Chapter 0009-3 – Disciple and Master Reunion
Translated by: Ken
Edited by: Ulamog, Dedition
Blinking his eyes in surprise, Hai Long let out a bitter laugh and said, “Sixth uncle-master, you’re really something! What I said just now wasn’t completely all lies. While it vexes me to hide the truth from you, I really cannot say it at this point of time. I can only tell you that I haven’t suffered one bit these three years and that master has treated me very well. Please let me off this time. I will definitely tell you the truth when I can do so.”
Sighing, Ling Tong responded, “I’m only asking this because I’m worried about you! Back when you were brought away by master, all of us were worried sick! Us eight have been together for decades leading plain and uneventful lives. Your arrival really brought us much joy. Although we only got to spend more than one year together, we have already long considered you to be one of us. Alright, let’s stop the smalltalk. Go sit on the bed. I’ll teach you the core mantra of the Skyheart Technique.”
“Sixth uncle-master… I…” Hai Long really felt like he couldn’t keep the truth hidden any longer after seeing Ling Tong’s display of affection and sincerity. However, under the strict instructions of his master Zhenren Dao Ming, he couldn’t reveal the truth about that enigmatic old senior.
Seeing Hai Long’s perplexed expression, Ling Tong lightly smiled and said gently, “Alright, you don’t have to say it if you really can’t. I’m not that much of a curious person anyway. I only asked you about it because I was worried that you have suffered in some way.”
Sitting on the bed, Hai Long silently muttered, “Thanks, sixth uncle-master. I hereby swear to you that no matter what happens in the future and however things will turn out, I will forever be the disciple of you and the other uncle-masters.”
Ling Tong felt a shiver down his whole body as he felt the sincerity from Hai Long’s declaration. Calming his emotions down, he let out a forced smile. “Sigh, silly… Don’t you think we understand what kind of person you are? Just calm down and stop thinking unnecessary things. You should know that complicated emotions like these will negatively affect cultivators like us.”
Biting his lip and sitting straight up on the bed, Hai Long sent his will into the spirit platform (灵台) and felt his surroundings fill up with spiritual ki (灵气). He said softly, “Sixth uncle-master, let’s begin.”
Seeing Hai Long’s demeanor, Ling Tong was slightly surprised. Even though he was at the Fetal Formation Realm, he couldn’t control his feelings as proficiently as Hai Long had just done. Shaking his head lightly and shrugging away the emotions he currently felt, he said in a low, solemn voice, “The Skyheart Technique is our Cloudlink Sect’s foundational technique and its mysteries are immeasurably deep. Now that you have comprehended the basics of the first three mantras, I will impart you with the following 15 core mantras. The left eye shall be the sun while the right shall be the moon, the crossing of the sun and the moon between the eyebrows will form a circular diagram. The circular diagram between your eyebrows will form the celestial heart (天心)……” Ling Tong explained the core 15 mantras and its training methods to Hai Long with much care and detail. Having been gifted with good comprehending ability, Hai Long memorized the training methods deep in his heart as Ling Tong kept on explaining.
Time sneaked past the two of them without being noticed by the time Ling Tong had finished explaining the 18th training method. The sun had long set and only the darkness of the sky could be seen from the windows of the room as the temperature fell by a few degrees.
“The Stellar Revolution Stage (斗转境界, short form that refers to 天上的星斗, which means the stars in the sky) is really something to look forward to! I have heard your senior apprentice sister said once that when one reaches that stage, one would obtain the power to control the stars in the sky! Think about it, how much energy would be required for one of move the celestial objects? While the life in the mountains may be plain, the mysteries of this stage of cultivation is what kept me motivated in my training all this time.”
Hai Long’s eyes flashed with antic.i.p.ation. The whole afternoon had been too important for him. He was totally mystified by the wondrous cultivation stage that he had just been told of! “Sixth uncle-master, I’ll skip out on my meal. You should go back and take a rest. I will think back and revise on the stuff you had taught me just now.”
Ling Tong smiled and said, “Alright. Seeing you finally giving it some effort really makes me very happy.”
Hai Long blushed and replied, “Don’t you know that I’ve always been a hard worker? I’ve always strived my best to train! If I wasn’t a.s.signed any of your ch.o.r.es, I would’ve been able to train even more!”
Ling Tong said, “You know what the truth is yourself. Alright, I’m a little tired after having spent the whole afternoon lecturing. If you have any questions, come over and ask me. I’ll try my best to make you understand.” Finishing what he had to say, he opened the door and left the room.
The room darkened even further as the night sky fully enveloped the mountain range.
Sitting cross-legged on his wooden bed, Hai Long recalled the description Ling Tong had said. Each of those mantras contained deep and unfathomable secrets. Taking a deep breath, Hai Long rubbed both of his closed eyes and willed the heat flow to rise from the spirit platform into his body. Wherever the warmth pa.s.sed, Hai Long felt comfort in those areas. Even though Hai Long was taught the core mantras of the Skyheart Technique, he was still only a Crouching Tiger Stage pract.i.tioner and had to train using the most basic methods. As the warmth spread through his body, Hai Long slipped into a deep, stable state.
Sometime pa.s.sed before his whole body shivered lightly. Hai Long slowly awoke and noticed that he was seeing a weird scene before him: one after another, intersecting rivers showed up before his eyes. The rivers contained greenish water which emanated a subtle glow that flowed in a repet.i.tive cycle. While those criss-crossing rivers looked rather complicated and messy, the flow of the river water was in the same general direction and lead into a greenish lake. Seeing this strange and fresh sight, Hai Long couldn’t keep his calm and his emotions slowly surfaced. All of a sudden, everything went black and the scene before him vanished.
Hai Long opened his eyes and noticed that he was still in the room. Only, his clothes had become wet all over. Thinking back at the things that had happened, Hai Long mused to himself, “What did I just see? Could my cultivation have went astray because I was rushing too much? No way! If I really did go astray, I should be incapacitated and be unable to move now. Oh well, Let’s go ask sixth uncle-master Maybe he can dispel my worries.”
At this time, he suddenly felt that the whole room around him started shaking. A never before felt force pressed down on him and caused him to struggle for breath. Primal fear surfaced from the depths of his heart as Hai Long injected the Bluestar Ring with his internal energy. The time it took him to fill the ring had decreased substantially as the internal energy within his body had increased in purity, though the amount of internal energy was still the same as before.
Letting out a breath of relief, Hai Long said to himself, “As expected of a good quality treasure. I feel much better. What’s going on outside? I better go check it out.” He lightly leaped to the room door after directing the internal energy in his body to his feet and took out the Dragonformer in his right hand and looked at the Blood Bagua in his left before leaving the room.
Upon stepping out of the entrance, Hai Long could see that all ten of his masters including Ling Wise (灵智, I used wise to differentiate 灵智 from 灵芝) and Ling Yuan. Their faces showed expressions of anxiety.
Hai Long made his way to Ling Tong’s side and whispered, “Sixth uncle-master, what is going on? Why have you come here and stopped your training? I felt a large force just now. Is there an intruder in the Cloudlink Mountains?”
Looking at Hai Long’s Bluestar Armor clad body with a look of surprise, Ling Tong shook his head and said, “There isn’t an intruder. For some reason, the second generation masters are opening the barrier formation that surrounds the mountains. The force you felt was but a remnant energy wave of that. No wonder I’ve heard from fellow cultivators from other mountains that our Cloudlink Mountains has one of the most powerful restrictive barriers left to us by the founder.”
Hai Long asked curiously, “It’s not time for disciple recruiting, right? Why has the barrier been unsealed? Don’t tell me the seniors are going to go out and have fun?”
“Silly Spittoon (痰盂, sounds almost the same as Hai Long’s daoist t.i.tle, Tan Yu), you’re spewing nonsensical things again… You even dare to talk about the senior masters like that…” Zhenren Dao Ming’s voice rang out. Two silhouettes, one fat and the other slender, floated downwards. They were both Zhenren Dao Ming and Zhenren Dao Xiu, who has already ascended to the ranks of the third generation disciples.
“We pay our respects to master and uncle-master.”
Dao Xiu smiled and said, “Didn’t I tell you guys to not refer to me as uncle-master? People will laugh at me for that. I’m still your senior apprentice brother.”
Zhenren Dao Ming descended beside Hai Long. The rest of the fourth generation disciples noticed that their master’s face was full of smiles. Zhenren Dao Ming sent a mental message to Hai Long, “Kid, as long as you behave, I won’t give you any trouble, alright? Of course, you must also give me some face when we’re in front of your uncle-masters here.”
Looking at Zhenren Dao Ming’s puffy face which seemed to have been distorted by his smiling expression, he whispered, “Deal.” Hai Long instantly kneeled on the ground and proclaimed loudly, “Your disciple Tan Yu (昙羽, his daoist t.i.tle), wishes master’s training to be swift and bountiful so that you will ascend to the ranks of immortals and pa.s.s on to the heavens!”
As he listened to the first part of the declaration, Zhenren Dao Ming’s face glowed even brighter. But when Hai Long uttered the second part, Dao Ming’s expression stiffened as he thought, Is that kid cursing me to pa.s.s on quicker?While Hai Long’s statement could be interpreted in a different light, there was really nothing Zhenren Dao Ming could do about it. He waved his long sleeves and propped Hai Long up with his internal energy before saying, “Alright. Next time, you don’t have to be so formal with me. Just make sure you don’t cause me any trouble and I’ll be happy.”
Hai Long said, “Master, why have someone of your age and stature come over here? Do you know something about the formation’s opening?”