bookandnovel Chapter 59 Martial Ancestor
Chapter 59 Martial Ancestor
Lu Ming's consciousness floated in the endless darkness, torn apart by the chaotic spatial currents, helpless and adrift.
I don't know how much time has passed; the concept of time has begun to blur.
Finally, the chaotic drowsiness gradually dissipated, and Lu Ming's consciousness slowly awakened like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon.
He struggled to open his eyes, and all around him was endless emptiness.
The interplay of light and shadow created a strange and wondrous energy wave that slowly rippled through the void.
Beside him, the golden boulder that had been swept into the spatial rift from the Immortal Ruins floated silently; it was this boulder that became the only support in this chaotic void.
"Could it be that I am already dead, and this place is the underworld?" Lu Ming looked around blankly, raised his hand to pinch his arm, and felt a clear pain.
He suddenly snapped back to reality, his eyes lighting up: "I'm not dead!"
The physical sensation of flesh and blood was still there, but the power of nothingness raging around him was several times greater than that of the Immortal Ruins.
Like layers of bone-chilling cold waves pressing in, it was only the faint golden light emanating from the golden boulder that kept the world-destroying power at bay, protecting him completely.
Suddenly, a powerful force swept in from the depths of the void, instantly enveloping him.
The howling spatial storm and the bone-corroding void power vanished instantly upon encountering this force, and the world returned to tranquility.
Lu Ming was terrified.
This power was not malicious in the slightest, but it possessed an unparalleled will. When this will descended, Lu Ming felt his martial arts cultivation instantly surge several levels.
But in this desolate, empty wasteland, he couldn't help but be cautious.
He looked up and saw a blurry figure slowly coalescing from the light and shadow in the void ahead, its outline gradually deepening.
Although his face was obscured, he possessed an aura of supreme dominance that shook him to his core and made his breath catch in his throat.
"You are the first being to set foot on this land in an entire era."
The phantom slowly spoke, its voice carrying endless vicissitudes and a loneliness that transcends eternity, echoing slowly in the void.
As if it had been too long since he had spoken, the illusory figure spoke with a hint of unfamiliarity, yet every word resonated deeply in Lu Ming's mind.
"How many people like you, who are close to the Foundation Establishment stage before the age of twenty, are there in the outside world?" The illusory voice slowly fell.
Lu Ming bowed respectfully, not daring to show the slightest negligence.
The being before me is one who has lived through an era, which is 128,000 years, and is by no means an ordinary being.
"Senior Qi, most of the newly recruited disciples of the sect are similar in appearance to this disciple."
"Not bad." The illusory figure nodded slightly, a hint of satisfaction in its tone.
"It seems that the end of the Dharma era has completely passed. Do you know how many years it took for my fellow cultivators to establish their foundation in the last era? A hundred years was common, and even those with exceptional talent needed more than fifty years."
Lu Ming was startled. So cultivation in the previous era was this difficult.
"Your martial arts skills are crude and far from being beginners. The fact that you were able to withstand the void turbulence and arrive here is entirely due to this fragment of the giant sword, which is also your good fortune."
The illusory figure seemed to have not spoken to anyone for a long time; its voice gradually slowed, and its words carried a more gentle, conversational quality.
Upon hearing this, Lu Ming bowed again, his tone earnest: "I humbly request your guidance, senior. If I am fortunate enough to escape this place, I will certainly seek help from the outside world to help you get out of this predicament."
The illusory figure seemed to chuckle lightly, as detached as a wisp of smoke: "Seeking help? Help me get out? You think I'm trapped here?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a slight ripple seemed to appear in the void.
The illusory voice slowly recounted the secret, revealing a secret sealed for millennia:
"In the last era, the Heavenly Dao retreated, and the power of nothingness in the Immortal Remnant Land revived, devouring the heavens and the earth, and began to invade the outside world."
At that time, spiritual energy dissipated, the Heavenly Dao was hidden, and the Dao itself was not manifest. All cultivation methods made little progress—immortals, demons, sorcerers, and barbarians all needed to borrow the spiritual energy of the five elements to comprehend the principles of the Heavenly Dao, but since the Dao was not manifest, everything was empty talk.
"Therefore, I abandoned all other methods and entered the Dao through martial arts, creating a unique martial arts cultivation system."
"Develop the divine treasures of the physical body, shake the heavens and earth with strength, and master the Great Dao through martial arts. Finally, attain the supreme ancestral realm, resonate with the Heavenly Dao, and allow the Heavenly Dao to be revived and the spiritual energy to flourish again."
"Later, relying on his ultimate martial arts cultivation, he ventured alone into the Immortal Ruins and used his own martial arts cultivation to block the Great Calamity of Nothingness, thus ending this era of Dharma decline."
Lu Ming stood there, dumbfounded, his mind reeling.
He never imagined that such a shocking secret was hidden in the world.
Even more unexpectedly, the phantom figure before them was none other than the legendary Martial Ancestor, the founder of martial arts!
Although the name of the Martial Ancestor appears in later historical records, due to the great distance in time, it is only recorded as a myth or legend, and even his name has not been preserved.
Lu Ming suppressed the turmoil in his heart, bowed again, and said respectfully, "May I ask your honorable name, senior? As a junior from later generations, I only know the title of Martial Ancestor, but I do not know your real name."
"I am Pan Yi, the Martial Ancestor."
The illusory figure spoke softly, the four words falling neither too high nor too low, yet they resounded like thunder in Lu Ming's sea of consciousness.
Although his martial arts cultivation was rudimentary, he had still undergone body tempering and bone forging. At this moment, he could clearly feel that the surrounding void seemed to resonate with him, and his blood and qi trembled slightly with these two words, as if the name itself contained the original power of martial arts.
"Is the Zhenwu Sect still around outside?" the illusory figure suddenly asked, a rare hint of emotion in his voice.
"The Zhenwu Sect's lineage has never been broken, and it now stands on the land of China. Legend has it that all martial arts under heaven originated from Zhenwu, which is why the sect has flourished to this day," Lu Ming quickly replied.
"Good, good." The phantom said "good" twice, as if it had fulfilled an age-old wish, and was filled with satisfaction.
"I will now pass on to you the complete method of martial arts cultivation. If you can get out, you must return this inheritance to the Zhenwu Sect."
"In the past, I passed down the martial arts, but due to the great calamity, the techniques for reaching the Reversal of Fate realm were not passed down to this world, which is my lifelong regret."
"Disciple obeys! I will certainly not fail your trust, Senior!" Lu Ming was overjoyed, his voice trembling slightly with excitement, and he kowtowed again, "Thank you for your kindness in imparting your teachings, Senior!"
The illusory figure nodded slightly, raised its hand, and a dark black token slowly floated from the depths of the void. The token was simple and unadorned, yet it contained the true essence of martial arts.
"This is a covenant for the inheritance of martial arts; holding it will unlock the complete techniques. Today, I will pass on the 'Mysterious Tortoise True Skill' to you and help you establish the foundation for the first realm of martial arts."
As soon as he finished speaking, a stream of light shot out from between the illusory figure's eyebrows and instantly disappeared into Lu Ming's brow.
Countless profound principles, body-strengthening methods, and the true meaning of martial arts flooded into his mind like a tide. The originally vague path of martial arts instantly became crystal clear, with every detail under his control.
Only now did Lu Ming realize that his previous body training was merely the tip of the iceberg, and he had not even stepped into the threshold of martial arts.
The first realm of martial arts, the Body Tempering Realm, is divided into six steps: refining skin, refining bones, refining blood, refining flesh, refining meridians, and refining filth. If each step is mastered to perfection, one can achieve the Xuanwu True Body, whose physical body can withstand ordinary magical treasures, and even has the ability to regenerate severed limbs.
The second realm involves gathering the five energies in the chest and condensing the three flowers on the top of the head.
The third realm is Celestial Being, the fourth realm is Immortal Platform... the eighth realm is Reversing Fate, and the ninth realm is Martial Saint!
Layer upon layer of realms, like climbing a ladder to heaven, unfolded before Lu Ming's eyes, stirring his heart with excitement.
He gripped the token tightly and bowed again in gratitude: "Disciple thanks Senior for the great kindness of imparting his skills!"
The phantom looked at him with a hint of expectation in its eyes: "Once you cultivate the Body Tempering Realm to perfection, the scattered void power on the outer edge of the Immortal Relic will no longer be able to harm your body."
"You alone cannot achieve perfect body tempering. Let me lend you a hand."
The tone shifted abruptly, becoming serious: "To achieve perfect body tempering in a short time, one must endure the pain of bone-removing and marrow-refining, and the perseverance of burning the heart and boiling the blood. Are you ready?"
Lu Ming raised his eyes, his gaze burning with fervor, and said firmly, "This disciple is ready! Please, Senior, begin your practice!"