This Human Immortal Is Too Serious-Chapter 524 - 522

Some demons, dawdling aimlessly, just... awoke to the spirit of selfless devotion.

Wu Wang sat on the back of that bald eagle, following the clouds and the breeze, slowly drifting away toward the dawn on the horizon.

At the mountain peak, a crowd gathered around Ba Li, who had reverted to his soul form as a Ba Serpent, watching the Human race Martial Artist, Wu Wang, gradually disappear into the distance.

"What a good person."

"He actually didn't kill us."

"It's unclear just what sort of powerful existence he is, to be able to battle Lord Ba Li for three days and nights."

Above the group of demons, the Ba Serpent's eyes shone with warm Divine Light as he sighed softly in his heart.

Thank you, Qing Shan, for pointing out the path to me.

Wu Wang, who was far away flying on the bird, couldn't help but look back with a guilty conscience.

Ah, good that they didn't follow.

He looked down at the jade ring on his finger, which contained a series of fist-sized bone balls, carved as if from white jade, causing Wu Wang... causing Wu Wang...

Quite conflicted. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

These bone balls were snow-white all over, with a slightly pitted surface, flickering with mysterious Spirit Light.

This item was the main reason the Eastern Emperor's Bell had guided Wu Wang to this place.

The Ba Serpent fed on elephants, and these elephant bones, remaining in the stomach of the Ba Serpent and nurtured over the eons, were endowed with many divine and wondrous Spirit Lights. Their most significant effect was that they could be refined into elixirs for enhancing the power of the Divine Soul.

These forty-nine bone balls were dug up from the burial site of Ba Li's original body.

Indeed, Ba Li dug up his own grave to give a gift to this friend.

After being nurtured for tens of thousands of years, the bone balls had absorbed some of the power from Ba Li's original body. If they were refined into elixirs and consumed by Wu Wang gradually, his Divine Soul power was estimated to jump up a notch...

POP!

Wu Wang felt a bubble burst on his shoulder, and Little Zhong Ling, whom only he could see, leaped out, reminding him with a grin,

"You could also directly consume them; the effect isn't bad either, yo."

Wu Wang: ...

Just thinking about the place where these bone balls were dug up and their correlation with the Ba Serpent's remains made Wu Wang's stomach churn.

"Isn't there any substitute?"

"Master!"

Little Zhong Ling flew in front of Wu Wang and, with a serious face, said,

"To grow stronger, there's no shame!"

"I just..."

Wu Wang reached out to slap Zhong Ling, who giggled and floated away, only to return quickly to Wu Wang's shoulder, starting to advise his master on how to deal with these treasure beads.

Noises of grinding began to echo on the back of the bald eagle.

The Eastern Emperor's Bell had already chosen the next challenger for Wu Wang. However, as Wu Wang's strength continued to increase, suitable opponents became increasingly scarce, and compared to the main world of the Great Wilderness, the Outer Sky was still somewhat limited.

Zhong Ling asked in a low voice, "Master, have you ever considered letting this incarnation go back to train at the Heaven and Earth Seal?"

"Then what was the point of this incarnation striving in the Outer Sky for so many years?"

Wu Wang shook his head and said seriously,

"I must achieve one thing: when Qing Shan stands before the Candle Dragon and Emperor Shun, and Emperor Shun uses the Dao of Time to probe me, I want to be able to stand tall and look back at him unflinchingly. My footsteps, the path of my growth, the improvement of my strength, all must be traceable. In this way, if I can win, it won't just be about killing, but also about crushing his spirit."

"Crushing his spirit?"

Zhong Ling tilted its nail-sized head in some confusion.

Wu Wang smiled and said, "He was defeated by two young people twice. It's not that the Heavenly Dao and Eastern Emperor Taiyi are too strong, but that he himself is weak... It's probably something along those lines."

Zhong Ling leaned back, extended a tiny fist toward Wu Wang, and gave him a little thumbs-up.

"Master, what is your view on the Demon clan?"

Wu Wang hummed thoughtfully for a moment, stopping the work he was doing with the grinding stick, his eyes showing some indecision.

He said,

"Emperor Shun's transformative curse has spread far too quickly. It's evident that he is indeed in a hurry, recklessly enhancing the overall power of the Outer Sky and then converting that collective power into his own. From the perspective of the Heavenly Dao, I can take advantage of Emperor Shun's impatience and let him cultivate the Demon clan. When he wants to reap the rewards, I'll crush him with my absolute superiority, seize the achievements regarding the Demon clan, and harvest an Outer Sky world brimming with the Power of Living Beings, incorporating it into the Heavenly Dao. In this way, when facing that unnamed calamity, we'll have an extra five percent, or even ten percent, chance of success. But..."

Wu Wang sighed softly, looking somewhat troubled.

Zhong Ling asked, "Are you worried that once the Demon clan grows strong, they will inevitably compete with the Human race for territory, leading to heavy casualties?"

"Exactly," Wu Wang said slowly. "This itself is a major problem."

"But Master, in your prediction, when will the Demon clan grow strong enough to confront the Human race directly?"

"It will take at least three to five thousand years, or even ten thousand years."

Wu Wang explained,

"I need the Demon clan's help to get through the great calamity. After that calamity, if the Demon clan is slaughtered by the Human race, should I intervene or not? If I protect the Demon clan, would that be considered a betrayal of the Human race? If the Demon clan is annihilated, would it count as breaking faith and being disloyal, slaughtering the donkey once the grinding is done?"

"However, the calamity is right before us. Before the Demon clan truly grows up, the calamity will already have arrived. If the Demon clan and Human race can preserve one-tenth, it would be considered a great victory in Crossing Tribulation."

With her lips pursed, Zhong Ling asked softly,

"Do you still hold onto that somewhat absurd idea of leading all living beings through the great calamity?"

Wu Wang laughed and said, "How can I know without trying? I can't just accept their salutations as Heavenly Emperor for nothing."

"But..."

Zhong Ling reminded him seriously,

"Based on the calamity situations in over a thousand timelines, such ideas of yours will only lead to panic and confusion, neglecting one thing while trying to deal with another. What could have been protected may end in tragedy. Master, this calamity... transcends karma, time, and space, and is above the very nature of the world itself. Its very existence is on the same level as transcendence. When you created me and took me out of the calamity in that timeline, your only wish was to rescue the woman you loved and the brothers who had followed you in battle for many years... We cannot help all living beings."

Wu Wang fell silent.

After some time, he chuckled lightly and said warmly, "If it doesn't work out..."

"Master," Zhong Ling said, her eyes showing a trace of distress.

Yet, Wu Wang smiled and said, "Then we'll try again."

"This... Alright then."

Zhong Ling chuckled softly, grumbling,

"It's not like you're the one running up and down. You're a ship on the river of time, and I'm the one mending the riverbanks!"

"I'll get a few more skins for your Zhong body when the time comes; we'll gather the greatest artists among living beings to design them."

"Deal! Teehee! Master, you're finally acting like a human!"

Wu Wang glared, and Zhong Ling burst into pieces with a POP, leaving behind only a weak apology.

"I misspoke, that's all."

Shaking his head, Wu Wang continued to grind the bone powder.

Simply by grinding these bone balls open, the power of his Divine Soul had slightly increased, which invigorated Wu Wang's spirits.

Zhong Ling was right.

Getting stronger... Nothing shameful about that!

「It's been five years since brother left.」

In the Luili Realm, atop the spire of Liuli City, on the stands in the Hall of Gods.

The quirky girl from those days had blossomed into an extraordinarily beautiful woman, capable of bringing a city to its knees.

She nestled in a chair made of Luili, her right arm resting on the railing, her chin on the back of her hand, gazing at the distant clouds.

Hoping, just maybe, her brother would return.

Jin Wei was not panicked, for every so often, she would inexplicably drift into dreams where she could see her brother's shadow, witnessing his continual battles with oddly shaped monsters and enormous ferocious beasts.

And in the end, it was always her brother who won.

Looking at the time, it was about when she could fall into dreams again. Jin Wei was waiting for the sunset, the sleep-inducing wine already prepared.

The Hall of Gods lit up with Divine Light, which interwove and transformed into the figure of the Goddess of Liuli.

Five years flashed by. The Goddess of Liuli and the Martial God had, in a muddle, done all sorts of things, both proper and improper. Judging by the Goddess of Liuli's radiant and blooming appearance, and her even more enchanting figure, it was clear their relationship was quite stable.

"Xiao Wei?"

"Teacher, you're back."

Jin Wei stood up from the window side, greeted her sluggishly, and bowed in salute.

The Goddess of Liuli revealed a charming smile and said warmly, "News of your brother has come from afar. It was just delivered to the Martial God. I came over right away to inform you."

"Really?!"

Jin Wei's spirit lifted.

Although able to see her brother in her dreams, it was still only a dream—possibly just her own fantasy...

"Take this."

The Goddess of Liuli flipped her hand, and several scrolls appeared out of thin air, floating in front of Jin Wei and unrolling on their own.

The scrolls depicted a few scenes of fierce battle.

These were not painted by hand but were direct impressions of the scenes captured onto the canvas with Divine Arts.

As a result, even though the entire image was obscured by a gigantic serpent's phantom and the tones were gloomily shaded, the tiny human figure at the center, only the size of a fingertip, stood out unmistakably clear.

Short hair, spear in hand.

This was the very scene of Wu Wang's previous great battle with Ba Li.

Jin Wei's eyes reddened; she had dreamed this exact scene just a few days ago... Her dreams were not figments of imagination; surely, her brother, not wanting her to worry, was using such dreams to convey his safety.

"The place where he was spotted is in a desolate desert over a hundred thousand miles from here. It is to the southwest, not far from the southern edge of Heaven, in a very remote area. An Innate God with close ties to the Water God stumbled upon the scene by chance. He only glanced at it for a moment and did not interfere with such a Duel between powerhouses. But afterwards, the more he thought about it, the more he felt something amiss. That powerful spear-wielding Martial Artist should be from the Martial God World, not one of the high-ranking Divine Generals created by Divine Power. So, he sought an audience with the Water God in secret and reported the matter. The Water God had him imprint the memory of the scene, and this is the result."

"Mm, I'm very grateful to that Lord!"

Jin Wei carefully rolled up the cloth and held it in her arms. "Teacher, is my brother very strong now?"

"According to that Innate God, he is not to be underestimated."

The Goddess of Liuli mused aloud, "His strength should be enough to escape from the full pursuit of an ordinary Innate God. The monster he fought, known as the Soul of the Ba Serpent, is a rather famous powerhouse in the southern corner—a strange entity formed from the immortal Divine Soul of a dead Ba Serpent. The outcome of their final Duel should also be a victory for Qing Shan. We have already sent people to investigate secretly, and we should be able to gather more information."

"Actually, there's no need to send anyone to find him," Jin Wei said softly. "Brother will come back when he feels it's time."

"There's something peculiar about this."

The Goddess of Liuli gestured and led Jin Wei to the main seat in the Hall of Gods to sit down comfortably.

"It's only been five years; how old is Qing Shan now? Through Martial Arts cultivation, he has already gained such formidable power. If his growth continues at this pace, in another few years, perhaps he might be able to confront an Innate God head-on."

"Didn't you say before that the Martial God bestowed many precious spirit fruits?"

"The Martial God also thinks it's the effect of those spirit fruits," mused the Goddess of Liuli. "Spirit fruits enhance Spiritual Power, and life-and-death struggles forge oneself; such rapid improvement in strength seems reasonable. But the Martial God overlooked one thing: the power of a living being's heart."

"The power of the heart?" Jin Wei asked, puzzled.

"Exactly, the power of the heart."

The Goddess of Liuli said,

"If the mind is always tense, one will soon feel tired, which is the result of an excessive depletion of heart power. Even if your brother wishes to go without sleep or rest, how can he maintain constant vigor and high spirits? Each battle, each advancement, consumes a significant amount of heart power. For him to achieve such a leap in a short time, covering such a distance, surviving so many fierce battles... Unless his heart power does not deplete.

The Martial God has also thought about these things, but deep down he always feels that Qing Shan is the rightful heir to his elder brother's spiritual will, believing everything to be reasonable."

Jin Wei frowned and asked, "What do you mean, Teacher?"

"Your brother's identity may hide a great secret."

The Goddess of Liuli continued via voice transmission,

"Teacher is telling you this because I want to remind you that even with your affection and admiration for your brother, you must remain calm. Think carefully about the path ahead. I can sense that he bears no ill will towards the Martial God or the Water God, and appearing in the Martial God World is no coincidence. In fact, Teacher suspects that he might be an Envoy sent by Eastern Emperor Taiyi from the other side of the Heaven and Earth Seal, secretly connecting with the Martial God and the Water God. If that is the case, then everything becomes clear."

Jin Wei pursed her lips in thought, then soon smiled and said,

"Teacher, all of this doesn't really concern me much. If he can return, and I can reunite with him after all is settled, then fate has already treated me well enough."

"Silly child, I'm just speculating after all..."

The Goddess of Liuli caressed Jin Wei's cheek affectionately, her voice growing even more tender. "The Martial God World is now facing the entire world; no one knows what will happen in the future, nor where the fate of all in the Martial God World will be directed. Teacher just doesn't want you to have regrets, and certainly doesn't want you to suffer calamity out of confusion."

"That won't happen, Teacher."

Jin Wei spoke with unexplainable confidence, her eyes shining bright and full of conviction as she said,

"My brother will definitely come back and personally resolve all the troubles."

"Let's hope so."

「Meanwhile, not far from the central spire of the Luili Realm, within a courtyard.」

The incarnation of Yun Zhongjun arrived gracefully, holding a flask of fine wine, and with a smile entered the serene loft.

Several figures sat inside, with the Martial God and the Water God at the lead, followed by others, including the Sword God, Shield God, and the Water God's friend—the third party in the 'Martial-Water' alliance, the Goddess of Fortune.

If one were to sense carefully, they would notice the fluctuation of Divine Power had not yet dissipated, clearly indicating that these Innate Gods had just arrived.

Yun Zhongjun looked around, a faint smile on his lips, and bowed his head in greeting.

"Greetings, my Lords."

The Water God spoke leisurely from the side, "Bringing everyone here was to meet this Envoy of the Eastern Emperor."

The Martial God and the Goddess of Fortune scrutinized Yun Zhongjun's incarnation without finding a single flaw.

The Martial God frowned and said, "I seem to remember seeing you somewhere before."

"I've actually met Lord Martial God many times,"

Yun Zhongjun said with a smile,

"It's just that I wasn't in this capacity before, so Lord Martial God might not have paid much attention. Also, I owe an apology to the Martial God and the Goddess of Liuli in this realm for having to keep my identity hidden."

The Martial God nodded slightly, muttering, "Ah, Old Water, you've known... I was wondering why my Martial God World was so loathed by the Candle Dragon."

The Goddess of Fortune, who had recovered part of her Divine Power, couldn't help but snort at this moment. "Flies only flock to cracked eggs."

"Hey! Little Nü, how can you say that!" the Martial God scolded. "Have I turned into an egg or what?"

The Goddess of Fortune retorted while the Water God hurriedly played the peacemaker.

Yun Zhongjun, with a smile on his face, walked up to the seat of honor without any courtesy and sat down directly.

Firstly, he was the host here, and the several Innate Gods were guests.

Secondly, in terms of seniority and hierarchy, as the mighty Qi God, he was still ranked before the Five Elements Gods.

After the Water God managed to control the scene, the Sword God took the initiative to start the topic for today's discussion.

"I wonder, which Divine Spirit is the special Envoy of the Eastern Emperor?"

Yun Zhongjun revealed a trace of the Great Dao, causing the expressions of the several Divine Spirits to become somewhat serious, and the Martial God became much more solemn as well.

The Martial God clasped his fist and said, "It turns out to be the renowned God of Yun Meng, my apologies for the disrespect!"

"The Martial God is too kind," Yun Zhongjun said with a smile. "I'm meeting with all of you today because the situation is urgent, so I won't say anything else and get straight to the point."

The Goddess of Fortune said, "The God of Yun Meng is really straightforward."

"No choice, given the pressing circumstances."

Yun Zhongjun squinted with a smile and slowly said,

"The matter of the Candle Dragon and Emperor Shun joining hands, I am sure you all have confirmed it, and that saves me a lot of explanation. He needs to cultivate a Dao of Chaos that can contend with the Heavenly Dao, and the Martial God World is the chess piece he's prepared. Now, he must be getting ready to make his move, beginning to collect the pieces."

"Collect the pieces?"

The Martial God asked, "Can the God of Yun Meng simplify that a bit?"

"Simply put, the Candle Dragon and Emperor Shun want to see a prolonged war, a conflict that becomes a flame that slowly burns the Power of Living Beings."

Yun Zhongjun went on slowly,

"Even Emperor Shun can't fully control the Dao of Chaos, and he fears that if the power of the Dao of Chaos expands too quickly, it will drag him down and turn him into another Candle Dragon, losing much of his rationality. Therefore, he wants to group together the Martial God World and the Water God as a reef, and other Divine Realms as fleets, ship by ship hitting the reef. In this way, he can burn the Power of Living Beings gradually, allowing the power of the Dao of Chaos to grow in an orderly fashion. In recent years, he has essentially encircled the Martial God World, but most of the areas are filled with a ragtag army."

The Water God sighed, "The Martial God World is the knife aimed at the living beings."

"On the other hand," Yun Zhongjun said, "the transformation spell circulating between heaven and earth has begun to show its power, and a large number of Intelligent Life creatures have appeared everywhere. As per the orders of His Majesty, the Eastern Emperor, we call them Demons. The Demon clan is growing rapidly, and wars may break out later on. We originally thought that the Candle Dragon's devouring the Power of Living Beings would lead to the direct collapse of the Outer Sky world; however, from the current situation, it seems that Emperor Shun's plan is not to stir-fry with fierce fire but to simmer slowly."

"The rapidly expanding Dao of Chaos..."

The Martial God struck a 'Thinker' pose.

The Goddess of Fortune whispered, "Why doesn't the Eastern Emperor appear to suppress Emperor Shun?"

Yun Zhongjun said, "His Majesty's mother, Cang Xue, and his beloved, Princess Jingwei, are suppressed under the volcanic mountain at the head of the Candle Dragon. If His Majesty intervened directly, he would be hindered by Emperor Shun at every turn. Moreover, I can tell you clearly, the Heavenly Dao is based on the Power of Living Beings. The Power of Living Beings from the Outer Sky is what matters most to His Majesty. Compared to that, whether one-tenth, one-fifth, or even half of the Innate Gods are dead or injured, it is not important. What the Heavenly Dao needs is just the respective Great Dao."

"So he's just going to sit back and do nothing?"

"If His Majesty wanted to sit back and do nothing, why would he have sent me here?"

Yun Zhongjun said with a smile,

"I asked the Water God to bring the two of you here today to reassure you. For now, let Emperor Shun slowly simmer his stew. He's waiting for the Dao of Chaos to grow, and we also need to wait for an opportunity to arrive. This opportunity will definitely appear and is not too far in the future."

The Water God asked, "How long might it take?"

"Three to five years, or perhaps eight to ten years."

Yun Zhongjun said,

"What you all need to do is wait. Resist the external attacks with all your might, as Emperor Shun will surely not appear in person to suppress the Martial God World. If Emperor Shun and the Candle Dragon show up in the Martial God World, His Majesty himself will come with the gods of the Celestial Court."

"We pretty much knew all this," the Martial God muttered. "Jingwei... why does that name sound so familiar?"

Yun Zhongjun: ...

This could be bad; this big oaf was suddenly getting smart!

Thankfully, the Goddess of Fortune scolded, "Here we are discussing the Divine Realms, and you start to care about the Eastern Emperor's private affairs! Unbelievable!"

The Martial God gave an awkward smile, but the details he had noticed before were pushed to the back of his mind.

「And so, another three years passed.」

A message swiftly spread through the Outer Sky world. The content of the message was simple, yet the matter was significant: *A living being challenged a Divine Spirit, and the living being won.*