Immortal of the Ages

Chapter 531: Spiritual Essence Manifestation!

"It doesn't matter if Lu Changfeng suspects me. As long as he locks down the city, no information will come in or out."

In this kind of scenario, the law of the jungle prevailed, and a lot could be accomplished. The Celestial Court was a peculiar place. Here, many facets of life were strictly bound by laws and mandates, making murder inconvenient.

To Yun Xiao, the restrictions here were too great! Yet, because of the darkness that existed here, there was also much to gain.

"Basically, as long as I keep up the image of a righteous and just Arbiter without anything trailing back to me, no one can touch me!" Yun Xiao leaped from the rooftops and headed towards the city gates.

Eventually, the guards looking for him found him and escorted him to the gates.

"Lu Yao, what are you still doing at a time like this?" Lu Changfeng demanded.

"Patrolling…" Yun Xiao came over, clueless, and upon seeing three corpses at the gates, his expression turned sour, and he said to Sun Xiaoqi, "The murderer has killed and displayed the bodies again? Why haven’t you three caught him?"

"Look at who the dead are…" Sun Xiaoqi said.

Yun Xiao looked up, a chill running down his spine. He was silent for a long while, then looked at Lu Changfeng again.

Yun Xiao clenched his teeth. "I, I didn’t expect the murderer to be so strong."

"What an unexpected surprise," Lu Changfeng said. His eyes wide with anger, he then shouted, "Their deaths are on you! Useless! And to think I wanted to put my trust in you!"

Lu Changfeng's roar was formidable! The sound wave seemed to suddenly solidify, forming a ghastly spectral image in front of Yun Xiao!

This spectral image, majestic and imposing, appeared to be a massive green turtle with a gaping maw! It charged towards Yun Xiao!

"Ghost Spirit Guardian!"

"People are terrified by the young master of the Lu Family's strength..." the onlookers murmured in surprise.

"A Ghost Spirit Guardian? He's testing me in public!" Yun Xiao realized instantly.

His gaze turned icy, but his movements were slightly uncoordinated. He quickly gathered his arms, and the Prison Warden Sigil on his forehead suddenly descended, forming the Runic Umbrella.

BOOM! The roaring Ghost Spirit Guardian struck, instantly shattering Yun Xiao’s Runic Umbrella, blasting him into a stone building behind, causing it to collapse in waves.

"He indeed possesses the ability to contend with a True Immortal, the Life Sigil is formidable... but to kill Zhao Cheng instantly, that’s impossible." After this attempt, Lu Changfeng furrowed his brow deeply.

Everyone knew that Lu Yao couldn't yet project his Genesis Spirit. So, it was hard to believe this young man had strength comparable to someone in the Establishment True Immortal Realm.

If this person really had such abilities, why would he impersonate Lu Yao?

"Even if he’s not directly involved, the people behind him probably are!" Lu Changfeng’s face was grim, his target locked.

From the Yuan Song to Lu Xiaolu incidents, he had always found Lu Yao peculiar, a significant threat. This outing was intended to sidestep his parents and deal with the young man directly.

Unexpectedly, his own side faced trouble first!

The onlookers were terrified by this scene.

BANG! Covered in dust, Yun Xiao emerged from the rubble of the stone building, addressing Lu Changfeng, "Young Master, I indeed bear responsibility for this. With the murderer still at large, should we return to the Skyruler Immortal Manor for reinforcements?"

"There’s no need for your involvement," Lu Changfeng responded coldly.

In public, he couldn't take action against Yun Xiao, so he had to let it be.

Without another glance at him, Lu Changfeng said to Lu Qian, "Prepare coffins for these three noble Arbiters. Within a day, the Skyruler Immortal Manor must account for all the deceased!"

"Yes!" Lu Qian and the others from Sangju City nodded earnestly.

"Is support coming?" Sun Xiaoqi asked weakly. "What should we do next, Deputy Changfeng?"

"Do next? The two of you?" Lu Changfeng glared at her and Yun Xiao, "If the murderer isn't dead by today, hang yourselves up there!"

With that, he swished his cloak and left coldly with Lu Qian and the others.

"Forget it, it's none of our business now, let's just squat here," Sun Xiaoqi muttered resignedly, finding a hidden corner to squat down in.

"Why hasn’t it gotten light yet?" She glanced at the city gates, still fearful despite today's quota of three deaths being met, and motioned to Yun Xiao, "Come and squat with me. It’s too dangerous standing tall; you might get hit by a Flying Sword. Those Sword Cultivators are wicked, always striking from the shadows."

She really didn't seem like an Arbiter at all, quite adorable actually. In the Skyruler Immortal Manor, such unpretentious folks were rare indeed.

"Senior Sister Sun," Yun Xiao came over and sat on the bluestone beside her.

"Don't call me senior sister, you're 27, and I'm only 22. Don't make me old. Just call me Xiaoqi."

Seeing Yun Xiao's armor dirty, Sun Xiaoqi took a deep breath and blew it clean in one go, causing his long hair to dance in the air.

"Why does it smell like roast chicken?" Yun Xiao asked.

"Uh, I just ate a few..." Sun Xiaoqi said, embarrassed.

"Oh," Yun Xiao chuckled and fell silent. After a while, he suddenly asked, "It’s been ten years. The young master has gotten quite powerful, hasn't he? He's in the Essence Manifestation Realm of a True Immortal, right?"

"Naturally, he's almost a commander now. Definitely higher than us in the Spirit Projection Realm," Sun Xiaoqi said enviously.

What was commonly known as a True Immortal and the True Immortal Realm actually involved different concepts on the path to immortality.

Everyone in the Third Dao Tribulation was a True Immortal. And the first step in it was the Spirit Projection Realm, where the Genesis Spirit left the body, colloquially called the True Immortal Realm. Then, the second step was the Essence Manifestation Realm.

The First Dao Tribulation, the Eight Mortal Realms, laid the foundation for strength and magic power.

The Second Dao Tribulation, the Eight Dao Heart Realms, cultivated the Dao Heart while paving the way for the Genesis Spirit.

The Third Dao Tribulation was dedicated to cultivating the Genesis Spirit!

Here, the Spirit Projection Realm involved the Genesis Spirit leaving the body and was the foundation of the Third Dao Tribulation.

A spirit that could be projected could interact with the world and bring about many transformations.

The Essence Manifestation Realm brought the first of these transformations to the spirit.

The full name of the Essence Manifestation Realm was the Spiritual Essence Manifestation Realm.

What Lu Changfeng displayed earlier, the Ghost Spirit Guardian, was actually his spirit manifesting for an attack. Naturally, his spirit's true form was a human, not a turtle.

The reason for the turtle manifestation was that the spirit manifestation involved returning to one's ancestral origin. What form it took depended on each individual’s lineage and ancestry.

In the Lu Family's history, there was a Turtle Spirit Immortal who had ascended to the rank of a Rank 2 Stellar Margrave. His spirit, at a certain level, could be passed down to descendants, truly bringing blessings for generations!

Essence manifestation, simply put, was like calling upon the spirit of an ancient ancestor, merging it with one's own, akin to summoning forebears to battle.

This led to one inevitable conclusion!

The more powerful the ancestor, the greater the Third Dao Tribulation they endured!

This was the essence of heritage and depth!

In the Great Dao Celestial Realm, lineage and bloodline were prized for this reason!

Heavenly Officers, noble houses, and Immortal clans all thrived unceasingly because of this!

An old saying in the Celestial Court went like this—

「The essence that flows in one's blood will erupt the instant the spirit manifests」

Such was the mystery of the Third Dao Tribulation!

"I also hope I can reach the Essence Manifestation Realm one day! It would elevate my combat power by leaps, even more so than ascending from a Yang Immortal to a True Immortal," Sun Xiaoqi mused.

"You don’t seem suited much for fighting," Yun Xiao remarked.

"You don’t understand. In this Great Dao Celestial Realm, whether you fight or not is one thing; having the means is another. If I had it, couldn’t I just stay home and eat without all this hassle?" Sun Xiaoqi replied.

"That makes sense," Yun Xiao nodded, then sighed, "Here you are, dreaming of essence manifestation, and I'm not even a True Immortal yet."

"You’re not a True Immortal, but you managed to withstand Brother Feng’s Ghost Spirit Guardian; that means you're truly tough," Sun Xiaoqi patted his shoulder. "Lu Yao, my man, you just need to push a little harder!"

"I really do need to make an effort," Yun Xiao looked out into the endless dark world. "I want to achieve spirit projection and become a True Immortal, but I’m stuck at this step, clueless."

"Spirit projection?" Sun Xiaoqi scratched her head, "I was pretty confused when it happened to me, too. Want a little tip I picked up?"

"Please, enlighten me," Yun Xiao eagerly responded.

"Don’t speak in platitudes. Treat me to a meal first, it must be from the Drunken Immortal Tavern in Sky Soaring City," Sun Xiaoqi’s eyes sparkled.

"Sure, sounds like a deal!" Yun Xiao laughed.

"Not bad, not bad, young man. Generous! You've got potential!" Sun Xiaoqi chuckled.

"Get on with it. It’ll be daylight soon," Yun Xiao urged.

"The break of dawn is good. Right after the dark skies clear and the Celestial Sourcecore erupts throughout the city, that’s the perfect moment for initial spirit projection," Sun Xiaoqi explained.

"How exactly do I do it?" Yun Xiao asked.

Sun Xiaoqi blushed slightly. "Well, I just thought of spirit projection as dreaming. Haven’t we always dreamed of flying through the skies since we were kids? So I half-slept, relaxed, and thought about things I wanted, places I wanted to go, people I wanted to embrace... I had starved myself for several days, just thinking about roast chicken. I thought and thought, nearly drove myself mad, and suddenly, there was a jolt, and I realized my spirit had left my body and was already downstairs at the chicken roastery!"

"..." Yun Xiao was speechless. After a long pause, he finally gave Sun Xiaoqi a thumbs-up. "Brilliant indeed."