Chapter 217 - 210: Physical Body Breakthrough
Luo Taidong sighed inwardly.
It was a good thing that Jiang Zuo hadn’t given up or fallen into despair.
But he feared that the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment would be. The day Jiang Zuo realized he truly could not take another step on the path of Cultivation, the backlash would be all the more severe.
Originally, Jiang Zuo’s contributions were great enough that the Black Tortoise Dao Sect should have opened its main gates to give him a grand welcome upon his return.
But Luo Taidong was in no mood for it, and he knew Jiang Zuo wouldn’t want a big fuss either.
He returned to the Black Tortoise Dao Sect with his two disciples, and besides the Sect Elders, few people knew of their arrival.
Black Tortoise Dao Sect, Council Hall.
"To have accepted a disciple like Zhou Yong was a great fortune for our Black Tortoise Dao Sect. What a pity."
Second Elder Yin Zhongkun couldn’t help but sigh after reading the Beast Taming Secret Manuals Luo Taidong had submitted.
"With these Secret Manuals, we can finally rebuild Beast Taming Peak. What are your opinions, fellow elders?"
Yan Bocheng spoke slowly.
For the past two to three thousand years, for various reasons, no one in the Black Tortoise Dao Sect had suggested rebuilding Beast Taming Peak.
Yan Bocheng felt that now was an unprecedented opportunity. If they didn’t rebuild Beast Taming Peak now, who knew how many more years it would be delayed.
He knew that rebuilding Beast Taming Peak was something Luo Taidong’s lineage had always wanted to do. However, it wasn’t appropriate for Luo Taidong to take the lead, so as the elder of the Beast Taming Arena, it was fitting for him to preside over the matter.
"Normally, this matter would be decided by the Sect Leader, but he is still in seclusion attempting a breakthrough. Let’s proceed as agreed and vote by a show of hands."
Yin Zhongkun didn’t say much more, merely stating this.
The elders then voted by a show of hands. As expected, the motion passed unanimously.
Without the Beast Taming Secret Manuals that Jiang Zuo brought back, rebuilding Beast Taming Peak would certainly have met with much opposition.
But with these Secret Manuals, the situation was completely different.
"Zhou Yong has rendered a tremendous service to the sect this time. According to sect rules, he can be named a Daoist."
"Although he is afflicted by the Daoist Shackles, the rules cannot be ignored. However, his situation is not suitable for a grand Daoist ceremony."
"Therefore, for the Daoist ceremony, I propose we only invite a few friendly sects. What are your thoughts?"
Yin Zhongkun added.
"Zhou Yong has indeed made a great contribution, but naming him a Daoist... isn’t that a bit inappropriate?"
An elder voiced his doubts.
The title of Daoist of the Black Tortoise Dao Sect was not something that could be bestowed lightly.
Only disciples who had made immense contributions to the sect, or those whose talent and Cultivation were exceptionally outstanding among their peers across all sects, had a chance of being named a Daoist.
Once named a Daoist, it meant they were destined to become the future Sect Leader of the Black Tortoise Dao Sect.
Jiang Zuo was afflicted by the Daoist Shackles, and his Cultivation could not advance an inch.
Becoming Sect Leader with only a Divine Body Realm Cultivation would surely fail to command respect.
"Regarding this matter, I have actually already spoken with Zhou Yong. He expressed no interest in the title of Daoist. He only requires higher access privileges to study the high-level Spirit Beasts in the Scripture Pavilion and on Spirit Beast Peak."
Luo Taidong spoke up at this moment.
"Since he is unwilling, let’s drop the matter."
Hearing that Jiang Zuo was willing to give it up voluntarily, many of the elders present breathed a sigh of relief.
At the same time, they felt an even deeper sense of regret.
Such a sensible disciple, yet his path of Cultivation had been cut short.
Since Jiang Zuo had relinquished the title of Daoist, no one objected to his request for higher access privileges.
With these privileges granted, one could say that although Jiang Zuo wasn’t a Daoist, he was treated almost like one.
...
News of Jiang Zuo’s situation had long since spread throughout the Black Tortoise Dao Sect.
Upon learning of his fate, every disciple in the Black Tortoise Dao Sect sighed endlessly.
It was rare for the Black Tortoise Dao Sect to produce such a breathtaking genius, but he was ill-fated, suffering retaliation from a Manifestation Realm great Cultivator. He had fallen from grace before he could truly rise.
The news of Jiang Zuo’s return to the Black Tortoise Dao Sect spread quickly, and many of his fellow disciples wanted to see him.
However, Jiang Zuo had no interest in wasting time with them and, in the end, only met with Cao Guangshan.
After not seeing each other for over thirty years, Cao Guangshan was already a Dao Foundation Cultivator, and his Cultivation had reached the astonishing late stage of the Dao Foundation Realm!
Jiang Zuo was very surprised. ’With Cao Guangshan’s talent, it should have been impossible for him to reach such a level of Cultivation under normal circumstances.’
Cao Guangshan smiled sheepishly and explained that over ten years ago, he had been very lucky to find a predecessor’s grotto-mansion.
Inside the grotto-mansion were two Spirit Fruits that had been growing for an unknown amount of time. After eating one, his Cultivation had soared.
He brought the remaining one back for Nie Qiuling, and after she ate it, her Cultivation became similar to his.
"In that predecessor’s grotto-mansion, I also found this single-use key to a Secret Realm. Judging from the predecessor’s last words, this key seems to grant entry to the Secret Realm of an Ancient Sect, where one can obtain a special Spirit Beast inheritance."
"However, this Secret Realm is extremely dangerous. It’s teeming with fourth-tier Fierce Beasts, and when the realm opened, the predecessor didn’t dare to enter."
"I only had this fortunate encounter because Brother Zhou gave me that Spirit Fruit that could improve my Spirit Root Talent back then."
"I’ve had no way to repay you all these years, so I’d like to give this Secret Realm key to you, Brother Zhou."
"Brother Zhou, you could ask some senior brothers from the sect to enter. Perhaps they can obtain some Secret Manuals that would be useful to you."
Cao Guangshan said slowly, taking out an ancient Wooden Token carved with a beast’s claw.
"The Secret Realm of an Ancient Sect with a special Spirit Beast inheritance... Not bad. This might be useful to me."
Jiang Zuo’s interest was immediately piqued.
If nothing else, the large number of fourth-tier Fierce Beasts alone was a huge draw for Jiang Zuo.
’This is all Beast Soul Power!’
"Really? That’s wonderful!"
Cao Guangshan immediately brightened up.
He had been conflicted about this Secret Realm key for a long time after obtaining it.
After all, even though he was at the late stage of the Dao Foundation Realm, he had no idea how many years it would take for his Cultivation to be high enough to use the key.
More than likely, even when the Secret Realm opened again, he still wouldn’t have the strength to enter.
But Cao Guangshan couldn’t bear to just hand it over to the sect.
Although he would receive a large amount of Sect Contribution, the opportunities within would have nothing to do with him.
After hearing what happened to Jiang Zuo, Cao Guangshan decided to give it to him.
𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎
"Don’t be in such a hurry to leave. Eat this fruit before you go."
Cao Guangshan was about to leave, but Jiang Zuo stopped him and took out the Immortal Spirit Fruit he had kept in his storage bag for over thirty years.
The Immortal Spirit Fruit was useless for Jiang Zuo to eat, so he had kept it stored in a jade box inside his storage bag.
However, even when stored in a jade box, it was difficult to prevent the Spiritual Qi of this kind of Spirit Fruit from dissipating.
After more than thirty years, the Immortal Spirit Fruit’s effects were greatly diminished.
It was no longer possible to use it to advance a Spirit Root to the lower high-grade.
However, Jiang Zuo felt that advancing to an upper mid-grade Spirit Root probably wouldn’t be a problem.
Jiang Zuo had originally planned to trade it for some rare materials, but seeing how grateful and eager to repay him Cao Guangshan was, he decided to just give it to him.
’Cao Guangshan seems like a person blessed with good fortune. Perhaps he’ll come across something good again in the future.’
Although Cao Guangshan was puzzled, he didn’t overthink it. He ate the shriveled Immortal Spirit Fruit and then took his leave.
’This Secret Realm key can’t be used at will. I can only use it to open the gate to the Secret Realm when I sense it opening on its own.’
Jiang Zuo examined the Secret Realm key for a moment before putting it away.
After Cao Guangshan’s visit, Jiang Zuo began refusing all visitors. He would see no one except his master, Luo Taidong, and his Third Senior Brother, Yu Ying.
Luo Taidong and Yu Ying would occasionally come over to talk with Jiang Zuo.
It was from them that Jiang Zuo learned that about ten years ago, Nangong Daoist Lord had fully recovered from his injuries and left the Black Tortoise Dao Sect.
He also found out that during the years he was trapped in the Secret Realm, his Second Senior Brother and Fifth Senior Sister had both returned to the Black Tortoise Dao Sect. After staying on Taihao Peak for a while, they had left again to travel and search for opportunities.
The talent of his Second Senior Brother and Fifth Senior Sister was similar to Yu Ying’s.
While traveling, his Fifth Senior Sister had successfully broken through. Her Cultivation was now the same as Yu Ying’s, at the early stage of the Three Flowers Realm.
As for his Second Senior Brother, his Cultivation was a bit higher, at the mid-stage of the Three Flowers Realm.
However, according to Yu Ying, although these three senior siblings of Jiang Zuo had all broken through to the Three Flowers Realm and carved out a place for themselves in the Cultivation Realm...
...it was nearly impossible for them to break through to the Dao Fruit Realm by just holing up and cultivating normally in the sect.
That was why both his Second Senior Brother and Fifth Senior Sister accepted sect missions and traveled far and wide.
If they could encounter some fortuitous opportunity, there was a sliver of hope they could break through to the Dao Fruit Realm.
It wasn’t just his two senior siblings; most disciples in the sect held similar beliefs.
After visiting many times and seeing that Jiang Zuo truly didn’t seem to mind the Daoist Shackles, Luo Taidong and Yu Ying gradually began to visit less often.
After all, the reconstruction of Beast Taming Peak had begun, and both Luo Taidong and Yu Ying were involved in the work.
With no one to disturb him, Jiang Zuo was perfectly content.
「Three years later, on a certain day.」
Jiang Zuo felt a slight tremor in his physical body. It seemed to have reached a critical point.
’The Body Freedom Technique is about to break through!’
The dense Spiritual Power within him began to circulate wildly through his flesh and blood.
Jiang Zuo had the sensation that his flesh and blood were being frantically torn apart and then frantically reassembled.
In reality, Jiang Zuo had entered a special state akin to Enlightenment.
However, he wasn’t comprehending Magic.
Instead, his physical body, through the Body Freedom Technique, was undergoing a process like a Nirvana Rebirth.
Jiang Zuo was unaware that his flesh was repeatedly being reduced to a bloody pulp, only to be repaired again by the dense Spiritual Power and the effects of the Body Freedom Technique.
Through this repeated cycle of destruction and reconstruction, his physical body grew stronger and stronger.
Finally, an unprecedented feeling of comfort welled up from the bottom of Jiang Zuo’s heart.
He withdrew from the special state.
’The foreign Spiritual Power inside my body was actually depleted by nearly half all at once!’
Jiang Zuo checked his physical condition and discovered a pleasant surprise.
’This way, the time it will take for me to purge this foreign power will be shortened considerably.’
’The Body Freedom Technique has finally broken through again. Right now, my physical body is probably only slightly weaker than a fourth-tier Exotic Beast!’
’My strength has skyrocketed, and my defense has greatly increased!’
’But the most powerful thing is that now, if I want to, I can use brute force to break the Daoist Shackles for a period of time, even without activating the Body Freedom Technique!’
’And that’s only because they’re the Daoist Shackles. If it were any other kind of restraint, it probably wouldn’t be able to affect me at all.’
’The Body Freedom Technique is finally starting to show real results!’
As Jiang Zuo took stock of his new physical state, even he couldn’t help but be amazed.