https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-303-302-Celestial-Treasure-Grand-Cyclic-Heavenly-Mirror-Part-1-/12588606/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-304-303-Lucky-Streak-Consecutive-Fortunes-Part-1-/12588616/
Chapter 303: 302. Celestial Treasure, Grand Cyclic Heavenly Mirror (Part 2)
Chapter 303: 302. Celestial Treasure, Grand Cyclic Heavenly Mirror (Part 2)
After a moment, his eyes narrowed slightly.
He noticed something unusual in one area.
There, instead of Tang Dynasty cultivators clashing with Tianli cultivators, it was a chase between two individuals from Tianli.
The one being pursued was a young scholar who appeared to be in his twenties.
However, Lei Jun sensed that his true age was older than his outward appearance suggested.
What caught Lei Jun's interest was that while this young man was dressed as a scholar, his cultivation foundation was in the Daoist arts, although it differed significantly from the Daoist traditions of the Tang Dynasty.
As for the pursuer, he was a Confucian cultivator of Tianli's principles.
The two raced across the sea, one fleeing and the other in hot pursuit.
The sea was not a peaceful place, especially with the chaotic and violent spiritual energy in the heavens and earth.
The young man's cultivation base was lower than that of his middle-aged pursuer, and the turbulent waves further hindered his escape, causing him to gradually fall behind.
Black ink transformed into a confinement spell, trapping the young man on a desolate island.
"Young Master, come with me peacefully, or I'll have to use force." The middle-aged scholar smiled.
The young man landed on the island, his legs seemingly injured as he struggled to stand. Hearing the middle-aged man's words, he scoffed, "Why would I go back? So that he can break a few more of my legs or do something worse?
All he cares about is his reputation. He doesn't want others to use me as an excuse to criticize him."
The middle-aged scholar's smile faded, and his expression turned stern. "Nie Fang, your words are becoming more and more disrespectful. You must remember that there are no parents in this world who wrong their children.
To criticize your father is a great disrespect! Not only did he give you life and raise you, but everything you have today is because of him."
Nie Fang sneered, "When my mother passed away, I left home, but he brought me back. Was that out of a loving heart?
No, he just didn't want others to use me as an excuse to point fingers at him.
All he cares about is his own reputation."
The middle-aged scholar said, "Your uncle is only thinking of what's best for you. It's just that you're too young to understand. Now, you've fallen into the path of evil, practicing those petty and heretical techniques of demonic cults, bringing shame to your family."
Nie Fang replied coldly, "I admit that my talent in Confucian studies and cultivation is mediocre. Even if he allowed me to pursue that path, I wouldn't amount to much. But he doesn't even give me the slightest opportunity to improve myself.
I showed promise in martial arts, but he broke my legs. When I made some progress in the Daoist arts, he tried to destroy my soul.
He doesn't kill me, but he keeps me confined like a caged animal.
Why? Because he doesn't want others to think he's weak, but if I were to succeed, people would constantly bring up the shameful things he did in the past!"
The middle-aged scholar lifted his hand, wielding his brush with ink, and a multitude of ink characters flew towards Nie Fang:
"Since you understand, why do you continue to err and cause trouble for your uncle?
Unwilling to air the family's dirty laundry, Dong Wong had gone to great lengths to keep things under wraps. If you had any filial piety, you should understand Dong Wong's intentions and spare him from embarrassment. Dong Wong would not mistreat you when it comes to your daily needs."
But Nie Fang held a grudge and acted rebelliously, going against the morals of filial piety. Oh, as the Western seat of the Nie mansion, I have failed to teach you well, and I have let down Dong Wong's trust in me."
The ink characters flew towards Nie Fang, striking him.
A faint glow appeared around Nie Fang's body, barely protecting him from the onslaught.
However, the ink characters rained down like a torrential downpour, dense and rapid.
The middle-aged scholar wrote faster and faster, sending out more and more ink characters: "Fortunately, I still have a chance to make up for my mistakes. I will capture you and bring you back to see Dong Wong. If you refuse to mend your ways, I will have no choice but to be harsh and teach you a lesson. It will be your own doing."
A radiant light appeared around Nie Fang's body, transforming into flowing wind and floating clouds that lifted him into the air.
But he was immediately suppressed by the ink that filled the air, unable to break free.
"Nie Fang, do you think that by learning some wild and heretical techniques from obscure sects, you can defy the heavens?"
The middle-aged scholar said, "Forget about the fact that Dong Wong is your father, and that a father's principles should be respected by his children. You will never be able to go against him in this life. As for me, I am your teacher, and a teacher's principles should be respected by his students. You cannot go against me either, even if you have strayed from the right path. Don't forget that the true knowledge comes from scholarly pursuits!"
...You are really testing my patience.
Lei Jun watched silently from the sidelines.
Previously, whether it was Lei Jun himself, Fang Yue, Faming the monk, or Ye Yan and Chu Xiuyuan, their confrontations with the Tianli cultivators were all internal struggles.
Today was the first time Lei Jun witnessed an internal conflict within the Tianli group.
Without the middle-aged scholar saying a word, Lei Jun could already see what was happening.
Although the young man named Nie Fang practiced the Taoist arts, it was clear that he was restricted in many ways.
The teacher-student relationship itself was like a shackle that bound him.
On the other hand, the middle-aged scholar seemed to be at ease and in control.
There was a huge gap in realm and strength between Lei Jun and Nie Fang, so even without seeing Nie Fang's performance against others, Lei Jun could tell that Nie Fang's offensive and defensive capabilities were far inferior to what they should be when facing the middle-aged scholar.
On the contrary, the middle-aged scholar seemed unaffected by most of Nie Fang's attacks, and his ink characters were something that Nie Fang dared not come into contact with.
If he did, he would suffer far more severe injuries than usual.
If the two of them did not have a teacher-student relationship, even if Nie Fang's realm and strength were inferior, he would not have found himself in such a perilous situation so quickly.
Moreover, Lei Jun could sense that there was also a confrontation between their souls.
The middle-aged scholar's thoughts seemed to be influencing Nie Fang's mind in an invisible way.
If Nie Fang's will wasn't strong enough, he might have been completely overwhelmed by the middle-aged scholar and lost all will to resist.
Although he was still holding on, it was equivalent to having an extra burden.
However, Nie Fang was not a Confucian cultivator of Tianli's principles.
The so-called Western seat of the Nie mansion had not truly taught him Confucian cultivation, but only made him study and recite books like a commoner.
But with the master-apprentice relationship already established, Nie Fang was at a disadvantage when facing him.
Lei Jun could tell that neither the Nie mansion nor the middle-aged scholar had done anything to Nie Fang.
Even if they had, it wasn't their doing.
Instead, it was the entire Tianli Confucian cultivation system.
Indeed, the Confucian cultivators of Tianli could bear the weight of the nation's destiny and cultivate together with the country because of this system.
Calling it a group or a whole might not be entirely accurate.
In Lei Jun's understanding, it should be described as a stable structure and system.
People may come and go within it, and there may be constant changes.
As individuals, they may face death and decline, but the overall structure remains unshakeable.
Because the national destiny is linked to every person, even Confucian cultivators outside of Tianli, or heirs of other Taoist traditions, as long as they are connected to Tianli's destiny, will be enveloped and influenced by this vast system.
Although Nie Fang had escaped from Tianli and come to the human world of the Tang Dynasty, he still had a long way to go if he wanted to break free from all of this.
The moral principles had already been established.
It was not just about the inability to go against one's superiors, but also about many other aspects that were encompassed within.
Perhaps only when the world was in chaos and heroes contended for supremacy, leading to a change in the destiny of the nation, could this be broken.
But Lei Jun felt that their momentum was already established, and even if there was a change in the dynasty, this system would gradually regroup and reappear in the new empire.
To completely shatter it would require an even greater force, an earth-shattering change.
However, it was still unknown if they could be prevented from rising again in the future.
Lei Jun acknowledged that this Confucian system indeed had its unique strengths.
But he was getting impatient.
Even though he didn't live in such a world.
Lei Jun's gaze shifted from the middle-aged scholar to Nie Fang.
He did not immediately intervene.
Because he could see that the young man, who was studying the Taoist arts within Tianli, also had some unique strengths.
"Bang!"
As expected, a loud crash sounded, and a tall figure suddenly burst out from the ground, charging towards the middle-aged scholar.
Caught off guard, the middle-aged scholar could only use his pen and ink to create a defensive grid of threshold-like bars to block the tall figure.
The collision sent the middle-aged scholar flying backward, while the tall figure staggered in place.
The middle-aged scholar took a closer look and saw that the tall figure resembled a human, but its body was greenish with a colorful sheen on the surface.
It was a nearly three-meter-tall bronze figure.
Spiritual talismans flickered on the bronze figure's body, controlled by Nie Fang from behind.
"You... Are you practicing some heretical technique? Is it the art of Yan Shi?"
The middle-aged scholar was first surprised, then furious: "Do you think you can defy your teacher by doing this?"
The ink surged, transforming into countless blades that slashed towards Nie Fang.
Nie Fang coldly hummed in response.
The bronze figure's initial attack failed to seriously injure the middle-aged scholar, and under Nie Fang's control, it quickly retreated to block the countless ink blades.
Nie Fang deeply understood the Confucian principles of Tianli, perhaps even more so than the average person.
Since the beginning of his journey into the Dao, Lei Jun had constantly contemplated how to break free from the confines that restricted him.
Even if he managed to access superior orthodox methods, they would be suppressed by the principles of ritualism and the nation's destiny.
The only slightly better option was to manifest the Fa outside of his physical body.
Fortunately, the heavens took pity on him, and he obtained a fragmented inheritance of the Yan Shi technique.
Among the characteristics of the Fa traditions, this was the inheritance he most desired, so even if there might be some flaws and hidden dangers, Nie Fang still boldly took it up.
Now, the time had finally come to make use of it.
Although the bronze automaton was controlled by Nie Fang, the suppression of the Li Xue Gang Chang was evidently lesser compared to the suppression Nie Fang himself experienced.
Unfortunately, the materials he had on hand were too limited, and he was unable to craft a more powerful automaton, which was still insufficient to defeat the middle-aged scholar before him.
Nie Fang made a quick decision, and the bronze automaton carried him, breaking through the ink confinement and leaping out of the desolate island, directly into the depths of the sea to escape.
Escaping into the human world of the Tang Dynasty, although there might be many unknown dangers and challenges, he still believed it was worth it.
After getting through today's ordeal, he could slowly figure out how to break free from the suppression of the teacher-student Gang Chang.
The bigger difficulty lay in the father-son Gang Chang, which was connected by blood and had an innate sense of each other.
But now, at least there was hope.
The middle-aged scholar, on the other hand, was so angry that his face turned dark, and he quickly chased after them.
Unexpectedly, the bronze automaton carried Nie Fang into the deep sea, making it difficult for him to track them, and he could only return with a frustrated expression, beginning to worry about how to explain the situation to the master of the Nie Mansion when he returned to Tianli.
"There's no need to explain," Lei Jun waved his hand, and the middle-aged scholar's worries in this regard vanished.
He turned to look in the direction where Nie Fang had disappeared, a look of interest on his face.
Yan Shi.
This was indeed an unexpected surprise.
In the human world of the Tang Dynasty, there had once been a similar Dao tradition in history, but it had long been lost.
Lei Jun had only seen scant mentions of it in ancient texts and records.
It was called the Mo family inheritance.
Among them was the technique of automata, also known as the Dao of Mechanisms.
At that time, the Mo family was renowned for its three lineages of inheritance:
The Assassin's Dao, the only lineage that still had traces remaining in the present day, which had a profound influence on the martial arts cultivation of later generations, and was deeply connected to the martial arts of the Tang Dynasty.
The Non-Offensive Dao, rumored to focus on both spiritual and physical cultivation, but it had been completely lost. According to records of its external combat techniques, it resembled the Buddhist practice of upholding precepts.
And finally, the Dao of Mechanisms, which had also been lost in the human world of the Tang Dynasty.
Unexpectedly, it seemed that in the human world of the Ming Dynasty, although some Dao traditions perished, some new inheritances were also born.
Nie Fang's bronze automaton was relatively crude, and Lei Jun could tell at a glance its general nature.
This should be a variant lineage born from the fusion of the Mo family and the Daoist tradition.
In terms of Daoism, it incorporated the External Elixir School of Pill Refinement and the Talisman School.
Compared to the Daoist Talisman School and the School of Pill Refinement, it seemed crude, but it already had a complete Daoist tradition and foundation. Nie Fang, however, had not learned it in its entirety.
He probably didn't formally apprentice and receive the teachings, but instead, through sheer luck and opportunity, obtained a fragmented manual of the Daoist techniques.
In such a situation, to be able to cultivate to this level and establish a solid foundation, the person must have had exceptional talent in this field.
In the human world of the Ming Dynasty, where the Daoist Talisman School had perished, the emergence of such an inheritance was indeed a rare occurrence.
As a result, it encountered Nie Fang, who possessed both suitable living conditions and a strong desire for this Daoist technique, and the two were undoubtedly a perfect match.
Lei Jun gazed in the direction where Nie Fang had disappeared, a faint smile on his face.
What I love most about my cultivation is the variety of Dao traditions and their unique abilities.
Since you've also come to the Tang Dynasty, perhaps we will meet again in the future.
Lei Jun retracted his gaze.
He turned his attention back to the direction of the gateway to the Tianli world.
The battle was intense, but the frontlines were stretching out.
The Tang Dynasty cultivators were retreating, while the Tianli cultivators seemed to be vigorously pursuing them.
Lei Jun quietly observed for a while, making mental calculations and forming a rough guess.
He calmly left the area, finding another place to settle down.
Lei Jun waved his hand towards the sky.
The Grand Cyclic Heavenly Jade, which had previously merged with the High Heaven Jade Chapter, descended from the heavens.
Lei Jun, while tempering the treasure and dissipating its surface heat, brought it into the True One Law Altar Cave within the Heavenly Book.
Then, he entered the first layer of the True One Law Altar Cave, using the Nine Abyss True Fire there to begin a new round of refinement.
In addition to the Grand Cyclic Heavenly Jade, he also had his own Xuanxu Mirror and the newly acquired Solar Divine Light.
Amidst the azure flames, as Lei Jun continuously refined them, one talisman after another was infused into the Grand Cyclic Heavenly Jade and the Xuanxu Mirror.
Then, the two treasures were combined by Lei Jun into one.
The Xuanxu Mirror gradually transformed into a shadow, merging into the Grand Cyclic Heavenly Jade of its own volition.
As for the Grand Cyclic Heavenly Jade, it was gradually flattened by Lei Jun's efforts, eventually taking on the form of a mirror.
Next, Lei Jun added the Solar Divine Light.
These lights, which seemed to lack substance yet were as sharp as needles, were sealed into the mirror by Lei Jun one by one.
After the Solar Divine Light was integrated, the mirror began to radiate golden light, dazzling and resembling the sun.
With a thought from Lei Jun, the light emanating from the mirror instantly dimmed.
The mirror itself also began to gradually turn transparent.
In the center of the mirror, the Tian Tong Di Che incantation, identical to the one in the depths of Lei Jun's eyes, appeared, the two complementing each other, with light and darkness in harmony.
"It can be called the Grand Cyclic Heavenly Law Mirror."
Lei Jun smiled and nodded.
In his plan, this was not the ultimate form.
But according to his current cultivation and understanding of the Dao, it had already preliminarily achieved his goal.
Ever since he started refining it, the treasure had finally reached a stage where it could be put to its intended use.
Lei Jun calmed his mind and continued to temper the mirror with his spiritual power.
Then, he left the True One Law Altar Cave and waved his hand.
The mirror, which seemed transparent, rose into the clouds and disappeared from view, hanging high in the sky.
This mirror was not fixed in one place, nor did it move entirely with Lei Jun.
It cruised above the firmament, traversing the universe, the void, the sun, the moon, and the stars, moving with its own unique rhythm and pattern, wandering through the heavens.
At the same time, it maintained a connection and sense of awareness with Lei Jun.
PS: 9k chapter
(End of Chapter)
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