The six senses were what the human body relied on the most. Only someone that possessed all six- hearing, vision, smell, taste, touch and instinct- could be considered as whole. As such, they were the first thing Wang Bugui tried to cultivate on his training, and only when they were refined to a certain level could he learn how to transfrom his prana power into thought.
In the training ground behind the Yuxu Palace, Wang Bugui sat cross legged on a mat as he cultivated his six senses.
"Be pure of mind as you guard the divine tower, and meld yourself into the surroundings. Observe all movement in the vast wilderness, and hear the sounds produced by all living beings. Smell the fragrance of grass from hundred of kilometers away, and be able to differentiate what secret ingredients your food is made of. While your body remains here, you can sense the Tao around you, and you can predict what you wish to know," chanted Wang Bugui silently as his hands formed a very complicated seal.
Lin, Bing, Dou, Zhe, Jie, Su, Zhu, Qian, Xing.
No matter how a seal transformed, it could not deviate from its core nature. As such, Wang Bugui began from the nine basic words, and his hand speed began increasing, leaving remnant images of the seal in the air. He was sweating bullets, and even though it was just level six training, its level of difficulty was as hard as the final stage.
After all, the acuity of one's senses was determined at time of birth, and it was no easy feat to change them. What more, to cultivate them to their peak sensitivity? Various multi-colored divine lights shone around Wang Bugui in accordance with a different type of sense. Each time a light glowed, there would be countless lines of talismanic words appearing in the air. His sweat evaporated before he could even wipe them away. It was really tough trying to cultivate his six senses.
The difference from his previous training was that when he was training his physique, he could begin cultivation even when he could not effectively channel his mystical skill, and training got easier as he grew more accustomed to the nuances of the skill. It was different when he trained his senses, however. He was not familiar with the technique and had no idea how to progress. Also, the technique was overly complicated and as tough to learn as learning two sets of martial arts together.
Wang Bugui could only memorize the technique of cultivating his senses after two more days, and he was still unfamiliar with channeling it. Besides, he had only learned the first half of the technique. It would only get harder as he went on.
"It's fine. It's pre-destined that every human will have some defect in his or her six senses. A practitioner must defy his or her fate and supplement the areas which he or she is lacking in. I'll channel my prana power to guard my pool of qi. Division of prana power is akin to division of one's real self, and I have to rid my mind of all unwanted thoughts. I have to go straight to the source for answers."
He began chanting the formula of the technique and his hands became a blur as he formed the Seal of Nine True Words. The talismanic words began appearing in his consciousness with alarming regularity and the pendant hanging above his chest began to glow. In an instant, the surrounding aura of Heaven and Earth flowed toward him and even the pure energy of the Sun was drawn in. They flowed toward him like a waterfall of gold light.
"Ooh, seems like he's found a way. I don't have to worry any longer. If this piece of land could contain the true Tao, would his training have been so hard?" Yun Jinghong muttered to himself as he stood beneath the Purple Waterfall.
"Yun Jinghong, how do you plan to prepare for his third tempering?"
All of a sudden, a crisp and melodious voice came from within the Purple Waterfall. It contained a hint of devilish, seductive charm, and it even sounded a little languid. From her voice, one could deduce that the speaker was a beauty of unrivaled charm, one that could cause the downfall of kings and chaos as men fought over her.
"Zi Yuxiao! It really is you. You've awoken after millennia," said Yun Jinghong, feeling extremely shocked. He could feel goosebumps rising all over his skin. Her voice was seductive and charming to others, but it terrified him, as if a great enemy had appeared.
"Why, are you afraid to see me?" came Zi Yuxiao's languid voice again. Only, this time it was little more high-pitched, as if her curiosity had been piqued.
"You've existed since the time of our founding father, and you managed to suppress two uprisings of various experts over two millennia just by using your own strength. You're also the number one restricted secret of our sect, no matter whether we're talking about our founding father, the Human Emperor of our sect from 5000 years ago, or Qin Shihuang 2000 years ago. They died on the path of attaining immortality because they got involved with you, apart from our founding father, that is."
Yun Jinghong said as he turned around, his expression extremely serious. and his brows furrowed. Zi Yuxiao laughed gently as she heard him and replied, "What are you trying to say?"
"The path they took when they turned emperor bears evidence of your evidence. The Human Emperor seemed to be trying to help you attain immortality, but he failed. In the end, he died and he lost his powers of Tao, and ancient stars were destroyed as a result. Ying Zheng seemed to have been convinced by you to build the Great Wall of China and ended up defying the will of Heaven. He made the deities angry, resulting in the era of the late arts."
"Even though you personally quelled the two violent uprisings later on, you caused plenty of harm as well. Or perhaps I can say that you're the person who caused all these problems in the Cultivation World! Why did you do that? Also, why are you laying your eyes on Wang Bugui?"
It was surprising that Yun Jinghong would reveal such a shocking secret. Of course, Wang Bugui could not hear him, as he had used his thoughts to block himself away from disturbances. Zi Yuxiao began laughing loudly after hearing Yun Jinghong, and her laughter had the ability to captivate one's soul. If a weaker practitioner like Wang Bugui heard her, he would not have been able to escape from her spell, even with the aid of the pendant.
"Do you think that the person I choose always ends up dying?" her voice rang out again.
Yun Jinghong flicked his sleeves before continuing, "You can put it that way. Other than our founding father, those that were selected by you all ended up dying on the path of attaining immortality. After the Human Emperor's death, there were a few exceptional talents from our sect, but all of them either died terribly after meeting you in the old cave or were killed in battle during those dark and violent times."
"I merely tried to help them achieve the immortality they coveted. Whether one is a saint or emperor, fate will determine whether one is destined to become an immortal or not. Obviously, trying to force one's way to immortality will only result in death. Besides, all of them died for a reason- for the good of humankind. Do you think that the Human Emperor was unable to gauge whether his strength was enough for him to attain immortality? Do you think that there was no particular reason why Ying Zheng chose to defy the will of the Heavens? You'll soon know the reason why."
Zi Yuxiao's melodic voice floated out from the Purple Waterfall. She sounded a little lost, and Yun Jinghong did not know if she was mourning someone or she had some secrets that she could not tell.
"Seems like that there was some huge secret behind all that history. After all, the past is the past, and so many planets have already fallen. Humans now believe that only dinosaurs roamed the Earth billions of years ago, but they did not know that their kind has existed a long time ago. Luckily, the immortals retained the ability to practice Tao, and did not leave too much traces behind in the mortal world. There are too many secrets buried here after so many wars between Good and Evil," lamented Yun Jinghong as he shook his head.
"It's good that you know that. There are too many secrets buried in Earth, since the primordial age, time immemorial and ancient times. How many bodies are there in the ground here? I'm afraid no one can count them all. After all, this planet was too prosperous once. Now, the total landspace is only half of its prime age. The Heavens are merciless, and the path to immortality is hard to find!" said Zi Yuxiao with a sigh.
"I'm still very concerned about the fact that you brought Wang Bugui into the Palace of Purple Clouds. What did you tell him? Are you telling me that he will have a fate similar to that of his ancestors and die on the path to immortality?" Yun Jinghong asked as he furrowed his brows and clenched his fists. If that was true, he would rather Wang Bugui not step on the path of cultivation.
"I just had a premonition that the time mentioned in the prophecy is near. Even the West had such a prophecy, and what we call the opening of the gates to immortality is actually their sign of impending apocalypse. In my opinion, it's a little bit of both. After all, that person left such a great treasure behind," Zi Yuxiao said, sounding puzzled. At the same time, a star gate opened and five divine lights were released.
"What?! This is..." Yun Jinghong stammered, his eyes about to burst out of their sockets. He had not expected to be able to see the legendary treasure personally.
"You should know what this great artifact represents. If I'm not mistaken, there are two more pieces of this item in the world. By combining all three together, one could probably gain some hope of achieving immortality. But, it also means that a period of darkness and violence will reign over the world, stronger and longer than any uprising over the last 2000 years." "I chose him because of his talent and that pendant," said Zi Yuxiao.
"Do know what the pendant is?" Yun Jinghong exclaimed, before realizing that she had already lived for so long, and it was not a wonder that she knew what it was.
"You don't have to know yet. Wang Bugui will find out its origin on his own in future. Knowing what it is too early in advance will have great effect on both you and him," Zi Yuxiao continued languidly.
"But ..." Yun Jinghong still wanted to know, but was stopped by Ziyu Xiao. She opened the star gate, and a few words formed by purple light flew out, "Chat before the star gate."
Yun Jinghong frowned and walked over, feeling puzzled. Wang Bugui was busy cultivating his six senses in the training ground, and coupled with the barrier around him, he had not noticed his master at all. He re-emerged about 10 minutes later, and the Purple Waterfall reverted back to its original state. Yun Jinghong gazed toward the training ground, his eyes filled with surprise and expectation, before turning into a look of worry. Zi Yuxiao had told him a huge secret that only both of them knew now.