Aspiring to the Immortal Path

Huang Wuji's explanation somewhat cleared things up for Tang Jie.

"Pseudo–Dao armaments" referred to Immortals applying their Dao Arts onto divine treasures using their power.

To put it another way, they were divine treasures sporting a layer of paint made from Dao Runes, thus somewhat embodying the concept of Dao armaments. But they were far from real Dao armaments and were somewhere in between, which was why they were called pseudo–Dao armaments.

This kind of Dao armament had the profundity of Dao Arts, but they had limited abilities and power, and there were many restrictions when using them. This was because they were not truly integrated with the Dao, which left them with the most surface-level functionality.

The Seven Absolutions Sect's Seven Inferno Heaven Treasures, Godhead Palace's Cloudsplinter Bow, Han Wuxin's Phantom Blade, and Nine Splendors' Soulless were all pseudo–Dao armaments. The Sky-Parting Sword also belonged to this category, but as it had the Yin Yang Division Sword's sword spirit, it had the potential to advance to the status of an artificial Dao armament in the future, though this would require Xiao Biehan to carefully nurture it.

As for the upper, middle, and lower levels, this depended on the power of the underlying divine treasure. Pseudo–Dao armaments weren't able to use too much of a Dao Art's power, so they usually also had to use some of the divine treasure's innate power. Thus, at the level of pseudo–Dao armaments, there was meaning to this division of levels. But with artificial Dao armaments, this difference started to lose meaning, and the main difference came in the Great Daos.

Artificial Dao armaments were also creations of cultivators, but the level of creation was different. Dao Runes were no longer paint, but carved deeply into the items, completely merged with the divine treasure such that the full power of the Great Dao could be used.

To control a Dao armament meant controlling a Dao Art, which manifested not just in power, but also in the absoluteness of the Great Dao! No matter how strong one was, if one fell into the realm of a Dao Art, one would die all the same.

The Myriad Immortals Cauldron and God-Conquering Merak Sword were both artificial Dao armaments. The beast absorption of the Myriad Immortals Cauldron, the god-conquering strike of the sword, and the life conversion of the Imperial Sky Stamp were all considered Dao Art Realms. It was just that the Myriad Immortals Cauldron and God-Conquering Merak Sword were never able to use their real power, as they were used by Violet Palace cultivators.

As for natural Dao armaments, those couldn't be made by humans.

They existed only in the Lustrous Treasure River in the Boundless Sea of Stars.

These were treasures formed from the power of nature, each an innately divine object upon which the Great Dao had been naturally carved. Whether the Dao they embodied was major or minor, they were all natural existences that naturally formed like trees or grass, without even the slightest sign of being worked. Such Dao armaments were also naturally easy to use, and they didn't need an Immortal Platform cultivator to use them. This was because they were born perfect, so even without the user inserting energy, they could use their full power.

Natural Dao armaments were the opposite of pseudo–Dao armaments. The latter used Dao Runes as a supportive function, with the real power coming from the divine treasure itself. Natural Dao armaments cared only about the Dao, and if the Dao were removed, they would have no power whatsoever. This was because they were not weapons crafted to kill, but vessels of the Great Dao nurtured by nature, with some top-class natural Dao armaments even being manifestations of Great Daos.

The Eternity Sarcophagus was such a natural Dao armament. When it came to its Great Dao, it was more profound than anything else, but when it came to practical use, it might not even match up to a pseudo–Dao armament. But natural Dao armaments had the most complete Dao Runes, so even if they lacked the functionality of pseudo–Dao armaments, they could be studied to comprehend the Dao, while the same could not be said for pseudo–Dao armaments. Artificial Dao armaments could also be used to comprehend the Dao, but the comprehension was limited. The Myriad Immortals Cauldron was created by the Court of Myriad Domains, so it could be considered the best kind of artificial Dao armament, which was why Tang Jie could comprehend the Dao from it. If it had been anything else, Tang Jie probably wouldn't have comprehended so much of the Yin Yang Dao.

Huang Wuji's explanation gave Tang Jie a completely new understanding of Dao armament categorization.

As expected, the experience in bigger places was different, and it was no wonder wandering cultivators were usually without a single Dao armament while large sects had plenty to go around, because of these pseudo–Dao armaments. The vast resources wielded by a large sect manifested in ways like this.

This categorization method made Tang Jie remember another item in his possession.

The Imperial Sky Stamp!

According to this method, the Imperial Sky Stamp also wasn't a natural Dao armament, right?

When it came to Dao armaments like the Myriad Immortals Cauldron or God-Conquering Merak Sword, he found it very tiring to use them, and he was never able to use their full strength, but he never had this feeling with the Imperial Sky Stamp. He had thought that this was because the Imperial Sky Stamp was a support-type Dao armament, as the Eternity Sarcophagus was also a support-type Dao armament that was very easy to use.

But after hearing Huang Wuji's explanation, Tang Jie realized that this might not actually be the case.

He took out the Imperial Sky Stamp and gave it to Huang Wuji. "Brother Huang, could you see if this is a natural Dao armament?"

He also used this chance to launch an attack at the just-revived Earth Immortal.

Huang Wuji looked at the stamp and became so agitated that his ruler almost missed the mark.

He grabbed the stamp and inspected it. "It really is a Dao armament, and a natural one? How do you have it? How did you get it?"

He was so excited that he forgot to attack the Earth Immortal.

Tang Jie hastily punched and kicked to suppress the Earth Immortal. "I just wanted you to see if it was a natural Dao armament, so why are you so excited? You have to give it back, you know!"

Huang Wuji carefully examined it again and nodded. "Yes, of course it is. If this isn't a natural Dao armament, then what is?"

He gazed at Tang Jie in shock and surprise.

This kid taking out more than two hundred divine treasures was shocking enough, and now he was trotting out a natural Dao armament! While he, on the other hand, had been searching for half of his life without finding a single one!

He also didn't know that Tang Jie had more than just one.

On his end, Tang Jie inwardly sighed.

Sure enough, the Imperial Sky Stamp was on a higher level than the God-Conquering Merak Sword, which was why it was so easy to use and able to convert anything, even the Wailing Baby and the Remote Antiquity serpent.

Alas, the Beast Refining Gate had been unaware of the treasure they had possessed.

When he thought about it, though, it wasn't too surprising. They were a sect that primarily refined beasts to use as their comrades in battle, so how could they convert them into energy? As an example of the opposite, one could see how Tang Jie didn't really use the Myriad Immortals Cauldron for its original purpose of capturing fiends after getting his hands on the Imperial Sky Stamp. Besides that, none of them had been proficient in the Dao of Life, so they were unable to grasp the deeper secrets of the stamp.

Unfortunately for Tang Jie, he had been so obsessed with using it to make himself stronger that he hadn't even considered studying the stamp to comprehend more of the Dao of Life.

Thanks to Huang Wuji, he now knew what he needed to do.

"Give it back once you're done looking at it," Tang Jie reminded.

Startled, Huang Wuji gave Tang Jie a weird look.

He didn't understand. Why was this kid so certain he would give it back?

In truth, every person had their price. Perhaps he didn't want the divine treasures of the Jewel Palace because they didn't meet his standards, but this was a natural Dao armament! It was impossible for him to not want it. So why was this kid so confident?

Did he really think he could beat an Earth Immortal?

By this point, Huang Wuji had some understanding of Tang Jie's abilities. The punches he had used to destroy the dark-faced Immortal seemed to be limited to twelve, after which it was very difficult to use them again, or else he wouldn't have needed to use sixteen divine treasures for the last two kills.

This meant that he was much weaker than before, while Huang Wuji was still mostly at full power.

So why was he so confident?

Tang Jie simply grinned at him.

Huang Wuji was frozen for a while before he finally shook his head and returned the Imperial Sky Stamp, grumbling, "Count yourself lucky."

He didn't think that Tang Jie had any more hidden cards. It was just that he couldn't persuade himself. He wasn't the kind of person who killed people for their belongings, and he couldn't bring himself to break this rule of his.

Moreover, hardening his heart and doing it might not bring him any benefits. Even if he got a natural Dao armament, his mind would no longer be at peace, and he would find any further advancement difficult.

This is why he called Tang Jie lucky.

He didn't realize that Tang Jie had a good reason for his confidence.

It was Yun Tianlan.

Yun Tianlan was in the distance, having followed the two sects until they left the tomb, after which he kept watch at the entrance.

In other words, if Huang Wuji ran off with the Imperial Sky Stamp, he would just end up dying to Yun Tianlan's rage. After all, the Imperial Sky Stamp wasn't meant for battle, so Yun Tianlan had no need to worry about it.

As for killing Tang Jie, that was impossible.

Tang Jie had already recovered some of his Space power. It wasn't enough to kill, but more than enough to run.

Tang Jie wanted to use this opportunity to see if Huang Wuji really was a friend he could trust.

It just so happened that the Immortal had stopped reviving and seemed completely dead, and because of the God Flogging Finger, the Primal Divinity couldn't even escape.

Tang Jie put away the thirty-six divine treasures and then picked up that Earth Immortal's Thunderclap Hammers. "These are two pseudo–Dao armaments, so let's each take one."

Pseudo–Dao armaments were still Dao armaments. Tang Jie gave his to Xu Miaoran, who frowned. "Alas, it's just a hammer. Using it is rather ungraceful."

Tang Jie replied, "Just use it for now. I'll find you a better one later."

Xu Miaoran instantly smiled.

Huang Wuji was speechless. This was still a Dao armament, yet it seemed like it just barely met the standard for those two.

With the Earth Immortal dead, the two split the spoils. Seeing that there was nothing else, Tang Jie said, "We should leave now."

Huang Wuji agreed, and the two began to fly toward the tomb's exit.

The village he had passed through on the way here was now utterly devastated, with no survivors, just as Tang Jie had expected. Tang Jie didn't know if this was the work of the two sects or of the Primordial Heavenly Demon, and he could only sigh.

Just as he was about to leave, he noticed one of the bodies in the village twitch.

He immediately flew over and saw a villager lying in a pool of blood but still clinging to life.

"Well, since you're still alive, I will lend you a hand," Huang Wuji sighed, thrusting a finger at the villager.

The finger released a gentle white light that slowly healed the villager's injuries, and his breathing stabilized.

Tang Jie sighed, "Brother Huang, even if you've saved him, he's the only one left. How is he going to survive, having already lost everything?"

Huang Wuji was startled. "Then Young Brother, do you mean…"

"It's fine. I'll find him a place to live," Tang Jie said. He waved his hand, intending to bring this person into the Mountain River State Diagram.

But then he froze in disbelief.

This person couldn't be taken into the small world!

Confused by Tang Jie's reaction, Huang Wuji asked, "Young Brother, what happened?"

After a moment, Tang Jie finally said, "Forget it. In the end, we didn't ask his opinion. If he's not willing, it's not right to force him."

He waved his hand, and a flower floated down. With a thrust of his finger, the flower transformed into a beautiful woman who prostrated before Tang Jie.

Pointing at the fallen man, Tang Jie said, "From now on, you are husband and wife, living together in this place until death do you part."

The flower girl prostrated again. "By your holy will."

Tang Jie drew his hand back. "Let's go."

They flew toward the exit.

Not long after they left, the villager began to wake up.

The flower girl came over with a bowl of water and smiled. "Husband."

As this villager with a simple and honest appearance turned to the flower girl, a sharp light flashed in his eyes. "A puny little sprite dares to call this lord her husband?"

"'This lord'?" the flower girl said in fright.

The villager raised his hand and grabbed the flower girl by the head. With a scream, the girl turned back into a flower and fell to the ground.

The villager drew his hand back and muttered, "After ten thousand years of waiting, I have finally returned. What is the world outside like now? And how are the others doing?"

As he muttered, a majestic energy radiated from his body, an imposing shadow manifesting behind him, growing larger and larger until it occupied the entire tomb.

When the villager turned around, his simple and honest appearance was no more, and in its place was a divine figure, wearing a tall crown and a jade belt.

If one looked closely, it was rather similar to the statue in the main hall of the Jewel Palace.