Chapter 41: The Secret of Returning to Heaven

  Hua Kuo had been tempered for a long time and was not flustered despite the surprise. His eyebrows were tightly locked, thinking hard about a solution.

  The situation was getting more and more critical, the primordial energy surging inside his dantian had reached a limit value, as if it would explode in just one moment. It wasn't that the secret method passed down by Huajiu Gong had any problems, but rather that Su Feng's internal yin-yang diagram was different from ordinary people and might not be applicable.

  Hua Jiugong's eyes were as calm as water, without a hint of panic. He slowly extended one finger and pressed it onto the Dahui acupoint on Su Feng's back, sealing off any possibility of his true energy surging up. Then, with a sudden loud shout, like a thunderclap, Su Feng was startled and jumped up. "Embrace the origin, guard the one, do not divide your mind!" Hua Jiugong's words were solemn and majestic, actually suppressing the fear in Su Feng's heart. What was strange was that after being shouted at by Hua Jiugong, the turmoil in his dantian gradually subsided.

  "Don't make any rash moves, I still have a secret technique here called 'The Great Return to One'. If you combine it with the Heavenly Separation Technique, you should be able to transform the yin-yang diagram in your dantian from mortal to immortal and bring out its divine rhythm." After finishing speaking, he transmitted another oral formula, which was several thousand words long. Hua Jiu Gong didn't rush, reciting one sentence at a time, repeating it three times, taking up almost half an hour.

  The wind was blowing quietly, and this great return to one technique was extremely mysterious, far surpassing the ordinary strange techniques. The changes in yin and yang were not ordinary, and his previous blind operation of combining energies was indeed a bit reckless. Now, although it was temporarily stable, it was not time for regret or self-blame. With both hands forming an unmoving lotus flower seal, he joined them at his chest, beginning to try out the great return to one technique passed down by Huajiu Gonggang.

  The so-called "Great Return to One" originated from the Taoist scriptures, which say: "The Great Way is fifty, and the heavenly evolution is forty-nine. What remains is the elusive 'one', the Heavenly Way is hard to find, and all the wonderful principles in the world are based on this elusive 'one'. The technique of "Great Return to One" is based on this, combining various true energies into one, evolving from the chaos of yin and yang, and seeking the truth of the Great Way's evolution.

  The Xī Tiān Jué is the ultimate method that can transform the yin-yang, five elements, and the pre-heavenly and post-heavenly true qi. With a gentle breeze, it uses the Xī Tiān Jué as its foundation, extracting all of the pre-heavenly true qi from the dantian, and then converting it back into the original yin-yang true qi, leaving behind only a hint of pre-heavenly energy to separate the yin-yang and prevent them from touching and annihilating each other. As the pre-heavenly energy in the dantian disperses, the pressure inside the qihai suddenly decreases, causing the dantian to rapidly contract, and the originally unstable yin-yang diagram suddenly expands violently.

  At that moment, his entire meridian system was shocked, and he immediately suffered an internal injury. A mouthful of blood spurted out violently. However, he didn't have time to catch his breath, and hastily took advantage of the collapse of the Yin-Yang diagram to activate the Great Return to One technique.

  "First, Chaos was born, and then Taiji was divided." The voice of Hua Jiugong's transmission sounded in his ear again.

  The Great Return to One technique seems to have truly originated from the Taoist scriptures, as when it is activated, a golden light representing the majesty of heaven and earth really appears, circulating in the dantian like the will of the Tao. The golden light has an inexplicable divine aura, wherever it runs, whether yin or yang, or the primordial qi, are all attracted to it, forcibly merged into one place, transformed into a grayish shape, swirling in the dantian.

  The entire body's internal energy transformed into a turbulent flow of air, swirling ceaselessly within the dantian. Finally, the entire airflow coalesced into an orb of energy that stabilized within the body, its rotational speed gradually slowing. "Quickly employ the Gathered Void Transcendence Technique to nurture the divine pattern!" The voice at his ear was once again that of Huajiu Gong's guidance.

  Although he didn't know the reason, he also understood that the timing was precious and couldn't be missed. Without hesitation, he directly activated the secret method of gathering all into immortality. The entire gray gas mass was stirred by the secret art, layer upon layer like waves surging, with wave after wave converging towards the center.

  As it approached the center, the air mass became denser and denser, until the entire central part of the air sea was like a flowing water. The lotus seal in Su Feng's hand tightened again, embracing the origin and guarding one, driving the air mass inside the air sea to rotate like a millstone. Another half an hour passed, but Su Feng didn't dare to relax, nor did he see any divine phenomenon born from the air mass. Although he didn't relax, there were still a few doubts in his heart. This Aggregating Immortals Technique seemed so mysterious, could it be that it really had no effect at all?

  It seems that he sensed a slight relaxation in Su Feng's expression, and Hua Jiugong transmitted again: "Absolutely cannot give up, this is the crucial moment. The road of cultivation is bumpy and long, even if it is an extraordinary genius, there is no overnight success, everything needs to be persisted bit by bit. This method has now reached a turning point, and soon there will be a divine transformation."

  He listened intently and his expression changed, hastily gathering his thoughts and patiently waiting.

  When you rush, you don't reach your destination. This is an ancient principle of the ultimate truth. Indeed, after Random Wind's patient and calm nature took over, a sudden change occurred, and two points of divine light suddenly flashed out from the center of the entire air mass, one black and one white, which are the source of yin and yang. Random Wind's heart tightened, and he forcibly suppressed the surge of wild joy in his heart, then activated the Analytic Heaven Secret to assist, driving the chaotic air mass to rotate bit by bit. The two points of divine light that had just emerged were divided into two sides, with yin and yang harmonizing, and yang accompanying yin to generate life. It was as if two living, breathing yin-yang fish were freely frolicking in the sea of energy, finally stabilizing into a steady state, with the two points of divine light forming one Taiji.

  Suī fēng zhè cái huǎn huǎn shōu gōng, yí xià jiù zhàn le qǐ duì zhe huā jiǔ gōng shì le yī dà lǐ, dào: "Duō xiè huā bó bó zhǐ diǎn, rú cǐ ēn dé suī fēng wú yǐ wéi bào."

  Translation:

  With the wind slowly withdrawing its power, it suddenly stood up and bowed deeply to Huajiu Gong, saying: "Thank you, Uncle Hua, for your guidance. Such kindness is something that I, Suifeng, cannot repay."

  Hua Qiu Gong smiled and said, "It's not a matter of kindness or favor, it's just that I've fulfilled one of my lifelong wishes."

  Startled by the wind, she didn't quite understand his meaning and stared blankly: "A lifelong wish?"

  Hua Jiugong smiled and said, "Since you've learned the Jufan Chengxian Technique and the Dagu Yizhong Technique, this thing should be given to you." As he spoke, he picked up a book from the incense table that had been taken out of the bookcase earlier and handed it over to Suifeng.

  She took the book from him with a flutter of her hands, "This is...?" The page was blank, nothing was written.

  "You'll know when you open it." Gong Dandan replied lightly.

  "This..." With a slight flip, he suddenly discovered that there was a golden leaflet inserted in the book, exactly the same as the one with the "Xi Tian Jue" written on it before! In the center of the golden leaflet were four large characters: "Hui Tian Fa Jue". Sui Feng was thoroughly stunned and couldn't speak for a long time.

  Hua Jiugong smiled and said, "This is the Return to Heaven Divine Art that countless people in Jianghu have been dreaming of. This method has been passed down through generations, and now you've already learned the Great Reunion Technique and the Gathering of the Ordinary to Become Immortal Technique, so even if you don't want to learn it, you'll still end up learning it."

  But what surprised him was not just that. Why are the Hui Tian Jue and Xi Tian Jue both engraved on gold foil? He had previously heard from Liang Stealer that these two internal skills complement each other, and when used together, their power increases exponentially. Could it be that they have the same origin? Who left them behind? What is their source? Perhaps only a few people knew the answers to these questions over the centuries, and now they are probably impossible to find. Unbeknownst to himself, Fang Feng felt that he had inadvertently stumbled upon another earth-shattering secret, one that might be even more astonishing than the auspicious secret.

  Looking at the stunned expression, Hua Jiu Gong suddenly became sentimental and said: "Do you still remember that year when I and Feng Lao Di fought together in the battle of Chang'an City? We both opposed the Western Regions' old demon who was then the world's top expert. At that time, he had defeated several great masters of the Central Plains, including my master, Ku Mu Zhen Ren. How could we two young men possibly win? But unexpectedly, Feng Lao Di's Xi Tian Jue and my Hui Tian Jue turned out to be incredibly compatible, complementing each other's strengths, and every move had an exponentially increased power. We were both shocked by this discovery, but due to the rules of our sects, we couldn't delve deeper into it. Later, we agreed that whoever had children first would test whether practicing both techniques together would have a profound effect. We decided that when your child turned nine years old, we would pass on our respective ultimate skills to him, allowing him to combine the strengths of the two divine powers. But unexpectedly, you just turned nine and something like this happened. Fortunately, you still learned Xi Tian Jue, so I naturally cannot renege on my promise."

  After listening to the wind, there was a long silence. It turned out that there were so many unknown reasons behind this, and he had also been puzzled before, why his father had not passed on the Xī Tiān Jué to him, and did not think that there would be such a story. Thinking of past events, another wave of emotion arose.

  Suī fēng zhe zháo zhe mǎn mù cí xiáng de huā jiǔ gōng, yí xià guì le lái, dào: "huā bó bó zài shàng, shòu suī fēng yī bài." Gāng xiǎng kòu shǒu, què bèi huā jiǔ gōng yī bǎ gěi lán zhù le.

  English Translation:

  Following the wind, looking at the benevolent-looking Flower Jiugong, he suddenly knelt down and said: "Flower elder is above, receiving a bow from Following Wind." Just as he was about to kowtow, he was stopped by Flower Jiugong.

  Huajiu Gong moved his sleeve without making a sound, and with the wind, he only felt a surge of great strength in his arm, and he was unable to resist at all before being lifted up. "This..." Xunfeng looked at Huajiu Gong with some surprise. Huajiu Gong shook his head and said, "There's no need for such courtesy, since you called me 'Uncle', I'll naturally regard you as a nephew, passing on my legacy to you is only natural."

  His heart warmed at the words, and for some reason they reminded him of an old man in Yangzhou who used to give him baked buns. "You passed on Tian Gong's legacy to me, what about Feng Wuji?"

  Hua Jiu Gong shook his head and said, "His talent is good, but he still lacks some fire. I have a book on the Wind Return Sword Method, which was created based on the Return to Heaven Technique. If he can thoroughly understand this sword method, he will be able to obtain 70% of the essence of the Return to Heaven Technique. But if he tries to cultivate both at the same time, it will only lead to him losing focus and it won't be beneficial for his future development."

  Hua Jiu looked at Sui Feng again and said, "You still haven't opened up the second meridian, you need to hurry up. Many days have passed since you entered the Xiantian stage, but you're still stuck on opening up the entire body's meridians and communicating with the heavenly spiritual energy. Do you know why my master, Ku Mu Zhen Ren, only passed down the Hui Tian Gong to me?"

  Listening to him talk about this matter is even more confusing, previously heard that Liang Tou'er said it was very mysterious, at the age of 15 he entered the door, in just a few years he has already become a pre-heavenly master, compared to Su Feng's father only faster not slower.

  Hua Heng continued, "The main reason why Master will give me the robe and alms bowl is that I have a special physical constitution since birth, with all my meridians in a half-open state. If I cultivate internal strength, my speed will be 100 times faster than ordinary people. After opening up all my meridians in the future, it will also be much easier for me to communicate with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. At that time, Master was already old and urgently needed a disciple to take over his position. If he passed it on to Li Ri Shixiong, although he had exceptional talent, he still needed a long time to break into the prenatal state. Master thought for a long time before deciding to gamble this once, fortunately, I did not disappoint Master, and I successfully entered the prenatal realm shortly before his duel with the old demon from the Western Regions."

  Memories of the past, Hua Jiugong couldn't help but sigh. Only now did he understand the hidden secrets within. He never thought that choosing a sect would involve so many considerations. It wasn't until then that he truly understood the meaning of "there are people outside of people". Many people's years of hard work can't compare to others' innate physical advantages. His father, already an extraordinary talent, spent over ten years cultivating before finally reaching the Innate Realm. And there were countless ordinary people like Wang Changming, who didn't dare to aspire to the Innate Realm their entire lives. Yet Hua Jiugong became a high-level Innate expert in just a few short years, transforming from an ordinary scholar. The disparity was staggering, leaving one to lament the unfairness of fate.

  "There's an ancient saying that goes, 'When it's open, you're immortal; when it's closed, you're ordinary.' When all the meridians in your body are opened up, your entire being feels like it's merged with the universe. Even if you close your eyes, everything around you - grass, trees, flowers - is still present within your heart. Without this level of enlightenment, you won't be able to enter the realm of the primordial. In fact, since ancient times, there has never been a saying that one must open up their meridians before entering the primordial state. It's just that every single primordial master throughout history has first opened up their meridians before reaching the primordial state - there's never been an exception."