Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)-Chapter 539: Useful Ancient Knowledge

“The Five Elements interact through mutual generation and restraint, nourishing and promoting one another. For example, wood begets fire, fire begets earth, earth begets metal, metal begets water, and water begets wood. These constitute the fundamental basis of the universe. The emergence of the five sounds, five flavors, five colors, five transformations, five organs, and five senses is no coincidence; they all correspond to the five elements...”

In the lecture hall, the transmission elder stood upon the podium, expounding on the General Principles of the Five Elements with such fervor that his head swayed and spittle flew. At the most exhilarating points, he would even gesticulate wildly.

Inside the mental space, the Everlasting Immortal Fairy yawned, her eyes glistening with tears as sleepiness tugged at her. The transmission elder’s lecture was far less engaging than the Taciturn Daoist Priest’s storytelling abilities; it was utterly dry and lifeless.

“So boring. The Nine-Layers Immortal had covered all this before.”

“Doesn't the Nine-Layers Immortal wield the Yin-Yang Dao Fruit? How is that related to the five elements?”

“Have you forgotten the Nine-Layers Immortal’s cultivation technique?”

Lu Yang pondered for a moment. The Everlasting Immortal Fairy had mentioned it once in the Everlasting Creed, but he couldn’t recall the exact name, except that it involved a lot of numbers.

“Numbers Immortal Art?”

“It’s not exactly wrong, but to be precise, it’s called Primal Chaos, One Qi, Two Origins, Four Divisions, Six Directions, Eight Corners, Nine Lands, Ten Heavens, Only I Reign Supreme Immortal Art.”

As expected of the first individual to become an immortal, even the name of his cultivation technique outshone others in length.

“The Nine-Layers Immortal had delved deeply into subjects like primal hundun chaos, yin and yang, and the five elements. He spent all his time at the Transcendent Tribulation Stage deliberating between which of these Dao Fruits he should choose before finally settling on the Yin-Yang Dao Fruit.”

“Why didn’t he choose the other two?”

“In the words of the Nine-Layers Immortal, it’s probably fate, ordained by the heavens even without us knowing.”

“Fate?” Lu Yang could sense the helplessness in the Nine-Layers Immortal’s words, a resignation to fatalism.

The Everlasting Immortal Fairy said that some immortals believed in fate while others didn’t. She belongs to the latter, and now it seems like the Nine-Layers Immortal belongs to the former.

“Mmm, the Nine-Layers Immortal struggled with the choice. Each of the three Dao Fruits had its merits and drawbacks. In the end, he resorted to drawing lots.

“The preparation for drawing straws wasted so much effort. First, he exhausted all kinds of secret treasures to construct a great array that blocked spiritual consciousness in the cosmos, with stars serving as its nodes. Then, he summoned the rest of us to act as protectors to guard him. Finally, he closed his eyes and sealed his five senses and seven perceptions to eliminate all external influence before being reassured to proceed with drawing lots.

“The result was the Yin-Yang Dao Fruit.

“The Nine-Layers Immortal was still uneasy after the first draw. He reshuffled everything and drew two more times. Both times, it was the Yin-Yang Dao Fruit.

“A single occurrence might be an accident, but three identical outcomes could only be destiny.”

Lu Yang remarked inwardly, Isn't that just a one-in-nine probability?

But this could be the difference between me and immortals, so I'd better not question.

“Although he chose the Yin-Yang Dao Fruit, the Nine-Layers Immortal was still well-versed with primal hundun chaos and the five elements.

“Don’t assume that a Dao Fruit is everything there is to an immortal. As immortals, we often gathered to exchange cultivation insights, experiences, and discoveries. It could be said that our collective reserve of cultivation knowledge was unparalleled!” The Everlasting Immortal Fairy grinned proudly, her smile brimming with wisdom.

Lu Yang nodded. That is true. I’ve heard that the higher one’s cultivation, the more essential it is to confer with peers. A single interaction with those of the same level could equal a hundred years of solitary cultivation. Given how frequently the Five Ancient Immortals gathered, their accumulated knowledge must have reached a terrifying realm, equivalent to a million years of cultivation insights.

“Lu Yang, stand and answer this question.” The transmission elder fixed him with a stern glare. Although my lecture may be dull, I’ve never seen someone like Lu Yang who so blatantly zones out in class.

Lu Yang scrambled to his feet. Having been engrossed in ancient secrets, he had missed the transmission elder’s lesson. He hastily transmitted an auditory message to Meng Jingzhou.

Fortunately, the Everlasting Immortal Fairy could mask the communication, preventing detection by the elder.

“What did the elder say just now?”

“Don’t ask me. I wasn’t listening either.” Meng Jingzhou broke into a cold sweat, dreading being called next.

His mind had also drifted off earlier when the transmission elder mentioned “earth,” leading him to mull over the question: If people are going to be buried after execution anyway, why not just skip straight to burying them alive?

“Man Gu, do you know?”

“No.”

Man Gu was preoccupied with the question: As the last Ancient Barbarian, will I face reproductive barriers with the modern barbarians?

Lu Yang asked everyone he could, but no one was reliable.

“Lu Yang, answer the question. Don’t tell me you weren’t paying attention in class.” The elder transmission continued staring at Lu Yang sharply.

Lu Yang took a deep breath. Now that things have come to this, there’s no other way.

“The Nine-Layers Immortal’s Dao Fruit was the Yin-Yang Dao Fruit, which embodied the power of polarity. The Heaven Mandate Immortal’s Dao Fruit was the Tribulation Mandate Dao Fruit; most tribulations faced by cultivators are its doing. The Epoch Immortal’s Dao Fruit is the Epoch Dao Fruit, which commands the power of time. The Qilin Immortal’s Dao Fruit was the Survival of the Fittest Dao Fruit; any attack that has already been used against him will be rendered ineffective!”

A hush blanketed the lecture hall.

“Elder, is my answer correct?”

The transmission elder blinked, his mind in a haze. I recall Lu Yang rattled off a whole lot, but I just can’t remember a single word.

What did he say?

“Elder? Elder?” Lu Yang called twice before the transmission elder snapped back to his senses.

“Ah? Ah?”

“Elder, don’t tell me you were distracted?”

The transmission elder cleared his throat, pretending he didn’t hear Lu Yang’s remark. “Ahem, Lu Yang’s answer was close enough. Let me repeat: ‘Five’ is nature’s most stable number.

“Consider the central dynasty and the four cardinal regions, the Five Great Immortal Sects, the Five Branches of the Five-Elements Sect, and the Four Great Diabolic Creeds and the enigmatic Heavenly Court Creed. According to the Five-Elements Theory, the Heavenly Court Creed may well become the fifth great diabolic creed, completing the ‘five.’

“And the five of you, you are the five most outstanding individuals of the younger generation in the Dao-Seeking Sect. This also aligns with the Five-Elements Theory.”

Meng Jingzhou stealthily transmitted an auditory message to Lu Yang. “That was impressive! How did you pull that off? I heard you spout a bunch of things, but I remembered nothing.”

Lu Yang replied solemnly, “This is an ancient secret spell. Only I can cast it.”

He heaved a sigh of relief. The immortal trait of oblivion really saved me.

The transmission elder soon moved to the key topic of today. “Next, we’ll be talking about five-elements spells. Who among you is most familiar with them?”

“Him.”

Four fingers unanimously pointed at Lu Yang, who took a while to register what had happened.

The transmission elder was stunned but glad. “Oh? I heard you have a Sword Spirit Root. I didn’t expect you to be proficient in five-elements spells. How did you cultivate them? Could you tell me?”

Lu Yang scratched his head awkwardly. How am I supposed to tell you? Cultivating spells comes to me effortlessly. I haven’t even encountered bottlenecks.

“I just followed my instincts. I practiced it a bit here and there, and somehow it succeeded.”

Although the results of the spells were unpredictable, it’s true that the spells themselves somehow succeeded after I practiced a bit here and there.