Chapter 73
Chapter 73: Spirit Entities
The three artifacts that got blasted down were scorched and half-melted. As they hit the ground, they reverted to their original forms.
Hu Qing scooped up the thin sword with one hand and the Thunder Dragon with the other. Both had shrunk again—only a little longer than chopsticks now, and so hot they burned through her grip.
She immediately cast a water-condensing spell and rinsed them off.
Beside her, the Buddha Seal had also become much smaller. Shui Xin took a damp cloth and wiped it carefully, stroke by stroke.
Light flowed across it with every pass. One look told you it was a treasure.
Hu Qing gasped. “That’s a diamond shine!”
She held the thin sword up to her eyes. “And it polished the facets for me! The heavens even stole my job.”
Bai Wen’s flame pattern was gone. Its body was covered in tiny facets you could barely see, almost like a field of scales. Hu Qing tried to pry one up with her fingernail, but it wouldn’t budge.
Bai Wen suddenly wriggled, as if she’d tickled it.
Hu Qing froze.
The next second, Bai Wen made a quick, nimble hop and dove straight into her dantian.
Was it… shy?
Hu Qing lifted the Thunder Dragon for a closer look. It had been “polished” too, shining brightly. Head, tail, horns, claws—everything complete. A tiny, perfect little dragon.
Its small eyes blinked once.
Hu Qing’s mouth fell open. “It’s alive.”
Shui Xin still hadn’t moved. He was staring ahead like he’d lost his soul.
Hu Qing leaned closer and burst out laughing. “What happened to the Buddha Seal?”
Bai Wen and the Thunder Dragon had only been shrunk.
The Buddha Seal had been struck into a tiny monk.
“Tsk,” Hu Qing said, eyeing it. “Did your Nascent Soul Stage get struck out of it?”
The little monk sat cross-legged on the base with enormous effort. It looked like a phantom at first—round head, chubby limbs, dumb expression—like a toddler not even a year old.
Where had the giant Buddha statue gone?
Shui Xin looked like he wanted to throw something. “I hate looking after kids.”
Hu Qing snorted. “Says the one who keeps trying to drag my kid into the buddhist sect.”
“So what is it, then?” Hu Qing reached out and poked the little monk with zero gentleness.
A strange sensation came back through her fingertip—softer than touching water, yet undeniably real.
Hu Qing’s eyes widened. “It isn’t an illusion?”
Shui Xin gave her a look of pure disdain. “It’s a spirit entity.”
He gestured toward Hu Qing’s hands. “Bai Wen and the Thunder Dragon can form spirit entities too. Didn’t you notice?”
Hu Qing looked down at the Thunder Dragon. Where was its spirit entity?
As if hearing her thoughts, the Thunder Dragon twisted in her palm. In one smooth change, it shifted from solid little dragon to a lively phantom baby dragon, almost weightless.
So that was a spirit entity.
Hu Qing immediately thought of Juan Bu. “Then why can’t you do it?”
Juan Bu was still under the silencing curse. Even if he could speak, he would have snarled until the heavens shook: Because I need too much energy. Feed me more.
A weathered voice suddenly rang out, rolling across the sect.
“All Zhaohua Sect disciples, heed my command. Sit where you are and comprehend the laws.”
Hu Qing and Shui Xin both looked up.
With a thought, Shui Xin retracted the Buddha Seal. Hu Qing withdrew the Thunder Dragon’s spirit entity. The thunder quieted. The clouds remained, but the lightning stopped.
The two Mahayana cultivators who had been in tribulation in midair were now seated properly on the ground.
They had passed.
And now everyone was being told to comprehend the laws?
Hu Qing frowned. “Who’s protecting the sect?”
Shui Xin lowered his voice. “Comprehension can be interrupted anytime. And not everyone can comprehend. Those who can will do it. Those who can’t will naturally stand guard.”
He glanced at her sharply. “Don’t go charging off. We haven’t comprehended anything yet, and the laws descending were supposed to include us too.”
Hu Qing hesitated, then said quietly, “I think I saw my dad.”
Chan Ming was at the edge of the field. He waved at her and sent a message through divine sense: Don’t move. Comprehend.
Hu Qing sat up straight at once, obedient for once in her life, and waited.
She was so excited she could hardly breathe. She still didn’t know what “laws” would even feel like.
As far as she could see, people sat down in a tide, thrilled and trembling. Above them, the immortals looked sour. Laws descending at this level did nothing for immortals; they could only watch everyone below benefit.
Some immortals—especially those from the Demon Clan and Devil Clan—couldn’t help their minds drifting.
Little Li Realm was small. Resources were limited. If one side weakened…
Kill the two Spirit Immortals before they fully stabilized, and Zhaohua Sect would decline. The balance would shift.
But if the Demon Clan and Devil Clan thought of it, the Human Clan immortals had thought of it too.
They subtly shifted position, locking down every angle, hemming the other two races in without a word.
Only one immortal stood apart, arms folded, sneering as usual. “If you dogs want to bite each other to death, go ahead. Then outsiders can stroll into Little Li Realm and pick up the leftovers.”
The three races: …
They wanted to rip out Jie Shan’s tongue.
Still, his words were a reminder. Outsiders were watching like wolves. Little Li Realm could not afford internal chaos.
Some immortals suddenly went cold. If they struck first and triggered a chain of collapse, who knew how this world’s Heavenly Dao would respond? They weren’t afraid of making a mess elsewhere, but this was their home—roots, history, karma. Here, consequences followed you.
Many decided then and there that this trip had one priority: sever karma with Little Li Realm as cleanly as possible, so they wouldn’t be shackled in the future.
No matter what, the three races held steady. No one dared to move.
Below, Zhaohua Sect truly obeyed. Everyone sat and sought comprehension.
They weren’t trusting the immortals.
The disciples trusted their Ancestors. The Ancestors trusted one thing—taking a gamble.
The order had come from one of the two newly ascended Mahayana cultivators. Both had sensed it: this moment was rare. Seize it, and Zhaohua Sect would surge into glory. Miss it, and the regret would last ten thousand years.
They chose to gamble. If trouble came, they were immortals now. They could abandon their own comprehension and protect the sect.
Until then, they would take what they could.
In the end, no disaster came.
The two newly ascended immortals absorbed the descending laws and fully integrated them. Power surged through them, and their vision of the world rose to an entirely different height. They leapt into the sky and let out long, resonant whistles that echoed through heaven and earth.
At once, the Integration Stage great experts who had been comprehending with eyes closed snapped them open, their auras surging without restraint. Above, the clouds that hadn’t yet dispersed began to roil again, flashing with thunder.
Was this… the entire Integration Stage advancing into Mahayana tribulation?
Good grief.
Hu Qing shot to Chan Ming’s side. “Dad, get ready. After the Integration Stage comes the Divine Transformation Stage.”
Chan Ming stared at her like she’d lost her mind.
Hu Qing jabbed a finger at the sky. “Believe me! Look at those clouds—they’re even thicker than before. They won’t even use all that lightning on the Integration Stage.”
People nearby heard her and froze.
That… actually sounded plausible.
Hu Qing turned and shouted toward Yu Liu Ya as well. “Senior Brother, you should prepare too!”
Yu Liu Ya flinched. “You mean Nascent Soul cultivators will also undergo Divine Transformation tribulation? Then do Golden Core cultivators become Nascent Soul? Do Foundation Establishment cultivators become Golden Core? Do Qi Refining cultivators all jump to Foundation Establishment?”
“Of course not,” Hu Qing said, dead serious.
Yu Liu Ya forced a laugh, and somehow looked disappointed. “Oh… right.”