Illuminating the Self

Name: Zhou Wuji (Eighth Rank) Lifespan: 85 Spirit (Shen): 323 True Qi (Qi): 425 Physical Body (Jing): 121 Northern Dipper Celestial Pivot Scripture: Proficient Xiaoxiang Sword Technique: Minor Accomplishment …… Looking at the numbers displayed on the page, Zhou Wuji felt quite satisfied. He had benchmarked the values for spirit, physical body, and true qi against his baseline right after opening his divine acupoint, setting each of the three treasures—essence, qi, and spirit—at one hundred. Regardless of the cultivation sect, the three treasures of essence, qi, and spirit formed the foundation of all practice. Shen was spirit, and qi was true qi. As for essence, it essentially referred to the cultivator's physical body. By quantifying essence, qi, and spirit into numerical data, he could clearly track the progress of his cultivation. As for spells and martial arts, they were merely applied techniques and methods—not the Dao, and not the root. Zhou Wuji reviewed his numbers several times and felt that his spirit was growing a bit too fast. The increase in true qi came from unblocking his acupoints, which naturally enabled rapid progress. How could his spirit have grown so quickly? He suddenly recalled the primordial profound spirit and primordial profound qi converted by the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment. Primordial profound qi was qi, so did primordial profound spirit correspond to spirit? Had converting so many people's destiny patterns not only elevated his swordplay, but also granted him a tremendous surge in spirit? Zhou Wuji could not be certain. He would have to wait until he absorbed primordial profound spirit again to verify it. If that was truly the case, could the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment also convert primordial profound essence? Anticipation stirred within him. If it were true, his cultivation would become remarkably simple: all he had to do was kill more demons, ghosts, and monsters. He then reminded himself that while the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment had strict precepts, he was not bound by them, which was the very reason he could advance at such a blistering pace. He could disregard the book's precepts, yet he still needed to maintain his own Dao and his own principles. The next morning, Daoist Yiping brought Zhou Wuji to the Dharma Transmission Hall. Daoist Yiping obtained a general compendium of Daoist arts from the steward, which listed the various spells corresponding to each rank. Having spent the past few days at Feixuan Hall, Zhou Wuji had already browsed this book and decided long ago on the arts he wished to learn. Daoist Yiping said to him in an undertone, "Even though the fees are waived, you shouldn't choose too many. Five to seven arts is about right." He advised, "The Seven Stars Demon-Slaying Sword is an eighth-rank cultivation method corresponding to the nine apertures of the upper dantian. It is an absolute must-learn. "Apart from that, the Pure Heart Divine Incantation is also essential. Internally, this chant purifies the spirit and settles the mind; externally, it helps dispel evil specters and demons. It is very important." Zhou Wuji nodded. What his martial uncle said made perfect sense—learning more spells was not necessarily better. This was not a matter of gluttony or etiquette, but because cultivating spells was intricate and involved. To achieve real mastery in any given technique required an enormous investment of energy and resources. Take the Rejuvenation Technique: without the primordial profound spirit converted by the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment, he might not have mastered it even after practicing for a lifetime. Even with the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment, he could not afford to squander primordial profound spirit on trivial spells. Zhou Wuji selected three more arts: the Fire Bell Incantation, the Six Yang Dharma Eyes, and the Five Yin Pouch. The Fire Bell Incantation was actually a ninth-rank spell of a very low tier. Most wandering vagabond Daoists without a formal lineage knew how to cast a Fire Bell Talisman. Flicking the talisman paper to conjure blazing flames in the wind looked quite intimidating. In reality, the Fire Bell Incantation was a talismanic art used to dispel yin qi; it could be employed as an incantation or inscribed as a talisman. Legitimate Daoists practiced the Fire Bell Incantation mostly for the convenience of lighting fires. The Six Yang Dharma Eyes was a mid-to-high eighth-rank art that allowed a cultivator to see evil entities, ghostly spirits, and yin qi. Once mastered to a high level, one could channel six-yang dharma power directly through the eyes to obliterate evil spirits and ghosts. The final art, the Five Yin Pouch, involved weaving five yin spirits into a receptacle to carry inanimate objects. This was a spell Zhou Wuji had set his sights on long ago. When Daoist Yiping saw Zhou Wuji's choices, he could not help but frown. Though the Six Yang Dharma Eyes was difficult to practice, it suited Zhou Wuji since he had already opened his eye apertures. The Fire Bell Incantation was a staple for traveling the martial world and reasonably practical as well. Only the Five Yin Pouch required establishing an altar to sustain and nourish yin soldiers, which was not only tedious and complex, but also exceedingly dangerous. A single mistake during cultivation could trigger a backlash from the yin soldiers, shortening one's lifespan at best, or causing instant death at worst. Seeing that Zhou Wuji's mind was made up, however, Daoist Yiping said nothing more. The steward of the Dharma Transmission Hall brought out the manuals for the five arts. Zhou Wuji knelt and took an oath before the statue of the Arctic Celestial Emperor never to impart the secret arts to outsiders, after which he received the five techniques. Back at Feixuan Hall, Daoist Yiping said to Zhou Wuji with earnest concern, "The Five Yin Pouch requires erecting an altar to nourish yin soldiers, and the intricacies involved are immense. "You have not yet been formally ordained with Daoist registers, so you may only erect a lower altar. Remember, a lower altar is a Daoist's personal altar, and it must never be brought into the hall of an orthodox deity..." Zhou Wuji possessed plenty of theoretical knowledge about cultivation, but very little practical experience. Having Daoist Yiping guide him could not have been better. He humbly consulted his martial uncle on the various cultivation methods. Daoist Yiping said, "The others are minor arts; only the Seven Stars Demon-Slaying Sword is an orthodox method and the foundation of your cultivation. "Master the Seven Stars Demon-Slaying Sword here with me first before learning the other spells." "What Martial Uncle says is the proper path. It should indeed be so," Zhou Wuji replied sincerely. Daoist Yiping smiled and proceeded to explain in detail the critical points and knacks of practicing the Seven Stars Demon-Slaying Sword. This method was exceedingly profound, essentially an upgraded version of the Northern Dipper Celestial Pivot Scripture and the root for advancing to the seventh rank. With his foundation in the Northern Dipper Celestial Pivot Scripture, Zhou Wuji found it fairly easy to get started. Even so, because the art was so subtle and profound, though he grasped the principles after a day of study, he still could not firmly master all the finer details of cultivation. Daoist Yiping was unconcerned; it would have been strange if Zhou Wuji had mastered it in a single day. That night, Zhou Wuji read through the manuals for the other four arts—the Pure Heart Divine Incantation, the Fire Bell Incantation, the Six Yang Dharma Eyes, and the Five Yin Pouch—several times. Thanks to his powerful spirit, while he could not claim to have mastered them after just a few readings, he managed to commit all the incantations firmly to memory. When he retired to bed, Zhou Wuji opened the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment and saw the five new spells appear on his page. However, he had not even reached entry-level proficiency in any of the five... Zhou Wuji had long known that his innate talent for Daoist cultivation was ordinary, so this did not dispirit him in the least. He could use cheats; no matter how exceptional someone's talent was, could they ever be faster than someone with a cheat? There were still six strands of primordial profound spirit inside the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment, and now was the perfect time to use them. Selecting the two individuals with the highest destiny patterns, he converted them into two strands of primordial profound spirit and channeled them directly into the Seven Stars Demon-Slaying Sword. A pocket realm unfolded, and Zhou Wuji trained tirelessly within it day and night. Incantations, hand seals, footwork, meditative visualization, and the circulation of true qi—the myriad techniques of the Seven Stars Demon-Slaying Sword were branded deep into Zhou Wuji's mind through tens of thousands of grueling repetitions. When he opened his eyes and checked the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment again, the Seven Stars Demon-Slaying Sword had reached the Proficient level. Yet Zhou Wuji knew this was his limit. Primordial profound spirit converted from destiny patterns under two liang, even in quantities of hundreds or thousands, could not push the Seven Stars Demon-Slaying Sword to a higher realm. It was like solving a difficult mathematical problem: the combined effort of thousands of ordinary people could not match the intellect of a single genius. Fortunately, reaching the Proficient level with the Seven Stars Demon-Slaying Sword was already quite remarkable. By his estimate, Martial Uncle Yiping's Seven Stars Demon-Slaying Sword was likely only at this level, and no higher. Zhou Wuji stepped down from the bed, took the Seven Stars Astral Steps, formed a hand seal, recited the incantation under his breath, and visualized the seven star gods manifested by the Northern Dipper Seven Stars in his mind. After brewing power for two hundred breaths—about three minutes by the more precise reckoning of his previous life—Zhou Wuji pointed his finger forward. Seven points of azure starlight flared to life, linking together before him into a deep-blue light sword about a foot long. The glow on the blade flickered erratically, appearing ethereal and insubstantial. Guided by his spirit, the deep-blue light sword flashed and plunged into the wall roughly a zhang away. Zhou Wuji stepped close to inspect it. The wall was entirely undamaged, and a smile broke across his face. The Seven Stars Demon-Slaying Sword was originally designed to combat evil spirits and yin demons. Though it contained true qi, it possessed virtually no destructive power against inanimate objects or flesh and blood. Naturally, this was also because his cultivation realm was still too low. Practiced to the highest realm, a dharma sword would be far sharper than a real blade. Most of the flying swords spoken of in legends of the Daoist sects were precisely this kind of dharma sword condensed from magic power, rather than physical weapons...