Free Web NovelChapter 76: Chapter 49: Innate Primordial Dissociation Divine Light
The Jade Elixir completed its cycles as he sank into a state of utter selflessness.
In this state of deep meditation, Xuzhuang transcended form and awareness. His ordinary five senses and even his Spiritual Sense seemed to cease to exist. The world dissolved into nothingness, yet at the same time, it was as if everything remained constant. His inner and outer self became transparently one, and a single point of divine light appeared within the aperture within the aperture.
Billowing golden qi stirred within the White Jade Pill Furnace, suddenly coalescing into a single thread that Xuzhuang inhaled through his nose. Within that transparent state, a point of spiritual light ascended into the void. Golden motes burst forth and the pill’s power churned like a boiling cauldron. Faintly, a majestic aura began to overflow from some unknown source, shaking the entire mountain. Stones crumbled from the cave ceiling and rained down, only to bounce back up from the floor, clattering endlessly.
The commotion grew ever greater, reaching a peak where it seemed the mountain would collapse and the earth would split in the next moment. Then, just as suddenly, the majestic aura receded and all became tranquil.
"Whoosh..." Xuzhuang slowly withdrew from his deep meditation. The moment he opened his eyes, a flash of light, like lightning born from the void, illuminated the dark cave. He let out a long breath, unable to suppress a trace of regret. ’A pity. I still haven’t managed to refine the golden mercury.’
With a Top-grade Golden Core, refining golden mercury and even reaching the Nascent Soul stage should theoretically be a natural progression. But that didn’t mean it could be achieved in a single leap.
Xuzhuang’s foundation was already incredibly profound. In his century of cultivation, just the single step of increasing his Core Power had taken an immense amount of time.
Even more incredible was that, over eighty years ago, when he had started practicing the *Tai Su True Form Scripture* in his spare time, his cultivation had begun to advance by leaps and bounds, while his foundation simultaneously grew even more profound.
It had reached the point where, over the past century, he had drained two Spirit Veins from the Truth Condensing Pot and exhausted over forty Sixth-Transformation Golden Cores, yet his Core Power still showed signs of growing infinitely. At this rate, there was no telling how much Spiritual Truth and how many medicinal pills he would need to consume to finally perfect his Golden Core.
’The Tai Shi transforms and takes form; form gains substance, which is called the Tai Su. The three great True Inheritances likely stem from a single source—perhaps they were even one scripture to begin with. It was probably divided into True Qi and True Form to prevent future generations from biting off more than they could chew,’ Xuzhuang mused. ’Now that I’ve mastered all three True Inheritances, my foundation is undeniably profound. But, to some extent, it has also made my cultivation more difficult. It seems gain and loss always walk hand in hand.’
Letting out a breath, Xuzhuang didn’t dwell on the pros and cons. He had already come this far; there was no turning back. He was confident he could cut through the thorns and brambles to forge a smooth path for himself.
After temporarily putting these thoughts aside, Xuzhuang began to study another matter. He calmed his qi, focused his mind, and channeled all his Magical Power. Tapping a single finger lightly to his glabella, a formless, colorless speck of light seemed to rise from an unknown place. It danced and swam upon his glabella but never strayed beyond the range of his fingertip.
Xuzhuang let out a breath, then abruptly pulled his finger away from his brow and pointed toward the cave wall in front of him. The formless, colorless speck of light transformed into a line and shot out, striking the wall where he pointed.
There was no sound, no brilliant flash, no shaking of the mountain. The speck of light vanished in an instant, as if it had never been fired at all.
Xuzhuang raised his gaze and saw a thin ray of sunlight shining into the cave through a tiny hole.
’This is...’ Xuzhuang was stunned. ’This tiny hole wasn’t *pierced* through the rock. The rock’s very form and substance were dissolved, reduced to nothingness, and returned to the state of Innate Tai Su! It truly is the Innate Primordial Dissociation Divine Light!’
The Innate Primordial Dissociation Divine Light was a Divine Technique of the Tai Su lineage that existed almost solely in records. It was said to be able to dissolve the form and substance of all things, reducing them to nothingness, making it unstoppable.
Legend had it that only High-Achieving Cultivators who had practiced a True Inheritance Dao Skill to an extremely profound level had a chance of comprehending it. The last recorded instance of someone mastering this Divine Technique was a thousand years ago, when a True Disciple naturally comprehended it upon reaching the Nascent Soul stage.
He never expected that mastering the three True Inheritances would allow him to comprehend the Innate Primordial Dissociation Divine Light. Although he couldn’t yet wield it at will, with time, it was sure to become his most relied-upon Divine Technique.
Over this century of cultivation, Xuzhuang had also raised many of his other abilities to the level expected of a Golden Core Cultivator. In terms of Daoist arts, his Five Elements Escape Technique, Red Fire Gang Thunder, One Breath Thousand Jin Technique, and the Tai Su False Form Method—which he had focused on after practicing the *Tai Su True Form Scripture*—had all reached the fifth level.
He had also cultivated other arts—such as those for immobilization and confinement, transformation by exhalation, and warding off disasters—to the fourth level, to name but a few.
In addition, Xuzhuang had finished refining the last treasure he obtained from his trip to the East Sea: the mysterious Purple Clay Small Jar. This Purple Clay Small Jar was a protective treasure, and a particularly special one at that. It couldn’t be activated with ordinary Magical Power; one had to infuse it with the power of a Golden Core to refine a strange purple qi from it.
This strange purple qi could transform into a Purple Qi Xiaoyi or a Purple Qi Smoke Net. It could easily defend against strikes from Flying Swords, assaults of water and fire, and even blows from wind and lightning. It was truly a superior protective art.
All in all, this century of cultivation had not only greatly advanced Xuzhuang’s cultivation base, but his Divine Techniques and abilities had also grown considerably. However, Xuzhuang had lost his sword pellet, leaving him wanting for an offensive measure. Now that he had inexplicably comprehended a Supreme Divine Technique, he was naturally overjoyed.
After testing the Divine Technique, Xuzhuang did not resume his cultivation, but quietly waited for time to pass. After half a day, a talismanic decree suddenly drifted down from the sky, passed through the solid rock of the mountain, and landed before him.
"Disciple Xuzhuang, your allotted time for cultivation in the Flowing Water Grotto Heaven has expired. You are required to activate this talismanic decree within ten days to return to Dongzhen."
Without much hesitation, Xuzhuang took the talismanic decree and extended his Magical Power to connect with it. The decree instantly flared with brilliant light.
This time, Xuzhuang was not in a meditative state and did his best to open his six senses, yet he still couldn’t perceive anything out of the ordinary. He only heard the sound of flowing water grow distant and faint until it vanished completely. The world around him had changed, and he found himself still sitting cross-legged beneath the True Monarch Dharma Aspect in Dongzhen Hall.
Xuzhuang was slightly dazed. For a moment, his internal and external sense of time was in disarray before quickly returning to normal. He knew then that he had spent exactly ten years in the Flowing Water Grotto Heaven.
Calming his mind, Xuzhuang bowed once more to the True Monarch Dharma Aspect, then straightened his robes and rose. Seeing the Venerable one sitting behind the desk in deep meditation with his eyes closed, he did not disturb him and walked straight out of the great hall.
The rolling sea of clouds that met his eyes felt somewhat unfamiliar. Xuzhuang summoned his escape light and returned to Chongyun Peak in a moment. There, he saw a young master in brocade robes standing at the summit, gazing out at the sea of clouds, lost in thought.
Xuzhuang lowered his escape light, a hint of surprise in his eyes. He took a step forward and said, "Senior Brother Sun, it’s been a long time. Why are you waiting here?"
Sun Suzhen turned his head, a smile on his face, and replied, "Junior Brother Xu, long time no see."
"I came back to the sect not long ago and went to Chongyun Peak to look for you, but your residence was sealed. I only found out you were back when a senior brother I know mentioned that you’d pushed him back a spot in the line for the Flowing Water Grotto Heaven. So, I calculated the timing and came here to wait."
"Oh?" Xuzhuang said, "Senior Brother, may I ask why you were looking for me?"
"Junior Brother Xu, surely you remember the agreement we made back then," Sun Suzhen said with a smile.
Xuzhuang raised an eyebrow. "Of course I do. But when I returned to the sect ten years ago, you didn’t seem to be around. I imagine you were off gathering helpers? Judging by the time, you must have returned with a full harvest?"
"Alas," Sun Suzhen sighed and replied, "Junior Brother, you don’t know the half of it..."
