Longevity, starting from being a chicken raising servant Chapter 2313: 171: Testing (Bonus Chapter 1, Part 3)
Previously on Longevity, starting from being a chicken raising servant...
In his mind, Wang Ba's humble origins weren't a flaw at all; instead, they made him admire the man even deeper.
Starting from a minor world and reaching his current heights demanded facing endless hardships and perils that are hard to picture. The deadly ordeals he's endured must number far beyond counting, impossible for most to grasp. Sure, fortune helped along the way, but the real key lies in the cultivator's own qualities.
Lacking enough innate skill, resolve, and prowess, even endless treasures couldn't forge the mighty Taiyi True Man of today, who dominates everything in his path, outshining the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the Supreme True Buddha.
Besides, once someone hits Taiyi True Man's stage, their background matters little. A being brimming with the power to reach Mahayana and rise to the Second Realm Sea gets judged purely on their strengths, regardless of roots, ignoring petty birth details.
Truth be told, such lowly starts lend an epic, mythical charm to their tale.
He wasn't drawn to the fellow just because of ties to Heavenly Monarch Chao; it was more about the skills and promise this person had shown.
Thinking this over, the purple-robed youth gave a faint head shake and spoke:
“Jade must be shaped to serve as a tool. Friend Daoist, had your path been easy and you'd soared right into the Cloud Sky Realm, you probably wouldn't stand at your present glory. Fate mixes blessings with curses like that.”
Wang Ba, hearing those words, thought back to his history and gave a nod.
“Brother Daoist's insight rings true.”
Though he hated to confess it, without roaming the Little Cang World and clashing time and again in the Immortal Forbidden Land and Sea of Chaos, his gains in this brief span wouldn't have been so vast.
The purple-robed youth turned his eyes, a smile playing on his lips:
“Still, for you to open up about your background to me, there must be more on your mind you'd like to share.”
Wang Ba looked apologetic, lifting his hand a bit:
“I held back before, so I hope Brother Daoist can excuse that.”
“It's fine.”
The purple-robed youth dismissed it with a wave. As Heavenly Monarch Chao's direct disciple, that link was no lie. Their groups were on good terms, having traded valuables in the past, so this minor thing didn't faze him. Curiosity sparked, he asked:
“At your level of cultivation, everyday issues shouldn't bother you, but I'm wondering what exact trouble has you acting so wary.”
Wang Ba nodded and replied:
“Yes, it's a weighty issue... by luck, I skipped the Ascension Tribulation and drifted the Realm Sea instead, stumbling into a certain spot. They say it was once an immortal battlefield that wiped out myriad domains, sparing just a handful of lives...”
“The Sea of Chaos?”
The purple-robed youth blinked in surprise and blurted out.
Wang Ba froze, staring at the purple-robed youth in astonishment:
“Does Brother Daoist know of the Sea of Chaos too?”
Then it hit him: “Did Master Chao mention it?”
The Supreme True Buddha had seized the sole way out from the Sea of Chaos long ago, reshaping its trapped cultivators with Six Paths Pond Water, so this secret stayed hidden from all but him and Heavenly Monarch Chao, who'd heard it from his lips.
The purple-robed youth paused for a beat, nodding at Wang Ba's guess, then fired back unexpectedly:
“You made it into the Sea of Chaos, so how exactly did you break free from that trap?”
Wang Ba quickly summed up running into the Supreme True Buddha there, tagging along to escape, and beholding the Reclining Buddha.
He added gravely:
“Those cultivators pulled from the Sea of Chaos by the Supreme True Buddha's followers get bound by all sorts of controls and bent to their will, explaining the endless supply of Bodhisattvas and Arhats for the Supreme True Buddha. The Cloud Sky Realm might hold them off temporarily, but not indefinitely; the Sea of Chaos hides who knows how many Unification experts, and outside its odd conditions, they can swiftly hit Crossing Tribulation with minimal effort...”
“Unless we cut off the Supreme True Buddha's tie to the Sea of Chaos, I'm worried...”
He skipped any mention of the Little Cang World and held back on pushing a direct plan, keeping his view neutral and free of personal stakes to avoid swaying how others took it.
This tweak came from weighing Master Chao's earlier response.
After Wang Ba's tale, the purple-robed youth's face grew far more serious, as if he'd heard whispers of the Sea of Chaos but nothing concrete about its state.
He creased his brow:
“That Sea of Chaos is a massive headache!”
“Yet breaking the Supreme True Buddha's hold on the Sea of Chaos...”
Wang Ba chimed in at the right moment:
“The Supreme True Buddha didn't lock down the Realm Sea vortex exit too tightly, but since I slipped away, they might tighten up now; smashing the exit from that vortex could prove tough.”
“Yet separating the Sea of Chaos from the real Realm Sea stands a barrier, dubbed the ‘Immortal Pass’ by folks inside, though it goes by ‘Duanhai Cliff’ beyond...”
“Duanhai Cliff...”
The purple-robed youth whispered the term, then shook his head right away, tone unyielding:
“No way to shatter Duanhai Cliff—that approach won't work.”
“Won't work?”
Wang Ba looked confused:
“Not even for Mahayana powerhouses? Like True Man Gai and the rest...”
“That plan's no good!”
The purple-robed youth stressed again, his voice leaving no room for debate.
Wang Ba went quiet at that, doubts swirling inside him.
The reaction felt off, echoing Heavenly Monarch Chao's guarded air from before, both wrapped in heavy mystery.
Seeing this, he held his tongue, merely stating:
“So our only choice is checking the Realm Sea vortex site for any possible solution.”
The youth's features softened, as if catching his slip, and he nodded:
“Your intel means a lot, Friend Daoist. I'll pass it on to True Man Gai and the others soon...”
Mid-sentence, a piercing howl erupted all around them!
That cry shattered the budding calm in the Taoist Field in an instant, sending countless cultivators leaping up and dashing to their defense posts.
The purple-robed youth's countenance hardened as he gazed outward beyond the domain, eyes sharpening:
“The Supreme True Buddha's forces strike once more!”