The world is like a prison, my body is holy

Wang Wen was enveloped in a blue cocoon of light, and outside the cave, there were three sunrises and sunsets.

As the first sunrise and sunset occurred, the heavy, powerful breathing within the cocoon of light shattered all the small pebbles around it into dust.

As the sun rose and set for the second time, the sound of crashing waves echoed from within the cocoon of light, and every now and then a burst of powerful energy would emerge, stretching hundreds of feet across the sky.

As the third sunrise and sunset occurred, the various anomalies within the cocoon of light were gradually replaced by a bright burst of fire...

After three days and three nights, the cocoon of light slowly receded, gradually revealing Wang Wen's imposing figure, with long hair reaching his waist, thin as a bone, yet exuding an intense sense of power as if cast in bronze and iron.

He opened his eyes, and two beams of divine light, like lightning, shot out from them, striking the hill a hundred feet away like lasers.

"Boom."

Two plumes of smoke and dust erupted from the hilltop.

He glanced at the two egg-sized but several-foot-deep craters where he had landed, then slowly stretched out his limbs and stood up. Without any leverage, his body floated up as lightly as a feather in a breeze. The contrasting qualities of lightness and heaviness were perfectly blended in him.

He slowly raised a powerful hand with bulging veins and clenched it tightly towards the hill a hundred feet away. Without any flash of energy, the hill exploded with a roar, and dust rose dozens of feet high.

He exclaimed sincerely, "What a magnificent sight, remaining uncorrupted even when facing a god!"

If we say that the Innate Realm cultivates energy, it involves gradually advancing from a subtle control over one's own energy to advanced energy application techniques that use one's own energy to drive the external天地元气 (heaven and earth's primordial energy).

So, the realm of seeing the divine is not corrupted; what one cultivates is the divine will, which is condensed from one's own martial will and gradually advanced to the point where one can control reality with one's own martial will!

To put it more vividly, the skill of using the primordial energy of heaven and earth in the Innate Realm is like the double-flower red stick of a gang or organization. Fighting is all about momentum, it's about "Brothers, follow me!"

The skill in utilizing the primordial energy of heaven and earth in the realm of seeing the indestructible spirit is like that of a commander of a million-strong army. Fighting requires strict obedience to orders, and it is about "the vanguard obeying orders and defeating the enemy."

In essence, the pursuit of quantity and quality of energy in the Innate Realm is like a poor sumo wrestler who, day after day, uses various refined ingredients to improve his own strength, taking the path of winning by strength.

Seeing the divine without harming the realm, the pursuit is the unity of martial arts will, physical body and energy. Just like a skilled fighter with the talent of a big eater, not only can he eat more, but he is also proficient in training all muscle groups and various fighting techniques, following the path of a hexagonal warrior.

Wang Wen's current emaciated yet steel-like physique is the result of the excessive consumption of blood and flesh energy during the repair of his physical injuries and the elimination of impurities...

Seeing the God is not destructive; the God seen is one's own God, and the indestructible path is one's own martial path!

Only when martial arts cultivation reaches this level can one be considered to have truly touched the threshold of "entering the Dao through martial arts"!

Wang Wen can now be considered a master in the cultivation world, possessing skills in body refinement, martial arts, and magic. In his opinion, the difficulty of cultivating to the Divine Indestructible Realm is not only far greater than that of cultivating to the Celestial Master Realm of the Xuanmen, but it is even more difficult than the body refinement path, which requires great perseverance.

Putting aside everything else, the very task of condensing martial arts will and interfering with reality is far beyond the scope of what is expected of a master of innate martial arts.

Both being methods of divine will, Wang Wen's Ghost Path Returning to Emptiness Divine Thought, comparable to the Celestial Master realm of the Xuanmen, is like a loose ball of cotton compared to the indestructible martial will of the martial arts path, compared to a divine weapon!
Wang Wen felt as if martial arts cultivation had reached its peak at the Innate Realm. The Realm of Seeing the Divine and Being Indestructible was a powerful realm created by a small group of exceptionally talented and tenacious monsters who had forcibly built it above the Innate Realm. It had no universality whatsoever. Among a hundred Innate Grandmasters, probably only one could cross this chasm and achieve the status of Seeing the Divine and Being Indestructible.

Of course, you reap what you sow. The terrifying difficulty of cultivating to the point of being indestructible creates combat power that is virtually invincible among those of the same level!

As both are at the fifth rank, Wang Wen felt that with his martial arts strength of being indestructible even when facing gods, he could at least defeat five Zhang Tianshi and ten Ao Qing.

If combined with the super-strong physical and magical resistance created by the body refinement realm of the flawless body, it would only be a matter of time before he could defeat ten Zhang Tianshis or twenty Ao Qings.

'No wonder the venerable Zhang Yong broke through the Shaolin Temple's Arhat Formation with a single sword strike, forcing the temple to close for nine days...'

Wang Wen clenched his fist, calmly sensing the powerful force compressed within his palm, like the explosive force of a large-caliber artillery shell. He muttered to himself, "If you ask me, knowledge truly changes destiny. If Elder Zhang Yong hadn't read so many books, that sword strike would have wiped out the Shaolin Temple!"

After a long while, he slowly dissipated the force in his palm and hurried to get down to business.

He extended his divine sense beyond the cave, gathering a large number of herbs, fruits, exotic flowers and plants from various corners of the Huangshan Mountains, as well as various snakes, insects, rodents, birds and beasts that should be present in the biosphere, and filled every corner of the Huangshan Cave.

Then, the vast amount of ethereal energy was condensed into a rain cloud, causing a gentle drizzle of spiritual energy throughout the Huangshan Cave Heaven, replenishing the vitality of all the flowers, plants, and trees transplanted into the Huangshan Cave Heaven…

Once the spiritual rain had taken shape, he once again freed his hands to move the Huangshan Divine Palace, which was placed below the Huangshan Divine Temple, to the highest point of the mountain range within the Huangshan Cave Heaven, transforming it into a magnificent, nine-foot-tall, golden, double-eaved, seventy-two-beamed divine palace.

After the divine palace was properly settled, he extracted the towns within the divine palace's domain and moved them into the cave heaven.

The countless spirits inside the town felt the sky flicker, and the world changed in the next second. They flew out of the town and curiously looked at this vast world that stretched for thousands of miles.

The biggest difference between the grotto-heavens world and the mortal world is that the grotto-heavens are governed by laws very close to those of the immortal realm. Within them, clear springs gush forth and moist air flows upwards. Large grotto-heavens even have their own independent flow of time. Taoist classics say that "one day in the grotto-heavens is equivalent to a thousand years in the world." Immortals who reside there are untouched by the turbid air of the mortal world, mortals who reside there enjoy longevity, and demons and monsters who reside there do not fall into demonic ways...

In ancient times, the grotto-heavens were usually the places of practice for immortals of great religions. Later, when immortals and mortals were separated, they gradually became the places of rule for the great gods of the earth.

For Wang Wen, Huangshan Cave Heaven is like a more complete and expansive Huangshan Divine Palace!

With this grotto as his foundation, he can accommodate even more wandering spirits...

He was already thinking about using this cave as a foundation to gather the souls of the dead and reopen the underworld!

As mentioned earlier, the power of incense and prayers is a high-level, all-purpose energy that can be used to refine divine palaces and, of course, to open up the Huangshan Grottoes.

Coincidentally, he also obtained the "Pot Heaven Technique" from the Heavenly Lord for free, which gave him the ability to use incense and vows to expand the Huangshan Grotto Heaven, and even to use the method of large spaces containing small spaces and small spaces containing even smaller spaces to create the Ten Kings of Hell City and the Eighteen Levels of Hell on the basis of the Huangshan Grotto Heaven...

Of course, the Great Wall was not built in a day, and the reopening of the underworld is such a grand project that it requires a huge amount of incense and prayers. It may take hundreds or even thousands of years to accumulate before the underworld can be restored to its former glory.

But this is quite normal. Which immortal or deity doesn't cultivate for hundreds or even thousands of years? For giants like the Three Pure Ones and the Four Emperors, perhaps a single nap in the mortal realm would have already passed over a thousand years…

Besides, he's not doing these things for free.

His status as a great earth deity dictates that by taking in the souls of the dead, he will receive a massive amount of merit in return. With this vast amount of merit, he can continuously elevate his divine status and cultivation level.

His divine status and the improvement of his cultivation level will, in turn, accelerate the speed at which he reopens the underworld.

A virtuous cycle, a perfect closed loop, belongs to...

In other words, his process of reopening the underworld was his process of cultivation!

The only missing link in his grand undertaking, and also the most important one, is the link of the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

He currently has no leads on this aspect.

But he believes that he will be able to handle this part in the future.

So let's trust the wisdom of "future generations"...

For now, let's just use the brute force method: cultivate more geniuses and artificially send those pure spirits, cleansed of their yin energy and resentment by the ethereal energy within the cave, into the wombs of pregnant women to be reincarnated, thus getting the "population" within the cave moving again...

Wang Wen pondered, using his divine sense to connect the magnificent Huangshan Divine Palace within the cave with the Huangshan Divine Temple on Bright Peak outside.

As soon as the passage was established, Wu Yanzu, who had been distracted by his big move, along with Chen Feng, Ji Liang, and other divine generals and judges who were outside managing the affairs of the Huangshan Temple, couldn't wait to appear in front of Wang Wen through the temple's passage.

Daniel Wu gazed absently at the magnificent Huangshan Temple, his upturned lips barely concealed, yet he forced a reluctant expression: "I knew it, nothing good ever comes back with you..."

The divided spirit was connected to the main body of Wang Wen's mind. Without much explanation from Wang Wen, the divided spirit already knew the cause and effect, and was even clear that it would be stationed in the Huangshan Divine Palace in the cave in the future.

Wang Wen laughed and said, "You little rascal, don't pretend to be innocent after getting the benefit!"

As he spoke, he gently touched the space between Wu Yanzu's eyebrows with his finger. Instantly, a massive amount of ethereal energy surged in, condensing Wu Yanzu's semi-transparent illusory body into an energy entity.

Inside the Huangshan Grotto, he received the maximum blessing of the Huangshan Prefecture Lord's power. Whether it was the large-scale transplantation of flowers, trees and shrubs in the past or the divine means of creating something out of nothing in the present, it was as easy for him as eating and drinking!
It is no exaggeration to say that as long as he is inside Huangshan Cave Heaven, even an ordinary immortal would have no choice but to surrender!
Daniel Wu glanced at his hands and feet carefully, then nodded in satisfaction and said, "At least you have some conscience!"

Wang Wen was both amused and exasperated: "Go back to your positions!"

Daniel Wu, distracted, pursed his lips and transformed into a streak of light, disappearing into the Huangshan Divine Palace. In an instant, the majestic Huangshan Divine Palace was filled with a bright and magnificent aura.

Only then did Chen Feng and Ji Liang, who were standing behind Daniel Wu who was distracted, finally muster up the courage to speak.

Chen Feng: "B-Big brother, where is this...?"

Ji Liang: "Why does this place resemble the grotto-heaven described in the Patriarch's notes so much?"

Wang Wen smiled and nodded: "Good eye! This place is indeed a grotto-heaven, named Huangshan Grotto-Heaven!"

"This……"

Ji Liang paused for two seconds, then said uncertainly in a low voice, "Please forgive my ignorance, but why do I remember that among the Thirty-Six Grotto-Heavens, there doesn't seem to be a Huangshan Grotto-Heaven?"

Wang Wen nodded again: "You remember correctly, Huangshan Grotto-Heaven is indeed not among the Thirty-Six Grotto-Heavens. It was created because of my relocation to Huangshan Prefecture!"

He had also read the records within the Maoshan Sect regarding the Thirty-Six Grotto-Heavens and Seventy-Two Blessed Lands.

Although grotto-heavens exist independently of the mortal world, they rely on the primordial energy of the universe for their existence. The larger the grotto-heaven, the more dependent it is on the primordial energy of the universe.

Therefore, the thirty-six grotto-heavens of the previous era had already collapsed in the Dharma-ending Age. On the contrary, among the seventy-two blessed lands, there were still a few small blessed lands ranked at the bottom that barely survived the Dharma-ending Age.

Those blessed lands are the last remaining treasures of Buddhism and Taoism in the Dharma-ending Age.

Even though there are still a few small blessed lands that support Buddhism and Taoism from completely falling into the mortal world, the number and strength of the cultivators they support are no match for the martial artists who dominate the mainstream of the Dharma-ending Age.

Therefore, the cultivators supported by those blessed lands mostly live in seclusion deep within those blessed lands, and only venture out when there is a threat of their entire sect being wiped out!

Emperor Taizong of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Chai Rong, died at the hands of a Buddhist practitioner because of his policies of suppressing Buddhism.

"Brother, you got promoted again?"

"The Lord of Huangshan? Born with him?"

The two were shocked and blurted out, but for completely different reasons.

Wang Wen didn't explain much, but just chuckled and said, "I've done so much in the past two years, is it strange that I got promoted?"

After thinking about it for a moment, the two of them thought to themselves, "That makes sense..."

Wang Wen waved his hand: "Alright, your duties remain the same. As for your future, that's up to you. First, go and appease the wandering spirits in the cave and restore order!"

The two men clasped their hands in agreement, then quickly summoned some Yellow Turban warriors and underworld officials to restrain the countless wandering spirits...

Wang Wen stood before the gate of the divine palace, gazing at the boundless, desolate cavern. After a moment of contemplation, he spoke: "Imperial decree: Within the Huangshan Cavern, no one other than a divine general or judge may fly through the air!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the countless ghostly spirits flying around the cave all fell to the ground, unable to take flight again.

Wang Wen glanced at the list and then issued a second decree: "Decree: All Yin Gods under the command of my Central Town Huangshan Divine Palace who have accumulated enough Yin Virtue for promotion may apply to me for a higher position by consuming Yin Virtue. This applies not only to Huangshan, but also to all mountain gods, land gods, generals, and judges in the Central Plains!" (End of Chapter)