The Shushan Immortal Sect was pure and strict. It was truly an immortal dao sect.
As for Yan Huang Imperial City, it was a little more rough and ready. Although it was a city above the clouds, much like an immortal palace, after spending some time with the people here, one would find that the connections were even more complex, and concerned one"s welfare even more. Those who were talented were even more likely to rise.
It was virtually unrelated to one"s birth and background.
But the Shushan Immortal Sect was different. Those like Nangong Wei and the other children of sword sages were born with silver spoons in their mouths, while an otherworldly talent like Wu Yu was the brunt of jealousy.
Today, he had consecutively met Jiang Xuechuan, Ji Qingan, and Zhang Tiande. Jiang Xuechuan"s refres.h.i.+ng forthcoming manner, Ji Qingan"s meticulousness, and Zhang Tiande"s open trust all had left a deep impression on Wu Yu.
Wu Yu had grown up in the military, and had spent many years rolling and living with the down-to-earth troops. And therefore, he realized that, at least in terms of freedom and easygoing-ness, Yan Huang Imperial City was a good fit for him.
There were just too many rules at the Shushan Immortal Sect.
And even the little girl, Feng Er of the Shangyuan Dao Sect, was very different from the sword cultivators of the Shushan Immortal Sect.
Perhaps if he spent enough time at Yan Huang Imperial City, it would change him.
"I"ve suddenly decided that I quite like it here."
He closed the door, and it was a completely sealed s.p.a.ce inside. There was an additional training room, filled with the Ancient Spiritual Qi of Yan Huang Imperial City. It made for refres.h.i.+ng breathing.
Wu Yu"s room was on the ground, and he sat cross-legged on the earth of the inn. If he were in the air, then the Yan Huang Heaven Raising Staff would simply be too heavy. Even with spirit designs reinforcing, it could collapse.
After finally sending away the Shangyuan Dao Sect"s Feng Er, Wu Yu was a little too eager.
"For you, I owe a huge debt. I need to wait 10 months" time before I can truly own you." Wu Yu pulled out the Yan Huang Heaven Raising Staff from his Sumeru Pouch. He sat down in the lotus position, resting the Yan Huang Heaven Raising Staff across his lap, propped up by his arms.
It was hard to imagine how such a dense, weighty immortal treasure would feel for others.
Wu Yu stretched his hand over the marks of the Yan Huang Heaven Raising Staff. He was too fond of it. Zhang Tiande had said that the Yan Huang Heaven Raising Staff"s worth was equivalent to immortal treasures worth thousands of Inner Sea Essence Pills, which meant millions of Golden Essence Pills. All Wu Yu could say was that this was a thousand times that of the Nine-Directional Demon Imprisonment Column.
A closer feel revealed that there were 999 spirit designs centered around the Yan Huang Heaven Raising Design, finely carved onto the staff. Amongst them, the G.o.d-Surpa.s.sing Heavy Design and the Great Explosion Design were on the left and right of the main design, while the offensive Immortal Treasure Spirit Designs, the Yan Emperor Heaven Splitting Design and the Huang Emperor Earth Shattering Design, were on the two ends of the Heaven Raising Staff. Because these two major offensive spirit designs were present, the Heaven Raising Staff gave one the feeling of a tense battle.
"This will is powerful enough!"
Wu Yu had a premonition that if he could just master the Yan Huang Heaven Raising Staff, then even his own will would be affected, and his heart of dao would reach a whole new level of devotion.
"Whether or not I can blood bond with it - that remains a question."
This all depended on whether the Yan Huang Heaven Raising Staff would recognize Wu Yu as its master.
Wu Yu had a secret formula. He would use Visualizing the Inner Ape to conquer it!
If this Yan Huang Heaven Raising Staff would choose him of its own accord, then it was the first step on his way to becoming a chiliarch! Or perhaps an even higher rank.
"Baby, you and I are fated. If you follow me, I will never let you be cowed."
Even if there are no women, so be it! All he needed was his weapon. Wu Yu could feel the marks along the Yan Huang Heaven Raising Staff, and a smile unwittingly spread over his face.
He loved weapons, battle, and after which, what he loved was cultivation!
He gradually entered the spiritual world of the Yan Huang Heaven Raising Staff.
"I, Wu Yu, am the one destined to bestow glory upon you.
"From today onwards, I am your master. I will elevate all the value that you possess to the maximum!
"You have had masters before, and when they were in their peak, they were stronger than I am now. But at my current age, they were far from me!
"Yan Huang Heaven Raising Staff...."
A golden soil, on which a black flame flickered luminously.
On the far edges of this world, Wu Yu could vaguely sense a huge image of a G.o.d. The icon was half golden and half black. The two contrasting qualities clashed together, creating an intense contrast.
However, the G.o.dly icon truly possessed tremendous power, and it sent Wu Yu packing from the world of the Yan Huang Heaven Raising Staff.
"Again.
"Again!
"Again! And again!"
Again and again, he was shaken, and again and again he re-entered, unyielding.
"Great Sage, Heaven"s Equal, I have the power of the Great Sage, an ancient power!
"Victorious Fighting Buddha! I may not know this Buddha well, but I know how to fight, and I know victory!"
Visualizing the Inner Ape. Within the raging fire, the Unparalleled Monkey King leapt and roamed. His plume danced and swayed as he rampaged through the Sky Palace.
In Wu Yu"s eyes, he was always present, and he lent Wu Yu formidable will. Especially when he was suppressing the immortal treasure, this powerful mental will was even more resistant, even more unruly!
"Yield!"
He continued to lock eyes with the G.o.d"s image, and he contested it.
In a few days, he had entered and left this spiritual world more than 30,000 times.
Naturally, he had also experienced 30,000 failures.
But what did that count for?
If he could not even conquer a supreme immortal treasure, Wu Yu asked himself, then what if he met with hundreds of thousands of people shouting for him to scram? Would he just leave with his head bowed?
How was he to return that slap from the Mizar Sword Immortal?
That"s right. Wu Yu wanted to pay him back. No matter who he was, slapping him in front of everyone was not going to pa.s.s.
"Yan Huang Heaven Raising Staff! Throughout this world, only I, Wu Yu, am suited to your destiny!
"Bend today, and a year from now, you will know how right your decision was!
"In just a year. If you are not satisfied with me in a year"s time, then I will set you free."
On one hand, his tremendous mental will was brought to bear in full force. The spiritual form of the Unparalleled Monkey King charged and raged on the golden soil, shaking the world again and again.
On the other hand was the confident promise.
After another day, under Wu Yu"s demonic onslaught, the Yan Huang Heaven Raising Staff relented.
"Then I will give you one year."
From the void, the immortal treasure sent him such a message. This meant that its sentience had already been activated to a certain level. Perhaps even many dao treasures would not have such a level of sentience!
In that instant, a monumental change happened.
Wu Yu gripped the Yan Huang Heaven Raising Staff in both hands, raising the immortal treasure into the air. Both of his hands seemed to fuse with the immortal treasure. From the top of the immortal treasure, a thick smoke of black and gold began to fume, shrouding Wu Yu and integrating itself into his body.
The originally unremarkable Yan Huang Heaven Raising Staff very quickly burst with blinding light. All the spirit designs began to activate and sparkle. 999 Immortal Treasure Spirit Designs were arrayed on it. Big and small, core and supporting.
From the Yan Huang Heaven Raising Staff, Wu Yu could feel an overwhelming strength! This was a mystical weapon that seemed as if it had been made for his Nanwu Treasured Moon Golden Vajra Body.
And done!
"With its aid, my battle power has increased by another level! Ordinary second tier Violet Kingdom of the Inner Sea cultivators are not my match.
"I should still be two tiers away from Beishan Mo. Right now, they can probably defeat fourth tier Violet Kingdom of the Inner Sea opponents. Below the Heaven sword rank, there are not many who can equal them."
At Shushan, those at the first to fourth tiers of the Violet Kingdom of the Inner Sea Realm were at the Earth sword rank.
The fifth tier to seventh tiers were at the Heaven sword rank.
Eighth to 10th tier were sword sages!
The Seven Immortals of Shushan were all in the Primordial Spirit Transformation Realm.
At this moment, Wu Yu was exhilarated.
But he quickly calmed down again. He was seated on the floor, both hands clutching the Yan Huang Heaven Raising Staff horizontally across his chest. His eyes were closed, and his fingertips were feeling out. He used his Jindan essence to carefully feel each Immortal Treasure Spirit Design. Only by understanding each and every one could he thoroughly master the Yan Huang Heaven Raising Staff.
This was also necessary to even use the two offensive Immortal Treasure Spirit Designs.
"Yan Emperor! Huang Emperor!" It seemed like two different people.
Wu Yu did not spare it much thought.
He had decided to enter the Yan Huang Immortal Army and walk his path of freedom and ease. He would not heed the gossip.
Of course, the day he set out was the day that he thoroughly mastered the Yan Huang Heaven Raising Staff.
Naturally, there were still 25 days until next month"s installment of 40,000 Golden Essence Pills. If he had not settled things before then, then he would first enlist in the Yan Huang Immortal Army.
He gave himself 15 days of time.
That left 10 days to earn 40,000 Golden Essence Pills. It should be sufficient.
Actually, after forming a blood bond with the Yan Huang Heaven Raising Staff, it was completely swayed to him now. Wu Yu only needed to have a superficial understanding of the principles of the two main offensive spirit designs for him to utilize it at a minimum level.
However, just for insurance, Wu Yu still contemplated and practiced hard for 10 days. Although he had yet to use it, he knew in his heart that if it came to battle, there would be no problems.
Suddenly, he thought of the Fixed Body Art.
"Right now, my fighting power far exceeds other opponent of my cultivation level. That means that the Fixed Body Art is not much use.
"However, the Violent Art is still my most valuable skill. With the Violent Art multiplying the strength of the Yan Huang Heaven Raising Staff, combined with the two major offensive Immortal Treasure Spirit Designs, I will be peerless!"
Wu Yu was feeling extremely confident now.
For now, he no longer cultivated the sword dao. However, he had a feeling that he was bursting with power. In the end, it was still this staff dao that kept his blood pumping.
On this day, he left the Immortal Ascension Inn, heading towards the inner city.
The moment he walked out of the Immortal Ascension Inn, he could feel eyes on him and hear whispers behind his back.
"Wu Yu"s finally out."
"Right, that youth must be him."
"What a look in his eyes. He must be a genius."
Although they were all ordinary martial cultivators, they had already recognized him, which meant that news of him being in Yan Huang Imperial City had already spread out.
He had been too high-profile in the Wind Flower Snow Moon Palace, so it could not be hidden.
Although they recognized him, they did not badger him; they were content to just talk about him.
"Say, will he accept Jiang Xuechuan"s invitation and enlist in the Yan Huang Immortal Army?"
"For now, I don"t think so. I think this Wu Yu must still have some feelings for Shushan. In order to avoid gossip, he probably will not join so quickly. But in the longer term, it"s only a matter of when and not whether."
"After all, only Yan Huang Imperial City would dare to take him in."
"You are all guessing wrongly. He"s walking in the direction of the inner city!"
"He plans to go in?"
Instantly, they felt that Wu Yu was too pigheaded, to dare to do this.
"That"s right. I heard that the Shushan Immortal Sect"s Lunar Flower Sword Sage has been in Yan Huang Imperial City these past few days. Must be waiting for Wu Yu"s appearance?"