Chapter Ten: A Celebration for All Under Heaven

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Zong Zhengze looked around and found himself alone. Even when he had been standing so close to the monk Zhiyuan, they had not been transported together. He was in a white, empty room without even a door.

Zong Zhengze searched the room carefully, but found nothing. Fortunately, the master of this place had no intention of playing hide-and-seek with him. A man’s voice suddenly rang out:

“Cultivate one of your basic techniques in this room.”

Zong Zhengze was sensible enough. The master of this place was clearly someone he could never afford to offend, so he obediently did as he was told, taking the matter seriously.

After completing one full cycle of cultivation, Zong Zhengze slowly withdrew his power. With his keen eyesight, he could only make out a streak of light entering his mind.

He hurriedly examined it and discovered a cultivation manual: the True Scripture of the Heavenly Demon.

Zong Zhengze was nearly delirious with joy. After all, the technique he currently practiced was the Heavenly Demon Scripture, which had been adapted from the True Scripture of the Heavenly Demon.

At a glance, the two seemed more or less alike, but the difference between them was enormous. The Heavenly Demon Scripture he currently practiced was merely a portion of the True Scripture of the Heavenly Demon—and it had been altered by someone else.

The others had also received various opportunities. Little Tian, the wandering cultivator, Old White, and the many people from the market district had all come to Heavenly Net Mountain this time.

Using his spiritual power, Little Tian discovered that the technique he had received was the Golden Sun Formula. He was so overjoyed that he nearly wept.

It was precisely the cultivation method suited to him. For thirty years, he had traveled to countless places, yet had never found a technique suitable for a cultivator with a metal spiritual root. Who could have imagined that he would come here only because he had heard that Blind Zhang could divine his destiny—and that the divination would prove so accurate?

Was this not a road leading straight to heaven?

As for Old White, tears of age streamed down his face. The manual he had received was the Longevity Formula.

Old White appeared to be in his sixties or seventies, but his youthful appearance was the result of cultivation. In truth, he was already more than a hundred years old, and his lifespan was nearly exhausted. That was why he had been darting about so desperately: he simply wanted to live a few years longer.

Though this technique could not increase his cultivation, it could extend his lifespan.

Many others were just as excited as Little Tian and Old White, especially those whose natural aptitude was actually quite good but who had never found a compatible cultivation method and had therefore wasted their entire lives. There were far too many such people.

At that moment, a young girl was laughing and crying at once, murmuring through her tears:

“Grandmother, I got it! I obtained our clan’s inherited technique, the Luoshui Rhapsody! Mother, my aunts, and I all have a cultivation method now. It’s just a shame you can’t see it, Grandmother.”

All these cultivators had obtained what they desired. Yet they were not the only ones to receive an opportunity.

Oh—no, that one was not human. It was a small blade of grass, known in this otherworld as golden thread. If Wen Yue had been here, she would certainly have called it a dodder flower.

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Little Golden Thread herself did not know when she had first begun to exist. As far back as her memories reached, she had been parasitizing one tree after another.

Any tree she wrapped herself around would have its nutrients slowly absorbed by her. Bit by bit, she would block out its sunlight, preventing photosynthesis. Deprived of both light and nourishment, the tree would eventually die.

Then Little Golden Thread would move on to parasitize the next tree.

Thus the cycle repeated itself, and she had caused a vast stretch of forest to perish.

Because Little Golden Thread was living on Heavenly Net Mountain, she was included when the Profound Heaven Pagoda accepted its candidates. Since she had already developed a dim, rudimentary intelligence, she too was granted an opportunity.

The cultivation technique she received was the Evergreen Art of Grass and Trees.

Unlike the others, who were ecstatic, she was merely dazed and confused. She had no idea what this strange thing was for.

Everyone had received an opportunity. Just as they were searching for a way out, another strange fluctuation swept over them, and they all returned to the positions they had occupied before entering.

At the place where the five-colored radiance had appeared earlier, a Profound Heaven Pagoda materialized out of thin air.

In other words, everyone had obtained their cultivation techniques inside this pagoda.

Zong Zhengze immediately spotted the monk Zhiyuan standing only a couple of arm’s lengths away.

“Monk, how was your harvest?”

The two were close friends. Otherwise, asking such a question would have earned him a beating. Naturally, Zong Zhengze had no intention of coveting a Buddhist technique.

“And you?” Zhiyuan asked instead of answering.

“The complete True Scripture of the Heavenly Demon.”

Just as Zong Zhengze would never covet a Buddhist technique, Zhiyuan would never covet a demonic cultivation method.

“Congratulations on achieving your wish.”

Only Monk Zhiyuan knew how difficult it had been for Zong Zhengze to reach this point.

“My original technique suits me perfectly, so I didn’t receive a new cultivation method. Instead, I obtained a Reincarnation Mantra.”

Zhiyuan was equally straightforward and told him at once.

Of course, only Zhiyuan and Zong Zhengze were so candid. The others would never speak so openly. Yet some things needed no explanation. One only had to look at the joy they could barely contain to know that they had received a tremendous opportunity.

Fortunately, the blessings had been distributed evenly. No one had been left out.

There were still some who were dissatisfied. Apparently, the opportunities had been so rare that only one person in ten thousand might be disappointed. For instance, their old acquaintance, Old Madam Corpse, had received a Longevity Formula, leaving her thoroughly depressed.

Those who were dissatisfied formed only a tiny minority. To everyone else, this was a momentous occasion worthy of universal celebration.

As a matter of fact, another major event had taken place in the Abyssal Realm. It was simply that ordinary people knew nothing about it.

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On the night the Profound Heaven Pagoda appeared, Wen Yue herself did not know what had happened. After days without any progress in her comprehension, she suddenly comprehended three elements that very night: metal, fire, and earth.

Together with the wood she had comprehended at the beginning and the water she had comprehended five days earlier, she had finally comprehended all five elements.

Wen Yue felt an extraordinary sense of accomplishment. Old Zhao had told her that most people could comprehend only a single spiritual root. Those capable of comprehending two were already rare, while those who could comprehend three or four were as scarce as phoenix feathers and qilin horns. Every such person was renowned throughout an entire region.

Wen Yue did not consider herself remarkable. She had merely tried to comprehend them on a whim. She had already decided that if she made no progress over the next two days, she would begin drawing qi into her body.

There were already five people in the courtyard who had entered the qi-gathering stage. Wen Yue did not want to appear before them as a worthless talent. She only wanted to show a little aptitude—perhaps to be slightly better than ordinary people. In any case, she had planned to begin drawing qi into her body within the next two days.

Who could have expected her luck to be so good? She had comprehended the remaining three elements all at once.

What was she waiting for?

While her mind and spirit were still at their peak, she immediately seized the opportunity and began drawing qi into her body in a single determined effort.

No matter how many times she had rehearsed the process in her mind, this was her first real attempt. She proceeded with extreme caution from beginning to end, afraid that even the slightest mistake might occur.

Wen Yue was carefully drawing qi into her body. It was now deep into the night, and the other people in the courtyard were either asleep or earnestly cultivating. Thus, a wondrous phenomenon appeared outside without anyone in the courtyard noticing.

All the high-level cultivators of the Heavenly Demon Sect had gone to Heavenly Net Mountain. The ones left behind were insignificant figures whom Zong Zhengze had not even bothered to bring along.

And so, a marvelous spectacle appeared above Wen Yue and the others’ courtyard through a fortunate coincidence, yet no one was there to admire it.

That was not entirely true.

Old Zhao witnessed this historic moment.

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