White-Robed Chief

Chu Li, Sun Yucheng and the two elders hurried on their journey with all their might as they knew that the next time their enemy caught up to them, they would be facing not just ten men. Instead, the four of them might have to go against twenty to thirty, or even forty opponents in one go.

Indeed, Mysterious Pavilion had suffered great losses. Nonetheless, they had the entire Zheng Dynasty as their backing and would certainly be able to request assistance from more than a hundred martial arts masters throughout the country. Moreover, the situation became more complicated because of Sun Yucheng’s identity. Since Sun Yucheng and his companions had killed some of the Zheng Dynasty’s martial arts masters, it would damage their national prestige if the Zheng Dynasty failed to kill him after all.

Sun Yucheng and his companions were all Grandmasters, so they were able to travel at an incredible speed. Furthermore, they had taken some medicinal drugs to hurry on with their journey without stopping for rest or sleep. With that, they had managed to leave the Zheng Dynasty and enter into the Fu Dynasty on the third day, which allowed them to finally sigh in relief.

After that, they continued to travel until midnight before they stopped in a forest to start a bonfire and to get some rest.

It was early winter in the Fu Dynasty, so the night air was piercingly cold.

The four men sat cross-legged to channel and meditate for a while. Then, they began to chat once they had gotten enough rest.

“Now that we’ve reached this place, we don’t have to fear Mysterious Pavilion anymore,” Elder Su said and let out a long sigh of relief. “They won’t dare to come over and fool around in Fu Dynasty.”

Chu Li asked, “Is Fu Dynasty so powerful and influential that even Mysterious Pavilion wouldn’t dare to come and stir up trouble? It would be fine if they sneaked over to kill us, right?”

“Mysterious Pavilion won’t dare to do so!” Elder Su muttered. “If they get into trouble with the Fu Dynasty, Mysterious Pavilion will be completely wiped out!”

“Does the Fu Dynasty have that many martial arts masters?” Chu Li asked.

Elder Su replied, “Of course. While the Li Dynasty and the other three countries have only four major sects each, the Fu Dynasty has eight major sects, all of which are on par with the Li Dynasty’s Holy Church of Light.”

Chu Li asked, “I heard the Fu Dynasty’s most powerful sect is Goddess Attraction Mountain?”

“Yes, Goddess Attraction Mountain isn’t bothered by worldly affairs at all. Their standards are too far out of our reach,” Elder Su replied with a nod. “No one would object to calling them the most powerful sect.”

“Can they communicate with Outland?”

“Of course.”

“Then, they’re indeed very impressive,” Chu Li muttered. “If one can become a Goddess Attraction Mountain disciple…”

“You shouldn’t even bother daydreaming about that,” Elder Su replied while he laughed. “It is said that Goddess Attraction Mountain is an expert in predicting affairs of Heaven and Earth and is capable of foreseeing the location of their future disciple, so they would send their people to that location to recruit the disciple.”

Chu Li asked, “How do they make their predictions?”

Elder Su shook his head and replied, “No one knows. There have been individuals with ordinary aptitudes who have managed to join Goddess Attraction Mountain while some people with extraordinary aptitudes have failed to enter Goddess Attraction Mountain. Basically, no one has been able to figure out what they’re thinking.”

“Is there any way to enter Goddess Attraction Mountain?” Chu Li asked.

He then turned his gaze to Sun Yucheng. “Prince Cheng probably knows some inside information about this, right?”

Sun Yucheng replied, “I heard that all disciples of Goddess Attraction Mountain have to possess a special type of physique that allows them to cultivate a unique heart technique of Goddess Attraction Mountain. Without this type of physique, a person won’t be able to cultivate Goddess Attraction Mountain’s heart technique.”

“Is it the Dragon Taming Technique?” Chu Li asked.

“Yes.” Sun Yucheng nodded.

Chu Li frowned and asked, “One has to have a special type of physique to cultivate it?”

Sun Yucheng replied, “Indeed. That’s why we won’t be able to cultivate the Dragon Taming Technique even if it’s right in front of us.”

“That can’t be true…” Chu Li muttered. “Based on what I’ve heard, a person has to cultivate four types of Spirit Beast martial arts to become an Enlightened Master and the Dragon Taming Technique is absolutely necessary for this process. A few thousand years ago, there used to be many more Enlightened Masters in the world. Don’t tell me all of them had to cultivate the Dragon Taming Technique?”

“Yes, it was necessary for them to cultivate the Dragon Taming Technique back then,” Sun Yucheng replied while he nodded. “Without cultivating the Dragon Taming Technique, it would have been impossible for them to become Enlightened Masters.”

Chu Li chuckled and asked, “In that case, all those Enlightened Masters were disciples of Goddess Attraction Mountain?”

“A few thousand years ago, many people were capable of cultivating the Dragon Taming Technique. So once they reached the Grandmaster’s Boundary, they could go to Goddess Attraction Mountain and request to learn the Dragon Taming Technique in order to comprehend the Way of Enlightened Masters. But ever since the Hundred-Thousand Hills appeared and the Spirit Beasts retreated into the Hundred-Thousand Hills, Goddess Attraction Mountain had decided to keep their Dragon Taming Technique a secret and to stop transmitting it to outsiders.”

“Why?” Elder Su asked with a look of surprise.

“Because if a person without the suitable type of physique cultivates the Dragon Taming Technique, the person will die,” Sun Yucheng replied with a sigh. “In a way, they’ve made this decision out of compassion.”

Chu Li paused to think before he asked, “This type of physique probably allows the person to make up for the insufficient spiritual energy in their body, right?”

“Exactly,” Sun Yucheng replied with a nod. “I think it’s called a spiritual body. Compared to ordinary people, individuals with spiritual bodies can absorb a hundred to a thousand times more spiritual energy from Heaven and Earth. It’s extremely hard to come across someone with this physique!”

“A spiritual body…” Chu Li mumbled. “It’s something that can only come by with luck.”

Chu Li said, “I’ve heard that there were many people who had cultivated Spirit Beast martial arts and entered the Hundred-Thousand Hills before achieving a breakthrough into the Enlightened Master’s Boundary. Could it be possible that these people were all Goddess Attraction Mountain disciples too?”

Sun Yucheng pursed his lips and replied, “As long as the four types of Spirit Beast martial arts correspond to a specific set of characteristics, they would stand a chance to perfect their cultivation and become Enlightened Masters. However, those who can’t cultivate the Dragon Taming Technique will have to try to use some other martial art as a replacement and see if it’s possible to achieve the same results.”

“Doesn’t that mean that they won’t stand a chance at all?”

“Nothing is definite in this world,” Sun Yucheng replied. “My father once told me that those who aren’t capable of cultivating the Dragon Taming Technique can use the Spirit Snake Transformation as a replacement. Although this technique is far inferior to the Dragon Taming Technique, there’s still a slim chance that they may succeed.”

“The Spirit Snake Transformation…” Chu Li knitted his brows together.

Nonetheless, he was still determined to look for the Dragon Taming Technique. So, he smiled and asked, “The imperial family should have the Dragon Taming Technique in their secret store, right?”

“Well…” Sun Yucheng shook his head. “We don’t dare to make a copy of the Dragon Taming Technique, much less transmit it to outsiders! Nonetheless, the imperial family is given the opportunity to join Goddess Attraction Mountain as an outer mountain disciple but we have a quota of only one spot to fill. So one member from the Imperial Household is allowed to enter the mountain every decade.”

Chu Li was astonished. “The Imperial Household members can join Goddess Attraction Mountain?”

“Yes,” Sun Yucheng replied and nodded. “However, outer mountain disciples are only allowed to stay there for a year, so they have to leave Goddess Attraction Mountain after one year.”

“They can’t become inner mountain disciples?” Chu Li asked.

Sun Yucheng shook his head. “The most basic requirement to become an inner mountain disciple of Goddess Attraction Mountain is to have a spiritual body. Without a spiritual body, one can never become an inner mountain disciple. That’s why all outer mountain disciples can only stay at Goddess Attraction Mountain for a year and will have to leave after that. They won’t be able to move forward and enter into the inner mountain.”

“Well then, what’s the point of becoming an outer mountain disciple there?” Chu Li asked.

Sun Yucheng chuckled. “Most people can only hear about Goddess Attraction Mountain and can never see the place. It’s a huge blessing that the Imperial Household members are given the opportunity to visit the mountain.”

“How is visiting Goddess Attraction Mountain a blessing?” Chu Li shook his head.

Sun Yucheng replied, “When you’re at Goddess Attraction Mountain, you’ll be able to see the Outland.”

“What’s so interesting to see about Outland?” Chu Li asked. “You can’t go up there anyway.”

“Many disciples from the four major sects have ascended to Outland,” Sun Yucheng replied. “Most people think that Outland doesn’t exist and that it’s a lie, but you’ll truly be convinced of its existence when you’re at Goddess Attraction Mountain. With that, you can be fully confident when you’re cultivating. In any case, you’ll be able to reap great benefits from it.”

“Well then, Prince Cheng, can you enter Goddess Attraction Mountain?” Chu Li asked.

Sun Yucheng shook his head. “I haven’t been there before. It’s not my turn yet.”

Chu Li frowned and fell silent.

He never knew about this before. As expected, it seemed like the Imperial Household had countless secrets that ordinary people could never obtain.

“Are the Imperial Household members the only people allowed to enter the mountain?” Chu Li asked. “Is it not possible for anyone outside the imperial family to go there?”

“That may not necessarily be the case,” Sun Yucheng replied. “Basically, the Imperial Household has a quota of one spot to fill. Anyone can fill that spot and go there.”

Chu Li asked, “In that case, can a person cultivate the Dragon Taming Technique after entering Goddess Attraction Mountain?”

“Yes.” Sun Yucheng slowly nodded. “However, outer mountain disciples can only cultivate it at Goddess Attraction Mountain. In fact, they can only cultivate it for a year. After that, they’ll have to cripple their own Dragon Taming Technique cultivation before leaving the mountain, and they’re not allowed to transmit it to outsiders.”

Chu Li knitted his brows together and became silent again. The rules of Goddess Attraction Mountain were rather strange. What was the point of cultivating the technique when one would eventually have to cripple one’s own cultivation anyway? If Goddess Attraction Mountain allowed their outer mountain disciples to cultivate it, why would they force these disciples’ to cripple their cultivation later on?