Chapter 71: Involution in the End of Dharma Era

Chapter 71: Chapter 71: Involution in the End of Dharma Era

Zhang Daoxuan sat cross-legged on the stone platform. With his wide robes and long sleeves, he had the air of a sagely immortal. He watched the young Daoist below, asking with some surprise:

"When my good friend passed the *Great Yellow Court* on to you, did he not tell you about his relationship with me?"

Before Chen Sha could ask another question,

Elder Zhang began to mutter to himself:

"Then again, when we were creating our techniques, we started on the same path but later diverged. Resentment grew, and our relationship soured. It’s only natural he wouldn’t speak of me to you."

On Qilin Cliff, the many Martial Artists listened to Master Zhang’s monologue, confused.

Chen Sha pondered for a moment before asking, "This friend you speak of, Senior...?"

Zhang Daoxuan chuckled and asked in return:

"Surely Chen Fuyao didn’t fail to tell his own successor his name, did he?"

Chen Fuyao...

Chen Sha immediately racked his brain, searching his memory for any past Sect Leader or Ancestral Master of Dao Yi Mountain with that name.

’His surname is Chen, and he’s connected to the *Great Yellow Court*. Could he be one of my ancestors?’

But no matter how hard Chen Sha thought, he couldn’t find any Ancestral Master from Dao Yi Mountain with that name in his memory.

As Chen Sha was lost in thought,

The man from the Confucian Sect, Gu Changming, exclaimed in surprise, "Master Zhang, are you talking about the other Great Master of the Daoist Sect from the Hidden Dao Lineage, the one known alongside you as ’Fuyao Master’? You two once forged a new path together?"

Chen Sha couldn’t help but look over, choosing to stay silent and wait for them to reveal more information.

Zhang Daoxuan sighed, looking up at the sky.

"It was him. For the past hundred years, the world’s Practitioners have been trapped in a predicament. The geniuses of every sect and school have been trying to find a new path in cultivation. The Daoist, Buddhist, Confucian, and Demon sects—each had people working on this. In our Hidden Dao Lineage, my good friend and I worked together to deduce the path forward."

With that, he looked at Chen Sha and said,

"Back then, your master and I both understood the fundamental reason for the change in the world’s cultivation environment: the Qi of cultivation was becoming increasingly scarce. The Qi that Practitioners could once draw in with one part effort now requires ten, even a hundred times the work."

The crowd below fell silent.

Even Chen Sha listened quietly, sensing these secrets of heaven and earth were somehow intricately connected to the Divine Land World.

Zhang Daoxuan began his story from the beginning:

"For Cultivators like us, cultivation begins with Qi Cultivation, with understanding the heavens and earth. The breath we first draw into our bodies is ’Acquired Qi.’ As our Realm of Heavenly Understanding deepens, we can gradually reverse the Acquired into the Innate. This gives rise to the distinction between the Acquired Ninth Layer and the Lower, Middle, and Upper Three Layers of the Innate Realm."

"Now, with the Qi of the world growing scarce, Cultivators can’t even condense Acquired Qi within their bodies. How, then, can they reach a higher Innate Level, let alone achieve Broken Ascension as a Vajra and leave this world... SIGH..."

Zhang Daoxuan continued, "My friend and I thought long and hard. We both felt there was only one way to change this predicament and prevent the path of all Cultivators from being cut off."

"Man cannot conquer heaven, so we must adapt to the natural world and change ourselves. That is the way to break the deadlock."

"Since Cultivators who follow the old cultivation methods can’t absorb Qi no matter how hard they try, the only solution is to further enhance their ability to breathe in Qi!"

’It sounds like the environment itself is in an arms race, forcing Cultivators to change and compete just to keep up.’

Chen Sha didn’t rush to speak, waiting for Zhang Daoxuan to finish his story.

Zhang Daoxuan recalled the past, saying:

"At first, my friend and I were of the same mind. I created the *Jade Emperor Tower*, and he created the *Great Yellow Court*. In the beginning, the concepts behind our two Cultivation Techniques were no different."

Chen Sha’s mind reeled at this.

’The *Great Yellow Court* was created by someone named Chen Fuyao?’

’Wasn’t it created by the first Ancestral Master of the Dao Yi Sect?’

A thought struck Chen Sha:

’That explains it. If they are the Innovators of these Martial Arts, it means these two First-Grade Martial Scriptures have only existed in this world for a few decades. When he sees a young man like me who has cultivated the *Great Yellow Court* to Grandmaster Peak, he would naturally assume I am Chen Fuyao’s disciple.’

With this thought, his curiosity was piqued, and he asked:

"You said some concepts of the *Great Yellow Court* and the *Jade Emperor Tower* are very similar, Master. Do you mean..."

He had heard things about the Jade Emperor Sect’s signature Martial Arts, but he never felt it had anything in common with his own *Great Yellow Court*.

Zhang Daoxuan said:

"You cultivate the *Great Yellow Court*, so I don’t need to ask you about it. I’ll just tell you about the *Jade Emperor Tower*."

Chen Sha knew a little about the characteristics of the Jade Emperor Sect’s Cultivation Technique, but there was no need to show off his limited knowledge in front of its Innovator.

"I’m all ears."

Zhang Daoxuan smiled faintly. "The *Jade Emperor Tower* has twelve floors, also known as the ’Twelve-Story Tower.’ You are of the Daoist School, so you should know what part of the body the Golden Core term ’Twelve-Story Tower’ refers to, correct?"

Chen Sha thought for a moment and said, "The Pill Scripture states that the human throat has twelve segments, which are called the Twelve-Story Tower."

"Correct." Zhang Daoxuan smiled. "The Twelve-Story Tower is indeed the human throat. It’s said the throat is like a dragon’s passage, the very channel through which Qi ascends and descends. When people breathe and absorb Qi, they rely on the Twelve-Story Tower—the throat."

"I believe that as long as we enhance the ’Qi absorption’ ability of the Twelve-Story Tower, one can continue to cultivate even in this End of Dharma Era, when the Qi of heaven and earth is faint."

"The *Jade Emperor Tower* was created based on this concept. The entire technique is focused on the Twelve-Story Tower. With each ’floor’ of mastery achieved, the throat becomes one part more like jade, and the speed of breathing in the Qi of heaven and earth increases. This allows people to cultivate normally from the Acquired Ninth Layer to the Innate Third Layer, passing through all Twelve Realms, even in the End of Dharma Era."

Hearing this, Chen Sha looked at the old Daoist with a newfound sense of admiration and reverence.

’Such genius and talent, coupled with the magnanimity to forge a path for future generations... at any point in history, he would be considered a Great Master of his generation, a supreme Grandmaster Level figure!’

It was no wonder, then, that the Martial Artists on Qilin Cliff held this old Daoist in such high esteem.

At that moment, Zhang Daoxuan sighed and said,

"If your master and I hadn’t had a falling out, the *Jade Emperor Tower* I created would have been perfect for paving the twelve steps from Acquired to Innate for the people of our Daoist Sect. And his *Great Yellow Court* would have then connected to the path of ’Broken Ascension’ after the Innate Realm. It’s a pity we ultimately broke off contact due to our conflicting philosophies."

Chen Sha asked, "These conflicting philosophies... where exactly did you disagree?"

Gu Changming, Zen Master Shede, Old Ghost Xu—these masters of the Three Religions, as well as many other Martial Artists on Qilin Cliff—all leaned in, listening intently.

Zhang Daoxuan looked at Chen Sha and said, "Young friend, you practice the *Great Yellow Court*, so you must know. The path your master created for stepping into the Innate Realm is completely different from mine. I use the Twelve-Story Tower to enhance a Cultivator’s Qi absorption, but he took an even more novel approach, following a different path found in the Daoist Scriptures..."

Chen Sha considered this and said, "My *Great Yellow Court* cultivates ’Unbreakable Divine Vision’."

"Correct." Zhang Daoxuan nodded. "Precisely ’Seeing God.’ Chen Fuyao found another way in the Daoist Scriptures. He believes the human body contains gods—the Three Parts, Eight Sceneries, and Twenty-four Gods. If one can see these Twenty-four Body Gods, one can further enhance a person’s potential. Naturally, the ability to sense the Qi of heaven and earth will also increase."

Chen Sha said, "It sounds like my lineage’s *Great Yellow Court* cultivation is more complete."

One enhances the potential of a single body part.

The other enhances the potential of various locations throughout the entire body.

’My own Yellow Court Twenty-four Body Gods cultivation works on twenty-four parts of the body, which includes the ’throat’ that the *Jade Emperor Tower* specializes in.’

’In the *Great Yellow Court*, the god of the throat area is named Hundred Exiles, styled Daotong, and is of nine colors.’

Zhang Daoxuan didn’t deny Chen Sha’s claim. He nodded and said, "Indeed, Chen Fuyao’s *Great Yellow Court*, when cultivated to its final stages, goes much further than the *Jade Emperor Tower*. But as I said, we ended up heading in different directions, and each has its strengths."

"Compared to the *Great Yellow Court*’s potential to go further, my *Jade Emperor Tower* allows for faster cultivation in the early stages. If not for..."

He sighed.

"If he hadn’t fallen out with me, these two Martial Arts could have been combined. They would have been perfect for cultivating more seeds of hope for our Daoist Sect in this End of Dharma Era."

Chen Sha thought to himself, ’He has a point. As he said, the *Jade Emperor Tower* only trains the Twelve-Story Tower of the throat. A lifetime of effort is focused there. Their cultivation of the throat’s Body God must be far more thorough than the *Great Yellow Court*’s cultivation of the Throat God.’

As he was pondering this,

He didn’t notice the faintly inscrutable expression on Zhang Daoxuan’s face.

"I thought that after your master and I went our separate ways, we would never have contact again. I never expected him to send you to find me. For what reason?"

Chen Sha heard a hint of anticipation in the old Daoist’s tone.

’Could it be? He...’

He had a faint guess as to what this anticipation was about.

How could he not seize this opportunity?

He immediately declared with righteous conviction:

"To be honest, Senior, this junior came here precisely because I wish to learn your *Jade Emperor Tower*!"