There was no one in the spacious interior of the palace other than Master Seventh, working on the painting, and Xu Qing. The servant was nowhere to be seen.

Looking over his shoulder at Xu Qing, Master Seventh asked, “Are you curious why I’m painting a meditating person by South Tor Ghost Mountain?”

Xu Qing nodded.

“It’s a very important place in the Emperor-Receiving Prefecture. Once you reach the four-flame level, I’ll take you there. Who knows, you might find some good fortune.”

Master Seventh didn’t explain any further. Seeing the medicine bottle in Xu Qing’s hand, he waved his hand. The bottle flew over to him. Opening it, he took a sip, then put it away and sat down at a Go board.

“Sit across from me,” he said, beckoning at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing obediently approached and sat on the other side of the Go board.

“Do you know how to play?” Master Seventh asked.

Xu Qing shook his head.

“I’ll teach you.” He picked up a piece and put it onto the corner of the board. Xu Qing thought for a moment, then put a piece in the opposite corner.

“Go is like life. And it’s also a perfect way to understand a person’s personality. I’ve never lost a game. Ever. Want to know why?” Master Seventh put down another piece.

Xu Qing nodded and, imitating his Master, put down another piece.

“I don’t play pieces based on the current circumstances, but rather, the situation as a whole. Most people understand how to do that, but often, they have neither the circumstances nor the aptitude to actually pull it off. In the end, they’re left with only regrets.

“It’s the same with those coalition chosen with 120 dharma apertures. The reason why they stop at four flames without advancing to Gold Core is that they’re thinking about the situation as a whole. They all hope to open a 121st dharma aperture!”

Master Seventh played a piece.

A thoughtful look appeared in Xu Qing’s eyes. Back when he was researching Foundation Establishment, he had come to suspect that there was something beyond 120 dharma apertures. An additional dharma aperture. 1

Seeing the look on his face, Master Seventh chuckled. “There’s one more dharma aperture after 120. It’s the 121st. And that one aperture ignites an additional life flame. That said, the difficulty level of succeeding is unimaginable, and requires a spectacular destined opportunity. No one can help you do it; it all comes down to you. What’s more, the difficulty doesn’t come in opening it, but rather, in finding it.

“Throughout the history of the Emperor-Receiving Prefecture, every person who has succeeded in opening the 121st dharma aperture found themselves in a spot between life and death. They find destined opportunities in the midst of deadly crises, locate their 121st dharma aperture, and then open it. According to records and speculation, every person has that dharma aperture in a different location, so getting information from people who have succeeded is pointless.”

After some thinking, Xu Qing put down a Go piece. “Master, what’s the specific benefit of having five life flames, other than just being stronger?”

“The benefit comes when you reach the Gold Core level.” Master Seventh smiled. “I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase ‘ignite life flames, illuminate heavenly palaces.’ The heavenly palaces mentioned… are critical in the Gold Core level.

“Gold Core cultivators with heavenly palaces have inherent limitations. And those limitations are related to life flames. If you have three flames, you can illuminate six palaces. That’s as far as most disciples can go, even the good ones.

“What that means is that someone with three life flames who steps into Gold Core will reach the peak of that level when they illuminate six heavenly palaces. But the reality is that six heavenly palaces are just the start.” Master Seventh stopped talking at that point to let things sink in a bit for Xu Qing.

After thinking the matter over some, Xu Qing asked, “That would equal thirty-six-flame battle prowess?”

Master Seventh nodded. “You can think of it that way. I said it’s just a start because above the six heavenly palaces is the life mist. There are heavenly palaces in the mist, but the mist makes them difficult to illuminate. It’s only with a fourth life flame that you can illuminate the seventh palace.

“However, don’t think of it as ‘just another palace.’ Seven palaces can crush six palaces, just the same as you can easily crush a five-flame cultivator with your six-flame power. That’s why cultivators with four life flames all want to find that 121st dharma aperture, ignite a fifth life flame, and then use it to illuminate their eighth heavenly palace. The further they push their limits, the greater the gain will be later!”

Master Seventh’s words echoed in Xu Qing’s ears as he thought about what it all meant. He nodded.

“You obviously have experience with life lamps. However, only some of their usefulness manifests in Foundation Establishment. It’s in Gold Core, when dealing with heavenly palaces, that they can be truly useful.

“When someone with a life lamp breaks into the Gold Core level and begins illuminating heavenly palaces, the life lamp will instantly illuminate one of the palaces in the life mist. There’s no waiting. No work involved. It happens instantly. The life lamp is itself like a gold core. A ‘life core,’ if you will. Given your aptitude, if you’re able to find that 121st dharma aperture, then you should ultimately have ten heavenly palaces!” Master Seventh looked closely at Xu Qing. “Now do you understand why life lamps are so valuable to Gold Core cultivators?” 2

Xu Qing’s expression flickered. It was the first time during the entire conversation that it happened. Some of the information corroborated his previous speculations, and overall, it left him shaken. A sense of danger sparked to life within him, not because of Master Seventh, but rather, because of all the malicious Gold Core cultivators he was likely to run into in the future.

“Feeling scared?” Master Seventh smiled.

“Yeah,” Xu Qing replied honestly. 𝒃𝙚𝙤𝙫𝒆𝒍．𝙘𝒐𝙢

“So, what are you going to do about it?” Master Seventh asked, seemingly very interested in hearing the answer.

Xu Qing took a deep breath and calmed himself. He couldn’t change anything about the situation, and frankly, didn’t even feel like talking about it. The only thing he could think to do was ignite his fourth life flame as soon as possible, and then start working on the fifth. And if that didn’t work, then he needed to break through to Gold Core as quickly as he could. Once he reached Gold Core, then his two life lamps would instantly illuminate two heavenly palaces. That, combined with his poisons, would at least give him a measure of safety.

However, Xu Qing then realized that those were all things that would happen in the long-term. After some more thinking, he glanced at Master Seventh out of the corner of his eye. He hadn’t forgotten what Master Seventh mentioned after the fight with Master Shengyun, that he should have worked together with Big Sib, Second Sib, and Third Sib.

“Help me, Master,” he said quietly.

Hearing this, Master Seventh laughed heartily. He seemed pleased with the response. Pointing at Xu Qing’s head, he continued, “You need to wear that Violet-Heaven Supreme-Limitless Crown I gave you. It’ll protect you against the Nascent Soul level!”

Then Master Seventh waved his hand, and five balls of light flew out of his sleeve. He flicked his finger at one of them, and it became a jade slip that flew to Xu Qing. “The instructions for the crown are in there. Study them later.”

Xu Qing took the jade slip, then looked at the other four balls of light, his heart racing.

Master Seventh flicked his finger again, and the second ball of light approached Xu Qing. When Xu Qing reached out to take it, it transformed into a palm-sized cloth doll. It looked very lifelike. Its eyes even moved, locking onto Xu Qing, and it bared its teeth, revealing a host of fangs. From the way it struggled in his grip, it didn’t seem to like people holding it.

“That’s a lifeswapping ghost doll. It’s essentially a high-level grue item. It naturally has three lives, and once you form a blood bond with it, it will die in your place up to three times. You should be safe in the sect, but when you go out, take it with you.”

Xu Qing’s heart thumped as he kept a tight grip on the lifeswapping ghost doll. Perhaps because he was holding it so tightly, the ghost doll let loose an anguished cry, and struggled even more fiercely. He ignored it and looked at the remaining three balls of light. It was hard to tell what glittered more brightly, them or his eyes.

Looking pleased, Master Seventh continued, “Imperial-class techniques aren’t easy to pass on to others, so I can’t help you with that. You’ll have to experiment on your own. But I can tell you that once your imperial-class technique reaches a higher level, it will become incredibly terrifying. And the fastest way for it to improve is for you to devour the imperial-class techniques of others. Of course… if it’s the exact same technique, the result will be better.”

Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed as certain implications occurred to him.

“You’re too weak right now,” Master Seventh said. “Besides, the president isn’t a fool. He knows that doing something to you would harm the relationship with Seven Blood Eyes, and the detriments would far outweigh the benefits. So you don’t need to worry about him being a threat.”

Xu Qing nodded, thinking about Master Shengyun and his ravagemist bird. He suddenly really wanted to run into Master Shengyun again. Next, he looked at the third ball of light.

“Master Shengyun said that your weakness is that you lack magical techniques. That’s because you had no Master before. All of my apprentices have different techniques and divine abilities. And all of them were carefully selected, curated, and passed out by me, tailored to the needs of each individual.”

With another flick of his finger, Master Seventh sent the third ball of light to Xu Qing.

There was no physical item within the ball of light. Instead, it was a sealing mark that settled on Xu Qing’s forehead and filled his mind with intense rumbling sounds.

At the same time, Master Seventh provided information. “The first technique I’m giving you is a magical technique called Ninefold Tsunami. With this technique, you summon a huge sea, and then use the power of nine waves to create tsunamis backed by the devastating crushing power of the sea.”

Xu Qing took a deep breath as various images depicting the technique appeared in his mind. He could see that, with the wave of his hand, he could summon a huge sea. As the waves rolled out, the fury of the sea could crush anything in its path.

“The second technique I’m giving you is a grue technique. It’s called… the Dark Serenity Curse!” Master Seventh flicked his finger, and the fourth ball of light moved forward, and the sealing mark fused into Xu Qing’s forehead.

Instead of rumbling sounds, his mind filled with a sinister wind that filled every inch of his flesh and blood. And as he exhaled, his breath came out as a white mist. Xu Qing felt like he could see an incredibly withered finger, pulsing with a very gruish aura, stretching out from a black vortex to crush everything with ghastly might.

“This Dark Serenity Curse is something I personally created with knowledge I gained from studying the Dark Serenity Fingers. 3

“The final thing I’m going to teach you… isn’t a magical technique or a grue technique, but rather, a secret technique!

“I’ve noticed you like using your fists when fighting, so this secret technique should suit you well. It’s called the Within the Nine Springs. 4

“When using this technique, you need to first land eight fist strikes on your opponent. After that, your ninth blow will destroy one of their dharma apertures. Even Gold Core cultivators with heavenly palaces rely on life flames and dharma apertures as their ultimate foundation! This is a very domineering technique, and also very treacherous. Use it with care. If you use it on someone to damage their foundation, but they survive to tell the tale, then it will make it much more difficult for you to use the move on others.”

Master Seventh flicked his finger, and the sealing mark from the fifth ball of light fused into Xu Qing.

“Up to now, I’ve never revealed to anyone that I have this technique. You’re the only one. It’s not that I’m being partial. Rather, it doesn’t fit the style of your Elder Brothers and Elder Sister. Again, use it with care.”

1. It was in?👈

2. Some of these concepts, such as the life mist and the role of life lamps in Gold Core, were mentioned previously in?👈

3. The Dark Serenity Fingers were introduced by Huang Yikun in?👈

4. The Nine Springs is another of the many Chinese terms for hell or the underworld. The name of this technique is also an idiom which means something along the lines of “in the netherworld, in hell, after death.” 👈