Lei Zhan and his master, Immortal Juhua, listened to Yellow-Haired Great Bear speak so casually, and gradually calmed the waves in their hearts.
From their initial shock at first sight to their calm now, both Lei Zhan, who was only at the Purple Mansion level, and Immortal Juhua, a top Loose Immortal who had lived for millions of years, recovered remarkably quickly.
Immortal Juhua had endured countless cycles of the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations during the millions of years since his tribulation had failed. His Dao-heart was naturally extraordinary. Of course, anyone with an ordinary Dao-heart would never have survived millions of years, even with the Water Mansion's help.
As for Lei Zhan, he possessed memories of his past life, and in this life, he had obtained the Black Bead, a treasure that enhanced comprehension and could even help him achieve sudden enlightenment at crucial moments. He knew just how vast this world was, so he was naturally able to adjust quickly.
"Not bad. You have a good Dao-heart." Yellow-Haired Great Bear glanced at Lei Zhan and suddenly smiled.
"Take it," Yellow-Haired Great Bear said. "The hide of this Celestial God-level ferocious beast is a rare treasure even for your master, Immortal Juhua. Once you've received the spear-art legacy contained in it, the hide will stay with me."
"If I gave it to you, you wouldn't be able to use it yet. Once your master provides some materials, he can use this hide to refine at least a top-grade Heaven-Rank magic treasure for you. If he's willing to spend enough, an Immortal-Grade magic treasure isn't out of the question."
"Immortal-Grade?" Immortal Juhua said helplessly.
This bear really did treat them differently.
From the time Immortal Juhua had obtained the cave abode as a weakling up to the present, the spirit of this cave-abode magic treasure had always handled things by the book, without the slightest human warmth.
But with his disciple, he was giving him techniques, secret arts, and treasures...
He himself had only four or five Immortal-Grade magic treasures, and one of them had come from clearing the Seventh Floor of the War God Hall after he became a Loose Immortal.
"Uh..." Lei Zhan looked at the Black Beast Skin, then at Yellow-Haired Great Bear and his master, Immortal Juhua. He blinked, then braced himself against the powerful pressure emanating from the hide and took it in his hands.
Boom~~~
The moment Lei Zhan picked up the Black Beast Skin, an enormous flood of profound information poured out of it.
Lei Zhan felt a sea of information surge into his mind like a tide.
Countless incomprehensible spear techniques and countless unfathomable "true meanings of the Dao" became fragments of memory. They tangled and overlapped, then seemed to carve themselves deep into the depths of his mind.
No one knew how much time passed.
Within his sea of consciousness.
Whoosh, whoosh~~~
Countless fragments of memory took the form of a towering demon-god clad in golden armor. He was broad and powerful, with blood-red hair, and held a black spear in his hand. His eyes brimmed with murderous intent. From the formless killing intent radiating from him alone, Lei Zhan knew this had to be Red Snow Celestial God.
As Lei Zhan watched Red Snow Celestial God within his sea of consciousness, the demon-god holding the black spear suddenly began to move, demonstrating his spear art.
Sometimes he lashed out, sometimes he struck down fiercely, sometimes he thrust straight ahead!
The spear moved like a dragon, like a water deity, filled with boundless mysteries...
"So this is the 'spear'? A spear art that fuses many Great Daos..." Lei Zhan watched, completely immersed in it.
Outside.
At some point, Lei Zhan had already closed his eyes.
An astonishing aura of slaughter, accompanied by profound spear intent, swirled around him. A Cold Shadow suddenly appeared in his hand, and he began to perform the spear art as well.
The Water Mansion's main hall was vast and boundless, with plenty of room for Lei Zhan to perform to his heart's content.
Sometimes he lashed out, sometimes he struck down fiercely, sometimes he thrust straight ahead!
Whatever the towering, red-haired, golden-armored figure in his sea of consciousness did, Lei Zhan followed suit, moving as his heart directed him.
The spear moved like a dragon, sometimes like surging seawater, turbulent and raging, sometimes like blazing flames, burning fiercely and bursting with power.
Countless insights from his past surged into his heart, from his previous life and this one alike.
Lei Zhan had always loved spears and was especially skilled at wielding them. Though he had never had a good technique to guide him, all the little things he had accumulated over time had slowly settled within him.
Now, with a top spear expert from the Three Realms guiding him, the countless insights that had lain dormant for so long surged into his heart. His understanding of the Great Dao of the Spear naturally advanced by leaps and bounds.
"So I've already traveled far enough along the Great Dao of the Spear. All I lacked was a good spear art to guide me."
Lei Zhan suddenly understood.
Immortal Juhua and Yellow-Haired Great Bear stood to one side, silently watching the black-clad young man in the middle of the hall release his wholehearted devotion to the Great Dao of the Spear, following in the footsteps of a mighty expert and pressing ever onward.
"Sudden enlightenment... Just what kind of spear art is this, that merely watching it could put him in a state of sudden enlightenment?" Immortal Juhua's gaze was complicated, filled with hope, satisfaction, and even relief.
"The spear art is naturally top-tier. But spear art alone would hardly make a cultivator behave like Lei Zhan," Yellow-Haired Great Bear said, his gaze distant. "The spear art simply happened to appear at just the right time, serving as a catalyst."
"Mm, that's true. Lei Zhan had been starved of proper guidance in spear arts for far too long," Immortal Juhua said with a sigh. "I've seen the Blue Sea Spear Technique he practiced before. It was only a Heaven-Rank spear art."
"The creator of that spear art hadn't even fully entered the Dao of the Spear. He was only at the Celestial Being in Oneness level. The only thing worth praising was his comprehension of the Dao of the Azure Sea, which was close to reaching the Domain Realm of the Dao."
"Mm." Yellow-Haired Great Bear nodded faintly. He could naturally see that. It was also one of the reasons he had made this decision in the first place.
Of course, in the end, everything still depended on Lei Zhan himself.
All the "causes" had come together to form the final "effect."
If Lei Zhan hadn't possessed such monstrous talent, and later received the legacy of the divine ability Star-Plucking Hand, this magic treasure spirit would never have gone to such lengths for a successor to the Star-Plucking Mansion who, like Immortal Juhua, was ultimately just a passing traveler.
After a long while, everything settled down.
Only then did Lei Zhan slowly open his eyes.
In his sea of consciousness, the towering golden-armored demon-god who had demonstrated the spear art had long since vanished. Countless fragments of memory had been rearranged like pieces of a puzzle, forming a complete spear art: Red Snow.
"This... this spear art... No wonder it was created by someone who comprehended several Great Daos. It's profound! Truly unfathomably profound!" Lei Zhan was filled with shock.
So this was Red Snow Celestial God's spear art?
A spear art created by an expert who had reached the pinnacle of the Celestial God and True Immortal levels. This spear art contained a sea of information, including the Dao comprehended by a cultivator at the Celestial God level!
Though Lei Zhan had only watched it once and followed along, there were many parts he only vaguely understood—or couldn't understand at all. Even so, his comprehension of the Great Dao of the Spear had improved rapidly.
"Haha. What do you think?" Yellow-Haired Great Bear looked at Lei Zhan, taking in his astonished expression. The shock still written across that handsome face made him especially pleased.
"Does this spear art live up to my claim that it was top-tier?"
"Red Snow Celestial God's spear art, Red Snow, is vast and magnificent, encompassing everything..." Lei Zhan began, then suddenly found himself at a loss for words.
"This Red Snow Spear Technique is incredibly profound. Just watching Red Snow Celestial God perform the spear art greatly improved my understanding of the Great Dao of the Spear. It even allowed me to fully comprehend the first form."
"You've already comprehended the first form?" Yellow-Haired Great Bear hesitated for a moment before continuing. "In the spear art you learned, the first three forms are only the beginning. You've only been an initiate in the Great Dao of the Spear for a few years, which means you've just started down the path to becoming a Spear Immortal."
"When you progress from the fourth form to the sixth, it will mean that you've traveled deep along the Great Dao of the Spear. By the sixth form, you'll have reached the Domain of the Great Dao."
"From the seventh form onward, the spear art gradually incorporates Red Snow Celestial God's insights into other Great Daos. Once you comprehend the ninth form, you'll have mastered the Dao of the Spear. You'll also have profound insights into other Great Daos, such as the Great Dao of Snow and the Great Dao of Time. Generally speaking, for a cultivator who hasn't yet undergone the Heavenly Tribulation, reaching this stage would already make him an extremely powerful expert."
"If you keep going, you'll gradually begin attempting to fully comprehend the Great Dao of the Spear. The twelfth form means you've caught up to the level Red Snow Celestial God was at when he created this spear art."
Yellow-Haired Great Bear explained everything in great detail, and Lei Zhan listened intently. He had obtained the complete spear art, but techniques and secret arts always began easy and grew harder as they went.
At Lei Zhan's current level, each move and form that followed was like flowers glimpsed through a fog: hard to see clearly and even harder to understand.
"Mm." Lei Zhan nodded. The Red Snow spear art was vast and profound, and the forms that followed involved many Great Daos. This spear art was a process of learning, as well as a process of mutual guidance that would help him more easily enter the related Great Daos.
Just as the Blue Sea Spear Technique had once helped him comprehend the Dao of the Azure Sea and the Great Dao of the Spear.
"As long as it helps you, then all the effort I put in was worthwhile. Now you won't waste years stumbling at the threshold of the Great Dao," Yellow-Haired Great Bear said with a smile.
"Senior Big Bear, thank you for helping me!" Lei Zhan was touched. He solemnly bowed to Yellow-Haired Great Bear, then turned and bowed toward the depths of the Water Mansion's main hall.
Lei Zhan didn't know where the Star-Plucking Great World lay within this cave abode, but that didn't stop him from feeling grateful to Yellow-Haired Great Bear and Red Snow Celestial God.
A spear art this profound was exceedingly rare in the Three Realms. Besides, even mighty experts wouldn't casually let him learn such a thing.
After all, it was a powerful expert's means of slaughter. If it was passed on at all, it would only be entrusted, with great care, to those close to them.
"Mm." Yellow-Haired Great Bear accepted the bow calmly. Seeing Lei Zhan respectfully bow in the direction from which the Black Beast Skin had flown, he felt even more satisfied.
"Senior Big Bear, Red Snow Celestial God..."
"You don't need to ask about Red Snow," Yellow-Haired Great Bear said, shaking his head slightly. After a pause, he continued, "You're only at the Purple Mansion level. Knowing too much about the secrets of this cave abode won't help you at all; it'll only add to your worries. The master also said that you won't count as his disciple until you become a Celestial God."
"Once you become a Celestial God, everything will naturally be told to you, just as it happened."
"Mm." Lei Zhan nodded.
Red Snow Celestial God was indeed far beyond his reach.
When Ji Ning first met Red Snow Celestial God, it was while he was challenging the Ninth Floor of the War God Hall.
Only then did he first meet Red Snow Celestial God, who served as the floor's guardian.
But Lei Zhan... had met him far too early.
Diary of a Failed Author
Please keep reading! Please keep reading! Please keep reading!
A note about Red Snow Spear Technique: I found the name in the original novel.
"Because he had a head of red hair, some of his closest friends called him 'Red-Haired.' But his name was Red Snow, and the spear art he created was also named Red Snow."
So I left it as it was. I can't think of anything more suitable for now. Anyway, I'm a lazy fish, so I'll lie down first!
First, thank you, brothers, for supporting me all this time. The protagonist is about to venture out! Staying cooped up in the Water Mansion can get depressing. The outside world is much more exciting, too.
And there's the female lead. Walking alone on the Great Dao is fine, but traversing the Three Realms without a beautiful woman by your side is still a bit of a regret. Having no attachments might actually be the greatest weakness when you reach the end of your cultivation.
Of course, I'm just making that up.
The important part of this whole thing is: thank you, brothers, for your support, and then—please keep reading!