Chapter 565 - 45: Attempting the Divine Technique

In cultivation, the years pass without notice.

Ten years passed in the blink of an eye. After more than a decade of chaos, the situation in Zhongzhou had surprisingly quieted down. Over time, people had gradually figured out the rules of the game, and a certain balance and stalemate had formed between the various factions.

Wang Ping’s teahouse in Zhonghui County Town had been open for ten years, long enough to see batches of the local elderly pass on. For Wang Ping, a decade was merely the length of a meditation session, but for mortals, it was an entire cycle of life and death.

However, Wang Ping hadn’t personally visited the teahouse for the past ten years. A puppet had taken his place, living out that mortal identity for him, while Wang Ping himself sat alone in an underground cavern beneath the Mountain Peak Dojo, cultivating the first volume of the Divine Secret Technique: Restraint.

This stage of cultivation did not increase his power in the slightest; it was purely about restraining his own desires. He had to maintain this for ten years as if it were a single day, all while keeping his consciousness fully lucid.

By practicing ’Restraint’ with his humanity fully intact for ten years, Wang Ping’s only gain was learning to freely suppress the desires of human nature.

This stage of cultivation seemed utterly useless, feeling like nothing more than self-torture.

In fact, the Secret Technique passed down to him by the Xiao Shan Lord contained records on this very matter. Many Cultivators had previously argued that the first step, ’Restraint,’ was unnecessary. They claimed one could begin directly with the second step: establishing a faith. But if one couldn’t maintain a prolonged state devoid of sorrow and joy after gathering that faith, it would be impossible to refine its spirituality into the light of a Divine Technique.

Of course, some might be exceptionally talented or have cultivated other paths that enabled them to suppress their desires, which was also acceptable. Alternatively, one could use a bloodline for direct suppression, like the Xia Imperial Family, but Cultivators who used this Divine Technique had exceedingly short lifespans.

Wang Ping had actually cultivated ’Restraint’ to what he considered completion as early as the sixth year. Strangely enough, however, the very reason he continued for the full ten years was that he was under the influence of the ’Restraint’ state itself.

It was an indescribable feeling, something akin to a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder born from pure rationality.

The moment the ten-year period ended, Wang Ping summoned the Pocket World Mirror, taking Yu Lian with him through layers of space to appear at the Dao Field on the small island south of Shang’an Prefecture.

Nothing much had changed here. The owner in name was still Wang Ping’s puppet, though the number of merchant caravans passing through the transit port had decreased significantly. From the intelligence gathered during his puppet’s experiences, Wang Ping knew this was due to the civil war in Lishui Prefecture.

Wang Ping took a moment to adjust to the light of the outside world. Then, with Yu Lian, he sat at the island’s highest point, quietly gazing out at the endless ocean. While absorbing the sea’s vastness, he began to sort through the important messages his puppet had sent him.

Yu Lian was in no rush to dive into the Great Sea. After spending ten conscious years in the underground cavern, what she most wanted to see was the azure sky and the boundless ocean.

"If only we could brew a pot of tea, this would be perfect."

After a long while, Yu Lian, feeling the sea breeze, spoke these words, pulling Wang Ping back to reality just as he was about to slip back into the ’Restraint’ state. A tea table and a stove instantly appeared beside them.

As the clear tea touched his lips, countless memories suppressed by the ’Restraint’ state came flooding back. But the moment he swallowed, they were instantly assimilated by his Spirit Body. He hurriedly poured himself another cup.

After downing two cups of tea, Yu Lian rose on a cloud and alighted on Wang Ping’s shoulder. "Did anything interesting happen these past ten years?" she asked.

Wang Ping summoned the Pocket World Mirror and said, "A civil war has broken out in Lishui Prefecture. The Dragon Monarch hasn’t intervened, so the war has spread throughout the entire Southeast Sea Region. Many sects have been drawn into the conflict, and even the Taiyin Sect has been forced to lie low for now."

"That’s it?"

"The war has been going on for less than two years. I estimate they could keep at it for a century. Maybe something that interests you will happen in the future."

"I’m asking about other things."

"The other thing is the messages Zi Luan sends to my Communication Token every quarter. He and the ministers of the Chu Kingdom Court, along with the Cultivators who serve it, are having a grand time. Wu Quan is also fanning the flames. They seem to be treating the whole affair as a game."

As he spoke, Wang Ping pulled a bamboo scroll from his storage bag. Using Wood Spirit Qi, he copied all the messages Zi Luan had sent him onto the scroll. "Here, take a look," he said. "It’s more exciting than those storybooks you’re always reading."

Hearing it was more exciting than a storybook, Yu Lian’s eyes lit up. She picked it up and began to flip through it. "How pitiful," she said. "They probably don’t even realize that the struggles they’re staking their lives and fortunes on are just a simple game for someone else to stay in touch with their humanity."

Hearing her words, Wang Ping’s gaze, which had been fixed on the Great Sea, wavered. He turned to look at Yu Lian. "How do you know that they don’t know? Do you think our situation right now is any different from theirs?"

"Hmm, true enough!"

Yu Lian swished her tail, her reply casual. She then went back to sipping her tea and eagerly reading Zi Luan’s messages, her expression shifting between thoughtful and smiling.

「An hour passed just like that.」

After she finished reading the bamboo scroll, Yu Lian rubbed her head against Wang Ping’s cheek and asked, "If Zi Luan and his group keep this up, won’t they eventually push the Chu Kingdom Court to the breaking point?"

"That’s inevitable. But they were the ones who started it."

"If we were on the Court’s side, we would do the same thing, wouldn’t we?"

"A good question... Probably. Such is human nature. No one can change it. Even if we didn’t do it, someone else would."

"Then it will come to a fight to the death..."

"The fish will die, but the net won’t necessarily break. At most, their resistance will amount to a few clashes with our sect’s Entry-level Disciples. Even if some are injured or killed, what loss is that to Zi Luan? What loss is it to us?"

"Hmm..."

Yu Lian tilted her head in thought. "So it turns out we’re the villains in this storybook," she said. "I always thought we were the good guys!"

Her comment made Wang Ping roar with laughter.

Yu Lian watched him, and when his laughter subsided, she mimicked his tone. "You’re about to say, ’Heroes and villains only exist in stories. In the real world, there’s no such thing!’"

Her words made Wang Ping’s smile grow even wider. He reached out to pat Yu Lian’s head, but she dodged away. In that instant, his human memories rushed back in like a tidal wave.

Yu Lian rose on a cloud again. Once Wang Ping had laughed his fill, she changed the subject. "So, are you going to refine the light of the Divine Technique next?"

Wang Ping shook his head, took a sip of tea, and said with a smile, "I can pause my work on the Divine Technique for now. First, I need to cultivate a Qi Sea within my Primordial Spirit. I have a feeling I’ll succeed in about half a month!"

"Alright!"

With that, Yu Lian transformed into a streak of light and plunged into the Great Sea.

Wang Ping set down his teacup and turned his focus inward to observe his Primordial Spirit. After ten years of relentless Qi Cultivation, countless intersecting meridians had formed within it.

These meridians were extremely fragile, constructed from Spiritual Energy. If he were to stop cultivating, they would likely dissipate within five days. Only by forming a Qi Sea and enabling it to perform the Grand Circulation on its own could he prevent such a thing from happening.