Chapter 90: Great Harvest, Immortal-grade Foundation

At this moment, the receding Tributary of the Historical Long River carried a vast number of corpses, impurities, and Sick Domains, sinking once more into the depths of history.

As time passed, these distinct Sick Domains would devour one another, gradually growing stronger or vanishing altogether.

Some powerful lifeforms, upon death, would also gradually give rise to new Sick Domains amid the mutations of the Historical Long River.

The corpse of the half-beheaded serpent-headed Longbo giant, slain by Xiang Nu, bobbed and sank repeatedly amid the Rust-colored Dust.

Suddenly, from the wound on the severed body came a sound, as a Scarlet Mouth burrowed out.

It quickly devoured the corpse completely, then spat out dozens of miniature versions of itself.

Their mouths opened and closed, emitting sounds.

“Banquet, Banquet—Unceasing for all beings!”

Chanting twisted truths of the Wild History, strands of scarlet airflow were expelled, coalescing into the form of Xiang Nu.

Only, compared to what Jiang Yan had seen before, she had shrunken considerably—

From a young woman to a loli.

“Aiya, it was fortunate I hid half of my body in the Descendants of Longbo’s serpent-head beforehand and pulled a ‘sneak through Chen Cang’ move—otherwise, I wouldn’t get to see these beautiful mutated worlds.”

She sat atop the Scarlet Mouth, gently swinging her legs, allowing herself to sink deeper into history.

Suddenly, a large hole was bitten out of the Rust-colored Dust, and a mountain-sized black蠹虫 crawled out. Its Compound Eye stared at the Xiang Nu before it, and a man’s deep, mocking voice echoed:

“Xiang Nu, how does failure taste?”

“It’s simply…”

Xiang Nu, who had her head lowered, lifted it slightly. Her shifting mask revealed a pair of scarlet pupils, filled with greed:

“Delicious beyond compare!”

“Even if Qiu Bai hadn’t intervened, Jiang Yan alone could still have broken through my arrangements—letting me witness a storyline far beyond expectations and enjoy an unprecedented pleasure. So fun!”

Speaking thus, Xiang Nu covered her face with both hands and shyly added:

“Ahhh, I feel like I’m falling in love with him!”

“Hehe, you just want to eat him, don’t you?”

The black蠹虫 chuckled softly. He knew this woman all too well.

Xiang Nu giggled. “After all, my favorite thing is delicious food—and he’s the finest ingredient I’ve ever seen. These two aren’t contradictory. My love can be shared evenly.”

The black蠹虫 sneered coldly. “Now that your foundation is damaged, don’t even talk about borrowing a Flood Dragon to condense a Grade Two Ancient Talisman. Even Grade Three might be out of reach, right?”

“Indeed. Do you think I’ve become useless, and want to eat me now?”

Xiang Nu feigned fear, speaking softly, “Then when you eat me, please swallow me whole. I’m afraid of pain. And don’t sprinkle chili powder—I’m already spicy enough.”

Scarlet aura intertwined to form the words【Spicy Girl】with an arrow pointing toward herself.

“……”

The black蠹虫 was rendered speechless by this lunatic. He said coldly:

“You’d better think about how to explain yourself to the Fifth Seat after the mission failure.”

“Forget it. I’ve already planned to emulate Xiang Yu—no longer able to face the elders of the Club. I shall sink into the depths of history and never return.”

The previously giggling Xiang Nu suddenly grew serious. Waving her hand, she said:

“Just kidding. The plan wasn’t a complete failure. Though we didn’t obtain the Taiping Dragon Vein of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, we also stopped the Corpse-Dissolution Court from succeeding. Set aside the facts—I completed the mission.

Next, the Bureau of Historical Revision will undoubtedly use the Earth Serpent to fully search for the Heavenly King’s Treasure. But what the Lord of the Corpse-Dissolution Court intends to do will require bearing a terrifying punishment of karma. Hence, they want to offset the cost with the World-class Secret Treasure of God.

This『Treasure Lion』is truly obsessed with the Qing Court. Speaking of which, the one who revived him from the Corpse Mountain and Sea of Blood—was that ■…”

Clatter clatter—

As she uttered a syllable, the previously calm tributary suddenly turned turbulent.

Whether it was the black蠹虫’s illusion or not, he felt as if the dim Historical Long River had begun to brighten. Mysterious brilliance flickered into view.

Even with his current power, he felt a chill down his spine. He growled:

“Are you insane? Reciting a name of that level within the Historical Long River—I don’t want to be buried with you!”

In the real world, it might be fine, but within the Historical Long River, uttering the name of a being above the Lord of the Nation would draw their attention.

The more powerful they were, the more likely their thoughts could pierce through past and future—bringing awareness upon the speaker!

These existences could calculate your entire past and future with a snap of their fingers and make you a pawn in their hand.

At that point, death would be a release!

“Heehee, just a joke, little蠹. How come even after becoming a Heavenly Official, you’re still such a coward? That won’t do.”

Xiang Nu spoke with elder-like arrogance. Seeing the increasingly dangerous glint in the black蠹虫’s eyes, she quickly changed the subject:

“Anyway, the Bureau of Historical Revision in Jiangnan Province is also aware. There’s no way they’ll sit idly while the real world is impacted. These two tigers are destined to fight. All we have to do is sit back and reap the benefits. By then, we’ll see—why did God vanish? And what did he leave behind?”

“Heh.”

The black蠹虫 looked at Xiang Nu, who thought victory was in her grasp, and interjected coldly: “Then end up getting pounded by those two until not even half your body remains?”

“Hmph, that was then—this is now.”

Xiang Nu snorted arrogantly. “Luckily, I left behind a Sick Domain with Qing-Ming Historical Depth beforehand. The layout within should now be taking effect. This time, without that monster Jiang Yan interfering, I should be able to ascend to Grade Three Ancient Talisman smoothly. And also…”

She paused momentarily, then extended her hand. A dark-red light orb emerged, like a miniature sun. She smiled softly:

“Though the plan failed, thanks to Jiang Yan-gege’s performance and my successful escape, the Great King of Desire was very pleased with this show and granted me a pretty good reward.”

“This is… You’re seriously lucky.”

The black蠹虫’s eyes brimmed with greed as he stared at the item in her hand, yet he didn’t try to snatch it.

Since Xiang Nu dared to show it to him, it meant she wasn’t afraid of being robbed.

Moreover, this woman had an unusual background—connected to the Third Seat and possibly even their chess piece.

Unless he could ensure her death and erase all traces—even karma couldn’t trace it back—

Otherwise, he’d never escape retribution.

Who exactly was Xiang Nu in the real world?

Suppressing his greed, the black蠹虫 suddenly thought of the rising star—Jiang Yan.

Just a mere Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator, yet he disrupted successive layouts of the pseudo-Ancient Talisman and achieved the Ascension of the Trapped Dragon.

He too must be a bearer of grand Fate?

But whether he carried Great Divine Ability arrangements—

If not…

What a fine prey!

“Since that’s the case, you should first advance to the Ancient Talisman level, and rest for a while within the Historical Long River, waiting for the Heavenly King’s Treasure to open.”

The black bookworm tossed down these words, then turned and left without looking back.

Though he too was a lunatic, spending too much time with the Xiang Nu made him feel as if he himself had become normal.

“Heehee, we’ll meet again.”

The Xiang Nu let out a soft laugh, speaking to no one in particular. Her figure was engulfed by the churning Historical Dust, sinking into the depths of history.

…

…

In the high sky, a bitterly cold wind swept past, swirling clouds and mist.

The [Law Domain—Rivers and Mountains Like a Painting] was flying at high speed, already having crossed several cities.

The group who had survived the calamity were in good spirits, gathering to chat. Occasionally, someone’s face would flush as they claimed they hadn’t slacked off and had gone all out in the group battle, drawing bursts of laughter.

After enduring this catastrophe together, the originally unfamiliar members from various sub-bureaus had become much closer.

Having borne arms side by side was a natural bridge to friendship!

Because she hadn’t lain inside the coffin, Zhao Yinman was squatting at the corner of the scroll, lost in thought.

As for Jiang Yan, he had already organized all his gains.

Aside from the ten-million bonus, the first gain was his own strength enhancement.

His spine had transformed into a dragon; his aura was long and unbroken, having reached the peak of the mid-stage Foundation Establishment.

The Foundation Establishment stage required no flowery insights—only the accumulation of spiritual energy and pushing the limits of one's Foundation.

It was a time-consuming process, and even geniuses had to proceed steadily.

Otherwise, with an unstable Foundation, advancement would become problematic later.

However, Jiang Yan’s [Cataclysmic Sea of the Return Ruins] could shorten this process by devouring tribulation qi.

But the risk was considerable. If not for Qiu Bai rushing back, he would likely have been killed outright by the Xiang Nu.

Still, the calamity was weakened significantly in turn.

The reason calamities existed was because people harbored changing thoughts.

What if Qiu Bai hadn’t acted?

“Foundation Establishment and Ancient Talisman stages are divided into nine grades, categorized into lower, middle, upper, and transcendent levels. Top-tier cultivation methods can condense a transcendent-grade Foundation. My Semi-Dao Scripture also condenses a transcendent-grade Foundation, but above that, there is still the Immortal grade.”

Jiang Yan pondered silently. The [Cataclysmic Sea of the Return Ruins Foundation] far surpassed ordinary transcendent-grade foundations, with significant potential for further growth.

It made no sense that a Dao Scripture at the level of Immortal-God inheritance would only condense a transcendent-grade Foundation.

As it happened, Zhao Yinman knew this. When Jiang Yan asked, she told him that Immortal-grade Foundations would give rise to all sorts of miraculous abilities, enhancing the Law Seed.

Even ordinary spells would turn decay into magic.

She didn’t elaborate much on the specifics.

As for why the Bureau of Historical Revision didn’t publicize this information...

There were only a few people in the world who possessed Immortal-God inheritances.

High-level transcendent knowledge was never something you chose.

Rather, it chose you.

With karma intertwined, it was bound to appear before you!

If you could obtain it, there was nothing more to say. If not…

Knowing would only add unnecessary frustration.

It might even cause certain geniuses to obsessively pursue Immortal-God inheritances, losing themselves in the process.

“Still, if I want to elevate the Cataclysmic Sea of the Return Ruins Foundation to the Immortal grade, I either need to integrate a vast amount of top-tier inheritances and elevate the [Lotus Sutra of the Cataclysmic Sea] to the level of a Dao Scripture, or absorb a massive amount of tribulation qi to forcibly expand the Foundation’s limits—where quantity would give rise to qualitative change, or…”

Thinking to this point, Jiang Yan looked toward his second gain.

Within the Cataclysmic Sea of the Return Ruins, two lotuses—one red and one green—had bloomed. The green lotus drifted gently, while the red lotus rooted itself in the river of tribulation qi, absorbing nutrients.

The green one was the Longevity Azure Lotus, now at six-grade.

This time, he had entered the game with his life, successfully creating a Transforming Dragon Calamity, and thereby birthed a Catastrophe Lotus.

By dissolving the calamity, he saved the group, and gained a six-grade Longevity Azure Lotus, each petal a grade.

Because of Qiu Bai’s intervention, the disaster level wasn’t high. Otherwise, saving the lives of an entire province’s population could have granted him a ten-grade or higher lotus.

Being both the judge and the competitor, he profited from both ends.

A six-grade Longevity Azure Lotus could revive the dead and regrow bones—so long as the person hadn’t died, it could keep their breath going, and preserve their soul for a whole day.

Merging it into one’s Foundation would instantly elevate it to the transcendent grade.

Once enhanced to the seventh grade, it could forcibly elevate the Cataclysmic Sea of the Return Ruins Foundation to the Immortal grade.

However, the higher it went, the more tribulation qi would be required.

“Useless Xiang Nu, couldn’t you have made the calamity a bit more intense?”

Jiang Yan muttered, though it was only a complaint.

After all, if the disaster had been more severe, it would’ve exceeded his capacity.

But human nature being what it was…

Even a free reward would feel like a loss if it wasn’t a huge win.

He shifted his gaze from the Longevity Azure Lotus to the Catastrophe Lotus.

Unlike the inferior product born from Divine Sakura Bio and the Kurokawa Family back then, which still needed to be fed by a fate-holder in a Diseased Domain…

This Catastrophe Lotus was full and glossy, like it had been carved from black-red jade. It was of the highest grade, with tribulation qi coiling around it in the form of flood dragons, and faintly, the sound of dragon roars could be heard.

If the Diseased Domain of the Silver Dynasty had given it to the Water Boy back then, he could’ve directly acquired orange fate, undergone marrow cleansing, and instantly become a cultivation prodigy.

And awakened a unique Cataclysmic Sea spell.

Becoming a Child of Fate!

Except it wasn’t the world’s favor—it was Jiang Yan’s designation.

The cultivation and comprehension of spells would be fed back to Jiang Yan after the recipient’s death.

“What a pity… I don’t even have enough for myself.”

Jiang Yan murmured softly, already having decided on the use for this Catastrophe Lotus.

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