Chapter 71: A Unified Vision for the Greater Good

Presently, the Ancient Covenant was primarily sustained by its older generation. While the Zhang family had seamlessly transitioned to practicing the Bright Moon Nine Heavens technique, it proved challenging for other elders to adopt new methods. Even if they succeeded, the process would be time-consuming and their future prospects uncertain.

Opting to select dedicated individuals to start with appropriate lower-level techniques from the outset was a far more effective strategy.

Though Zhang Shen had the authority to enforce this change, he preferred to first engage in discussions, aiming to win over the elder generation.

The challenge lay in the fact that the Ancient Covenant was established on the foundations of several families. Although recruitment had been liberalized, the newly recruited members were yet to mature, and key positions remained dominated by family elites.

If these key members resisted the open sharing of these two techniques, their passive opposition could set back the Covenant’s progress by two to three decades, even if they couldn’t outright stop Zhang Shen.

Should he then seize this opportunity to replace them with more amenable and suitable replacements? 

Among the common folk recently recruited, many would gladly accept such roles.

However, this approach was impractical.

Most positions within the Ancient Covenant required the holders to possess a certain level of martial prowess. Without it, assuming such roles would be tantamount to a death sentence.

Rapid advancement in martial cultivation was not feasible, either.

Could they be artificially elevated with ample resources, akin to a miraculous ascension? 

For true commoners, such a sudden rise would not be miraculous but catastrophic. Their physical and spiritual constitutions simply couldn’t withstand or control such abrupt and extensive enhancements.

In both ancient and contemporary tales, those who experienced rapid ascension were never truly ordinary. They were either reincarnations of powerful beings or extensions of formidable warriors.

Thus, if such a phenomenon did occur, it would not bring joy to Zhang Shen but rather fear.

This suggested that Zhang Shen had unwittingly become entangled in the schemes of a powerful entity. Even if he had merely grazed the periphery of such machinations, his current level of strength wouldn’t suffice against the machinations of such a formidable being.

Zhang Tianlong and the others were plunged into contemplation. This development was far from welcome news for their families. While the older generation might not have much to worry about, it posed significant implications for their successors.

Privileges and benefits previously dedicated for their next generation would now have to be shared with others. Typically indifferent to the lives of commoners, they couldn’t blindly assume their descendants would always outshine these ordinary folks.

Considering the vast number of commoners, once given a chance, exceptional talents and prodigies among them would emerge rapidly, like bamboo shoots after a spring rain. Even with their descendants’ head start, they were at risk of losing half their resources and status to these rising stars.

Yet, they also recognized the necessity of these individuals for the Ancient Covenant’s growth. Obstructing this for selfish reasons would be detrimental to everyone involved. In the grand scheme of the Endless Wilderness, the Ancient Covenant was but a small player, and without diligence, it could quickly fade into irrelevance.

Moreover, they all knew Zhang Shen’s assertive nature. Despite his seemingly mild approach, suggesting a mere discussion, opposing him was not an option. To defy the leader and benefactor of the Covenant could mean the end of their standing in the organization.

With these considerations, the assembly reluctantly agreed.

“Let it be,” they thought. “The Covenant Leader was considerate enough to inform us in advance, giving us face. We should reciprocate and give him due respect.”

Zhang Shen was highly pleased with their response. It showed that he was a successful and respected leader of the Covenant.

After addressing a few more issues, Zhang Shen headed back to the Shanshui residence. Having recently achieved a breakthrough, he needed time to acclimate himself to the nuanced changes it entailed.

It took Zhang Shen an entire three months to master the transformations his body underwent upon reaching the Law Manifestation stage. 

This stage represented an entirely new echelon beyond the True Core stage, characterized by an effortless command of the immense forces of heaven and earth with each gesture, subtly shaping a domain uniquely his.

In terms of martial cultivation, his physical body’s formidable strength had inadvertently pulled his progress forward, propelling him to about 3% of the third layer of the True Core stage. 

Zhang Shen found this advancement somewhat inescapable and slightly frustrating.

“I had aimed to maintain a low profile, to avoid drawing attention. Yet, even this level of advancement places me among the ranks of extraordinary geniuses and prodigies. It seems I have no choice but to fast-track the training of the Divine Concealment technique,” he reasoned. 

This True Core stage martial art was designed for concealing one’s aura and was significantly more potent than any concealment technique he had practiced previously.

Considering his previous rapid progress with a similar technique, Zhang Shen was confident that mastering the Divine Concealment wouldn’t pose a significant challenge.

“My immediate tasks now involve consuming heavenly materials and earthly treasures suitable for the Law Manifestation stage to further strengthen my physical form. I’ll also be practicing the Divine Concealment technique and organizing the True Core section of the Vanishing Mountain Sect. And, of course, there’s the development of the Blood and Flesh Clone technique.”

All these tasks were of utmost importance, particularly the Blood and Flesh Clone technique, a divine art he had conceived during a profound moment of cosmic attunement. 

It was pivotal to his extensive future plans and brooked no oversight.

However, before delving into these paramount endeavors, Zhang Shen’s first order of business was to rebuild the Shanshui residence. Only a fool would choose to live exposed to the elements when they had the means to do otherwise. Furthermore, Zhang Shen had specific ideas in mind for this reconstruction.

He embarked on this project without involving anyone else, completing the rebuilding solely with the help of the green-clad puppet.

In a span of six months, Zhang Shen successfully carved out an enormous cavern deep beneath the Shanshui residence, reaching a depth of ten thousand meters. 

The excavation itself was not the challenging part, rather, it was establishing a connection with the surface and setting up the internal environment that required significant effort. 

The most crucial task was the covert redirection of an earth vein, or more specifically, the harnessing of the mixed essences produced by the earth vein.

Zhang Shen installed an array within the cavern capable of attracting and containing these mixed essences, preventing them from dispersing. This array enveloped half of the cavern, with the mixed essences occupying a similar area.

At the heart of the cavern lay the Little Blessed Land Bottle. 

This artifact possessed the natural ability to absorb and segregate these mixed essences. This function meant that the bottle was no longer just a source without foundation, alleviating Zhang Shen’s concerns about exhausting the two substantial spiritual veins it contained.

Instead of using the Little Blessed Land Bottle for his personal cultivation, Zhang Shen slightly released its restrictions. This allowed the concentrated spiritual energy from the large spiritual veins inside to emanate, filling the other half of the cavern.

While this setup catered to his own cultivation requirements, he also allowed a trace amount of this energy to escape and permeate the vast underground space.

Zhang Shen had personally experienced that even those at the Law Manifestation level would struggle to detect such subtle changes in spiritual energy, given the minute quantity he released. Nevertheless, the superior quality of the spiritual energy from the large spiritual veins would immensely benefit martial artists at the Acquired and Innate stages over an extended period.

If by chance, some perceptive individuals were to detect this anomaly, it would likely take at least a millennium or eight hundred years. 

By that time, if the existence of the two large spiritual veins in his possession were to be revealed, would Zhang Shen have any cause for concern? 

***

Deep within the ten-thousand-meter cavern, the faint luminescence of the night stones cast a soft glow amidst the enveloping darkness.

In an area suffused with spiritual energy, there was a pit brimming with blood, where several pieces of flesh, still attached to skin, were floating.

Upon closer inspection, one could see delicate strands of flesh interconnecting these pieces. They were continuously producing new tendrils, seemingly striving to merge into a unified form.

Zhang Shen’s footsteps rustled through the darkness as he approached the edge of this sanguine pool to monitor its transformation.

“Excellent, the progress is on track,” he observed. 

With his fingers positioned like a blade, he deftly sliced into his forearm. Chunks of flesh tumbled into the pool, creating soft ‘plop’ sounds. He continued this macabre process until only the white of his bones and scant flesh remained on the limb, and then he stopped.

“Thankfully, my body’s regenerative capabilities are unmatched. Otherwise, this skeletal arm would certainly be a terrifying sight,” he mused.

As he spoke, new blood vessels began sprouting from his elbow, shaping into a hand. Flesh rapidly grew back, and in a short while, his arm was fully restored.

Though there was a slight decrease in his physical strength, Zhang Shen knew that a bit of sustenance would easily replenish it.

“Creating a flesh and blood clone with this divine technique is quite time-consuming,” he murmured. 

However, considering the benefits of the Blood and Flesh Clone, he felt eager.

“To craft a viable flesh and blood clone does require considerable time, but I have the patience to wait.”

Reaching the Law Manifestation stage dramatically increased Zhang Shen’s lifespan to three thousand years. While a typical Law Manifestation cultivator might live for only two thousand years, attaining this stage with a physically robust body naturally lengthened one’s life. Additionally, his nascent understanding of life force, though not yet fully developed into a divine technique, significantly contributed to his extended lifespan.

The creation of a fully functional Blood and Flesh Clone might take more than a decade, but for Zhang Shen, with his expanded lifespan, such an investment of time was merely a drop in the ocean.