Chapter 546: The Failed Path (II)
After parting ways with Qiu Kun, Lin Zheyu continued on to the library and purchased more Shackles realm manuals. Tu Mingzhen had just sent over three high-grade spirit stones as compensation, a timely relief that replenished his nearly empty purse. With that, he once again had enough spirit stones to buy manuals and cultivate his Divine Repository realm techniques.
"Greetings, Senior."
Holding the jade slips he had selected, Lin Zheyu bowed respectfully to the old man. He seemed to cross paths with Xia Ping quite often, and today, the one on duty at the library was once again Xia Ping.
"Mm, very good." Xia Ping looked Lin Zheyu over for a moment, then smiled faintly, a hint of approval appearing on his face.
His perception was extremely keen. Though he could not fully see through Lin Zheyu, he could vaguely sense the changes within him. In Xia Ping's perception, the essence origin divine repository and the essence and qi divine repository within Lin Zheyu had grown significantly stronger, yet the vitality and blood qi in his body had not increased much.
There was only one explanation for this. Xiao Yu had further developed the latent potential of his divine repository, but because his physique had already reached its limit and was bound by shackles, his overall strength had not improved much.
Lin Zheyu quickly grasped Xia Ping's train of thought and responded at once. "This is all thanks to your guidance last time."
"No need to be modest. Whenever I meet martial artists preparing to break through to the Shackles realm, I give them a few pointers. But those who can truly further develop the latent potential of their divine repositories are fewer than can be counted on one hand." Xia Ping smiled faintly and asked, "Boy, how old are you this year?"
"I am one hundred and twenty-three this year," Lin Zheyu replied. This was the age he claimed publicly, fitting the image of a genius martial artist.
"One hundred and twenty-three, and already at the peak of the Divine Repository realm. You are far more capable than I was at your age. You're still young. You can spend a few more decades consolidating your foundation in the Divine Repository realm and break through to the Shackles realm at one hundred and fifty. If you can gain more in this realm, it will bring you endless benefits on your future martial cultivation path," Xia Ping advised.
This time, he regarded Lin Zheyu far more highly, and his guidance was no longer as casual as before. With a light tap on his storage pouch, a jade slip turned into a streak of white light and flew toward Lin Zheyu.
"Take this. It contains my explorations of the Divine Repository realm," Xia Ping said calmly.
Lin Zheyu caught the jade slip with some surprise and gave a deep bow in gratitude. "Many thanks, Senior."
"Mm." Xia Ping gave a soft acknowledgment. With a light wave of his right hand, Lin Zheyu felt an invisible energy wrap around him.
By the time he came back to his senses, he was already standing at the stairway entrance. Lin Zheyu's eyes widened as he looked around, shock filling his gaze. The move Xia Ping had just displayed was truly extraordinary.
Lin Zheyu could not help but marvel inwardly. What level has this senior's strength reached?
He had considerable attainment in spatial laws and could tell that Xia Ping had not used any spatial power just now. To silently move him from the third floor to the stairway entrance without relying on spatial laws was not something a Golden Core realm expert could accomplish.
Lin Zheyu looked up at the old man, who had already closed his eyes and resumed his quiet meditation by the stairs. He bowed once more in that direction to express his gratitude.
This senior is truly a good person, Lin Zheyu thought to himself.
He and Xia Ping had merely crossed paths by chance. Though they both belonged to the Martial Alliance, there was no master-disciple relationship between them, nor had they met many times. Yet Xia Ping had offered him guidance out of pure appreciation, and now had even gifted him a jade slip containing his own insights into the Divine Repository realm.
Lin Zheyu sent his spiritual sense into the jade slip and took a brief look, discovering that it contained explorations and insights into the divine repositories' martial cultivation. It also outlined many methods for developing its latent potential and exploring its unknown domains.
"Hm! No wonder he told me to exchange for Great Evolution Pure Origin Art back then."
Lin Zheyu found records related to the Great Evolution Pure Origin Art. In Xia Ping's research, it was the optimal method for cultivating a second divine repository technique. Although it was inferior to the Purple Firmament Repository Returning Art, it possessed a unique trait that could greatly reduce the difficulty of opening a divine repository.
This effect occurred only when cultivating multiple divine repository techniques. After completing the first technique, one would reinforce it before opening the repository. The reduction in difficulty was relative to other second divine repository techniques. Even so, opening a divine repository with a second technique, even using the Great Evolution Pure Origin Art, was still far more difficult than for martial artists who cultivated only a single technique.
Good, I'll note this down first. I can cultivate the Great Evolution Pure Origin Art after the Yellow Springs Nirvana Scripture. That way, the difficulty of opening the divine repository will be greatly reduced, Lin Zheyu thought excitedly.
He had not expected the Great Evolution Pure Origin Art to have such a property. Lin Zheyu continued reading, though not too carefully, instead skimming through the various points recorded in the jade slip to get a general sense of them. Before long, he had browsed through everything at a glance and gained an overall understanding of its contents.
Lin Zheyu put away the jade slip and said softly, "I see. So this so-called unknown domain of the divine repository is merely one of Senior Xia Ping's ideas, and an unproven one at that."
From what was recorded in the jade slip, he formed a vague guess about Xia Ping's path of martial cultivation beyond the Shackles realm. Lin Zheyu suspected that Xia Ping was likely walking a purely martial path, one that did not integrate Shamanic Dao, Immortal Dao, or Demon Dao. After extensive exploration, Xia Ping had focused post-Shackles realm cultivation on the divine repository.
Or perhaps exploring the unknown domain of the divine repository to open the next realm beyond the Shackles realm had been a path Xia Ping once tested but ultimately failed to prove. Yet he remained unwilling to let it go, believing the divine repository path was still viable. The issue likely lay within the Divine Repository realm itself.
To use the three great divine repositories as the foundation for opening the next realm beyond the Shackles realm likely required laying an extremely deep foundation during the Divine Repository realm and fully developing their latent potential. Only then could his vision be realized.
For this reason, Xia Ping began guiding other martial artists, hoping to see whether continually excavating the divine repository's potential before advancing to the Shackles realm might truly allow one to step onto a martial path rooted in it.
Lin Zheyu examined the contents of the jade slip carefully and felt that this conjecture was highly likely to be true.
Lin Zheyu felt a surge of excitement. "A failed path... For me, whether it succeeds or fails doesn't matter. I still had some doubts before, but with this jade slip, there are no issues left with my previous plan."
Xia Ping's exploration of the Divine Repository realm saved him from many detours and a great deal of effort. According to his earlier plan, he would cultivate one technique after another, using Origin Force to forcefully stack each to Perfection. At first glance, it seemed workable, but upon closer thought, many problems became apparent.
With every additional divine repository technique cultivated and each reinforcement of the repository, the difficulty of opening it would rise exponentially. If this issue were not resolved, Lin Zheyu might end up cultivating three divine repository techniques yet still be unable to open it. With this jade slip, however, he felt that the problems troubling him regarding the divine repository were nearly completely resolved. From here on, he only needed to proceed step by step and find time to head to the demon god barrier to improve himself.
The corners of Lin Zheyu's lips lifted slightly as his figure flashed, hastening back toward his courtyard. "So the divine repository contains so many interesting aspects."
Less than half a month remained before his agreed time with Han Ge and the others. During this period, Lin Zheyu had to thoroughly absorb the knowledge within the jade slip while preparing all the herbs and treasures needed for cultivation. That way, once he entered the demon god barrier, he could immediately use Origin Force to greatly enhance his strength.
***
Two days later, as Lin Zheyu was immersed in the jade slip's knowledge, his body trembled slightly, and he opened his eyes. He frowned and looked at the bracelet on his wrist. The green-glass bracelet was flickering with a faint light.
"Fan Hongwei?" Lin Zheyu said with certainty, though his tone carried a hint of questioning.
Calculating the time, the one-year period he had agreed upon with Fan Hongwei was about to arrive. Even if it came a little early, it was nothing unusual. Lin Zheyu had long been prepared for that old fellow to come looking for him, so he felt little concern. After murmuring softly, he ignored the bracelet's warning and closed his eyes again, continuing his cultivation.
Time passed slowly, and in the blink of an eye, fifteen days went by. During these days, Fan Hongwei would locate Lin Zheyu's position every few days. Even after discovering that Lin Zheyu was hiding within the Martial Realm, he did not give up, continuing to track him, waiting for the moment Lin Zheyu left the Martial Realm to make his move.
Lin Zheyu glanced at the flickering bracelet again, feeling somewhat speechless. "There are so many martial artists in Great Wei. Why is this old fellow so stubborn, fixating on me like this?"
Each time after Fan Hongwei located him, the interval grew longer. Four days had passed since the bracelet's last warning. Now that it was warning him again, the next one would likely not come for another five or six days.
"I won't wait for Han Ge and the others. I'll go ahead first."
Lin Zheyu stood up, sent his spiritual sense into the Spirit Resonance Sphere, and left a message for Han Ge and the others. Then, with a slight movement, he headed toward the teleportation formation.
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