Clad in coarse hemp clothing, Lu Zizai countered, "What is the point of clinging to superficial identities?"
The bamboo grove was verdant and dripping with green, and the Fire Spring shone brightly, illuminating his handsome, youthful face so that it seemed to glow with extraordinary elegance. With a calm expression, he said, "Right now, I am Six Imperials newcomer Lu Zizai, eighteen years old, and ready to make a run for it at any moment."
Qin Ming's suspicions had not lessened, and he felt a degree of wariness. But since the youth had put it that way, it really would not do to probe too deeply. "Then how should I address you—Senior Brother Lu?"
The youth in hemp clothing had said himself not to cling to outward appearances, so Qin Ming naturally let it go as well, cautiously testing the waters.
"Sure, that's a good form of address," Lu Zizai nodded, a smile appearing on his face.
Qin Ming realized immediately that the youth did not like people calling him old, and addressing him like this suited his tastes perfectly.
"Senior Brother, how did you cultivate that Three Imperials force? I feel like at the Newborn stage, no one could possibly withstand it," Qin Ming asked humbly.
Lu Zizai shook his head. "You can't put it that way. The Yuqing Book, the Rulai dharma, and the like are none of them inferior to the Six Imperials Heart Scripture. And there is also the vanished Heaven-Severing Strategy, among others."
Then he asked in turn, "How do you think my first three imperials evolved?" This was clearly a test.
After pondering, Qin Ming said, "Yin and yang qi can transform into heaven and earth, while a wisp of purple qi arriving from beyond this world holds the potential to give birth to myriad things."
Lu Zizai remarked, "You have some insight, but there is no need to cling rigidly to the arts of predecessors. What you described actually sounds quite like the path of a vanished lineage."
All the while, Qin Ming's eyes held an ardent eagerness, making his intention clear—he wanted to learn techniques from him.
Lu Zizai said, "There were issues with the path I walked before. I have nothing to teach you right now; I am currently reorganizing everything and scrutinizing my past. Ah, true gold fears no fire, and the same should hold true for a true art."
"Senior Brother Lu possesses great foresight; this junior is far behind."
Lu Zizai shook his head. "Are you and I flattering each other here?"
"I want to learn true arts!" Qin Ming was not subtle in the slightest.
Lu Zizai put on a solemn expression. "Like you, I am merely on the road, still tempering true gold in fire. I am trying to forget all that past stuff and start over from scratch."
Qin Ming paused, sensing that Lu Zizai was not just brushing him off. If he was truly doing this, his standards for himself were absurdly high—did he actually want to discard a lifetime of past cultivation?
"Is the Six Imperials path still not strong enough?" he could not help asking.
Lu Zizai sighed. "That depends on whom you compare it to. At the Newborn stage, both you and I are very strong. But once you have endured years of bitter toil and reached the absolute pinnacle and greatest glory, only to discover that you can merely arm-wrestle with others rather than look down upon all the heroes under heaven—at that point, you'll feel it deeply. You will ask yourself from the bottom of your heart: Is this path right? Is it strong? Is it a true art that can withstand the test of Mundane Fire?"
Qin Ming resonated with this even now, having felt similar stirrings himself.
In ordinary times, he held himself to strict standards and cultivated bitterly to elevate his strength, imagining his opponents in their strongest possible states precisely because he was measuring himself against the esoteric sects and outer realms.
He asked, "Senior Brother Lu, are you comparing it against other paths?"
Lu Zizai nodded, his expression grave. "Indeed. If you have talent, you should push further. In the later stages, you will realize just how arduous this path truly is."
He then asked, "Is the Six Imperials Patriarch strong?"
Qin Ming answered immediately, "Naturally, overwhelmingly powerful."
Lu Zizai's tone was calm. "Do you know that, even as strong as the Patriarch was, someone once tried to make him a strongman?"
"What?!" Qin Ming was stunned.
Even knowing that the Six Imperials Patriarch had ultimately stood his ground and never ended up serving anyone as a strongman, this still spoke volumes about how grim the situation had been in the past.
Lu Zizai said, "Don't get complacent. The opponents we set our sights on are naturally those walking other paths, and there are truly quite a few—in fact, you could say far too many."
Qin Ming nodded. Naturally, these words resonated with him; he had already considered these things before.
Lu Zizai continued, "With foundational talent like ours, we need to take a few more steps forward and strive to pioneer the path. Otherwise, without the Patriarch's protection, the eventual outcome won't be good—someone as strong as the Young Ancestor might even have to become a strongman."
"Is the gap really that vast?" Qin Ming's brows furrowed deeply.
"It comes down primarily to two problems. First is time: we have to endure, requiring years of accumulation and baptism before we can slowly rise, and we are still working to overcome this. Second is the cutting edge: our progress is halting, we move far too slowly, and we can already see the end in a single glance. Meanwhile, the other paths are still expanding, far from reaching their limits."
Lu Zizai appeared carefree and carried an otherworldly air, yet he was filled with worry for this path. The further he gazed ahead, the more boundless pressure he felt.
"Could something really be about to happen to the Six Imperials Patriarch?" Qin Ming asked.
"Rest assured, he pulled through again. But in the end, one will eventually die of old age. What happens in the next lifetime?" Lu Zizai sighed.
Qin Ming was stunned. That was a massive amount of information to process!
"Senior Brother Lu, do you truly have nothing to teach me?" He was simply too eager to advance. With a grand era arriving and all paths expanding forward, he naturally wanted to keep growing stronger and charge ahead swiftly.
"How many wondrous arts and how many types of force techniques have you cultivated?" Lu Zizai asked.
Qin Ming pondered for a moment and told him honestly.
"Hiss... What kind of combination is this? Why does it seem familiar? Don't tell me this is yet another method that leads to a dead end?" Lu Zizai's expression turned grave.
He then asked, "Did you piece all these together by yourself?"
"Yes!" Qin Ming nodded.
"You're just brute-forcing it with sheer raw talent!" Lu Zizai said.
"Is there a problem?" Qin Ming felt somewhat uneasy. He did not treat the person before him as an actual youth, but rather as an extraordinary master.
"In history, there were two or three similar approaches, and in the end, everyone who walked them died out," Lu Zizai said.
Qin Ming felt uncertain. Why did it feel like he was describing the art from the silk book? He asked, "Is there a solution?"
"Either brute-force it all the way, enduring until the dawn appears to break from the cocoon and become a butterfly. Or address it early, constantly honing it to strip away the dross and preserve the essence," Lu Zizai said.
Qin Ming pondered. His heavenly light force had been undergoing constant qualitative transformations, showing no abnormalities.
"When I was sorting out the path ahead, I felt that the Six Imperials Heart Scripture also had problems, leaving the path blocked further down and making it difficult to expand into new cutting-edge realms. Recently, I've figured out a method that I call Mundane Fire. It can temper true arts in fire, giving insight into whether the force techniques one cultivates are truly compatible with oneself."
According to Lu Zizai, everyone's constitution was different, and the issues they faced naturally varied. If one sensed even the slightest friction between a cultivated art and one's own body, one shouldn't proceed; otherwise, the issue would only magnify further along the path.
Moreover, he admitted frankly that comprehending Tempering True Arts in Mundane Fire was exceptionally difficult; he had not fully streamlined it yet, so Qin Ming probably would not be able to master it.
"This is something I prepared for the future fresh blood of the Six Imperials. For now, I've made it through myself, but it's not yet mature enough to teach to others."
Qin Ming's spirits soared. "Senior Brother Lu, please impart this true art to me. I should be able to learn it!"
Lu Zizai said, "Observing your heavenly light force, it looks like you've simply barged your way through from start to finish. That proves your physical talent is indeed absurdly strong, but your comprehension remains to be tested. Otherwise, I fear I'd harm you—if you practice it wrong, you'll suffer mental derangement."
Qin Ming, however, was brimming with confidence. Having encountered an expert, he did not want to miss out on Mundane Fire.
Lu Zizai shook his head. "That's hard to say. There was an old fellow whose strength could uproot mountains, whose hands could practically hold up the firmament. Relying entirely on peerless physical talent, he cultivated brute strength and forced his way along a path, but his comprehension was really nothing to write home about."
Qin Ming suspected he was talking about the patriarch of the Qingtian lineage. Rumor had it that when that patriarch cultivated the Destiny-Altering Scripture, he was remarkably down-to-earth—cursing up a storm and nearly tearing the book to shreds.
"You came here presumably to cultivate the Heluo Classic, right? That's a perfect test for your comprehension," Lu Zizai said with a smile.
The eighteen-year-old youth flowed with a natural, fresh aura. Under Qin Ming's astonished gaze, the silvery-white hue at the roots of Lu Zizai's hair vanished completely.
"Mm, through a simple exchange with you, I've gained some insights of my own; my Newborn realm is now perfected." Lu Zizai's life force seemed to have surged noticeably stronger once more.
In the rocky hill area, not only were Zhou Shize and Zhou Tao standing in the distance, but many other elders who had received word had arrived as well, all standing vigil in silence.
There were no longer any young disciples in this area; they had all been sent away.
Soon after, an emaciated elderly man appeared. He was skin and bones, with barely a few strands of hair on his head, and his teeth had nearly all fallen out.
The group of elders immediately stepped forward and bowed in salute.
He was the Young Ancestor's eldest disciple, nothing more than skin and bones, truly of immense age. Looking at the elders, he said, "Rise, all of you."
"Inside..." someone began to speak.
"Pay it no mind. Act as if you saw nothing, harbor no thoughts, and let nature take its course," the Young Ancestor's eldest disciple said sternly.
"I've always been very fast at comprehending scriptures!" Qin Ming was extraordinarily confident in himself.
Lu Zizai said, "Back then, I also studied the Heluo Classic. It took me about five or six days to achieve full initiation and produce Heluo force."
"That fast?" Qin Ming marveled.
"Yes, my comprehension is even stronger than my physical constitution," Lu Zizai nodded, carrying the high spirits of youth.
Qin Ming said, "Then let me try and see how long it takes me to achieve full initiation and produce Heluo force!"
Lu Zizai nodded. "Mm. In terms of comprehension, as long as you're even somewhat close to me, you'll be able to thoroughly comprehend this not-quite-mature Mundane Fire."
Inside the rocky hill, within a meditation chamber carved out of stone, an underground spring welled up, a brook wound through the cavern, and a lower level connected to an underground lake.
Such an environment had been prepared specifically for cultivating the Heluo Classic. On the stone table lay a book emanating the scent of fresh ink, clearly a handwritten copy.
Whether the original or earlier manuscript copies, all had annotations by predecessors containing numerous insights.
In offering the wondrous arts, the Six Imperials elders also wished to test the four mutants to see their comprehension, so naturally they would not provide a manual with annotations.
Sitting on the stone chair, Qin Ming flipped through the Heluo Classic page by page. Before long, he would rise to practice the art beside the subterranean spring, churning up layers of water mist.
He marveled inwardly that it truly lived up to being a top-tier wondrous art, possessed of boundless wonders. If executed beside a river or sea, its might would surge exponentially!
Moreover, as he comprehended it, his entire aura transformed—becoming gentle and brimming with boundless vitality, his whole body submerged in mist. "Truly a wondrous scripture!" Qin Ming praised.
If an art like this were unleashed on a torrential rainy day, every raindrop between heaven and earth could become a weapon.
Besides, whose body did not contain water? Qin Ming comprehended it earnestly and practiced relentlessly, reaping tremendous gains, until on the fourth day he finally attained full initiation and cultivated Heluo force.
As he cast the art, endless water mist billowed outward, expanding beyond the meditation chamber and blending with the night mist. His mental perception seemed to extend into the distance alongside it.
Feeling somewhat fatigued, Qin Ming leaned against the stone table for a brief nap. Yet in a half-asleep, half-awake state, the water mist continued to spread outward.
Vaguely, he heard a sound and saw a hazy vision.
In the distance, a young man appeared somewhat indistinct. Looking under thirty years of age, he was speaking: "Zizai, why haven't you left yet?"
This person was extraordinary, looking as if he were commanding the six qi and roving through the Great Void. Behind him was an impenetrable, boundless black fog, within which stood an immense figure that supported heaven and earth. Resembling him in appearance and stained with blood, it exuded a suffocating, boundless pressure.
"Soon. I'll leave right away; there is still a mortal tie I haven't settled," Lu Zizai's figure appeared. An eighteen-year-old youth whose every glance overflowed with extraordinary elegance, wreathed in an immortal aura.
Behind him, too, lay thick night mist, and there was likewise a colossal figure, though somewhat shorter than the giant opposite him. Its aura was terrifying, radiating brilliant golden light in all directions.
"What is going on?" Even in his half-asleep, half-awake state, Qin Ming felt his mind and consciousness trembling.
Chapter 156