The speed and altitude of the golden roc exceeded everyone's expectations.
In the blink of an eye, they had already traveled tens of thousands of miles. This speed could probably only be matched by using a teleportation array.
However, unless they are traversing planets, these immortals do not need teleportation arrays. In other words, within a planet, no other creature can match the speed of the Roc.
Born amidst thunder and lightning, the Roc possesses an innate ability to manipulate lightning. With the power of lightning, it can fly tens of thousands of miles in the blink of an eye.
The fairyland is vast and boundless, stretching for hundreds of millions of miles in each of the four cardinal directions.
Even for immortals at the Refining Spirit level, it would take a very long time to fly from one end of the Immortal Realm to the other, but for the Roc, a day's journey is enough to equal several days of arduous travel for them.
Half a day later, the view suddenly opened up before them, and they found themselves on a beautiful grassland.
Under Xiao Wenbing's mental command, the roc noticeably slowed down.
At the edge of the grassland, there was a steep cliff, as if cut by a knife. And this was their destination.
The roc slowly folded its wings, and its massive body slammed heavily onto the cliff. It was as if a huge boulder had landed, sending up a cloud of dust.
Seeing that all the women frowned, Wu Tian waved his sleeve. In an instant, there wasn't a speck of dust left in the arena.
Xiao Wenbing gave him a thumbs up in surprise. Although the spell was small, it showed that this man was meticulous and a model husband.
With the Garuda as their mode of transport, the speed is incredible. According to Quini's calculations, five days wouldn't even be enough to get to Lake of Ten Thousand Spirits, let alone make a round trip. But now it seems that the travel time has been greatly reduced. If everything goes smoothly, they might be able to return in less than five days.
Moreover, when the roc flies, it has an energy shield that envelops everyone, so that those on its back do not feel the hardship of the journey. The only drawback is that the scenery on both sides passes by in an instant, making it impossible to appreciate it.
Volume 21, Chapter 14: The Origin of Energy
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The Great Serpent Supreme was the first to leap off the bird's back. Although the journey had been without any real danger, it had been a nerve-wracking experience for the Great Serpent Supreme. His innate fear was not something he could easily overcome.
Seeing everyone dismount from the bird's back, Xiao Wenbing patted the bird's neck before jumping down. The roc seemed to understand him perfectly. It let out a long cry, spread its giant wings, and a fierce wind arose. After the sandstorm subsided, the roc had already vanished without a trace.
"Where did it go?" Although the existence of the Garuda brought him immense pressure, Quini, whose heart was set on the Lake of Ten Thousand Spirits, still asked with concern.
"It's been cooped up in its egg for so many years, it must be suffocating, so I'm letting it play freely for a while," Xiao Wenbing explained with a calm smile. "We'll stay here for half a day, and the roc will come back after that."
With the Roc's oppressive aura gone, the Great Serpent Supreme had just breathed a sigh of relief when he muttered, "I hope it never comes back."
"Fine." Xiao Wenbing, with his sharp ears, glared at it and said, "As long as you can get us to Wanling Lake within half a day, I'll let the Roc play for a few more days."
The Great Serpent Supreme was taken aback, then laughed awkwardly, "Besides that giant bird, I'm afraid no one else could do that."
Xiao Wenbing ignored it and asked Wutian, "Senior, where does the Food King live?"
Wu Tian pointed to the precipice beneath his feet and said, "The Food King usually resides here, but he's not here right now."
With his eyes slightly closed, Xiao Wenbing focused his spiritual sense into nature, and in a short while, he had completed the search of an area within a hundred miles.
A glint of light suddenly flashed in the eyes of Zhang, Feng, and the Great Serpent Supreme. Just now, they had detected Xiao Wenbing's divine sense, but the power of this divine sense was completely different from what they were familiar with.
Seemingly oblivious to their expressions, Xiao Wenbing smiled slightly and said, "I can sense the aura left behind by the Food King, but I don't know why it has hidden itself. I think we should split up and search for it."
No one objected to this suggestion, so Wutian and his wife formed one group, Quini and Zhu Bajie formed another, and the Great Serpent Supreme was responsible for the largest area by himself. As for Xiaodiexian and Xingming, they hit it off immediately and got along like sisters, so they naturally formed a group.
As the group quickly disappeared from sight, Zhang Yaqi asked softly, "Wenbing, have you found the Food King yet?"
Xiao Wenbing nodded and said, "That's right, Yaqi is really something. My little tricks can't fool you."
Feng Baiyi said irritably, "You sent them away, but you still won't reveal the whereabouts of the Food King. What do you have to say?"
Xiao Wenbing scratched his head. Neither of these two women was to be trifled with.
"White Robe, Yaqi, I think I've discovered a secret." Xiao Wenbing gazed into the distance, his voice dreamlike: "When I was hatching the Roc, I think I discovered a divine secret."
The two women exchanged a glance, their expressions shifting slightly. They were of one mind, knowing that Xiao Wenbing must have gained something, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to integrate his divine sense into nature and find the Food King in an instant.
Xiao Wenbing's gaze was fixed ahead, yet his eyes seemed unfocused: "The gods are powerful."
"Nonsense," the two women simultaneously rolled their eyes at him.
Sensing their dissatisfaction, Xiao Wenbing laughed and said, "The reason why gods are powerful is because they possess their own energy."
"My own energy." Feng Baiyi murmured these words to herself.
“That’s right.” Xiao Wenbing said decisively, “The Great Serpent Supreme has cultivated to the pinnacle of immortality, but it is powerless against the Treasure Divine Land because it lacks its own energy.”
Seeing the two women's knowing looks, Xiao Wenbing smiled and said, "Although the giant serpent is very strong, its strength is based on its ability to mobilize the vital energy of heaven and earth. Without this endless vital energy to mobilize, it really can't cause any great trouble."
"Wenbing, aren't we cultivators supposed to be focused on mobilizing as much of the primordial energy of heaven and earth as possible?"
“That’s right. That’s exactly how the immortal path works. The more primordial energy of heaven and earth you mobilize, the greater the power of your spells.” Xiao Wenbing changed the subject, saying, “No…”
Even a celestial body has a limit. Once that limit is exceeded, no matter how much spiritual energy one possesses, it becomes meaningless.
Since receiving the guidance from the Mirror God, Xiao Wenbing has had a golden path leading in the right direction before his eyes, and the experience of hatching the Roc has given him a deeper understanding.
The reason why the great serpent abandoned its supreme dignity and was willing to acknowledge Feng Baiyi as its master was certainly to save its life, but the main reason was that it coveted her divine power.
For Feng Baiyi, her Earth God power was the power of heavenly thunder.
Since comprehending the power of the Heavenly Thunder Origin, Feng Baiyi's energy attributes have undergone earth-shattering changes. For her, she has mastered the most crucial step towards becoming a god.
Even the strongest immortals have their limits. The ability to manipulate the primordial energy of heaven and earth may seem incredibly powerful to ordinary people, but to deities who possess their own energy, such power is insignificant.
Just like the inner disciples with spiritual power and the outer disciples with only internal energy in the cultivation world, the difference between gods and immortals is a change in their nature.
The cultivation of immortals is actually no different from that of cultivators; both involve condensing the primordial energy of heaven and earth to obtain immense power. The only difference is that immortals absorb celestial spiritual energy.
However, when immortals reach the peak of their condensed immortal power, their physical bodies will be unable to withstand it.
At this point, the only choice they had was to transform the immortal energy into a more refined form of energy; only in this way could they continue their cultivation.
In other words, before they are overwhelmed by their own condensed energy, they must find a way to change the nature of that energy.
If they master this method, they can advance further and cultivate themselves into gods; otherwise, they will explode and die. There is absolutely no chance of survival.
The final tribulation of refining the spirit is the last hurdle they face when they reach the pinnacle of condensing their immortal power and begin to transform it into energy. If they pass it, they will be free to roam the vast sky; if they fail, all their previous efforts will be in vain, and millions of years of hard work will be destroyed in an instant.
The primordial energy of heaven and earth possesses various different attributes, and in the process of condensing it, immortals gradually master a portion of the energy that is most suitable for them.
When this energy is condensed to its extreme within one's body, the physical body begins to become familiar with the changes brought about by this energy.
The ultimate goal of the Transformation and Refinement of the Spirit is to enable one's body to adapt to this energy to the greatest extent possible and ultimately achieve assimilation.
Once this extreme energy is assimilated into the body, he can generate this energy autonomously and will no longer be in danger of being overwhelmed by energy.
The only way to assimilate the body with energy is to master the source of that energy.
This primordial power is the power of God.
Each type of energy has a different fundamental power, but as long as one masters one of them, becoming a god is a certainty.
Of course, mastering the fundamental power of energy is not a simple matter. Without extraordinary opportunities and perseverance, it is simply wishful thinking.
Even a supreme master like the Great Serpent, who has cultivated diligently for millions of years, has yet to comprehend the fundamental power of any kind of energy.
After listening to Xiao Wenbing's explanation, the two women remained silent, but they already understood what he meant.
Looking in the direction where the Great Serpent Supreme had departed, Xiao Wenbing said with a half-smile, "With the Great Serpent's current cultivation level, it has already reached the minimum requirement for becoming a god. I dare say, it wouldn't have dared to cultivate anymore a million years ago."
Zhang Yaqi nodded slowly and said, "Although it hasn't actively condensed immortal power over the past million years, the immortal power within its body has been slowly increasing. One day, it will reach its physical limit."
"That's right. Actually, it's not just it. The supreme beings at the Great Immortal Exchange Meeting and most of the Refining God Immortals are the same. Their strength is so formidable that they have long since reached the limits of their bodies. But precisely because they cannot comprehend the fundamental power of energy, they desperately suppress their power in order to have more time to comprehend it."
At this point, Xiao Wenbing suddenly smiled and said, "The reason why the Great Serpent Supreme and the Multi-Handed Supreme were so interested in the Earth Blade Soul in Huangzhou City was because they had an unparalleled thirst for divine power."
After a long silence, Zhang Yaqi sighed softly and said, "Compared to them, we are truly lucky."
Feng Baiyi nodded solemnly. Compared to these great immortals who only began to comprehend the origin of energy after reaching the Refining Spirit realm, the three of them were indeed much luckier.
Back in the cultivation world, the two women had already overcome the most difficult hurdle to becoming gods. What they needed to do now was to try their best to gather energy. Only with enough energy could they naturally overcome the final tribulation of refining gods.
For immortals who haven't mastered the origin of energy, the final tribulation of refining the spirit is their greatest hurdle and their last chance to fight. Under immense pressure of life and death, most deities grasp the greatest secret of the universe at the very last moment.
However, for the two women who had already grasped the secrets of the origin, the final tribulation of refining the spirit was just a natural progression.
Zhang Yaqi suddenly remembered something and asked, "Wenbing, you've already mastered so much primal power, have you decided which one you plan to cultivate?"
Xiao Wenbing paused, stroked his chin, and appeared to be deep in thought. After a long while, he muttered to himself, "Yes, which one should I cultivate?"
Under the two women's concerned gazes, he sighed deeply and said, "So, even geniuses have their troubles."
Volume 21, Chapter 15: Meeting an Old Friend
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Seeing Xiao Wenbing's helpless expression, the two women couldn't help but chuckle. He had tried every possible method but still couldn't comprehend the origin of any energy, yet he was worrying about which power to cultivate. If the Great Serpent Supreme or other Refining Immortals heard this, they might even die of anger.
"Wenbing, stop fooling around. What exactly are you planning to cultivate?" Zhang Yaqi asked angrily.
Feng Baiyi's eyes also turned to them.
Xiao Wenbing's smile faded, and he said seriously, "I plan to cultivate my own power."
A hint of suspicion flashed in the eyes of the two women.
"Whether it's the power of lightning or the power of the five elements, my understanding is inferior to yours. If it weren't for your blessings, even if I had come into contact with the source of the power, I might not have been able to get out safely. Therefore, I plan to cultivate my own divine power."
Whether it was the earth and water barrier in the Five Elements Grand Array of the past, or the source power of lightning he came into contact with that day, he ultimately did not break through it through his own power.
The extent to which one comprehends the origin of power also reflects the extent of a deity's divine might.
If Xiao Wenbing were to choose to cultivate these two powers, then his lifelong achievements would never surpass those of the two women. For him, such a thing was absolutely intolerable.
If he were truly driven to desperation, he would choose one of these two powers. However, within his body, he was born with an energy that was no less powerful than either of those two. Under such circumstances, if he still didn't know which one to cultivate, then he would truly be a fool.
A slight smile appeared on Feng Baiyi's lips: "The power of creation."
"Indeed. I am different from you. Perhaps it is a gift from heaven. Perhaps it is for some other reason, but I was born with my own divine power. Therefore, I am the luckiest."