Martial Peak

Chapter 5588: Junior Brother, My Life is Quite Miserable

When they arrived at the library, Fang Tian Ci immediately understood why Liu Jing Shan said it was a good place.

There were a massive amount of books containing Secret Arts and Secret Techniques in this library. The best things of all the Sects in the Void World were stored here. There were also things that didn’t seem to belong in this World.

Certainly, these things were no longer useful to Fang Tian Ci; after all, he was an Emperor Realm Master already. As such, there wasn’t a need for him to study any Secret Arts or Secret Techniques. The most pressing issue for him was to quickly increase his strength so that he could ascend to the Third-Order Emperor Realm and condense his Dao Seal sooner.

Fortunately, there was also a massive section of jade slips, scrolls, and books containing precious insights on cultivation in the Emperor Realm in the library. These insights had been written by the disciples of the Dao Temple over the past several tens of thousands of years.

Throughout Fang Tian Ci’s cultivation journey, he had basically explored everything on his own; after all, he didn’t have any Elders to rely on, nor was there a teacher who could give him guidance.

While travelling around the world, he discussed the Martial Dao with the disciples of various Sects and reflected on what he had learned, but that was the only sort of external help he had.

It was fine when he was still a weak cultivator, but now that he was an Emperor Realm Master, Fang Tian Ci was at a loss as to how he should move forward in his Martial Dao.

These insights in the library were what he needed most at this moment.

Fang Tian Ci went on to spend 30 years in the library reading all the insights left behind by the various Seniors. His determination and ability to endure loneliness quickly earned the respect of the other disciples in the Dao Temple.

Everyone knew there were many good things in the library, but few had the level of patience necessary to go through and absorb them despite being in the Emperor Realm as well.

After spending 30 years in the library, Fang Tian Ci finally left. At this point, he had a plan in mind when it came to how to advance his cultivation.

He found an empty courtyard and started cultivating.

As usual, his cultivation speed was quite slow, but he wasn’t in a hurry. He had spent the past 1,000-plus years cultivating slowly to reach his current height, so he was already used to it.

Nevertheless, he didn’t just cultivate in seclusion all the time. When he was free, he would go out and talk to the Seniors of the Dao Temple.

This was his way of doing things and had been throughout his entire cultivation journey.

All the disciples in the Dao Temple were the brightest geniuses who became strong early on in life; as such, everyone in the Void Dao Temple was young, good-looking, and energetic.

On the other hand, Fang Tian Ci, the newcomer, appeared more mature. He was already old and frail when he left the Fang Family Village back then, and although years seemed to have lifted off his face as his cultivation improved, his mentality didn’t really become younger, only his looks did.

Now, he had the appearance of a late thirties or early forties mortal. Based on his looks alone, he indeed seemed older than the Seniors in the Dao Temple. As such, many of them called him Old Fang.

As time passed, Fang Tian Ci’s cultivation became increasingly ample. More and more disciples had been invited to the Dao Temple, but there were still not a lot of them. Someone had estimated that only about 10 people would be led to the Dao Temple every 100 years on average.

There were times when only four to five people were inducted over 100 years.

The Void World was expansive, and countless cultivators were living in it. Despite that, only a small number of people had the right to enter the Dao Temple.

It was said that only those who had the potential to directly ascend to the Fifth Order would be invited to the Dao Temple. That was because if a cultivator was too weak, they wouldn’t be of any help to the Humans in the outside world after leaving this place.

Before Fang Tian Ci’s arrival, the Dao Temple had never invited any Emperor Realm Master who was as old as he was. Regardless, his mere presence meant that he had the potential to directly ascend to the Fifth Order or above.

Fang Tian Ci had a feeling that he wouldn’t only end up becoming a Fifth-Order Master. Although he hadn’t condensed his Dao Seal yet, he had the confidence to reach higher than that.

500 years passed since Fang Tian Ci arrived at the Dao Temple, and he finally made it to the peak of the Emperor Realm. There was no denying his pace was slow.

One had to know that the cultivation environment in the Void World was wonderful to begin with, and the Void Dao Temple was the centre of the world’s essence. Any newly promoted Emperor Realm Master who arrived at the Dao Temple would only take 100 to 200 years to make it to the peak of the Realm. Even for the slower ones, 300 years was generally the limit.

As such, it was unusually slow that it took Fang Tian Ci 500 years to achieve the same.

Another 100 years later, he finally condensed his Dao Seal and started refining the Yin, Yang, and Five Elements Powers.

Just like the other fellow disciples, Fang Tian Ci decided to start with his Wood Element. There was another common route where the disciples would choose to refine their Water Element first, but it was still less popular.

Among the Five Elements, the Metal Element was sharp, the Earth Element was heavy, and the Fire Element was destructive. Only the Water Element and Wood Element were gentle. As such, they were the safest for the disciples to start with.

The kinds of resources these disciples refined would determine their future success. The Order of the materials they initially chose was directly related to how far they could rise in the Open Heaven Realm; however, those who ignored their own limits and took huge risks wouldn’t be able to make it to the Open Heaven Realm as their Dao Seals would simply shatter under the impact.

Therefore, every disciple in the Dao Temple would tread carefully at this point.

With that said, when they refined materials for the first time, they would always aim as high as possible. Most of them would choose Wood Element or Water Element resources in the Sixth-Order or even Seventh-Order.

It wasn’t that they would certainly make it to the Sixth Order or Seventh Order, it was just that Water Element and Wood Element materials were much gentler. As long as one’s Dao Seal was firm enough, it could usually endure the impact of such resources. It was a chance for them to test the limits of their Dao Seals when refining resources for the first time. When they select their second resource, they will know the right path for their future.

Fang Tian Ci had compared his Dao Seal with those of the other disciples, and he felt that it was quite firm and sturdy. He reckoned that it could endure the impact of Seventh-Order materials. As such, he chose a Seventh-Order Wood Element resource first.

Liu Jing Shan took the initiative to ask him about this matter, and when he learned about his plan, he nodded gently, “Junior Brother Fang, even though your cultivation speed is slow, it is for this reason that your foundation is so solid; hence, I think it will be alright for you to refine a Seventh-Order Wood Element resource. Fire is born of Wood though, so you’ll have to be careful when selecting a Fire Element material next time.”

Fang Tian Ci nodded in agreement.

It wouldn’t take one a long time to refine a single resource; however, every time these future Open Heaven Realm Masters did so, they had to rest for many years in between. First of all, they had to get used to their powers. Secondly, their Dao Seals were unable to bear another impact in such short order. If they were hasty, all their effort would go to waste.

In just half a month, Fang Tian Ci easily refined the Seventh-Order Wood Element material, and he didn’t feel any discomfort at all. He had a feeling that he could refine a Seventh-Order Fire Element resource next, a realisation that made him feel elated.

As he recalled all the experiences in his life, everything felt somewhat strange.

He had a terrible aptitude, and it wasn’t until he was 150 years old that he left the Fang Family Village to wander the world. His plan was only to travel around a bit before his death, so it never crossed his mind that he would achieve great things one day.

Unlike the other disciples in the Dao Temple, Fang Tian Ci didn’t come from a wealthy background, nor did he have a powerful Master who had guided him when he was young. Also, he never had ample resources and his cultivation speed was incredibly slow. Therefore, it surprised him that with such a method and speed that were unbearable for most people, he was now one step ahead of almost all other disciples.

Only a small number of people in the Void Dao Temple could refine Seventh-Order resources, only 1 in 10 at most.

Liu Jing Shan, who was on good terms with Fang Tian Ci, chose a Seventh-Order Wood Element resource for his first refinement; however, he decided to refine a Sixth-Order Fire Element resource after that because he felt that his Dao Seal wasn’t able to bear the impact of the power of a Seventh-Order Fire Element material. As such, he didn’t dare to push his luck.

It was said that the process of ascending to the Open Heaven Realm was like crafting a barrel. How much water a barrel could hold depended on the shortest stave. Similarly, the Order in the Open Heaven Realm one would achieve hinged on the lowest Order resource that one refined.

There were seven Powers in total, which were Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements. Even if one had refined six types of Seventh-Order materials, they would only make it to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm if they decided to refine a single Fifth-Order resource.

The Open Heaven Realm was divided into nine Orders, and every Order was vastly different from the previous one. The difference of one Order might take a lifetime for a person to make up.

Therefore, the disciples in the Dao Temple did their best to refine resources of the highest order possible. At the same time, they would ensure that they wouldn’t exceed their limits.

Fang Tian Ci had a feeling that the ample heritage he possessed now had something to do with his insistence on building a solid foundation. He always stayed in the same Realm for a much longer time than most people did, and as he had sufficient time to consolidate his strength, he ensured that he made everything perfect in every Realm.

Now, he was able to refine Seventh-Order resources because of his perseverance and hard work over the years.

A few dozen or so years after he refined the Wood Element material, he decided to move on to the Fire Element one.

As expected, Fang Tian Ci successfully refined the resource. Then, it was followed by Earth Element, Metal Element, and Water Element materials. After fully refining the Five Elements, he moved on to the Yin and Yang Element resources.

When he was done refining all the powers of Yin-Yang and Five Elements, 500 years had passed since he refined the Wood Element resource for the first time. In other words, it had been 1,000 years since he arrived at the Dao Temple.

Supposedly, when one was done refining the powers of Yin-Yang and Five Elements, they could split Heaven and Earth apart in their body and form their own Small Universe; however, the Void Continent was only the Dao Lord’s Small Universe. Before leaving this place, none could make it to the Open Heaven Realm.

Over the past 1,000 years, about 100 Juniors had arrived at the Dao Temple. Perhaps it was because Fang Tian Ci appeared to be more mature and reliable, these Juniors would often go to him whenever they had any questions regarding cultivation. As such, he had many followers now.

“How many years have you been in the Dao Temple, Senior Brother?”

Under the moonlight at night, Fang Tian Ci and Liu Jing Shan were seated across from each other as they sipped some wine.

Now that Fang Tian Ci was at the peak of the Emperor Realm, his cultivation wouldn’t improve further regardless of how hard he cultivated; therefore, he had some free time. Liu Jing Shan, who was in a similar situation, would frequently visit him with jars and bottles of wine.

Hearing his question, Liu Jing Shan replied with a smile, “I’ve been here for almost 3,000 years.”

“That’s a really long time,” Fang Tian Ci nodded gently. As he made some calculations, he realised that it had been 2,000 years since he started cultivating. On the other hand, Liu Jing Shan had been staying in this place for some 3,000 years. In other words, Liu Jing Shan had already arrived at the Dao Temple before Fang Tian Ci was even born!

A dejected Liu Jing Shan lamented, “Junior Brother, did you know that I’m one of the oldest disciples in the Dao Temple?”

“Senior Brother, you mean…” Fang Tian Ci formed a speculation.

Suddenly, Liu Jing Shan cried, “Junior Brother, my life is quite miserable!”

Following that, he wrapped his arms around a big wine bobble and started bawling.

Fang Tian Ci was startled as he had no idea why his Senior Brother felt downcast all of a sudden. Liu Jing Shan was a future Open Heaven Realm Master who had already refined the powers of Yin-Yang and Five Elements, and he had gone through the vicissitudes of life. Fang Tian Ci wondered why the other man was so sorrowful now.