Talisman Emperor

A young woman that was capable of becoming eminent amongst the Elite Disciples that concealed many formidable figures revealed that her natural talent and strength was surely shocking to the extreme, and it wouldn't be too much to call her a proud genius of the heavens.

Chen Xi had been in confrontation with Du Xuan once, and he'd understood how formidable Du Xuan's strength was from Du Xuan's cold and fierce killing intent. Du Xuan was absolutely the most formidable amongst all the young disciples he'd encountered.

On the other hand, An Wei's ranking surpassed above Du Xuan, so what extent had her strength attained?

The five great Elite Disciples… I wonder exactly how formidable the others are. If I want to smoothly take control of West Radiance Peak, then I probably have to go past them first. Chen Xi pondered in his heart. According to his knowledge, he had to pass the barriers of advancing to become a Seed Disciple and Elder if he wanted to become the master of West Radiance Peak.

However, there were extremely few seed disciples within the Nine Radiance Sword Sect, and they were practically existences that were like phoenix feathers and qilin horns. Countless Elite Disciples were struggling hard with this as their target. So if he wanted to become a Seed Disciple, it would surely be unavoidable that competition would arise between him and the other Elite Disciples.

Besides that, advancing to become an elder from a disciple would be another extremely brutal competition. Thus, it was obvious from this that wanting to smoothly become the master of West Radiance Peak was absolutely not so simple.

Most importantly, Chen Xi only had 100 years of time. If he was incapable of completing all of this in a hundred years, then the position of Peak Master on West Radiance Peak would fall into the hands of others.

"Martial Uncle Liu, this is Junior Brother Chen Xi, right?" An Ke asked curiously. Her jet black hair was like a waterfall that flowed behind her, her appearance exquisite and beautiful, and her figure was tall and slender. She was filled with beauty and liveliness that belonged solely to young women, and she was gorgeous to the point it made one's heart shudder.

"Yes, Little Ke'er, you have to properly love and cherish this Little Junior Brother of yours in the future and don't let him be bullied by others." Madman Liu grinned as he teased.

Chen Xi felt a wave of speechlessness. Madman Liu is too disrespectful for his age.

"Martial Uncle Liu, you're such a bad person. I'm not going to continue playing with you." The young woman reproached him. Her eyes rolled as they sized Chen Xi up once more before she pouted her smooth and moist little mouth and left like a gust of wind. Her beautiful hair fluttered in the wind while she glowed with vigor, and she gave others a feeling of boundless happiness.

"It's fine so long as you play with my disciple in the future." Madman Liu shouted at the top of his lungs, causing the fiery red and beautiful figure in the distance to freeze, and then she left as if she was fleeing.

A black line instantly creeped down Chen Xi's head as he was speechless to the extreme. Because he clearly noticed that all the surrounding disciples looked at Madman Liu with furious expressions, and they revealed an appearance of deep hatred and resentment because the goddess in their hearts had suffered disrespect.

It was even to the extent that the gazes they shot at Chen Xi were filled with hostility!

"Haha! This little girl isn't bad, and her older sister is even better." Madman Liu completely disregarded the gazes filled with killing intent that came from the surroundings, and he still clicked his tongue and praised endlessly.

Chen Xi couldn't take it anymore and left. He was worried that he would be ganged up on by the surrounding crowd of people if he continued staying here.

…

At the side of the mountain of books was a path that led directly to the peak.

Madman Liu led Chen Xi up the path. At the sides of the path was row after row of bookshelves that towered into the clouds and were piled with a superb collection of books, and it felt like he was strolling through a world of books, causing shock to arise in his heart.

Figures could be frequently seen standing on the mountain path. All of them were silent and concentrated on the books, and only the rustling sound of pages being flipped resounded out, causing it to emit a tranquil and serene aura.

Chen Xi followed behind Madman Liu to move silently up the mountain path, and his gaze couldn't help but scan through the rows of bookshelves on his sides.

Perfect Dao Grade martial technique, Goldmoon Rainbow.

Perfect Dao Grade martial technique, Tri-treasure Shocklight Sword.

Perfect Dao Grade martial technique, Dragonflow Heavenshock Steps.

…

The more scanned through them, the more surprised Chen Xi was in his heart. The martial techniques stored on this mountain of books had obviously arrived at a rather terrifying amount, and practically every single one was perfect. Any one of these was sufficient to cause a rain of blood if placed in the Darchu Dynasty, yet at this place, they were put around casually while disciples were allowed to comprehend them at will.

These were the resources and reserves of an extraordinary power in the Dark Reverie. Its inheritance was so deep that it was sufficient to be described as capable of shocking the world.

"We've arrived. This is the Art Cultivation Grounds formed from the Nine Radiance Dao Scripture!" Madman Liu's voice suddenly resounded out by his ears, causing Chen Xi to be abruptly awakened from his deep contemplation. Raising his eyes, he saw that he was already standing at the peak of the mountain of books, and then his gaze suddenly froze as it looked at the scene ahead of him with shock.

Three kilometers ahead was an extremely vast and flat platform that seemed to be shaped like a lotus flower, and it bloomed layer after layer to form platforms that seemed like flower petals.

At the center of the platform which was the center of the lotus flower, there was a blazing ray of light that shot straight into the sky. It was shaped like a shaped sword and emitted a myriad of rays of light that poured down like a rain of light, and it tainted the entire heavens and the earth with a gorgeous and dreamlike sheen.

When looked at from afar, it was like a god was standing proudly at the center of the lotus while emitting divine radiance that illuminated the heavens and the earth, and its majestic and imposing aura caused others to be unable to help but arouse reverence and the intention to prostrate themselves in worship.

What shocked Chen Xi was that the various rays of light that covered the sky were actually formed from various Grand Dao profundities! Green colored Wood Dao Insight, crimson red colored Fire Dao Insight, Lightning Dao Insight that revealed the glow of lightning… There were infinite glows in the sky while the Dao Insights within them were boundless!

"Could…could this be the source of the Grand Dao!?" Chen Xi was shocked. He felt as if he'd arrived at the source of Dao Insight during the absolute beginning of the world because Grand Dao Insights were everywhere his gaze could reach, and they contained a myriad of profundities that seemed boundless, causing it to seem like the source of the Dao!

"The Founding Ancestor of the sect was a divine lotus born in the quintessence of the world during the absolute beginning of the world. The lotus flower bloomed with nine petals, each containing a type of divine light, and every single petal possessed supreme might. The Nine Radiance Dao Scripture was formed from one of the petals left behind by the Founding Ancestor." Madman Liu spoke slowly with a voice that actually contained a trace of adoration. "This flower petal contains a world of its own within it, and it develops boundless profundities. The various inheritances in our sect were created from comprehending its profundity. Unfortunately, up until now, there has still been no one that was capable of completely comprehending all the profundities its contains."

"All of this is actually formed from a single flower petal…" Chen Xi truly didn't dare imagine exactly what sort of divine lotus that Nine Radiance Sword Sect's Founding Ancestor was because a single flower petal he left behind was actually capable of creating the Nine Radiance Sword Sect that was reputed to be one of the 10 great immortal sects in the Dark Reverie!

"That lotus platform is formed from the Nine Radiance Dao Scripture, and it's called the Art Cultivation Grounds. As you walk upon it, you only have to calm you mind and comprehend, and you'll be able to sense the various profundities contained within it." At this moment, Madman Liu seemed to be extremely patient, and he explained in detail. "But the comprehension of profundities varies between each person. Look at the platforms in the surroundings of the lotus, every single platform represents a Dao Art of a certain grade. The higher you go, the stronger the might of the Dao Art you'll be able to comprehend."

"Dao Art?" Chen Xi was bewildered.

"Exactly. Dao Art." Madman Liu nodded. "When all is said and done, martial techniques and Dao techniques are only types of techniques, and they left behind traces that could be discerned, whereas Dao Arts stood above martial techniques, and they didn't leave traces behind to be discerned."

"This is the root cause why the martial techniques in the world are numerous like the hairs on an ox, whereas Dao Arts have practically never spread in the world. This is because the formation of Dao Arts came from martial techniques yet surpassed martial techniques, and practically every single Dao Art was an ultimate treasure of the various sects, a secret that wasn't passed down outside of the sect. So normal sects were utterly unable to obtain one."

"Simply speaking, the might of Dao Arts are more terrifying than martial techniques." When he spoke up to here, Madman Liu said abruptly, "Do you know why Du Xuan was capable of annihilating a Nether Transformation Realm cultivator?"

"Could it be that he has mastered a Dao Art?" Chen Xi stared blankly as he spoke.

"Exactly. This kid obtained a Dao Art called Profound Qi Instakill Technique from the Art Cultivation Grounds. His sword strikes out like an instantly killing strike with a speed that surpasses the speed of sound by more than 10 times, and it's impossible to guard against." Madman Liu nodded.

Ten times the speed of sound… Chen Xi deduced in his heart and noticed that he was barely able to achieve this when executing the Starsky Wings with all his strength. If he were to go against Du Xuan, then facing a killer move with such an extraordinarily swift speed would really be able to catch him off guard.

"In short, you have to understand that martial techniques are the foundation for any Dao Art, whereas Dao Arts are the prerequisite techniques you need on the path that leads to immortality." Madman Liu said with a light voice, "Dao Arts, profound arts of the Dao. You'll understand after you become an immortal that the strength possessed by Heavenly Immortals were formed from Dao Arts, and they're called Laws!"

"Laws!" Chen Xi's heart shook as he finally had a faint understanding.

Martial techniques were the basic techniques that cultivators required to utilize Dao Insights and their strength; Dao Arts on the other hand were sourced from martial techniques and possessed even more formidable strength, and they were the abilities that were required to become an immortal.

Besides that, Laws were sourced from Dao Arts, and they were the ability and strength possessed by Heavenly Immortals.

"Go on. There're various profundities within the Art Cultivation Grounds. You just have to calm your heart and comprehend. With your comprehension ability, you don't have to worry about being unable to obtain a formidable Dao Art." Madman Liu patted Chen Xi on the shoulder as he spoke.

"I understand." Chen Xi took a deep breath and discarded the distracting thoughts in his mind before walking towards the lotus platform in the distance that emitted a myriad of divine lights.

…

Outside the Book Reserve Pavilion, Madman Liu walked down the stairs, yet didn't leave right away. He stopped by the side of the old man that lay on the rocking chair instead, and he spoke lightly. "Martial Uncle, I hope you can take care of that little fellow once I'm gone."

The old man's eyes were still narrowed while the wrinkles on his face were like ravines, and his expression was completely peaceful as if he didn't hear these words.

Madman Liu couldn't help but shake his head when he saw this, and then he walked away.

"Jianheng, you've been unwilling to request anything of anyone for your entire lifetime. Why have you changed your thoughts?" A sigh sounded out faintly from behind, causing Madman Liu's entire body to go stiff, and his expression changed indeterminately.

Suddenly, the old man that lay on the rocking chair had already opened his eyes. His eyes were pitch black and clear, and they were actually more pure and flawless than the eyes of an infant. However, they were so deep like a vast starry sky, and it shocked the hearts of all.

"You asked the Sect master to allow him to succeed your position as Peak Master of West Radiance Peak, then opened the Book Reserve Pavilion completely to him. Now, you've even entrusted me with taking care of him. This isn't like you at all." The old man sighed again.

"All those years ago, I owed that person my life, and it's time to repay it…" After going silent for a long time, Madman Liu spoke with a hoarse voice, and his voice actually revealed indescribable sorrow and grief.

"No wonder, no wonder!" The old man was stunned as his grey and long brows knit together, and then he couldn't help but sigh once more before waving his hand as he said, "Go at ease."

"Thank you, Martial Uncle." Madman Liu nodded before walking off with large strides, and his figure seemed lighthearted, yet revealed a desolate feeling.

Since that person left all those years ago, Liu Jianheng was no more in this world, and there was only a madman…