Chapter 843: A Cultivation Art for Building Worlds
After reviewing the technique, Zhang Yu returned to the Immortal Grotto-Heaven and began cultivating the Kunlun-Uprooting Heaven-Overturning Mystic Power.
This cultivation art shared similarities with the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power — both were related to Earthly Fiend Gravity.
However, the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power used the cultivator’s own erupted Earthly Fiend Gravity to tear the earth apart, move mountains, and fill seas.
In contrast, the Kunlun-Uprooting Heaven-Overturning Mystic Power could manipulate the Earthly Fiend Gravity contained within the earth, the sky… and even all things in existence.
“To put it simply, it’s like stripping the gravity from everything in the world and gathering it into my own hands.”
“At my Spirit Transformation Realm, once I push this art to level 50 and unleash it with my full power… I can gather the Earthly Fiend Gravity from a radius of ten thousand li.”
“At that moment, the earth, freed from the shackles of Earthly Fiend Gravity, will shatter violently. Earth Veins will surge upward, piercing the heavens.”
“The atmosphere, also unbound, will churn violently, causing the Nine Heavens to tremble and the winds and clouds to reverse their flow.”
In that instant, Zhang Yu could almost visualize streams of atmosphere surging toward the heavens like dragons. All moisture would rapidly vaporize, filling the air with rising white steam as the surface approached a vacuum.
“Everything in the world will be thrown into chaos, a scene of heaven and earth overturning.”
“And at that same moment, the weight of heaven and earth will rest in the palm of my hand…”
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “Immortal Sect Techniques are all different. A True Inheritance Technique worth several million Immortal Coins is indeed far more powerful than those costing only a few hundred thousand.”
Immortal Slayer said, “Price is naturally the best indicator of a cultivation art’s value. Powerful techniques… a sect would almost never sell them cheaply.”
“This also shows the vast difference between the cheapest True Inheritance Techniques at a few hundred thousand Immortal Coins, those at several million, the Strategic Techniques at tens of millions, the Sect-Guarding Techniques starting at a billion, and the Heaven-Opening cultivation arts at hundreds of billions…”
Zhang Yu nodded slightly. Since joining the Myriad Laws Sect, especially after starting work at the Edict Pavilion, he had reviewed the descriptions of many cultivation arts and had marveled at their prices more than once.
Fu Ji scoffed, “Hmph, once you buy these techniques… all you get are some text and video files, a copyright license. There’s almost no production cost, yet they sell for millions, tens of millions, or even hundreds of billions. Even with R&D costs, they’ve long since recouped their investment. It’s a truly profitable business.”
Immortal Slayer said calmly, “If not for the fact that sales costs are almost zero after recouping R&D expenses, how could some Immortal Sect Techniques ever pass the Righteous Gods’ approval and be officially authorized by the sects for cultivators in the Lower Realms?”
Zhang Yu nodded slightly, knowing that loans, cultivation art copyrights, and knowledge copyrights were often the higher-ups’ favorite rewards because of their high cost-effectiveness.
For example, in the Ten Greats League he had once participated in, awarding an Immortal Sect Technique — even a Strategic-Tier one — was ultimately just a matter of a few approval documents for the higher-ups.
But awarding a Strategic-Tier Immortal Sect magical artifact, which involved tangible resources, was a completely different matter.
Of course, this was only from a cost perspective. When factoring in the power struggles between various factions and the grand plans for Kunxu, the situation became far more complex.
Immortal Slayer continued, “Controlling the sale and pricing of Immortal Sect Techniques is itself a means of reclaiming Immortal Coins and Dao Merit. Combined with the various distribution channels for these techniques — such as training arts, prize arts, and job-specific arts — it forms a complete system for controlling the flow of Immortal Dao Technology.”
“So, the entire pricing system for Immortal Sect Techniques isn’t determined solely by market forces.”
Desolate Ox suddenly said coldly, “This is a severe obstruction to the vertical flow of Immortal Dao Technology. This is the tyranny of Immortal Dao Technology. Using absolutely superior Immortal Dao Technology to control violence and capital, and then expanding power and influence to control the world.”
The mental exchange flashed by in an instant, and Zhang Yu’s attention remained focused on the cultivation art before him.
Although the Kunlun-Uprooting Heaven-Overturning Mystic Power was immensely powerful, far surpassing the military-grade Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power, this vast power concealed uncontrollable flaws.
When this technique is fully activated, the environmental damage is too great. If used in a bustling city, a single activation would probably bankrupt me.
If not for that, the price of this True Inheritance Technique might have reached six or seven million Immortal Coins.
Shaking his head, Zhang Yu thought that the most suitable place to use this technique would probably be in an authorized construction zone.
As his thoughts raced, his cultivation progress with the technique surged forward.
After all, with the enhancements from his Spirit Transformation Dao Body and numerous clones, combined with the Feather Book’s specialization effect, cultivating this technique was as easy as advancing a thousand miles in a single day.
Within a single day, a continuous rumbling echoed from within Zhang Yu’s body, like the low growl of shifting mountain ranges and colliding tectonic plates.
As the rumbling gradually faded, Zhang Yu had already pushed the True Inheritance Technique to Level 50.
During this time, the basic Immortal Spirit Root he had purchased for 20,000 Immortal Coins arrived and was promptly inserted into his Dantian. Of course, unlike the Kunlun-Uprooting Heaven-Overturning Mystic Power, a Myriad Laws Sect technique, this Immortal Spirit Root could be gifted by Bu Yingshu.
Thus, Zhang Yu acquired the 20,000 Immortal Coin Spirit Root for only 14,000 Immortal Coins through Bu Yingshu’s connections.
Now, having pushed the Kunlun-Uprooting Heaven-Overturning Mystic Power to Level 50, Zhang Yu was finally ready to test its so-called “wondrous uses.”
“Desolate Ox, according to you, if this Kunlun-Uprooting Heaven-Overturning Mystic Power is used in conjunction with the other eight techniques of Inverted Kunlun…”
As he spoke mentally, Zhang Yu had already crossed the Grotto-Heaven Bridge into the Factory District.
His magic power surged, and his entire being became like an endless abyss, frantically absorbing the Earthly Fiend Gravity from all things in the world.
Boom!
The entire Factory District shuddered violently. In the next instant, all the factories, buildings, the ground itself — even the air, corpse components, and equipment — simultaneously lost the binding force of Earthly Fiend Gravity and began to surge skyward.
But in the next moment, as the Seven Absolutes of Civil Engineering activated one by one, the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power erupted. All the Earthly Fiend Gravity Zhang Yu had absorbed was released back into the world.
In this cycle of absorption and release, the Earthly Fiend Gravity of the world seemed to circulate endlessly around Zhang Yu’s body, surging back and forth.
At that moment, a wondrous sensation arose in Zhang Yu’s heart. It felt as if the weight of the entire Factory District rested in his palm.
With a mere flick of his fingers, he could effortlessly pluck any skyscraper or sacred mountain from the ground and toss it into the sky.
But Zhang Yu could still feel…
“Something’s missing… I’m still short on techniques…”
As he pondered, Zhang Yu abruptly activated the Immortal Sect Technique, Kunlun in the Palm.
With all nine techniques of Inverted Kunlun now operating in unison, Kunlun in the Palm immediately underwent a miraculous transformation.
As the Earthly Fiend Gravity cycled back and forth, Zhang Yu, at the center of this vortex, felt his perception of space sharpen. He could even see planes of space folding and stretching under the influence of the gravitational force.
The range of Kunlun in the Palm expanded rapidly.
With a thought, Zhang Yu extended his hand. A colossal palm descended from the sky, gently grasping… and plucked a ruined factory spanning tens of thousands of square meters from the ground.
When Zhang Yu withdrew his hand, the factory had shrunk to the size of a miniature toy, resting quietly in his palm.
At that moment, with all nine techniques operating in unison, Zhang Yu felt as if the entire labyrinthine Factory District had transformed into a sandbox model. With a casual flick of his wrist, he could effortlessly move, shift, and reorient factories, warehouses, and equipment.
Meanwhile, the Desolate Ox’s voice echoed in Zhang Yu’s mind: “This is a ‘World-Building Martial Art.’ These techniques were originally created, one by one, for the purpose of reshaping the world.”
“But as the great work of world-building neared completion, these techniques were gradually relegated to the dust of history.”
With a casual release, Zhang Yu shifted his Grotto-Heaven Manifestation, placing the ruined factory from his palm into his Immortal Grotto-Heaven.
He continued this process of grasping and releasing, quickly clearing large swathes of the Factory District. Soon, his Immortal Grotto-Heaven was crammed full of factories.
Zhang Yu marveled inwardly. Using the Kunlun-Uprooting Heaven-Overturning Mystic Power in conjunction with the other eight techniques was like playing a construction game with the physical world.
The technique’s flaws were compensated for, unleashing heaven-shaking power while maintaining delicate control and field manipulation. Moving factories became as simple as picking mushrooms.
The commotion Zhang Yu caused soon attracted the attention of Magnetic Pole, Nether Spring, and Ye Xingli within the Grotto-Heaven.
When the three arrived, Zhang Yu briefly explained the situation and handed over the ruined factories to them, tasking them with salvaging any usable materials.
In the following days, with a steady supply of secondhand materials and Zhang Yu’s continuous investment of Immortal Coins, the construction of production lines and laboratories within the Grotto-Heaven progressed by leaps and bounds.
Inside the factory, Zhang Yu and Magnetic Pole were designing a magical artifact together. They planned to modify the Heavenly Sun Radiance God so that this magical artifact puppet could harness the Supreme Yang Qi leaking from the World-Forging Furnace.
The Heavenly Sun Radiance God was a military-grade puppet technology Zhang Yu had mastered during his university years. It could control flames, generate high temperatures and explosions, and change its form with the fire to adapt to various tasks.
However, Zhang Yu hadn’t had a chance to upgrade his Heavenly Sun Radiance God in recent years, nor had he found the time to advance his artifact refinement skills. He hadn’t used the puppet in a long time.
Magnetic Pole said, “Your current method of directly moving Supreme Yang Qi with your Grotto-Heaven power is too crude and wasteful.”
“If we can modify the Heavenly Sun Radiance God to use Supreme Yang Qi as its core, it could likely surpass military-grade standards and approach the power of an Immortal Sect-level magical artifact.”
Working together, Zhang Yu and Magnetic Pole continuously activated the Encyclopedia of Celestial Technology. Their knowledge clashed and merged as they went through countless cycles of design, modification, and refinement.
Zhang Yu thought, “With the knowledge I’ve accumulated throughout my life, my heaven-defying wisdom, and my vast worldly experience — burn for me! Encyclopedia of Celestial Technology, show me your limits!”
Magnetic Pole thought, “What’s a Gundam? Did I see that somewhere in the sect’s records?”
“EVA? Positron Cannon? What are these things?”
“Blood Tide Essence Qi Sacred Contemplation? A Sect-Guarding Technique? How do I even know the technology behind it?!”
With each activation of the Encyclopedia of Celestial Technology, Magnetic Pole grew more and more astonished.
“Have I awakened memories from a past life?”
“Who was I in my past life to know all these things?”
In the end, Zhang Yu and Magnetic Pole not only successfully upgraded the Heavenly Sun Radiance God but also raised Magnetic Pole’s Dao Seed, the Encyclopedia of Celestial Technology, to level 2.
The gap between Zhang Yu and Magnetic Pole had been too vast in the past. Since obtaining the Dao Seed, he hadn’t had any opportunity to upgrade it. This time, his wish was finally fulfilled.
After some contemplation, Zhang Yu understood the effects of the level 2 Encyclopedia of Celestial Technology.
“All knowledge I’ve read will be directly integrated into the foundation of the Encyclopedia of Celestial Technology.”
“A simple yet incredibly practical ability.”
Zhang Yu realized that now, any knowledge he and Magnetic Pole read — even if they hadn’t fully mastered it — would be directly incorporated into the magical artifact’s design blueprints whenever they activated the Encyclopedia of Celestial Technology.
“It’s like having a limited-use… ultra-high-speed learning ability.”
After their modifications, the Heavenly Sun Radiance God was redesigned into a brand-new puppet and renamed the Supreme Yang Radiance God — a puppet powered by Supreme Yang Qi.
Looking at the design blueprints, which detailed components named the Positron Cannon, Supreme Yang Force Field, and Supreme Yang Vibration Sword, Zhang Yu thought, “Teacher Magnetic Pole’s absorption ability is truly impressive.”
Magnetic Pole said, “The Supreme Yang Radiance God can no longer be considered a military-grade magical artifact. Its power, speed, and destructive force have already surpassed some Immortal Sect True Inheritance-grade magical artifacts.”
Zhang Yu nodded slightly, thinking that if he got the chance, he should register and get the Supreme Yang Radiance God approved to secure the copyright.
If the Supreme Yang Radiance God continued to be upgraded and eventually reached the true Immortal Sect-level, that copyright would be incredibly valuable.
Magnetic Pole continued, “The production line modifications are nearly complete. We can now begin mass production.”
“After all, I designed this puppet based on the existing materials in the Factory District, with the help of your funding.”
“With our current resources, manufacturing and maintaining a few dozen of these… shouldn’t be a problem.”
Listening to Teacher Magnetic Pole’s words, Zhang Yu could already envision the astonishing work output his 32 Clones could achieve by piloting hundreds of Supreme Yang Radiance Gods.
These Supreme Yang Qi-powered puppets compensated for one of Zhang Yu’s major weaknesses, granting him formidable destructive power and enhancing his high-speed flight capabilities.
“My work output is soaring! Exploding! Skyrocketing! In the same Cultivation Realm, who can possibly out-compete me? What task can I not complete? What work could I possibly fail to finish?! I’m going to grind like crazy for the sect!”
The Sect Examination Clone roared in Zhang Yu’s mind before bursting into laughter.
While Zhang Yu’s puppet army was under construction, Ye Xingli had been coordinating with him for days to build the laboratory.
“The Seven Absolutes Bionic?” Ye Xingli asked. “Junior Brother, are you sure you want to modify this Civil Engineering Department Bionic? Aren’t you afraid people will bring up the department’s dark history?”
Zhang Yu replied, “Civil Engineering isn’t my dark history; it’s the path I walked to get here.”
“Besides, I see great potential for Civil Engineering within the sect.”
“Senior Sister, you should learn more about Civil Engineering Techniques. It will help you design Bionics in the future.”
Ye Xingli said, “But I… I’ve never studied Civil Engineering before.”
Zhang Yu replied, “Shi Huaiyu once said something I think is quite right: ‘For a noble person, it’s never too late to buy the dip, even after ten years.’ The best time to buy a stock was ten years ago; the second-best time is now. Senior Sister, it’s not too late for you to start learning.”
As the two worked together on artifact refinement and design, they successfully advanced their Spirit Resonance Artifact Heart to level 4.
At level 2, the Spirit Resonance Artifact Heart allowed them to choose a fusion direction. At the level 3, it could fuse up to three design blueprints.
Now at level 4, not only did the Spirit Resonance Artifact Heart grant Zhang Yu and Ye Xingli powerful blueprint learning abilities, but it also increased the maximum number of fused blueprints from three to four.
Their first creation was a Bionic Eye, approaching Immortal Sect-level, which they synthesized through multiple fusions of the Seven Absolutes Bionic from Myriad Laws University’s Civil Engineering Department.
Of course, this process was also aided by Zhang Yu’s Encyclopedia of Celestial Technology.
Zhang Yu named this Bionic Eye the Kunlun Eye.
As the Kunlun Eye finished integrating, Zhang Yu felt a surge of Earthly Fiend Gravity within him. His Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power was massively enhanced. As the Earthly Fiend Gravity circulated, it also propelled the power of his Kunlun-Uprooting Heaven-Overturning Mystic Power and Kunlun in the Palm to new heights.
Beyond this, the Kunlun Eye’s primary function was to help Zhang Yu achieve over-the-horizon guidance for his Earthly Fiend Gravity and to connect to the Immortal Grotto-Heaven.
On the Kunlun Eye’s display, as waves of Earthly Fiend Gravity swept outward, the feedback data was collected, analyzed, and integrated. This created a real-time map of the surrounding area, revealing the local topography and landforms in complete detail.
With the Kunlun Eye’s guidance, Zhang Yu could exert relatively precise control over matter within a ten-thousand-li radius, enabling over-the-horizon construction.
“This way, I won’t have to worry about causing unnecessary damage — and having to pay for it — when I circulate my power.”
Furthermore, the Kunlun Eye, combined with Zhang Yu’s Grotto-Heaven Manifestation Ability, allowed him to connect more easily to the Immortal Grotto-Heaven and project his power into it.
At this moment, Zhang Yu sensed that in a remote corner of the Immortal Grotto-Heaven, countless massive metal cubes were slowly beginning to float.
This was Black Nether Heavy Gold, which Zhang Yu had specifically purchased through Bu Yingshu’s channels.
As an ultra-high-density material, Black Nether Heavy Gold itself wasn’t particularly expensive. Zhang Yu had spent over a hundred thousand Immortal Coins to amass a small mountain of it.
Now, under the coordination of the Kunlun Eye, Zhang Yu circulated his cultivation art and condensed the entire mountain of Black Nether Heavy Gold into the palm of his hand.
He could feel that if he unleashed this power, it would be like hurling an entire mountain range, enough to trigger a super-earthquake.
“This way, I no longer need to borrow power from the outside world. By simply connecting to the Immortal Grotto-Heaven, I can unleash immense strength at any time.”
Zhang Yu knew that the production lines and laboratories were just the beginning of his development.
So far, he had only spent a little over a million Immortal Coins.
As he continued to invest in the Immortal Grotto-Heaven, and as Teacher Magnetic Pole, Senior Sister Ye Xingli, and the others improved their skills and Dao Seeds, the production lines and laboratories would constantly be upgraded. They would produce various magical artifacts and Bionics, which would be a huge help to his future growth. This approach was also more cost-effective and safer than directly buying and maintaining market-grade magical artifacts.
If the product quality continues to improve, I can even sell them for profit, letting the production lines and laboratories fund my own endeavors.
Relying on salary, bonuses, scams, and bootlicking while swallowing my pride… none of those are long-term solutions.
I need a cash cow — a place that can continuously generate Immortal Coins for me.
As Zhang Yu continued to burn through money, pushing forward his cultivation, Immortal Research, and Grotto-Heaven development, the labyrinth’s connection to the Spirit Realm was gradually restored according to his plan.
With the Spirit Realm’s recovery, various operations within the labyrinth resumed.
On a battlefield in the Laboratory District, a sleek black dragon flickered back and forth, weaving between several Spirit Transformation Cultivators.
This was the Heavenly Tracks Constellation, a set of Void Refinement Corpse Components.
It was formed from countless corpse skins stitched together into a conveyor belt, which then twisted and coiled into the semblance of a black dragon.
This Void Refinement-level Corpse Component was not only immensely powerful and indestructible like a Vajra, but it could also pierce through the void and swap positions with matter within a certain range. It was utterly unpredictable and impossible to defend against.
Just then, the Heavenly Tracks Constellation suddenly materialized before Tu Mu. A massive dragon claw lunged at his face, seemingly carrying the wails of countless skeletons.
Faced with this Void Refinement-level strike, Tu Mu froze in terror. But then, a large hand gently scooped up the Heavenly Tracks Constellation as if netting a fish, lifting it into mid-air.
Tu Mu knew the one who had intervened was the Management Committee’s Vice President, his direct superior, Zhang Yu.
Watching Zhang Yu casually bat around the Void Refinement-level Corpse Component like a toy, Tu Mu sighed inwardly. “I heard that when the Vice President took that Void Refinement strike, he was so badly injured it caused a miscarriage and left him severely wounded.”
“But then Xie Lanyin was forced to kneel and pay compensation. Stimulated by the Immortal Coins, Vice President Zhang sprang up from his deathbed and made a full recovery without any medicine.”
If that had made Tu Mu envious, Zhang Yu’s recent transformation left him utterly astonished.
The spatial structure warped, and fiery dragons emerged from Zhang Yu’s body.
These were 32 clones, each channeling the Monster Saint’s Myriad Transformations Divine Scripture to transform into 32 flood dragons. Clad in the Supreme Yang Radiance God, which harnessed Supreme Yang Qi, they burst forth from Zhang Yu’s Immortal Grotto-Heaven.
As the 32 fiery dragons opened their maws, 32 Positron Cannons fueled by Supreme Yang Qi erupted, blasting the black dragon and forcing it to howl in agony. It repeatedly teleported away, only to be dragged back by Zhang Yu each time.
Watching the frenzied Void Refinement Corpse Component being effortlessly toyed with by Zhang Yu, Tu Mu couldn’t help but feel a surge of shock. “Even with Xie Lanyin’s massive compensation, to have his strength grow so dramatically in such a short time… This Immortal Legacy is just too monstrous.”
Just then, Zhang Yu spoke calmly, “Attack together. Suppress this Corpse Component.”
Though Zhang Yu’s power had soared, allowing him to hold a slight advantage even when facing the Void Refinement Corpse Component alone, completely subduing it would require immense energy and a considerable amount of time.
But Zhang Yu was not the kind of leader who would refuse to use his subordinates. At his command, the Spirit Transformation Cultivators unleashed their full power, eager to prove their worth before him.
Moments later, Zhang Yu reached out and seized the Heavenly Tracks Constellation, which wriggled in his grasp like a black loach. He then tossed it into his Immortal Grotto-Heaven.
“Let’s go. On to the next location.”
In the days that followed, Zhang Yu continued to cultivate and expand his power while subduing one Void Refinement Corpse Component after another.
The Spirit Realm gradually stabilized, and the distorted spatial structures were corrected one by one.
The cleanup of the entire Development Zone proceeded swiftly and steadily.
Although only a few days remained until the 20-day deadline, neither Tu Mu nor the other Spirit Transformation Cultivators doubted that Zhang Yu would fail to meet his commitment.
But amidst these seemingly peaceful days, late one night, Xie Lanyin, Vice President of the Management Committee, frantically contacted Lu Hengzhang.
As Lu Hengzhang’s projection finally materialized — the man from the Myriad Laws Sect’s Artifact Spirit Faction and a supporter of the Innate Dao Lineage — Xie Lanyin suppressed a flicker of rage and terror in her heart. “Destroying the realm and flooding the region? Have you all gone mad?”
Seeing Lu Hengzhang remain silent, Xie Lanyin enunciated each word clearly: “The Minor Realm where the Former Days Graveyard is located has always been impregnable, one of the foundational Minor Realms of the sect layers. If it were damaged and collapsed… it could only mean someone tampered with it from the shadows.”
Lu Hengzhang replied coolly, “Vice President Xie, is there truly any Minor Realm in this world that is truly impregnable?”