Chapter 95: Chapter 95: Emperor Zhou’s Holy Body (Part 1)
Su Yonghuang’s expression changed. Her beautiful eyes stared fixedly at Li Qiye as she asked in a deep voice, "Just who are you?" The Daytime Celestial Body... Mingren Immortal Emperor hadn’t passed it on. Even within the Su Family, this was a paramount secret.
"You should know who I am. Li Qiye, a disciple of the Xiyan Ancient Sect—your disciple," Li Qiye replied with a calm, leisurely smile.
Su Yonghuang’s elegant eyes turned cold. Her gaze, sharp as a sword, fixed on Li Qiye, as unsettling as a blade against one’s skin.
However, Li Qiye remained seated, perfectly composed and at ease. He shook his head gently. "Don’t try anything. You may have come from the Su Family, and I know you’re powerful, but here in the Xiyan Ancient Sect, if I truly set my mind to it, killing you would be easier than crushing an ant. I’m sure Junior Brother Tu has told you about me."
After a long moment, Su Yonghuang finally withdrew the cold glint from her eyes.
Li Qiye watched her for a very long time before finally shaking his head and saying, "It’s a pity you’ve cultivated the wrong Body Technique." ’The Daytime Celestial Body... one of the two ultimate yang physiques originating from the "Yang" principle in the *Body Book*!’
"Elder Tu may have spoken of your deeds, and I know you have a few tricks up your sleeve—even claiming the patriarch visited you in a dream—but when it comes to Body Techniques, don’t you dare spout such nonsense. Since you know my ancestor possessed the Daytime Celestial Body, you should know that as his descendant, my constitution is compatible," Su Yonghuang said coldly.
In truth, Su Yonghuang was seething inwardly. Her background was a complete mystery, yet Li Qiye had figured it out with ease, while she knew nothing about him. The situation was deeply unsettling.
Li Qiye laughed at her words. ’When it comes to physiques and Body Techniques, across all the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, if I were to claim second place, no one would dare claim first. I’ve spent countless ages immersed in the *Body Book*. The number of Immortal Bodies I’ve personally guided far exceeds just Mingren Immortal Emperor’s Daytime Celestial Body!’
"What are you laughing at!" Su Yonghuang demanded, hearing his laughter.
"Even if you don’t believe me, I’m telling you the truth. The Immortal Body Technique for the Daytime Celestial Body may have become the signature art of your Su Family, but you have indeed cultivated the wrong Body Technique," Li Qiye said, shaking his head.
’I have never allowed the six principles of the *Body Book* to be passed on. Mingren Immortal Emperor learned the technique for the Daytime Celestial Body from me, and the Black Dragon King also learned an Immortal Body Technique under my tutelage. However, they both made a pact with me, swearing upon their very True Destinies.’
’The only exception was the Su Woman. Because she bore Mingren Immortal Emperor’s son, it meant there was a high chance this bloodline would produce physiques from the Daytime Celestial Body lineage in the future—be it the Circulation Body from the Sacred Bodies, or the Little Heavenly Body and Celestial Observation Body from the Emperor Bodies.’
’I felt a debt to the Su Woman, so I broke my own rule and passed the Immortal Body Technique for the "Daytime Celestial Body" to her. It wasn’t for Mingren Immortal Emperor’s sake, but solely because of her own merits and sacrifices over the years.’
Seeing that Li Qiye wasn’t joking, Su Yonghuang stared at him and said in a low voice, "If you claim I’ve cultivated the wrong Body Technique, then give me irrefutable proof."
Li Qiye looked at Su Yonghuang and finally said, "A female ancestor of your Su Family must have achieved Great Success with the Demon Heaven Body, one of the Twelve Holy Bodies. Is that not so?"
Su Yonghuang’s composure faltered at his words. She stared at Li Qiye in disbelief. "How could you possibly know that?"
"A simple deduction," Li Qiye said with a smile. "Furthermore, whenever you circulate the Immortal Body Technique for the ’Daytime Celestial Body,’ your physique blazes like the scorching sun. Am I right?"
"That is the very hallmark of a Daytime Celestial physique. The Daytime Celestial Body is an ultimate yang Body Technique, one of the Twelve Immortal Bodies. What’s wrong with the physique blazing like a scorching sun?" She could be considered a grand expert on this particular lineage of physiques. After all, her ancestor, Mingren Immortal Emperor, possessed the Daytime Celestial Body, so the Su Family had researched this lineage extensively.
"The problem," Li Qiye said, shaking his head gently, "is that at the core of your blazing-sun physique, there lies a single thread of yin, completely unaffected by the heat."
Su Yonghuang’s expression changed drastically at Li Qiye’s words. Cultivation was an intensely personal matter; it was impossible for an outsider to know about her condition. Yet, Li Qiye had exposed the secret of her physique so casually. All this time, she had assumed this was how a Daytime Celestial Body was supposed to be.
Her confidence wavering, Su Yonghuang asked, "If I have cultivated the wrong Body Technique, then where is the mistake?"
"Yang born from yin... a woman at the Great Success stage of the Demon Heaven Body bearing the child of a descendant from the Daytime Celestial Body lineage. That is indeed a bit surprising," Li Qiye said. "If I’m not mistaken, you believe you were born with the Little Heavenly Body, one of the Twenty-four Emperor Bodies, correct?"
"And I’m not?" Su Yonghuang asked, her composure breaking.
Li Qiye shook his head. "Wrong. You have an Innate Zhou Yang Saint Body! Your physique looks very much like the Little Heavenly Body, one of the Twenty-four Emperor Bodies. But in truth, it resembles both the Little Heavenly Body and an Emperor Body from the Sun Body line—the Lesser Yang Body! Your preconceptions misled you. Because you’re a descendant of Mingren Immortal Emperor, you assumed it had to be the Little Heavenly Body!"
"The Zhou Yang Saint Body..." Su Yonghuang repeated, stunned. "You mean the Zhou Yang Saint Body, one of the six legendary special Sacred Bodies?"
There are forty-eight types of Innate Bodies, four in each lineage. There are twenty-four Emperor Bodies, two in each lineage. As for Sacred Bodies, most Cultivators in the world only speak of twelve types, each corresponding to one of the Twelve Immortal Bodies.
However, there are actually Eighteen Holy Bodies in total. When cultivators speak of Sacred Bodies, they tend to overlook the other six.
An Innate Saint Body is already an exceedingly rare physique. The six special Sacred Bodies are even more so—rarer than True Dragon Divine Phoenixes! This is because the Twelve Holy Bodies that correspond to the Twelve Immortal Bodies can be cultivated up from an Emperor Body. The six special Sacred Bodies, however, cannot be cultivated from any other physique. In a sense, they are hybrid physiques.
Precisely because the six special Sacred Bodies are so exceedingly rare, when most cultivators mention Sacred Bodies, they are referring only to the Twelve Holy Bodies.
Li Qiye nodded. "It seems you do have a decent understanding of physiques. Correct. You have an Innate Emperor Zhou’s Holy Body, one of the Eighteen Holy Bodies, not the Little Heavenly Body you imagined."
For a moment, Su Yonghuang’s expression was a mixture of joy and gloom. Even someone as graceful and noble as her struggled to maintain her composure. This news was a double-edged sword. On one hand, it was a good thing; an Innate Saint Body was vastly superior to an Innate Emperor Body. On the other hand, it was also a bad thing.
If she truly had an Innate Little Heavenly Body, then as one of the two great Emperor Bodies in the Daytime Celestial Body lineage, she would possess an unparalleled advantage. Her Su Family had the Immortal Body Technique for the "Daytime Celestial Body"—the strongest, most pinnacle, and most primordial version in the world.
With such an Immortal Body Technique, she hoped to one day cultivate the Daytime Celestial Body, just like her ancestor. This was one of the greatest aspirations of the Tianya Su Family.
But now, as someone with an Innate Emperor Zhou’s Holy Body, it meant she could never cultivate the Daytime Celestial Body.
"Is Great Success with the Emperor Zhou’s Holy Body the final limit?" Su Yonghuang asked, recovering her wits.
Li Qiye shook his head. "Not necessarily. The Emperor Zhou’s Holy Body still falls under the domain of ’Yang.’ It is simply a derivative born from the union of the Daytime Celestial Body lineage and the Heaven-devouring Demon Body lineage. The Emperor Zhou’s Holy Body is nine parts yang to one part yin—yang born from within yin. With a powerful enough Immortal Body Technique, the Emperor Zhou’s Holy Body can eventually be cultivated into the Sun Body!"
The Sun Body, one of the two ultimate yang Immortal Bodies, which, like the Daytime Celestial Body, originates from the principle of "Yang."
"What kind of Immortal Body Technique would it take to cultivate the Sun Body?" Su Yonghuang couldn’t help but ask.
Li Qiye glanced at Su Yonghuang. He had intended to say nothing more, but he relented. "The strongest, most pinnacle, and most primordial of Immortal Body Techniques."
Her heart trembled at his words. The strongest, most pinnacle, and most primordial of Immortal Body Techniques could only originate from the *Body Book*—but no one in the world knew its location. Her Tianya Su Family had no specific records detailing how their ancestor, Mingren Immortal Emperor, obtained the Immortal Body Technique for the "Daytime Celestial Body." However, the heirs of the Su Family knew the truth: their technique was indeed the strongest, most pinnacle, and most primordial in the world, and it came from the *Body Book*. This was the highest of secrets. Apart from the direct heir, not even the average Su Family disciple knew the true origin of their family’s Immortal Body Technique.
In truth, it was Li Qiye, in his guise as the Yin Ya, who had imparted the War God Technique and the "Daytime Celestial Body" Immortal Body Technique to the Su Woman. However, the Su Woman had sworn an oath to never speak of the Yin Ya or the *Body Book* to her descendants.
After a long silence, Su Yonghuang looked at Li Qiye and spoke. "I don’t know your origins, but after our talk today, I am convinced of your capabilities. With you at the helm, the Xiyan Ancient Sect is bound to rise again one day. My ancestor’s heart’s blood was not wasted after all. Passing the position of Sect Leader of the Xiyan Ancient Sect to you would be the most fitting choice."
"Pass the position to me?" Li Qiye asked, surprised.
Su Yonghuang looked at Li Qiye and gave a graceful, noble smile. "When I took the position of Sect Leader, I was well aware that none of the Elders of the Xiyan Ancient Sect wanted to see me in charge. If my ancestor hadn’t founded this sect with his own hands, I would have never waded into these muddy waters. Revitalizing the Xiyan Ancient Sect is no simple task. Making a thirteen-year-old girl the Sect Leader... back then, it sounded like a fantasy. If Elder Xu hadn’t believed I could cultivate the Daytime Celestial Body and insisted that I take the position, I wouldn’t have stayed."
Su Yonghuang was very blunt and direct. She paused, looked at Li Qiye, and continued, "Since the Xiyan Ancient Sect now has a worthy successor, it is time for me to return to the Tianya Su Family."
"You and your grandmother..." The words slipped out before Li Qiye stopped himself.