Chapter 209: Sparring with the Mortal World Celestial
Sect Leader Qingyu entered Holy Maiden Jingxin’s chamber and said to her disciple, who was still grooming herself, “Jiang Li went to see Grandmaster Hongchen.”
Holy Maiden Jingxin, who had been struggling to choose a hairstyle to meet Jiang Li, suddenly froze, sensing great danger. She gave up choosing, slipped on a brocade robe embroidered with golden lotus patterns, and arranged her ink-black hair into a simple and elegant bun before stepping out to meet him.
Her skin was like jade, her eyes glimmered with grace—like a pristine lotus untouched by the mortal world.
Although no one knew exactly why Jiang Li was immune to the Grandmaster’s charm, setting aside that aura of lowering intelligence, the Mortal World Celestial herself was a peerless beauty unseen across the ages.
Letting Jiang Li spend extended time with such a beauty—Holy Maiden Jingxin felt he might not be able to restrain himself.
Sect Leader Qingyu had raised Holy Maiden Jingxin personally and naturally knew what she was thinking.
She sighed, feeling that her disciple was simply overthinking it.
“By the way, there’s a book going around the sect lately called The Overbearing Mahayana Fell in Love with Me. Have you read it?” Sect Leader Qingyu asked casually.
“N-n-no, I haven’t heard of it!” Holy Maiden Jingxin was caught completely off guard by the question and denied it immediately, then quickly countered, “Master, what do you think of the book?”
“The writing’s a little immature, but the plot’s alright. You can tell the author put in effort,” Sect Leader Qingyu commented.
What she really wanted to say was that the book had no literary merit—only emotion.
But to save face for the author, she changed her wording.
Upon hearing her master’s praise, Holy Maiden Jingxin was overjoyed.
After she left, Sect Leader Qingyu went to the third brick from the left under her disciple’s bed. She pried it up and casually dug a little, immediately finding exactly what she expected.
“As expected. This girl’s hiding spot hasn’t changed since she was a child.”
It was a storage ring. The ring had a restriction seal—without the key, it could never be opened.
But Sect Leader Qingyu had known how to crack this seal for centuries.
She found a book and got the confirmation she wanted.
“So it really was you who wrote it,” Sect Leader Qingyu muttered, holding her forehead.
The title was written in delicate calligraphy on the cover:
The Overbearing Mahayana Fell in Love with Me.
The Mortal World Celestial’s cultivation technique had been interpreted in various ways by later generations. Qingyu’s branch emphasized purity of heart and detachment from desire.
Looking at it now, saying this master and disciple had betrayed their sect’s teachings wouldn’t be too far off.
Sect Leader Qingyu placed the book back into the ring, buried it again, and covered it with the brick like nothing had happened.
……
“How have you been feeling lately, Celestial? Are you able to control your power?”
The Mortal World Celestial was a Celestial Corpse Being. The soul born from her immortal corpse was also of immortal grade, and with the remaining immortal power in her body, she was, for all intents and purposes, a true immortal.
Unlike normal cultivators who climbed step by step, she had been an immortal since birth. Jiang Li even suspected she wasn’t just a Terrestrial Immortal.
It would take years to fully master her immortal power.
“Wanna try it out?” The Mortal World Celestial asked eagerly, like a child finally allowed to play with a long-forbidden toy.
“Don’t use immortal power.”
In other words—he agreed.
The Mortal World Celestial smiled. Her hands formed the cycle of Yin and Yang—boundless power, the endless loop of life and death, creation and destruction, as if the world itself was born and perished from that very point.
“You can use the Dao of Yin and Yang without tapping into immortal power?” Jiang Li was slightly surprised.
Immortal Elder Changcun had said before—anyone who could become an immortal must have mastered at least one “Dao.” But invoking a Dao required immortal energy; nearly no immortal could use it freely without that energy.
Only pure carriers of a Dao—immortal artifacts—didn’t require immortal energy.
For instance, the Yin-Yang Heaven Seal used the Dao of Karma; Brahma Tower used the Dao of Space; Ancient and Modern Sword used the Dao of Time.
And now, Jiang Li was seeing a Dao used by an immortal-grade being—Yin and Yang.
A pink fist flew toward him—seemingly cute and harmless, but wherever it passed, space itself was torn open, revealing the void!
For ordinary cultivators, even grazing this would mean certain death!
Jiang Li raised an eyebrow and caught the deceptively harmless yet truly devastating punch—a strike no Tribulation Stage cultivator could endure.
He caught that tiny fist, where creation and destruction met, with one hand. The Dao of Yin and Yang had no effect on his body.
“You can use a little more force,” Jiang Li smiled. This level of power wasn’t enough to hurt him.
From a distance, elders and disciples watching were utterly dumbfounded.
They had served the grandmaster for years and knew she was an unbelievably powerful immortal, but had never seen her unleash immortal strength.
Today confirmed she was worthy of the title.
The Mortal World Celestial had fled the Celestial Realm to the Nine Provinces precisely because she was strong enough to suppress the cultivators drawn to her charm.
Back then, the Nine Provinces still had a good number of immortals, yet she remained fearless and could still suppress them—proof of her might.
What shocked the elders and disciples even more was Jiang Li.
The grandmaster was a celestial immortal, favored by the Heavenly Dao, the embodiment of the Dao of Beauty—it made sense that she was powerful.
But what about Jiang Li? He had never been to the Celestial Realm, wasn’t an immortal, yet he was even stronger than their legendary ancestor!
It was simply incomprehensible!
No matter which side they looked at, even Soul Formation elders couldn’t compare.
In other worlds, Soul Formation cultivators might be powerful, but before these two, they were like harmless infants.
The Mortal World Celestial was stunned. She knew Jiang Li was powerful—but not this powerful.
Now, it looked like he might actually be able to bring her joy in combat.
She stopped holding back. Relying on the muscle memory of her original body, she began using martial techniques unique to the Celestial Realm—each punch and kick carrying the force of heaven and earth.
Had she not mastered control over her strength, even a stray wave of power would be enough to destroy the Pure Land.
The Immortal Peach Tree, though lacking sentience, had spiritual awareness. That’s why Jiang Li referred to her as “she” instead of “it.”
The tree spread its branches wide, peach blossoms falling gently, enclosing the combat area between the Mortal World Celestial and Jiang Li.
With the peach tree providing a barrier, the Celestial felt free to go all out. Her punches, elbows, knees, and kicks were no longer pure Yin-Yang Dao—they now contained her brutal physical strength.
“As expected—far surpasses a Terrestrial Immortal in power.” Jiang Li compared her strength to that of Immortal Elder Changcun and Outer World Demons, finding a vast disparity.
This was the difference between heaven and earth, man and immortal!
“Heavenly Immortal? Still not quite enough.” Jiang Li smiled calmly, effortlessly neutralizing the Celestial’s fierce attacks.
In all the Nine Provinces, only Jiang Li could withstand her fists.
What interested him were her techniques—martial skills honed by immortals who trained the physical body in the Celestial Realm.
Even Immortal Elder Changcun didn’t know these.
It was the one thing the Mortal World Celestial did better than Jiang Li.
As they fought, Jiang Li kept mimicking her moves, then surpassing them. Before long, the Celestial had lost any edge she had.
What a pity—it was only her physical strength.
If she used immortal power, it would be far more overwhelming. Then Jiang Li could truly experience the might of a Heavenly Immortal. He mused to himself.
Of course, that was just a thought—he couldn’t let her actually use it.
It was Jiang Li’s first time experiencing strength that surpassed a Terrestrial Immortal. It felt novel, but not truly overwhelming.
The Mortal World Celestial gave it her all, but still couldn’t land a hit—ending up exhausted and breathless.
Jiang Li, on the other hand, remained relaxed, constantly learning and improving through the exchange.
“That’s enough—for now,” Jiang Li said, seeing that the Celestial was running out of steam and starting to call upon her immortal energy. He quickly stopped her.
Besides, the barrier cast by the Immortal Peach Tree was nearly breaking apart. Any further fighting would be impossible to contain.