allendalepharm Chapter 313 Exploring the Ancient Times
Chapter 313 Exploring the Ancient Times
Chapter 313 Exploring the Ancient Times
The Land of Fire, East Coast.
"Lord Taiichi, is there something you need?"
Before the white smoke had even dissipated, the slug's gentle voice had already begun to ring out.
"Oh, Lady Tsunade is here too! How rare to see the two of you together!"
Tsunade, being an impatient person, interrupted before Tai could even speak, asking, "Slug, I want to ask about Sage Mode?"
"Sage Art!" The slug's two tentacles turned towards Tsunade, moving up and down as if scrutinizing her. "Little Tsunade hasn't been working hard lately; she still doesn't meet the requirements to learn Sage Art!"
At this moment, despite being just a small slug, she seemed to have transformed into a matriarch, and her words made Tsunade feel so ashamed that she blushed.
Taiyi, who was standing next to him, couldn't help but burst out laughing.
He hurriedly covered his mouth, but it was too late. What awaited him was Tsunade's merciless iron fist.
The slug was a little confused by their interaction, but she didn't care. After looking at Tsunade, she looked at Taiichi and, after scrutinizing him for a long time, said something that made Tsunade want to crawl into a hole and disappear.
"Taiichi does meet the requirements for cultivating Sage Mode. Tsunade, you should learn from Taiichi! A master can't be surpassed by his disciple in every aspect!"
"Ah~ Haha!"
This time, Taiyi really couldn't hold back anymore, and despite the throbbing pain on his head, he burst out laughing.
Tsunade clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, but this time she didn't hit Taichi. Instead, she secretly reflected on whether she had really been decadent for too long, to the point that even the slug couldn't stand it anymore and had to urge herself on like this for the first time ever.
When Taiichi saw that Tsunade was actually reflecting on herself, he quickly stopped laughing, afraid of disturbing her current state.
After a long while, when Tsunade regained consciousness, she saw a human and a slug staring intently at her with their eyes and a pair of tentacles.
"Haha, why are you all staring at me like that? It's making me feel embarrassed."
Tsunade chuckled, but Taiichi could tell that her mental state was noticeably different; she was much better than before, and could be described as more energetic.
However, Taiyi didn't expose him. He hadn't hit himself earlier because he was reflecting on his actions. If he were caught red-handed now, he would definitely get a beating.
He quickly changed the subject, "Slug, I'd like to ask, what harm do the immortal techniques of the three holy lands pose to cultivators?"
"Harm?" The slug's tentacles swayed back and forth twice, as if it were thinking. "If we're talking about harm, the difficulty of learning and the possibility of being assimilated by natural energy if one is not careful, does that count?"
Tsunade and Taiichi exchanged a glance, clearly dissatisfied with the answer.
So, Taiyi continued to ask, "What disadvantages does learning immortality have for humans? I see that there are so many toads on Mount Myōboku that live very long lives, but not a single human who knows immortality has lived a long life."
"Oh, that!" the slug sighed. "Of course. I don't know if the sage techniques of Mount Myōboku and Ryūchi Cave have any other harms to practitioners, but the inability to live long is a characteristic shared by all three."
"These are, after all, the immortal arts of our respective races. It's already difficult enough to adapt them for humans to practice, let alone extend lifespan. It would be tantamount to creating a completely new method of immortal arts cultivation. Hashirama had a good chance back then, but unfortunately, he died too young and didn't complete this great feat."
The truth is surprisingly simple, but it makes sense when you think about it. Humans can drink coffee, but it's poison for cats and dogs. Many things that suit you may not suit me.
These unique immortal cultivation methods belonging to the three holy lands are already rare enough that they are not harmful to humans; to want to extend one's lifespan is simply a pipe dream.
"Does Taiyi want to cultivate immortal arts? You are now qualified to do so."
The slug's gentle voice rang out again, rousing Taiyi from his reverie.
"Ah, no, it's because I accidentally entered Sage Mode, so I wanted to ask about the specifics of Sage Techniques."
Now it was the slug's turn to be stunned. Taiyi could see that after hearing what Taiyi said, the slug's entire body had stopped moving. Its two erect tentacles were completely still, and to the uninformed, it looked as if time had stopped.
After a long while, Taiichi looked at Tsunade blankly, not understanding what was going on. Was there a signal interruption? But each slug clone had its own independent consciousness, so this shouldn't be happening.
Tsunade shook her head; she had never encountered such a situation before.
In the end, however, it was Tsunade who stepped in. She reached out and carefully touched the slug's soft body.
The slug jolted violently and finally came to its senses.
The slug's antennae suddenly extended to a great length, and its entire body stood almost upright. This was the first time Taiichi had ever seen such a thing; he had never realized that a slug's antennae could extend so far.
The tentacles peered down from the top of Taiyi's head, scrutinizing him inch by inch, making Taiyi feel somewhat uncomfortable.
"It's the aura of Sage Chakra, an aura I've never seen before."
The slug retracted its long antennae and lay back down again.
As a giant slug that has lived for over a thousand years, she has seen too many strange and bizarre things. After being shocked, she can quickly calm herself down.
"Little Taiichi is so lucky! He managed to complete that dangerous Sage Mode by sheer accident!"
Slug was also of a tranquil nature and did not care whether Taiyi was telling the truth or not. She only knew that there was now a new way of cultivating immortal techniques in the ninja world.
More than a thousand years have passed since these three families created the Sage Art, a cultivation system that combines natural energy and chakra, and no other Sage Art has been born since.
She once thought that her ability to create immortal techniques was simply a matter of fate, and that now that the tides of time had passed, there was no longer any fertile ground for the birth of new immortal techniques.
But what I saw today has broken this curse, and perhaps more practitioners of immortal arts will appear in the future.
Thinking back to the diverse cultivation methods that once existed in this world: Onmyoji, samurai, monks, shrine maidens, and even gods above them, unfortunately, they all disappeared or perished after that upheaval, leaving behind only these three families and a few survivors.
Taiichi scratched his head, glancing awkwardly at Tsunade. The slug's magnanimity made him quite embarrassed. It was as if he were lying to a close relative; anyone with a little sense of shame would feel uncomfortable.
But Tsunade wasn't paying attention to any of that at the moment. She was concerned about something else entirely. "Katsuyu, is Taiichi's Sage Mode dangerous? Will he face the risk of mutation in the future?"
"No, once the immortal technique is successfully synthesized, the body will automatically remember this mode. That is the immortal mode that is most suitable for oneself. When the three of us created the immortal techniques, it was mostly the same situation. There was a certain element of chance involved."
Tsunade breathed a sigh of relief. Although she had never trained in Sage Mode, she knew the dangers of cultivating Sage Techniques. She was really afraid that Taiichi's self-created method of cultivating Sage Techniques was unreliable and that he might accidentally kill himself.
"Can Xiao Taiyi use some magic? I'd like to confirm this again and see if it matches what we used to do."
The slug's antennae turned towards Taiyi again, its gentle words revealing a hint of curiosity. This immortal technique, so different from the three families', was the strangest thing she had encountered in a thousand years.
Taiyi looked at the slug's slightly trembling antennae and nodded without hesitation.
This time, he did not sit cross-legged, but began to absorb natural energy while standing.
Tsunade couldn't sense it, but Yu could see that the natural energy within a large area around her was inexplicably drawn in and poured into Taiichi's body.
Her two antennae trembled even more violently; her efficiency in absorbing natural energy was far greater than theirs had been back then.
Three minutes later, the slug's trembling antennae suddenly stopped. She had sensed the change in Taiyi's aura, which was the aura of Sage Chakra.
The next moment, Taiyi opened his eyes, and his pupils were once again illuminated by golden light.
A smaller slug split off from the larger slug and quickly crawled up Taiichi's trouser leg, eventually sticking to his neck.
It's cool and refreshing, with a slightly slippery texture, but it's not unpleasant to the eye; perhaps this is a case of loving the house because of its contents.
The giant slug carefully sensed Taiyi's Sage Chakra through the smaller slug.
The pair of antennae also looked Taiyi up and down again, and found that apart from a pair of golden eyes, there was nothing particularly different.
The antennae made a human-like tap, which Taiichi and Tsunade understood at a glance, a performance that was quite satisfactory.
After a long while, the small slug merged back into the large slug's body, and then the slug spoke again: "It is balanced and peaceful, and the Sage Chakra is quite stable, without any signs of dissipation. Just like we were back then, it is indeed a completely new way of cultivating Sage Art."
"But I noticed that when Grandpa and Jiraiya use Sage Mode, they both have Sage Masks appearing, but Taichi doesn't change at all."
"Fairy mask?" The slug tilted her head, like a bewildered child, searching her memory to find out what this so-called fairy mask was.
"These are the patterns that appear on the face after entering Sage Mode. My great-grandfather had them around his eyes and forehead, and Jiraiya had many of them, covering his entire face."
Tsunade quickly reminded him that if the slug were to recall the memories on its own, it would take an unknown amount of time. There was no way around it; having lived for so long, it had accumulated too many memories, and some of the less frequently used ones were buried deep in its mind, making them quite difficult to recall.
"Oh, you mean that!" The slug nodded its head up and down twice, as if it finally understood what Tsunade was talking about.
"You haven't seen the White Snake and Gamamaru, but you have seen my true form. Have you seen these patterns on my true form?"
Instead of answering Tsunade directly, the slug asked a question in return.
Tsunade was stunned upon hearing this. Recalling the slug she had seen before, its massive body, hundreds of meters long, was the largest and strongest creature she had ever seen. However, from where she had seen it, there was indeed no so-called immortal face.
"It seems you've also noticed that my true form doesn't have these patterns, nor do the White Snake and Toad Pill."
These so-called immortal facial markings are likely unique patterns that develop from humans practicing our immortal arts. The more patterns there are, the less compatible the individual is with the immortal arts.
Tsunade thought about it and realized that her great-grandfather was someone who almost created a new model of Sage Technique cultivation on his own, so his compatibility was naturally very high and he rarely wore the Sage Mask.
Jiraiya is different. When he uses Sage Mode, even his human form changes. You can imagine how well it suits him. His face is covered with a mask.
"Slug, is it true that only the three sacred lands in the ninja world have Sage Mode? Are there no other places that have other methods for cultivating Sage Techniques?"
Taiyi was also very curious. His memories from his past life gave him some understanding of this world, but there were many details he didn't know. Now that there was a living fossil, how could he not take this opportunity to learn more?
"No!" the slug answered decisively, without the slightest hesitation.
"Chakra, a new form of energy, was born after that great upheaval, which has been over a thousand years ago. Sage Mode, which was derived from it, is even more recent."
Moreover, the emergence of a group of immortal cultivators isn't simply a matter of knowing immortal techniques; a suitable environment for cultivation is essential, and ordinary places cannot accommodate a large number of immortal cultivators simultaneously.
"What kind of major change are you referring to? Did something unexpected happen in the past?"
Taiyi keenly grasped the key turning point in the slug's words and deliberately steered the conversation in that direction.
"What a change—" The slug fell into a long silence, and no one knew what she was thinking.
Tsunade and Tai looked at each other, clearly noticing that this time was different from the previous one; both of them could tell that the slug was reminiscing about the past.
"That was truly an era where gods and demons coexisted, chaotic yet brilliant. Unfortunately, a catastrophe changed the entire world."
The slug's voice sounded like it was eating in a dream. Tsunade and Taichi listened intently, hoping to learn more about the secrets of ancient times.
Unfortunately, the slug seemed to have remembered something taboo and snapped back to reality.
"I can't say any more. The three holy lands and the Six Paths Immortals have an agreement not to reveal ancient matters to outsiders. That's all I can say."
Taiyi felt it was a pity. He never expected that these old guys would have such an agreement. Could it be that they were worried that the truth would cause panic in the world?
Tsunade, however, didn't think so. Instead, she was very interested. "The Sage of Six Paths, so he really exists. I thought it was just a legend."
"That was a real person, of course. All the bloodline clans in the ninja world today are more or less related to him."
Tsunade looked like she'd just stumbled upon some juicy gossip; these were secrets she'd never known before.
Suddenly, something occurred to her, and she stiffened. "Then the Senju and Uchiha?"
The slug nodded its antennae up and down with an air of seriousness, and Taiyi could read a hint of amusement in its gesture.
"You're right. The Senju and Uchiha clans both descend from the Sage of Six Paths, and are the two most orthodox branches of that lineage."
Tsunade was completely distraught at this moment. The feud between the Senju and Uchiha clans had lasted for hundreds of years since the Warring States period, and the conflicts continued even in the ninja village era.
It turns out that these two families actually share the same ancestor—it's unbelievable!
Just as Tsunade was about to ask something, the slug interrupted her.
"Alright, I can't say much more about ancient times. If you still want to know, you can check the ancient books yourselves. There should still be some clues left."
Tsunade was immediately annoyed by the interruption, feeling as if she had swallowed a fly. But there was nothing she could do. She couldn't force someone to talk with a kunai if they didn't want to. Didn't they even know who she was?