As the Tentacle God continued speaking, Tie Zhu's headache grew as he struggled to understand the information being presented. "What?! Stuck in a rock for two billion years?" He exclaimed in disbelief.
He couldn't wrap his mind around such a vast number. 'Dantian... Sea of Consciousness... Isn't this exactly like some cultivation novel?' He thought to himself, considering if this was all a prank.
However, as the Tentacle God finished his explanation, Tie Zhu's shock turned to excitement. He forgot whatever else was said instantly! "Huh?! Disciple? Of a God??? Does that mean I will have super powers?!" He thought, excited of his future possibilities. "If I were to become the disciple of the God of Righteousness and Forgiveness, wouldn't that make me some sort of protagonist figure?" He thought, as it was something he had always dreamed about in his youth.
Without a moment's hesitation, he declared, "I accept." In his current state, with his life in turmoil and beset by difficulties, the offer was an opportunity he could not pass up. The tragic loss of his parents two years prior had sent his life spiraling out of control. The financial burden of their loss had drained all their savings, leaving him to work tirelessly while also studying for university entrance exams. The added stress had caused his grades to suffer, once a top student, now barely scraping by in the middle of the class. All he wanted was stability, the chance to protect himself and those he cared for.
However, a nagging question remained in his mind. "Yesterday, when the rock struck me, it completely destroyed my crotch. How did it suddenly become like this?" he thought to the Tentacle God, as he gazed down at his own body.
The Tentacle God hesitated, grasping for an explanation. "Well, you see...when I sealed myself in the stone, the Tentacle God also left his imprint upon it. The energy from the stone caused his residual energy to integrate with your body when it hit you. You could say that part of the Tentacle God's essence is inside you, and some of his abilities may have been passed down to you..." the Tentacle God spoke, trying to piece together a believable tale on the spot.
"I see... WAIT! If the Tentacle God left an imprint on the rock, and now it is fused with me, wouldn't the Tentacle God have noticed?" Tie Zhu nervously asked.
'.... Fuck Why does he keep asking me questions! I can only bulls**t so much 😓' He thought as he inwardly cursed Tie Zhu.
But the God was a master of words and craftiness. He replied with a sly grin, "Not necessarily, my young friend. You see, at the time when the Tentacle God and I fought, we were both at the rank of high-level Ascended Gods. Those who have cultivated to that stage have a maximum lifespan of 500 million years, but I have been traveling for at least 2 billion years. It is highly likely that the Tentacle God has died of old age. Unless, of course, he managed to make it past his bottleneck... but that should be close to impossible, as it has never happened for as long as I can remember. The reason I am still alive, however, is precisely because of that black stone. I sealed myself in there and sacrificed much of my power, but it managed to completely stop my aging process. It is a Cosmic Spatial-level Equipment, which can store boundless amounts of items, and everything stored within it will not age. It is a priceless treasure with no equal." 😅He replied, praising his own wits that he was able to come up with a flawless response so quickly. 'Hahaha, still as crafty as ever' he thought to himself as he saw Tie Zhu slowly nod his head while listening to his explanation.
"Okay, now that everything is out of the way, let me make one thing clear. As your master, it will be your job to help me recreate my own body. It won't benefit either of us if I remain like this for the rest of our lives. To do that, however, you must cultivate to the Divine Unity stage. If all goes well, that should only take about 10,000 years, assuming you have outstanding talent. Otherwise, you won't even make it past the Qi Condensation stage."
"10,000 YEARS!!!" Tie Zhu exclaimed. He had been following along until he heard that the God would reside within him for 10,000 years. But he soon realized that, to an entity like the God, 10,000 years was just a drop in the ocean compared to a lifespan of 500 million years.
"Yes, 10,000 years," the God replied. "But don't worry, I noticed that you have an extremely rare pure Yang body when I entered your sea of consciousness, which means you should have exceptional natural talent.🤬🤬🤬" He replied, while still cursing the constitution that had imprisoned him to his current situation.
"Before we start, let me tell you about the 7 known steps of cultivation, starting from the lowest. The first stage is Qi Condensation, followed by Foundation Establishment, then Core Formation, and Nascent Soul. Each new stage normally requires breaking through a bottleneck, but your Pure Yang body will allow you to progress smoothly, especially compared to other cultivators. Beyond the Nascent Soul stage, however, things change. The stage of becoming a Divine Unity warrior requires you to undergo a Heavenly Tribulation as you ascend from the mortal realms towards the path of Godhood. Beyond that are the Divine King, Celestial Emperor, Cosmic Sovereign and Ascended God ranks with each rank having 9 different stages, divided into lower, medium, and high classes." The Tentacle God narrated.
"Now, I will move on to other important things you should know. In the cultivation world, there are different elements. The main and most common ones are the natural elemental laws of fire, water, earth, wind, and wood. There are also higher-level elements such as lightning, darkness, and light, but those with affinities for these elements are extremely rare, and usually have more than one affinity. Last but definitely not least are the Supreme Elemental Laws of Time and Space. Those who control these laws can often distort reality to a certain degree.
Next, I will discuss equipment. There are five categories of magical equipment, starting with the most common, Spirit-grade. Moving up, there is Earth-grade, Heaven-grade, Divine-grade, and finally, Universal Divine, or Cosmic-grade for short. Cosmic tools are priceless and immeasurable in worth. One Cosmic tool could be worth more than everything in an entire galaxy or more! That black stone you have is not only a Cosmic Tool, but one with both Spatial and Time attributes, so you can understand why I was so nervous when you almost threw it away. The Tentacle God scolded, "It's not only priceless, but the contents inside are all treasures of immeasurable wealth, such as spirit pills, medicinal plants, weapons, armor, and more. Only an idiot would throw that all away. Now, I think that covers all the basics. Do you have any questions?" He asked, noticing the excited expression on Tie Zhu's face.