Chapter 2929 - Heart’s Blood
A long time passed before Su Yi came back to his senses.
“According to you, the Immortal Dao was once loftier than the other paths of cultivation. Is that true?” asked Su Yi.
The little man in Daoist robes said, “Of course! The Immortal Dao was once supreme, a path beyond Eternity. Becoming an immortal was something every living being longed for even in their dreams, yet could never attain!”
“And that’s connected to Bringing Order?” asked Su Yi.
Chen Xin paused to consider his words, then said, “Ordinarily speaking, ‘Bringing Order’ is limited to a given epoch civilization, while the competition between different paths of cultivation lies far beyond the bounds of any given epoch. It goes back to the first Bringing of Order after the first parting of the primordial chaos.”
He scratched his head. “I don’t know what happened during that first Bringing of Order either. Should the opportunity arise, you can go to the Far Shore of Destiny. There, you’ll find a chaos source. If you trace it back to its origins, seek the Dao, and become an Ancestor, you’ll naturally understand what I mean by the first Bringing of Order and the competition between Daos.”
Su Yi suddenly recalled something Xiao Jian had told him—those who reached the Far Shore of Destiny sought to trace things back to their source and become an Ancestor of the Dao!
There was no doubt about it. The first parting of chaos and the first Battle for Order existed on the Far Shore of Destiny!
Assuming Chen Xin wasn’t lying, a long time ago Immortality had really represented a higher level of attainment than Eternity.
But after a clash between Daos, the Immortal Dao declined. Godhood, the Undying, and the Eternal now stood above it!
“Interesting. Cultivators vie for supremacy, but so too do the paths we cultivate,” whispered Su Yi.
Chen Xin’s words had broadened his horizons, making him cognizant of numerous problems he’d never considered before.
All of this deepened his understanding of “Bringing Order.” He’d won the God Domain’s Battle for Order and become the Ruler of the Epochs, so he had the foundations needed to Bring Order to the various epoch civilizations. But even after all this time, he’d yet to do so.
Now, Chen Xin’s explanation was like opening a window into an all-new world. He finally understood that the term “Bringing Order” had a far greater, and far more unbelievable significance than he’d initially realized!
All Daos, great and small, were Daos. Why must there be differences in level between them? Why were some loftier than others?
Who created the first Grand Dao? And who determined the first path of cultivation?
Why were the different realms and paths of cultivation divided the way they were?
Su Yi had considered these problems before, but as his cultivation grew and his horizons broadened, he realized that these seemingly simple, superficial questions hid enormous secrets and mysteries. The more he learned, the harder these questions were to answer!
Perhaps this was what it meant to trace things back to their source and become an Ancestor of the Dao.
What would happen if he Brought Order after grasping the answers to all of these questions?
Despite himself, his heart filled with eagerness at the thought of it.
More than that, he was increasingly cognizant of how extraordinary the miniature man, Chen Xin, really was. He wasn’t simple at all!
“Hey, come on! I told you all that, so hurry up and put that sword away!” Chen Xin reminded him with obvious displeasure. “If you’re really afraid I’ll run away, just refine me! What need is there to use that sword to suppress me?”
Su Yi fell briefly silent, then said, “I’m going to level with you. I don’t know how to refine a Secret Heart Treasure.”
As soon as the words left his lips, he felt ashamed of himself.
Chen Xin was at a loss for words. After a stunned pause, he burst into sputtering laughter. “Why not say so earlier? It’s not like I’d make fun of you for ignorance, stupidity, foolishness, and lack of experience!”
“...” Su Yi didn’t know what to say. Doesn’t that count as mockery?
Seemingly out of concern that Su Yi would take his sword and cut him up, Chen Xin suppressed the impulse to laugh and said solemnly, “Have you condensed a Heart Soul?”
Su Yi nodded.
“Then there’s no problem,” said Chen Xin. “Take out a drop of your heart’s blood and imprint it on the scepter. Then, you can use your Heart Soul’s power to pull the scepter into your heart at will.”
But Su Yi looked skeptical. “It’s really that simple?”
Chen Xin rolled his eyes. “Nonsense! I’m willing to accept you as my master; I would never tolerate all of this otherwise. If I weren’t willing, even the master of the heavens could forget about making me lower my head!”
“Oh,” said Su Yi. Then, he took out the rusted sheath.
The heart devil’s voice emanated from within it. “I’d like to see you lower your head for me.”
“Okay!” Chen Xin obediently lowered his head, just as he was told, his whole body quivering with fright. He could sense a heart-palpitatingly terrifying aura.
When Su Yi saw this, he relaxed considerably. It wasn’t that he particularly disliked the miniature man, Chen Xin. He just brought out the heart devil to ensure that nothing went wrong.
After all, heart’s blood was tied to his vital source energies, and it was of the utmost importance. If someone misused it, the consequences would be dire.
“Are you happy now, Your Excellency?” Chen Xin asked in a quavering voice.
The heart devil ignored him and said to Su Yi, “The little fellow’s karma is enormous, but there’s nothing particularly wrong with him himself. I’ll discuss his karmic ties with you when you reach the Far Shore. For now... there’s no need to go into it.”
Here, the heart devil changed tack. “When the Book of Destiny and Contented Heart Scepter enter the world, other taboo treasures will inevitably appear, too. You’d best be careful. Those carrying these treasures will be the most dangerous enemies you’ll encounter in your cultivation.”
Su Yi was instantly solemn. When the Book of Destiny and Contented Heart Scepter enter the world, other, similarly taboo treasures will appear, too? If what he’s telling me is true, does that mean I’ll inevitably run into these powerful foes?
Unfortunately, the heart devil sank back into silence just as Su Yi was about to ask for clarification. All Su Yi could do was set those thoughts aside for later.
He looked at the quivering Chen Xin and chuckled. He was so haughty and arrogant, but look at him now! He’s as timid as a quail.
“Why are you so afraid?” asked Su Yi.
“You know the answer to that, so why ask?” Chen Xin sensed that terrifying power’s departure and let out a long sigh before regaining his initial, arrogant demeanor. “I’m the spirit of a Secret Heart Treasure, and that was an unimaginably terrifying heart devil. Of course I was afraid he’d kill me and seize my power!”
Only then did Su Yi understand.
Then, without any further delays, he extracted a drop of his heart’s blood and used a secret seal to brand it on the scepter.
As the scalding hot blood split into wisps of red, the scepter melted like water. Chen Xin, the miniature man, leaped into the liquid scepter.
Su Yi exerted the secret power of the heart and covered the melted scepter, which vanished instantly.
The Heart Soul seated within the landscape of Su Yi’s heart silently opened its eyes. It now held a nine-inch scepter.
The little man in Daoist robes, Chen Xin, floated over it, then leaped three feet into the air, jumping for joy and flailing excitedly. “Incredible! You’ve actually tempered your heart to such unbelievable heights! All you need is the right opportunity, and you’ll be able to light your Natal Heart Lamp!
“Waaaah! To me, your heart is a first-rate blessed ground for cultivation! Bro, I’ll stick with you going forward. You can’t get rid of me now even if you want to!” Chen Xin cried out excitedly, blurring into a beam of light and soaring around Su Yi’s Heart Soul. He was obviously truly beside himself with joy.
Su Yi’s Heart Soul raised a hand and tapped. Chen Xin tripped, then fused back into the scepter.
But he wasn’t the least bit upset. He laughed, then said, “I understand. I’ll cultivate quietly inside the scepter. I promise not to disrupt your heart!”
With that, he vanished into the scepter.
Su Yi’s Heart Soul placed the scepter in front of himself, then held it aloft with both hands and sensed it quietly.
The truths of “a contented heart” flooded into him like tidewaters.
Although Chen Xin had told him about it, when Su Yi refined this treasure for himself, he was enlightened in an entirely new way.
The heart seemed immaterial, but it was full of profundities upon profundities.
Who could have imagined something as wondrous as Secret Heart Treasures existed in this world?
The Contented Heart Scepter was even less simple. It was the combination of the Nine Mysteries of Chaos, and it possessed all of their powers, mysteries, and memories. More than that, it could temper itself within his heart and display indescribable power in battle.
Using his Heart Soul to temper the scepter drained an immense amount of power, but as the scepter grew stronger, it could temper his Heart Soul in turn.
The two supported and strengthened each other.
And Su Yi’s secret heart power served as the source energy for both the scepter and the Heart Soul.
As he gleaned insight into the unbelievable qualities of the Contended Heart Scepter, Su Yi gradually came to understand how to temper and use this treasure.
Before he knew it, the night receded and the light of day returned. Su Yi awakened from his meditation and left the inn.
The streets of Roaring Dragon City were bustling with human traffic. Everywhere he looked, there were cultivators.
Su Yi had been under the River of Destiny until quite recently, and he’d arrived in the Divine Wandering Continent weary from a long journey.
It had been a long time since he’d last gotten the chance to just wander in a new place.
Walking these streets so crowded that he bumped shoulders with passersby and breathing in the air of the red dust of mundanity left him unwittingly dazed. His heart and body thoroughly relaxed.
Wandering the world of red dust and seeking solitude in otherworldly pure lands were both forms of cultivation.
Su Yi planned to set off today and investigate the ruins of the Heart-Tempering Sword House eight thousand miles from Roaring Dragon City. He wanted to see if he could uncover any worthwhile leads.
But when he reached the city gates and was about to leave, he suddenly stopped in his tracks. His gaze landed on two people not far away, a youth and an old man.
The two of them emanated a hint of a highly familiar aura!
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