Chapter 72

Feng Ye slowly walked towards Suimu, and before long, the woman behind him caught up. Feng Ye then invited her, "Madam, ahead is the location of the Suimu Ancestor Tree. Why don't we go and take a look together?"

The woman nodded and walked with Feng Ye to the Suimu tree, sitting cross-legged. Lady Ziguang said, "How do you feel about the battle between the shamans and the demons?"

"It's quite intense. I fear the emperor's throne might not be far from falling. However, there's one thing I don't understand," Feng Ye said.

"What is it?"

"The Solar Star lineage, though it has lost virtue, has done more good than harm. Moreover, the Ten Princes of the Golden Crows patrol the sky, accumulating great merit. Why would the shamans choose this moment?"

"Do you know that the Lady Wangshu of the Lunar Star has broken her seal?"

Feng Ye's expression changed. "In that case, it makes sense. Is it because the Yin and Yang stars are interdependent and mutually restrictive?"

"Not just that!" Lady Ziguang smiled coldly. "As soon as Lady Wangshu appeared, she immediately killed the Moon Goddess Changxi and the twelve Moon Princesses, the daughters of Changxi and Di Jun. This caused an imbalance of Yin and Yang. With only the Solar Star lineage to suppress the Heavenly Emperor's position, the solitary Yang cannot thrive, and thus disaster is inevitable!"

"So there's more to it than that?" Feng Ye thought to himself.

"Moreover, Kua Fu was killed by the Solar Star lineage! This is enough to serve as a pretext for the shamans to wage war against the Heavenly Court!"

Kua Fu, as a great shaman, protected a region in the far north and had achieved some merit. His killing by the Solar Star lineage, regardless of which Solar God did it, could be used as evidence of the Heavenly Court's loss of virtue, allowing the shamans to justify their war against heaven.

Feng Ye pondered this, then looked up and asked, "Madam, may I ask a question?"

"What is it?"

"Why do you hate Di Jun so much?"

"Of course, it's to avenge my children!" Lady Ziguang said coldly.

"But as far as I know, you were dissatisfied with Di Jun when he first became the Heavenly Emperor. Then you led a group of star gods into seclusion, causing the Heavenly Court system to almost collapse?"

Lady Ziguang's face changed. After a moment, she said slowly, "Did you hear this from Emperor Fuxi?"

Feng Ye remained silent, which was a tacit acknowledgment.

There was a moment of silence.

"Is it related to the Eastern Emperor?" Feng Ye couldn't help but ask lightly.

It was well-known that Di Jun was the incarnation of Taiyi, and the relationship between Lady Ziguang and Taiyi was ambiguous. Initially, Lady Ziguang recognized Taiyi's rule and was enshrined as the Mother of the Dipper and the Empress of the Nine Heavens during the Eastern Emperor's era. However, she suddenly fell out of favor during Di Jun's reign, despite Di Jun being a descendant of Taiyi, who should have shown her some respect. This sudden change naturally led people to suspect the Eastern Emperor.

Seeing Lady Ziguang's expression worsen, Feng Ye pressed on, "Do you know how the Eastern Emperor died?"

The True Mother of the Nine Heavens' expression was dark and unpredictable. "How could I know such details, as I was not a party to it?" She paused, then changed the subject, "This matter is long past. Why bring it up again? Instead, I recently obtained a cultivation method. Would you like to appraise it?" She then handed a jade tablet to Feng Ye.

Feng Ye scanned it with his divine sense, and his expression changed slightly. "This method is quite profound. I need to study it carefully!"

Seeing this, Lady Ziguang bowed and left. Her back seemed to be that of someone fleeing.

Feng Ye looked at the jade tablet in his hand, deep in thought. Was this a bribe? Did she not want him to continue asking about the Eastern Emperor's death? Could it be that, as he suspected, there was more to the Eastern Emperor's death? However, the Eastern Emperor was not related to him, so why should he be so concerned? A cultivation method was more practical. Still—

Looking at the jade tablet, Feng Ye became conflicted again. Wasn't it said that divine cultivation methods were rare? How did he just get a divine method for opening the Dao from Fuxi, and now another method for achieving the Dao of the Primordial? These divine beings must really hate the Immortal Dao, each one striving to create a method to surpass the Immortal Dao.

But he was from the Immortal Dao. No matter how many divine methods there were, they were useless to him!

The divine method recorded in the jade tablet, which Feng Ye had heard of in the future, was about controlling the laws of the universe, using the fundamental laws of the Dao to achieve the Primordial. However, it still followed the path of integration, where a Great Sage merges with the laws of the universe, while a Quasi-Saint merges with one of the Three Thousand Great Dao, achieving immortality. This was more straightforward than Fuxi's method of creating the universe.

Feng Ye decided to pass this method to Yuan Kui without further consideration. After all, he was rooted in the Immortal Dao. Converting to the Divine Dao would be less practical than focusing on transcending. Besides, neither Fuxi's method nor the jade tablet had been proven. The Immortal Dao, however, had the examples of the various Sages.

Feng Ye put aside his杂念, no longer thinking about these trivial matters, and began to focus on breaking through his cultivation realm, aiming to reach the Taiyi stage as soon as possible.

The Five Elements True Heavenly Wheel flew out from behind Feng Ye, rotating continuously. Five Elemental Dragons emerged, absorbing the surrounding elemental energy and refining their own power. When the five dragons grew to be indistinguishable from true dragons, the Five Elements True Symbols on the wheel suddenly retracted, swallowing the dragons.

Then the Five Elements True Symbols began to glow in sequence, continuously demonstrating the cycle of the Five Elements. This was the essence of the Three Flowers and Five Qi cultivation method. The Five Qi returning to the source was meant to create a self-sustaining cycle within the body, ensuring endless vitality and no decline. Once this cycle was established, dependence on the external world decreased, bringing one closer to transcending the universe.

After eighty-one cycles, the five True Symbols of the Five Elements merged into the Primordial True Symbol. The Five Elements Wheel was also absorbed, leaving only a Primordial pattern flowing behind Feng Ye. The Dao of the Five Elements was also integrated into Feng Ye's Dao fruit.

Feng Ye opened his eyes, calculated with his fingers, and realized the banquet was not yet over. He did not go to the front but instead completed the unfinished staff, then summoned the Sun Boy and gave him the Suimu staff, instructing him to deliver it to a man named Yelong in the Jiangshui tribe.

Yelong had traveled among humans for decades, covering the entire human realm. Now, having reached the banks of the Jiangshui River, it was time for him to settle down. Moreover, the Jiangshui River was the birthplace of the future Shen Nong, making it a strategic location.

After the Sun Boy left, Feng Ye began to ponder. Shen Nong was about to be born. Should Yelong be the one to teach him, or should he go himself?

It didn't matter; there was still time. Feng Ye thought about the dragon veins of the Huaxu tribe.

Now that Nüwa had just achieved the Dao of the Earth Emperor, the position of the human race's leader would likely remain with the Huaxu tribe for some time. Shen Nong would not be born for another hundred years, by which time the dragon veins would have fully shifted to the Jiangshui region.

For now, he should focus on consolidating his Dao. Feng Ye raised his primordial spirit cloud. The cloud was multicolored, constantly flowing, with three lotus flowers standing in the Three Talents formation, supporting an array diagram.

According to Nüwa, Feng Ye's idea of using the Three Talents Formation to cut the Three Corpses was unrealistic. Finding three treasures capable of cutting the Corpses was difficult.

If he could find them, they could be used to create a primordial killing array,震慑 the universe. However, it was too early to think about such things. First, he needed to become a Great Sage and gather his primordial spirit. Only then could he disperse his primordial spirit into countless parts, increasing his chances of escaping and reincarnating in a fight.

Following Feng Ye's calculations, since he used the Five Elements to transform the Five Qi, it was natural to use the Three Talents to achieve the Three Flowers. Fortunately, Feng Ye had received the divine inheritance of the Nine-Headed Clan, giving him a deep understanding of the Three Talents and Five Elements.

Condensing the Five Qi required the help of Nüwa and Fuxi, but the Three Flowers were different. If he needed help, he would have to find the Three Emperors of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity. However, with the decline of the divine path, where were the Three Emperors now? Only Nüwa remained.

However, Nüwa had once infused the ancient human emperor's fortune into the human race, making them inheritors of the divine race. With Fuxi achieving the Dao of the human race's Heavenly Emperor and Nüwa holding the position of Earth Emperor, when the human emperor was born, the Three Emperors of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity would be complete. This could be a golden opportunity to achieve the Three Flowers and become a Great Sage!

When Feng Ye advanced from a Golden Immortal to a Taiyi Immortal, he used the Five Elements True Symbols as a guide. Similarly, when advancing from Taiyi to Great Sage, he used the True Symbols as a guide.

The Primordial True Symbol flew out from Feng Ye's head, emitting three colors: blue, yellow, and red. These colors transformed into three True Symbols, representing Heaven, Earth, and Humanity. The Taiji Symbol, as a supreme treasure of the symbol path, enhanced the symbol cultivation. The symbol struck three times, and the three True Symbols of the Three Talents materialized, merging into the Three Flowers on Feng Ye's head.

The Three Flowers, aided by the Three True Symbols, showed various phenomena.

The Flower of Heaven, receiving the Heavenly True Symbol, turned a deep blue, representing the six directions of Heaven. A five-colored cloud emerged from the primordial spirit cloud and merged into the Flower of Heaven. This cloud was formed from Feng Ye's Five Elements energy, assisting the Yin and Yang in the Heavenly Stems.

The Heavenly Stems are the Five Elements of Heaven. Jia is Yang and Yi is Yin, both belonging to the Green Wood. Bing is Yang and Ding is Yin, both representing the Red Fire. Wu is Yang and Ji is Yin, both forming the Yellow Earth. Geng is Yang and Xin is Yin, both transforming into White Metal. Ren is Yang and Gui is Yin, both matching the Black Water. These Heavenly Stems correspond to the six qi of Heaven, balancing the Dao of Heaven.

The Flower of Earth, receiving the Earthly True Symbol, turned a golden yellow. Another five-colored cloud merged into it. The Five Elements in the Earth form the Twelve Earthly Branches, assisting the five directions and four seasons, representing the Dao of Earth.

The Twelve Earthly Branches are: Wood for Yin and Mao, Fire for Si and Wu, Metal for Shen and You, Water for Hai and Zi, and Earth for Chou, Chen, Wei, and Xu. The Five Elements also correspond to the five directions: Wood for East, Fire for South, Earth for Center, Metal for West, and Water for North. The four seasons are: Wood for Spring, Fire for Summer, Metal for Autumn, and Water for Winter, with Earth supporting the four seasons.

The Dao of Earth, like the Dao of Heaven, has six qi: wind, heat, dampness, dryness, and cold. In Heaven, these are Yin, Yang, wind, rain, darkness, and light. On Earth, they are: wind from Wood, heat and summer from Fire, dampness from Earth, dryness from Metal, and cold from Water. These six qi are the Dao of Earth.

The Flower of Humanity, receiving the Human True Symbol, turned a deep red. The Five Elements energy merged, representing the Five Virtues, Five Qualities, and Five Natures of Humanity.

The Five Qualities are: Water is level, Fire is sharp, Wood is long, Metal is square, and Earth is round. The Five Natures are: Water is cold, Fire is hot, Wood is warm, Metal is clear, and Earth is steaming. From these, the Five Emperors of Humanity are derived: the Green Emperor of Wood in the East, the Red Emperor of Fire in the South, the Yellow Emperor of Earth in the Center, the White Emperor of Metal in the West, and the Black Emperor of Water in the North. Each Emperor also represents a virtue, which later became the Five Emperors.

In terms of virtues, the Five Virtues are: benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness. Wood represents benevolence, Metal represents righteousness, Fire represents propriety, Water represents wisdom, and Earth represents trustworthiness.

Feng Ye used the Dao of the Five Elements to deduce the Three Flowers of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity. After three or four cycles, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, and the Three Flowers scattered. Feng Ye quickly used a hand seal to stabilize his primordial spirit cloud with the Primordial True Symbol, preventing him from going into a spiritual crisis.

Feng Ye sighed inwardly, "I was too hasty. Just after achieving the Taiyi Dao fruit, I tried to deduce the Three Talents of the Great Sage. My foundation was not strong enough, and it's no wonder I suffered a backlash!"