Chapter 1113: Records of Laojun Studying The Dao On A Bull

“Now, come to me. I will teach you the unparalleled arts of Kunlun to mend your flaws and forge your celestial base.”

The celestial said slowly, “My Kunlun has three unparalleled arts, six tribulation-avoiding arts, nine longevity arts, thirteen Heavenly Star Magia, and eighteen Earthly Fiend secret arts.”

“I shall begin by teaching you one of the three foundational arts of Kunlun Ruins, the ‘Records of Laojun Studying The Dao On A Bull’. An unparalleled art based on consuming qi and refining qi, it can improve one’s constitution, hone one’s true qi, strengthen one’s spirit, unite the myriad arts of yin and yang, evade the three calamities and nine tribulations, and forge your celestial base. In short, it will prepare you for the unparalleled path.”

Ye Qing’s heart could not help but beat faster when he heard the celestial’s description. He already possessed many cultivation arts such as the “Paranirmitavaśavartin Heavenly Demon Sutra”, the “Earthly Sovereign Scripture”, the “Blood Demon Sutra”, the “Call of the Nether”, the “Nine Impetus of Tai Chi”, the “Three Origin Hammers” and more, much less fist arts and saber arts. However, the large majority of them were now useless to him since he was a Great Grandmaster.

Today, he mainly practiced the “Earthly Sovereign Scripture”, the “Paranirmitavaśavartin Heavenly Demon Sutra”, and “Three Origin Hammers”.

The “Earthly Sovereign Scripture” was a Sage-stage martial art. It possessed massive potential and could theoretically lead him to unprecedented, unimaginable heights. It was, in Ye Qing’s opinion, even better than the celestial arts mentioned by the celestials.

Unfortunately, there was a small problem with the “Earthly Sovereign Scripture”. It was a physical-focused martial art and so did not really enhance his mind and spirit all that much.

The “Three Origins Hammer” was even worse. It was an attacking martial art, not a cultivation art.

The “Paranirmitavaśavartin Heavenly Demon Sutra” was a pure spirit cultivation art and infinitely wondrous, but it was also missing some components and so could only carry him as far as the Half-Sage stage. It could not transform his yang god and make him a Sage.

Besides that, he had never stopped being wary of the “Paranirmitavaśavartin Heavenly Demon Sutra”. When he was forging his yang god, he had unintentionally drawn the attention of the Heart Demon of Bewitching Desire, one of the Paranirmitavaśavartin Heavenly Demon’s thirty six thousand avatars. If he wasn’t at the Six Livestocks Market at the time, and if the Venerable Six Livestocks had chosen to ignore his plight, he would have been in deep trouble. He might even have been converted into one of the Paranirmitavaśavartin Heavenly Demon’s dependents.

Venerable Six Livestocks had helped him greatly by removing the imprint the Paranirmitavaśavartin Heavenly Demon had left inside his mind, and sealing a wisp of the Paranirmitavaśavartin Heavenly Demon and the Heart Demon of Bewitching Desire’s origin power inside his mind. He also broke the original limits of the “Paranirmitavaśavartin Heavenly Demon Sutra” so that he could advance further in the martial art and form a solid foundation.

Even so, he could not help but feel wary and even afraid of the “Paranirmitavaśavartin Heavenly Demon Sutra”. This was the Paranirmitavaśavartin Heavenly Demon after all, the heavenly demon that supposedly possessed boundless power. Even after Venerable Six Livestocks’ intervention, who could say for sure that there weren’t some other backdoor in the cultivation art? Who could claim that he would not catch the Paranirmitavaśavartin Heavenly Demon’s attention again as he advanced through the cultivation levels?

That was why he frequently used the Paranirmita Boundless Heavenly Demon Dependent Magia, but rarely practiced the cultivation art since leaving the Six Livestocks Market. He was even suppressing its progress on purpose.

It couldn’t be helped. The consequences were simply too severe.

But now, the celestial was offering him an “unparalleled” art that could consume qi to refine qi and strengthen his spirit. It also granted him the power to evade calamities and tribulations. If it was true, then it was undoubtedly a massive opportunity and boon.

Even if it didn’t happen to fit his needs, the claim that it was an “unparalleled art of the celestials” alone was enough to tempt him.

After all, who would complain that they had too many skills and cultivation arts?

“From what I can tell, you are currently practicing an art from a heavenly demon and another from the Earthly Sovereign. Although both arts are unparalleled arts that can take you to the Great Way, I foresee some complications you may or may not have encountered already. First, we call a heavenly demon art an ‘outer demon art’. That’s because it is both evil, anomalous, and full of flaws. The longer you practice it, the higher the chance you would draw the attention of an outer demon, suffer its brand, and be turned into a slave or a cultivation cauldron. Otherwise, the outer demon may use you as an anchor point to descend upon your world. That is why it must be treated with utmost caution.”

“The Earthly Sovereign’s art is an unparalleled body-tempering art, but it requires a tremendous amount of resources to practice. This demand only increases the further you advance it. In ancient times, the world was overflowing with spiritual qi, and divine objects were a dime a dozen. That was why the Earthly Sovereign was able to sustain it. Even so, only a handful of people were able to reach the Earthly Sovereign’s height. Today, practicing it has become even harder as spiritual qi is depleted, and divine objects are scarce.”

“Besides that, the heavenly demon art is a demonic art, and the Earthly Sovereign’s art is an art of the Human Way. You may practice them both without issues when your cultivation is still low, but the higher you climb, the more incompatible they become. When the time comes, you would have to abandon one and focus on the other, or boil them down into a single new art.”

“That is the solution I’m proposing to you. The ‘Records of Laojun Studying The Dao On A Bull’ possess the ability to evade tribulations and eliminate calamities. It could reduce the number of tribulations you face and improve your luck so that you would not catch the attention of an outer demon. On top of that, it possesses the power to unite yin and yang and accommodate all arts. It can be used to connect the arts you practice, establish harmony between them, and boil them down into a singular art. If you practice it, you will not experience the incompatibilities between the arts and suffer as a result.”

“You are very wise, Imperial Lord.”

Ye Qing was surprised. He did not think that the celestial would see through his cultivation arts and even point out its flaws in one glance. In a sense, it was scary.

“Without further ado, come to me...” The celestial commanded.

“This junior obeys,” Ye Qing answered and walked toward the celestial.

What could he do? The celestial’s description of the “Records of Laojun Studying The Dao On A Bull” matched his needs perfectly. Who could resist something like that?

“Since you are receiving my inheritance, you should perform a disciple’s salute,” the celestial said.

“This disciple obeys,” Ye Qing replied obediently.

“Good, good.” The celestial seemed very satisfied with Ye Qing’s response.

The universe was infinite, but it took Ye Qing mere steps to reach the impossible tall and vast celestial.

Then, Ye Qing knelt on one knee and performed a disciple’s salute.

It was at this moment an old Taoist riding a green bull appeared at the starry space above his head. He slowly trotted across the stars and made his way toward him.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

The old Taoist had a benevolent and amiable face. He was wearing a Taoist robe and surrounded by yin and yang qi. The green bull beneath him looked strong and healthy, and its green fur were positively lustrous. Every time it took a step, a green lotus would appear beneath its hoof.

It was a rather fantastical scene to see a bull walking on lotuses in the universe.

As the old Taoist came closer, purple qi rose from the east side of the universe[1]. It was so thick and vast that it shrouded an entire expanse of stars.

“Legend has it that cyan clouds floated, and purple qi rose from the east when Laojun rode a bull through Hangu Pass. That was when he attained perfection in his Dao and ascended to the heavens[2].”

Ye Qing was stunned. Legend had it that Laojun was Taishang Laojun’s avatar of the Human Way, and Taishang Laojun was one of the three Taoist founders of San Qing. Was this martial art related to Taishang Laojun himself?

Before Ye Qing could react, the old Taoist, his bull, and the sea of purple qi barged into his headspace.

His headspace was dyed purple in an instant. It formed the third dominant color in his headspace next to the dark yellow color of the Profound Yellow Mother Qi and the dark color of his “Paranirmitavaśavartin Heavenly Demon Sutra”.

He wondered if it was his imagination, but the old Taoist seemed cognizant. He was examining Ye Qing’s headspace with a kind expression on his face, nodding or shaking his head from time to time.

Then, the bull-riding Taoist lifted his head and looked at a certain direction.

Buzz...

His headspace shook, and his Paranirmita Vasavartin Heaven automatically split open to reveal a radiant, magnificent figure sitting on a throne. The Earthly Sovereign Bell was floating above his head.

The figure was Ye Qing’s yang god, of course.

The figure changed and took on Ye Qing’s appearance. He then looked down on the bull-riding Taoist from his throne and the pinnacle of the sky.

For a time, wind and clouds blew in the heavens above the clouds, and dark yellow stirred with oppressive weight and size.

This was his headspace. It took but a single thought for him to summon anything and everything.

The bull-riding Taoist did not seem to notice, however. He continued to wear a benevolent expression.

1. But where is the east side of the universe? ☜

2. If you remember, Li Wangxian was the

second

person to experience this. Laojun is the first. ☜