Body command feeding world

(May the fourth day of the lunar new year bring good fortune)

The setting sun, like blood, bathed the ravaged city of Panshi.

Broken walls, scorched earth, lingering embers, and uncollected corpses filled the air with the stench of blood, burnt remains, and a faint, foul odor, creating a suffocating atmosphere. Having survived the tyrannical lord's siege and the descent of the red umbrella, the survivors were utterly devastated. Some collapsed to the ground, others sobbed softly, and still others numbly gathered up the remains. The entire city seemed to have crawled halfway back from the gates of hell, still trembling with fear.

Wu Wei remained kneeling on one knee, his double-edged marrow spear supporting his nearly exhausted body.

His meridians throbbed with pain, and his bones and armor cracked in several places. Although the evil poison was forcibly suppressed by the Yang Flame, it still pierced his soul like fine needles. He breathed heavily, his gaze calmly fixed on the direction where the black tide had receded in the distance, but deep within his eyes surged an unquenchable torrent of emotions.

The oppressive aura of the woman with the red umbrella, the terror of the Black Bone Demon Lord, the golden light of the character "镇" (zhen, meaning "suppress") that spanned the heavens and earth, Xiao Cangxuan's resolute determination to burn away his very essence...

Everything was telling him that the highest levels of power in this world were far more profound, terrifying, and untouchable than he had imagined.

Just then, a faint yet exceptionally clear voice slowly resounded deep within his soul.

It is the pivot.

"You're thinking about that golden light from just now."

It's not a question, it's a statement.

Wu Wei closed his eyes briefly and replied in a low voice, "What kind of power is that? It far surpasses that of a martial arts master."

"That is the power of the Body Token." Shu's voice carried a rare hint of solemnity. "It is also the residual power of the Token Master that Xiao Cangxuan forcibly ignited with his own Dao Foundation, lifespan, and Three Origins."

Wu Wei frowned slightly: "What exactly is Body Token? You only told me about the realms of Martial Body Masters before, but not about Body Token."

Shu paused for a moment, as if sorting through the fragmented memories that had just awakened, his tone tinged with hesitation and realization:

"It was only after seeing that golden character '镇' (zhen, meaning 'suppress' or 'control') that spanning the heavens and the earth, that I was able to unlock a long-sealed memory of my origin. Before that, I only knew about the division of the Martial Body Envoy realm, and I knew nothing about the origin of the Body Envoy."

Wu Wei listened quietly without interrupting, waiting for what was to come.

"The Body Token is not an ordinary object, nor can it be cultivated by a cultivator on their own."

It originates from the very source of the grotto-heaven, and is a token and shackle projected down by the will of the upper realm, or some kind of rule power that transcends the mortal world.

"To condense the Body Refinement Token, there is only one prerequisite—the unity of Blood Essence, Bone Essence, and Marrow Essence."

The three elements share the same origin, root, and birth. Only after the soul and body are completely united, and after undergoing a great tribulation of life and death and being tempered by malevolent forces, is there even a one in ten thousand chance of triggering the echo of the celestial realm and condensing one's own innate talisman.

"Once the Body Token is completed, the cultivator officially enters the realm of Martial Body Master, undergoing a complete transformation and transcending the ordinary to become a saint."

Shu paused for a moment, then continued:

"The body's energy will nourish the flesh, increasing lifespan by five hundred years, and the strength, resilience, and toughness of the body will all leap forward."

Blood essence is nourished by the command, awakening exclusive supernatural powers, such as burning away evil, warding off evil, or suppressing yin.

The bone essence was ordered to be cleansed and refined, undergoing a transformation that made it indestructible;

The marrow essence is sharpened, its sharpness doubled, making it indestructible;

They can even fly through the air, soaring through the heavens and disappearing into the earth, no longer bound by their mortal bodies.

"The true core of the Martial Body Master is the Body Command Cave Heaven."

"That is the inner world, core space, and rule center that only martial arts practitioners can enter."

The grotto-heavens issue missions, provide trials, offer fundamental rewards, temper the martial body, and solidify the foundation of one's Dao. They are the source of power for all martial arts practitioners, but also their destiny and their prison.

Wu Wei asked softly, "What did Xiao Cangxuan... sacrifice?"

Shu's voice was slightly low:

"He ignited the fundamental essence of his destiny."

Using all of his martial arts cultivation, the power of the three elements, and his lifespan as fuel, he forcibly awakened the remnant power of the lord imprinted deep within his body, thus unleashing the golden light of the character "镇" (suppress), temporarily suppressing the Black Bone Fiend Lord.

"The price is—"

"The body's essence is burned out, leaving it dark, lifeless, and permanently sealed off."

The foundation of the Dao has been damaged, irreversibly and irreparably.

If one's cultivation level regresses, there will be no possibility of further improvement for the rest of one's life.

In this lifetime, I will never be able to activate the Body Token again, nor will I ever be able to enter the Body Token Cave Heaven again.

Wu and Wei remained silent.

He could imagine that despair.

A lifetime of arduous cultivation, the unification of the three elements, the condensation of the martial body, a greatly increased lifespan, and the hope of reaching a higher realm... all destroyed in one day, the path ahead cut off, like falling hard from the clouds into a swamp, never to rise again.

But Xiao Cangxuan knelt on the ground, looking at the surviving lives in the city, and only said two words.

worth it.

"Xiao Cangxuan is a martial artist of the first level of curse, with a mutated blood essence. He specializes in resisting and burning evil spirits, and is the one who suppresses evil and guards the city," Shu said calmly. "He had the opportunity to go further and step into deeper levels of curses and transformations, and even had the potential to challenge for the position of Commander."

"The Lord?" Wu Wei grasped the key word.

"The Commander is the top of the Commander system."

Passing the final test, gaining control of the grotto-heaven, greatly increasing lifespan, and unifying the martial arts masters of a region—this is the pinnacle that mortal cultivators can reach.

The discussion did not delve too deeply, only touching upon the key points to avoid information overload.

It knew that Wu and Wei were still too weak, and knowing too much would only disturb its Dao heart.

Wu Wei was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke: "The woman with the red umbrella... she knows the token and the token's master."

"Not only do you know." Shu's voice was slightly cold. "The place she comes from is very likely to be inherently opposed to the Body Command Cave Heaven, the Command Master, and even the entire Martial Body Envoy system."

Her words, "The hundred-year period is almost over," were not spoken to Xiao Cangxuan, but to the Cave Heaven, the Lord, and all the Martial Body Envoys.

Wu Wei looked up at the horizon, at the dark red clouds stained with blood rain.

A century-long period.

A land of blood and gore.

Ash Mist Cave.

Red umbrella.

One by one, unfamiliar and terrifying words slowly pieced together a dark and vast picture in his mind.

He suddenly understood.

The destruction of Qinglu Village, the pursuit by Bai Sha Tong Shou, the bloody battle in Panshi City, the arrival of the Black Bone Demon Lord, the appearance of the Red Umbrella Woman... none of these were accidental.

This is a world that has already been arranged.

Humans are food, cities are places for raising livestock, martial arts masters are the guardians and protectors, and the body orders and grotto heavens are the rules and chains that keep all of this running.

He, an anomaly who transmigrated from Earth, wielding gun skills and possessing a gun spirit, stumbled into this earth-shattering situation.

Wu Wei slowly stood up.

His legs were still weak and he was in excruciating pain, but his back was ramrod straight.

He slowly gripped the double-edged marrow spear, the shaft trembling slightly as if echoing its master's emotions.

"What are you thinking about?" Shu asked.

Wu Wei gazed at the devastation of the city, at Xiao Cangxuan's solitary figure in the distance, and at the lingering dark clouds on the horizon. His voice was calm, yet exceptionally firm:

"I'm thinking."

"Whether it's a physical command, a grotto-heaven, a command master, or a blood offering."

"Who wants to feed on me? Who wants to destroy the people I care about? Who wants to block my path...?"

He paused, then slightly tightened his fingertips, and a faint yet incredibly condensed golden-red flame slowly lit up on the blade of the spear.

"I will then destroy it with a single shot."

As soon as he finished speaking, a gentle breeze blew by.

The setting sun cast its light upon him, elongating his slender yet remarkably upright figure.

In the distance, Xiao Cangxuan slowly stood up, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and looked in the direction of Wu Wei, a hint of surprise and appreciation flashing in his eyes.

Qing Xuanzi walked to his side and whispered, "This child... has a limitless future."

Xiao Cangxuan nodded slightly, his voice hoarse: "It's just that this road is too dark, too dangerous, and too arduous."

"I hope he can keep going."

"To a place we can never reach again."

The world was silent, and the evening breeze grew cool.

The calamity of Rock City has temporarily passed, but the shadow that shrouds the entire Western Wilderness and the entire mortal realm has only just truly descended.

The secrets of the Order have been partially revealed.

An even greater storm is quietly waiting at the end of this century.