Chapter Twenty-Five: The Cuckoo in the Magpie’s Nest
While the two of them were still straightening their attire, a servant appeared. The moment he saw Xu Cheng and the Old Fiend Qiong, he shouted loudly, “Help! Thieves! Someone is stealing!”
The old fiend beside Xu Cheng continued to adjust his appearance, treating the servant as though he were thin air.
Moments later, a cacophony of footsteps approached. Judging by the commotion, at least a hundred people had arrived. Perhaps the old fiend was planning to ensnare everyone in this place, Xu Cheng thought to himself.
“Who are you people?”
A richly dressed man, who seemed to be the master of the residence, stood at the doorway—without actually entering—and demanded an answer.
“How should we deal with them, Left Envoy?” Xu Cheng deliberately addressed the old fiend as “Left Envoy,” finally embracing his role as an emissary of the Yellow Springs.
Yet the old man paid him no heed. His eyes, now entirely crimson, swept over the crowd outside. Every one of them, even the seemingly formidable master of the house, fell into a dazed trance.
“Remember, from this day forward, you are all Night Returners of the Yellow Springs from lands beyond. Henceforth, once you enter the Yellow Springs, you shall never suffer again!”
The old fiend’s voice brimmed with a bewitching power, casting an illusion that washed over their minds.
The effect was startlingly potent.
As if moving in unison, the crowd chanted mechanically, “Once entered the Yellow Springs, never shall we suffer!”
“Once entered the Yellow Springs, never shall we suffer!”
“Once entered the Yellow Springs, never shall we suffer!”
…
“I am the Left Envoy of the Yellow Springs. He is the Right Envoy! Commit this to memory!”
The old fiend stepped out, pressing his palms downward to silence the chanting, and made a simple introduction for himself and Xu Cheng.
“We pay our respects to the Honorable Left Envoy and Right Envoy of the Yellow Springs!”
A chorus of voices greeted them, and the old fiend could not conceal his delight, as if greatly enjoying the adulation.
“I hereby establish the Sacred Sect of the Yellow Springs. You are now its people. This is the Sacred Scripture of the Yellow Springs, which I bestow upon you!”
In the old fiend’s hand appeared a black jade slip, which transformed into wisps of black smoke that dove directly into the foreheads of those before him.
Is he really gifting them cultivation methods? That old codger never struck me as the generous sort, Xu Cheng mused inwardly.
“The Left and Right Envoys have important matters to discuss. You all may begin your cultivation!”
With that, the crowd sat down where they stood and began to meditate. Xu Cheng followed the old fiend to the grandest and most luxurious room. Only once the old fiend closed his eyes and reclined comfortably did Xu Cheng dare speculate on his true intentions.
“What is it that you wish to discuss with me, Left Envoy?”
At last, Xu Cheng broke the silence.
“Soon, I will open the Path of the Yellow Springs, drawing its power to further our cultivation. During this time, I will be unable to move, so protecting me falls to you. However, your pitiful cultivation is hardly reliable!
Frankly, you ought to progress to the next realm of cultivation. Why haven’t you begun?”
The old fiend was plotting something grand!
“I know the next stage is the Unity Realm, but I don’t quite understand how to unify the myriad arts. Also, how are these realms divided?”
Xu Cheng fired off two questions in succession.
“Your knowledge of the Dao is truly shallow! Let me explain. The path of cultivation is generally divided into four great realms: the True Qi Realm, the Unity Realm, the Primordial Spirit Realm, and the Lightning Tribulation Realm. Each is further divided into minor stages.
Within the True Qi Realm are Small Elixirs, Great Elixirs, Divine Aperture, and Talisman Formation. The Unity Realm consists of Seal Formation, Jade Elixir, Golden Core, and Path Forging. The Primordial Spirit Realm includes Spirit Roaming, Object Manipulation, Transformation, and Pure Yang. The Lightning Tribulation Realm is unique: at the coming of spring thunder, cultivators ascend to the sky to receive the baptism of heavenly thunder. The more tribulations endured, the higher one’s power. Survive nine tribulations, and one may attain ascension!
To advance beyond the Talisman Formation stage, one must condense a Dao Seal. For us emissaries of the Yellow Springs, this means using the White Bone Art as a guide, drawing together all our talismans of the Yellow Springs into a single Seal. The same principle applies to all sects of the Dao. Once you possess a Seal, you can thoroughly refine heavenly light into your body, merging it with your True Qi to create the Jade Elixir.
At the Golden Core stage, you fuse various Seals and your Jade Elixir power into a single golden orb. Beyond that is not your concern for now. Reaching the Golden Core in a short time is already impressive!”
The old fiend’s explanation was precise and thorough.
“What are you waiting for? If you do not condense your Dao Seal now, when will you?”
Seeing Xu Cheng still in a daze, the old fiend could not help but bark a command.
The words were like a slap of cold water. Xu Cheng immediately sat cross-legged and began to channel the White Bone Art of the Yellow Springs.
Over a thousand talismans of the White Bone Art instantly converged, gathering from all corners of his body—save for the Earth-Shaping Art—into his dantian. They revolved slowly around the White Bone Art, with talismans occasionally merging into the center.
Condensing the Dao Seal was a strain on mind and spirit, especially given Xu Cheng’s abundance of talismans, making the process all the more taxing.
The White Bone Art, the Rebirth Severing Art, the Hellwind Art, and even the Taiyi Golden Body and Thousand Eyes Art, all branded with the mark of the Yellow Springs, began to converge. Only the Earth-Shaping Art remained unaffected by the Yellow Springs—a true marvel.
After an hour, all the Yellow Springs arts condensed into a small black square seal. Coiled around the seal was a black dragon, which opened its mouth toward the sky, drawing streams of heavenly light and Xu Cheng’s True Qi, transforming them into drops of black liquid that fell into his dantian.
With a single effort, Xu Cheng sought to refine the heavenly light and his True Qi, blending them into the power of the Jade Elixir. The moment he activated the Seal, the black dragon’s forehead opened to reveal a single green vertical eye, and the suction from its mouth surged. His True Qi and the heavenly light fused into a current of inky-black Jade Elixir, pouring into his dantian.
When all his True Qi had been refined into this black current, it pooled in his dantian like a small, dark lake.
“It’s done!”
Xu Cheng stood up, feeling an unprecedented surge of power.
Immediately, images flashed through his mind, gifts from the Yellow Springs in recognition of his advancement—methods for cultivating various Dao Seals. It seemed he would need to forge eight more, culminating in a total of nine that, combined with the Jade Elixir power, would form a supreme Golden Core.
Before he could examine them further, the old fiend began pulling out tome after tome of magical manuals from his robe, stacking hundreds on the floor in the blink of an eye. The old fiend’s hoard was truly impressive.
“The Yellow Springs Dao Seal is only the foundation. Only by branding it with the Yellow Springs mark and fusing it with various spells will it gain true power. And these! These are magical classics I seized from the Daoist sects in years past. If you have time, condense as many as you can!”
The old fiend explained.
This was, of course, ideal. Yet for now, the most pressing need was to master a storage spell like the Little Sumeru Pouch Art.
After searching for some time, Xu Cheng finally found a similar storage spell among the pile—the Small Sleeve Space Art.
Even this reduced version required more than seven thousand talismans. If not for Xu Cheng’s newfound prowess at condensing talismans, it would have taken ages to complete.
“I didn’t expect you to find this spell. It’s a pared-down version of the Great Sleeve Space Divine Art. If you master it, you might even deduce all the talismans of the original!” the old fiend remarked, eyeing the jade manual.
Immortal arts! Xu Cheng’s heart leapt with longing. He remembered how laborious it had been to deduce a five-talisman spell, and now he could just manage thousands. However, immortal arts were still beyond his current reach; only those with a Pure Yang Primordial Spirit, or verging on ascension, could hope to attempt them.
So he settled down to study in earnest. With so many spells at hand, he had enough to keep him busy—though he wondered whether his Myriad Arts Scroll would still work.