Chapter 619: Confucian Sect’s Divine Techniques

“The Holy Lotus Sect’s Secret Vault must be opened without reservation for our joint selection… including those few inherited Spiritual Treasures.”

“If the Medicine Garden Secret Realm exists, we must take stock of the value of all Spirit Medicines inside. The mature ones will be divided evenly… For those still growing, their value will be converted into Spirit Stones and paid out.”

“Regarding the Central Province’s Immortal Seedlings, if my Sect’s Spirit Awakening Envoy selects a candidate, your Sect may not use any pretext to interfere or obstruct them.”

“If you can agree to these points, True Monarch Bai, then we shall proceed as previously agreed, divide our responsibilities, and annihilate the Holy Lotus Sect together.”

After a long hesitation, his mind racing, Shi Chengdong made his final decision.

The potential gains from the Holy Lotus Sect would far outweigh the price the Celestial Principle Sect had paid over the years.

He often thought that if they hadn’t targeted Qii Mountain in the first place, thinking the Holy Lotus Sect was an easy target after True Monarch Jiulian’s passing, they might have achieved peace long ago.

Years of ceaseless war had raised the overall Combat proficiency of the Celestial Principle Sect’s disciples, but it had also taken up a severe amount of the Foundation Establishment Cultivators’ time.

Aside from a few True Inheritance disciples who had control over their own time, quiet, focused cultivation had become a luxury for the other Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

The number of cultivators reaching Core Formation continued to decline. It was a far cry from their time in the Central Domain, and couldn’t even compare to the period when they first arrived in Liang Country.

If Le Zheng hadn’t pulled through and successfully reached the Nascent Soul stage, the Celestial Principle Sect would have faced a real risk of a generational gap.

‘Now that I see it clearly, using this opportunity to get rid of this hot potato isn’t a bad thing at all.’

“Yes, that’s acceptable.”

Bai Zichen nodded readily. A few material possessions were nothing compared to his sect’s long-term foundation.

“Then let us each make a Dao Heart Oath, with Heaven and Earth as our witness.”

Shi Chengdong said, as was customary.

“I have given my word, and I will honor it. An oath isn’t necessary.”

Bai Zichen waved his hand dismissively. Not only could Dao Heart Oaths be circumvented, but they also bound one’s fate to the Laws of Heaven and Earth.

The act of placing such an unseen shackle upon his Primordial Spirit made him feel uneasy every time he swore an oath, so he avoided it whenever possible.

Everyone in Black Mountain, from top to bottom, knew that Ancestor Bai was a man of noble character whose word was his bond. The tales of his deeds as a youth had become legends within the Sect.

One day, he would let the entire Cultivation Realm know that while the will of Heaven is unknowable and the hearts of men are unpredictable, a single promise from True Monarch Bai is worth more than the nine sacred tripods, heavier than mountains and rivers.

He was even less concerned about whether the Celestial Principle Sect would keep its end of the bargain.

“Then we shall do as you say, True Monarch Bai.”

Shi Chengdong looked slightly surprised, likely not expecting his offer to be rejected.

“We attack Qii Mountain tomorrow at noon?”

There would be a mountain of work to do after taking Qii Mountain, and Bai Zichen didn’t want to delay a second longer.

“No. In one month. We’ll wait for Zheng’er to arrive. Besides, the Floating Battleship still needs repairs, and the Divine Thunder Pagoda has to gather the world’s lightning energy. Otherwise, the Super Battleship won’t even be at seventy percent effectiveness.”

The two men locked eyes. On this matter, Shi Chengdong showed no intention of backing down. Perhaps he felt that having more Nascent Soul True Monarchs present would give him a stronger position, ensuring he wouldn’t get the short end of the stick when it was time to divide the spoils.

Seeing his insistence, and considering that the other party had already agreed to several conditions in a row, Bai Zichen felt it would be unreasonable not to concede on this point.

A month wasn’t too long. It was acceptable.

After reaching an agreement, Bai Zichen neither went to the Celestial Principle Sect camp nor returned to Black Mountain. Instead, he found a verdant, secluded mountain peak for himself.

Judging by the tracks on the mountain, the area had once been inhabited but was long since abandoned.

A few squat Daoist Temples stood there, their plaster walls peeling. Cobwebs were everywhere, the ground was covered in filth, and the place had long since become a den for wild beasts.

With a flick of his sleeve, Bai Zichen sent a whirlwind through the central hall, sweeping it clean of all dust and grime.

At the head of the hall stood a statue. Its features were blurred, its head wreathed in Divine Light, and its hands were posed as if gently plucking something with its left and holding something with its right.

The clay statue was cracked in many places, and one of its feet had broken off completely.

He had no idea which Divine Venerable was enshrined here. In the Ancient Era, the Divine Dao was also a cultivation path, and Summoning God Sects had been popular for a time.

However, when the Ascension Platform disappeared and the connection to the Upper Realm was severed, the Summoning God Sects vanished almost overnight.

The legends of the Divine Dao and its traditions were cut short. The major sects began to worship their own Ancestors instead of Immortal Celestial Officials.

In fact, the fourteen Star God Statues within the Star Palace Secret Realm were a type of Immortal.

He rummaged through his storage bag, found three sticks of Tier-Entry Fragrance, lit them, and placed them in the incense burner before giving a respectful bow.

Bai Zichen sat cross-legged on the floor and resumed his cultivation of the Great Five Elements Annihilation Divine Light.

As expected of the Great Divine Technique the Five Elements Ancestor had used to dominate the Southern Domain. It was no wonder that none of the Five Elements Sect’s descendants had ever managed to successfully cultivate it. Even though his Mysterious Holy Body had allowed him to bypass the initial requirement of cultivating the Five Elements Holy Body, his progress was still painstakingly slow.

His daily progress was minuscule, advancing only by a hair’s breadth.

If not for his cultivation of the Time Path and its two great talents—’Seize the Moment’ and ‘Meticulous Precision’—which made him acutely sensitive to the passage of time, he would have suspected he was making no progress at all.

‘The Five Elements Holy Body manifests externally as Five Spiritual Roots, but as soon as one embarks on the path of cultivation, its extraordinary nature gradually reveals itself. The speed of Refining Spiritual Energy increases continuously until it reaches the level of an Abnormal Spiritual Root. Moreover, the Five Elements Holy Body indiscriminately accepts and can efficiently convert and absorb any type of nature’s spiritual energy. In this regard, it’s far beyond what an Abnormal Spiritual Root can do; even a Celestial Spiritual Root can’t compare.’

Bai Zichen recalled the description of the Five Elements Holy Body. The information gifted to him by the Five Elements Sect also included their analysis of why they had been unable to successfully cultivate the technique.

‘Precisely because of this, a possessor of the body can control the simultaneous refinement of equal amounts of all five elemental types of Spiritual Qi, allowing the Great Five Elements Annihilation Divine Light to progress normally. Later generations, however, could only split this Divine Technique into five parts. A single Core Formation True Man would cultivate one element, and five of them working in concert would be needed to manifest the complete Great Five Elements Annihilation Divine Light. But no matter how well five people coordinate, it’s impossible to ensure their progress is perfectly identical. This causes the resulting Great Five Elements Annihilation Divine Light to be a mere shadow of its true self, possessing form but no substance.’