Chapter 583: It's all my personal effort

Chen Shi withdrew his thoughts and gave a slight nod. "Commander Wu, from now on, you should not be so courteous to me, lest someone with ulterior motives take notice."

Wu Guanyun chuckled. "Fellow Daoist Chen, you were thrown into the Heavenly Prison and released within days, which proves that someone in the Celestial Court is protecting you, and that person wields immense power. Therefore, it is entirely appropriate for me to treat you with courtesy."

Chen Shi laughed heartily and walked alongside him.

The Fire Battalion left half of its uninjured soldiers behind to guard the Demon-Refining Well, while the rest followed along.

Before long, Marshal Li received word and led a host of heavenly deities down to Wash Immortal Valley, arriving at the Three Purities Demon-Refining Well.

This Marshal Li held aloft a resplendent golden pagoda, his bearing awe-inspiring and extraordinary. Having absorbed countless years of incense offerings and worship, his divine power surged without bound, yet even more formidable was the weight of his Dao might, a Dao so vast it filled the heavens, utterly immeasurable.

He had long since transcended the path of incense and faith, treading instead the road of a Dao God.

As he moved, clouds and rosy mist trailed behind him, wind and thunder accompanied his steps. The pagoda in his hand radiated supreme divine authority, containing within it the Buddhist myriad worlds, housing countless great and small divine kingdoms, where countless living beings dwelt, offering incense and worship.

Such majestic divine power and Dao strength were beyond anything Chen Shi had ever witnessed.

Chen Shi would never have qualified to stand before this deity, but the discovery of the Three Purities Demon-Refining Well was of such grave importance that he, as a mere heavenly soldier, earned the right to meet Marshal Li face to face.

"Face to face" was a generous description, however, as he could only glimpse Marshal Li from a distance.

Marshal Li's physique was considerably taller than an ordinary person, yet not absurdly so, standing at most one zhang and six chi. Clad in golden armor and wearing a golden helmet, he cut an imposing figure. The most peculiar thing was that from afar, he appeared one zhang and six chi tall; even from a thousand li away, he still seemed one zhang and six chi tall; and upon approaching, he remained one zhang and six chi tall.

Chen Shi's heart stirred slightly. "Diminishes not at distance, grows not at proximity, this is the mark of space Dao refined to its utmost. In other words, no matter how far away, he can reach out with a single strike and hit his opponent directly. Such a Dao technique, I cannot match."

Around Marshal Li stood many heavenly deities.

These deities, clad in golden armor, held golden whips, golden seals, or great bells. All their weapons were heavy implements radiating divine authority, and one could also catch the scent of incense offerings, a clear distinction from the forging of immortal artifacts.

Chen Shi carefully studied these deities, inwardly comparing them to the magic treasures of Western Ox New Continent. "The Dao inheritance of Western Ox New Continent is incomplete. Cultivators there tend to follow the path of divine artifacts when refining treasures. But the forging of divine artifacts and immortal artifacts is clearly vastly different."

In the days since arriving in the Earth Immortal Realm, he had spent his time either cultivating or locked in the Heavenly Prison, never having the chance to carefully observe the distinction between immortals and gods of the Earth Immortal Realm.

Now, as he studied them closely, he immediately perceived the difference between immortal artifacts and divine artifacts.

"Immortal artifacts are refined by inscribing Dao principles into the treasure. That is why the True Martial Exorcising Sword from the Ming Dynasty, when its sword light sweeps across a physical body, leaves only half of it behind. This is the effect of Dao laws at work."

He mused silently. "Divine artifacts, on the other hand, are ritual-refined with incense offerings, forging the divine path into the treasure. In terms of Dao principles, they are crude and unsophisticated compared to immortal artifacts. But their strength lies in the faith of all living beings, an ocean of incense divine power without end. The Wenyuan Hall and the Nine Halls forged during the True King's Era followed the divine path, making them less than pure immortal artifacts."

As he pondered, he followed these deities with Wu Guanyun and the others back to the Three Purities Demon-Refining Well.

Marshal Li led the host deep into the well, arriving before the rows of Demon-Refining Cauldrons. The deities stepped forward to inspect the counterfeit cauldrons.

Chen Shi and the others stood at a distance. Chen Shi could not help but worry that Marshal Li and the other deities might see through the deception. These deities possessed vast divine abilities, far surpassing any existence he had ever encountered, and their oppressive presence was immense. Surely they would have no trouble seeing through the Immortal of Aftermath's forgery.

Yet Wu Guanyun appeared completely unconcerned.

After a moment, Marshal Li and the others returned.

Chen Shi was stunned. Marshal Li and the heavenly deities had actually failed to see that the Demon-Refining Cauldrons were fake!

"Empress of Earth said she did not understand immortal techniques. It seems that was not modesty."

A thought flashed through his mind like lightning. "The divine path and the immortal path have already become two separate roads. Even a deity of boundless power cannot comprehend immortal techniques!"

Just as he was thinking, Marshal Li had already issued orders to fill in the Three Purities Demon-Refining Well, layer it with heavy seals, and seal the well completely, leaving two heavenly deities to guard it.

"The Three Purities Dao Ancestors left these Demon-Refining Cauldrons behind, surely with a purpose."

Marshal Li said, "Since that is the case, let the Demon-Refining Well continue to refine these great demons. There is no need to disturb it."

The Fire Battalion had rendered meritorious service, so Marshal Li distributed rewards. Every soldier of the Fire Battalion received a vial of immortal qi spiritual liquid and a small vial of Five Elements immortal pills.

Chen Shi tasted one of the pills. It was not as good as what his Four Disciples and the others had refined back in Western Ox New Continent, so he tossed it to Black Pot. Black Pot had received his own share as well, but he had long since transcended the Five Elements, so he did not eat them either. Instead, he used these pills to curry favor with other immortals, quickly earning widespread praise.

Black Pot's circle of friends grew ever larger, and the reputation of Black Immortal spread throughout the heavenly soldier camps. Often, one call would bring a hundred responses. Everyone said that Black Immortal was generous and righteous, a kindred spirit and true friend, though perhaps a bit talkative.

Chen Shi, on the other hand, had not made a single friend.

These past days, he kept a low profile, spending all his time in West Heaven Expanse, delving deep into the Primordial Chaos Sword Scripture.

Zhong Lin, however, frequently visited West Heaven Expanse to watch him practice his sword.

Chen Shi had his own Dao Realm in West Heaven Expanse, the very place where he had achieved Dao Unification. This was his Dao Field, and with a thought, he could seal it off, preventing other heavenly soldiers from entering. Yet Zhong Lin always managed to enter his Dao Field, no matter what method he used.

Chen Shi did not find this particularly troubling. Seeing that Zhong Lin did not interfere with him, he simply let him be.

Chen Shi slowly channeled the Primordial Chaos Dao Scripture, and sword aura after sword aura flew out from his sword box. Soon, he surpassed thirty-six sword auras, reaching forty sword auras.

Zhong Lin's heart skipped a beat. In such a short time, Chen Shi had actually made another significant leap in the Primordial Chaos Dao Scripture, controlling four more sword auras than before!

Though it was only four additional sword auras, the power of his sword techniques was now incomparable to before!

With forty sword auras under his command, Chen Shi's techniques had doubled in power. With the same move, Earthly Qi's Cold Greeting, if Wu Guanyun were to face it again, he would not find it so easy to handle. He would absolutely be injured!

Chen Shi's body moved with the sword, commanding forty sword auras to execute the fifth move of the Primordial Chaos Sword Scripture, Clouds Part, Mists Disperse.

Vast and boundless, the nation sinks into desolate gloom, clouds part, mists disperse, heaven and earth shine bright!

The first half of this move portrayed the fall of a kingdom, the end of an empire, the Celestial Way lost and adrift, a sovereign benighted and foolish, resources withered and barren, demons running rampant.

The second half, however, saw the sword aura surge forth, sweeping away demons, reshaping the Celestial Way, cleansing heaven and earth, slaying the benighted ruler, and, through toil and hardship, kindling anew the livelihood of the people.

This move was not difficult to cultivate, but comprehending the mysteries within the technique was immensely difficult.

Since the establishment of the heavenly soldier camps, countless soldiers had practiced this move, yet only a rare few had grasped its true essence.

To master this move, one needed to descend into the mortal world, enter a dying nation, and feel the chaos of the Celestial Way, the withering of the people's livelihood, witness the foolishness of the sovereign, and the arrogance of demons. Then, one had to experience the chaotic era, see the commoners rise in defiance against death, witness the rise of heroes, their solemn songs of grief and valor, and their efforts to restore heaven and earth and rebuild the Celestial Way.

Only then could one comprehend the subtlety of this move.

Sometimes, an immortal even had to voluntarily reincarnate, casting themselves into the midst of that great upheaval of dynastic change, in order to understand it.

However, to comprehend a sword move that could be learned anywhere at any time would require spending a hundred years, or even several hundred years, to grasp its mysteries. For most immortals, this was simply not worth it.

There were countless other immortal techniques in the world, so why invest such tremendous effort in the Primordial Chaos Sword Scripture?

Moreover, even with such dedication, there was no guarantee of success.

Yet Chen Shi had displayed the essence of Clouds Part, Mists Disperse to perfection!

Under his sword technique, the desolation and absurdity of a dying empire crashed down upon the viewer, demonic auras and fiendish miasmas so vivid one felt transported into the scene. Sword aura shrouded the sky like fog, sword intent toppled everything like a flood!

When the sword intent swept through the mortal world, reshaping the Celestial Way, and that moment of light returned, the power of the sword technique reached its peak, like the rising sun emerging in the east, cleansing the filth of the world at a stroke!

Zhong Lin stared at the overwhelming sword intent sweeping toward him, momentarily frozen, letting the resplendent sword aura fly past him.

Chen Shi sheathed his sword, and the forty sword auras each returned to the sword box, calming his surging Dao Heart.

These past few days, he had been diligently cultivating.

In his battle with Wu Guanyun in the Three Purities Demon-Refining Well, though he had been at a disadvantage, unable to last more than a few exchanges before Wu Guanyun would have killed him, he had also discovered that there was indeed something strange about himself.

The sword moves of the Primordial Chaos Sword Scripture, he could execute almost effortlessly, comprehending the Dao mysteries contained within each technique and unleashing their power to the utmost limit!

This time, he had once again, without any surprise, mastered the move Clouds Part, Mists Disperse, fully grasping its Dao mysteries.

Not only that, the Primordial Chaos Sword Scripture had even begun to feed back into the Primordial Chaos Dao Scripture!

This was somewhat absurd.

The Primordial Chaos Dao Scripture was the foundation of the Primordial Chaos Sword Scripture. The higher one's cultivation of the Dao Scripture, the easier it was to cultivate the Sword Scripture, and the greater its power.

But now, every time he practiced the Primordial Chaos Sword Scripture, the power of the Primordial Chaos Dao Scripture increased by a measure, feeding back in reverse into the Dao Scripture!

This was the reason he had been cultivating without rest these past few days.

Suddenly, Zhong Lin spoke up. "Fellow Daoist Chen, there must be something strange about you!"

Chen Shi looked at him and shook his head. "I am perfectly fine. What strangeness could I possibly have?"

Zhong Lin walked over and looked him up and down. "Your cultivation of the Primordial Chaos Sword Scripture has reached such a level that across the entire Celestial Court, no one could possibly be more skilled than you! The progress of your sword path is definitely abnormal!"

Chen Shi was so irritated he laughed. "My achievements in the Primordial Chaos Sword Scripture came from my diligent cultivation over these past few days. Are you suggesting someone else practiced it for me?"

Zhong Lin said, "Cultivating the Primordial Chaos Sword Scripture in a few days? Others might spend thousands or even ten thousand years and still fail. You mastered it in days, so there must be something strange."

Chen Shi laughed heartily. "I have been naturally gifted since childhood..."

"It's the Celestial Strategy helping you comprehend it, isn't it?" Zhong Lin suddenly said.

Chen Shi's heart gave a lurch. He steeled himself and said, "I have been clever since childhood. The Celestial Strategy helped me just a tiny bit, but I achieved all of this entirely through my own personal effort..."

Zhong Lin was overjoyed. "The Celestial Strategy really is on you!"