Chapter Thirty-Two: Twelve Layers North of the Eight Capitals, The Elixir Forms as the Cicada Sheds Its Shell into the True Origin

Tuoba Dao arrived at the Kaiyang Gate for the third time, feeling that beyond the massive palace, the scorching radiance was even more intense than before.

Since his last visit to this White Jade Capital, the Heavenly King of the Changsheng Plains had realized he could no longer step out of the Kaiyang Gate to explore the vast expanse of the White Jade Capital; he could only catch glimpses of its grand scenery from the towering threshold.

He vaguely perceived a great marsh where spiritual energy surged, rising into the void like a torrent, veiling the heavens and the earth. Beneath that shroud of energy, he saw row upon row of towering pavilions, with the vast marsh winding around them for ten thousand miles.

Thus, whenever Tuoba Dao came to the Kaiyang Gate to study the Great Repentance of Eternal Life, he would sit before the threshold, carefully observing this rare and magnificent sight. The Changsheng Plains possessed their own grandeur—the moon setting over the western ridges, the clouds gathering to block the northern wilderness—but the wonders of the White Jade Capital held a unique charm that never failed to enchant Tuoba Dao, a man who had traversed the entire world.

Today, for instance, the true essence within Tuoba Dao seemed to flow across tens of thousands of miles, conjuring in his divine essence the image of a bright moon rising above the Tianshan Mountains and clouds of eternal life drifting amidst the sea. He knew he was not far from the ninth realm of the Great Repentance of Eternal Life. This was entirely due to the purple energy and the Yellow Court within the Kaiyang Gate, making him all the more reluctant to leave this place.

He squinted, looking into the distance at the hazy Kunlun Marsh, until he spotted an unfamiliar figure.

"Someone is there?"

Tuoba Dao stood up to look closer. From the swirling spiritual mist of the Kunlun Marsh, a young man was approaching. The youth was no more than eighteen, his features still marked by a touch of innocence. As he stepped into the hazy mist, shadows flickered, and as the radiance of the White Jade Capital’s sun gradually receded, the boy arrived at the Kaiyang Gate.

When the youth stepped across the threshold, the old man and the young one met, gazing at each other. After a long silence, the boy’s face broke into a delighted smile. "I thought I was the only living soul in this White Jade Capital, in this Kaiyang Gate."

Looking at the boy dressed in the long robes of the Southern Kingdom, Tuoba Dao recalled decades ago, when he had traveled to the Southern Kingdom of the Great Yu. He remembered the misty rain of Jiangnan, the scenery of the south, the spring water greener than the sky, and the painted boats drifting in the rain. He had met the daughter of a certain official there, and when they parted in haste, she had gifted him a begonia flower, saying, "The south has nothing to offer, I give you only a sprig of spring."

Later, he became a general clad in armor upon the Changsheng Plains, no longer a mere soldier with a saddle. He led the armies of the Yuhu people to reclaim the plains and the Cao’er Pass, becoming the renowned Heavenly King of Changsheng. Years had passed, and while the Southern Kingdom remained, he wondered if the woman who had once gifted him a sprig of spring had grown old or perhaps even passed away.

Tuoba Dao shook his head. "In my old age, only in this Kaiyang Gate can I recall the past," he thought, offering no response to the youth.

The boy in the long robes did not speak to him either. He stepped into the Kaiyang Gate and, with a touch of adult-like contemplation, stroked his chin while gazing at the two white jade steles. "Senior, when I last came, these two steles were not here. Are the techniques carved upon them the work of the Master of the White Jade Capital?"

The youth asked softly, his eyes fixed on the jade. Tuoba Dao remained silent, still gazing out toward the Kunlun Marsh.

Half a cup of tea’s time passed in silence. Tuoba Dao’s divine essence began to grow thin; he was about to leave the Kaiyang Gate. Just then, he felt something. He turned his head sharply and saw the youth still standing before the jade steles, his right hand shaped into a blade. In that instant, the purple energy of the Kaiyang Gate seemed to transform into blood energy and true essence, swirling around his fingers.

"Hmm?" Tuoba Dao frowned, a flicker of surprise crossing his eyes. He realized the boy was using his fingers as a blade to execute the "Twelvefold Path of the Northern Eight Capitals," which he himself had carved onto the stele.

"This boy's consciousness has descended here; he has not even attained the realm of divine essence... Without divine essence, even in the Kaiyang Gate, he should be unable to harness the Yellow Court to study the technique. How, then, did he learn this blade art of Huyan Guang at a single glance?"

Tuoba Dao did not voluntarily disperse his divine essence. Instead, he stood still, letting it fade naturally, and watched the boy practice. The purple energy flowed from the boy’s hand like a long blade. As it descended, the blade art unfolded like waves, strike after strike. The blade cut through the drifting purple energy, exuding a sense of ferocity.

This blade art was the technique that had made his subordinate, the famous general Huyan Guang, legendary before he had ascended to the Jade Palace. It was a true profound art; without reaching the realm of divine essence, one would struggle even to understand it.

"Yet this youth, who has not even cultivated divine essence, has mastered the blade art after only one look..."

Just as Tuoba Dao marveled, the boy took a step back and grabbed at the void. The purple energy instantly coalesced into a long blade. With a narrow back and a long edge, it was as pale as a rainbow and as bright as snow, the purple energy shimmering and inextinguishable!

"The Northern Eight Capitals has hundreds and thousands of unpredictable changes. Each one is manifesting in this boy’s blade light."

"The twelve realms, twelve hundred changes... he has already performed one hundred and sixty!"

Tuoba Dao narrowed his eyes, his gaze burning with genuine appreciation.

"Three hundred!"
"Six hundred and twenty!"
"Nine hundred and eighty!"
"Twelve hundred!"

Before Tuoba Dao’s widening eyes, the youth completed all twelve hundred changes of the twelvefold blade art.

"Twelve realms, twelve hundred changes, with only sixteen minor flaws." Tuoba Dao took a deep breath and spoke aloud: "At six inches of purple energy, vibrate it by an inch and a tenth."

The boy, seemingly enlightened, vibrated his purple blade. At the exact moment, the blade light shattered, unleashing a piercing chill.

"The clash of metal, like a great hammer hitting water, not a drop scattered."
"The blade light like falling snow; the blade's momentum like burning clouds."
"The rainbow light pressuring the trees, felling a thousand leaves."

Tuoba Dao continued to guide the youth, pointing out the flaws. The boy had extraordinary insight; with every word of guidance, he easily located the flaw and grasped the intent behind the advice.

"Good!" Tuoba Dao exclaimed. "What is your name?"

Chen Zhi’an, whose avatar was visiting, was about to answer, but Tuoba Dao raised a hand to stop him, shaking his head. "Since we have come to this White Jade Capital, we are fellow travelers. Why bother with secular names? When we meet again, call me... Old Huangliang."

Chen Zhi’an understood. He bowed to Tuoba Dao. "Thank you for your guidance, Senior. Then call me... Chang’an Guest." He was, after all, a man from Chang’an, acting as a guest here.

***

Chen Zhi’an slowly opened his eyes. He sat beneath a pear tree, letting the spring breeze brush against him, yet he felt no chill. His blood energy surged within him like waves crashing against the shore, resounding like the chime of a yellow bell. He extended two fingers, traced a line in the air, and his surging blood energy channeled into his fingers, slicing the air and shattering a fallen leaf nearby.

He felt a wave of fatigue.

"The Kaiyang Gate is truly miraculous. If I had practiced the twelvefold blade art on my own, it would have taken me a year or two to study it, but in the Kaiyang Gate, the time was greatly compressed. In just over a dozen days, I grasped its mysteries. With the guidance of Tuoba Dao, my progress in this blade art is already no less than my 'Tiger Embracing Fist,' and its power is incomparable."

Chen Zhi’an did not realize that the twelvefold blade art was a profound technique that ordinary cultivators could not even begin to learn before the divine essence realm, and even then, it would take a decade of immersion to master. Being only at the Qi-nourishing stage, he believed he could master it in a year or two—had anyone heard him, they would have mocked him as a fool.

But Chen Zhi’an was no fool. Even he did not realize that having begun his cultivation at seventeen, his talent and comprehension far surpassed those of others.

"However, with my current blood energy, I can use this blade art at most once. One strike, and my blood energy will be exhausted, and my body will be spent..."

His thoughts turned to the medicinal herbs spread before him. There were sixty-seven in total.

"I have gathered all the ingredients for the Cicada Slough Pill, but some are too precious to find in quantity. I can only brew it twice. If I fail, I will have to rely on the Burning Blood Ginger Fruit."

Chen Zhi’an set up four furnaces: a clay pot, a purple clay teapot, a large iron pot, and a medicine cauldron. He took a deep breath, channeled his blood energy, and blew gently into the furnace. The fire roared to life. He used expensive tiger-head charcoal to cook the medicine while he stir-fried the herbs.

The heat was intense. Whenever it dimmed, he channeled his blood energy to fuel the fire. Once the herbs were charred, he moved them to the clay pot to simmer. He then processed the remaining herbs in the other containers, using his "Tiger Embracing Fist" breathing technique to control the flames with his palms.

"Now for the most precious ingredients. They must be simmered with the juice of the Seven-Link Leaf seven times to form a medicinal paste."

This was the hardest part. The medicinal properties of the Earth Lotus were extremely sensitive; too little or too much heat would ruin it. Chen Zhi’s drank a cup of ginger tea and a bowl of Yellow Bell Energy-Circulation Soup, then added the white snake fruit, dragon-coil branches, and tiger bone to the teapot.

After the final reduction, he opened the teapot to find a dark green paste emitting a fragrant aroma.

"I am lucky. The hardest part went well."

He placed the materials into the cauldron. An hour later, he realized he had been busy for five or six hours. He opened the cauldron to find a round, jade-white mass. He shaped it into a pill.

"When the Cicada Slough is complete, the paste is like jade, crystal clear and white, with a scent like osmanthus."

Chen Zhi’an inhaled the scent and smiled. "The most important step to breaking through the true essence barrier—the Cicada Slough Pill—is ready."

He looked up at the sky; the fifth watch had just sounded. The moonlight bathed the city, and the lamps were sparse.

"Tonight is a good time." He sat down beneath the pear tree again. "Let us make this night even better. The breakthrough to the true essence realm happens tonight."

Without hesitation, he swallowed the Cicada Slough Pill.