Chapter 412: Jiang Li's Statue
“Can killing fallen immortals also grant merit power?”
Jiang Li shook his head slightly. This matter was utterly bizarre.
The Heavenly Dao sought to destroy all living beings, so killing people granting merit power was somewhat understandable.
But if killing fallen immortals also granted merit power, did that mean the Heavenly Dao wanted to destroy not just the myriad worlds but even the immortal realm?
That didn’t make sense. What could it possibly gain?
Peace and quiet?
Ever since learning why the Heavenly Dao developed sentience, Jiang Li’s image of it had done a complete one-eighty.
Immortal Elder Changcun solemnly handed the Venerable Shenzang Statue to Jiang Li. “Now you understand the Heavenly Dao’s power. Even a mere statue of its incarnation is this indestructible…”
Jiang Li took the statue and effortlessly snapped it in two with slight pressure.
Immortal Elder Changcun: “……”
“Master was powerful, but even he couldn’t make an image completely indestructible. Even if you’re stronger than him, the difference shouldn’t be that great…”
Jiang Li handed his own statue to Immortal Elder Changcun, gesturing for him to try breaking it.
The elder exerted all his strength but couldn’t even crack Jiang Li’s statue.
Immortal Elder Changcun: “……”
This conversation had reached a dead end.
“Regardless, now that you know the truth, you’ll eventually have to face the powerful immortal realm and the Heavenly Dao that stands above all creation. Prepare yourself mentally – this will undoubtedly be a brutal life-and-death struggle.”
Abandoning all pretense, Immortal Elder Changcun cut straight to his conclusion.
“The Venerable Shenzang’s statue was quite sturdy – I needed Celestial Immortal-level power to shatter it,” Jiang Li explained to the trio.
Bai Hongtu curiously tried smashing Jiang Li’s statue with full strength, but naturally, the statue remained unharmed.
Yu Yin shot Bai Hongtu a glance, noticing his biased treatment. He hadn’t used nearly this much force when attacking the Venerable Shenzang’s statue.
“How much strength would you need to break your own statue then?”
Jiang Li found Bai Hongtu’s question idiotic: “The statue bears my likeness. Why would its durability work against me? Of course it would shatter at a touch.”
“To determine which statue is harder, we’d need a Celestial Immortal to test them. But all Celestial Immortals are in the immortal realm now. Where could we possibly find…”
Mid-sentence, Jiang Li suddenly remembered there was one rather simple-minded Celestial Immortal in the Nine Provinces.
“Anyway, we came to see you, Elder, precisely to discuss these matters. You should focus on enjoying your retirement – let the younger generation handle things from now on.”
With their business concluded, Jiang Li stood to take his leave.
Yu Yin felt the trip worthwhile, having learned so many secrets, and returned to the Tianyuan Dynasty.
Bai Hongtu stared intently at the small Jiang Li statue, deep in thought. He realized his plans to defeat Jiang Li had been too hastily made.
“Should my first step to defeating Jiang Li be breaking this statue?”
Nearby, Immortal Elder Changcun worried Bai Hongtu might not even clear this first hurdle.
“Ancestral Master, why don’t you invent more cultivation realms? Something like the Loose Immortal stage? Maybe I could break through then.” Bai Hongtu eagerly regarded the elder as some omnipotent being who could make reality with words.
Immortal Elder Changcun rolled his eyes and ignored him.
……
Jiang Li arrived at the Red Dust Pure Land, which remained as tranquil and isolated as ever, untouched by the passage of time.
While the world had undergone tremendous changes over the millennia, the Red Dust Pure Land still lay peacefully in the western corner of the Nine Provinces, completely detached from worldly affairs.
“Please announce my visit – Jiang Li has come.”
He spoke to two female disciples at the gate, noticing their originally innocent eyes suddenly change when they saw him.
Almost as if… they wanted to devour him?
Must be his imagination.
Holy Maiden Jingxin came down the mountain with flushed cheeks to welcome Jiang Li inside.
Sect Leader Qingyu was visiting Buddhist sects again, leaving Jingxin temporarily in charge.
Jiang Li realized it wasn’t his imagination – hearing of his arrival, female disciples put down their books to stare at him with the same intense gaze as the gatekeepers.
He noticed they weren’t reading scriptures or cultivation manuals, but rather “The Overbearing Great Mulitplier Falls For Me (Part 2).”
There was a sequel?
Didn’t the first book end with their marriage and twin children? What more could they write?
Having read the first installment, Jiang Li found its content rivaling his own cringeworthy teenage writings – so embarrassing it could make one tear through space itself.
What now? Did they divorce and remarry? Or did the male lead lose his memory for a fresh start?
Judging by how every female disciple held a copy, the sequel seemed quite popular.
“Did you come to see me this time?” Holy Maiden Jingxin asked nervously, fidgeting with her sleeve.
“Half right.”
“What do you mean?”
“I came to see your ancestral master.”
“How is that half?”
“‘Your ancestral master’ – four characters. You guessed two correctly.”
“……”
Jiang Li found the Mortal World Celestial as carefree and innocent as ever. Simply being near her infectious cheerfulness made one relax unconsciously.
“Greetings, Celestial.”
“No need for formalities, Human Sovereign.” She tried putting on a serious expression, but with grass still clinging to her hair from lying on the lawn, the effect was ruined.
Holy Maiden Jingxin stepped forward to tidy her ancestral master’s appearance.
“Don’t move. There’s a leaf here.”
“Oh.”
Jiang Li produced both statues.
“Is this for me?” The Mortal World Celestial couldn’t take her eyes off Jiang Li’s statue. She’d seen many during her travels but never had a chance to acquire one.
The Venerable Shenzang Statue was completely ignored.
Some weird, ugly sculpture.
“If you like it, I can give you two more. But first, could you try crushing these statues?”
Puzzled but obliging, she complied.
“Incredibly sturdy.” She needed full strength to crush the Venerable Shenzang’s statue.
With Jiang Li’s statue, even when she strained until her face turned red, it wouldn’t break.
“What material is this? Even I can’t crush it?” The Celestial was baffled.
Jiang Li simply smiled without explanation, gifting her one of his statues as thanks.
Her attempt gave him a rough estimate of Venerable Shenzang’s strength.
Weaker than himself.
“By the way, could I have one more statue?”
“Why would you need two?”
The Celestial giggled. “To give away.”
After Jiang Li left, she presented the extra statue to Holy Maiden Jingxin.
“How did you know I wanted this?” The delighted maiden planned to place it in her meditation area to aid concentration during cultivation.
“Because unlike the Human Sovereign, I’m not blind.”
……
Leaving the Red Dust Pure Land, Jiang Li suddenly remembered his immunity to the Celestial’s charm.
“The Celestial embodies the Heavenly Dao’s beauty. Cultivators depend on the Dao, making them unable to resist her allure.”
“Could I be stronger than the Heavenly Dao itself, hence the immunity?”