Living Soil

“The Power Sutra?”

“That’s right, the Power Sutra. The origins of the martial path are lost to time, but what we do know is that in the beginning, Martial Artists primarily focused on tempering their physical bodies. They didn't have the new methods of combining godly intent with the physical form that we see today.

Ancient martial artists pursued the absolute peak of the physical body, using pure strength to enter the Dao. A single punch could pierce the void, a palm could shatter worlds, and a kick could carve out a river of stars.”

Li Taiji lightly tapped the stone table, causing the tea in his cup to splash into the air. Under his guidance, it transformed into a simple little figure that began demonstrating punches and kicks.

“The ancient methods were simple, yet they reached the true meaning of the Great Dao. They are one of the rare paths that lead directly to the unique-tier. However...”

‘Chen Xu’ knew there was a catch. If the ancient methods were truly that perfect, the myriad of martial paths seen in later generations would never have emerged.

“However, the ancient methods demand too much in terms of aptitude, comprehension, and mindset. Without sufficient aptitude, you cannot even begin. And without comprehension, even if you find the path, you won't go far.

Mindset is even more crucial. Progress with the ancient methods is agonizingly slow. Although the Great Dao is within reach, in the same amount of time it takes to advance, others would have already become high-and-mighty mythic-tier powerhouses or even revered as eternal-tier sovereigns, while you would still be a mere epic-tier.

By the time you finally achieve a breakthrough, those others might have been dead for years. Those who didn't die would have long since grasped multiple Dao rhymes, sitting firmly upon the eternal high platform, or perhaps even entered the unique-tier to become masters and ancestors in their own right.”

Everything evolves and changes according to the needs of the time.

The ancient methods had their advantages, but they also had undeniable shortcomings. This was what gave rise to the new methods.

After all, not everyone is so proud that they settle for nothing less than the unique-tier.

For most people, the mythic-tier is a lifelong dream. The eternal-tier is like the stars in the sky, the treasures of the earth, or the greatest beauties of the world—to attain it is to live without regrets.

“Fellow Daoist, to be honest, I have a bit of talent when it comes to comprehension. As for mindset, at our level, how many of us could truly have a poor one?

And as for aptitude, there is no need to even mention this physical body. I doubt a more perfect one could be found in all the world.”

“Haha, you have a point. In that case, I will give you the Power Sutra. As for the other three techniques, I can give them to you as well. However, I would like to ask for two things in return.”

Li Taiji tapped the air four times, and four leaves drifted down from a nearby tree into his palm.

Then, he exhaled a breath of true qi. The four leaves began to glow with golden light as tiny characters surfaced one after another, radiating a unique and profound mystery.

“Oh? I wonder what you desire? Some rare treasure from the Land of the Undead?”

“No. While rare treasures are fine, they cannot compare to your Natural Wonders.”

“Natural Wonders? The Bone Soul-Exalting Altar?”

‘Chen Xu’ straightened his posture, his interest piqued. He had immediately guessed what Li Taiji was referring to.

Li Taiji nodded and flicked his wrist, sending the leaves drifting toward ‘Chen Xu’.

“Indeed. When I visited the Taikun Martial World, I saw a realm connected to it and took a look.

I found a bone altar there with a massive number of martial artists bowing before it. It possessed a mysterious power that optimized the root-bone of those who knelt. It was truly extraordinary.

This creation of yours is no less effective than the rarest treasures of heaven and earth.”

Li Taiji’s finger twitched, and the tea-water figure in the air multiplied into a thousand. These thousand tiny figures all bowed toward a single skull.

“Therefore, I would like to ask for a few of these Natural Wonders to be placed within the martial worlds under the Universe Martial Lineage to improve the foundations of those mortal martial artists.”

Hearing this, ‘Chen Xu’ calmly reached out and tucked the leaves into his robes.

If it was just Natural Wonders, he had nothing to worry about. With the capabilities of the Skeleton Construction Crew, building even a hundred of them would be a simple task.

“Do not worry, Fellow Daoist. It is but a few Natural Wonders. I have a Skeleton Construction Crew under my command—they are numerous and highly experienced. A small Natural Wonder is nothing to them.”

“Hahaha! With those words, I can rest easy. I shall leave the Natural Wonders for the hundred-plus martial worlds of the Universe Martial Lineage in your hands then.”

“Of course, of course.”

...

The Undead Dao Court.

Ever since Chen Xu’s horizons were broadened by Tal Rasha’s ideas and he discovered how to use the souls of demon kings, he had been constantly experimenting.

He wanted to create a common mental network for all the undead, allowing them to share vision, perception, and even their souls.

By merging the scattered parts into a whole, the undead could act as one, fully utilizing their advantage in numbers.

Furthermore, Chen Xu planned to integrate a magic network concept into this mental network, engraving magic formulas—such as various curses, bone spells, or elemental magic—directly onto the soul level.

A user would only need to lightly activate it with their soul to cast a spell of the corresponding permission level, even if that user was just a skeleton or ghoul who knew nothing of magic.

The idea was brilliant and had broad applications that perfectly suited the characteristics of an undead army. However, there was one problem: the mental network was too vast.

To cover all necrotic creatures, the mental network itself had to be large enough and have massive capacity to meet the networking needs of every undead being.

But after precisely measuring the soul mass of Karl, the Demon King of Destruction, and comparing it through experiments with an ordinary ghost, Chen Xu found that a single demon king's soul was not enough to create a mental network that could cover the entire Land of the Undead.

He would need at least one more demon king's soul to satisfy the requirements.

But the soul of a demon king was not something easily hunted. Besides, Chen Xu had already sealed one; if he sealed another, the maddened Mother of Hell might very well turn her attention toward the Land of the Undead.

Lately, Chen Xu had been testing various rare treasures, hoping to use the Authority of Creation to fuse their properties into the demon king's soul to make it grow and meet his needs.

However, after a long period of research—including digging through the mountain of junk produced by the Whispering Tree’s daily studies and exhausting the inventory of rare treasures from the Wanbao Pavilion—he had yet to find a suitable match.

“Woo~”

Suddenly, a muffled cry for help from Kunpeng echoed from the Inverted Sea above. The sound was heavy, as if something was clogging its throat.

Chen Xu looked up and saw a massive fish head emerge from the sea's surface. Kunpeng looked panicked.

Kunpeng's giant mouth was stuffed full of soil.

The soil was constantly expanding. As soon as Kunpeng swallowed a bit, three times more would grow back. The rate of growth was far faster than Kunpeng could swallow.

“Constantly growing soil... Isn't this Living Soil? Kunpeng, where did you get this? Hmm, wait... Living Soil!”

Chen Xu’s spirit was jolted. He raised his hand and locked onto Kunpeng's head, instantly pulling the Living Soil out of its mouth.

“Woo~ Woo~”

Having been saved, Kunpeng cursed at the Living Soil hovering in the air before diving back into the water, using the necrotic-scented seawater to wash the taste of dirt from its mouth.

Chen Xu also spotted a familiar object within the large mass of Living Soil.

It was a treasure box from the Secret Treasure Palace. It seemed this Living Soil was the result of a blind box Kunpeng had opened.

He had to admit, that silly fellow Kunpeng had incredible luck. If luck were graded, Kunpeng would surely be at the very top.

Looking at the Living Soil that was still expanding in mid-air, Chen Xu felt he had finally found the perfect fusion material.

With a thought, the soulstone sealing the demon king's soul flew into the air and plunged into the Living Soil.

Immediately after, surging Authority of Creation rushed toward the Living Soil like a tide, completely enveloping it.

Chen Xu’s Refinement Plan had officially begun.