Chapter 524

The black-and-white grinding wheel diagram of the Black and White Academy is indeed a fine treasure.

At least Fang Yu believes that in the Yuhua Sect, if such a black-and-white grinding wheel diagram existed, the probability of a True Disciple advancing from the 3rd Stage of Divine Abilities to the Yin-Yang Realm could increase by fifty percent, and the probability of advancing from the Yin-Yang Realm to the Heavenly Man Realm would also rise.

The simple black-and-white diagram, with its crisscrossing lines, revealed many great Daoist principles.

Fang Yu here comprehended many similar Divine Abilities; though inferior to the Great Yin-Yang Art, Great Darkness Art, and Great Light Art of the Eternal Life Realm, they were branches or analogues of these great Daoist paths.

Especially at the back, he further discerned from the black-and-white diagram the arts of freezing and combustion—could be called the Great Freezing Art and Great Combustion Art in the Eternal Life Realm.

The Eternal Life Realm indeed possesses the Great Freezing Art; its power is vastly stronger than Fang Yu's comprehension of freezing, for merely comprehending the essence of freezing is useless—in the Eternal Life Realm, cultivators seeking to perfect such a great Daoist Divine Ability must continuously gather freezing primordial energy, extracting the essence of ice from the coldest places, and after centuries of cultivation, might succeed.

A perfected Great Freezing Art, in the hands of a peerless expert, can freeze star after star, even entire star systems—though this requires the cultivator to continually elevate their own realm.

The rule of the Eternal Life Realm is that low-realm cultivators may cultivate great Dao, but once perfected, such Dao can be applied from the Divine Ability Secret Realm to the Longevity Secret Realm, even to the Immortal Secret Realm; even after becoming a Heavenly Monarch, the Three Thousand Great Dao remain relevant. To transcend the Three Thousand Great Dao, one must reach the realm of a Heavenly Monarch of twenty or more eons, at which point one may attempt to comprehend what lies beyond the Three Thousand Dao—the Hongmeng Daoist of the Immortal King realm once sat silently before the Yongshengzhi Sect for one hundred thousand years, founding the Hongmeng Heavenly Dao, said to lie entirely outside the Three Thousand Dao.

Now, in the Manghuangji Realm, Fang Yu comprehends various Divine Abilities; the opposing Daoist principles of heaven and earth seem to reveal themselves in fragments at the mere thought of them.

These Daoist Divine Abilities may bear many names—Great Light Art, Great Darkness Art, Great Freezing Art, Great Combustion Art… and their branches.

Some even may be called branches of the Great Destiny Art.

Yet what he has comprehended cannot compare to the complete Dao—it is like taking a cup of water from an infinite ocean of Dao and calling it his own.

In the Manghuangji Realm, within the Black and White Academy, this makes him a peerless genius.

After all, comprehension of Dao in the Manghuangji Realm is divided into many levels: first, foundational; second, microscopic; third, unity with heaven and earth; fourth, true meaning of Dao; fifth, domain of Dao; sixth, full comprehension of one complete Dao.

Fang Yu's current displayed strength lies between the fifth and sixth levels.

Moreover, his comprehension of many Daoist paths is at the fifth to sixth level.

To many Immortals, this is terrifying.

"Our Black and White Academy's Ten Thousand Forms disciples are divided into three tiers. The first tier reaches only the domain of Dao; the second tier attains multiple domains of Dao; the third tier comprehends a complete 'Dao.' But have you ever seen a genius like Fang Yu?"

In that palace, many Elders felt their spirits shaken.

"Every Primordial Spirit cultivator in our Black and White Academy has comprehended a complete 'Dao,' but few have comprehended as many Dao as Fang Yu. If you say he is not a Heavenly Immortal reincarnated, I won't believe it."

"I don't believe it either—our Black and White Academy has actually recruited such a disciple. This is our greatest fortune."

"What shocks me most is whether his spirit ever tires—he has comprehended so many principles, yet still has the energy to continue comprehending. It's unimaginable."

Another Elder spoke up.

"Indeed, spiritual will drains fastest during Dao comprehension. Prolonged comprehension leads to utter exhaustion—like a mortal obsessed with unrequited love, gradually wasting away. Fang Yu's spiritual strength utterly exceeds our imagination!"

"Look—he's now studying the wills left behind by our academy's past Immortals!"

Amidst the astonishment of all, Fang Yu finally rose from before the black-and-white grinding wheel diagram, for he had now stored its intricate details within his mind.

As an Eternal Life cultivator with a cultivated mind, as one who has practiced the Great Primordial Art, Fang Yu declared: having seven brains is awesome—comprehension, Dao insight, bottlenecks? They don't exist.

As for fatigue from comprehending Dao—do you think I opened seven brains for nothing?

A sharp mind grants a tremendous advantage in cultivation, automatically granting max-level comprehension and unyielding spiritual endurance.

This essentially crushes cultivation systems that begin from the lower dantian.

Fang Yu has now directly stored the black-and-white grinding wheel diagram within his mind; as he activates his wisdom, Daoist insights naturally rise, and he turns to study the legacies left by the Black and White Academy's past Immortals.

Here, only one wall bears the black-and-white grinding wheel diagram; the other two walls hold the wills of past Immortals.

"The path of cultivation is a path of fierce struggle! Left by Wu Chou!"

This was the will of a cultivator; in the brushstrokes he left, Fang Yu seemed to see a being constantly advancing—struggling against heaven, against earth, against men, against demons…

As the saying goes: to struggle with heaven brings endless joy; to struggle with earth brings endless joy; to struggle with men brings endless joy.

Dao cultivation lies in struggle, in combat.

Where the heart points, all shall yield.

Between the lines flowed a spirit of confident arrogance.

"All worldly dust may rot; I seek only the two characters: Eternal Life."

Another Immortal left his thought—this Immortal cared only for the two characters "Eternal Life." This was his Dao heart; on his cultivation path, nothing else mattered but Eternal Life.

Those who reached the Immortal stage clearly understood their Dao heart, knew what they sought; these Immortals possessed pure, unwavering Dao hearts, untempted by demons, unchanged by endless time—this was why they achieved Immortality.

Meanwhile, those in heaven and earth who lost their nature and shattered their beliefs due to various temptations had long since perished beyond revival.

The power of the heart is exceedingly profound.

The words left by these past Immortals served as trials for the Dao hearts of later disciples; even when one's Dao heart wavers, merely reading these words from past masters can strengthen one's resolve.

The black-and-white diagram is the foundation; the Immortals' words refine the Dao heart.

Together, these two form the foundation upon which the Black and White Academy, a supreme-tier sect, has endured for endless ages.

"So this is how it is."

Fang Yu pondered deeply.

Undeniably, one can polish jade with another's stone—the Black and White Academy's method of cultivating disciples greatly aided Fang Yu; their approach to disciple cultivation was truly excellent.

The black-and-white diagram plus the words of past Immortals allow disciples to comprehend Divine Abilities while refining their Dao hearts.

Of course, in the Eternal Life Realm, do Eternal Life cultivators even have Dao hearts?

Each one says: "You're done," "Kneel, become my dog," "No one in heaven or earth can save you."

Cultivators of the Eternal Life Realm seem to need no Dao heart at all.

Fang Yu felt he still needed some.

The power of the heart is profoundly mysterious—especially in the Manghuangji Realm, there exists a cultivation method for heart force, but unfortunately, he has yet to obtain it.

He must obtain this cultivation method.

…

Fang Yu had been in deep Dao comprehension before the black-and-white diagram for a full day; when dawn approached the next day, an old man clad in tattered beggar's robes descended from the sky riding mist, a wine gourd in hand, utterly carefree.

All surrounding heaven and earth seemed to center upon him, everything obeying his command—a natural, effortless sense of mastery.

"Surviving the nine-hundred-year calamity? Absolutely exhilarating! So exhilarating!"

The short old man shook his head and swayed, looking very content. "Another nine hundred years of easy living ahead."

As he spoke, he tilted his head back and gulped down a few mouthfuls of spirit wine.

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, he stopped and looked down at the black-and-white diagram below.

"That young man is a newly recruited disciple of my Black and White Academy. Isn't this a bit excessively strong?"