Chapter 901: Chapter 624: The Second Heart (Requesting Monthly Tickets and Subscriptions)
Day by day, time passed.
In the blink of an eye, nearly a year had gone by.
There was still no word from Eternal Immortal.
Lu Chenzhou was about to be melted into a puddle of pus by the severe poison; myriad poisons plagued him, entwined with curses, seeping into every cell, every inch of flesh and blood.
The Blood Poison Gu had fulfilled its task not long ago, having absorbed about twenty percent of the toxins, then abruptly died.
Even poisons are poisoned to death.
This showed just how fearsome this poison was.
After its abrupt death, the Blood Poison Gu did not dissipate. Its mouthparts were still rooted in Lu Chenzhou’s flesh and blood, and due to the extraordinary vitality and tolerance of his flesh, it fused with his body in a bizarre way, embedding itself in his heart, almost like a new organ.
This new organ continuously accumulated the severe and medicinal poisons within Lu Chenzhou, and under the effect of the Withering and Flourishing Dao, began to gain new life and started to wriggle.
At first, it was very weak.
Then it grew stronger and stronger.
It truly resembled a second heart.
This second heart, like a fish tank filter, ceaselessly drew the poisonous fluids from the vessels and meridians into itself, filtered the poisons in its atrium, and circulated relatively pure blood back to the limbs and bones—a single breath was enough for a complete cycle.
Gradually, as the toxicity lessened, Lu Chenzhou’s first heart began to regain a weak pulse.
Thump, thump, thump...
Gradually, the beats grew heavier and faster.
A slight, almost imperceptible flush of blood finally returned to Lu Chenzhou’s pallid face, and some of the sores subsided.
Before the second heart was born,
For the past half a year, at the cellular micro-level, Lu Chenzhou had been killed over a thousand times by poison and curses. Yet his physical body was immense, brimming with vitality and the Withering and Flourishing Dao, so that his flesh was always able to recover in an instant after necrosis—only for the process to begin anew before complete healing.
This process was a hundred times more painful than bearing a millionfold gravity—bone-gnawing, heart-piercing agony that tormented not only his body, but even more so his soul and spirit. Any other cultivator—even First or Second Step Eight Realms—would have died by now.
This curse from Wang Yue had been prepared for far too long, a strike almost nearing that of a Third Step Causality Dao expert.
Spiritual World.
Each time he met with crisis, Lu Chenzhou would hide his soul beneath the World Tree in the wilds of his internal world; as long as his soul did not die, his body might still be remade.
If his soul was dispersed, then his life was truly at an end.
Though his body was in coma, at the deepest level of subconsciousness, Lu Chenzhou still maintained some slight clarity.
He gazed at the golden threads probing in from the void, comprehending the trace of Seventh Rank Causality Dao Essence left upon them.
"I didn’t expect the Forbidden Zone to have hidden such a move. In all the intelligence I obtained, I’d never heard of a Causality Dao expert of at least Second Step. Luckily, my physical body is already near undying, with abundant fortune shielding me, which greatly weakened the curse’s might. They want to curse-kill me from a distance? Dream on."
He wasn’t the slightest bit panicked.
Even though his external body looked miserable, rotten and on the verge of collapse at any moment, he was still ten thousand eight thousand miles away from the Ghost Gate.
His current state resembled more that of being anesthetized by poisons—body comatose, completely unable to act.
"My Undying Body can resurrect ten-thousandfold; as long as neither curse nor poison can destroy me in an instant, I can use the Withering and Flourishing Dao to recover my form. I’ve only used up a thousand lives, and already burned through ninety percent of the toxins. Once I touch upon Sixth Rank Poisonous Dao, I’ll be able to devise a method to save myself.
The real trouble is the Causality Curse. Though I possess Sixth Rank Causality, there’s still an enormous gap to Seventh Rank—let alone this Causality Dao which is already close to Eighth Rank.
I’d thought Poisonous Dao wasn’t that important and neglected to cultivate it, but I was wrong. I am Lu Chenzhou. I can’t afford a single misstep. My enemy is the entire Forbidden Zone and Divine Alliance. They’ll stop at nothing; every Dao, I must master."
Lu Chenzhou looked at the Martial Arts Tree.
[Severe Poison: Fifth Rank (99%)]
"Soon, I’ll hit Sixth Rank."
He did an inner vision of his riddled body.
Seeing his chest, he froze.
"Huh? Why is there a new organ?"
On the left side of his chest, next to the original glazed heart, a seven-colored heart had sprouted, radiating an extremely dense aura of Poisonous Dao Essence, infinitely close to Sixth Rank, like a coiled alien Poison Snake.
"What’s going on?"
His brain was actually still in a coma, completely unaware of the outside world, with only a scrap of consciousness—not knowing that Tianxia’s experts were already half mad with anxiety over him.
"It seems this seven-colored organ is some kind of foreign creature that died inside me and was absorbed by me. It can swallow toxins, a veritable parasitic poison bug."
After some study,
Lu Chenzhou laughed wryly.
"Since that’s the case, I’ll use this organ as the foundation to craft a Poison Dao Divine Skill. If the enemy sees I’m not dead, they might try to curse-kill me a second time when I’m off guard; it’s highly likely they’ll make a move when I’m facing Tribulation. Luckily, they struck ahead of time—if I’d been hit mid-Tribulation, the odds of survival would’ve been slim."
That the enemy could push him to such an extent—their power surpassed even the Heavenly Gu, likely verging on the Third Step. If he failed to break into the Eight Realms, there was no chance he could oppose them.
Until then, he could only grit his teeth and endure.
Until he broke into the Eighth!
...
The outer world.
Old Wang guarded day and night outside Emperor Shitian’s Spiritual Barrier, pacing back and forth with his hands clasped behind his back from time to time.
"It’s all my fault for being too weak—I can’t even find out who’s behind the scenes, leaving my disciple to suffer like this."
Old Wang was burning with worry.
The Yaochi Immortal wasn’t faring any better.
"These Evil Gods, if you’ve got guts, come for me! Picking on a kid not even a hundred years old all day long—disgusting."
The tree that stands out is always felled by the wind.
She had come to deeply understand this proverb.
Before long, Prince Northern Guardian rushed over hurriedly.
"Word is spreading that the Military Leader was curse-killed by some mysterious Third Step Causality Dao practitioner. The Divine Alliance seems to have caught wind of it, too; this past half year, Yin Jiujiao and the Wind God Guard have harassed us a dozen times."
"Report! Grave news—Guest Elder Five Poison Heavenly Doctor was shot by Yin Jiujiao, and is now gravely injured and near death."
The Yaochi Immortal’s tone was ice-cold.
"They want to take out our healer so Lu Army Master just rots away on his own."
Emperor Shitian said, "From now on, we’ll contract our lines—everyone fall back to the Aurora Palace, defend the mine at all costs, and wait for Priest’s return."
Originally, just he and Lu Chenzhou were enough to keep Thunder Realm Venerable and Fang Xingyu at bay, but news of Lu Chenzhou being curse-killed spread quickly, giving the Divine Alliance an excuse to test their strength—making the pressure grow greater and greater.
The Da Xia Eight Realms were all too busy.
After breaking through to the Eighth, the Priest immediately went to the Yu Sword Immortal Cave Mansion to obtain Great Power Level Time Technique inheritance.
The Dragon King was braving Life and Death Reincarnation in Dou Ancestor Cave; if he made it through, even if not reaching Great Power, at least Tianxia would have a Third Step-level combatant holding the fort.
As for Eternal Immortal, he had just obtained the Blade Ancestor’s Great Power inheritance, and was now seeking Treasure Medicine in the Divine Prison Realm.
...
Primordial Mountain Cave Heaven.
Yuanbao Mountain was deserted and cold.
The Spiritual Weapons had all been taken away.
Mr. Turtle and the two Apes sat facing each other.
The apes were the Star Undying Armor and Star-fixing Divine Pillar—two Supreme Treasures that had accompanied Ancestor into battle.
"Mr. Turtle, aren’t you going to act?"
"Just trust Little Junior Brother. For the body to ascend to the Undying Realm, misfortune is inevitable—perhaps this calamity is just the kind of tribulation he needs."
"True. Being able to unleash Quasi-Eighth Realm Combat Power just with Divine Skills and Great Dao, without relying on Spiritual Weapons and other external forces—a talent like that is not weak among the Four Emperors, he won’t die so easily."
"Come, let’s drink. After this, I want a nap. Maybe when I wake, Little Junior Brother’s name will resound throughout the Three Thousand Realms." Mr. Turtle smiled.
"Ha! Nap? Aren’t you worried that when you wake, that Lu brat will be even stronger than you?"
Mr. Turtle laughed, "I’ll only sleep for ten years. Little Junior Brother is a genius, but in the next ten years he’ll at most enter the Eight Realms. I may be stupid, but after cultivating for ten thousand years and fusing with Ancestor’s True Blood of Dominator, even Kunxu Ancestor would have to call me senior!"
At this moment,
The always modest Mr. Turtle was extraordinarily confident—he felt he could watch over Little Junior Brother for a hundred years yet.
...
"Aunt, Tianxia really did withdraw their troops. They’re all holed up in the mine now, and have called all the Guest Elders back to Aurora Palace. Lu Chenzhou must be in trouble."
Fang Bifan smiled.
Fang Xingyu nodded.
"Nephew, your intelligence work is good, but remember this: to truly stand firm, strength is the root. Set foot in Realm King as soon as possible, only then can you protect yourself."
"Nephew understands."
"None of you need worry about that Five Poison Heavenly Doctor. She’s been wounded by my Chasing Wind Arrow. Though she escaped with the help of strange Gu bugs, her cultivation has plummeted—she’ll never be able to detoxify Lu Chenzhou again." A gust of wind entered the tent, coalescing into Yin Jiujiao’s smug face.
"Well done. I’ve messaged Yan Ming Realm Venerable. Strike while he’s down—kill him! Now’s the best time to eradicate Tianxia and take back the mine."
"Let’s get to it, then. My first target is Lu Chenzhou—I’ll shoot from afar. As long as you keep the enemy’s Eight Realms busy, I never miss." Yin Jiujiao was supremely confident. "Lu Chenzhou’s a genius so what? The early bird gets shot. This is what happens when you dare defy the Divine Alliance—certain death! So Old Lei and Old Qiu, they died for a reason."
...
Eastern Extreme Boundary Tower.
A figure quietly descended. In a single thought, a Seventh Rank illusion enveloped ten thousand miles. Except for Thunder Realm Venerable, no one else noticed a thing.
Even Fang Xingyu merely frowned for a moment, found nothing amiss, and resumed her work.
A Daoist drifted in, unhurried.
Thunder Realm Venerable’s eyebrow rose.
"Didn’t think there’d be a descendant of True Spirit in this age, one who’s cultivated the illusion to Second Step."
"Fellow Daoist, care to make a deal?"
"Not interested. You’re not qualified."
The Divine Race had always viewed the descendants of True Spirit as enemies.
This caution ran in their bloodline.
"I can help you kill Lu Chenzhou. All the treasures on him will belong to you—I just want his body and soul. How about it?"
The Heavenly Gu Daoist said evenly.
Such a good deal?
Thunder Realm Venerable squinted.
His instincts told him Lu Chenzhou must have something precious on him to attract this mysterious Daoist.
"Let’s talk."
Thunder Realm Venerable spoke.
With a Second Step Illusion Dao expert helping, the Divine Race’s chances of success would double at least.
This was a qualitative leap.
As for whatever good thing Lu Chenzhou had—for now, succeed in the task, and later figure out how to kill the Daoist.
The Divine Race—never loses.
...
Within the Mystic Sky Realm, dark currents surged.
A murderous air shrouded the sky; demonic stars twinkled above.
Emperor Shitian gazed up at the stellar vault.
Soon, the projection of Eternal Immortal appeared, standing amid a wilderness of spikes, with numberless vengeful spirits howling around him, and a great terror lurking in the darkness.
"How is the Military Leader’s condition?"