Chapter Forty-Nine: Yang Nine and Hundred Six

The One True Dharma Realm possessed two primary functions.

The first was the well-known “One day in the world, ten days in the Dharma Realm.” There was little need to elaborate on that.

The second was the ability to simulate the mind-image of another, using it for combat training, striving to make each battle surpass the last, each victory more decisive than before. In the process, one could also seize primal spirits and acquire the mystical arts those mind-images practiced.

Yet simulating another’s mind-image was far from easy...

After months of study, Chen Heng had discerned the underlying rules. Foremost among them: the cultivation of the one to be simulated could not surpass his own by more than a single major realm.

If one possessed Embryonic Breath, one could only simulate another at the Embryonic Breath stage; at Qi Refinement, only those also at Qi Refinement, and so on for Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and the like.

For example, Daoist Yangshan had reached the sixth level of Qi Refinement at the time of his death, while Chen Heng had only just entered Embryonic Breath. Though he coveted Yangshan’s physical arts, he could not simulate his mind-image within the One True Dharma Realm, and so could only abandon the attempt.

But this iron law was not without its loopholes.

If the person to be simulated harbored no wariness or defense against him, and was injured or their vital energy depleted—then, even if their cultivation surpassed his by an entire major realm, he could still invite them into the One True Dharma Realm.

Xu Zhi was a vivid example.

This time, both Chen Heng and Tong Gaolu were at the Qi Refinement stage; simulating his mind-image within the Dharma Realm was as effortless as reading lines on his palm.

After a few bouts with Tong Gaolu, Chen Heng grew bored of the contest. He would summon the mind-image and detonate all his talismans and artifacts at once, blowing Tong Gaolu half to death no matter how resilient his body was.

Repeating this again and again, after securing countless useless trinkets from the primal spirits...

At last.

Chen Heng finally obtained the physical cultivation art he sought.

...

“This is... the Supreme Primordial Jade Body?”

As he grasped the primal spirit, what flooded into his consciousness was no longer a torrent of script, but a single image: an elder in Daoist robes, head raised and hands lowered.

He was short in stature, yet exuded the grandeur of one who gazes down upon the starry cosmos! Three chaotic halos hovered behind his head, radiance illuminating endless worlds and beings, like a High Sovereign or Great Sage gazing over countless sands of time, enthroned at the pinnacle of the Dharma, supremely mighty!

“Vast and mysterious, the true source flows; splendor unrevealed, the arcane wheel turns of itself; at the confluence of beginnings, before the Emperor of Images; cultivating in accordance with the seasons, breath enters the profundity...”

The Daoist chant boomed like a waterfall, shaking his mind until it was overturned and unstable.

At the same time, the Dao-robed elder began to move, his form rising like a dragon to the heavens—ancient, strange, and powerful.

...

The Supreme Primordial Jade Body...

This mystical art—indeed, this divine power—was specially created by the Supreme Elder Taishu as a path to sanctification through the flesh.

In primordial times, while wandering the chaotic outer seas, the Supreme Elder and Monk Longzang discovered a yet-immature ginseng fruit tree.

To avoid discord, they made a pact: over nine thousand years, each would take three disciples, and every three thousand years, their disciples would compete for the right to the tree. Best of three rounds would decide its fate.

The Supreme Elder, suspecting nothing, carefully chose a promising mortal, took him as a disciple, and taught him the arts of Qi refinement, alchemy, visualization, and sword-cultivation. When three thousand years had passed, he brought him to the agreed site.

Within half a day, his disciple was outmatched—if not for his skillful sword escape, he would have been killed outright.

This was hardly surprising...

Monk Longzang’s disciple was an ancient dragon-elephant, the scion of primordial celestial dragons and divine elephants, bearing extraordinary bloodlines and innate might. A single breath could shatter myriad particles; a drop of blood could devastate the seas.

With such lineage and the guidance of Longzang, who groomed him as a great protector, and after multiple visits to the Eight Treasures Pool, the dragon-elephant was nearly invincible.

Though the Supreme Elder’s disciple, in a final desperate strike, severed half of the dragon-elephant’s head, he was ultimately smashed to a pulp, leaving only his primal spirit.

Thus, the Supreme Elder lost the first round.

Upon returning, realizing Longzang would certainly choose another primordial beast for the second round, he became determined to outdo him. He created a divine art for sanctification of the flesh, calling it “The Supreme Primordial Jade Body,” to contend with the mighty beasts.

After its invention, he casually selected a mortal woman and taught her the art. When the appointed time came, he brought her before the ginseng fruit tree.

As expected, Longzang’s disciple was again a primordial beast—this time, a Kunpeng. It soared to the heavens, stirred winds for ninety thousand leagues, and churned the seas.

The Kunpeng and the woman, having cultivated the Supreme Primordial Jade Body, fought to a standstill, both nearly dying, yet neither victorious.

The second round ended in a draw.

The Supreme Elder was delighted; Longzang could only smile wryly.

One more contest would have settled the fate of the tree. But before three thousand years had passed, a celestial official from the Celestial Court discovered the ginseng fruit tree. Though the Supreme Elder and Longzang did not fear him, they dared not defy the power behind him.

Unable to resist the might that governed all heavens, they could only sigh and present the tree.

At that time, the Celestial Court was gathering all mystical arts to compile the “Golden Tome of Earthly Secrets,” to awe all heavens and gods.

The Supreme Elder’s “Supreme Primordial Jade Body” was included in this tome by the Grand Historiographer.

...

Of these ancient secrets, Chen Heng knew nothing. As the Dao-robed elder’s form shifted, the Daoist chant thundered, flooding his mind with information and making him dizzy and dazed.

After what seemed the span of several cups of tea, Chen Heng steadied himself, retraced everything in his mind from the beginning, and his eyes shone with a brilliant light.

“The Supreme Primordial Jade Body... This art was inspired by the Supreme Elder’s travels in the outer void, witnessing countless worlds collapsing and being reborn within the chaos, which sparked the creation of this path to sanctification through the flesh.”

---

One must understand the nature of this starry universe.

Apart from immortals, buddhas, gods, and sacred beings—these four mighty categories—there is nothing truly eternal.

Worlds, earths, and heavens are not everlasting creations. All must eventually meet their end.

Heaven and earth follow the cycles of ‘Nine Yangs’ and ‘Hundred Sixes’—great and small. The ‘Nine Yangs’ signify heavenly drought, surging seas, and scorched lands; the ‘Hundred Sixes’ mean dried seas and sunken valleys. These twin calamities are the ebb and flow of heaven and earth, the waxing and waning of yin and yang.

In the era of the ‘Nine Yangs’, droughts and tidal waves devastate the land; in the ‘Hundred Sixes’, the seas dry up and the mountains collapse. Heaven and earth overturn, rivers burst their banks, people are drowned or buried under mountains, gold and jade vanish, all becomes one vast darkness, white bones drift across the endless waves, and lone souls mourn amidst the flood...

As for the slaughters of the five elements, the tumult of the four seasons, the mingling or conflict of earth and metal, the divisions of water and fire, forests withered, rivers blocked or opened—these are but commonplace.

Take an ordinary world for example—

Every 129,600 years of its celestial cycle brings the minor ‘Nine Yangs’ disaster; every 99,825 years of its terrestrial cycle brings the minor ‘Hundred Sixes’ calamity.

When these periods arrive, disasters befall the world: the sea may sink the land, the void might collapse, or hordes of outer demons invade, seeking destruction; or mad gods and evil buddhas descend, casting their shadow over all, dragging the people into endless perdition.

Yet these minor disasters, though terrible, only harm the living and the land—they do not threaten the world’s very existence.

But when the great ‘Nine Yangs’ and ‘Hundred Sixes’ arrive, then comes the true life-and-death of a world!

A celestial cycle of 1,296,000 years brings the great ‘Nine Yangs’; 998,250 years brings the great ‘Hundred Sixes’.

These are the ultimate calamities of yin and yang. When they descend, the very flows of energy and the cycles of sun and moon are altered. Just as humans have a finite lifespan, so too do worlds—when these ages are reached, their time is up.

Calamity surges, countless disasters arise—this is but the least of it.

Most terrifying of all, the world’s vital energies pour out into the void, unable to be retained or absorbed, and the world itself gradually dissolves, disintegrating back into the primordial three energies—Mysterious, Origin, and Prime—returning to the maternal chaos.

Born from the void, to the void it returns. Such is the way of things.

Worlds are formed from the three primordial energies; in their end, they revert to those same energies, sustaining the cycle of heaven’s law.

Most worlds cannot endure beyond the great ‘Nine Yangs’; every 1,296,000 years, all is reduced to dust.

Some cannot even last that long, and are destroyed by the great ‘Hundred Sixes’, vanishing after 998,250 years, leaving no name behind.

These calamities do not threaten only worlds, but lands and heavens as well.

Yet the calamities for lands and heavens come less frequently—every several million or tens of millions of years. But when they do come, they are even more ferocious and wild than those that destroy worlds.

...

The Supreme Primordial Jade Body.

This divine art, created by the Supreme Elder, was modeled after the calamities of the ‘Nine Yangs’ and ‘Hundred Sixes’, and the process of the three primordial energies forming worlds.

It is divided into three major stages: Mysterious, Origin, and Prime.

Each stage contains nine levels, corresponding in secret to the nine of the yang, reflecting the celestial order.

Upon perfecting the ninth level of the Prime stage, one’s Supreme Primordial Jade Body reaches its ultimate form, transforming into the flawless Supreme Physique.

At this stage, one’s strength can overturn seas and shift mountains at will; one can contend with Kunpengs and dragon-elephants and not be outmatched.

To match those innate divine bodies with a human frame—without a doubt, this is a supreme and peerless art!

In terms of value, perhaps only “True Source of the Primordial Sovereign” could compare among all that Chen Heng possessed.

As for which had the higher principle, with his current vision, Chen Heng could not yet judge.

...

“Though this Supreme Primordial Jade Body is extraordinary, there are several difficulties...”

Within the One True Dharma Realm, Chen Heng mused: “The spiritual energy required is vast. In the mortal world or a small sect like the Xuan Zhen School, you could train for centuries and still not surpass Tong Gaolu. The choice of the anchoring object also requires careful thought.”

The Supreme Primordial Jade Body.

This divine power, though not insurmountable, could be practiced even by the likes of Tong Gaolu and Daoist Yangshan.

Its essence is to regard one’s body as the world itself, refining it as one would the heavens and earth, needing immense spiritual energy for any progress.

Yet for cultivators, spiritual energy is precious—each portion spent on this art is a portion not spent on the path to immortality.

Even if one perfected the Supreme Jade Body, it would not grant longevity. In this sense, it is a technique without the true Way, a branch apart from the main path.

“But I possess the True Source of the Primordial Sovereign, able to draw upon 129,600 varieties of spiritual energy. Unlike Tong Gaolu and the others, who can only gather a scant few—this is my advantage!”

Chen Heng chuckled.

The higher the grade of true energy, the more types of spiritual energy it can absorb.

Yet to possess a true energy like the “True Source of the Primordial Sovereign,” which can encompass the entirety of primal energies—Chen Heng believed, even across the Four Seas and Nine Provinces, there could be no more than five such cases.

---

“Next, the Supreme Primordial Jade Body requires an anchoring object to begin cultivation. As for the choice of this object...”

After all, this divine power is one that usurps the very work of creation.

What other art allows one to simply absorb spiritual energy and advance its levels? Where else does such fortune exist?

But the Supreme Primordial Jade Body can.

Since it treats the body as the world, and the world faces no barriers in absorbing spiritual energy, so too does this art.

The first step is to select an item, refine it with the secret method of the Supreme Primordial Jade Body, and make it the anchoring object, thereby deceiving the world’s senses and blending with all things.

Only thus can the art ceaselessly draw in spiritual energy and advance.

However, this method has a flaw even the Supreme Elder could not resolve.

If someone with divination arts uncovers the nature of the anchoring object and breaks the deception, the practitioner is immediately exposed, and the harmony with all things is lost.

In that instant, the calamity of the Nine Yangs and Hundred Sixes will descend.

Such a disaster is meant for worlds—if it falls on a human body, how could one survive?

Thus, experts in divination are the natural enemies of those who practice the Supreme Primordial Jade Body.

They need not lift a finger—just a calculation, and Heaven’s punishment will do the rest.

Moreover, upon breaking through the three stages—Mysterious, Origin, Prime—one must endure celestial thunder and earth-rending booms. Without the protection of a mighty expert, survival is impossible.

“Though the Supreme Primordial Jade Body is formidable, its restrictions are many. The celestial thunders can be set aside for now—but as for the anchoring object?”

Chen Heng hesitated.

The scripture repeatedly warned that after selecting the object, one must use concealment techniques daily or have a master apply further protective magic, lest an enemy divine the truth. Otherwise, unless a god intervenes, none could be saved.

“No wonder the Celestial Court’s commentary at the end... It notes that, unless one is a disciple of a great sage or powerful immortal, it is not recommended to practice the Supreme Primordial Jade Body. The art is like a chicken rib—tasteless to eat, pitiful to discard. Of thirty-four thousand sanctification arts, it ranks below average, fit only for observation, of little real use.”

Chen Heng’s gaze flickered.

“What arrogance from the Celestial Court, to so casually dismiss a divine art created by the Supreme Elder! Their tone is scornful—their standards must be higher than even the Eight Sects and Six Schools.”

He pondered a while, for once not cultivating in the One True Dharma Realm, but pacing and brooding.

Anchoring objects... Fate...

Chen Heng walked back and forth, frowning at the vast emptiness around him.

Not long after, his expression shifted—he clapped his hands and laughed in delight.

“Of course! The Golden Cicada! I nearly forgot!”

In this world, only he could see or touch the Golden Cicada.

This naturally concealed golden jade carving was the perfect anchoring object!

With this realization, Chen Heng did not hesitate. He summoned the Golden Cicada and began the refining process within the One True Dharma Realm.

Upon confirming it could indeed be used as the anchoring object, he left the Dharma Realm without delay.

...

Before him stretched rows of ancient books on their shelves, incense curling from the brazier, gold and jade gleaming—a scene of extraordinary opulence.

This was the quiet chamber within Tong Gaolu’s residence. After killing Zhou Chuyu, Chen Heng had come here and taken over the entire Tong estate.

He paid little attention to the surroundings, immediately taking out the Golden Cicada and preparing to refine it according to the scripture.

As he let a drop of blood fall, he recalled the final warning in the Celestial Court’s commentary:

—Those who secretly transmit forbidden arts without the Celestial Court’s sanction shall suffer severe punishment, condemned to the Nether Offices for a hundred million years of ninefold cold and ninefold heat.

—At this explicit warning, Chen Heng hesitated but a moment before gritting his teeth and pressing on.

“I... cannot care about that now!”

As the blood touched the Golden Cicada, a Daoist chant echoed faintly in the void, and celestial flowers flickered in and out of existence.

Meanwhile, in the boundless starry universe...

As Chen Heng’s blood fell,

In a distant land, suddenly celestial music boomed.

An ancient bell rang without being struck, its toll sweeping over a hundred thousand miles of land and sea. The once indigo sky darkened, countless lightning serpents slithered and crackled.

“Again? How many times today is this now? Will it never end...?”

After a moment, a puzzled voice grumbled,

“Which Dao Sovereign or immortal is playing with the Celestial Court’s forbidden laws again? Can’t they keep things quiet? It’s so undignified! How is anyone supposed to sleep?”