Shangyang Horn.
Shangyang was a one-legged divine bird born with the power to command wind and rain. By adulthood, it possessed strength envied by countless cultivators. According to records passed down in the world, Shangyang's single leg could cure all illnesses, heal the dead, and regrow flesh upon bare bones. The Shangyang Horn was that very leg. Yet like many ancient sects that had once left dazzling marks upon the cultivation world, Shangyang had vanished long ago. Thus, even an old man like Old Zhao Nan—who could merely smile without answering when Luo Bei asked, "Old Zhao Nan, you must be more than a hundred years old"—had seen only scant records of this divine beast in a few ancient texts.
Looking at the Shangyang Horn, over a foot tall and entirely jade-green, truly resembling a little calf horn carved from emerald jade, Old Zhao Nan could not help asking Yuan Tianyi, who sat across from him, "Is this the legendary Shangyang Horn, capable of curing all illnesses, healing the dead, and regrowing flesh upon bare bones?"
"Curing all illnesses is as illusory as gods and Buddhas filling the skies." Yuan Tianyi shook his head. "But even a trace of its powder can neutralize all poisons and restore blood and flesh. It can even cure the venomous gu of the Hundred Poisons Sect."
Old Zhao Nan gazed at the Shangyang Horn, shimmering with a jade-green glow, and sighed softly. Looking at this horn, he could not imagine how a Shangyang, born able to command wind and rain, flew through the skies, nor how it stood upon the ground with such a single leg.
As Yuan Tianyi watched Old Zhao Nan stare at the Shangyang Horn and sigh faintly, his all-seeing gaze seemed to perceive Old Zhao Nan's thoughts. "Perhaps a divine beast like Shangyang, born above the dust of the mortal world, was never meant to set foot upon the earth, for the human world could not tolerate it."
"Like Shangyang, could it be that anything transcendent and extraordinary is not tolerated by the human world?" A different light flashed in Old Zhao Nan's formerly clouded eyes. In that instant, he cast aside his usual humility and asked the question he had long wished to ask. "Master, you know so many formidable arts. Why did you choose the Mahākāla Secret Method for Luo Bei?"
Old Zhao Nan looked at Yuan Tianyi, only to see something in Yuan Tianyi's eyes that had not been there before. Yet it lasted only an instant. In the next instant, Yuan Tianyi's gaze returned to its usual calm clarity. He quietly answered Old Zhao Nan, "Because only cultivating the Mahākāla Secret Method bears some resemblance to facing the attacks of the demons who cultivate the Eternal Life Sutra of Delusion."
"The Eternal Life Sutra of Delusion!" Old Zhao Nan jolted violently, the light in his eyes surging. It was as if lightning had lit the entire wooden hut. "Master..."
"Karmic causes and fateful opportunities, past and future—no matter how high one's cultivation, one can only glimpse a leopard through a tube. No one can see clearly." Yuan Tianyi spoke indifferently. "When I brought him to the foot of the mountain, who could have imagined that he would climb up so quickly, or reach the stage of Golden Liquid Condensing Pill so quickly? Old Zhao Nan, you were right. Though his natural aptitude is ordinary, perhaps there is truly something special about him."
"Besides," Yuan Tianyi's tone suddenly became cold and proud as he looked at the Shangyang Horn before him, "in the eyes of the world, my Luofu Sect has strayed from the scriptures and abandoned the Dao. Innate talent is lacking—what is there worth speaking of?"
"Old Zhao Nan." Yuan Tianyi's tone abruptly softened again. "Do you remember what I asked Luo Bei that day? What was it that he sought?"
Old Zhao Nan nodded.
"Though he did not answer, I could see the answer in his eyes. He wished to grasp his own destiny!"
The answer in Luo Bei's heart then had not been anything else. It had been to no longer be swayed by others and to grasp his own destiny?!
"My great tribulation is approaching. I may not survive it. But if he chooses the Eternal Life Sutra of Delusion, perhaps one day, he will truly be able to grasp his own destiny!"
The Eternal Life Sutra of Delusion—what kind of art was that? From Yuan Tianyi's tone, could it be even more profound and powerful than the Empty Life Extinguishing Sea Glazed Art that made the world look up to him?
Or perhaps even Yuan Tianyi could not fully grasp his own destiny?
Yuan Tianyi extended his hand toward Old Zhao Nan. As he did so, a short ruler about two feet long, even greener than the Shangyang Horn, was already in his hand.
With a sudden whoosh, all the flames in the brazier before Old Zhao Nan surged forward with a boom. They seemed drawn to the short ruler, its radiant light flowing and shifting, yet also seemed to be... bowing before it!
It was as though even these lifeless flames sensed that the Li Fire Qi contained within this short ruler was the king of all fire!
"Tiandu Minghe Sword!" Old Zhao Nan cried out.
Its appearance was clearly that of a blunt short ruler, yet Old Zhao Nan called it a sword?
But Yuan Tianyi nodded. "Correct. This is the flying sword Qingcheng's Li Futu forged at the crater of Crescent Island's volcano, gathering Earth Core Li Fire Qi. Tiandu Minghe."
As Old Zhao Nan looked at the "Tiandu Minghe Sword" in Yuan Tianyi's hand, its radiant brilliance still stretching and contracting without cease, an indescribable expression appeared on his face. "How did it come to be in your hands?"
"I obtained it from a man in Luofu who cultivated the Twelve Capital Heavenly Fiend Formation." Yuan Tianyi spoke calmly. "Why would someone cultivating the Twelve Capital Heavenly Fiend Formation suddenly appear in Luofu? And how would he possess a magical treasure of such power?"
The light in Old Zhao Nan's eyes swiftly dimmed. He fell silent, but his back seemed to hunch even further than before. "You have not left Luofu for several decades. It is time you went out and took a look." Yuan Tianyi placed the Tiandu Minghe Sword, which seemed somewhat unyielding even in his hand as it spat out radiance, into Old Zhao Nan's hand. "You also happen to lack a suitable flying sword. I should thank them for sending me this Tiandu Minghe."
In an instant, Tiandu Minghe erupted with dazzling brilliance in Old Zhao Nan's hand. Was it because Old Zhao Nan's cultivation was also deeply hidden, or because Tiandu Minghe itself resented the fate of having lost its master and been tossed about by the waves of life?
Only magical treasures of Tiandu Minghe's rank could possess such pride and soul!
But Tiandu Minghe's radiance suddenly contracted, because another sword had appeared in Yuan Tianyi's hand—a nearly transparent longsword.
This sword was pale, tinged with crimson, like a thin sheet of ice crystal, without the slightest sharp edge.
Yet before this sword, even the unruly Tiandu Minghe seemed unable to suppress its reverence!
A faint smile appeared on Yuan Tianyi's face, as though he had seen through something. "This sword... shall be named Cangyue. If I survive this great tribulation, then so be it. But if I do not, when Luo Bei returns to Luofu one day, help me pass it on to him."
"Master." Old Zhao Nan instinctively bowed, but he could not stop his whole body from trembling.
"Old Zhao Nan, you have followed me for so long. Can you still not see through something as trivial as life and death?" Yuan Tianyi looked at Old Zhao Nan calmly. Upon that unforgettable face, a faint smile surfaced once more. Had bringing Luo Bei to Luofu meant that he had helped Luo Bei, or that Luo Bei had helped Luofu? Or had this long been destined? Yuan Tianyi's clear gaze swept across all of Luofu. After a pause, he said to Old Zhao Nan, "Besides, whoever wishes to offend my Luofu will surely pay a price beyond imagination!"
***
"The cultivation arts of this world can be divided into three kinds. The most common are Golden Core Dao Methods. One uses one's own body as a cauldron, absorbs Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy, and nurtures a Golden Core. Once the Golden Core reaches Great Accomplishment, it can nurture and transform into a Nascent Soul. Once the Nascent Soul reaches Great Accomplishment, one can wield magical treasures. If the body dies but the Nascent Soul remains, one can seize another body and be reborn. If the Nascent Soul is destroyed but the body remains, one can cultivate another Nascent Soul. Those who cultivate the Golden Core Great Dao are generally close to the legendary state of immortality once they form a Nascent Soul. When fighting others, the Nascent Soul is nimble and swift in escape, as though one has gained another life."
"Another kind focuses on cultivating the Primordial Spirit and one's innate nature. It does not cultivate the body, regarding flesh as merely a shell. The Primordial Spirit is fused with Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy and transformed into tangible substance. At the end, the Primordial Spirit manifests, breaks free of the body, and becomes condensed, deathless, and indestructible. At its peak, the Primordial Spirit's own strength and the power of its arts are beyond what an ordinary physical body can compare with. The hundred-zhang Buddhas of great power spoken of in legends were mostly great sages who had reached this realm. Many within the Buddhist sect cultivate this path. The Mahākāla Secret Method I gave you belongs to this category as well."
Night fell, darkness spreading through all of Luofu without a gap. Thin mist rose among the countless mountains. Before a window of the wooden hut, Luo Bei, who did not know why Yuan Tianyi was suddenly telling him so much, asked earnestly, "Master, which kind do you cultivate?"
"The arts of my Luofu belong to the third kind. We gather Heaven and Earth essence to temper the body, forging the flesh. Body, Primordial Spirit, and Dao essence spiritual energy all become one. At the peak is Body Attainment of Sainthood. One's body, hair, and skin may all be used to cast spells, no weaker than formidable magical treasures." Yuan Tianyi looked at Luo Bei and lifted a bowl of clear water from the table before him. "People and magical treasures are both like this bowl. The water they can hold is limited. Therefore, those arts that only know how to invoke heaven and earth's might against enemies without cultivating oneself are all beneath notice."
"I understand, Master." Luo Bei thought for a moment and nodded. "The art we cultivate is meant to make this bowl bigger, right?"
Though Luo Bei's analogy was crude, it was vivid. Yuan Tianyi smiled and gazed out at the starry sky in the night. "No matter how large a bowl is, it is still a bowl. The final realm should be nothingness."
"Nothingness?"
"Unity of Heaven and Man, without distinction between self and other, with Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy at one's command." Yuan Tianyi looked at Luo Bei. "Have you ever wondered why I did not let you cultivate my Empty Life Extinguishing Sea Glazed Art, but instead had you cultivate the Mahākāla Secret Method?"
Luo Bei paused, then raised a guileless smile. "No. Because Master told me that cultivating Luofu Technique meant nine deaths and one life. Since I had already made this choice, I had placed my life, death, and everything else in your hands. Therefore, I could not disobey anything you asked me to do in the slightest, nor could I even harbor doubts in my heart."
"It seems you still remember what you promised when you chose to become a disciple of my Luofu." Yuan Tianyi looked at Luo Bei. "Then I will now cripple all your cultivation. And from today onward, you must forget every art of the Mahākāla Secret Method that you remember!"
Before you continue