Chapter 29: The Shocking Bow and the Piercing Cloud Arrow

  Zhang Zixing was delighted to discover that the anomalies in his body had already disappeared, and those originally chaotic powers had perfectly merged together, with great improvement. Especially the power of the War Soul Technique, it felt completely different from before, as if it had undergone some kind of evolution. It seemed that the new True Martial Spirit Technique was the true face of the War Soul Technique. What Yun Zhongzi gave him was indeed a good thing! In fact, Yun Zhongzi himself did not know that this seemingly ordinary physical technique, the War Soul Technique, was actually the extraordinary True Martial Spirit Technique. Otherwise, why would he casually give it to Zhang Zixing as a personal favor?

  Zhang Zixing did not know that the blue crystal bead represented the Golden Elixir stage of a Cultivator, which Yun Zhongzi had mentioned to him before. Yun Zhongzi had told Zhang Zixing: Generally speaking, cultivators go through two stages: Cultivating Truth and Cultivating Immortality. Cultivating Truth is the necessary path for mortals to seek the Way of Heaven, divided into five major stages: Building Foundation, Condensing Origin, Golden Elixir, Transforming Embryo, and Refining Void. If one can complete the Refining Spirit stage, form the Three Flowers on Top and the Five Qi in the Chest, they can attain an Immortal Body and be called an Immortal.

  Immortals are divided into scattered immortals, spiritual immortals, earthly immortals, ghostly immortals, demon immortals, and heavenly immortals. According to their realm, they can be broadly classified into three major categories: True Immortals, Golden Immortals, and Mysterious Immortals. Each category is further divided into upper, middle, and lower ranks. Advancing one rank or crossing a realm boundary is extremely difficult, requiring not only sufficient cultivation and enlightenment but also a certain degree of opportunity. Even if one advances just one rank or crosses one realm boundary, the magnitude of their power surge is still enormous. For example, an Upper True Immortal and a Middle True Immortal differ by only one rank, but assuming no external factors like magical artifacts are involved, the Middle True Immortal has little chance of winning. However, if they were to face a Lower Golden Immortal, the Upper True Immortal would undoubtedly be defeated.

  Of course, a magic treasure in the PK among cultivators is absolutely a variable that can turn the situation around. It's just like a primary school student holding an open safety catch pistol, which still has the ability to kill a strong adult. As long as there is a powerful magic treasure, examples of the weak defeating the strong are not uncommon in the battles of cultivators, provided that the weak must be able to control this magic treasure.

  Foundation building is the initial stage of cultivation. Successfully building a foundation means taking the first step in true cultivation, resulting in clarity of mind and body, spiritual awareness, and an increase in lifespan. Ordinary cultivators need at least ten to twenty years or even longer to successfully build their foundation. The coalescing yuan period involves continuously absorbing spiritual energy and accumulating power. The golden elixir stage is a process of eliminating the old and preserving the new. After forming the golden elixir, one has basically transcended the mortal body and can live for several thousand years without issue. If one can shatter the elixir and form an infant to achieve a half-immortal body, it would be another major leap forward. At this point, their lifespan is no longer bound by natural limitations, but they must face even greater enemies - heavenly tribulations. If one can cultivate their yuan spirit, overcome numerous heavenly tribulations, and complete the refinement of emptiness, they can give birth to three flowers and five energies, entering the realm of immortality.

  Zhang Zixing had been cultivating the War Soul Technique for less than five years, yet he successfully formed a Golden Elixir, which was incredibly fast. This level of achievement might only be matched by those rare and exceptional individuals who were born with an extraordinary innate talent, received some sort of inheritance from a powerful being, or possessed great spiritual powers and had reincarnated to cultivate again.

  Zhang Zixing is a typical "once the wound heals, the pain is forgotten" bold fellow. In his previous life, he was a crazy experimental scientist. His internal strength had just returned to normal, and he actually tried again with the Seven-Style Unification True Martial Spirit Incantation. To his surprise, there was no hindrance at all. The image of the Black Tortoise reappeared in his mind, and he felt an unprecedented surge of energy throughout his body. He couldn't help but feel great joy. If he hadn't suddenly thought of the war ahead, he would have continued to practice day and night without rest.

  "Come in!"

  "What is your Majesty's instruction?" The guard hastily walked into the bedroom, and Li Jing and others who were discussing outside the palace heard that the emperor had finally completed his meditation, and they all showed joy on their faces.

  "What time is it now? Has there been any news of war from ahead?"

  "Your Majesty has been in a state of meditation for twenty-eight days, and General Huang and General Zhang have sent many battle reports from the front lines, but I dare not disturb Your Majesty."

  "Twenty-eight days!" Zhang Zixing didn't think that such a long time had passed, and it was strange that he didn't feel hungry. He hastily said: "Quickly present the battle report!"

  The guards didn't dare to slack off, and quickly brought it over. Zhang Zixing looked at the battle report, his brow furrowing more and more. Due to the Eastern Yi avoiding battle, Huang Feihu and Zhang Guifang had been doing their best these past few days, and although they had also annihilated small groups of enemy soldiers, they still hadn't managed to damage the enemy's main force. Meanwhile, the day when the Witch King would recover his strength was getting closer and closer.

  "Can Li Jing come back?"

  "General Li has just returned today and is now waiting for an imperial edict with all the other generals outside the palace."

  Zhang Zixing immediately summoned Li Jing and the other generals. Li Jing stepped forward, bowed his head and said: "I report to Your Majesty, this general is fortunate not to have failed your orders, I have already obtained the Heaven-Shaking Bow and the Cloud-Piercing Arrow. Moreover... thanks to Your Majesty's divine wisdom, my son Nezha has been born!"

  "Nezha is born?" Zhang Zixing's eyes lit up, and the generals had just learned from Li Jing's mouth that the Son of Heaven was about to accept Nezha as his apprentice, and they all congratulated Zhang Zixing and Li Jing.

  It turned out that when Li Jing rushed back to Chentangguan, he coincidentally encountered his wife Yin giving birth. As Zhang Zixing had said earlier, there was a ball of red air in the house, and a strange fragrance filled the nose. A meatball was born. Li Jing carefully used his treasure sword to cut open the meatball, and a lovely little boy jumped out. Li Jing saw that he was generally the same as the heavenly child's divination, and he was amazed in his heart, but he didn't think it was strange. He picked up the child, named him Nezha, and because he had been pregnant for three years and six months, Nezha was already over two years old when he was born, and he could speak, making Li Jing and his wife extremely happy.

  Li Jing told Yin Shi about the matter of Tianzi taking Naza as his apprentice. Yin Shi was originally a princess from the royal family, and she felt deeply grateful to Tianzi for his kindness. The next day, a Taoist priest claiming to be Taiyi Zhenren from Jinyuan Mountain's Golden Light Cave came to request an audience with Li Jing. Although Li Jing held the position of General-in-Chief, he was originally from a Taoist background and did not dare to forget his roots. He met with the Taoist priest and treated him with great courtesy.

  Taiyi Zhenren claimed that Nezha was born in the hour of Chou, with a murderous aura on his body, and proposed to take Nezha as his apprentice. However, he did not know that Li Jing had already received the heavenly order, how could he allow Nezha to worship at Taiyi Zhenren's door? He insisted on not allowing it. Taiyi Zhenren knew that Li Jing's eldest son Jinde and second son Mude were both worshipping under the Xuanjiao sect, seeing his attitude so resolute, couldn't help but feel surprised in his heart. Li Jing also did not hide it, speaking out about the heavenly order to take Nezha as an apprentice.

  Taiyi Zhenren, although far away in the Golden Light Cave cultivating in seclusion, also knew of today's Heavenly Master De's name. Upon hearing this, he was stunned for a while, and his mouth directly sighed "The Way of Heaven is difficult to measure". He no longer persisted and floated away. Li Jing knew that the military situation ahead was urgent and did not dare to stay for too long. On one hand, he sent people to escort Yin Shi and Nezha to Chao Ge. On the other hand, he took the Shocking Heaven Bow and Piercing Cloud Arrow, crossed over Wild Horse Ridge and Wandering Soul Pass, and rushed to the Eastern Lu front line at top speed.

  Zhang Zixing was most delighted to have tricked Nezha, the vanguard of the Western Zhou's future conquest of Shang, into his hands. He highly praised Li Jing and immediately drafted an imperial edict to be sent to Chao Ge via fast horse, instructing Empress Jiang to personally receive the Yin family and take good care of young Nezha. Knowing that the current situation was pressing, with the one-month deadline for the restoration of King Wu approaching, he pondered: "Since the front lines have been repeatedly unsuccessful, Huang Feihu and Zhang Guifang should also withdraw at this time... The Eastern Yi army will soon turn around and launch a massive counterattack..."

  The generals were all bewildered, their faces filled with doubt: Our army is currently in a dominant position, pursuing the enemy, why suddenly retreat? And the enemy is being chased to the point of fleeing in disarray, how could they have the guts to counterattack?

  At this time, someone came to report: "The great army of General Huang and General Zhang has retreated back to Kan City, the scattered troops of Dongyi have regrouped, with signs of a counterattack."

  As soon as the battle report arrived, all the generals were convinced of Tianzi's divine strategy and clever calculations. In fact, Zhang Zixing had already instructed Huang Feihu and Zhang Guifang: if they could not break through the enemy army within a month, they must hurry back to Kan City. And Wu Jiwang's vitality would surely recover in time; otherwise, how dare Dongyi organize a counterattack?

  Zhang Zixing knew that the final battle was imminent, so he gave orders to his generals and told them to act on their own. He left behind Li Jing's acquired Heaven-Shaking Bow and Cloud-Piercing Arrow, and summoned Wang Yue'e to come and study together.

  "Your Majesty is indeed omnipotent, to have found the Heaven-Shaking Bow and Cloud-Piercing Arrows so quickly," Kaguya exclaimed, gazing at the ancient blue bow adorned with simple flower patterns and three dark silver arrows with red feathers, her eyes filled with a mixture of surprise and admiration: "This is truly one of the treasures left behind by the Yellow Emperor."

  "It's not that I have any magical powers, this thing was originally in my possession, it just happened to be the right time. Zhang Zixing didn't have the energy to brag, and said to Yuemei: "Why don't you try drawing your bow?"

  Tsukihime is the greatest archer of the Eastern Barbarians. Upon seeing this precious bow, she can't help but feel a thrill of excitement in her heart. As soon as she hears the words, her eyes light up and she immediately picks up the Seikyu Bow, exerting all her strength to draw it back. However, unexpectedly, the bow doesn't budge an inch. Tsukihime is shocked; she's not a frail woman, having practiced archery techniques since childhood, possessing a mysterious mental method that allows her to use even bows of several tens of stones in weight. She never thought that this Seikyu Bow would be so difficult to draw, and yet, using all her might, she can't move it by even a hair's breadth.

  Tsukihime tried several times, then suddenly put it down and sighed: "I'm ashamed, I can't even draw this bow. Legend has it that our tribe's war god Chiyou was invulnerable to swords and guns, but was wounded by this treasure. I fear ordinary people cannot use it."

  "Is it really that powerful? I'd like to try it out." Zhang Zixing, confident in his own strength, had heard Li Jing say before that the Heaven-Shaking Bow and the Cloud-Piercing Arrow had never been wielded by anyone. Seeing Yu Jie fail, he thought she just didn't have enough strength, and his heart was eager to give it a try. He took the precious bow from Yu Jie's hands, feeling how light it was, but not thinking much of it. Zhang Zixing wanted to show off his bravery in front of Yu Jie, so he held the bow, drew the string back, and used all his might to pull - the Heaven-Shaking Bow suddenly flashed a purple light, and unexpectedly emitted a power that completely contradicted the War Soul's power, flowing from his hands into his body, causing his blood to churn violently. The bowstring shook violently, making a humming noise, before returning to its original state. When he reached for the Cloud-Piercing Arrow, he was met with the same rejection.

  The moon princess's face revealed surprise, just now when she drew the bow, she had not seen such a strange phenomenon. Zhang Zixing's eyes flashed with precision, and a black air appeared on his brow, using the new understanding of the true martial spirit incantation. The moon princess only felt a pressing pressure emanating from this heavenly son, almost making her unable to move, involuntarily revealing a shocked expression. This time, the reaction of the Shocking Heaven Bow was even greater, as if it would rather die than yield, Zhang Zixing clearly felt that if he continued to force himself to draw the bow, even if he could open it, he would likely end up with both the bow and himself being destroyed.

  Do I really have to wait a few more years for Nezha to come and conquer the Eastern Barbarians? Zhang Zixing looked at the Shocking Heaven Bow in his hand, which was still lightly humming, and sighed silently. He withdrew the power of the True Martial Spirit Technique, and at this moment, something strange happened - the Shocking Heaven Bow actually opened miraculously.

  PS: This book has been signed with Qidian, and according to the editor's suggestion, it is currently updated daily, but the amount should not be too much (exceeding 200,000 words will not be on the newcomer list), waiting for recommendation to burst. DianDian has put a lot of heart and soul into this book, with detailed outlines written in 20,000 words, ensuring that it will definitely be completed. Hope everyone can support it more. Also strongly despise China Telecom, DianDian uses local area network sharing internet, now being blocked (unblocking requires 1800 yuan), can only secretly post manuscripts at work...