Chapter 126 – A Slight Conception
Translator: Mr Voltaire
Editor: Master Shadow
Xiao Yun used his mind to observe the stone stele, and what he saw immediately changed.
The large characters on this stone stele moved around and gave off ripples, as if they were creating another world. Xiao Yun’s mind was absorbed within, and an ancient aura rushed towards him as an elder appeared before him.
This was a large plaza with a stone stele in the middle, and there was an elder wearing a colourful dragon robe standing beside it.
“Is this the stone stele?” Xiao Yun realised that this stone stele was exactly the same as the other one he had seen right before.
“Who’s that man?” Xiao Yun felt quite confused.
There were no characters on the stele, and the man stood with his hands behind his back, staring at the stone stele without moving.
Wind blew and the clouds moved, and the sun and moon continuously replaced each other in the sky. The man’s eyes suddenly glinted as he moved, looking like a divine phoenix as he engraved the characters onto the stone stele. As each character was carved, it gave off ripples and a monstrous aura.
When the four characters were carved, the stone stele flashed with light, and a bird’s cry sounded out. A phoenix seemed to fly out from it, spreading its wings and giving off a brilliant light as it dyed the sky with colour. Within the beautiful light, one could feel a holy aura. This was a colour phoenix, with five different colours on its body and wings that seemed as if they could tear through the sky itself. The might that it gave off was simply awe-inspiring.
After a while, the colourful phoenix disappeared, turning into a ray of light and shooting into the stone stele. The elder continued to stand with his hands behind his back, as if he had not moved at all.
“He didn’t seem like he moved. What’s going on?” Xiao Yun wondered. “Could it be that those words weren’t engraved by him?”
Xiao Yun looked over in shock, but saw that the elder looked completely calm and had not moved an inch. He stood with his hands behind his back as he stared at the stone stele – even his expression had not changed at all.
However, there were now four characters engraved on it: Nine Heavens Phoenix Dance!
“Did I see incorrectly?” Xiao Yun wondered, not knowing what was going on. Xiao Yun shook his head and clamed himself down, continuing to use his mind to sense the characters.
“Nine Heavens Phoenix Dance, soaring into the horizons. A pity, a pity that it’s too late!” the man sighed as he left.
“What’s a pity?” Xiao Yun thought to himself.
Following this, he continued to use his mind to sense the characters.
Buzz!
Just as Xiao Yun’s mind came into contact with the large characters, his mind trembled and a powerful shockwave blasted him back.
“What are these shockwaves?” Xiao Yun’s eyes gleamed as he cried out. “Why can I feel that man’s aura?” Xiao Yun thought to himself as he gradually calmed himself down.
“Could this be some sort of conception?” Suddenly, Xiao Yun’s eyes lit up as he thought back to the scenes from earlier. He had evidently seen the man engrave the characters, and yet, he felt as if the man had not moved.
Slowly, the aura became clear to him. Legends said that experts who made great accomplishments on the martial way had comprehended countless profundities and could use their will to kill enemies who were thousands of kilometres away.
This ‘will’ was not as simple as spirit energy. This was a martial conception which was incredibly mysterious and difficult to explain.
Evidently, that man was the Feng Imperial Clan’s ancestor, and had used that martial conception to leave behind those words.
Those words not only contained his martial conception, but also some of his hopes and regrets.
“A pity? Did he mean that he was unable to wash away his shame?” Xiao Yun muttered.
It was said that the Feng Imperial Clan’s ancestor was extremely talented, but had been banished from his clan. Even though he had made significant accomplishments on the martial way, such as creating that Nine Heavens Phoenix Dance, he was left with many regrets. What was a pity? That he had reached the end of his life? Xiao Yun remembered Feng Yu Yao mentioning that if the Feng Imperial Clan’s ancestor wanted to return to the clan, he would have to reach a certain level during the prime of his life. Only then would he have a chance at returning to his clan.
After clearing his thoughts, Xiao Yun continued to try to comprehend the characters.
Since this old ancestor could use his will to carve characters on the stone stele, and had even imprinted his martial conception onto it, perhaps he could gain some insight from it. Even though he could not reach the old ancestor’s heights, he might still be able to glean something.
Thinking to there, Xiao Yun realised something. Martial conception was not something that could be comprehended in a moment, but it had at least opened a door for him.
In the future, if he slowly comprehended it, he might be able to find his own martial way. After realising this, Xiao Yun felt as if the fog around him had disappeared, and he could see a glimmer of light.
Xiao Yun then focused on comprehending that slight martial conception, hoping to gain even a trace of understanding.
Without realising it, Xiao Yun had sat there for two days.
“With my heart as my will, my will fused with my body.” Xiao Yun’s eyebrows suddenly twitched as his eyes opened, as if he understood something.
“If I train in the Flaming Lion Seal with this sort of mindset, the might I’ll be able to release will be even greater,” Xiao Yun said happily.
Before, Xiao Yun had already understood that the Flaming Lion Seal was not something to be repeatedly practised without thinking – it required martial conception. However, Xiao Yun had not been very familiar with martial conception, so he simply could not understand it.
Now, he had been enlightened, and knew what to do because of the stone stele.
Of course, the martial conception within that stone stele was simply too powerful, and Xiao Yun could not completely understand it yet. This process required him to slowly build on his foundations, and he could not advance in a single leap.
He needed to gather experience, and perhaps by seizing various opportunities, he would be able to gain even more comprehension. Now, after spending so much time in his comprehension, his efforts had borne fruits. He suddenly got up and decided to try what he had just learned.
Will!
In the martial way, what mattered most was one’s will. Only with one’s will would there be power, and only then would one be able to release the full might of a Martial Skill. This was what Xiao Yun had comprehended.
Buzz!
Xiao Yun moved his hand and flames erupted out of his body. He closed his eyes, but the magic seal still condensed perfectly.
Xiao Yun was imagining a wild lion. The magic seal condensed, and a fiery light flashed, as if it contained a divine might.
Flaming Lion Seal!
Xiao Yun’s eyes shot open, moving his hands as he pushed the magic seal out.
Roar!!!
A ma.s.sive roar sounded out that could deafen those around him. Anyone who looked would see a wild lion leaping outwards. The lion was filled with might and seemed to contain sentience, as if it was real, and its aura could send fear into others’ hearts.
After Xiao Yun pushed out this magic seal, ripples appeared in the air as a ma.s.sive shockwave rushed out. The might from this attack was not at all inferior to that of a True Essence realm cultivator’s. Evidently, Xiao Yun had revealed the full might of this magic seal.
“This magic seal’s might has indeed increased.” Xiao Yun felt delighted, not just because he had successfully learned this Martial Skill to completion, but because he had been enlightened on a crucial aspect of the martial way. In the future, when training in other Martial Skills, he would no longer feel as lost. It was as if he had found a path of light, and would never lose his way again.
Xiao Yun continuously unleashed the Flaming Lion Seal, and the feeling became stronger and stronger, embedding itself into his mind.
Following this, he continued to look at the stone stele to comprehend it. So far, he had only comprehended mere sc.r.a.ps, and there were still many complexities that he had not yet understood.
In the blink of an eye, another day pa.s.sed, but Xiao Yun still looked just as confused, not having made any progress.
Finally, Xiao Yun got up and did not continue to comprehend the stone stele.
“This is someone else’s martial conception. I should only use it as a reference to attain comprehension and not rely too much on it. Otherwise, I might stray from the correct path,” Xiao Yun muttered.
As a cultivator, he needed to follow his own way, and could not rely too much on others. As such, Xiao Yun chose not to continue to comprehend the stone stele. If he tried to force his own comprehension, he would only fall into a demonic path, losing sight of the true meaning of cultivation.
Those who had gone before him could only be used as lights to illuminate his way. If he relied too much on his predecessors, how could he become a true expert? That sort of person would never surpa.s.s his predecessors.
“I’ll come back in future if I have the opportunity.” Xiao Yun looked at the stone stele and walked away. After Xiao Yun left, two elders in the sky slightly nodded.
“Not only does this youth have solid foundations, but he’s also extremely talented. In time, he’ll definitely become a supreme expert,” Mo Shao Zhong nodded in satisfaction. Two days ago, he had been observing this youth, but had not revealed it.
“He’s indeed quite extraordinary,” Emperor Feng’s praised as his eyes narrowed. “The first time he tried to comprehend the stele, he gained a hint of comprehension, which is quite rare. If he continues down this path of comprehension, perhaps he’ll be able to comprehend his own martial conception. When that time comes, he’ll have truly stepped onto the martial way.”
Emperor Feng had not asked for the formation flags back because he wanted to give Xiao Yun this opportunity. Xiao Yun’s performance had satisfied both him and Mo Shao Zhong.
It had to be know that the stone stele had been there for countless years, and many young geniuses had come to comprehend it. Those who could glean something from their very first time could be counted on a single hand, and all of them had shone brightly on the martial way, becoming powerful experts.
Like clouds, the two of them disappeared from where they had been standing, as if they were never there.
Xiao Yun returned to the Essence-Gathering Formation to cultivate, causing his Martial Spirit’s aura to become even more powerful.
Within Xiao Yun’s sea of consciousness, the jade-green branch was quite thick and strong, and there was a mist encircling it, giving it a divine look.
The new leaf was now slightly bigger, and soon, it would be able to condense vital essence of life into dewdrops.
Now, Xiao Yun felt that his Martial Spirit had reached a bottleneck, and it would be very difficult for it to break through. However, he could feel that as long as his Martial Spirit was able to take that step, a shocking change would occur. Perhaps he would even be able to easily deal with the Essence-Corroding Heavenly Poison if that change occurred.
After absorbing much of the Essence Qi within the formation, Xiao Yun went back to find the Seventh Princess to extract her poison. This time, the Martial Spirit had once again become quite a bit stronger. After the Martial Spirit extracted her poison, the Seventh Princess felt extremely refreshed. Even her meridians recovered to some degree, and her dantian began to gather Essence Qi again.
Previously, all of the Essence QI in her dantian had been corroded, turning into nothing. Not only this, but even her dantian had almost been destroyed.
Fortunately, the Seventh Princess’ status was quite extraordinary, which caused Emperor Feng help her suppress the poison. Anyone else most likely would have died already.
“It’s a pity that I’m still not strong enough. Otherwise, I would be able to help Princess completely get rid of this poison.” After extracting some of the poison, Xiao Yun felt quite disappointed.
Emperor Feng had acted justly, saving him many times. Even though both sides were helping each other, Xiao Yun was completely awed by Emperor Feng’s might and charisma. After all, before Xiao Yun had even agreed to help the Seventh Princess, Emperor Feng had crippled his son’s cultivation.
Who could compare to this Emperor Feng’s resolution and boldness?