Volume One, Chapter 20: The Astonished Sacred Master of the Northern Underworld!
Chapter 20: The Stunned Sovereign of Beiming!
“This is... Foundation Establishment!”
Wang Mu was stunned, lowering his gaze to his hands, feeling the vast and powerful mana within him—ten times stronger than before.
It was a sensation akin to being reborn.
The Ascension Conference lasted seven days.
In total, he had invested over five hundred thousand people.
About twenty thousand cultivators were born from this effort.
The cultivation achievements of these individuals would be proportionally returned to Wang Mu.
Even if each person contributed only a small amount of cultivation to him, the sum was still extraordinarily significant.
Of course, the most important thing was that Wang Mu himself was already close to Foundation Establishment.
Moreover, his foundation was incredibly solid.
Breaking through was simply a matter of time—a mere shiver away.
Beside him, Zi Xia and Li Yuanhua stared wide-eyed.
“Young master, weren’t you supposed to be unable to cultivate? Where is this profound and powerful aura coming from?”
Wang Mu said, “I’m going to my room. Don’t disturb me unless it’s urgent!”
“Y-yes... understood!” they responded in unison.
Li Yuanhua bowed his head deeply, too afraid to even lift it, feeling a chilling dread envelop him.
His mind buzzed.
Could the rumors be false?
Could the young master actually cultivate?
Had the Wang family publicized otherwise just to keep him under wraps?
Recalling the young master’s recent behavior, so different from the rumors, Li Yuanhua’s heart contracted sharply; it felt as if he had uncovered a colossal secret.
Cold sweat trickled down his forehead.
...
Wang Mu returned to his room, sat cross-legged on his couch, and examined the changes within himself.
There was a clear distinction between the Foundation Establishment realm and the Qi Refinement stage.
Cultivators at the Qi Refinement stage needed to rely on magical artifacts to fly—such as sword-taming, gourd-taming, or sheath-taming.
But Foundation Establishment cultivators did not.
They could walk on air, their own mana sufficient to support flight.
Wang Mu grasped a blood-red jade pendant hanging from his neck.
This artifact, called the “Suspended Seal,” could detect any form of surveillance or perception below the Earth Immortal level, activating automatically without mana but becoming even stronger once mana was infused.
It also concealed several powerful secret techniques.
It was a protective treasure given to him by his mother, Luo Xuanshuang.
Upon infusing it with mana, a translucent red barrier spread out, enveloping the courtyard.
Wang Mu stepped into the yard, practicing the secret arts and divine abilities stored in his mind.
He performed the Heavenly Roc Dragon Grapple Technique!
The Golden Light Shadow Escape!
The Eight Extremes Heaven-Breaking Fist!
Repeatedly executing them, the courtyard filled with brilliant spiritual light.
At times, it transformed into a great roc soaring to the heavens, its momentum shaking the skies;
At others, it melted into the twilight glow, vanishing as if part of the fading sunset;
Sometimes, it was fierce and robust like an ancient giant, shaking the heavens and earth, causing the firmament to sway.
It was exhilarating!
Utterly exhilarating!
Wang Mu practiced the incomplete Eight Extremes Heaven-Breaking Fist over and over, his mind spinning, thoughts racing.
The powerful insight of an enlightened immortal heart manifested again.
He continuously supplemented and expanded it.
From 50%, to 70%, then 95%!
Until it was finally complete.
With a punch, the void seemed to tremble.
Leaves in the entire courtyard lifted into the air, swirling into a tornado around his fist before exploding violently!
Fragments of leaves fluttered everywhere.
Standing beneath an old poplar tree in the courtyard, Wang Mu slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.
Looking up, golden morning sunlight bathed his sight.
A whole night had passed.
“Mu’er...”
A familiar, gentle female voice suddenly sounded behind him.
Wang Mu paused, turning around.
A dignified and graceful figure stood at the convergence of light and shadow, her expression complex.
“Mother? Why have you come?”
Wang Mu was surprised; the visitor was none other than Luo Xuanshuang, the Sovereign of Beiming.
“I heard from Zi Xia about what you did on Tianjue Island. It caused quite a stir. These days are quiet, so I thought I’d come see you,” Luo Xuanshuang said as she slowly approached, her eyes still filled with disbelief and complexity. “But I didn’t expect you to give me such a big surprise!”
She called it a surprise.
In truth, it was more of a shock.
Over the years, the Wang family, Beiming Sacred Land, and the Langya Trade Association—three colossal powers—had exhausted every imaginable method to break the curse on Wang Mu.
All to no avail.
No one expected that Wang Mu, at some unknown time, had actually begun to cultivate.
And quietly succeeded in Foundation Establishment!
Wang Mu scratched his head, feeling a little guilty.
“Mother, I didn’t mean to hide it from you all. I just hadn’t figured out how to tell you.”
Luo Xuanshuang lifted her hand, gently brushing the fallen leaves from Wang Mu’s shoulders.
She spoke softly, “It’s right not to say. The cultivation world is treacherous; not everyone wishes you well. Mu’er has grown, and now he has secrets...”
Hearing the faint sorrow in her voice, Wang Mu’s scalp tingled and he coughed twice.
“Mother, that’s not what I meant!”
Luo Xuanshuang laughed lightly.
“Alright, I’m just teasing. I’m happy that you can cultivate now—truly happy...”
As she smiled, this legendary first sword immortal of Beiming, who had once subdued the Sacred Land’s prodigies for a millennium with a single sword, had tears shimmering in her eyes, her voice choked with emotion.
Wang Mu, merging his former memories, understood how hard his mother had fought for his sake.
He fell silent for a long moment before saying, “Actually, one day I dreamed of an old immortal who told me that the curse on me could be broken through accumulating virtue and doing good deeds. So I decided to try.”
Luo Xuanshuang opened her mouth but said, “Mu’er, you don’t have to force yourself to come up with excuses.”
Wang Mu was speechless.
“Give me your hand!”
“Oh!”
Luo Xuanshuang took Wang Mu’s hand and carefully examined it.
Though it was good news that he could cultivate, the suddenness made her wary.
What if it was just a fleeting recovery?
She couldn’t let her guard down.
Yet, upon examination, her eyes filled with profound shock.
“Such pure mana!”
As an Earth Immortal and the Sovereign of Beiming Sacred Land, she naturally cultivated the most supreme techniques in the world.
Yet, even she could not match the purity of her son’s mana.
Keep in mind, Wang Mu had only just reached Foundation Establishment!
This was no mystical phenomenon.
Could it be that Mu’er had truly turned misfortune into blessing, awakening a special constitution never before recorded?
Suddenly, a question struck her.
“By the way, Mu’er, I noticed that two of the divine arts you performed just now don’t seem to be human techniques, and the last fist technique seems incomplete?”
Wang Mu had to admire his mother’s keen perception and nodded.
“Mother, your eyes are sharp!
The first two came from watching the wealthy fight sea beasts—I deduced and developed them myself!
As for the last, I obtained it by chance and am trying to complete it!”
He couldn’t very well explain the system-related matters to her.
Luo Xuanshuang was even more shocked upon hearing this!
With her insight, she could tell that both the Heavenly Roc Dragon Grapple and the Golden Light Shadow Escape captured the essence of the Roc Clan’s divine arts, filled with remarkable charm.
In theory, no matter how human body structure and meridians tried to imitate, they couldn’t replicate such finesse.
Yet Wang Mu had done it.
And the last fist technique, though unfamiliar to Luo Xuanshuang, she could be certain it was an ancient top-tier divine art.
Wang Mu, with only fragments, was able to nearly perfect it!
What a terrifying level of comprehension!
Even ancient sages alive today would struggle to achieve such a feat.