Chapter 114: Time To Review! I’m The Good Guy, What About You?
“Divine Material?”
Jiang Ce was a bit confused: “How does it connect? Can it let me receive a dream message?”
“This ‘connect’ doesn’t mean communication.”
Wei Lao explained: “Divine Material can be the essence of power at an extremely high level, or it can be some materials and treasures, such as some spiritual herbs and plants from ancient times. It can also be the remains of Half-Immortals and True Gods themselves, like the shed bodies of the Four Saints with their imprints. In short, it includes many things.
However, the only common point is that they are all unique substances related to Half-Immortals or True Gods.
In other words, possessing Divine Material means mastering a path that transcends that of a Heaven-Reaching Dharma Master.”
“Oh, I see. What does ‘not belonging to this world’ mean? Am I Earth-seen? Or perhaps World-seen?”
“What nonsense are you talking about?” Wei Lao found it inexplicable.
“Like ‘rare as hell,’ Earth-seen, World-seen,” Jiang Ce seemed to be talking about himself.
Wei Lao’s face darkened on the other end of the line, but he patiently said: “Not belonging to this world means it does not contain fragments of this world’s rules and is incompatible with the world we are currently in. Do you understand what I mean?”
“I get it. Everyone uses a Type 93, and I’m using a PPSh.”
“Can you shut up?”
“Okay.”
Wei Lao took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly before continuing: “In any case, this is not a bad thing. Although Cao Gong has no idea how it came about, it seems you have benefited a lot from it.
In the Four Gods Hall, you received four blessings relying on the Divine Material you possess. I was quite surprised at the time. Logically, the four Great Daos conflict with each other, making Four Paths Cultivation impossible.
Even Cao Gong only found his own path based on the four Great Daos back then. But now, it seems you can accommodate all Great Daos. According to the rules of this world, it should be impossible.”
“Then isn’t that bad? Why didn’t you tell me beforehand so I could hide it? Everyone knows I’m a multi-class mage now, what am I going to do?”
Jiang Ce was a bit anxious.
Wei Lao comforted him: “It’s harmless. Even if you cultivate another Martial Dao now, no one will notice anything, because Jianghu Magicians are actually just a very initial stage of cultivation.
Cultivators at this stage are like children in their enlightenment period; they are very malleable. Furthermore, this stage doesn’t involve any core Great Daos, so cultivating anything is not strange. However, only when one reaches Heaven-Reaching Dharma Master is the path truly set in stone.”
He paused and Wei Lao said with a smile: “Do you think why it’s so difficult to cultivate to Heaven-Reaching Dharma Master?
Besides Merit, it’s because some people embark on a path that doesn’t align with their true heart from the beginning. They can only reach First Rank and no further. To advance, everything must start anew.
The existence of the Four Gods Hall can help those who are just starting cultivation to know early on what suits them. This is the more important role of the Four Gods Hall besides blessings.”
Jiang Ce, having luckily played SevTech for a year or two, immediately gasped: “Holy crap, it’s about setting personality, right?”
“???”
“Sorry, please continue.”
“This matter should have been told to you when you reached Heaven-Reaching Dharma Master. Because at that time, you would clearly feel the bottleneck in your promotion. Without me or Cao Gong telling you, you would have noticed the problem. However, since you’ve prematurely noticed something unusual about yourself, let’s just be upfront. This way, you can have an understanding of your future in advance.”
“So that’s how it is.”
“There are more detailed matters that cannot be explained in a few words over the phone, but they won’t be of much help to you now. We’ll talk about them when you return after cultivating to Heaven-Reaching Dharma Master.”
Jiang Ce also understood the principle of knowing when to stop and said gratefully: “Thank you for your guidance, Wei Lao.”
After hanging up the phone, Jiang Ce fell into deep thought.
Although it seemed from Wei Lao’s words that both of them were optimistic about him and his future was limitless, Jiang Ce always held the most pessimistic attitude towards everything and made the worst-case plans.
In his opinion, the current situation was not just not good, but rather quite terrible.
Because even Cao Gong couldn’t figure out what the Divine Material on him was.
From Cao Gong’s perspective, something that even he couldn’t identify was a very unstable factor. It might be showing positive effects now, but its future was uncertain.
On a small scale, it was a double-edged sword; on a larger scale, it was a time bomb.
If he were Cao Gong, everything would be under control, and nothing would be difficult. But if there were a threat, the bond from his one-week stay in Yangcheng would mean nothing.
If calculated this way, his current situation was like passing the first trial, but he still had to wait for the second trial, which was reaching Heaven-Reaching Dharma Master, to solidify his status.
This process was simply torment, but it was unavoidable.
A lazy thought was to stop cultivating at First Rank and let whatever happened, happen. He would be a Jianghu Magician causing trouble, and if anyone displeased him, he’d call the Old Celestial Master to deal with it.
But this is not a long-term plan. The current environment is like this, but how things will be when we start fighting the Gluttonous Ghost in the future is uncertain.
Moreover, living a lifetime under the thumb of others and bullying people is not what Jiang Ce considers the optimal solution.
For instance, it was satisfying to extort and threaten the Old Celestial Master by borrowing the Gatekeeper’s influence, but if he himself lacked sufficient strength, he couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t be ousted later.
He has already thoroughly offended the Old Celestial Master. If he were to perish, he couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t be bitten back later.
If possible, he wants to bully others through his own power.
“Divine Material does not belong to this world. Unknown.”
Jiang Ce’s mind recalled the appearance of Xiao Lin like a stray dog emerging from the Lu Shan Sect. A sense of urgency, which hadn’t appeared in a long time, resurfaced.
In fact, he had started feeling this way since returning from Yangcheng. The conversation with Cao Zheng’s younger brother was enough to make one think of many things. Among the most chilling speculations for Jiang Ce was that the damn Cao Zheng was likely playing a grand game, paving the way for himself to become a True God.
And the past events he heard from True Person Qin seemed to corroborate this viewpoint.
A person who would use the entire Shenxiao Sect as a warning to others just to achieve Half-Immortal status, could such a person be kind?
Such a ruthless individual, who could endure being defecated upon by the Lu Shan Sect, and still allow other sects to harbor private schemes, ostensibly for the greater good and righteousness. Jiang Ce, with his petty, vengeful nature that seeks retribution immediately, considered it utter nonsense.
“Perhaps once we truly start fighting the Gluttonous Ghost, these sects will become cannon fodder first.”
Jiang Ce added insult to injury with malicious intent.
Since he had already considered this situation, if he thought a little deeper, if the Divine Material on him was useful to Cao Zheng, wouldn’t he also be in danger?
Thinking of this, Jiang Ce suddenly realized something.
“No wonder Wei Lao seemed a bit unusual just now. He used to speak cryptically and evasively, but this time he was very clear. Could it be that Cao Zheng is pressed for time and wants to use this to induce me to accelerate my cultivation process, so that the secret of the Divine Material on me can be verified as soon as possible?”
Jiang Ce couldn’t help but shiver, feeling a chill down his spine.
“I’m the good guy, Old Celestial Master is the wolf, then Wei Lao. Damn it! I can’t tell the difference, I really can’t tell!”
After connecting and reviewing everything from the past, the Gatekeeper no longer seemed so safe in Jiang Ce’s eyes.
But he was currently just a Jianghu Magician. To deal with the Old Celestial Master, he had to rely on borrowed influence. How could he talk about self-preservation in front of a Half-Immortal?
After pondering for a long time, Jiang Ce’s brows remained furrowed, feeling that no matter how he thought about it, something was wrong.
His current situation was like a patient searching for symptoms on Baidu—
[Question: What to do if my throat is itchy?]
[Answer: Cancer, prepare to die.]
However, the only difference was that this was not baseless speculation; it was mostly conjecture, lacking evidence.
But just now, he had almost suffered a loss at Xue Yuan’s hands due to underestimating her. With this lesson learned, he dared not be careless.
“Looking at it this way, the Lu Shan Sect probably can’t operate too openly. If things escalate, Wei Lao will become suspicious.”
Jiang Ce pursed his lips, deliberating as he spoke to himself.
At the same time, the outline of a plan began to form in his mind.
The Gatekeeper might not be a wolf, but one had to guard against it.
Jiang Ce got up and went to the Old Celestial Master’s courtyard again.
The next morning, Liang Zhi Che yawned as he pushed open the room door, only to see Jiang Ce sitting on a tree reading.
He looked at Jiang Ce, then returned to the room, closed the door, and three seconds later, he yawned again as he pushed open the room door, still seeing Jiang Ce sitting on a tree reading.
He rubbed his eyes, turned into the room, and kicked Lou Leshan, who was sleeping.
“Ow! What are you doing?!”
Liang Zhi Che froze: “Am I dreaming?”
He ignored Lou Leshan, who was curled up like a shrimp with his stomach hurting, quickly walked out of the room, came under the tree, and looked up at Jiang Ce:
“You’re not Big Brother, who are you?”
Jiang Ce put down his book, jumped off the branch, and said joyfully: “Oh, you’re awake! Quick, quick, quick, I’ll show you a magic trick.”
“What magic trick?” Liang Zhi Che asked groggily.
At this moment, Lou Leshan, along with Qin Shen Bo and Lu Yun who had been woken up, also came out one after another, looking at Jiang Ce with confusion.
Jiang Ce quickly waved, “Come, come, let’s perform some magic.”
The group exchanged glances, all looking bewildered, but they still moved closer, curious to see what Jiang Ce was planning.
Jiang Ce took a deep breath and declared loudly, “Using Xue Yuan’s mother as a sacrifice, I summon the power of the great Sage of Literature!”
Before anyone could comment, in the next moment, Jiang Ce was enveloped in a glow of righteousness and benevolence. Then, with a raise of his hand, Righteous Qi erupted, directly melting the crooked-neck tree he had just sat on.
Apart from the tree pit left on the ground, not even a single leaf remained at the scene.
“See,” Jiang Ce pointed to the air, “the tree vanished like Xue Yuan’s mother, by my hand!”
“What?!”
In an instant, the group’s drowsiness vanished, and their eyes widened.
“This is Righteous Qi, I’m eating it directly!”
Only Liang Zhi Che clapped his hands and cheered, “Woohoo! That familiar taste! Big Brother, are you recovered?”
Jiang Ce nodded but showed no pride. “These are old tricks. Next, I’ll show you something new!”
It was still Righteous Qi, but this time it wasn’t poisonous gas; it was imbued with white flashes.
Jiang Ce turned on the faucet in the yard, directing this flashing Righteous Qi towards the water stream.
In less than a second, a pained cry came from inside the house: “Ah!!”
Following that, similar cries began to appear sporadically throughout the Celestial Master’s Mansion.
Jiang Ce quickly retracted the Righteous Qi. Facing the confused gazes of the group, he nonchalantly looked elsewhere and mumbled, “Huh? Everyone’s up early.”
“What was that just now—”
Before Qin Shen Bo could finish speaking, Xuan Qing came running out, looking as if he had seen a ghost.
Even stranger, his face was twitching uncontrollably, some of his eyebrows had been singed off, and he looked utterly disheveled.
Seeing that the faucet in front of Jiang Ce was still on, he quickly warned, “Don’t touch the water, there’s high voltage in it!”
“Hiss—”
Everyone drew a sharp breath, looking at Jiang Ce in horror.
But Jiang Ce, with a straight face and a steady heart, turned off the faucet, feigning surprise. “Oh? Is that so?”
Lu Yun, ever the honest person, looked at Xuan Qing and opened his mouth as if to speak, but a chill ran down his spine. He turned his head and noticed Jiang Ce’s smiling expression.
Then he lowered his gaze to his own toes.
Previously, Lu Yun had been an extremely neutral person, never tattling or betraying others. Today, with Jiang Ce’s powerful assistance, he had maintained this habit well.
However, Xuan Qing was Xuan Qing. He noticed the strange expressions on their faces and, based on his understanding of Jiang Ce, sensed something was amiss.
His face twitching, he looked at Jiang Ce suspiciously. “Did you do this?”
Jiang Ce thought for a moment, realizing he couldn’t hide it, and began to speak nonsense with a serious expression. “Martial Uncle Xuan Qing, I love you, that’s why I shocked you. Did you feel the current passing through your heart?”
“You rascal, Qin Shen Bo, Lou Leshan, old rules, hold him down!”
“Yes! (Understood!)”
However, while the two of them could barely restrain him when Jiang Ce had been desperately trying before, they found something was wrong when they tried to hold him down this time.
Qin Shen Bo was stunned and immediately let go. “You’ve been promoted?”
But Lou Leshan wasn’t so lucky. With one less person contributing, the recoil force sent him flying dozens of meters.
Hearing this, Xuan Qing looked at Jiang Ce, and the next moment his face was filled with shock.
He seemed to think he was mistaken, so he rubbed his eyes and looked intently again, then exclaimed in disbelief, “Third Rank?”
Jiang Ce was not at all smug or proud, merely waving his hand humbly.
“Ah, I just used the time others spend sleeping to cultivate. It’s no big deal.”
But the others were so stunned by the information Xuan Qing revealed that they were speechless for a long time.
Let’s forget about the Fifth Rank, the Fourth Rank is barely acceptable, is it really appropriate to skip two levels directly? Is the hidden score really that high?
They didn’t know that after Jiang Ce resolved the issue of Righteous Qi, he not only took two Qi Cultivation Pills obtained from Gongyang Dan and Lu Xing in one go, but also absorbed all the Power of Lack of Merit that Aatrox had accumulated for so long and unused. Then, with some precious Resources obtained from the Old Celestial Master, and the Cultivation Pills rewarded by Xiao Lin based on his performance in the Great Tomb before leaving, he meditated with Great Shamatha using the Golden Liquid Divine Elixir Compendium for an entire night.
It was only then that he barely reached the Third Rank from the peak of the Sixth Rank. The consumption brought about by this meditation was naturally greater. Even with the Mental Energy strengthened by the Golden Liquid Divine Elixir Compendium, he still felt that he needed a long period to recover.
This is a classic case of more for the same price.
From this meditation, he also discovered a trace of strangeness. After meditating to the Seventh Rank last time, he reached the Sixth Rank by drinking Spiritual Tea at Headquarters, so it can be said that he hadn’t seen that Tentacled Buddha again for more than ten days.
Looking at it again this time, he was surprised to find that five tentacles of the Tentacled Buddha had undergone significant changes.
Buddha, Dao, Confucianism, Sword, and one is unclear, but it is undoubtedly Martial.
Among them, the aura of Buddha and Sword were the strongest, followed by Confucianism, then Dao, and finally Martial, which perfectly matched Jiang Ce’s cultivation focus.
Jiang Ce suddenly realized that Wang Chu Fan’s Sword Intent seemed to have been absorbed by this thing as well, no wonder he was fine at the time.
This also indicates that this Tentacled Bodhisattva must have a great relationship with Divine Material, and might even be Divine Material itself.
This discovery also made him realize that his decision seemed to be correct.
With such a heaven-defying item within his body, why worry about being targeted?
Therefore, before that, he naturally had to prepare early.
Jiang Ce turned his head and dodged the incredulous gazes of everyone, proudly saying, “No need to look at me like this, the current cultivation environment is like this. I’m revealing the truth, I’m a pure substitute.”
I’ve been busy with my thesis lately, and I feel like I’ve been a bit superficial recently, so to speed things up, I’ve directly cut a lot of pretentious side quests in the Outline and am pushing the main story hard, not for anything else, but just to create more new content!
