Cultivation: When you take things to the extreme

Chapter 140: Chapter 100: Harvest_1

Translator: 549690339

At the Mingxiao Taoist Temple on Mount Jilei, Xu Yang returned upon a cloud, descending into the sacred courtyard.

“Master!”

The Taoist temple was now unlike its former days, filled with disciples majority of whom were Taoist children, yet there were also many Taoist men and even Taoists among them.

“Close the altar.”

Xu Yang dissipated the thunder cloud and with a few words, proceeded towards the great hall.

“Yes!”

The disciples responded in unison, beginning to dismantle the mana altar.

Xu Yang also returned to the hall and approached the General Altar of the Thunder Series.

The cultivators of this world, compared to the cultivators of the real world, should be considered practitioners of ancient methods.

The ancient methods might not be inferior to the modern ones, nor are the modern methods necessarily inferior to the ancient – it can only be said that each has its unique strengths.

Xu Yang did not reject either, as long as they were useful, he did not mind adopting and cultivating them, transforming them into his own potentiality.

This method had one major feature: the mana altar, akin to the magic artifacts of modern cultivators, yet slightly different, a combination of magic artifacts and array formation, aiding mana, Taoist cultivation, curse skills, and divine skills, capable of connecting heaven and earth.

Hence, when cultivators of this world fought using their skills, they usually opened altars, and even for daily practice, they needed to venerate the mana altar.

Like Xu Yang, within the temple, he revered an altar of “Nine Heavens’ Responsive Thunder Sound Universal Transformation Heavenly Venerable,” using it to deploy thunder series, doubling his efficiency and greatly increasing his power, an essential item in combat.

In addition, the mana altar had many wondrous uses, such as practicing spells, artifact refining, alchemy, talisman making, array setting, performing exercises, seeking enlightenment, and more, all of which benefitted from it. It could also receive offerings and absorb the power of worship to bolster the mana altar’s might.

It’s no exaggeration to say that a cultivator of this world must have a mana altar. Without the support of a mana altar, one simply cannot be considered a cultivator.

And the mana altar also becomes one of the foundations for cultivators in this world, especially for those major righteous paths with ten thousand years of heritage whose altars receive ten thousand years of worship and faith empowerment, having accumulated an immense amount of mana.

If they are pushed to their limits and utilize such a foundation, even millennia-old demons would suffer greatly.

Xu Yang had been the master of Mount Jilei for less than a decade, and the altar had been established for only a few years. The offerings were sparse, and the power of faith was meager, but even so, it provided him with great support that could not be ignored.

Now, returning from the combat, he did not immediately sit down to examine the spoils of battle.

Instead, he first took incense sticks, lit them, and inserted them into the cauldron, venerating the altar’s ancestral master.

“With the ancestral master’s protection, may my path prosper!”

After such a sincere prayer and offering of incense sticks, Xu Yang then seated himself.

The ancestral master?

Which ancestral master?

Of course, it was the ancestor of Taoism, the Supreme Pure Moral Heaven Venerable.

The cultivators of this world were all disciples of the Ancestor of Dao, venerating the Supreme Elder Lord!

But this Supreme Elder Lord was not the Supreme Elder Lord of that other context.

With ten years of arduous cultivation, pondering Taoist methods, and reviewing many ancient texts, Xu Yang confirmed something.

This world was not originally so barren.

During the ancient times, this world was also abundant in prime spirits, a celestial paradise filled with gods and immortals.

Yet for some unknown reasons, the prime spirits of heaven and earth gradually dwindled, the celestial world turned into the end times of an evil age, with gods and immortals breaking through the realms and departing, various major Taoist sects ascended one after another, leaving behind only those with shallow cultivation to struggle on, barely surviving in this realm.

Thus, this world possessed the “Nine Heavens’ Responsive Thunder Sound Universal Transformation Heavenly Venerable Jade Shu Sutra,” a system of thunder methods with a complete structure and high tier – the legacies of ancient immortal gods and major Taoist gates left in the world.

Even the divine soul cultivation method, a way to “fake cultivation to attain the real,” was created by the ancient immortal gods before their ascension, for the descendants and disciples who could not ascend, hoping to preserve a part of their tradition, a slim chance of survival.

That is also why, in the previous combat, Xu Yang chanted incantations, calling upon the gods of the thunder department.

One reason was because the tradition was such.

Two, it indeed carried mana.

Although the ancient immortal gods had ascended and left this world, their “divine names” did not lose their efficacy.

Those divine names and offices of the ancient immortal gods are actually related to the Dao of Heaven and Earth, and chanting them can invoke the power of the Dao of Heaven and Earth.

Without going into details, even the simple phrase “by the decree of the Supreme Elder Lord, expedite as the law commands,” found in virtually all curse spells to conclude them.

Why so?

Because the Supreme Elder Lord, the Moral Heaven Venerable is an embodiment of the “Dao” itself!

The methods of Taoism, the Supreme Elder Lord’s decrees, are not actually calling upon the Supreme Taoist Ancestor to act, but to rouse the power of the Dao of Heaven and Earth.

What is summoned is the “Dao!”

As long as there is heaven, as long as there is earth, the Dao will exist, and so will the Supreme Elder Lord.

The Supreme Elder Lord is thus, and so are the other immortals.

Although they have ascended and are no longer of this realm, the Dao of Heaven and Earth associated with their divine names and offices still exists unfaded. Merely by chanting their names, one can invoke heaven and earth, invoke the Dao.

This is not only for this world – in other worlds, as long as the Dao of Heaven and Earth exists, one can recite “by the decree of the Supreme Elder Lord, expedite as the law commands,” to strengthen the connection with the Dao of Heaven and Earth, increasing the might of Taoist methods.

Of course, one could choose not to intone the name, relying solely on one’s own ability to cast spells.

But clearly, Xu Yang was not such a stubborn mule.

Why not use what is useful?

After reverently completing the offerings to the ancestral master’s altar, only then did Xu Yang sit cross-legged to inspect the gains of the day.

But first, he had to examine himself.

Xu Yang (Li Liuxian)

Lifespan: 37/240

Cultivation: Martial Path Condensing Spirit, Body Training Derivation, Taoism Yin God (Four Boundary Realm)

Skills: Eating, Breathing, Sleeping, Walking, Planting, Breeding, Archery, Martial Training, Medical Skills, Teaching…

Cultural Dao (Calligraphy and Painting, Poetry and Prose, Playing Zither as an Art, Novels and Storybooks, Immersive Experience, Unparalleled Talent, Cultural Qi Infusing the Body)

Taoist Magic (Thunder Lightning Mana King, Increase and Decrease Two Generals)

Martial Arts: Martial Arts Scripture.

Spell: Supreme Cave True Spirit Cultivation Scripture, Nine Heavens’ Responsive Thunder Sound Universal Transformation Heavenly Venerable Jade Shu Sutra, Xuanming True Person’s Ghost Controlling Method, White Cloud Immortal’s Spirit Grass Song, Supreme Yin Body Training Skill, Supreme Pure True Man Vital Linkage Jue, Supreme Pure Contemplation Mirror Sword Figure, Supreme Pure Wearable Talisman Scripture Jue, Cave Truth Eight Scenery Jade Tablet Morning Figure…

Talent: Thunder Commanding Power!

Over the course of nine years, Xu Yang developed three distinct identities.

The first was that of Li Jieyuan, a man of unparalleled talent and famous throughout the land.

The second was King Shifa, a man abhorring evil and acting with decisive thunderous authority.

The third was a practitioner of the Yin Mountain Way, cultivating the ghost-controlling arts and the Increase and Decrease Two Generals, which shortens life expectancy.

The three identities, each with their own roles.

“Li Liuxian” established academies, martial arts halls, pharmacies, and shops in North City County, using these to gather wealth and expand his influence. At the same time, through Cultural Dao, he became famous throughout the land and gathered Cultural Qi for cultivation. He has now become an undeniable power in North City County, even possessing substantial influence in Jinhua Mansion, with his strength and influence not to be underestimated.

“Shi Jian” then built a Taoist temple on Mount Jilei, recruited disciples, trained followers, and diligently practiced the Thunder Series, finally reaching the realm of Yin God and earning the title of Thunder Lightning Mana King. Moreover, he was fair and just, abhorred evil, had extensive connections, and won the people’s hearts. He was an unwavering pillar of the Righteous Path, a Righteous Skills True Man!

The “Yin Mountain Way” cultivated the ghost-controlling arts in secret, training the Increase and Decrease Two Generals. Once these two generals were trained, they traveled throughout various places capturing evil ghosts and killing evil beings, using these acts to continue cultivating their skills. They successfully brought the Increase and Decrease Two Generals to the extreme realm of Ghost General, ready to break through to Ghost King with their extraordinary combat abilities.

This was the growth of the three identities.

As for skill traits.

In just ten years, not much progress had been made. Whether planting and breeding or martial training and teaching, none had managed to develop extraordinarily high-quality skill traits. The cultivation of spirit plants and spirit beasts remained challenging, and the martial cultivation and disciple training saw only average results.

To break the limitations of Heaven and Earth and overcome the scarcity of Yuan Spirit would require at least a few decades, or even centuries of accumulation.

After all, those high-quality skill traits were the result of nearly a thousand years of effort by Xu Yang in Great Zhou, Great Tang, and the Black Water World. It was unreasonable to expect the same success in this world in just a mere decade.

But he did not come out of this period empty-handed.

During these ten years of cultivating and spellcasting, he developed quite a few eye-catching skill traits.

The first was from Cultural Dao.

Unparalleled Talent with Cultural Qi Infusing the Body, the effects need not be stated at length, basically enhancing talent and accelerating the gathering of Cultural Qi.

With this, although Xu Yang didn’t obtain any official recognition for his accomplishments, the amount of Cultural Qi he gathered was substantial, significantly speeding up his cultivation.

Next was Taoist Magic.

Thunder Lightning Mana King, Increase and Decrease Two Generals.

The Thunder Lightning Mana King trait, similar to the Martial Path Communicates with God trait in martial arts skills, affects all martial arts, whereas Thunder Lightning Mana King only affects the Thunder Series.

It can comprehensively enhance the effects of “Thunder Series” in cultivation, practice, combat, Artifact Refining, Alchemy, Talisman Making and Array Formation, as well as constructing Mana Altars and offering sacrifices to the Thunder Gods. In short, everything related to the “Thunder Series” can be improved by it, and significantly so.

This is why Xu Yang, with the cultivation of a Four-Realm Mage, was able to perform the “Five Thunder Destroying God Spell,” which normally only a Five-Realm True Man could muster.

The Thunder Lightning Mana King trait bridged the gap between his realm, cultivation level, Taoist Cultivation, and Mana.

Beyond the Five Thunder Destroying God Spell, other Thunder Series techniques and various thunder talismans also benefited from this trait. Plus, with Xu Yang’s Talisman Making skills, the success rate of making Thunder Series talismans reached a terrifying 90 percent.

As a result, after ten years of accumulation, the number of various thunder talismans he had at hand was so great it could scare others.

Not only were there many, but the quality was not low, truly fine works of art.

The Dry Prosperous Taoist met his end at the hands of Xu Yang’s Thunder Series and talismans, which was well deserved. It wasn’t just him, an Evil Cultivator full of fluff, even a Righteous Taoist would be confidently obliterated by Xu Yang’s thunderous assault.

That was the Thunder Lightning Mana King.

As for the Increase and Decrease Two Generals.

Its effect was similar, enhancing the overall effectiveness of the “Increase and Decrease Two Generals,” including their growth speed, combat abilities, and most critically, control.

With this trait, Xu Yang’s Increase and Decrease Two Generals were not only growing and fighting far better than the common ghost cultivator’s generals, but they were also much safer. As long as there wasn’t a huge gap in strength, there was hardly any chance of the Underworld Ghosts going out of control and turning against their own master.

This was the result of ten years of accumulation.

With this, the land of North City was under his control.

Even the likes of the Dry Prosperous Taoist Man, an Evil Skills True Man, were decisively eradicated, scouring his den with great force.

His influence was growing, his foundations solidifying.

But it was just beginning to solidify and grow.

A grand momentum was not yet established; there were still hidden dangers.

Therefore, Xu Yang could not afford to relax and immediately began to examine the spoils from his assault on the Dry Prosperous Taoist Temple.

The Dry Prosperous Taoist had roamed freely for many years and had amassed considerable wealth.

Various Taoist inheritances, as well as Magic Artifacts, elixirs, talismans, Evil Skills materials…

A mixture of everything, a feast for the eyes.

But for Xu Yang at this stage, very few of them were truly valuable.

In the end, only two Taoist Scriptures were solemnly placed before him.

“Spirit Eyes Mysterious Light Skill”

“Xuanyuan Divine Sword Jue”

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