Chapter 1603 - 671: Cultivating the Laws, Cultivating the Heart
Chapter 1603: Chapter 671: Cultivating the Laws, Cultivating the Heart
Ning Zhuo’s gaze began to disperse.
He wanted to grasp it!
Every insight was fresh and bright, like a spirit fruit just peeled, carrying sweet fragrance and water hues, making him unwilling to let go.
Buzz.
Buzz buzz buzz...
Countless small mirrors trembled violently simultaneously.
Ning Zhuo’s complexion suddenly turned pale, his stomach churned, and his head spun as if someone had spun him around countless times. His shoulders twitched slightly, the light and shadow before his eyes overlapped, and wind, earth, and forging patterns intertwined into a soft yet heavy curtain of colors.
Ning Zhuo suddenly opened his eyes, bent down, supported the ground with his palm, and dug his fingertips into the earth.
He retched twice, large beads of cold sweat rolling down from his forehead, his cheeks lost their color, and his lips were pale as if almost transparent.
The second attempt failed!
This time there wasn’t the pain of the previous one, but there was a deeper dizziness.
Like a young child being rocked in a cradle for too long, the world flips upside down, and the heart spirit dissipates into a fog.
Ning Zhuo steadied himself for a long time before the shadows in front of him gradually retreated.
"The heavens and earth are the cradle, all things enlightenment!"
"Indeed, a cradle can rock; the heavens and the earth can, in a moment, change their face, bringing a full experience."
Undoubtedly, this was a strong impact.
Ning Zhuo closed his eyes, slowly stabilizing his heart spirit.
He deeply realized that the Myriad Phenomena Cradle seemed gentle but actually required a cultivator’s mind to be extremely high.
A cultivator, if burdened with too much doubt, will inevitably search through old knowledge, and the cradle will immediately shatter.
If there’s too much greed, wanting to take every insight seen, you’ll be taught by all things till dizzy, your divine sense exhausted to dryness, the divine sea in large-scale chaos.
"This magic technique requires the cultivator to be like a child."
"A child who sees a bell only sees the bell. Smelling fragrant food only smells the food. Laughs when the wind comes, doesn’t chase when it goes. It doesn’t know possession or loss, nor does it think of collecting all the sounds of the heavens into its bosom."
"My greed in my heart led to my failure!"
Ning Zhuo was practicing a spell, but the practice of spells still concerns the state of mind.
Without a qualified state of mind, there’s no way to successfully cast [Myriad Phenomena Cradle]!
The essence of cultivation is precisely in this.
Alchemy Practitioners, Martial Cultivators, Magic Cultivators...
Contents seemingly different, but they all require practical honing to elevate the cultivator’s own mind.
Failure brings thought, and thought allows Ning Zhuo to once again brush away the dust in his state of mind.
Ning Zhuo suddenly understood a deficiency in himself.
"Cultivating spells is also cultivating the heart."
"Previously, I didn’t practice Five Elements Magic extensively, relying on the spirit gods of the Five Internal Organs Temple to take a shortcut. Without extensive practice, I could cast Five Elements Magic with precision and skill, like an extension of my arm."
"It seemed clever, gaining a big advantage, but in fact, without solid grounding, I’ve paid an enormous hidden cost."
"If a normal person practices diligently and solidly, it would greatly temper their state of mind."
Ning Zhuo reflected on his cultivation process, finally realizing what he lost. Taking a shortcut is also taking the long way!
"In the future, when time allows, these gaps should be filled."
Upon this realization, the restlessness in Ning Zhuo’s chest dissipated another layer.
Ning Zhuo sat quietly for a long time.
His breathing gradually slowed down inch by inch.
In the divine sea, those small mirrors returned to their intact state.
"Myriad Phenomena Cradle." Ning Zhuo cast this spell for the third time.
As the sound fell, the divine sea once again shimmered with white light and mist.
The sharpness in Ning Zhuo’s eyes completely withdrew.
His eyes were blank and pure, reflecting a point of light nearby and a wisp of dust afar. In this gaze, there was no defense, no weighing, no self-verification, and no urgency.
He was simply observing.
Wind passed first by his ears.
Ning Zhuo heard the wind, just hearing the wind.
It carried a bit of coolness, a bit of lightness, lightly brushing over all things yet leaving no trace. A small realization grew in Ning Zhuo’s heart, like a dew drop hanging from a blade of grass.
As the wind passed, the dew drop remained there.
The youth didn’t reach out to grasp it.
He slightly lowered his head, and the earth beneath his feet entered his view.
Ning Zhuo felt his body was being securely supported.
The sustaining was deep, slow, and broad, like an elder reaching out to embrace a child, the movement not pretty but stable enough.
Ning Zhuo felt the taste of "placement," taking just this taste.
In the sky, forging patterns gently sounded.
Ding.
The sound was very light.
Ning Zhuo heard "movement" within it. One sound was enough. He no longer chased the bell sound deeper, nor urged the next sound to come quickly.
Then, the cradle gently rocked.
The heavens and earth tilted slightly with it.
This time, Ning Zhuo was not flustered, nor did he become greedy, but let things take their course!
The wind showed its hand, and he let that transparent hand brush over his forehead.
The earth showed its covering, and he let that thick swaddling wrap his body.
Forging patterns showed the semblance of a bell, and he listened as the clear sound gradually dispersed.
All things come and go.
Each one brought him a new feeling and touch, yet he only learned a little bit.
"Heaven and earth, mountains and seas, I take only a ladleful to drink."
The second sway came slowly.
The cradle’s amplitude was slightly larger, and the water light in Ning Zhuo’s Divine Sea gently rippled. The other side of the wind appeared. It not only moves but also transmits. It brought the sound of bells, and the extremely subtle tremors of the heavens and earth.
Ning Zhuo’s heart sank, but he quickly relaxed.
The third sway.
The other side of the earth appeared. It not only bears but also accommodates. Sweat, dust, scattered literary energy, all are silently carried by it. Ning Zhuo’s chest felt slightly warm, like someone telling him not to fear falling.
The fourth sway.
The other side of the forging texture appeared. After the bell sound, there is the sound of hammering. After gentleness, there is grinding. The bell on the cradle could also transform into a hammer forging the divine soul.
Ning Zhuo’s heart spirit trembled slightly, but he held it firmly.
The fifth sway almost reached, but Ning Zhuo already felt dizzy.
His divine sense was consumed extremely quickly, thoughts emerged, and then quickly dissipated. The world before his eyes remained bright and gentle, still willing to bow down to teach him, but he already realized that today he could only learn up to here.
So he actively ceased the magic technique.
The cradle gradually stopped.
The wind departed first.
The forging tone of the bell quieted down.
The earth beneath loosened its cradle-like support, leaving only a bit of deep residual warmth.
Those old memories placed at the bottom of the water began to awaken one by one.
The Five Elements returned to their positions, like five lamps relit.
Mechanisms resumed, gears gently turning.
The Array Dao unfurled, lines quietly extending, spreading throughout the heavens and earth.
The Pill Fire flickered, as if the fire control regained its measure.
Talismans, blood vessels, spirit communication insights returned to their respective places.
Ning Zhuo returned to being Ning Zhuo.
But he knew he had changed slightly.
Ning Zhuo gently clenched his fist, then slowly released it.
His face remained pale, his forehead was full of cold sweat, and his Divine Sea was terribly empty. But in his eyes, there remained a bit of childlike clarity, a bit of joy upon first seeing the world.
The third time, it finally succeeded!
"So next..."
With limited time, Ning Zhuo accelerated his breathing control, continuously consuming elixir pills, operating the cultivation technique with all his might, as if racing against time.
Soon after, he once again "consumed" the Pure Yang Ancestor Master Pill.
In the Divine Sea, a sun appeared.
"So big, so hot, so bright!" Ning Zhuo successfully cast the spell, momentarily dumbfounded.
Boom!
The red-gold True Intent poured down, like a golden waterfall hanging upside down from the end of the nine heavens.
Vast and mighty, roaring like thunder, carrying the heart’s blood, cultivation, pride, pain, and vows of successive Sect Leaders of the Pure Yang Palace, it violently poured into Ning Zhuo’s mouth.
Ning Zhuo’s body stiffened on the spot.
Immediately after, his whole body trembled violently, as if struck by lightning.
His neck jerked back forcefully, his eyes rolled white, with only a little black pupil trembling at the top of the eye sockets, his entire face pallid and frightening.
Instinctively, his fingers clutched the ground, his nails scraping out a harsh sound, barely stabilizing his figure.
A low, muddled sound emerged from his throat, blue veins bulged on his forehead, and sweat quickly beaded on his head.
He resembled an infant lying in a cradle, intending to drink a sip of water, yet was inundated by a great river.
There was too much Pure Yang True Intent!
Ning Zhuo’s cradle shook frantically.
The red-gold waterfall furiously poured, flooding his Divine Sea, burning his thoughts dry, his entire body twitching, as if suffering a seizure.
"Too, too careless..."
Dawu Heavenly Plaza Martial Arts Arena.
The Yang Fire raged, fiercely burning six Yin Tombs. They were continuously consumed in the glaring fire, yet constantly replenished by the Yin Soil cast by Liang Ming.
"After this battle, all the wealth I’ve accumulated in the past will be gone." Liang Ming suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with bloodshot threads like spiderwebs.
Paying such a heavy price, he finally seized an opportunity in the fierce battle.
Above his head, the Nascent Soul appeared, lifting the Earth Talisman for the seventh time.
By now, his Nascent Soul’s body was covered with cracks, resembling porcelain about to shatter.
"Seven Gui return to their places, Burial Sun becomes a tomb. Please, Burial Sun Jade Lord, guard my seventh tomb!"
The six Yin Tombs trembled simultaneously, with the six spirits of Bone Holden, Lantern Hidden, Sun Lurker, Ashen Womb, Mirror Corrode, and Earth Stomach supporting together.
The seventh tomb rose!
In the center of this Yin Tomb, a black-yellow Earth Talisman stood upright, like a solitary peak.
The Burial Sun Jade Lord appeared beside the Earth Talisman, wearing a dark black formal attire as deep as night, its face indistinct.
Chun Yangzi met its gaze, and immediately scenes of the decline and collapse of the Pure Yang Palace, the Sun Raising Yang Locking Cloud Altar becoming ruins, and his own aged death appeared before him.
"Hahaha." Liang Ming laughed aloud, "Chun Yangzi, see my divine skill—Seven Gui Sacrifice!"
The entire area erupted.
Many cultivators watching couldn’t help but stand up to observe.
"Divine skill?!"
"So he intends to display the divine skill Seven Gui Sacrifice. I have heard of this divine skill."
"Liang Ming is reclusive and modest, calling himself a True Monarch. As expected, he possesses divine skill. After battling for six days and six nights, I thought his divine skill, like Shi Heng’s, couldn’t be used in battle."