Chapter 480: Life's Paths Always Cross
"After I learned the Primordial Spirit Guide created by you, the Sect Leader, I was greatly inspired. The Primordial Spirit Guide is a wondrous and profound technique for cultivating the primordial spirit at the Six Harmonies realm, truly mysterious and unfathomable, opening up countless possibilities for the future!"
Xu Shenghua sat with Qin Mu, the Demon Ape, and the others in the temple atop the Golden Summit. As he spoke of the Primordial Spirit Guide pioneered by Qin Mu and Ling Yuxiu, even he, a visitor from the Celestial Realm, couldn't help but beam with excitement, his spirits soaring as he clapped in admiration. "The Primordial Spirit Guide pulls something achievable only at the Seven Stars realm down to the Six Harmonies realm. At the Six Harmonies realm, there is still a complete blank when it comes to how to cultivate the primordial spirit and how to unleash its power. There is so much to be done in this area—for example, developing various primordial spirit techniques. Every new technique created is a tremendous advancement in the Dao of techniques and divine abilities, which in turn affects every subsequent realm: the Heavenly Being, Life and Death, and Divine Bridge! This is what I admire most about Sect Leader Qin!"
Even he couldn't help but show reverence as he spoke, saying, "The Primordial Spirit Guide of the Sect Leader and Princess Xiu can serve as a teacher to all under heaven! The title of Human Sovereign is well deserved! I feel both admiration and awe toward you. Since we are both Sovereign Bodies, and you have already achieved so much, how can I avoid falling behind you?"
Xu Shenghua smiled, his tone relaxed. "Your Primordial Spirit Guide has opened up countless possibilities for techniques and divine abilities, so I chose the greatest and most difficult possibility: merging the Seven Stars realm with the Six Harmonies realm."
Qin Mu said in a deep voice, "But merging two major realms involves far too many aspects. It's essentially equivalent to eliminating an entire realm. How did you manage it?"
Xu Shenghua grew serious and said, "There are seven Divine Treasuries in total: the Spiritual Embryo, Five Luminaries, Six Harmonies, Seven Stars, Heavenly Being, Life and Death, and Divine Bridge. Among these seven Divine Treasuries, the Spiritual Embryo awakens spiritual nature. Once the Spiritual Embryo forms, it becomes the center of creation, the beginning of heaven and earth."
"With the Spiritual Embryo established, it stands atop the Spiritual Platform. With the Spiritual Embryo as the center, the Five Luminaries are generated—five stars of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth—revolving around the Spiritual Platform."
"Then the Spiritual Platform gives rise to a continent. Once the continent takes shape, it defines the six directions: east, west, south, north, above, and below—the Six Harmonies."
"With the Six Harmonies achieved, the sun and moon are born, combining to form the Seven Stars."
"With the Seven Stars in place, the Spiritual Embryo reaches maturity, giving rise to the sun, moon, and constellations, becoming the Heavenly Being."
"When the Heavenly Being's primordial spirit is strong enough, it connects to Life and Death. Death is the Nether Capital beneath the primordial spirit's feet, hidden below the continent of the Spiritual Platform. The formation of the Nether Capital is Life and Death."
"Life, on the other hand, is the Divine Bridge—a bridge emerging above the primordial spirit. By stepping onto the Divine Bridge, one reaches the Heavenly Palace. Entering the Heavenly Palace means escaping the control of the Nether Capital and no longer being bound by lifespan."
With just a few words, he explained the mysteries of the seven major realms with perfect clarity. Qin Mu nodded repeatedly. Xu Shenghua's understanding of the realms was similar to his own, though there were slight differences, particularly regarding the Seven Stars realm.
The sun and moon in Qin Mu's Divine Treasury had already formed long ago, not only at the Seven Stars realm. This clearly differed from conventional cultivation, but Qin Mu dismissed it as a unique trait of the Sovereign Body and didn't dwell on it.
"So how did you merge the Six Harmonies and Seven Stars into one?" he asked humbly.
Xu Shenghua smiled faintly. "I worked backward."
Qin Mu's body trembled slightly as he let out a breath. "Brilliant!"
"I imagined myself standing before the Southern Heavenly Gate of the Heavenly Palace, looking down at the seven major realms. From the height of the Heavenly Palace, one can see that the seven Divine Treasuries are, in the end, actually just one."
Xu Shenghua said leisurely, "The seven Divine Treasuries are really just a single Divine Treasury, but they have been divided into seven parts. If someone were powerful enough from the start, they could treat the seven Divine Treasuries as one, opening them all at once and directly entering the Heavenly Palace! But it's impossible for anyone to be born with such terrifying power. However, the Primordial Spirit Guide created by the Sect Leader and Princess Xiu made it possible to turn the Seven Stars and Six Harmonies Divine Treasuries into a single Divine Treasury."
Qin Mu said gravely, "It's easy to say, but doing it is hard. Different Divine Treasuries are separated by realms and barriers. Merging Divine Treasuries means merging realms and breaking down barriers. How did you break the barrier between the two Divine Treasuries to make them one?"
Xu Shenghua replied, "To merge the two major Divine Treasuries in advance and break the realm barrier, the primordial spirit must take the lead, forcibly condensing the two Divine Treasuries into one. To this end, I developed the Seven Stars Six Harmonies Primordial Spirit Art based on the Sect Leader's Primordial Spirit Guide."
He activated the Primordial Spirit Art, and instantly a violent aura surged into the sky. His primordial energy erupted, and extraordinary phenomena appeared.
A lotus bloomed beneath Xu Shenghua's feet, and the Spiritual Embryo emerged from within the lotus. The lotus beneath the Spiritual Embryo was his Spiritual Platform. This Spiritual Platform spun and blossomed, quickly transforming into a lotus continent.
At the same time, his Five Luminaries flew out—five great stars revolving around the lotus continent. Five deities stood atop the Five Luminaries stars, each with a different appearance.
Then, the yin and yang energies transformed into the sun and moon, soaring upward. The sun, moon, and Five Luminaries converged to form the Seven Stars.
The Spiritual Embryo's body grew larger and larger, standing atop the lotus continent. Radiant light emerged from the lotus, connecting the Five Luminaries and Seven Stars!
Qin Mu immediately sensed that his primordial spirit stood between the earth and the sky. With the primordial spirit as the pivot, primordial energy flowed in a strange trajectory, and the barriers between the Divine Treasuries had vanished without a trace!
What Xu Shenghua had opened up was the connection between heaven and earth!
The Seven Stars and Six Harmonies Divine Treasuries were originally separate. His Seven Stars Six Harmonies Primordial Spirit Art connected heaven and earth, eliminating the barrier between them!
Qin Mu suddenly stood up, his primordial energy raging. He shouted, "Brother Xu, let me see how much your cultivation has improved after merging the two realms!"
He activated the Eight Forms of Thunderclap, striking out with a single punch: "Alone by the Eastern Sea, I carry the spring thunder!" A fist shot out, sending waves of rage and spring thunder roaring through the mountains.
Xu Shenghua raised his hand to receive the punch. Both of them swayed, and Qin Mu took half a step back, a look of surprise on his face.
Xu Shenghua's primordial energy had originally been slightly inferior to his, but after merging the two realms, it was now a notch above!
Merging two realms was truly extraordinary!
Xu Shenghua dispersed the phenomena and explained the technique he had created.
Qin Mu was deeply moved. Xu Shenghua's Seven Stars Six Harmonies Primordial Spirit Art centered on the Spiritual Embryo, which combined with the soul to form the primordial spirit.
The primordial spirit became the center of the four Divine Treasuries, the hub connecting the Seven Stars and Six Harmonies Divine Treasuries, mobilizing all the power of the four Divine Treasuries to refine and merge the barriers between heaven and earth.
"If this is done, it seems possible to break all the barriers between the Divine Treasuries. By the time we reach the Divine Bridge Divine Treasury, all seven Divine Treasuries will be one..."
Qin Mu was lost in thought.
His Primordial Spirit Guide was a starting point. Xu Shenghua's Seven Stars Six Harmonies Primordial Spirit Art had taken two or three steps beyond that starting point. And there were countless possibilities beyond that—not only could the Seven Stars and Six Harmonies be merged, but the barriers between the Spiritual Embryo and Five Luminaries could also be dissolved!
The barriers between the Heavenly Being, Life and Death, and Divine Bridge realms could also all be eliminated!
After cultivating to the Divine Bridge realm, the Heavenly Being would merge, Life and Death would connect, and the seven Divine Treasuries would become one, with no more distinctions between realms!
If that happened, it would undoubtedly trigger a monumental revolution!
The strength of all cultivators under heaven would see an extraordinary boost!
And the changes brought about by the increase in cultivators' strength would be no small matter.
"To eliminate all the realm barriers will likely take decades or even centuries of effort. But now, we can see the dawn. Brother Xu, you have done something remarkable..." Qin Mu murmured.
Xu Shenghua said humbly, "Without the Sect Leader's Primordial Spirit Guide, I could never have taken this step. Sect Leader, it was you and Princess Xiu who did something remarkable."
Qin Mu laughed heartily. Xu Shenghua didn't know that the reason he had been able to comprehend the Primordial Spirit Guide was mainly due to that chance encounter on the pleasure boat. When Qin Mu met Xu Shenghua, the clash between two strong wills stirred his heart, and it was through the resonance of their primordial spirits with Ling Yuxiu that he had cultivated the primordial spirit.
The creation of the Primordial Spirit Guide owed an indirect debt to Xu Shenghua as well.
Suddenly, a thunderous roar erupted beside them. The Demon Ape's physical body swelled dramatically, involuntarily revealing his true form as a pitch-black giant ape, as large as a small hill!
After Xu Shenghua finished explaining the Seven Stars Six Harmonies Primordial Spirit Art, the Demon Ape immediately activated his primordial spirit and began circulating the technique as described.
Everyone was startled and quickly stepped back. They saw the Demon Ape's primordial spirit rumbling and shaking. Xu Shenghua's Primordial Spirit Art was being executed by him without any hindrance, and he was about to merge the Seven Stars and Six Harmonies Divine Treasuries!
Xu Shenghua was shaken. He glanced at Qin Mu and said, "Sect Leader, this Senior Brother Zhan Kong's talent is a bit too good, isn't it?"
Qin Mu suppressed his shock and looked up at the Demon Ape's enormous body. "His mind is pure, without any distractions. In the past, when he learned the Eight Forms of Thunderclap from the Great Thunderclap Monastery, he was also much faster than me. Because his mind is single-focused, his cultivation progresses extremely rapidly."
Xu Shenghua said suspiciously, "Could he also be a Sovereign Body?"
The Demon Ape was naturally physically strong and had deep cultivation. He had received teachings from the Old Tathagata, who instructed him in the Tathagata Great Vehicle Sutra, and later trained under the Little Tathagata. With guidance from these two Buddhist supreme beings, his foundation was already very solid.
However, although his mind was simple, he was far inferior to Qin Mu and Xu Shenghua in terms of innovation. Qin Mu's mind was complex, but he could often draw analogies and create new cultivation methods.
Xu Shenghua had fewer distractions, but his knowledge was broad, and driven by Qin Mu's challenge, he developed a spirit of refusing to admit defeat. Thus, he was able to create the Primordial Spirit Art based on Qin Mu's foundation.
As for the Demon Ape, he lacked this kind of insight, but he was exceptionally fast at learning others' techniques.
The three of them represented three different ways of cultivation.
The Demon Ape learned without seeking deep understanding—if he could cultivate it, he would immediately do so. Xu Shenghua integrated, seeking understanding and then seeking more solutions. Qin Mu pioneered—when there was no direction ahead, he would forge one.
Qin Mu also had his shortcomings. After forging a direction, he often moved on to other things without continuing to advance. That was why it was Xu Shenghua, not him, who created the Seven Stars Six Harmonies Primordial Spirit Art.
As for the techniques or divine abilities created by Qin Mu and Xu Shenghua, the Demon Ape learned them the fastest. Before Qin Mu had even started cultivating the Primordial Spirit Art, the Demon Ape was about to break through the realm barrier.
Qin Mu quickly set aside other thoughts and focused on cultivating the Primordial Spirit Art, striving to break through the barrier between the Six Harmonies and Seven Stars.
Two days later, Qin Mu finally broke through the barrier between the two realms. He opened his eyes and saw Xu Shenghua and the Demon Ape locked in battle in the mountains. The two, one large and one small, fought fiercely, surrounded by a crowd of demon monks and smaller monsters cheering them on.
Just as Qin Mu was about to head over, a familiar voice came from the foot of the mountain, laughing loudly: "The Little Thunderclap Monastery has quite the nerve, daring to steal my master's primordial spirit! Listen up, you bald donkeys up there! Hand over my master's primordial spirit, or I'll wipe out your entire sect!"
Qin Mu looked down the mountain and saw Banguocuo walking up. His legs bent backward, half-crouched and half-squatting, making his gait extremely eye-catching.
"This kid, didn't I only cut off one of his legs? Why has he replaced the other one too?"
Qin Mu's heart leaped with joy. Without a second thought, he sent a flying sword streaking out, crossing dozens of miles straight toward Banguocuo.
Banguocuo, having just replaced his deer legs, was caught off guard. When he saw the sword light, it was too late to dodge. He hurriedly took two steps, only to see the sword light fly from behind him to ahead of him.
He quickly turned around and saw his two deer legs running behind him.
"Damn you!"
Banguocuo's body hit the ground, now much shorter. He looked up and roared angrily, "Qin, you bastard! I'll never let this go!"
"Life's paths always cross!"
Qin Mu sheathed his sword, standing atop the Golden Summit with his hands on his hips, laughing heartily. "Great Lord is too kind, bringing two deer legs as a gift. How could I, your younger brother, refuse? I'll gladly accept them!"
Just then, a young man carrying a box walked up from the mountain gate. He looked up at Qin Mu on the Golden Summit, a pure smile spreading across his innocent face.
"Great Divine Physician Qin, life's paths always cross. We meet again."