Slaying Demons: Starting with Upgrading my Calligraphy-Chapter 468 - 414: Renewing the Tiantong Tree
Having resolved the minor interlude of the Black Water True Skill humming and returning, Qi Xiu and Shi Eryue continued along the Heaven Reaching Peach Tree towards the higher level of the Hall of Myriad Laws.
Forcibly refining a Dharma Spirit, aside from requiring strength, one must also endure the side effects of being loathed by the Dao.
It’s uncertain how long this degree of loathing will take to dissipate. No wonder the Elders of the Dao Body from our sect haven’t joined forces to subdue the Dharma Spirits here. I originally thought it was to leave a legacy for future generations, but now it seems that for the sake of a method, they would suffer the disdain of the Dao. For a Dao Expert, this is tantamount to losing the watermelon to pick up a sesame seed.
Feeling the gaze from the endless void above, Qi Xiu tried to summon the Hunyuan All-Encompassing Luminance with the power of Human Path Merit to dissolve the loathing.
However, as the golden light of merit shone, the vague dissatisfaction didn’t diminish much.
"As I expected, it’s useless..."
Seeing the golden light of merit unable to alleviate the Dao backlash, Qi Xiu chuckled and shook his head.
He had anticipated this outcome, as Human Path Merit is a form of protection at the Great Dao level, but if faced with backlash at the same Great Dao level, the effect naturally won’t be as good. However, I don’t find the Dao backlash to be much of a hindrance this time. At worst, it would only prevent me from Dao Embodiment for a short time. After all, I need time to cultivate both the Boundless Fire Emperor and the Hidden Thunder Heavy Pupil to the Ninth Realm and to find two more earth and wood Dao Body Realm Dharma Gates. I probably won’t be able to perform Dao Embodiment in the short term anyway. By the time I have made all the necessary preparations, the Dao backlash this time should have largely subsided. Even if the situation remains bleak by then, I have a way to directly resolve the problem.
With these thoughts in mind, Qi Xiu and Shi Eryue passed through the fourth layer of the Hall of Myriad Laws and entered the region of the fifth layer.
Upon entering the fifth layer of the Hall of Myriad Laws, a smile emerged on Shi Eryue’s face, and her bright, glowing eyes began to search around.
The space of the fifth layer, in contrast to the fourth layer’s boundless, battle-like seascape, was a lush and verdant mountainous Forest Sea.
Giant trees with diameters surpassing ten thousand zhang, like pillars of heaven, stood erect, with each leaf the size of a city, obscuring the sky.
These giants emitted different and distinct Divine Marvel light, a result of the long habitation and residual aura of Dharma Spirits.
"The Dharma Spirits here seem to be even stronger than those on the fourth layer." With his hands behind his back, looking at the Divine Marvel lights left by the Dharma Spirits on these giant trees, Qi Xiu’s eyes moved slightly. Although the Dharma Spirits of both the fourth and fifth layers are of the Dao Body Realm, those that can suppress restlessness and enjoy solitude are indeed a notch above. They rarely act, spending most of their time contemplating the Dao.
While Qi Xiu was curiously examining the afterglow of the Dharma Spirits that dwelled on these giant trees, Shi Eryue’s brows slowly furrowed.
She slowly opened her hands, and her palms emanated circles of azure halos, waves of ripples gently spreading out and extending in all directions.
Sensing that Shi Eryue’s expression seemed somewhat amiss, Qi Xiu inquired, "What’s wrong?"
"Something isn’t right," Shi Eryue said, her brow furrowed. "The Dharma Spirits on this layer... seem to have all disappeared."
"Disappeared?" Qi Xiu echoed, a look of surprise on his face. Disappeared? What does that mean?
"We came up from the lower levels, so the Dharma Spirits won’t be on the lower floors. Could it be that they’ve gone to the sixth layer?" Qi Xiu speculated. He then waved his sleeve, carrying Shi Eryue high into the sky, breaking through the boundless canopy of the giant forest, in search of the Heaven Reaching Peach Tree that led to the sixth layer.
"Huh? The peach tree is gone?" Hovering high in the void, Qi Xiu looked out and was taken aback. The Heaven Reaching Peach Tree, which should continually lead to the highest level of the Hall of Myriad Laws, was suddenly gone from this layer.
"Has this ever happened before?" Unsure if this situation was normal, Qi Xiu turned and asked Shi Eryue beside him.
At this moment, the little Dharma Spirit who had lived for five hundred years in the Hall of Myriad Laws was also baffled. "Never. The Heaven Reaching Peach Tree is a method deployed by that respected individual. It existed long before I came to the Hall of Myriad Laws."
Hearing Shi Eryue say this, Qi Xiu also sensed something abnormal and peculiar. He continued to ask, "When was the last time you came to this fifth layer? Did you notice anything unusual?"
Upon Qi Xiu’s prompting, Shi Eryue bit her lip and thought carefully. "The last time I was here was three or four years ago. I didn’t notice anything strange then, but at the time, I heard Gu mention offhand, ’How did that thing come out...’"
Three or four years ago... Wasn’t that when the sword broke free of the Valley of Deceased Gods! Instantly grasping the crux of the issue, Qi Xiu asked, "This Gu you’re talking about, what’s his background?"
Hearing Qi Xiu ask about Gu, Shi Eryue blinked and then said, "Gu is one of the oldest Dharma Spirits residing in the Hall of Myriad Laws. No one knows what his true form is, but it is believed to be a Thunder Dao Skill. That year, several Dharma Spirits on the fourth floor became restless and charged into the fifth floor, but Gu simply raised his hand and a Thunder Magic spell struck them, sending them directly back. From what the other Dharma Spirits I know have said, Gu originally lived on the sixth floor but moved to the fifth just to keep an eye on those fellows who couldn’t stand the loneliness."
A Thunder Path Dharma Spirit? That shouldn’t be the case. If it were a Thunder Path Dharma Spirit, the sect should have tried to subdue it, rather than let it stay in the Hall of Myriad Laws. And this Dharma Spirit must not be an ordinary one. To be able to sense the changes happening in the Valley of Deceased Gods far away in Northwestern Dalang, through the spatial barriers of the Hall of Myriad Laws and the entire Shenxiao Sect... Such a degree... Is it really just at the Dao Body Realm?
"Besides the Heaven Reaching Peach Tree, is there another way to enter the sixth floor?" Qi Xiu asked.
Looking up at the vast and wide Sky Dome above him, Qi Xiu’s thoughts moved. Together with Shi Eryue, they instantly transformed into a streak of light that rocketed into the sky with a speed invisible to the naked eye.
SNAP! SNAP! SNAP— The void was directly pierced by the terrifying speed, emitting a series of deafening explosions.
However, after flying for a while, Qi Xiu looked down. The towering Forest Sea still stood there; it was as if he had returned to the same place.
The Universe Space here has special Forbidden Laws set up. Without specific means, no matter how fast or far one flies, one will always be sent back to the original spot.
Shaking her head, Shi Eryue said, "I don’t know. The Heaven Reaching Peach Tree has never disappeared over these years. Everyone has always used the tree to travel up and down."
Seeing that Shi Eryue had no solution either, Qi Xiu subconsciously rubbed his wrist.
The disappearance of a group of Dharma Spirits wouldn’t be of great concern, but that mysterious sentence spoken by Gu was clearly related to the sword in the Valley of Deceased Gods. This matter is of great significance and must be handled with caution.
With a slight motion of his thoughts, Qi Xiu pinched a spell with one hand, his fingertips lightly tracing, and a lifelike, snow-white lark was born out of thin air. He wrote the abnormal situation in the Hall of Myriad Laws into a piece of spiritual jade. Qi Xiu then swept his sleeve, sending the lark away to find Supreme Sect Leader Dongfang Qing and report the situation here to him.
"My lord, what should we do now?" Unable to find the familiar figures of the Dharma Spirits, Shi Eryue’s face showed concern. She had interacted deeply with these Dharma Spirits over the hundreds of years she had been in the Hall of Myriad Laws. Learning of their unexplained disappearance, she was already becoming anxious.
"No need to worry. We’ll go up one more level and see." Regaining his calm composure, Qi Xiu slowly raised his right hand, the space between his fingers swirling with vibrant colors.
Having reached the Dao Body Realm, I have yet to utilize the power of the Command Talisman. I wonder how much of its backlash I can withstand with my current level of cultivation.
Taking a deep breath, Qi Xiu’s eyes flashed with a hint of brilliance, and he spoke lightly, "Command! Recreate the Mystery!"
HUMMM— In the palm of his hand, a colorful sun seemed to rise indifferently, its endless radiance shining forth magnificently, turning the thousands of miles of void into a land of brilliant colors, while the endless towering Forest Sea below transformed into a sea of flowers.
Under the formidable power of the Command Talisman, the previously halted Heaven Reaching Peach Tree on the fifth layer suddenly began to quiver with thunderous vibrations, slowly growing upwards, eager to resume the channel to the sixth floor.
Shi Eryue, beside him, was completely stunned when she saw Qi Xiu’s light command beginning to resume the growth of the Heaven Reaching Peach Tree towards the sixth floor. She turned her head stiffly to look at the tall figure bathed in the boundless brilliance of colors, the fervor in her eyes intensifying by several degrees.
Using the power of the Command Talisman to reshape the Heaven Reaching Peach Tree.
As the sky-obscuring brilliance of multi-colored light gradually receded, a Heaven Reaching Peach Tree identical to the ones on the previous floors now stood proudly on this fifth level. At the top end of the tree, clouds swirled and vortexes spun. The entrance to the sixth floor had been opened.
After accomplishing all of this, Qi Xiu didn’t rush to move on but instead looked down at the palm of his right hand.
Although the Command Talisman allows me to command the power of heaven and earth with my words, it also brings about a backlash from that very force. Accumulated to its most severe, the backlash could shatter me on the spot, erasing me from existence. And this backlash, originating from the essence of heaven and earth, is almost impossible to eliminate by any means, only allowing slow healing. When I was at the Blood-Stained Realm, I could use the Command Talisman up to three times a day, and not to too great an effect. Previously, in the Valley of Deceased Gods, I used the Command Talisman five times in a row. Although the effects were all moderate, the last one, which suppressed the red-haired man’s cultivation, nearly shattered half of my body. If I hadn’t successfully achieved the Dao Body Realm and invoked the power of heaven and earth to infuse me, the injuries caused by the backlash might still not have healed. Now that I have achieved the Dao Body Realm, and my physical body has even reversed to the innate state, cultivating the Innate Primeval Breath, I want to see if I can now withstand the backlash of the Command Talisman.
Under Qi Xiu’s gaze, a wound slowly split open in the center of his right palm, deep enough to reach bone and muscle, and nearly wide enough to span his entire hand, as if about to bisect his right hand.
The pressure from reshaping the Heaven Reaching Peach Tree was still a bit too much. This, after all, was a technique of a Soul Law Spirit. This was only extending the peach tree by a single layer. If I were to replicate what the Soul Law Spirit did, making it span from the first to the seventh layer, I’m afraid I would shatter on the spot.
With these thoughts in mind, Qi Xiu slowly circulated the "Immortal Scripture of Myriad Laws and Primordial Unity." His hand gradually transitioned to a gaseous state, becoming Innate Primeval Breath.
He wanted to see if the innate attributes of the Innate Primeval Breath could dispel the backlash of the Command Talisman.
