Chapter 1788: Sequence Arrangement (II)

Moongaze Lake.

The trees throughout the mountains trembled as a deep rumbling echoed through the area, faintly mingled with the rustling of the wind. The fine sand and soil before the cave dwelling danced and leaped with the wind, rising and falling in waves. The stone doors trembled without cease as brilliant silver light poured through the cracks and streamed across the mountains.

Boom!

The stone doors, which had not moved for many years, suddenly thundered open. A billowing wave of silver light swept out, darkening the sky and setting thunder rolling. The clouds scattered; stars flashed overhead; trees toppled; and starlight covered the ground!

A young man emerged from the cave dwelling, his features stern and his bearing extraordinary. Silver light gathered densely within his eyes, giving him a rather cold and ruthless appearance. Yet his joy revealed itself between his brows, like a spring breeze thawing the winter ice and dispelling much of that chill.

It was none other than Li Suining!

"My Immortal Foundation is complete!"

After spending a year in seclusion within the mountains regulating his condition, he had begun condensing true origin and successfully established the Immortal Foundation of the [Great Void Dipper-Turning Art]. His Immortal Foundation was the [Divine Sequence Arrangement] that calculated measures and arranged sequences, extrapolated the shifts of circumstance, and also served as the divine office!

Yet his face held more than joy. There was an even greater sense of relief at having survived a calamity, and beads of cold sweat had even appeared on his skin.

The difficulty of this path had far exceeded his expectations!

It was not as though Li Suining had never cultivated before or established a foundation. The [Stellar Enclosure Grand Repository Divine Scroll] he had cultivated back then had likewise been a fifth-grade cultivation art, yet this rather unremarkable art was far more difficult!

This difficulty arose because the [Great Void Dipper-Turning Art] condensed an additional Void Core within his qihai. The cultivation art stated that this core could be dissolved during Foundation Establishment Realm to assist with the breakthrough, but a true genius would instead transform the core from illusory to real, increasing their strength after reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Li Suining had been given another life, and the resources available to him now far surpassed those of his previous life. Having already spent decades at the Foundation Establishment Realm before, how could he possibly settle for an inferior result? Naturally, he had gritted his teeth and forced his way through the process. Yet doing so had truly put him through the wringer. If not for the experience of his previous life and the Essence Gathering Pill, he might very well have lost his life.

I've finally made it through!

The foremost mystic of [Divine Sequence Arrangement] was calculating measures and arranging sequences. Moreover, this calculation and sequencing was precisely a form of divinatory calculation!

His family was not without its own methods of divinatory calculation. Daoist Master Li Quewan of [Whole Pill] possessed mastery over arcane transformations that nearly rivaled Qiushui. Yet unlike the calculation methods of Whole Pill and the Shamanic Dao, the divinatory powers of [Divine Sequence Arrangement] relied far more heavily on celestial phenomena.

Unfortunately, the stars were now in disarray and celestial phenomena had become abnormal, greatly diminishing this ability and making calculations extremely troublesome. It possessed only a few minor mystics for controlling thunder, with just one truly distinctive aspect for self-preservation: [Should Any Defy Fate, the Divine Sequence Shall Know].

[Untraceable Presence] could block divinatory calculation and conceal one from the probing of divine abilities. [Divine Sequence Arrangement] had a similar effect. Divine abilities such as [Clear Hearing] would find it extremely difficult to hear his thoughts without him noticing. However, a Daoist Master would likewise sense that their divine ability had failed and realize something was amiss.

However, according to the scroll, [Divine Sequence Arrangement] cannot evade Bright Yang or Sheji type Fate Divine Abilities.

As for influencing the course of events, Li Suining found this far more useful. While cultivating [Divine Sequence Arrangement], the more cultivators he drew into the unfolding situation and the greater the reach of his divine ability, the more radiance would accumulate within [Divine Sequence Arrangement].

[Divine Sequence Arrangement] only gains the mystic to actively influence the course of events upon reaching the Purple Mansion Realm. But at the Foundation Establishment Realm, a hidden dragon lies in the depths, and this increase in power cannot be underestimated either... The radiance it accumulates can be used for divinatory calculation!

As for the remaining mystics associated with its role as a divine office, Li Suining understood far less. It could attach itself to grotto heavens and blessed lands, seize the illusory splendor of the great void, and use it as an anchor for one's life...

The cultivation art mentioned that [Divine Sequence Arrangement] was closely connected to the [Brilliant Essence] Dao, and had once complemented [Crown Spirit Tassels] of [Brilliant Essence]. It even said that cultivators of the [Heaven-Governing] Dao could use [Crown Spirit Tassels] to make up for the deficiencies of [Divine Sequence Arrangement]. However, Li Suining could only understand bits and pieces of it.

They say the [Brilliant Essence] Dao has been taken over by Buddhist cultivators. From the looks of it, that certainly seems plausible. Perhaps my [Divine Sequence Arrangement]... is also excellent material for conversion to Buddhism!

A sardonic smile appeared on his face.

The [Heaven-Governing] Dao had likely been in decline for many years. Not only were several of its primary functions incomplete, even minor applications such as [Radiant Fire] consuming wood-aspected medicines or [Pit Water] commanding water and controlling demonic beasts were almost entirely absent from [Divine Sequence Arrangement]. The only thing worth mentioning was the qi core he had gone to great lengths to preserve within his dantian.

He had condensed this qi core in the Qi Cultivation Realm. As he broke through to the Foundation Establishment Realm, it transformed from illusory to real and became known as the [Heavenly Directorate Thunder Residence].

According to the [Great Void Dipper-Turning Art], the [Heavenly Directorate Thunder Residence] could contain and store qi as well as accumulate thunder. More importantly, it served as a false abode through which one could attach oneself to grotto heavens and blessed lands for cultivation.

After studying it carefully for some time, doubts arose in his heart.

As the core of the [Great Void Dipper-Turning Art], the [Heavenly Directorate Thunder Residence] should have all manner of transformations centered around this qi-core false abode. So why does the immortal art say nothing whatsoever when it reaches the crucial parts... I spent an enormous amount of effort preserving this qi core for the Foundation Establishment Realm. Was all that really just so it could store ten or twenty percent of my true origin and some thunder? What kind of joke is that?

Being able to store ten or twenty percent of his true origin and keep thunder in reserve was certainly useful, but as a direct descendant of the Moongaze immortal family, why would Li Suining care about such minor benefits? To put it plainly, he could simply ask Li Jiangzong to refine him a dharma artifact that could store the same amount, if not more, of true origin and thunder!

He went over the art again and again, and at last a suspicion took shape in his mind.

How strange. Is the [Great Void Dipper-Turning Art] truly a complete immortal art? Why is its description of the Immortal Foundation so vague and obscure? It almost seems as though some crucial teachings have been deliberately concealed.

What had originally been obtained from Liu Changdie was indeed the [Great Void Dipper-Turning Art], but what had reached his hands was actually only the Qi Cultivation and Foundation Establishment Realms sections of the [Heavenly Directorate Sequence Arrangement Divine Scroll]! Its true pedigree was naturally beyond question, but numerous secret techniques had been removed and sealed away one by one. The rest were in Li Ximing's hands!

Back then, Li Suining had found the text coherent from beginning to end and noticed nothing amiss. Yet now that he had cultivated his own Immortal Foundation and looked back on it, he began to sense that something was wrong.

He could only attribute it to the limitations of the cultivation art. A wave of bitterness rose in his heart, leaving him filled with emotion.

"The [Heaven-Governing] Dao was renowned throughout antiquity. If its Dao lineage could one day be restored in full, just how mighty and boundless would its mystics be!?"

Li Suining sighed inwardly. He had only just emerged from seclusion and reached the steps when he saw an old man waiting there. Dressed in plain robes, the old man sat on the steps holding a lamp, sighing as he ran a hand over the patterns carved into the stone.

"Elder Du!"

The old man who had been assigned to attend him immediately sprang to his feet. Tears blurred his vision in an instant as he murmured, "Thank heavens!"

Tears truly began streaming down his face. "I thought, with it taking so long... that something might have happened to you, young master... Wonderful. This is truly wonderful..."

Ever since Du Dou began serving Li Suining, his status had risen along with his master's. Not only did no one dare treat him poorly, the cultivation resources at his disposal had multiplied several times over, and even the younger members of his family had benefited. Thus, the tears covering his face were not only from happiness for Li Suining, but also from no small measure of relief for himself.

"There were a few difficult points in the cultivation art, so it took some more time." Li Suining reassured him, then smiled and said, "Come! Let's go give the old elder the good news!"

Du Dou abruptly stopped him, wiping the tears from his face as he said nervously, "Young Master, wait!"

"Hm?"

A trace of suspicion entered Li Suining's expression as he saw how tense Du Dou looked. "Young Master Ning, you may not know this, but the war between north and south has grown fiercer and fiercer. A great monk came here some days ago, someone called Guangchan! The fighting turned heaven and earth dark, and it took several Daoist Masters just to hold him off... Yet he still came and went as he pleased!"

Li Suining frowned. "Guangchan!"

The old man hurriedly nodded. "The Daoist Master has now been transferred south, leaving the lake poorly defended. The lords gave orders long ago that all direct descendants are to cultivate within the mountains and are forbidden from leaving... Even Lord Jiangchun has entered the inner formation!"

Li Suining's expression shifted slightly. He turned with his hands clasped behind his back and paced a few steps before the cave dwelling. Stopping at the steps, he asked doubtfully, "Is that really true?!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.