Chapter 505: That Piece of Flesh and Blood

The bearded man’s conditions were quite stringent for a cultivator aspiring to become a Tribulation Realm mighty one.

Take a Venerable from Pang Ming World as a disciple?

On average, one Venerable appears every thousand years. If Meng Chuan were to become a Tribulation Realm mighty one and Pang Ming World happened to have no Venerable at that time, would he have to wait another thousand years? Or what if a Venerable did appear, but that Venerable continued cultivating in Pang Ming World until achieving Cave Heaven Perfection? What if, after leaving their homeworld only when they had no regrets, they perished in the outer realm before Meng Chuan could find them? Would he then have to wait for the next Venerable?

Furthermore, it’s an average of a thousand years. What if several thousand years passed before a Venerable entered the outer realm? This karmic debt would then affect him for thousands of years.

Ultimately, it was hard to predict how things would unfold.

Meng Chuan also understood from the sect’s ancient texts that after becoming a Tribulation Realm mighty one, one truly groped in the dark. Venerables and Monarchs had clear cultivation paths; Monarchs only needed to perfect their ‘Heaven and Earth’. Therefore, karmic influence wasn’t significant for them. However, Tribulation Realm mighty ones explored in the dark, often cultivating incorrectly without realizing it, making karmic interference very impactful.

“Think carefully,” the bearded man said calmly, tilting his head back to drink. “Make sure you’re clear on this. Don’t regret it.”

“I choose to accept,” Meng Chuan said with a slight smile.

They were originally strangers. How could a Tribulation Realm mighty one selflessly bestow treasures upon him? In the cultivation world, there was no love without reason! The law of the jungle was most common.

“Whether it’s me, or Liu Qiyue, or my parents, or the generations of Godfiends in Cang Yuan World over the years, our greatest wish is to win the war against the Demon Realm,” Meng Chuan thought to himself. “Even if I incur karmic debt, I must grow stronger as quickly as possible! The stronger I become, the greater the hope of completely ending this war.”

Winning the war was the primary goal. It was hundreds, even thousands of times more important than becoming a Tribulation Realm mighty one! What was a mere karmic debt?

“Very well,” the bearded man smiled upon seeing this. “Then everything I leave behind is yours.”

Whoosh.

A streak of light flew into Meng Chuan’s consciousness, containing everything left by this mighty Pang Ming.

Following that, whoosh. The entire illusory world began to gradually collapse.

“Traveled alone in the outer realm for twenty-eight thousand years, stopping at the Fifth Tribulation Realm,” the bearded man murmured softly, holding his gourd, his figure disintegrating along with the illusory world.

Meng Chuan watched this scene in silence.

Every Tribulation Realm mighty one returned to their homeworld, not necessarily out of ‘gratitude’, but because of karmic debt! The homeworld, having nurtured a strong cultivator, bestowed a kindness as vast as the heavens, and the karmic debt was immeasurably heavy. Therefore, weaker Tribulation Realm mighty ones would place many treasures within their homeworld, even if carried by their true body there. As long as they were in their ‘homeworld’, they were considered part of it, which also served as compensation to their homeworld.

After becoming a Sixth Tribulation Realm mighty one, each would strive to elevate a lower world into a ‘middle world’. If it was already a middle world, they would work to expand it further, making its world origin more robust.

Becoming an Eight Tribulation Realm mighty one like Fei Yu, they would even elevate their homeworld into a ‘higher world’.

“This Tribulation Realm mighty one, ‘Pang Ming’, failed his tribulation, and yet, before his death, only wished for me to help the cultivators of Pang Ming World. He truly harbored deep feelings for his homeworld,” Meng Chuan murmured. “It’s indeed rare for a lower world to produce a ‘Fifth Tribulation Realm mighty one’ who cultivates both the Primordial Spirit Tribulation and the Physical Body Tribulation. In hundreds of millions of years, there has only been one.”

“My homeworld, Cang Yuan World, has only existed for just over a hundred million years since its birth, making it a very young world,” Meng Chuan thought of his own homeworld. “From its early barbaric era, civilization slowly emerged, and the ‘Godfiend cultivation system’ was incredibly difficult to establish. It wasn’t until over a million years ago that Ancestor Cang Yuan rose. As a Venerable, he ventured alone into the outer realm... cultivating step by step, becoming a legend in the River of Spacetime,” Meng Chuan sighed. “This also gave Cang Yuan World an exceptionally profound foundation. Its cultivation system is very complete, even up to the Monarch Perfection stage.”

Meng Chuan greatly admired the Ancestor. For Tribulation Realm cultivation, the first three tribulations were relatively easy. Beyond the Third Tribulation, the difficulty of each subsequent tribulation increased exponentially. Ancestor Cang Yuan left an incredibly deep accumulation for his homeworld.

Despite the demon invasion, even when pushed to the brink, Yuanchu Mountain still had the ‘World Annihilation Plan’ as a contingency. Over time, humanity’s foundation would deepen even further. However, Meng Chuan, Liu Qiyue, True Martial King, and other Godfiends who had participated in the war for over eight hundred years, all yearned for victory. If the ‘World Annihilation Plan’ were truly implemented, it would be a great disgrace for their generation of Godfiends! It would be a thorn in their hearts that they could never remove for the rest of their lives.

They would fight for victory with their lives. Even if it meant incurring more karmic debt, they would not willingly execute the World Annihilation Plan.

The illusory world collapsed.

Venerable Qinggu also regained consciousness.

“What happened to me just now? What occurred?” Venerable Qinggu stood dazed. His memories of being trapped in the illusory world were blank; he had lost that segment of time.

“Another segment of memory lost?” Venerable Qinggu sighed helplessly.

Previously, to earn Meng Chuan’s trust, Venerable Qinggu had completely severed and erased his memories of ‘Fang Chang’ from his Primordial Spirit! In his memory, Fang Chang no longer existed. This way, he couldn’t even betray Meng Chuan by revealing him as ‘Fang Chang’s killer’. Venerable Qinggu believed this was the only way to truly put Meng Chuan at ease and allow himself to survive.

Two segments of his memory were now gone. The first segment was actively severed and erased. The second segment was lost through unknown means.

“Whoosh.” Venerable Qinggu instantly flashed to Meng Chuan’s side, speaking respectfully, “Brother Dongning.”

“This cave mansion has been breached,” Meng Chuan said. “Stand guard outside.”

“Yes,” Venerable Qinggu replied.

Meng Chuan immediately flew into the cave mansion, which was once again enveloped in mist. Meng Chuan was now actively controlling the mansion’s array, activating it with his Chaotic Hole True Essence.

Inside the cave mansion, in a courtyard.

Meng Chuan sat cross-legged on the crystalline jade floor, beginning to examine his gains.

“When I first arrived in the outer realm, my most valuable possession was the ‘Bloodblade Disc’, but it’s my life-bound secret treasure, which I can’t possibly sell,” Meng Chuan mused. He felt a little sentimental; gaining Fang Chang’s accumulated wealth from years of venturing had made him moderately rich. After all, ‘Blood Sun World’ was also a middle world with deep foundations.

“Now, I’ve truly hit the jackpot.”

What did a karmic debt matter? At the very least, it would allow him to grow stronger more quickly!

“Is this a Spatial Pagoda?” Meng Chuan looked at the small golden pagoda in his palm. It was a Tribulation Realm secret treasure, the ‘Spatial Pagoda’. It could not store living beings, only items or inanimate objects. But it was incredibly stable! This Spatial Pagoda alone was comparable in value to a Fifth Tribulation Realm secret treasure. Its ‘stability’ characteristic was extremely important, as many treasures in the outer void were too extraordinary to be stored in ordinary void bracelets, which would simply collapse.

“Whoosh.”

With a thought, the small golden pagoda burrowed into Meng Chuan’s Dantian space.

“One Seventh Tribulation Realm weapon secret treasure, two Sixth Tribulation Realm weapon secret treasures,” Meng Chuan said, waving his hand to release the weapon secret treasures commonly used by Senior Pang Ming from the pagoda. They were a gourd, a robe, and a large hammer. The gourd was a Seventh Tribulation Realm secret treasure.

“Although my Bloodblade Disc was refined by a Seventh Tribulation Realm Primordial Spirit mighty one, it was only made for a disciple before their great limit, primarily for evasion and self-defense, so it can only be considered a Sixth Tribulation Realm secret treasure,” Meng Chuan knew this. “However, the Bloodblade Disc is suitable for different power stages, from weak to strong. Moreover, it contains many Seventh Tribulation Realm profound mysteries. It’s considered a relatively top-grade ‘Sixth Tribulation Realm secret treasure’.” For weaker cultivators, the Bloodblade Disc could unleash even greater power.

“This gourd alone is worth several Bloodblade Discs,” Meng Chuan marveled inwardly. “These three secret treasures are part of Senior Pang Ming’s treasure trove.”

“Unfortunately, Senior Pang Ming specialized in the ‘Mountains and Rivers’ lineage, which doesn’t align with my ‘Lightning’ lineage. I’ll probably have to sell these secret treasures in the future and exchange them for ones suitable for me,” Meng Chuan thought. “However, my current strength is too weak; taking out such treasures might invite trouble.”

While the treasures were in his hand, others couldn’t discern their Tribulation Realm level. But to trade them? He would naturally have to let others examine them carefully to determine their detailed power. Meng Chuan’s current strength was not suitable for trading Seventh Tribulation Realm secret treasures.

“Whoosh.”

Meng Chuan waved his hand, putting away the three precious Tribulation Realm secret treasures. With another flip of his hand, a fist-sized, square-shaped crystal jade appeared in his palm, with chaotic mist flowing within it.

“This is an outer realm Origin Crystal,” Meng Chuan exclaimed in admiration. “Just one of these outer realm Origin Crystals is enough to exchange for a Monarch-level weapon secret treasure.”

“Over three thousand outer realm Origin Crystals are another great fortune of Senior Pang Ming. In terms of value, they are comparable to the three secret treasures combined,” Meng Chuan marveled. Outer realm Origin Crystals were hard currency. When Tribulation Realm mighty ones fought, their power consumption was terrifying. Relying on absorbing outer realm essence from outside? It was too slow. Even Senior Pang Ming, a Fifth Tribulation Realm mighty one, found ‘outer realm Origin Stones’ too slow. Therefore, they primarily used outer realm Origin Crystals. More outer realm Origin Crystals were needed for breakthroughs after tribulation, and Senior Pang Ming had prepared early by stockpiling enough outer realm Origin Crystals in preparation for becoming a ‘Sixth Tribulation Realm mighty one’.

However, he failed to withstand the Sixth Primordial Spirit Tribulation.

“Senior Pang Ming’s treasure trove consists of 30% secret treasures and 30% outer realm Origin Crystals,” Meng Chuan said, then looked at the massive corpse inside the pagoda.

It was a body thousands of miles long. A special lifeform: the ‘Eight-Headed Star-Devouring Serpent’!

“The complete corpse of an adult Eight-Headed Star-Devouring Serpent,” Meng Chuan observed. “Powerful Tribulation Realm mighty ones can refine a complete bloodline from this corpse, allowing it to be passed down and propagated through generations among mortals.”

The Eight-Headed Star-Devouring Serpent was among the top-ranked exotic beasts in the outer realm. However, Meng Chuan didn’t think much of it.

“I can sell it later,” Meng Chuan thought. “I don’t have the strength to refine this corpse, and my Cang Yuan World doesn’t need it. Cang Yuan World already possesses the Phoenix bloodline and the Dragon bloodline.” Outer realm special lifeforms were countless. Many were mediocre; some lifeform transformations of Conferred King Godfiends and Fifth Heaven Demon Monarchs utilized materials from ordinary special lifeforms. Both the Eight-Headed Star-Devouring Serpent and the Dark Peacock were considered very powerful special lifeforms.

However, only two were the strongest: the Dragon race and the Phoenix race! Naturally, this referred to pure-blooded true dragons and pure-blooded phoenixes. ‘Ancestor Cang Yuan’ once obtained the adult bodies of a pure-blooded dragon and a pure-blooded phoenix, refining complete bloodlines from each, allowing the ‘Phoenix bloodline’ and ‘Dragon bloodline’ to be passed down through generations within humanity. It was only because humanity’s history of propagation was still short; given enough time, the emergence of Venerable-level Phoenix Divine Bodies (Dragon Divine Bodies) or Monarch-level Phoenix Divine Bodies (Dragon Divine Bodies) would reveal the terrifying power of these two great bloodlines.

“The Eight-Headed Star-Devouring Serpent, I can sell it once I become a Monarch; it won’t be too conspicuous then,” Meng Chuan didn’t pay much attention, because within Senior Pang Ming’s treasure trove, it wasn’t considered overly precious.

“The most precious treasure, a treasure more valuable than a Seventh Tribulation Realm secret treasure...”

Meng Chuan’s consciousness probed the item inside the pagoda. However, as his consciousness approached, it encountered a blank void, completely unable to probe it.

“I can’t even perceive it. It seems I’ll have to take it out,” Meng Chuan said, feeling a little nervous.

Meng Chuan first activated his Chaotic Hole Domain, then released streams of Chaotic Hole True Essence into the domain to protect his surroundings. He also deployed the Bloodblade Disc, with bloodblades encircling his entire body for defense.

“Come out.”

Only then did Meng Chuan retrieve the item from the pagoda. Although he couldn’t perceive it, he could sense the treasure’s location after gaining control of the pagoda.

“Rumble.”

It appeared ten zhang in front of Meng Chuan. The moment it appeared, it caused the void to tremble and distort, emitting a roaring sound.

Meng Chuan stared at it. All probing methods, including his Primordial Spirit Domain and Chaotic Hole Domain, were useless; ‘it’ appeared as a blank void in all probes. Only his naked eye could perceive it, and even then, only its surface. At Meng Chuan’s cultivation stage, the naked eye could typically perceive multiple layers of matter. Yet, now he could only see its surface.

“A piece of flesh and blood from a Seventh Tribulation Realm Dark Peacock? In terms of value, it’s considerably more expensive than the gourd,” Meng Chuan observed carefully. This piece of flesh was larger than a human head. One side was skin, while other parts showed muscle and deep purple blood. Nothing else could be clearly seen from the surface.

The Dark Peacock was a very powerful special lifeform, but even after enduring hardships and realizing its full potential to reach its most mature stage, it would only be at Monarch Perfection, capable of fighting a Third Tribulation Realm mighty one above its realm. To become even stronger? It would have to cultivate like practitioners of other races, relying on its own cultivation to step into the Tribulation Realm and ascend step by step.

Physical Body Tribulation Realm mighty ones had very unique physical bodies. If a piece of their flesh and blood were removed, it would instantly turn to ash and vanish, while their body would restore itself perfectly. While they were alive, it was impossible to take even a single drop of blood or a strand of hair from them. Only after death could their corpses be dismembered. Their corpse... was the most valuable possession of a Physical Body Tribulation Realm mighty one.

“It shouldn’t have died from a failed tribulation,” Meng Chuan mused. “The stronger one is, the less willing they are for their physical body to be dismembered and desecrated. According to Yuanchu Mountain’s records, Tribulation Realm mighty ones who failed their tribulation in the outer realm would typically proactively annihilate their physical bodies, leaving no trace. Their true bodies in their homeworlds would be willing to be left for future generations of their race, but they would also set up means to prohibit descendants from desecrating their physical corpses.”

“Therefore, it was likely killed. And its corpse was preserved.”

“The corpse of a Physical Body Tribulation Realm mighty one, every piece of its flesh and blood, contains their path in the ‘Physical Body Tribulation Realm’. A Seventh Tribulation Realm mighty one of the Dark Peacock race?” Meng Chuan exclaimed. For a race like the Dark Peacock, which was extremely gifted, it was even harder to transcend their inherent talent and enter the Tribulation Realm. Producing a Seventh Tribulation Realm mighty one was incredibly difficult.

If Seventh Tribulation Realm secret treasures were refined by mighty ones, distilling parts of profound mysteries, then the flesh and blood of a Seventh Tribulation Realm mighty one? It fully contained all of a Seventh Tribulation Realm mighty one’s achievements in physical cultivation.

Cultivation? Being able to comprehend something didn’t mean one could ‘articulate’ or ‘express’ it. What was written in books or refined into secret treasures were only the expressed parts. There were also parts that were difficult to express... which could be fully embodied in the flesh and blood.

‘Pang Ming’ had also paid an immense price to obtain this piece of flesh and blood, often meditating on the Seventh Tribulation Realm physical profound mysteries contained within it.

“Hiss, hiss, hiss.”

As this piece of flesh and blood floated, it exerted immense pressure on the Chaotic Hole Domain.

“Go.”

Meng Chuan carefully manipulated a bloodblade, but when it approached within a foot, an invisible barrier prevented it from getting any closer.

“Indeed, forget cutting it, I can’t even touch it,” Meng Chuan observed carefully this piece of flesh and blood, resembling black jade. This piece of flesh was larger than a human head. One side was skin, while other parts showed muscle and deep purple blood. Nothing else could be clearly seen from the surface.

The skin of this black jade-like flesh was also crystalline, with a faint black membrane covering its surface.

Observing the membrane on the skin’s surface... As Meng Chuan, in his Chaotic Hole realm, viewed it with his naked eye, the membrane magnified millions of times. In his vision, the skin was as vast as a small star. Meng Chuan could see countless runes flowing within the ‘black membrane’ on the skin’s surface. The corpse of a Physical Body Tribulation Realm mighty one was the embodiment of profound laws and mysteries.

“Hmm?” Meng Chuan stared at the vast, countless runes on the skin’s membrane. Suddenly, he discovered parts within them that resembled his ultimate technique, the ‘Endless Blade’, though it was incomparably more complex.