Chapter 679: Nine Levels, The Truly Fearsome Foreshadowing

Chapter 687: Ninth-Tier, The Truly Terrifying Setup

"Hermes!"

Moe-mei was instantly drenched in cold sweat. Her pupils contracted sharply as she stared intently at the farmer forging in the blacksmith's shop. At that moment, something clicked for her! She mentally reviewed the timeline, and it was as if everything instantly became clear.

The most ancient Great Emperor Messiah once descended into the Potion Era and conversed with King Wesley. What happened next? The mysterious Bai Xiaosheng appeared as a teacher, sequentially instructing Hu Rennong and Liu Wenjian, who each founded the two major mortal cultivation systems of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Who was Bai Xiaosheng? He was Hermes, who later became the very farmer standing before her!

Moe-mei's heart pounded with alarm. Hu Rennong had helped her perfect the Incense system; otherwise, she would never have been able to deduce it so quickly back then. "Hu Rennong's Incense system is clearly a pseudo-Ninth-Tier world law phenomenon—the convergence of thoughts from billions of beings. At that time, it was to tell the beings of this world that this was the path to the Ninth-Tier!"

Cold sweat streamed down her, and goosebumps rose on her skin. This part of the story perfectly aligned with Caroline's first answer regarding the "Ninth-Tier concept":

She continued to organize her thoughts. "Liu Wenjian's Sword Immortal system—thrusting an arm into a forging furnace, hammering and shaping one's soul, will, life's blood, tears, and experiences into the arm, forging it into a sword. How strikingly similar is that?"

This part of the story precisely matched Caroline's second answer regarding the Ninth-Tier process:

[The specific process involves the fusion of soul and body, where the entire soul completely integrates into one hundred trillion cells! The entirety of one's soul and will is cast into the physical body, imprinting a soul mark on every part! To thoroughly control oneself, as meticulously as one controls a world, defines the Ninth-Tier world.]

These were truly the two answers!

"One after another, the concept and the specific process were already embedded in the systems taught to those two individuals back then."

The more Moe-mei thought about it, the more terrifying and horrifying it seemed!

In the most ancient era, Messiah met with King Wesley and offered guidance. This encounter conveyed the mindset required for the Ninth-Tier path: knowledge is power. In the subsequent era, Bai Xiaosheng met with Hu Rennong and Liu Wenjian and provided guidance. This encounter conveyed two things: the trillion-entity concept of the Ninth-Tier, and the process of breakthrough!

The entire sequence of events unfolded progressively. It was as if a distant plot twist from thousands of years ago had suddenly been revealed, bringing an almost unimaginable sense of immense shock! This was a tremendous, bewildering impact.

"So, it turns out everything was already told to us," Moe-mei whispered, her eyes wide as she stared at the farmer, almost losing her voice. "He already knew we would come to ask."

It had been told to them long ago, yet they had not paid attention and failed to realize it.

"Perhaps this is what it means to be ordinary. Knowledge and wisdom were already imparted to mortals on earth, yet mortals stubbornly pursued distant goals."

"This is the wise god of great and infinite wisdom, the thrice-great Hermes!"

She felt both ashamed and embarrassed.

At that very moment, the farmer worked strenuously in the blacksmith's shop for half an hour. Then, taking the money from the owner, he went to a nearby pub, called a server, ordered two small dishes and a jug of ale, and watched a distant bard tell stories, seemingly enjoying a leisurely day.

Moe-mei was utterly thrilled and wanted to go in, sit down, and chat over a drink. But Caroline stopped her, her eyes filled with respect. "We shouldn't trouble him further. This era should be left to the new generation to continue on new paths and into the future."

Watching the farmer drink in the pub, her eyes moistened with a quiet emotion. It was as if she saw an ancient, frail elder passing on the mantle of civilization, painstakingly guiding the powerful individuals of the new era to resist the future.

"To Mount Shu." Caroline paused, deeply moved, and murmured, "It seems, mortal Sword Immortals? Using one's blood, tears, will, and intense emotions to cast into the body, merging into one, acting as the blacksmith, with the body as the iron, hammering it in piece by piece. It seems I haven't worked hard enough; I haven't reached that level of intense emotional realization."

"Mortals, with emotion, with soul, with will, cast the body into the sword."

Perhaps intense emotional will and determination could be a means to accelerate the fusion? After all, the Ninth-Tier is fundamentally deeply connected to the soul. The Mount Shu lineage seems to perfectly align with this philosophy.

The two traveled vast distances with each step, moving across the land. The air beside them blurred into a gale, and in the blink of an eye, they arrived in the Mortal Realm, within a dense jungle, searching for the entrance to the Demon Realm.

They weren't in a hurry. Along the way, they briefly visited the Demon Realm and chatted with the Martial God Palace. Caroline observed the body cultivators, then examined Pan Xuexian's system chip, and studied the medicinal formulas. After two days, they departed directly.

The two planned to head to their ultimate destination, Mount Shu, for observation. After all, Mount Shu had been developing for thousands of years. Its practitioners were all mortals who cultivated by pouring extreme emotion into their path, forging their own emotions and feelings into sword bodies. They had profound insights in this area, making them approachable.

"A peerless figure of his generation, Liu Wenjian, the Mortal Heavenly Emperor, with his maddened roar, first forged the 'Sickness Severed Sword' and was greatly afflicted by it." Caroline murmured.

Meanwhile, Moe-mei continually pondered the shock she had just experienced. Was this the Ninth-Tier? Even a remnant was so unfathomable. Such strategic planning, such a terrifying grand vision! It was truly horrifying! Everything had been told to everyone long ago. And this Ninth-Tier might even be their ancient Earth ancestors ascending; the thought of these distant, millennia-old ancestors filled her with excitement and a tremendous sense of pride.

Finally, Moe-mei recovered from her shock. "What is the truth? What exactly happened between the Super Ancient Gods and Hermes?"

"The truth?" Caroline smiled, subtly replying, "What is the truth? Some truths are better left unknown."

Moe-mei said nothing more. It was the same answer Hermes had given! What good would knowing do? It would only bring trouble. She was still too weak; perhaps in the face of such a terrifying historical truth, she was nothing more than a pitiful ant.

Upon the ethereal clouds, Mount Shu stood in a perilous geographic location.

"The mortal path is vast and distant. The immortal path is boundless. The demonic path is joyful, when one enters the gate of life. The immortal path values life. The demonic path values death. The immortal path is always auspicious. The demonic path is always ill-fated. Lofty and clear spirits. A sorrowful song pierces the vast sky. I only wish for the immortal path to succeed."

Resounding verses accompanied the sword dance of the Mount Shu disciples, cutting through the clear sky.

Was this the mortal lineage of Mount Shu, established by Hermes when he taught his disciples all those years ago?

"To have already told the ancient truth to all beings, wisdom on such a grand scale." Her heart was filled with immense respect, and she couldn't help but feel lost, repeatedly asking herself, "Can I truly succeed such an ancient existence?"