Chapter 4: Primordial Spirit Fusion

Shi Jun looked stunned: "Me? What use do I have for it?"

"Idiot! Catch!" Nisu forcibly thrust the Green Word into Shi Jun's hands and rolled his eyes: "Remember, I have left quite a few cultivation scriptures of the Five Realms in my collection. Don't be greedy; start your practice with the earth-type spells because you are a mortal. Only by successfully mastering earth-type spells can you smoothly cultivate the spells of the other four realms and thoroughly integrate them."

"..." Shi Jun gave a bitter smile: "Come on, aren't you giving me a bit too much credit? Do you expect me to practice bitterly down in the netherworld?"

Nisu looked at Shi Jun with a half-smile, but his words were dead serious: "When we fought just now, you already used water-type and earth-type spells. That is almost impossible to achieve. Over the years, you are surely the first mortal capable of wielding both elemental powers simultaneously."

Shi Jun was slightly startled; besides astonishment, a trace of pride inevitably welled up in his heart, yet he still could not figure out what Nisu was scheming.

"My primordial spirit has been infected by the poison of the Weak Water and will soon perish completely, but being able to see you before I die truly brings me a great deal of comfort."

Hearing this, Shi Jun suddenly felt a pang of distress: "I'm sorry, I was only trying to save my life back then. Can the poison of the Weak Water not be cured?"

Nisu shook his head: "You needn't dwell on it; I never blamed you to begin with. Besides, I am already very tired and long to completely let go of years of grievances and rest for a while. Furthermore, in you, I have seen hope once more."

"What?"

"The dream I could not fulfill, you are capable of realizing." Nisu said in a deep voice: "Didn't you say just now that you refuse to submit to your fate? To refuse fate, you must have sufficient capital! Do you not wish to accomplish something meaningful? Do you wish to remain at the mercy of the hand of fate and let the heavens oppress you at will? Do you not wish to become a mighty expert who can not only freely master your own destiny, but also arbitrarily alter the destinies of others as you please?"

Enduring the gaze of Nisu's piercing eyes, Shi Jun's heart pounded heavily, and his expression involuntarily grew solemn.

——Does Your Excellency wish to live a dull life as an ordinary mortal, or become an overlord who stirs the winds and clouds, holding the life and death, honor and disgrace of millions in your hands?

——Your Excellency is destined not to be contained in a mere puddle; no matter when or where, the grand design of ruling the world lies right within your grasp. However, how to choose still depends entirely on Your Excellency's will!

These were the words spoken back then by Old Ancestor Huangquan in the Azure Depths of the Netherworld, yet even now, Shi Jun had no idea how far he was from that so-called "grand design of ruling the world." For the longest time, he had felt like a puppet with strings tied to all four limbs, every action subject to others and entirely beyond his own control.

At the very least, I must change my own destiny, and I will never become anyone's puppet. Shi Jun thought silently, a captivating brilliance flashing in his eyes, causing even Nisu to feel a sense of hesitation to meet his gaze directly. Nisu looked away, and after a long moment, spoke in a hoarse voice: "...Remember, before cultivating, split a portion of your primordial spirit and attach it to the Green Word. This way, it will be equivalent to two of you working hard simultaneously, and the effect will be doubled. The incantation to transfer the primordial spirit is not difficult, but once you embark on this path of cultivation, you are stepping onto a long and arduous journey."

* * * * * * * *

Nisu's voice sounded indescribably relaxed and at ease, and a very joyful smile even bloomed across his ugly face.

"Alright, now I will tell you the incantation so that you can attach your primordial spirit to the Green Word."

Having said this, he abruptly stood up, puffed out his chest, and a golden-yellow light burst forth from his lower abdomen, which then expanded. Amidst the flashing golden light, his figure suddenly vanished.

Looking closer, this ball of golden light flickered uncertainly before Shi Jun's eyes, gradually contracting until, after about half a minute, it shrank to the size of a fist, spinning rapidly in mid-air with a tangible solidity. Several lines of text suddenly imprinted themselves into Shi Jun's mind; they were traditional characters, swaying vaguely and shimmering in and out of view.

Nisu's voice suddenly rang out in the cave: "Memorize this quickly. This is the incantation for transferring the primordial spirit. However, you must wait until my primordial spirit has vanished before you can transfer your own over."

"Vanished? Are you going to die right now?" Shi Jun was startled and stood up as well. "But I..."

"Don't interrupt! Listen to me. I won't let you die—that would be letting you off far too easily. Didn't you say you refuse to submit to fate? Then keep this life and continue fighting your destiny with it! Continue fighting the damned heavens with it! You must know that while dying is certainly not easy, staying alive is an even more excruciating torment. You brat caused me to die a proper death, how could I let you off easily? Naturally, I must make you enjoy boundless immortal blessings and live as long as the heavens, suffering endless torment alongside my sworn brother." Nisu's voice carried a half-smile, tinged with a strange, mocking undertone.

Shi Jun opened his mouth in shock, unable to utter a single half-syllable, but a sudden blockage in his chest sent a surging wave of hot blood rushing up, leaving his eyes fixed only on that continuously spinning golden ball of light.

"Do not take the treasure I left behind lightly; those are all good things and will definitely be of use to you. In particular, there is a Shennong Cauldron inside specifically used for refining pills, which you can study carefully. You must realize that pills you can purchase are basically incapable of saving your life. If you wish to live a long life, you must learn to refine pills yourself. As for the method of pill refinement, you can find a book inside the cauldron; feel free to ponder it when you have time. Remember not to leak the secret of the treasure, for others would shatter their heads trying to fight for it. Be careful yourself; if you end up meeting the same fate as me, you would辜负 (fail to live up to) my good intentions. Alright, in a moment I will send my primordial spirit into your body to help you drive out the toxin. Once you have fully recovered, find a way to leave on your own. When you see my sworn brother, remember to tell him that as the elder brother, I have missed him dearly all these years, it's just a pity that the days of roaming the mountains, drinking side by side, and discussing the heroes of the world are gone forever..." By the end, Nisu's voice was barely audible, and the rotation of the golden ball of light gradually slowed down.

* * * * * * * *

"..." Shi Jun wanted to say something, but right at that moment, the ball of light suddenly lunged toward Shi Jun's face. Shi Jun was startled and instinctively jerked his head back, but the light ball came too fast; with a loud "bang," it crashed forcefully into him. Shi Jun's body felt as if it had been forcibly frozen in place, and he watched helplessly as the light ball aimed straight for his mouth with lightning speed. Before he knew it, he saw the light ball vanish right in front of his eyes, and then, sequentially through his mouth, throat, esophagus, and stomach, an intensely scorching energy began to burn. First, Shi Jun's legs went weak and he slumped to the ground; then, he felt his body brimming with boundless energy. Uncontrollably, he leaped up, rushed diagonally into mid-air, crashed into the cave wall, and tumbled down. After spinning more than a dozen times, just as he came to a halt, his body jerked upright once more against his will, bounding and crashing back and forth around the cave. In a short while, his entire body was bruised and aching terribly from the impacts.

* * * * * * * *

"Nisu! Hey! Are you still there? Are you playing tricks on me?" Shi Jun yelled at the top of his lungs, unable to stop himself no matter how hard he tried, suddenly recalling the experience of being pranked by Chiyang back then.

"...Haha, yes and no." After a long while, Nisu's voice sounded once more, echoing through the vast cave: "Don't be anxious, this is just the prelude!"

"Ah?" Shi Jun broke out in a cold sweat: "Hey, what kind of game is this?"

"I told you not to rush. If I don't get all the blood and Qi in your body moving, it won't be easy to clear out the toxin for you. My primordial spirit cannot support itself for long, so stop bickering and making blind trouble, will you?"

"When have I..."

"Alright, I'll make it clear beforehand: my remaining strength is limited and may not completely expel all the toxin from your body. If that happens, your physical body will perish, so you must learn the primordial spirit transfer method as quickly as possible and preserve your primordial spirit through the Green Word, so you can survive just like me."

What? The physical body perishes? Shi Jun could not imagine what he would look like without a physical body. Would he be forced to inhabit this little wooden doll from then on? Just thinking about it—if one day his mother, Qin Xiaoya, heard him call her "Mom," looked down, and saw only a palm-sized little wooden figure or a ethereal, shadowy phantom—wouldn't she faint on the spot? He couldn't help saying: "This is too absurd, isn't it?"

Nisu chuckled lightly: "Haha, I knew you'd be terrified. Let me tell you, even if you really are left with only your primordial spirit, it's not without a solution. Either you undergo reincarnation, or you find a suitable physical body in the mortal realm, and you'll still be yourself."

Just as Shi Jun wanted to speak, his body began to spin like a top once more, shooting straight up into the air like a bamboo sprout breaking through dry ground with every spin. The swirling scenery before his eyes made him dizzy, his stomach burned like fire, and his whole body ached intensely, leaving him with no choice but to close his eyes, relax his entire body to the utmost, and leave his fate to the heavens.

Right at this moment, Nisu's urgent voice rang out abruptly once more: "Hey, Stone, what on earth is going on inside you? It's a complete mess. What are these three fellows up to?"

Three fellows? Shi Jun abruptly opened his eyes, and his body suddenly dropped to the ground, coming to a standstill. He panted heavily and wiped away his sweat: "What are you talking about? How come I don't understand a word?"

* * * * * * * *

Actually, although Shi Jun was afflicted with the poison of the Weak Water, the situation was not as grave as Chiyang had feared. Of course, if it had been anyone else—even touching the tiniest speck of Weak Water—they would have long since died of poisoning, for the Weak Water was formidable indeed. After being poisoned, Shi Jun's spiritual power had plummeted drastically, the radiance of his inner vision had been obscured, and even his out-of-body primordial spirit and physical body had gradually taken on a poisoned blue-purple hue.

Yet these factors were not enough to prove fatal, because three unknown forces existed within Shi Jun's body. Upon detecting the invasion of the Weak Water toxin, they had immediately taken measures to gather the toxin together. However, these three forces each acted independently and thought themselves superior, all scrambling to use their own methods to drive out the toxin for Shi Jun—after all, to them, Shi Jun was currently their host. Once the host died, these forces, which relied on Shi Jun to exist, would naturally vanish into thin air. Therefore, Shi Jun's safety was a matter of life and death for them.

Yet shortly before, when Shi Jun's primordial spirit left his body at Zisheng's home, although his primordial spirit was not powerful, it had been able to suppress these three forces in its capacity as the host. Once the primordial spirit departed, the subtle balance within his body was immediately broken, and the three forces went wild. Not only did they fiercely battle one another, but they were also busy trying to drive out the toxin from Shi Jun individually—and precisely because these three forces acted on their own and interfered with each other, instead of thoroughly purging the poison from his body, they actually drove the toxin straight into his heart.

When Shi Jun and Nisu fought fiercely and were clearly falling behind, those three forces had not been panicked; there had been precedents before, where as long as Shi Jun was losing, they would naturally step out to "turn the tide" in order to protect themselves. Who could have expected Shi Jun to wrap himself in Weak Water a second time, causing even more toxin to flood into his body? Only then did these three forces realize the situation was critical, assess the circumstances, and finally form a united front to jointly suppress the continued permeation of the Weak Water. Even so, they still argued endlessly among themselves and could never decide whose method should be used to save Shi Jun.

Right at that moment, Nisu had suddenly barged in, immediately discovering those three strange forces and inexplicably finding himself jointly suppressed by them. Fortunately, Nisu was quick-witted; he instantly located Shi Jun's true primordial spirit deep within Shi Jun's body and immediately hid behind "Shi Jun." Hesitant to act rashly for fear of harming the host, the three forces had immediately ceased their attacks on Nisu.

"Didn't you know? It's bustling in here! There is demonic power, celestial power... Right, this even more powerful one should be the spiritual power of the netherworld. Heavens, what on earth are you? Who do all these powerful primordial spirit essences belong to?"

Shi Jun grew even more bewildered: "Primordial spirit essences?" He suddenly recalled the battle against the Spirit-Devourer and felt a chill in his heart: "That's right, it seems I could sense them controlling my body once before; you could say they saved my life, but I still have no idea what is going on."

"Primordial spirit essences are the quintessence left behind after a primordial spirit perishes. They lack conscious awareness, but they retain the cultivation, instincts, and likes and dislikes of their former master during life. Right now, I plan to attach my primordial spirit to yours, because at present, your little bit of primordial spirit is simply too weak—how could it ever deal with these three formidable fellows? After I die, my primordial spirit essence will become just like them. Haha, right now the primordial spirits of all Five Realms are gathered inside your belly, kid. This is an auspicious sign; continue your path of conquering the world. Who knows, perhaps one day the unification of the Five Realms will be achieved in your hands."

Shi Jun thought to himself: When on earth did I ever plan to conquer the world? He flexed his body slightly and found that the earlier discomfort had already vanished imperceptibly, though the blue-purple color on his skin not only failed to fade, but grew even deeper.

Nisu's primordial spirit was now at the end of its tether, persisting solely out of a single-minded desire to heal Shi Jun. Feeling a sudden sense of relief upon seeing that those three forces were now joining hands to expel the poison, he thought: "Alright, it seems there is nothing left for me to do here. Remember to practice diligently from now on and stop muddling through so ignorantly. Take care of yourself." With that, he tightly wrapped his remaining primordial spirit around Shi Jun's true primordial spirit and slowly seeped inward.

* * * * * * * *

As Shi Jun was deep in thought, his body suddenly stiffened and he collapsed to the ground with a dull "thud."

"What is it again?" Shi Jun wanted to ask Nisu, but his mouth refused to open, his limbs lacked all strength, the severe pain on his skin had vanished, and even the scorching sensation inside his body had mysteriously disappeared without a trace. In their place, a refreshing and relaxed sensation permeated outward from his internal organs, slowly diffusing through his entire frame. Though he was completely unable to move, he felt no discomfort whatsoever.

What is happening to me? Why can't I move all of a sudden? Shi Jun cried out in his mind, desperately rolling his eyeballs in the hope that Nisu might suddenly pop out, but after waiting for a long time there was no movement at all. Meanwhile, that cool, breezy sensation inside his body grew more mellow, eventually bringing him a feeling akin to floating among the immortals.

Could Nisu have truly "died" just as he claimed? Having burrowed into my belly and merged with my primordial spirit in this manner, has he somehow been "resurrected" through an entirely different method? Speaking of which, it was I who poisoned him with the Weak Water, yet instead of hating me, he went out of his way to expel the toxin for me. Ah, this extreme Nisu, who hated fate so bitterly, ultimately chose such a bizarre way to depart. And yet, despite having spent only this short time with him—and knowing he was the "prime culprit" who caused Yin Gou's death—why not only do I feel no hatred toward him whatsoever, but have instead unknowingly come to regard him as someone very dear? Why do I still feel a twinge of sadness now that he is gone?

The ruin-like cave had long since returned to peace, leaving only scattered stones, broken branches and leaves, and the haphazardly strewn treasures of Nisu resting quietly on the ground. Shi Jun lay flat on his back in the center of the cave, while across his previously blue-tinted skin, network-like woody patterns suddenly emerged, flickering in and out of sight. Like soil after a spring rain, countless tiny green shoots sprouted all at once across his body and hands, growing quietly and winding along his figure as leaf after leaf continuously unfurled, releasing a faint, delicate fragrance.

Shi Jun's mind was filled with chaotic thoughts about his conversation with Nisu, entirely unaware of the dramatic changes taking place upon his body. By the time he noticed, a lush patch of greenery with a radius of about ten meters had grown across the floor of the cave, centered entirely around him; even the cave walls and ground had begun sprouting various green shoots that grew rapidly at an astonishing pace.

Shi Jun was startled and instinctively wanted to leap up to see what on earth was going on, but his body remained completely paralyzed. Glancing through the corner of his eye, Shi Jun caught sight of the little wooden doll called Green Word, who was already sitting right on his chest, resting its chin in both hands and looking down at him with a worried expression.

What is the meaning of this? What has happened to me? Shi Jun wanted to take a closer look at Green Word, but his line of vision was quickly blocked—he watched in astonishment as a tiny green shoot sprouted right on the tip of his nose!

Unable to move a muscle, unable to utter a single word, what should he do? Hey! Nisu, are you still there? Say something! Little wooden doll! Green Word! Green Word! Shi Jun shouted frantically in his mind, but unfortunately, there was no response. Before long, his vision was entirely blocked by a lush, verdant green. The plants sprouting from his body grew wildly, and within a short time, the entire cave was completely jammed, the vegetation continuing to grow upward toward the top of the cave at a blistering pace.

* * * * * * * *

Outside Tianmiao Lake at this moment, the Butterfly-Bone Dragons, having suffered a crushing defeat, were tallying their casualties. The monsters lingering outside the barrier saw the swirling black currents in the lake suddenly vanish and figured this must be another fake treasure. While disappointed, they also felt a measure of relief—after all, they didn't have to risk running inside. They knew full well that the Craggy Mountains were the territory of the Butterfly-Bone Dragons and that pack of carnivorous water demons; while Nisu's treasure was certainly alluring, life was far more precious, and rushing in blindly was always a dangerous endeavor. Since it was fake, there was no need to continue loitering and watching. Of course, the appearance of Shi Jun, Lie Jin, Xiaotian, and the others only made the people of the demon realm more firmly convinced of the rumor that Fuyao was a spy—look, not only was she a spy, but a multi-layered one at that! Not only had she leaked news of the treasure to the netherworld, but she had even summoned formidable figures from the demon and celestial realms as well. Who knew how much profit she had pocketed by selling the news of Nisu's treasure to so many different factions at once? Such an act of betraying the realm and capitulating to the enemy was simply outrageous!

Those monsters who had been single-mindedly hoping to fish for benefits from Nisu's treasure were cursing as they prepared to retreat, when suddenly they heard some unusual commotion. Turning their heads to look, they couldn't help gaping in astonishment, their jaws dropping so wide they couldn't close them for a long time.

As it turned out, the water of Tianmiao Lake had somehow dried up completely without a trace, revealing a massive muddy pit nearly a hundred meters deep. The vast majority of the water demons, such as the saw-toothed fish and frantic water horses, could not survive away from a water source. The moment the lake dried up, they suffocated, rolling their eyes while gasping with wide-open mouths, struggling and thrashing frantically in the silt. The marrow-sucking crabs, being terrified of the air, burrowed headfirst into mud holes to hide. In addition, countless amphibious carnivorous water demons were scrambling ashore in a panic, fleeing into the territory of the Butterfly-Bone Dragons' craggy mountain crystal plaza.

Shun Tian, who was busy cleaning up the aftermath, had never encountered such a large-scale "territorial invasion" before. In the past, these habitually tyrannical creatures would have long since bared their claws and pounced forward to pick a fight, but having just suffered a crushing defeat, they were already feeling dispirited. Suddenly witnessing such a massive upheaval at Tianmiao Lake, they figured it was probably another stunt pulled by those fellows from earlier—were they still not done fighting?! Consequently, a wave of panic rippled through them, and they all looked uniformly toward their leader, Shun Tian, awaiting his decision.

Shun Tian had also just noticed the strange anomaly at Tianmiao Lake. Being a figure who understood more than just reckless bravery, he immediately sensed that something was amiss and hastily gestured for everyone to keep their distance, observe patiently, and refrain from acting rashly.

* * * * * * * *

The onlookers who had been preparing to fly away were also thrown into an uproar: for thousands of years, Tianmiao Lake had never experienced a drought. This truly was a spectacle—was it because of Nisu's treasure, or something those spies had stirred up just now? If it was the latter, then those fellows were truly terrifying! In just this brief moment, they had actually managed to dry up such a massive lake; who knew what might happen next?

Driven by curiosity, quite a few bold and reckless monsters accidentally flew right into the Butterfly-Bone Dragons' barrier just to catch a clearer glimpse. At that moment, however, everyone's attention was entirely focused on the strange phenomenon occurring at Tianmiao Lake; even though those Butterfly-Bone Dragons caught the scent of appetizing prey with their noses, not a single one of them was tempted. Monsters crowding the sky and earth seemed as though they had been struck by a immobilization spell; they all held their breath, staring unblinkingly at Tianmiao Lake.

After a short while, massive deep-brown mud bubbles suddenly began to erupt from the center of the Tianmiao Lake mud pit, churning relentlessly like a pot of boiling water. Before long, amidst the dumbfounded stares of all the monsters, thousands of towering ancient trees abruptly shot up from the bottom of Tianmiao Lake. As if coordinated by prior agreement, regardless of their height or girth, they quickly filled the entire expanse of mud flat to the brim, their canopies laden with numerous on-the-verge-of-death water demons swaying weakly.

Seeing this, the intelligence and reconnaissance officers of various tribes quickly rushed back to relay the news, while those monsters who had initially dared only watch from afar could no longer restrain themselves. With a collective surge, they rushed straight into the barrier, crowding around the massive trees, shouting and exclaiming in utter astonishment.

For many years, it was the first time so many outsiders from other demon tribes had simultaneously intruded into the territory of the Butterfly-Bone Dragon clan. Yet at this very moment, no one harbored any other motives; instead, they all squeezed together, mutual questioning and speculating, desperate to figure out what on earth had taken place here.

Right at that moment, a sharp shriek suddenly rang out from deep within the dense forest. The monsters were startled and whipped their heads around in unison, only to see Xiaotian swaying his body as he flew out from the dense woods—

"Ah, isn't that the spy from the celestial realm?" An experienced old Butterfly-Bone Dragon standing beside Shun Tian, who had long since deduced from Xiaotian's aura that this murderous little fellow came from the celestial realm, let out a startled cry upon seeing him suddenly appear.