Chapter 480: Life is Full of Unexpected Encounters

After learning the Cult Master's Primordial Spirit Guiding Art, I was greatly inspired. The Primordial Spirit Guiding Art is a marvelous and profound technique for cultivating the primordial spirit in the Six Harmonies Realm, truly wondrous and unpredictable, opening up numerous possibilities for the future!

Sitting with Qin Mu, the Demon Ape, and others in the temple atop the golden peak, Xu Shenghua's face lit up with enthusiasm as he spoke of the Primordial Spirit Guiding Art created by Qin Mu and Ling Yuxiu. Even he, a visitor from the High Heavens, couldn't help but clap his hands in admiration: "The Primordial Spirit Guiding Art brings something that could only be achieved in the Seven Stars Realm down to the Six Harmonies Realm. The Six Harmonies Realm was previously a blank slate regarding how to cultivate the primordial spirit and how to unleash its power. There's so much to do within this, such as developing various primordial spirit divine arts. Each new divine art created is a tremendous advancement for Daoist techniques and divine arts, subsequently influencing every later realm: Celestial Being, Life and Death, and Divine Bridge! This is what I admire most about Cult Master Qin!"

At this point, even he couldn't help but show reverence, saying, "The Primordial Spirit Guiding Art of the Cult Master and Princess Xiu can serve as a model for all under heaven! The title of Human Emperor is truly deserved! I feel both admiration and trepidation towards you. We are both Hegemon Bodies, and you have already achieved so much; how can I ensure I don't fall behind you?"

Xu Shenghua smiled serenely. "Your Primordial Spirit Guiding Art has brought forth countless possibilities for Daoist techniques and divine arts. So, I chose the biggest and most challenging possibility: merging the Seven Stars Realm with the Six Harmonies Realm."

Qin Mu said solemnly, "However, merging two major realms involves too many aspects; it's like completely eliminating a realm. How did you accomplish that?"

Xu Shenghua became serious. "There are seven Divine Treasures in total: Spirit Embryo, Five Luminaries, Six Harmonies, Seven Stars, Celestial Being, Life and Death, and Divine Bridge. Among the seven Divine Treasures, the Spirit Embryo awakens spiritual essence. When the Spirit Embryo forms, it becomes the center for creation."

"Once the Spirit Embryo is established on the Spirit Platform, it becomes the center around which the Five Luminaries—the five stars of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—are generated and revolve."

"Subsequently, the Spirit Platform gives rise to a continent, which takes shape, forming the Six Harmonies of East, West, South, North, Up, and Down."

"Upon achieving the Six Harmonies, the sun and moon are reborn, combining to form the Seven Stars."

"With the Seven Stars in place, the Spirit Embryo also reaches great accomplishment, giving rise to the sun, moon, and stars, becoming a Celestial Being."

"When the primordial spirit of a Celestial Being is sufficiently powerful, it connects with life and death. Death is Youdu beneath the primordial spirit's feet, hidden beneath the Spirit Platform's continent. The formation of Youdu signifies the Life and Death Realm."

"Life, then, is the Divine Bridge. A divine bridge extends from above the primordial spirit, and by stepping on this bridge, one reaches the Heavenly Palace. Entering the Heavenly Palace means escaping Youdu's control and no longer being bound by lifespan limitations."

In just a few words, he thoroughly explained the mysteries of the seven great realms. Qin Mu nodded repeatedly. Xu Shenghua's understanding of the realms was similar to his own, but with slight differences, particularly concerning the Seven Stars Realm.

The sun and moon in Qin Mu's Divine Treasure had formed much earlier, not specifically in the Seven Stars Realm. This was clearly different from conventional cultivation, but Qin Mu considered it a unique characteristic of his Hegemon Body and didn't dwell on it.

"So, how did you integrate the Six Harmonies and Seven Stars?" he humbly inquired.

Xu Shenghua smiled faintly. "I used reverse engineering."

Qin Mu's body trembled slightly as he exhaled a breath of turbid air. "Clever!"

"I imagined myself standing before the Southern Heavenly Gate of the Heavenly Palace, looking down upon the seven great realms. From the perspective of the Heavenly Palace, one realizes that the seven Divine Treasures were, in essence, originally just one."

Xu Shenghua said calmly, "The seven Divine Treasures are, in fact, just one Divine Treasure, but divided into seven parts. If someone were powerful enough from the start, they could fully open all seven as one, directly entering the Heavenly Palace! However, no one could possibly possess such terrifying power from birth. Yet, the Cult Master and Princess Xiu's creation of the Primordial Spirit Guiding Art has made it possible for the Seven Stars and Six Harmonies Divine Treasures to become a single Divine Treasure."

Qin Mu said gravely, "It's easy to say, but difficult to achieve. Different Divine Treasures are separated by realms and barriers. Merging Divine Treasures means merging realms and breaking through barriers. How did you break down the barriers between two Divine Treasures to make them one?"

Xu Shenghua replied, "To merge the two major Divine Treasures in advance and break the realm barriers, the primordial spirit must be dominant, forcefully consolidating the two Divine Treasures into one. For this purpose, I created the Seven Stars Six Harmonies Primordial Spirit Art, building upon the Cult Master's Primordial Spirit Guiding Art."

He activated his Primordial Spirit Art, and immediately, a fierce aura surged skyward. Primordial qi burst forth, and extraordinary phenomena suddenly appeared.

Lotuses bloomed beneath Xu Shenghua's feet, and his Spirit Embryo emerged within them. The lotus beneath the Spirit Embryo was his Spirit Platform, which rotated and blossomed, instantly transforming into a lotus continent.

Simultaneously, his Five Luminaries flew out—five great stars revolving around the lotus continent, with five deities of various appearances standing upon these Five Luminaries stars.

Furthermore, the dual energies of yin and yang transformed into the sun and moon, rising into the sky, while the sun, moon, and Five Luminaries converged to form the Seven Stars.

The Spirit Embryo's body grew larger and larger, standing tall on the lotus continent. Hues of light radiated from the lotus, connecting the Five Luminaries and the Seven Stars!

Qin Mu immediately felt that his primordial spirit stood between the earth and the sky. The primordial spirit acted as the core, and primordial qi circulated along a strange trajectory, completely dissolving the barriers between the Divine Treasures!

What Xu Shenghua had opened was the connection between heaven and earth!

The Seven Stars and Six Harmonies Divine Treasures were separate, but his Seven Stars Six Harmonies Primordial Spirit Art connected heaven and earth, completely eliminating the barrier between them!

Qin Mu suddenly stood up, his primordial qi surging. He shouted, "Brother Xu, let me see how far your cultivation has advanced after merging the two realms!"

He activated the Eight Thunderclap Styles, bringing a solitary spring thunder from the East Sea. He threw a punch, causing angry waves to surge and spring thunder to reverberate across the mountains.

Xu Shenghua raised his hand to block the punch. Both of their bodies swayed, and Qin Mu took half a step back, showing a look of surprise.

Xu Shenghua's primordial qi density was originally slightly inferior to his own. He hadn't expected it to surpass his after the merging of the two realms!

Merging two major realms was indeed extraordinary!

Xu Shenghua dispersed the phenomena and proceeded to explain the cultivation method he had created.

Qin Mu was moved. Xu Shenghua's Seven Stars Six Harmonies Primordial Spirit Art centered on the Spirit Embryo. The Spirit Embryo combined with the soul to form the primordial spirit.

The primordial spirit became the core of the four Divine Treasures, serving as the nexus connecting the Seven Stars and Six Harmonies Divine Treasures. It mobilized all the power of the four Divine Treasures, refining and integrating the barriers between heaven and earth.

"If this is done, it seems all Divine Treasure barriers can be completely broken down. By the time one reaches the Divine Bridge Divine Treasure, all seven Divine Treasures will have become a single Divine Treasure..."

Qin Mu stared in a daze.

His Primordial Spirit Guiding Art was a starting point, and Xu Shenghua's Seven Stars Six Harmonies Primordial Spirit Art had advanced two or three steps further based on that foundation. There were countless possibilities beyond that; not only could Seven Stars and Six Harmonies merge, but the barriers between Spirit Embryo and Five Luminaries could also be dissolved!

The barriers of the Celestial Being, Life and Death, and Divine Bridge realms could also be completely dissolved!

After cultivating to the Divine Bridge Realm, the Celestial Being and Life and Death realms would merge and connect, and all seven Divine Treasures would become one, with no more distinct realm divisions!

If that were to happen, it would undoubtedly trigger an immense revolution!

The power of all practitioners of divine arts under heaven would experience an extraordinary surge!

And the changes brought about by the increased power of divine art practitioners would be immense.

"To break down all realm barriers would likely require decades, even centuries, of effort, but now we've seen a glimmer of hope. Brother Xu, you've done something remarkable..." Qin Mu murmured.

Xu Shenghua said modestly, "Without the Cult Master's Primordial Spirit Guiding Art, I would never have been able to take this step. Cult Master, it is you and Princess Xiu who have done something remarkable."

Qin Mu laughed heartily. Xu Shenghua didn't know that Qin Mu's ability to comprehend the Primordial Spirit Guiding Art was primarily due to their chance encounter on the painted boat. When Qin Mu met Xu Shenghua, the clash between two powerhouses stirred Qin Mu's mind, leading to his primordial spirit's communion with Ling Yuxiu's, thus enabling him to cultivate his primordial spirit.

Therefore, Xu Shenghua also had an indirect hand in the creation of the Primordial Spirit Guiding Art.

Suddenly, a thunderous roar erupted beside them. The Demon Ape's body swelled segment by segment, involuntarily revealing his true form, transforming into a massive, pitch-black ape, like a small mountain peak!

After Xu Shenghua finished explaining the Seven Stars Six Harmonies Primordial Spirit Art, the Demon Ape immediately activated his primordial spirit, practicing the art as it had been taught.

Everyone was startled and quickly retreated, only to see the Demon Ape's primordial spirit rumbling and vibrating. He was operating Xu Shenghua's Primordial Spirit Art without any hindrance, clearly intending to thoroughly integrate the Seven Stars and Six Harmonies Divine Treasures!

Xu Shenghua's heart was shaken. He glanced at Qin Mu and said, "Cult Master, isn't Senior Brother Zhankong's aptitude a bit too good?"

Qin Mu suppressed the shock in his heart and looked up at the Demon Ape's extraordinarily massive body. "His mind is simple and free of distractions. He learned the Eight Thunderclap Styles of the Great Thunderclap Temple much faster than I did. Because his mind is singular, his cultivation progress is extremely rapid."

Xu Shenghua said suspiciously, "Could he also be a Hegemon Body?"

The Demon Ape's physique was naturally strong, and his cultivation profound. This time, activating the Primordial Spirit Art, he charged forward with fierce courage and overwhelming power.

He had received teachings from the Old Tathagata, who taught him the Tathagata Mahayana Scripture, and later cultivated under the Young Tathagata, receiving guidance and instruction from both these Buddhist supremes. His cultivation foundation was inherently deep.

However, while his mind was simple, he was considerably inferior to Qin Mu and Xu Shenghua in terms of pioneering new paths. Qin Mu had a complex mind, but he often learned by analogy and created new cultivation methods.

Xu Shenghua's mind was less complex, but he had a wide range of knowledge and had been spurred by Qin Mu's unyielding spirit, enabling him to create the Primordial Spirit Art based on Qin Mu's foundation.

As for the Demon Ape, he lacked such enlightenment, but he was incredibly swift and rapid at learning others' cultivation methods.

The three of them represented three different cultivation approaches.

The Demon Ape was about learning, not seeking deep understanding; if he could cultivate it, he did so immediately. Xu Shenghua was about integration, seeking deep understanding and even more solutions. Qin Mu was about pioneering; if there was no direction ahead, he would forge one.

Qin Mu also had his shortcomings; after devising a direction, he would often move on to other matters instead of continuing to advance it. Therefore, it was Xu Shenghua, not him, who created the Seven Stars Six Harmonies Primordial Spirit Art.

Of the cultivation methods or divine arts created by Qin Mu and Xu Shenghua, the Demon Ape learned the fastest. Qin Mu had barely begun cultivating the Primordial Spirit Art when the Demon Ape was already on the verge of breaking through realm barriers.

Qin Mu quickly cast aside other thoughts and focused wholeheartedly on cultivating the Primordial Spirit Art, striving to break through the realm barriers between the Six Harmonies and Seven Stars.

Two days later, Qin Mu finally broke through the two major realm barriers. He opened his eyes to see Xu Shenghua and the Demon Ape clashing in the mountains. One large, one small, they fought with exceptional ferocity, surrounded by monster monks of various sizes cheering them on.

Just as Qin Mu was about to rush over, he suddenly heard a familiar voice from down the mountain, laughing loudly: "Little Thunderclap Temple is truly audacious, daring to steal my master's primordial spirit! Listen up, bald monks on the mountain, hand over my master's primordial spirit, or your entire sect will be annihilated!"

Qin Mu looked down the mountain and saw Ban Gongcuo ascending. His legs bent backward, half-crouching and half-squatting, making his gait extremely conspicuous.

"This brat, didn't I only chop off one of his legs? How did the other one get replaced too?"

Qin Mu was overjoyed. Without a word, he unleashed a sword, which flew dozens of miles directly towards Ban Gongcuo.

Ban Gongcuo, having newly replaced deer legs, was caught off guard. By the time he saw the sword light, it was too late to dodge. He quickly darted two steps, only to see the sword light fly past him from behind to in front.

He hurriedly looked back, only to see his two deer legs running behind him.

"You motherf*****!"

Ban Gongcuo's body landed, much shorter now. He looked up and roared furiously, "Qin, you and I are irreconcilable enemies!"

"We always meet again!"

Qin Mu retracted his sword, standing on the golden peak with his hands on his hips, laughing heartily: "Venerable One is truly too kind, even bringing two deer legs as a gift. How can I possibly refuse? I'll gladly accept!"

Just then, a young man carrying a box walked up to the mountain gate. He looked up at Qin Mu on the golden peak, a smile appearing on his pure face.

"Divine Physician Qin, what a small world, we meet again."