spell by conventional grading. Li Changmeng estimated that if he used this spell to fight Feng Chulai now, he could defeat him within ten moves. This spell could continuously allow his own power of incense wishes to erode an opponent during battle. The power of incense wishes was like a deadly poison to most cultivators; with the aid of the Dao of Flesh and Blood, Li Changmeng could make his incense power affect others—causing unknown changes in an opponent's body and greatly weakening them.

Although his spiritual fetus had been practicing for ten years, Li Changmeng had only made modest progress in the early stage of the Foundation-Establishment realm and was still some distance from the mid-stage. Yet in terms of strength, this single spell was enough to render him comparable to a late-stage Foundation-Establishment cultivator. The spells deduced from the fourth realm of comprehending the Dao were the most suited for the cultivator and could bring about a huge leap in strength. This was also why most Nascent Soul–level cultivators created their own spells.

"Everything is ready. I'll take one last look at the Ancient Immortal Sect and then prepare to head to the Heavenly Star Domain."With sufficient strength and a self-sustaining power of incense wishes, Li Changmeng felt that everything was in place.He dispersed the flesh-like abode and quietly journeyed to the former capital of the Xuanfeng Kingdom, now the holy city of the Ancient Immortal Sect, Tongming City.

Li Changmeng walked along the streets, yet the people around him could not see him—they instinctively avoided the area where he passed. He spread his divine sense around and noted that every household enshrined an idol of the Dao Lord. But these were not incense statues, so Li Changmeng could not absorb any incense power. "This is such a waste."

The power of incense wishes was dissipated throughout the city; unless Li Changmeng was present, only a very small portion of it would be absorbed by the nearby incense statues. But there was a solution. He merely needed to combine the incense statues with the Dao of Flesh and Blood. In doing so, he could absorb the power of incense wishes, and when the absorption capacity was exceeded, he could use that power to create new incense statues. In this way, it could even be regarded as a divine miracle—the speed at which new incense statues emerged in a locale would reflect the piety of the local people's beliefs. It was a win-win situation.

With a thought, Li Changmeng projected his consciousness into every incense statue and transformed them. Then he informed Zhang Lin, who was in the city, of what he had done.Zhang Lin, busy handling many internal affairs of the Ancient Immortal Sect, suddenly had an epiphany as he received a message. "It's Master!"Only the master of the sect could perform such a feat."The self-increasing statues will grow faster if the faith is more fervent! Hold large-scale sacrifices and ceremonies, and people can communicate with the Dao Lord!"

Zhang Lin's eyes lit up. Since Li Changmeng's departure, the only means of the Ancient Immortal Sect had been the Sect Protection Army. Although it was still very powerful, ordinary people had not truly grasped the greatness of the Dao Lord. With a channel for communication through sacrifices, the Ancient Immortal Sect would surely develop faster. Even without initiating a war, neighboring countries would gradually be infiltrated by the Ancient Immortal Sect!

Li Changmeng sensed Zhang Lin's reaction and nodded secretly. Zhang Lin was a smart man and surely knew what to do. Now, with confidence, Li Changmeng could leave and set his course for the Heavenly Star Domain!