Both he and the group of supreme beings who ascended with him reached their peak level in a very short period of time.
Rapid cultivation always has its unavoidable drawbacks, and among them, the greatest threat to them is the invasion of inner demons.
Two days ago, after the massacre where ten thousand fought against one hundred, the Lonely God immediately appeared, instructing Zhang Yaqi to open the Five Elements Barrier and force all these people inside, ordering them to cultivate their minds in seclusion. 1c209a
Seeing the old man's serious attitude, Xiao Wenbing and the others were all taken aback and complied without saying a word.
After his explanation, Xiao Wenbing realized that while these people were rapidly increasing their strength, they were also sowing the seeds of a great disaster. 1c209a
Although it's not apparent now, when the final tribulation of refining the spirit arrives, the suppressed inner demons within will inevitably erupt. At that time, among these tens of thousands of supreme immortals, perhaps only one in a hundred will be able to withstand the tribulation and enter the realm of gods.
Hearing about such serious consequences would terrify anyone.
Even the Great Serpent Supreme, the Food King, the Idle Cloud Old Daoist, and the five hundred immortals who had ascended from the cultivation world, who were originally outside, exchanged glances for a moment before plunging into the Five Elements Barrier to carefully temper their minds.
According to them, life is precious, and it's good to cultivate a little longer.
The Lonely God glanced at Xiao Wenbing and the other two, and slowly said, "Are you really unaware, or are you just pretending?"
Xiao Wenbing was furious, but since he needed a favor, he had no choice but to swallow his pride and say sincerely, "This junior truly did not know."
A hint of doubt flashed in the lonely god's eyes as he asked, "You really don't know?"
"I really don't know."
After a moment of contemplation, the Lonely God asked, "Do you know why the three of you were able to easily pass through the final tribulation of refining the spirit, but did not suffer the calamity of inner demons invading your bodies?"
Xiao Wenbing smiled confidently and said, "That's because the three of us are determined, blessed with good fortune, and full of righteousness, which is why we are free from all diseases and evil influences."
The Lonely God snorted in annoyance, while Zha muttered under his breath, "Bragging."
Zhang Yaqi blushed slightly, playfully tugged at Xiao Wenbing, and then asked, "Senior, why is that?"
The solitary god reached out and took a jade pendant from Xiao Wenbing's body, asking, "Boy, what is this? Where did you get it?"
Xiao Wenbing took a closer look and exclaimed in surprise, "A love knot!"
His gaze met the two women unexpectedly in mid-air; they exchanged a smile, everything understood without a word.
"Is this called the Knot of Love?" The Lonely God was slightly taken aback and said, "This name is really strange, but this thing is a pretty good magic weapon."
Upon closer inspection, Zha immediately understood and said, "This is a treasure for calming the mind and soothing the spirit. Hmm, the design is quite ingenious. Although it can't even be considered a celestial artifact, it has a great restraining effect on inner demons. So the three of you possess such a treasure. No wonder you are not afraid of inner demons invading your bodies."
Xiao Wenbing retrieved the Love Knot, his heart filled with mixed emotions. This treasure was actually crafted based on the ancestral hall of the Tianding Sect.
At this moment, both their defensive and offensive capabilities were utterly insignificant and useless in their eyes.
The reason it's still on my person is that its commemorative significance far outweighs its practical significance.
However, after the mention by the God of Solitude, they all remembered that this thing had another wonderful use: calming the mind and stabilizing the spirit.
This miniature version of the Ancestral Master's House has unimaginable effectiveness in preventing inner demons.
It was because of the existence of this little thing that Xiao Wenbing and the other two were able to cultivate smoothly all the way to the realm of gods.
Gently stroking the jade pendant in his hand, Xiao Wenbing suddenly laughed and said, "I understand. If we make one of these for everyone, we can free them from the torment of inner demons."
"No, it's not a complete exemption, but a significant increase in the ability to resist the invasion of inner demons." The Lonely God sighed and said, "More than ten thousand! You are probably the only one who can come up with such a large sum of money at once."
Xiao Wenbing laughed heartily, greatly admiring his innate ability.
A thought struck him, and he held the love knot in his hand, lost in thought.
"Wenbing, what are you thinking about?" Zhang Yaqi asked in surprise.
"I'm naming this thing."
Zha was greatly surprised and asked, "Isn't this called a love knot?"
"Of course not, the love knot is for one person only, right, Baiyi, Yaqi?" The two women's faces were flushed, as beautiful as flowers, and radiant.
Volume 22, Chapter 57: Design
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"Oh dear, Master, your inner demons have intensified again." Outside the barrier, the old Taoist called him out alone, scrutinizing him carefully for a long time. Then, as the old Taoist became nervous under his gaze, he stared wide-eyed and trembled as he spoke.
"What?" Seeing his disciple's solemn expression, the old Taoist priest became even more alarmed and asked, "Is it serious?"
"Yes, it's much worse than when I went in." Xiao Wenbing asked seriously, "Master, what were you doing after you went in?"
"Of course, it's meditation and practicing martial arts to temper one's mind and spirit."
"Is that so?" Xiao Wenbing asked with a straight face, but a hint of a smile in his eyes betrayed his true feelings.
No one knows a disciple better than his master. The old Taoist priest was filled with doubt and asked, "How did you see that my inner demons were getting worse?"
"It's very simple, this is just a matter of experience." Xiao Wenbing straightened his chest and said, mimicking the expression of a lonely god.
"experience?"
“That’s right. As long as you pay attention at all times and continue to cultivate diligently, you will definitely be able to reach my level.”
How long will it take?
"Not much, it should be enough when you reach your disciple's age."
"Oh." The old Taoist priest responded meaningfully, then suddenly realized something was wrong, kicked him hard, and cursed, "Nonsense! You've only lived a few years, kid. It would be more appropriate for me to say that."
Xiao Wenbing rubbed his thigh where he had been kicked, winced and gasped, saying, "Master, these are the words of the old solitary god. I was just repeating them."
"Stop pretending." The old Taoist glared at him and said, "Have you solved the problem of your inner demons? Tell me the way quickly."
Xiao Wenbing immediately stood up straight. At this moment, he was already one of the gods, while the old Taoist was just an immortal at the Integration Realm. Let alone a mere kick, even if he were to be wielded with a celestial weapon, he would not be able to harm this divine body in the slightest.
"Master, here you go."
The old Taoist priest took it and saw that it was an inconspicuous copper ring.
He examined it for a long time, turning it over and over, but still couldn't figure it out. He couldn't help but ask, "Disciple, what is this?"
"This is the ancestral ring, a supreme treasure of the immortals." Xiao Wenbing immediately boasted, "Wearing this item has the wonderful effect of calming the mind and focusing the spirit. As long as the ring is not damaged, there will be absolutely no possibility of demonic possession."
"What a treasure!" The old Taoist was overjoyed and immediately put it on his hand, casually saying, "How many of these are there?"
"Of course there's only one. You're my master, so of course I'll give you the best things first."
"Hmm, not bad, not bad. It wasn't a waste to take you as my disciple." The old Taoist priest changed the subject and asked, "Can you refine some more?"
"Of course, would you like to use it?"
"Yes, you're a god now, right?"
"yes."
"Alright, then you won't have any more concerns about being an immortal. Go back to the cultivation world."
What are you doing?
“Nonsense, good things should be shared. Give one to each of your fellow disciples, and one to my precious grand-disciple as well.” The old Taoist priest counted on his fingers, “Also, take one to our old friend, Sect Master Tianyi, and one to Taoist Zhang, and…”
Xiao Wenbing swallowed hard, deeply doubting whether his decision to hand over the ring to his master so early was the right one.
Regardless of his secret thoughts, a month later, more than 10,000 Ancestral Master Rings had been freshly made.
This ancestral master's ring is actually an enhanced version of the concentric knot. Although it doesn't look particularly impressive, its actual effects are much greater. The reason it's designed to be so dark and inconspicuous is entirely intentional.
Of course, the reasons for this can only be deeply buried in one's heart and cannot be spoken aloud.
Afterwards, Zhang Yaqi removed the Five Elements Barrier, and Xiao Wenbing placed an Ancestral Master Ring on everyone's hand. In this way, even if the final tribulation of refining the spirit was about to arrive, they wouldn't be too worried.
After resolving this major concern, the God of Solitude did not leave. Instead, he mysteriously called Xiao Wenbing and the two women, Zhang and Feng, aside.
Xiao Wenbing and the others were greatly puzzled. Given the old man's current status, why was he being so cautious? They really didn't know what he was up to.
"Young man, you've met that lazy turtle twice before, so you should know how strong it is, right?"
Xiao Wenbing looked up, and a huge, fleshy tortoise, hundreds of feet long when it stretched out, immediately appeared in his mind.
At that moment, it raised its neck, which was even thicker than the Great Serpent Supreme's true form, and with a ferocious expression, it unleashed a devastating blow at the sky-covering thunder.
He couldn't help but shiver. If possible, he really didn't want to deal with that extremely terrifying creature, the old tortoise, again.
Although the Lonely God was one of the ancient gods, Xiao Wenbing and the others had never witnessed his ferocious and violent side. In their hearts, this...
A deity with a resounding name is like a loving father who cherishes his children and grandchildren; it is hard for anyone to dislike him.
Therefore, Xiao Wenbing had no fear of the old man. On the contrary, everyone had developed a sense of awe towards the old tortoise ever since they saw it forcefully destroy the Nine Heavens Thunderfire Tribulation, including Xiao Wenbing.
"Senior, why are you mentioning the Turtle God?"
"Ah, the old man misses it."
"What?"
"Looking across the Three Realms, the only one who is of my generation and with whom I can exchange a few words is that lazybones." The Lonely God sighed, looking quite wistful: "After so many years, I really miss my old friend."
Xiao Wenbing frowned slightly and said, "But as far as I know, that tortoise god sleeps all day long. I'm afraid even if you see it, it might not pay any attention to you."
The lonely god stroked his long beard, pondered for a long time, and said, "It's very possible that in that lazy man's mind, sleeping is truly the most important thing in the world." He clapped his hands lightly and suddenly laughed, "No, this old fellow, I must find something for him to do."
Xiao Wenbing was greatly surprised and asked, "What are your plans, sir?"
The Lonely God looked at Xiao Wenbing with a grin and said, "Let's talk about you first. Although your current strength is not bad, those little kids are all gods who have been in the God Realm for hundreds of millions of years. I heard they are one of the thirteen powerful forces. Why are you causing trouble for them?"
Xiao Wenbing laughed and said, "This junior has no intention of causing trouble for the gods; it's just that those few supreme beings have offended me."
The solitary god shook his head slightly, smiled inscrutablely, and said, "Don't lie to me. If it were just about causing trouble for those supreme beings, would you still ask me to protect you?"
Xiao Wenbing was slightly startled, realizing that the ancient deity before him was a cunning and shrewd old man, and that his little secret could not possibly be hidden from him.
Zhang Yaqi stepped forward slowly, gently took Xiao Wenbing's hand, and used her divine sense to transmit all the matters of the Flame Realm into the consciousness of the Lonely God.
In a short while, the Lonely God understood the whole story. However, he did not react with excitement, but simply said, "I see." Then he asked, "It's just a small matter, nothing serious, why make such a fuss?"
Xiao Wenbing pursed his lips and said, "Senior, countless living beings in an entire realm, is that still a small matter?"
"It's just a realm, unless it's the God Realm, I doubt anyone will care," the Lonely God said casually.
Xiao Wenbing felt a chill run down his spine. After thinking for a moment, he sighed and had to admit that what the old man said did make some sense.