Chapter 232: Chapter 232: The Secret of the Void Certificate and the Mystery of the Fall

SWISH! SWISH!

As the Myriad-Soul Banner unfurled, a figure of light slowly materialized. Lü Yang quickly stepped forward, bowed, and said, “Junior disciple Lü Yang pays his respects to the Progenitor!”

“…There is no need for such formalities.”

Progenitor Tingyou’s eyes narrowed slightly at the sight, then he smiled. “I’ve finished organizing the memories of that Daoist Remnant, as well as the theory on the Mahayana First Grade True Qi.”

Strictly speaking, he was now the Banner Spirit of the Myriad-Soul Banner and Lü Yang was the Banner Master; he had no way to defy Lü Yang. But the fact that Lü Yang was still willing to treat him with the respect due a progenitor was deeply gratifying. He felt that the time he had spent in seclusion for Lü Yang’s sake was well worth the effort.

Thinking this, Progenitor Tingyou immediately sent out a sliver of Divine Sense.

Lü Yang took out a Jade Scroll and guided the Divine Sense into it, circulating his Mana for a moment to process it before beginning to inspect the contents. His eyes fell upon a vast expanse of scripture.

Its name was—the *Innate Golden Palace Jade Book*!

’Did my world-shattering intellect actually figure it out?’

A look of pleasant surprise appeared on Lü Yang’s face. He immediately swept his Divine Sense across the scroll, only to be stunned. The good news was that Progenitor Tingyou had indeed figured something out.

The bad news was, he hadn’t figured out much.

“According to my deductions, if one were to refine Qi according to the Primal Daoist’s method, the resulting True Qi would indeed be perfect, worthy of being called the finest under heaven.”

This was not surprising. After all, the Primal Daoist’s concept was nothing short of insane: refining Qi with the Gold Attribute! This was tantamount to taking a task meant for Foundation Establishment Perfection and applying it at the Final-phase of Qi Refining. The True Qi cultivated this way would naturally be a Dimension Reduction strike against all other forms of True Qi. There was simply no comparison.

“However… that’s all there is to it.”

At this, Progenitor Tingyou shook his head. “The quality of the True Qi is beyond doubt, but it’s the same old problem: it has quality, but no Position.”

Position was the key to cultivation!

One achieves Ascension from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment, and then from Foundation Establishment to a Fruit. If one’s Position does not rise, no amount of increase in quality or quantity is of any consequence to those in higher realms.

“In terms of True Qi quality, the Mahayana First Grade True Qi envisioned by the Primal Daoist is absolutely perfect. Among cultivators of the same Cultivation, one who has mastered Mahayana First Grade True Qi would have Mana at least ten thousand times greater than someone with Third Grade Qi! You could say they could crush their opponent with a single breath. At first glance, it seems no different from being at Foundation Establishment.”

“However, this is merely a superficial appearance.”

“If the two were to truly clash, a Foundation-Stage Cultivator—even the weakest one, who hasn’t achieved Perfect Foundation Establishment—could still crush you with a single finger.”

Hearing this, Lü Yang raised a question. “Then how does one achieve Foundation Establishment with Mahayana First Grade True Qi?”

“…I don’t know.”

After a moment of silence, Progenitor Tingyou shook his head. “The Primal Daoist provided a method for Foundation Establishment using the Gold Attribute, but my deductions have confirmed that it is not viable.”

“It seems something is missing in between.”

“But I don’t know what it is. After all, I’ve only ever come into contact with Third-Grade Cultivation Techniques. I’ve never even seen what a Second-Grade Cultivation Skill looks like…”

As soon as he said this, Lü Yang slapped his forehead. He then circulated his Divine Sense and produced the fragmented Second-Grade Cultivation Skill he had extorted from Master Miaoyin, the *Qian Heaven One Yuan Supreme Heavenly Divine Technique*. “Progenitor, this is something I acquired recently. See if it can offer you any inspiration.”

“…Oh?”

Progenitor Tingyou was taken aback. He accepted the Cultivation Technique and glanced at it, and his expression froze. His previous nonchalance gradually gave way to intense focus.

A long time passed before he finally let out a long breath of Muddy Qi.

“Collecting External Qi to Refine Spirit… I see! So that’s how it is! External Qi, yes, it must be external Qi! When there is nothing to seek within, one can only seek without!”

A look of sudden enlightenment dawned on Progenitor Tingyou’s face.

He then looked at Lü Yang and said gravely, “Do whatever it takes. You must obtain the Qi Collection Secret Technique for this Second-Grade Cultivation Skill. That is the most critical part!”

Lü Yang looked curious. “The Qi Collection Secret Technique?”

“That’s right!” Progenitor Tingyou nodded and explained, “I am certain this is the greatest advantage that Second-Grade and First-Grade True Skills have over Third-Grade ones!”

“The Primal Daoist failed to deduce this, most likely because he had never seen a true Second-Grade Cultivation Skill… A single word of true teaching is worth more than ten thousand scrolls! He was just missing that one sentence! The man’s Talent Skill was truly world-class, no less than my own, but unfortunately, like me, he was born at the wrong time…”

Progenitor Tingyou lamented for a moment before turning back to Lü Yang.

“The so-called ’Collecting External Qi to Refine Spirit’—the external Qi doesn’t refer to ordinary Qi. It refers to seeking outward… Beyond the Heavens! Beyond this realm! What you need to collect is Celestial Qi!”

“You collect Celestial Qi to nourish and refine your Soul.”

“Only by completing this step can the True Qi you refine have a direction to point to—not towards a Fruit, but towards the Outer Realm from which you collected the Qi!”

Progenitor Tingyou’s train of thought became increasingly clear, his voice growing more urgent.

“Using the collected Celestial Qi, you can attract its corresponding Fruit—one that exists in another Outer Realm, not of this world—and manifest it here…”

“That is the true meaning of a ’Void Certificate’!”

“Otherwise, if everything you have comes from this Heaven and Earth, how could you possibly verify a Fruit that does not exist in this Heaven and Earth?”

BOOM!

As his voice fell, a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky. It seemed to be a simple collision of clouds, yet it also felt like a warning from Heaven and Earth itself!

Progenitor Tingyou immediately fell silent. After a long pause, he spoke in a low, somber tone, “So that is why Second-Grade and First-Grade True Skills are so rare, known to almost no one… Because an Outer Realm is not so easily found. Not the kind of Little Realm Heaven, but a true Outer Realm where a Great Power resides, where Daoist Skills are manifest in the world!”

Such an Outer Realm was not something a Golden Core Perfected Lord could simply capture.

If they were to truly encounter one, it would inevitably lead to a great, protracted war! Lasting for a hundred, even a thousand years would be normal. Even a Perfected Lord could perish!

’So that’s how it is…’

Having received Progenitor Tingyou’s explanation, a glint flickered in Lü Yang’s eyes. He had already made a decision: Master Miaoyin was now his primary target!

At any cost!

Even the Perfected Lord’s mission could be postponed. He had to find a way to obtain the complete version of the *Qian Heaven One Yuan Supreme Heavenly Divine Technique* from her!

“Speaking of which, this place…”

Just then, Progenitor Tingyou looked around, and a look of amazement appeared on his face. “A collapsing Blessed Land. Did that Perfected Chong Guang fail?”

“The Progenitor sees clearly.”

Lü Yang’s face was full of admiration. He then looked at Progenitor Tingyou tentatively and said, “Before his death, Perfected Chong Guang mentioned that the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire was inexplicably repelled by him.”

“He just didn’t know the reason why.”

“I was wondering if you, Progenitor, might be able to see the crux of the matter?”

Hearing this, Progenitor Tingyou shot Lü Yang an exasperated look. “What do you take me for? A Perfected Lord?”

“A Perfect Grand Zhenren of the Stain Sect, far more experienced than I was in my time, couldn’t see or explain it. How would I know!”

“After all, he at least had a chance at Seeking Gold, whereas I…”

At this point, a hint of sorrow crossed Progenitor Tingyou’s face, but he quickly regained his composure and actively changed the subject.

“However, speaking of failing at Seeking Gold, the Primal Daoist was somewhat similar to him.”

“…What?”

Lü Yang was stunned by this remark. Only then did he recall that he had also obtained memories related to the Primal Daoist when dealing with the Daoist Remnant.

However, since it wasn’t Lü Yang who had personally acted at the time, but Chen Xin’an on his behalf, some details had inevitably been missed. Progenitor Tingyou, on the other hand, was also a Banner Spirit and frequently communicated with Chen Xin’an inside the Myriad-Soul Banner, so he was much more familiar with the Primal Daoist’s life story.

“The Primal Daoist was Seeking the Fruit of Long-Flow Water.”

Progenitor Tingyou recalled for a moment before continuing, “But the result was identical to Perfected Chong Guang’s. The Fruit of Long-Flow Water was inexplicably repelled, and he failed and perished as a result.”

“He never figured out the reason, even at his death.”

“Otherwise, with his great ambition, he had planned to ascend to a Fruit and attain the rank of Perfected Lord, then work backward to completely perfect his Mahayana First Grade True Qi…”

Progenitor Tingyou’s story sent Lü Yang deep into thought.

Perfected Chong Guang attaining the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire.

The Primal Daoist attaining the Fruit of Long-Flow Water.

The reasons for their failures were highly similar. Lü Yang absolutely refused to believe it was a coincidence. There had to be some imperceptible factor at play…

In a daze, Lü Yang felt as if he had touched a thin veil.

His intuition told him that if he could just pierce this veil, he would be able to grasp the truth. Yet, when he tried to delve deeper, he felt lost in a fog, unable to get a clear hold on it.

And at that moment.

ZZZZNNNG—!!!

The ring of a sword from beyond the clouds interrupted Lü Yang’s thoughts. Looking up, he saw a brilliant Sword Light speeding toward him!

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