Talisman Emperor

The Rebirth Realm consisted of seven temperings, and each was like an experience of rebirth. Every step one improved, one's strength would undergo a qualitative transformation.

Chen Xi's qi refinement cultivation had already attained the 7th tempering of the Rebirth Realm now, causing the internal organs within his body to be like divine wheels that were condensed with the five elements and fused with Yin and Yang. Moreover, the Rebirth Wheel that floated within his Dantian was resplendent and had already transformed to possess five colors, and it flickered with auspicious rays of light while suffused with a glassy and dreamlike sheen.

Moreover, a black and white qi flowed at the center of the Rebirth Wheel while cooperating with each other from a distance, and they were like the pure and turbid qi of the heavens and the earth circulating over and over again in an extremely profound manner.

All of these were the signs of the perfection-stage of the Rebirth Realm.

Besides that, his body refinement cultivation had similarly attained the perfection-stage of the Rebirth Realm, causing the vital blood in his body to surge like the sea while the apertures, tendons, and bones all over his body were crystalline like jade. Every single move he made caused the aura of the Dao to flow and emit the rumbling of its tune.

Presently, the airflow caused by every breath he took was like an enormous dragon howling, and it carried a vast and powerful force. It was even to the extent that even his hair was tough and flexible to the extreme and were suffused with a hazy light, and a Rebirth Realm cultivator could only dream of cutting it off even if the cultivator chopped his hair madly.

It wasn't the slightest bit exaggerated to say that a strand of his hair was a superb material to refine a heaven-rank magic treasure at this moment, and it was extremely sturdy and impossible to be harmed by blades!

But he was temporarily incapable of breaking through to the Nether Transformation Realm in both body refinement and qi refinement.

The reason was extremely simple. Along with the advancement of one's cultivation, besides requiring a solid foundation and deep cultivation, the surmounting of every single realm also required luck.

The people of ancient times had the saying 'One would ascend in a hundred days with a single occurrence of sudden enlightenment,' whereas when cultivators wanted to surmount a realm of cultivation, they required a type of 'enlightenment' as well.

This sort of 'enlightenment' would perhaps be created from a sudden inspiration, a sudden stroke of fortune that was natural and achieved without effort, comprehended while in battle, or from sudden understanding attained from timely advice from a senior.

Presently, Chen Xi's cultivation had already attained a flawless state, and his Dao Foundation was already extremely solid. What he lacked was 'enlightenment.'

But perhaps others had to go to great pains yet be unable to be 'enlightened' with this chance to advance, yet it wasn't anything difficult to Chen Xi.

All along his path of cultivation until now, he'd practically relied on himself to search for the way and attain his current level of cultivation. If it was in terms of experience in the obtaining of 'enlightenment,' then he absolutely surpassed everyone greatly.

Moreover, the extremely miraculous visualization technique, the Fuxi Divine Statue, existed within his sea of consciousness, whereas the infant divine beast Pixiu that was capable of converging the karmic luck of the heavens and the earth was present by his side. So there was utterly no need for him to search throughout the world to find the good luck needed to be 'enlightened' and advance, and he only had to meditate and cultivate to naturally and smoothly advance in cultivation.

But now, Chen Xi didn't advance his cultivation impatiently and started to study his technique instead with the intention of improving his combat strength.

Since the battle with Du Xuan and witnessing the formidableness of Dao Arts, he deeply understood that he was already unable to bring forth an even more formidable combat strength by relying on the martial techniques he possessed now, and it was even to the extent that these martial techniques restrained his performance.

On the other hand, Dao Arts were different. They were superior to martial techniques and possessed peerlessly formidable might, and Du Xuan was only able to annihilate a Nether Transformation Realm cultivator because he'd grasped a Dao Art called the Profound Qi Instakill Technique.

According to what Madman Liu said, martial techniques were the foundation of all Dao Arts, whereas Dao Arts were the abilities that one required to head on the path towards becoming an immortal because the energy grasped by Heavenly Immortals were formed from Dao Arts, and they were called Laws.

Besides that, according to what Dao Lotus said, if he was able to control a complete Grand Dao profundity after he advanced into the Nether Transformation Realm, then he would be able to exert double the might of a Dao Art.

If he was able to control two complete Grand Dao profundities, then he would be able to exert three times his combat strength, and so on and so forth. The more complete Grand Dao profundities he controlled, his combat strength would multiply accordingly.

All in all, no matter if it was the information provided to him by Madman Liu or Dao Lotus, they both allowed Chen Xi to understand that if he wanted to become stronger, then the cultivation of Dao Arts was the most important matter at hand.

…

Actually, even if it was in the entire Dark Reverie, the existence of Dao Arts was rather rare and scarce, and most of the people that were able to master a Dao Art were the disciples of those extraordinary powers.

Other sects that were slightly inferior might possess Dao Art inheritances as well, yet they were extremely rare like qilin horns and phoenix feathers.

For example, as one of the 10 great immortal sects of the Dark Reverie and an extraordinary power, besides all those ordinary Dao Art inheritances, the Nine Radiance Sword Sect only possessed a mere few tens of top Dao Art inheritances.

Moreover, if one wanted to obtain these Dao Arts, one had to comprehend them on the nine layers of the lotus platform, and it was absolutely not something one could possess at will.

For example, all the Elite Disciples Chen Xi had encountered in all the nine layers of the lotus platform earlier formed an extremely enormous number, but the disciples that were able to comprehend and master a Dao Art were only a mere few.

For example, Du Xuan had only obtained a single Dao Art, the Profound Qi Instakill Technique, from the lotus platform, but even then, it allowed his combat strength to rise explosively and be ranked amongst the five great Elite Disciples.

It was obvious from this how difficult it was to obtain a Dao Art, and exactly how formidable the might of a Dao Art was after it was grasped.

Fortunately, Chen Xi didn't lack Dao Arts, and it was even to the extent that the amount of Dao Arts he'd obtained and the level of their quality could be said to be absolutely capable of being the best in the entire Nine Radiance Sword Sect. Even those higher-ups and great figures of the sect didn't have the fate to encounter these Dao Arts.

…

Chen Xi was in deep concentration within the wooden house, and he was reading through the jade slip that recorded the 49 Dao Art inheritances.

"Skycontrol Burial Sword, having a sword in hand is inferior to having a sword in heart. Where the heart points, the skies can become a tomb of swords that buries the myriad of swords in the world. The heavens and earth are unable to stop it, the myriad of things in the world are unable to resist it, and it eradicates all evil with all powerful might…"

"Grand Confinement Dao Art, if the heavens are guilty, then it should be confined! If the earth is wrong, it should be sealed! Within the heavens and the earth, pure and turbid, good and evil, black and while, everything can be confined and caged…"

"Nine Spirit Transformation, it was chaos in the beginning of the primeval era, and there were nine ferocious beasts that roamed the world. They devoured the essence of the heavens, fed on the marrow of the earth, and their roars shook the world while their claws tore the universe apart…"

"Myriad Netherwave Palm, there was a river in the Netherworld that washed the hearts of man and eliminated their sins. The myriad of waves are like a tide that is impossible to resist by both ghost and god…"

As he scanned through Dao Art after Dao Art, Chen Xi's eyes grew brighter and brighter, and he became more and more excited in his heart. He sometimes exclaimed with admiration, frowned sometimes, or muttered sometimes, and he himself didn't know he was doing this as he'd become completely oblivious to himself.

Every single one of these 49 Dao Art inheritances contained profundities that were dense like the starry sky and vast like the ocean, and it was profound and complicated to the extreme.

If it was another person, then the person would probably be unable to completely comprehend a single Dao Art in his entire lifetime.

According to Chen Xi's estimations, the profundities contained within every single one of these Dao Arts was more than 10 times more complicated than the Myriad Convergence Sword Scripture he'd cultivated! For example, just the records of the Dao Art, Skycontrol Burial Sword, was a few hundreds of thousands of words, and every single one of these words were like a sword that was stabbing, slashing, flicking…

Every single sword technique had experienced numerous variations that encompassed the changes of the four seasons and covered the circulation of the universe, causing it to be marvelous and complicated to the extreme.

With the current cultivation of Chen Xi's soul, he actually spent an entire hour to scan through this Dao Art!

After all, this was merely a rushed scan of the Dao Art. If he were to comprehend, consider, and fathom word by word, it was impossible to guess when he would be able to comprehend it completely.

After a long time, Chen Xi awoke and rubbed the space between his brows before spitting out a mouthful of foul air, and the expression of admiration in his eyes couldn't be shaken off.

They were too formidable!

Even though every single one of these 49 Dao Art inheritances were profound and complicated to the extreme, their might was similarly formidable to the extreme, and they were shocking.

If it wasn't for him being mentally prepared long ago, Chen Xi would even not dare believe that there were actually such formidable Dao Arts existing in the world!

Compare to these Dao Arts, the Profound Qi Instakill Technique Du Xuan cultivated paled in comparison and wasn't worth mentioning. It was like a tiny pearl competing with the sun and moon.

But after that, Chen Xi was in a difficult position because he didn't know which Dao Art he should choose to cultivate.

He suddenly understood why Dao Lotus would say that it would be extremely difficult for him to find a Dao Art that was entirely suitable for him amongst these 49 Dao Art inheritances.

The reason was extremely simple, the might of practically every single Dao Art was on par, and each of them had its own profound point, causing him to be slightly at a loss for what to do.

Comprehend all the 49 Dao Arts?

Perhaps it was possible in the future, but it was absolutely impossible for now.

Because the Peak Trials were about to begin three months from now, and he had to seize this period of time to comprehend and grasp a Dao Art to rely on, whereas every single one of these 49 Dao Arts contained profundities that were vast like oceans. These three months of time were simply inadequate, and it was utterly insufficient for him to cultivate.

It was even to the extent that he didn't dare be sure that he would be able to grasp a Dao Art within three months.

Right when Chen Xi was troubled, his gaze unintentionally descended onto the golden flower petal at the side, and he stunned abruptly before smacking himself on the forehead. "How could I have forgotten this thing?"

He clearly remembered that Dao Lotus said the most suitable to him wasn't the 49 Dao Art inheritances but the Allheaven Truth recorded on this golden flower petal!

The Allheaven Truth was created by Dao Lotus, and it recorded the original Dao essence of the Nine Radiance Dao Scripture. All the Dao Arts within the Nine Radiance Sword Sect were comprehended from it.

In other words, these 49 Dao Arts were created from the Allheaven Truth!

Moreover, according to what Dao Lotus said, after he comprehended this Allheaven Truth, it would be extremely beneficial for when he created his own Dao Arts and opened up the path towards the Dao of Talismans…

When he thought up to here, Chen Xi took a deep breath before raising his hand and placing the golden flower petal on his palm, and then he started to carefully view and read through it.