Cultivation: When you take things to the extreme

Chapter 584 - 357: Seventh Rank

"Nine Rituals Heavenly Venerate?"

"Could it be...?"

Although they had had a premonition, upon hearing these words, True Monarch Fengming, the Palace Master of Pure Yang Palace, and others couldn’t help but change their expression.

"Correct!"

Xu Yang nodded and muttered, "Seventh Rank Heavenly Craftsmen, Superior Immortal Spirit—accomplished!"

His murmuring was also filled with deep emotion.

Since its establishment, over thirty thousand years ago, the Wandao School finally made a breakthrough to the seventh rank in Heavenly Mechanics Methods.

The hardships involved went without saying.

Seven thousand years ago, before he had ascended to the Earth Immortal Realm, the Wandao School had already completed the deduction of the sixth rank Heavenly Mechanics Methods and started its assault on the seventh rank.

However, even a skilled wife cannot cook without rice. To deduce the sixth rank, the Wandao School had already exhausted all the potentiality of the Daoism World and the Yuan Spirit World. Even the partial inheritance Xu Yang received from the Five Elements Immortal Sect in the modern world was insufficient to advance Heavenly Mechanics Methods to the seventh rank.

It was not until the arrival of Xiao Qingyun and others, bringing about matters related to the Earth Immortal Realm, that this situation saw a change for the better.

Xu Yang sent an avatar to ascend to the Earth Immortal Realm, where he gathered many mana points at the Pill Origin Gathering, including those ranked at the seventh rank like Elixir Skills, Talisman, Artifact Skills, and Formations.

These mana points became the foundation, giving Heavenly Mechanics Methods the capital and possibility to advance to the seventh rank.

But that was just capital and possibility; transforming them into actual results was still no simple feat.

The Pill Origin Gathering had been held for three sessions, spanning over six hundred years, and the various types of mana points collected were quite complete, enough for a breakthrough.

However, the Wandao School was still stuck on the last barrier; for over six thousand years, they had failed to produce the seventh rank Heavenly Mechanics Methods, only advancing individual mana points like Elixir Skills, Talisman, Artifact Skills, and Formations to the seventh rank.

What was this last barrier?

It was the fusion of all laws!

Heavenly Mechanics Methods, craft like that of the Heavenly Craftsmen, is achieved by the fusion of all laws, drawing on each other’s strengths, removing the husks and keeping the grain.

That might sound simple, but in practice, it is extremely difficult.

Even if the Tao has three thousand different paths that all lead to the same destination, who can merge these Three Thousand Great Tao into one body?

Even if there were those capable, they would be on the level of the Ancestor of Tao; how could mere mortals dare to hope for such a feat?

Therefore, even with an overpowered system like attribute panels and skill features at his disposal, Xu Yang found the integration of all laws to be incredibly challenging.

After the sixth rank, it was even more so, given the profound depth of the seventh rank mana points; a common cultivator might not fully comprehend even one within their lifetime, yet he needed to master each one and then integrate and connect them to create Heavenly Crafts Natural Creation. The difficulty of this can only be imagined.

This particular barrier had firmly held him and the Wandao School in place, unable to break through for over six thousand years.

But now, he had made a breakthrough, in the very moment that the Xuanyuan was completed, the Nine Rituals advanced, he broke through!

Why did he make a breakthrough?

Was it accumulation followed by an outburst, the natural flow of events?

Or was it a key insight, a sudden enlightenment?

It was both!

The accumulation leading to outburst does not need further explanation, six thousand years of accumulation was already sufficient.

As for that key insight...

The Xuanyuan Divine Sword Jue, Nine Rites Mysterious Method!

It was this extraordinary technique that became the final key, the sudden enlightenment that allowed him to break through the bottleneck of the seventh rank Heavenly Craftsmen.

Why?

Because this swordsmanship gathered the power of the Three Talents, ruling over the heavens, earth, and the human heart with the supreme mana point!

It followed the path of the Sacred Emperor and wielded the Sacred Skills!

The Sacred Emperor, who integrated the Three Talents’ law, ruled over heaven and earth, humans, commanded the Four Seas, and commanded respect in all directions.

This Holy Tao mana point became the core key for Heavenly Crafts Natural Creation, the fusion of all laws.

Thus, in the instant when Xuanyuan ascended to the Nine Rituals, Xu Yang had an epiphany, using the authority of the Sacred Emperor to command the Ten Thousand Techniques, successfully advancing Heavenly Crafts Natural Creation to the seventh rank, and in a follow-through movement, built the Wandao School’s first Top-Grade Immortal Spirit Mech Armor—Nine Rituals Heavenly Venerate!

The Nine Rituals Heavenly Venerate, this Immortal Spirit Mech Armor, not only has the Superior Immortal Implement "Nine-Ritual Xuanyuan Sword" as its core but also possesses over a hundred million Magical Treasure-level Xuanyuan Swords as components.

Its might and combat power have completely surpassed the seventh and eighth ranks, reaching the level of Integration Mahayana, stepping into the ninth order limit, comparable to a Tribulation Passing Immortal.

The assembly of Magical Treasures was also a major breakthrough in the Seventh Rank Heavenly Mechanics Methods.

Heavenly Mechanics Methods emphasize the combination of collective effort. Previously, for the Immortal Spirit Mecha, whether superior or middle grade, all the mecha components were Magic Artifacts with only differences in quantity and Artifact Level, not much distinction in quality.

But after advancing to the Sixth Rank, Xu Yang had distinctly felt that the Magic Artifact components were struggling to keep up with the Immortal Spirit Mecha.

Although the multitude is key in collective effort, strength should not be overlooked. For an Immortal Spirit Mecha, the power provided by the Magic Artifact components was too little and their strength too weak, resulting in a large number of Magic Artifact components being damaged in every major battle, unable to effectively enhance power or share damage.

Therefore, enhancing the mecha components and upgrading Magic Artifacts to Spiritual Artifacts was Magical Treasures’ idea, which quickly emerged during the deductions of the Seventh Rank Heavenly Mechanics Methods, hence the creation of these hundreds of millions of Xuanyuan swords of Magical Treasure level.

Compared to the lowest-priced Magic Artifacts, third-tier Magical Treasures are more powerful and more durable, able to effectively strengthen the mech’s power and share the damage it receives.

Furthermore, most Magical Treasures have self-recovery abilities, giving them an advantage in "logistical maintenance." As long as they aren’t all shattered to pieces in a cataclysmic event, the Immortal Spirit Mecha composed of Magical Treasures just needs to rest for a while before it can rejoin the battle.

The advantages are too numerous to count!

But the disadvantages are also evident, and that is the cost consumption!

These hundreds of millions of Xuanyuan swords are the result of Six Thousand Years of Wandao School’s efforts, consuming a massive amount of the school’s resources to the point of injuring its vitality.

Furthermore, with the "Ascension Academy" plan in progress, unless destructive mining is conducted, the Wandao School simply does not have sufficient resources to build a second top-grade Immortal Spirit Mech Armor within ten thousand years.

The cost consumption is evident!

Destructive resource mining, of course, is not within consideration; the World of Dao and Law is the foundation, and it also involves the Ancient Immortal Gods. Xu Yang could never ruin his own base.

Thus, if one wants to build a second, third, or even thousands of top-grade Immortal Spirit Mech Armors and their matching Magical Treasure components, one must find other ways.

"The Seventh Rank Heavenly Mechanics Methods are complete, the Nine Rituals Heavenly Venerate has strength comparable to Calamity Immortals, the Ascension Academy plan shall not be changed. In three thousand years, ascend to the Upper Realm!"

Without further discussion, Xu Yang immediately set the tone.

Upon hearing this, Feng Ming and the others nodded in agreement.

In these more than seven thousand years, although Wandao School devoted itself to constructing Xuanyuan, the preparations for Ascension Academy had not been neglected.

The initially scheduled one hundred Integrand Cultivators, three thousand Return to Void, one hundred thousand Deity Transformation, and one million Nascent Soul have mostly been assembled, and the matching Immortal Spirit Mech Armors have also been constructed in large part. The remainder is certain to be completed within the next three thousand years.

Now that "Nine Rituals Heavenly Venerate" has been completed, and the issue of core combat power has been resolved, there is even less reason to delay ascent.

Ascending to the Upper Realm, gathering resources, and once the time is ripe, establish the Wandao School’s Tao Lineage, wield the banner to contend with the Heavenly Court, and ultimately unify the Immortal Realm—this is the strategy Xu Yang has set for himself and for Wandao School.

Of course, such action comes with risks. To be prudent, one should wait another few tens of thousands of years, build more Mechs, cultivate more Cultivators, and only ascend when their strength is sufficient.

But time waits for no one; the structure of the Earth Immortal Realm is not immutable. There are variables in Heavenly Court, Buddhism, Monster Nation, and Demon Abyss. Moreover, the Ascension Monks of the school are still suffering, and failing to rescue them would surely dishearten everyone.

In addition, longevity is also an issue. The Ascension Academy has been established for over seven thousand years. Integrand Cultivators are somewhat alright, with a lifespan of ten thousand years that can barely manage, but those in the Realms of Return to Void, Deity Transformation, and Nascent Soul do not have this capability.

Many of the elders have already passed away, relying on new blood to meet the numbers of the plan.

Although Wandao School has mobilized a large number of resources to allow some Integrand and Return to Void Cultivators nearing the end of their lifespan to practice Earth Deity Law to extend their lives, this is ultimately a temporary solution. At present, Wandao School and the World of Dao and Law do not have the capacity to support so many Cultivators practicing Earth Deity Law.

Therefore, Ascension is an inevitable move. The Earth Immortal Realm possesses the Immortal Spirit Qi, which can greatly prolong the lifespan of Cultivators.

After the Monks of the Academy ascend, not only will their lifespans be extended, but they will also have the chance to break through to higher realms, causing Wandao School to surge with a large number of Integrand, and even Mahayana Cultivators.

In terms of emotion, reason, benefit, and advantage, ascension is essential!

These three thousand years are the final preparation time for Wandao School. Xu Yang must complete the last of his savings and perfect the newly-broken-through Heavenly Mechanics Methods, filling in the details and various deficiencies.

Afterwards, it will be time to ascend to the Upper Realm and enter the grand struggle of the great world!

…

Having determined the strategic tone as the Taoism Origin Body,

the Lord of the World, Xu Yang, quietly waited and soon saw a multicolored rainbow penetrate the Broken Void and arrive.

It was the newly forged Immortal Spirit Mecha, White Jade Capital!

The Nine Rituals Heavenly Venerate still had details to finetune and couldn’t be immediately taken back to the Earth Immortal Realm; the White Jade Capital, however, suffered severe damage in the previous battle at the Dragon Palace. Without pairing it with a new Immortal Spirit Mecha, "Zhen Yuanzi’s" combat effectiveness would be at risk.

Thus, Xu Yang took out the "White Jade Capital Number One," which suppressed the Map of the Blood Sea, and handed it to the Solar Avatar to take back to the Earth Immortal Realm.

Now that Wandao School had the Nine Rituals Heavenly Venerate, unless a Great Demon God personally transgressed realms, there was no fear of the Desire Realm Demons causing chaos.

Having received the second White Jade Capital sent by the Origin Body, Xu Yang didn’t say much, directly connecting with the Tao Seal left by the Ancestor of Tao, and proceeded towards the Earth Immortal Realm.

Wandao School still has three thousand years to accumulate in the Lower Realm, meaning he has three hundred years in the Earth Immortal Realm.

In these three hundred years, he must strive to gather resources to lay the foundation for Wandao School in the Earth Immortal Realm.

Although he had already collected quite a bit—the Ancient Iron Mountain to name one, various Spiritual Objects obtained in the years from the Pill Origin Gathering, and a batch of Grass Return Elixirs he had concocted himself were all sent to Wandao School with White Jade Capital—it was still not enough, far from enough.

Therefore, he must try harder and stir up more events!