Chapter 4: Transmission of Power and Teaching of Secrets

  In a strange space, Lu Yun's body floated gently in mid-air. The countless star clouds around him shimmered with colorful lights, extremely beautiful and mysterious. It gave people a feeling of entering an illusion, the feeling was so unreal, so hard to believe.

  Lu Yun quietly waited for his ancestors to make up for the deficiency of his innate soul and body. His heart was empty and clear, without any thoughts. At this moment, if he opened his eyes, he would find that the surrounding star clouds were changing. Countless colorful star clouds suddenly began to rotate rapidly around him, forming a seven-colored cloud beside him, slowly transforming into fine true energy and flowing into his body. Not far away, two glowing strange star clouds were emitting extremely beautiful light, slowly approaching Lu Yun.

  Upon closer inspection, the two strange star clusters turned out to be a cluster of seven-colored light and a cluster of dark, glossy star clouds, each changing into different shapes. As the star clouds around Lu Yun rapidly entered his body, the black star cloud suddenly emitted an extremely dark, flashing black light pillar that instantly enveloped Lu Yun. In an instant, a three-inch-long ancient small knife appeared in mid-air. The small knife was three inches long, with a rounded handle and blade that seemed to be made of some unknown material. The knife had countless incantations etched onto it, emitting strange black glows. As time passed, the countless incantations on the small knife slowly appeared in mid-air, forming countless peculiar symbols, each one being imprinted onto Lu Yun's body before being slowly absorbed into his body.

  The surrounding nebulae grew denser, and the infinite space was filled with an endless supply of heavenly energy. This energy was rapidly pouring into Lu Yun's body. Lu Yun relaxed his entire body, making it like a large container that continuously received the energy, crazily transforming it into his own power. At this moment, the ancient small knife in mid-air suddenly emitted a dazzling light, tightly enveloping Lu Yun's body. The dense nebulae around him instantly thinned out, clearly having been absorbed into his body in an instant. The small knife suddenly appeared above Lu Yun's head, emitting an extremely dazzling light that slowly approached the Baihui acupoint on his head, seemingly wanting to enter his body from there.

  The small knife suddenly dropped, instantly inserting into Lu Yun's headtop. At this moment, the surrounding star clouds instantly accelerated tenfold in speed, frantically surging into Lu Yun's body. But just for an instant, that small knife rose again by an inch, leaving Lu Yun's headtop, and instantly the surrounding star clouds condensed once more. As time slowly passed, earth-shaking changes were happening on Lu Yun's body, with that small knife inserting into Lu Yun's headtop seven times in a row. Each time it inserted into his headtop Baihui acupoint, Lu Yun's absorption speed of the surrounding spiritual energy would explosively increase, instantly multiplying by tenfold, causing the spiritual energy inside him to become more and more abundant.

  It wasn't until the seventh time that the small knife slowly disappeared into Lu Yun's head, being absorbed into his body. From then on, Lu Yun's speed of absorbing spiritual energy greatly increased, instantly absorbing countless amounts of spiritual energy into his body and quickly converting it into his own power, enhancing his cultivation. After Lu Yun absorbed the small knife, another cluster of seven-colored star clouds immediately approached him, instantly emitting a beam of seven-colored light that enveloped Lu Yun's body. Countless seven-colored incantations transformed into various shapes and symbols, rapidly being absorbed by Lu Yun and converted into his true energy.

  In mid-air, a three-inch small sword radiating seven-colored light was spinning non-stop. The surrounding seven-colored star clouds formed a beam of light that was quickly absorbed into Lu Yun's body. As he absorbed more and more spiritual energy, the seven-colored light of the small sword grew weaker and weaker, until it slowly transformed into a seven-colored halo that entered his body through the Baihui acupoint on top of his head. Instantly, Lu Yun's entire body burst forth with a dazzling seven-colored radiance, illuminating the entire space in an instant. The light was so intense that it seemed like a shining star within this space, enveloping Lu Yun tightly inside until it suddenly disappeared after a while. By then, the surrounding star clouds had thinned out, and more than half of the star clouds around Lu Yun had been absorbed by him. Nearly half of the spiritual energy in the space had been taken in by him, which was truly astonishing.

  Lu Yun's mind was clear of distractions, standing quietly in mid-air, his body slowly began to exhibit unusual signs. Only then did a five-colored glow gradually appear around him, its intensity at least several times stronger than before. The five-colored light revolved unceasingly, alternating in appearance, precisely the five superior techniques he had learned. As the five-colored light appeared, immediately afterwards, countless incantations flashed on Lu Yun's body, countless black mysterious patterns emerged, arrayed around him, firmly protecting his body. Time slowly passed, finally, another dazzling seven-colored glow burst forth from Lu Yun's body, instantly illuminating the entire space, its aura extremely powerful, as if reigning supreme over heaven and earth.

  After the seven-colored light, Lu Yun's body suddenly split into three, and then split into seven. Countless human silhouettes intersected and overlapped in mid-air, as if souls were escaping, instantly appearing countless identical Lu Yuns. The countless human silhouettes in mid-air crisscrossed, each silhouette flashing with different light, representing different properties. Among the ten silhouettes, the most dazzling ones were a seven-colored silhouette and a black shiny silhouette. That was the soul transformed from the Extinction Sword and the ghost transformed from the Extinction Knife, both carrying obvious colors, different from the other silhouettes. Around each silhouette, star clouds of different colors gathered, being rapidly absorbed by Lu Yun's body.

  The figure transformed, and in an instant, the ten figures merged into one. Slowly, Lu Yun's true form appeared. At this time, Lu Yun's body was no longer absorbing the spiritual energy around him, and he slowly opened his eyes. Lu Yun carefully examined his physical condition, and suddenly, he was shocked to discover that his cultivation had increased by seven times its original strength. It was truly unbelievable, too magical.

  In Lu Yun's mind, he was still in shock when the voice sounded again: "Finally, it's all done, everything went smoothly. You now, because of the Soul Extinction Knife and the Soul Extinction Sword, instantly absorbed half of the spiritual energy in the entire space, causing your cultivation to make great progress, crossing two realms at once. This is a one-in-a-thousand-year event. The path of cultivating truth is divided into ten levels: foundation building, symbol sacrifice, object control, artifact refinement, primordial transformation, spirit gathering, primordial infant, void, non-destruction, and ascension to immortality. Generally, it takes five years for ordinary people to go from foundation building to symbol sacrifice, and ten years from symbol sacrifice to object control. To reach the level of artifact refinement, generally, without twenty or thirty years, there is no hope, unless one is a genius."

  You have now reached the realm of gathering spirits, which is extremely rare. Continue to work hard and there will be a day when you achieve great success. The methods for cultivating the Soul-destroying Knife and the God-destroying Sword are already imprinted in your mind. In the future, cultivate them well and you will naturally master their uses.

  Now I will pass on to you 'Heaven and Earth Without Bounds'. Then you can stay here alone and slowly cultivate it. 'Heaven and Earth Without Bounds' is divided into nine layers. From the fifth layer 'Myriad Returns to One', the sixth layer 'Infinite Extension', the seventh layer 'Heaven and Earth Share Spring', the eighth layer 'Unmatched in All Directions', to the ninth layer 'As You Wish', each layer is more difficult to cultivate than the last. You need to have strong willpower to have a chance at achieving great success.

  When you reach the sixth layer 'Infinite Extension' of 'Heaven and Earth Without Bounds', you can leave. Given your current situation, it's already the best outcome if you can cultivate up to that stage.

  "In this world, everything is about cause and effect. Between us, there's only this one chance encounter, so I hope you cherish it well. From now on, it's up to you to decide what happens next. As a descendant of the Lu family, you must bravely face everything and fight against heaven itself - don't give up easily. Now calm your mind and listen carefully, as I pass on to you the 'Tian Di Wu Ji' technique. This set of techniques is the ultimate way of the strong, and in the future, you will understand its significance. Remember it well." As soon as he finished speaking, countless techniques flashed into Lu Yun's mind, deeply imprinting themselves on his brain. Before long, Lu Yun had already committed them all to memory, never to be forgotten again.

  The voice said: "Vast and boundless, the universe has no limits. The day of success will come when you can do as you wish. Fate, destiny, everything is an illusion, all predetermined. Work hard, the most legendary descendant of the Lu family. From now on, everything depends on yourself, I've done all I can for you. When you leave here, the stone coffin outside will be destroyed, all the arrays will collapse, and the Tianlong spiritual vein will slowly disappear soon after. Everything is destined, don't worry about it. Be careful of the three-headed spirit snake outside the cave, this creature is extremely unusual, its lifespan has not yet ended, you are not suitable to kill it now, there will be a conclusion later. Cherish every moment here and seize the opportunity well, farewell." After finishing speaking, the voice slowly disappeared.

  Lu Yun looked around for a while, then shouted loudly: "Ancestor, are you still there? Answer me, are you there?" His voice sounded very empty, but unfortunately, there was no echo. It seemed that the ancestor's consciousness had already left. Lu Yun let out a soft sigh, he still had many things he didn't understand and hadn't had time to ask, unfortunately, he had already left. After glancing around, Lu Yun slowly calmed down, he should focus on his cultivation, this place was where the spiritual energy of heaven and earth gathered, he must seize the opportunity to quickly improve his cultivation, only then would he not disappoint his ancestor's expectations, and have the ability to contend with the heavens.

  Time passed in silence, and Lu Yun was alone in this special space, diligently cultivating his "Tian Di Wu Ji". Without any time constraints, he practiced day and night without distinction. As time flowed by, his cultivation improved, and his fate also changed. Not only did it change him, but also many others at the same time. It's just that at this moment, he didn't understand.

  One day in the mountains is one year in the world. Lu Yun continued to cultivate in that spiritual space until his "Tian Di Wu Ji" reached the sixth level, "Infinite Extension". He stopped then. Lu Yun tried a few more times, but unfortunately, just as his ancestors said, he really couldn't progress beyond the sixth level. Lu Yun knew it was time to leave, and he didn't know how long he had been here. Apart from the "Tian Di Wu Ji" passed down by his ancestors, he had made great progress in the five techniques passed down by his master, and also gained a lot of understanding about the Exterminating Soul Knife and Exterminating God Sword within his body. It was time to leave, wasn't it?

  He glanced around at the increasingly scarce spiritual energy, and Lu Yun smiled calmly. His cultivation had already broken through the Yuan Ying realm and entered the Yu Xuan realm, which was extremely astonishing. With Lu Yun's current cultivation, even in the world of Tianxia, it was quite rare. He slightly raised his head, looking up, and a seven-colored light burst forth from the top of his head, instantly piercing the sky and shattering the spatial door created by his ancestors - that stone coffin lid. Lu Yun's body suddenly rose, and he appeared in the large hole in an instant. Glancing at the stone coffin lid on the ground, although Lu Yun understood that this space was about to be destroyed, he still couldn't help but use force to close it, then looked around before his body transformed into a green light, instantly disappearing from sight.

  Just after Lu Yun left, the stone coffin suddenly made a loud noise and exploded. A powerful spiritual energy burst out like a flood, instantly shooting out from there and slowly disappearing into the sky. The dragon's aura has been exhausted, the spiritual pulse is about to be exhausted, the magic gate is opened, and the great calamity has arrived!

  In the west of Shu, in Qin River, under the Cang Wind Ridge, a pale blue figure appeared at the entrance of a small mountain village. The person was twenty-one or two years old, exceptionally handsome, with three points of smile on his face, making him look especially kind and familiar. His eyes were clear as water, like a transparent pearl that pierced through one's heart, unusually attractive. Lu Yun slowly walked towards the entrance of his home, this time he came back specifically to visit his parents and tell them that he had retrieved the treasure left by his ancestors and cured his illness, so that his parents could rest assured. After seeing his parents, Lu Yun planned to go visit his master again, then go to Yi Garden to take a look, if there was an opportunity, he would cultivate himself there and find a good backer for himself.

  As she approached the door, Lu Yun saw her mother standing at the door looking at her, with loving eyes full of affection. Lu Yun said: "Mother, Cloud has returned. Is Father here?"

  Zhang Hua Feng looked at her son, her eyes filled with surprise and delight. She said softly, "Your father is inside the house, come in quickly, mother wants to take a good look at you. You've been gone for half a year, I don't know if you're doing well or not, mother was really worried."

  Lu Yun gently supported her mother's hand and slowly walked into the house. At this time, Father had already come out after hearing the sound, and seeing Lu Yun was also extremely happy. After the three sat down, Father asked: "Yun'er, have you found the place where our ancestors left behind the treasure this time? Is there any harvest, tell us quickly." Father seemed very eager, with a very concerned expression.

  "Father and mother, rest assured, I have found the treasure left by our ancestors, and my illness has also been cured. This time back, I want to see you, and after visiting Master, I decided to go to Yi Garden to learn more things. Father and mother, take good care of your body here, don't worry about me. Now that I have mastered the ultimate skills, nothing can harm me, so please be at ease."

  Father Lu Wenyu and Mother Zhang Huafeng were overjoyed upon hearing the news, beaming with happiness. Father said: "Now that you're cured, it's truly wonderful! It's as if heaven is blessing us, my son has finally escaped the clutches of illness, thank heavens!"

  Zhang Hua Feng was overjoyed, her eyes brimming with tears, her expression extremely agitated, and her voice somewhat disjointed as she said: "It's great, my son's illness is cured, it's really too wonderful! So many years have passed, for the sake of her son's illness, this mother has paid out so much bitterness and tears. Today, her son is cured, how happy she is, with tears streaming down like rain!"

  Lu Yun looked at her parents, her eyes filled with reluctance, and couldn't help but softly comfort them: "Today is a happy day, we should celebrate, have a good family reunion dinner together, to celebrate this matter, to be happy about this matter."

  Lu Wenyu heard this and hastily agreed, "Right, right, don't cry anymore, we should be happy instead. Let's go prepare now." After finishing speaking, he stood up and hurriedly pulled his wife to go prepare.

  A reunion dinner, eaten slowly, all three with smiles on their faces, looking very happy. As for Lu Yun's departure to cultivate outside, neither Lu Wenyu nor his wife Zhang Huafeng stopped him. They both understood that their son was destined not to live an ordinary life, so apart from some reluctance, there was no excessive obstruction.

  Lu Wenyu looked at his tall and handsome son, with a hint of paternal love and reluctance in his eyes, and said softly: "Yun'er, your life is destined to be extraordinary, your mother and I both understand, so we won't stop your decision. Just be careful on this journey, although you have great abilities, the world is vast and full of wonders, there are people beyond people, and heavens beyond heaven, you must remember to be cautious and not be too arrogant. As long as you live a safe life, your mother and I will be happy, do you understand?"

  Lu Yun said in a low voice: "Dad, I understand, don't worry. I will take good care of myself and won't take unnecessary risks."

  "Yuner, you're not young anymore. In the future, if you see a girl you like, remember to cherish her well. Your mother doesn't have much hope left, just hoping you'll get married soon and leave behind an heir for our Lu family. I hope you can find a girl you like, and if you do, don't forget to bring her back home so your mother can be happy too."

  Lu Yun was taken aback by her words, but quickly regained his composure and smiled: "Mother, don't worry, look at me, do I look like someone who can't find a wife? In the future, when I find the girl I love, I will bring her back to meet you, so please don't worry."

  After dinner, Lu Yun laid out a strange array around the house to prevent evil spirits from approaching. He set up six stone pillars of several feet in height around the perimeter, each one arranged according to a specific orientation. Lu Yun infused each pillar with a thread of spiritual energy that could be sustained indefinitely, making it impossible for ordinary evil spirits to approach. Even cultivators would be blocked by this array if they harbored malicious intentions and tried to get close.

  After Lu Yun had settled everything at home, he left the house and went to visit his master. When he arrived at the mountain cave where his master lived, he saw his master standing there from a distance, as if he had expected him to come today.

  The strange man looked at Lu Yun, a hint of surprise in his eyes, and said: "I didn't expect that after not seeing you for several months, you would actually cross three realms in a row and reach the initial stage of Still Void. This is truly unbelievable, I'm afraid there won't be a second person like you in the world. For ordinary cultivators, it's impossible to advance from the Refining Equipment stage to the Still Void stage without two or three hundred years of time. Even if one has exceptional talent, it would take at least thirty years. You are truly astonishing."

  Lü Yun smiled and said, "This little skill of mine was taught by Master. As the saying goes, 'a good master produces excellent disciples', so all the credit should go to you, Master. I don't know what stage your cultivation has reached now, but you were able to see through my cultivation with just one glance, which really surprised me! Can you tell me? Originally, I thought that going to Yi Garden would allow me to hide my identity, but it seems that Master saw right through me in an instant. It looks like even if I go to Yi Garden, I won't be able to escape other people's eyes either."

  The strange man stared at him and said, "Don't be dissatisfied. In fact, with your current cultivation level, there aren't many people in the world who can see through you. I can tell because I'm your master, others might not find it easy to see through you. Also, when you're in front of me, you haven't intentionally hidden yourself, so I can see through your cultivation. If you were in front of others and just paid attention to hiding your aura, then there would be very few people who could see through your cultivation. As for what level my master has cultivated to now, it doesn't matter if I tell you. Your master had already cultivated to the Return to Immortal Realm two hundred years ago. Now, think about it yourself."

  Lu Yun's face changed greatly, and he exclaimed in surprise: "So, Master has already become a divine being, why is he still staying in this mortal world?" Lu Yun couldn't understand this point. Ordinary people cultivate to become immortals, and once they reach the realm of Returning to the Void, they can attain enlightenment and ascend to heaven. But why did Master cultivate to that realm yet still remain in this mundane world? It's strange.

  The strange man glanced at him and said faintly, "You will naturally understand this point in the future. Don't ask too much now. This time you came back, was it specifically to see me?"

  Lu Yun smiled and said, "I'm here to visit you, Master. I've decided to go to Yi Garden to learn some of their skills and find a good backer to continue my cultivation. This time, I also wanted to ask if there's any extraordinary skill that you haven't taught me yet, but can now." He smiled again, with an air of slyness about him.

  "You've learned all my skills, now focus on practicing diligently. Others cultivate the truth by learning only one skill, in order to excel and not be broad, which can speed up their progress. But you've learned all of my abilities, and still aren't satisfied, this is truly a taboo for cultivators of the truth. Cultivators must remember not to have greedy thoughts, otherwise during cultivation, eight or nine out of ten will go astray and end in disaster. What you need to cultivate now is how to hide your aura, so others can't see through you, that's the key. As for this, I can give you some guidance, if you have time, stay for three days, and after three days leave, I guarantee you'll gain a lot."

  Ni Yu smiled and said, "Then I'll thank you first, Master. I'll follow you for a few more days to learn some skills, so as not to embarrass you in the future." After finishing speaking, his handsome face showed a faint, alluring smile.

  Then, Lu Yun stayed here for three more days. In the three days, the strange man taught him many clever tricks, which made his cultivation progress significantly, and on the surface, it was even harder to detect. The results of the three days were very obvious.

  The three days passed quickly, and the strange man looked at Lu Yun with a hint of satisfaction in his eyes, smiling lightly: "Not bad, your progress is truly astonishing. Now you can be let out to make your way in the world with peace of mind. With your current cultivation, you're probably considered a top expert even in the Cultivation Realm. From now on, remember to keep a low profile and hide your true strength - that's something very difficult to achieve in the Cultivation Realm. People there also love fame and fortune, and they like to show off their abilities. Those who do so are often seen through by others at a glance, and can't pose even the slightest threat to them. They're just foolish characters, and people like Fan Fan are the most common, especially among young people. That's a major taboo - you must remember it. Do you plan on leaving now or tomorrow?"

  Lu Yun smiled and said, "I plan to go home and stay overnight, set off tomorrow, head to Yi Garden, and start a new life." After finishing, he looked up at the sky, as if telling the heavens about his decision.

  Lu Yun, a young man born with one soul and one spirit missing, had two strange encounters in his life that changed his fate. This young man who was punished by heaven, will his future path be smooth or full of obstacles? Perhaps it depends on whether heaven continues to punish him.