Divine Reflection

The five elements were still gradually transforming. Qi Yuan had already stepped into the game once more. This time, he woke up holding Xiao Jia in his arms. A notification prompt arrived. [Five Elements Forbidden Dungeon cleared. Rewards obtained.] [Reward 1: Heavenly Dao Fragment * 10.] [Reward 2: Five Elements Heart.] The Heavenly Dao fragments this time were not tainted. Ten fragments—it didn't exceed his expectations. The Five Elements Heart... a gift from the Five Ancestors? Judging by its description, this Five Elements Heart could better assist Qi Yuan in converting his Qi Refinement cultivation. The qi of the five elements was far from ordinary. They generated and overcame one another. Without the Five Elements Heart, converting his Qi Refinement into the qi of the five elements would be quite troublesome. Perhaps the first element would be swift, but the second and third would become exceedingly slow. The Five Elements Heart shortened the time and spared him a great deal of trouble. "Only one forbidden ground and two perilous lands left?" Qi Yuan mused. Through Tang Yan, Qi Yuan had already learned that the so-called extraterrestrial demon was located within Dijue. Thus, Qi Yuan only needed to conquer the Yin Yang Forbidden Ground and Tianjue, and finally suppress the extraterrestrial demon to claim all the Heavenly Dao fragments. Before that, however, he had to make a trip to the coffin gathering site. Those powerhouses of the Five Elements Forbidden Ground still had a grand gift to bestow upon him. *** Half an hour later. Standing beside Tang Yan, Qi Yuan was somewhat surprised. He had not expected these powerhouses of the Five Elements Forbidden Ground to perform a Divine Reflection upon him. This meant they would impart all their insights into cultivation techniques and all the memories of their lives to him. It was a peculiar feeling. The NPCs before him inspired a trace of admiration in his heart. To pass on everything one possessed to someone else without holding anything back—he himself could never do that. "Master of the Robe Division, we shall perform a Divine Reflection upon you. Our cultivation insights and experiences will all be passed to you. This will accelerate the progress of your cultivation. Do you agree?" Yu's voice was gentle. Inside the coffins, dozens of pairs of eyes were fixed on Qi Yuan. To be honest, if it were nighttime, this would be rather eerie. Then again, he had a bridal-gown ghost wife; what did he have to fear? "Agreed." Qi Yuan did not refuse. Having these NPCs perform a Divine Reflection on him would be of immense help. Combat experience, magical duels, and more. It ought to help his cultivation in reality as well, right? "Master of the Robe Division, before you receive the Divine Reflection, you must swear an inner demon oath to slay the extraterrestrial demon!" Long Pan, his face framed by a thick beard, spoke up. His gaze toward Qi Yuan held a gentle note now. "No problem." He had already promised the same to the Five Ancestors, so agreeing to these people was only natural. As Qi Yuan spoke, he followed the instructions of these Divine Domain powerhouses and swore the inner demon oath. With the oath forged, it meant Qi Yuan was bound to go slay the extraterrestrial demon. "Now that the oath is sealed, let the Divine Reflection... begin!" Yu called out. All fifty-three individuals present turned their gazes toward Qi Yuan. The vast majority of these fifty-three were half-reclining inside coffins. There were also figures like Tang Yan, the red-robed man, and Xiao Lü, who belonged to the younger generation of prodigies. Stared at by so many people, Qi Yuan remained completely calm. "Divine Reflection!" With Yu's loud shout, every Divine Domain powerhouse present chanted the words "Divine Reflection." In an instant, Qi Yuan felt vivid images cascading through his mind. The memories and cultivation insights of fifty-three pinnacle powerhouses surged into Qi Yuan's sea of consciousness like an overwhelming deluge. "Calm your mind! Empty your mind! Do not try to comprehend anything—view yourself merely as an onlooker!" Yu reminded him from the side. At the onset of a Divine Reflection, the recipient would only witness scenes deeply etched into memory. Only after the Divine Reflection concluded would they slowly absorb and digest all the memories. The same applied to the cultivation insights. "Understood." Qi Yuan closed his eyes as countless scenes surfaced in his mind. He saw a youth blushing, secretly watching the Bridal Gown Imperial Princess seated upon the empress's throne. That handsome youth possessed extraordinary talent, but... he blushed easily, which was why he intentionally grew a full beard. That youth was none other than the later Long Pan. He saw Yu's entire family slaughtered, roaring alone in a rainy night, completely unlike his current calm and gentle demeanor. He saw the burly man in his youth, idling his days away and fond of fighting crickets, until one day he read a miscellaneous book and suddenly grew diligent. He saw a fishing line drop down, the red-robed man's father falling, and the red-robed man clutching that human skin with bloodshot eyes. He also saw Ancestor Jin picking up Xiao Lü and bringing her back to the Five Elements Forbidden Ground, and saw Xiao Lü yesterday, all alone in an empty courtyard, feeding the golden roosters. He saw a great deal. He also received countless insights into martial arts and experiences of cultivation. After an unknown amount of time, Yu suddenly spoke. "The Divine Reflection has ended." The connection severed, and the scenes snapped to a halt. Yet Qi Yuan understood that those memories and insights were now safely stored in the deepest recesses of his mind. "It's over." "Ptui! Held that back for so long, finally got to spit it out." "Looks like this old man will have to enter seclusion for ten years." After performing the Divine Reflection, every one of them was weakened to a certain degree. Qi Yuan looked at the fifty-three people present. Slowly bowing, he gave a deep, solemn salute. "All of you have imparted your arts to me, making you my teachers! Today's grace shall be engraved upon my heart." Among the fifty-three, some chuckled in response. "We are allies. Just slay the extraterrestrial demon, and that will be enough." Another said with an awkward look, "Master of the Robe Division, just don't go peeking at my memories whenever you're bored, alright?" Qi Yuan looked at the embarrassed man and said softly, "Next time, for sure." Having concluded the Divine Reflection, the Divine Domain powerhouses of the Five Elements Forbidden Ground closed their coffin lids and sank into deep slumber. Weakened by the process, they needed time to recover. Yu looked at Qi Yuan and said slowly, "Do not forget the Demon Slaying Assembly!" "I won't." Qi Yuan nodded firmly. Beside them, the heavily bearded Long Pan said in a deep voice, "I have already spoken with the Yin Yang Forbidden Ground. You only need to defeat Zanghua, and the Yin Yang Forbidden Ground will fall entirely into your hands; they will also perform a Divine Reflection for you. As you are now, with the Bridal Gown Imperial Princess by your side, defeating Zanghua will be no trouble at all. Once you receive the Divine Reflection from the powerhouses of the Yin Yang Forbidden Ground, use these three hundred years to digest it slowly. Absorb as much as you can." "Thank you for the guidance, Senior." Qi Yuan prepared to take his leave and head for the final forbidden ground, the Yin Yang Forbidden Ground. Before departing, he looked at Long Pan and remarked, "Actually, Senior, you were quite cute in your youth." Long Pan's expression changed drastically. In an instant, his face flushed red—and even his thick beard failed to conceal it this time. Qi Yuan chuckled and turned to leave. Yu glanced at Long Pan and said softly, "When the Demon Slaying Assembly arrives, shave that beard of yours. Otherwise, the world will keep thinking of you, Long Pan, as an ugly brute." "Piss off!" Long Pan barked furiously. "That brat—I really want to drag him back and give him a beating." Yu's gaze grew profound. "You might not be his match anymore. Who knows how far he can go in three hundred years?" Hearing that, Long Pan's tone also took on a touch of despondence. "The time is still too short. If he had ten thousand years... no, even three thousand years, he would likely grow to an unimaginable height. The extraterrestrial demon wouldn't even be an issue." "Time..." Yu picked at a loose feather on his garment. "I would actually prefer if he didn't show up for the Demon Slaying Assembly three hundred years from now." Long Pan chuckled softly, saying nothing. Then he heard Yu say, "I cast a divination. For the Demon Slaying Assembly three hundred years from now, it is still absolute death with zero chance of survival!" Long Pan's expression remained unchanged as he finally said, "You have a point. For the Demon Slaying Assembly three hundred years from now, it really is better if he doesn't go. That brat is actually quite clever. When swearing the inner demon oath, he didn't explicitly promise to attend the assembly; he only swore to slay the extraterrestrial demon. That was probably his plan all along. Those old fogies are shrewder than monkeys. They saw through his little trick, yet not a single one pointed it out." "Are monkeys that shrewd?" the Master of the Robe Division asked. *** "Xiao Jia, do you think I'm a match for the extraterrestrial demon?" Holding Xiao Jia, Qi Yuan was teleporting toward the Yin Yang Forbidden Ground. Xiao Jia said nothing. A wooden tile slid out from her sleeve. *Hand held in sleeve.* "You'll grind mobs with me?" Qi Yuan felt slightly sheepish. "Suddenly, I feel like I owe you NPCs an awful lot. Seems my skin still isn't thick enough after all. But that's fine—no matter what, I'm definitely taking down that big boss!" Qi Yuan's train of thought jumped rapidly. One moment he was talking about the extraterrestrial demon, and the next, he shifted to the Yin Yang Forbidden Ground. "I heard those folks in the Yin Yang Forbidden Ground speak with all sorts of sarcasm and passive-aggression. If I imitate their manner of speaking, will they beat me up? If they give me their Divine Reflection and I pick up their passive-aggressive way of talking, what will I do?" After chatting with Xiao Jia for a while, Qi Yuan became full of energy again. He felt that his luck was quite good. After falling ill, he had no one to talk to. Later, he met Jin Li. Now, he had met Xiao Jia. Thinking of that, he prepared to chat with Jin Li again. In his contacts list, Jin Li's unread messages were already at 99+. Jin Li said that relying on the Robe Division Imperial Guard, she had taken complete control of Southern Qian. By now, the armies of the Robe Division Imperial Guard had already surrounded the Heavenly Fortune Sacred Sect. Once the matters with the Heavenly Fortune Sacred Sect and the demon race were settled, she would abdicate the throne of Southern Qian's empress and come to meet him beneath the Ancient Qi Toon Tree. *Looks like I need to pick up the pace too,* Qi Yuan thought to himself. *A girl is giving up her throne just to meet me offline. Isn't this more hype than deliberately answering exam questions wrong on the gaokao just to get into the same university? Way more hype than Boruto.* At that moment, Qi Yuan finally set foot into the Yin Yang Forbidden Ground. The Yin Yang Forbidden Ground of the Four Great Forbidden Grounds. The greatest hallmark of this forbidden ground was that one half was perpetual night while the other was daylight, rotating between the two. This inevitably reminded Qi Yuan of Blue Star. Unfortunately, the Yin Yang Forbidden Ground was not a sphere. Even when Qi Yuan flew into the sky to look, it was still not a globe. *Defeating Zanghua and obtaining the Divine Reflection shouldn't be a problem. But how am I supposed to take control of the Yin Yang Forbidden Ground?* Qi Yuan didn't want to be an "old-timer killer" anymore. And the Yin Yang Forbidden Ground lacked beings like Ancestor Jin and Ancestor Shui. Taking control of the Yin Yang Forbidden Ground had become rather complicated. Just then, a voice rang out beside Qi Yuan's ear. "Master of the Robe Division, you have arrived!" The speaker was a woman with cascading black hair. Her beauty was extraordinary, her expression aloof, carrying a delicate, fragile grace. "Zanghua?" Qi Yuan understood that this would be his opponent in the Yin Yang Forbidden Ground. "Defeat me, and the Yin Yang Forbidden Ground shall be yours to control!" Zanghua stated coldly. Without the slightest hesitation, she immediately struck at Qi Yuan.