Volume Two: The Mortal Realm Chapter 125: The Six Paths Technique

"What exactly is the Six Paths Art?"

Recalling the strange words Uncle Sword had once spoken to him, Ye Mingke felt his curiosity about the Six Paths Art intensify.

"You really are a freak. Even a mortal would know that the Six Paths Art is the cultivation method for the Six Realms. In this day and age, almost every cultivator practices using the Six Paths Art; one could even say that the Six Paths Art is the very path of cultivation itself," Jian Jiu said, sounding somewhat astonished.

"Do all cultivators in the Six Realms—whether gods, demons, spirits, ghosts, or Buddhas—use only this one technique to cultivate?" Although Ye Mingke did not know much about cultivation, he still felt this was rather strange.

"That is natural. It has been this way since the era of the Immortal Venerable. The upheaval I mentioned to you earlier, the one that nearly destroyed all the ancient clans, was sparked precisely because of this."

"Do you know what the current era is called?"

Jian Jiu asked Ye Mingke. Tonight, he had spoken more than usual; he was a man naturally cold and indifferent, but toward Ye Mingke, he was always relatively more forthcoming.

Hearing the question, Ye Mingke shook his head, indicating he did not know.

"The current era, which began with the Heavenly Emperor’s epoch, is known as the strongest era in history and the golden age of eternal cultivation. All of this foundation stems from three figures in the Immortal Realm: the Immortal Venerable, the Heavenly Emperor, and the Azure Emperor." As Jian Jiu spoke of these three, a shimmering light of longing flickered in his usually detached eyes.

"The Heavenly Emperor? The Lord of the Heavenly Court?" Ye Mingke suddenly recalled the majestic figure who had annihilated a million-strong demon army and the small town, and he involuntarily sat up straight.

"Among these three, the Heavenly Emperor, as the first emperor-tier powerhouse of the ages, founded the Heavenly Court. He unified the Buddha and Ghost Realms under the Heavenly Court and annexed two-thirds of the Mortal Realm. The Azure Emperor was equally brilliant; he reached the peak of the emperor tier after the Heavenly Emperor, becoming the second emperor-tier powerhouse. He founded the Azure Heaven Palace, conquered the Demon Realm, and annexed the remaining one-third of the Mortal Realm."

"As for the Demon Realm, which had always stood in opposition to the Immortal Realm, it was directly shattered and broken by these two heroes, the likes of which the Immortal Realm had never seen in all eternity. Now, I suspect only a few remnants are left lingering in the abyss. In the current Six Realms, one could say only the Heavenly Emperor and the Azure Emperor, both belonging to the Immortal Path, remain to contend with each other."

Ye Mingke thought of the million-strong demon army in the town. Did they come from the Demon Realm? What did they have to do with the fall of the Demon Realm? Were they remnants who hid in the town’s world after the Demon Realm collapsed?

Ye Mingke listened to Jian Jiu’s account with a composed expression, but his heart was in a state of turmoil. He remembered the demonic urge to consume that had welled up inside him when he saw the corpse of the fat immortal, and he recalled walking out of the hellish sea of fire without a single scratch.

Was his true identity, then, that of a demon?

He had actually thought of this long ago, but he had never been willing to dwell on it. Who would want to discover that they were actually the most infamous kind of demon in the Six Realms?

"However, I have always believed that although the achievements of the Heavenly Emperor and the Azure Emperor as emperor-tier masters are great, they are still inferior to the Immortal Venerable, who remained at the Supreme Realm his entire life. Because... I feel that the emperor-tier cultivation of the Azure Emperor and the Heavenly Emperor could not have been achieved without the Six Paths Art, a technique the Immortal Venerable created by defying heaven, enduring divine retribution, and stealing the secrets of the Heavenly Dao."

"Before the emergence of the Six Paths Art, the schools and techniques of the six paths were a chaotic jumble. No single technique was applicable to everyone. The power of immortal arts was often weaker than the innate divine abilities of those with special constitutions. The cultivation world, on one hand, monopolized high-level techniques within their clans, and on the other, possessed divine abilities more powerful than immortal arts, thereby monopolizing the path of cultivation in the Immortal Realm. Unless a rogue cultivator possessed heaven-defying fortune, it was impossible for them to rise."

"It is rumored that when the Immortal Venerable realized he had created the Six Paths Art, which contained the true principles of the Heavenly Dao, he knew his time was short because he had pried too deeply into the secrets of heaven. He actually chose to disclose the Six Paths Art to the Six Realms, starting with the Immortal Realm."

"He allowed every practitioner to cultivate the Six Paths Art, which holds the principles of the Heavenly Dao. Practitioners of the Six Paths Art receive the blessing of the Heavenly Dao, and compared to practitioners of other techniques, they cultivate faster and are often able to fight across a minor realm."

"Since the appearance of the Six Paths Art, it can be said that the countless, star-like array of techniques developed over the previous billions of years became obsolete overnight. Many years have proven that regardless of constitution or race, the Six Paths Art is the most suitable and powerful technique."

"After the Six Paths Art first spread through the Immortal Realm, the first to accept it were the low-level cultivators who lacked techniques. After practicing the Six Paths Art, these cultivators saw their cultivation levels skyrocket, and soon, many began to create countless powerful immortal arts based on this technique."

"At that time, the clans of the Immortal Realm, on one hand, stubbornly clung to the techniques their families had passed down, refusing to adapt, while on the other, they continued to monopolize most of the resources of the Immortal Realm. A thousand-year war broke out between the newly risen cultivator forces practicing the Six Paths Art and the clans of the Immortal Realm. This war completely changed the landscape of the Immortal Realm. Most of those with special constitutions were eliminated, the old ruling clans were destroyed, and in their ruins, the Azure Heaven Palace and the Heavenly Court system, established by the Azure Emperor and the Heavenly Emperor who rose during that millennium of war, took their place."

"This was the upheaval that overturned the cultivation world. This upheaval was later repeated many times across the other six realms."

Jian Jiu recounted that magnificent history from years ago, his flat tone carrying a gentle ripple.

"The Azure Heaven Palace and Heavenly Court systems changed the old hierarchy that favored special constitutions. Based on the characteristics of the Six Paths Art, they established 'Heavenly Passes' and used spiritual apertures as the most basic standard for selecting talent."

"The Heavenly Court, being the first realm to accept the Six Paths Art, pulled ahead in strength from the other five realms. Furthermore, the Six Paths Art was originally created by the Immortal Venerable based on his own cultivation path; although the other five realms could also practice it, only those on the Immortal Path are perfectly suited to the original version. Though the other realms could modify the Six Paths Art to practice it, no matter who modified it, it could never be as powerful as the original version."

"As time passed, the strength of the Immortal Realm increasingly surpassed the other five realms. Then came the era of great contention, where the Heavenly Emperor and the Azure Emperor conquered the various realms. Within ten thousand years, the armies of the Heavenly Court and the Azure Heaven Palace had broken the Demon Realm, and the other realms were conquered as well. The Heavenly Court’s Supervision Department and the Azure Palace’s Bureau were spread across all realms. In these six realms, only the two major factions of the Azure Emperor and the Heavenly Emperor remained, and only they were worthy of being each other's opponents."

"The next thousand or ten thousand years were an era of struggle between these two Immortal Emperors."

"This is the current great world."

Jian Jiu used the Six Paths Art to clarify the power divisions and the status quo of the entire Six Realms, otherwise, he truly worried that this bumpkin would one day get himself killed out of sheer ignorance.

Ye Mingke listened to Jian Jiu's words, and the waves in his heart gradually subsided. Although this information was common knowledge to many, for him, it was like a beam of light piercing through the night, illuminating many dark places.

The Heavenly Emperor, the various heavens, the Six Paths Art, the town, the testing ground.

If his guess was correct, the enemy the town had always been guarding against was the Heavenly Emperor, the first and second emperor-tier master of the ages, and the Heavenly Court he founded. The three groups in the town were one: the illusionary natives of the town; another: the demon army that had died in the fall of the Demon Realm.

And the last group were those from the various heavens who appeared to submit to the Heavenly Emperor but actually wanted to find a way to restrain the Six Paths Art. That was why, before the Heavenly Emperor arrived, these conspirators who had surrendered fled one after another.

But what about me? Why did Uncle say there was a pair of eyes behind the Six Paths Art?

Ye Mingke felt he had figured some things out, but many mysteries still plagued him.

However, at the very least, he could be certain that he had a deep connection with the Demon Realm, and that Qiaoqiao and Tao Yao should belong to the forces of the various heavens or the Azure Heaven Palace.

"Since your spiritual apertures have already been opened, it is time to start cultivating. You don't have the Six Paths Art yet, do you? I can give it to you. How many 'degrees of deficiency' do you want?"

Jian Jiu suddenly remembered to ask.

"Degrees of deficiency?" Ye Mingke was puzzled.

Jian Jiu smiled.

"I forgot you came from the mountains. The 'degree of deficiency' refers to how many tenths a technique deviates from the original version of the Six Paths Art. The greater the gap between these techniques and the original, the lower their power and value. Currently, the most widely circulated in the cultivation world is the nine-tenths deficient version. As for the original version, it is said that one can only come into contact with it after ascending to the Immortal Realm."

"Although the Heavenly Court was established by breaking the old clans that monopolized techniques and resources, thousands of years have passed, and some major forces in the Heavenly Court and the Immortal Realm have begun to evolve into those same great clans. Since the technique is unified, they now start from the incompleteness of the technique itself."

"However, as long as the Heavenly Emperor is there, the structure of the Heavenly Court will not become too rigid. Now, as long as you have talent, even if you are not born into a great clan, you can exchange for a higher-level Six Paths Art within the Heavenly Court system."

"Tell me, what degree of deficiency do you want? But this will have to be calculated as a favor. I can give you the nine-tenths deficient one directly, but the value of anything seven-tenths or higher is quite steep. The best I can give you is the five-tenths deficient version, and that would be worth a life. My own technique only reaches the three-tenths deficient level, and my sect forbids passing it on to outsiders," Jian Jiu said.

"Then I'll take the nine-tenths deficient one," Ye Mingke said readily.

"Are you sure? Although you can switch to a higher-level Six Paths Art later, it will still affect the foundation of your Immortal Path. Do you really want to delay your cultivation just to save a few favors?" Jian Jiu frowned.

But how could he know that until Ye Mingke figured out why Uncle had forbidden him from practicing the Six Paths Art, and what the pair of eyes behind the Six Paths Art were, he wouldn't dare to cultivate it at all.

This nine-tenths deficient technique was merely for him to understand what cultivation was all about.

"If you are sure, the technique will be delivered tomorrow."