Chapter 13: Morning Welcomes Purple Qi, Evening Guides Red Clouds

At long last, the sun descended upon the western horizon, and with a sigh, the entire realm was enveloped in night.

Within the Palace of Ascension, the humble earthworm of Dao Yuan, having traversed a long and arduous journey, finally birthed a perfectly formed, round Dao Yuan.

The dawn, as the sun first kisses the land, and the dusk, as it prepares to bid farewell, are the most propitious times for cultivation. The sun's warmth, gentle and nurturing, is particularly beneficial to fledgling practitioners, offering protection to their delicate Dao Veins. Tales abound of those who, in their haste, attempted cultivation at midday, only to be scorched by the true fire of the sun, their bodies incinerated, their meridians destroyed.

This is the wisdom of "receiving the purple qi in the morning and attracting the sunset glow in the evening."

Even Jiang Wang, a lifelong martial arts practitioner, felt his qi and blood pushed to a precipice, any further exertion risking irreparable damage to his primordial qi. The earthworm in his Palace of Ascension, too, appeared somewhat listless.

Yet, at this critical juncture, his physical form did not succumb to weakness. The Dao Yuan housed within his Palace of Ascension pulsed like miniature hearts, a constant source of power.

All of this impressed upon Jiang Wang the profound truth of the lessons he had received. The transformation from mere qi and blood to the nascent emergence of Dao Yuan represented a genuine sublimation of power, the very bedrock upon which one might ascend to transcend mortal limits.

It is said that true martial artists, those who walk the pure path, do not cultivate Dao Yuan. Instead, they dedicate themselves to refining their physique and tempering their qi and blood, forging a different, yet equally potent, path.

In this current age, where princely houses rise in defiance, sects stand shoulder to shoulder, and a hundred schools of thought contend, the Great Dao stretches forth infinitely. It is, in essence, a golden age of cultivation. However, for Jiang Wang, bound within the borders of the Zhuang State, his choices were limited.

With meticulous care, Jiang Wang guided the Dao Yuan within his Palace of Ascension, maneuvering it to fill the nodes of the Grand Cycle Constellation Array, a formation he had long since mastered. This undertaking was far from effortless, for a cultivator's spiritual power, too, is bound by limitations in the early stages, much like the constraints upon qi and blood.

For cultivators like Jiang Wang, who had only just embarked upon the path of transcendence, manipulating Dao Yuan twice a day was the absolute limit. Any further exertion would lead to mental exhaustion, and in severe cases, could even imperil one's sanity.

Jiang Wang understood implicitly that the foundational array he was constructing would demand a considerable passage of time. Thus, he dared not be complacent, treading as if on thin ice. Even a minor misstep would necessitate starting anew.

And he had afforded himself no luxury of starting over.

There were only two opportunities each day to arrange the array nodes, and he could not afford to squander a single one! This held true even though the Grand Cycle Constellation Array was immeasurably more complex and challenging than the simpler Returning Essence Array.

Assuming a contemporary practitioner, cultivating alongside Jiang Wang, chose the Returning Essence Array as their foundation, then, assuming they flawlessly arranged the array nodes, they were destined to progress far more rapidly than Jiang Wang.

Jiang Wang remained uncertain if his choice was the correct one, but having made his decision, there was no turning back. He could only press forward, dedicating himself wholeheartedly to the task at hand.

Fortunately, his efforts had been fruitful. After the day's final pulse-charging cultivation, dozens of Dao Yuan now floated within his Palace of Ascension, each one full and brimming, like ripe grains in an autumn field, redolent with the promise of harvest. These would be the resources for his "Ascension" to the next realm.

However, for Jiang Wang, one crucial task still remained.

The dormitory at this hour was deserted. Ling He and Du Yehu had departed on missions. Having already entered the inner sect, their eagerness for the Meridian Opening Elixir was naturally more acute.

And so, Jiang Wang's consciousness sank, entering the Tai Xu Illusion.

Today was the fifteenth of July, a day of challenge. If no unforeseen circumstances arose, today he would face the challenge of the owner of the Cyan Jade Altar. He would, in all likelihood, experience a demotion in rank.

The familiar scene unfolded before him – the vast, star-dusted expanse.

Jiang Wang sat cross-legged, silently observing the shadow cast by the sundial, awaiting the appointed hour of the challenge.

He yearned to witness, firsthand, the power of the true elites of this world. Though he had "heard" of such fierce combat within the Illusion Temple, he had never directly observed it. Dong A's single move on that occasion had left his opponent utterly without resistance.

Sitting thus, within this starry realm, he felt his heart, too, expand and become boundless.

When humanity first gazed upon the stars, history itself began its forward charge. Compared to the boundless celestial river, everything in the mundane world appeared so small and ephemeral.

He knew not how much time had passed when the sundial's shadow resolved into five characters, stark and inky: "Challenger Forfeited."

Jiang Wang's heart relaxed, yet a faint, inexplicable regret settled within him.

He had retained the merit produced by the Grotto Heaven of Pure Truth Blessed Land this month, a testament perhaps to the formidable deterrence of its former master. That blazing figure, known as Zuo Guanglie!

Those who enter the Tai Xu Illusion generally conceal their real-world identities. Few, save for the individual themselves, are aware of the renown they achieve within the Illusion. Thus, few knew that the master of the Grotto Heaven of Pure Truth within the Tai Xu Illusion was, in reality, the great Heavenly Pride of Greater Chu, Zuo Guanglie. And now, even fewer would know. Even if someone had accurately surmised his identity from his fighting style previously, that assumption would now be completely overturned.

For, generally speaking, when a person perished in the real world, their identity within the Tai Xu Illusion would also vanish. However, Zuo Guanglie had forcefully invoked the power of the True Body of Zhu Rong, nearly burning through time and space. Coupled with the entanglement of a powerful obsession, a confluence of factors had resulted in an anomaly. The Tai Xu Illusion had failed to reclaim the Void Key in time, and it had become imprinted upon Jiang Wang. He had, in essence, inherited everything Zuo Guanglie possessed within the Tai Xu Illusion.

Blessed Land Twenty-three, Grotto Heaven of Pure Truth! This month's merit production: 1850 points.

...

"Path of Flame Altar," Jiang Wang murmured to himself.

A bamboo table materialized before him, seemingly from thin air, yet without the slightest trace of abruptness. It appeared as natural as crops sprouting from the earth, the process itself unseen.

Upon the bamboo table rested nothing else save an open jade book, its pages currently blank.

Jiang Wang had experienced this before. He needed only to focus his thoughts upon the cultivation technique he wished to deduce, then invest the corresponding merit. The deduced technique would then manifest upon the jade book. His previous foundational array, the Grand Cycle Constellation Array, had been obtained by deducing the Returning Essence Array.

With his foundational array still unformed, the Dao Xuan yet unborn, and his Dao Yuan scarce, it was naturally unrealistic to attempt the deduction of a true Dao technique. Even Jiang Wang himself had only simulated such techniques in his mind, never daring to truly cultivate them. In the nascent stages of cultivation, Dao Yuan was simply too precious.

However, this did not mean his accumulated merit should lie dormant, awaiting a later time. One must understand that the path of cultivation knows only advance or retreat. Whether tomorrow or unforeseen circumstance arrives first, one cannot be certain. Therefore, the true path lay in maximizing one's strength at every stage.

After a moment's contemplation, Jiang Wang chose a sharp sword technique from the handful of sword arts he had mastered, dedicating his efforts to its deduction.

The merit points he chose to expend: 1850 points!

The prevailing atmosphere throughout the Zhuang State favored Dao techniques, often viewing martial arts with disdain. But Jiang Wang had no alternative at this stage. With his foundation incomplete, he dared not attempt any potent Dao techniques.

And since he had resolved to strengthen his swordsmanship, he would do so with unreserved dedication, sparing no effort.

Innumerable characters instantly surged forth upon the jade book on the bamboo table. These were the ordinary sword techniques Jiang Wang had learned in the outer sect of the Maple Forest City Dao Academy—techniques sharp, but far from exceptional. Yet, at this moment, as the merit points on the sundial's shadow rapidly diminished, the characters upon the jade book began to transform wildly.

Jiang Wang stared intently, and those characters seemed to coalesce into individual figures, wielding swords, dancing a whirlwind of motion. The faster they danced, the more they seemed to blur into an indistinct mass.

Jiang Wang found himself squinting, feeling an illusion of being pricked by an almost tangible sharpness!

When he blinked and looked again, the characters on the jade book had settled, revealing before him a profound sword formula, unlike anything he had ever seen, or even imagined!

During his time in the outer sect, Jiang Wang's swordsmanship was widely recognized as the finest. But now, reading this newly revealed technique, he felt an immediate conviction that all his previous practice had been mere peasant movements, fit only for tilling the soil!

The merit points on the sundial's shadow had vanished, leaving zero, but Jiang Wang exhaled a satisfied sigh.

It was all worth it!