- In Marvel: I Start by Marrying Scarlett Witch [Complete]
- MWM Chapter 242
“Junior Sister, he’s already gone. Why are you still looking?” Qin Ruohua teased as she approached Shangguan Qian from behind, speaking softly in her ear.
Shangguan Qian, startled, jumped slightly before her face turned red. “I wasn’t watching! I was just thinking about something,” she replied defensively.
“Junior Sister, could it be that you’re actually falling for Junior Brother Qingfeng?” Qin Ruohua asked more seriously, noticing Shangguan Qian’s unusual behavior.
Shangguan Qian’s face flushed again, but she didn’t deny it. “I just think Junior Brother Qingfeng is… special. He’s different from the other senior brothers and disciples on the mountain.”
“Junior Sister, you need to think carefully,” Qin Ruohua warned gently. “Once you fall into an emotional tribulation, ascending to immortality will become very difficult.”
At that moment, Cheng Xuanfeng walked over. As someone who had already fallen deeply into his own emotional tribulation, he could see what was happening with Shangguan Qian quite clearly. He added, “It’s true. Love can be the greatest obstacle for a cultivator seeking immortality.”
Shangguan Qian remained unfazed, her expression determined. “And so what? Out of all the cultivators from the various sects, how many actually achieve immortality? Rather than chasing immortality, I envy the life that you and Senior Sister have.”
Cheng Xuanfeng and Qin Ruohua had long accepted their emotional tribulation, and Shangguan Qian admired the life they lived as a couple, choosing love over the pursuit of immortality.
At that point, the eldest of the group, Chu Yuxiang, spoke up thoughtfully. “Junior Sister, emotional tribulations are something that many cultivators can’t avoid. There’s no need to be overly concerned. And I agree—Junior Brother Qingfeng is an excellent choice. But, I must remind you, his dedication to the path of cultivation is incredibly strong. You should prepare yourself for that.”
Shangguan Qian heard this and replied confidently, “I know, Senior Brother. I only have a favorable impression of him; I’m not deeply attached. If we don’t share mutual feelings, I won’t force it. I’m not the type to cling to someone who doesn’t feel the same way.”
As a proud Emei sword cultivator, Shangguan Qian had her own dignity and wasn’t the kind of woman to chase after someone endlessly.
Meanwhile, Leo, after flying out of the Emei Sect’s boundaries, landed in a secluded forest and pulled out his teleportation scroll. The scroll activated, and in an instant, he traversed space, returning to the small house he had purchased in a nearby mortal town.
Before returning to Xiaozhu Mountain, there was something he needed to do: attempt Sage Mode.
He had been planning to experiment with Sage Mode ever since he refined some true essence, but circumstances kept delaying it. First, the attack from the Elder of the Xuan Yin Sect, followed by his involvement with the Seven Sons of the Cloud and the events at Drunken Immortal Cliff, then his time at Emei.
Surrounded by powerful cultivators, including Master Baimei, a peak Earth Immortal, he hadn’t dared to attempt Sage Mode, worried that any mishap could make him appear like a dangerous rogue cultivator.
But now that he was out of Emei’s territory, it was the perfect opportunity to give it a try.
The concept of Sage Mode traced back to the world of *Naruto*. That world was not flat but a planet floating in space, with a vast universe beyond, home to other life forms. The most powerful of these beings was the Otsutsuki clan.
The Otsutsuki were naturally gifted, requiring no training to become powerful. They traveled the universe, planting the juvenile forms of the Ten Tails on planets, which would absorb the planet’s energy through a God Tree and produce a fruit that, when consumed, allowed them to evolve further. Kaguya Otsutsuki, sent to Earth on such a mission, fell in love with a human.
Her son, Hagoromo Otsutsuki, later known as the Sage of Six Paths, observed that humans could not perform techniques like his mother. Inspired by the God Tree, he created chakra by combining physical and spiritual energy, which could then be used to perform jutsu through hand seals.
Before Kaguya’s arrival, Earth had its own users of natural energy, like shamans, cultists, and deities, but their methods were rarer and less accessible. Chakra’s introduction made things simpler and more widespread, gradually replacing the older, more complex methods of utilizing natural energy.
However, the three legendary places in *Naruto*—Mount Myoboku, Ryuchi Cave, and Shikkotsu Forest—discovered that by combining chakra with natural energy, they could create an even more powerful energy known as Sage Mode. Each location had its own unique version, with distinct physical traits and abilities.
For example, those who trained in Mount Myoboku had toad-like features, with horizontal pupils and yellow eye shadow. Those from Ryuchi Cave developed snake-like eyes with vertical pupils, purple eye shadow, and horns. Shikkotsu Forest’s Sage Mode had black facial markings, with eyes that had a yellow outer ring and a black center.
Regardless of the variation, all Sage Modes provided significant boosts: increased chakra reserves, enhanced ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu, heightened sensory abilities, and accelerated healing.
Although Leo didn’t know the exact methods used by the three sacred lands to cultivate Sage Mode, he had a simplified version called the *Gift of the Sage* from the Fire Temple. This technique also combined chakra with a small amount of natural energy, producing a similar but less potent effect.
The version taught at the Fire Temple was much safer, as it only involved a small amount of natural energy. In contrast, the full Sage Mode required absorbing far more natural energy, and failing to control it could lead to death. But with his own refined Daoist true essence, the purest energy of Heaven and Earth, Leo believed the results would be comparable without the danger.
Now, with the method and the energy at hand, all that was left was to try it.
Sitting cross-legged in his room, Leo began by drawing upon the power of his body and mind. Slowly, he guided the true essence stored within his golden core, merging it with his chakra.
“Boom!”
A powerful aura erupted from within him.
“It worked!” Leo exclaimed, feeling the overwhelming transformation in his body. Glancing into a mirror, he saw that while his physical appearance hadn’t changed much, his pupils had turned into a yin-yang pattern.
“Could this be the legendary Yin-Yang Eyes?”