Chapter 112: Five Radiances Break the Wall
"This young master's music contains so many mixed elements!"
Fu Qingyun plucked and strummed lightly, using a soothing melody to draw him into battle, and immediately detected the many things hidden within Qin Mu's music. Qin Mu's music contained Buddhist tones, demonic tones, and divine tones, very strange, along with the sounds of slaughter and conquest, as if one could see the glint of blades and the flash of swords, moving swiftly and urgently.
The Heavenly Demon Sect's Great Cultivation Heavenly Demon Sutra had chapters on music, but not nearly so complex and fragmented. She could tell that Qin Mu's music contained a musical technique from the Heavenly Demon Sect called the Heavenly Demon Rainbow Song, but this was only one part of Qin Mu's music.
Clearly, Qin Mu had fallen into a strange state, unable to extricate himself. He should be comprehending something even more profound, trying to blend various elements together.
Fu Qingyun sensed Qin Mu's true intention and relaxed.
This kind of maddened state was very rare; it could only be reached through deep-level enlightenment of the Dao.
Without madness, there is no life; without madness, there is no Buddhahood.
Fu Qingyun held her pipa, and the notes emanating from her fingertips gradually grew more urgent. She was trying to guide Qin Mu, to let him merge all methods into one and complete the fusion.
The girls of the Listening Rain Pavilion who had been dueling with Qin Mu in music and melody earlier were just fooling around, but they had also been a great help to him, using opposition and pressure to force Qin Mu to continuously perfect his music.
But she was using a method of both guidance and opposition to help Qin Mu fuse better and faster.
Her attainments in music were extremely high, far surpassing the girls of the Listening Rain Pavilion. With her guidance and pressure, Qin Mu progressed rapidly.
Qin Mu's use of the Heavenly Demon Rainbow Song in his playing also benefited her greatly. The Heavenly Demon Rainbow Song was a technique from the Great Cultivation Heavenly Demon Sutra. Although Fu Qingyun had received the teachings, they were incomplete. While guiding Qin Mu, she also received guidance from him, learning the parts of the Heavenly Demon Rainbow Song she hadn't mastered.
After a long time, Fu Qingyun noticed that Qin Mu was gradually about to break free from his maddened state. Their music merged, playing a duet, harmonious like a dragon and phoenix in peace.
Just then, a dozen or so girls rushed excitedly out of a room, carrying a large bell. The bell was over a person's height, and Hu Ling'er sat on top of it, shouting, "Let's all strike the bell together! We'll definitely blast through his demonic music..."
Fu Qingyun stopped playing, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, and scolded, "Do you want to blast the young master to death? What nonsense! Put the bell back!"
Those girls hung their heads dejectedly and carried the bell back inside. Hu Ling'er was also dejected, clearly unhappy that she couldn't use the big bell to blast Qin Mu.
Qin Mu came to his senses, looked around in surprise, and only then realized he had caused a big commotion. He quickly apologized to Fu Qingyun.
"The little girls are inexperienced and nearly interfered with the young master's cultivation. Please don't blame them, young master."
Fu Qingyun smiled and said, "Has the young master not eaten yet? You've been at it all night; it's almost dawn."
Qin Mu quickly called for the little fox spirit, who was always eager for chaos, and they went to eat together.
The brocade-clad youth packed up the leftover food and washed the empty bowls and plates. A few girls rushed over to stop him, saying, "How can the young master do such lowly work? Leave it to us."
Qin Mu laughed and said, "The Dao has no rank; how can work be lowly or noble? I've already washed them; there's no need for you to dirty your hands."
Fu Qingyun asked, "What realm is the young master in now?"
Qin Mu lit a fire in his hands to dry the water droplets, and replied, "Still in the Spirit Embryo realm."
Fu Qingyun frowned slightly. The Spirit Embryo realm was too low. Entering the Grand Academy would be very difficult. Even if the Grand Academy admitted scholars on special terms, they were often martial artists who had already opened the Five Radiances Divine Treasury.
With only the Spirit Embryo realm, he probably couldn't pass the Grand Academy's assessment.
She had originally thought Qin Mu was at least in the Five Radiances realm, since when she saw him three years ago, he was already in the Spirit Embryo realm. She hadn't expected that in these three years, Qin Mu had made no progress.
What she didn't know was that although Qin Mu's realm hadn't improved, his cultivation base had increased significantly. Moreover, his Spirit Embryo had awakened four times, and the four great vital energies circulated freely. The sheer abundance of his vital energy was outstanding even among martial artists.
"It's still two days until the Grand Academy opens. The young master should try to break through the wall. Try to succeed within these two days."
Even as Fu Qingyun said this, she felt uneasy. Breaking through the wall in two days was really forcing the issue, almost impossible.
Qin Mu nodded and smiled, "In two days, I will definitely break through the wall!"
Fu Qingyun shooed the girls away, saying, "Don't bother the young master for these two days. Little fox, you shouldn't stay here either. Let the young master meditate to his heart's content."
Hu Ling'er had no choice but to leave with them. She heard the girls say to the little fox, "Sister Ling'er, we'll teach you the art of enchantment. It's so much fun..."
Qin Mu had been trying to break open the Five Radiances Divine Treasury and enter the Five Radiances realm ever since he left the Great Ruins. These days, he had been diligently studying the Great Cultivation Heavenly Demon Sutra and had gained many insights.
The Great Cultivation Heavenly Demon Sutra contained secrets about opening the Five Radiances Divine Treasury. The sutra said: "Forgetting form to nurture Qi is the Golden Elixir; facing the scenery with a mind absent is the Great Return. Forgetting form transforms Qi, Qi transforms Spirit; this is the Great Dao penetrating the Three Barriers.
"The Crimson Palace blazes like a crescent moon furnace; the Spirit Embryo sits silently on the Great Mysterious Altar. Cinnabar is the blood of the Red Phoenix; quicksilver is the liver of the Black Tortoise.
"Golden lead is gathered and returned to the Earth Furnace; Wooden mercury flies away and dwells in the Mud Pellet. The Flower Pond is within the Sea of Qi; the Spirit Chamber is between the Yellow Court."①
Golden Elixir refers to the golden light in the Golden Sea of the Spirit Embryo Divine Treasury. Qin Mu had already refined the Spirit Embryo sitting silently on the Great Mysterious Altar. The Golden Sea in his Spirit Embryo Divine Treasury was now empty, and as his vital energy circulated, a Mysterious Altar imprint formed beneath the Spirit Embryo.
Now, his Spirit Embryo Divine Treasury only had a Mysterious Altar formed by the patterns of vital energy arrays, with the Spirit Embryo at its center.
The Five Radiances Divine Treasury, also called the Five Elements Divine Treasury, is located between the two breasts, where the heart resides. The heart is also called the Crimson Palace.
In the Great Cultivation Heavenly Demon Sutra, cinnabar and quicksilver are metaphors. Cinnabar represents fire, quicksilver represents water, golden lead represents metal, wooden mercury represents wood, and the Earth Furnace represents earth, corresponding to the Five Radiances: Fire Radiance Mars, Water Radiance Mercury, Metal Radiance Venus, Wood Radiance Jupiter, and Earth Radiance Saturn.
The Great Cultivation Heavenly Demon Sutra says that opening the Five Radiances Divine Treasury requires fixing the star positions.
Star positions refer to the five radiances of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth in the sky, corresponding to the Five Radiances within the human body's Five Radiances Divine Treasury. Everyone's physical constitution, development, and gender are different, causing the positions of the Five Radiances within the Five Radiances Divine Treasury to differ as well.
Therefore, one must use the Five Radiances in the sky to calculate the Five Radiances in the human body, determine the star positions, and then use vital energy to strike.
Qin Mu took a thick stack of paper, a charcoal pencil, and an abacus from his bundle. Beside them were ten copies of the *Arithmetic Classic*. Qin Mu flipped through the papers, which were densely covered with mathematical formulas. He was using a method of elemental resolution to calculate the positions of the Five Radiances. These days, he had reached the final stages.
The abacus clicked and clacked incessantly. When the sun was high in the sky, Qin Mu stretched lazily, stood up, and moved his body.
On the first page of the table, he had drawn a heart, surrounded by dense text and formulas. Five lines branched out, forming an equilateral pentagon around the heart, with each corner marked with the attributes of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth.
Qin Mu had turned the principles of generation and conquest into numbers, calculated the star positions, and finally determined the exact location of his Crimson Palace.
After moving around a bit, Qin Mu began to walk slowly, activating his vital energy and letting it circulate vigorously. At the same time, his vital energy passed through his Spirit Embryo, becoming even more abundant. Qin Mu walked faster and faster, and gradually a wind stirred within the room. The wind grew stronger, blowing the doors and windows open. Qin Mu simply walked out of the building into the courtyard, walking rapidly as if no one else was there.
Finally, his vital energy reached its peak. In his Spirit Embryo Divine Treasury, the Spirit Embryo on the Mysterious Altar stood up, its hands raised to the sky. Five streams of vital energy shot into the high sky of the divine treasury, merging in pairs to form a single entity, transforming into five stars.
Between those five stars, threads of vital energy connected them, forming an equilateral pentagon and connecting opposite corners, creating a five-pointed star pattern. Then they gradually brightened, like a mirror that hummed and shone down from the Spirit Embryo Divine Treasury, opening the Conception and Governing Vessels, shining down along the throat, and humming as it illuminated his heart chamber.
Qin Mu's vital energy erupted with overwhelming force, rolling down along the path of light, and with a boom, it struck the point illuminated by the light.
A roar sounded in his ears. An invisible gate in his heart chamber burst open. The invisible barrier was shattered by his vital energy, vanishing without a trace. A divine treasury was thus opened!
A divine sound echoed in his mind, but before it could interfere with his vital energy circulation, the Five Radiances Divine Treasury was already wide open!
Qin Mu stopped. The accumulation of half a month had condensed into this one powerful strike. It was truly exhilarating and satisfying!
"Young master, why aren't you meditating quietly? Why have you come out?" Fu Qingyun walked over, a hint of reproach in her voice.
Qin Mu opened his eyes. His aura was continuously rising, his cultivation becoming richer and purer. He smiled faintly and said, "I've broken through the wall."
Fu Qingyun's heart skipped a beat. Her eyes widened, and she stared at him in disbelief, stammering, "Broken through what wall, young master?"
"I've broken the barrier of the Five Radiances Divine Treasury," Qin Mu said with a smile.
Fu Qingyun felt a bit dizzy. "But I just left your room not long ago..."
Note ①: Excerpted from "The Happy Song" by Bai Yuchan, a Daoist priest of the Song Dynasty, a Daoist cultivation method.