44 A Brutal Training Regime
The Divine Palace of the Immortal Realm. A grandiose, majestic continent floating in the infinite void where only the strongest and most prominent immortals resided. The largest organized faction in the Immortal Realm, with the greatest authority and influence.
A single word from any member of the Divine Palace could summon thunderclaps and fire within any immortal. Even the so-called contestant Demon Palace, was in truth a subsidiary branch of the Divine Palace.
The continent housing the Divine Palace could only be described as massive. Spanning over billions of kilometers in length and width, the landmass was considerably larger than the great planets of reigning immortal beings' domains.
The continent was truly a paradise, with medicinal herbs, treasures, and spiritual artifacts aged well over an epoch's duration. Treasures and panaceas highly sought after by immortal beings were simply scattered onto the ground casually as if they were mere river pebbles.
The mountain ranges, the deep valleys, even the plains housed countless immortals as they carried out their daily lives akin to their mortal counterparts. If observing the continent from above, it could be seen that these land formations were similar to patterns on an inscription of divine essence, all pointing towards the center of the continent. There, stood the Divine Palace.
Walls of a gold-colored material radiating a majestic splendor, a palace dome of the rarest Purified Heart Stone Crystal, and ramparts comprised of a black material emitting an indomitable and invincible aura, the Divine Palace towered over the continent and the residing immortals.
Each immortal traversing the land would first bow towards the palace's direction, and once treasures were obtained, a full kowtow. In the continent, the Divine Palace possessed an unshakeable faith, the persona of a Forefather. The interior of the palace was obscured from view with a cyan mist, complementing the perception of mystery and profoundness.
In a hidden conference hall within the Divine Palace, there existed a large circular disk in the center, with eighty-one chairs embossed with consecrated gold and bronze, upon which figures of celestial dragons, phoenixes, and an albatross were engraved. The occupants of these chairs ranged from elderly to young, rugged to beautiful, full of vitality to being devoid of none.
However, this motley group of people were the strongest and most influential of the entire Immortal Realm. As Pavilion Heads, they naturally dictated the movements of the Divine Palace.
Pavilions within the Immortal Realm were the branches of the Divine Palace, each specializing in a specific immortal's construct. Representing the true mastery of any of the eighty-one subcategories within an existence and society, a Pavilion exerted enormous influence in weaker factions and domains.
Being admitted to a Pavilion represented the close affinity an immortal had to an emotion, concept, material, or process, and the Pavilion Head bore resemblance towards the deepest and profound secrets within. And yet, these almighty Pavilion Heads were in a fierce argument in the conference hall.
"Pavilion Head Chen! Do you think you can get away with this!? Just because your Pavilion expounds lust as the primary formation within your immortals' constructs, you think 'preaching' to members of other Pavilions is acceptable!?"
A burly man roared, slamming his broad palms onto the disk. Livid with anger, his face was dark as he gazed towards the other members, spittle flying from his complaints. The target of his fury was a slender, handsome man with phoenix eyes, armed an attractive and bewitching aura.
Facing the burly man's enraged countenance, he lightly smiled before standing. A fan mysteriously appeared before him, of which he elegantly grasped with three fingers.
"Everyone," he spoke, spreading the fan and sweeping his gaze across with narrowed eyes, a slight smile gracing his handsome face.
"Is not Pavilion Head Han too brash with his accusation? The Pavilion of Ardor's Holy Daughter was the one to approach this one's Holy Son. Why must we bear the burden of shame and disgrace, solely due to our profession?"
"Why would Ziyue approach your Chen Xiao Ping had he not blackmailed her!?"
The burly man seethed, his eyes adopting a bizarre scarlet glow as he glowered at Pavilion Head Chen. "Why does the Divine Palace retain such a Pavilion, housing disgraces suffused with lust and lecherous disposition!?"
"Pavilion Head Han, do please quell your anger and retract your statement," this time, an old man wearing scholarly robes spoke, his garrulous voice exuding magnanimity and wisdom. "The Divine Palace does not only contain the Pavilion of Lust as practitioners of sexual affairs. Could it be that the Pavilion of Amorous Exchange, Pavilion of Dual Cultivation, and the Pavilion of Conquest should be expunged as well?"
"I…I meant no such thing." Stammered the burly man, his enraged demeanor deflating instantly. As if adding salt to the wound, a woman and man stood from opposite ends of the circle. Greeting Pavilion Head Chen with a smile, the woman winked at Pavilion Head Han before speaking with a sultry voice that tugged at the men's heartstrings.
"Pavilion Head Han," the woman spoke, her delicate eyes narrowing in an immoral pleasure. "Allow this one to establish a happy relationship between the Holy Daughter and the Holy Son! A binding of the heart from a young maiden awakening her first love, how exquisite is that!"
"I second that notion." Spoke the refined and handsome man adjacent from Pavilion Head Chen. Greeting Pavilion Head Han with a relaxed salute, the man smiled, displaying a predatory and sinister expression.
"If the Pavilion of Ardor could establish a marital alliance with the Pavilion of Lust, then Pavilion Head Han would obtain no little benefit! Your influence would truly leap without bounds."
"What influence leaping without bounds?" spoke the burly man with a bitter expression. What increase in influence and connections, the Pavilion of Lust would most likely exploit this connection to snatch all of the geniuses in his Pavilion by warping their constructs with desire!
Alas, he was pitted alone against the Pavilion of Amorous Exchange combined with the Pavilion of Conquest. Just look around, were any of his faction defending him given their personalities akin to a mighty turtle?
"You're abusing your influence!" he complained. "Just because you represent the Greater Truths of existence, that doesn't allow you to-"
Bang!
The entrance to the conference hall was suddenly breached, the doors slamming open as a middle-aged man rushed in, panting for breath. Stricken with terror and fear, he even forgot to pay his respects to the seated Pavilion Heads as he ceaselessly stammered as his body swayed.
The Pavilion Head of Amorous Exchange appeared next to him, stabilizing his body with a single hand. Her eyes locked directly onto his, her soft voice restoring his chaotic mind to lucidity.
"Why have you disrupted the conference hall? To rush here in such a panic, what has happened, Protector Zong?"
"The Hall of Ghosts is collapsing. The Ghost King…has fallen into a slumber, his immortal's construct in fragments."
Having said his piece, Protector Zong promptly fell unconscious. The Pavilion Head of Amorous Exchange was far too startled to pay attention to Protector Zong as she gazed at the rest of the seated members.
Gazing at their ashen faces, she saw her terror gazing back at her. The conference hall had fallen completely silent, no one daring to speak a word.
The Ghost King had fallen, his construct ruined to the extent that even a recuperative slumber is questionable…Just how were they to train the Divine Palace's youths and military strength now? Moreover, just who had the strength to decimate the Ghost King from afar, as the cowardly man never left the Divine Palace?
-
Facing the elder's stern glare, Li Xiang lightly shivered as she reached for her bowl of soup, intending to get a second helping to escape from his piercing stare. As she moved her arm, it was intercepted by the elder who then forced her to gaze in his eyes.
"Just where did you hear of the Ghost Feast?" he spoke gravely, barely repressing a scorching fury. Searching her face for answers, he interrogated her. "You're not associated with the Divine Palace, just why would you ask!?"
Blanching at his ferocity, Li Xiang deflated and pouted as she averted her gaze. Pinching her fingers together, she could only retell the events leading to Leng Bao Yuan throwing her into the Ghost Feast.
Hearing that it was the World Tree's order, the elder relaxed, allowing Li Xiang to rush off and refill her bowl of soup. When she returned, she discovered the elderly man to be peaceful once more, any traces of his violent outburst nonexistent. Sitting at her end of the wooden table, she stared at the Go board for a while, before raising her head.
"Senior…" she asked tentatively. "My question…"
"The Ghost Feast you mentioned is a withdrawn dimension reserved solely for training the forces and immortals within the Divine Palace. The existence and function of the Ghost Feast defies the restrictions placed on immortal existences, who are unable to increase their capacity for divine essence through cultivation, only able to improve their combat ability.
However, the Ghost Feast is an anomaly managed by the Ghost King. By forcefully restoring the immortal construct into its elementary components, an immortal can rewrite his defining construct to a certain extent; it will generally become much more powerful and capable of storing far greater volumes of divine essence, hence achieving the effect of "cultivation".
It is just that such benefit is obtained at an equal price, for the chance of permanent death is far too great. If they don't perish, then their personality will have experienced far too many changes, that they would no longer resemble their original self in any aspect."
Seeing her confusion, the elder coughed lightly before continuing. Fiddling with a black stone, he flicked it into the air before suspending its position with a thin stream of divine essence.
"The Ghost Feast first breaks down the immortal's mental boundaries to expose the immortal's construct. Through infusion of unbearable physical and mental pain in multiple approaches, the exposure of the immortal's construct signifies the conclusion of the first phase, a process that can take anywhere between hours to years to complete.
It is only that during the exposure to pain, the immortal could lose consciousness even with the supplementary effects of the Soul-Shackling Chains, a tool commonly used to forcefully prevent unconsciousness. If one blacks out during the first phase, then the immortal construct will automatically disintegrate under such mental and physical pressure.
At that point, the immortal can be considered to have completely perished."
With a slight shake of his finger, a stream of divine essence encased the black stone, cracking the surface to reveal specks of white jade.
"The second phase signifies the breaking and decomposition of the immortal's construct. The demons within one's heart will appear, forcing the immortal to confront them in various methods. Through temptation, cajoling, taunting, or mental torture, these heart demons will slowly distort the concept of originality and impose an existential crisis for the immortal.
Only under great stress can the immortal's construct devolve into the primitive directives of elementary emotions, impulses, or concepts. No matter how exemplary the resilience and mental fortitude of the immortal being, he is bound to perish without a doubt.
Rather, it is strange for an immortal being to remain conscious or even self-aware at the second phase of the Ghost Feast."
Clenching his hand, the black casing disintegrated into dust to reveal a bead of immaculate white jade, completely different from an ordinary black Go stone.
"The final phase is the shortest in consideration of completion. A primitive ghost is introduced to what remains of the devolved immortal's construct, of which it is to consume the immortal.
The ghost's construct is imposed onto the immortal's construct as an auxiliary directive, resulting in a fused product of both immortal and ghost. The achieved strength after completion of the Ghost Feast is realms above that of the original in capacity of divine essence and even regular abilities in general.
However, can it even be considered a true expansion of strength? The fused resultant is in actuality the ghost inheriting the immortal's memories and personality, replacing the immortal entirely. Such a method of improving strength as an immortal being, is that even worth consigning the self as a subsidiary entity?"
The old man sighed, as divine essence consumed the bead of white jade, allowing a black stone to drop onto the Go board. From the sound, Li Xiang could hear the noticeable difference compared to before; the newly created black stone was hollow, lacking the bead of jade.
Lowering his gaze to face Li Xiang, he suddenly voiced a question, startling Li Xiang.
"Come to think of it, your aura indeed reeks of the Ghost Feast's contamination, yet your immaturity and lack of control over your divine essence trace reveals a pristine soul free of any blemish. To have survived the Ghost Feast without losing your mind, just how did you accomplish such a feat?"
