Chapter 189 - If There Were Wine

Heavenly Venerable Wu swallowed a leaf from the herb of immortality. Time passed, but nothing happened.

Does this herb even work?

Roots continued to writhe out of Xu Ying’s eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. Disappointed, he muttered, “Don’t tell me this purple weed is just grave grass.”

Enraged, the Purple Immortal Herb leaped out of Xu Ying’s ethereal void, ready to fight him to the death. He gave it no chance. He seized its stem and chopped his palm down on its head, assuming the fork in its branches counted as one.

Though it was only a blade of grass, the Purple Immortal Herb was formidable. Its roots lashed through the air, flaying Xu Ying’s skin with every strike.

A vicious resolve gripped Xu Ying. He unleashed the Eight Arts of the Combat God, thinking, How could I possibly lose to a clump of grave grass? One of us will die today!

Suddenly, an indescribable pulse of power burst from within Heavenly Venerable Wu. It was a spring breeze sweeping through winter's desolation, a welcome rain quenching parched earth, nourishing all things, even Dao Arts.

A strange power suffused his aged flesh. From within him came a profoundly mysterious Dao sound, like an ancient incantation or a summons. His dispersed Martial Dao Primordial Spirit responded to it and began to re-form.

Still locked in their life-and-death struggle, Xu Ying and the Purple Immortal Herb both sensed the incredible changes unfolding within Heavenly Venerable Wu and stopped fighting.

Xu Ying dismissed the Heavenly-Pull Art he had readied. The Purple Immortal Herb quietly withdrew the seven main roots it had prepared to impale him.

The man and the herb watched Heavenly Venerable Wu’s transformation anxiously. Xu Ying wanted to bring him back to life, not merely restore him with the mind of a three-year-old child. The herb wanted to prove that it wasn’t just grave grass.

Gradually, Heavenly Venerable Wu’s bodily functions recovered. Vitality filled his aged frame, and his divine sense returned to its peak state.

The other changes were even more astonishing. As the herb of immortality's medicinal power surged forth, accompanied by that mysterious Dao sound, the memories scattered by his death began flowing back like converging streams.

Heavenly Venerable Wu slowly remembered his past, even moments long forgotten. His dispersed soul gathered like grains of sand, and his vanished Primordial Spirit restored itself like a collapsed sandcastle rebuilding itself.

Xu Ying watched in awe as the herb’s mysterious power radiated outward, transcending the mundane world. Bound within it were the unfathomable principles of life itself.

If I can comprehend this power, I can command life and death, transcend reincarnation, and become truly indestructible!

His heart pounded. He tried to memorize that wondrous Dao sound, but the tones faded from his mind as though systematically erased. This voice of the supreme Dao was impossible to hold and impossible to comprehend.

Failing to retain the sound, an idea struck Xu Ying. He glanced at the Purple Immortal Herb, whose roots still gripped his neck.

Isn’t this grave grass itself the herb of immortality? If I study it, I might be able to obtain the power of transcendence...

The Purple Immortal Herb sensed his gaze and grew wary. When Xu Ying looked away to watch the white-haired old man anxiously, it darted back into his ethereal void.

Once a core component of the seal suppressing the Double-Pupiled Great Emperor, the herb possessed extraordinary abilities. It could enter and leave anyone’s ethereal void at will. It had used this very gift to send its roots through the Double-Pupiled Great Emperor’s eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, reaching deep into his ethereal void.

The Purple Immortal Herb rummaged through Xu Ying’s realm of ethereal void, searching everywhere. Unable to find its other leaves, it quietly slipped back out.

They must be on that rotten brat!

The herb glanced around, pretending nothing was amiss, while its fine roots crept silently through Xu Ying’s clothes, checking whether he had tucked the leaves into his pockets.

The fighting on the Five-Color Immortal Mountain had been fierce. In his battle with Li Xiaoke and the Emperor of the Underworld Court, Xu Ying had lost the entire front of his tunic. Only the back remained, and even that was in tatters. His pants, at least, had fared a little better.

The Purple Immortal Herb rummaged through his pocket for a moment, then grabbed the wrong thing.

“You perverted grave weed!”

Mortified and furious, Xu Ying grabbed the herb by the neck and pummeled it. The herb knew it was in the wrong but refused to take a beating lying down. It grappled with him, poking at his eyes, digging at his nose, jabbing his kidneys, and striking at his family jewels. Every move was a dirty trick.

After a long while, Heavenly Venerable Wu fully recovered his peak strength. His Primordial Spirit was powerful, and his body was robust. He was even stronger than he had been before his death!

He lowered his head and stared at his hands in disbelief, then examined his body. His white hair stirred, and tears filled his eyes.

Only through death could one truly appreciate the value of life.

He had died once. His frame had withered, his heart’s vitality failed, and all his supreme martial prowess had proven powerless to save him. Primordial Spirit had shattered, his soul dispersed, leaving only his spirit behind to burn like a solitary torch.

This return to life had brought him new insights, a profound enlightenment born of being broken and made anew. Without realizing it, his martial Dao mental state had risen to another level.

“Fellow Daoist Xu.” He stepped forward to stop the brawl between Xu Ying and the Purple Immortal Herb.

The two had been locked in a furious struggle, and both looked rather bedraggled. His intervention gave them a convenient excuse to back down, and each retreated a step.

“Heavenly Venerable Wu, do you feel any discomfort?” Xu Ying asked with concern.

Heavenly Venerable Wu shook his head and marveled, “I never knew such wondrous immortal herbs existed in this world. To bring the dead to life, defy Heaven, and change one’s fate, how extraordinary! I feel as though I’ve become an undying, indestructible immortal, with a lifespan that stretches on forever.”

Astonished, Xu Ying asked, “You feel as though you’ve become an immortal?”

Heavenly Venerable Wu nodded with a smile. “It’s a strange feeling, difficult to describe. When I opened my second mystic gateway, I could sense my remaining lifespan down to the exact day. But after consuming the herb of immortality, I feel my life will endure endlessly.”

Xu Ying marveled inwardly. Could the herb of immortality really be that powerful? Could it not only revive the dead, but also grant true immortality?

Then he recalled what the Double-Pupiled Great Emperor had said before leaving. The grave weed was indeed an herb of immortality, but it could not grant true eternal life.

“You’ll discover the drawbacks of the herb of immortality,” he had told Xu Ying.

Xu Ying frowned slightly, unease stirring within him. Regardless, Heavenly Venerable Wu had returned to life full of vigor and regained his peak strength. Despite his doubts, Xu Ying was happy for him.

Heavenly Venerable Wu said with a smile, “At last, I’ve walked the Martial Sage’s path to its very end. Now we can return to the Martial Dao Other Shore and reunite with Martial Immortal Zhai and the rest!”

His heart surged with excitement. “Our journey wasn’t in vain. We opened up this route and discovered the immortal mountain. Surely the days when our world lacked primordial qi and no one could cultivate are gone for good?”

Even the foremost master of the martial path held consuming ambitions. He wanted to spread his martial teachings in the outside world. He also wanted to overcome the obstacle that prevented cultivation in the Primordial Beginning Realm and end the encroachment of the ancient battlefield and the underworld.

Now, at last, there was a way to address all these problems!

Xu Ying looked around. With the collapse of the six seals that had suppressed and imprisoned the Double-Pupiled Great Emperor, the five-colored primordial qi had also broken free. No longer flowing back toward the volcanic crater, it spilled down from the peak toward the ancient battlefield.

The five-colored primordial qi possessed the miraculous power to revive the dead and restore flesh to bare bones. It held immense vitality. Wherever it swept, the battlefield shed its sinister, desolate death mask. Verdant mountains and clear waters soon emerged, draped in lush growth.

Heaven and earth seemed washed clean, bright and clear.

Yet the ancient battlefield remained just as dangerous as before, perhaps even more so.

The gods and demons who died here in antiquity had left behind lingering thoughts and scraps of flesh trapped within these bounds, capable of wreaking havoc only where they fell.

Now, nourished by the five-colored primordial qi, skeleton after skeleton rose to its feet. Driven by demonic thoughts, they were certain to become a scourge!

Heavenly Venerable Wu, however, was fired with battle lust. He headed down the mountain, laughing. “We shall sweep away this demonic miasma and restore peace and clarity to our Primordial Beginning Realm!”

Xu Ying followed, gazing farther into the distance. The five-colored primordial qi was flowing toward the Primordial Beginning Realm. As it gradually thinned, the vigor it contained diminished greatly. Yet that was the nature of primordial qi: too concentrated, it grew volatile and treacherous; too diluted, cultivation stalled.

The five-colored primordial qi isn’t flowing toward the underworld, but toward the Primordial Beginning Realm. The lack of primordial qi in that realm really was connected to the Double-Pupiled Great Emperor’s suppression. Only now that he has broken free is the five-colored primordial qi flowing back. But...

He sank into thought. Why had the Immortal Realm suppressed the Double-Pupiled Great Emperor in the first place? It had sacrificed an entire world’s primordial qi to imprison him. Had he committed some heinous atrocity, or was there another reason? Would his escape be a bane or a boon to the mortal world?

And what exactly is happening in the underworld?

From his vantage point above, Xu Ying looked down into the underworld. “Just how vast is it? Why can it connect to other worlds? And what is the truth behind its invasion?”

As he pondered these questions, the Purple Immortal Herb tugged at the ragged strips of cloth on his back.

Xu Ying said, “Stop pulling. I don’t have any fresh clothes to change into. I was kidnapped and brought here. All my new clothes are in a snake’s belly... Still pulling? Are you looking for a fight?”

The Purple Immortal Herb tugged at his rags again. Puzzled, Xu Ying watched it raise a root and point toward Heavenly Venerable Wu ahead.

Xu Ying looked over. Heavenly Venerable Wu had already reached the foot of the mountain and was walking away. At some point, the Wind Barrier sealing off the Five-Color Immortal Mountain had fallen.

Perhaps the Double-Pupiled Great Emperor had destroyed it, or perhaps it had vanished on its own when the six forbidden seals were broken. They could leave in any direction without fear of the Wind Barrier tearing them apart.

Yet Xu Ying’s expression grew increasingly grave as he watched Heavenly Venerable Wu’s retreating figure.

Moments ago, the old man had been brimming with fighting spirit, striding with the vigor of a dragon or tiger, as though he had returned to his youth. Now his back was hunched, his steps unsteady.

As he left the Five-Color Immortal Mountain, his essence streamed behind him like sand swept by a gale. Soul, martial Dao vital energy, and Primordial Spirit were all steadily disintegrating!

Heavenly Venerable Wu seemed entirely unaware. He continued murmuring to himself.

“We can cultivate now. At last... The martial path is too difficult. Only those with extraordinary perseverance can master it. When I return, I should spread Qi cultivation instead. If people can cultivate, they’ll grow stronger. They’ll be able to protect themselves and resist the underworld’s incursions...”

His white hair trembled, and his aged eyes were clouded.

“But our Dao must not be lost. Someone must still persevere, as when our primordial qi is taken from us again, we will need brave warriors to resist and take it back...”

“Heavenly Venerable Wu!” Xu Ying shouted, trying to alert him to the strange change overtaking his body.

Dazed, Heavenly Venerable Wu turned to look at him and murmured, “We must have the spirit to resist even in utter desperation, the courage and strength to fight Heaven...”

The world spun around him. He became a corpse once more and fell to the ground with a thud.

Xu Ying rushed forward and examined him. Heavenly Venerable Wu had no trace of life left. He was dead!

“What’s going on?” He seized the Purple Immortal Herb by the neck, hoisting the stalk as he demanded an answer.

The Purple Immortal Herb pushed his hand away with its roots and wrote three characters on the ground. “Undying immortal.”

Xu Ying stared at the three characters in bewilderment, studying them again and again. After a moment, understanding dawned.

“These aren’t three characters. They’re four! So that’s it!”

He gathered Heavenly Venerable Wu’s body into his arms and returned to the Five-Color Immortal Mountain. He had barely set foot on the mountain when waves of mysterious Dao sounds rose from him. Essence gathered anew, his soul was reforged, and the Primordial Spirit returned. Heavenly Venerable Wu awoke once more.

“The herb of immortality can really grant undying life, but there are conditions.”

Xu Ying explained what had happened to Heavenly Venerable Wu. “Your senses weren’t deceiving you. You did become an immortal, but only under certain conditions. Only in the Immortal Realm are you an immortal. Only there can you live without dying.”

He sighed and wrote the three characters for “undying immortal.”

“The true meaning of the herb of immortality is an undying person upon a mountain. Heavenly Venerable Wu, this mountain must be an immortal mountain from the Immortal Realm.

“Though it has fallen into the lower realm, it remains an immortal mountain. Standing on it is the same as being in the Immortal Realm. Leaving it is the same as leaving the Immortal Realm.”

Heavenly Venerable Wu understood. “In other words, I’ll die if I leave the mountain, but if I return, I can still live like an immortal.”

Xu Ying nodded gently.

Heavenly Venerable Wu let out a long breath and smiled. “Having another lifetime is already an extraordinary blessing. Why look so grave? Martial Immortal Zhai and the others need a torch to show them the way. By staying here, can’t I do just that?”

He smiled with easy acceptance. “A person upon a mountain makes an immortal. I’ve already become one, with everlasting life. You should be happy for me.”

Xu Ying broke into a smile. “Of course I am!”

“If we had wine, we ought to drink a large cup!” Heavenly Venerable Wu said, laughing.

Smiling, Xu Ying replied, “Indeed. A pity my friend Yuanqi isn’t here. If he were, he’d certainly have wine.”

Heavenly Venerable Wu’s Adam’s apple bobbed, as though his craving for wine had stirred. He smiled. “You’re still a mortal. You shouldn’t linger on the mountain. The troubles of the mortal world no longer concern me, but you still have much to do.”

Xu Ying rose, smiling. “Yes. I have no shortage of petty matters to attend to.”

“Go on down the mountain. I won’t see you off. Take care along the way,” said Heavenly Venerable Wu.

Xu Ying wanted to leave the Purple Immortal Herb to keep him company, but Heavenly Venerable Wu shook his head and refused. The herb was rather afraid of the old man, aware that it was no match for him. Besides, it was determined to reclaim its leaf and had no wish to stay.

Xu Ying headed down the mountain and found the battered door. Just as he was about to put it into his ethereal void, Heavenly Venerable Wu’s voice rang out from above.

“Fellow Daoist Xu!”

Xu Ying looked up. Heavenly Venerable Wu stood high on the mountain, his hair white with age.

“Remember to visit me. Don’t leave me too lonely!”

Xu Ying waved, then turned and walked away.

Heavenly Venerable Wu stood on the mountain and gazed up at the Immortal Realm sky. Melancholy filled the old man’s heart.

Wait! His eyes gradually brightened, and he clapped his hands together hard.

I can’t leave the mountain, but the mountain can move! If I hoist the Five-Color Immortal Mountain onto my shoulders, can’t I wander wherever I like and drop in on people?