Multiverse: In Little Garden, Becoming a God Through Once Proven, Forever Proven

As he spoke, the Old Celestial Master drained his bowl too, then looked surprised. "Huh, you're right. Was it left sitting so long that all the alcohol evaporated?"

"Ah, I'm still no good at brewing. Back in the day, the wine my master made was truly something."

The Old Celestial Master sighed as he spoke.

"Yes, Master's wine was pure and fragrant. Every now and then, he'd let us have a small cup, and we'd be warm all over for the rest of the day."

"Back then, we used to steal Master's wine and drink it, and afterward he'd chase us all over the mountain."

Tian Jinzhong laughed as he spoke. He glanced at the wine jar and licked his lips, but before he could say anything-

"Here, Old Master Tian, have a taste. There's no one else here, just the three of us. One little sip won't hurt."

Qin Qi had already poured Tian Jinzhong a bowl as he spoke. The Old Celestial Master chimed in, urging Tian Jinzhong to taste it and see how his handiwork compared to their master's.

"Then... I'll have just one little sip."

Tian Jinzhong looked at the senior brother he had spent his whole life with. Surely his senior brother wouldn't harm him, right? He might as well have a sip.

"Mm, it really is just like water."

"You brewed this wrong. The process was wrong. When I used to sneak peeks at Master brewing it, he'd put..."

Tian Jinzhong began talking about the old days. As he went on, a little breeze blew past, and his head began to feel heavy and muddled.

Before long, he couldn't keep his eyelids from drooping. A little while later, he fell asleep right there in his seat.

"Old Celestial Master, I've had too much to drink too, so I won't stay any longer. I'll take my leave."

Seeing that Tian Jinzhong was asleep, Qin Qi found an excuse to leave. It was best to leave the two brothers alone for the time being.

"All right. Kid, remember to come find me tonight. I'll teach you the last little bit."

The Old Celestial Master nodded as he spoke.

Qin Qi left and closed the door behind him. He wasn't curious about the secrets of the Eight Extraordinary Skills. He only needed to take care of his own affairs.

"Brother, get some good rest. You're too tired. No matter how high a person's cultivation is, there's always a time when they need to rest."

The Old Celestial Master sighed. They said that when the spirit was full, one had no need for sleep. A person's spirit might be brimming with energy, but the weariness in their heart and mind would not disappear.

"Sleep. I'm here. Nothing will happen."

The Old Celestial Master sat there, watching the door, his thoughts returning to the old days. They had stolen their master's wine, and Tian Jinzhong had always been the first to get drunk.

When he got drunk, he slept, while the Old Celestial Master was always the one who couldn't get drunk. Once his fellow disciples were drunk, the Old Celestial Master would watch over them.

He would stay until their master came looking. Now, of all his fellow disciples, only Tian Jinzhong remained, and their master had long since passed on.

"Old Lu, Old Lu, even at a time like this, your Three-One Sect managed to take in a disciple like him. The Three-One Sect truly wasn't fated to die out."

The Old Celestial Master had a feeling that the Three-One Sect would be restored in Qin Qi's hands, and that it would flourish even more than it had before.

[Not long after you came out, Zhang Lingyu emerged from nearby. He looked at your retreating figure, then at the closed door.]

[Recalling the scene just now, he suddenly felt something he couldn't put into words. But he didn't dwell on it. He shook his head and left.]

[In the blink of an eye, half a day passed. That evening, you went to find the Old Celestial Master and began your final lesson.]

Tian Jinzhong was too tired. To keep the secret, he didn't dare sleep or let his guard down, day after day for decades.

When ordinary people like us are unhappy, we can drink, seek entertainment, and use all sorts of ways to vent and numb ourselves.

But Tian Jinzhong couldn't. He was in pain and wanted to relax, but he was afraid he would reveal the secret if he did. He remained torn and in pain all the while.

Just as he had told the Old Celestial Master back then: your lips are loose, mine are sealed. One promise, kept for a lifetime.

More updates to come!

Chapter 55: Old Celestial Master: You Just Came Down the Mountain and You're Already Turning Up the Heat on Me! (Sixth Update)

[After you entered the courtyard, the Old Celestial Master did not immediately begin explaining the cultivation of Threefold Reversal as he had mentioned before.]

[Instead, he activated the Golden Light Mantra and began demonstrating the various ways to use and develop golden light.]

"Kid, let me test how sharp your eyes are."

The Old Celestial Master waved his hand, and countless masses of qi formed from golden light appeared in the air. The next second, they condensed into tiny specks of golden light, each no bigger than a grain of rice.

As the Old Celestial Master spoke, countless rice-grain-sized specks of golden light shot toward Qin Qi.

"Mm."

Qin Qi glanced at them. With his current combat experience and skills, he keenly picked out every speck of golden light.

With a single thought, he could have blocked them, but he chose not to.

"Disperse... disperse for me!"

Qin Qi still remembered the Old Celestial Master saying that Threefold Reversal and the Golden Light Mantra were essentially the same.

If the Golden Light Mantra could form rice-grain attacks like these, then Threefold Reversal could essentially do the same.

After all, the body turned into qi. Controlling the body meant controlling qi, and qi was formless, changing at will.

But when Qin Qi tried it, he couldn't directly turn his body into qi. Without the slightest hesitation, he broke his arm apart.

By now, the flesh, meridians, and blood in his arm had long since turned into qi. Losing a hand or foot was no longer an injury to him.

The part of his body broken apart into qi instantly dispersed. Under Qin Qi's control, it likewise formed tiny white grains of rice.

"Go."

Qin Qi flicked his fingers. The grains instantly flew forward and collided with the Old Celestial Master's golden grains, canceling each other out.

"Good lad! Keep going. We're not stopping until we've had our fill today!"

The Old Celestial Master laughed. With a casual gesture, the golden light around him turned into ropes, as if to bind Qin Qi outright.

"Transform!"

Qin Qi likewise raised a hand. The tiny grains instantly formed a pair of scissors, which snipped through the ropes in a few quick cuts.

"Again, again!"

Watching Qin Qi, who was no longer imitating him but gradually grasping the essence, the Old Celestial Master smiled even more happily. His golden light turned into something like a ball of water and engulfed the scissors.

"Break!"

Qin Qi instantly turned them into countless fine needles that pierced straight through the ball of water.

[Over the time that followed, you and the Old Celestial Master turned golden light and masses of qi into all manner of shapes.]

[Each shape had its own characteristics. Through your continuous sparring, you gradually grasped the essence of giving form to primordial qi.]

[The Old Celestial Master was also shocked by your comprehension. After fighting for an hour, he stopped.]

"Ah, you've learned everything I had to offer."

The Old Celestial Master shook his head, then continued:

"I heard about what happened to the Three-One Sect back then. Over the years, I also learned about the legend of Threefold Reversal from Old Lu."

"You remember I said that Threefold Reversal was a lot like the Golden Light Mantra, right? But there's one major difference."

"The Golden Light Mantra is formless, while Threefold Reversal has form. Yet the essence of Reversal is Innate Primordial Qi."

"That is inherently formless, but when it makes up the human body, it takes on a form. In my estimation, the profound secret of the final stage of Threefold Reversal lies in this word: form."

"Forget the form of your own body and achieve true freedom. That way, you can reach the final stage."

"Of course, that's only my own conjecture. You'll have to explore how it actually works yourself."

The Old Celestial Master had a shrewd eye. He had never studied Threefold Reversal, but relying on his own intuition, he had dimly sensed how the path ahead should be walked.

"Form... so that's how it is, I suppose."

Qin Qi suddenly remembered why Zuo Ruotong had insisted on finding someone to tear apart his Reversal when he entered the third stage.

He hadn't understood before, but now he did. It wasn't about tearing apart Reversal, but using the moment it was torn apart to also tear apart the limitations of his own form.

Becoming truly formless qi-that was the true Threefold Reversal.

"All right, kid, I've taught you everything I can. If there's nothing else, head down the mountain."

The Old Celestial Master waved his hand. He had told Qin Qi everything he could. What remained were merely minor tricks; speaking of them would only waste time.

"Don't be in such a hurry. I've got a few more tricks I'd like you to give me pointers on."

Qin Qi crooked a finger. Magnetic Field Rotation, Generating Thunder from the Void-the moment the golden lightning appeared, the Old Celestial Master's first reaction was not surprise, but laughter.

"Generating Thunder from the Void! Good lad, but you've still got a long way to go. For true Generating Thunder from the Void, you don't need to move a hand. A look, a thought, is enough."

The Old Celestial Master's eyes widened slightly at the sight of the lightning, but he quickly regained his composure and laughed. As he spoke, a thought stirred, and thunder began to rumble across the sky.

At that moment, Rong Shan and Zhang Lingyu, having heard the noise and worried that something had happened to the Old Celestial Master, hurried over to check.

The two lay atop the courtyard wall, watching Qin Qi and the Old Celestial Master spar. Shock immediately appeared on their faces.

"Layman Qin Qi is using... is that the Thunder Method?!"

Zhang Lingyu spoke in utter shock. After all, only the Celestial Master's successors could learn the Thunder Method, yet Qin Qi was using it right now.

"It's neither Yang Five Thunders nor Yin Five Thunders. It should be another sect's Thunder Method."

"Mm, but Layman Qin Qi really is strong. Generating Thunder from the Void-that's a truly impressive technique."

"And he's trading blows with Master. Amazing."

"He even said before that he didn't like fighting and killing. Honestly... sour grapes, involution dog, ptooey. I look down on people like that."

Rong Shan felt as though he might be sour, but he refused to admit it. He just hated involution dogs, that was all. He definitely wasn't sour.

Zhang Lingyu said nothing. He watched the Old Celestial Master smiling as he fought. He had never seen that expression on his master's face before.

Then he looked at Qin Qi, who was responding with ease, calm and composed. He felt that if the person facing his master right now

were himself, he absolutely couldn't do the same. His master probably wouldn't even need to do anything before cold sweat soaked his back in fright.

"What are you two doing climbing the wall in the middle of the night instead of sleeping? Get back to bed."

The Old Celestial Master casually flicked out a speck of golden light, knocking both of them straight off the wall. The level of his fight with Qin Qi was too high.

His two disciples couldn't understand it. Watching would only be asking for trouble, so they might as well go back to bed early.

[Over the time that followed, you learned the various ways to develop and use lightning from the Old Celestial Master, thoroughly mastering the technique of Generating Thunder from the Void.]

[You curiously asked him whether this counted as revealing his sect's secrets. The Old Celestial Master shamelessly said they were only techniques for using it.]

[They weren't cultivation techniques, and besides, I didn't say a single word. You learned it yourself during the fight, so what could I do?]

[In the mountains, one loses track of the passing years. You didn't feel that much time had passed, but when you came to your senses, it was already dawn.]

[The agreed three days had passed, and it was time for you to head down the mountain. You bid the Old Celestial Master farewell and prepared to leave.]

[When you reached the foot of the mountain, you found that the Old Celestial Master and Tian Jinzhong had come to see you off. There were only two of them, but that was enough.]

"Old Celestial Master, Old Master Tian, goodbye. I'll always remember what you two taught me."

"I'll remember this kind bond too. If you ever need anything, come find me anytime. I'll definitely help."

Qin Qi spoke with a kindly smile.

"You brat, you and that old thing, my senior brother, ganged up to fool me and deliberately got me drunk. Now you were even thinking of sneaking away."

"Dream on, kid."

Tian Jinzhong's gaze had become much more relaxed. Just one rest had already let him release much of the gloom in his heart.

He looked at Qin Qi, more or less reluctant to see him go, but he did not try to stop him. Everyone had their own path.

"Ah, honestly, why did you have to join the Three-One Sect? Wouldn't it have been better to become my disciple? What a pity."

The Old Celestial Master sighed.

"Because I'm afraid of dying. The Three-One Sect's Threefold Reversal is great for survival. And everyone knows the Dragon-Tiger Golden Light Mantra is as fragile as glass."

Qin Qi smiled as he spoke.

"Go on, go on, get lost, brat. But when you have time, come back up the mountain for a visit. We can catch up and have tea with us two old fellows."

The Old Celestial Master smiled as he spoke. Though the kid had only been here for three short days, their relationship had grown close in that time.