He cleared his throat and asked. "Who are the enemies of natural order?" Qingxuan asked. The old man raised a brow. "You really are one curious brat aren't you?" The old man chuckled and took a sip of his tea, before he stood up and looked into the distance.
Qingxuan knew that silence. It meant he was not going to answer him at this time. Maybe the old man felt he was better off without the information, but little did he know that Qingxuan already had knowledge of the Yimo. Only thing he was curious about is how they were related to him, and his so called role as Heaven's Observer.
He finished his cup of tea and turned back to the old man.
"Why are you telling me all of this? even going as far as revealing yourself to me? Aren't you frightened that I might reveal yourself secrets to the clan?"
His question made the old man laugh. "First of all, who wouldn't like to be recognized as the master of the future Heaven's Observer? I wonder how that bastard flaming bastard and that man lizard would react if they found out? And secondly, you won't, after all, your father was once a student of mine.."
Qingxuan froze at the old man's words. His father was once a student of the old man. And who was the flaming bastard and the man lizard. Qingxuan wanted to guess, but he was tired of doing that, and most importantly he didn't remember every single detail from the Martial Universe novel.
But, he could guess the old man wasn't some nobody. Just the knowledge he held alone was invaluable.
He was smart. He kowtowed immediately. "Disciple greets master." Shamelessly. "Haha. The old man laughed. "Good good. Arise my good disciple.." He went back to his seat and sat down calmly. He held up his glass cup and Qingxuan poured another cup full of tea for him, and one for himself.
"Master, I know you're not some Pavilion Elder of some backwater clan in this small Empire…" Qingxuan framed his enquiry like he was stating the obvious, but he was just probing for more information.
The old man spotted the crafty smile and rolled his eyes. "Six Warlock Divine Sage.. That was my title. As for more information, I'm not in the mood for sharing…" Qingxuan nodded slightly and drank from his tea.
"Master, I, your disciple has mastered the techniques I picked out from the pavilion. I was hoping, I could get some of master's old forgotten techniques that I could study.."
His voice thinned towards the end like a good boy, but the old man sneered.
"You plan on extorting your master on your first day, how unruly.." He rolled his eyes, and the sides of his lips curled.
"Of course there are old stuff of mine that you could study. But, the inheritance of my Six Warlock Divine Pavilion requires you to at least achieve Nirvana.." The man spoke for moment, then rubbed his chi for a few seconds, before he took out an old scroll and tossed it to him.
"I acquired this decades ago in an ancient ruin." The old man shrugged. Qingxuan read through the bold bloody lettering on the edge of the scroll.
"The Crouching Tiger pounces from the East, The Hidden Dragon soars from the West.." His brows furrowed deeply. But the moment he fully unwrapped the scroll and delved into it, his heart shook.
His consciousness felt like it had been dragged into another world. There he saw it. Deep within the Heavens, the sky rolled away, as celestial bodies crashed into the world down below.
Atop the tallest mountain that rose into the clouds, a massive tiger, roared into the Heavens. Its massive body seemed bigger than multiple countries combined. The fur on its body was inky black and pure white, and a pair of massive black and white wings flapped on either sides of its body.
A beam of light suddenly tore through the clouds at light speed and there atop the clouds, it revealed itself, a massive purplish gold dragon, with massive wings that blotted out the sun roared towards the tiger.
The two divine beasts soared towards each other and clashed, resulting in a divine explosion that shattered the world.
Qingxuan's consciousness slammed back into his body and he coughed violently.
This was incredible. What the old man had given him, wasn't a technique. No, it was something far more complex, something far more abstruse.
The two divine beasts he saw were two Divine interpretations of a Dao. Two separate beliefs whose fierce clash resulted in the destruction of a world. This wasn't merely a technique, this was a concept and intent, visualized and morphed into words for him to comprehend.
Qingxuan shook. Forget divine techniques and whatnot. If he could even comprehend a sliver of the intent or concept within the scroll, his combat prowess would be unstoppable.
He kowtowed once more. "Thank you master.."
The old man laughed. "That's the reaction I wanted. It's surprising you were able to steal a glance into the scroll. Back then, students of mine who were even stronger than you could imagine could not even bear to peek through. Your perception must be terrifying.
Forget techniques and the lot. With your eyes, you wouldn't need battle techniques or at least so I know.."
The old man drank his tea nonchalantly, but Qingxuan was fully immersed in what he had just captured. He closed his eyes, allowing his divine eyes to break down and analyse the hidden truths in the conceptual battle between the Divine Dragon and Heavenly Tiger.
But..
"That's it? Aren't you the least bit curious, how I was able to spot you in the pavilion, even with that Shadow Cloak you got on there.."
The old man's words dragged him back into the land of the living. "What? Even I can't comprehend your cultivation level master. It makes sense that you're able to sense me even when I'm wrapped in the Yin Shadow Cloak.."
The old man nodded at Qingxuan's words, but stood up and walked to him.
"What if I told you, I don't and haven't used the littlest bit of my cultivation since decades ago?" The old man chuckled. Qingxuan frowned. It all made sense now. It's no wonder he couldn't feel the slightest bit of Yuan Power from the old man. "Then what is it?" He asked.
The old man raised the corner of his lips. "Mental Energy.." He raised a finger. Slowly, a silver white milky energy began to twist and distort into a spiral on the tip of his finger.
"Is this mental energy?" Qingxuan asked, his right eye twitching as he studied the energy closely.
The old man laughed. "Tell me what you see.." Qingxuan stared deeply, as if he was in a trance. "A will. A flame born within consciousness itself. A structure, a lattice of interconnected threads of the essence of the mind. It is colourless, no warmth or cold. Instead, it manifests as pressure, as layers of invisible force coiled around thought, intent, memory, and soul."
He snapped back and stared at the old man.
"Good! Good!" The old man laughed and sat back down.
"While Yuan Power cultivation strives to achieve the Dao, Mental Energy is the power of one's will.
Yuan Power is the strength of Heaven and Earth borrowed by the body. Mental Energy is the strength of the soul forcing reality to bend…"
The old man lectured while Qingxuan listened abruptly.
"Before the Dao was born into the world, cultivators of the ancient era cultivated Mental Energy, as their own way of reaching immortality. But, most cultivators now, would rather focus on their Dao as the way to Immortality than mental energy, which is quite understandable if you think about it. Due to this, the teachings of most ancient schools on mental energy have been swept under the rug, and only a few sects and Super Sects truly practice it.
In the end, achieving peak understanding of one's own soul and mind was always going to be harder than understanding the mind of Heaven, because Humanity would rather look at Heaven than look within.."
The wise words of the old man struck chords in Qingxuan's heart.
"Achieving peak understanding of one's own soul and mind was always going to be harder than understanding the mind of Heaven because Humanity would rather look at Heaven than look within.." No matter what, these words were going to stay with him.
The old man smiled. "Mental Energy was divided in realms and levels, just like Dao Cultivation. To begin, one would need to cultivate the power of the soul into a special symbol within which Mental Energy will be stored.
One would then be called a 1st Seal Symbol Master. One would need to cultivate four more Symbols and condense a Destiny Symbol to truly step into the ranks of great master. If you can cultivate up to here, I'll reveal the remaining realms.."
Qingxuan digested the information piece by piece.
"How strong is a Symbol Master compared to a normal cultivator?" Qingxuan asked.
"Excellent question. A one Seal symbol Master is equivalent to an Earthly Yuan Realm cultivator. The second and third seal correspond to the Heavenly Yuan Realm, while the fourth corresponds to the Yuan Dan.
After cultivating the Destiny symbol, one would be truly called a divine expert and can do battle with an expert in the seize, create and transform realm."
The old man felt his throat dry up from all the talking and took a sip of tea again.
Qingxuan asked. "What level have you reached then master?"
The old man scoffed. "If all the experts within the backwater Yan Empire of yours ganged up on me, I'll beat them all, one after the other with my hands tied behind my back.."
Qingxuang didn't know whether to laugh or cry and could only sigh. Something told him the old man was definitely not joking.
"I already feel an alignment with this Mental Energy master.. How do I begin?"
Qingxuan cross his legs meditatively. Then old man waved his hand and took out a small worn out parchment and handed it to Qingxuan, who immediately received it and opened it.
His mouth gaped instantly. A life like divine Sanskrit symbol resembling a crown glowed with a golden color, amidst several other glowing heavenly symbols. Qingxuan was drawn in immediately. His divine eyes wasted no time and began breaking down and analyzing the heavenly symbols.
The old man walked in front of him. "The Dao of Mental Energy is directly connected to the Dao of the Soul. Normally, even talented cultivators with affinity for Mental Energy have found it increasingly difficult to take the first step in cultivating the concept of the soul.
But, your eyes make you an anomaly. You can comprehend the secrets of the Heavens itself how much more the Dao of the Souls. This ancient Divine warlock symbol wouldn't just allow you to condense your Mental Energy Symbol. It also contains knowledge concerning the Dao of the Soul and how to begin with it.
Where I failed, I know you'll succeed. Who knows maybe one day you'll take over the Six Warlock Divine Pavilion as the new Sage.
Hahaha! Take that you flaming prick!" The old man watched Qingxuan enter a trance and laughed out loud into the skies.
What he had failed to tell Qingxuan was that, only Earthly Yuan Realm cultivators were eligible to even begin mental Energy cultivation due to the increase mental capacity.
If somehow he, a Body Tempering Realm cultivator was able to form his 1st Seal Symbol at the Body Tempering Realm, then the world would welcome the birth of a monstrous genius with an incredible affinity for Mental Energy.
"They're not ready for you boy! Hahaha! Let's see those devils be arrogant after you grow a bit!"
The old man laughed. A streak of lightning tore through the skies as he raised his head.
And then he weaved his hands into a hand sign. Silver energies exploded into a golden circular band around Qingxuan's figure, before the old man walked into the hut.
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