"The five elements generate and overcome one another, mutually fostering and promoting each other. Wood generates fire, fire generates earth, earth generates metal, metal generates water, and water generates wood. They are the origin that constitutes the world. The existence of the five tones, the five flavors, the five colors, the five transformations, the five viscera, and the five sense organs is no mere coincidence, but rather the result of corresponding to the five elements..."
Inside the lecture hall, the Merit Transmission Elder stood on the podium lecturing on the *General Outline of the Five Elements*. He bobbed his head and swayed as he spoke, spittle flying, and at moments of excitement, he even gesticulated animatedly with hands and feet.
Inside the spiritual space, the Immortal Fairy yawned, looking sleepy with tears welling at the corners of her eyes. The Merit Transmission Elder's teaching was far inferior to Daoist Buyu's—it wasn't vivid or interesting in the slightest.
"So boring. Immortal Jiuchong went over all this stuff before."
"Didn't Immortal Jiuchong have the Yin-Yang Dao fruit? Does he have a connection to the five elements too?"
"Did you forget Immortal Jiuchong's cultivation technique?"
Lu Yang pondered for a moment. Back when they were with the Immortal Cult, the Immortal Fairy had mentioned it once, but he couldn't remember the exact name, only that it contained a lot of numbers.
"*Numerical Immortal Art*?"
"Calling it the Numerical Immortal Art isn't entirely wrong. To be precise, it's called the *Chaos One Qi Two Poles Three Talents Four Symbols Five Elements Six Harmonies Seven Luminaries Eight Desolations Nine Lands Ten Heavens Only I Am Supreme Immortal Art*."
As expected of the very first person to achieve immortality—even the name of his technique was longer than everyone else's.
"Immortal Jiuchong did extensive research on things like chaos, yin-yang, and the five elements. He agonized between the Chaos Dao fruit, the Yin-Yang Dao fruit, and the Five Elements Dao fruit for an eternity, spending his entire Tribulation Transcendence stage deliberating before finally choosing the Yin-Yang Dao fruit."
"Why didn't he pick the other two?"
"In Immortal Jiuchong's own words, it was probably fate. Things are preordained by heaven in the unseen realm."
"Fate?" Lu Yang could sense the sentiment behind Immortal Jiuchong's words—a fatalism steeped in helplessness.
The Immortal Fairy had mentioned that among immortals, some believed in fate while others did not. She belonged to the camp that didn't, whereas Immortal Jiuchong evidently belonged to the camp that did.
"Yeah, it was hard for him to choose. All three Dao fruits had their pros and cons. In the end, he decided by drawing lots."
"Drawing lots took a massive effort. First, he exhausted all sorts of secret treasures to construct a grand array across the cosmos to block divine sense, using entire stars as array nodes. Then he had several of us come over to act as protectors. Finally, he closed his eyes and sealed off his five senses and seven consciousnesses to ensure he wouldn't be affected by external interference before he felt at ease enough to draw lots."
"The result of the draw was the Yin-Yang Dao fruit."
"Drawing once still didn't put his mind at ease, so he shuffled the order and drew two more times. Both times it was the Yin-Yang Dao fruit."
"If once was an accident, getting the exact same result three times meant it was destined by fate."
*Isn't drawing the same result three times just a one-in-nine chance?* Lu Yang thought to himself.
Considering this might just be the gap between himself and an immortal, he decided not to ask.
"Even though he chose the Yin-Yang Dao fruit, Immortal Jiuchong was deeply knowledgeable about both chaos and the five elements."
"Don't think a Dao fruit is all there is to an immortal. As immortals, we gathered frequently to exchange cultivation insights and research findings, pooling our knowledge. You could say our collective reserve of cultivation knowledge among the five of us was unmatched!" The Immortal Fairy beamed proudly, her smile radiating knowledge and wisdom.
Lu Yang nodded. That was true enough. He had heard that the higher one's cultivation, the more one needed peers of equal standing to exchange and corroborate insights with. A single discussion with an equal could yield benefits equivalent to a century of cultivation. Considering how often the Five Ancient Celestials gathered over every little thing, their accumulated knowledge must have grown to a terrifying degree, easily rivaling millions of years of cultivation.
"Lu Yang, stand up and answer this question." The Merit Transmission Elder glared at Lu Yang with a displeased expression. Although his lecture was indeed boring, it was the first time he had seen someone zone out so blatantly.
Lu Yang sprang to his feet in a panic. He had been so engrossed in listening to ancient secrets that he hadn't heard a word the elder said. He hurriedly sent a voice transmission to Meng Jingzhou.
Fortunately, with the Immortal Fairy providing cover, the elder wouldn't notice the transmission.
"What did the elder just ask?"
"Don't ask me, I wasn't listening either."
Meng Jingzhou broke into a cold sweat, terrified the elder would call on him next.
He had zoned out earlier when the elder mentioned "earth," pondering: *Since people are buried in earth after being executed anyway, wouldn't it be simpler to just bury them alive?*
"Man Gu, do you know?"
"No idea."
Man Gu was currently wondering whether, as the last member of the Ancient Barbarian race, he would be reproductively isolated from the modern Barbarian clan.
Lu Yang asked around, and not a single one was reliable.
"Lu Yang, answer the question. You couldn't possibly have not been paying attention in class, could you?" The Merit Transmission Elder kept his eyes fixed on him.
Lu Yang took a deep breath. Things had reached this point; there was no other way.
"Immortal Jiuchong's Dao fruit is the Yin-Yang Dao fruit, governing ultimate power. Immortal Ying Tian's Dao fruit is the Tribulation Responding Dao fruit; most tribulations cultivators undergo are wrought by the Tribulation Responding Dao fruit. Immortal Suiyue's Dao fruit is the Suiyue Dao fruit, governing the power of time. Immortal Kirin's Dao fruit is the Survival of the Fittest Dao fruit; any attack that has been used against him is ineffective!"
The lecture hall fell dead silent.
"Elder, did I answer correctly?"
The Merit Transmission Elder went into a daze.
He remembered Lu Yang saying a whole bunch of things just now, yet for the life of him, he couldn't recall a single word.
*What did he say?*
"Elder? Elder?" Lu Yang called twice before the elder finally snapped back to his senses.
"Ah, ah?"
"Elder, you weren't zoning out just now, were you?"
The Merit Transmission Elder coughed dryly twice, acting as though he hadn't heard Lu Yang's last remark. "*Ahem*, what Lu Yang said just now was pretty close. Allow me to reiterate here: five is the most stable number in nature."
"For instance, the Central Dynasty and the four lands of east, west, south, and north; the Five Great Immortal Sects; the five veins of the Five Elements Sect; the Four Great Demonic Cults along with the mysterious Heavenly Court Cult."
"According to the theory of the five elements, it is very likely that the Heavenly Court Cult will become the fifth great demonic cult, completing the 'five.'"
"And then there are the five of you. You are the five most outstanding youths of the Dao Seeking Sect's younger generation, which likewise subtly conforms to the five elements theory."
Meng Jingzhou sent a stealthy voice transmission to Lu Yang: "Impressive! How did you do that just now? I heard you ramble on and on, but I didn't remember a single sentence."
Lu Yang said solemnly, "That is an ancient secret technique. Only I can perform it."
He breathed a sigh of relief. The immortals' forgetting trait had really come in handy.
The Merit Transmission Elder soon moved on to today's main topic: "Next, we will discuss knowledge of Five Elements spells. Which of you is most familiar with Five Elements spells?"
"Him."
All four pointed at Lu Yang in unison. Lu Yang barely had time to react.
The Merit Transmission Elder was slightly surprised and deeply gratified. "Oh? I heard you have a Sword Spiritual Root, yet you're actually proficient in Five Elements spells as well? How did you cultivate your Five Elements spells? Tell me about it."
Lu Yang scratched his head awkwardly. How was he supposed to explain? Cultivating spells came effortlessly to him; he had never encountered a bottleneck.
"Just by feel. I just practiced casually, and I got it."
Although the effects of his spells were unpredictable, he really had succeeded just by practicing casually.
Chapter 539