Chapter 574: Ancient Secret

Looking at the departing gravekeeper elder, Xiang Shaoyun found that with a simple step, the elder was able to close a massive distance, as if the distance was nonexistent. Xiang Shaoyun was quite knowledgeable himself. With a single look, he exclaimed, "Shrinking space stage!"

Footwork intent was separated into stages, respectively the moving like the wind, shrinking space, and so close yet worlds apart. Seeing the shrinking space stage greatly surprised Xiang Shaoyun. Without any hesitation, he chased after the gravekeeper elder.

He was flying at full speed with his wings, moving at a speed comparable to a third-stage Emperor. And yet, he couldn't even approach the elder and could only follow from far behind. He even had the feeling that the elder had already slowed down. Otherwise, he wouldn't even be able to keep up.

For some reason, as he traveled with the gravekeeper elder, all the evil spirits and beasts seemed to have vanished. Not one of them had appeared. After flying for a while, Xiang Shaoyun found that the elder had stopped before a spartan building.

The building was crudely built with some wood, and there was only a single building. The surroundings were still as desolate as everywhere else in the graveyard, but when looking at the distance from his position, one would find that farther ahead was a lush area with verdant hills and limpid water. A gravestone stood there, exuding a solemn yet refined aura.

Without a doubt, that was the proper graveyard part of the entire Back Graveyard. The part he had been in was merely the graveyard of the evil spirits. The building was built within the evil spirits' part, but it wasn't too far from the proper graveyard part. It was obvious this was the gravekeeper elder's place of residence.

Looks like he's really a human, thought Xiang Shaoyun.

He had been suspecting that the gravekeeper elder was actually an evil spirit that had hidden his true form. After all, the outer appearance of the gravekeeper elder was a tad bit too scary. The gravekeeper elder sat down on a stone chair in front of the building and said without looking at Xiang Shaoyun, "Sit."

Xiang Shaoyun did not dare to sit down. Instead, he bowed at the gravekeeper elder and said, "It's better if this kid remains standing."

Facing an old man with extraordinary strength, he was filled with respect.

"Just sit if I tell you to. I don't really care about matters concerning etiquette," said the gravekeeper elder.

Xiang Shaoyun hesitated slightly before he sat down at the other stone chair. Inwardly, he wondered, Why does this gravekeeper elder want from me?

The gravekeeper elder seemed to have read Xiang Shaoyun's mind as he explained forthrightly, "I am more or less aware of your current situation. I am going to tell you something, and I will only say it once. Pay attention. In all the years the dominion has existed, many nine-star physiques have appeared before. But a high-grade version like yours is very rare. Your physique is basically one blessed by the heavens, allowing you great efficiency when cultivating.

“It is generally believed that only by cultivating a single power will one be able to combine the strength of all nine stars and unleash an ultimate combat prowess. That is also the fastest way one can advance, with very few troubles in advancement.

"Of course, some also prefer cultivating two different powers, but that will greatly reduce one's cultivation speed. Furthermore, the resulting combat prowess isn't that much stronger than cultivating only a single power. The only benefit is gaining the ability to use the two powers and complement each other for unique effects.

“As for cultivating three or more powers, that is a choice almost no one will make. That is mainly because someone doing so will lack the ability to use all the different powers together, resulting in a lower combat prowess.

"Of course, there are people that refused to admit defeat and insisted on cultivating multiple powers, and all of them have ended miserably. The only type of people capable of cultivating five powers are those possessing a Primal Astral Physique. This physique grants one an innate physique with five stars of five different powers.

“For someone not born with this physique, it is extremely hard to cultivate this physique through effort alone. After all, the main advantage of this physique is the balance between the five powers, and that balance is something almost impossible to achieve artificially. After all, the Primal Astral Physique is one of the strongest combative physiques in existence.

"As for nine-star physiques, it is extremely hard to balance nine different powers. However, there is an ancient legend claiming that a legendary physique known as the Nine Heavens Celestial Physique, also known as the Major Primal Astral Physique, exists. It is a physique granting someone an innate ability to absorb nine different astral energies, accomplishing something nobody else can accomplish.

“It is said that this is a physique only the ancient god involved in the creation of the world possessed, and that ancient god is also the ancient ancestor of us humans. He is the creator of the dominion, the sky, and the stars above us.

"Throughout the years, many humans have tried recreating someone comparable to the ancient god. Children with a nine-star physique were all requested to cultivate nine different powers. Us, the Dragon Phoenix Academy, also once did that. We called it the Strongest Physique Cultivation Project. However, it all ended in failure. All those nine-star physiques had gone to waste, and thus, nobody wants to ever see a nine-star physique holder cultivate nine different powers and walk the path of no return ever again."

Xiang Shaoyun's face turned ghastly as he listened, his will to continue down the same path wavering.

Have I really made the wrong choice? Xiang Shaoyun asked himself.

He had also seen a lot of ancient records depicting the failures of cultivating nine powers. However, he had assumed that the records only referred to a small portion of those who had tried. He thought that he would be different with his talent, creating a path unique to himself.

But from what the gravekeeper elder had just said, since the ancient times, humanity had been trying to cultivate such physiques. Even the Dragon Phoenix Academy had done so before, and they had all failed.

Anyone with a nine-star physique was a remarkable talent. Xiang Shaoyun was not stupid enough to believe he was better than all of them. Since all of them had failed, would he still have the courage to attempt something nobody had accomplished before?

Perhaps it was as the gravekeeper elder said, it was a path of no return, something impossible to succeed. The Nine Heavens Celestial Physique was merely a legend left behind by the ancient humans. There was no way to even confirm if that physique had once existed before.

"Then is it fine if I opt to cultivate one power now?" Xiang Shaoyun asked. Yes, he was finally scared. After all, he had filled his nine stars with different powers. Was it too late to give up now?