The crust of the divine-level Primordial Stone was gradually splintering and peeling off. The sound of the mysterious heart beating became clearer and stronger. In the end, it seemed to become a peculiar kind of drumbeat that followed an inexplicable rhythm.
Gradually, everyone’s hearts started to thump at the same frequency as the drumbeat.
Li Mu, on the other hand, seemed to be ignorant of the changes in his surroundings.
He sat cross-legged on the spot, seizing every second to run the Xiantian Skill and restore his Divine Consciousness.
He was overwhelmed by the immense exhaustion that he had never experienced before.
The Sea of Consciousness outside his Mud-pill Palace seemed about to dry up.
Cutting that stone open had consumed too much of his energy.
Most of Li Mu’s Divine Consciousness had been consumed in the process of opening the stone. By this time, it was very difficult for the remaining few divine sense to form a Sea of Consciousness.
However, the only thing that surprised Li Mu was that the little figure that had come into being when he stuck the fin-shaped stone knife into the crust was still there at this time. It was just that his figure was extremely blurred, like a transparent shadow, who was also sitting cross-legged at the gate of the Mud-pill Palace, quietly regulating his breathing.
All of a sudden, an unexpected change occurred.
Next to Li Mu, the rich golden Spiritual Qi that spilled out from the crack of the divine-level Primordial Stone was attracted by the Xiantian Skill and automatically rushed into Li Mu’s body. It penetrated through hundreds of millions of pores on his skin and infiltrated into his body.
But Li Mu did not notice any of that.
Behind the mask, a strange light flashed in the eyes of the black-cloaked vendor.
The people around who were forced to watch the fun had also realized that at this time, Li Mu, the Wild Broadsword, had formed a wonderful connection with this divine-level Primordial Stone.
The energy in the divine-level Primordial Stone actively integrated with Li Mu’s body as if it had found a long-lost member of its family.
An unpredictable change happened to Li Mu and the divine-level Primordial Stone at the same time.
A look of exhilaration appeared on the face of the black-cloaked vendor.
The wretched old Taoist, who was holding an ambitious banner in his hand, kept moving his fingers of his left hand as if doing calculations while mumbling something to himself. Judging by his surprised look, he seemed to have figured out something.
Master Shi who was standing beside Shi Siming looked awestruck and feverish. Like the most devout religious member, he knelt down in a humble and lowly manner to worship the divine-level Primordial Stone that was gradually cracking open.
“It’s time for the god to come out.”
Master Shi murmured and threw himself to the ground.
In the legends of Primordial Stone masters, there was a myth that raw stones could be categorized into different kinds. The ones that contained the fairy crystals were just ordinary Primordial Stones. Some rare divine-level Primordial Stones could house deities, monsters, fairy maidens, Taoism forefathers, supreme treasures, and divine weapons…
It was even said that in the Ziwei Star Zone, several warlords who had risen to power came to the world from those Primordial Stones.
However, this statement was made a long time ago and had not been confirmed yet.
But today, would they finally be able to witness this kind of miracle?
As a Primordial Stone master, Master Shi felt that if he could see this once-in-a-lifetime miracle happen with his own eyes, he could rest in peace even if he died today.
The whole market was absurdly quiet.
Most of the people’s eyes were gradually focused on the divine-level Primordial Stone that was cracking open. They were all waiting for the mysterious creature in it to jump out and so ignored Li Mu, who was extremely quiet on the side.
But only Li Mu knew what kind of earth-shattering changes were taking place in his body at this time.
After the energy in the divine-level Primordial Stone flowed into his body, it turned into pure energy and started to nourish his Divine Consciousness.
In less than a quarter of an hour, the Sea of Consciousness around his Mud-pill Palace, which had been almost drained, was once again filled with endless, surging waves.
If his previous Sea of Consciousness was a vast ocean, then at this moment, the new Sea of Consciousness had almost turned into a sea of stars. Its size had expanded by numerous times.
Like an isolated island, his Mud-pill Palace was floating in the middle of the surging sea of stars, rising and falling along with the waves.
The small figure inside it, who had become dim, now grew once again clear and energetic. Except for the indiscernible facial features, his expressions and stature were very similar to Li Mu’s.
“Is this the ‘Primordial Spirit’?”
As the fatigue subsided, Li Mu felt extremely shocked.
His visual sight was still focused on the inside of his body.
The clear little figure did not gradually disappear as his Divine Consciousness recovered. Instead, it still existed and gradually solidified, which very much surprised Li Mu.
According to some cultivation methods and systematic manuals Li Mu had obtained from the extraterrestrial cultivators, the symbol of the Worm Realm was the Void-breaking ability. The symbol of the mortal realm was the building of the Life and Death Bridge in the Sea of Consciousness. And the symbol of the Soldier Realm was to have the Primordial Spirit in the Mud-pill Palace.
The so-called “Primordial Spirit” was called “True Self” by Taoism.
Before cultivating the “True Self”, everyone was in the “Inner Self” state. The two states differed in the state of one’s spirit and soul. The strength of those in the Soldier Realm did not only lie in the strength of one’s natural qi and physical body but also in the cultivation of the spirit and soul.
But the current question was, as Li Mu was still in the Worm Realm, how could he have cultivated the “Primordial Spirit” at the gate of the Mud-pill Palace?
“Have I already entered the Soldier Realm?”
Li Mu was puzzled.
“That’s ridiculous.”
He could not have skipped a whole realm.
In shock and bewilderment, Li Mu ended his inward vision and slowly opened his eyes.
In an instant, he understood what was going on around him.
He ceased to examine the inside of his body. Instead, he stood up and looked at the divine-level Primordial Stone.
Li Mu was also eager to know what kind of secrets were hidden in this divine-level Primordial Stone.
“Crack, crack.”
On the surface of the divine-level Primordial Stone, large pieces of the crust began to fracture along the marks Li Mu had carved and fall off to the ground.
The mysterious creature in it gradually showed its face.
Everyone’s attention was focused on the stone.
As some golden brilliance flickered, everyone was dazzled and failed to see its face clearly. But it was certain that the creature sealed in this stone was human-shaped.
Li Mu screwed his eyes up slightly to focus. When he took a closer look, he suddenly froze on the spot.
“What? It’s…” The black-cloaked vendor also caught a clear glimpse. His jaw dropped, and he instantly turned dumbstruck.
“Amitayus… f*cking Buddha, it’s..” The fingers of the left hand of wretched old Taoist went stiff, and the banner in his hand fell to the ground. He also looked as if he had seen a ghost. His gold teeth had bitten his tongue but he hadn’t noticed it.
Ding Yi held his head with both hands and kept rubbing his eyes.
The golden light gradually dissipated.
When the others had a clear view of what was inside the divine-level Primordial Stone, all of them revealed a look of astonishment, shock, confusion, and befuddlement, and incredulity.
Beneath the crust of this divine-level Primordial Stone, there was a layer of almost liquified gold-color fairy crystal, only that it was a very thin layer. What really puzzled everyone was that wrapped in the thin layer of golden liquid was a human-shaped creature, and that was none other than Li Mu, the Wild Broadsword.
White clothes, short hair, and a slender figure!
He had shining eyes, sword-shaped eyebrows, and was holding a goose-feather-shaped broadsword!
Whether it was in terms of clothes, weapons, appearance, or even temperament, he looked exactly the same as Li Mu, the Wild Broadsword.
“What’s going on?”
The black-cloaked vendor looked at the Li Mu in the divine-level Primordial Stone, and then at the Li Mu who was standing outside the Primordial Stone, trying to find even a tiny difference between the two. However… There was no such difference at all.
The old Taoist bit his tongue so hard that it started bleeding, but he didn’t mind. He was too busy moving the fingers while racking his brains to calculate something.
“Sect Leader, which one… Which one is you?” Ding Yi was completely confused. Looking from one Li Mu to the other, he still couldn’t tell which of them was the real Li Mu.
The one who was most astounded was Li Mu himself.
He had never thought that he would find another him in the stone.
It was just ridiculous.
Looking at the figure in the divine-level Primordial Stone, he had a feeling that he was looking at himself in the mirror.
“Who are you?” Li Mu asked.
“Who are you?” Li Mu, who was in the Primordial Stone, also asked.
The expression, reaction, and movements of the figure were exactly the same as Li Mu’s. There was absolutely no difference.
Li Mu touched his forehead with his hand and fell into silence.
The Li Mu who was in the Primordial Stone also touched his forehead with his hand and became speechless.
Li Mu yelled, “Holy cow!”
The Li Mu in the Primordial Stone also cried, “Holy cow!”
Their voices, expressions, and tones were all the same.
Li Mu observed carefully.
He could not believe that there was really another Li Mu in the world. The previous sages on Earth had said that there were no two identical leaves in the world. So, it was impossible for there to be two people who were exactly the same… But what was wrong on earth?
He suddenly thought of one possibility.
Back in the Divine Land, there was also a Li Mu who looked exactly the same as him. Originally, that Li Mu was going to take office in Taibai County, but he was chased by the Bloody-moon Faction on the way there. In the fight, he fell off the cliff and disappeared mysteriously. After that, the Li Mu from Earth replaced him and became the governor of the county.
Could it be that the Li Mu in the Primordial Stone in front of him was actually…?
“That can’t be right.”
That Li Mu was just a weak scholar who didn’t know martial arts. Even if he was still alive, he could not have been sealed in a Primordial Stone. After all, this divine-level raw stone had existed for hundreds of years, while that Li Mu had been missing for less than ten years.
Li Mu felt that he was having a headache.
“Crack, crack!”
The Li Mu in the Primordial Stone broke through the thin layer of crystal and jumped out. Looking at the real Li Mu, he actively spoke for the first time, “What kind of demon are you? How dare you pretend to be me, the Wild Broadsword?”
Li Mu was stunned.
“Wait, you called me a demon?”
The real Li Mu gazed at the other Li Mu and suddenly seemed to have grasped that glimmer of inspiration.
Some demons sure could transform.
For example, Yuan Hou, the golden mountain ape, had been practicing the Ultimate Yin and Yang Cultivation Method. If he cultivated it to the extreme, he could transform into 81 different things. In mythical stories such as the Journey to the West and the Legend of Deification, many demons and immortals who had made great achievements in cultivation could also transform into different people and create confusion.
Li Mu looked at the other party and said, “Thank you for reminding me.”
He raised his broadsword and hacked.
It was said that the demon’s art of transformation certainly could not be immaculate.
For example, after being injured, the demon would gradually show his true form.
“That’s easy. I’ll just beat him until he is half-dead. Then, he’ll naturally show his true colors.”
“Clang!”
That Li Mu also wielded his broadsword to block Li Mu’s weapon. He snarled, “You imposter, how dare you pretend to be me? And you even use your broadsword to attack me?”
“Clank, clink, clank!”
Streams of broadsword light flashed past.
The two of them began to fight, brandishing their broadsword back and forth.
For a moment, they were in a tie.
Now that they started to fight, the others were completely confused.
When they were in static positions before, the others could still distinguish the real Li Mu from the Li Mu in the Primordial Stone. But at this time, with the two exactly same figures moving around and darting back and forth, the others were now completely clueless.
