Chapter 177: Mahayana Stage—The Jiang Li Stage
“Little brother, how did you get back here? Why do you look exactly the same as when you left? And who are these gentlemen?” Bu Jing asked. Jiang Li’s methods were beyond his comprehension, like something straight out of myth.
Just moments ago, he had been blind, standing with his back to everyone, using his five senses to perceive all directions. He could “see” the clan leader of the Bu family, Bu Tian, and his little brother behind the door, but he couldn’t “see” Jiang Li and the other two at all—it was as if they left no trace, completely undetectable, like they existed outside this world.
Now that Jiang Li had healed his eyes, he realized there were actually three more people.
Although they’d been mentally prepared, the Bu Clan Leader and Bu Tian still felt a sense of absurdity upon realizing that Abu was truly the little brother of their ancestor.
They suddenly had a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old junior ancestor.
When it came to Jiang Li’s background, Abu was visibly excited. Even though Jiang Li and the other two had repeatedly denied being immortals, in Abu’s eyes, the Nine Provinces was the Immortal Realm, and Jiang Li and his companions were immortals.
“The Realm-Breaking Talisman brought me to the Nine Provinces World. Unfortunately, I was unlucky and ended up in the Extreme North, where I was frozen for a few hundred years before I finally thawed and was brought here by them.”
“Let me introduce you—this is Jiang Li, the Human Sovereign of the Nine Provinces, the strongest man in the Nine Provinces. This is Bai Hongtu, Sect Master of the Dao Sect, and this is Yu Yin, Empress of the Tianyuan Dynasty. These two are at the Tribulation Stage.”
“Big Brother, you probably don’t know what the Tribulation Stage is. In our world, Human Sovereign Peak is called the Nascent Soul Stage over there. Above that is the Soul Formation Stage, Fusion Stage, and then the Tribulation Stage. And above the Tribulation Stage… is the Human Sovereign Jiang Li!”
Jiang Li felt something was off hearing that. It made it sound like he was a cultivation realm.
“I think Abu’s got a point. Since you’re the only one at the Mahayana Stage now, why not just rename it? Call it the Jiang Li Stage. That way, when people see you, they’ll exclaim—look, that’s Jiang Li of the Jiang Li Stage!” Bai Hongtu suggested, clearly pleased with his own idea.
Yu Yin’s lips curved slightly, but she quickly returned to her frosty demeanor.
“Then I propose anyone who talks too much and spouts nonsense should be scolded with—‘Why are you being such a Bai Hongtu?’” Jiang Li replied expressionlessly. “Let’s make that the first agenda item at the next Nine Provinces Council Meeting.”
Bai Hongtu quickly shut his mouth.
Bu Jing slowly got up, dragging his aging body, and gave the three of them a deep bow. A long while later, he finally straightened up and said, “Thank you all for bringing my little brother back home and letting me see my family one last time before I pass.”
Jiang Li had already noticed—Bu Jing was like a candle in the wind, his life force barely hanging on.
At over three hundred years old, he had already reached the limit of Human Sovereign Peak, and after failing to break through, it wasn’t just his eyesight that suffered. His body was riddled with hidden injuries, and the physical pain and mental torment had been steadily draining what little life he had left.
He was already at his limit.
Bu Jing seemed to know he was about to die, and he peacefully closed his eyes, his expression calm…
“Ancestor!” The Bu Clan Leader and Bu Tian cried out and rushed to support him in panic.
The Bu Clan Leader, hands trembling, raised two fingers and placed them under Bu Tian’s nose. With a heavy tone, he said, “The Ancestor… has fallen asleep…”
Bu Tian wailed, “Ancestor, how could you just—what? Asleep? Dad, are you messing with us? You’re this solemn just because he’s sleeping?”
“I was just worried he might not wake up again,” the clan leader explained awkwardly. He’d already set his expression, only to find out the ancestor was just napping.
“He’s got six months, seven days, and two more hours left,” Bai Hongtu said. Though Bu Jing felt like he could die at any moment, in Bai Hongtu’s eyes, he still had over half a year left.
Figuring out how long someone had left to live was no challenge for Bai Hongtu.
“Let him sleep well,” Jiang Li said. He could tell that Bu Jing’s peaceful expression didn’t mean death was near, but that he had finally let go of his burdens and fallen into restful sleep.
……
Bu Jing returned to that dream again, but this time, his little brother wasn’t there.
The river was shrouded in mist, stretching endlessly in both directions. On the far bank, his father and mother stood calling him by his childhood nickname, asking him to come over.
Their faces were obscured by the thick fog, impossible to make out.
In the dream, Bu Jing was no longer a hunched, wrinkled old man, but a spirited twenty-year-old in his prime. Though only an innate martial artist, he felt stronger than he ever had as a Human Sovereign Peak cultivator.
Hearing his parents call him, he ran toward them with a bright smile on his face.
In the past, he could only place one foot in the river before becoming stuck, unable to move forward or reach them.
But this time, he stepped into the water with both feet and felt like he could actually make it across. Yet this time, he stopped.
Bu Jing turned back to the shore.
“Xiao Yin, what’s wrong? Why aren’t you coming over?” his father asked curiously. “Before, you always wanted to come but couldn’t—why stop now that you finally can?”
Bu Jing wore an apologetic smile.
“Father, Mother, little brother has returned. The Twelve Heavenly Kings aren’t dead yet. Even if I die, it has to be on the battlefield against the Kings. If I just sleep and pass on, Father in the underworld will definitely be furious.”
A gust of wind blew past, dispersing the mist over the river—and with it, the figures of his parents.
……
Bu Jing had never slept as soundly and peacefully as he did that day. When he woke up, he felt a boundless surge of energy, like he’d become that vibrant young man from his dream again.
“If you’re awake, come outside and soak up some sun,” Jiang Li’s voice echoed in his ears.
Bu Jing had stayed hidden in the secret chamber for a hundred years, barely stepping outside. Even when he did, it was always in the dead of night.
Very few in the Bu family even knew of his existence. If anyone discovered him, it would cause a huge uproar. Never mind his background—his appearance alone would be enough to send rumors all the way to His Majesty.
In this world, everyone died in their forties and always looked middle-aged. An elderly man like him would surely be seen as a freak.
Whenever he thought of that, Bu Jing couldn’t help but feel both amused and bitter.
How pitiful that people in this era had never even seen an old man.
It was daytime, but Bu Jing still followed Jiang Li’s suggestion and left the secret chamber, entering the main hall.
“I heard from Abu that you’ve memorized all kinds of martial arts manuals?” Jiang Li had heard that their father, Bu Wu, was the leader of the Martial Alliance and had collected countless martial arts texts. Bu Jing, being a book lover, spent all his time in the library. Though most of the manuals had been destroyed by the Heavenly Kings, Abu believed his big brother might still remember some.
“If you mean the manuals from three hundred years ago, yes, I memorized them. I can’t say all of them, but I remember seventy or eighty percent. There are some obscure ones I’ve never seen,” Bu Jing replied.
“That’s plenty,” Jiang Li nodded. “Can you write them all down?”
“I can.”
Bu Jing answered without hesitation. He knew those manuals by heart. In the dark secret room, what he did most was study those manuals, trying to find a way to break through Human Sovereign Peak.
Unfortunately, after three hundred years, he’d gained nothing.