Chapter 37: Chapter 34 Taiyin and Taiyang
Inside the True Martial Dao Zang.
The voice of Master Cang Qing, head of the mansion, echoed continuously with fury.
The other four Qingping disciples’ faces were pale, filled with fear.
For such a long time, Master Cang Qing had been strict with them,
but had never lost his temper, let alone scolded them.
Even when they had failed to master either the Taiyin Pole Extreme or the Taiyang Pole Extreme,
Master Cang Qing would just remark briefly, his words more encouraging than anything.
“Zhang Shanfeng, you were chosen by the True Martial Sword, an exceptional honor.”
“Even I am not confident that I can teach you, so I had you read the insights and realizations left on the stone wall by generations of Heavenly Masters.”
Master Cang Qing’s voice was subdued, “Among these insights and realizations, there was none that suggested you follow both the Taiyin Pole Extreme and the Taiyang Pole Extreme, right?”
“Indeed, there wasn’t.” Lin Yuan nodded.
All the celestial insights in the Dao Zang,
were singularly focused on illustrating either the Taiyin Pole Extreme or the Taiyang Pole Extreme.
As for mentioning both, there truly wasn’t any such case.
Because through the generations, the taoists of the Celestial Master Mansion,
likewise followed only one path, either the Taiyin Pole Extreme or the Taiyang Pole Extreme.
“Given that there was none, why did you take it upon yourself to assert otherwise?”
“The path of cultivation is fraught with caution, forged by the lives of ancestors. Do you think you can alter it on a whim?”
Master Cang Qing looked at Lin Yuan with disappointment, “Shanfeng, with the recognition of the True Martial Sword, you need only follow the prescribed path, whether you choose the Taiyin Pole Extreme or the Taiyang Pole Extreme. In as short as fifty years, or at most eighty years, you are destined to become a Heavenly Master.”
“You are the hope of the Celestial Master Mansion, the hope of the world. We all had great expectations of you, but what did you do?”
A variety of emotions surged in Master Cang Qing’s heart, including anger, disbelief, and heartache, among others.
The Qingping disciples were shivering with fear by the side,
They, too, realized that Lin Yuan might have taken the wrong path in his cultivation,
otherwise, Master Cang Qing wouldn’t have been so infuriated.
Lin Yuan was a seedling of a Heavenly Master,
his faltering pained Master Cang Qing more than if he had deviated into demonic paths himself.
“Taiyin Pole Extreme, Taiyang Pole Extreme, two completely opposing paths, you’ve already compromised your foundation by cultivating both. Even if you realize something is amiss in the future, do you think you’ll be able to start over?”
Regret welled up in Master Cang Qing’s heart.
He should have imparted this common knowledge to Lin Yuan at the beginning of his cultivation.
Actually, it wasn’t really an oversight.
After all, for the vast majority of people, mastering one of the Taiyin Pole Extreme or the Taiyang Pole Extreme was already incredibly difficult.
Even a genius with the talent to step into the Celestial Phenomenon Realm like Qingping spent close to a year for a semblance of achievement.
The difficulty of mastering the opposing Taiyang Pole Extreme after entering the Taiyin Pole Extreme would undoubtedly increase ten to a hundredfold.
Therefore, it never crossed Master Cang Qing’s mind that Lin Yuan would cultivate both the Taiyin Pole Extreme and the Taiyang Pole Extreme simultaneously.
Add to that the guidance from the ancestor taoists’ insights on the stone walls, which never mentioned the simultaneous cultivation of both Taiyin and Taiyang.
Master Cang Qing really didn’t understand.
How did Lin Yuan manage to merge Taiyin Pole Extreme with Taiyang Pole Extreme.
“I know,” Lin Yuan’s brow furrowed slightly, “but I feel that cultivating both Taiyin Pole Extreme and Taiyang Pole Extreme is the truly correct path.”
His Against-Heaven’s Understanding wouldn’t deceive him.
Since Lin Yuan was able to perceive Taiyang Pole Extreme and Taiyin Pole Extreme through his Against-Heaven’s Understanding,
the path ahead could not be a dead end.
“You feel?” Master Cang Qing almost laughed out of exasperation.
Even commonplace knowledge dictates learning from history.
For six thousand eight hundred years, thirty-six invincible Heavenly Masters of the Celestial Master Mansion paved the way for future disciples.
And just like that, Lin Yuan nonchalantly denied it all?
Perhaps, taking ten thousand steps back,
Combining Taiyin with Taiyang really is a Great Dao that surpasses both Taiyin Pole Extreme and Taiyang Pole Extreme.
But to fully traverse this path, countless generations will have to strive, making great sacrifices.
Take for example the third-generation Celestial Master of the Celestial Master Mansion, who, upon becoming a Celestial Master, attempted to harness both Yin and Yang forces but met an end by self-implosion.
To explore new paths, sacrifices are inevitable, even Celestial Masters cannot escape it.
However, Lin Yuan, having gained the recognition of the True Martial Sword, was bound to become a Celestial Master, there was absolutely no need to take this risk.
Better to have one bird in hand than ten birds in the bush.
To forsake the position of an invincible Celestial Master in this world for a path whose future is obscure.
This was the very reason for Master Cang Qing’s fury.
“From today on, Shanfeng, you will stay by my side. I will temper your body with my true qi every day, attempting to erase the influence of the Powers of Taiyin and Taiyang. Within ten years, your foundations will be reborn, and thereafter you may resume cultivation,” Master Cang Qing solemnly spoke after a long silence.
“Huh?”
The chubby daoist beside him stared at Master Cang Qing in surprise.
Even for a peak powerhouse of the Celestial Phenomenon Realm, tempering someone else’s body with true qi daily,
comes at a great cost, not to mention maintaining it for ten years.
To put it bluntly, for Master Cang Qing to make such a commitment, he was essentially ruining himself,
not to mention that his cultivation might regress to the early stages of the Celestial Phenomenon Realm, and at the very least, it would shave off twenty years of his life.
“Brother, you…”
The disheveled Pingyang Taoist sighed deeply.
Despite Master Cang Qing’s rigid and severe demeanor, he truly stood from the perspective of the Celestial Master Mansion.
Lin Yuan was the first in five hundred years to be chosen by the True Martial Sword,
and even though he had taken the wrong path, Master Cang Qing hadn’t given up and wanted to bring him back by all means possible.
“Master…” Lin Yuan glanced at Master Cang Qing and shook his head, “I still feel that embracing both Taiyin and Taiyang is not a dead end. If the master forces me to choose, I fear I will lose interest in the cultivation to come.”
Lin Yuan outright refused Master Cang Qing’s offer.
Mainly because if Master Cang Qing were to temper his body, Lin Yuan’s secrets would undoubtedly be exposed.
Furthermore, Lin Yuan didn’t believe that cultivating both Taiyin and Taiyang at present was a mistake.
Each moment of insight from Against-Heaven’s Understanding…
reinforced Lin Yuan’s belief that this was a path surpassing all previous Celestial Masters.
However, this was something Lin Yuan could not disclose to Master Cang Qing.
“Very well.”
“This is your choice.”
“Just don’t come to regret it in the future.”
Master Cang Qing shook his head.
As much as it pained him, he had no choice but to let Lin Yuan go.
Cultivation is an extremely personal matter, especially since Lin Yuan had the recognition of the True Martial Sword.
He couldn’t force Lin Yuan to do anything.
Shortly after,
Master Cang Qing and the other three peak Celestial Phenomenon Realm experts left the True Martial Dao Zang.
Lin Yuan returned to the front of the Celestial Master’s stone wall and began to ponder.
He wasn’t frightened by Master Cang Qing’s words,
since this was merely his Consciousness Incarnation. Even if he did meet his demise by exploding due to cultivating both Taiyin and Taiyang,
it wouldn’t harm his main body in the Main World.
In simple terms, Lin Yuan had countless chances to start over again.
Moreover, Lin Yuan didn’t believe he would follow in the footsteps of the third-generation Celestial Master.
The third-generation Celestial Master forcefully introduced the Power of Taiyin as a Celestial Master, trying to merge it with the Power of Taiyang within his body.
But the Power of Taiyang he cultivated for nearly a hundred years was strong,
to recklessly introduce a completely unrooted Power of Taiyin,
would lead to an imbalance of Yin and Yang, and it would be a surprise if his body didn’t explode.