Dual Cultivation God Returns

Some time before they entered the barrier, right when they left the ruins…

“Hm? The sunlight is…”, Hong Yue noticed that the surroundings looked very slightly differently, not enough to be a big change, but to her trained eye, the change in this previously completely still to the time of day world, was instantly noticeable.

“Haha, yeah, if you shield your eyes with Spiritual Qi and look at the sun, you’ll see”, Wu Long chuckled, and as the group followed his advice, they collectively dropped their jaws in shock.

“T-the small sun… is now in front…”, Cai Yin spoke in a whispering tone.

“Mm, it’ll cause quite an uproar. But the two suns didn’t change places, the larger sun’s mass just transferred to the small one. It will begin slowly going back though, after 500 years the two suns will be equal, and over the course of the next 1000 years it will gradually turn back to how it was”, Wu Long nodded.

Hong Yue suddenly had a realization, as she remembered the scene from when Helian Muyang’s physique was transfered to Wu Long.

Wu Long nodded, “Yes, the ritual relies on the momentum of that transfer”

—

As they entered the barrier, Helian Muyang and Meifang started to understand that they got entangled with someone truly unfathomable.

It was one thing to decipher ancient texts and perform the ritual which was already prepared, even though just that feat alone without years of preparation was already massive, but it was completely another to pass through the barrier of the Heavenly Daos relying solely on one’s skill and knowledge.

Wu Long led the group to the tree, where they stopped.

“I will give you one of the Hundred-Year Dao Fruits, as well as all the Ten-Year Dao Fruits and One Year Dao Fruits ones”, Wu Long spoke to Helian Muyang whose eyes almost popped out from this statement.

“Th-That’s too mu-…”

“Don’t worry about it, I am giving you what I can give you”, Wu Long shook his head, not intending to accept any resistance.

Adding, “They will be ripe just about now, so the barrier will show signs of dissipating. But it still would take a few hours, so you will have ample time to consume them”

“A-re we not leaving anything to-…”, Helian Muyang looked to the side, to the barrier.

“I told you, you have to learn to steel yourself, and get any chance you can”, Wu Long spoke with a smile, taking out his Shadow Crescent.

And as Helian Muyang looked in confusion at why Wu Long was taking out a weapon, he turned and slashed toward the tree, an arc of Spear Qi rushing toward a large centipede-looking creature which reared its head in preparation to strike.

“F-first-tier Profound Gr-….”, as Helian Muyang and Meifang widened their eyes in horror, the creature was quickly slain before they could even speak out its classification, turning that horror into confusion and then a light daze.

Wu Long, meanwhile, flew off into the tree crown, cutting down dozens of these types of creatures, all of the 1st-tier Profound Grade, though ranging in levels.

These were the final obstacle those outside would have had to face if this Secret Realm opening went as it usually did, but for Wu Long they were simply pests to get rid of before harvesting the fruits.

After cleaning up, Wu Long returned to Gong Liwei, Hong Yue and Cai Yin.

As Gong Liwei heard the explanation of the Wuxing Dao Fruit, her first reaction was that it was too precious for her.

But with light encouragement from Cai Yin and Wu Long, with Hong Yue simply stating she had no interest in having an elemental attribute and that it would be ‘a bother’, she agreed without excessive refusals that would have made it look like she had to be persuaded to receive something she did in fact want, even if she felt it was too valuable to give to her.

Hong Yue and Cai Yin would receive a Thousand-Year Dao Fruit, a fruit which gave enlightenment-like effect toward one’s comprehensions.

Wu Long’s comprehensions in everything that mattered to him long since exceeded the level of Mortal Grade Dao Fruits and Nine Mortal Realms, so there was no benefit in consuming one, which was why he gave the rest away to the couple.

A bit later, the barrier showed signs of change, and gradually revealed the sight of the outside, where a large portion of people were trying to do something with the barrier after Wu Long’s group went in, but could not.

Seeing Wu Long’s group by the tree, and the treasures, a light of hate and greed lit inside the eyes of many.

At the same time, the fruits reached ripe state.

Gong Liwei floated up to the Wuxing Dao Fruit, remembering Wu Long’s instructions on getting the right elemental attribute, and taking a leaf of the tree into her hand.

Hong Yue and Cai Yin similarly approached their Thousand-Year Dao Fruits, while Helian Muyang and his lover still slightly hesitated.

“These fruits hold no benefit for me, while being an enormous one for you”, Wu Long spoke floating up to them, “You can take the Thousand-Year Dao Fruit yourself, while I will help this Young Lady to absorb all the other ones at once, elevating her gains so that they would roughly equal yours from the Thousand-Year Dao Fruit. You do want to grow strong together, right?”

As he spoke, many more talismans floated around him, and a small formation began forming around Meifang.

The girl first hesitated, but as she and Helian Muyang looked at each other, and made a short nod, the latter went up to absorb the final Thousand-Year Dao Fruit, while Meifang timidly spoke “I-I will be in your care, Daoist Wu”

“Good decision”, Wu Long nodded, continuing to weave the formation, as well as collecting the lesser Dao Fruits. Collectively, they would only make for a hypothetical 689-Year Dao Fruit, but by combining them all at once, and with a bit of help from Wu Long’s formation, it was possible to elevate the results roughly equaling that of a Thousand-Year Dao Fruit.

As she began meditating amid the formation, the energy of the fruits floating around her seeping into her figure through the glowing arrays and patterns.

Wu Long now had quite a big period of relatively nothing to do, as the three ladies and Helian Muyang were similarly meditating in front of their fruits, and it would be at least an hour until they all finished.

His gaze circled the outside, where the crowd was going ape crazy at the sight of what they were doing, collecting all of the Dao Fruits without leaving anything. This didn’t captivate his attention as his gaze drifted further away eventually landing on the tree itself.

“Hmm…. I wonder… if I take the tree, will Lan’er be able to make it give Dao Fruits?”, he pondered out loud as he looked the tree up and down, tracing his chin with his free of controlling the formation hand.

He would have to take it away using his Mystic Realm, but it was possible. He just did not know if a Dao Fruit was something that could be cultivated outside of specific conditions it usually appears in.

An appearance of a Dao Fruit was technically a manifestation of the will of Heavenly Daos, or Karmic Luck. The scholars of the Seven Boundless Worlds were still arguing over that. The point was, it was a unique blend of Dao and unknown powers, not just a tree.

There were attempts to grow Dao Fruits from the trees that once already gave birth to some, but they never succeeded, never giving any fruits after.

Still, he was doing so many things that came outside of what was considered norm even in his first life, that it became second nature to him to constantly probe boundaries of what was accepted.

And since now, even some things he once gave up on and thought to be impossible were happening, taking the transfer of an Extreme Yang Physique for one, his ambitions about pushing boundaries became even bolder, and more brazen.

As he was thinking how he was going to take the tree, however, he could not help but look down at the roots, as they were covering nearly the whole part of the plateau where the lake was.

However, something about that sight started to fascinate him beyond the possibility of taking the tree away.

‘Water and Earth… if the Sun Shadow Secret Realm has some logic behind what changes take place in it compared to the real world, this would certainly be a good one… this plateau is a perfect embodiment of Earth, and also one of Water, combining to give birth to…’, as his thoughts drifted into this territory, he suddenly felt a familiar feeling.

Seeing the roots quite literally devour the Earth and Water, he suddenly had a realization.

It was not like he never considered obtaining a Wood Rune, but whenever he tried, the concept eluded him. Perhaps, out of the Five Elements, it was one which was hardest for him to obtain because it revolved so much around the concept of Life Qi.

He was not a stranger to it, he was, after all, a Dual Cultivator.

But he still was far closer to the concept of Death Qi than to Life Qi, as from the very beginning of his childhood, he was constantly surrounded by slaughter, desperately grabbing at any weapon that was within reach on the battlefields to survive.

However, seeing this sight, of this tree draining the water and depleting the earth, of it consuming the plateau, and slowly eroding it, to grow itself, he suddenly came to realization that Wood element was just as much about death as it was about life.

Just as animals consumed something to live, so did plants. All life consumed something in order to exist. Just as when they discussed the fact that Wei Lan’s garden depletes the earth’s nutrients faster in order to grow faster.

It was a simple idea, one that he knew, but never truly thought about in this particular context. Now, however, it finally unlocked a path.

Consume to survive, that was something he was very familiar with, something he could understand. His mind stirred, and as he closed his eyes, and through his Water and Earth Runes felt the sensation of the tree roots eating into the surroundings, he finally felt it, within the massive tree trunk.

He floated closer to it, and placing his hand on the tree, obtained the Wood Rune.