Chapter 184 — One Hundred and Eighty-Three
Sea of Primordial Tribulation · Page 1 of 6
"Ha ha, a worthy disciple of Kongtong after all—you still know reason when you hear it. Your master will be here within a few days. I have dissolved this tribulation for you, but in the end I have acted against Heaven's will, and I fear you will meet with further troubles hereafter. So—I shall grant you a few more benefits. The Great Freedom Palace is filled with female cultivators and is hardly fit for your cultivation. Go out into the desert and temper your mind and nature there. In time you will have something of the look of a Kongtong disciple about you, and not put your Patriarch Guangcheng to shame."
Zhou Lang was overjoyed that his Seven Apertures Soul-Locking had succeeded. The Earth Spirit was now wholly subdued; he need only consolidate the primal derivation of consciousness and all would be secure. Whenever Zhou Xuan chose to trigger it, the Earth Spirit would become a puppet outright. For now there was no hurry—let the Earth Spirit keep his own consciousness, lest the old fellows of Kongtong sense something amiss. Sending him to cultivate in the desert was also meant to keep him from running into Zhou Chen and the little fox; should he encounter the two women, old fury would be stirred and the derivation disturbed. That too would not do.
Besides, when the Kongtong Sect Master saw that the Earth Spirit was not only unharmed but greatly advanced in power and cultivation, and that Zhou Cen possessed such formidable strength, why would he come to lodge accusations? He would be too busy currying favor. And Zhou Xuan meant precisely to use Kongtong to spread the renown of his own sect. With a convenient figure like Yun Cen to serve as a shield, and with both patriarchs hailing from the same source, Kongtong could not help but believe.
Affected by the Seven Apertures Soul-Locking, the Earth Spirit, though clear in mind, had undergone a great change of nature. Not a trace of arrogance remained; instead he was humble and deferential, with something of the air of a proper disciple. Hearing Zhou Yan's words, he nodded again and again in thanks, and when he learned that Zhou Xuan meant to grant him further benefits, his heart overflowed with joy.
"Hm, this Sovereign of the Pivot Star is truly unfathomable—far more formidable than my master or my martial uncle. A true man of the Dao, and generous with his hand. This cultivation of mine—how many spirit elixirs have I consumed to build it? In my youth my master opened my meridians with true essence and tempered my bones and sinews, and only after twenty-odd years did I barely reach the mid-stage of Dao Transformation. And now I am about to break through to the late stage! A little more hard cultivation, condense the derivation, and I shall enter the late stage of Spirit Transformation as steady as a rock. That is the cultivation of the elder masters of some sects! With such a boon, my seat as sect master will be all the more secure. And he says he will give me more benefits—could he mean to bestow a magic treasure or two? Then I shall be made indeed. Look at the Heaven Dao Sect—their magic treasures are formidable beyond words."
The Earth Spirit never felt in the least that he had fallen into Zhou Yan's trap; his heart was still soaring with fancies.
Zhou Xuan rose to his feet, trod the guideline of the Dipper, and formed the hand seals. The Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree in his hand traced a talisman in the air. With a creak and a groan, the sandalwood pavilion shuddered several times, and the abundant spiritual qi of the whole Great Freedom Palace, together with the essence of sun and moon gathered over a thousand years, came surging in. Countless rays of golden light, silver light, and azure light swept down, blanketing heaven and earth, all converging upon the colored talisman floating in midair. The talisman grew ever more vivid; its once gentle radiance turned dazzling, until the eye could not bear to look upon it.