Chapter 11: Primordial Spirit Tremor

The imperial authority’s aura is the most overbearing, especially once the web of law is formed; it is untouchable. Even those holding imperial office can, at best, draw upon the power of this legal web to launch attacks, as Wang Zhenling just did. However, for someone like Wang Zhenling to directly manipulate the web of law with the power of his primordial spirit, and then channel it into his own body to augment his attacks—that is unprecedented!

How could such a thing be possible? They naturally did not know that it was only due to the existence of the Heaven-Reaching Lotus that Wang Zhenling possessed such an ability. Nevertheless, they were shocked, shouting, "Flee quickly!"

As they spoke, the Taoists exchanged glances, suddenly displaying their respective mystical arts, and fled toward the foot of the mountain. Wang Zhenling’s primordial spirit flickered in the air before returning to his spiritual chamber. His steps were unsteady, and he nearly collapsed to the ground, but he forced himself to stand, shouting, "Intercept these evildoers!"

The power of the legal web that Wang Zhenling had invoked was too immense; even his primordial spirit could not withstand it and had suffered a degree of shock. Now that it had returned to his spiritual chamber, he felt dizzy and disoriented. However, the time for the mopping-up phase had arrived. The county soldiers looked at Wang Zhenling as if he were a god, and naturally, no one dared to disobey his command. They rushed forward one after another to intercept the Taoists!

The divine envoys and Commander Luo all possessed their own secret mystical techniques and managed to escape. Only a few armored Taoist fighters could not get away; they were either cut down or captured and were soon dragged before Wang Zhenling.

"Kneel!"

Amidst the sharp shouts, the Taoists were kicked behind the knees, and they involuntarily collapsed before Wang Zhenling. In truth, even without that kick, these Cheng-Tian Taoists were trembling all over at the mere sight of him.

Suppressing the oppressive urge to vomit, Wang Zhenling said to his subordinates, "Extract their confessions!"

"Yes!" Zhu He quickly responded.

Only Wang Hu, who had the sharpest eyes, noticed Wang Zhenling’s pale complexion and the cold sweat on his forehead. He immediately stepped forward and secretly supported him. Wang Zhenling nodded slightly and said, "Let’s go up the mountain and take a look."

"Very well. Besides, you must be exhausted, Commander; you can take a rest," Wang Hu said with a smile.

Wang Zhenling nodded and said no more. Fortunately, Dongji Mountain was not very tall. Even so, after climbing it, Wang Zhenling felt dizzy and felt as though he might faint at any moment.

*I played too recklessly this time.*

When a person exerts power beyond their capacity, they are prone to exhaustion; at this moment, Wang Zhenling was experiencing a total depletion of his primordial spirit. Fortunately, the attentive Wang Hu soon found a place within the Taoist temple for Wang Zhenling to lie down and rest.

Wang Zhenling turned his inner vision inward and discovered that his primordial spirit had become dim and lusterless, almost like a phantom on the verge of dissipating! After all, he had not yet reached the Out-of-Body stage; his essence, energy, and spirit could not be highly unified into a true primordial spirit capable of flying through the heavens, traversing the earth, and wielding infinite power. Once overused, it ended up in this state.

Fortunately, the Moon-Wheel Heavenly Palace was condensing his soul and nourishing his psyche, preventing his primordial spirit from completely dispersing. Even so, at this rate, it would likely take eight or ten days for his primordial spirit to fully recover. Fortunately, Wang Zhenling still had one last drop of jade marrow, which he had been reluctant to use until now. In this situation, he had no choice but to take it out from his bosom and consume it, which made him feel slightly better.

*A pity, this jade marrow isn't quite the right remedy... its effect on the spiritual chamber is greater than its effect on the primordial spirit!*

As he thought this, he looked inward and saw the power of the jade marrow moving through his system and into his sea of consciousness. It slowly permeated his spiritual chamber, staining it with a faint jade-colored glow, which made the chamber appear more solid and condensed. Conversely, the primordial spirit itself did not manage to absorb much of the jade marrow's power. In the past, his cultivation had been too weak; he knew the jade marrow was beneficial, but he hadn't considered whether it worked better on the primordial spirit or the spiritual chamber. Only now could he truly experience the difference.

As he was thinking this, he suddenly heard Wang Hu walk in hurriedly, saying sneakily to Wang Zhenling, "Commander, I’ve found something good!"

"Oh? Is it gold or silver treasure?" Wang Zhenling asked calmly. He would not be the least bit surprised if the Cheng-Tian Taoist temple had hoarded a vast amount of wealth from its followers.

"Yes, we discovered a treasury. Inside, there are at least ten million coins."

Ten million coins was indeed a large number, though when converted to gold, it amounted to only ten thousand pieces, which wasn't excessive. Still, considering that this Cheng-Tian Taoist temple had only been here for a few months, it was quite a significant haul!

"Seal it up and take it back to the county government office..." Wang Zhenling had originally intended to order it distributed among his soldiers, but he thought better of it. The imperial court had its own regulations; for this operation, he would naturally receive rewards from the county treasury. It would be highly inappropriate for him to order the distribution of money himself, so he issued this command.

Wang Hu did not seem surprised by this order. Instead, he carefully took two beads and a jade bottle from his bosom and said, "Commander, these are the good things I was talking about!"

"Oh? These..."

Before he could finish, Wang Zhenling’s hand touched the two beads, and he immediately felt a sense of clarity in his heart. Even the dizzy, heavy sensation caused by his damaged primordial spirit was significantly alleviated.

"These seem to be called Moon-Essence Beads. They were bestowed by the Great Heavenly Lord of the Cheng-Tian Taoist sect, specifically for practitioners... I just interrogated the captives!"

Wang Zhenling took the beads, murmuring, "Moon-Essence Beads!"

These beads were only the size of a fingernail. They looked round, clear, and moist, like high-quality pearls. Yet, when held before his eyes, they seemed like full moons, possessing faint strands of lunar luster.

"No wonder they are called Moon-Essence Beads; they have such a use..."

Threads of light shot into his sea of consciousness, illuminating his spiritual chamber. In an instant, they nourished his primordial spirit and repaired its injuries—they were truly far superior to the jade marrow. This invigorated Wang Zhenling, and he became even more expectant about the remaining jade bottle. He asked, "Then what is inside this jade bottle?"

"I don't know, but the captives seemed to say this is the most important thing in the temple. Every month, three bottles are produced here and then sent to Qingye Mountain!"

Qingye Mountain was within the borders of Zhu Prefecture, and it was said to be the main base of the Cheng-Tian Taoist sect, the place where that Great Heavenly Lord cultivated. Wang Zhenling became interested. Three bottles produced every month, and all sent to Qingye Mountain?

What on earth could be inside?

He shook it slightly and felt that there was liquid within. He opened the stopper of the jade bottle, and suddenly, he saw bubbles—much like soap bubbles, but with more colorful and bizarre surfaces—drifting out from the bottle!