Chapter 96 - Dispelling Doubts

All the disciples sat down cross-legged. The long-haired man sat cross-legged, smiled, and said, “There are 20 new disciples today. It’s truly a joyous occasion for our Archean Mountain.”

20? Shouldn’t there be 21? Meng Chuan, Princess Li Ying, Zong Sha, Chu Yong, Yan Feng, and the other new disciples were slightly taken aback. They couldn’t help but look around. The youngest Yan Chitong was also here today.

Ji Yuantong is missing! Meng Chuan paid careful attention and sensed that Ji Yuantong wasn’t in the pavilion.

Out of the new batch of disciples, only Ji Yuantong was missing.

The long-haired man smiled indifferently. “If there’s anything you want to ask, you can speak.”

“Master.”

Immediately, a youth with sword-like eyebrows and glistening eyes—who sat towards the back—stood up and bowed respectfully. “I’ve been cultivating the Azure Lotus Divine Body for three years. I have only cultivated the Azure Lotus Divine Body to the Fire Water Symbiosis realm. Do I continue cultivating?”

“You’re too slow. The Azure Lotus Divine Body has a total of seven steps. You have only reached the second step—Fire Water Symbiosis. You won’t master it in twenty years. You can abandon it and switch to a high-grade Godfiend body,” said the long-haired man. “Also, you should focus on your sword art more. You haven’t reached the Realm of Intent after three years. That’s also too slow.”

“Yes,” replied the young man respectfully as he made his decision.

He had put in too much effort into the Azure Lotus Divine Body for three years. He had even overlooked his sword techniques. He knew that there was little hope to cultivate the Azure Lotus Divine Body, but he was unwilling to accept it. He still had hope. However, his master’s words made him give up completely.

After all, if one did not become a high-grade Godfiend within ten years, they would be expelled from the inner sect!

I’ll just become a high-grade Godfiend! I’ll focus on my sword techniques. If my sword art is profound enough, it can make up for the huge gap between high-grade and transcendent-grade Godfiend bodies.

“Master.” Another thin, hunchbacked youth stood up and said respectfully, “I’ve been cultivating the Lightning Devastator Fiend Body for six years. I finally reached the Seventh Refinement realm five days ago. Do I absorb heavenly lightning for the Life-and-Death juncture or attempt the Eighth Refinement?”

Seventh Refinement? Immediately, many disciples looked at the hunchbacked youth in surprise.

As long as one reached the Lightning Devastator Fiend Body’s Seventh Refinement and had reached the Realm of Intent, one could challenge the Life-and-Death juncture and become a Godfiend.

That would mean an additional transcendent-grade Godfiend expert for Archean Mountain.

Seventh Refinement? Meng Chuan’s eyes lit up when he heard that.

He had chosen the Lightning Devastator Fiend Body. He knew that this formula required the world’s baneful aura to cultivate the Godfiend body. Every time he successfully improved his body with the baneful aura, it would be considered a refinement. The more one refined their bodies, the more precious and powerful baneful auras would be needed. According to records, one could refine their bodies a maximum of nine times.

Nine refinements meant perfection. When one’s body was sufficiently robust, one could forge the perfect Lightning Devastator Fiend Body during the Life-and-Death juncture by drawing heavenly lightning unto themselves.

In reality, the baneful aura was extremely harmful to the physical body. It also dealt damage to one’s consciousness. Even though many genius disciples had strong wills, once they reached the third or fourth Refinement, their bodies would not be able to withstand it. If they absorbed even more baneful aura to cultivate, their bodies would fail. Every refinement was a transformation, and the danger level would rise correspondingly.

“It wouldn’t be worth it to give up after cultivating for six years. Continue to the Eighth Refinement before becoming a Godfiend,” said the long-haired man with a smile. “Of course, if you haven’t reached the Eighth Refinement by the ten-year limit, give up immediately and attempt the Life-and-Death juncture to become a Godfiend. Becoming a Godfiend in ten years is a cast-iron rule of Archean Mountain.

“A mortal’s body and lifeforce peaks at the age of twenty. It remains stagnant between the ages of twenty to thirty with very slight drops in lifeforce. Once thirty and older, one’s lifeforce will decrease rapidly. Such Godfiends won’t have a promising future. Cultivation skyrockets in difficulty with an aging body. Therefore, you must become a Godfiend before the age of thirty.”

“Yes,” all the disciples responded in unison. The hunchbacked man also responded respectfully before sitting down cross-legged.

The surrounding disciples looked at him differently. No matter what happened, he had already reached the Seventh Refinement! He was destined to become a transcendent-grade Godfiend.

With 200 plus disciples learning of it, the top family clans in the Great Zhou Dynasty would soon know of his achievement.

…

The long-haired man answered each disciple’s questions about their cultivation. Be it about Godfiend body cultivation, weapon techniques, mental willpower, and even the troubles one encountered when challenging the Nine Mystical Caves; he could answer them all.

Halfway through, King Calm Sea’s fifth son—Xue Feng—stood up and asked, “Master, I still can’t pass the Nine Mystical Caves, and I feel like I’m still far from success. Master, please give me a clear answer. When will I be able to pass the Nine Mystical Caves?” He had been on the mountain for ten years, but he was unable to leave the mountain. He was somewhat anxious. He also wanted to fight demon monarchs with his fellow disciples.

He was very powerful, much stronger than many of the Godfiends that had descended the mountain. However, he could not pass the Nine Mystical Caves!

“If your strength increases like it was in the past, you can leave the mountain in three years,” said the long-haired man. “If you have a major breakthrough, it’s possible to leave the mountain within half a year.”

“I understand,” replied Xue Feng as he sat down cross-legged.

In recent decades, he was Archean Mountain’s most dazzling disciple. As King Calm Sea’s most outstanding son, his strength was extraordinary. The family had groomed him with all their might. The number of natural treasures he had consumed far exceeded his siblings. His Godfiend foundation was five times more robust than an ordinary genius’s. He had become a transcendent-grade Godfiend at age 15, and he had also mastered an ultimate move from the Black Metal Sutra. He had achieved the Sword Soul at 22 years of age.

It made the other disciples look up to him. Jiang State’s Xiao Yunyue could barely compete with him.

Archean Mountain’s requirements to allow him to descend the mountain were extremely stringent. The Nine Mystical Caves test was also extremely difficult. They didn’t allow him to leave the mountain easily. If he did not have the ability to protect himself, he would probably be assassinated by the demons once he left the mountain.

…

The question-and-answer session lasted for nearly six hours.

The Supremacy’s lecturing happened three times a month at the Grotto-Heaven Pavilion. It happened on the 5th, 15th, and 25th of every month.

Therefore, disciples didn’t have many troubles over a span of ten days. It just took a long time because nearly 70% of 200 plus disciples asked questions.

“Since nobody has any more questions,” the long-haired man smiled as his gaze swept across the new disciples and said, “I’ll talk about what the new disciples are most concerned about since they are here today. Many of you chose transcendent-grade Godfiend formulas. Give them a try first! If you see any hope in three years, you can persevere! If there’s a slim chance after three years, give up cultivating the Godfiend Body early.

“For the first three years, one cannot cultivate a Godfiend body for more than four hours a day. One should spend more time on weapon techniques and saber techniques. If one is sufficiently skilled with their weapon, they can still fight an enemy one realm higher. One must not stop cultivating their weapon techniques for a single day.

“As for the weapon techniques, how should one choose?

“The best ultimate techniques of our human race come from the Black Metal Sutras. There are sixty-two Black Metal Sutras on Archean Mountain,” said the long-haired man. “However, one needs to become a Great Solar Godfiend and condense an Essence Soul before they can accept the Black Metal Sutra legacies.

“Before this, there’s no way to receive an intent legacy. All one can do is read the text, diagrams, and other descriptions. The Black Metal Sutra legacies are ten times more difficult to cultivate without intent guidance.

“The ultimate techniques within the Black Metal Sutras are divided into three types—Heaven, Earth, and Man. The latter can be read for reference, but the former two are very profound. You’ll study them your entire lives. As there is an intent legacy, cultivating Heaven-level Godfiend arts will be much easier than the Black Metal Sutras. If one cultivates a Heaven-level Godfiend art to perfection, its strength will match a Black Metal Sutra ultimate technique.

“Amongst Heaven-level Godfiend ultimate techniques…”

…

The Supremacy explained everything one needed to know with great detail. It was much clearer than what Meng Chuan and the others had learned after reading the books in the library cave.

Many people gained a clearer understanding of Godfiend cultivation.

“Let’s end the lecture today. You are dismissed.” The long-haired man stood up and left.

“Safe travels, Master.” said the disciples respectfully.

Many disciples began to head out in groups.

“Meng Chuan, come to the Grotto-Heaven Pavilion in two hours.” A voice sounded in Meng Chuan’s ears.