CHAPTER 98: CHAPTER 97: THE MYSTERIOUS TIANJI PAVILION

On the Phoenix Heron Flying Boat, Hong Yuan rose from his bed in the cramped room, assumed a cross-legged cultivation posture, focused his mind, and prepared to replicate the Divine Power of Ten Thousand Heavy Water onto his human body.

A short while later, Hong Yuan came up empty-handed.

Not a stir. What’s going on? Hong Yuan opened his eyes, his mind feeling sluggish, utterly puzzled.

It shouldn’t be like this, logically speaking. He had already cultivated the Divine Power of Ten Thousand Heavy Water to the third stage. At the very least, he should have been able to condense an extremely minute Divine Power seed. Why was there no movement at all?

Let’s see what’s different between the Demonic Beast Avatar and the human body, Hong Yuan thought.

Hong Yuan continuously searched for differences between his Demonic Beast Avatar and his human body. With the help of the scientific method, he quickly identified the problem.

The issue was that the Demonic Beast Avatar possessed a formed Divine Skill Talisman of Ten Thousand Heavy Water—a complete Divine Power originally condensed by Flood Dragon Xuan Qi. His human body, on the other hand, was completely empty.

In that instant, a flash of insight struck him, and Hong Yuan felt as though he had grasped something.

If a Divine Skill Talisman is like a large tree, then the easiest way to grow one is to already possess a seed for it. The Flood Dragon generously gifted me a complete Divine Skill Talisman of Ten Thousand Heavy Water. He didn’t just give me a Divine Power seed; he gave me an entire tree! That’s why the Demonic Beast Avatar could control the Divine Power of Ten Thousand Heavy Water so easily.

Hong Yuan got out of bed, stood on the wooden floor, and stretched his limbs, loosening his muscles while gazing at the scenery outside the window.

Therefore, because my human body lacks even the slightest ’seed’ related to the Ten Thousand Heavy Water Divine Power, it naturally can’t comprehend it so effortlessly.

At this moment, Hong Yuan felt no regret, for he now had a clear path forward.

In the long years to come, as long as he obtained even a tiny item related to Ten Thousand Heavy Water, he would be able to rapidly condense its Divine Power.

Hong Yuan firmly believed that his main body would eventually encounter something related to Ten Thousand Heavy Water.

「Three days later,」

Hong Yuan once again stepped out of his room and headed towards the lecture platform.

An Elder from Tianji Pavilion was giving a lecture at noon. Although it cost five thousand Energy Stones, its content was extremely important, and Hong Yuan didn’t want to miss it.

Tianji Pavilion had always been the most mysterious department in the Phoenix Creek Sect. Even counting formal disciples, the vast Yong State accepted no more than twenty people into it each year. They were incredibly rare, truly the elite of the elite.

This was perhaps related to the Daos they cultivated—Wisdom, Luck, and Soul.

Unless one was a true Heavenly Talent, blessed with immense luck, they shouldn’t even consider it!

It’s a pity Tianji Pavilion always chooses its own disciples, emphasizing predestined affinity. Otherwise, I would definitely try to get in on it, Hong Yuan thought, somewhat frustrated.

The Wisdom Tao, Luck Tao, and Soul Tao were clearly a perfect match for his Longevity Martial Arts. It was just a shame he had no affinity with Tianji Pavilion.

Even after searching all the books in the Scripture Pavilion, he couldn’t find any related texts. They were exceedingly rare and precious.

Shaking his head, Hong Yuan continued onward.

After passing through a long, narrow corridor, he finally reached the lecture platform.

As Hong Yuan walked through the long, narrow corridor, Chen Zhen, who had been wandering around the Flying Boat forging alliances, spotted him.

Chen Zhen also saw that Hong Yuan’s destination was the lecture platform and understood that Hong Yuan intended to attend the lecture by the Tianji Pavilion Elder.

What an idiot with too much money, Chen Zhen sneered internally. The teachings of the Tianji Pavilion Elder are incredibly profound; only those with exceptional talent can comprehend them. It’s both expensive and practically useless. This Hong Yuan is simply unambitious and content to stagnate!

After inwardly sneering at Hong Yuan, Chen Zhen arrogantly tilted his head up and resumed his search for Liu Xiang’er to discuss his plans. He was already pondering how to plunder Energy Stones and various treasures from his upcoming trial grounds.

Chen Zhen decided he wouldn’t bother comparing himself to Hong Yuan anymore. There was no challenge in it at all. It just made him look childish. How dull!

CREAK.

The Si hour (9-11 AM) passed. The great doors of the lecture hall swung open, and disciples filed out one after another, making way for those attending the noon lecture.

Inside, service staff were replacing the Taoist Mats and cleaning the small wooden desks.

After Hong Yuan handed his numbered plaque to the deacon, he proceeded to Area A, found his seat, and sat down.

However, Hong Yuan noticed something quite startling.

Only just over twenty disciples from the entire flying boat had come to attend this lecture. The majority were True Disciples in purple robes; only a few were ordinary cultivating disciples!

It seems the teachings of Tianji Pavilion are indeed too profound for most disciples, Hong Yuan suddenly realized.

But Hong Yuan didn’t let it bother him much. His aptitude was a high 48 points. Even among the many geniuses of the Phoenix Creek Sect, he was considered a Heavenly Talent.

If even he couldn’t understand anything, it would just prove that the points he had invested in himself weren’t enough, and he needed to strive harder.

"Ren Er, count the attendees," instructed a middle-aged man in a white Taoist robe, exuding an ethereal air.

The deacon named Ren Er began to walk down the aisle, meticulously checking the roster against the headcount.

Since there were very few attendees, Ren Er quickly finished the count. Then, the ethereal-looking Tianji Pavilion Elder began his lecture.

The Elder began, "The edicts of Heaven, the transformations of Luck, the bounty of the Earth, future calamities—all these can be foreseen."

"Heaven has its Heaven’s Luck, Earth has its Earth’s Luck, and mortals too have their Mortal Luck. Great Luck is like a mighty river, its course powerful and difficult to alter. Small Luck is like a little stream, able to wind around the river..."

Seated below, Hong Yuan slightly raised his thick eyebrows, deeply pondering the Tianji Pavilion Elder’s words on the methods of changing one’s Luck.

The more he pondered, the more confused he became. It felt like being back in his school days, struggling to understand physics yet forced to memorize principles and example problems.

Alas, it seems the Luck Tao and I are not well acquainted, Hong Yuan mused. Fortunately, even if I can’t change my Luck, I did understand how to preserve it! Feeling he had gained some insight, he quickly began writing on a blank sheet of paper, afraid he might forget.

He wrote: [When circumstances are unfavorable, be like a hidden dragon in the abyss, biding your time.]

According to my own understanding, this means that when things aren’t going well—for instance, repeated failures in business—one should hold back, conserve strength, and patiently wait for an opportunity.

Guan Lan, sitting behind Hong Yuan, was still in a daze.

However, when Guan Lan saw that Hong Yuan, a fellow cultivating disciple, had actually gained some understanding—seemingly more astute than himself, the foremost of their peers—he was greatly surprised.

Whose disciple is this person? His insight is so remarkable, yet why do I have no impression of him at all? Guan Lan frowned, deeply puzzled.

As one of the few disciples in the Scripture Pavilion privileged enough to receive guidance from the Guardian Elder, Guan Lan had always been extremely proud of his own comprehension.

Yet now, Guan Lan had discovered a peer whose insight was by no means inferior to his own, perhaps even a notch above.

Hong Yuan, meanwhile, was almost entirely engrossed in the Tianji Pavilion Elder’s lecture.

After the Elder finished explaining the Luck Tao, he began to lecture on the Wisdom Tao, from which Hong Yuan gained even more understanding.

Unfortunately, the noon hour passed before the Elder could even touch upon the most mysterious Soul Tao.

Martial Skill Killing Moves, Compound Martial Skill Killing Moves... Hong Yuan repeatedly mulled over these two terms, concepts he had just grasped.

A Martial Skill Killing Move, as the name implies, involves combining different martial skills to form a powerful technique, like Cold Wind Frozen Rain. A Compound Martial Skill Killing Move is even more complex, integrating multiple martial skill techniques, such as Water-Fire Collision.

This strong sense of familiarity reminded Hong Yuan of the Five Poison Sect in the Southern Border, who could also use Worms in combination to create powerful killing moves.

According to the Tianji Pavilion Elder, one must first determine the core martial skill, then build a framework to construct the killing move. However, someone like me, who can refine techniques into Worms, doesn’t need to go through that trouble.

If I want a killing move with a specific effect, I can just select the necessary components.

Aha! Doesn’t this make it much easier for me to ’play my hand’? My Skill of Protecting the Dao is practically complete! Hong Yuan felt a surge of excitement, thinking the five thousand Energy Stones were incredibly well spent.

Moreover, Hong Yuan also considered if his Demonic Beast Avatar could combine multiple Innate Abilities to form killing moves, or even merge Innate Abilities with Divine Powers. Of course, this would require practical experimentation.

After all, practice is the sole criterion for verifying truth.

Just as Hong Yuan was leaving the lecture platform, intending to return to his room and seriously explore the feasibility of this concept, an unfamiliar cultivating disciple called out to him.

"Fellow Daoist, please wait! I am Guan Lan—"

Hearing the phrase ’Fellow Daoist, please wait!’—words that sent a shiver down his spine—Hong Yuan didn’t even turn his head. He immediately quickened his pace, rushing back to his room and completely ignoring Guan Lan.

Having transmigrated to this world, there were certain phrases one simply had to be wary of!

Only Guan Lan was left standing there, bewildered in the wind.

Was he, the top disciple among his peers, so lacking in presence?