Lin Mu finally felt the familial relief of having Xukong by his side.
If it was before, he would have to figure out what the beast was all on his own, and probably struggle for quite some time. But now there was no problem like that. While Xukong didn't claim to know everything in the world, he certainly knew a lot of things.
And Lin Mu had a lot to question too. But before that, he decided to get the situation under control.
"Elder Niji, get an assessment for all the tribe members. Kunzi, you do it for humans. There are bound to be some injured, so it's best to take care of that quickly." Lin Mu ordered.
"Yes, I'll get to it right away." Kunzi replied before going to check.
"I'll ensure the juniors are fine." But before Elder Niji could say anything, Head Warrior Kulo spoke up. "Elder Niji should secure our surroundings first. He is an immortal so flying will make it easier for us." He suggested.
Lin Mu found the suggestion to be a valid one and quickly accepted it.
"Very well. Elder Niji you should take a look around. The beast seems to be deep in sleep, so shouldn't be a danger for us. But you should still keep some distance from it as well as watch out for the rifts." Lin Mu stated.
"Alright, I'll do that." Elder Niji said before flying off the ship.
The minor plane was still quite vast and looked like a sea for the most part. The only other thing they could see here was the large beast in front of them. It would be best for them to know just what kind of a place they were in for now.
With them gone, Lin Mu could now talk to Senior Xukong and get things in order.
"When did you wake up Senior?" Lin Mu questioned. "The last time you woke up was months ago."
"Ah, yes. That wisp of soul essence helped me restore the connection between the avatar and my main body." Xukong answered.
"So that was Soul essence?" Lin Mu asked for clarification.
He had heard about the term before but didn't know what it was exactly other than the fact that it was related to souls.
"Indeed. That was the Soul essence of some expert. There was even some remnant will attached to it, but I purged it." Senior Xukong replied.
"Remnant will? Did that soul essence come from a Nascent soul?" Lin Mu wondered.
"No… it came from an expert who had transcended past the need for a Nascent soul. Someone beyond Immortal. Only someone like that could have soul essence strong enough to restore the connection between my avatar and main body." Senior Xukong explained.
Hearing this made Lin Mu think back to the broken statue. There were only legs left of the statue, thus he could only think that it might have belonged to the man that had died.
"Where did you find that soul essence wisp in the first place?" Senior Xukong questioned.
~Sigh~
"It's a long story…" Lin Mu then went on to explain how he came across a Proto-fissure and the broken statue.
Xukong also took a quick look through their shared mind space, and went through all the memories. Ten minutes later, Xukong had learned all that had happened since Lin Mu arrived in the Rust Sky world.
"A world close to its ascension… never would have expected you to end up here…" Xukong found Lin Mu's story rather wild. "Still you did good so far. I doubt many would be able to survive the same ordeal." He praised.
"Thank you senior. It is all due to your teaching and guidance in the past." Lin Mu said with gratitude.
"The best of all, you completed the five treasures realm." Xukong said with a hint of pride in his tone.
"Mmhmm… it was a little unexpected for me too. I almost fell lost with the lack of a Wood elemental body cultivation technique." Lin Mu replied.
"It was your fortune. The Wood Spirit Tulip was your fortune too. Having kept and raised it, you raised your fortune." Xukong spoke. "Besides, your Qi cultivation has also increased. You comprehended your Dao Embryo and obtained the Dao Skill as well." He added.
"That I did. Though I'm still a bit confused as to what I'm supposed to do to reach the Immortal Ascension realm for my Qi cultivation base." Lin Mu questioned.
"That isn't a problem for you now. All you need to do is continue comprehending the Dao of Earth. You have no bottlenecks, so you should breakthrough soon enough." Xukong answered.
"And what about the Immortal Realm Senior?" Lin Mu asked next. "Will I not need a cultivation technique for that?"
"The method that you practiced for spirit cultivation will work for the Immortal realm too. This is the benefit I talked about at the start. You don't need a new Qi cultivation technique since you are using one that fits all.
This is the wonder of the primordial path. The first cultivators walked it and figured out the mysteries of cultivation. They didn't even know of bottlenecks back then, and yet they reached the peak of the world." Xukong explained, making Lin Mu feel rather amazed.
"I never expected that…" Lin Mu felt pleased. "But I'll still need one for the body cultivation right?" he asked.
"That… you will indeed." Xukong confirmed.
~Sigh~
"Do you have one senior?" Lin Mu asked.
"Yes I do." Xukong replied, making Lin Mu feel elated. "But they have some extra requirements and conditions." He added.
"I don't mind if they are painful senior. I can handle it." Lin Mu quickly replied.
"It's not even that. The techniques themselves are relatively painless. The requirement is in the form of external resources. None of the ones I know can be practiced on their own. They all need something to practice." Xukong said, making Lin Mu's excitement fall by half.
"That… We can manage. We might be able to find the resources on the Holy Topaz Continent."
