Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension Chapter 1504: 814: Beat the Young, and the Old Arrives

Ah, so that's the story!

It seems I had only stepped into a wondrous domain; that translucent jade has to be an astonishing heavenly relic, able to guide someone onto the way and even reveal the “Heaven and Earth Great Path” by itself.

Excitement flooded Zhao Sheng's heart, as his thoughts brimmed once more with endless ancient glyphs. Even if he couldn't grasp their shape or voice, he fully comprehended their essence: “…One must uphold unity as the essence, harmony as the base, blend the marvels of the Five Elements' birth and restraint, adhere to the principle of Harmonization's clarity, reaching the state of ‘body and soul both marvelous, truly attuned to the Tao’… This is the ‘Five Directions Five Elements Cave Truth Scripture.’

Zhao Sheng had never dreamed that a simple act of curiosity would yield such immense benefits.

This ‘Five Directions Five Elements Cave Truth Scripture’ came into being thanks to him, matching his cultivation approach flawlessly and lighting up the road forward.

The Daoist Body serving as the base, the Five Elements as the tools!

Just these eight simple words turned the previously murky and tough scripture concepts instantly crystal clear.

Zhao Sheng sensed a sudden burst of deep understanding, and all his gathered knowledge of the Five Elements Path from endless past lives fused together right away, pushing his Daoist cultivation to a huge leap.

Right then, inspiration rushed through Zhao Sheng like a surging wave, and from the depths of his divine soul, a multitude of “Law Silk Strings” abruptly appeared. These strings quivered, divided, united, twisted, and stacked, slowly forming a balanced and coherent “Law Heaven and Earth.”

This “Heaven and Earth,” while still just a fledgling version, held an “idea” that captured the full truth of the Great Dao, way beyond the “idea” from when he formed a grotto heaven in a previous existence.

Inside the Earth Fire Room, Zhao Sheng hovered cross-legged in the air, his form radiating a glow of five colors.

As moments ticked by, the five-colored glow grew ever more intense and splendid, until, as though experiencing some profound change, the multicolored splendor abruptly turned into blooming five-colored lotuses that encircled and swirled about him.

These lotuses seemed solid, their petals resembling polished crystal, with myriad intricate Dao Patterns subtly showing on their faces.

The instant after, the five-colored lotuses mysteriously broke apart, scattering countless petals in all directions, which then swiftly combined and gathered into the emptiness behind Zhao Sheng.

In that emptiness, a pristine pond materialized from nothing, filled with limpid water of endless depth. A five-colored Spirit Lotus, straight and branchless, gradually emerged from the surface, starting to unfurl petal by petal.

For an instant, dazzling rays filled the space, and a captivating aroma spread throughout the room.

At the same time, folks throughout the Treasure Pavilion glanced about, their noses twitching as they caught a whiff of something.

“What’s that scent? It’s incredibly alluring!”

“Huh, my injuries feel better already! What sort of Precious Pill could release such an enigmatic medicinal aroma?”

“Shopkeeper, what gem are you keeping secret? Hurry and show it to me.”

Meanwhile, on the limbs of the Golden Osmanthus Pottery outside the Earth Fire Room, many buds popped up out of nowhere and then burst into full flower, sending out bursts of invigorating perfume.

As the crowd buzzed with confusion over the origin of the smell, the enigmatic fragrance that had filled the Treasure Pavilion abruptly disappeared completely.

Just the middle-aged overseer in charge of the Earth Fire Room spotted the oddity first and saw the shifts in the Golden Osmanthus Pottery.

He promptly informed his Pavilion Master of all the strange happenings.

Master Qi rushed to the scene yet halted outside the Earth Fire Room's door.

After pondering deeply for quite a while, he opted against rapping on the stone door and instead chose to keep it all under wraps.

Three months flew by in no time.

Feeling invigorated, Zhao Sheng emerged from the Earth Fire Room and passed two supreme spiritual artifacts to Master Qi.

When encountering Master Shaoling once more, Master Qi showed utmost deference, behaving purely as a subordinate and avoiding any hint of oversight.

Even though Zhao Sheng couldn't fathom the sharp shift in demeanor, he stayed composed and allowed events to unfold naturally.

…

Half a day afterward, a streak of light cut through the skies, rapidly dropping down onto Seven Stars Island.

Before the Lakeside Pavilion, Zhao Sheng curbed his flight and, as usual, extended his divine sense to envelop the whole island.

In the blink of an eye, his brows knitted, for he had already sensed two uninvited figures within the pavilion.

“Since when do two peak Foundation Establishment Cultivators linger on the island? Might they hail from the Three Extremes Zhao Family?” With that notion, Zhao Sheng unwittingly let a wisp of his presence slip.

Shortly, a sharp call rang out from inside the pavilion: “Who goes there?!”

Even before the shout finished, a window by the lake exploded, and a black-robed elder burst forth from the interior.

The black-robed elder touched down a dozen feet away, warily scanning the “intruder” facing him.

“Why do you intrude upon Seven Stars Island?” The black-robed elder covertly assessed the man several times but detected no aura at all, making him seem like a plain mortal.

The stranger the situation, the warier the elder grew.

Zhao Sheng let out a light laugh and replied, “That’s a query you ought to direct at yourselves, not me.”

His words had barely landed when Zhao Jincheng's form abruptly showed up at the pavilion's doorway.

Happening to catch those lines, Zhao Jincheng felt a jolt in his chest and quickly inquired, “Fellow Daoist, are you Zhao Sheng?”

“That’s right, and who might you two be?” Zhao Sheng affirmed with a nod, though he already harbored suspicions.

Upon this confirmation, both the black-robed elder and Zhao Jincheng exhaled in relief.

The black-robed elder put on a fierce front, bellowing, “How bold! Before the Young Master of the Main Family, why haven’t you come forward to show respect?”

At those words, Zhao Jincheng puffed up, his bearing turning profoundly arrogant.

Zhao Sheng offered a faint smile and casually remarked, “In these times, even stray beasts presume to masquerade as the Young Master of the Zhao Family. When you stack them against our forebears who carved out the clan through trials and tribulations, it’s clear each lineage pales before the one before.”

Having basked in praise all his life, Zhao Jincheng couldn’t abide such belittling words.

Especially since they came from a mere “Slave Cultivator” of the family’s bottom rung.

“You… such a base wretch, so presumptuous and defiant. How dare a mere retainer like you judge the feats of my Zhao forebears?”