The Six Strategy Plate

Over the next few days, Xu Yan led a fulfilling life.

He cultivated in his cave abode during the morning, then went to the summit of Talent Peak after noon to study the translated Edict Script and seek advice from Senior Brother Wang Heng. Though Wang Heng's Dao attainment was somewhat lower, he had some insights into the study of Edict Script.

During the rest of his time, Xu Yan visited various places and socialized with his fellow senior brothers and sisters, gaining some exposure to the knowledge of esoteric arts and unorthodox paths.

On this day, he also took a Dragon Breath Pill and broke through his bottleneck.

His cultivation and Dao attainment naturally reached the sixth level, like water flowing into a newly formed channel.

This pulse opening gate was called the "earth threshold pass." It lay in the latter half of the spirit meridian, at the lower back of the Dao body.

With this pass thrown open, his Dao body became fully interconnected, and his blood, vital energy, and mystic qi surged. His spiritual sense had yet to improve.

The three middle passes of the spirit meridian did little to improve spiritual sense. That chiefly depended on the final three passes.

Xu Yan slowly rose from his meditation cushion, his black Eight Trigrams robe billowing. His primordial mystic qi was a deep, fathomless black, flowing around his body like surging rivers.

The spirit meridian of his Dao body had already become like fine jade, seemingly untouched by even a speck of dust.

Only the final three passes remained: the heavenly threshold pass, the jade pillow pass, and the baihui pass.

The heavenly threshold pass lay in the center of the back, where the eight extraordinary meridians converged from all directions. Once it was broken through, the meridians throughout the body would flow as freely as a hundred rivers pouring into the sea.

The final jade pillow pass lay in the spirit meridian at the back of the head, while the baihui pass was at the Niwan Palace in the forehead. Both were major passes governing spiritual sense.

Only when all nine passes of the spirit meridian were broken through would the complete transformation occur, shedding the mortal flesh.

I wonder what grade my meridian configuration is. Has it reached the upper grade...?

Xu Yan examined his Dao body, lost in thought.

The vast majority of Daoists had meridian configurations in one of three grades: upper, middle, or lower. More gifted disciples might attain an upper-upper-grade configuration, but those with flawless spirit meridians could be counted on one hand across the Dragon Ridge Hundred Academies over the past century.

Countless thoughts turned in Xu Yan's mind as he looked back at the Tianshu Bottle inside his cave abode.

The Taiyi Alchemy Book does contain a method for refining Heaven Mending Pills, but most of the medicinal ingredients have been lost to the ages. I wonder whether lower-tier spirit materials could serve as substitutes.

Xu Yan pondered this.

He had also looked through the Taiyi Alchemy Book, which recorded the refining methods for many pills of the Primordial Era. However, most of the necessary ingredients had either been lost to the ages or could not be found in Cang Province, making matters rather difficult.

With the Tianshu Bottle in hand, Xu Yan could refine flawless Embryonic Pills. The bottle already took care of this most difficult step.

Xu Yan only needed to add the other auxiliary ingredients and use a furnace's fire to complete the process, and he could produce perfection-grade pills.

One step at a time. There's no rush.

Xu Yan was not impatient.

Even if he could not refine Heaven Mending Pills, there were other pills that could improve the grade of his spirit meridian. Those pills were outrageously expensive, far less effective than Heaven Mending Pills, and extremely difficult to refine. Only perfection-grade ones could exert any meaningful mystical effect.

However, for Xu Yan, who possessed the Heavenly Pivot Treasure Vase, this was hardly difficult.

At noon, Xu Yan was inside his cave abode, reading the Thousand Strands Dao Script.

The book was written in Primordial Edict Script, but translations were annotated throughout. Wang Heng had prepared it when he first began learning Edict Script and had now lent it to Xu Yan to study.

While he was engrossed in reading, a mountain-knocking summons sounded outside.

"Junior Brother, are you in your abode?"

It was Wang Heng's voice. Xu Yan immediately stepped outside.

"Greetings, Senior Brother."

Wang Heng's face was ruddy as he hovered in the air and said, "Junior Brother, come with me quickly to pay your respects to the Seal Keeper!"

Three days had passed, and Seal Keeper Gongsun had finally returned.

Hearing this, Xu Yan dared not delay. He immediately stepped onto his mystic qi and followed close behind Wang Heng.

The two headed toward the summit.

Clouds and mist wreathed Talent Peak, making it seem like a treasured sanctuary hidden among immortal mountains. Ancient halls and pavilions appeared and disappeared within the haze.

Not far away, Xu Yan spotted several senior brothers and sisters standing at the main entrance to the hall.

They were Senior Sister Huang Caiying, who studied formations, Senior Brother Xu Yao, who practiced alchemy, and Senior Brother Liu Yu, who crafted artifacts.

As soon as Xu Yan landed, the three came over to greet him.

"Junior Brother Xu, the Seal Keeper is waiting for you in the main hall. Hurry in and pay your respects," Huang Caiying said with a smile.

"We'll wait for you outside," Liu Yu added.

"All right!"

These senior brothers and sisters seemed to have something more to say, rather than merely gathering here for idle conversation. Xu Yan did not ask and walked straight into the hall.

The doors stood open. Inside the main hall stood a Daoist, examining a Daoist book and a formation plate in his hands.

The Daoist looked no more than thirty or forty, with crane-white hair and a youthful face, his bearing elegant and handsome. Though his hair was entirely white, there was not a trace of doddering age in his features.

Xu Yan's expression grew solemn. He approached with measured steps, stopped at the doorway, and bowed with his hands clasped.

"Disciple Xu Yan pays his respects to Master Seal Keeper."

"Come in. There's no need for ceremony."

Gongsun Yan's voice was brisk. He set down the Daoist book and formation plate, then looked at Xu Yan with a smile, his hands behind his back.

Light seemed to flow within his spirit eyes as he saw through Xu Yan's root bone at a glance. Xu Yan noticed this from the corner of his eye and knew he was using a meridian-inspection technique.

Gongsun Yan raised an eyebrow and rubbed his chin in puzzlement.

"Xu Yan, I heard that you once received guidance from the Dharma King?"

"Yes," Xu Yan immediately replied. "At Dragon Whisker Ravine, the Dharma King bestowed upon me the pulse opening cultivation method, the Eight-Nine Profound Art. It was through this Daoist art that I achieved what I have today."

Xu Yan concealed nothing.

He would be cultivating in the Talent Academy in the future. If he hid even something like this from his master, how could the latter feel at ease and be willing to teach him?

"The Eight-Nine Profound Art..." Gongsun Yan seemed to ponder something, then drew a deep breath and looked at Xu Yan. "With your talent and root bone, you should be cultivating in the Upper Three Academies. Why did you come to my Talent Academy?"

Xu Yan paused before saying, "While I was in the Dragon Ridge Immortal Treasury, I encountered the Mystic Gate Sky Boat and held a Great Teleportation Token. Both of these divine artifacts particularly interested me, as did the study of Primordial Edict Script. I heard that you, Seal Keeper... were a descendant of that aristocratic clan from the recent ancient era, and so I came to yearn for the Talent Academy."

Neither hurried nor hesitant, Xu Yan clearly explained his reasons for coming to the Talent Academy.

Gongsun Yan watched him with his hands behind his back, silent for a time. Several breaths later, a smile spread across his face, and he said earnestly, "Rest assured. Since you have joined my Talent Academy, I, Gongsun Yan, will never allow your talent and root bone to be buried here."

"Xu Yan thanks you, Seal Keeper."

Hearing this, Xu Yan immediately clasped his hands and bowed.

According to the rules of the Hundred Academies, he should have bowed and served tea. However, Gongsun Yan disliked such formalities and cared nothing for them, so he simply dispensed with them.

He picked up the formation plate beside him.

It did not resemble an ordinary formation plate, but was instead a Mystic Gate plate with only six gates. The words "civil," "martial," "dragon," "tiger," "leopard," and "dog" were engraved upon it in Primordial Edict Script. It looked exceedingly ancient and seemed capable of penetrating the mind. Stare at it too long, and one's mind seemed about to be swallowed within.

"This is the Six Strategy Plate, your gift upon meeting your master."

Gongsun Yan handed the Six Strategy Plate to Xu Yan, then casually took a sip of tea. "This plate can survey feng shui and the contours of mountains. Like an ordinary formation plate, it can also have formations inscribed into it with spiritual sense. Each of the six strategies has its uses. Take your time studying them."

Aside from laying out formation flags, the simplest way to deploy a formation was with a formation plate. One inscribed the formation into the plate beforehand using spiritual sense, then activated it with one's own mystic qi or spirit treasures such as spirit stones.

"Thank you, Seal Keeper," Xu Yan said respectfully.

"I heard from Wang Heng that you wish to study Edict Script?" Gongsun Yan asked casually.

"Yes. I'm very interested in Edict Script. Back when I was still a rogue cultivator, I was troubled by being unable to read a Daoist book from the Primordial Era because it was written in Edict Script," Xu Yan said.

Xu Yan was referring to the Plum Blossom Qimen, which a wandering Daoist had given him back in Green Ox Town.

That book of Mystic Gate arts was written in Edict Script.

Gongsun Yan nodded and said without hesitation, "Come to the side hall's study three quarter-hours after noon each day. I will teach you Edict Script myself."

"This disciple will obey," Xu Yan said with a nod.