Chapter 44: The Mystical Art of the Crimson Clouds’ Convergence and Dissipation
“This is a ready-made bargaining chip!”
After discovering the dragon-whale beast’s secret, Lu Sheng was indeed moved by the devotion the dragon-whale couple showed their unborn child, but he had no intention of fulfilling their wishes— Not when his own life was still under threat. On the contrary, the dragon-whale beast’s concern for its unborn baby handed him a perfect lever to use!
With this realization, Lu Sheng swiftly used the Ruyi, expending merit to fuse the mystical weapon blades he had obtained into one, making it sharp enough to pierce the dragon-whale beast from within.
He then used the karmic power gained from killing the flood dragon and the myriad-venom wolf to plunge the dragon-whale beast into temporary confusion, and with his weapon, he broke through the placenta and slipped into the space within, just large enough to contain him.
Finally, after using merit to heal and seal the placenta, Lu Sheng’s fate became intertwined with that of the baby dragon-whale— Even a fourth-rank dragon-whale beast, master of its own body, was now helpless against him if it wished to keep its child safe!
In fact, because Lu Sheng could threaten the baby dragon-whale’s life, it was now even forced to acquiesce to some of his demands.
Only at this point did Lu Sheng finally earn the right to negotiate with the dragon-whale clan!
——————
A fourth-rank dragon-whale beast could already wield spiritual power. If not for the Ruyi’s protection over his mind, Lu Sheng would likely have had his soul read long ago.
Because of this, even without mastering spirit communication techniques or understanding whale speech, Lu Sheng could still communicate with it.
Unfortunately, the results of their exchange did not satisfy him at all!
Traumatized by the male dragon-whale’s death, the female now feared Si Mingyue deeply. No matter how Lu Sheng threatened her with the child in her womb, she refused to approach the coastal waters again.
After all, for the female dragon-whale, losing the child meant she could still bear another with a different mate. But if she returned and was slain by Si Mingyue’s blade, she would lose her life entirely— That was a risk she would never accept!
The dragon-whale beast refused to return, and Lu Sheng dared not venture out into the deep sea teeming with monsters.
So he remained within the womb of the dragon-whale, delving into his inheritance— After all, as long as he had merit left to spend, he could survive anywhere!
——————
“Three Treasures Ruyi, foundation tier. Nine-Nine Arcane Art, the pinnacle of perfection.”
After refining his essence, energy, and spirit to transform at will and mastering the first level of the Three Treasures Ruyi Technique, Lu Sheng was finally qualified to receive a true transmission, even able to start mobilizing the Ruyi’s power.
Yet, due to one crisis after another, he had never found the time to study the teachings within. Only after finding safety in the dragon-whale’s womb did he finally have a moment to comprehend:
“The last two levels of the Three Treasures Ruyi Technique are indeed about refining Heaven’s treasures—sun, moon, and stars—as well as Earth’s treasures—water, fire, and wind—until all are at one’s command!”
“And the full name of the Nine-Nine Arcane Art is the Nine-Nine Red Cloud Ruyi Gather-and-Disperse Arcane Art!”
“Its original name—”
“Was the Nine-Nine Red Cloud Dispersing Vitality Divine Art, and within it lies a karmic entanglement!”
At this, a strange feeling crept over Lu Sheng—“Nine-Nine Red Cloud” reminded him of a legendary figure of mythic renown:
“It’s said that the artifact used by the Great Red Cloud Immortal was the ‘Nine-Nine Red Cloud Soul-Scattering Gourd’—”
“Could this Nine-Nine Red Cloud Dispersing Vitality Divine Art actually be his creation?”
Both bore the same “Nine-Nine Red Cloud” in their names, and both contained the notion of “dispersing.” Lu Sheng could not help but suspect a connection to the immortal called Red Cloud!
“The artifact of the Great Red Cloud Immortal was indeed rather sinister—”
“But in legend, he was a good-natured immortal whose life was not long!”
“I must take his fate as a warning!”
——————
Continuing his study, Lu Sheng understood the evolution of the Nine-Nine Arcane Art:
“Later, this Nine-Nine Red Cloud Dispersing Vitality Divine Art fell into the hands of an immortal named Master Zixu Mingdao—”
“He took on its karmic burden!”
“Not only did he fully master the technique, but he also perfected and developed it, merging many other arts into it, including the famous Eight-Nine Arcane Art and the Three Treasures Ruyi Technique—”
“Thus, the Nine-Nine Red Cloud Dispersing Vitality Divine Art became the Nine-Nine Red Cloud Ruyi Gather-and-Disperse Arcane Art!”
“In short—”
“The Nine-Nine Arcane Art!”
At last, Lu Sheng understood the origins of the Nine-Nine Arcane Art, filled with both joy and awe:
“So, it incorporates the Eight-Nine Arcane Art and the Three Treasures Ruyi Technique—”
“No wonder it’s named an Arcane Art, and requires the Three Treasures Ruyi Technique as its foundation!”
“I wonder how it compares to the Eight-Nine Arcane Art, and who exactly was this Master Zixu Mingdao?”
The Eight-Nine Arcane Art was the supreme protective art of the Daoist tradition in myth; the renowned Erlang Zhenjun Yang Jian was a master of this art.
Even the legendary Great Sage Equal to Heaven, the Handsome Monkey King Sun Wukong, was said to have practiced it.
The Nine-Nine Arcane Art not only absorbed the Eight-Nine Arcane Art, but surpassed it in name by one, hinting at its extraordinary power!
——————
Suppressing his excitement, Lu Sheng pressed on:
“However, because the karmic burden within the Nine-Nine Red Cloud Dispersing Vitality Divine Art was too difficult to resolve, Master Zixu Mingdao, even upon approaching enlightenment, could not untangle it!”
“In the end, to avoid affecting his own path—”
“Master Zixu Mingdao used the merit and primordial energy he had gathered to forge a Ruyi—”
“Imprinting this Nine-Nine Arcane Art and his own Daoist attainments within!”
“In this way, the one who inherited the Ruyi would bear his karmic burden in his stead!”
——————
If before he had felt equal parts awe and delight, now Lu Sheng’s feelings were more joy mixed with alarm:
He was gladdened by the knowledge that the Ruyi held the transmission of Master Zixu Mingdao’s Daoist attainment;
Yet deeply unsettled by the karmic debt so great that Master Zixu Mingdao had to seal away his achievements and pass them on!
“I’ve received the Ruyi’s inheritance!”
“In other words—”
“That karmic burden is now mine!”
Realizing this, Lu Sheng was shaken to his core:
“A supreme adept on the verge of enlightenment couldn’t resolve this karma!”
“Even passing it on required the sacrifice of all his achievements—”
“How could I possibly succeed?”
He had only cultivated the most basic tier of the Three Treasures Ruyi Technique, an unimaginable distance from Master Zixu Mingdao, its creator— If even he could not settle this karma, what hope did Lu Sheng have?
“No wonder the Ruyi sought out someone who had died as its inheritor—”
“It must have been to lessen the sense of resistance!”
Thinking this, Lu Sheng found he truly felt no resentment: for someone who had once died, to live another life, there was little he would not be willing to do!
“Without this karmic burden, there would be no Ruyi!”
“In that case, I would have gained no inheritance—”
“And never come to this place!”
“Now—”
“I have been granted another chance at life, and, with this inheritance, even the potential for enlightenment—”
“To do something in return for them is only right!”
——————
With these thoughts, Lu Sheng consoled himself further:
“Perhaps this karmic debt is quite simple to resolve, and it’s only that Master Zixu Mingdao never found the opportunity!”
“The Ruyi is a treasure of merit, born for resolving karma, and possesses its own spiritual awareness.”
“It brought my soul here from my previous world; perhaps it already sensed the opportunity—”
“What happens next will depend on my own efforts as its inheritor!”