Chapter 180 - 179: Martial Arts, Enlightenment, Understanding
Chapter 180 - 179: Martial Arts, Enlightenment, Understanding
Undercurrents surged within Buwu City and its neighbouring fortresses. Martial arts recipes issued by the Overthrowing Heavenly King were spread clandestinely within dark corners of the city. People in the black market were hungrily seeking out the vendors selling aphrodisiacs, hoping to inquire if they had any other martial arts recipes and their origins.
Some found that practicing those martial arts recipes from the black market was more beneficial for longevity and vitality than those currently available.
People questioned whether these were the never-before-seen martial arts recipes or the same ones that the Heavenly Kings had destroyed.
However, the vendors appeared as if from thin air and vanished just as quickly, leaving no trace.
“Why stop selling them?” Abu asked, puzzled.
“People’s desire increases for things they cannot obtain. Let’s let things ferment for a few days, ” Jiang Li replied, then turned to the sparring ground and yelled, “Bai Hong, hold back a little, you’re no longer young after all!”
In the Bu family sparring ground, two figures were moving at high speed – so fast that Abu could not clearly see the fight.
“What do you mean ‘old man’? He’s over three hundred years old, and I’m over five hundred. Who’s the older one?” Bai Hongtu said, even as he intensified his attacks.
Bu Jing felt great pressure facing Bai Hongtu, similar to facing a ferocious beast from ancient legends.
Bai Hongtu suppressed his power stage to the Nascent Soul Stage and battled with Bu Jing. Still, Bu Jing was on the defensive, unable to overcome him.
Both men controlled their power to the utmost, focusing only on their opponent and not leaking any energy outwards, otherwise, the small sparring ground wouldn’t withstand a battle between the Nascent Soul Stage and the human pinnacle.
When Bai Hongtu was in the Nascent Soul Stage, he had faced the seed candidates pushed by various factions, winning all ten battles without rest or injury, shocking the Nine Prefectures.
“Sect Master Bai, are all the Nascent Soul Stage cultivators in the Nine Prefectures as powerful as you?”
Bu Jing fought with trepidation, as his opponent exhibited endless tactics while he was merely defending, finding no opportunities to counterattack. Although he hadn’t practiced martial arts in three hundred years, causing his body to grow stiff. The battle that day progressively revived and strengthened his body. However, he continued to lag behind Bai Hongtu, creating a gap that could be seen, felt, but just could not be crossed.
Weren’t people saying the human pinnacle corresponds to the Nascent Soul Stage? Why is there such a big gap?
Bai Hongtu laughed heartily: “Ha ha ha, I am pretty strong indeed. If I, Bai Hongtu, claim to be second in the Nascent Soul Stage, nobody dares to claim the first…”
“I am the first.”
“I am the first.’
Jiang Li and Yu Yin, who had been lounging and drinking Thunder Tribulation Liquid like they were on vacation, chimed in at the same time.
The pair clinked their bowls together, signifying their consensus.
Note: In the Nascent Soul Stage, neither Jiang Li nor Yu Yin had the illustrious record of Bai Hongtu.
Their only praiseworthy achievement is having each defeated Bai Hongtu during the Nascent Soul Stage.
Bai Hongtu pretended as if he hadn’t said anything.
“The union of internal and external forces converges at the Dantian, integrating vitality, energy, and spirit into one. It seems that this is the martial arts concept of this world.” Serving as the sophisticated critic, Bai Hongtu expressed his theoretical interpretation using the words just as if previous snubs didn’t touch him.
“The technique you brothers practice is ‘Four Pillar Support Heavenly Technique’. It suggests that the four limbs act as the pillars supporting the heavens. When the four limbs tremble, the world shakes. While it may be a bit exaggerated, it is not detrimental and is fairly good.”
Bu Jing and Bu Dong felt somewhat embarrassed. This indeed was the interpretation of their family’s martial arts.
In the Ring Universe, martial arts techniques usually have imaginative names. Abu knew of names such as ‘Chaos Opening Sky Technique’ and ‘Reincarnation Destroying World Technique’.
Compared to those, the name of their family’s martial arts technique was relatively modest.
However, who would have thought that they would encounter three martial arts experts who could actually shake heaven and earth?
“You are already quite remarkable, amongst those at the Nascent Soul Stage.
Very few can exchange blows with me for more than a hundred rounds…” As Bai Hongtu glared at Jiang Li and Yu Yin preparing to interrupt him, he warned them, “I beseech you two to leave me some face! Don’t force me to kneel and beg you!”
“Even though I did go easy on you, it still reflects the high potential of your world’s martial arts. As the apex of old martial arts, it is especially true for you.”
“But I have already reached the end of the martial path. I can effortlessly transition between internal and external forces, integrate vitality, energy, and spirit into a string, and maintain balance in the viscera. But I can’t make even half a step forward.” Bu Jing said dejectedly. He had been considering how to break through the human peak but always lacked a clue. In his anxious state, he forced an attempt and almost lost his life in the process.
Although the three great powers had helped them deal with the twelve Heavenly Kings, he still wished to personally strike down one of them to avenge his parents.
But in his current state, did he even qualify to challenge the Heavenly Kings?
“The end of the martial path?” Yu Yin uncharacteristically laughed, “Even the founding emperor of Wuguo, the Martial Immortal who broke through the limits with martial arts, dares not say he’s reached the end of the martial path. Yet, you dare to say there’s no more road ahead?”
Jiang Li also laughed: “The viscera, or the internal organs, may be called the internal scene – if there is an internal scene, where is the external one? Since the body has been developed to its utmost potential, why not look up at the
Bu Jing looked up at the sky as if struck by lightning, mumbling, “Sky… The meeting of the internal and external scene… Stellar acupuncture points…”
Seeing Bu Jing enter a state of enlightenment, Bai Hongtu walked over to Jiang Li and Yu Yin and complained, “I’ve been feeding moves to Bu Jing for a while. I planned on giving him some insights after we finished and then, I would act like a wise man. However, both of you beat me to it and said everything I intended to.”
“I’m sorry.” Jiang Li apologized insincerely. “What’s gotten to my brother?…”
“He got enlightened, or rather, found the Dao.”
“What did he get enlightened to?” Abu wondered.
Jiang Li laughed heartily: “Yes, you put it quite right, your brother got enlightened. ”
The principles of martial arts, the thoughts of the ancients, all kinds of martial arts recipes flashed in Bu Jing’s mind.
Were those names of martial arts just arbitrarily thought up, or did they contain the authors’ imagination?
And also the strong practitioners in the Nine Prefectures that Abu described.
He realized that humans could also become this strong, that the stars were not unreachable. That plucking stars from the sky was within human capability…
These thoughts were ruminated over and over in Bu Jing’s mind.
After a night passed – when the day broke and lit up the earth, all of Bu Jing’s thoughts were connected.
He cheered and jumped around like a child, having figured out what the next realm was and having reached a thorough understanding.
He got some ink, paper, and wrote down all his thoughts and ideas from the night before.
“The Old Master was inspired to compose seven-word sentences, explaining the body and all the gods. Above is the Yellow Court, below is Guanyuan, at the back is Youque, in front is the Gate of Life…”
Each exotic and neatly rhymed scripture emerged on the rice paper. In just over a hundred words, it held the key to bridging the gap between the human peak and the subsequent realm.
Once the scripture was finished, he couldn’t come up with a name for it easily, which complicated matters for Bu Jing
“I was enlightened by the powerful beings and contemplated the starry sky. These three powerful beings did me an enormous favor, and the starry sky was my enlightenment teacher. I thought of placing them at the forefront, however
‘skies’ does not rhyme. The skies are equivalent to Upper Purity, and the
Dantian is the core of the internal scene, which can be called the Yellow Court. Beyond the human pinnacle lies the realm of the external scene. This scripture serves as a bridge to connect before and after, above and below. How about we call it the ‘Upper Purity Yellow Court External Scene Scripture’?” “Yes, let’s call it the ‘Upper Purity Yellow Court External Scene Scripture’!”
Bu Jing laughed heartily..