Chapter 604 389: Entry-Level
Inside the Destruction Hall.
The old monk Chen Ku sat in meditation, entering a state of Satori while facing the Iron Tree.
When Murong Cheng came to teach, he saw everyone staring at Chen Ku, and he understood, gazing into Chen Ku's eyes.
In his eyes, Murong Cheng saw a mystical reflection that those not yet in the Dao could not perceive.
Yet he did not find it surprising.
He thought to himself:
"The Enlightenment Tea Leaves were originally suggested by me as a reward for the Immortal Institute disciples, and at that time, I determined that whoever received the Enlightenment Tea Leaves would either be Xue Bailiu or Chen Ku. No matter who got the tea, using it would lead them to a moment of Satori. The question is how much insight he can gain during this Satori."
These thoughts flashed in his mind.
Murong Cheng cleared his throat and announced:
"Today's course will move outside the hall, everyone follow me out."
"Yes, Hall Master."
Everyone rose, understanding Murong Cheng didn't want them to disturb Chen Ku's Satori.
They were all quite sensible.
After all, having been in the Divine Martial Academy for over a month, Chen Ku's performance was evident to all.
All students knew full well that after graduation, Chen Ku would surely be one of the most powerful newcomers to emerge from the academy.
Furthermore, upon entering the military, he might very likely become a comrade or even a superior to some among them.
Thus, with this mindset, everyone naturally wanted to establish good relations with Chen Ku, hoping that on the battlefield, they could fight alongside him and be under his protection.
After everyone had left the Destruction Hall.
The grand hall was left with only a few empty prayer mats and the two-person tall Iron Tree at its center, with Chen Ku seated beneath it.
At this moment.
In Chen Ku's eyes.
The tree was no longer a tree, and the Destruction Hall was no longer the Destruction Hall.
The essence of all things in heaven and earth revealed their true nature before him because of the 'Satori' state.
He saw in this hall that the beams were not wooden beams but a stream of green Qi, and the floor tiles were not floor tiles but yellow Qi...
"This is the Five Elements..."
A realization arose in Chen Ku's heart as he looked again at the Iron Tree.
He discovered that the Iron Tree did not carry golden Qi; it was not the essence of the Five Elements Gold, but contained a force even more fundamental than the Five Elements.
Beneath the surface of the Iron Tree were clusters of black Qi.
"This is... Yin!"
Chen Ku felt the essence of this force.
"It is completely consistent with the two primordial forces sensed within the thunder from my Five Thunder Technique, among the two major origins is the 'Yin' origin."
At this moment.
Chen Ku deeply understood the true meaning of the Iron Tree Flowering.
Heaven and earth divide into Five Elements, the Five Elements are the symbols of all things, yet Yin and Yang are the foundation of all things.
"This Iron Tree is first a mass of Yin origin, then it is a tree symbolizing the Five Elements Gold Phenomenon, hence, the so-called entering the Dao, making the Iron Tree flower, is transforming the 'Yin' origin within the Iron Tree into Yin Yang Coexistence Qi, and from the basis of Yin Yang, altering the essence of Five Elements Gold."
An indescribable emotion welled up in his heart.
Chen Ku felt he had discovered the most fundamental rules and principles of the universe.
These principles were previously just mentioned in cultivation techniques, even though he had read them, due to insufficient Dao and cultivation, he only knew the surface but not the essence.
Now, in the state of Satori, he fully comprehended the test of 'Iron Tree Flowering'.
Furthermore, he even saw the direction concerning the eighth and ninth layers of the Huntian Overlord Body, the 'Taiyin Technique' and 'Sun Technique'.
"One Yin, one Yang, this is called the Dao."
In his heart, he spoke a sentence that unveils the true essence of cultivation.
Chen Ku gazed at the mass of Pure Yin Energy on the Iron Tree and the Pure Yang Qi on other objects within the Destruction Hall, saying:
"To make the Iron Tree flower, Yin energy within the Iron Tree must give rise to Yang energy."
Something was understood.
He then began to attempt.
Initially operating the not-yet-mastered 'Taiyin Technique' to draw the Pure Yin Energy within the Iron Tree.
As the cultivation technique began operating.
Chen Ku suddenly recalled the feeling from his Five Thunder Technique of being able to draw upon heaven's thunderbolt Qi.
He,
could move the Pure Yin Energy within the Iron Tree.
In an instant.
With this newfound understanding, Chen Ku's body began to transform, his form invisibly moved the Pure Yin Energy within the Destruction Hall.
Heaven and earth's origins, one Yin, one Yang.
These two forces are omnipresent.
Upon Chen Ku operating the 'Taiyin Technique', Taiyin Energy continuously flowed into his body.
In an instant, an unclear wind swept through the Destruction Hall.
This wind did not belong to any force within the Five Elements, nor was it a natural wind, nor Gang Wind, but rather the primordial wind of heaven and earth.
At this moment, Murong Cheng, who was outside the hall explaining the "forbidden patterns" to the students of the Destruction Hall, suddenly had a sense.
Meanwhile.
The students who were drawing one of the Nine-Nine Forbidden Patterns suddenly found that the previously difficult step of drawing the forbidden pattern became smooth and effortless at this moment, with more than a dozen students completing the stroke in one go under the influence of this primordial wind of heaven and earth.
They exclaimed in surprise:
"I drew the 'Shadowless Restriction'!"
"Shadowless Restriction, I drew it too. This is the sixth prohibition, oh my god, I finally drew it."
"Me too, I drew the fourth prohibition 'Heart Illusion Restriction'..."
"What's happening, how did everyone draw it all at once!"
At this moment.
Some students with exceptional natural talent and comprehension all felt the source of this fortuitous encounter, stood up, and looked toward the direction of the Destruction Hall.
"It's coming from the Destruction Hall! It's a miraculous Tao wind from there!" someone exclaimed.
"Is it Chen Ku? Did he succeed, causing the Iron Tree to blossom?!"
In an instant, everyone excitedly stood up in response.
Murong Cheng, without hesitation, stopped the lecture and walked toward the Destruction Hall with his hands behind his back.
Whoosh~~
At this time, forty to fifty students reappeared outside the Destruction Hall.
Looking at Chen Ku inside the great hall.
At this moment, Chen Ku was surrounded by small whirlwinds spinning around him, resembling a half-black Yin Yang Fish, spreading out around him.
"Hmm! This is comprehending the sect master's Tao rhythm from the Iron Tree, and there are gains, even beginning to breathe in and out the extreme yin power between heaven and earth."
Murong Cheng immediately saw through Chen Ku's current state.
But when he saw wisps of black and lifeless energy appear on Chen Ku's face, he was suddenly shocked:
"Not good, his Taoist attainment is not enough to control so much extreme yin energy. Heaven and earth's Yin Yang, Yin being the opposite of Dao, represents death, turbidity, heaviness, darkness, gloom, cold, killing, stillness, gentleness, and inwardness. One side of Yin Yang contains so many principles and transformations, far exceeding the normal Five Elements Law. Without enough attainment, rashly attempting to control the Pure Yin Dao with so many legal elements will result in backlash."
Being backlashed by pure yin power almost means being close to death.
Murong Cheng intervened without hesitation.
In an instant, he stepped out and was beside Chen Ku, pressing his palm down on the top of Chen Ku's skull.
At this moment,
Chen Ku, who was in a state of enlightenment, could also sense the change in his body and immediately felt a sense of foreboding.
"Not good, the cultivation of the Taiyin Technique is ten times more difficult than the previous Seventh Layer. Without the assistance of gentle Yin Pole Spiritual Objects, this most primitive extreme yin power in heaven and earth is too violent..."
Just when Chen Ku steeled himself, preparing to expose the ability in his left eye, 'Before Taiyuan', and expend his origin to forcibly break down the pure yin energy within him into the most fundamental primordial qi.
Crash~
Suddenly, an incomparably gentle force descended from the top of his head, like an exact opposite to the extreme yin power within him, symbolizing vitality, life...
Like pickling water curdling tofu, it instantly calmed the uncontrollable rage of the extreme yin power within him, letting it quietly reside in his physique.
The next instant.
Chen Ku opened both eyes, seeing the Hall Master Murong Cheng in front of him, slightly pale as he retracted his hand from the top of his head.
Immediately understanding what happened,
He stood up, quickly saluting and said:
"Student thanks the Hall Master for your assistance in saving me."
Murong Cheng took a deep breath and said slowly, "You were too reckless. I could see that you are cultivating what should be the Huntian Overlord Body from the Imperial Enlightenment Sect back in the day. But even with the Huntian Overlord Body, you can't absorb such extreme yin power so violently, let alone..."
He gave Chen Ku a deep look and said:
"This Huntian Overlord Body of the Imperial Enlightenment Sect was originally a theoretical creation of that group of lunatics from the Imperial Enlightenment Sect back then. Cultivating this technique is incredibly difficult. One misstep is an abyss."
Chen Ku's face showed remorse.
He took the lesson to heart.
In cultivating the Huntian Overlord Body, he was naturally aware that each layer of the Huntian Overlord Body's cultivation, especially when possessing an 'appropriate spirit root physique', could lower the risk.
Just like when he cultivated the Five Elements Body and Wind and Thunder Body, he had to transform himself into a physique with a similar spirit root before cultivating to increase affinity with heaven and earth.
Now, having not yet transformed his body into a 'Yin Spirit Root', he recklessly attempted to use the Taiyin Technique to make the Iron Tree blossom, indeed too rash.
"It was the disciple's recklessness," Chen Ku took a breath and said, "Upon thinking I had seen through the essence of the Iron Tree, I tried to make it blossom immediately."
"Iron Tree blossoming is not something that can be achieved in one step. You need to complete at least three steps: first, comprehend the Yin Yang Dao; second, transport the Yin Yang Dao; and third, achieve the realm of Yin to Yang, only then can it be done."
Because Chen Ku had already understood the essence within the Iron Tree, Murong Cheng did not hold back on the secrets of the Iron Tree and laid everything bare.
"Comprehend Yin Yang, transport Yin Yang, Yin to Yang."
Chen Ku was thoughtful and said:
"Is this the entry-level process of the Destruction Tower?"
"The general entry into the Destruction Tower merely begins with the Dao of the Five Elements. Because those of you who can come to this Divine Martial Hall are not ordinary people, the threshold was raised, choosing to start with the Dao of Yin Yang," Murong Cheng said. "As of now, you've already crossed this threshold. Next, you can try to enhance your control over the natural Dao of heaven and earth by drawing forbidden patterns, which is your 'attainment'. Improve your attainment, and you can attempt to step into the second step, transporting Yin Yang power."
Chen Ku nodded and thought to himself:
"Although the cultivation philosophies differ, this process reaches the same goal by different means. After the Five Thunders Decision of my Huntian Overlord Body, the process was also to use thunder to understand Yin Yang, then resonate with the Yin Yang within the universe to gain the power of heaven and earth. This means... it's time to look for transformations into a 'Yin Spirit Root' or 'Pure Yin Body'."