Chapter 538: Great Wilderness Mingdao Collection
"I have thoroughly studied the Celestial Way Divine Eye. This divine eye's origin is not a True God's eye, but the Celestial Venerable's pupil technique."
Zhong Wuwang sat in the treasure carriage, looking at the seven people, and said in a deep voice, "I have observed for a long time and discovered that this pupil technique comes from the Celestial Venerable's left eye. It can see through all transformation techniques, concealment techniques, and break various formations, talisman methods, and escape arts. Even if one hides in the void or transforms one's Primordial Spirit, it is difficult to evade the Celestial Way Divine Eye's probing. These past days, every time I entered and exited Despair Slope, I underwent the Celestial Way Divine Eye's scanning, thereby uncovering the mysteries of this pupil technique and comprehending a method to blind the Celestial Way Divine Eye. Now I have full confidence to hide all of you within my small world and enter Despair Slope."
To break the Celestial Venerable's pupil technique, Zhong Wuwang's aptitude and comprehension were indeed extraordinary.
Zhong Wuwang snorted but did not argue. A wise man submits to circumstances. Aside from himself, everyone on the carriage was Chen Shi's people. Why bother with pointless arguments?
The treasure carriage leisurely drove through the portal formed by the Celestial Court token, entering the minor heaven.
When they emerged from the minor heaven, the carriage had already arrived at Tiandao Province, leisurely heading toward Tiandao City. Behind them, the talisman master of Red Mountain Hall put away the Celestial Court token, and the portal disappeared.
"However, after you all enter Despair Slope, you cannot walk about with your true appearances. You must change your looks."
Zhong Wuwang continued, "My Despair Slope is short of eight disciples. You should use Transformation Talismans or other spells to transform yourselves into children, no older than twelve years old. Despair Slope has one hundred and eight Tiandao Peaks, each peak having a different token. I have forged tokens for seven of those peaks."
He took out seven tokens and handed them to everyone.
The token in Chen Shi's hand was Tianyuan, Little Duan Immortal's token was Tianfang, Chen Yindu's token was Tianshu, the one in Creation Little Five's hand was Tianxi, the one in Wu Qi's hand was Tianshang, the one in Li Tianqing's hand was Tianxin, and the one in Yang Bi's hand was Tianji.
"Different tokens represent different Tiandao Peaks. The peak masters of these seven peaks are the Celestial Way Immortals being promoted this time. They are in seclusion within the True God Dao Field, comprehending and preparing for Dao Unification. They won't emerge for three to five days."
Zhong Wuwang said, "And the new peak masters have not yet been selected. Because Despair Slope has lost many immortals and Celestial Way Walkers, morale is unstable and things are not as thorough as before. So even if you are unfamiliar faces, as long as you hold these tokens, you generally won't arouse suspicion. The only one who can see through your true appearances is the Celestial Venerable."
He looked around and said in a deep voice, "The Celestial Venerable can see through all your transformations. If you encounter the Celestial Venerable, you'll have to rely on your own luck. I will absolutely not make a move to help you!"
Everyone nodded one after another and each performed their own transformation techniques.
The youth Chen Yindu transformed into was slightly older, about eleven or twelve. The youth Creation Little Five transformed into had a pale complexion, somewhat sickly.
Li Tianqing and Yang Bi each transformed into young Daoist acolytes, with rosy lips and white teeth, and soft yellow fuzz growing at the corners of their mouths.
Only the child Wu Qi transformed into looked somewhat rough, as if he were about to grow a full beard.
The treasure carriage drove into Tiandao City, and Zhong Wuwang said, "Everyone, prepare yourselves."
He unfolded his small world.
Zhong Wuwang had already achieved Dao Unification and was a Celestial Immortal Realm existence. Of everyone present, only Wu Qi had a higher cultivation realm than him. Chen Yindu's Corpse Liberation Immortal and Little Duan Immortal's Dao Unification small temple were both inferior to his.
He had unified the Dao with himself, avoiding the world's Demonic Energy and without needing to worry about the curse. This method of Dao Unification was unprecedented, and everyone silently applauded it.
Zhong Wuwang's Dao Unification realm already stretched ten thousand li, extremely vast.
What surprised them even more was that the sky of this Dao Realm was imprinted with all sorts of strange and magnificent Talisman Scripts, extremely grand, densely packed, covering the sky and obscuring the heavens. Presumably, this was the method Zhong Wuwang had mentioned for blinding the Celestial Way Divine Eye.
Zhong Wuwang withdrew his Dao Realm. By this time, the treasure carriage had already driven into Tiandao City and arrived at the sky bridge within the city.
Beneath this sky bridge flowed the surging Tiandao River. The other end of the long bridge was propped against a slope that looked like a mirage.
That slope seemed to float in the void, appearing and disappearing.
Zhong Wuwang drove the carriage forward, gradually entering the clouds and mist, arriving at the other side of the bridge.
This place was guarded by a colossal beast called Tianwu, with a keen sense of smell, adept at sniffing out the scent of strangers.
Tianwu sensed a stranger's scent on Zhong Wuwang but didn't see anyone else, so it sniffed several more times. The Celestial Way Walker guarding this place, named Sun Daoyun, stopped Tianwu and said with a smile, "Immortal Zhong has returned?"
Zhong Wuwang confirmed, saying, "Went out on a trip and met a few cultivators. I've likely picked up the scent of others."
Sun Daoyun said, "That happens often, but this beast doesn't understand human nature and always sniffs around randomly, frequently drawing complaints from other Daoists. Please go ahead, Immortal Zhong."
Zhong Wuwang thanked him.
The treasure carriage drove toward the Welcome Immortal Building.
Outside the Welcome Immortal Building, a Celestial Way Walker came forward and moved the carriage aside. Zhong Wuwang walked straight toward the Celestial Way Divine Eye in front of the building and stopped before the building's entrance.
Inside the Dao Realm, everyone nervously looked up at the sky. Suddenly, a magnificent divine light poured down from the heavens, illuminating Zhong Wuwang's ten-thousand-li Dao Realm thoroughly!
That divine light was the gaze of the Celestial Way Divine Eye, the Celestial Venerable's pupil technique. It was no small matter. Just as it was about to penetrate the thick layer of Talisman Scripts, suddenly those Talisman Scripts, illuminated by the divine light, projected downward, forming a world stretching ten thousand li, with mountains and rivers clearly visible, as real as could be!
Chen Yindu, Creation Little Five, and the others were visibly shaken.
"Using the Celestial Way Divine Eye's divine light to activate the talismans and create another world to blind the Celestial Way Divine Eye."
Chen Yindu was somewhat puzzled and murmured, "Can an Innate Dao Embryo really accomplish this?"
The Celestial Way Divine Eye scanned around but found no abnormalities. Zhong Wuwang passed through the Welcome Immortal Building and officially entered Despair Slope.
He arrived at Tianyuan Peak. The peak master of Tianyuan Peak had already gone to the True God Dao Field to enter seclusion for Dao Unification, and there was no one else on the peak.
Zhong Wuwang released everyone and said to Chen Shi, "Now that I have done what I promised you, I no longer owe you anything."
Chen Shi said with a smile, "Er Niu, feel free to go."
Zhong Wuwang left with Fang Zhenxiu.
The youth Chen Yindu had transformed into walked straight out, saying, "I'll go out for a stroll."
Wu Qi said in a deep voice, "I need to explore this place first and find favorable terrain."
Li Tianqing and Yang Bi also walked out, saying, "We'll look for the best spots to watch the battle!"
Creation Little Five walked out as well, saying with a smile, "I'll take a look around too!"
Chen Shi couldn't sit still either. He said to Little Duan Immortal, "Let's go see the legendary Despair Slope."
The two held hands and walked outside. Looking around, they saw vast seas of clouds, mountains like jade standing atop the clouds. From time to time, cranes soared up from the cloud layers, flying toward distant peaks. There were also dragon-serpent creatures hidden within the clouds, summoning rain and mist, appearing and disappearing.
In the distance, there were also grey clouds like barriers standing between heaven and earth, isolating the outside world. It was unclear what they were.
Even further away, bronze city walls could be faintly seen, like natural moats, encircling this strange world.
Chen Shi held Little Duan Immortal's hand. The two child-like figures leaned forward and flew together, weaving through the sea of clouds.
They passed through the clouds, but on the other side of the clouds, the scenery was exactly the same - still the peaks of the one hundred and eight Tiandao Peaks, the grey cloud barriers, and the Bronze Great Wall.
"Despair Slope only has the side above the clouds, not the side below!" The two were greatly astonished.
They came to the grey cloud barrier and tried to pass through it, but inside was filled with thunder and lightning. They couldn't get through.
They searched for a long time and found a mountain ridge rising from the sea of clouds in front of the grey cloud barrier. Here, there was a jade platform with many immortal palaces standing in rows.
Chen Shi and Little Duan Immortal walked over. This place was the Academy of Inquiry, housing Despair Slope's collection of classics gathered from various places and various eras.
Despair Slope had undergone a cataclysm. There was no one else in the Academy of Inquiry except a single Celestial Way Walker guarding it. After verifying the two's tokens, he let them enter the Academy of Inquiry.
Inside the Academy of Inquiry was a Dao lecture platform, where Celestial Way Immortals would transmit the Dao and give lectures. If the Celestial Venerable was in the mood, he would occasionally come here to personally teach. Whenever this happened, it would cause a great commotion throughout Despair Slope.
Aside from that, there was a vast ocean of classics - all kinds of cultivation techniques, records of events from various places compiled by the Heaven's Listeners, and biographies of notable figures.
Chen Shi even found various records about Great Shang's shamanic ritual markings.
The Celestial Way Walkers had transcribed all the shamanic ritual markings on prehistoric relics found across the land, studied their mysteries, and compiled them into books. Such books were countless, as they attempted to deduce Great Shang era supreme arts from them.
"Immortal techniques and shamanic arts are essentially the same at their core. The Celestial Venerable had the Celestial Way Walkers and immortals study these shamanic ritual markings, likely to break Wu Qi's Immortal Art of Immortality and seek even more profound supreme arts." Chen Shi thought to himself.
The third major category was Despair Slope's native cultivation techniques.
Chen Shi's heart stirred slightly. He sat down and carefully leafed through them. Little Duan Immortal flipped through some and shook her head, saying, "These Celestial Way Immortals' techniques aren't particularly impressive."
"The Celestial Venerable's technique is hidden among them."
Chen Shi said quietly, "After the Celestial Venerable killed the Eighteen Shang Ministers, only he and the Qingyuan Daoist remained in Despair Slope. Later, Feng Ruotong came to Despair Slope, Qingyuan was exiled, and gradually other Celestial Way Immortals and Walkers joined Despair Slope. At that time, these techniques didn't exist in Despair Slope. If the Celestial Venerable wanted to teach Feng Ruotong, Immortal Kou, and others, he could only pass down the techniques he knew."
Little Duan Immortal's eyes lit up: "He doesn't understand shamanic ritual markings, which is why there are so many books studying them in the Academy of Inquiry. At that time, the Ming Dynasty hadn't yet discovered the Western Ox New Continent, so there were no Ming Dynasty techniques to teach either. So the first batch of Celestial Way Immortals must have cultivated the Celestial Venerable's own techniques!"
She carried over a large stack of books and carefully leafed through them.
The two had exceptional talent. In half a day, they had flipped through all the techniques left by Feng Ruotong and others. Chen Shi frowned and said, "Every Celestial Way Immortal's technique is an immortal-grade technique, but none of them can be considered truly impressive."
Little Duan Immortal said, "Whether it's Feng Ruotong's Great Wilderness Heart Refining Art, Immortal Kou's Purple Mansion Prime Cauldron Art, or Immortal Ping's Azure Yang Spirit Refining Technique, none of them are very powerful immortal techniques. Some are even inferior to the immortal techniques brought by the True King."
She had worked in the Ministry of Rites office, organizing Great Shang era shamanic techniques and converting them into immortal techniques. She had deep insight into the quality of various immortal techniques.
Chen Shi's heart stirred slightly. He said, "These techniques are all fragments of the Celestial Venerable's technique. If I were the Celestial Venerable, I definitely wouldn't pass down my true technique to Feng Ruotong and the others. I would select a portion of the formula, add some explanation, and pass it down as an ordinary immortal technique."
He rapidly flipped through the texts he had read earlier and said, "Wife, these books are mixed with other immortal techniques. Let's pick out the True King's Era and Great Shang Era techniques. What remains should be the Celestial Venerable's technique!"
Little Duan Immortal immediately started flipping through and selected out the Great Shang Era techniques from these texts.
Soon, the two had filtered through all the texts, leaving only six.
Chen Shi spread out the six immortal techniques and carefully examined them, murmuring, "If one wanted to surpass Great Shang's techniques, the backbone of the Celestial Venerable's technique would need to be extremely robust, even surpassing the Blood Lake Sutra and the Dark Bird Dao patterns. So among these six immortal techniques, the backbone should be... the Great Wilderness Heart Refining Art!"
Little Duan Immortal said, "The Celestial Venerable was able to withstand the siege of all the gods of the Black Bird Celestial Court. The gods of the Dark Bird Heavenly Gods are my Great Shang's ancestors, who received over three hundred thousand years of incense offerings, with incomparably mighty divine power. The Celestial Venerable's technique must be based on incomparably mighty magical power."
She pushed the Purple Mansion Prime Cauldron Art to the front.
Chen Shi said, "His Primordial Spirit cultivation method corresponds to the Azure Yang Spirit Refining Technique. His movement technique corresponds to the Wandering Dragon Hundred Transformations Art."
Little Duan Immortal said, "The star charts he observed weren't from the Western Ox New Continent but from other worlds. They can be matched with the Heaven-Scrambling Dao Technique!"
"There's also the body-refining method, corresponding to this Unsurpassable Vajra Essential Art!"
The two pieced together the six techniques. Little Duan Immortal frowned and said, "These six techniques cover the formulas for qi, spirit, body, stars, and movement, but immortals also cultivate spells and divine abilities, which aren't included. Besides that, he's a Gold Immortal, but these six techniques are only Celestial Immortal cultivation methods. They don't reach the Gold Immortal level."
Chen Shi looked at Feng Ruotong's Great Wilderness Heart Refining Art and suddenly said, "Perhaps one of the techniques does reach the Gold Immortal level."
His mind was racing. He tried to use the Great Wilderness Heart Refining Art as the core and fill the other five techniques into it.
In his mind, six Chen Shis rapidly formed, each cultivating a different technique.
The six Chen Shis hovered above the Sea of Consciousness, rapidly experiencing the realms of Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Spirit Transformation, Body Unification, Three Corpses, Spirit Refining, Return to Emptiness, Great Completion, Tribulation Crossing, and Ascension!
Suddenly, the six Chen Shis started cultivating from the beginning again. This time, the Chen Shi cultivating the Great Wilderness Heart Refining Art merged with the one cultivating the Purple Mansion Prime Cauldron Art, starting from Qi Refining, with cultivation realm continuously rising.
Whenever they encountered difficulties, Chen Shi would immediately deduce and supplement the technique to keep it running.
Before he knew it, half a day had passed. He finally deduced these two techniques to the Dao Unification level.
Chen Shi immediately stopped. The five Chen Shis continued cultivating from the beginning, except this time the Great Wilderness Heart Refining Art merged with the Azure Yang Spirit Refining Technique, starting from scratch.
Time flew by. They had already been in Despair Slope for one full day.
Little Duan Immortal was growing anxious, thinking to herself: "My husband set a three-day time limit. In three days, when the True God undergoes demonic transformation, Wu Qi will challenge the Celestial Venerable. A day has already passed, and we haven't even had a chance to explore Despair Slope!"
Seeing that Chen Shi had no idea when he would wake from his deduction, she made a decisive choice and tucked Chen Shi into her small world - which was the first small temple behind Chen Shi's head.
A small temple floated behind Little Duan Immortal's head. She concealed it and walked out of the Academy of Inquiry.
With matters weighing on her mind, she had just walked out of the Academy of Inquiry's gate when she nearly collided with a young woman.
The young woman had a round face, looked dignified, and wore strange clothing - a transparent gauze-like outer garment over a pink-red long dress. It wasn't like the clothing of the Ming Dynasty era, but it was quite proper.
"Miss Ding Niuniu!" Little Duan Immortal exclaimed in surprise.
That young woman was Wen Wuyu. Upon hearing the words "Ding Niuniu," her heart skipped a beat. Without a word, she grabbed Little Duan Immortal's hand and turned to walk away, putting distance between them and the Academy of Inquiry.
Little Duan Immortal was pulled along, confused. When they reached a distant spot, the young woman said shyly, "You... you risked being discovered to come to Despair Slope. Did you come to visit me?"