Swallowing the Heavens

The brig in Repentance Mountain was totally isolated from the rest of the world. No windows, only a small opening in the wall for ventilation. Wu Yu would eat and s.h.i.t by that hole. No matter how he looked at it, the brig looked like an actual jail cell for criminals. A year in this pitch-black and narrow jail cell would probably make normal people go insane.

Feng Xue Ya probably locked Wu Yu up in there to test his will and his determination. Cultivators had to face many dangers and challenges, so those without great perseverance and resolve would either never become strong or die early.

Killing those five people on Heaven’s Cry Peak had enlightened Wu Yu and increased his mental strength. Becoming an Outer Disciple had allowed him to finally step onto the Road of Celestials, so it is no wonder that his horizons had broadened. His way of thinking had changed.

Having to spend on year in a cramped and dark s.p.a.ce did not frighten him. Because to him, an environment where n.o.body would disturb him was the perfect place to cultivate without distractions and reach for even greater power!

“The Dao of Swords truly is a wise Dao, a Dao of Justice. Even though I murdered five people on Heaven’s Cry Peak, revealing my violent and bloodthirsty nature, the Sect did not sentence me to death. Even if the Sect was tolerant with my actions, they would’ve crippled me, taken away my Martial Cultivation, and exiled me from the Sect… yet none of these things happened to me. Imprisonment is a rather light sentence…”

Wu Yu was not in a rush to cultivate. Using the rays of light that shone into the room from the ventilation hole, he read through thoroughly the three introductory books that Woodsong had given to him during the orientation.

However,

“The world surely is a vast and boundless place. I’m only but a frog in a well.”

“This colossal continent that I’m living on is called the ‘Dong Sheng G.o.d Continent’. Surrounded on four sides by the endless ocean, the ‘Dong Sheng G.o.d Continent’, apart from places like big mountains and wide rivers, cultivation utopias, and places where Mortals can not access, is comprised of 3000 Mortal Kingdoms. My East Yue Wu, by happenstance, is located right smack in the most eastern part of the continent, but it has below average military strength, only 1/100 the military power of the strongest Kingdoms.

“The land occupied by the 3000 Kingdoms only take up, approximately, ⅓ of the Dong Sheng G.o.d Continent. The remaining ⅔ of the continent are either tall mountains, dangerous places, taboo locations, or places that Mortals can not survive in. Those areas are where Celestial Sects can be found, and also where daemons roam freely. According to legends they also contain treasure sites dating back from ancient times and battlefields where daemons and cultivators once clashed. Therefore, the Sword to Heaven Sect is Celestial Sect with relatively many dealings with the Mortal Realm.”

After all, the Blue Surge Mountain Range was situated within the Mortal Realm. Mortals could absolutely climb over the mountains in the Blue Surge Mountain Range to reach the Sword to Heaven Sect if they were lucky.

Wu Yu sighed. “The world sure has gotten bigger after I stepped on the path of cultivation. I’m no longer confined within East Yue Wu; the Dong Sheng G.o.d Continent is out there for me to explore! What I don’t know is whether the Heavenly Celestial Domain is as big and vast as the Dong Sheng G.o.d Continent.”

The

“Thinking about the future is important, broadening my horizons is important, but ensuring that my foundations are stable and solid is even more important. I’ve only cultivated > to the 5th level of its 1st stage, and since I’ve already reached the 5th Heavenly Stage of the Body Forging Phase, it’s time I geared up for some hard cultivation.”

He’d killed the two brothers Situ Jin and Situ Kang, making enemies with Situ Bright, their overpowered 13 year old little brother, in the process, so leaving the brig without enough strength was absolute suicide. Therefore, this year of time spent in jail was make or break for Wu Yu.

“Situ Bright huh…. because he’s so young, I’ll look particularly old when I fight against him.”

There was already a huge age difference between them, so it’d be extremely embarra.s.sing if he was creamed by Situ Bright in battle. Not only would he lose face; the Sect Leader, his master, would also lose face.

In one year, Wu Yu had to mature and gain enough strength to pummel Situ Bright into the ground! Not an easy task.

“The sixth Big Technique of > for cultivators who’d reached the 5th Heavenly Stage of the Body Forging Phase was called >. After cultivating this technique, light would pierce through all the meridians in their body and shine brightly like the stars in the sky. My body would become as vast as the sky, and my meridians would blaze like the sun and the stars!”

> would get more and more profound and shocking as one cultivated it. Wu Yu understood that he was going to have a promising future after the dream of the towering pillar, but the path of cultivation was dangerous and perilous; if he was not cautious and prudent all the time, he would most probably die halfway and “gift” the legacy he’d inherited to the lucky person who killed him or found his corpse.

After surviving through a calamity, losing his rightful throne and reputation, Wu Yu learnt of the importance of treasuring things.

Cultivators had to endure through boring sessions of cultivation if they wanted to become more successful and gain power. By happenstance, the jail cell Wu Yu was in provided him with a great, silent environment to cultivate in, so taking advantage of this, he started to cultivate >.  He drew the heat from the earth’s core underground and channeled it through his feet into his body. Wu Yu controlled and pumped the heat into all his meridians to create minute perforations within them in order to allow his Qi to pa.s.s through them. His end goal was to make them transform into Golden Quartz Meridians, like blazing stars inside his body.

There were a few hundred meridians spread throughout his body, which is quite a large amount. Because heat from the the core was much hotter than normal fire, those without great perseverance and endurance could not cultivate >.

Day in and day out, the brig warden would hear terrible, tragic screams of pain and animalistic grunts coming from Wu Yu’s cell. The pain that Wu Yu was suffering from burning his meridians was unimaginable.

The days pa.s.sed one by one. Wu Yu’s jail cell emitted a bright, fiery light, and his grunts, moans and screams of pain did not cease. Through the ventilation hole, one could see Wu Yu’s meridians through his skin, each and every one of them shining and burning like stars. His body was virtually a fiery hot s.p.a.ce packed full of bright dazzling stars! As he pierced through more and more meridians, the jail cell shined brighter and brighter and the temperature got hotter and hotter, to the point that the metal gate that locked him within his cell started to melt.

After a total of 130 days, Wu Yu finally pierced through all the meridians within his body. He had finally reached the 6th Heavenly Stage “Piercing Meridians” of the Body Forging Phase. Currently, all of his meridians within his body shined as bright as the sun in the darkness of the cell, all jam-packed together like a cl.u.s.ter of stars. Even though they were tiny, the light that they radiated was undoubtedly brilliantly effulgent, such that the metal walls of the cell were all seared red. His eyes, especially, gleamed with a golden radiance so sharp that it could pierce through metal.

Also, the “卍” tattoed on his back was even more prominent, and emitted heat that could melt iron to sludge. It was as if it contained a crazed, angry monkey that wanted to shake the heavens with its roar!

Weng! (sfx)

The moment Wu Yu clenched his hands into fists, the jail cell started to shudder and shake.

“The more I cultivate >, the more pa.s.sionate and fiery my heart becomes. In my dream, I thought I was a violent monkey who wanted to destroy and smash everything within his sight.”

“My current strength is now greatly above that of a normal 6th Heavenly Stage expert. They have the power of 100 battlehorses, while I have the power of over 800! Even normal 8th Heavenly Stage martial artists had only the power of 500 battlehorses…”

“Don’t talk about 7th Heavenly Stage Experts. Even 8th Heavenly Stage “Tuotai” experts are not my opponent.”

Wu Yu was still young, so the success and gain in power made him incredibly joyous and excited. However, after thinking of Situ Bright and his unmatched genius, as well as Hao Tian Shangxian from the Capital of East Yue Wu, Wu Yu calmed himself down; he still had a long way to go before he could even think of defeating or killing them in a direct confrontation.

“The 7th stage of the > is >”

“And the 7th Heavenly Stage of the Body Forging Phase is known as the ‘Ni Shen’ Stage. Reaching the ‘Ni Shen’ stage would compact thy mindpower and strengthen one’s spirit. Thou’s heart and soul will merge together, and through that merge thy will becomes even more firm and unwavering. Thou’s attacks will be more accurate, causing thy’s battle ability to greatly increase, as one will be able to perfectly control their body. The ‘Ni Shen’ stage helps to create a solid foundation and prepare one for Qi Condensing.”

Wu Yu was not planning on resting.

“The cultivational method of > is to visualize a monkey?”

At this point, Wu Yu realised that, as per his guesses, > had something to do with monkeys. Visualizing the monkey as depicted and described in >, Wu Yu tried to construct it within his mind. Slowly, slowly, the image of a monkey started to form!

“>! Once fully cultivated, the world is thine’s apple; Thou can charge into the 8000 Heavens and break into h.e.l.l and its 10,000 layers! Bronze skull and Metal bones, a body like gold, even the weapons of G.o.ds cannot injure thee; Heaven’s tribulations, stand to a side, because whether in the Heavens or on the Earth, thy’s body will be undying and everlasting!”

“I am Heavenly Celestial Domain’s Qitian Big Saint, Nirvana Celestial Domain’s Battle Victory Buddha! Fated one, inherit my legacy, rebel against the heavens, and raze those who stand in your way!”

The moment Wu Yu thought of the domineering, overwhelming way Qitian Big Saint spoke, something penetrated his defences and entered his mind. It a.s.saulted and pounded him, and at the same time, the monkey within his heart started to get clearer and clearer.

“That’s a peerless monkey king, with a phoenix engraved purple gold crown and golden shining armor! Standing upon a silk lotus above the clouds, his right hand holds the Ruyi Jingu Bang! With hot, pa.s.sionate blood, he rampages around heaven. He fights his way from heaven to h.e.l.l, subjugates those who stand in his way, and causes Buddhas, Celestials, Ghosts, and Daemons to cry out in fear!”

A voice boomed within his mind. Fusing with the previous sentences spoken by Qitian Big Saint, the monkey finally formed within Wu Yu’s heart. It was a peerless monkey enshrouded in searing flames wearing a mighty golden crown, dressed in dazzling golden armor, pitch-black boots and carrying a towering, imposing staff! His bright gold eyes could see through lies and walls… nothing could escape its grasp! Not even daemons! The blood-red cape that fluttered in the wind behind him seemed to cover the earth like a cloud of blood!

“So this is the monkey! The monkey in the heart!”

Wu Yu’s mind and soul was overwhelmed by the monkey king. Attacked by a splitting headache the moment he finally managed to visualise it clearly, it was obvious his spirit was not strong enough to withstand it. He had to visualise the monkey again and again, so that his mind, his spirit would become stronger, which would in turn allow him to compact his mindpower and reach the 7th Heavenly Stage!

Boom!

His head would explode in pain every time he tried to visualise the monkey king, but he would not stop. He could not stop. He needed power. Power!

“I was reborn from the ashes because of this mysterious and powerful legacy. I’d be wasting Heaven’s generous gift to me if I do not withstand and endure till the end!”

The f.u.c.kers that had wronged him back in the Capital were still living happily and carefreely; if Wu Yu did not kill them, he would live his life in regret and agony!

Therefore, unceasing, unremitting screams, shrieks and grunts of pain could be heard from Wu Yu’s jail cell once again. The old brig warden Elder shook his head and gave a wry smile.

“This Wu Yu sure is a crazy young man. Cultivation is cultivation, not a game of how long you can scream for.”

“But risking his life to gain power is commendable. However, Situ Bright has already condensed his Qi and become a Core Disciple; if that Wu Yu knew about this, I’m sure he’d p.i.s.s his pants in terror.”

In the blink of an eye, 200 days had pa.s.sed.

As of now, the monkey king had fully formed; Wu Yu knew the monkey king so well that he could tell how much hair the it had on its body. Hard work truly does not let people down, as, after 200 days of constantly visualising the monkey king, Wu Yu had finally managed to withstand the mighty aura that it released. No longer did visualising it give him a splitting headache. Even though he could not see it or tough it, he knew that his spirit was getting stronger and stronger, and had taken on the shape of the monkey king.

“Finally! 7th Heavenly Stage of the Body Forging Phase, complete!”

“Normal disciples of the Sword to Heaven Sect would compact their mindpower with the >. After reaching the 7th Heavenly Stage, they would have the power of around 500 battlehorses. However, I, after cultivating > to compact my mindpower and reach the 7th Heavenly Stage have strength rivalling 1500 battlehorses!”

“Normal 9th Heavenly Stage martial artists only have the power of 1000 battlehorses. And normal 10th Heavenly Stage martial artists have the power of 2000 battlehorses. In other words, the distance between me and Situ Bright isn’t so great now. Equal in power, I have a chance of defeating him head on.”

“Life sure is marvelous. Back when I was living in the Capital, my dream was to reach the 10th Heavenly Stage of Martial Arts and possess the strength of 2000 battlehorses. And look at me now! I’ve nearly got the strength to rival that of a 10th Heavenly Stage martial artist! Never in my life did I actually expect this dream to come true…”

And like that, the one year of imprisonment was finally over.

The door of the jail cell opened, and sunlight flooded in, dousing Wu Yu like a wave for the first time in a year. He relaxed under its warm embrace – Ah… this wonderful feeling, I’ve nearly forgotten how comfortable the sunlight can be….