Chapter 311: Chapter 308: What is an Immortal?

Niu Kexin guessed why Shi Hao had been beaten, but she had no intention of helping him explain.

If she could use this opportunity to get Shi Hao killed, that would be even better.

Seeing Huangfu Yu spare Shi Hao’s life, Niu Kexin sighed in disappointment.

But soon, an idea struck her. The corners of her mouth curled upward as a plan took shape.

"I forgot to tell you, Ruyan is also my husband’s woman."

Niu Kexin’s sudden declaration stunned everyone present.

Ruyan?

Who?

Liu Ruyan!

The entire hall fell silent in an instant, and only the sound of their breathing could be heard.

Huangfu Yu’s face darkened, and an incredibly oppressive atmosphere descended.

At this moment, even Huangfu Jun was so nervous he hardly dared to breathe.

’Stupid woman!’

He cursed inwardly, glancing cautiously at Huangfu Yu, terrified he would lash out and kill Niu Kexin.

After all, Niu Kexin had a one-hundred-percent compatibility with him; she was the cornerstone of his future path to immortality.

"Heh!"

Suddenly, just as everyone expected Huangfu Yu to fly into a rage, he let out a soft chuckle instead.

He looked at Niu Kexin and asked, "Are you saying that Liu Ruyan, like you, is one of that Qin Daye’s women?"

"That’s right!" Niu Kexin nodded.

’From the way the Huangfu brothers were acting before, they were clearly going to cause trouble for Mo Qi.’

’Especially Huangfu Jun; he was dead set on killing Mo Qi.’

’If they’re going to kill one, they might as well kill two. So why bother hiding Liu Ruyan’s feelings for Mo Qi?’

’Might as well say it, make myself happy, and twist the knife in my enemies’ hearts.’

"Hahaha!"

Huangfu Yu threw his head back and roared with laughter. His black hair burst free from its binding, spilling over his shoulders and moving as if in an unfelt wind.

"Good! Excellent! You’ve succeeded in piquing my interest in your husband! Qin Daye, is it? I’ll make him regret the day he was born!"

"Tch!"

Niu Kexin turned her face away, unwilling to look at Huangfu Yu’s overconfident expression.

’In her experience, anyone who looked down on Mo Qi, anyone who dared to act all high and mighty in front of him, met a terrible end.’

’So what if they’re from the Hall of Envoys? Who cares about the Huangfu Family?’

’They weren’t even worth his notice!’

Niu Kexin’s reaction made Huangfu Yu’s expression grow even colder.

"Give the order! Full speed ahead! In one hour, I want to see the Imperial Palace of the Mountain and Sea Empire!" Huangfu Yu commanded coldly.

He couldn’t wait to see this Qin Daye for himself.

’Just what kind of man could win the heart of Liu Ruyan, the woman who had rejected him?’

’And what kind of man could earn the approval of that old fossil, Liu Hong!’

’A man like that... is unforgivable!’

The one most pleased to hear Huangfu Yu’s command was Shi Hao.

For the sake of revenge, he had taken a gamble and concealed a crucial piece of information from the Huangfu brothers: Qin Daye had an Immortal backing him!

Back in the Imperial City, Mo Qi’s true self had used the Inner Gate Teleportation Array to appear for a moment, and Shi Hao had mistaken him for an Immortal with the ability to Spacewalk.

He knew full well that compared to an Immortal, a servant like him wasn’t worth a damn in Huangfu Jun’s eyes.

If they knew Qin Daye had an Immortal’s support, neither Huangfu Jun nor Huangfu Yu would stick their necks out for him.

But now, things were different. Qin Daye had taken both Liu Ruyan and Niu Kexin for himself, placing him in direct opposition to the Huangfu brothers.

At this rate, even if the Immortal behind Qin Daye showed up again, the Huangfu brothers would surely fight to the bitter end and refuse to back down.

This was exactly what Shi Hao wanted to see.

...

「Imperial City, The Imperial Academy.」

The news of what happened to Niu Kexin sent shockwaves through the upper echelons of the Mountain and Sea Empire.

All the major figures knew that Niu Kexin had a close relationship with the Blessed Qin Daye.

For something to happen to Niu Kexin, and right under the Celestial Emperor’s nose in the Imperial Academy at that, was a vicious slap in the face to the Empire’s many powerful figures.

The most frantic of all were Headmaster Mu Kongfu and His Holiness, Li Shimu.

Mu Kongfu truly saw Niu Kexin as a daughter.

So after meeting with Liu Hui, he immediately dispatched an elite team from the Imperial Academy to begin investigating Niu Kexin’s disappearance.

And as for Li Shimu, after personally experiencing the wonders of the Medicinal Cuisine, how could he dare treat any matter concerning Mo Qi with the slightest bit of negligence?

His solution to the backlash from his providence depended entirely on Mo Qi!

"Investigate for Us! Find her for Us!"

"Throughout the Empire and all its territories, regardless of identity or status, all individuals and all factions must cooperate fully. Any who dare to obstruct will be killed without mercy!"

"Dispatch the King of Kaosan and the Zhu Family. Authorize them with the Empire’s highest-level secret decree to mobilize all overt and covert agents."

"Grant Nangong Yi and Zhao Ruifeng the Military Order Tiger Talisman. Mobilize all legions, lock down a ten-thousand-li radius around the Imperial City, and conduct a carpet search!"

"We do not care what methods you use. Even if you must slaughter the masses, even if you have to dig ten feet into the earth, We want to know Niu Kexin’s exact whereabouts before nightfall!"

Urgent imperial edicts were issued one after another, throwing the entire Mountain and Sea Empire into an uproar!

While the Imperial City was descending into chaos, an immense Flying Magical Artifact appeared directly over the Imperial Palace.

It was over ten thousand feet long and wide, hovering in midair and blocking out the sun, plunging the entire Imperial Palace into darkness.

"How dare you!"

Furious shouts rang out in unison as tyrannical auras surged toward the heavens in a magnificent display of power.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Countless figures materialized from thin air, surrounding the Flying Magical Artifact. All of them were stunned.

They had never seen a Flying Magical Artifact so enormous. The amount of manpower and resources required to construct it must have been astronomical!

"Mortals, all of you, begone!"

A deep, deafening voice boomed from within the Flying Magical Artifact.

A powerful wave of Energy radiated from the Flying Magical Artifact. All the surrounding experts felt as if they had been dealt a heavy blow. A sharp pain lanced through their Seas of Consciousness, making it impossible to gather the Power of Heaven and Earth. They plummeted from the sky like falling rain.

"Emperor Li, show yourself!"

The voice boomed again.

STEP. STEP. STEP.

Li Shimu trod upon the void, walking over step by step from the distance.

He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his face devoid of expression, yet he radiated an inviolable majesty.

His Golden Dragon Robe only added to his imperious and arrogant air.

"Disperse!"

With a light wave of his hand, the strange energy radiating from the Flying Magical Artifact instantly dissipated.

"Oh? You’ve reached the threshold of a Demi-Immortal!"

"No! You’ve done more than just reach the threshold. You’ve already built a bridge between your Grotto Heaven and your Sea of Consciousness. You’re about to form a Divine Sea of Immortal Power!"

"You’re already at the Divine Sea Realm!"

Inside the main hall at the center of the Flying Magical Artifact, Huangfu Yu’s expression turned grave.

The Realm above the Void Realm, while often called the Demi-Immortal stage, is truly named the "Divine Sea Realm"!

A Cultivator must build a spiritual bridge between their Sea of Consciousness and Grotto Heaven, condense Immortal Power, and transform their consciousness into a Divine Being.

At the beginning of the Martial Dao, there are the Three Refinements: Refining Essence, Qi Refining, and Refining Divine Being.

Humans have five viscera: the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys.

What does it mean to be an Immortal?

It requires the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top and the Five Qi Chaoyuan!

If the Three Refinements represent the Three Flowers and the five viscera represent the Five Qi, then the Purity and Vajra Realms are for tempering the Three Flowers, while the Void Realms are for nurturing the Five Qi.

And the Divine Sea Realm, which lies above the Void, is the single most important part of the process of becoming an Immortal!