Chapter 7: Tidal Flow

The Ragged Taoist was now completely different from the disheveled man Mu Yuan had first seen. He stood with his back straight, his entire body enveloped in dense black radiance that shot straight up into the clouds. It seemed to connect heaven and earth, making him resemble a pillar holding up the sky between Qiankun. The qi energy in his palms surged out and withdrew, extending a full zhang in length and spreading into two massive war blades. The flowing air rolled out in all directions, scattering clouds and creating howling, turbulent winds. It gave off a feeling of immense grandeur!

Upon seeing this, Mu Yuan could not help but exclaim, “Qi blade light saber!” His shock was indescribable!

Qi blade light saber was a divine ability that required a cultivation level of at least the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining and the achievement of the Golden Core Great Dao to use. Even in the Longevity Palace, only a handful possessed such cultivation. Even Mu Yuan’s master, Old Daoist Biyuan, had only just reached the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining and formed his Golden Core. The qi weapons he wielded were nowhere near as imposing and soul-stirring as those used by this Ragged Taoist!

Looking at the person standing opposite the Ragged Taoist, he saw a middle-aged scholar. The scholar wore a tall hat and ancient, flowing robes. He held a folding fan, and his entire body shimmered with dazzling light that swirled in layers. Each wave of his feather fan stirred up massive hurricanes that roared and surged, facing off against the Ragged Taoist’s qi weapons from a distance without showing any sign of weakness!

“These two individuals are both unfathomable. With my current cultivation, approaching them would mean certain death, without a doubt!” Although Mu Yuan’s cultivation was not high, his insight was top-notch. He realized this in an instant and saw no reason to continue chasing Jiang Cheng. With a burst of Zhenqi, he immediately leaped backward, wanting to avoid this place first!

However, as he retreated swiftly, it felt like he had crashed into an invisible barrier. Instantly, a colorful glow erupted, and his entire body felt as if it was sinking into a sponge—soft and unable to gain any leverage, making it difficult for him to escape. Startled, he dared not use force and stopped moving, concentrating his mind and waiting.

Jiang Cheng was no fool either. He ran a few zhang before stopping, but unlike Mu Yuan, he did not turn back to flee. Instead, he found a low-lying area to hide temporarily!

Mu Yuan watched quietly as the Ragged Taoist and the middle-aged scholar faced off against each other. Their powerful qi radiances clashed, neither giving an inch. The open space between them was already a mess, filled with shattered stones and uprooted trees, pitted and scarred. The mountain under their feet had partially collapsed, covered with dense, crisscrossing cracks like a spiderweb—a terrifying sight!

Now, the two men were motionless, their eyes tightly closed. Brilliant light rolled furiously over their bodies. The feather fan hovered mid-air, yet it still conjured massive whirlwinds that materialized into a wind qilin beast in the sky, contending with the Ragged Taoist’s qi weapons. Where the qi weapons and the wind qilin met, rings of light in dazzling colors spread out in all directions.

Powerful qi forces shot into the sky, stirring the heavens. Winds rose and clouds gathered, hanging down like inverted dragons—an indescribably magnificent and awe-inspiring scene!

“This is a battle of their spiritual senses. They must have already tested each other with spells and martial techniques, but neither could gain the upper hand. Now they are in an even more dangerous situation, where the risk of losing their lives could come at any moment!” Mu Yuan noticed that their clothes were slightly torn and guessed that they had been locked in this stalemate for some time. He had intruded just as they were entering a battle of spiritual senses, creating a powerful barrier all around. He had entered at the moment the barrier was forming and now could not get out!

A battle of spiritual senses tested one’s Dao Heart cultivation and willpower—it was the most fundamental form of competition. Unlike projecting Zhenqi, where one could rely on the subtlety of divine abilities and spells to win, this kind of confrontation was extremely perilous. It depended on the strength of one’s spiritual sense and the precision of its control. However, judging by these two individuals, both were formidable. Who would emerge victorious? Mu Yuan had no clue!

After waiting for about half an hour, he saw the Ragged Taoist’s body sway slightly. Then, the light around him surged violently. The black radiance swirling around him suddenly shot upward like a whale spouting water, forming a massive Mysterious Turtle above his head. The turtle roared at the sky, immediately stirring up a storm of sand and rocks, toppling trees and destroying forests. Mu Yuan’s whole body shook violently, and blood trickled from his seven orifices. He hurriedly calmed his breathing and sat quietly, circulating his Longevity True Qi throughout his body. His mind sank into a state of stillness, and he felt much better!

As the Ragged Taoist made this move, the middle-aged scholar’s feather fan suddenly began to flutter, dancing up and down at an extremely fast speed, leaving only countless afterimages. Above his head, a stream of Purple Qi shot into the sky, transforming into a brilliantly shining qilin. The qilin stomped its four hooves, its single horn pale gray, exuding an aura of uprightness!

The black radiance and Purple Qi clashed, forming an intensely dazzling ring of light between the two men. It was even brighter than the sun at its peak. Even with his eyes tightly shut, Mu Yuan found it blinding. His heart trembled with fear, and his whole body felt as if it was being pricked by needles—extremely uncomfortable!

Then came a thunderous explosion. Light and shockwaves rolled outward. Large chunks of rocks and trees flew wildly through the air. The surroundings roared as if turning into a raging river and turbulent ocean waves. Everything seemed to turn into boiling water. The heavens and earth turned upside down, and the mountains crumbled!

This was followed by a long laugh, and the surrounding qi field suddenly dissipated. Mu Yuan, now free, leaped up and saw a streak of purple light cut across the sky, departing without looking back.

The Ragged Taoist stood on the mountain peak, the summit beneath his feet destroyed. The qi weapons in his hands had vanished. He laughed heartily up at the sky. Mu Yuan stood there bewildered, not understanding what had happened, but he flew forward to ask about the outcome.

The Ragged Taoist looked at Mu Yuan but did not answer. He just smiled and said, “From the moment we met, I knew you were a disciple of the Longevity Palace. Among the Primordial Era’s Five Elements, only the Azure Dragon lineage established a sect and gained fame in the Cultivation World. The other four paths have all fallen into obscurity, their whereabouts unknown. I am from the Black Tortoise lineage, cultivating Tide True Qi. This lineage has been passed down through a single line. I do not wish for it to end with me. Today, I pass on the Tidal Flow to you, hoping that one day you might reunite the Five Elements and restore the glory of the Primordial Era!”

Before Mu Yuan could say anything, the Ragged Taoist pointed a finger at his forehead. Immediately, an arcane formula spread into him, like the endless waters of rivers, lakes, and seas—spiritual and ever-changing. Immediately, a qi-refining method appeared in his Sea of Consciousness.

The entire process of transmitting the technique took only an instant. When Mu Yuan looked at the Ragged Taoist again, he saw him with closed eyes and a faint smile, having already breathed his last.

Mu Yuan stood there in a daze, feeling somewhat lost. The Ragged Taoist—he did not know his name or where he came from—but his cultivation was earth-shattering. Who would have thought he would fall today? The unpredictability of life was truly profound.

Suddenly, a dark figure shot up from the distance. It was Jiang Cheng making a sudden move. Mu Yuan reacted, flicking his finger to shoot out a sharp burst of Zhenqi. The water elemental power from the Green Gourd activated, transforming into Greenwood Divine Radiance, instantly stopping him.

Jiang Cheng had been closer to the two men and suffered more from the shockwaves than Mu Yuan. Moreover, the cultivation method he practiced was far inferior to Mu Yuan’s and offered little benefit for body refinement—unlike Mu Yuan, who used Longevity True Qi to seal his senses and avoid harm. Now, severely injured, he was caught up by Mu Yuan. After a few exchanges, he was pierced through by the Greenwood Divine Radiance, let out a loud cry, and fell to the ground dead!

Mu Yuan concentrated his qi into fire and burned Jiang Cheng’s corpse. He returned to the mountain peak, knelt before the Ragged Taoist’s Dharma Body, and kowtowed heavily several times. He said softly, “Senior, although I do not know your name and do not fully understand your words, I will diligently practice the Tidal Flow and carry on your lineage! As for the Primordial Era’s Five Elements Great Dao, I have never heard of it, but if fate allows in the future, I will certainly live up to your expectations!”

He gathered true fire in his hand and cremated the Ragged Taoist’s body. He dug a pit on the spot and buried him, murmuring, “Dust to dust, earth to earth. May you, Senior, have a chance in your next life to return to the Great Dao.”

After paying his respects to the Ragged Taoist, Mu Yuan did not rush to leave. Instead, he sat down and began to carefully comprehend the Tidal Flow true formula the Ragged Taoist had left him!

During the Primordial Era, a cultivator who called himself True Lord Po Wang created the Five Elements qi weapons, swept across the world, and dominated for a time. He had five disciples, each cultivating one of the Five Elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. After True Lord Po Wang ascended, his five disciples fell into conflict and went their separate ways, causing this world-shaking divine ability to vanish after a brief flowering. For thousands of years afterward, it never reappeared!

It was not until over a thousand years ago that Fei Longzi, who cultivated the wood path, founded the Longevity Palace. The Five Elements Great Dao finally showed a glimmer of prominence in the Cultivation World. The other four paths drifted into the world, their whereabouts unknown.

Naturally, Mu Yuan did not know any of this. He immersed his mind into his Sea of Consciousness, where passages of scriptures and formulas flowed slowly, giving him a clearer understanding of the immensely profound path of the Great Dao.

Tidal Flow was about harnessing one’s Zhenqi according to the nature of water. Nothing in the world is softer and weaker than water; water flow is ever-changing, taking any shape and transforming at will. In a square container, it becomes square; in a round one, it becomes round. Yet, for attacking the hard and strong, nothing surpasses it. It was truly an ethereal and marvelous method and true formula.

If the Longevity Art was a formula for cultivating the body and nurturing one’s nature, regulating the self, then Tidal Flow was a formula for harmonizing with heaven and earth, mastering the external. It could freely transform meridians, penetrating everywhere and reaching every corner, gathering and condensing qi, changing with thought. The Longevity Art emphasized life, while Tidal Flow emphasized change.

As the saying goes, when all means are exhausted, change arises; with change comes breakthrough; with breakthrough comes longevity. All things between heaven and earth, even those that seem eternal like the sun, moon, stars, mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas, are all undergoing subtle changes unknown to human power. Cultivators must continuously change themselves, constantly aligning with the changing heavens and earth—this is the way to establish oneself.

Mu Yuan repeatedly studied the Tidal Flow true formula until he had memorized it thoroughly and understood all its profound meanings. Only then did he slowly sense the water essence power in the surrounding heaven and earth. Following the way of the tides, he absorbed it bit by bit, gathering it into his meridians.

The water element from the external world was like droplets of water merging into his meridians, transforming into a babbling stream. As it flowed through the major acupoints, it was like forming small lakes. Finally, all streams converged, flowing east to the sea, transforming into a vast ocean in his Dantian.

In this way, Mu Yuan’s spiritual sense observed his own Dantian. A mass of greenish-blue light swirled faintly into the shape of an Azure Dragon, brimming with vitality that reached his four limbs and hundred bones, like the roots of a giant tree spreading branches and leaves. There was also a small cluster of dark, ink-like radiance, flowing back and forth like water, faintly emitting a roaring, turbulent sound, much like the tides on a moonlit night—the ocean waters rising and falling. A tiny Mysterious Turtle lay hidden within it, almost indistinguishable yet strikingly lifelike, filling Mu Yuan with joy!