Chapter 973: To Return Back To The Apex In The Immortal World

The outcome of the battle was a total defeat.

The Celestial Wizard Clan’s Grand Elder had been injured and lost his fighting spirit, directly affecting the fighting spirit of the rest and dropping their battle power. When he lost and was forced to flee, some of them dyed the sea with their blood while their corpses became food for the creatures of the sea.

“KILL!”

Another formidable player was Daoist Zixuan. She was as though becoming a bereaved wolf in pursuit of those who had killed her closest relatives. She spared nothing at all when unleashing all kinds of magic spells and secret arts to inflict heavy losses to the Celestial Wizard clansmen. If it wasn’t for this clan’s Grand Elder, Astraeus Soloch, who made himself a shield to protect his clansmen from the pursuit and attacks from Daoist Zixuan in exchange for some serious injuries, there would have been only a very few clansmen of the Celestial Wizard to escape from the area.

As Tang Xiu landed on the 13th empty island, he stopped his men from pursuing and let the 20-plus Celestial Wizard clansmen disappear in the distance. The loss his men suffered in this battle was not small, yet each of them who had been baptized by this battle had a more intense killing spirit, as well as a stronger aura, than before.

“Awen!” Tang Xiu observed his men who now stood in a neat row in front. He could see their bodies stained by blood as he suddenly shouted to Mo Awen in a deep voice, “Take this interspatial ring and put the dead bodies of our brothers in it. Once we return back to Nine Dragons Island, immediately find a place for a cemetery. All the brothers who die in future battles will be buried in that cemetery henceforth.”

Mo Awen took the interspatial ring and replied, “I’ll get it done once I get back, Boss.”

Tang Xiu then turned to look at Ji Chimei and asked, “Are you done collecting all the things I ordered you to get?”

“All of them have been collected, my Lord,” replied Ji Chimei respectfully. “I also collected the souls of two disciples from the Whole Unitary Sect. How would you like to process them next?

Tang Xiu glanced at Daoist Zixuan, who was sitting cross-legged on the reef in recovery. Then he said indifferently, “Give those souls to them. We can be said to be allies and comrade-in-arms, after all.”

Ji Chimei replied, “My Lord, I think we can use it in the transaction…”

“No. What we need is cultivation resources; we don’t need to use the souls of our allies as playing chips.” Tang Xiu lifted his hand to interrupt her and added with a deep voice, “Remember, Chimei. There are things we can do and some others we cannot, so you must weigh everything with your heart and hold a moral code. If those from the Whole Unitary Sect just turned a blind eye to the situation, my goal of drilling my men might have still been achieved, yet the casualties could’ve been heavier as well.”

“This subordinate will remember it,” replied Ji Chimei respectfully. “But my Lord, I still don’t understand what you referred to in your last line.”

“It’s all about the natural selection of the world—the survival of the fittest,” said Tang Xiu with a deep tone. “I want to drill my men so as to make them experience a bloody battle. I want them to grow while on the edge of life and death, but it doesn’t mean that I view their lives as cheap and expendable. In my heart, they are my men as well as my brothers. In future battles, they would perhaps become my second life, third life, and so on… hence, my top and most important priority is not only to upgrade their strength, but also trying to avoid too many deaths among them.”

“But still, their lives are given by Master and their achievements are due to your and Master’s tutelage, my Lord,” said Ji Chimei. “For them to die for you is only natural. Not to mention, they are simply insect-like existences in my eyes. I believe that they are not much stronger than ants in your eyes either; yet why are you…”

“Chimei, stop!” Tang Xiu raised his hand to interrupt her yet again and coldly said, “The Chinese have an old adage that is perfectly appropriate for this: a man must never forget their origins and roots. Each and every one of us is just like an ant who grows up step by step—so am I, and so are you. The moment you’re born, you’re nothing but a baby who just knows to cry and waits to be fed. If the other powerhouses also had the same mindset as you back then, do you think you would have been able to live to the present or have such high achievements today?”

Ji Chimei just quietly gazed at Tang Xiu with a calm expression. She suddenly understood the values that existed in Tang Xiu’s mind. A smile then sported on her face as she suddenly felt that the revered Lord she served now had affection and faith, completely different from the Supreme she once knew in the Immortal World in the past. Although the then-Supreme Tang Xiu rarely slaughtered the weak, his eyes and expression had been forever indifferent. But now, the Lord she served had a flame in his heart. His strength may be weak at present, but she firmly believed that it wouldn’t take long before the flame in his heart began to blaze and burn everything in the boundless plane.

Ji Chimei looked at Tang Xiu again and suddenly asked in a low voice, “This subordinate emboldens herself to ask once again, my Lord. What have you been cultivating in, exactly?”

“Mental and psyche,” answered Tang Xiu as he looked up at the vast clear sky above. His deep gaze was as though able to see beyond the firmament and overlook the world of mortals beneath it. He then added in a murmur, “My heart is Heaven, and thus I am the very Heaven itself. I’m a man who lives his life in a free and unfettered manner as my heart tells me so. Be it men, immortals, gods, monsters, demons, devils, or ghosts—nobody and nothing can restrain my heart. Even if that shackle above my head restrains me now, I will make a hole in it someday sooner or later.”

Ji Chimei’s eyes were gleaming with radiance and she saluted reverentially, “You reached Supremacy in the Immortal World back then, and you will once again be back to the apex of the Immortal World, my Lord.”

The apex of the Immortal World and reach Supreme standing once again?

Tang Xiu’s mind quickly converged and he gradually immersed himself in the universe inside his Dantian. Ever since he made a breakthrough in his cultivation, he had been sensing that there was some kind of life force within it. Therefore, he deduced that once his strength had another breakthrough again, he would be able to fully sense its existence and see how big the transformation it brought.

“The Heavenly Path Universe Tree.”

If he could make this Heavenly Path Universe Tree grow steadily and healthily to the point that it became a Divine Tree, entering the God’s Realm would be very easy for him. At that time, the expedition and campaign he waged would no longer be restricted to the planes of the immortals, demons, and monsters, but rather would include a higher plane—the God’s Realm.

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After a long time, Tang Xiu shifted his attention to the neatly arranged team and said in a deep voice, “Chimei, bestow all the members who participated in the battle with a Holy Healing pill each, as well as pills as a reward according to their merits. Tell them that apart from Tang Guang, Tang An, and Gu Xiaoxue, whoever can break through the Golden Core Stage first will be in command of the Everlasting Feast Hall’s core disciples.”

“Affirmative!” Ji Chimei complied and flashed to in front of the troops.

As for Tang Xiu himself, he went over to Daoist Zixuan. The latter opened her eyes and stopped recovering after she noticed him. Tang Xiu then handed over the pendant Ji Chimei just gave him and said calmly, “Here’s a gift for you.”

Daoist Zixuan’s eyes were slightly reddish. After she received the jade pendant, she glanced over at the remaining 8 disciples of hers nearby and said bitterly, “Thank you, Daoist Tang.”

“Don’t you want to know what gift I just gave you?” asked Tang Xiu indifferently.

Daoist Zixuan stared blankly and immediately asked, “This one?”

“There was a technique to collect souls in the inheritance I got, so I collected Jin Yunzi and Jin Yanzi’s souls on the account of the goodwill the disciples of your Whole Unitary Sect have given us by fighting side-by-side with us,” said Tang Xiu. “Once anyone from your sect breaks through the Crossing Tribulation Stage and goes through the Nine Thunder Tribulation for the third time, you can then mold corporeal bodies to revive them.”

“What?”

An incredulous expression full of disbelief filled Daoist Zixuan’s eyes. She quickly raised her hand and stared at the jade pendant in her palm, her breathing turning shallower.

“You… you mean Yunzi and Yanzi’s souls are inside this jade pendant? All three immortal souls and seven mortal forms, allowing me to resurrect them in the future?”

“Yes. But your sect will have to trade some things for that technique,” said Tang Xiu. “I can give you their souls, but you’ll still have to obtain the technique.”

“W-what… what do you need, Daoist Tang?” asked Daoist Zixuan, wild with joy.

“Don’t you already know what I need?” asked Tang Xiu back with a faint smile.

The question made Daoist Zixuan fall into a daze for a long time. As her expression turned much clearer, she seriously said, “I see. You can rest assured that I’ll try my best to meet your needs regardless of how much it would cost. I only hope to revive my two disciples in the future.”

“The battle between my side and the Celestial Wizard clan has come to an end, albeit temporarily,” said Tang Xiu. “They just suffered heavy losses this time, so I think they wouldn’t invade other’s territory again on a large scale so nonchalantly anymore. But you need to return to your sect, so don’t delay right now. I’ll be staying in Nine Dragons Island two months from now, and I’ll be waiting for your arrival then.”

“We’ll bring many cultivation resources when we visit again as soon as possible,” said Daoist Zixuan. “However, I also have another request which I hope Daoist Tang can agree to.”

“Please say,” replied Tang Xiu calmly.

With a bit of expectation on her face, Daoist Zixuan said, “If my guess is correct, the swords you and your men can store inside their body should be on par with an immortal sword or a higher-tiered magical weapon. Could you trade some immortal swords in exchange for a lot of cultivation resources from my sect?”

“Your appetite is really not small, Daoist Zixuan,” said Tang Xiu lightly with squinted eyes. “I’m sure you already know what kind of weapon the immortal sword is. How many cultivation resources do you think can be exchanged with it?”

“This…”

Daoist Zixuan fell into silence without being able to utter any words since she knew what kind of weapon the immortal sword was. This sword was absolutely a treasure any cultivators on Earth would dream of obtaining, yet it was something that even a mountain of gold couldn’t buy. Her Whole Unitary Sect did have massive amounts of cultivation resources, but it was far from enough to obtain one of these swords.

“Well, whatever. I won’t make things difficult for you,” said Tang Xiu with a smile. “I’ll make a list of cultivation resources I need later. If your sect can gather the quantity I need, I can trade two immortal swords with you.”

“Great! As long as those cultivation resources exist on Earth, my sect will definitely able to obtain them and strike a deal with you,” said Daoist Zixuan firmly.

Half a day later, Tang Xiu led the surviving core members of the Everlasting Feast Hall to return back to Nine Dragons Island. The first time he came back, however, he issued an order to set up an airtight monitoring area that covered 200 nautical miles around Nine Dragons Island, surveilling whoever appeared within the radius.

After explaining everything, he then returned to the palace and went straight into cultivation. He needed to seize the time to recover his peak strength to set up some arrays for the training field since the 3,000 best children would soon arrive here.