"Meow?"
In the Apricot Realm, Greedy the Cat Spirit paused its alchemy work. It leapt over and lifted its owner's finger, which was soaking in medicinal liquid.
Nothing.
It scratched the air with its front paws in confusion.
Was it just an illusion? It seemed like the finger had moved just now?
It had already fed him so many elixirs and even refined a batch of Holy Medicine. Its owner had slept long enough...
It was time to wake up, right?
***
Meanwhile, on Qingyuan Mountain, the Divine Puppet collapsed to the ground. It began to speak with no intention of resisting.
Zhu Yike had done everything in his power, but he couldn't escape. Indeed, Dao Qiongcang's plans were always more thorough than his.
Dao Qiongcang sat comfortably on Zhu Yike's limp chest, ignoring the man's painful grunts, laughing.
"Chatting isn't always straightforward," he said. "How about this, can I ask the first question?"
"If you've got something to say, just say it," Jin Ren replied, defiant despite his defeat.
Dao Qiongcang didn't care for formalities. Pointing at the remnants of the Divine Puppet, he asked, "How far have you progressed in studying this thing?"
"What you see is one in ten thousand," Jin Ren responded.
In reality, it was everything he had. Despite his efforts, he hadn't been able to refine a Divine Puppet that possessed its own consciousness like Number Two.
But that was to be expected. If it were so easy, Dao Qiongcang wouldn't be as feared as he was.
"Hah, if this is just one in ten thousand, your skill in the Divine Secret might one day surpass mine," Dao Qiongcang laughed.
"Afraid?" Jin Ren shot back. "If you know what's good for you, you'll release Old Zhu and me."
Dao Qiongcang, for once, was momentarily lost for words. "Afraid?" He hadn't shown any sign of fear.
Shaking his head with amusement, he snapped the head off the Divine Puppet and examined it carefully.
"This thing… it's quite something."
The Divine Puppet shuddered, almost destroyed. Jin Ren, whose spiritual senses were trapped inside the sealed body, felt agonized and silently cursed Dao Qiongcang's cruelty.
"You could've just asked," Jin Ren groaned. "Was snapping the head really necessary?"
Dao Qiongcang's eyes lit up. "There's something important in the head, isn't there?"
"Of course! This is the lifeblood of your son, Number Two," Jin Ren replied.
"Number Two?" Dao Qiongcang paused, surprised.
"What, are you scared?" Jin Ren managed a strained smile. "Take it. I'll gift it to you—your son's head, no less."
Dao Qiongcang thought about it for a moment. If Xu Xiaoshou had said this, there must be multiple replicas. Returning the head meant he was refraining from taking Number Two's vital internal workings.
With that, he snapped the head back into place, repairing the puppet enough to keep Jin Ren's spiritual sense alive.
"A gentleman doesn't take what's cherished by others," Dao Qiongcang said. "I admire your passion for studying the Divine Secret. As I've said, the doors of the Holy Divine Palace are always open for you. At least, that's how I see it."
Jin Ren blinked in disbelief. He had studied this Divine Puppet for ages, replicating its array wheel from Number Two's database, yet Dao Qiongcang had just handed it back?
What was going through his mind?
"Actually, you could have escaped a long time ago. Why keep persisting?" Dao Qiongcang asked as he shifted positions, settling more comfortably on Zhu Yike's stomach.
His bony hips pressed into Zhu Yike, causing the man to grimace in pain, but Dao Qiongcang had no intention of letting him die quickly. He had already issued a weapon prohibition order, ensuring that Zhu Yike would live a little longer.
Jin Ren remained silent.
Dao Qiongcang spread his arms wide and smiled at the night sky.
"There's no one here," he said. "The Thirty-Three Heavens Star Weaving Array is fully activated. No one outside can see us. Even if the Holy Emperor himself looked down, I would know."
He turned back to Jin Ren with a serious expression. "So, you and I can speak freely. We can talk about saints, romance, the laws of nature—anything."
But Jin Ren's focus was elsewhere. Even if the Holy Emperor looks down, he would know... Was Dao Qiongcang really that powerful?
"You haven't answered my question," Dao Qiongcang pressed.
He had long suspected that Xu Xiaoshou could have escaped when he was under The Divine's protection in the Four Symbols Secret Realm. What he wanted to know now was whether Xu Xiaoshou's decision to stay had been on Bazhun'an's orders—or his own.
"I just wanted to give it a try," Jin Ren finally said.
"Oh? So, saving Xiang Yaoyao wasn't something Bazhun'an ordered?"
"I wanted to see if the Ten High Nobles were really as invincible as the rumors say."
"And now that you've tried, what do you think?"
"It's alright."
Dao Qiongcang laughed heartily. "You're in this state, and all you can say is, 'It's alright?'" He pointed at the ruined puppet.
"I've calculated everything," Jin Ren said, his tone relaxed. "You've only taken a wisp of my spiritual sense. That's all. If I went all out, I could crush you like a mosquito."
"What an arrogant brat!" Dao Qiongcang exclaimed, amused. He shifted his weight on Zhu Yike's stomach, causing Old Zhu to spit out blood and struggle for breath.
Turning to the broken Divine Puppet, Dao Qiongcang chuckled for a while before pressing his palm down. "Let's put that aside for now. No one is truly invincible. The truth hasn't been fully revealed yet."
After a pause, he continued, "So, your original body is still recovering from your battle with the Holy Emperor?"
Jin Ren remained silent. Did this Elder Dao really think he could extract valuable information this way?
Seeing no response, Dao Qiongcang didn't get angry. He already had the answers to some of his questions. If Xiang Yaoyao had been here, she would've known not to engage at all. But Jin Ren, still young and inexperienced, couldn't help but give subtle clues.
Dao Qiongcang shifted the conversation, fiddling with the broken Divine Puppet as he spoke. "Since you've studied the Divine Secret, have you ever considered its end?"
"The end?" Jin Ren asked, his curiosity piqued.
"It could be understood as…" Dao Qiongcang gestured grandly, his eyes glowing with excitement. "The Ultimate Upanishad!"
Jin Ren would've supported his head with his hand if he had one free. Dao Qiongcang's enthusiasm was infectious, even if it bordered on obsessive.
"Did you know? Even the Water-type Upanishad that Water Ghost mastered isn't the limit," Dao Qiongcang continued.
"Oh?"
"You've seen the Ancient Sword Technique, right? Once you break into the second realm, you create the Power Upanishad Formation. Take Xiao Kongtong, for instance…" Dao Qiongcang grabbed a branch and slashed the air like a master swordsman.
"I've studied the sword marks he left on Abyss Island. That strike injured Elder Yan. But you can tell Xiao Kongtong only just stepped into the second realm of the Fantasy Sword Technique."
"In this way, I grasped the Power Upanishad Formation," he continued, using the branch to wipe the blood from Zhu Yike's lips, drawing a small circle in the dirt.
"Xiao Kongtong's second realm leads to the Power Upanishad Formation," he said, then poked the branch into Zhu Yike's mouth, drawing more blood to create another larger circle.
"Bazhun'an's is also the Power Upanishad Formation."
He snapped the branch in half, placing each piece into the circles.
"Are their Power Upanishad Formations on the same level?" Dao Qiongcang asked, his eyes gleaming with insight.
Jin Ren was taken aback. He understood what Dao Qiongcang was getting at, but the sheer depth of it made him feel both amazed and unnerved.
"You really like exact truths, don't you?" Jin Ren said in a tone that sounded like he was praising a promising child.
"Exact truths…" Dao Qiongcang mused, nodding. "I've studied this for a long time."
He stamped his foot on the ground, revealing a small Celestial Scroll. "And I've come to this conclusion after much research."
Jin Ren recognized the Celestial Scroll immediately. It was tied to the Divine Secret of the Upanishad, but he wasn't sure what Dao Qiongcang was getting at.
"I used to think that Spiritual Cultivators would only ever reach 70 or 80 percent of their path. Maybe that's the limit for the Power Upanishad Formation."
"This explains why both Xiao Kongtong and Bazhun'an have the Power Upanishad Formation," Dao Qiongcang continued, counting on his fingers. "One is at eight, the other is at nine."
"Bazhun'an is only at nine?" Jin Ren laughed.
"Yes!" Dao Qiongcang replied seriously. "If ten is the end of the path, Bazhun'an is only at nine. He's missing that last step."
"So, who's at ten? You?" Jin Ren teased.
"No, no…" Dao Qiongcang smiled self-deprecatingly. "My Celestial Scroll is only at the seventh realm of the Divine Secret."
Jin Ren was stunned. Dao Qiongcang wasn't boasting, and this new way of thinking made him reconsider everything.
Dao Qiongcang's eyes gleamed as he went on. "I like calculating everything to a precise number. At 70%, I can draw a Celestial Scroll. At 80%, the true Power Upanishad Formation should manifest."
"If I reach the eighth realm of the Divine Secret, I won't need a Celestial Scroll anymore. I'll become one with the Great Path, like your Spiritual Cultivators or ancient swordsmen."
"You're not even at 80%?" Jin Ren was shocked.
Dao Qiongcang raised his eyebrows but didn't answer directly. Instead, he said, "Now, I'm confused again."
"Oh? Why?"
Dao Qiongcang's smile widened. His gaze shifted back to the broken Divine Puppet, circling back to their earlier discussion.
"It's because of you!" Dao Qiongcang declared, his eyes narrowing as he analyzed Jin Ren with a mixture of fascination and frustration. "You've studied various paths but haven't mastered any of them. You haven't even grasped seventy or eighty percent of the Dao—at best, thirty percent."
Jin Ren felt a chill run down his spine as Dao Qiongcang continued. "Yet, somehow, you managed to create the Power Upanishad Formation. Even though it's weak, it truly reflects the essence of the Unity of Man and the Heavens."
"This has overturned my theories," Dao Qiongcang admitted, shaking his head. "It's kept me up at night."
Hearing this, Jin Ren broke into a cold sweat. Was Dao Qiongcang studying his Great Dao Disc? Could this even be researched?
This was a cheat! But if Jin Ren considered his own system a hack, he knew that many of the Ten High Nobles likely had their own methods as well.
After some thought, Jin Ren asked, "So, what's your conclusion?"
"I had an epiphany!" Dao Qiongcang exclaimed, his excitement evident. He nearly jabbed Zhu Yike with his movements, causing him to cough up more blood. "Perhaps the entire path of Spiritual Cultivation is stuck in a fallacy!"
"Many cultivators get trapped in the Sovereign Dao Realm, struggling to comprehend the Upanishad before moving on to the Cutting Path or Higher Void level. That's the mistake!" Dao Qiongcang's voice was filled with conviction. "The true path should evolve progressively, deepening with one's understanding of the Great Path."
He continued, "Upon sanctification, those who can grasp the Upanishad should do so. Those who cannot might keep studying and eventually grasp it later. This, I believe, is the proper way forward."
Jin Ren found this perspective revolutionary. Was Dao Qiongcang a genius or a madman? He couldn't tell.
"You're correct!" Dao Qiongcang turned his gaze back to Jin Ren. "You've only grasped two or three-tenths of the path, but you've mastered the Power Upanishad Formation. There's no need to hold yourself back in the Sovereign Dao Realm. Trust in your convictions, and you will succeed!"
Jin Ren sighed in relief. So that's what he meant.
But then he replied, "I don't want to."
He didn't want to become a test subject for Dao Qiongcang, whose erratic behavior reflected an unpredictable mind.
Dao Qiongcang didn't seem surprised by Jin Ren's refusal. "How unfortunate…"
Jin Ren, still skeptical, pressed further. "Then explain why, after becoming a demi-saint, or even reaching the Sovereign Dao Realm, no one can produce the Power Upanishad Formation anymore?"
Dao Qiongcang, for once, seemed stumped. He let out a rare sigh and collapsed onto a cushion, gazing at the night sky. "I don't know. Maybe it's just difficult. Or maybe, after the Cutting Path Stage, people assume it's impossible and stop trying."
He paused before adding, almost whimsically, "Or maybe I'm just tired. I've cultivated hard all my life. Now that I'm a demi-saint, can't I relax and enjoy the evening breeze?"
Jin Ren was speechless. It made sense… but also didn't.
Perhaps these were the musings of those who pioneered their own paths, burdened with uncertainty about the future. For a moment, Jin Ren's opinion of Dao Qiongcang shifted. He was more intriguing than expected, with flashes of both brilliance and eccentricity.
But just as quickly, Jin Ren pushed away those thoughts, unsettled by the idea of empathizing with Dao Qiongcang. No, Elder Dao the Flamboyant was as unpredictable as ever.
Dao Qiongcang, still absorbed in his thoughts, suddenly asked, "So, that's why I wanted to ask you…"
"What?"
"You like experimenting with the Divine Secret too. What do you think the ultimate Upanishad is?"
Jin Ren pondered before answering. "Flesh is weak, but the Divine Secret soars?"
Dao Qiongcang immediately perked up, his eyes gleaming, but soon his expression turned somber as he gazed at the moon, overshadowing the stars. "Soaring… but how can it be achieved? What lies beyond ascension?"
Jin Ren remained silent. These were philosophical questions, the kind that blurred the line between reality and theory.
Who would've thought Elder Dao the Flamboyant would be interested in such profound matters? Was he really sharing so much because he respected Jin Ren's insight? Or was there another reason?
The night grew still, with only the sound of Zhu Yike's labored breathing filling the air as he hovered on the brink of death, muted by the weapon prohibition order.
Breaking the silence, Dao Qiongcang suddenly turned and grinned. "You know, Bazhun'an has a child."
Zhu Yike, nearly unconscious, suddenly snapped to attention. Jin Ren's eyes gleamed with curiosity.
Finally, something worth discussing.
"Brother Dao! Tell me more!" Jin Ren urged, eager to hear what Dao Qiongcang knew.