Chapter 70: Great Immortal
Chapter 70: Chapter 70: Great Immortal
The breeze was gentle and the clouds were sparse, watching the sparrows fly south until they vanished from sight.
The Plague God Sparrow was far too fast. The only reason Zhu Ge had been able to catch a glimpse of it was due to its massive size and high altitude.
Now, however, Zhu Ge and the Raincoat Fisherman were traveling on foot, so naturally, they could no longer see any sign of the Plague God Sparrow.
But they could see the trail it had left behind.
"So this is the plague of the Plague God Sparrow..."
Zhu Ge’s expression was grave as he looked at the ground about a kilometer away.
There, wisps of green gas stretched from the sky down to the earth.
The wind was thinning and dispersing the gas, but that only caused it to spread further.
To avoid being caught in it, the Raincoat Fisherman and he kept a distance of over a thousand meters from the vile mist.
This was the Plague God Sparrow. The mere trail it left in its wake was enough to make them give it a wide berth.
His master had left to seek medicine in Yuan Yang City precisely because he had seen the harbingers of a plague outbreak on Hua Liusha and her mother.
Now, along their journey, Zhu Ge had sensed the auras of not only Second Realm Demon Beasts, but a considerable number of Third Realm ones as well.
If the Raincoat Fisherman hadn’t been a Third Realm cultivator, he likely would have been dead long ago.
From this, Zhu Ge surmised that his master had most certainly met with disaster.
"We need to pick up the pace."
The Raincoat Fisherman said in a low voice, "We have to get there as quickly as possible. The City Lord is exceedingly strict; in the past, almost no one who disobeyed his orders has survived."
’In that case, it’d be best if I held you back. Even better if you died...’ Zhu Ge thought to himself.
Nevertheless, he made a show of picking up his pace.
Even so, they weren’t moving very fast.
After all, many Third Realm auras lay entrenched in the surrounding mountains. Flying over them would have been one thing, but running on the ground, the Raincoat Fisherman dared not provoke them carelessly.
This forced them to take detours, lest they trespass on the territories of these Third Realm entities.
When night fell, the Raincoat Fisherman finally stopped.
"The Demons, Ghosts, and Spirit Monsters are starting to stir," the Raincoat Fisherman said, frowning as he scanned their surroundings. "We’ll stop here for the night. Don’t make any sudden moves."
Zhu Ge nodded, halting beside the Raincoat Fisherman.
At night, the predators naturally began their hunt.
As a result, many of the surrounding Third Realm beings were no longer stationary but had begun to roam about.
The best way to avoid them was to stay put and let these Third Realm beings avoid them instead.
PLOP!
Zhu Ge sat right down on the ground, panting lightly.
The Raincoat Fisherman sat down as well, his expression softening as he said amicably, "You’ll be my Quanya from now on. First, I’ll teach you some rules."
At these words, Zhu Ge looked up, wearing an expression of utmost respect, ready to hang on every word.
The Raincoat Fisherman smiled. "First and foremost, do not defy the City Lord. Within Yuan Yang City, he holds the power of life and death. His word carries more weight than the Territorial Lord’s—even the emperor’s decree is meaningless there."
’A local despot!’
Zhu Ge instantly understood the City Lord’s status from the Raincoat Fisherman’s description.
He also understood in a flash why the Raincoat Fisherman could be so utterly ruthless when collecting the Jingzhe tax.
’It all trickles down from the top!’
A sliver of indulgence from the top breeds immense arrogance in the middle ranks and absolute insolence among those at the bottom.
"Fisherman, what kind of great figures are the Pavilion Master and the Territorial Lord?" Zhu Ge asked, curious.
"There are twelve Territorial Lords in the world. I don’t know about the others, but Yunjiang has three Prefectures: our Red River Prefecture, Dali Prefecture, and Dianchi Prefecture."
Perhaps because he now truly saw Zhu Ge as his own man, the Raincoat Fisherman was willing to share some basic knowledge:
"To the south, which is also the southern border of our Da Sheng Dynasty, lies a region known as Nanyue Mianhuang. Countless Yue-Mian Barbarians reside there. They are uncivilized, no better than wretched monkeys."
"My Red River Prefecture guards the border. The Lord of Yuan Yang City is also the Pavilion Master of Red River Prefecture. He is boundlessly powerful—a Great Immortal!"
"A Great Immortal?!" Zhu Ge’s expression flickered. "The same as the Plague God Sparrow?"
"Correct." The Raincoat Fisherman nodded. "On the path of cultivation, the First Realm is for cultivating Qi. In the initial stage, there is one qi; in the middle stage, two; and in the late stage, three. One begets two, two begets three, and three begets all things. Then, all things transform into a heart, and one steps into the Second Realm."
"The Second Realm is for cultivating the heart. When the heart is complete, the will congeals. That is the Third Realm."
"And above the Third Realm, one is called... Great!"
Great!
Understanding dawned on Zhu Ge.
The realm beyond the Third Realm was called the Realm of the Great.
The Raincoat Fisherman nodded and explained:
"A Great Power is immeasurably mighty. They can do as they please anywhere in this land. Across the entire world, very few can reach this level."
"On the Confucian Dao, there are Great Confucian Scholars who can wage war with words and suppress foes with a single character."
"In the Martial Dao that you walk, for instance, there is the distinction between a Great Hero and a Grand General. A Great Hero roams the world alone, while a Grand General commands armies to defend the frontiers."
"And our City Lord is a Great Immortal!"
"After experiencing Foundation Establishment in the First Realm, forming a Golden Core in the Second Realm, and congealing a Nascent Soul in the Third Realm, one’s Magical Power becomes boundless. A flying sword can take an enemy’s head from ten thousand miles away. The Nascent Soul can leave the body to enact Supreme Techniques. A single person can hold dominion over an entire Prefecture!"
A Great Immortal!
The Realm of the Great!
One person holding dominion over a whole Prefecture!
’So it’s not a simple progression of one, two, three, four. After the Third Realm, it’s a completely new stage...’ Zhu Ge’s heart filled with longing for this realm, but a moment later, a question arose. "But that Plague God Sparrow from before..."
"Its true form is an Evil God. It delights in absorbing the fear and despair generated by living beings during a plague." The Raincoat Fisherman’s expression grew solemn.
"It is especially fond of the soul-force generated by members of the Human Race as they slowly succumb to illness."
"Because the Human Race is united, when one person falls ill, their entire family helps them. They die slowly, producing more abundant and purer soul-force. Those around them also generate various kinds of soul-force, which is why it has always coveted our Yunjiang."
"It originally resided in Nanyue Mianhuang. I don’t know why it has suddenly broken through the border. I fear its trip to Yuan Yang City is not made with good intentions..."
It was obvious the Plague God Sparrow wasn’t heading to Yuan Yang City with such fanfare for a cup of tea and a friendly chat.
Zhu Ge asked again, "Fisherman, do you know how many cultivation paths there are in this world? For example, what are the characteristics of the Fisherman’s path that you follow?"
This was the main point Zhu Ge wanted to ask about.
If he knew the characteristics of the Fisherman’s path, he might be able to find a way to counter it.
"There are far too many paths of cultivation in this world. Legend says the ancient sages all left behind their own legacies, but I only know of a few."
The Raincoat Fisherman shook his head. "As for my Fisherman’s path, it’s a family inheritance. Best not to speak of it..."
’A family inheritance?’
Zhu Ge nodded pensively. Just as he was about to speak, he saw the Raincoat Fisherman abruptly turn his head to the side.
Seeing this, Zhu Ge closed his mouth and looked in the same direction.
Even under the moonlight, the darkness remained thick and heavy.
And within that oppressive darkness, something seemed to be moving.
"How audacious!"
The Raincoat Fisherman shot to his feet, releasing his aura without restraint as he stared at the creature in the dark.
In response, the being in the darkness also released its aura.
The two Third Realm auras collided, sending Zhu Ge flying.
"I am a Jingzhe Official from Yuan Yang City! If you insist on hunting me, you will be suppressed by the Yuan Yang City Lord!"
A fish basket appeared in the Raincoat Fisherman’s left hand and a fishhook in his right. His face was contorted in fury. "This place is not far from Yuan Yang City. Don’t court your own doom!"
"ROAR!!!"
A roar echoed from the woods as a five-to-six-meter-tall Black Tiger leaped out, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws as it lunged at the Raincoat Fisherman.
This was, unmistakably, a Third Realm Black Tiger.
"BANG!!!"
The Raincoat Fisherman threw his fishhook, and it collided with the Black Tiger’s sharp claws.
"BOOM!!!"
A massive explosion kicked up a gale. The Raincoat Fisherman took a few steps back, while the Black Tiger was sent flying.
Steadying himself, the Raincoat Fisherman sneered, "A mere early-stage Essence-Devouring Realm beast dares to treat me as prey?"
"Zhu Ge, you should know this. For the three types—Demons, Spirit Monsters, and Monsters—the First Realm is the Spirit Realm, and the Second Realm is the Transformation Realm."
The Raincoat Fisherman was still in the mood to lecture Zhu Ge.
"In the Third Realm, they diverge. ’Demon’ is for devouring essence, as in devouring the essence of heaven and earth. ’Spirit’ is for infinity, as its roots, stems, and leaves grow without end. ’Monster’ is for ’Linglong’—even a dull body can birth an Exquisite Heart."
"Demons belong to the category of flesh and blood, Spirit Monsters to plants and trees, and Monsters are formed from earth, stone, and metal. This is how Demons, Spirit Monsters, and Monsters diverge in the Third Realm."
"Therefore, the flesh of an essence-devouring demon is the most delicious. Watch me skin this Black Tiger. We can have it with some wine!"
The Raincoat Fisherman explained all this at a leisurely pace, seemingly unconcerned about the other auras that had appeared nearby.
But just then, more auras surged toward them from all directions.
Only then did the Raincoat Fisherman’s expression abruptly change.
"Something’s wrong! What’s happening?!"