Chapter Fifty: Twelve Golden Terraces and Jade Towers

Truth and falsehood—these depend on the individual alone.

Xu Zhong felt a stirring in his heart, but in the next moment, he realized with a start that the Black Mountain Demon was deliberately guiding him to dispel his heart demon. The Black Mountain Demon’s origins were not meant to be known by others. At this moment, it merely feared Xu Zhong’s heart demon; if the demon vanished, there would be no escaping being flayed and having his soul refined.

Thus, Xu Zhong neither listened nor thought further. The intent of his sword seemed to sever his senses altogether.

“You are indeed very clever,” the Black Mountain Demon chuckled. “Of course, if you weren’t, how could you have birthed such a heart demon in the first place?”

Xu Zhong did not answer. Instead, he looked down at his feet.

They were suspended in midair, beneath them a chasm ten thousand fathoms deep, the ravines small and vast, echoing the shape of Black Mountain itself. The congealed black sludge resembled inky jade; each piece vanished at the touch of sunlight.

In the next moment, a floating cloud appeared beneath their feet.

The cloud lifted them gently, drifting away from the sea of grass. Beyond the grassland stretched endless plains, mountains, and gorges, interwoven into a majestic landscape. In every mountain, river, and gorge, countless cultivators sought their fortunes.

Yet the greatest opportunity was not here, but in the city of Tianyong.

The Black Mountain Demon steered the cloud, carrying them across mountains and rivers for thousands of miles.

Far above, twelve jade towers stood guard.

These twelve jade towers encircled Tianyong City.

Beneath Tianyong City, there were thirty-six thousand steps. The stairs ascended toward five golden terraces.

Each golden terrace spanned a hundred miles across.

At the center of each terrace stood a divine egg.

Divinity flowed, divine light swirled, the resonance of the Dao rose, and a myriad colored rays danced like ribbons, painting the air in splendid hues.

Dragons and phoenixes circled, sacred birds soared.

Such wonders all pointed to the extraordinary nature of these divine eggs.

Such strangeness inevitably drew covetous eyes.

Around each divine egg, cultivators sat cross-legged, holding their breath, waiting for the right moment.

Their magical power already surged, like an arrow nocked but not yet released.

They maintained a silent accord, restraining themselves before the divine eggs descended into the world.

They inched ever closer, refining themselves by stealing the resonance of the Dao that radiated from the eggs.

Each of these people was either exceedingly powerful or possessed a deep background—for otherwise, at the same Five Luminaries realm, they could not have reached the five golden terraces so quickly.

“They are the Four Auspicious Divine Beasts!” Dun Xuanming, with his profound vision, saw their essence.

His eyes reflected the true nature of the divine eggs.

The five golden terraces stood at five points.

Corresponding to the Five Elements.

East, west, south, and north matched wood, metal, fire, and water, as well as the Four Auspicious Beasts.

The fifth terrace was coiled by a yellow dragon, occupying the center and commanding the four directions.

The circulation of the Five Elements formed the foundation of Tianyong.

The five terraces nurtured the vital forces of the Five Elements, which merged into the twelve jade towers.

The towers absorbed the quintessence of the elements, condensing it to maintain their form.

“When the five energies unite and hold to the one, this is the realm of Oneness.”

He studied the nearest jade tower among the twelve.

Looking past it, he gazed at the second.

“This is the mutual generation and overcoming of yin and yang—when yin reaches its extreme, yang is born; when yang reaches its extreme, yin is born. There is also the meaning of embracing yin with yang and yang with yin; this is the preservation of truth.”

He began to enumerate the towers, one by one, with scholarly precision.

The more he spoke, the more blood flowed from his eyes.

Yet none of this could conceal his fervent thirst for knowledge.

“When yin and yang harmonize, above they bear the celestial signs, below they connect to Fengdu, severing the will of heaven to nourish the heavenly soul, drawing upon the netherworld to nurture the earthly soul—thus the divine soul unites with heaven and earth; this is called riding the myriad things.”

Now it was not only his eyes bleeding—blood streamed from his ears, nose, and mouth as well, but Dun Xuan seemed oblivious, letting the blood flow freely.

He was utterly enraptured, and finding the distant view unsatisfying, he began to move closer.

“When the divine soul commands all things and communicates with heaven and earth, one can draw upon primordial energy…”

He had barely finished speaking when his body collapsed stiffly, twitching as he mumbled on in a voice too faint to be understood.

“The innate talent of the Hundred-Eyed Clan is truly extraordinary,” said the Black Mountain Demon, gazing with lively interest at Dun Xuan as he lay on the ground, blood frothing from his mouth.

“Are you considering digging out his eyes?” Xu Zhong asked, watching him.

“If he weren’t of the Hundred-Eyed Clan,” the Black Mountain Demon replied frankly, “I might have dug out his eyes. Unfortunately, he has an illustrious ancestor.”

For a fleeting moment, he had indeed wanted to take Dun Xuan’s eyes.

But the ancient forebear of the Hundred-Eyed Clan gave him pause.

He had only just become an innate deity, while the other was an old, established deity of unfathomable depth and power.

“It’s a pity those eyes are not yours,” the Black Mountain Demon said regretfully.

Xu Zhong’s heart skipped a beat.

Dun Xuan, Prince Zhu Zhen, and Lingguang—all were scions of powerful divine clans. Only Xu Zhong had no such background.

Sensing the uneasy atmosphere, Lingguang quickly spoke: “Do the other jade towers also represent stages of cultivation?”

Previously, Dun Xuan had counted three and a half towers, perhaps barely four.

The Black Mountain Demon pointed to the others and said, “That’s right; each jade tower points to a realm.”

Oneness, Preservation of Truth, Mastery of Things, Outer Vision, Harmony of Things, Inner Vision—together with the Five Luminaries and Seed of the Dao, these eight stages mark the path from mortal to immortal.

Yet there were only six corresponding jade towers.

“The seventh tower corresponds to Namelessness, the realm of innate divinity; the eighth to Namedness, the realm of creation, where falsehood turns to truth…” The Black Mountain Demon’s words trailed off.

“What about the last four?” Xu Zhong asked.

“I’ve told you, but you cannot hear. These are secrets; ordinary cultivators cannot listen or speak of them,” he said, pointing overhead. “Those four do not represent realms, but mysteries.”

“If you heard them, if you knew, you would have to be silenced.”

The Black Mountain Demon laughed heartily, then reached out and tapped each of them on the brow.

In an instant, an image of the Black Mountain Demon, eyes closed, appeared in their mind palaces.

“I have business in the last four towers and cannot take you with me,” the Black Mountain Demon explained kindly. “But I can’t rest easy leaving you behind—I fear you might reveal my origins or that I slew the Old Immortal of the Heavenly River.”

“So, I’ve placed my Dao seed upon your mind palaces.”

He made no attempt to hide it.

“If you speak of anything regarding me, you will die.”

This was no threat, but simple truth.

The Black Mountain Demon sent them down from the clouds.

They appeared on the western golden terrace.

The west corresponded to the celestial White Tiger and the metal of the Five Elements.

Within the divine egg, a White Tiger truly slumbered.

“Isn’t the White Tiger a viviparous divine beast?” Xu Zhong asked.

With his sword path, he split his perception in two; from above, all he could see was sword light filling the sky. He could only gaze forward, seeing all things on a level plane.

Prince Zhu Zhen and the others, however, were less affected.

Their heart demons were but a fraction of Xu Zhong’s, less than one percent.

Lingguang replied, “It seems you are not from a noble family, or you would know the intricacies here.”

“It’s true that the White Tiger is a viviparous beast, but precisely because it is so, as soon as it is born, its vitality is sealed, it is isolated from the world, and steeped in countless rare treasures to become a peerless elixir.”

“Soaking the beast in such a potion, washed day and night, its body grows ever stronger, its talents ever more remarkable.”

“Often, as soon as it is born, its constitution is already close to the Dao, and cultivation proceeds by leaps and bounds.”

Xu Zhong was stunned—this was simply a matter of differing backgrounds.

“In such matters, the human race has surpassed even the divine beasts,” Lingguang continued. “Many noble families seal their descendants for millennia or more; once awakened, such a person can reach Inner Vision within a century, or even become an innate deity directly.”

“You didn’t know this, so your origins are not so grand.”

Xu Zhong was a latecomer to cultivation; in experience, he far outstripped his peers, but in common knowledge, he had only scraps and fragments.

“Still, the fact that you, from humble origins, have cultivated a sword intent spanning three hundred miles is proof enough of your greatness. Your humble background is not a shame, but a mark of distinction.”

Xu Zhong did not agree with Lingguang’s words, but could not find grounds to refute them.

For the scions of noble houses, accomplishment seemed only natural, while for those of low birth, fame became a thing to be lauded and sung.

This stemmed from their innate pride.

Yet family and heritage are not the measure of a man’s worth—ability itself is the only measure.

Xu Zhong said nothing.

“My sister is rather outspoken,” Prince Zhu Zhen interjected to smooth things over. “The essence of metal here is not so rich. Since we are all at the Five Luminaries stage, let us sit and cultivate together.”

“Just what I hoped for,” Xu Zhong replied with a laugh.

The three of them sat cross-legged around the still-unconscious Dun Xuan.

Xu Zhong closed his eyes and began circulating the Celestial Star Method.

Within his golden repository, the domain of metal and thunder seemed to awaken.

Golden thunder leaped, refining his spiritual energy.

“Having absorbed the seeds of the Five Elemental Divine Thunders, my Celestial Star Method seems to have changed fundamentally,” Xu Zhong mused. He had long felt something amiss within himself.

The cultivation method of the Celestial Star was to treat the myriad acupoints as stars, nourishing and strengthening the qi through them—a method led by the acupoints.

But now, his practice was guided by the divine force of the Five Elemental Thunder.

“Perhaps I should change my cultivation method,” Xu Zhong thought silently.

“Why change at all? Why not simply adapt the method to suit myself?”

The Dao is shaped by the practitioner; each person’s understanding determines the speed of their progress.

Wisdom can compensate for lack of talent.

Xu Zhong calmed his mind.

Before his eyes, the thirty-three layers of thunderclouds appeared once more.

The first five layers of divine thunder were exceptionally clear.

With each breath, the five thunderclouds surged, resonating with his own spiritual energy.

At once, faint arcs of thunder rippled out from Xu Zhong, spreading in all directions.

Dun Xuan jolted awake, instinctively cowering with his hands over his head.

But seeing no thunderclouds overhead, he relaxed and searched for the source of the thunder.

Lingguang and Prince Zhu Zhen were also quickly roused by the noise.

They all turned to Xu Zhong.

At that moment, Xu Zhong was wreathed in lightning, arcs of electricity leaping from his acupoints, crackling through the air—a fearsome sight.

“What cultivation method is this? I’ve never seen it before,” Dun Xuan wondered.

“His celestial acupoints move like the constellations; it’s the Celestial Star Method, the human Stellar Dao’s signature art,” Prince Zhu Zhen said, stroking his chin. “But it doesn’t quite resemble the standard Celestial Star Method.”

“I think he’s practicing the Divine Firmament’s Thunder Fate Scripture—refining the five viscera into five thunders, forging the Five Luminaries…” Lingguang offered a different opinion.

“Perhaps it’s a fusion of both,” Lingguang and Prince Zhu Zhen exchanged a glance, while Dun Xuan voiced what they all suspected.

At that moment, a faint thunder resounded from Xu Zhong’s golden repository.

“Why does it sound like a tiger’s roar?” Dun Xuan wondered in surprise.

Just then, the divine egg trembled slightly.

The crowd was startled, thinking it might be about to hatch.

In Xu Zhong’s ear, a tiger’s roar sounded, and then he saw a White Tiger leap from the divine egg—its gaze fixed solely on him.