Heaven's Devourer

Many wide rivers ran through the entire length of the Bipo Mountain Range. 

In the rivers, there was much marine life and even some demonic beasts. All the servant disciples in the entire Heavenly Sword Sect fished from the rivers in order to feed the Immortal Cranes and other heavenly beasts.

In the night, Wu Yu had come to the bank of a river, beset by waves. In the dusky light of the night, he threw a black object into the river. The current was vigorous. By daylight tomorrow, the black object would be far away from the Bipo Mountain Range.  But more likely, it would be devoured by the fish and prawns.

"Red flesh and white bones. No matter how pretty a face, nothing escapes death."

That black object was Ye Guyu.

"I gave you life, but you gave me death. I have done my part."

This was a death that Ye Guyu sought herself. Otherwise, Wu Yu would not lightly kill somebody.

"Yanli Mountain is so big. Senior Sister Su must be closeted somewhere that nobody knows."

In truth, within this colossal sect, there would always be people competing, dying silently to grudges. No one knew how many corpses were buried within these rivers.

While the light was still dim, Wu Yu quickly returned to Sky Gazing Mountain. He returned to the training room within his disciple residence. He shut off the practice room and abided there, shedding his clothes. At this time, he could see the burn marks that the Golden Flame Talisman had left, still burning within his body. His internal organs, sinews, bone, and blood were still burning in the flames. He had only suppressed the pain and prayed for a strand of life!

"The Invincible Vajra Body is a body of steel and fire. Metal and fire are one. Luckily, today it was the Golden Flame Talisman. If it were frost, wind, lightning, or other talismans, I would’ve been dead in three breaths without a doubt. My body is naturally like the sun. A body of unsulliable metal, born of ground fire. The power of fire is minimized against me."

This was the reason why he was still alive.

But the overwhelming power of the Golden Flame Talisman was still burning his body. If he did not banish it, he would burn into ashes in the breeze one day.

His entire body was burning up. Sitting on the floor, even the rock was charred black. He could not even wear clothes.

"What now?"

His first thought was to beg for help from Su Yanli, to see if she could save him.

But if it was something that he could resolve himself, he would not want to trouble others.

"The Invincible Vajra Body's eighth tier technique is called Agile Rock Body. Agile Rock Body details that I must cultivate within an intense flame for a full 49 days. I must endure the agony of incineration in order for all the flesh, bone, meridians, and organs that I created before to fuse as one. I will be reborn with an Agile Rock Body!"

At present, Wu Yu thought of a bold plan.

"I was just worrying about where to find an intense fire that could burn me for 49 days. This Golden Flame Talisman has wormed its way into my bones and burns my body. It seems just right, creating the conditions for me to train Agile Rock Body!"

Steeling his thoughts, Wu Yu settled down and began to train the eighth tier of the Invincible Vajra Body. Having previously received the 1,000 words of the Buddhist Gate of Enlightenment, he had already mostly mastered that. If now he could tidy up the Agile Rock Body, then he would be but a step away from Immortal Transformation, Spirit Ascension.

After testing it, he discovered that this Golden Flame Talisman indeed could work.

"Situ Minglang, you expended so much effort and tried to use this valuable Golden Flame Talisman to kill me. In the end, you would never have expected that it would help me achieve an even higher level, would you?"

Wu Yu quietened his heart and congealed his spirit. According to the manual of Agile Rock Body, he began to burn systematically, unifying all parts of his body and channeling the heat from the top of his head to the soles of his feet.

This process was not earth-shaking. It was simply the pain of prolonged burning. Day after day, it required even more willpower. Each day was harder to endure than the last. And when it became difficult to endure, Wu Yu visualized the Inner Ape, focusing his mind and making it easier to bear.

This lonely process of endurance persisted for 49 days. At the end, Wu Yu had completed every portion of Agile Rock Body. He had finally completely absorbed the inferno that was the Golden Flame Talisman. It was completely spent. At this time, he had also achieved body rebirth into the Agile Rock Body!

The entire practice room was filled with polluted energy. There was much black filth on the floor. Those were all things that Wu Yu's body had expelled. The toxins and waste that he had consumed in these 10-plus years. Now his body was a pure, golden body. Within, not a speck of dust remained. Such a body rebirth set him for the possibility of embarking on the Immortal Dao.

When he walked out of the practice room, he felt the sun on his skin like the white skin of a newborn. It filtered into a pale, gold light, and the sauvastika symbol on his back glittered even brighter. Although it was only 49 days, he had grown back his hair and eyebrows, as well as other body hair. This was the effect of body rebirth. The new hair looked soft but was actually as hard as metal and not easily burnt. 

Bathing in the sunlight, the youth faced the world and let out a long howl that shook the expansive forest! A wave of overwhelming masculinity exploded forth, reaching out far and wide.

"Ecstasy!"

After he achieved the Agile Rock Body, he had clearly become even more powerful! When Wu Yu clenched his fists, he could feel the colossal power in his body. He realized that his own progress had already reached an unimaginable level!

"Normal martial artists at the 10th tier have about 2,000 warhorses worth of power. And for me, at the eighth tier of Body Rebirth, I already have 3,000 warhorses worth of power. I have truly reached the level where I alone am worth armies. I'm afraid that I am already comparable to those experts who have condensed their qi."

Even he was frightened by such progress.

"To others, my triumph over Yu Huaishan was already inconceivable. I wonder if they know that I killed that woman who was at the 10th tier of the martial way."

Being able to peacefully cultivate for 49 days meant that her death had roused little concern.

3,000 warhorses worth of power. A year ago, this would have been inconceivable. The Invincible Vajra Body was more frightening the later it was cultivated.

His heart was at peace. In the following time, he focused on cultivating the Golden Inferno Dragon Slayer Art in order to increase his power as much as possible. The nightmares of Capital Wu came to him in the night, and Wu Yu was anxious to return. He felt like after he completed this tier of the Invincible Vajra Body, he should be almost ready.

One day, Su Yanli came to visit. On that day, Wu Yu was practicing the sword. She watched for a long while, the spiritual qi swirling within her eyes. She only spoke after Wu Yu had finished. "You really went through body rebirth. Although you are older than Situ Minglang, your progress in this year is many times that of his. The matter of Master taking you on as disciple is a given."

Who would have thought that she, who held such high status in the Heavenly Sword Sect, would assess him thus?

"Then can I defeat Situ Minglang now?" Wu Yu was still not too clear. After condensing qi, how much stronger would one be?

Su Yanli shook her head, saying, "Using warhorses as a gauge of power is the currency in the martial world. After condensing one's qi, one has entered the Immortal Dao and cannot go by such a measure anymore. After all, the power of dao techniques is something that no mortal power can hope to withstand. However, Situ Minglang has only just condensed his qi. If you really wanted to count, he has roughly 5,000 warhorses worth of power. Perhaps twice your current level."

Put that way, Wu Yu had a rough gauge of things. Situ Minglang had learned dao techniques, and he was still not his match. In a clash, he would lose.

"Seems like I have to ascend one more tier to be his opponent," Wu Yu thought to himself.

"Wu Yu, your Body Refining Realm approach is terrifying, but don't get ahead of yourself. Because the most important thing about cultivating the Immortal Dao is not the physical body, but one's spiritual power. After you reach the Qi Condensation Realm, battle power is measured by one's spiritual power."

Wu Yu hurriedly nodded. If it were not for Su Yanli's words, he would indeed be a little big-headed. Immortal cultivators prioritized spiritual power. Physical power was something that martial arts practitioners of the mortal realm valued.

"However, the real Invincible Vajra Body has 10,000 words. If I complete it, it will definitely be terrifying."

Afterward, Su Yanli gave him some pointers, which greatly opened his mind. He was very grateful to Su Yanli. She was definitely someone who had love in her heart, to take such good care of him.

"I hear that this disciple called Ye Guyu disappeared. She was very close with Situ Minglang. Was it your doing?" After they had finished exchanging, Situ Minglang turned her luminous eyes on Wu Yu. Under her gaze, Wu Yu found it difficult to lie.

"Yes."

Su Yanli nodded but did not reprimand him. She had seen too many private disputes between disciples of the sect.

"The matter has passed, and no one has pursued it. But Situ Minglang has not come to find you so far not because he has forgotten his grudge, but because he is preparing to contest for the Immortal Kingdom Supervisor. After he succeeds, you will be in danger."

Su Yanli would not help him block Situ Minglang. Wu Yu was clear on this. If he wanted to become the Sect Leader’s disciple, then he would have to do it on the basis of his own ability. Situ Minglang was a test for him. If he could defeat Situ Minglang, then he would succeed. If he failed, he would die. There were countless disciples in the Heavenly Sword Sect. The Sect Leader could not be biased towards him.

The title of Immortal Kingdom Supervisor caught Wu Yu's interest. After Wu Yu pursued the issue, Su Yanli briefly described the role of Immortal Kingdom Supervisor, as well as the rewards.

"We disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect cannot leave the Bipo Mountain Range privately without the elders' permission. To be an Immortal Protector of the mortal kingdoms is probably the only chance to go out," Su Yanli said neutrally.

Immortal Protector!

This news was a bomb to Wu Yu!

So actually, Heavenly Immortal Hao Tian was the Immortal Kingdom Supervisor, but he had served a bit longer.

"Senior Sister Su, I would like to ask. Is the Dong Yue Wu Kingdom amongst these nations?" Wu Yu hurriedly asked.

In truth, that was the case. The Heavenly Sword Sect had an arrangement with a sect called the Zhongyuan Dao Sect. Each would watch over the countries for 10 years. For the last decade, the Zhongyuan Dao Sect had been watching over these mortals. And in that period of time, all the resources that the mortal kingdoms produced would belong to the Zhongyuan Dao Sect.

And now 10 years had passed, so it was the Heavenly Sword Sect's turn to send a disciple to patrol these countries.

"The Nan Shan Zhao Kingdom, the Dong Yue Wu Kingdom, a total of six countries belong to our Heavenly Sword Sect's purview in this decade." Su Yanli was not too clear of Wu Yu's background. She was not very interested in the affairs of mortals.

To Wu Yu, this was too important. This meant that Heavenly Immortal Hao Tian would soon return to his sect, and he could only meet him if he became the new Immortal Protector of the Dong Yue Wu Kingdom.

..............