Chapter 193: Divine King Transmits the Dharma
Tai Xu refers to the appearance of the Dao—vast, empty, and still—and also broadly denotes the Great Dao itself.
According to ancient records, after a Divine King achieves Great Accomplishment, they can live for several thousand years, possessing an extremely long lifespan and rarely passing away from old age.
"Yes, that's how it is..." Ye Fan suddenly understood. This was a Greatly Accomplished Divine King, truly capable of enduring four thousand years.
Once a Divine Physique matures, it can live through long ages, enough to guard a clan for several millennia, reaching an extremely prosperous state.
"I've encountered an Eastern Wasteland Divine King..." Ye Fan was incredibly shocked. This was a truly peerless figure.
If the Jiang Family learned that one of their own was here, a Greatly Accomplished Divine King, they would surely go mad and use all their power to rescue him.
"This is truly hard to believe..."
From another perspective, it showed the terror of Purple Mountain. An Eastern Wasteland Divine King was trapped here, struggling bitterly until now without being able to escape.
"You... come here..." The aged voice was exceptionally weak, as if it might fade at any moment.
Ye Fan identified the direction and followed the winding, twisting rock cave forward for over a dozen steps, then stopped. "Senior, where are you?"
"I am ahead..." Divine King Jiang Taixu replied faintly.
"Can I help you with anything?" Ye Fan stood still, transmitting his voice with divine thought within the cave.
But deep within the cave dwelling, it was completely silent. A long time passed without any response.
"Senior, what's wrong with you?"
Only after half an hour did the weak voice come again: "I... am at my last gasp... I cannot always transmit sound."
Even a powerful Divine King, trapped for four thousand years, found it hard to hold on. If it were any other cultivator, they would have long since turned to dust, decayed for millennia.
"Your... realm... is..." Divine King Jiang Taixu asked.
"The Other Shore realm." Ye Fan thought briefly and answered truthfully.
"You... imitated the ancient sages... cultivating a single secret realm?" the Eastern Wasteland Divine King pressed.
"Junior has only cultivated for four years and does not know how to cultivate a single secret realm. I am merely at the normal Other Shore realm."
A heavy sigh came, seeming utterly despairing, as if it drained all the Divine King's strength. For a long time, he made no sound, uttering no words.
"Senior, are you alright?" Ye Fan inquired.
Another half hour passed before the other seemed to have gathered enough strength. He was very disappointed, his voice desolate and lifeless: "You... are too weak..."
Ye Fan couldn't respond. How could he compare to a Greatly Accomplished Divine King? Since ancient times, there were probably few who wouldn't bow their heads.
"With such weak cultivation... how did you get in?" Divine King Jiang Taixu was very puzzled.
"Junior wore a special stone garment and managed to walk in by luck."
"A thousand years ago... just like that person..."
"Senior, you saw that person? Where did he go?" Ye Fan asked. He had come for the Source Heaven Scripture, had almost given up, but now hope was reborn.
"He died... deep in Demon Mountain." Jiang Taixu's words came in fragments. It was hard to have a proper conversation with him; every sentence required waiting a while.
"Can I reach that place?" Ye Fan pressed.
"I don't know." The Eastern Wasteland Divine King was unwilling to say more. Every word burned some of his energy, and each reply was the briefest possible.
Throughout this process, Ye Fan appeared calm, but his heart was churning.
The Source Heaven Scripture was indeed a treasured manual, but the Jiang Family Divine King before him was a living ancient scripture, mastering all kinds of supreme secret arts.
"Took four years... to reach Other Shore... neither fast nor slow..." Divine King Jiang Taixu muttered to himself.
Ye Fan's heart stirred. "In truth, if I could cultivate the most powerful mental method, I could shorten the time significantly."
The weakened Divine King did not respond, seeming to have fallen into slumber, with no further sound.
This time, a full three hours passed before Jiang Taixu spoke again: "Come forward... I will teach you..."
These six words seemed to drain his last strength. After speaking, he fell silent again. Under normal circumstances, no one could bear it—it was easy to lose patience with such long pauses between sentences.
But Ye Fan remained calm, waiting patiently. He hesitated slightly, then strode forward.
The purple rocks shimmered with faint, hazy light. Inside Purple Mountain, it wasn't dark, but neither was it bright—at best, it was dim and indistinct.
The ground was pitted and uneven. Ye Fan followed the winding passages from one abandoned cave into another ancient mine.
On the walls of the ancient mine, many stone bones were faintly visible, shocking to the eye. Yes, many prehistoric biological fossils were fused with Purple Mountain.
Ye Fan walked a hundred zhang deep into the ancient mine and reached the end. Ahead, a stretch of purple wall was very smooth, like crystal jade, reflective enough to see one's image.
This place was empty, with nothing at all. It was silent, with only him standing there alone.
"Senior, are you here?" Ye Fan explored but found nothing.
Ahead, the purple jade wall was bright, clean, and smooth, clearly reflecting his figure. But in that instant, he felt a chill run down his spine.
In the purple jade wall, besides his own figure, there was another tall, ferocious figure. It had a single horn growing from its forehead, six arms below its shoulders, a pair of wings on its back, and its body was covered in fine scales.
Ye Fan felt his scalp go cold. He quickly dodged and turned to look behind him. But there was nothing there—empty.
"Under normal circumstances... you cannot see it..." The Divine King's aged voice came from within the rock wall.
Ye Fan turned back to look at the purple jade wall and saw that the humanoid creature was exceptionally grim and ferocious, with a wide mouth and fangs, still standing behind him.
"An intangible evil thought... only the jade wall... can reflect it..." Jiang Taixu spoke with difficulty.
It took a long time for him to finish a few dozen words, giving Ye Fan a preliminary understanding.
This was an intangible evil thought, emitted by a prehistoric creature. It could automatically lock onto living beings. The only fortunate thing was that the creature had not yet awakened.
Ye Fan's heart tightened. He was not unfamiliar with this kind of creature. Before entering Purple Mountain, he had seen its image in the stone carvings—kneeling devoutly by the Divine Source, but ferocious and powerful when facing humans.
"Senior, where are you?"
"In the rock."
Beside the purple jade wall at the end of the ancient mine was a rough rock wall, from which Jiang Taixu's voice came.
"I'll teach you one technique. Let's see your comprehension..." The Eastern Wasteland Divine King's voice grew weaker and weaker.
Ye Fan calmed his mind and stood still for a full two hours. Suddenly, a withered figure appeared within the rock wall. Yes, through the rough rock, a shadow was cast, outlining a clear silhouette. His bones were visible one by one, little better than a skeleton.
His long hair was longer than his body, dragging behind his gaunt frame. He only assumed a strange posture, then fell backward.
Ye Fan was shocked. The other had projected his shadow through the wall—it wasn't his true body—but Ye Fan still felt a Dao realm. At the same time, a very brief and cryptic oral formula entered his heart, extremely obscure and profound.
The withered figure in the rock wall had long since vanished, leaving only rough, uneven stone.
Ye Fan retreated several dozen zhang, holding the Bodhi Seed, silently comprehending this strange posture, then earnestly studied and cultivated.
In just a moment, Ye Fan's mind was completely captivated. This was an extremely terrifying attack method, with astonishing power.
It was not limited to fists or fingers, nor to leg techniques. Every part of the body could be used to attack, and every inch of skin could unleash tremendous force.
"What kind of secret art is this?" Ye Fan was greatly surprised. This method was very strange but extremely terrifying.
His physical body was already as solid as divine iron. If he cultivated this method, it would become even more fearsome. This attack method suited him perfectly.
However, this seemed to be only an opening stance, not complete. Even so, Ye Fan had glimpsed its mysteries. Its subsequent development would surely shake heaven and earth.
"Even the opening stance is this terrifying..." Ye Fan was awed. He felt this must be a supreme secret art.
In the following days, he practiced tirelessly, silently comprehending, and found it increasingly profound.
"Is this the treasured secret art recorded in the Jiang Family's ancient scripture?" Ye Fan wondered. He felt this secret art must have an extraordinary origin.
He was severely lacking in offensive techniques. Although he had cultivated three supreme secret arts—one of the Nine Secrets, the Old Madman's footwork, and the Grand Void Art—none excelled at attack. This secret art perfectly made up for his current deficiency.
As for the Void Great Hand Seal, he had only obtained a remnant form and couldn't unleash its true power.
While comprehending the opening stance of this secret art, Ye Fan was astonished to find that another secret art within his body began to operate on its own.
"This is..." He was overjoyed.
One of the Nine Secrets he had obtained at Clumsy Peak in Grand Mystery could multiply his combat power by several to ten times, and now it was operating on its own.
He immediately connected the dots. What Divine King Jiang Taixu was teaching him was not the Jiang Family's ancient scripture, but one of the Nine Secrets!
It was said that when these nine secret arts were used together, they would promote each other, becoming smoother and vastly more powerful.
"He taught me the opening stance. If I obtained the complete secret art, how strong would my attack power be?"
The power of the Nine Secrets was too great. Legend had it that they were envied by heaven. In the distant past, they were split apart and scattered across the world, never to be gathered again. Some had been completely lost.
"Divine King Jiang Taixu possesses one of these secret arts, and it's an attack method..." Ye Fan's heart was filled with excitement.
The oral formula was profound but very short. Holding the Bodhi Seed, Ye Fan spent seven consecutive days comprehending it and had basically mastered the opening stance.
But the Eastern Wasteland Divine King seemed to have passed away, making no more sounds. Ye Fan transmitted his voice several times but received no response.
In recent days, Ye Fan had felt a growing unease. The demonic call from deep within Purple Mountain grew stronger and stronger. His physical body felt as if it no longer belonged to him, wanting to answer the summons and leave. Please search for the novel for better and faster updates!