novelsite Chapter 2786 Deadline
Chapter 2786 Deadline
Chapter 2786 Deadline
No one answered Taiyuan Hai's words for a moment.
After a while, Bo Ping Zhenjun finally spoke up and asked, "But... without these, is it still considered devouring?"
“There is also a neutral element to the process of absorption,” the Möbius strip answered this time, “it has its own regeneration, and the cycle of time.”
As expected of a True Lord whose lifespan is nearing its end, he explained things exceptionally clearly in just a few words.
Luo Fu was a little confused. "Is this... going to continue?"
“Of course,” Han Li answered without hesitation, “It doesn’t matter if the absorption is a little slower, as long as safety is guaranteed!”
“Slow down…it doesn’t matter…” Qu Jianlei chewed on the words, a helpless look on his face.
What he lacks most right now is time, and ironically, Han Li is absolutely right!
In fact, it took Luo Fu half a month just to remove the negative factors from her Devouring Talent.
During this period, Qu Jianlei also did some calculations and was basically certain that Taotie's devouring talent was not originally this strong.
The maximum cultivation level of a Taotie is originally the Out-of-Body stage, but this Taotie had a special opportunity and was fortunate enough to become a Great Lord.
If it were merely a soul-department level devouring talent, even if Luo Fu only possessed a half-baked righteous energy, it wouldn't have been so difficult to dispel it.
However, since the Taotie was distracted, its talent level would naturally increase, and the talent projection it extracted would naturally be of the same level.
For a Great Lord level talent, it would naturally be more difficult for a True Venerable to remove some of the factors involved.
Thanks to the extraordinary origin of Haoran Zhengqi, otherwise half a month would not have been enough.
While waiting, Qu Jianlei received the latest news from Wenshi Zhenjun—Jing Yuexin and Duogan were still safe and sound.
However, Dorgon, who is currently in a frost period, seems to be recovering slowly, and Lingyun has already allocated a lot of resources to support her.
Han Li has a clone on Jiuyou Island to look after her, and she says she can also replenish supplies.
However, the Lingyun disciples stated that this was a promise from the sect: "Great Venerable Hanli, what is yours is yours, and what is Lingyun's belongs to Lingyun."
On Jing Yuexin's side, True Monarch Kongyu was still protecting her, but interestingly, he began to make contact with the outside world.
This transformation can be considered revolutionary.
When Kong Yu went to Houde, he only greeted Lingyun's Wenshi Zhenjun; almost no one else knew about it.
Han Li's clone noticed that something was wrong with Duo Gan and was able to seek help from her, which was purely because they had had contact in Zhong Ling before.
Moreover, Kong Yu, being a True Monarch, was protecting a Nascent Soul cultivator as he attempted to break through to the Out-of-Body stage. Wouldn't that sound bad if word got out?
Those who knew him said he was settling old scores, while those who didn't thought the great king was so poor he couldn't survive.
The key point is, he can't possibly explain it to outsiders on his own initiative, can he?
You must understand, he doesn't just represent himself, he also comes from the Bell Spirit Realm!
With all these considerations, it would be good enough if he just stayed there quietly.
Occasionally, when he felt like it, he would wander around, not afraid of being discovered by the Great Khan—it was all done through proper procedures.
As for contact with the outside world? That's impossible. Given his status as Zhongling Zhenjun, even his interactions with Houde Dajun would be considered lower-level social interactions.
However, as time went by, news of Qu Zhenzun's actions gradually reached his ears.
The message was relayed by both Wen Shi Zhenjun and Han Li's clone. Although they couldn't tell everything, they still had to give a general overview.
After all, Kong Yu stayed in Houde to help Qu Zhenzun with his troubles, and it was necessary for both sides to maintain appropriate communication.
Even with incomplete information, he could roughly judge where the progress of saving Tianqing was.
Especially recently, news of the Boundless Realm has likely reached Houde.
It's almost certain that Wuya would try to find out more information when he was being pressured by Lianxing and Houde.
However, when gathering information, one will inevitably reveal their own information as well, without a doubt.
Moreover, Lord Kongyu himself is not lacking in methods, so during this period, he actually began to... make contact with Tianli and Qingning.
Don't think this is a trivial matter. Even the highly sought-after Qu Zhenzun, did he have any contact with Zhenjun before preaching in Taiyuan Sea?
Even if the five-person group mastered the development of the other world, would any True Lord pay them any attention?
These three True Venerables, Tianli, would never have been able to make contact with True Lord Wenshi, yet they have now made contact with Great Lord Kongyu of the Zhongling Realm.
In addition, there is another piece of news: the Great Protector's team has officially suspended its exploration of other worlds.
This message was also conveyed through Baiqiao and Wenshi.
This trio has explored more than twenty worlds and gathered a great deal of information.
Qu Jianlei felt it was time to pause; their exploration was very meaningful, but the team's focus had shifted.
Furthermore, the cultivators who followed the main force of the team not only improved their battle formation coordination but also gained considerable benefits.
We can't let those who work quietly suffer losses.
So wait another three months, and the young lady's clone will bring those three...
After being refined by Luo Fu, the Devouring Talent was no longer as gray, but it was still hazy.
This is Taotie's innate ability projection, which it originally intended to use on its clones.
Its clones also possess a devouring instinct, but their effectiveness is slightly less than that of the main body.
The key is that the original entity cannot share the pleasure of devouring, but it can be shared by projecting it.
This is the persistence of a foodie, but unexpectedly, it was snatched away by someone else in the end.
Qu Jianlei harbored some resentment towards this absorption method—he always felt it was an inhuman means.
However, She Niu Zhenzun persuaded him, "Didn't you eat non-humans before? But in the end, they all became your own nourishment!"
"You're quite good at comforting people," Qu Jianlei laughed upon hearing this.
Although he pursued the purity of the Great Dao, this metaphor did indeed make him feel much more at ease.
After calculating the consequences of absorption once more, Qu Zhenzun's body began to become ethereal.
In the minds of many True Lords, absorbing the talents of other races is not a short-term task.
Strictly speaking, few True Lords have ever heard of such an absurd operation, but they can learn from similar experiences.
To give a very simple example, how many years would it take for a Nascent Soul cultivator to absorb and comprehend the sword intent of a fully formed cultivator?
Moreover, absorbing and digesting talent is not the end; it requires corresponding cultivation until the talent can be used for one's own benefit.
The Great Lords had previously calculated that it would take Qu Zhenzun approximately twenty years to basically complete the absorption.
Even so, it was only because he had undergone a period of spiritual tempering; otherwise, it would have taken even longer.
As for when he will be able to use it, only God knows.
However, Qu Zhenzun had previously made several reckless attempts in the second silent zone, and Gaowei had already shown some signs of stress.
This third quiet zone may not have continued the previous stress response; however, no one can be certain about the operating mechanism of higher dimensions.
In that case, taking some time to absorb the talent will allow the passage of time to mitigate any potential stress reactions.
Not long after Qu Zhenzun's body became ethereal, the young lady let out a soft exclamation, "Why did the time limit suddenly jump so much?"
It turned out that she was worried and did another divination, only to find that the absorption period was twenty years to... three months!
This is really absurd. It's one thing to have a difference in the order of magnitude, but how can the units of measurement also be different?
Upon hearing this, the other True Lords couldn't help but also perform their own divinations.
Besides Bo Ping Da Jun worrying about infecting the other party, even Wu Chen Zhen Jun has taken action, "Could this... be related to this place?"
To avoid the consequences of the heavens collapsing, he did not enter the silent zone and did not know what was inside.
However, he knew that this quiet zone was quite strange, and the previous divination results had been very different.
Was it that strange black line? The other lords speculated silently, but no one spoke.
Three months later, Qingkong, Xiwu, and Qigou Zhenzun arrived as promised.
However, the arrival of the three did not cause any trouble, because all the cultivators were watching the spectacle around Qu Jianlei.
Qu Zhenzun's body remained in a ethereal state, but the Möbius strip confidently stated, "Absorption complete."
Han Li wanted to perform divination to verify the result, but was stopped by True Monarch Wuchen, who said, "In his current state, it's best not to perform divination too frequently!"
Jin Ge still believed in Zhenjun's divination, so he asked the illusory figure of Qu Zhenzun, "How much longer? Don't bother me if it's inconvenient."
"Hmm," Qu Jianlei hummed softly, saying nothing more.
He hadn't expected to absorb it all so quickly—his initial estimate was twenty years.
Thinking about how he would have to do things in decades from now on, he did feel a little uneasy.
However, perhaps this is the price of power. Can the life of a mayfly be compared to the lifespan of a vast universe?
After entering the cave, he had adjusted his mindset, but he still couldn't help feeling a little unwilling.
So he summoned the Creation Compass to sense the Dao Stele—does what I'm doing conform to the Dao of Fortune?
There is an inexplicable connection between these two treasures. When the former was devoured by a demon spirit, it angered the Dao Stele.
However, this test turned out to be unexpected; the Dao Stele did not reject the Devouring Talent at all.
Daobei's aversion to Qu Jianlei has now almost completely disappeared; as long as there is no actual contact, there will be no problem.
He could occasionally touch it with his divine sense, and there was no problem.
Even the most irritable and obsessive person would say: This thing is already destined to be with you.
If there were any resistance, Qu Jianlei wouldn't dare to take it out casually under the watchful eyes of so many True Monarchs.
It is difficult to completely prevent a True Lord from deliberately spying on a True Venerable's cave.
However, such an operation would be easily discovered, and these True Lords are willing to maintain goodwill and do not want to break any taboos in this regard.
However, if the Dao Stele reacts too strongly, the True Lords will have sufficient reason to enter the cave to check on his safety.
However, apart from him, the Dao Stele strongly discourages other people or objects from getting close.
Things like Devouring Talent Projection feel a bit unorthodox, so the Dao Tablet should reject them more obviously.
Therefore, Qu Jianlei could only indirectly sense the Dao Stele's reaction through the Creation Compass.
To my surprise, the other party did not resist at all.
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