Chapter 1556

White clouds drift leisurely, clear winds swirl, and the sunlight is just right.

Whether it be the furnace or the infant dragon, even the eager Zhen Xiang joining the fun—at this very moment, all listen devoutly and attentively, seeking the Great Dao.

The golden-haired monkey lifts the teapot, coming and going to pour tea.

The vermilion long table, the dignified Dragon E Ying in ceremonial robes, seated sideways, grinding ink and writing records. Liang Qu sits cross-legged beside her, having snatched a mass of cloud-mist from the sky, kneading it into a long plank, standing upright before them; from flesh, muscle, bone, and blood onward, he writes each realm name one by one, then pauses, and additionally drafts four major headings: "Furnace, Transformation into Rainbow—originally one entity."

"In martial cultivation, the ultimate end is solely for the Heavenly Dragon."

"The correlation between position fruits, the world's growth and transformation, the self-world, and its fusion and sublimation with the external world."

"The realization of the great position fruit must inevitably involve sentient beings."

The straw-hatted elder, Beiting Immortal, Zhang Dragon-Elephant, and the old Dragon Lord and Mirage Dragon—two former furnace pupils with dilated pupils—four headings hung on the cloud-plank; in a daze, it felt as if the heavenly spirit cover had been pried open with a crowbar, violently lifted, and a bronze bell crashed loudly beside the ear.

Beyond the furnace, Gu Zu, Xin Great Awakening, Lion King, and other top-tier infant dragons likewise stirred their spirits.

The Yuan General hastily took notes.

It is the twenty-four solar terms' high claw, biased toward the Four Passes and Seven Ways, still a raw recruit, precisely at the critical period of tiger-hunting to reach Zhen Xiang, perpetually hesitant; having heard Liang Qu discourse on the Dao, even if he had not moved his nest for a thousand years, he must hurry to come listen.

"Today's discourse on the Dao is actually just me sharing my personal views on cultivation; those present are all heroes, all stalwarts—I am indeed the one who has gone the farthest, reached the highest, but I am not born knowing all; you need not treat this as definitive doctrine or believe it unquestioningly. Likewise, I did not prepare a draft this time—I know you all have many questions."

Liang Qu paused his writing: "So, if you have any questions going forward, feel free to ask."

The straw-hatted elder and others temporarily suppressed their urge to speak.

Beiting Immortal, who had been drowsy, suddenly snapped his eyes open like bronze bells, leopard-headed with ringed eyes.

Zhang Dragon-Elephant's palms clenched and relaxed, relaxed and clenched—unconsciously, he began to sweat.

The old Dragon Lord and Mirage Dragon were not so urgent.

Not even the furnace anymore—reborn in this life, degenerated into an infant dragon, merely listening out of curiosity.

"To speak of Transformation into Rainbow is inseparable from the furnace; to speak of the furnace is inseparable from the infant dragon; and the infant dragon, I believe, is the pinnacle of mortal cultivation—so let me simply begin from the start."

"The Four Passes and Seven Ways establish the foundation from flesh, muscle, bone, and blood; the entire body's constitution is greatly strengthened, surpassing ordinary human limits—like building a house, if the foundation is not firmly tamped, no piles can be set; this is the beginning of all things."

"The Galloping Horse's Nine Openings are precisely the piles set after the foundation is tamped; then, Wolf Smoke begins to erect the framework, and Tiger Hunt begins to move bricks and plaster."

"Wall—this constitutes a complete set of the most thorough foundation: points, lines, and planes."

"When many begin cultivation, they surely have read《Reflections on Cultivating Nature and Life》? Long ago, I became a disciple of Master Zhao Wu, and thus first obtained this book."

"Inside, it clearly states that the essence of a martial artist's strengthening is the severance of the boundary between 'self' and 'other,' or put differently, between 'inner' and 'outer.'"

"This point is logically sound; and from the Four Passes to Tiger Hunt, it is the continual strengthening and deepening of the small self-boundary."

"Within the crowd."

Hu Qi gave a dazed smile.

Memory unconsciously returned to that night of sparring practice.

The junior apprentice took the book, clearly not having read it seriously, merely repeating what he himself had been told.

"Upon reaching Zhen Xiang, one is no longer merely following routine construction; the essence, energy, and spirit unite as one—a complete great transformation, from a common hut to a heavenly palace, manifesting supernatural powers, turning decay into wonder."

On the grand screen, the small house became carved beams and painted pillars, with misty clouds drifting faintly.

"At this stage, many will feel that whatever supernatural seed was planted during Tiger Hunt henceforth determines one's future strength."

"But I say, supernatural powers can be cultivated with effort; the breath-absorption at Zhen Xiang is far more relevant to the path choices during Furnace and Transformation into Rainbow!"

"Because at this moment, as a mortal cultivator, you first begin to contact and merge with the external world! This is the first collision between the 'small boundary' and the 'great boundary.'"

The Yuan General's tortoise claw twitched—Mount Shou began to stir up dust in agitation.

"Here it comes, here it comes."

"We've heard the real thing!"

"Collision."

"Amitabha."

The old monk turned his prayer beads.

"Small boundary, great boundary?"

The three furnace cultivators, two "former furnace" cultivators, could still grasp some essence, while the infant dragons in the venue were utterly bewildered.

Many Zhen Xiang cultivators began to regret, not knowing why they regretted, yet feeling deeply so; they unconsciously felt their initial breath-absorption should have been more cautious, as if they had completely forgotten the excitement of first obtaining a wisp of vital breath with great difficulty.

Liang Qu continued writing the "blackboard."

On the vast blank space, he drew a large circle, and within it, continuously jabbed dots until it resembled

"A freshly baked sesame cake," only amidst those many tiny dots, three odd little triangles stood out.

Thereafter, beside the "sesame cake," he drew three adjacent small circles, which had no sesame sprinkles or triangles.

"This large circle is the world we can see and touch—whether the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths or the cosmos, it is merely a name; no need to overthink. And the three small circles outside this large circle are me, the Great Li Taizu, and the Whale Sovereign."

Liang Qu pointed his finger to the sky.

Instantly, the bright blue sky transformed into a radiant "azure heaven."

"The reason you can see the azure river—what is called the rainbow light of Transformation into Rainbow—is essentially just two worlds pressed together, viewing one through the other."

A clamor arose.

"Indeed, Transformation into Rainbow is the creation of one complete world."

The straw-hatted elder sighed inwardly.

The Yuan General, huge in stature, could only sit in the back row, pursing his lips and uttering a "tsk."

"Stinking monkey, putting on airs again."

"What are the sesame and triangles in that cake?" Xu Shuai raised his hand to ask.

"Excellent question, senior brother—those tiny dots within the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths are all position fruits! Whether heaven and earth nurture or self-nurture, they are the concrete manifestations of heavenly authority; as for the triangles—"

"Are they us?" the straw-hatted elder interjected.

"Exactly! The straw-hatted elder hit the nail on the head—these three triangles are the three furnace immortals." Liang Qu raised his hand, seized, and pulled out three triangles, "They are also all the great authorities; currently, it is not that sentient beings participate! It is the extreme of yin-yang fusion."

"What does this mean?" Beiting Xian asked.

Liang Qu did not answer directly: "The position fruits nurtured by heaven and earth, I have seen few, only once directly witnessed the birth of the drought fruit at Blue Lake, a crimson gold little gourd, and only in Loulan indirectly saw the first prize of the Great Hunt, these are the small position fruits nurtured by heaven and earth, they are 'dead things', but what about the great position fruit?"

"Dragon Lord, Mirage Dragon, Furnace Immortal—" Beiting Xian murmured one or two, eyes blazing bright.

Liang Qu said: "I asked the Dragon Elephant Immortal, and also personally experienced it, during the furnace stage, it was like bubbles rising from the deep sea to the surface, constantly expanding, finally completely merging into the air, vast emptiness, nowhere to set foot."

Did the Huai King also have a furnace stage?

Many drought dragons heard this for the first time, felt fresh, took it as notes and wrote it down.

The Huai King did not cross the furnace, but stayed for two days—

"Many people think, drought dragon thirteenth stage, combined with the great position fruit, can achieve furnace, but I think it's wrong, without thirteenth stage, or perhaps with the participation of living beings, perhaps then one cannot transform the middle position fruit into great position fruit!"

"But from ancient times to now, it has always been the position fruit's advancement that is difficult, drought dragon's advancement is hard, all furnaces, without exception, first reach thirteenth stage, then self-nurture the great position fruit, directly transform into furnace, none have gone the opposite way, merely discovered this point."

"Therefore, if the quality has not broken through to the point of triggering heaven and earth's nurturing, causing interaction between great realms, then the essence of personal cultivation's peak is only drought dragon!"

"So that's how it is?" Ge Zu suddenly understood.

"Good stuff, good stuff!" Long You opened his eyes wide, hurriedly recorded it.

Long Xi Wuwu said nothing: "So eager, are you capable of drought dragon or capable of furnace?"

Long You resentfully said: "Why do you keep attacking me?"

Drought Dragon Entering Zhen Xiang was full of enthusiasm.

The furnace response was ordinary, at this step, more or less there were guesses.

Zhang Dragon Elephant grasped a key point: "Hunting tiger to Entering Zhen Xiang is a transformation, the first fusion of small realm and great realm. Drought dragon to furnace, is it the first transformation of small realm and great realm?"

"Exactly!" Liang Qu affirmed, "Whether it's the Thousandfold Root Sea Method or the Life-Death Transformation Method, essentially they rely on the power of heaven

and earth to let oneself interact with the outside world, thereby borrowing power to transform one's quality.

At the same time, heaven and earth are also expanding themselves in this process, the emergence of authority is the manifestation of a certain aspect maturing to a certain degree.

Why say consuming qi is the first important interaction? Because among the five self-nurturing methods, at least four directly work on one's qi sea, using this as the main quality to derive, ultimately nurturing position fruits of corresponding properties!

And one's own quality position fruit, in turn, affects how one transforms into a rainbow, to this point, a strip of water".

Of course, if it were Ge Zu nurturing position fruit like this, then by definition consuming qi would not count as the first fusion, but the principle of transformation is the same.

The Yuan General's eyes gleamed bright, like polished glass wiped again and again.

Almost everyone present was at Entering Zhen Xiang or above, yet had no chance to change the long breath.

"Alright, today's focus is not the furnace, so ignore the three triangles for now, look at the small points, theoretically, these sesame small points are the prototypes of these three small circles outside!"

Everyone's head buzzed, hearts in unison began to race.

Long Eying Zheng, who was holding brush and licking ink to record, stood solemnly, under ceremonial robes, the toes inside the red ceremonial shoes slightly curled.

Liang Qu glanced sideways, saw the movement under the shoe upper, quietly reached out, gripped the shoe tip, pinched through the cloth.

Long Eying Zheng's face slightly flushed, expression unchanged, turned the ankle to press down the hand.

Palm pulled out upward, red shoe pressed again, pulled out, pressed again, pulled out, pressed again, and———

"Bang!"

Kneecap struck, the desk moved.

Liang Qu pressed the long desk, leaned forward half-body, pretending to change posture just happened to bump into it.

Prototype———

The straw-hatted old man's Adam's apple rolled.

He had a premonition, what comes next———

Liang Qu withdrew his thoughts, continued: "Intending to undergo furnace transformation into rainbow, after the first fusion, first transformation, one must still undergo the final crucial combination, this is what forms the lineage!"

Beiting Xian Heavy Breathing.

The straw-hatted old man's pupils dilated.

Liang Qu's words did not stop: "Relying solely on a small point, a triangle, far from enough to completely break free and be born from the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, so, it needs to be drawn in, needs unity.

Must rely on more, and the remaining small points sharing commonality with a certain small point, combining matching, similarly compatible great position fruits, together uphold, only then can success be achieved! Become a great network capable of self-propagation.

Lineage, core is the furnace itself, then followed by multiple minor authorities under its governance, each matching, able to break through the shackles of heaven and earth, from seed sprouting into sapling, growing strong! Become one incomplete, yet with infinite possibilities true heaven and earth.

Can be said authority as steps, leaping out of the water surface, thoroughly escaping myriad things."

"Is this————transforming into rainbow?"

Everyone's face showed bewilderment, yet also a hint of understanding.

Small realm, great realm.

Internal and external interaction.

Authority as steps, leaping out of the water surface.

Seemed to understand, yet seemed not to understand.

Drought dragon, Entering Zhen Xiang, all without exception looked forward to, Long You closed his eyes, occasionally chuckled.

Straw-hatted old man, Beiting Xian, Zhang Dragon Elephant three people dazed for a long time, simultaneously leaned against chair backs.

The mist of expectation suddenly swept clean, abruptly there was a hint of complex emotion.

The furnace is undying and indestructible, only cycles every three thousand years.

Before the Great Li Taizu and Whale King succeeded, they even thought transforming into rainbow was merely an impractical daydream, due to the Great Li Taizu's character, thinking there was still a way forward.

Unable to fly to the Nine Heavens, the moon above has a heavenly palace, with fairies.

Unable to fly to the sun, inside the sun there is a golden crow, etc., this seems to actually exist, tentatively not counted. As long as imagination is boundless, wanting 'the next realm', one can always have it, as for whether it exists, only when it truly appears.

But, how to know the corresponding lineage?

Common position fruits———

Too many too many position fruits have commonality.

Unless there is a long span of time, I am alone, without competition, slowly gathering.

It seems it was already anticipated, no need to wait for everyone to ask.

"What is a lineage? In fact, heaven and earth already have the answer, and it is also one of the choices of the Whale Emperor." Liang Qu's gaze fell upon the Old Dragon Lord.

The Old Dragon Lord looked left and right, dragon claw pointing at himself: "Me?"

"The reason the Whale Emperor sent the flood dragon to the Yellow Shahe was to seize the magpie's nest, to split the Yellow Shahe and Ehe River positions, totaling

four minor positions as the foundation, to advance to Rainbow Transformation. This is also one of His conceptions in the mortal realm.

The three great furnaces all stared wide-eyed.

"The answer of heaven and earth?"

The Old Dragon Lord inwardly cursed.

How does this brat say everything, just let the dragon know it himself.

"So that's it, so that's it." Zhang Longxiang's eyes gleamed, "The first Rainbow Transformation born of heaven and earth's nurturing should have been the Old Dragon Lord? Splitting apart the Yellow Shahe and Ehe River?"

"Wrong!" Liang Qu shook his head, "The first Rainbow Transformation of heaven and earth should indeed have been the Old Dragon Lord, but it should not have been splitting apart the Yellow Shahe and Ehe River."

"Huh?"

The Straw Hat Old Man and others were astonished.

"The four minor positions are an answer, but this answer is absolutely not given by heaven and earth, but rather an inferior solution before reaching the final answer.

Heaven has the virtue of cherishing life, it should not be so, why nurture spiritual things, then destroy them? In this lineage, the Yellow Shahe Long Wang and the Ehe River Long Wang should be complete, only heaven and earth's nurturing is incomplete, still lacking one part."

Lacking one part——

The Straw Hat Old Man's hairs stood on end, he suddenly turned his head to look toward the Old Tribal Chief.

Old Tribal Chief: "?"

The Old Tribal Chief pondered for a moment, then suddenly reacted, looking toward the Mountain Long Wang.

Mountain Long Wang: "?"

No, not right.

The Old Tribal Chief withdrew his gaze, not looking at the Mountain Long Wang.

He thought of another dragon, a dragon not present, unknown where it went, that dragon is the one truly responding to heaven and earth, self-generating the position fruit.

"The three rivers form '川', I guess, this is the true lineage answer heaven and earth intended to give." Liang Qu said.

So that's it, so that's it.

Enlightening, a sudden rebuke.

The Old Tribal Chief's complexion was complicated.

Originally why did he want the Long Wang, precisely because the Lu Cangjiang is the fourth largest river after the Huaijiang, Yellow Shahe, and Ehe River, only

missing the final step.

Never imagined this contained such heavenly principle, a Rainbow Transformation lineage.

Liang Qu also felt moved.

If not for having earlier dug out the flood dragon's position fruit, it would already be the Whale Emperor's pillar, who knows if it could let the Whale Emperor become a version answer among the great three.

"Wrong, the flood dragon used up, the Yellow Shahe cannot be replaced, I have the Ze Ding, knowing the great four minor, great three middle, the Whale Emperor over thousands of years could observe the connection between the Yellow Shahe and Ehe River, already remarkable, the suddenly appearing Lu Cangjiang position fruit may not be able to confidently connect——"

Heaven and earth were tranquil.

With a little reference, the task became even more arduous.

Originally no one wanted to undergo Rainbow Transformation, this way is also quite good, but unexpectedly a Great Li Taizu appeared——

How to go find a suitable lineage for oneself?

The Straw Hat Old Man took a deep breath, rose and bowed: "Many thanks to the Huai instructor's teaching, breaking the vulgar people's theories, opening the gate to merit and fame, and then the world can act."

"Many thanks to the Huai instructor's teaching!" Bei Ting Xian and Zhang Longxiang stood up in succession.

Thereafter Ya Long, Zhen Xiang, successively stood up, shouting like mountains.

"Many thanks to the Huai instructor's teaching!"

"I dare not ten thousand times." Liang Qu opened his palm, releasing the crimson礼鞋, then stood up, "Nanjiang Xian, Bei Ting Xian are the seniors, if no senior support at the Three Month East Sea Great Hunt, how could Qu have today?"

Long Eying followed, rising to perform the ritual: "Eying has not yet thanked Nanjiang Xian, Bei Ting Xian for assisting my husband."

The Straw Hat Old Man laughed and shook his head: "Just adding flowers to brocade."

"No, it is sending charcoal in the snow." Liang Qu solemnly.

The Straw Hat Old Man was stunned, also not saying more, about to clasp hands again.

"Wait." Liang Qu raised his hand, "Nanjiang Xian, do you not think it complete? Regarding lineage, I here have not finished speaking."

"Oh?" The Straw Hat Old Man was surprised, slowly sat down.

"I here still have two lineages."

As soon as the buttocks left the stool, the Straw Hat Old Man rubbed and stood up.

Bei Ting Xian and Zhang Longxiang, lost in thought, suddenly raised their heads.

Deathly silence.

The Elemental General's ledger pages fell to the ground.

"What the hell? What is it?"

Thousands of pairs of eyes stared at himself, Liang Qu grinned, reached back and pulled out, eight position fruits leapt forth, he pointed left at four, then pointed right at four.

"These four are wind, rain, thunder, electricity, those four are withering, consumption, killing, two sets each.

I don't know if they can match your great position fruits, the combination of great position fruit and lineage, as long as the attributes match, not as rigid as lineage cards.

Which furnace wants to undergo Rainbow Transformation via shortcut, can remodel the world more, then exchange merit contribution points, to come find me to try it out."

Straw Hat Old Man: "?"

Zhang Longxiang: "?"

Beiting Xian: "?"

The Old Dragon Lord, the Mirage Dragon, a host of Martial Saints and Demon Kings all drew sharp breaths.

Beiting Xian broke into a cold sweat.

He would fall asleep immediately, unable to do anything at all; once this sleep ended, would the two sitting beside him both have become Transforming Rainbow cultivators?

Damn it!

In the imperial court's contingent, Lan Jicai slapped his forehead hard.

Dead silence for a long while.

No one bothered to ponder the reason; they forcibly digested this news — unthinkable if placed on anyone else, yet on Liang Qu it seemed not unacceptable?

"What is merit contribution value?" Suoli Weng asked bluntly.

"This matter... goes beyond today's discourse content. Originally I planned to explain slowly tomorrow, but since the Southern Border Immortal asked—" Liang Qu coughed once, "Simply put, I intend to roll out a development strategic outline every twenty years henceforth, three outlines per group, i. e., one sexagenary cycle.

I will score each power based on their completion; those who do well can obtain a certain amount of merit contribution value. Of course, it is entirely voluntary, entirely voluntary! No punishment.

Oh right, this set targets major powers, and together with the previous system where those with great merit can ascend and extend their lifespan, they form a complete whole, no conflict. However, this is comparatively difficult; Netherworld life extension is somewhat easier—

All these upcoming tasks will go live simultaneously, performing a major version update for the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, roughly like going from 1.0 to 2.0 — no, it should be 3.0."

"Version update?" Beiting Xian couldn't understand the youngsters' novel gadgets.

"Like Yixing's sleepwalking update releasing new characters?" Zhang Longxiang understood at once.

"Exactly. Immortal Longxiang has fine comprehension. Next comes the Heavenly Court Ascension Module loading, the Netherworld going online in non-cyclic reincarnation mode, and the main storyline quest — liberating all living beings! Everyone work hard together. Alright, anything else you don't understand?"