An autumn rife with troubles was indeed full of twists and turns.
As Zhang Sheng examined the jade sheet, his expression grew increasingly grim. Wei Yuan could only stand attentively to the side, waiting for the impending storm.
Having finished reading, Zhang Sheng snorted, slapped the jade sheet onto the table, and said, "You haven't even figured out your own Dao Foundation, so why are you looking into this Yin-Yang Dao Foundation? Have you had too much free time lately?"
"I merely thought there might be a slight possibility..."
Zhang Sheng cut him off firmly. "Not the slightest possibility!"
"Then... I will return it tomorrow."
Only then did Zhang Sheng's expression soften slightly. "Do you know how many people are bustling about on your behalf? Do you think the medicinal pills you take every day fall from the sky? At a time like this, you should be striving with all your might so you don't chill the hearts of those helping you!"
Wei Yuan hurriedly admitted his fault. Zhang Sheng questioned him on his recent studies as routine, and finding nothing that could stump Wei Yuan, his brow cleared somewhat. Leaving behind three bottles of Origin-Nourishing Pills, he mounted his sword and flew off.
Once Zhang Sheng was gone, a cold sweat broke out all over Wei Yuan, and he secretly counted his blessings. Fortunately, the jade sheet he had taken out today was about how to channel yin and yang qi into a Dao Foundation. Broadly speaking, it was part of the Great Dao of Yin and Yang, and that senior brother had shoved it to Wei Yuan rather haphazardly. Who would have thought it would save his skin today?
Wei Yuan broke into a drenching cold sweat, his hands shaking as he picked up the jade sheet. Just as he was about to return it to its hiding place, Zhang Sheng's faint voice drifted from behind him: "What are you feeling so guilty about?"
Wei Yuan shuddered violently, and the jade sheet slipped from his grasp, clattering to the ground.
Zhang Sheng was standing in the courtyard, his face veiled by the shadows of the tree canopy, his expression unreadable.
In this life-or-death moment, quick wit came to Wei Yuan's rescue. "Actually, there is a lesson I couldn't understand, but I didn't dare mention it to you. I only thought to look through more texts and puzzle it out on my own."
"What didn't you understand? Speak, one by one." Zhang Sheng's expression softened considerably as he sat down beside the table.
Wei Yuan fetched brush and ink. First, he sketched an oval on the paper—neither quite round nor entirely egg-shaped—and dotted two points inside, as though the egg had double yolks. Then he said, "In this month's Theory of Heaven and Earth, the teacher explained that an invisible great star in the sky passed between several other great stars. He said that although this star cannot be seen, its presence can be deduced, and this diagram represents its deduced orbit. These two points are said to be exceptionally important, for reasons including..."
Wei Yuan then proceeded to list countless numbers and formulas, far too many to fit onto a single page. Fortunately, the jade sheet could switch pages at will, and Wei Yuan wrote for seven consecutive pages before finally transcribing all the fundamental formulas taught in class.
Although he hadn't understood any of this during the lecture, he had committed every bit of it to memory by sheer rote memorization.
Zhang Sheng watched in silence.
Wei Yuan finally finished writing. Looking at Zhang Sheng with eager anticipation, he said, "I've merely memorized these without truly grasping them. Please instruct me, Teacher."
Zhang Sheng reached for a teacup, only to realize there was no tea set out on the table. Wei Yuan did not drink tea, whereas Ji Liuli did, though she never offered any to Wei Yuan.
Zhang Sheng then reached for a folding fan, but none was to be found either.
Looking around, the courtyard table was so bare that it held only paper and ink.
Without batting an eye, Zhang Sheng drew back his extended hand. Completely composed, he spoke measuredly: "This is an esoteric secret of the Hall of Heavenly Secrets. There are many prerequisite steps and procedures that he did not explain to you, so it is only natural that you wouldn't understand coming across it out of nowhere. For now, your top priorities are Body Casting, the Theory of Karmic Destiny, and the methods of discerning good and bad fortune in the Theory of Arts; everything else can be set aside. I have business to attend to, so I shall take my leave. Next time I visit, I will examine your divination arts, and you can cast a hexagram for me then."
Zhang Sheng had always come and gone like the wind. With a flick of his sleeve, he rose, stepped onto his flying sword, and took off, giving Wei Yuan no chance to ask him to stay.
Watching that streak of sword light speed away in a fluster, Wei Yuan only withdrew his gaze after it vanished. He mused to himself that his teacher also had things he didn't know.
Somehow, did such a teacher feel a bit closer to him?
However, the assignment Zhang Sheng left before departing made Wei Yuan quite nervous. After all, Wei Yuan felt he hadn't studied the Theory of Arts well, and he couldn't make heads or tails of divination. But since Zhang Sheng had given the command, Wei Yuan had to prepare in advance to avoid another scolding.
There were many forms of divination. Wei Yuan opted for the most basic tortoise-shell divination to cast a reading for Zhang Sheng. Having no tortoise shell on hand, he substituted it with one of the many alternatives available, fetching a piece of spirit wood. Purifying his heart and offering sincere prayers to heaven and earth, he infused it with dao power, drew a red ember from the furnace to scorch the wood, and observed the patterns in the cracks.
The lines were scattered and chaotic, sharp rather than rounded. According to what Wei Yuan had learned, this signified financial loss and calamity. To put it simply, it meant suffering monetary loss without averting disaster.
It seemed his grasp of tortoise-shell divination was not up to par, so he could not rely on it. Wei Yuan decided to try the Chant of the Spirit Shaman, a divination technique originating from the Imperial Shaman Clan that was renowned for its efficacy.
Wei Yuan grabbed a handful of spirit-rich incense ash, found an object that Zhang Sheng had once used, and chanted a shaman song, scattering the ash over the item.
The moment the incense ash settled on the object, it was activated. Wei Yuan pricked his fingertip to draw blood and smeared it over his eyes. In his blood-red vision, a tripod and a furnace materialized, raging flames roaring beneath both.
"A dual-cultivation cauldron?" Wei Yuan blurted out, having read far too many secret manuals over the past few days.
Wei Yuan counted himself lucky that he had tested it beforehand; if he had produced this reading right in front of Zhang Sheng, he would probably have suffered a bloody calamity himself.
Foreign clan methods were truly unreliable, Wei Yuan grumbled internally before switching to the orthodox Qi-Gazing Art of the Dao Palace.
This time, he used a handwritten book of Zhang Sheng's as the medium. He saw a wisp of clear qi rise from the book, but its lower half was wrapped in black qi and gradually sinking, progressively blending into the darkness.
What kind of omen was this? Sinking into depravity and wallowing in the mire?
Though that was what the divination manual said, Wei Yuan felt that if he told Zhang Sheng as much, whether his teacher was depraved or not, Wei Yuan himself would surely face fatal consequences.
Wei Yuan fell into deep melancholy. He had thought divination was a minor craft, but who knew that taking even the first step would prove so difficult? Fortunately, he had cast these readings in advance; it seemed he would have to cram the Theory of Arts over the next few days. Otherwise, if every hexagram turned out inaccurate, wouldn't his teacher scold him to death?
***
In the dead of night.
Zhang Sheng flew on his sword toward a majestic mountain peak. The mountain was riddled with caves, many of which glowed with firelight as subterranean flames spilled across the slopes, while the summit was shrouded in a hazy blue glow.
Zhang Sheng touched down at the waist of the mountain, right on the boundary between the blue light and the subterranean fire. Standing there, one could feel the blistering heat of hell below, juxtaposed with the endless freezing chill above.
Just then, a burly, dark-skinned cultivator hurried over. Seeing Zhang Sheng, joy lit up his face, and he reached out to clasp Zhang Sheng's hands, saying warmly, "I am Yu Zhizhuo. At long last, you've arrived, Junior Brother!"
Zhang Sheng subtly stepped back, neatly dodging the outstretched hand. Yu Zhizhuo did not mind in the least, letting out a hearty laugh. "I deal with Dharma treasures and implements all day, so I got carried away in my excitement. Forgive my presumption!"
Zhang Sheng said, "It is no matter. Senior Brother's business takes precedence."
"Very well! I heard that among the immortal foundation you cultivated, there is the Immortal Sword Zhanxu?"
Zhang Sheng said, "Indeed. Since it was formed, its edge has never yet been tested."
The cultivator was overjoyed. "That is wonderful! I checked the records, and when it comes to sharpness, the Immortal Sword Zhanxu ranks among the top three! It seems no one is more suited for this task than you, Junior Brother!"
Zhang Sheng replied, "I dare not claim top three, but sharp it certainly is; few things can withstand its blade. Might Senior Brother tell me the specifics of the task? What am I to sever? An ancient monster, a savage alien clan, or perhaps an extraterrestrial fiend?"
"Don't be in a rush, Junior Brother. Follow me!" Yu Zhizhuo led Zhang Sheng upward, stepping into the hazy blue light. The surroundings instantly shifted from scorching heat to piercing cold, forcing even Zhang Sheng to secretly circulate his dao power to resist it, while Yu Zhizhuo seemed utterly unaffected.
Zhang Sheng felt a slight chill of realization. This cultivator was likewise in the Dao Foundation realm and shared the same minor stage, yet Yu Zhizhuo's dao power appeared to surpass his own. The Palace of Grand Beginning truly harbored crouching tigers and hidden dragons; no one could be underestimated.
As they walked, Yu Zhizhuo said, "Our Hall of Heavenly Craft specializes in the Yin-Yang artifact-crafting method. The lower half of the peak channels natural subterranean fire, while the upper half uses that subterranean fire to nurture a wisp of extraterrestrial nether flame. One of the palace's three great immortal artifacts was forged using this nether flame."
Yu Zhizhuo chattered on about the sights of the Hall of Heavenly Craft. In truth, the dual spectacle of ice and fire was a renowned landmark of the Palace of Grand Beginning, one Zhang Sheng had long known about. He had no interest in the minor sights, but one had to show sufficient respect to one's patron. Since no reply was required, he merely listened.
Before long, they arrived before a side hall. While still outside, Zhang Sheng felt a ferocious baleful aura surge toward him!
Rather than being startled, Zhang Sheng was delighted. The pupils of his eyes rippled like water, faintly revealing a hazy gray mist. Since not even the Hall of Heavenly Craft could suppress this sinister thing's baleful aura, it seemed a great battle awaited. He hadn't engaged in serious combat for quite some time, so this battle came at the right moment to hone his sword's edge.
Yu Zhizhuo led Zhang Sheng into the side hall, where several disciples of the Hall of Heavenly Craft had already laid out a grand formation. Sitting at their respective stellar positions, they encircled an object at the center of the hall, which was the very source of this astonishing baleful aura.
The object was a lump of metal with an uneven, pitted surface, roughly the size of a water vat.
Yu Zhizhuo's eyes gleamed as he rubbed his hands together, saying to Zhang Sheng, "This is extraterrestrial meteoric iron, which the Perfected Persons expended tremendous effort to draw down from the heavens. It is indestructible, yet we cannot use vast amounts of magic power to cut it, as magic power would seep into it and alter its physical properties. Looking across the entire palace, among those in the Dao Foundation realm, only you can shoulder this heavy responsibility, Junior Brother Zhang!"
Yu Zhizhuo stepped aside and said, "Please, Junior Brother, make your move and cut this thing into a cube!"
The gathered disciples of the Hall of Heavenly Craft also looked on with eager anticipation, longing to witness the demeanor of the legendary immortal sword.
Chapter 52