บท 2: The Teachings of Xin Huo
บรรณาธิการ: GemVoo
Zhong Yue was stunned. This was not a voice that he had imagined, but other than himself, there were only the bones of that strange man…
Could it be…
Even with his fearless personality, his face still turned pale white and his body started shivering.
"What are you looking at? I am here!" The voice sounded again, it was unhappy, "Young man, I'm talking to you, what reign is the Fuxi in now?"
Zhong Yue stared at the lamp in his hand as he tried to speak. The voice came from the lamp!
A golden bird with four wings was weird enough, the dark black haze that consumed things was even stranger, but all of these were not nearly as strange and weird as a lamp that spoke!
"Your bloodline is so weak that I can barely detect it, has the Fuxi Celestial Race really declined to such an extent?" the voice from the lamp said with deep emotion.
Fuxi Celestial Race? Is it talking about me? Zhong Yue wondered.
He moved closer to look at the lamp, but there was nothing abnormal under the lamp cover. The lamp flame was faint and vague—only a finger high. He could not tell where the voice came from.
Suddenly, he gazed right at the lamp flame. It was not a lamp flame, it was a big-headed doll the height of a finger!
The big-headed doll was white-skinned, and was wearing exquisite golden-yellow clothes. Its hair was red and if one did not pay attention, it was easy to mistake it for a lamp flame!
Such a peculiar living being exists in the world?
Zhong Yue blinked and looked at the lamp flame child curiously. The lamp flame child was irritated by his gaze and said furiously, "Youngster of the Fuxi Celestial Race, I'm asking you which Fuxi reigns over the land, you have not yet answered my question!"
"Fuxi?"
Zhong Yue recovered his thoughts before he smiled and said, "You speak of the Xi Sovereign? The Xi Sovereign is in a class by himself, he is the Earthly Sovereign Heavenly Monarch. He is the only one, where do these others come from? Furthermore, I am not of the Fuxi Celestial Race, I am a human."
"No! No!"
The flame child jumped furiously like a flame wobbling vigorously in the lamp, "This is so wrong! Fuxi is a title, not an individual's name. It is the appellation given to the Earthly Sovereign, the Taihao Heavenly Monarch! Before I fell into my slumber, there were already nine reigns of Fuxi! The first Fuxi became the Heavenly Monarch, ruled for eighteen thousand years, then he passed the throne to the second Fuxi Yiyi. Yiyi held the crown for fifteen thousand years and the throne was then inherited by Shiyi, then Taihao, then Haoyi, Shaoyi, JiJie, and lastly Xihao. There were nine reigns of Fuxi!"
Zhong Yue was dumbfounded by these words. He had once heard from the elders of Swords Gate that Fuxi was the Earthly Sovereign Heavenly Monarch during ancient times. They said he was the one and only one of his class, but now this weird lamp flame child said there were nine of them?!
The lamp flame child walked back and forth in the lamp as he mumbled, "How long have I been asleep? How can this brat not know what Fuxi is? He is definitely of the Fuxi Celestial Race, despite the bloodline in him being a little thin. However, he said that he is a human, what in the world is this human race? Why have I not heard of it before?"
The lamp flame child jumped out of the lamp and into Zhong Yue's arms. It left burning sensations as it walked along Zhong Yues shoulder. The lamp flame child muttered again, "There must be something that happened during my slumber, something that I'm not aware know of? What is the time, what year is this? All the years I have been sleeping, what era have I awoken to…"
Zhong Yue interrupted his diatribe, "I hear that the time of reign of the Xi Sovereign was hundreds of thousands of years ago and that he was the saintly sovereign from the ancient era. Now we are in the era of the Human Sovereign… Oh yes, what are you exactly?"
Zhong Yue scratched his head, he was a little hesitant to call the lamp flame a kid. At this time, the lamp flame child said with a heavy heart, "My name is Xin Huo, during the time of Sui Sovereign… Nevermind, forget about it, you don't even know what Fuxi is exactly, it is a waste of time telling you. Bring me out of here, I need to find and pass down the flame and heritage of the ancient teachings to a new successor. In exchange, I will give you a bit of benefits!"
The child disappeared suddenly. Just as Zhong Yue was puzzling over it and looking around in confusion, he heard the voice of Xin Huo coming from his mind, "This is the soul nourishing art you practice? As one of the dignified Fuxi Celestial Race, you dare to practice such a primitive and pathetic cultivation technique? You are a disgrace and a living humiliation to the Fuxi! Stop looking around, I am in your psyche ocean, you only have to concentrate your psyche and imagine a sea of stars hidden in your forehead. There is the space between your eyebrows, you can find me there. I will teach you, follow my instructions…"
"Imagine and visualize the psyche ocean? That requires a profound state, there are not many outer disciples who can do this! The method you are going to teach me, does it really allow me to see and visualize the psyche ocean?"
Zhong Yue was very doubtful, but he followed the instructions that Xin Huo had given him. Suddenly, his view changed. He saw himself at a strange place, floating atop a lake of water!
The lake was crystal clear, with a radius of a hundred feet. A Sword Gate could be seen floating above the lake.
The Sword Gate was shaped like a sword that was split in half.
Zhong Yue was shocked, now he could really see his own psyche ocean!
He had not seen his psyche ocean with his own awareness, even after years of cultivation and visualization. The main reason was he was not at that level yet. He had not really thought that under the Xin Huo's casual instruction, he would be able to do so instantly!
Such a rapid cultivation speed, no one would believe him even if he shouted it out loud!
Xin Huo flew around like a small flame in front of Zhong Yue in his psyche ocean and said, "This Sword Gate, this is the technique you use to nourish your soul? Pitiful, so petty, a dignified descendant of the Fuxi and you don't even have a proper and decent cultivation technique. Instead, you only practiced this inferior technique. In addition, the time you have cultivated is not short, but your psyche ocean is still so small. This is clearly because the technique you cultivate is so low-level!"
Blood rushed into Zhong Yue's face and he flushed red from embarrassment. Zhong Yue argued back, "This is the [Sword Gate Visualization Art]. Although it isn't one of the best, it surely isn't inferior, this is already the best cultivation technique that I can learn!"
To be a Qi Practitioner, one must first refine and nourish their soul.
The Swords Gate treated all of its outer disciples equally, the cultivation technique they all learned was the same—the [Sword Gate Visualization Art].
By practicing this soul nourishing cultivation technique, a Sword Gate would be formed in the practitioner's psyche ocean. As long as the soul could break free from the Sword Gate, it would be able to leave the body.
"The best soul nourishing art?" Xin Huo sneered. "Practicing this soul nourishing art is useless, you wouldn't even know what a soul is. The wind blows and it disperses, the sun shines and it melts, the lightning flashes and it turns into ashes. This kind of soul is the weakest. It burns in fire, mixes with water, and petrifies on ground—it is very dangerous. A true soul nourishing technique imagines and visualizes the sacred saints. It strengthens the soul and it can soar above the high clouds and travel deep beneath the ground. Wind can't disperse it, light and heat can't melt it, lightning can't strike it down, water can't absorb it, fire can't burn it, and earth can't petrify it. This is the true way to cultivate a soul!"
Zhong Yue was tongue-tied. Xin Huo was right; the Qi Practitioners in the Cloudless Hall had said so too. The step to free the soul from the body was extremely dangerous, it must be done in the Cloudless Hall. In the Cloudless Hall, there were no skies, lands, or any objects of the five elements. Otherwise, the soul might scatter and disperse if it came into contact with any one of the five elements. It was very dangerous!
"The true way of cultivation, how do you practice it?" Zhong Yue was unreconciled.
"I will teach you!" Xin Huo sat on Zhong Yue's mental shoulder and said proudly, "It is fate that you have found me. Normally you would be the next Xin Huo successor, but sadly the bloodline in you is too low. Your existence will disgrace me if people learn about it. Hence, you will help me find a pure-blood member of the Fuxi Celestial Race and I will teach you the true ways of cultivation. Your soul is not weak at all, you can barely practice the [Sui Sovereign Flame Order Palace Visualization Art]."
"Xin Huo, I am not one of the celestial race. People around me are like me, they can't possibly be from the celestial race, right?"
Zhong Yue scratched his head, "Can humans also practice the [Sui Sovereign Flame Order Palace Visualization Art]?"
Xun Huo laughed and said, "Although I don't know what happened to the Fuxi Celestial Race that it would be reduced to this extent, you are truly one of the celestial race, you can indeed practice my visualization art."
Not long later, Zhong Yue had to admit that the [Sui Sovereign Flame Order Palace Visualization Art] was way better than the [Sword Gate Visualization Cultivation Art].
The [Sword Gate Visualization Cultivation Art] used the Sword Qi to cut the link between the soul and the body so that the soul could be freed. But by doing it this way, a great burden would be placed on both the soul and the body.
In stark contrast, the [Sui Sovereign Flame Order Palace Visualization Art] refined and nourished the soul. When the soul was strong enough, it could free itself from the body and the burden would not be so great. In addition, when the soul was strong, it would not need to rely on external forces and the danger would be much smaller.
"The psyche ocean is where your psyche gathers, the stronger your psyche is, the bigger and wider your psyche ocean will grow, and the easier it will be to imagine and visualize."
Xin Huo stood on Zhong Yue's shoulder and his eyes shot out two flashes of lights that intertwined into a magnificent pattern a dozen feet in front of Zhong Yue. Xin Huo said, "This is the first Sui Sovereign of the Flame Order Palace, he was known as the Heavenly Sovereign Heavenly Monarch. He created the era of the Fire Order, and there were a total of thirty two reigns of the Sui Sovereigns! If you want to imagine and visualize a sacred saint, then you will have to visualize one of the Heavenly Monarchs that ruled the lands and created a new era! Now, imagine yourself as the Sui Sovereign, living in the Flame Order Palace, ruling all of the lands and races!"
Zhong Yue looked carefully at the art. It was made up of three layers, the first of which was the Sui Sovereign. He was a man or creature with a dragon head, human body, and snake tail. He had dragon horns on his head and dragon scales all over his body, which formed a series of patterns and lines like a holy tome. It contained profound principles and orders that were difficult to comprehend.
The first layer was already hard enough, the cultivation technique required visualizing the spirit, psyche, and soul of the Sui Sovereign. Then he needed to visualize the charm and aura of this supreme leader that started a new era of the Fire Order. This existence was respected as the Heavenly Sovereign Heavenly Monarch, visualizing this was extremely difficult!
The second layer was the Flame Order Palace, the godly palace of the Heavenly Monarch. The art that was projected by Xin Huo was already a simplified version, but it was still very complex to Zhong Yue. Furthermore, a palace that was so magnificent and majestic was simply hard for him to visualize.
The third and last layer would be the Fire Tree that was in front of the Flame Order Palace. The tree crowns covered an area of a million hectares. It was so tall that it was unreachable by an ordinary man. Clouds and mists wound around the tree crowns and peculiar massive birds nested on the top of the tree.
Every single leaf was different from one another. One could tell how hard it would be to imagine and visualize the whole tree.
The difficulty of the whole [Sui Sovereign Flame Order Palace Visualization Art] was a thousand million times more than the [Sword Gate Visualization Art]!
The complexity would also be a thousand million times more intricate!
Zhong Yue watched the art carefully. In his heart he was thinking, If I want to imagine and visualize the art wholly with every detail, it will be impossible. The only way is to imagine the personal charm of the Sui Sovereign, the majestic aura of the Flame Order Palace and the awe-inspiring grand Fire Tree. I will have to grasp firmly the spirit, psyche, and soul of the three, and from there I will slowly complete them. This is the only right way to do it.
As his thoughts came to this stage, he closed his eyes and concentrated his thoughts, imagining he was the Sui Sovereign, sitting in the middle of the Flame Order Palace.
His psyche ocean trembled and surged chaotically. His soul grew bigger, the legs were no more as they were replaced by a snake tail. His head turned into a dragon's, and he looked like the Sui Sovereign in the [Sui Sovereign Flame Order Palace Visualization Art]!
Not only that, but amidst this chaos, his psyche ocean formed the outline of a palace around him. It was the Flame Order Palace. At the same time, there was a Fire Tree that grew in the front of the Flame Order Palace!
Xin Huo, who was on Zhong Yue's shoulder, was shocked, How did he imagine and visualize the Sui Sovereign, Flame Order Palace, and Fire Tree out so quickly? Xin Huo pondered. Although his lineage is a little low, this brat of the god race has great perception, comparable to the pure-blood Fuxi god race I have met in the past…
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