Chapter 620: Confucian Sect Divine Techniques (2)

‘My Cultivation is the same. In terms of grade, my Sacred Body is definitely superior to the Five Elements Holy Body. But in the end, I can’t do what the Five Elements Holy Body does and evenly divide the refined nature’s spiritual energy into five parts. To break through this, I either need to achieve a microscopic level of control over my Spiritual Qi, without the slightest error, or I could just take one path to its absolute extreme, similar to the method of Cultivators from the Five Elements Sect—splitting it into five parts to cultivate…’

‘Cultivating all Five Elements to their peak would, in a sense, achieve a five-elemental balance on its own.’

‘However, through his Time True Intent, he discovered that the time required to succeed with the first method was uncertain because the results of his Cultivation were never fixed.’

‘The second path, on the other hand, had a clear outcome: it would take a 60-Year Cycle.’

‘To achieve Perfection in all Five Elements would mean repeating the practice five times, which would be a full three hundred years.’

‘Not only was Bai Zichen’s time precious at the moment, but even under normal circumstances, he would be unwilling to spend three hundred years practicing a single Great Divine Technique.’

‘After all, with his current strength, he didn’t lack for this Divine Technique. His main goal was to use the principles of the Ice Soul Aurora Divine Technique to forge a Five Elements Divine Sword.’

‘Once the sword was forged, it would be Tier Five. Since it would be converted from a Divine Technique he had already cultivated, it wouldn’t even require Refinement.’

Bai Zichen divided his attention, beginning the Refinement of Fire Element Spiritual Energy while simultaneously pondering how to break through his limitations.

Several days later, Bai Zichen, who was in the middle of his Cultivation, opened his eyes. A quarter of an hour later, a thin, small boy pushed open the hall’s doors, tiptoeing inside while carrying a wild rabbit.

Upon entering the main hall, he was stunned by the completely transformed environment, thinking he had stumbled upon the Spirit Monsters and Mountain Demons from a storybook.

He focused his eyes and saw no green-faced, long-fanged monster. Instead, there was a handsome young man sitting casually on the floor.

He wore a light-colored Daoist Robe and sat unreservedly on the ground, yet he didn’t look disheveled in the slightest. On the contrary, he seemed to blend harmoniously with the entire hall.

“Tiann Yangsheng pays his respects, Senior… I did not know Senior was cultivating in seclusion here. I apologize for disturbing you.”

The small, thin boy dropped the rabbit he was holding, prostrated himself fully, and kowtowed repeatedly.

As a boy who had lost his parents in the chaos of war and grown up alone in the mountain forests, he had long since learned to read people and adapt to any situation.

He had seen too many Cultivators who, stirred by the evil in their hearts, took pleasure in slaughtering mortals to vent their frustrations with cruel methods.

Among Cultivators themselves, there was also constant deception and scheming.

Two years ago, a group of Loose Cultivators had taken up temporary residence here. He and other children were captured and forced to serve as Daoist Children, working so hard every day that their feet never stopped.

Later, that group of Loose Cultivators found a dead Cultivator’s storage pouch. They fell into internal conflict over the uneven distribution of the loot, and a river of blood was shed in the ensuing slaughter.

Fortunately, the boy had sensed something was wrong with the atmosphere and had hidden in a winding cave he had discovered beforehand.

When he returned after hiding for several days, the Daoist Temple was filled with corpses, including every single one of the dozen or so Daoist Children.

This young man’s aura was far more profound than anyone he had ever met, so his respectful attitude was all the more meticulous, terrified he would be killed with a single palm strike.

“Tiann Yangsheng. Did you give yourself that name?”

Bai Zichen beckoned for the boy to rise and come forward.

“Yes. My parents were killed by a group of Tribulation Cultivators, and our family’s Spirit Land was seized. To avoid trouble, I changed my surname… I was too young for Spirit-Guiding back then, so no one paid any attention to me.”

Tiann Yangsheng answered every question, appearing to have been born into a Cultivation Family and received a good education.

Bai Zichen’s interest was piqued. From the boy’s mouth, he learned of the true state of the Central Province and realized that life for those at the bottom was far more brutal than he had imagined.

Countless Cultivation Families were powerless against the turmoil, and disciples from fallen Sects had transformed themselves into Tribulation Cultivators.

Having lost the supervision of the Upper Sects, with the Holy Lotus Sect unable to intervene and the Celestial Principle Sect too preoccupied to care, the Central Province had descended into lawlessness in a very short time.

According to Tiann Yangsheng, he had even seen Tribulation Cultivators specifically collecting infants and pregnant women, presumably for the purpose of Refining Demon Path Magical Artifacts.

“How audacious!”

Bai Zichen was furious, the killing intent in his eyes no longer concealed.

The Qingfeng Sect had always stood against the Demon Path. From his very first day in the Sect, Liang Yu had taught him the Sect’s rules. Even in the Sect’s most difficult times, they had never considered resorting to demonic means like human blood sacrifice and refinement, which would lead to Demonic Possession.

He immediately used his Sect Token to send a message back to the Sect, arranging for manpower to be stationed in the Central Province.

As soon as Qii Mountain was taken, he would conduct a thorough cleansing of the Twelve Prefectures of the Central Province, sweeping away these cancerous blights completely.

Given the vastness of the Central Province, even the entire strength of the Law Enforcement Hall likely wouldn’t be enough.

He gave special instructions to have Core Formation Cultivators lead the teams, drawing manpower from other halls, to ensure that all evil was completely eradicated.

“Come here. Let me see your aptitude.”

Bai Zichen took the boy’s thin wrist and let out a soft sound of surprise.

“You have Three Spiritual Roots of Wood, Fire, and Earth. That’s not too bad… When the Qingfeng Sect establishes a presence in the Central Province, you can go there and start as a servant disciple. Once you achieve something in your Cultivation, you can seek out those Tribulation Cultivators and avenge your parents.”

Never mind Three Spiritual Roots; even a special Spirit Body or an Abnormal Spiritual Root wouldn’t have been enough to truly surprise Bai Zichen.

Only a Celestial Spiritual Root or a Sacred Body would qualify as an Immortal Seedling worthy of his personal attention.

He had only been slightly surprised because the boy’s Spiritual Root was identical to his own.

“The Qingfeng Sect? Is that the Nascent Soul Sect with the Unparalleled Sword Cultivator?”

Tiann Yangsheng had clearly heard of the Qingfeng Sect’s name and asked excitedly.

“That’s right. Just you wait. Before long, the Central Province will return to how it once was. There will be no more rampaging Tribulation Cultivators or frequent disasters.”

Bai Zichen then asked the boy for more information about the Tribulation Cultivator gangs, but with his limited experience, he naturally couldn’t provide any concrete details.

He had only overheard a few Loose Cultivators mention that the most famous Tribulation Cultivator was called the Iron-Handed Demon, whose fearsome reputation was enough to stop a child from crying.

After a moment’s thought, he waved his hand and sealed a ray of Sword Light within Tiann Yangsheng’s body, lest the boy who had told him the true situation in the Central Province die at the hands of Tribulation Cultivators.

「A month passed in a flash.」

Bai Zichen transformed into a streak of Thunder Radiance and shot toward the Celestial Principle Sect’s camp.

An hour later, Tiann Yangsheng, who was living in a side room, noticed that the Senior in the main hall was gone. He cautiously climbed onto the altar and pulled a scroll from the belly of a clay idol. The scroll was covered with densely packed portraits.

He casually rolled up the scroll, stuffed it into his shirt, and ran toward the nearest market town.

That Senior seemed like a member of the Righteous Dao, but having grown up in such an environment, Tiann Yangsheng would never open his heart to anyone. He always maintained a sense of vigilance.

…

The Floating Battleship slowly ascended, heading toward Qii Mountain.

“Sect Leader, is that Bai Zichen really so terrifying?”

At the ship’s bow, two Cultivators dressed as Confucian scholars with high caps and wide sashes stood side by side. They were Shi Chengdong and Le Zheng, who had rushed over from Zengguang Immortal City.

This expedition was meant to end the hundred-year-long Sect war, bringing it to a definitive close and starting a new chapter for the Celestial Principle Sect.

Both had changed into ceremonial robes after worshipping the heavens and their ancestors, showing the great importance they placed on this occasion.

“You know my Divine Technique. Death is not to be feared, and life is not to be cherished… The closer I am to life and death, the stronger my Spiritual Sense becomes.”

Shi Chengdong knew this disciple had been groomed since childhood as the future hope of the Celestial Principle Sect.

He was born with a Sacred Body, and it just so happened to be the Vast Holy Body, the most suitable for a Cultivator of the Confucian Sect. It could be said that he was destined by the heavens.

Therefore, he naturally carried a sense of pride and would not easily admit defeat to a Cultivator of the same generation.

However, Shi Chengdong was getting old. In the future, the Celestial Principle Sect would have to rely on Le Zheng for support, so some things had to be made clear to prevent him from offending others.

“Back then, when I faced the Five Phoenix Sword Sect’s Kurong Sword Monarch, I felt that if I dared to retaliate, I would be met with an unstoppable sword strike. My only fate would be defeat and death. That’s why I suppressed the dissenting opinions and offered no resistance, directly surrendering the Spirit Vein. That day, in front of Bai Zichen, my Spiritual Sense was even clearer. I was even closer to death…”

‘To think that I was inferior to Bai Zichen during Core Formation, and it’s still the same after reaching the Nascent Soul Realm…’

Le Zheng sighed deeply, adjusting his mindset.

He knew very well that even though he had comprehended a major Lifebound Divine Technique after forming his Nascent Soul, he was still much weaker than Shi Chengdong.

Since even Shi Chengdong felt he couldn’t withstand a single sword strike, the gap would only be greater if he were to face Bai Zichen himself.

It was not shameful to admit there was always someone better. Possessing the Vast Holy Body, Le Zheng was very confident he could cultivate to the Late-Stage Nascent Soul Realm. There would be opportunities to catch up later.