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Translator: Silavin & Tia
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
The special Secret Art was known as the Great Nothingness Scripture. Every Cave Heaven and Paradise had a copy, so it was not a huge secret. It was said that the Great Nothingness Scripture was engraved on a huge stone monument in ancient times and was obtained by the Ancestors of the Cave Heavens and Paradises.
If it was an ordinary person, it would have been impossible for them to study the Great Nothingness Scripture.
However, Yang Kai was different from ordinary cultivators. He was Yin-Yang Heaven’s Son-in-Law in name and the Star Boundary’s Great Emperor in status. Thanks to the Star Boundary’s World Tree, he was inextricably linked to the Cave Heavens and Paradises. What’s more, he recently went to great lengths to solve the issue of the Black Ink Disciples in Lang Ya Paradise.
Although Yang Kai was a mere Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he had already encountered and taken part in many secrets in the 3,000 Worlds. That was why Li Yuan Wang believed that it would not matter if he showed Yang Kai the Great Nothingness Scripture. Nevertheless, he named a condition. The condition was that Yang Kai had to share his findings with Lang Ya Paradise, regardless of what he comprehended from the Great Nothingness Scripture.
Naturally, Yang Kai had no reason to refuse. He simply wanted to learn why cultivating the Great Nothingness Scripture would cause the flow of time in the Small Universe to increase rapidly after advancing into the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm. There was nothing to hide even if he actually learned something from this opportunity.
The place where the Great Nothingness Scripture was stored had been designated as a Restricted Area, so there were numerous barriers covering the surroundings. Aside from the Ancestors and certain Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Elders in Lang Ya Paradise, nobody else was allowed to step foot in this place.
When Li Yuan Wang led him to this place, Yang Kai immediately noticed the stone monument standing tall on the ground. The stone monument was quaint and simple. It was easy to see that the stone monument was very old at first glance; moreover, there were dense lines of small letters carved into it.
“It is no longer known where the original Great Nothingness Scripture was found. This is not the original, but the Ancestors completely replicated it in its entirety. Even the size of the stone monument is identical to the original. Their efforts were all so that their future disciples could better comprehend this Secret Art. It is a pity that even though the Cave Heavens and Paradises are highly capable, we only understand the utility and not the rationale behind this Secret Art.”
The various advantages and disadvantages of cultivating the Great Nothingness Scripture were known to all the Cave Heavens and Paradises, but the reason for these happenings remained unknown. That was why Li Yuan Wang mentioned that they were simply learning from the wisdom of the past.
Yang Kai nodded and shifted his gaze downward.
Not far from the Great Nothingness Scripture’s stone monument was a row of thatched cottages that stood out conspicuously. That was not all, there were also several figures sitting quietly below the stone monument. All of them had their heads raised to look up at the small letters carved on the stone monument in fascination. Among these people, there were young adults, teenagers, and even a child that looked no more than ten years old.
Upon hearing the commotion, they turned to look in this direction. Then, they immediately stood up and bowed in unison, “Greetings, Sect Master!”
Li Yuan Wang nodded lightly and waved his hand lightly for them to return to their activities. Only then did he explain the situation to Yang Kai, “These are the Lang Ya Paradise disciples cultivating the Great Nothingness Scripture.”
Yang Kai understood. There were no more than five people in this place. Whether or not they could successfully advance into the Open Heaven Realm, achieve the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, and transformed their Small Universe into a Small Source World after their deaths… These were huge obstacles in their path. If they failed to overcome any of these obstacles, then their thousands of years of effort would all be wasted.
“I’ll give you half a year. You may comprehend at your leisure. I’ll come and pick you up then!” Li Yuan Wang said.
“Many thanks, Sect Master Li!” Yang Kai cupped his fist.
This place was Lang Ya Paradise’s Restricted Area after all. The fact that Li Yuan Wang allowed him to stay here for half a year to comprehend the Great Nothingness Scripture was already pushing the limits; therefore, it was impossible for him to stay here indefinitely.
After explaining everything to Yang Kai, Li Yuan Wang took his leave.
Yang Kai walked over to the stone monument and raised his head to commit all the words on it to memory. It had to be said that the Great Nothingness Scripture was certainly an extraordinary Secret Art. Even though he did not try to cultivate it, his current vision was extremely high, so he understood the advantages and the disadvantages of the Secret Art at a glance.
Li Yuan Wang was right. This Secret Art was only suitable for cultivating. It was extremely stable, so the cultivators cultivating the Great Nothingness Scripture would hardly ever encounter any bottlenecks. As long as they followed the proper procedure, they would not face the risk of cultivation dissonance either. Unfortunately, that was also the greatest disadvantage of this Secret Art. It was far too peaceful. As a result of cultivating this Secret Art, even if their cultivation improved, they would not have much combat power to speak of.
Even if they fought somebody in the same Realm, they were bound to be at a disadvantage. That was absolutely unacceptable for a cultivator who was trying to reach the peak of the Martial Dao. If they couldn’t even protect themselves, then how could they strive for a higher Realm?
Be that as it may, the cultivators born in the Cave Heavens and Paradises had no need to worry about such matters. They only needed to cultivate here over many years. There was no reason for them to participate in external battles, so it didn’t matter if their combat powers were lower than usual.
However, even though Yang Kai studied the Secret Art diligently, he could neither identify the connection between the Great Nothingness Scripture and the Dao of Time nor figure out why a cultivator who cultivated this Secret Art would experience a sudden multi-fold increase in the flow of time within their Small Universe after advancing into the Open Heaven Realm.
Although the five Lang Ya Paradise disciples cultivating in this place did not understand Yang Kai’s origins, they saw Sect Master Li Yuan Wang bringing this person here with their own eyes. Nobody else had ever had such an honour before. Combined with his Open Heaven Realm heritage, they realised that he was different from them and did not take the initiative to speak to him.
Yang Kai ignored them and found a place to sit directly beneath the stone monument to comprehend the mysteries of the Great Nothingness Scripture.
Three months passed in the blink of an eye. At this point, Yang Kai could already recite the entire Great Nothingness Scripture backwards. While he fully understood the mysteries of the Secret Art, he could not find any connection between the Secret Art and the Dao of Time.
The lack of findings puzzled him greatly. Logically speaking, the Great Nothingness Scripture should have some connection to the Dao of Time since it could greatly enhance the flow of time in the Small Universe of a cultivator who had advanced into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. Nonetheless, he simply could not figure out the connection.
In that case, there were only two possibilities. One was that his attainments in the Dao of Time were insufficient, so he did not have the ability to detect the connection. The second possibility was that the effects could not be seen just from studying the words of the Secret Art in the first place. If he wanted to verify the effects, then he could only cultivate the Secret Art himself!
Seeing as he was already in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, the foundation of his cultivation had already been set, so there was no further opportunity to start over again. Even if he had the opportunity, he would not actually cultivate the Great Nothingness Scripture either; after all, this Secret Art was completely done for the sake of becoming somebody else’s stepping stone.
An idea soon came to him. Maybe… there was no need for him to cultivate this Secret Art himself…
…..
Inside the Small Universe, there was a lively scene in front of the Seven Stars Sect’s Main Gates. It was the Seven Stars Sect’s Disciple Recruitment period that was held once every three years. Countless young people from all over the world had travelled here in hopes of joining Seven Stars Sect.
At present, Seven Stars Sect was no longer the small force that it once was in the past. Across the entire Void Continent, the overall strength of the Seven Stars Sect could be ranked among the top three.
Sect Master Shang Guan Ji had advanced into the Emperor Realm many years ago. Based on his strength alone, Seven Stars Sect could not be considered powerful; however, according to legend, there was an Ancestor in the Third-Order Emperor Realm in the Seven Stars Sect. That was an extremely terrifying existence; after all, how many Third-Order Emperor Realm Masters were there in the entire Void Continent?
The Supreme Elder, known as Yang Kai, was not born in Seven Stars Sect. It was said that he wandered here a long time ago and stayed in the Seven Stars Sect because he felt some kind of fate with the Sect. That was how he eventually became the Seven Stars Sect Ancestor.
In the past, a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master had acted presumptuously in Seven Stars Sect. As soon as the Ancestor stepped forward, the Master known as Shen Xing of Southern Star Palace had immediately been silenced.
Many of the smaller Sects had lamented over the fact that this Master had not been fated with them. If their Sects had caught his eye back then, the current Seven Stars Sect would not exist today.
Compared to the lively scene in front of the mountain gates, the atmosphere inside the Main Conference Hall seemed a little gloomy.
The current fame and reputation of the Seven Stars Sect was all thanks to the Ancestor alone. Shang Guan Ji might have advanced into the Emperor Realm, but he was only in the First-Order Emperor Realm. He was not responsible for Seven Stars Sect’s current fame. Unfortunately, the Ancestor had been missing for many years!
Nobody knew when the Ancestor had gone missing. When Shang Guan Ji went to visit one day, he discovered that the Spirit Peak where the Ancestor lived was completely devoid of people. Even the two Disciples whom the Ancestor had taken in were nowhere to be seen.
Shang Guan Ji had been shocked by the discovery. At first, he assumed that the Ancestor had simply taken his Disciples out for training and would return soon. Contrary to his expectations though, the Ancestor remained nowhere to be seen after so many years. What’s more, there was not the slightest clue of the Ancestor’s whereabouts in the Void Continent.
Instinctively, Shang Guan Ji felt that the Ancestor had abandoned Seven Stars Sect. The Ancestor was not somebody who originated from Seven Stars Sect after all. He simply happened to be passing by this place and waiting for the right person to come along. Since he found the person he had been waiting for, why would he remain in Seven Stars Sect?
Nevertheless, Shang Guan Ji was not resentful. The only reason Seven Stars Sect could enjoy its current reputation and status was all thanks to the Ancestor. He could only resent himself for being too weak to protect the foundation that the Ancestor had established back then.
Although this information had been kept under wraps for a long time, there was no such thing as a wall without holes. Many among the top ten Sects in the Void Continent were currently watching Seven Stars Sect vigilantly. Why else would so many Emperor Realm Masters come to observe the Disciple Recruitment this year?
It was a friendly visit in name, but it was actually a test. While Seven Stars Sect might not be obliterated if they failed to overcome this disaster, their reputation would definitely suffer a heavy blow. They would become a laughing stock if the news spread to the public. If that happened, finding good disciples would become difficult in the future.
The people in the Main Conference Hall were brainstorming various suggestions. Although there were many differing opinions, none of them could come up with a good solution to their current problem. In any case, the Disciple Recruitment was about to begin. If they were capable of doing the job, then it was time for them to start showing their abilities. At this point, it was impossible for them to conceal the news of the Ancestor’s disappearance.
Just as Shang Guan Ji was at a loss for what to do, a figure frantically rushed into the Grand Hall as though he was being pursued by a ghost. Everybody turned to look in that direction only to see Elder Guan Qian Xing stumbling into the Grand Hall with an extremely strange expression on his face.
“What happened?” Shang Guan Ji asked.
Guan Qian Xing might be in the Third-Order Dao Source Realm, but he was clearly very agitated by something at this moment. Seeming to be out of breath, he exclaimed with a mixture of surprise and joy, “The Ancestor…”
There was a series of rustling noises as everybody stood up abruptly. Shang Guan Ji asked in a trembling voice, “Do you have news of the Ancestor!?”
Despite inquiring for so many years, there had been no news of the Ancestor. There was no saying whether it was a blessing or a curse for such information to appear today.
Guan Qian Xing pointed behind him, “The Ancestor is on the viewing platform!”
“What!?” Shang Guan Ji could barely believe his ears.
After a few stunned moments, he hastily rushed outside with Guan Qian Xing following closely behind. Following a quick conversation along the way, Shang Guan Ji finally learned that the Ancestor, who had been missing for so many years, had abruptly appeared on the viewing platform today.
Hello!
Many thanks for the chapter, as always.
Guinea pigs
Y not, that’s their purpose in life
Yang Kai’s funniest return yet