Chapter 193 — Revealing the True Form

Shen Wanyun and the others had been dealt a heavy blow, and Si Yunxiang was likewise unwilling to concede. Shen Mu, however, felt that it was not that they were too dull, but that Imperial Teacher Jingping was far too clever. A prodigy of the sort that appears once in five hundred years grasps any principle at the moment it is spoken, understands with a single hint, and can even perceive countless truths all by himself with no one to guide him. But other people did not have his heaven-defying comprehension. Even between genius and genius there were enormous gaps. Shen Wanyun and the rest were talents singled out from ten thousand scholars—whether in outstanding aptitude or outstanding insight—yet when measured against a monster seen once in five centuries, an existence whose aptitude and understanding both ranked first under heaven, they fell short by a vast distance. What Imperial Teacher Jingping regarded as utterly normal and simple, they could only quietly chew over step by step. The gap in inborn talent between them and Imperial Teacher Jingping was almost a heaven-wide chasm, an unbridgeable gulf!

"Take the Azure Dragon's Primordial Qi. Do you truly think it is wood-attributed?" Imperial Teacher Jingping continued, patiently leading them on. "Have you ever seen a true Azure Dragon? I have. The Azure Dragon I saw commanded wind and thunder, wielded water and fire—by no means merely wood-attributed. And besides, what is wood attribute anyway? Hug a log and gnaw a couple of bites off it, and that makes it wood-attributed? You cannot simply take the word 'azure' in Azure Dragon and assume its Primordial Qi is wood-attributed. If you think that way, then your head really is a block of elm."

The whole company was struck down yet again, and even Shen Mu felt a twinge of defeat. Even he, with his "illustrious family learning," had from childhood assumed it natural that Azure Dragon Qi was wood-attributed. But now, thinking back, when Master Huo had released Azure Dragon Qi, there had been no shadow of wood attribute at all—only wind and thunder mingled in fury. It seemed his earlier understanding had indeed been skewed; had there been no existence like Imperial Teacher Jingping to set him right, he might well have sunk into a lifelong misapprehension.

"The Five Luminaries Divine Vault actually has many arts one can borrow from. Some were created specifically to excavate the combat power of the Five Luminaries Divine Vault," said Imperial Teacher Jingping. "Its combat power is truly fearsome. Of course, if you cannot cultivate it, there is no harm—it will not prevent you from breaking through your other vaults. It is only that you will be a little weaker in the future. And this small gap will gradually widen: the more divine vaults you cultivate and open, the greater the difference becomes."

In midair he traced two triangles, one with a small angle at its apex, the other with a large angle, and then drew six parallel straight lines inside each. "The seven lines in this figure represent the strength at each realm. The second line is the Five Luminaries realm. If you cultivate the Five Luminaries realm poorly, it is like this—the second line is a little shorter than someone else's, the third line shorter still. By the base of the triangle, you have reached the Divine Bridge realm, and by then you will have fallen a whole stretch behind the other person, your strength differing by nearly half. If your enemy wants to kill you, one or two moves will suffice."

His analogy was stark and staggering. Two people might be nearly equal at the Spirit Embryo realm and in the Five Luminaries, yet after cultivating all the way to the Divine Bridge, the disparity could be so great—few had ever thought of this, preoccupied as they all were with simply raising their own realms.

Si Yunxiang suddenly asked, "Imperial Teacher Jingping, what kind of line is yours? Compared with other Divine Bridge masters, how large is your angle?"

Imperial Teacher Jingping casually traced one straight line in midair and said serenely, "I am this. No matter how powerfully other people cultivate, their angle is still smaller than mine."

He dared to say this because it was founded upon his heaven-defying aptitude and understanding. He had virtually no flaws whatsoever. Other people had seven parallel lines, whereas he had seven lines added together—he was simply meant to be stronger than everyone else.

"You may consult the techniques on the Five Luminaries Divine Vault recorded in the Celestial Records Tower—for instance, Elder Mystic Zither's 'Saturn Star Notes,' Monk Yuankong's 'Five Elements and the Dipper,' Duke Weiguo's 'Five Methods of Jupiter,' and the Supreme General of Heavenly Strategy's 'Five Essentials of Military Records.' Once you have read them, you will be able to lay a firm foundation for the Five Luminaries realm."

The men he named were all first-rank officials of the current court. Elder Mystic Zither was a woman who held the post of Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince; Monk Yuankong held the post of Grand Commandant; Duke Weiguo went without saying; and the Supreme General of Heavenly Strategy was the celebrated master of the Shen family. Whether from aristocratic lineages or established renown, they were all existences at the Divine Bridge realm—masters of the sect-founder level.

Everyone hastened to note down the names of these arts. Shen Wanyun, however, was torn. He had originally planned to advance directly into the Six Harmonies realm during this training expedition, but after hearing these words from Imperial Teacher Jingping, he hardened his heart and continued to suppress his cultivation level, resolving to return to the Grand Academy and only break through the Six Harmonies barrier once his foundation was made firm.

Shen Mu stood blank, then suddenly recalled that some techniques in the Great Nurturing Dark Demon Sutra seemed specifically intended to cultivate the Five Luminaries Divine Vault. The arts in the Great Nurturing Dark Demon Sutra were numerous and varied; many of them appeared unimpressive, hardly top-grade arts, and such arts were often passed on to disciples of the Dark Demon Sect. Nearly all the techniques and divine powers in the Great Nurturing Dark Demon Sutra had been spread abroad—the sect did not hoard what it had—only some were so abstruse and hard to follow that one could easily cultivate them wrongly, and so the sect bore the name of a demonic cult.

Shen Mu had not formerly studied these arts in any depth, but now, prompted by Imperial Teacher Jingping, he suddenly saw the light: the seemingly one-sided and independent techniques of the Great Nurturing Dark Demon Sutra were none other than the very keys to cultivation! These seemingly scattered and unremarkable arts included not only methods of cultivating the Five Luminaries Divine Vault, but very likely also arts for the Six Harmonies realm, the Seven Stars realm, and even the Heavenly Man, Life and Death, and Divine Bridge realms!

Shen Mu had earlier treated these arts as chicken ribs, not integrating them into his Great Unification technique. But now Imperial Teacher Jingping, perhaps in an offhand remark, had pointed him toward a bright road.

"The Dark Body Three Elixirs Art has its practical functions but lacks its deeper method—a considerable deficiency. Combined with the Great Nurturing Dark Demon Sutra, it may form a perfect match."

Shen Mu was fired with enthusiasm and immediately began contemplating the cultivation methods of the Five Luminaries realm. These five methods were: the Saturn Star Lord, Earth Marquis True Art; the Jupiter Star Lord, Wood Marquis True Art; the Mercury Star Lord, Water Marquis True Art; the Mars Star Lord, Fire Marquis True Art; and the Venus Star Lord, Metal Marquis True Art. Before long, he began trying to fuse these five true arts into the Five Luminaries realm technique of the Dark Body Three Elixirs Art.