After the artisans' repairs, the Eight Directions Illumination Tower looked brand-new.
At the Star-Watching Observatory on the top floor, Lu Wuzhen wore a Black-and-White Daoist Robe and held a white orb of light in one hand. It was like holding the bright moon in his palm, lending him something of a deity's majesty.
"The Five Directions' Divine Gifts are exceedingly hard to come by. There are countless cultivators under heaven, but only fifteen obtain them in each sixty-year cycle. Spiritual energy is scarce in the world today; we can only nourish our root bones with the power of divine gifts. To enter the sixth realm, you need at least two or three. To Found a Sect and Become a Patriarch, Five Qi Returning to the Origin is the bare minimum. Now that the Imperial Court has bestowed this upon you, honestly, even I am filled with envy."
Xie Jinhuan wore a white robe, his features no longer bearing any of the roguishness of the "Danyang Little Silver Dragon." He merely replied with a smile:
"I see you've already obtained three opportunities, Senior Lu. With this one as well, wouldn't you be only a step away from establishing a teaching and becoming its patriarch?"
Lu Wuzhen shook his head. "It isn't that simple. Even within the sixth realm, there are differences in strength. The weakest are miscellaneous-school cultivators, who cobbled together one or two opportunities. Their cultivation is high, but it hardly forms a coherent system. In the middle are Monk Wuxin and me. Through the legacies of Purple Sun True Person and Bodhisattva Yunian, we obtained pure yang or pure yin.
"The strongest have achieved Five Qi Returning to the Origin, uniting yin and yang into one, leaving no opening to exploit. But even that only perfects the body. Breaking