Chapter 382 - 26: Mold on Oil, a Divine Monarch in Gang Qi

Chapter 382: Chapter 26: Mold on Oil, a Divine Monarch in Gang Qi

The Celestial Sea King, Shen Jiuyuan, had given him far, far too much.

The Heaven-grade Divine Fall Evil, enough for Zhong Ming to perfect his Cultivating Evil, had all come from him.

One had to understand that because of Zhong Ming’s profound foundation, the amount of Sha Qi he required was dozens of times greater than that of an ordinary Cultivator at the same level.

It was a gesture of such immense generosity that not even the entirety of Immortal Martial City could necessarily muster it, yet the Celestial Sea King had given it all.

Granted, his actions were partly motivated by a previous boast he didn’t want to retract, saving himself from losing face. Another part was that he had recognized Zhong Ming’s limitless future and was willing to make a high-stakes gamble of an investment.

But regardless of his reasons for doing all this, it was a heavy debt of gratitude that Zhong Ming had to accept.

Moreover, the amount of Gang Qi he would need for his future cultivation was astronomical. To gather it all, he would still need the Celestial Sea King’s assistance.

Under these circumstances, Zhong Ming could not allow his relationship with the Celestial Sea King’s Prince Mansion to fracture.

And right now, his link to the Celestial Sea King’s Prince Mansion was Shen Wanshang.

For the sake of his future cultivation, and even more so to repay this debt, Zhong Ming had opened up one of his secrets to her—the Dream Array.

He not only invited Shen Wanshang into the Illusory Dream Realm but also granted her Sub-Administrator privileges. This allowed her to freely weave her own dreams or to dredge up and recreate past Enlightenment Realms that lay dormant deep within her subconscious.

This gift not only benefited Shen Wanshang immensely but also sent a profound shock through her Heart Spirit, leaving her utterly astonished.

Due to her proud and aloof nature, she had been holding in a fair bit of resentment when she first arrived at Zhong Ming’s side.

It wasn’t directed at Zhong Ming, but the thought of sharing a husband with her former subordinate, Xiyue, and having to act like a sister to the "unambitious" Ji Qinglian, was like a fishbone stuck in her throat—a vexation she couldn’t put into words.

But the supreme wonders of the Great Dream of Thousand Years completely changed her mind.

’With the help of this supreme treasure, I might just be able to form an Upper-Three-Grades Golden Core! I might even have a chance at breaking through to the Nascent Soul Realm!’

’And this Dream Array... it’s actually one of Lord Zhong Ming’s innate Divine Techniques... That explains everything! Xiyue’s sudden submission, Master Luo Zhiwei’s unwavering devotion to him—it all makes perfect sense now!’

The heaven-defying assistance the Dream Realm provided for one’s cultivation path was enough to leave Shen Wanshang completely satisfied.

And as the exceptionally talented first daughter of the Prince Mansion, with a perspective far beyond her peers, she knew certain secrets that ordinary Cultivators had never even heard of.

One of those paths, a road that could lead to the heavens, made her blood boil and her fingertips tremble uncontrollably as she stared at the Dream Realm before her.

That road was called—the path of the Earth Immortal!

According to common knowledge, an Earth Immortal needed to find a famous mountain, a great river, or a Spirit Lake and River in the mortal world, a place abundant with Spiritual Qi. They would then connect their body to the Spiritual Vein, borrowing the immense power of the earth to cultivate and defend against enemies.

However, this cultivation method would also bind them firmly to that Spiritual Vein, trapping them in one location for their entire lives, robbing them of their freedom.

Thus, an Earth Immortal, limited by their territory, was ultimately considered a step below a Celestial Immortal, who could roam the heavens freely.

Of course, the progenitor of Earth Immortals, the Great Immortal Zhenyuan, had long since transcended this limitation and was far beyond the ken of ordinary Cultivators.

A Low-tier Earth Immortal was little more than a Mountain Monarch or River God who claimed a territory as their own. A more advanced one would cultivate a Grotto Heaven or a Blessed Land within their own body. This would allow a Cultivator of the Earth Immortal lineage to break free from their geographical shackles, no longer bound to a single location.

But even such an Earth Immortal was not the highest form.

The most supreme Earth Immortals were those who seized a sliver of worldly authority at the primordial moment of a world’s birth.

In that nascent world, such a Cultivator could no longer be called an Earth Immortal. They would be revered as an Innate Divine!

Of course, this method had its limitations—the moment they left that nascent world, the power of their authority would weaken rapidly, perhaps even becoming completely unusable.

But even so, this was a once-in-a-millennium opportunity for transformation, allowing a Cultivator to share the fate of a world, to live and die alongside it.

Thus, such an opportunity could only be chanced upon, never sought out.

Originally, though Shen Wanshang knew of this path, she had never dared to harbor the slightest hope of attaining it. Forget her—even the Eldest Princess of the Frost Moon Immortal Dynasty, or her own father, had never had the fortune to glimpse even a faint shadow of such an opportunity.

But Zhong Ming’s Dream Realm allowed her to glimpse a faint yet incredibly alluring possibility!

’Lord Zhong Ming’s Dream World is just an illusory realm for now, but as his cultivation deepens, this ’illusion’ could very well become ’reality’! On the day this world solidifies, if I still hold the authority I have today... in that new world, I will be a Divine Spirit who wields true power!’

The status of a Divine Spirit might not be as free and unfettered as that of a Celestial Immortal, but this was already a supreme opportunity to ascend to the heavens in a single step.

With the chance to attain the Dao right before her eyes, how could Shen Wanshang not be excited? How could her heart not pound with emotion?

’This... this is the greatest fortune of my life!’

She had perceived Zhong Ming’s potential. More importantly, she now understood that his future was inextricably linked to her own longevity. Under these circumstances, how could she possibly bear to offend him in the slightest?

’Father was right. It’s nothing for a man to have multiple wives and concubines. What I need to do isn’t drive the others away, but live in harmony with them and help ease Lord Zhong Ming’s burdens.’

The temptation of ascending to the heavens in a single step and becoming an Innate Divine instantly raised Shen Wanshang’s tolerance for Zhong Ming to its absolute peak.

’A womanizer?! No, Brother Zhong Ming is only doing this to improve himself as quickly as possible. It’s for his cultivation path, and more importantly, for the greater good of humanity... This era needs a hero, and Brother Zhong Ming is doing this to become the very pillar that protects the common people!’

’He’s uniting with more people for the sake of righteousness, not for personal desire...’