After speaking, Shang Xi sent a stream of power into Jing Qian. Within it was contained Pure Yang Heaven's secret legacy, the Pure Yang Golden Eye Art.
This was a secret law reserved solely for true disciples of Pure Yang Heaven, mysterious beyond compare, and capable of greatly amplifying one's combat strength.
Jing Qian received it, and with the aid of his Worldly Insight, quickly absorbed and dissected it. In just a few moments, he had already comprehended its essence.
The Pure Yang Golden Eye Art stood on equal footing with the Pure Yang Hidden Sword Casket, both belonging to the rare class of Dao Scroll-level arts.
It was also a most peculiar method of refining Spirit Constructs.
Through this art, a cultivator would remodel part of the divine sea within their brow using high-grade spiritual materials, condensing a Golden Eye of Pure Yang.
Depending on each person's cultivation path and foundation, this Golden Eye would manifest entirely different supernatural powers.
The material Shang Xi had prepared for Jing Qian was none other than the Eye of Wu Zhiqi, forcibly dug from the body of a Second Grade great demon. Its rank was unimaginably high.
In terms of value, it made all the other flashy techniques Jing Qian had cultivated seem like scraps in comparison.
Only a sect with Pure Yang Heaven's profound heritage, but so few disciples, would dare use such a treasure as an opening-eye material for a new initiate.
With such a material, Jing Qian's Golden Eye would naturally be rooted in far deeper foundations.
And the art also contained numerous methods of "nourishing the eye," not only cultivating the Golden Eye itself but also enabling it to mirror one's cultivation, to aid in combat, and even in slaughter.
Yet, this wasn't the most important reason Pure Yang Heaven made the Golden Eye Art mandatory for all true disciples.
The true reason lay in the painting before them, the Pure Yang Sword Diagram, which held the sect's ultimate and original inheritance.
No one knew where this unique sword chart had come from; the founder of Pure Yang Heaven had stumbled upon it by fate.
It was only after delving into this chart that the founder created the Pure Yang sword cultivator lineage.
And without the Golden Eye, no one could glean a single shred of insight from the sword chart.
Both the Hidden Sword Casket and the Golden Eye Art were insights carved out of the Pure Yang Sword Diagram by the ancients, forming the twin pillars of Pure Yang cultivation.
For a true heir, to advance further in the sword path meant a lifelong process of gazing upon this diagram and seeking enlightenment.
Unlike sects such as Yanfu Dao, which possessed structured, systematized inheritances, Pure Yang Heaven offered no single complete doctrine.
Every Pure Yang true disciple forged their own path through what they could comprehend from the sword chart.
Because of differences in talent, temperament, and life experience, each disciple's gains were unique; no two were ever alike.
This gave rise to countless distinctive paths of sword cultivation, each with its own flavor, none repeating another.
And all of it began with the step Jing Qian now faced: the opening of the Golden Eye.
This was the final step before officially entering the sect.
Even though he had long since resolved to join Pure Yang Heaven, and despite the bizarre trials he had encountered since meeting Shang Xi, Jing Qian felt no regret.
But before taking that final step, he voiced the question that had long been buried in his heart:
"Master, I have already comprehended the Golden Eye Art, and I can open my eye at any time to formally enter the sect."
"However… this disciple still has some doubts he wishes to clarify."
Shang Xi nodded and replied:
"That is only natural. Speak."
Jing Qian bowed deeply, then asked:
"Master, you already know that I have cultivated the methods of Yanfu Dao. I wish to ask what your stance is on this?"
"Furthermore, if I practice other sects' inheritances, will it affect my cultivation of Pure Yang's secret arts?"
"Will it obstruct my future path of Dao?"
Shang Xi seemed utterly unconcerned by the question and replied directly:
"Set your mind at ease. The secret arts of my Pure Yang Heaven are unique; they can accommodate almost any other inheritance.
Once you begin to study the Pure Yang Sword Diagram, you will understand. All that can be comprehended from that chart are other methods.
These arts can indeed grant immense boosts in combat strength and contain endless wonders. But they do not form a coherent system. They cannot serve as a sect's foundational doctrine.
That is why, throughout history, my true disciples of Pure Yang Heaven have always cultivated the orthodox inheritances of other top-tier sects within the Yingfu Realm.
Once you are formally initiated, I can show you our sect's collection. At present, among the twelve orthodox inheritances of the academy, more than half of their full transmissions are preserved within our vaults.
Of course, the process of acquiring those lineages has left lingering karmic debts. When you walk the realm in the future, you'll need to keep an eye out.
Beyond that, we also hold copies of at least half of the top-tier inheritances that have ever existed in the Yingfu Realm's history.
As for myself, my cultivation is rooted in the One Origin Sect's fundamental transmission, the Dao Scroll of Supreme Void's Internal Observation of the Cosmic Cycle. That sect was annihilated in the Great Calamity three thousand years ago; you've likely never even heard of it.
As for the Yanfu Dao methods, they harmonize quite well with many of Pure Yang's secret arts. If you have the fortune to cultivate them, it will serve you well.
However, both the Yanfu Dao and the Ying clan inheritances are preserved here only in fragmentary form. If you wish to pursue them, you'll largely have to rely on your own study; guidance will be limited.
No matter whose methods you cultivate, in the end, you'll find your system naturally aligning around the Pure Yang sword path.
This is because the sword path of Pure Yang is simply too efficient in amplifying battle strength; no other inheritance can compare.
No one can resist such temptation!
Besides, the orthodox lineages we now cultivate are mostly useful only for the Lower Three Grades and Middle Three Grades.
Once you reach the Star-Seizer realm and beyond, you will find that the true key to advancing into the Upper Three Grades is to refine your own foundation, to condense your own unique immortal aura, and to carve out your personal cultivation path.
Studying the methods of predecessors merely grants an advantage in the early stages. In the end, it still comes down to your own Dao comprehension.
You'll come to understand these truths gradually, in your cultivation to come."
Hearing all this, Jing Qian felt a great weight lifted from his heart.
His Yanfu Dao inheritance could no longer be abandoned. If it had conflicted with Pure Yang Heaven's path, it would have crippled his progress.
Fortunately, the Pure Yang legacy was broad and flexible. There were many precedents of disciples cultivating other sects' teachings. He could still regard the Nether Cycle of Yanfu Dao Scroll as his primary scripture.
He then raised another question:
"Master, before I entered the sect, more than one person warned me that Pure Yang's inheritance had been severed, that there was no path left to ascend.
But if our sect accepts all orthodox inheritances, why is the path forward said to be cut off?
And why have you, Master, remained bound to the Earth Fiend realm for so many years without advancing further?"
Shang Xi gave a small laugh before answering:
"This is not something I intended to hide from you. Come, I will show you."
With that, he rose and flew upward toward the dome of the Pure Yang Cave Heaven.
Jing Qian followed closely, riding his light straight into the clouds.
They ascended all the way to the cave heaven's boundary membrane before coming to a halt.
There, Shang Xi spoke again:
"At the sacrificial banquet, when you chose my Pure Yang Heaven, you must have successfully traced your way up to the boundary beyond the membrane, and caught sight of the true void outside, did you not?"
"Yes, Master," Jing Qian replied. "By chance, I reached the outside of the great tree cave heaven at the Mirror Cloud Shrine, and caught a glimpse of the void. The sight left a deep impression."
Shang Xi nodded. With a wave of his hand, the boundary wall of the Pure Yang Cave Heaven suddenly turned transparent.
Through it, the true expanse of the outer void was revealed in full before their eyes.
Shang Xi spoke once more:
"Three thousand years ago, when our great enemy struck, the very first blow was to tear open the boundary membrane of the Yingfu Realm.
Mountains crumbled, the land split apart, primal energy spilled out, and within the realm, calamity and slaughter spread unchecked.
After the war, to repair the shattered membrane, the Ying imperial dynasty joined forces with the major powers of the realm and built the Heavenly Gang Tower. They gathered the cave heavens of every faction, merging them to patch the gaps. It has been this way ever since.
My Pure Yang Heaven was gravely wounded back then. Our own Pure Yang Cave Heaven could not escape that fate.
Since then, twenty-three cave heavens have jointly nourished the realm's membrane, each occupying a portion of the surrounding void. Together, they divided the heavens completely among themselves.
And this slice of void before us that is the portion allotted to my Pure Yang Heaven."
Following Shang Xi's direction, Jing Qian looked carefully. Beyond the membrane of the Pure Yang Cave Heaven, countless silent stars hung in stillness.
Shang Xi continued:
"After we divided the void, each sect withdrew into seclusion to restore the vitality we had lost in the Great Calamity.
Rebuilding the boundary membrane is no easy task. It requires vast reserves of power.
As for my Pure Yang Heaven and the Yanfu Dao, we were both judged guilty by the realm because of that calamity. The karmic debt was too heavy, and so began a long journey of atonement.
The Yanfu Dao lost all its disciples, even their heir, the Yanfu Son, vanished without a trace.
Their Yanfu Cave Heaven was dismantled, and the entire foundation of the sect was carved up.
The three Sects Below took thirty percent, swelling their strength, which is why they now have the nerve to bare their fangs at me.
Another thirty percent split off and became the Sea of Resentful Souls, where ghost kings escaped the Yanfu Dao's control. One of them even rose to become the second-rank Emperor of Wuchang, now a major force in the realm.
The remaining forty percent of the Yanfu Cave Heaven's core vitality and its life furnace was buried deep in the realm's earth veins.
Every few years, that fragmentary remnant releases its stored vitality back into the world, replenishing the realm's foundation. That is the true origin of the so-called Yin Years."
Shang Xi's voice grew heavier.
"As for me, I held onto Pure Yang Heaven with sheer force of will. I managed to preserve our foundation, but karmic debt still demanded we repay the realm.
So I poured most of the vitality I had wrung from Wuzhiqi and the Mother Yaksha back into the realm itself.
Of the six demon lords who invaded back then, I alone shared the spoils.
The Ying clan, for example, hid theirs away in secrecy.
With two second-rank fiends bound here, my Yingfu Realm's vitality concentration is now even greater than it was before the calamity, though our foundation has yet to recover to its former state."
Jing Qian listened intently, feeling that his understanding of the realm had deepened once again.
The hidden truth behind the Yin Years especially struck him with revelation.
Shang Xi pressed on:
"Of course, holding down two great demons all these years hasn't been smooth sailing.
Wuzhiqi has been relatively quiet, never struggling much. But the Mother Yaksha… she caused two near-catastrophes when she almost broke free in the early years of her imprisonment.
I prevailed in the end, but not without cost. She succeeded in shattering every fate-star that Pure Yang Heaven once held claim to.
The Great Calamity had already broken seven or eight out of every ten stars surrounding Yingfu Realm.
Other sects at least kept a handful. Their disciples could still find stars to answer their ascension.
But because of her interference, Pure Yang Heaven was left with none.
Two thousand nine hundred years ago, I reached the peak of the Earth Fiend realm. I should have ignited an immortal aura, linked to a heavenly star, and broken through.
But there were no stars left to answer me. My path forward was severed."
At that moment, from beneath their feet, Ling Ling's voice floated up, plaintive:
"Shang Xi-gege, you're blaming me again.
Back then, you and I didn't even know each other!
If it were now, I'd never do something to hurt our bond.
I've already apologized, haven't I?
Besides, I even offered you a way to make up for it.
If you accept half my lifeblood, you could become a zombie progenitor like me, step directly into the second rank.
With your strength, you could sweep across the Northern Heavens. Why waste away here, fretting about stars?
Think bigger, Gege. Becoming a zombie isn't so bad if it means your Dao path continues.
Would I ever give a drop of my essence to anyone else?"
At this, Jing Qian finally grasped the true meaning behind the words "path cut off."
The revelation shocked him.
To think that a second-rank fiend's sabotage had left his sect with no stars to answer when advancing from the fifth grade to the fourth… it was indeed a terrifying bind.
He couldn't help asking further:
"Master, even if Pure Yang Heaven has no stars left, don't other sects still hold reserves?
Couldn't we borrow a few from one of the Three Sects Below, whichever one we have the best relations with?"
Jing Qian saw no issue with borrowing stars from others.
"Hahaha! Now that's the spirit of Pure Yang Heaven!" Shang Xi laughed. "And of course I've considered it.
Forget just the Three Sects Below. Over these three thousand years, I've spent many nights studying the heavens. I know exactly whose sects hold suitable stars.
After enduring three millennia of Fiendfire, the immortal aura in my chest is purer than any peer's.
If I am to bind a star, it must be a Main Star. Fractured or scattered stars cannot bear my aura.
And among the realm's great powers, there aren't many main stars left.
The Ying clan has twelve main stars shining above their five cave heavens. I've coveted them for years. But their current Human Emperor has reached the peak of the third rank, with a mid-grade title and formidable strength. Not easy prey.
The Furnace King Hall holds two main stars. Likely, they're reserved for their next generation of firekeepers. Each one is already anchored by a fourth-rank life furnace, balancing their sect's vitality. They'll be on guard against me.
The Dou Kui Mountain Sect has fared well, too. They cultivate the Star Dao itself. With their secret arts, they nurtured seven main stars and forged them into a Northern Dipper Constellation Array. Tight as an iron fortress.
Aside from them, only the Blood River Sect and Temple of Impermanence each hold a single main star. And they guard them fiercely, terrified I'll seize them.
Beyond the human sects, other powers like the mountain ghosts of Ju Zhou, the dragon-kun of the Vast Sea, and the wraiths of the Sea of Resentful Souls each hold three apiece.
Everyone knows I lack a star. Every faction guards theirs as if it were their very life, watching me like a thief.
Of the thirty-two main stars within reach, every last one is locked down. None is easy to claim."
When Shang Xi finished speaking, master and disciple both fell into silence.
Each was turning over in their mind whom they could strike against, and how, but no answer could be found.
Jing Qian, with too little experience and far too little strength, could offer nothing but a well-meaning heart.
Shang Xi, shackled by the sect's enemies and bound by countless burdens, could act only with great restraint.
Suddenly, Shang Xi gave a carefree smile and said:
"What am I doing telling you all this? In the end, it's just my own unwillingness speaking.
I've used the Bright Moon Rebirth Eye to simulate every possibility for three thousand years, and never once found a proper solution. Speaking of it to you is nothing but a burden.
Don't let my affairs trouble you. At most, I can hold on for three to five more years. You should focus on your cultivation. Take as much of Pure Yang Heaven's heritage as you can carry; that will be enough.
When I fall, I'll cut open the Sword Lotus Pond and draw one of our patriarchs back to the realm. Then all of these problems will crumble on their own.
For me, it is the end of my path. For you, it is not so grave.
When I go, I'll deal with Wuzhiqi and the Mother Yaksha. I'll leave you a Pure Yang Heaven clean and unburdened."
With that, Shang Xi once again drew forth the Eye of Wuzhiqi and said:
"Come. Let me open your golden eye and bring you into the sect."
He turned and slowly drifted downward.
Behind him, however, Jing Qian did not follow. Instead, after a moment's thought, he spoke up:
"Master, for three thousand years, Pure Yang Heaven has been yours alone. However you calculated, you could find no chance.
But now that I am to enter the sect, why not take me into account as well? Try again. If you include me, perhaps together we can find a way to pull this off."
Though they had only just met, Jing Qian's impression of Shang Xi was excellent.
And besides, he had only just latched onto this peerless thigh, yet that thigh was about to cut itself off along with the sect's greatest treasures. How could he accept that?
Shang Xi stopped in his tracks, turned back, and said with a faint smile:
"My disciple, you are thoughtful indeed.
That I should find a worthy heir before my death, to keep Pure Yang's line unbroken, that alone is fortune enough.
You are talented, yes, but your years of cultivation are too few. If I truly made my move, the upheaval would shake heaven and earth. The risk to you would be far too great."
"Master, what harm in trying?" Jing Qian countered.
"All my life, I have walked paths others thought impossible. I love nothing more than finding a sliver of hope where none should exist.
If I can help you reach enlightenment and lead me to trample the whole Yingfu Realm at your side, isn't that far better than inheriting a crumbling legacy, forever prey to others' schemes?
Master, I know your spirit is exhausted, your Dao-heart spent. Think of it as my willfulness. As the elder, indulge me just this once."
Shang Xi chuckled and shook his head. Then, with a brilliance never before seen, the vertical eye on his brow snapped open and enveloped Jing Qian in light.
At that moment, from deep within the cave heaven, Ling Ling let out a sharp cry. On the Great Wei Sword in her hands, countless tiny blood vessels surfaced and latched onto her body.
Vast yin-spirit immortal qi poured into the Great Wei Sword, then was drawn by Shang Xi and infused into his Rebirth Eye of Truth-Breaking.
"Unh!"
"Ah!"
"Mmhh…"
The second-rank Mother Yaksha moaned under the drain.
For three thousand years, she had worn away at the Great Wei Sword day and night, fusing her power into it.
But that fusion was two-sided. Shang Xi had long since mastered the art of using that link to exploit her.
With the demon's endless vitality, he began yet again, who knew for the ten-thousandth time, to simulate his path to ascension.
This time, however, he added Jing Qian as a decisive factor.
In an instant, the Yingfu Realm became a chessboard. Hundreds of phantom scenarios arose and fell, each one a hopeless dead end.
But unlike the last three thousand years, amidst countless dead ends, a single thread of life quietly unfolded.
Shang Xi's heart, dead for centuries, gave a sudden, violent throb.
The white eye on his brow flared wide, its pupil straining as if to leap from its socket.
With Ling Ling's power nearly inexhaustible, even the smallest chance could be expanded through countless simulations until it became certainty.
This time, the deductions lasted a full day and night. Within Pure Yang Cave Heaven, the two men and the demon did not stir an inch.
At last, Shang Xi's eye closed, and his whole bearing transformed. From somewhere unseen, a long-lost vitality welled up within him.
He had truly glimpsed a thread of survival.
He turned to Jing Qian and said:
"My disciple, if you truly wish to save me, you must break through to the Longevity realm before the next Yin Year. By my reckoning, that leaves less than two years. Can you do it?"
Jing Qian laughed freely and replied:
"Why not try?
I will give it my all."
"Good! Then, before I die, I shall make one last attempt!"
With that, Shang Xi vanished and reappeared before the Mother Yaksha. Gripping her pale cheek in one hand, he said:
"Ling Ling, you've always wanted Wuzhiqi's head. I'll bring it to you.
But first, I need your Ancestor's Yin Eye merged into this Eye of Wuzhiqi, to open my disciple's golden eye."
-support me in Patreon for more chapter, 55+ chapters in there
patreon.com/LordoftheReader