Chapter 104
Translator: penny
Chapter: 104
Chapter Title: Sun and Moon Star Formation Great Harmony Scripture (5)
Yeonhon Taeheo Gyeong.
This treasure, shaped like an extravagantly ornate mirror adorned with lavish purple hues and intricate golden embellishments, was a cultivation tool designed to temper a cultivator's soul and nascent soul, forging them into something grander and more powerful.
To temper the soul and nascent soul meant amplifying the innate spirit one was born with as a cultivator—a direct enhancement of one's fundamental aptitude as a cultivator.
Would cultivators simply ignore such an extraordinary treasure?
Of course not.
Whenever the Yeonhon Taeheo Gyeong appeared in the world, it stirred up rivers of blood. Some cultivators even called it the "Summoning Tribulation Mirror," fearing the calamities it summoned.
This Yeonhon Taeheo Gyeong would vanish once a single cultivator completed their cultivation and fully absorbed its effects, only to reemerge somewhere in the world after a span of time. According to Saran, its most recent appearance had been 1,050 years ago.
Back then, five massive sects were utterly annihilated, countless minor powers and rogue cultivators perished, and in the end, someone claimed the Yeonhon Taeheo Gyeong—and was never heard from again.
...That was the origin of the treasure as I'd heard it from Saran.
'I figured making Saran mine would give me access to all sorts of information and knowledge, but I never imagined it'd be this helpful.'
I silently examined the Yeonhon Taeheo Gyeong. Its promise to elevate a cultivator's aptitude naturally brought Ahani to mind, but I had my own goal of ascending within ten thousand years.
'...I'll use it myself.'
This was one thing I couldn't yield. Besides... the more powerful I grew, the more fortuitous encounters and heavenly treasures I could secure to aid Ahani in turn.
With that, I soothed my conscience and asked Saran about how to use the Yeonhon Taeheo Gyeong.
"The Yeonhon Taeheo Gyeong cannot be registered to an owner. It seems to operate under its own independent laws."
"Independent laws."
"No one knows who named it, but judging by its title, some say it follows the laws of the Great Void."
"Laws of the Great Void..."
The Great Void referred to the emptiness before the universe's birth—the primal essence from which the cosmos and all things originated. It was a concept tied to the cycle of life, death, and rebirth for all existence.
If the "Great Void" in the Yeonhon Taeheo Gyeong truly pointed to that fundamental Great Void and its laws—not merely poetic flourish—then this mirror must have been born from something infinitesimally smaller than a speck of its dust.
"How do you use it?"
"I've heard you simply sit in meditation while facing your reflection in the mirror."
"...Let's give it a try."
I had Saran hold the Yeonhon Taeheo Gyeong to reflect my image and sat in meditation. As I began quiet contemplation, I felt my entire being pulled into somewhere unknown.
The moment the irresistible suction vanished, I opened my eyes to find myself trapped in a mystical space brimming with violet energy.
"This place..."
The space overflowed with purple mist, its sky crowded with golden stars gleaming overhead.
I wandered through this unknown realm.
'Not the Great Void... The descriptions from the original story when Mun Yoo was sent there are completely different.'
There, it was said that entering the Great Void erased beginnings and ends, rendering time and space meaningless, leaving one as a mere primal essence of existence.
No place even remotely connected to the Great Void could preserve my sense of self like this.
'So someone just slapped the name on it... and it's merely an immortal's lost cultivation tool?'
Perhaps an immortal's errant treasure had drifted into the mortal realm by chance. Either way, I'd cultivate with it and let it go—no need to dwell.
'How do I get out?'
As I roamed and wished to leave, a golden door materialized before me. Passing through it returned me to the world outside the mirror.
"Saran. How long does cultivation with this treasure take?"
"Ten years, from what I've heard."
"Ten years... That's short."
Compared to its power in elevating a cultivator's overall aptitude, ten years was remarkably brief—but for me right now, it felt quite long.
I decided to postpone training with the Yeonhon Taeheo Gyeong and instead incorporate my insights from cultivating the Sun and Moon Star Formation Great Harmony Scripture into the Harmonious Union Art.
'Man and woman, yin and yang—aligning body and mind, thought and soul into perfect unity and harmony, smoothly flowing as one. That's the foundation of the Sun and Moon Star Formation Great Harmony Scripture. The Harmonious Union Art, meanwhile, has two people with differing spirit roots casting the exact same spell at the exact same moment with identical thoughts and synchronized spirit power flows.'
Slightly different, but at their core, both relied on the perfect fusion of disparate beings.
'The Harmonious Union Art is a joint technique performed by two people, while the Sun and Moon Star Formation Great Harmony Scripture is a formation enacted by a man and woman. A joint technique might just be a type of formation manifested through the cultivator's body.'
How did cultivators perform joint techniques?
They took predetermined positions, fulfilled set roles, and completed the joint technique together.
Just as the Sun and Moon Star Formation Great Harmony Scripture could be enacted through the body without needing formation aptitude, joint techniques were likely formations requiring no special talents, executed via the cultivator's form.
'If I apply formation concepts, I might evolve the Harmonious Union Art further. But first... let's strengthen it with the insights from the Sun and Moon Star Formation Great Harmony Scripture.'
Beyond merely becoming one to cast spells, if they fused into perfect harmony to amplify the spell's power, the techniques I unleashed would reach devastating heights.
Two months until the Star Formation Mystic Realm opened.
I learned artifact reforging techniques from Saran, received various teachings and insights beneficial for cultivation, practiced joint spells I'd learned but never used due to lacking a partner for the Harmonious Union Art, refined the Harmonious Union Art, and passed the time productively.
It was a fulfilling two months. With personal guidance from a Soul Transformation Realm cultivator like Saran aiding my improvements to the Harmonious Union Art, I successfully integrated the first stage of the Sun and Moon Star Formation Great Harmony Scripture into it within that short period.
I even considered fully merging the Crimson Immortal Joint Technique, but Saran said it was too advanced for her to assist meaningfully, so I gave up on that.
Watching me, Saran offered some advice.
"Master. That Harmonious Union Art of yours is truly remarkable. It wouldn't be out of place as a secret art passed down only to the sect leader of a major sect."
"Ahem. I-Is that so?"
Praise from a Soul Transformation Realm cultivator like Saran lifted my spirits more than I cared to admit.
"However, it's built solely on your personal 'intuition,' so it has many gaps and shortcomings. Issues like excessive spirit power consumption abound. If you wish to refine and evolve its details, systematize the Harmonious Union Art and record your insights in a jade slip."
"...What should my benchmark be?"
"In the distant future, when you take on disciples, it should be perfect enough for a disciple to master the Harmonious Union Art flawlessly from the jade slip alone. That would be ideal."
Saran's words left me taken aback.
"...That thorough?"
"Yes. The Harmonious Union Art is a secret art of that caliber. Even if you have no intention of leaving High Heaven Sect, pursuing higher realms demands ambitious goals."
"..."
"Walk the path of a Grandmaster who could found a new cultivation sect based on the Harmonious Union Art."
Her words gave me pause.
Mun Yoo had grown as a cultivator through the Dual Fate Scripture, never sharing his insights with anyone, ascending alone to become the world's strongest.
I knew that well... but I also knew something else.
My cultivation aptitude paled in comparison to Mun Yoo's.
I might surpass him in Dao combat talent, but honestly, my growth was sluggish compared to the fortuitous encounters I'd claimed.
If Mun Yoo had encountered the same opportunities, wouldn't he have reached Nascent Soul by now?
'If our paths diverge, there's no harm in treading where he did not.'
I mulled over Saran's words.
'Disciples...'
Suddenly, Senior Jade's words—long buried in memory—resurfaced.
'He gave me the Preservation Pill to keep my body young, warning that nagging disciples could be risky in my old age.'
Just who was future me supposed to take as disciples for him to say that?
"Saran."
"Yes, Master."
"An immortal senior I know once remarked that I'd take on multiple disciples in the future. Do you think meeting you prompted that prophecy?"
"...Likely so. By the way, you have an immortal senior acquaintance?"
Saran wasn't particularly shocked. If anything, she asked as if it were the most natural thing.
'Does she think I'm from the immortal realm? ...Well, with the pagoda, it's not entirely wrong.'
Reinforcing the misconception might make her even more loyal, so I wove in original-story knowledge of the immortal realm into casual tales.
Enthralled by stories of the immortal realm—every cultivator's dream—Saran listened raptly. After a brief chat, I stored her soul away.
Far better to conceal a Soul Transformation Realm cultivator in my soul for surprise deployment than flaunt her openly.
Thankfully, her total submission prevented the pagoda or Dragon-Resisting Five Swords from troubling her. I chatted animatedly with her in my soul while heading to the mystic realm's entrance.
Not just me—cultivators streamed toward the mystic realm from all directions, Nascent Soul experts among them not uncommon.
So they'd all converge there? With this crowd, might I run into my enemies?
I recalled those I'd failed to kill, realized there weren't many left, and doubted I'd cross paths.
"Thanks to you, Senior Brother Han, I could obtain the Mysterious Moon Stone."
The man dubbed "Senior Brother Han" gave an awkward smile and bowed to the beautiful female cultivator sharing his flying treasure.
"No need. I couldn't guarantee my safety in this mystic realm alone... Meeting you, Senior Sister Choi, was a stroke of luck for me."
She was "Senior Sister Choi," a great senior at Nascent Soul third layer. But having learned of the Star Formation Mystic Realm late, she'd arrived after prime Mysterious Moon Stone deals concluded, leaving her empty-handed.
Senior Brother Han spotted her, offered his entire fortune-bought haul of superior stones in exchange for protection inside, and she'd agreed to travel together.
"Yes... You wouldn't last a day without my help."
"Hahaha. You jest so well. You're hilarious."
"I'm not joking."
Senior Sister Choi's bluntness underscored Han's dire state.
Despite his youthful face, his scalp showed through thinning hair, his body gaunt and haggard. As a cultivator, his malnutrition was evident—limbs skeletal, belly bloated grotesquely.
He looked less like a Core Formation cultivator and more like a mortal on death's door.
His Dao heart shattered beyond repair, he exuded no cultivator's aura, his divine sense pathetically weak for Core Formation.
She understood his bid to reclaim his path as a cultivator, but coldly assessed his odds lower than a mortal slaying one.
Of course, she kept that to herself.
Better not to dwell on this vengeance-driven man's doomed fate—her Dao companion's condition took precedence.
"What brings you to the mystic realm, Senior Sister Choi?"
She glared at his prying. He recoiled in terror, and her softened heart relented after a pause.
"My Dao companion is gravely ill. I've sealed her in stasis for stability. I'm seeking heavenly treasures to aid her."
"Ah... I pray you succeed."
"Yes."
She ended the talk curtly, her face clouding as she thought of her beloved.
'Young Master Mun... Please hold on until I return.'
As Senior Sister Choi steeled herself alone, a distant throng of cultivators awaiting the mystic realm came into view.