Chapter 285 - 144: Against the Current, No Retreat, Divine Thought, Ascending to the Pinnacle of Dao Skill, Call Me ’Master Ji

Chapter 285: Chapter 144: Against the Current, No Retreat, Divine Thought, Ascending to the Pinnacle of Dao Skill, Call Me ’Master Ji

Jiangyin Prefecture, Daoist School Street.

Sixty-three Great Daoist Schools, sixty-three Qi Cultivation Grandmasters. Each sat in their own courtyard with their disciples behind them, sleeves hanging low as they swelled with True Qi.

Every one of them had their eyes fixed...

...on the young man at the head of Daoist School Street, who stood alone, his robes fluttering as he stepped onto the long road.

A palpable Martial Dao Will, like a toppling mountain, bore down from all sides, seeking to halt his advance.

An ordinary person would have found it difficult to even breathe.

But...

Ji Xiu paused outside the Wind and Cloud Daoist School. He faced the tsunami of True Qi rushing toward him and stopped for only a moment.

Then, under the gazes of so many Grandmasters, he walked step by step toward the Great Daoist School at the end of the street, which sat enthroned like the moon surrounded by stars.

His actions caused the masters of the various Daoist Schools to look on with a flicker of surprise in their eyes. They hadn’t expected him to still be able to press forward under such immense pressure.

Inside the Wind and Cloud Daoist School, Feng Hao, seated on a large, ornate chair, spoke up.

"Young man, you come from Anning County. I have heard your name."

"I am Feng Hao, the founder of the Wind and Cloud Association and the master of the Wind and Cloud Daoist School."

"You were once a member of the Wind and Cloud Association for a time, so... I will offer you a piece of advice."

"Duan Chenzhou is dead. According to the rules of the Daoist Schools, you are qualified to inherit his mantle, but..."

"Which of the Daoist Schools on this entire street does not have a Qi Cultivation Grandmaster presiding over it?"

"You’ve taken the position of Martial Arts Leader and want to claim the seat of No. 1. Which of us Grandmasters could possibly accept that?"

"Leave now. If you continue forward, we, who have no grudge against you, are merely expressing our stance."

"But when you reach those other Schools, those great mountains..."

"...the inheritors of those Daoist Schools will come out one by one to crush you."

The wizened, green-robed old man spoke suddenly, tapping his fingers one by one against the back of his chair.

As Ji Xiu listened to this "kind" reminder, he glanced to the side and was surprised to see Lu Yu, Lu Hongyu, and the others. He hadn’t expected to run into old acquaintances here.

"Thank you for the reminder, old sir."

He first gave a slight nod to Feng Hao, expressing his thanks.

Then, he turned to Lu Hongyu, Wei Zhi, and the others with a warm smile.

"I’ve been busy lately. I didn’t even realize you all had come to Jiangyin Prefecture."

"Once this is over, I’ll treat you all to a gathering here in the prefecture."

With that, Ji Xiu exhaled slowly. His Qi and Blood surged through him, and with a tremor of his muscles and bones, his Qi Mechanism soared. Like a great Furnace blazing to the heavens, he took one heavy step after another, as if carrying the sun itself, his body burning like fire...

THUD, THUD, THUD!

He ignored the gazes of the Grandmasters, which were as deep as the abyss and as vast as the sea. He did as he pleased, his robes whipping about him as he strode down the solemn, ancient road of black bricks!

BANG!

Every time he passed the gate of a Qi Cultivation Grandmaster, Ji Xiu could feel a scorching, almost tangible Martial Dao pressure descend upon him, shrouding him in shadow and making the weight on his body a fraction heavier.

After passing more than twenty schools, a mere few dozen steps, his bones and muscles already felt as heavy as mercury and lead. Even with his Golden Muscle and Jade Veins and his Mercury Blood Silver Marrow, the effort was immense.

"Stop."

"The Martial Dao Will of a single Qi Cultivation Grandmaster, though only in its nascent form, is difficult for an ordinary Skin Refining practitioner to resist."

"The fact that you can bear the oppressive gazes of more than twenty of us already makes you a dragon among men."

"But this is only the first half of Daoist School Street. The Great Daoist Schools further down are backed by powerful Schools and great mountains. Their resident Grandmasters possess Martial Arts far more profound than our own."

"You can withstand more than twenty, but can you withstand the gazes of all sixty-three Grandmasters?!"

"What’s more, the inheritors of the Great Daoist Schools are at the end of the road, conserving their strength and waiting leisurely for you, boy."

"Carrying a mountain on your back, you’ll only be able to use a fraction of your skills. If you end up crippled..."

"...your path on the Martial Dao will be cut short forever!"

"It wasn’t easy for you to reach your current level of attainment. Have you truly not considered the consequences?!"

Ji Xiu continued for another dozen or so steps. At this moment, a Grandmaster from one of the Daoist Schools opened his eyes and spoke, his tone admonishing.

By now, beads of sweat had formed on Ji Xiu’s forehead. The sheer, overwhelming pressure was like blades and swords grinding away at his spirit. Not even the Immortal Robe could fully block it.

However...

’What others see as a terrifying flood...’

’...is for me, a rare opportunity to achieve a breakthrough in my Cultivation!’

Ji Xiu roused his spirit, pushing the words urging him to retreat to the back of his mind as he murmured to himself.

He had once discussed the Dao with Fan Nansong, who had explained the realms of Daoist Techniques.

Among them, the Three Daoist Art Realms are Script Recognition and Locket Granting, Qi Absorption and Grain Avoidance, and Divine Thought.

Only by condensing one’s Divine Soul into a ’Divine Thought’ could one begin to interfere with reality. Only then could one cast incredible Magic Skills without relying on the power of Talismans.

Currently, Ji Xiu had already reached the Perfection stage of the first two realms with the help of the Ten Thousand Laws Dao Seal Visualization Map and the Six Chapters of the Profound Monarch’s Secret Record. However, he had yet to find the way to break through to the Third Realm, Divine Thought.

According to Fan Nansong of the Flying Immortal Temple, Divine Thought was the final barrier of the Daoist Arts, but it was also the true ’beginning’.

Breaking through this barrier meant establishing the ’Great Dao Foundation’, also known as the Dao Foundation!

But how does one break through?

One way was to be from a major sect, which would possess inherited ’Dao Foundation’ vessels—inscriptions on Talismans, jade, stone walls, ancestral halls, and so on.

Later generations would only need to sit and meditate on these vessels left by their predecessors to comprehend the ’path’ they had walked. By using these trials of wind-blades and frost-swords, they could temper their Divine Soul and give rise to Divine Thought.