Chapter 47: Radiant Spirit Blazing Brilliance
Within the temporary cave dwelling.
Fang Qing suppressed the look of excitement on his face and first divined his own fortune and misfortune.
“Neutral?! It seemed this transaction posed no problem.”
After obtaining the revelation, he looked toward the three cultivation methods: “The fortune and misfortune of cultivating these techniques…”
As Plum Blossom Divination circulated, the results quickly emerged.
“Great Sun Empowerment Secret Art—mixed fortune? Great Sun True Explanation—great fortune? As for Sun and Moon Yin-Yang Joyful Union Grand Ode… great misfortune?”
Fang Qing was somewhat startled. Although he greatly yearned for the contents of Sun and Moon Yin-Yang Joyful Union Grand Ode, he did not even glance at it. He directly sealed it inside a jade box, affixed a sealing talisman to it, and prepared to keep it forever at the bottom of his Storage Pouch.
Afterward, he immediately picked up Great Sun True Explanation, whose hexagram indicated “great fortune.”
After a long while, Fang Qing put down the secret manual in his hand. His eyes were incomparably clear, almost carrying a trace of foolishness…
Even with the assistance of Divine Sense, he still found many obscure and incomprehensible sections while flipping through Great Sun True Explanation. He did not even know how to begin entering the path—he felt like an idiot! “Among the hundred arts of cultivation, even with Divine Sense assisting, in the end it still depended on talent… for example, formations, and likewise this Great Sun True Explanation!”
Fang Qing was certain—this technique must have been written by an ancient cultivator. The fact that it left him completely bewildered meant it might not even have been from the Ancient Era—perhaps it came from the Primordial Era!
He sighed and opened Great Sun Empowerment Secret Art.
With his prior experience cultivating Horse-Headed Vajra Guardian Divine Art, Fang Qing was barely able to enter the path of this Great Sun Empowerment Secret Art.
“As expected… with the aid of Divine Sense, I was still a genius!”
“The reason I couldn’t cultivate Great Sun True Explanation was entirely because that technique was never meant for geniuses to cultivate!”
He immersed his mind, continuously analyzing Great Sun Empowerment Secret Art:
“This Secret Treasury Domain technique was an extremely supreme method of the Great Snow Mountain, involving the secrets of the Great Sun. It also contained ‘threefold secret cultivation’… The secret of body was the ‘Supreme Yoga Secret Vehicle,’ the secret of speech was the ‘Great Sun Tathāgata Secret Mantra,’ and the secret of mind was even more special. It had no visualization diagram, only a set of hand seals—called the ‘Great Sun Empowerment Perfect Great Hand Seal Method’!”
“Clearly I could at least enter the path and know how to cultivate this Great Sun lineage technique… so that incomprehensible Great Sun True Explanation was definitely not a problem of my comprehension!”
In truth, Fang Qing wanted even more to cultivate Great Sun True Explanation. But… he truly could not understand it at all.
In contrast, Great Sun Empowerment Secret Art had much lower entry requirements.
“Mixed fortune, huh? I’ll cultivate it first. At worst, if something proves wrong in the future, I can immediately dissolve it with the Dao-Birth Pearl…”
Fang Qing made his decision. This did not mean he would give up on Great Sun True Explanation.
The gathering of Great Sun Purple Qi was a dead end in the World of Ancient Shu, but on Jade Island it was nothing special.
Over these past few years, he had already obtained two strands of Great Sun Purple Qi.
He could completely wait until he entered the path of Great Sun True Explanation, then swallow another strand of Great Sun Purple Qi to enter the Dao!
With a golden finger in hand, he could afford to be this extravagant!
Fang Qing made up his mind. His body twisted like a snake, assuming the posture of the Secret Vehicle yoga.
If he had not bitterly cultivated Horse-Headed Vajra Guardian Divine Art, refining his flesh, skin, and bones once over, it would never have been so easy at the beginning.
He silently recited the Great Sun Tathāgata secret mantra in his heart:
“Om, Ma, Ni, Bei, Mi, Hum!”
Within his Sea of Consciousness, his Divine Sense assisted, visualizing one Great Hand Seal after another.
Half a day passed. Nothing happened…
“As expected… without a master’s empowerment or Great Sun Purple Qi, it was impossible for the Qi Ingestion Path to enter the Dao in one step.”
With a thought, a jade bottle placed at his side automatically opened. A dense layer of purple qi within immediately emerged and was inhaled through his mouth and nose.
Rumble!
In an instant, the previously unmoving Great Sun Empowerment Secret Art began operating frantically. The Great Sun Purple Qi flowed through the Three Wheels and Seven Meridians, ultimately descending to the crown of his head, transforming into a resplendent blazing sun.
Fang Qing released his mind and felt as though he beheld a blazing sun…
Upon his forehead, a sun-wheel mark appeared, then quickly faded.
“The quality of this True Power…”
After a long while, Fang Qing exhaled deeply, silently experiencing the difference of this ninth-tier top-grade True Power.
“Within the Qi Ingestion Path, only True Power above the seventh tier had the possibility of advancing to the Purple Palace. As for after the Purple Palace? That lay beyond human capability. Therefore… ninth-tier top-grade was known as ‘Eastern Extreme Jade Clarity’!”
“The highest True Qi of the Great Sun lineage was only ninth-tier top-grade? Then what kind of True Qi was ninth-tier supreme-grade?”
“This strand of True Power could at least equal several times that of Ji Water True Power. Converted into Black-Water True Power… it would be even more!”
“The initial gap was already this great—what about later?”
He was somewhat excited, but after carefully sensing the cultivation speed, he fell speechless again:
“I was not some Great Sun Body. Even after entering the Dao through Qi Ingestion and altering my constitution, I could only barely cultivate this Great Sun Empowerment Secret Art… If relying solely on bitter cultivation, my progress would be far slower than Observing Black Ridge—far slower…”
“If cultivating Observing Black Ridge, even without converting Primordial Qi into True Power, I had confidence of reaching the perfection of Qi Ingestion in this lifetime. But switching to Great Sun Empowerment Secret Art… I might not even break through late-stage Qi Ingestion in my entire life!”
This was precisely why Qi Ingestion Path techniques had to be chosen with extreme caution.
Not only could they not be changed, but once entered, there was no turning back.
“Fortunately… I still have my golden finger.”
Fang Qing knew this Great Sun Empowerment Secret Art was almost impossible to advance through his own cultivation. With a thought—
The Dao-Birth Pearl spun. A vast amount of Primordial Qi emerged, directly pouring into the sun wheel, passing through the Three Wheels and Seven Meridians, transforming into the purest Great Sun True Power.
With this assistance, crackling sounds burst from his entire body. The sun-wheel mark appeared above his head, and countless crimson blood vessels spread like veins across his body.
Second layer of Qi Ingestion!
Third layer!
Fourth layer!
His cultivation surged continuously until it halted around the fourth layer of Qi Ingestion.
“Only fourth layer?”
He looked at his hands in disbelief.
“My Black-Water True Power was complete at seventh layer. Converted into Ji Water True Power, it would exceed sixth-layer Qi Ingestion. Yet when entirely converted into Great Sun True Power, it only reached the fourth layer—and not even fully perfected?”
The disparity in quality between these True Powers was simply too great.
Fang Qing let out a long breath. The Dao-Birth Pearl continued converting, dissolving all the cultivation of Horse-Headed Vajra Guardian Divine Art into the sun wheel.
This body-protecting divine art had likewise been cultivated bit by bit by himself.
Previously, he had tried augmenting Ji Water True Power with it, yet due to insufficient Dao cultivation, mere strength of True Power had not sufficed to break into late-stage Qi Ingestion.
Crackle!
A blazing sun phantom appeared around Fang Qing’s body. His cultivation climbed all the way to the sixth layer of Qi Ingestion.
“As expected… techniques from the same Secret Treasury Domain converted most perfectly, with the least loss and greatest effect.”
He opened his eyes and suddenly looked at his palm.
With a slight movement of intent, his fingernail sliced across it, and a droplet of blood emerged.
This droplet differed from ordinary blood, carrying specks of gold.
Fang Qing flicked it casually.
Smack!
The droplet struck the ground, transforming into a golden bead with a dull sound.
“After ingesting Qi into the body, had Qi Ingestion cultivators already undergone a kind of inhuman transformation?”
He stored the golden bead and sensed this peak Great Sun True Power.
“The Great Sun—sovereign of the zenith sky, the utmost of fullness… it could represent the sun, pure yang, lesser yang… close to departing fire…”
These insights were inherent within the True Power itself, giving Fang Qing a solemn feeling.
“The Great Sun true intent of Great Sun Empowerment Secret Art indeed possessed a majestic and vast bearing. How had it become the lineage of Great Snow Mountain?”
“Wait… Now that my Great Sun Empowerment Secret Art had achieved minor success, if I cut my hair short and impersonated a Secret Treasury monk, there would likely be no issue? In the World of Ancient Shu, such monks were called red-robed monks or esoteric believers…”
“It was said esoteric believers could keep long hair, eat meat, drink wine, and even enjoy consorts—truly bound by no taboos.”
“Though I was only at sixth-layer Qi Ingestion, if given time to familiarize myself with this True Power and practice a few yang- or fire-aspected Dao arts… ordinary late-stage Qi Ingestion cultivators likely would not be my match!”
“In this era, metal and fire manifested greatly. Among the Twelve Wardens of the Year, my Great Sun lineage stood even above metal and fire!”
Fang Qing’s heart surged with emotion.
He finally understood how a heaven’s favored like Li Rulong had slain late-stage opponents while only at mid-stage Qi Ingestion.
“Still, such dangerous matters were better forgotten.”
“If I fought, I would certainly use mid-stage Qi Ingestion to suppress early-stage Qi Ingestion…”
Fang Qing gradually suppressed the slight restlessness in his heart and carefully experienced the Great Sun True Power.
Its quality was extremely high—that was one aspect.
When unleashed, it carried the image of Great Sun Departing Fire, extraordinary indeed.
“This Great Sun Empowerment Secret Art likewise could only cultivate to Dao Foundation. The subsequent Purple Palace chapter likely must be sought in the Secret Treasury Domain…”
“My karmic entanglement with Great Snow Mountain had not been severed—rather, it had grown deeper…”
He flipped through Great Sun Empowerment Secret Art, silently comprehending:
“The Dao Foundation formed by this technique at Dao Foundation stage was named ‘Radiant Spirit Blazing Brilliance.’ It seemed far stronger than the ‘Enduring Sweet Rain’ of Observing Black Ridge… but having never reached Dao Foundation, I could not distinguish clearly.”
After thinking, Fang Qing dispersed the Great Sun True Power.
Rumble!
The vast Primordial Qi divided into three parts.
The majority propelled Horse-Headed Vajra Guardian Divine Art to the first stage, nearing completion.
The second portion entered Observing Black Ridge, becoming roughly third-layer Qi Ingestion cultivation.
The final portion went into Commentary on the Water Classic, reaching seventh-layer Qi Refining!
“If Qi Ingestion Path long failed to break through late stage, perhaps I myself could cultivate to sixth-layer Qi Ingestion perfection…”
“And my Great Sun Empowerment Secret Art had returned to the early first layer of Qi Ingestion… This technique seemed devoid of the prior sinister nature of the body-protecting divine art? Could it be due to my consumption of Great Sun Purple Qi?”