Chapter 136 Natural Grand Dao
Atop Zhuo Peak, the Nine Steps to Heaven were continuously enlarging, becoming as large as nine platforms, a beautiful jade palace appearing above them, covered in mist and light.
Li Ruoyu slowly rose, pulled by a force, and entered that hazy palace.
Atop the mountain, the space seemed extremely peaceful, like a completely separate world was evolving. Indescribable Daos and Truths existed within it.
All life appeared, full of vitality, the cycle of life and death circling. Glistening green leaves withered and wilted, returning to their roots.
Ye Fan observed it motionlessly. Light then dark, radiant then empty, it was a constant development from prosperity to withering, repeated over and over.
Heaven and earth seemed to follow some indescribable track. Complex and profound rules and orders arose. Mysterious glyphs and designs appeared.
Zhuo Peak seemed to return to its true self, Daos and Truths evolving around it. The entire mountain was a scripture. It required a corresponding mental state before it could return to its mysterious past.
Ye Fan was not Li Ruoyu. He had only arrived at Zhuo Peak half a month ago, and he didn’t understand the mountains origin or history, so he was unable to merge with the mountain. But he did have the bodhi seed from the Great Thunderchant Temple. With a natural image of the Dao, it allowed his heart to quickly become serene.
The Bodhi seed was the legendary sacred tree for comprehending the Dao. It was known as the wisdom tree, allowing people to open their divinity and comprehend heaven and earth’s Dao.
With the help of the mysterious Bodhi seed, Ye Fan merged into a natural Dao state, his mind completely focused on the thriving and withering plants.
“Great perfection seems flawed, great status seems humble, great skill seems clumsy…”
An indescribable sound was echoing out. Li Ruoyu was completely motionless within that palace, listening to heaven and earth’s wonderful sound.
Having had its inheritance severed for five hundred years, Zhuo Peak’s mysterious technique once more appeared, the door to its Dao once more opening, allowing for its Truths to once more appear. The ground didn’t bubble forth with a divine spring, the sky didn’t become filled with bright lights; there was only a simple and true inheritance with a Dao charm around it.
Ye Fan’s heart was empty, merging into oneness with Zhuo Peak. Just like how Li Ruoyu was sensing everything, he also listened. The Bodhi seemed became even warmer, helping him become tranquil and even more attuned to nature.
In the beginning, there was no inheritance of the immortal art, but of Zhuo Peak’s innate heart technique.
The nine secrets were not cultivation methods, but kinds of secret arts. This one merged into the heart, containing all kinds of unfathomable mighty forces.
Zhuo Peak’s heart technique inheritance was the foundation. Only by using this technique to cultivate and naturally becoming stronger could one display the secret art.
The nine secrets were magnificent and unique. By using them, one could occasionally display ten times their normal battle prowess. They were rare and secret techniques that all Sacred Lands and Ancient Desolation Noble Families coveted.
Without the heart, there was no way to display it. There were only nine secret arts, and if united, none of the Eastern Wastelands’ ancient scriptures could compare to them. It was obvious their value was enormous.
Zhuo Peak’s innate heart technique truly was unique. It was definitely worthy of its reputation as one of Taixuan sect’s strongest inheritances. Its master was able to fight to a standstill with a Flickering Light Sacred Land Grand Elder, in the end the both of them dying together.
Although it couldn’t compare to the Dao Scripture, it was still a marvel. Ye Fan’s enlightenment allowed to him to gain many insights. But of course, the thing he was after the most was that secret art. His desire to obtain it was even greater than his desire to obtain the Ji Family’s Empty Void Scripture. When he fought enemies, if he could randomly cause his battle strength to increase tenfold, that would definitely be a killing trump card!
And if he could also succeed in drawing out the Xuanhuan Origin Qi to his fists and then add on this secret art, that would definitely be extremely terrifying. No precious treasure and no divine ability would be comparable to his fist.
Of course, the multiplication in battle energy wasn’t just limited to his physical body. It could appear in any aspect: his divine abilities, his Vessel control, even his flying speed…
In Ye Fan’s eyes, those nine secret arts were definitely supreme. He had to obtain Zhuo Peak’s secret art.
Suddenly, an indescribable Dao charm appeared, appearing incomparably mysterious. It was completely different from Zhuo Peak’s simple heart technique.
No sound rang, no ripple appeared. Only a strange divine charm appeared atop Zhuo Peak’s summit.
Ye Fan felt the Bodhi seed in his robes immediately become several times hotter and start to gently tremble. He guessed that one of the nine secrets must have appeared. No longer bothering with Zhuo Peak’s foundational heart technique inheritance, he began to seize that mysterious Dao charm.
He had no choice but to admit that Zhuo Peak’s previous master was definitely amazing. Without leaving a word, using the entire mountain as a scripture, he left behind one of the nine secret arts to pass on to later generations. His technique was definitely extraordinary.
All of Zhuo Peak overflowed with antiquity. It was like it had passed through time to return to tens of thousands of years in the past. It was a completely wild mountain, like man had never set foot on it, even more ordinary than its current self. But a natural air seemed to flow around it.
The distant main peaks’ experts were all looking over, all of them amazed by Zhuo Peak’s strange change.
“No immortal mist soared, no auspicious rays shone, and no immortal music rang out, but it appears so natural. It doesn’t appear that this is the time for the inheritance to appear, it really is mysterious…”
“Right, there was once a mighty member of the younger generation that had managed to obtain Zhuo Peak’s foundational heart technique and secret art even when it wasn’t time to obtain the inheritance. His powers were amazing, even comparable to mighty members from the ancient past.”
“Then doesn’t that mean Li Ruoyu will also become such a person? He’ll become Zhuo Peak’s second elite throughout history? It really is possible. Back then, that junior’s talent was also completely ordinary. Li Ruoyu is just like him.”
Many of the main peak’s experts were quietly discussing things as they looked over to Zhuo Peak.
“A completely dull inheritance transmission is even more shocking than those inheritances that shake the heavens. Its definitely suitable to Zhuo Peak. Probably only in such a way could one perfectly understand the obscure meanings. Zhuo Peak! Outstanding!”[1]
Most of the main peaks’ experts were all aware that Zhuo Peak was about to once more rise above, and that a supreme elite might appear!
Li Ruoyu’s talent was completely average. Back in the day, it had been extremely lucky for him to even be able to become a disciple of the Taixuan sect. No one was optimistic about his future achievements, thinking he would just be a nothing that continued to live out the rest of his years on Zhuo Peak. None of them thought he had immortal affinity and could have out of the ordinary accomplishments.
However, all of that was completely toppled by what was happening now. If Li Ruoyu truly had begun to walk down the same path as the previous generation did back then, then it was very likely someone was going to be born whose strength was on par with the Ji Family or the Flickering Light Sacred Land’s Elders.
Not only were many Elders disturbed, even all the main peaks’ peak masters exited seclusion and came over to look at Zhuo Peak . Their eyes flashed with all kinds of different lights.
Moreover, even Taixuan sect’s Head Elder as well as Grand Elders who were also deep within the mountains in seclusion all appeared upon a cloud above.
“Li Ruoyu wasn’t actually stupid, his diligence made up for his clumsiness.[2] He has walked onto the path of the previous youngster. He might really be a guardian of the future for my Taixuan sect.”
“If he really could compare to the previous mighty ancients, my Taixuan sect’s dream of competing with the Sacred Lands and Ancient Desolation Noble Families might not be impossible.”
The Taixuan sect’s Head Elder and various Grand Elders all had serious expressions.
“Zhuo Peak has been empty for five hundred years, the number of disciples fading away. With the inheritance once more being opened, all the various peaks will send talented disciples to here,” ordered the Taixuan Sect’s Head Elder.
Before the Taixuan Sect’s bigwigs even made such a decision, each of the various peaks’ disciples had long since begun discussing this matter. Many of them knew about Zhuo Peak’s historical figure, and they all decided they had to enter.
The broken-down main peak now had a powerful legacy upon it. It had become extremely resplendent in everyone’s eyes.
While every main peak was making its own movements and each person had their own thoughts, Ye Fan had arrived at that subtle strand of divine charm.
There seemed to be threads that were moving between heaven and earth. Nameless rules became Laws, giving rise to an indescribable force forming all kinds of glyphs within the space.
In his eyes, Zhuo Peak was constantly changing and fluctuating.
All living things withered, plants returned to the earth. Great life turned into withered barrens. This natural cycle seemed to be some sort of eternal Laws that were developing.
From birth to death, from a golden age to nothingness, returning to the very root, all kinds of Dao Glyphs were being born and destroyed within heaven and earth.
Within Ye Fan’s eyes, bright light turned dull, life turned to nothing, before once more coming back. Combining with these indescribable Glyphs, they went through all sorts of transformations. All of this was captured within his eyes; all of their movements, origins and evolutions.
He sighed inside. Zhuo Peak’s old youth truly was outstanding, leaving behind this secret technique filled with natural changes within Zhuo Peak. It really was incomparably amazing.
Like searching for a needle in the haystack, he collected bits and bits of the secret art inheritance.
Ye Fan was completely motionless, in harmony with heaven and earth, merging with Zhuo Peak. He was just another rock of Zhuo Peak, a grass, a vine, collecting those bits of the endless divine charm to brand into his heart.
In the end, Zhuo Peak’s quiet scenery disappeared, leaving only a seed and a ball of earth. He was like a gentle breeze that swirled around them.
The natural seed entered into the earth, shining green. His heart became tranquil. He dripped a couple drops of water onto the ball of earth.
His heart seemed to have merged with the seed, becoming that ball of green light, full of vitality. Zhuo Peak was completely peaceful, a green sprout shining with limitless vitality, becoming the only thing within heaven and earth
DONG!
Ye Fan’s heart shook and he recovered himself. One of the nine secret arts had turned into a seed and branded itself within heart. A small sprout had been born, filled with endless vitality.
This new Zhuo Peak had the same mountain, the same water, the same plants, nothing special changing, appearing just as it did before.
He was like a cloud or light breeze, his heart completely empty. The secret technique appeared in his heart in a slow trickle.
Ye Fan might not have received Zhuo Peak’s foundational heart technique, but to receive one of the nine secret arts was even more amazing to him!
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Half a day later, Li Ruoyu awoke. Standing up, he seemed to become much more profound, incomparably empty and distant. It was like he was high in the clouds, yet also like a whole starry sky separated them, dyed with the dust of history.
However, he quickly changed, the clouds and mist scattering, appearing a very ordinary old man again.
People had long since gathered around the foot of Zhuo Peak, but not one person dared to intrude or fly up into it. They all quietly waited outside the mountain gate. The majority of these people had been told by their masters to enter Zhuo Peak.
At this time, no one dared to take Zhuo Peak lightly anymore. No one dared to treat this place as an empty barren mountain that they could randomly enter.
Most of these people were the top talents of their main peaks, and several of them were the heirs of peak masters.
Li Ruoyu calmly stood atop the mountain, not looking at the crowd at the foot of the mountain but at Ye Fan. He said, “You have the Ancient Desolation Sacred Body.”
[1]卓/拙 both are pronounced Zhuo. 拙 the name of the peak means clumsy, whereas卓means outstanding. There are several puns based on this in which they say he is not拙 but卓, or they use拙 to point out how ordinary the mountain is. I was going to call it Normal Mountain and maybe have this relevant section mean Normal; not as in average, but as returning to a Normal simplicity, the foundation of the Dao, but that technically wouldn’t mean the same thing either, so I just left it as Zhuo with a footnote here.
[2] This is another pun. Li Ruoyu (李若愚) the Li is a common surname, Ruo means as if, and Yu means stupid. So this sentence is saying he isn’t stupid. His diligence makes up for his clumsiness (Zhuo拙).