Chapter 63: The Four Seas Burst Their Banks, and the Stars Fall into the Milky Way

Leaving behind the transmission outside the orthodox teachings, Chen Yang took Zhong Shenxiu and departed from the imperial palace of Great Tang, seeking out his second disciple, who was assisting with the clearing of the mountain of corpses.

“This is your senior brother, Zhong Shenxiu. Come and pay your respects.”

“Guo Xiaoshan greets his senior brother.” Guo Xiaoshan had long known he had a senior brother, but had never met him. Now, seeing his brother for the first time, he found him possessing a lofty air and a strikingly handsome countenance, so much so that, comparing himself, he couldn’t help but feel a touch of self-abasement.

Zhong Shenxiu, rarely smiling, patted his junior’s shoulder and spoke.

“You are a fine disciple. Master is very fond of you.”

Guo Xiaoshan was taken aback and instinctively looked towards his master.

Chen Yang waved his hand, laughing and scolding, “Don’t create such sentimental scenes; I have no use for them.”

After laughing, he addressed his disciple, “I have cultivated my primordial spirit and shall soon journey to the Spirit Realm. Your senior brother will accompany me. Your cultivation is still young; it is the time to focus wholeheartedly on your training and not suitable for you to come. Remain here in this world and cultivate well. You will assist me in establishing a true transmission of our orthodoxy. Step forward; I will now impart to you the subsequent teachings of the Celestial River True Method.”

Guo Xiaoshan opened his mouth, wanting to speak, but instead bowed and accepted.

With a single finger, Chen Yang transmitted all the methods of the Celestial River True Method up to the primordial spirit stage, and after that, the techniques for further cultivation, along with various divine abilities to complement the method, as well as sword refinement techniques.

As for what realm he could reach, that would depend on Guo Xiaoshan himself.

After all, a master leads into the door, but cultivation depends on the individual.

Chen Yang could have developed the Celestial River True Method all the way to the Pure Yang realm, but firstly, the foundation of this world was insufficient—even attaining the primordial spirit within a century was a pipe dream, let alone realms beyond. He himself managed to cultivate the primordial spirit only because his original realm was high and, through the Blood River Grand Method, he devoured the essence of the entire demon clan. For another, it would have been impossible.

Secondly, it would violate the original intent behind the creation of this method.

The reason he established the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations was to select the true talents and foster the flourishing of the orthodoxy.

To strengthen his own attainment of supreme power and the ultimate Dao, and to aid his own cultivation.

Another purpose was to bolster the luck of the orthodoxy for the patriarch, to help him escape calamity sooner. Now, unable to return, what he could do for the elder was only this.

“Master, I wish to return to Baohua Continent.” Guo Xiaoshan hesitated for a long time before finally speaking.

Chen Yang understood his disciple’s thoughts clearly and gently admonished, “It is not that I am cold-hearted, nor do I wish for you to cultivate the Dao of detachment. But your mastery is not yet refined, your Dao heart not yet firm. Too many attachments at this stage are of no benefit to your cultivation. Once you achieve the Golden Core, with a stabilized Dao heart, the heavens and earth will naturally be yours to traverse.”

The Golden Core of Chen Yang’s method was not the same as that of this realm, nor was the primordial spirit akin to the shapeless, spiritless Divine Transformation here.

With the power of the Celestial River True Method, after achieving the Golden Core, one could roam the four seas and traverse the world with ease.

Though Guo Xiaoshan was stubborn and earnest, he was not dull, nor was he ungrateful. Hearing this, he nodded, feeling somewhat ashamed. “I am foolish, always making Master worry…”

Chen Yang raised his hand to halt his words, smiling. “Do not belittle yourself. Those who cultivate must possess the spirit of ‘I alone reign supreme—who else but me?’ Enough, I will head to the Eastern Sea to refine and nurture my primordial spirit in seclusion. You, cultivate well on your own.”

“Yes, I will remember your teachings.”

Chen Yang nodded and said no more, handing him the Sea-Calming Pearl, once intended as the vessel for his second primordial spirit, and within it, a drop of True Water of the First Heaven.

Zhong Shenxiu also stepped forward, patted his shoulder, and produced a small booklet—his insights on swordsmanship.

Receiving these parting gifts, Guo Xiaoshan was moved, at a loss for words.

Chen Yang patted his head, smiled, and soared away in a beam of light toward the Eastern Sea.

“Take care, junior brother,” Zhong Shenxiu followed closely.

“Master, senior brother, take care!” Guo Xiaoshan waved and shouted.

……

Spring passed and autumn came; in the blink of an eye, a year had gone by.

The pain from the great war between humans and demons was slowly soothed by the passage of time.

The Heavenly Palace of Great Tang was busy plotting the unification of the four seas, but before any action could be taken, reports from all regions arrived: Everyone found cultivation suddenly much more difficult, calamities arose incessantly, and some even saw their cultivation regress rather than progress.

Only then did they fully understand Chen Yang’s words: this world no longer suited the methods of immortal cultivation. Many, who had long hesitated over whether to switch to the Primordial Immortal Dao due to its overwhelming tribulations, could only sigh bitterly upon seeing this.

Those who persisted could, relying on the subtlety of the Primordial Dao, weather the calamities. Those who did not were left to face them head-on.

And the immortal cultivation methods, which focused solely on power and neglected cultivation of the Dao, might withstand one calamity, but never two.

Helpless, they made public the Daoist scriptures left behind by Chen Yang, allowing all cultivators to see another path. Those with keen talent and perception could, from these theories, create their own methods of cultivation. For those less gifted, a basic cultivation method was devised, enabling them to reach the Fiendish Qi stage.

As for the subsequent realms—Golden Core, Dao Foundation, Calamity Evasion, Nurturing—even Ye Fa and others had to rack their brains, and even if transmitted, only a few would truly achieve them.

The survivors of the great catastrophe between humans and demons in Great Tang of Eastern Victory Continent were those forged by life and death, possessing unyielding will, yet even so, it was a struggle.

Baohua Continent and Southern Toad Continent fared even worse, with rampant cases of cultivation deviation.

To lose one's power and become an ordinary person was already lucky; the unlucky saw their power erupt, leading to death and the destruction of their Dao.

In just a few years, seven or eight out of ten cultivators in the two continents perished, and the land was filled with lamentation.

Eastern Victory Continent, however, fully adopted the Primordial Immortal Dao. Though entry was extremely difficult—simply sensing the Dao was a bottleneck that trapped countless—but once through, cultivating Qi, condensing Fiendish Qi, refining the Martial Force, all became matters of course.

Calamities still abounded, but as long as one kept true to oneself and tempered the Dao heart, they could be overcome.

“Break the dikes of the four seas, let the stars enter the Celestial River.”

A young Daoist, clad in black robes and with a dark face, had a Sea-Calming Pearl suspended above his head, radiating multicolored light. A Celestial River, more than ten miles long, hung high in the sky, surging with massive waves.

With a thunderous shout, the Daoist caused the river to reverse, shrinking until it condensed into a glittering golden pellet, from which the sound of rushing water could be heard.

With the formation of the Golden Core, the inner spirit shone forth and divine abilities arose spontaneously.

Guo Xiaoshan let out a long howl of joy, leapt skyward, and transformed into a beam of light.

His speed was astonishing; in less than half a day, he traveled from Eastern Victory Continent to the Eastern Sea’s abyss. The Sea-Calming Pearl shone with multicolored light, pacifying the waves. At the Dragon Palace of the sea abyss, the Grand Array of True Water of the First Heaven was once again established, ceaselessly channeling the essence of the true water, refining it into strands of True Water of the First Heaven flowing into the yellow-skinned gourd.

Guo Xiaoshan sighed inwardly, pushed open the palace doors, and found it, as expected, completely empty.