Chapter 319: Chapter 317: The Teaching Ancestor Master’s Cultivation Technique
"Board my Dragon Vehicle, and take your time explaining."
Blood God True Monarch’s expression was grim. With a flick of his long sleeve, he vanished, his voice the only thing left echoing in the air.
"The Celestial Principle Sect was doing just fine in Great Li. Why would they come to Liang Country?"
Of the world’s Five Domains, the four countries of the Northern Domain were the last to be developed and didn’t even have a single Super Major Sect. Cultivators from the Central Domain rarely chose this place when they decided to travel.
"Word is that the Five Phoenix Sword Sect coveted their Mountain Gate’s Spirit Vein. They had no choice but to abandon their home and leave."
The Five Phoenix Sword Sect’s newly minted Nascent Soul Cultivator seized the Celestial Principle Sect’s Spirit Vein for his own sanctum. The news caused a huge stir, spreading throughout the entire Central Domain.
Fang Tiancheng had his own intelligence network and knew more of the inside story than the other Cultivators in Liang Country.
"Furthermore, they were attacked by a mysterious Tribulation Cultivation Organization during their retreat. Po Jun Star Monarch and a Nascent Soul True Monarch from the Hundred Puppet Sect made a move. The Sect Leader of the Celestial Principle Sect is said to have sacrificed a Spiritual Treasure to protect his disciples and ensure their escape."
’The Five Phoenix Sword Sect! With them as an enemy, there’s truly no place left for them in the Central Domain. But why, of all places, did they have to choose Liang Country...’
Blood God True Monarch sucked in a sharp breath and waved a hand, dismissing the curvaceous beauty beside him.
The woman curtsied, then led a retinue of maids away, her movements full of grace.
It was called a Dragon Vehicle, but it was no different from a small palace, complete with a main hall, side parlors, and elegant private chambers.
As one of the most renowned Sword Sects in the world, the Five Phoenix Sword Sect was considered top-tier even in the Central Domain.
Although the Blood Sea Sect was a powerhouse in the Southern Domain, it was a far cry from the Five Phoenix Sword Sect.
This fearsome reputation had been carved out by the Sword Monarchs of the Five Phoenix Sword Sect with their Flying Swords. It was not a legacy they had simply inherited.
What’s more, the last Divinity Transformation Great Power from the Five Phoenix Sword Sect had only been in seclusion for a millennium. Logically, he would have just recently passed the natural lifespan limit for a Divinity Transformation Cultivator.
At such a Realm, what kind of methods they might possess to extend their lives and cheat death was something no ordinary Cultivator could possibly know.
The most incredible story in the history of the Cultivation Realm involved a certain Sect facing invasion and on the brink of annihilation.
In the Ancestor Hall, the void tore open, and a world-ending Sword Light slashed down, purifying everything for thousands of miles.
The Divinity Transformation Ancestor, who should have passed away three thousand years prior, killed several Nascent Soul True Monarchs and over ten thousand Cultivators with a single slash of his sword.
Only after resolving the Sect’s crisis did that Divinity Transformation Great Power’s physical body finally collapse, dissolving into motes of light in the air.
Ever since, any Sect that had recently produced a Divinity Transformation Great Power was considered to hold an absolute trump card.
Even if the Sect weakened, its power no longer matching its reputation, no one would dare move against them so long as there was no confirmation that the Divinity Transformation Great Power had truly perished.
The descendants of the Five Phoenix Sword Sect had lived up to their legacy, producing one Nascent Soul True Monarch after another. The Sect’s Divinity Transformation Ancestor had made his name two thousand years ago, so there was a good chance he was still alive, having extended his lifespan.
Who would dare provoke such a Sect?
’Po Jun Star Monarch? I’ve heard of him. Rumor has it he’s one of the Five Phoenix Sword Sect’s Nascent Soul Sword Monarchs, operating under a different identity... Otherwise, how could there be so many Nascent Soul Level Sword Cultivators in the world, let alone one who has stayed active and evaded capture by multiple Nascent Soul Sects?’
’Having a Tribulation Cultivator persona allows one to do the dirty work that’s inconvenient for their public identity.’
’You can plunder Treasures and secretly eliminate the Five Phoenix Sword Sect’s rivals.’ Blood God True Monarch felt the speculation was quite plausible; it might not be a groundless rumor.
’It seems that while the Five Phoenix Sword Sect let the Celestial Principle Sect leave on the surface, they secretly intended to eradicate them completely.’
"Then what’s the deal with Ge Cang of the Qingfeng Sect? In less than a century, could he really have cultivated from the Mid-Stage Core Formation Realm all the way to Core Formation Perfection, or even Shattering his Core and Transforming into a Nascent Soul?"
Blood God True Monarch had always been confident in his own talent. This was true even though his senior brother was hailed as the hope for the Blood Sea Sect’s resurgence and had been named Saint Heir before the age of one hundred.
The moment he reached Core Formation, he resonated with the Blood Sea Sect’s ultimate treasure, the Abi Heavenly Prison Demon Sword, pulling it from the depths of the Blood Sea.
He reached the Nascent Soul Realm before the age of three hundred, inheriting the title of Blood God Son.
Even so, Blood God True Monarch remained unconvinced in his heart. He harbored the desire to compete with his senior brother, which was why he had chosen to come to Liang Country and start his own venture, to prove his own worth.
Although he nearly ended up dead with no body to show for it, he was fortunate. A protective Sword Light, manifested from the Abi Heavenly Prison Demon Sword at the cost of a century’s nourishment, shielded his Divine Soul, allowing it to escape back to the Sect.
In the end, it was a blessing in disguise. He reconstructed his physical body within the Blood Sea and, through a bizarre twist of fate, stepped onto the Nascent Soul Path.
However, this act also exhausted the Blood Sea Sect’s thousands of years of accumulated resources. The Blood Sea deep within the Sect withered significantly, and its connection to the primordial Blood Sea in the Demon Realm was severed.
For the next several hundred years, the disciples of the Blood Sea Sect could forget about using the Blood Sea to aid their Cultivation.
If the Blood God Son hadn’t spoken up for his junior brother, even after reaching the Nascent Soul Realm, Blood God True Monarch would have been put down by several enraged Supreme Elders and forced into centuries of hard labor to compensate for the Sect’s losses.
The fact that Blood God True Monarch fled the Blood Sea Sect without a backward glance was also partly due to this incident.
"Even if he hasn’t reached the Nascent Soul Realm, he can’t be far..." Fang Tiancheng said. "True Monarch, you’ve seen Ge Cang’s strength for yourself. At just the Mid-Stage Core Formation Realm, he could defeat an expert at Core Formation Perfection from Beiyuan. Now that he’s at Core Formation Perfection himself and has cultivated powerful Divine Techniques, it’s not impossible for him to pose a threat to a Nascent Soul Cultivator."
As secret allies, the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect and the Qingfeng Sect were in much closer contact than other Cultivators realized.
With both sects located in different corners of Mizhou, and after identifying Blood God True Monarch as a major potential enemy, Master Ge Cang paid a secret visit to Fang Tiancheng, and the two reached a private agreement.
As a result, the two Sects often shared intelligence.
"Resisting a Nascent Soul Cultivator is a delusion only you Core Formation Cultivators would entertain," Blood God True Monarch sneered, "Even the most powerful Heavenly Demon Dissolving Secret Technique cannot possibly close the vast chasm between the Core Formation and Nascent Soul Realms."
A mocking smile touched Blood God True Monarch’s lips as he grabbed a goblet filled with some unknown type of blood and drained it in one gulp.
"Only when you truly become a Nascent Soul Cultivator can you appreciate this level of power. A power so great I could crush all of you with a single finger..."
He recalled the day he emerged from Burial Immortal Valley, when a demonic hand descended from the sky and nearly swatted him out of existence. The feeling of utter powerlessness, of having no idea how to even begin to resist, washed over him once more.
Even now, as a Nascent Soul True Monarch, he couldn’t replicate that seemingly effortless yet devastating palm strike.
It appeared to contain no True Essence Magical Power, yet it wielded the might of the heavens and the earth—much like the Celestial and Earthly Transformation Divine Power that only a Late-Stage Nascent Soul Cultivator could practice.
However, if it had truly been a Great Cultivator, he knew he never would have escaped that day, even with the protective Sword Light from the Abi Heavenly Prison Demon Sword.
More likely, it was a Mid-Stage Nascent Soul True Monarch of extraordinary power.
Regardless, Burial Immortal Valley was entangled in too many secrets—it wasn’t something a newly-minted Nascent Soul True Monarch like himself could afford to get mixed up in.
Besides, there was the Ancient Demon in Burial Immortal Valley. Although it was bound by a Forbidden seal and couldn’t leave...
But if a Cultivator were to willingly enter, wouldn’t that just be serving it a free meal?
’One’s running out of time, the other’s injured. They don’t want to expose their weaknesses by attacking Ge Cang, giving others an opening... They both want to be the fisherman who profits while the snipe and the clam fight. In that case, I’ll be the one to stir the pot and force all of you to make a move!’
Blood God True Monarch sneered, then turned and said.
"I’ve just returned to Liang Country and I’m short on men. Your timing is impeccable... As long as the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect serves me loyally, then when I return to Nan Chu in the future, I will grant Qii Mountain to your sect."
"We are willing to follow you, True Monarch, through fire and water."
A look of delight crossed Fang Tiancheng’s face as he bowed deeply from his seat.
...
"Tong Huan said you had an urgent matter to report to me, something concerning the Sect’s very lineage..."
Bai Zichen’s cool gaze swept over the kneeling disciple, making him tremble as if his very soul had frozen over.
"I hope you have not exaggerated and wasted my time."
With the aid of the Body Refining Elixir, he had successfully cultivated the Glazed Fire Divine Body in just six short months.
Simultaneously, he had automatically mastered ’Close as the Palm of Your Hand, Far as the Ends of the Earth’ and the ’Pink Crystal Shattering Jade Technique’ without any need for further study.
Of course, he still needed to practice ’Close as the Palm of Your Hand, Far as the Ends of the Earth’ to raise his proficiency with the movement Divine Technique to the next level.
He had also tried to break through to the fifth layer, but as expected, he couldn’t make an inch of progress.
The final layer, the Five Crystal Glaze Body, was said to grant Earth-Shattering power with every movement, render one immune to all techniques, and make the heavens and earth submit.
Based on the description, its effects were close to the legendary Fatian Xiangdi.
Progress could no longer be made through Visualization and comprehension alone.
Only by obtaining the actual Five Crystal Divine Iron and Glazed Fire Jade and integrating them into his body could he achieve Great Success.
According to the texts, the initial Cultivation for the final layer was surprisingly simple.
The greatest difficulty was finding these two Tier Five Spiritual Materials, which were now all but extinct in the Cultivation Realm.
While he was still contemplating the changes brought about by the Glazed Fire Divine Body, Tong Huan came to report that Tie Changsheng, a Steward from the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall, had repeatedly sought an audience. He claimed to hold a secret concerning the Sect’s lineage.
He paused for a moment before remembering: this was the Inner Sect Disciple he had personally selected.
But for a homegrown Loose Cultivator from Hejian County to claim he possessed a secret about the Qingfeng Sect’s founding lineage... it sounded like utter nonsense.
He wouldn’t have even considered granting an audience if not for the nagging feeling that this man was hiding something.
"This disciple would not dare deceive you, Ancestor. This is a Jade Lock I found in my youth. There’s a Cultivation Technique hidden inside... I can’t understand it at all, so I can’t cultivate it, but it’s definitely not some later fabrication. The signature is that of Master Qingfeng himself."
Tie Changsheng pulled the Jade Lock from his chest, placed it in his palm, and held it up.
’A Jade Lock left by the founding master?’
Bai Zichen reached out a hand, and the Jade Lock flew into his grasp. The craftsmanship was exquisite. The jade was warm, smooth, and translucent, exuding an ancient, desolate aura.
The front of the Jade Lock was carved with a maple leaf. The back bore a line of characters as small as a fly’s head: ’Few words describe the Great Dao; subtle language holds deep meaning.’
’The Tripod Song, a hand-copied secret teaching of Immortal Boyang by True Monarch Shao Yang, meant to supplement the Daoist Classic Cantongqi... It’s the missing part of the Cantongqi!’
Bai Zichen’s Divine Sense swept over the lock, and he was inwardly stunned. It was truly and deeply connected to the Qingfeng Sect’s lineage.
It was the companion Cultivation Technique for the Daoist Classic Cantongqi, the Sect’s Fundamental Great Method. No wonder Tie Changsheng said he couldn’t cultivate it.
Without the Daoist Classic Cantongqi, how could anyone possibly begin to practice the Tripod Song on its own?
As for its authenticity, he could tell at a glance.
This Tripod Song clearly came from the same source as the Daoist Classic Cantongqi; many parts of the two texts corresponded with and illuminated each other.
Without even studying it in detail, Bai Zichen could already feel a breakthrough coming for his Cultivation of the third volume of the Daoist Classic Cantongqi.
Now that he had the right direction, it wouldn’t take him long to master it.
Furthermore, the name True Monarch Shao Yang was something no one outside the Qingfeng Sect could possibly know.
This Teaching Ancestor Master of the Qingfeng Sect had never even set foot on this Cultivation Continent.