118: Darwin's Secret

When Great Immortal Zhenyuan spoke, everyone fell silent. Some didn't understand his exact meaning, while others were deep in thought.

Tang Ku stroked his chin, frowning slightly, and asked, "According to what you're saying... this Darwin, his actual combat power is equivalent to a Saint, but he isn't a Saint. Is that what you mean?"

Great Immortal Zhenyuan nodded, then his face suddenly flushed again. He quickly pulled out a purple Medicinal Pill from his robe, threw it into his mouth, and began healing again. The others could only stand there, looking at each other, waiting.

After about another quarter of an hour, his complexion finally returned to normal, but his Qi was noticeably much weaker than before.

"Phew, this injury is more severe than I expected... It's been thousands of years since I was injured, but I never thought..." Great Immortal Zhenyuan gave a bitter smile, then looked at Tang Ku among the group and said, "Sanzang, not many people will understand what I'm about to say, but everything I say, whether you understand it or not, you must remember it carefully, do you understand? I will fall into a slumber for three months, and only then will I fully recover. So, everything from now on will depend on you!"

"So, your experience can give us some insight, so that when we encounter experts like Darwin again, we'll have a chance to deal with them!" Tang Ku said, "Is that what you mean?"

"Not entirely. If you gain experience, you can escape. With your current strength, it's impossible for you to be their opponents!"

Great Immortal Zhenyuan slowly recounted, briefly explaining what happened when he went to challenge Darwin.

It turned out that Darwin was incredibly excited when he heard someone wanted to challenge him. It was said that he rarely fought and had never encountered an enemy of the same Rank. So, Great Immortal Zhenyuan's arrival made him very happy, as he felt that among all the experts he had encountered so far, Great Immortal Zhenyuan was the strongest.

Thus, he readily agreed, leaving his subordinates behind, and fought Great Immortal Zhenyuan all the way from the mountaintop to the sky, battling until the sky was dark and the sun and moon lost their light.

"...This old man's Physical Body is incredibly tough, so he didn't use any weapons like swords. His hands, every part of his body, could be a weapon!" Great Immortal Zhenyuan said, "This sword of mine was modeled after the True Martial Great Emperor of the North Pole's True Martial Demon-Slaying Sword. Although it doesn't possess as many great powers, its toughness is first-rate. Furthermore, it was nurtured for a thousand years with the Spiritual Root of the Ginseng Fruit Tree, so its power cannot be underestimated. Even my brother's Diamond Body might not be able to break it... But when it came to him, it couldn't even scratch his body! In the end, it was actually broken by him. His strength and the toughness of his Physical Body have already exceeded imagination!"

"If it's just immense strength and a tough Physical Body, does that mean his power is basically concentrated in his physical form?"

Tang Ku frowned slightly, "I also fought him once... Well, to be precise, I took a beating from him. That one finger he poked at me almost took half my life. That definitely isn't something that can be achieved by just a strong Physical Body!"

"Indeed, a strong Physical Body is only one aspect... During the battle, I discovered that a type of energy flowed through his body—an energy that isn't usually visible and doesn't emit any dazzling light, but when he makes a Move, it becomes extremely concentrated. And this power is very likely what you once told me about: Chaos Power!"

Great Immortal Zhenyuan said in a deep voice, "His Physical Body is powerful, but this power is the key. And I didn't gain nothing from fighting him. At the very least, I found that this old man's combat experience isn't actually very extensive. During our fight, he was distracted six times, I successfully ambushed him seven times, and he was injured twelve times, all due to insufficient flexibility in his Moves... Hmm, perhaps he himself doesn't understand any close-quarters combat techniques. He just relies entirely on his acute senses and terrifying instincts in battle! It's like... hmm, how should I describe it... it's like a beast that hasn't yet awakened its intelligence."

"But precisely because of that, this old man is also very intelligent, and was even once a very powerful biologist! And it's unknown why he used Brother Niu and his wife for experiments!" Tang Ku said, "And there are more than a dozen others with strength like his!"

"The might of a Saint does not mean having the cultivation of a Saint!" Great Immortal Zhenyuan said, "Don't lose your morale first. Although this fellow is powerful, there might not be no chance to deal with him. But first, you must also improve your own cultivation... Hmm, I don't have much time left... This Immortal Mountain, without the Spiritual Root of the Ginseng Fruit Tree, will soon become a desolate mountain. You should take my Physical Body with you to that shuttle you mentioned to temporarily hide. Once my Primordial Spirit fully recovers, I will find a way to teach you methods to achieve the Great Dao... Hmm, during this seclusion, while healing, I will try my best to comprehend the Heavenly Dao. Even if I can't reach the Realm of a Saint, I must reach a level where I possess the power of a Saint's single strike! That shuttle was created by a Saint, so its power should not be so weak as to be breached by enemies. Therefore, everyone will be safe for now!"

"Then how will you heal? Do you need our help? Do you need any Immortal Pills or Spirit Medicine? I imagine many Immortal Caves on various Immortal Mountains should still have some in stock!"

Nezha asked with concern.

"No need to worry!" Zhen Yuanzi said, "I've already used the Medicinal Pills I need. Injuries to the Primordial Spirit are not so easily healed. I need to take my soul, along with my Primordial Spirit, into the Void Realm, to fight poison with poison, using the Chaos Power within the Void Realm to expel the Chaos Power from my body. How exactly to do it, I also need to explore, which is why it will take so long... Before I recover, try your best to escape and do not confront enemies you cannot defeat!"

"So, just keep a low profile and don't go head-to-head, right?" Tang Ku said with a smile, "Great Immortal, don't worry, I'm very familiar with this line of work!"

Great Immortal Zhenyuan nodded with satisfaction: "Although your choice of words is a bit strange, it expresses the true essence. That's right, keeping a low profile is not shameful. If you lose your life due to impulsive actions and delay what truly needs to be done, that is truly shameful... Hmm, it's almost time. I need to fall into slumber..."

As he spoke, he took out a palm-sized purple-gold box from his sleeve. Great Immortal Zhenyuan chuckled self-deprecatingly: "This looks like an old Daoist's coffin!"

As he spoke, a glimmer flashed in his eyes, and then his body suddenly transformed into a faint purple rainbow of light, drilling into the small box.

Tang Ku knew that he had found a safe place to heal himself, and he was filled with emotion. Just as he was about to step forward and grab the small box, an unexpected monster suddenly jumped in from outside the door, opened its large mouth, and with a flick of its long tongue, instantly swallowed the box into its belly.

"I... rely..."

Tang Ku's eyes widened, and he said in horror, "Brick, you're looking for death!"

Brick let out a satisfied burp, turned and ran, saying triumphantly as he ran, "Run, run!"