The Modern Martial Immortal

Chapter 124: The Psyche Dao

As the nine great aristocratic families of Xiayu, led by the Su family, gradually began to take control of various industries across the Crimson Star Empire, the Snowdragon Empire maintained an attitude of non-interference. This development finally made the other nations realize that the relationship between the Snowdragon Empire and Xiayu was not the master-and-subordinate dynamic they had previously speculated.

They were actually allies interacting on truly equal terms. In fact, even though the Snowdragon Empire clearly possessed the power to swallow the entire Crimson Star Empire and unify the world, they chose not to do so. Instead, they allowed Xiayu, which was under the leadership of Su Yaoguang, to quickly grow in power. This led many to suspect that not even considering them equal allies would be a good way to describe the relationship between Xiayu and the Snowdragon Empire.

As time passed and the situation developed, rumors about Yaoguang being a heavenly being spread, causing a global sensation.

What did a nineteen-year-old heavenly being imply? If the Lyu and Jiang families could guess the truth, how could the royal families of various nations, who possessed a deeper understanding of the Artifact Sect, not make the connection?

Suddenly, delegations from countries all over the world rushed to the capital of Xiayu, seeking an audience with Yaoguang.

Some even hoped to bring their entire nations into the fold. They wanted to take advantage of Xiayu’s current need for personnel to secure influential positions within the country, eventually rising in status and becoming great noble families like the Shangguan family had been.

Among these applicants were several top-tier aristocratic families on the same level as the Liao family. When the Lyu, Jiang, and the other aristocratic families witnessed this, they grew anxious. To prevent their own status from being threatened, they used every means possible to send gifts and curry favor, desperate to demonstrate their loyalty.

To prove their unwavering devotion to Yaoguang, they even sent their most talented and promising descendants to Yuhuang Mountain’s villa. While this was done under the guise of hoping to have them study under Yaoguang as his disciples, on another level, it was equivalent to offering them as hostages.

Seeing the Lyu and Jiang families act in this manner, other nations followed suit. Princes and princesses from various countries quickly gathered and set out, arriving at Yuhuang Mountain’s villa with lavish gifts under the pretext of seeking apprenticeship.

Succeeding in becoming a disciple was, of course, the ideal outcome. By becoming a student of the world’s only heavenly being, one who was barely twenty and destined to rule the world for decades to come, their nations would enjoy peace and security for the foreseeable future.

Even if they failed to become apprentices, they would remain as hostages to show their sincerity toward Xiayu.

In just one month, the population of Yuhuang Mountain’s villa, which originally housed only a few dozen people, including servants, exploded. Even though most princes and princesses brought only one or two servants or subordinates to avoid disturbing Yaoguang, the resident population of the villa still soared into the hundreds .

Fortunately, this resort villa built by the Liao family was large enough; otherwise, it would have been impossible to accommodate so many people. However, since other royal families and aristocratic families continued to send people, this situation could not continue indefinitely.

Yet, it was inconvenient for Yaoguang to simply drive everyone away. Doing so would throw countless royal families into a state of panic. Furthermore, many factions within those countries might assume their rulers had failed to gain his approval, potentially sparking rebellions.

Considering the need to maintain and stabilize peace across the continents, Yaoguang simply set a goal. Anyone under thirty who passed the assessment he established could become his registered disciple. Those who failed the trials would be sent back wherever they came from.

Once the news leaked, everyone began preparing with great enthusiasm. It wasn’t just other countries; even the Snowdragon Empire sent several princes and princesses to participate in the assessment, including the eldest princess, Xie Yi’er.

Having a deeper understanding of Yaoguang, they knew very well that becoming a heavenly being was by no means his limit. Even the ninth realm of body refinement would not be difficult for him. He might even surpass the ninth realm and become a star lord, equivalent to an elder of the Artifact Sect.

Although some suspected he was a member of the Lunar Fiend Empire, which was a potential concern, judging by Yaoguang’s current behavior, he did not resemble a creature of the Lunar Fiend Empire.

Besides, the situation in Cangwu remained uncertain. What if it really had been conquered by the Lunar Fiend Empire? By joining Yaoguang early, they were essentially securing a backup plan for their lineage.

Under these circumstances, the princes and princesses sent by the Snowdragon Empire were essentially the chosen ones of their generation. The Snowdragon Empire’s stance served as a bellwether for the future global landscape, and the remaining nations became even more frantic.

Two months later, when the day of the assessment arrived, Yuhuang Mountain was crowded. After an assessment process that lasted half a month, a total of sixty-six people passed and became Yaoguang’s registered disciples.

Considering that the status of registered disciple could serve as a bond for Xiayu to facilitate its rule over other countries, Yaoguang later announced that similar assessments would be held every three years.

Those who failed could return and train harder; as long as they remained within the age limit, they could try again after three years. This sect-like system, similar to the disciple assessments of the Artifact Sect, received unanimous support from all royal and aristocratic families.

Gradually, the cluster of buildings centered around the villa and those under construction on Yuhuang Mountain began to be hailed by the world as a sacred land of Martial Dao and cultivation.

As for Yaoguang, the master of this sacred cultivation site, he was collectively revered by all as the Sacred Lord Yaoguang.

***

Yaoguang was at the Longyou Stream. Although it was no longer critical for Yaoguang to rely on the force of the earth veins for his cultivation, he still moved his residence to this area.

On one hand, Yuhuang Mountain Villa had become too crowded, making it inconvenient to come and go. On the other hand, as the pillar of the Su family, he needed to maintain a certain distance from those from other nations, including the young people who were his registered disciples, to preserve an air of mystery.

Inside a newly built small villa nestled against the mountains and overlooking the water, Lei Yun and Su Yaoxue watched Su Yaoguang with curiosity as he stood motionless outside.

They knew he was cultivating. However, because the gap in their realms was too vast, they had no idea what he was practicing. Naturally, they did not realize that Yaoguang was currently at a pivotal moment on his path of cultivation.

Standing outside the villa, he could clearly feel his body suddenly becoming incredibly agile and active. The entire world seemed to be cheering in response to the state of his physique.

During this process, the circulation of qi and blood within him seemed to form a new cycle, flowing through his body repeatedly, the energy within him growing more majestic with each cycle.

As this energy circulated to every corner of his being, his body, which had already been constantly transforming, reached its limit at this very moment. His internal and external selves merged completely into one entity.

The stone slab beneath Yaoguang’s feet shattered with a loud crack, and the sound pulled him out of his immersive state.

”The body of a heavenly being.” He quietly sensed his own condition.

Four months after Dayu was renamed Xiayu, he had finally forged his body into that of a heavenly being. Only now could he truly be considered to have stepped into the realm of a heavenly being.

For other heavenly beings, the next step would be to refine the heaven-and-earth furnace into a Heaven-and-Earth Domain and touch upon the stellar force field. But Yaoguang only needed to do one thing: temper himself further!

He would continue to temper the body of a heavenly being, advancing it from the proficient stage to the mastery stage, and finally to perfection. Then, he would integrate the stellar force field and draw upon the power of the stars to enhance himself, stepping into the realm of a star lord.

The process of forging a heavenly being’s body was slower than I imagined. The main reason wasn’t my body’s endurance, but insufficient nutrition. Yaoguang thought as he felt his body.

Yes, nutrition. While the body of a heavenly being was incredibly powerful, every movement consumed significantly more energy than a mortal body. In fact, once the human limit was broken, a cultivator’s appetite would increase dramatically.

However, by relying on meat and medicinal supplements, no obvious abnormalities had appeared yet.

While a heavenly being’s body was stronger than the body of a martial paragon who had broken the human limits, its energy consumption was also exponentially higher.

Furthermore, he had a premonition that as his cultivation level rose, the energy required to sustain his daily activities would only grow. By the time he reached the ninth realm, ordinary meat and medicinal meals would likely be insufficient; he would have to consume top-tier medicinal supplements to sustain himself.

”I didn’t expect that even after cultivating to become an immortal, I would still have to follow the law of conservation of energy.” Yaoguang couldn’t help but complain to himself.

The moment he condensed a heavenly being’s body, he had crushed the stone slab because his body weight now exceeded a thousand pounds. Naturally, one could also deduce the incredible density of Yaoguang’s body, given that he still stood less than 1.8 meters tall despite his new staggering weight.

No wonder a heavenly being can withstand machine-gun fire without wearing a combat suit, Yaoguang thought to himself. Acquiring knowledge about those matters through the ancient tree was not nearly as informative as experiencing them personally.

”By forging the heavenly being body, my cultivation has reached a new tier. It’s time for a new branch to grow...” Yaoguang immediately focused his mind on the ancient tree within his mental world.

Sure enough, a new branch had sprouted from the main trunk, swaying gently among the two large and two small branches.

”I’ve been flipping through books on alchemy from time to time lately, so I assume...” Yaoguang focused his psyche to perceive it, but after just a moment, his expectations were dashed.

”It’s not that,” Yaoguang said with a hint of disappointment.

The newly grown branch did not represent the alchemist profession he desired. Instead, it was the Psyche Dao, the path of psyche refinement followed by psyche cultivators.

”Why is it the Psyche Dao?!” Yaoguang frowned.

This was absurd. He had clearly put much more effort into reading alchemy books than into the path of psyche refinement. Why...

”Wait, could this be Leng Tianfeng’s fault?”

Lately, he had spent far more time communicating with that being from the Lunar Fiend Empire than he had spent perfunctorily flipping through alchemy books.

After a while, Yaoguang pushed his thoughts aside and looked back at the Psyche Dao branch. What was done was done; there was no point in complaining. The Psyche Dao branch wasn’t bad, either.

It was one of the major systems of the current era. Compared to the Daemon Hunter and Merchant branches, its boost to combat power was far more significant.

As for the alchemy branch he wanted, there would be another chance once his cultivation broke through to the Star Lord Realm.