Hunting God Era

Chapter 204 The Four Realms, The Shadow of Xing Tian

In just two short months, the various sects across the land, which have been passed down for thousands of years, are now on edge, seeing danger everywhere.

A deep-seated panic, like a plague, silently spread and ravaged the martial arts community.

Almost every two or three days, a sect would disappear from the Primordial World as if half of it had been wiped out, without any warning or sound.

There were no deafening shouts of battle, no towering flames, and no earth-shattering signs of destruction.

This eerie silence is far more chilling than a massive, sweeping crackdown.

Those powerful sects with five-level martial artists and deep-rooted foundations were able to barely maintain their footing and observe this strange storm with feigned composure, relying on their strong strength and intricate network of influence.

However, for sects whose highest combat power is only at the fourth level, every day is like dancing on the edge of a knife or being fried in a pot of oil.

The passage of time is no longer like a flowing stream, but like slowly dripping cold water droplets, each drop striking the taut nerve endings, making each day feel like an eternity.

Especially those neutral sects that pride themselves on being aloof and trying to maintain a detached position within the officialdom are now feeling extremely uneasy and unable to eat or sleep properly.

The fragments of information pieced together through various clandestine channels all point to a despairing conclusion: those above are launching a major crackdown on them.

What's most bizarre and worrying is not the official forces and their lackeys surrounding them, but the fact that when they were wiping out other sects, they received no information about any damage being done.

The reason why sects are superior to ordinary people and are revered as sacred places lies in the immense power of martial artists, which can move mountains and fill seas.

Even a third-realm martial artist, once their condensed true essence is unleashed, can flatten mountains and cleave towering buildings with ease.

As for the experts of the fourth realm, if they exert their full power, they are enough to change the landscape of a region. Although it may not immediately cause a devastating apocalyptic scene of widespread death and destruction, the destructive force they unleash will be earth-shattering, and destroying a city is not out of the question.

The authorities do indeed possess the absolute power to forcibly eradicate them, as evidenced by their actions over the years and their gradually growing strength; they are certainly capable of doing so.

Logically speaking, an operation of this scale would inevitably be accompanied by fierce resistance, since the goal is to wipe them out, and the authorities themselves would have to pay a heavy price for survival.

But right now, everything is eerily quiet. Whether in bustling, densely populated metropolises or in remote, desolate wilderness, there is no news of any large-scale battles.

There were no panicked civilians fleeing, no emergency lockdown of the scene, and not even a trace of unusual energy fluctuations were detected.

Just like those little demons that have been eliminated and suppressed, there is not a ripple at all.

On the contrary, the "King of Rebellion" who made a name for himself in just two months was even more fearsome.

This mysterious figure, who emerged out of nowhere in just two months and earned a fearsome reputation with his swift and decisive actions, has a deterrent effect that even subtly overshadows the invisible iron fist of the authorities.

Every sect that was destroyed bore the traces of the rebel king, as if he overlapped with that ancient figure. He continuously raided and exterminated the local sects, and those sects disappeared as if they had not put up any resistance, without even making a sound.

This brought unprecedented mental pressure to all the cultivators of the minor sects.

They felt like livestock kept in a pen, waiting to be slaughtered, their fate entirely in the hands of the rebel leader.

Resist? They didn't know how to resist. Escape? They were already surrounded; it was clear they weren't allowed to leave.

Some sects, including the cooperative faction, have begun to actively surrender to the authorities in this tense and fearful situation. After all, they are also afraid of this kind of elimination that does not disturb the world in the slightest.

Those minor sects that were only at the fourth level, after learning that Shenzhou was not only serious but also had a general grasp of the unique methods, some of the more resourceful ones simply joined in.

Most of them were sects that couldn't maintain their initial strength and were already wavering. The authorities were naturally happy to accept them all.

The higher-ups praised Li Ye highly. They hadn't initially considered this aspect as a contingency plan, but it turned out that some sects actually wanted to integrate into Shenzhou, which only strengthened their power and added more foundation to martial arts.

Meanwhile, in a secluded room in the capital, Li Ye sat cross-legged on a futon, his pores open, emanating a misty aura.

Thirty absorptions, totaling three major cycles, have allowed the seed of Dharma to travel from the lower dantian, middle dantian, and finally to the upper dantian.

"With the five elements fully formed and the three flowers gathered at the top of the head, we are now just waiting for the result!"

Li Ye closed his eyes and looked inward. Inside his dantian, the seed of Dharma was already full as an egg, and it was being washed by the surging torrent of the five elements.

He paused for a moment, then drew semicircles with his hands, left clockwise and right counterclockwise, chanting, "Water nourishes wood, wood ignites fire, fire burns earth, earth sinks metal, and metal generates water!"

Five-colored light swirled from the dantian, irrigating the green branches of the azure base. The branches ignited with crimson flames, and the embers condensed into brown soil. From the soil, white gold gleamed, and the gleam returned to the azure.

In the cycle, the seed of Dharma expands and trembles, cracks open, and a three-petaled flower bud appears, suspended in the dantian, where true essence surges like boiling water.

Then, the hand that had been drawing a semicircle in reverse on the right also came together, chanting, "Water extinguishes fire, fire melts metal, metal cuts wood, wood erodes soil, and soil holds water!"

The cycle suddenly reverses!
Within the dantian, the crimson flames instantly vaporized into black smoke upon encountering the blue water, the platinum sharpness twisted and shattered in the fire, the green wood branches were shredded into dust by the golden energy, the brown soil was corroded by the wood and scattered like sand, and the dust and sand in the sky were swallowed up by the blue water torrent.

With a soft hiss, the first illusory flower condensed from the lower dantian, its petals swirling with a silent black light. It then swiftly reached the middle and upper dantian, where two more illusory flowers appeared.

At the same time, the five elements of energy rapidly converged within the body's surface, reaching the top of the head, where they combined with the illusory flower that had been flashing all the way to the top of the head, transforming into an index finger and becoming a crystal fruit the size of a longan.

Flowering, bearing fruit!

The fruit glowed, and as if it were ripe, it automatically peeled away and entered Li Ye's body, merging with him.

"Life and death."

Li Ye's eyes flashed with golden light. He stretched out his left hand, and a phantom bud floated in his palm. He clenched his right fist, causing the air to fall into a vacuum.

Following the Five Elements allows for creation and regeneration; going against the Five Elements can destroy everything.

"It's done."

Flowering and bearing fruit, the Dao fruit entering the body, divine illumination of the four realms, achieved!

In martial arts training, there is no such thing as breaking through bottlenecks. If you can do it, you can do it; if you can't, you can't. There are methods and sequences. The rest is just to do it step by step. If you do it, success will come naturally.

Now, Li Ye has entered the fourth realm of divine illumination.

After Divine Illumination
That is the fifth realm, the Realm of True Control!

This realm cannot descend to the mortal world. According to the information given to him, to advance from the Divine Illumination Realm to the True Realm, one must operate within the Primordial Beginning Realm and absorb the 'spiritual essence' within it.

It is no longer the Qi of the Five Elements; its spiritual essence is more like the rules within the Primordial Chaos. Just like the Pan Demon born within the Primordial Chaos, it peels back the rules of the Primordial Chaos, turning them into strands of spiritual essence for the demon to absorb, until it grows stronger and develops true great supernatural powers, which is the Fifth Realm.

Also known as the realm of returning to simplicity and truth, or the realm of hearing the Dao in the morning and ascending to heaven in the evening. This thing was very mysterious in ancient times. Some people entered the fifth realm after sleeping, some people went into the mountains and looked back, and a hundred years had passed in the world. Some people watched the sunrise and absorbed the spiritual energy to enter the fifth realm.

To truly grasp the essence is to reach the Five Realms.

In modern terms, it means constantly unraveling complexities, whether through travel or warfare, one must enter the primordial realm to cultivate; nothing in the human world has any effect on them.

However, this only applies to modern times. It is said that in ancient times, martial artists of the fifth realm could still exist among humans.

Right now, it's indeed inconvenient for them to come out. The more they delve into cultivation, the more deeply they become bound to a primordial entity. Once they set out, it will cost them a lot. The deeper they cultivate, the less they can escape.

This led to the phenomenon that people in the human world did not leave the five realms and almost all hid in the primordial state.

After the fifth realm comes the sixth realm, the Profound Nether Realm, also known as the Celestial Phenomenon Realm. It is said to be able to activate the Dharma Image of Heaven and Earth, belonging to the ancient innate 'supernatural power'.

Yes, according to ancient records, the three realms of Divine Illumination, Imperial Truth, and Profound Darkness are all related to 'supernatural powers'. The supernatural powers of the four realms can also be called minor supernatural powers.

The supernatural powers of the fifth realm are called great supernatural powers, while the supernatural powers of the sixth realm are called innate supernatural powers.

Essentially, it is similar to the power forms of the first, second, and third realms: the first realm is blood and qi, the second realm is qi strength, and the third realm is true essence, but in reality, they belong to the same power form.

After reaching the sixth realm, Li Ye also gained some understanding, as the above had told him all about these cultivation systems.

The seventh realm, the realm of uninterrupted enlightenment, is characterized by a state of perfect clarity of body and mind, an immovable Bodhimanda, where one can encompass all the lands of the ten directions from the tip of a single hair. It is a Buddhist term, also known as the realm of instantaneous moments, where a precious king's realm appears from the tip of a single hair, and the great Dharma wheel turns within a speck of dust.

In ancient times, this level of attainment meant becoming a Buddha or an ancestor, establishing one's own domain; in the West, it meant establishing a divine kingdom—both are now considered legends.

The Eight Realms of Myriad Phenomena, also known as the Qiankun Realm or the Universe Realm, is also related to that realm.

The Nine Realms Master of Fate, also known as the Heavenly Agent.

This realm is only recorded by name; everything else is completely unknown.

The cultivation of the latter three realms is already a legend in modern times. No matter how many classic texts they consult, they can only get a general idea. They don't even know the forms of power, let alone cultivation methods.

In fact, the sixth realm, which follows the fifth realm, has already been lost to the world.

In order to cultivate, every sect and every martial artist is doing one thing: trying to ascend to immortality.

What Shenzhou wants to do is actually to eradicate their roots and prevent Yuan Chu from ascending, but rather to place them in reality.

But this matter has been going on for so many years, and no one has been able to complete it, so no one has taken it to heart.

But now, things are about to change.

"it's me."

Li Ye picked up his phone and dialed his secretary's number. "I'm out of quarantine."

"Hold on."

The call was immediately disconnected, and shortly afterward, the secretary arrived at the house.

"Director Li, congratulations."

He said first, then laughed, "Only when you reach the Fourth Realm can we truly rest assured. From now on, no one in the mortal world can control you."

"No one can control me anyway."

Li Ye smiled and said, "Now that I've reached the fourth realm, I'm more confident. It's time for me to slow down and start doing something else."

This divine illumination of his was different from the past. According to the information given to him above and his own plans, he did not want to unravel the mysteries and absorb spiritual essence within the Primordial Era.

The best approach would be to completely erase the primordial chaos of Shenzhou, transforming Shenzhou itself into the greatest primordial state, absorbing its spiritual essence, and thus binding it to the land of Shenzhou, cultivating like the ancient martial artists.

He can handle Xiao Zong, but he doesn't know about Da Zong's backup plan.
At this point, what is needed is official support.

"Did you find it?" Li Ye asked.

"Yes, we've identified several targets. The most recent one is in Longxi. After our investigation, we discovered a demon that looks extremely similar to it. We should have eliminated it earlier, but considering your needs, we've kept it under control."

The secretary handed Li Ye a tablet, on which the information was already displayed.

"A severed head?"

Li Ye glanced at the tablet and inexplicably felt a slight chill on his neck. However, the feeling was only momentary and did not harm him. It was just that the perception of a martial artist facing demonic corruption made him understand where this demonic corruption came from and what its effects were.

This feeling would probably make an ordinary person's head spin immediately.

This demon originates from the mountains of Longxi, but it is not a truly desolate place. Rather, it is located near inhabited mountains, especially cities built against mountains and surrounded by mountains. It often attaches itself to the mountain surface, forming a shadow that can be seen by people.

Once the shadow forms, it will gradually turn into a headless shadow. Anyone who sees it will immediately lose their head. Those who are severely contaminated will not even be able to detect it, but will only have a line around their neck, which will fall off under pressure.

However, if you don't realize it, even if your head is cut off, you will still live your daily life, but you will become a person with your chest as eyes and your navel as mouth. If you discover this, you will go crazy, but you will die automatically after half an hour.

"The chest serves as the eyes, and the navel as the mouth."

Looking at the information above, and then at the figure of the severed head, Li Ye saw that the shadow was human-shaped, but the mountain covered by the shadow of the arm looked like it was holding an axe blade.

"Xingtian?" he asked in surprise.

"According to the gods, we believe it is the 'shadow of Xing Tian' because it is not the real body, but only a shadow, but everything else is very similar."

The secretary said, "According to the Classic of Mountains and Seas, Overseas Western Classic, Xing Tian fought with the Emperor here for divinity. The Emperor cut off his head and buried it on Changyang Mountain. Xing Tian then used his nipples as eyes and his navel as a mouth, and wielded a shield and axe to dance."

"Its appearance, with its shadow changing with the sunlight, and its movement as if gripping the mountain, also resembles wielding an axe blade."

"This demon has appeared more than once, and the location has always been Changyang Mountain in Longxi. However, the place at the foot of the mountain was an execution ground in the early years. At first, we thought it was a demon born from the legend of Xing Tian in ancient times, combined with the resentment of the execution ground and the stimulation of some people."

"It occurs roughly once every twenty years. After the establishment of Shenzhou, the intervals have become longer, and it just so happens that it was born this time. If this is a demon containing 'divine' elements, perhaps you can give it a try."

(End of this chapter)