Chapter 475 - 457: News of True Monarch Ge

Chapter 475: Chapter 457: News of True Monarch Ge

Two Realms Mountain, Yin Yang Cliff.

This was one of the most unique places in the Five Elements Sect, though it was unlike the Five Peaks, each of which possessed a Tier Four Spirit Land.

One side faced the sun, eternally spring-like, with lush vegetation.

The other side faced the shade, bitterly cold and harsh, without a single plant in sight.

The Spiritual Qi concentration also changed with the time of day. The sunny side could reach Tier Three Top-Grade at Noon, but by midnight, it would drop to only Tier Three Low Grade.

The shady side was the exact opposite, becoming a Tier Three Top-Grade spiritual land at midnight and falling back to Tier Three Low Grade at high noon.

Years ago, when the Five Elements Ancestor Master fled back to the Mountain Gate, he spent his final years here before passing away.

According to legend, he laughed three times before his death, declaring, "The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox is nothing special," and then passed away peacefully.

Today, Master Houtu held a banquet, inviting Bai Zichen to take the seat of honor, with himself, Master Qingmu, and Master Hei Shui accompanying him.

"Please, True Monarch, have a taste. The process for this Two Elements Mist Peak Wine is complex. Before brewing, the Spirit Rice must first be buried in each of the Five Peaks for ten years. It is then fermented for several more years on both the sunny and shady sides of Yin Yang Cliff, creating this stimulating contrast of hot and cold. Once it enters your mouth, it encompasses the Five Elements, leaving an endlessly satisfying aftertaste."

Before them was a table laden with fine wine, delicacies, and Juicy Spirit Fruits.

Master Houtu was the first to raise his cup. He drained it in one go and made a savoring gesture.

"Excellent wine! A single sip leaves an aftertaste that lingers for ages. If not for True Monarch Bai’s visit, Brother Houtu would never have been willing to take this out for us," Master Qingmu said after finishing his cup. He reached for the wine pot on the table, but a large, earth-yellow hand beat him to it, snatching it away.

"Don’t be greedy. With your level of Cultivation, you can only handle one cup. Any more and you’ll get drunk."

"It is indeed excellent," Bai Zichen commented. "The stimulation on the palate is perfected to the extreme. It’s truly rare to find ingredients that a Nascent Soul Cultivator would find this delicious."

Bai Zichen noticed that the Two Elements Mist Peak Wine could rapidly restore one’s True Essence. However, considering the difficulty of its Refining and the laborious process involved, this effect was negligible.

The process involved numerous steps, and the brewing time had to be adjusted based on the wind direction, temperature, and rainfall of that year.

Only a true connoisseur of wine would pour so much effort into brewing it.

"True Monarch, you are a grandmaster of the Sword Dao. Few Sword Cultivators in the world can compare. I wonder if any of the disciples below have Swordsmanship worthy of a look?"

Master Houtu had arranged for two teams of disciples to perform with their swords below. All of them were at the Late-Stage Foundation Establishment or higher, clearly the Five Elements Sect’s hopes for reaching Core Formation.

"Their Sword Path is grand and imposing."

Bai Zichen lowered his head and took another sip of the Two Elements Mist Peak Wine to hide his expression, lest it affect the relationship between their two Sects.

’Among these two teams, there are hardly any true Sword Cultivators, let alone ones with any prospects in the Sword Dao.’

’Most of them have just learned a few Sword Techniques and are simply waving their Flying Swords around. Their Swordsmanship has no system to it whatsoever.’

He could only offer a different phrasing; at least on the surface, their performance was impressive and majestic.

"Our disciples’ skills are unrefined. We’ve made a fool of ourselves in front of you, True Monarch."

The Five Elements Sect’s strength wasn’t the Sword Dao anyway, so Master Houtu wasn’t too embarrassed by their poor swordsmanship demonstration.

"I once learned a sword technique. I’d like to show it off for you, True Monarch, and perhaps you could offer some pointers."

"The Five Elements Sect has a long and profound heritage. I would be delighted to see your Swordsmanship, Fellow Daoist."

Bai Zichen’s interest was piqued, and he watched Master Houtu’s movements intently.

Master Houtu beamed, the wrinkles on his face deep enough to trap a mosquito.

He swept his hand across the table, and a low cracking sound rang out, like the sound of Sword Qi tearing through silk.

Master Houtu lifted the empty cup that had held the Two Elements Mist Peak Wine. It seemed to be barely held together, clinking and clattering.

The Jade Wine Cup was covered in a spiderweb of cracks, turning it into a mosaic of fragments.

But when he lifted the cup, the pieces remained connected, not completely broken apart.

"Excellent! A fine technique!"

Bai Zichen clapped his hands in applause. Of course, he wasn’t praising the Swordsmanship, but rather the exquisite Divine Technique that resembled Sword Qi.

’As a Sword Technique, it’s not very good. Any random set of Swordsmanship from the True Enlightenment Sword Technique would surpass it.’

"Let me perform a technique for you as well, True Monarch!"

Master Hei Shui lightly tapped with his little finger. A thin line of watery light flashed past, and the skin and flesh of all the Spirit Fruits in a bowl on the table separated.

From the outside, however, they looked completely undamaged, remaining in place as if untouched.

"Now, look at mine!"

Master Qingmu tapped the table hard with his middle finger. A green radiance flashed, and several wooden bowls and plates fell to the ground.

They plunged into the earth, took root, and sprouted new green shoots.

In the blink of an eye, they had grown into a thriving Spirit Wood.

"Your three techniques are all extraordinary, but they don’t seem to have much to do with the Sword Dao. They are more like advanced applications of the Power of the Five Elements."

Bai Zichen pondered for a moment, unsure of their true intentions.

"Our descendants are unworthy and can no longer reproduce the might of this Divine Technique... Back when our Ancestor wielded it, the Five Elements Divine Sword could be split into five swords or combined into one. With few exceptions, there was no Treasure in the Cultivation Realm it could not suppress, felling them with a single strike."

Master Houtu sighed. A Great Divine Technique that had once shaken the Southern Domain had been reduced to a common Magic in the hands of later disciples. The vast difference could only make one lament the ruthlessness of time and the impermanence of the world.

"True Monarch, you hold no sectarian prejudices. You gifted us Auxiliary Cultivation Techniques for both the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stages—techniques so important they could be the highest legacy of a Nascent Soul Major Sect. Their value is even greater than those High-Tier Cultivation Techniques that lead directly to the Nascent Soul realm. After discussion amongst ourselves, we wish to offer you the Great Five Elements Annihilation Divine Light for you to cultivate."

"In our Ancestor’s hands, the Great Five Elements Annihilation Divine Light transformed into the Five Elements Divine Sword. It suppressed all things of the Five Elements and was as sharp as a Flying Sword; truly, it could be said that nothing was beyond its power to cut. As you have seen, True Monarch, in our hands, this Tier Five Spiritual Treasure is like a pearl cast before swine. Not a single one of us can cultivate the Divine Technique completely. We have to split it into five parts."

"If the Five Peaks Peak Masters gather, the five of us working together have a chance to reproduce the glory of the Great Five Elements Annihilation Divine Light... We believe that in your hands, True Monarch, it will find its best home."

At this moment, Master Hei Shui took out a Flying Sword that was like an Ice Crystal, accompanied by snowflakes as it was unsheathed. He said, "This is a Tier Three Snow Forged. Our Sect has no geniuses in the Sword Dao and we don’t pay enough attention to Flying Swords. This is already the best Flying Sword in the Sect. I know the Flying Sword Tier you use is higher, True Monarch, but it’s always good to have a spare."

Each person cultivated a part of the Divine Technique, first deconstructing it and then attempting to reassemble it.

Bai Zichen found this approach rather amusing and stepped forward to ask a couple more questions.

For the current Bai Zichen, a Tier Three Flying Sword was genuinely close to useless.

However, a Divine Technique on the level of the Great Five Elements Annihilation Divine Light was still incredibly appealing.

He became even more interested when he learned that this Divine Technique could also manifest the Five Elements Divine Sword.

Bai Zichen’s gaze swept over the three Core Formation True Men of the Five Elements Sect again and again, and he saw sincerity in their eyes and expressions.

"In that case, I will boldly accept. I only hope I do not bring shame to the Five Elements Sect’s Ancestor."

The moment Bai Zichen agreed, a Jade Scroll landed in his hands.

It was clear that Master Houtu had prepared in advance, having even the Divine Power Jade Scroll ready.

"Inside are also the cultivation insights of several Five Elements Sect predecessors regarding the Great Five Elements Annihilation Divine Light. You can use them for reference, True Monarch..."

Seeing Bai Zichen accept the Jade Scroll and the Flying Sword, Master Houtu visibly relaxed, letting out a breath of relief.

At the same time, he thought about how in thousands of years, not a single one of their own sect members had ever successfully cultivated this Great Divine Technique.

They had always attributed this to the fact that later generations did not possess the Five Elements Holy Body, believing that even if they succeeded, they could never capture the original’s essence.

’Now that it’s in Bai Zichen’s hands, we’ll find out if it’s because of the Sacred Body, or if it’s because none of the Core Formation True Men in the Five Elements Sect’s history ever had talent of this caliber.’

For a time, cups were raised and toasts were made, and the atmosphere was joyous.

This continued until a Five Elements Sect disciple came running in and handed a slip of paper to a Foundation Establishment Perfection disciple below the dais.

The man glanced at the paper. Seeing that the Ancestors on the dais were deep in conversation, he didn’t dare to approach, merely pacing back and forth below.

"Fellow Daoist Houtu, it seems one of your disciples has received an urgent message and is waiting anxiously. Why not have him come up and let us hear it?"

Bai Zichen had sharp eyes and had noticed the cultivator eagerly waiting for a chance to speak.

"Reporting to the Ancestors, a merchant caravan just passed through with news from the Central Domain. It contains information about True Monarch Ge Cang of the Qingfeng Sect, whom you instructed us to pay close attention to..."

"Brother Ge? What happened to him in the Central Domain?"

Bai Zichen’s heart skipped a beat. Ge Cang had left the Sect to travel even before he had.

There had been no news of him for a long time, but given Ge Cang’s strength, he hadn’t been overly worried.

Now that he was suddenly mentioned, of course he was agitated.

"At Great Phoenix, True Monarch Ge Cang debated the Dao in Jiangzuo with a Nascent Soul True Monarch from the Nine Tribulations Sect. After three full days and nights, he soundly defeated Xiang Wanyi of the Nine Tribulations Sect, shaking all of Great Phoenix!"

The Foundation Establishment Disciple spoke quickly and urgently, but thankfully, his words were clear and easy to understand.

"That’s Brother Ge, all right. Did they say where he went afterward?"

The great weight in Bai Zichen’s heart lifted. Ge Cang’s talent for attracting trouble was no less than his own.

However, with their strength, unless someone could crush them in a single blow with no chance of recovery, no Sect could withstand the retaliation of two young and astonishingly powerful cultivators.

"True Monarch Ge Cang only suffered minor injuries and quickly vanished. Many cultivators who wished to pay him a visit found nothing but empty air."

The Foundation Establishment Disciple repeated the words of the caravan’s Steward, whose tone had been filled with admiration for Ge Cang.

"Xiang Wanyi of the Nine Tribulations Sect... I’ve heard that name. He’s the previous generation’s Saint Heir of the Nine Tribulations Sect. To think he was defeated by True Monarch Ge. After this, True Monarch Ge’s name will likely resound throughout the Central Domain. The two True Monarchs are truly the twin stars of the Qingfeng Sect."

The three Core Formation True Men of the Five Elements Sect exchanged glances, shocked that a figure like Xiang Wanyi of the Nine Tribulations Sect could be defeated.

Within Great Phoenix, there were only a handful of Super Sects, and the Nine Tribulations Sect was one of them.

As the previous Saint Heir, Xiang Wanyi was a famous figure in the Central Domain Cultivation World, mainly because he had a powerful elder in his family.

His grandfather was a Great True Monarch of the Nine Tribulations Sect, whose Jade Talisman Technique was nearly unrivaled in the Central Domain.

Ge Cang’s ability to defeat such a person was the best proof of his strength.

"Such good news is worthy of another cup! Wonderful!"

Bai Zichen drank another cup of Spirit Wine, tasting its faint sweetness.

The two martial brothers were now in different places, both growing and improving. When they returned to Black Mountain in the future, who in the Northern Domain would be able to stand in their way?

The Qingfeng Sect’s rise to dominance in the Northern Domain seemed unstoppable.