Chapter 968: Chapter 968: The Roaring Token
At this, Zen no longer hesitated. He respectfully went down on his knees and bowed to the figure.
He had earlier hesitated because he suddenly had to acknowledge someone as his master. And since he had accepted the owner's legacy, he had to acknowledge him as his master. True men wouldn't go down on their knees and Zen was no exception.
But now that he had chosen to be the owner's disciple, he did what he was supposed to do and paid his respects according to the rules.
The owner was an extremely detached man who didn't regard the ceremony of taking a disciple as important. When Zen bowed before the owner, an invisible force stopped him and helped him up.
“It's alright,” the owner said, nodding. “We martial artists don't attach much importance to worldly rules. Since you are willing to take me as your master, I will pass on the cultivation method in this book to you. Do you know why I set such a path for this book?”
“I have no idea,” Zen said, shaking his head.
The owner continued, “I had spent tens of thousands of years calculating countless number of times before managing to create a brand-new path. I do not know what lies at the end of this path, but the cultivation method begins with replacing life vitality with chaotic energy. For this, you have to forcefully shatter your cinnabar field and introduce chaos into your body. Only those with great perseverance can bear the pain in this course. You relied on your willpower to walk down the path outside, but I still want to remind you that the pain of replacing life vitality with chaotic energy is far beyond what you can imagine. Do you understand?”
Zen nodded, and said cautiously, “Yes, I do.”
The owner smiled at this. “It's easy to say yes now. You'll only know the pain later.” He looked Zen up and down and said, “It's strange. There seems to be primordial energy in your body. And you used it to refine your body once before, right?”
Zen nodded. The owner seemed to know all the secrets of his body.
“Your body is a little strange,” the owner repeated, but didn't go on about the secrets of Zen's body. “Body refinement is also very painful, but the pain brought by replacing life vitality with chaotic energy is probably thousands of times greater than that brought by body refinement.”
Pain was something that could not be quantified. Some people found it unbearable while others had the strength to bear it.
But the owner knew that there was an enormous difference and was very clear about it. He hadn't just said that to frighten Zen.
“I've been fully prepared for this since I acknowledged you as my master,” Zen said.
“Good,” the owner said, giving Zen an approving look. “Since you managed to endure that path, you're worthy of confirmation. I'll sow a sliver of chaotic energy for you.”
Saying this, he pointed off into distance, a gray fog sweeping out from deep within the space.
“So this is chaotic energy?” Zen raised his eyebrows as he stared at the dusky fog.
The chaotic energy circled in the air once and then shot towards Zen, entering his cinnabar field through his abdomen.
From beginning to end, Zen hadn't felt anything unusual. When the fog entered his cinnabar field, he felt a slight pain in his abdomen, as if he was being stuck by needles.
“I've already planted a strand of chaotic energy for you,” the owner said.
Zen tried circulating his life vitality and didn't feel anything out of ordinary or any unbearable pain. He was puzzled, since he had thought that he was going to die of the pain.
The owner smiled at Zen's expression and said, “Chaotic energy has only been planted into your cinnabar field. I will pass on a cultivation method to you to cultivate it. You will understand when that time comes.” řάɴò𐌱Еꞩ
The world spun as mysterious formulas of cultivation method poured into Zen's mind. And then, the owner looked surprised. The nine dragons were being suppressed by the Divine Flame Cauldron!
'My disciple's luck isn't bad, ' he thought emphatically. Given his high level of theurgy, he had never accepted disciples easily.
He had only accepted two disciples so far. And right now, despite his realization, he did not tell Zen that he had good luck. As Zen's master, he would not interfere with that. But as he thought about the origins of the Divine Flame Cauldron, he couldn't help but remind Zen, “If you are to ascend to the Upper World one day, you can't tell anyone anything about the Divine Flame Cauldron that's in your mind. Before you grow to be strong, you must hide it and treat it as your greatest secret!”
“Divine Flame Cauldron!” Zen knew that he couldn't have secrets from his master. But he was still amazed when his master mentioned the name of the mysterious furnace.
He knew that the mysterious furnace was something extraordinary but he didn't know its name. The cyan dragon was unwilling to tell him about its origin and he could hardly trace it to its source.
And now, he had finally learned its name from his master.
His master, however, seemed to have no intention of talking more about the Divine Flame Cauldron. He said, “I've left a projection in this book. I've accepted you as my disciple today, but I don't have any gift for you. These things may be useful for you one day.”
Saying this, he gently waved his hand and a few shiny treasures flew towards Zen.
Zen held the golden lights as he thanked his master. There were a few sparkling fragments, within which were sealed a few treasures.
“Alright, I've been away for too long. This soul projection can only exist for a short period of time. Since I've already planted some chaotic energy within you and imparted a cultivation method to you, you have to cultivate hard. Maybe one day, I will be able to come back from that endless foreign land. And then, I will check on your strength, my cheap disciple.” His voice became softer and his figure became fainter by the minute.
“How do I use these things?” Zen asked, looking at the fragments in his hand. Each of these was tiny, smaller than any of Zen's fingers.
“Just crush them.” The figure became fainter and fainter, and his voice was almost inaudible now.
“Crush them?” Zen looked at the place where his master had completely disappeared and said dubiously, “A cheap disciple? What does that mean?”
The cyan dragon's voice sounded. “He has you as his disciple. Of course it's cheap for him!” Cyan dragon hadn't dared to speak all this while, but now that Zen's master had discovered the Divine Flame Cauldron, he knew that he must also have discovered the nine dragons. He simply had avoided pointing it out. So the cyan dragon hadn't shown up of his own accord.
“You mean he has taken advantage of me? It's funny,” Zen said, amused, finding it all very interesting.
He had entered the fairy palace and obtained a cultivation method, and now, had gained so many gifts. No matter how he looked at it, he had taken advantage of his master.
The cyan dragon chuckled and said, “It's a good thing to take you as a disciple, as you have got a Mahayana Lotus Flower.” It was obvious that the cyan dragon's thinking was going on a completely different path from Zen's.
Zen didn't press the issue because at that moment, a door had appeared behind him. He knew that the door on the painting had opened again. And then, he flew out, still looking wonderingly at the shiny fragments in his hands.
As he flew, he followed his master's instructions and crushed one of the fragments. The texture of the fragment was tough and brittle, and with a gentle pinch, it shattered into pieces. A palm-sized sculpture in the shape of a bear with its mouth wide open emerged.
“What is this?” Zen examined the sculpture, confused and curious.
Even the knowledgeable cyan dragon stared at the palm-sized sculpture thoughtfully.
But Zen had already stepped into the huge book and walked out of the painting. Immortal Book saw the sculpture in Zen's hand and laughed. “Master did leave a legacy in the book but I hadn't expected him to leave the Roaring Token for you!”
“The Roaring Token!” the cyan dragon cried out in Zen's mind as he heard this. He had turned pale with fright.