Chapter 408: Nine Heavens Secret Treasure

It took Li Weiyi a month to first read through all eight volumes of the "Bagua Shangxuan Sutra." Afterwards, he delved deeper into its meaning by combining his understanding with the interpretations and insights written by various senior masters.

Among these, studying Yu Yaozi's interpretation yielded the greatest insights.

She could always explain the profound mysteries of the obscure scripture in the simplest and most straightforward way, while also offering her own unique understanding and insights.

It must be said that this Great Palace Master possesses exceptional mastery in martial arts, demonstrating a true grandmaster's demeanor.

"The 'Bagua Shangxuan Sutra' is profound and extensive," Li Weiyi mused. "Although I've comprehended it all and my mind is clear, it's like gazing at the stars, clearly seeing the dots of light in the night sky and understanding their movement patterns.

"But do I truly understand them?

"It's merely a distant glance from billions of miles away. I can't comprehend the deep-seated laws governing the stars' movements; I'm just treating them as individual points of light. In reality, each point of light encompasses infinite possibilities.

"To fully grasp it, one must read countless books and travel extensively."

Li Weiyi rolled up the eighth jade slip, understanding clearly that he had only comprehended the most superficial layer of the "Bagua Shangxuan Sutra." Everything was still on the surface.

It was like looking at flowers in a mirror or the moon in the water.

Nevertheless.

After a month, the number of scriptures within his Divine Aperture Dao Seed had increased from 72 characters to 307 characters, multiplying several times over.

He could be said to have advanced from the early stage of the second heaven of the Dao Seed Realm to its peak.

The reason for such rapid comprehension was not only that the "Bagua Shangxuan Sutra" was less profound than the Dao Ancestor's Tai Chi Fish, but also because, as his cultivation realm improved, his soul was nourished by spiritual energy.

Therefore, the higher his cultivation, the faster he would comprehend scriptures.

The Wind Mansion Dragon Seed was at the Fourth Heaven, having already formed a Dao Lotus.

The Divine Aperture Twelve-Character Dao Seed, however, remained at the Second Heaven.

"If I could study the true sutra of the 'Bagua Shangxuan Sutra,' comprehend its Dao essence, and connect with the origin of the Grand Dao," Li Weiyi mused to himself, "my comprehension speed would definitely be much faster. Perhaps I would have already broken through to the Third Heaven of the Dao Seed Realm by now."

Even a transcribed copy, even if it was copied by Yu Yaozi, could not compare to the true sutra.

It was like the difference between a real tree and a tree drawn on paper.

The true sutra was the genuine foundational scripture of a clan, the cornerstone of the Zuoqiu Family's existence, and one of the keys to cultivating Immortal Realm grandmasters.

Towards the end of the Ancient Immortal Beast Era, Yingzhou had a period of unrecorded history, where a temporal discontinuity occurred. Past cultivation methods were lost, the Spectral Realm of the Departed covered the land, and strange phenomena erupted.

In this era, one-third of the "true sutras" of Yingzhou's major powers were unearthed from otherworldly coffins, one-third originated from the Fallen Immortal Realm, and one-third came from the awakened bloodline inheritances of ancient immortal beast corpses and their descendants.

Even the cultivation methods of the Ancient Heavenly Emperors, and some cultivation techniques they created, had their initial origins in these three categories.

The last ancient immortal beast "Yujia" in the vicinity of the Lingxiao Living Realm did not belong to the Ancient Immortal Beast Era. It merely possessed the bloodline inheritance of an ancient immortal beast and achieved immortality through enlightenment.

To the west of the Western Realm, in the vast region where demon races gather, there are still many groups of demons possessing ancient immortal beast bloodlines. For example, Hua Yuzi, the demon prodigy at the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival, is a bloodline descendant of the Six-Colored Peacock, not of the Yujia Flying Phoenix lineage.

Furthermore, the original sources of scriptures like formation texts, talisman texts, and artifact texts were also these three categories. After countless years of development and the research of generations of sages, various permutations were created, developing into mature systems that spawned different sects and schools.

Because the Lingxiao Living Realm is close to the Blood Sea Coffin Dock, over ninety percent of the initial sources of human scriptures and true sutras originated from otherworldly coffins.

No one could clearly explain what "scriptures" truly were.

Some believed they were writings from another world, and based on their understanding of these scriptures, they created their own living realm's written characters.

Others believed "scriptures" were traces of the Grand Dao, serving as a medium for cultivation. Therefore, they directly contemplated and copied them, feeling their meaning and imitating their form.

Whether it was opening otherworldly coffins, exploring the Fallen Immortal Realm, or excavating ancient immortal beast remains, these were actions only Immortal Realm martial cultivators dared to undertake.

For Immortal Realm martial cultivators, many resources could only be obtained through these special channels.

Only upon entering the Immortal Realm did the path of seeking immortality truly begin.

Given Li Songgu's cultivation realm, opening special otherworldly coffins was a daunting and indecisive task, fearing that a major disaster might be unleashed. If some great terror were released from a coffin, the entire Jiuli Tribe could be overthrown overnight.

Opening otherworldly coffins posed more danger than opportunity.

The underground immortal mansion was somewhat related to the Fallen Immortal Realm. However, it had long been developed by the Bagara Sect for many years, and was no longer considered a Fallen Immortal Realm, but rather the former site of the Bagara Sect and the main altar of the Dao Sect.

Li Weiyi withdrew from the Dao Ancestor Tai Chi Fish and placed the jade slips back on the shelf. After a brief calculation, he was startled to realize how quickly time had passed; six days had already gone by in the outside world.

While comprehending the Dao, he was completely immersed and tireless.

He felt no passage of time.

He quickly went to the gate of the Divine Martial Tower to check his arrangements. He found footprints, indicating that Zenhai Guanwu had returned.

The fact that Zenhai Guanwu could return from the mountaintop and didn't disturb him showed that the situation wasn't as dire as he feared.

Otherwise, she would at least have woken him from his cultivation and urged him to leave quickly.

Li Weiyi felt considerably more relaxed. Following the method Zenhai Guanwu had taught him, he began to decipher the formation array at the gate of the Divine Martial Tower. He planned to go to the mountaintop to find her and ask about the current situation.

When he watched Zenhai Guanwu decipher the array, she was calm and skilled; even if it took her a long time, she proceeded methodically, as if everything was under control.

But when Li Weiyi started working on it himself, he realized that the array patterns on the gate were incredibly intricate and complex, like trying to find the end of a thread in a thousand tangles.

He also had to be wary of activating its defensive powers with a single misstep.

After spending a little less than an hour, Li Weiyi gave up.

According to his estimation, with his current mental power cultivation, it would take him at least two or three days to open the array and get out.

Wasting this time would be worse than continuing to cultivate and waiting for Zenhai Guanwu to return next time.

"Ge Xiantong must possess a treasure that can open the Fengge array."

"Next, I mustn't lose track of time during cultivation again."

Li Weiyi summoned the seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors. From Yao Qingxuan's spatial pouch, he took out seven thousand-year-old spirit herbs and fed them to the moths. "If Zenwu hasn't returned within five days, be sure to wake me up," he instructed.

Today was the thirteenth day of the first lunar month.

Given the current developments, if conflict in the Western Realm erupted around the Lantern Festival, then the demon race, the Dao Sect, the Demonic Kingdom, and the Spectral Realm attacking the Cloud Sky Immortal Plains would not be long in coming.

Before the end of the month, various crisis signals were bound to appear.

Therefore, before the end of the month, regardless of the situation with Zenhai Guanwu, he had to leave immediately.

Each of the seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors was one foot four inches long, already quite large, equivalent to the Fourth Heaven of the Dao Seed Realm. At this stage, Li Weiyi had abundant resources, enough to feed them until they reached the Fifth Heaven of the Dao Seed Realm.

Li Weiyi ascended the stairs, heading to the upper levels of the tower to search for true sutras.

The Daoist true sutras were stored on the fifth level of the tower; there were only three volumes in total.

Li Weiyi became interested in one of the three volumes: the "Nine Heavens Secret Treasury."

The true sutra of the "Nine Heavens Secret Treasury" was a purple jade stele, six feet tall.

The characters on the stele resembled bolts of lightning, each with a different form.

Standing before it, a sense of ancient history, profound weight, and mysterious energy assailed him. It seemed to contain immense power within, capable of destroying heaven and earth if unleashed.

"The 'Nine Heavens Secret Treasury' is said to be the supreme chapter of the Thunder Sky Sect's cultivation canon," he mused. "It's astonishing that it's stored here. Without this jade stele, the Thunder Sky Sect could never again produce a Martial Dao Heavenly Emperor."

Li Weiyi sighed inwardly, "Where else in the world could one find a cultivation sanctuary better than the Phoenix Pavilion?"

This Divine Martial Tower alone would be enough for Immortal Realm grandmasters and transcendants to fight tooth and nail over.

He sat cross-legged before the purple jade stele.

Even before he began to contemplate, he felt the Dao Seeds in his Divine Aperture and Wind Mansion become exceptionally active.

It was as if his entire being had entered another world, directly confronting the Grand Dao.

"Whoosh!"

Li Weiyi used his mental power to activate the Dao Ancestor Tai Chi Fish, weaving a cocoon of time, intending to envelop the "Nine Heavens Secret Treasury" jade stele within the cocoon.

With a tearing sound, the cocoon of time disintegrated.

It was just like the last time, when Tang Wanzhou broke into the cocoon. The cocoon of time was very fragile, currently unable to contain the purple jade stele.

Li Weiyi was drawn by the Dao essence contained within the purple jade stele; the allure was irresistible. Therefore, he cast aside distracting thoughts, performed the Jade Void Breathing Method, and immersed himself in it.

He could not understand the scriptures on the stele, nor did he read the interpretative insights on the "Nine Heavens Secret Treasury" from the entire bookshelf beside him.

Instead, he carefully sensed the Dao essence of the true sutra itself, integrating this essence with his own Dao Seeds. At the same time, he attempted to use his soul and consciousness to copy and sketch the scriptures from the stele within his Divine Aperture.

When martial artists comprehend true sutras, they first perceive their essence. Only then do they read interpretations to understand their meaning.

This is because everyone's understanding of a true sutra differs during comprehension.

Interpretations, being the understanding of predecessors, can influence a later cultivator's true perception of the sutra.

As time passed, Li Weiyi's Divine Aperture Dao Seed began to emit wisps of electric light, accompanied by low rumbles of thunder.

"Sizzle!"

Electric light flowed from his Divine Aperture, seeped out of his body, and flickered around him.

Gradually, in the seventy-two locations around his body, signs of interweaving and entanglement appeared. The interweaving electric light became more numerous and stable, transforming into a Thunder Strike Array Formation.

Within each of the seventy-two electric light clusters, there was a scripture.

"Gather!"

With a thought, Li Weiyi made the seventy-two electric light clusters and scriptures fly into his Divine Aperture, surging into his Dao Seed.

"Boom!"

As the lightning and Dao Seed collided, a peal of thunder immediately reverberated throughout the Divine Martial Tower.

The Divine Aperture Dao Seed trembled violently, spinning wildly.

Pure immortal aura diffused outward, flowing through the tower's interior.

"The Divine Aperture Dao Seed is about to manifest and reach the Third Heaven," he thought, "and this is an excellent opportunity for body refinement."

Li Weiyi quickly entered the Blood Mud Space, went to the Tanggu Sea, wove a cocoon of time, consumed body-refining treasures such as the Four-Colored Immortal Moss, Golden Spring, and Divine Stovewood, and then used his breathing method to frantically absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

Two days later, the breakthrough was complete.

The Divine Aperture Dao Seed officially entered the Third Heaven, and the number of scriptures on the Dao Seed reached 379.