Beyond the Old Bones

There is a word cloud:

Three years have passed like flowing water; who remembers the pear blossoms' bloom and fade? Qixia; the golden palace lights flicker; the Qingyang lies in the shade of the steps.

Do not think the path to gold is near; who knows the secrets hidden in my heart? I will travel ten thousand miles to seek the mystery; when the elixir is perfected, that will be the time to break through the heavens.

Time flies like water, and another three years have passed.

In the Qixia Mountain, the pear trees have already shed their new leaves three times. In the Purple Empyrean Golden Palace, Su Yao sits upright in the main seat, dressed in the same Qingyi as before, but his face is more solemn than it was three years ago.

A step to his left, Qingzhu lay curled up on the white jade ground, its Azure Jade- colored fur gleaming warmly under the light of the ever-burning lamp in the hall. Ask Amid the Clouds lay horizontally beside its paws, the cloud patterns on the sword's blade flickering.

"I have already contacted many fellow cultivators from various Mysterious Gate," Qingzhu said, her clear voice tinged with weariness. "Jieshi, Laoshan, Mount Lao, Golden Court, Wisdom Light, as well as the three islands of Penglai under the Biyou Sect, and Lesser Yang Purple Mansion Continent. A hundred years from now, they will all act simultaneously to create the necessary spiritual atmosphere for you Jade Spring this Qixia Nanyue region."

Upon hearing this, Su Yao nodded slightly.

"Thank you for your help, Qingzhu, but..."

"But what?" Qingzhu looked up at him.

Su Yao smiled, his gaze falling upon the vast sea of clouds outside the palace:

"Since my birth, I have only stayed in Qixia, the Nanyue region, Nanzhao, Southern Frontier, Miao Frontier, and Qingzhou. I suppose I should also add Xiaoxiang, since the Mount Ziyi of the Red Emperor's family is considered part of Xiaoxiang." He paused, a hint of something indescribable in his voice. "The Rainbow Clouds Path resides high in the heavens, overlooking the mortal world. Although I have perfected the Five Laws Perfection of cultivation to this day, upon reflection, apart from these few places, I have never truly seen the mountains and rivers of this world."

He stood up, walked to the palace gate, and gazed at the distant layers of clouds and mountains with his hands behind his back.

"Before seeking gold, this disciple wishes to travel and see the magnificent landscapes, thus fulfilling the original intention of the Rainbow Clouds Sect: 'to dwell high in the heavens and look down upon the mortal world.'"

Qingzhu paused for a moment, then nodded:

"Indeed, the path of Rainbow Clouds is close to immortality. You have been focused on cultivation all these years and have had few opportunities to travel around. You must eventually go out and see the world. I will ask around and see if I can trouble some True Lord to secretly protect you."

Su Yao nodded without saying a word.

Seeing this Qingzhu asked again:

"How long will this period of seclusion to comprehend the Qi of Mysterious Clarity be approximately?"

Su Yao pondered for a moment:

"At most ten years or so."

Qingzhu looked relaxed and then said:

"How is your understanding of the Secret Method Xicheng gave you?"

Su Yao replied, "This disciple has read it. As expected of a book written by True Lord, the ' Crimson Dawn Piercing Heaven Rosy Clouds Gold-Seeking Method ' takes the Jade Pure One's Innate One Qi as its root and the ability of Rainbow Clouds to gather and absorb as its function. It simulates the scene of the beginning of heaven and earth and the generation of primordial Qi, and uses this to sense the Fruition Position. This method follows the path of Heavenly Venerable Caiche in his pursuit of gold. This disciple has thoroughly understood all the key points within it and only needs the spiritual energy to be ready before he can begin seeking gold."

Qingzhu nodded and added:

"What you said is largely correct, but you missed a crucial point: this method of seeking gold is a method of following the path, following the path by which the Heavenly Venerable Caiche attained his Fruition Position. To ascend to the position by following the path, the most important thing is the word 'truth'—it's not just about imitating the Heavenly Venerable Caiche's method of seeking gold."

He paused, then continued:

"Furthermore, you must understand His State of Mind and Daoist spirit when He sought the gold. If you only learn the form without comprehending the spirit, the Fruition Position will not be recognized. You need to put yourself in the Heavenly Venerable Caiche was in when he sought the gold, and use His Daoist spirit as a guide, only then can you truly sense the gate to the attainment of the Fruition Position."

Upon hearing this, Su Yao cupped his hands and said:

"This disciple has learned much."

Qingzhu continued, "With your Daoxing, once you've comprehended the Qi of Mysterious Clarity, this method of seeking gold should be no problem. Now, all that's missing is the spiritual essence." After speaking, He sighed softly.

Su Yao asked, "Why did Qingzhu sigh?"

Qingzhu sighed:

"If you had sought the gold earlier, you could have used the spiritual aura of True Lord Zique's ascension to accelerate it. Purple Qi and Zique Rainbow Clouds are close and intimate. If True Lord's Purple Qi from when he attained enlightenment were still present, you would have been able to achieve twice the result with half the effort when comprehending the Qi of Mysterious Clarity. But the timing just didn't match up."

Su Yao fell silent upon hearing this.

He said after a moment:

"After I emerge from seclusion, I will be traveling around, and I will definitely pass through the Purple Mansion Continent. It is one of the origins of the Immortal Dao, and it is also the place of enlightenment of True Lord Zique, Lesser Yang Purple Mansion Wood Duke, and later True Lord, immortals, and Dao Lord who held the Lesser Yang position. Naturally, I will go and pay my respects."

Qingzhu nodded, then asked:

Where else would you like to travel?

Su Yao smiled and said:

"Purple Mansion, Jieshi, Golden Court, Sword Gate, Jade Lake, Northern Plains, and other places."

Qingzhu was puzzled. "Your swordsmanship is quite good, so going to the Sword Gate is indeed a good choice. But why do you still want to go to Jade Lake? A hundred years ago Jade Lake sent an invitation to the Peach of Immortality Gathering, but you didn't go. I remember you used to always beg to go to the Peach of Immortality Gathering when you were young."

Su Yao smiled and said:

"When I was young Daozheng wouldn't let me taste the peaches of immortality, so naturally I longed for them. But after eating the peaches Daozheng left behind, they tasted bland and tasteless." He paused, a hint of indescribable emotion in his eyes. "The spirit of my youth is not the same as the spirit of today. Even if the spirit is still there, it's not the same as when I was young."

Qingzhu didn't say anything more after hearing this.

The next moment, a jade bottle was spat out of His mouth, flying towards Su Yao, and He said:

"This is the Qi of Mysterious Clarity you won when you defeated the descendants of the Red Emperor. Although it is not the most fundamental energy nurtured by the Wood Duke and Golden Mother using Lesser Yang and Lesser Yin, it was still nurtured by the previous immortal who combined the two Lesser Yang and Lesser Yin."

Su Yao took the jade bottle, stood up, took a few steps forward, turned around, bowed, and said:

"Qingzhu, this disciple will now go into seclusion."

Qingzhu nodded. "I look forward to you becoming True Lord on Qixia Mountain, and then transforming Qixia Mountain into a blessed land." He paused, a hint of melancholy in his voice, "Back then, Qixia was glorious, possessing the blessed land of Zhongnan Dao Homeland and the Jade Pillar Grotto-Heaven, so we always held back from promoting Qixia Mountain to a blessed land. But then something suddenly happened, and we dared not use our resources. If you achieve the Golden Core here, it will be a good thing for Qixia —becoming a blessed land, with Qixia Mountain's resources, it's enough for our Dao to produce another Divine Core, or even Earth Immortal."

Su Yao nodded, said no more, bowed again, and headed towards the cave abode in the back mountain.

Qingzhu watched Su Yao's departing figure without saying a word. Only after confirming that Su Yao had entered the cave abode did she sigh:

"Qizhenzi, if you were here, I wouldn't be sure if Su Yao is hiding something from me. Judging from his expression, I have a feeling he's hiding something..."

After saying this, He sighed softly.

Inside the cave abode, Su Yao sat upright on a futon, placing the jade bottle containing Qi of Mysterious Clarity in front of him, and closed his eyes to regulate his breathing.

Though his face remained calm, his heart was in turmoil.

Qingzhu's words just now were all about planning for him and paving the way for him. Connecting with Zhu Household, creating a spiritual atmosphere, hoping that he would become True Lord, and transforming Qixia Mountain into a blessed land... Qingzhu thought of everything she could think of for him and did everything she could for him.

But he had to keep it a secret from Qingzhu.

He won't seek gold at Qixia Mountain.

He wouldn't wait a hundred years to seek gold.

He would not follow the path of the Heavenly Venerable Caiche in the "Crimson Dawn Piercing Heaven Rosy Clouds Gold-Seeking Method" left by the True Lord Xicheng —he wanted to take a new path, a path never before seen.

Achieving the Golden Core, in the end, is nothing more than gaining recognition from the Fruition Position.

There are only two ways to gain recognition from the Fruition Position: one is to follow the precedents of those who have successfully ascended to the position, and learn from and imitate them; the other is to innovate, to have new and mysterious abilities that will attract the attention of the Fruition Position and successfully ascend to the position.

The method for seeking gold given by True Lord Xicheng follows the first path, tracing the old path of Heavenly Venerable Caiche.

This path is safe, but it also means that we will never escape the shadow of those who came before us.

But he chose to take the second path.

Innovation.

To draw attention to Fruition Position through new and mysterious means.

Even Heavenly Venerable cannot subdue Fruition Position. Fruition Position is the order of Heaven and Earth, a manifestation of the Dao. It does not recognize people, only the Dao.

If you follow the path of those who came before you, it will acknowledge you; if you forge a new path, it will also acknowledge you. But if you try to subdue it by force, even the Heavenly Venerable cannot do so.

Su Yao took a deep breath, suppressing the turbulent thoughts in his heart.

He remembered Qingzhu's kindness, but he couldn't reveal Prism's secret.

You can't tell anyone.

March passed in the blink of an eye.

Su Yao slowly opened his eyes, his condition at its peak. Five Laws Perfection, and all his Law Technique, as well as his self-created Secret Method for seeking gold, had been perfected.

The seven talismans brought by Prism have now all been connected.

He focused his mind on the Qi Sea, landing on the Prism.

The originally transparent Prism now emitted seven colors: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple, like seven dark suns hanging deep within the Qi Sea, each endlessly circulating.

A crimson talisman, inscribed with "Consume the Sun and Dine on Rosy Clouds," a talisman of Rainbow Clouds and clouds.

With this talisman on one's person, spiritual energy automatically transforms into pure cultivation upon entering the body, allowing one day of cultivation to surpass the achievements of dozens of days for an ordinary person; moreover, it has the wondrous effect of naturally clarifying the mind and spirit and increasing one's understanding of the Daoxing. Su Yao's ability to cultivate from one Divine Ability Five Laws Perfection is largely due to this talisman.

Orange talisman, "Luminous Sword Heart", Azure Firmament Nether Talisman.

This talisman Crimson Dawn Unstained Night-Illuminating Clear Light Sword intent, forming the foundation of his sword cultivation.

As the Sword Intent condenses further, the talisman glows brighter; as the talisman glows brighter, the Sword Intent condenses even more.

The yellow talisman, inscribed with "Drinking from the Marsh and Bearing the Abyss," is the talisman of the Fu Water.

This talisman greatly expanded the capacity Law Power his Qi Sea and allowed his Law Power to recover much faster than others of the same level, which was the source of his confidence in being able to fight with ease in continuous arduous battles.

A green talisman, inscribed "Raise Wood to Reach the Heavens," a talisman for the Jia Wood.

Once this talisman is completed, the Qi of Jia Wood will be deeply rooted in the Dharma body like the roots of Jianmu, making the Dharma body far stronger than ordinary Purple Mansion. In addition, with the "endless life" ability of Jia Wood, the recovery ability will also increase significantly.

The blue talisman, "Clear the Source and Discern the True," is a talisman of Pure Qi.

This talisman granted him the ability to see through things, allowing him to discern the flaws in his opponents' Divine Ability abilities and the gaps in their mental maneuvers. In the battle of the South Sea, he was able to fight four opponents single-handedly, Clear the Source and Discern the True was indispensable.

The blue talisman, "Gather the Myriad and Return Them to One," is a talisman for Dui Metal.

This talisman has the ability to "gather" and can gather all the scattered spiritual energy and magical Law Power in the body into one, so that every bit of Law Power can be used effectively. When combined with the power of the Rainbow Clouds to gather and control, it has even more miraculous effects.

The purple talisman, "Purple Ultimate Immortal Clarity," is a talisman of Purple Qi. This talisman uses Purple Qi as a guide, imbuing Su Yao's Law Technique and Divine Ability with "immortal intent"—the Rainbow Clouds Path is already close to immortality, and with the blessing of Purple Qi, every Divine Ability is like a wondrous immortal technique, its power multiplied and its uses infinite.

Furthermore, this talisman is a "sublimation" talisman, capable of pushing every Divine Ability to its "ultimate state," where no further advancement is possible. Above the ultimate state lies the Immortal Dao.

Seven talismans, each with its own unique power, reside within the Prism, like seven stars suspended deep within the dantian.

Looking at the seven talismans, Su Yao was filled with emotion.

These seven talismans were not obtained overnight.

The first "Consume the Sun and Dine on Rosy Clouds" and the second "Luminous Sword Heart" are fundamental symbols he had condensed since the time he was Qi Refinement at the Mysterious Pass, accompanying him all the way from Qi Refinement to the Purple Mansion.

The third one, "Drinking from the Marsh and Bearing the Abyss," is a rare species of Fu Water in the secret realm at the Mount Zhongnan. It was refined many times before it became a talisman.

The fourth item, "Raise Wood to Reach the Heavens," was crafted by him in Nanzhao using a phoenix made of Jia Wood.

The fifth, "Clear the Source and Discern the True," the sixth, "Gather the Myriad and Return Them to One," and the seventh, "Purple Ultimate Immortal Clarity," were refined and completed successively during the 150 years between his return from Nanzhao to Qixia and his display of divine power in the South Sea.

For those 150 years, he was nominally in seclusion healing his injuries and consolidating his cultivation, but in reality, he secretly traversed the mountains and rivers of the Nanyue region.

He captured a rare Pure Qi- infused Lapis Lazuli Crow, thereby obtaining the wonders of Pure Qi and condensing it into "Clear the Source and Discern the True".

They also captured a rare Blue Crystal Eagle of the Xin Metal lineage and refined it into the "Gather the Myriad and Return Them to One" technique;

Finally, there was Zilin's dowry: a Purple Yang Magpie, which, guided by the Purple Qi, incorporated "Purple Ultimate Immortal Clarity" into the Prism.

The three talismans quietly coalesced over a period of 150 years, without even Qingzhu noticing.

Then Su Yao focused his mind even deeper into the Prism.

A vast and boundless void unfolded before my eyes. In the center of the void, forty-eight restrictions were laid out layer upon layer, like forty-eight layers of celestial curtains stretching across the chaos. Each restriction flowed endlessly like Cloud Seal Script, and each pattern contained the most fundamental principles of heaven and earth.

His self-created method for seeking gold was derived from comprehending these forty-eight restrictions.

Su Yao slowly brought his mind closer to the first restriction, and felt a vast torrent of information rushing towards him, like billions of stars simultaneously flooding into his Spirit Platform.

Within that restriction, the wondrous mysteries of the Rainbow Clouds Dao were fully revealed in his heart, with all the Dao and principles intertwined and inseparable.

He concentrated and pondered for a moment, then felt a sharp pain in his mind, as if thousands of needles were piercing his Spirit Platform at the same time.

The Prism's position is too high; he still cannot comprehend it for too long.

Su Yao withdrew his consciousness, took out a jade bottle from his sleeve, poured out two pills, and swallowed them.

As the pill entered his stomach, a cool sensation rose from his dantian, gradually soothing the stinging pain. Once everything had returned to its peak, he sat down again.

Before him, the jade bottle containing the Qi of Mysterious Clarity floated silently.

The jade bottle is pure white, with a wisp of dark yellow energy flowing endlessly within it, like the first ray of dawn at the beginning of the world, or like the ray of light bursting forth when Lesser Yin and Lesser Yang merge in the void. This mysterious and Qi of Mysterious Clarity is one of the fundamental principles of the Rainbow Clouds Dao, and it is also the wisp of the harmonious energy of heaven and earth that the Ancestor Yun Zhongzi comprehended when he realized the Rainbow Clouds Dao.

Su Yao took a deep breath and broke the seal on the jade bottle.

A wisp of dark yellow energy emanated from the bottle, slowly spreading around him like morning mist.

He closed his eyes, immersing his mind in that wisp of energy, and began to comprehend it.

The "Crimson Dawn Piercing Heaven Rosy Clouds Gold-Seeking Method" given by True Lord Xicheng follows the path of Heavenly Venerable Caiche and imitates the methods of ascending to the throne of predecessors.

Following in others' footsteps to ascend to the throne is safe, but it also means never being able to escape the shadow of one's predecessors. His self-created method of seeking gold, however, takes the path of "innovation," using new and mysterious techniques to attract attention to the Fruition Position.

Su Yao was going to take the second path. After all, the Rainbow Clouds energy within the Prism felt somewhat different from what he cultivated, and he still needed to comprehend the Qi of Mysterious Clarity.

He closed his eyes and completely immersed his mind in the Qi of Mysterious Clarity.

Inside the cave abode, the flame of the ever-burning lamp flickered slightly, casting Su Yao's shadow extremely long onto the stone wall.

The mountain wind whistled softly through the cracks in the cave abode, like someone whispering in the distance.

Outside the cave abode, the pear trees of Qixia Mountain swayed gently in the morning breeze, their tender leaves rustling softly.

The mountains are lush and green, and the morning light is deepening.

There is a word cloud:

The primordial energy of Xuanhuang comes from heaven, with Lesser Yin and Lesser Yang mutually stimulating each other.

Seven talismans hang from the dark sun on the Prism; the four or eight forbidden gates open in the void.

Qingyuan gathers ten thousand purples in full bloom, planted secretly over a hundred and fifty years.

Do not assume that following the established path to secure your position is safe, for a new mystery will emerge and shatter the primordial order.

Qingzhu, unaware of the true nature of his heart, only believed that his travels were to Penglai.

Only when the elixir is complete and the child breaks free from the cocoon will we know that this child will not follow the old ways.