The Art of Chaotic Divinity-Chapter 852: First of the Earthborn Immortals

"Hmm? You... are you Zifeng or Ling Feng?"

The Despicable Donkey stared blankly at the "Ling Feng" before him. Judging by his demeanor, this no longer seemed to be Zifeng—but the real Ling Feng!

The next moment, a purple light shot out from Ling Feng's body, transforming into a small snake that flung itself into his arms, wailing, "Master, it's really you! You've finally come back to life!"

"I wasn't actually dead to begin with!"

Ling Feng caught Zifeng and laughed heartily. "Thank you, Zifeng. You must have been the one maintaining my body's vitality these past few days, right?"

"Mhmm, mhmm!" Zifeng flicked its tongue excitedly. "As long as you're alright, Master, that's all that matters."

Ling Feng patted Zifeng's tiny head. In the end, it was Zifeng who had remained utterly loyal to him.

What he hadn't expected was that even this damn donkey had shed a few tears for him.

"Hehe, Despicable Donkey... thanks!"

Ling Feng narrowed his eyes, studying the donkey before him. Strangely, the creature didn't seem so despicable anymore.

Inside the Four Spirits Divine-Sealing Tablet, Ling Feng had advanced both his Reincarnated Sword Will and Slaughterous Sword Will to the advance stage. Only then, with the help of the Realm-Piercing Shuttle, did he break through the tablet's barrier and escape. Even so, it was the soul-summoning array set up by the Despicable Donkey that allowed him to return to his body with such ease.

Combined with Zifeng's efforts in preserving his body's vitality, even after three days of soul separation, Ling Feng's physical form remained intact—stiff, perhaps, but otherwise unharmed.

"Hmph!" Despicable Donkey lifted his chin. "You've got some insane luck, brat. Getting sucked into the Four Spirits Divine-Sealing Tablet and still making it out alive!"

"Yeah, this was a close call." Ling Feng rubbed the bridge of his nose, a faint smile playing on his lips. With a thought, he summoned a shuttle-shaped magical treasure into his hand.

This item—the Realm-Piercing Shuttle—could expand into a thousand-zhang-long airship or shrink to the size of a needle resting on his palm.

Though it possessed no offensive capabilities, its ability to pierce any barrier made it nothing short of a divine artifact. Imagine stumbling upon a treasure vault while others struggled to bypass its defenses—with this shuttle, he could come and go as he pleased!

"Despicable Donkey, I never thought you'd actually show some loyalty this time. And even crying for me? Haha..."

Ling Feng stretched his limbs as he spoke, his tone casual.

"Bullshit! This divine beast doesn't cry! The wind just got in my eyes, that's all! If you'd died, I'd have thrown a party! This divine beast crying? As if!"

The donkey immediately leaped up, protesting loudly.

"Oh." Ling Feng shrugged, offering only a faint smile in response.

With a snort, Despicable Donkey's gaze locked onto the shuttle in Ling Feng's hand. "So this thing's how you got out?"

"Mhmm." Ling Feng nodded, recounting his experiences inside the tablet—though he omitted the part about being the child of the Heavenly Dao.

Both the donkey and Zifeng were left speechless. The evil entity sealed within the tablet was far more terrifying than Despicable Donkey had guessed—beyond Ancestral Realm, even.

This was something that could slaughter an Immortal Lord without hesitation!

"Kid, you're seriously planning to rescue that female devil and her devil pet?" the donkey asked gravely.

"That's still a long way off. She didn't set a deadline, so I'll take it one step at a time." Ling Feng rubbed his nose, his tone indifferent.

"Fair enough. Who knows? You might kick the bucket before you even get the chance!" The donkey cackled. "But six treasure maps? Now that's interesting! Six vaults!"

Despicable Donkey's eyes gleamed with greed as he rubbed his hooves together. Some things never changed.

"Not necessarily six vaults. They might just be six clues. Otherwise, why stitch them into a single map?"

"Whatever! As long as there's treasure to grab! Wahahaha—"

The donkey threw his head back, unleashing a grating, donkey-like laugh.

Ling Feng rolled his eyes and retrieved a ring from the Realm-Piercing Shuttle. Though emptied of its contents, this ring had once belonged to an immortal dao expert. Its storage space was vast, and its material was so indestructible that it could probably be used as a lethal projectile in a pinch.

Inside, he found numerous notes. Since comprehending the Three Thousand Great Daos was beyond him now, he focused on studying these writings instead, hoping for useful leads.

The author was clearly a highly learned senior, well-versed in forging, arrays, and even pill formulas. Unfortunately, much of the content was incomprehensible to Ling Feng—especially the references to a power called "immortal power" rather than elemental force.

As he sifted through the notes, one record stood out: a connection to the six treasure maps.

By the time he finished reading, Ling Feng nearly leaped to his feet in excitement.

The clues were linked to the Divine Desolation Treasure Box he had acquired earlier!

Each of the six maps corresponded to a clue for unlocking the box.

"After endless searching, the answer falls right into my lap!"

Ling Feng's face flushed with excitement. No wonder countless predecessors had failed to open the box despite millennia of effort—they'd lacked the maps!

According to the notes, the Divine Desolation Treasure Box was crafted by the Shenhuang Emperor, a powerful figure whose Dao title was given before his ascension. After reaching the Immortal Realm, he relied on his extraordinary talents, steadily rising through the ranks to become the legendary First of the Earthborn Immortals. His combat prowess surpassed all others in history, ultimately making him the first Earthborn Immortal to achieve the title of Immortal Emperor.

The term Earthborn Immortal refers to immortals who ascended from the lower realms to the Immortal Realm. To distinguish them, they were called Earthborn Immortals by those who were born directly in the Immortal Realm.

(Author's Note: Don't confuse this with traditional mythology's earth immortals. This is a xianxia setting.)

At the peak of his glory, however, Emperor Shenhuang vanished like a comet—his faction collapsed, and the immortal dao world fell under the rule of the Heaven-Patrolling Clan.

As for the reason behind his disappearance, it's still an unsolved mystery in the immortal dao world.

However, based on Ling Feng's guess, it doesn't take much thinking—it was likely a move made by the Heaven-Patrolling clan to solidify their power.

Though the First of the Earthborn Immortals had disappeared, he left behind a secret vault—the Divine Desolation Vault—with the treasure box as its sole key.

"To think Emperor Shenhuang actually reached the Immortal Emperor realm through sheer destiny!" Ling Feng's mind reeled.

The world had already considered the Divine Desolation Treasure Box invaluable—yet even that estimation fell short.

What it concealed wasn't just a chance at ascension, but the Supreme Immortal Opportunity to stand at the very pinnacle of the immortal dao world!