The End of All Arts, Qi-State Origin-Flow

Looking inward, he saw that the Cave Heaven in his lower dantian stored essence to nurture the root of longevity, his middle dantian nourished qi to build the foundation of transformation, and his upper dantian gestated spirit to cultivate the source of metamorphosis. Essence, qi, and spirit returned to their primordial state, reverting to primordial qi, which then gave rise to all arts and all things.

Primordial qi was born from nothingness, becoming heaven, earth, and all living things.

This was also the highest mystery of Qi-State Origin-Flow: all arts became one qi, and one qi became all arts.

It could reduce every art under heaven to the most original primordial qi, much like magic immunity, before which all divine abilities were mere dung and dirt.

It could also begin with the primordial qi that had dissolved all phenomena of heaven and earth, then develop every spell and transformation to its ultimate extent.

The end of all arts, Qi-State Origin-Flow.

"From a nurtured spiritual root, the origin-flow emerged; through cultivating heart and nature, the Great Dao was born." The title of Journey to the West's first chapter inexplicably flashed through Chen Yao's mind. As he felt the three Cave Heavens fused with his own essence, qi, and spirit, he gained a glimmer of understanding. But he still did not quite understand the second half.

Speaking of Journey to the West, one could hardly avoid the much-discussed question of the Seventy-Two Transformations and Thirty-Six Transformations. As far as Chen Yao understood the subject, the Seventy-Two Transformations and Seventy-Two Earthly Fiend Arts were completely different things, yet they were often lumped together.

The Seventy-Two Transformations mentioned in Journey to the West were "one kind corresponding to the number of the Earthly Fiends, comprising seventy-two transformations in all." Here, "Earthly Fiends" served as a numerical designation: the number of the Earthly Fiends was seventy-two. In the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiend Arts, however, "Earthly Fiend" was a descriptive prefix, not a numerical designation.

Thus, when those terms were used descriptively, the Thirty-Six Heavenly Star Methods were stronger than the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiend Arts, because the Heavenly Stars generally ranked above the Earthly Fiends in that usage. The Comprehensive Mirror of Immortals Through the Ages also seemed to call the former orthodox methods and the latter heterodox, side-path spells.

But when used numerically, neither term had any descriptive function. The key then lay in the numbers themselves-the meanings of seventy-two and thirty-six. Here, seventy-two and thirty-six were figurative numbers, just as nine figuratively represented the pinnacle of numbers.

It was said that nine was the greatest yang number and eight the greatest yin number. Eight times nine made seventy-two, the perfection of yin-yang, and thus transformation became boundless: the Seventy-Two Transformations meant infinite transformations. Thirty-six, however, came from six times six, a yin number, and excelled only in yin transformations, falling short of perfection. Thus, the Seventy-Two Transformations were stronger than the Thirty-Six Transformations, unlike the Thirty-Six Methods, which surpassed the Seventy-Two Arts.

The real evidence lay in the fact that, on at least three occasions, Journey to the West's chapter titles mentioned Sun Wukong possessing infinite transformations.

As for where Sun Wukong's various spells came from, he himself said that once one aperture opened, a hundred opened: once his cultivation reached the right level, he could pluck them at will. Quite possibly, he could learn something upon seeing it and master it upon thinking of it. Three heads and six arms, embodying heaven and earth, and turning weapons into hundreds of millions that rained down all seemed to be things he learned on the spot or devised because he wanted them. Perhaps that was the mystery of the Seventy-Two Transformations: infinite transformations, mastery of all arts, and skill at evading calamities.

As for Qi-State Origin-Flow, setting aside Daoist Zhang Zhishun's writings, in the comic it had been comprehended in the Twenty-Four Solar Terms Valley, a place bearing the traces of immortals. More than once, those who comprehended the Eight Extraordinary Skills said they had not created them, even stating outright that they were unworthy of creating them. Only one thing was known: what they comprehended had some connection to their own learning and desires, and ahead of them on the path stood predecessors who had truly created these arts. Qi-State Origin-Flow might have been based on the Five Thunder Method, then developed in the direction of one's desires to select a suitable cultivation method.

Many classic principles and Daoist methods along the path of cultivation could be found reflected or paid homage to in Journey to the West. Chen Yao felt that he could also begin with Journey to the West to uncover Qi-State Origin-Flow's original source or essence. The Five Thunder Method, for instance, had hints in figures such as the Metal Lord, Wood Mother, and Yellow Matron.

He believed Qi-State Origin-Flow might have developed from the mystery of mastering all arts implied within the Seventy-Two Transformations. The Seventy-Two Transformations were themselves a metaphor for this sort of infinite change, just as interpretations of Qian's three-line trigram had come first, followed by the allegories of the Protector of the Horses and the West Sea Dragon King's third prince becoming the White Dragon Horse.

First came various cultivation principles and conclusions, then Journey to the West, a popular vernacular tale adapted from folk stories and imbued with allegory. Finally, its accessible stories could, in turn, inspire cultivators everywhere.

In that case, should Qi-State Origin-Flow's future advancement head toward the infinite transformations of the Seventy-Two Transformations? Could I begin with Qi-State Origin-Flow's infinite spell transformations and eventually master infinite physical transformations? The true Seventy-Two Transformations? Not merely disguises or a few combat divine abilities, but becoming genuine immortal birds and divine beasts indistinguishable from the real thing? Chen Yao could not help sinking into thought.

While his thoughts wandered, the repair and regeneration of his new body gradually drew to a close.

Aman and Shi Hao, who had been anxiously watching him transcend the extreme realm, immediately breathed sighs of relief. Earlier, seeing his essence, qi, and spirit run wild, all manner of strange spells erupt from within him, and his body finally collapse completely had nearly scared them to death.

Fortunately, he had endured, thoroughly making Qi-State Origin-Flow-which had not originally belonged to him-his own through cultivation, and taking it a step further.

Chen Yao suddenly raised his hand, imagining the earlier scene when his true qi had run wild, the five qi had surged, and the Five Thunders had raged. The primordial qi within him moved at his will, giving rise to the qi of the Five Elements. Metal and fire formed the Crimson Palace, water and wood formed the Water Viscera, and central earth blended the pivotal workings of yin-yang. Lightning flashed.

Five Thunder Orthodox Method!

Boom! A blazing streak of lightning shot straight into the sky. Drawn by its energy, clouds actually gathered, with more lightning flickering within them.

Chen Yao beckoned again. Streaks of lightning descended, forming thunder spears that struck toward a distant mountain peak with a sweep of his hand.

Boom! A hollow blasted open right at the summit, and streams of lava flowed down.

It was clearly inferior to the Thunder Emperor Technique's secret lightning-summoning art, but it had fully manifested the mystery of the Five Thunder Orthodox Method with which Zhang Qingjing changed the weather in the comic.

Rain pattered down from the sky as well, its color somewhat dark, but its reach was restricted, and it fell into the pond.

Aman and Shi Hao instinctively felt that this rain was anything but ordinary. Sure enough, the Golden-Scaled Fish in the pond turned belly-up one after another.

The blazing lightning from before had clearly been the Five Thunder Method's Crimson Palace Yang Thunder, while the rain was Water Viscera Yin Thunder.

It wore away the soul and corroded the bones, draining vitality and leaving the entire body powerless. Without powerful yang qi such as Crimson Palace Thunder to protect the body, one would be numbed and weakened outright.

Waving away the clouds, Chen Yao imagined the Samadhi True Fire that the Three Powers had ignited earlier.

The primordial qi, united with the Cave Heavens of essence, qi, and spirit, made the dangerous ignition process so effortless that it betrayed not the slightest trace of turmoil. A pale blue flame flickered between Chen Yao's fingers.

Samadhi True Fire could burn away every soul under heaven.

It could burn inner demons, spirits, souls, and the three corpses.

In Eighty-One Miles, the Sorcerer King Shuijing's spirit, the Eight Deceptive Gods' Teng Snake, had been powerful enough to destroy a city, yet Zhuge Liang had set him ablaze with a burst of Samadhi True Fire, almost completely destroying his cultivation. The spirits Shuijing relied upon for his livelihood as a sorcerer had also been nearly burned away, and he himself had almost perished on the spot.

He wondered what level Perfect World's version of Samadhi True Fire could reach.

Should I go light a fire in the Void God Realm? See whether it has the same effect as the Soul-Annihilating Needle?

Some outrageous ideas sprang into Chen Yao's mind.

Shaking his head, Chen Yao continued stirring up trouble, wildly unleashing the various precious techniques he had acquired.

As expected, with Qi-State Origin-Flow's enhancement, every precious technique naturally developed to an extremely profound level. It truly turned decay into wonder: both their power and transformations underwent a fundamental improvement, and almost all surpassed their original versions.

It really has become a junior version of the Fighting Character Secret plus the Myriad Transformations Sacred Art, with some low-end magic immunity thrown in.

Bonk! Holding an elongated Blood Spear, Aman knocked Chen Yao on the head while he was happily blasting away.

"Stop playing around! You've smashed up the village entrance!" Under the rampage of Chen Yao, who had become carried away with himself, the surrounding terrain looked as though an ancient Fierce Beast had trampled through it.

"Ahem, ahem! It was an accident, an accident."

After accepting the congratulations and concern of the Stone Village residents who had watched his breakthrough, Chen Yao used Qi-State Origin-Flow to manifest the Earth River Cart and level the ground, then began sharing his experiences with Aman and Shi Hao.

Shi Hao and Aman had both already considered their future paths, so there was no need to worry about influencing their thinking. They urgently needed to draw connections and learn by analogy.

Someone who had successfully transcended the extreme realm was undoubtedly an excellent person to exchange insights with.

If they encountered dangers similar to those of his breakthrough in the future, Chen Yao's experience might guide them to success.

As their exchanges continued month after month, the Willow Deity finally completed a full year of slumber and awakened once more.