Defying Fate, Reckless Impetuosity

With a soft plop, a ripe coconut fell onto the pristine white beach.

A tall, slender figure walked slowly across the shore, bent down, and picked up the coconut that had fallen from the palm tree.

He wore a gilded robe fastened at the front with a milky-white jade ring, and his entire body radiated the regal air of one who alone reigned supreme through heaven and earth, across the nine heavens and ten lands.

The one who had casually picked up this coconut on the outermost island of the Kunlun Nine Layered Islands was Huang Wushen, the most powerful man in all the land and the headmaster of Kunlun.

Unlike Yuan Tianyi's realm of Unity of Heaven and Man, when Huang Wushen stood quietly, he gave people the sense of a state beyond god and self—he himself was god, he himself was the world.

Yet now, beneath the setting sun, his eyes remained closed, while his long lashes trembled faintly, as though he were silently "looking" at the coconut in his hand.

"Junior Brother Kuang Wuxin, do you remember how, when we first entered Kunlun, we would come to this beach every evening to pick up coconuts?"

The most powerful man beneath heaven was actually reminiscing about the days when he had first become a Kunlun disciple.

"Of course I remember. I also remember how you made a bet with Wentian that no coconuts would fall all night. Then you secretly climbed the coconut trees that evening and picked every last one. Naturally, not a single coconut fell, and Wentian lost the bet. He sulked over it for days." The man in a pale yellow robe nodded slightly. His bearing was free and elegant, and faint seven-colored radiance shimmered in his eyes.

This pale-yellow-robed man was the very man who, during Yuan Tianyi's great battle with Kunlun, had stood within Kunlun's sixth ring island, set up the Vermilion Bird Mystic Altar, and led forty-nine disciples in refining magic treasures. He was Kuang Wuxin, one of the Ten Golden Immortals of Kunlun.

"Junior Brother Kuang Wuxin, your cultivation has improved again." Hearing Kuang Wuxin's reply, Huang Wushen spoke quietly. "When we laughed and played upon this beach back then, you likely never imagined we would possess such cultivation today."

"We were children then. How could we have thought so far ahead?" Kuang Wuxin smiled.

"Refining the Void Life and Death Rope has already cost you thirty years. I had not wished to consume more of your time or hinder your advancement." Facing Kuang Wuxin, Huang Wushen slowly said, "But Junior Brother, you cultivate the Yin-Yang Life-Death Dao. You should be able to see even more clearly than I can that the tides of fate beneath heaven are changing, and Kunlun shows signs of decline. If we cannot weaken the fortunes of the demonic and monster paths, there will be grave variables."

"Senior Brother, do you want me to enter the world and reverse the fortunes of the monster and demonic paths?" Kuang Wuxin looked at Huang Wushen.

"Qi Lianliancheng has already led men to intercept and kill Ye Zhaonan and the Luofu inheritor. The other disciples were originally under Jin Qingyun's command, but the hidden experts of the monster and demonic paths over these past hundred years have exceeded even my expectations in cultivation. I fear he may not be able to suppress them. Thus, those from the monster and demonic paths who bring calamity upon the world and plot against Kunlun must be eradicated by you, Junior Brother."

"Fine." Kuang Wuxin did not say much. He merely smiled. "I have not left Kunlun for more than fifty years either. I shall enter the world and see what sort of fate those furtive, shameful things have cultivated over all these years."

"Huang Wushen, your Colorless Great Wheel of Determination cultivation is ultimately still somewhat superior to mine."

On the empty silver beach, Kuang Wuxin stood alone, quietly gazing at the coconut in his hand. Three successive streams of seven-colored radiance shot from his eyes and struck the coconut. When the first two beams touched it, ripples of black and white spread across its surface, dissolving both beams into nothingness. Only when the third stream of seven-colored radiance shot from his eyes and struck the coconut did it pop open with a hole.

Kuang Wuxin's Yin-Yang Life-Death Dao against Huang Wushen's Colorless Great Wheel of Determination.

Back when Huang Wushen and Kuang Wuxin, along with their fellow martial brothers, came to this beach, they did not merely pick coconuts, catch sea fish, and sneak a bite. They would also habitually place restrictions upon the coconuts and compare the progress of each other's cultivation. Huang Wushen had clearly recalled those scenes, and just as in those days, had repeated this game with Kuang Wuxin.

After one test, Kuang Wuxin knew that his cultivation was still somewhat inferior to Huang Wushen's.

"Yuan Tianyi is gone, Jiuba has been severely wounded, and even the Nascent Soul he cultivated has been destroyed. It seems that under heaven, no one can match you in a one-on-one fight anymore."

Every living creature and plant upon the Kunlun Ring Island was nourished by exceedingly dense Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy, unlike anything outside. The moment a hole opened in the coconut, a sweet and crisp fragrance drifted out. Yet Kuang Wuxin did not drink down its sweet, nourishing juice in one gulp as he had before. With a crack, after breaking the restriction Huang Wushen had left behind, he crushed the pierced coconut in his hand into powder!

"You did not ask me for the Void Life and Death Rope. Since you did not ask, naturally I would not be foolish enough to offer it myself."

"Huang Wushen, you invited me here, spoke so much of the past, and sought to stir my emotions through the scene before me. Were you afraid I would find an excuse to refuse entering the world and helping you defy fate and alter Kunlun's fortunes?"

After crushing the coconut Huang Wushen had left for him into powder, a trace of cold laughter flashed across Kuang Wuxin's face.

"Huang Wushen, you were wrong. Not only will I help you, I will help you far more thoroughly!"

The eyes of Kuang Wuxin, which faintly shone with seven-colored light, abruptly became hollow, like unfathomable void.

"Listen, all my martial nephews. The headmaster has issued an order: from today onward, anyone found cultivating demonic arts or belonging to the monster kind shall be eradicated without exception!"

"What?! Martial Uncle, eradicate them all without distinction... Some of them have done no evil. Is that not excessively harsh?" Many startled, questioning voices rang out.

Yet those voices sounded directly within Kuang Wuxin's mind.

The Yin-Yang Life-Death Dao cultivated by Kuang Wuxin possessed the divine ability to use the spirit to communicate with yin and yang. Regardless of distance, it could cross the void directly and allow him to communicate through divine thoughts with whomever he wished. Even if someone's physical body had collapsed, so long as their soul had not scattered, Kuang Wuxin could still communicate and converse with them through this art.

Hearing those voices, Kuang Wuxin merely gave a heavy, cold snort.

"What do you know? The fortunes of the world are shifting, and Kunlun has reached an exceedingly perilous point. This is being done to defy fate and alter our fortunes. The headmaster and I made this decision only because we had no other choice. If we do not do this, in less than a hundred years, Kunlun may cease to exist!"

"What?!" The disciples communicating with Kuang Wuxin through divine thoughts seemed shaken by his words. After a moment, countless voices rang out one after another. "This disciple obeys the decree."

"Huang Wushen." Kuang Wuxin withdrew the divine ability of the Yin-Yang Life-Death Dao that communicated through the soul, yet an imperceptible smile surfaced on his face. "With the arts you and I cultivate, and at our realms, both of us can see the changes in the world's fortunes. But you only fear Kunlun losing its standing. You never considered that the more chaotic the age, the more likely someone is to become king amidst the chaos. In grasping the fortunes of the world, I may not necessarily lose to you."

Shushan. The autumn wind swept through the mountain forests, sending sheets of golden leaves dancing through the air.

It was precisely the clear, crisp season of autumn, the finest time for wandering everywhere.

Shushan possessed a thousand peaks, some of which floated in the sky through wondrous Daoist arts, like an immortal realm. In such weather, merely looking upon these mountains would make one feel refreshed and at ease.

But Luo Bei had no mood at all to sightsee.

"How could this be?"

This sentence had been repeating endlessly in Luo Bei's heart.

It had already been a full three months since Luo Bei had broken through the first realm of Blood Refinement Mercury Paste while cultivating the Eternal Life Sutra of Delusion, reaching the state where the qi and blood throughout his body surged like rivers, ceaseless and unending.

Among the seven of them now, Cai Shu, whose cultivation had progressed the fastest, could already see, when focusing inward in meditation, wisps of azure vital energy condensed by the Great Dao Direct Pointing Cui Xu Art gathering into liquid, slowly refining into a glowing azure lotus seed.

This meant she had already cultivated the Great Dao Direct Pointing Cui Xu Art to the second realm.

The Great Dao Direct Pointing Cui Xu Art, an inner alchemy cultivation art, had nine realms in total. The first was drawing qi into the body and condensing qi into liquid. Upon reaching the second realm, when true essence condensed into liquid, it would form an azure lotus seed within the Sea of Consciousness in the mud-pill palace. In the third realm, the azure lotus seed would gather more vital energy and nourishment, becoming an azure lotus flower. In the fourth realm, the azure lotus flower would connect with the blood vessels throughout the body, at which point Dao essence would nourish the physical body. Shushan was now faintly the second greatest Orthodox Xuanmen sect beneath Kunlun. This Great Dao Direct Pointing Cui Xu Art was the foundation of Shushan Flying Sword arts, an excellent secret technique that balanced health preservation with the power of its arts. Upon reaching the fourth realm, one's lifespan would increase greatly, granting several times the life of an ordinary person. In the fifth realm, the lotus would slowly take shape, nurturing life as if it possessed a heartbeat and breath. In the sixth realm, the lotus would transform, gradually becoming an infant in its original form. At that point, one would be only a single step away from cultivating a true Nascent Soul. The seventh realm was the true completion of the Nascent Soul. One could project it from the body and wield magic treasures. Even if one had not cultivated flying sword arts to the level of Natal Sword Essence, one could gather all the true essence in one's body upon the Nascent Soul and command a flying sword, greatly increasing both its speed and power until its might approached that of Natal Sword Essence. Some sects possessed no Natal Sword Essence arts, yet their flying-sword cultivators could still unleash immense power with their swords because of the strength of their own inner alchemy arts. Upon reaching the eighth realm, it was like gaining an extra life. The Nascent Soul would not collapse even after leaving the body, and it could divide into two, allowing one person to accomplish the work of two. As for the ninth realm, it was the final step pursued by all cultivators—the realm of a Tribulation Transcending True Immortal. Since ancient times, even the sages who created all manner of heaven-shaking arts, no one knew whether any had reached such a step.

After three months, each of Cai Shu's punches now carried several hundred catties of force. When vital energy flowed through her hands, dazzling azure radiance bloomed forth. Even hard mountain rock could easily be punched through, leaving a deep hole. With a casual leap, she could also effortlessly spring several zhang away.

Even Xuan Wuqi, who had started cultivation the latest and missed several spiritual pills because of punishment, had already begun gathering his azure vital energy. It was about to become dense enough to turn into liquid, and he was faintly on the verge of breaking through the first realm of condensing qi into liquid.

But after cultivating all this time, Luo Bei had only several hundred wisps of azure vital energy within his body. It was even slightly inferior to the golden vital energy from the Eternal Life Sutra of Delusion, and he did not know how long it would be before he could reach the realm of condensing qi into liquid.

Moreover, Luo Bei had long since secretly asked Cai Shu, Lin Hang, and the others. Cai Shu, Lin Hang, and the others had not secretly cultivated at night either.

Others might deceive him, but he knew Cai Shu and Lin Hang would absolutely never lie to him.

"We are cultivating the same art. How could my progress possibly be so much slower than everyone else's? At this rate, Cai Shu may reach the third realm while I still cannot break through the first. I'm seven or eight times slower!"

Although cultivating the Eternal Life Sutra of Delusion had given Luo Bei enduring strength and a robust body, this heaven-defying, powerful art advanced more slowly than nearly every cultivation art in the world. Even with the powerful assistance of the Great Dao Direct Pointing Cui Xu Art, which had accelerated his progress by more than double, he had still not reached the second realm, where one began refining bone and skin. Furthermore, though Luo Bei's strength had greatly increased, it could not compare to the power of the true essence from the Great Dao Direct Pointing Cui Xu Art cultivated by the others. Thus, impatience inevitably began to rise in Luo Bei's heart.

"Faster!"

When cultivating the Great Dao Direct Pointing Cui Xu Art, after entering meditation, one was originally meant to use only a thread of intent to guide qi. Now that Luo Bei began cultivating again, this impatient thought arose within his mind, and the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy he drew into his body suddenly began flowing through his meridians at a greatly increased speed!

"Good!"

At first, feeling the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy circulate and refine faster, Luo Bei could not help feeling delighted. But in the blink of an eye, he discovered that it was circulating faster and faster, and that thread of his intent could no longer keep up or control it!

The Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy that had broken free of control immediately rampaged through Luo Bei's body like wild horses breaking loose from the reins, like floodwaters bursting through a dike!

The greatest taboo in any cultivation art was reckless impetuosity!

Though the Great Dao Direct Pointing Cui Xu Art was a profound Shushan art, and the vital energy it cultivated naturally nourished and moistened the body, reckless impetuosity during cultivation would still bring grievous harm!

In an instant, streams of spiritual energy gathered into currents and pierced through some of the meridians that, while cultivating the Great Dao Direct Pointing Cui Xu Art, should never have been traversed, could not store spiritual energy, and would even be harmed by its passage.

With a pfft, Luo Bei spat out a mouthful of bloody froth. When he opened his eyes again, he found his chest and abdomen wracked with splitting pain. Even the slightest breath set his throat and lungs burning, clearly showing that his internal organs had suffered no minor injury.

"Reckless impetuosity will not work."

These words were branded deeply into Luo Bei's mind.

Then Luo Bei's injured, somewhat pale face dimmed further, because tomorrow would be the gathering of Shushan's Ge Li, Jingshen, and Tianzhu three branches to inspect the cultivation of their newly admitted disciples.

After Shushan's new disciples were formally granted cultivation arts, their cultivation was examined every three months, while trials were held once every two years.

Only after six consecutive years, when someone failed three trials and more than half of the teachers responsible for instruction believed that person had no future, would they be assigned to Shushan's outer sect and no longer taught cultivation arts. Thus, the three-month examinations did not affect the transmission of scriptures and teachings.

But Luo Bei now knew that only upon reaching the fourth realm, after forming a sword embryo, could one cultivate flying sword arts and command flying swords.

At such a rate of progress, how much time would it take to reach the fourth realm? More importantly, Shushan's custom was that the disciples who placed among the bottom few in every trial would be assigned miscellaneous tasks—sweeping halls, performing hard labor—to temper and spur their will!

Luo Bei's cultivation progress already lagged behind. Now, after recklessly pressing forward, he had also suffered internal injuries. What kind of answer could he possibly hand in tomorrow?

Could Luo Bei, who had drawn the attention of everyone in Shushan with his talent the moment he entered Shushan, instead be made to perform such menial labor? What sort of looks would Luo Bei have to endure?