Chapter 1556: Chapter 964: Supreme Withering and Flourishing Path (Part 2)
"The Path of Life and Death!"
Yang Zhenshan was lost in thought.
He hadn’t expected to suddenly enter a state of enlightenment, and this realization brought him great achievement, even greater than the last time.
Last time, he had touched the threshold of the Path of Life and Death through the lotus seeds of the Taoist Intent Sacred Lotus, but this time he entered the threshold merely through his chance epiphany.
"Life and death, withering and flourishing; neither withered nor flourishing, neither life nor extinction; this is called the Supreme Withering and Flourishing Path, truly the Great Way of Longevity!"
A gleam flashed in his eyes.
He seemed to have found a path to true immortality, the genuine eternal life.
Moreover, he seemed to have grasped an extraordinary ability, or more accurately, a divine power.
Yang Zhenshan slowly stood up, a Magic Power Disc emerging from his back.
The six-foot disc was of blue and grey hues, slowly rotating like the Tai Chi Yin Yang Fish.
"Life and death, withering and flourishing, hahaha..."
Feeling the Magic Power Disc behind him, Yang Zhenshan couldn’t help but laugh heartily in excitement.
To comprehend divine skills with Foundation Establishment cultivation was absolutely extraordinary in immortal cultivation, as divine skills were exclusive to Golden Core cultivators. Yang Zhenshan had never heard of anyone grasping divine skills at the Foundation Establishment Stage.
He not only comprehended divine skills, but also the Withered and Flourishing Divine Power.
"Rising sun brings life to all trees, my words declare spring lives all things; falling moon withers a hundred grasses, my words declare autumn withers all things. Flourishing is not the beginning of life, withering is not the end of death, both are like an endless ring, like two sides of light. Life and death are one, withering and flourishing cast as a wheel."
Yang Zhenshan softly chanted, his Spiritual Sense sweeping towards the Tai Chi Life and Death Diagram behind him.
This time, his gain was truly immense, and the greatest reward was this Tai Chi Life and Death Diagram at his back.
The Tai Chi Life and Death Diagram was the manifestation of Yang Zhenshan’s insights, the outward display of his comprehension of the Path of Life and Death, and the root of performing the Withered and Flourishing Divine Power.
"Pity it’s still somewhat weak; if it were stronger, I’d dare to confront a Golden Core Cultivator!"
Yang Zhenshan regretfully commented.
The greatest ability of the Withered and Flourishing Divine Power was the turning of vitality and death, that is, to deprive or inject vitality, or to deprive or inject death energy.
These two are interconnected, with life and death cycling, withering and flourishing transforming, depriving vitality is injecting death energy, injecting vitality is depriving death energy.
In simpler terms, it’s depriving and injecting lifespan.
Previously, whether depriving or injecting lifespan, Yang Zhenshan had to follow a ten-to-one ratio and could only do so slowly, making it impractical for combat.
But now, although still abiding by the ten-to-one ratio, he could execute it instantly.
In battle, Yang Zhenshan could instantly cause an opponent to lose ten years of lifespan, at the cost of consuming a hundred years of his own lifespan.
The cost was substantial, but it was a terrifying ability.
The crucial point was that Yang Zhenshan could replenish his own lifespan.
By replenishing his lifespan with the vitality of plants and trees.
With a thought, Yang Zhenshan appeared in a dense forest in the northern part of the Spirit Source Land.
The forest was lush, brimming with vitality, with towering trees more than ten feet tall, including various spirit grasses, spiritual medicine, and spirit trees.
"Falling moon withers a hundred grasses, my words declare autumn withers all things!"
Yang Zhenshan hovered in mid-air, chanting softly.
As his voice fell, threads of blue vitality gas slowly drifted from the surrounding vegetation towards him.
Around a hundred feet, the vibrant seedlings withered at a speed visible to the naked eye, while Yang Zhenshan was enveloped in rich vitality, and the Yin Yang Life and Death Diagram behind him turned slowly.
After about a quarter of an hour, the dense Vitality Spiritual Energy was absorbed by Yang Zhenshan, while the forest was left in a withered state.
During this quarter of hour, his lifespan increased by a year.
"Again!"
Yang Zhenshan’s form flickered, appearing in the nearby valley, continuing to plunder the vitality of the vegetation, once, twice, three times, completely lost in the joy of increased lifespan.
In just half a day, the surrounding forest of over ten miles was devastated by him.
Here a patch of withered yellow, there a patch of withered yellow, with only a small lush area in the original green mountain, like dozens of fire cupping marks.
Only when Yang Zhenshan felt a tremor in his Divine Soul did he suddenly stop.
"What’s going on?"
He looked intently at his arm, slowly rolling up his sleeve.
When he saw his arm, his pupils suddenly contracted.
Unexpectedly, a verdant leaf had grown on his arm.
Indeed, it grew out from his body.
"This is!" Looking at the leaf, Yang Zhenshan seemed to gain some insight in his mind, "Everything has its measure, surplus and deficiency have their balance. Taking ten parts of plant vitality damages the Divine Soul by three parts; seizing a millennium of celestial aura subjects one to a hundred days of thunder and fire refinement."
"The Heavenly Dao has its balance, the cycle unerring, my plundering of plant vitality is equivalent to defying the heavens!"
"Excessive vitality, the proliferation of plants, is just the beginning; if continued, there may be the tribulation of soul thunder and fire!"
Understanding all this, Yang Zhenshan felt somewhat disappointed, having thought he could rely on seizing plant vitality to extend his lifespan to a thousand or ten thousand years.
But it turned out not to be so!
He could deprive living creatures of vitality, but he couldn’t wantonly occupy these vital energies.
He checked his lifespan again and found it had reached five hundred years.
Is five hundred the limit?
No!
Lifespan can still increase, it just needs to be gradual, in harmony with nature.
What does it mean to be in harmony with nature?
It means slowly absorbing the power of vitality, continuously enhancing the vitality within, thereby achieving an increase in lifespan.
This is gained through cultivation, not through plunder, without offending the balance of the Heavenly Dao.
"Indeed, if it were possible to infinitely plunder vitality, wouldn’t I achieve immortality now? How could such a good thing exist in this world?"
"Gradual progress is the hard rule, rushing leads only to illusion."
Yang Zhenshan cautioned himself, suppressing his inner impulse, shifting to continue researching the Path of Life and Death.
Since there was excess vitality, he should return some of it.
He sprinkled the excess Vitality Spiritual Energy onto the withered forest, and in an instant the dead wood renewed in spring, the fallen leaves revived, and tender yellow buds emerged from the withered earth.
The leaf on his arm also instantly vanished, revealing smooth skin.
"Excess and deficiency balance, that’s just right!"
Yang Zhenshan calmed his turbulent emotions, a slight smile playing at the corners of his mouth as he considered the gains of this retreat.
Familiarizing himself once again with the Path of Life and Death, Yang Zhenshan then returned to the Spiritual Spring Mountain Plateau.
In the study, he looked at the accumulated documents and letters, leisurely browsing through them.
"Why did you suddenly enter seclusion?" Yu Qingyi brought tea, asking.
Yang Zhenshan chuckled, pulling her hand, saying: "The opportunity came, and I had some insights, so I didn’t tell you in advance!"
"Has anything happened at home during this time?"
"No, everything is fine at home. Everyone’s either busy with cultivation or busy building Changqing City!" Yu Qingyi replied softly from his embrace.
"How’s the construction of Changqing City going?"
"The basic structures are complete, and now we’re relocating the population!"
The construction of Changqing City had been underway for several years, and the basic structures were completed, which include government offices, academies, martial arts fields, beast training grounds, streets, etc. With these basic structures, housing construction could proceed, and the population could be relocated.
The population of the Spirit Source Land has reached close to a million, easily supporting the building of a new city.
A city doesn’t only have residents within the city but also residents of villages and towns outside it.
Building a new city means developing a large area, at the least a hundred-mile radius, establishing many villages and towns.
The reason for building Changqing City in the Spirit Source Land isn’t due to overcrowding but to open up a new resource production area.
Currently, the radius of the Spirit Source Land exceeds eleven hundred miles, but only the area within a hundred miles around the Spiritual Spring Mountain Plateau has been developed.
Large tracts of forest in the Spirit Source Land remain uninhabited, and many Blessed Lands are undeveloped.
Hence, building a new city is imperative.
"Oh, here’s a request report from Ziwei Tower from a couple of days ago!" Yu Qingyi picked out a document from among the many, handing it to Yang Zhenshan.
"What’s the matter?"
"The Council intends to relocate people from the outside world into the Spirit Source Land!" Yu Qingyi said.
Yang Zhenshan opened the document, skimmed through it, and said, "Then let’s relocate some people from the Divine Wood Sect!"
The population growth in the Spirit Source Land was still on the slow side, having reached just a million after seventy or eighty years.
At this rate, it might take four to five hundred years to complete the five-city configuration.
It’s time to relocate some more people from the outside world.
The Sea of Spirit here isn’t easy to manage, but there’s nothing much to worry about in the Ten Thousand Miles Sea Domain.
