Chapter Eighteen: Going Into Battle

Regarding the memories before he lost consciousness, Li Chengzhu could vaguely recall a few fragments—especially that passage: “With my blood as the medium, my flesh as the vessel, I unite with you. Those who block my path shall die, those who oppose my will shall be slain. I will sweep away all injustice in this world and plunge my enemies into an eternal slumber.” But what about the bow? Li Chengzhu searched everywhere, even inside his storage ring, but found nothing. Instead, he discovered a piece of Wood Essence beside him; the other seven Heavenly Stone fragments had already been destroyed by that earth-shattering energy.

It was only when Li Chengzhu picked up the Wood Essence that he felt a sudden pulse on his right wrist, drawing his attention to a tattoo. Li Chengzhu was no fool; he was absolutely certain that this unexpected tattoo was none other than the dark green bow.

Sure enough, after experimenting a few times, he was able to summon the dark green bow into his hand, and when he didn’t need it, it would transform back into a tattoo on his wrist. Holding the life-saving bow, Li Chengzhu felt an intimate connection, as if it were part of his own body. An inexplicable impulse made him press the Wood Essence onto the center of the bow.

A miracle occurred: the dark green bow, without any visible grooves, absorbed the entire piece of Wood Essence. Without hesitation, Li Chengzhu took two more pieces and placed them at each end of the bow; the Wood Essence was absorbed as well. A vague message flooded his mind.

The Divine Destroyer Bow—what a ridiculous name.

"But I like it!" Li Chengzhu couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear.

He raised the Divine Destroyer Bow, hooked his finger onto the string, infused his spiritual energy into the bow, and channeled the power of the Wood Essence. In an instant, a dark green arrow appeared on the string.

Letting go, the arrow formed of spiritual energy shot forward with a piercing whistle. A violent explosion tore through the air, startling the little creature from its slumber—leaping straight into Li Chengzhu’s arms.

Li Chengzhu gazed with satisfaction at the empty trail left by the arrow: the vacuum created by the green arrow was ten meters wide and several hundred meters long. To inflict such devastation in a forest of towering trees—this Divine Destroyer Bow truly lived up to its name.

Calculating silently, Li Chengzhu realized that at his current level, he could only fire five arrows of such power before his spiritual energy ran dry.

Even with only five arrows, the sheer force was enough to defeat any master at the Tribulation Stage at close range, who couldn’t withstand even two shots. If his opponent stood still, Li Chengzhu was confident he could finish off a Grand Ascension Stage master within five arrows, provided they did not use defensive magical treasures.

After a few more trials, Li Chengzhu discovered that the Divine Destroyer Bow could adjust its power: the more spiritual energy he poured in, the more Wood Essence energy he could draw forth, and the greater the destructive force. Conversely, less energy yielded smaller results.

Having unleashed a few arrows, Li Chengzhu was forced to meditate and recover his energy. What puzzled him was the abnormal speed at which his spiritual energy regenerated after the battle with the Qilin. Unaware that the restriction on his spirit had been broken, he simply assumed it was a normal phenomenon after advancing to the late Nascent Soul stage.

Upon awakening again, the little creature was sitting happily nearby, clutching a giant red immortal core, its face beaming with excitement as it looked at Li Chengzhu.

Li Chengzhu recognized it at a glance—it was the immortal core of the Qilin beast. He patted the creature’s head: “Eat up. From now on, any immortal cores you want, I’ll get them all for you.”

The little creature squeaked twice and began crunching away.

This time, Li Chengzhu owed his life entirely to the little creature. If it hadn’t distracted the Qilin beast during its attack, he would have been utterly annihilated. The little creature was truly remarkable—after only a few days together, it already showed such loyalty.

When it finished devouring the core, Li Chengzhu teased, “With your appetite, I should call you Piglet.”

“Squeak squeak!”

“Not happy? Dog?”

“Squeak squeak!”

“Mouse?”

“Squeak squeak!”

...

In the end, Li Chengzhu couldn’t settle on a name, and so resorted to calling it “little creature,” “little beast,” or “little rascal.”

His flying sword had been broken, and the Divine Destroyer Bow could only be used five times at full power. Staying in this place was simply too dangerous, so Li Chengzhu began plotting his escape.

With the little creature leading the way, Li Chengzhu ran in a single direction. Whenever dangerous immortal beasts approached, the creature would alert him early, allowing them to avoid trouble. Along the way, any harmless immortal beasts were slain by Li Chengzhu’s divine bow. As soon as they fell, the little creature would rush out to extract their immortal cores, waiting for Li Chengzhu to summon rain to wash them clean before devouring them.

After a month, the little creature had grown plump and round—no longer resembling a mouse, but rather a pig at first glance. Over the month, it had devoured nearly a hundred immortal cores.

Li Chengzhu hadn’t been idle either. Since the battle with the Qilin beast, strange ideas kept popping into his mind—knowledge apparently not from the immortal realm. From these, he pieced together a spell called “Elemental Clone Technique.” This technique used his spiritual energy to merge with elements in the air, creating clones identical to himself. These clones could fight and cultivate; perfected, he could have nine clones, each as powerful as his original body. When fighting enemies, it would be nine against one.

Li Chengzhu never cared for chivalry or single combat. Judging from how he bullied immortal beasts with the little creature’s help, he was the type who’d never pass up a good advantage.

Yet his understanding of the Elemental Clone Technique was superficial. He could only combine the Transformation Technique with it to create a fake clone—one that shattered upon any impact, a mere decorative pillow. Still, it was a breakthrough: useful for escape or distracting foes.

One day, Li Chengzhu was following the little creature when it suddenly stopped, squeaked, glanced back at him, then darted forward at great speed.

Had it discovered a treasure?

Li Chengzhu’s excitement mounted, and he quickened his pace to keep up.

After only a few miles, a blinding light pierced his vision. Li Chengzhu found himself standing beneath the sun; raising his head, he saw an actual sun in the sky.

Was this the immortal realm?

Wasn’t there supposed to be no sun in the immortal realm?

He looked back in confusion and was stunned—where was the forest? Moments ago he’d been traversing it, but now he stood on a vast plain. Had he inadvertently crossed through time and space again?

Reaching back, he felt an invisible barrier blocking his exploration.

A barrier?

Li Chengzhu pressed his hand against it, and a sudden force knocked him to the ground.

Before he could get up, a distant voice thundered from the sky: “Who dares to touch the Heaven-Covering Earth-Binding Array?”

Heaven-Covering Earth-Binding Array?

Li Chengzhu suddenly understood, then burst out laughing in delight: “Ha! I’ve finally made it out!”