Chapter 121 — The Capital Has Many Taboos
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
The eagle spreads its wings and its eye reaches a thousand li; a thousand li is the domain in which it stoops upon its prey.
To become the Holy Cult Master of the Dark Demon Cult, one must have the spirit to see a thousand li.
For Shen Mu, the most tangible gain this time was still the Five Luminaries realm circulation diagram of the Mystic Body Three-Cinnabar Art. With this diagram he could go on cultivating; otherwise his cultivation would have been trapped at the Five Luminaries realm without an inch of progress.
He returned to the Scholars' Lodge and tried circulating the Mystic Body Three-Cinnabar Art, driving his yuanqi along the diagram he had pieced together. The Five Luminaries realm pathway of the Mystic Body Three-Cinnabar Art was far more complex than before: upon the foundation of the Yuan-Drawing Art and the Spirit Fetus realm method, it laid down another layer of cultivation.
Shen Mu had read through every method in the Great Nurture Dark Demon Sutra. The methods in that sutra were many and wondrous indeed, yet few could rival the Five Luminaries realm pathway of the Mystic Body Three-Cinnabar Art.
The Five Luminaries realm pathway of the Mystic Body Three-Cinnabar Art was like driving three methods at once: one set the simplest Yuan-Drawing Art in motion, the Yuan-Drawing Art drove the Spirit Fetus realm pathway, and the Spirit Fetus realm in turn drove the Five Luminaries realm pathway — complex, to say the least.
This time his yuanqi surged forth. He circulated it by the diagram, and all at once his consciousness divided into five, rushing with his rolling yuanqi into the Five Luminaries Divine Treasury.
Within the Divine Treasury, five great stars suddenly blazed with light!
This time, however, the five elements did not fall into chaos and annihilate one another. Instead a shaft of starlight pierced down from the Metal Luminary and fused with one strand of his consciousness, becoming a Metal God: a snake hanging at its left ear, feet treading twin dragons, tiger claws and white fur, a bronze battle-axe in hand.
Shen Mu cautiously drove his yuanqi onward, letting the Metal God's phantom drink unceasingly of the Metal Luminary's starlight.
The starlight composed the Metal God's phantom; such starlight was called star power — the power of the stars.
At the same time, a shaft of starlight pierced down from the Wood Luminary and merged with another strand of his consciousness, becoming a Wood God: human head, bird body, bird feet, feet treading twin dragons, a willow whip in hand.
From the Water Luminary a shaft of starlight also fell, merging with his third strand of consciousness to become the phantom of a Water God: human head, red hair, serpent body, a trident in hand.
The light cast from the Fire Luminary merged with his fourth strand of consciousness, becoming the phantom of a Fire God: beast body, human face, feet treading twin dragons, a fire gourd in hand.
The light that came from the Earth Luminary merged with his last strand of consciousness, becoming the phantom of an Earth God: human head, serpent body, two door-leaves at its back. Upon those doors were even written characters, but because it was only a phantom they were dim and indistinct, and he could not make out what they said.
His yuanqi fused with the phantoms of these five gods, and between yuanqi and star power a slow mutual transformation was taking place — a state of affairs that left him baffled.
"Yuanqi turning into star power, star power turning into yuanqi, each into the other — does that change signify something?"
Shen Mu doubted it, and felt it out with care, yet found nothing different within; only that when yuanqi transformed into star power, he dimly sensed some nameless force stirring restlessly in the starry heavens, though what force it was he could not tell.
And when star power transformed into yuanqi, he found that his cultivation had risen a little.
"That is no bad thing."