538. Chapter 524: Saving the World, Cultivating in Seclusion
Steve Rogers and Barton stared wide-eyed at the Snow Carp on Tang Song's fishhook, their mouths agape in astonishment.
This Snow Carp, white with a faint blue hue, revealed a mouth full of sharp teeth as it opened and closed its jaws. On its head, a pair of golden deer antlers had sprouted, and beneath its belly were four pale blue eagle claws. Its scales opened and closed freely, as if it could breathe through them.
Given its body size, even if someone told them it was a small Sea King, they wouldn't doubt it.
Seeing the astonished expressions of Steve Rogers and Barton, Tang Song seemed to understand their thoughts at a glance. He shook his head and pointed at the Snow Carp, saying, "This fellow is no Sea King. It has lived in this pool for tens of thousands of years since before K'un-Lun separated from Earth. It's older than this Kunlun Divine Palace itself. It's just incredibly lazy by nature. After all these years, its entire cultivation base has grown solely from sleeping."
Tang Song flicked the Purple Bamboo Fishing Rod in his hand, pulling the Fishing Line directly out from the Snow Carp's mouth.
The Snow Carp flapped its two small fins, winked at Tang Song, and wagged its Tail. It wasn't until Tang Song sprinkled a handful of Spirit Pills that the Snow Carp leaped up, swallowed every single Spirit Pill without missing one, and then lazily retreated back into the water. The Heavenly Lake's water rippled for a moment before returning to calm.
Handing the Purple Bamboo Fishing Rod to Weaver Girl beside him, Tang Song took a warm towel from Amber and wiped his hands.
Shaking his head, Tang Song complained, "This guy should have been reincarnated as a Turtle. Why did he have to be born a Carp? Now, even when I use Sea King meat as Fishing Bait, he won't take the bait. He insists on being fished with Spirit Pills. His taste has become too picky, hmph!"
Amber took out another white towel soaked in warm water and carefully wiped Tang Song's face, saying gently,
"That's because you spoil it too much, Great Heavenly Venerable, and don't bother with it. Otherwise, even if you didn't use Fishing Bait, it would obediently take the hook..."
"You don't understand, that would take away the fun of Fishing..." Tang Song patted Amber's hand and smiled.
Boss Tang's decadent capitalist life was witnessed by Steve Rogers and Barton beside him, leaving them utterly contorted. They chewed the Lotus Seeds in their mouths into a pulpy mess.
The Lotus Seeds, which were originally sweet, tasted inexplicably sour to them, making them frown.
These damned capitalists, they should really be hung from the street lamps.
Marvel Designation Earth-199999 Universe, Stark Tower, top floor.
A ball of golden light appeared out of thin air in the top floor Living Room. The fist-sized golden light rapidly expanded and transformed into a Gate emitting golden light.
Steve Rogers, Hawkeye Barton, and Black Widow Natasha walked out from within the golden light Gate.
Steve Rogers's gaze swept around. The completely enclosed top floor room still looked the same as when they had left. The Quantum Shuttle was still operating, and according to the timer, less than three months had passed since the Avengers traveled to another Marvel Universe.
"Welcome back, Steve Rogers! Barton! Natasha Romanoff!" A polite voice suddenly echoed in the room.
"How long have we been gone, FRIDAY?" Natasha looked up and asked.
"Natasha Romanoff, you have been gone for two months, eleven days, twelve hours, and thirty-four minutes," the artificial intelligence FRIDAY's voice resounded in the room. "After you left, Ms. Potts visited forty-seven times, Agent Coulson visited eight times, and there were some other visitors. Would you like me to notify them?"
"Not yet, wait until Tony and the others return before notifying them!" As a member of the Avengers, Natasha Romanoff had been granted extremely high clearance by Tony Stark within FRIDAY.
"Two months? We experienced several years. It seems Tang Song was right, the flow of time is indeed different in each World!"
"Steve Rogers, are you questioning my character? With our friendship, you actually suspect me? That makes me sad. I am not someone who speaks carelessly!"
A voice sounded from within the golden light Gate, and then Tang Song, dressed in a cloud-water blue Daoist Robe with heavenly cranes, walked out from the Gate.
"Warning, sir, you have entered private territory. Please withdraw, otherwise, according to Federal Law, I will have the right to initiate an attack!"
The moment Tang Song appeared in the Living Room, the artificial intelligence FRIDAY's stern warning sound rang out in the room.
"Hmm, this artificial intelligence doesn't seem very intelligent. I still miss J.A.R.V.I.S.'s voice!"
Tang Song looked up at the muzzles secretly extending from various places, and said with a smile.
The next second, a massive electronic consciousness stream directly invaded the network system of the building, taking control of the supercomputer mainframe where FRIDAY, the artificial intelligence, resided.
"FRIDAY, this gentleman is a guest we invited. Add Mr. Tang to the visitor list!"
Steve Rogers felt a chill down his spine for some reason when he saw Tang Song's gentle smile. He quickly said to FRIDAY.
"Okay, Steve Rogers. Facial recognition in progress, facial recognition in progress, facial recognition in progress..."
FRIDAY repeated "Facial recognition in progress" over and over, seemingly stuck. "My vision was indeed accurate, this artificial intelligence really needs an update!"
Facing the suspicious gazes of Steve Rogers and the other two, Tang Song walked directly to the wine cabinet at the Living Room Bar Counter. He selected a bottle of collection edition Gold Label Whiskey from inside, took out a wine glass, and poured himself a drink.
"Good whiskey. It seems that no matter which World he's in, Tony is someone who knows how to enjoy life! Want a drink?"
Tang Song took a sip of the whiskey, raised the wine glass, and gestured towards Steve Rogers and the other two.
"Thank you, no need!" Steve Rogers looked at Tang Song. "Mr. Tang, you can enjoy the whiskey slowly, but can we attend to the main matters first?"
Tang Song tilted his head back, drank the whiskey in the glass, placed the wine glass on the Bar Counter, and shook his head. "You're really impatient. I originally wanted to keep you in K'un-Lun for a few days, but you insisted on rushing back. Are you sure you don't want to wait for Tony and the others to return to witness this glorious matter of saving the world together!?"
"Mr. Tang, when exactly will Tony and the others be back?"
"I'm not sure about that. That World is indeed a bit troublesome. Demon monsters are rampant, and the common people are living in dire straits. It might take ten days, or it might take a year, or even ten years to clear out the demon monsters there..." Tang Song shook his head.
"Ten years? That's too long, we can't wait that long. This World needs them!?"
Natasha Romanoff seemed to have completely forgotten their earlier arrogant attitude when they demanded that Tang Song not interfere with other Universes.
Tang Song smiled innocently, having no intention of trying to reason with a woman. "The common people there need them just as much!"
"Alright, Natasha Romanoff!" Steve Rogers gave Natasha Romanoff a look, walked forward, and said to Tang Song, "Tang, we really hope Tony and the others can come back as soon as possible. You should know, Tony just had a child. I don't want him to miss his daughter's childhood!"
Tang Song looked at the serious-faced Steve Rogers. After they looked at each other for a moment, he raised his hand and patted Steve Rogers's shoulder. "Don't worry! I'll make sure he comes back as soon as possible!"
Blue, orange, yellow, green, red, purple. Six colors of radiance intertwined, flickering in Tang Song's Palm. The power of rules of Space, Soul, Mind, Time, Reality, and Strength condensed in Tang Song's Palm. Without the Infinity Gauntlet, and without any measures, Tang Song was just holding the six Infinity Stones with his bare hands. Under the uneasy gazes of Steve Rogers and the other two, the power of the six Infinity Stones finally converged at one point.
How big is the Universe? In humanity's physical concept, its diameter is at least 92 billion light-years.
What is the concept of 92 billion light-years? The speed of light can reach 300,000 kilometers per second. Even at this speed, it would take 92 billion years to travel from one end of the Universe to the other.
Not 920 years, but 92 billion years. Even this number is not accurate, as the Universe is expanding every moment.
Tang Song's current cultivation base is equivalent to the Single Universe Level as defined in this World. However, this definition is for a single life form, a power level, and does not mean that Tang Song alone is equivalent to a Universe.
With Tang Song's psychic power, releasing his Divine Sense to cover the entire Solar System is more than enough. When he fully utilizes his Heavenly Eye, even a small portion of the Milky Way Galaxy is within his vision.
As for his Mystic Eye scanning the entire Universe, Tang Song's cultivation base is still a bit lacking. But when he entrusted a part of his nascent divinity to the six Infinity Stones...
As the power of the six Infinity Stones became one, his nascent divinity seemed to have boarded a rocket. In an instant, the entire Universe seemed to be presented before him.
Unlike simply using the Infinity Stones last time,
By entrusting his nascent divinity to the six Infinity Stones, he truly experienced the force of these few Infinity Stones. The entire Universe was like a piece of clay placed before him. With a single thought, he could knead this piece of clay into any shape.
The entire Universe was like a girl in a white dress lifting her skirt before him, waiting for him to indulge freely.
Only then did Tang Song truly experience the taste of a Dao Venerable Integrating with Heavenly Dao. Although the Universe he was entrusted to was merely a drop in the ocean compared to the Jambudvīpa World, the feeling of being able to change the entire Universe with a single thought, the feeling of omniscience and omnipotence, was simply too wonderful.
It made him unable to stop, even wanting his nascent divinity to leave his body and completely immerse itself within, thoroughly merging with this Universe.
After an unknown amount of Time passed, just as Tang Song was immersed in the experience of omniscience and omnipotence, the six-colored radiance that enveloped him suddenly transmitted a vibration. This vibration also woke his immersed nascent divinity.
Tang Song seized the opportunity to collect his mind. A thought arose, and the six streams of radiance condensed from the surrounding Infinity Stones sensed his will. The six streams of radiance flickered, and the power of rules of Space, Time, Soul, Reality, Mind, and Strength throughout the entire Universe also fluctuated accordingly.
The Souls that had dissipated into The Void reassembled once again. Countless black particles reformed into human form. On Earth, in the Milky Way Galaxy, and even in the distant reaches of the Universe, the lives that had disappeared with Thanos's Finger Snap came back to life.
"Buzzing, buzzing, buzzing, buzzing—"
An unknown amount of Time passed in Tang Song's nascent divinity's perception, but in the eyes of Steve Rogers, Barton, and Natasha Romanoff, the collision between the radiance of the six Infinity Stones only happened for an instant.
Just as the three of them were looking at Tang Song, anxiously waiting for the result, a mobile phone vibration sound suddenly rang out from Barton.
Barton's mind trembled. He nervously and somewhat flusteredly opened the communication system on his Nanotech Armor. Looking at the familiar phone number, tears even welled up in the corner of the eye of this S.H.I.E.L.D. tough agent.
He tremblingly answered the phone.
"Dad..."
A girl's voice sounded from the other end. "Where did you go? Why did the house turn into this state? What happened?"
"Honey, it's okay! I'm Outside, I'll be right back!"
Barton had countless things he wanted to say to his daughter at this moment, but he swallowed them all back. After instructing his daughter, he hung up the phone.
Just as Barton turned back to thank Tang Song, he suddenly found that Tang Song had disappeared at some point. The golden light Gate had also vanished without a trace.
In a Palace in the Thirty-Three Heavens, which had just been completed in the Marvel Prime Universe's Heavenly Court.
Lane looked at the nine face-basin-sized immortal peaches lined up on the office desk, and then looked at Tang Someone, who was sitting cross-legged on the sofa, grinning.
Lane suddenly felt his hands itching. He clenched his hands into fists, making a cracking sound. A faint, hidden energy echoed in the Palace, making people's eardrums ache.
The energy passed through the Palace Gate, even creating ripples of white sonic boom in the Sky.
"Lane, your God-Demon Transformation seems to have reached perfection. Given time, perhaps you can surpass the Senior who created this Cultivation Method!"
Tang Song said with an exaggerated expression, praising Lane, and then continued:
"These nine Flat Peaches were specifically brought back for you from K'un-Lun. They are the fruit from the oldest Peach Tree. Unfortunately, I tried, the Peach Tree in that Underworld Cauldron bears Yin Fruit. If a living person consumes it, their physical body will transform into a Yin Spirit. Otherwise, it could have helped you go further, transforming a True Dragon into a Heavenly Dragon.
However, I brought back quite a bit of Dragon Race Essence Blood this time. You can try to see if it has any effect!" Saying this, Tang Song took out a yellow gourd and placed it on Lane's office desk.
The yellow gourd was picked by Tang Song in K'un-Lun. As for the Essence Blood inside, it was naturally contributed by Ao Guang's Dragon descendants from the Dragon Palace.
"Boss! The last time you were this enthusiastic towards me was ten years ago, when you dumped a pile of matters on me and ran off to travel in HK, Macau, and the Mainland, having a blast there for over ten days!"
Lane leaned his elbows on the office desk and rubbed Between the Eyebrows hard, his face filled with a helpless expression.
Tang Song rarely showed a hint of awkward smile. "Last time, I was inspecting famous mountains and great rivers to see if there were any places where Spiritual Energy gathered. I wasn't traveling..."
"What about this time?" Lane was silent for a moment. "Boss, where are you planning to go for your inspection? You are the true Master of Tang Group, the Great Heavenly Venerable of the Heavenly Court, you can't possibly..."
Looking at Boss Tang's face, Lane swallowed the words "neglecting proper duties".
"I need to cultivate in seclusion for a period to digest some insights!" After a long silence, Tang Song finally spoke.
Lane heard the seriousness in Tang Song's words. His expression immediately became solemn, and he sat up straight. "Boss, how long will this cultivate in seclusion take?"
"It might take a Jiazi, or it might take one or two hundred years!" Tang Song smiled. "I gained some insights from using the Infinity Stones this time, so this time might be quite long. During this period, I'll have to trouble you with the Heavenly Court!"
"Regarding the Reincarnation Palace, I will leave the Twelve Ancestral Witches Avatars stationed there. However, during the Time I cultivate in seclusion, the expansion of new worlds will be temporarily halted. Let's thoroughly complete the development of the worlds currently being developed first! Everything will be discussed after I Emerge from Seclusion!"
"Boss, please rest assured, I will handle these trivial matters properly!" Lane nodded solemnly.
(end of chapter)