The Art of Chaotic Divinity

Chapter 167: Qi-Refining Primordial Lock!

"That donkey has told you quite a lot, hasn't it?"

The old man in the gray robe smiled faintly and said, "I am the Tianbai Emperor, yet at the same time, I am not the Tianbai Emperor. Strictly speaking, I am just a spiritual manifestation of the Tianbai Emperor."

"Spiritual manifestation? What’s that?"

Ling Feng sensed that the gray-robed old man had no ill intentions, so he withdrew his Eradicator of Realms. However, he still harbored a hint of vigilance in his heart.

"A spiritual manifestation is a spiritual thought-form formed by the combination of spiritual consciousness and spiritual elements that possesses its own consciousness but must obey the orders of the main body. And I am just a spiritual manifestation of the main body," the old man explained patiently.

"A spiritual consciousness can actually take on human form and possess independent consciousness?" Ling Feng looked incredulously at the old man in gray robes, astonished. "W-Who exactly are you?"

"My true form is that of the Tianbai Emperor." The old man in gray robes smiled faintly. "The Tianbai Emperor cultivated the Heavenly Scripture of Thousand Forms and divided himself into ten thousand clones, dispersing them into the myriad regions of the world. Each clone cultivated independently. When all clones reach the level of my true form, they will merge back into one, reaching the supreme realm. And I am one of those clones.

"Of course, I also have another identity, one you might be more familiar with. I am the founding emperor of the Holy Tianbai Dynasty, who unified the ten kingdoms of the Dongling Region and established the immortal hegemony of the dynasty! I am known to the world as the White Holy Emperor."

"I've never heard of you." Ling Feng shook his head, a look of bewilderment flashing in his eyes.

What the old man in the gray robe was talking about seemed too distant for Ling Feng. The concept of myriad realms and domains was beyond him. So far, he only knew about the Dongling Region.

Moreover, currently within the Dongling Region, there were four nations coexisting, and there was no such thing as the Holy Tianbai Dynasty.

The gray-robed old man's mouth twitched slightly, and the atmosphere became quite awkward for a moment.

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After a long pause, the gray-robed old man cleared his throat and slowly continued, "The world changes, and times are different now. The Dongling Region as I know it is no longer what it used to be."

"Rather than that, I find the Heavenly Scripture of Thousand Forms that your main body cultivated more impressive. What happened afterward? Did your main body succeed in cultivation? If so, why are you still here?" Ling Feng blinked and asked.

"My main body? Dead..." The gray-robed old man stood with his hands behind his back, saying this calmly as if discussing something unrelated to him.

"Dead? How did that happen?"

"I am just a clone. Although I can sense that the main body has died, I do not know how it happened."

Ling Feng looked at the gray-robed old man with great astonishment. "Since the main body is dead, how did you survive?"

Ling Feng listened intently as the gray-robed old man explained, "Alive? Not at all, not at all. This current state is neither alive nor dead. It's just that the residual energy hasn't been fully depleted yet. When the energy left behind by the main body is exhausted, I will naturally dissipate."

"Fortunately, I stumbled upon this vein of ore before my demise. Otherwise, I'm afraid I wouldn't have lasted until now."

"Oh, by the way, Senior, what about the donkey outside?" Ling Feng inquired.

"That's a gift from my main body, a divine beast egg. But it ended up hatching into a donkey."

The elder clenched his fists, revealing a simmering anger within him. "That wretched donkey, if I had another chance, I'd definitely turn it into egg fried rice and eat it!"

"Uh..." Ling Feng rubbed his nose, recalling the shameless face of the black donkey, and then nodded in agreement.

"That despicable donkey has high cultivation talent, but its character is too vulgar and perverted. So when I sealed myself, I also trapped it here, lest it wreak havoc and ruin the empire I painstakingly built!"

"No wonder that black donkey hates you so much." Ling Feng shook his head and laughed.

"Alright, enough idle chatter. Let's get to the point," the old man in gray cleared his throat and continued, "When I sensed the demise of my main body, I knew my time was short. So, I left the Holy Dynasty, and searched for spirit ore veins everywhere to prolong my life. It's been more than a thousand years since then."

"Now, I can only linger in this space. My body has decomposed, leaving only the last wisp of my soul. I believe it won't be long before I completely vanish."

The elder in gray stared at Ling Feng and said slowly, "The black donkey has led some people here over the past few centuries, hoping that they could help it break the array. But it doesn't know that the so-called array is actually my Dao Repository. Only with my teachings can the array be unlocked.

"Although I am not as outstanding as my main body, I still wish to find a worthy successor for what I have left behind. Unfortunately, the talents of those before you were quite limited. But, well, you seem to have some potential."

Ling Feng's eyes twitched, unable to resist asking, “What about those who didn't succeed in inheriting your teachings? Where did they all go? Eaten by the black donkey?'"

"No, no, no. The risk of accepting my teachings is very high. Nine out of ten of those people exploded and died. The remaining one went crazy and jumped off this floating platform, falling to their death," the gray-robed old man said with a flat expression.

"Uhh..." Ling Feng took a deep breath, feeling a chill run down his spine.

Nine out of ten died. That’s crazy! It seems more like a trial of death than an inheritance.

"Can I try it first? And if it doesn't work out, can I stop halfway?"

"Stop halfway? Kid, you're being too optimistic. Once you accept the inheritance, there's no stopping. It's either success or death," the gray-robed old man's voice was calm. "You seem young and have an innate spiritual body. Although not very powerful, your success rate is still much higher than the average person's."

Ling Feng rubbed his nose. Initially, Wen Tingguang claimed that I wasn't even considered a spiritual body, but now this gray-robed old man said that I have an innate spiritual body. It seems that as I conduct more spirit infusion, I can continuously improve my body’s constitution.

However, Ling Feng was too lazy to explain so much to the gray-robed old man. Since only by accepting the inheritance of this Tianbai Emperor could he break the array and leave the Misty Ghost Forest, he had no choice but to take the risk and give it a try.

Otherwise, even if he managed to leave this place, there was still a sixth-tier demonic beast outside clamoring to eat him, which would be even more dangerous.

"Alright, since that's the case, I'll give it a try," Ling Feng took a deep breath, without any complaints.

In this world, danger and opportunity coexisted. Seeking wealth and success involved taking risks. The path of martial arts had always been about defying fate and risking one's life. If one dared not take risks, what was the point of pursuing martial arts?

"Very well, you have courage. I have high hopes for you," the gray-robed old man said with a faint smile, "I will pass on to you the first teaching. Sit in front of that stone statue."

Following the instructions of the gray-robed old man, Ling Feng walked to the front of the stone statue and sat cross-legged.

In an instant, a beam of white light shot out from the stone statue, piercing through Ling Feng's forehead and entering his spiritual consciousness.

Ling Feng felt as if a gate had opened up before him, and with a thought, he found himself stepping through that gate.

He found himself in a dim part of a vast expanse of space. Strange runes floated densely around, and at the center, there was a row of dazzling golden characters.

"The Qi-Refining Primordial Lock!"

"Qi-refining?" Ling Feng raised an eyebrow, puzzled.

He had only heard of body refinement; he had never heard of qi refinement before.

"This is the most powerful secret technique I created back in the day. Unfortunately, it was too late when I developed it, so I couldn't fully unleash its potential. Therefore, those who cultivate the Qi-refining Primordial Lock are better off starting at a young age and with lower cultivation levels."

The light flickered, and the figure of the gray-robed elder also appeared in Ling Feng's consciousness.

"Lower cultivation level is better?" Ling Feng rubbed his nose, then understood.

This was what they called the blank slate theory. The more of a blank slate one was in, the less one would be affected by external factors.

"You should first observe the surrounding method yourself," the gray-robed old man said with a faint smile, "See how much you can comprehend."

Ling Feng nodded and gathered his focus, directing his attention to the peculiar floating runes around him.

They were not written words, but as Ling Feng focused his attention on them, he naturally perceived the pathways of cultivating and circulating qi.

The more Ling Feng looked, the more amazed and awestruck he became, gradually becoming immersed in them, and finding it hard to pull away.