The Mirror Legacy Chapter 1781

Li Ximing knew very little about the pursuit of the Golden Core Realm, but after spending so many years in the Purple Mansion Realm, and with Jiangnan being the foremost center of such pursuits in the world, he had still picked up a fair amount. How could he not be shocked by what Diyan was showing him?

It is said that one must possess all five divine abilities before seeking the Golden Core Realm. But four [Radiant Essence] divine abilities and one [Bright Yang] divine ability still make five divine abilities, do they not…

The first name that surfaced in his mind was, Daoist Master Yuanxiu!

Divine abilities within the Purple Mansion Realm were not entirely incompatible with one another, but combining them was extraordinarily difficult. Shenyang was already filled with divine abilities, and cultivating those of one’s own Dao was difficult enough to rival ascending to heaven, let alone accommodating foreign divine abilities from an unrelated path.

Still, some Dao lineages were closer to one another than others. Now that Li Ximing had completed his divine ability, it was not impossible for him to cultivate one more from Radiant Fire, but doing so would effectively sever the continuity of his own Dao lineage…

Li Ximing had once regarded such a path as a dead end, but later, when speaking with Sima Yuanli about the late Daoist Master Yuanxiu, he learned that Yuanxiu had actually attained the Dao with four [Orthodox Wood] divine abilities and one [Gathering Wood] divine ability!

At the time, Sima Yuanli had looked deeply wistful as he told him, Regarding my lord, I once consulted a senior who had personally visited the place where he passed away. He sighed and said, [Heavy Wood Weighs Down the Branch], then remarked that my lord [upheld the orthodox while seeking the divergent, sought balance yet remained unbalanced]. What he used was an Intercalary Position.

Only then did Li Ximing understand that Daoist Master Yuanxiu had sought the Dao through an Intercalary Position, specifically the Intercalary Position of [Gathering Wood].

In the eyes of a Grand Daoist Master, cultivating another Dao for the final step is not necessarily a dead end. It can instead be the method of taking an Intercalary Position beyond Fruition Attainment. Could Daoist Master Diyan now be seeking the Intercalary Position of Bright Yang?!

His expression shifted with shock. With Mount Luoxia currently suppressing Bright Yang and wishing for Li Qianyuan’s death more than anything, what kind of role would the Intercalary Position of Bright Yang represent?!

Yet even as Li Ximing’s thoughts churned, the Grand Daoist Master before him grew increasingly silent. Beneath the dim lamplight, he looked especially sinister, the dark golden glow reflected in his eyes. He seemed to be weighing how much he should reveal.

As Li Ximing’s shock gradually subsided, a belated doubt arose in his mind, How is that possible… How can he accommodate two conflicting Dao lineages…

He paused, then finally broke his silence and asked, “Is it the Intercalary Position of Bright Yang?”

Diyan studied him closely for a moment, then smiled and said, “Since your highness knows the affliction of [Radiant Essence], you must also know that [Radiant Essence] is incompatible with [Bright Yang]. In the past, there was no harm in seeking [Bright Yang] through [Radiant Essence], but to do so now would be like climbing a tree to catch a fish. Would that not be courting death?”

The question struck directly at the heart of Li Ximing’s doubts, nearly forcing every last one of them out into the open.

Exactly… Seeking [Bright Yang] through [Radiant Essence] is indeed courting death. As far as I can see, adding [Radiant Origin Pass] to a set of [Radiant Essence] divine abilities is already as dead an end as one could possibly take!

Li Ximing remained silent for a long while before asking, “That is precisely what puzzles me. Bright Yang and Radiant Essence are utterly incompatible, so how did Senior establish [Radiant Origin Pass] amid such surging Radiant Essence?”

Diyan clasped his hands behind his back. “Your highness guessed correctly. Ordinarily, it cannot be attained. Were it anyone else, they would not even be able to stabilize the divine abilities I cultivated prior. I, however, borrowed from what my forebears left behind.”

Diyan turned slightly, causing all the white, illusory radiance within the hall to dim and bend. Like tangible treasure swords turning their blades aside, the rays shifted away and shone toward the sides.

“My ancestor Yin Ni was originally a young man of Guanlong. He studied the Dao in a temple, yet failed to sense qi even after ten years, so he joined the army in anger. He repeatedly distinguished himself in battle and later obtained the [Thirty-Six Scriptures of Profound Radiance] left by a predecessor in an Immortal Mansion, through which he cultivated divine abilities and eventually raised his cultivation to the peak of the Purple Mansion Realm.

“By the time he was enfeoffed as the King of Brightness, he was already sweeping unchecked across Mobei. He then rewrote the [Thirty-Six Scriptures of Profound Radiance] and combined them with the method of seeking Gold bestowed by the Imperial Monarch, creating the [Dao Scroll of Resplendent Radiance and the Bright Palace].

“Once my lord completed that scroll, he sought gold. He used [Shenfu], the foremost great pass of the north, as his furnace, and took all his divine abilities, mana, soul, and true spirit as ingredients to seek that single elixir. He refined it for nine days, while the Imperial Monarch personally supported his attainment of the Dao!”

A melancholy look crossed his face, and he let out a heavy sigh. “Unfortunately, my lord relied too heavily on external profundities in his pursuit of the Dao. His divine path was strangled and sealed shut, and after nine days of striving without success, he perished.”

Li Ximing listened with a grave expression and asked, “By relying too heavily on external profundities, he had his divine path strangled and sealed?”

Diyan closed his eyes slightly, his voice turning somber. “What is called [External Profundities] includes the Buddhist land, and the Celestial Dynasty as well. Thus, borrowing another’s profundity with one’s own body instead of cultivating one’s own innate nature and destiny is [Relying Heavily on External Profundities]. How many throughout the world have done exactly that?! Even setting aside the Buddhist land and Celestial Dynasty, the likes of Dongfang Heyun, Tianjiao of Sword Mountain, and those of the Western Sea… all borrowed external profundities. One may borrow a Dao, but once one does, one can no longer seek the Dao for oneself.”

Li Ximing was already familiar with how cultivators of Wei State obtained divine abilities through official rank. Diyan had also mentioned that Yin Ni studied the Dao in a temple for ten years without ever sensing qi, so presumably most of his later cultivation had likewise depended on the Celestial Dynasty.

There was only one point Li Ximing did not fully understand, and after some hesitation, he asked, “But… the Dharma Masters…”

Diyan replied calmly, “In today’s world, what Dharma Master is still capable of attaining the Dao?!

“Do you think the Merciful Ones and Mahas of the Buddhist land all cultivated their attainments by themselves? Most simply wait for a position to become vacant and then find an opportunity to climb into it. There are distinctions even among Dharma Masters.

“The earliest were beings of great virtue and power who awakened to heaven and earth. Later came those who underwent nine reincarnations, transformed their nature, and only became Dharma Masters after achieving the Dao. As for those who came after… they spend nine lifetimes anxiously waiting, only to inherit someone else’s position. They possess merely the outward shell of a Dharma Master.”

His expression tightened, as though there were certain things he was reluctant to say. “In short, relying too heavily on external profundities is profoundly detrimental to attaining the Dao. Of the Six Founding Kings, Xuanji, Zhaoming[1], Baiyang, Yongqin, Shouyi, and Luanfu, each fell in turn, unable to attain the Dao.

“Later, when Wei State fell, my ancestor disappeared into the sea. Yet the [Dao Scroll of Resplendent Radiance and the Bright Palace] and the [Dao Collection of the King of Brightness] were passed down. They contained abundant spiritual qi and spirit materials, enough to sustain three generations of the royal line. It was only when they reached my hands that they were finally exhausted.”

He smiled and said, “The reason you see no one else cultivating [Radiant Essence] here is because this Dao is passed down through a single lineage and can only be cultivated by those who inherit the royal legacy. My aptitude was not poor. I reached the Purple Mansion Threshold at one hundred and thirty-six, and when I became a Grand Daoist Master, I still had more than three hundred years of lifespan remaining.”

Li Ximing was deeply shaken upon hearing this.

Back then, Jiang Boqing had cultivated the highly complex [Supreme Shaman] Dao of the Shamanic Talisman Dao. Even while devoting himself to talismans and shamanic arts, he had reached Foundation Establishment Realm at thirty and the Purple Mansion Realm at sixty. Reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm by thirty was not difficult for a peerless genius. Li Zhouwei had even done so in his early twenties. Yet even Jiang Boqing still took another forty years to advance from the Foundation Establishment Realm to the Purple Mansion Realm.

However, Diyan had no talisman qi to aid his cultivation. Even if he had attained the Purple Mansion Realm at sixty, he would still have needed to perfect each divine ability one after another and pass the Purple Mansion Threshold with ease to complete four divine abilities before the age of two hundred. In the present age, perhaps only someone like Li Zhouwei, blessed with extraordinary fate and seemingly propelled forward by the entire world, could hope to progress faster than Diyan!

1. Referring to the King of Brightness. ☜