Primordial Era: Jade Cauldron Forgot to Take on Disciples

Chapter 4 The Eight-Nine Arcane Arts? Jade Void Palace, Two Combined

Could it be that...?

Just as he was about to examine it more closely, a sudden, powerful force pushed him from behind, causing him to stumble.

Turning around, all I could see was pitch blackness, except for the enormous head of the black tiger.

Black Tiger lay on the ground, exposing its belly, looking expectantly at Yang Jian, like a virtuous woman ready to be picked at.

Unexpectedly, this Black Tiger is two-faced. In front of Shen Gongbao, he is a fierce tiger, majestic and awe-inspiring, but at this moment, he is like a big cat begging someone to play with him.

Before his transmigration, Yang Jian was a top-notch pet owner, and he immediately understood Black Tiger's thoughts.

He's never petted a tiger, but he's petted a cat. A tiger is just a bigger cat, what's the difference?

"Sir Blackie, I'm sorry to offend you."

Yang Jian apologized, then stretched out both hands, reaching out to the left and right, and pinching and kneading up and down, one hand scratching his chin and the other kneading his belly.

Using all its might, it made the black tiger stretch out its four claws, each claw opening as if it were blooming.

When he estimated that it was about time, Yang Jian stopped moving, panting heavily.

Petting a tiger is much more tiring than petting a cat.

Black Tiger looked at him with a puzzled expression, his eyes full of questions.

Why did it stop?

Just as Yang Jian was about to explain, his stomach suddenly growled.

Black Tiger nodded, looking knowing, and lowered his body, gathering strength in his limbs.

The next instant, Yang Jian only felt a black shadow flash past his eyes, and the black tiger disappeared into the distant jungle.

"They're finally gone, they scared us to death."

Yang Jian let out a long breath.

It is often said that serving a ruler is like serving a tiger; if one were to actually serve a tiger, one would be like Yang Jian.

It was exhausting to be constantly on edge and on edge.

Taking advantage of a rare free moment, he hurried over to check on Yang Chan's condition.

Yang Chan was still fast asleep with her eyes closed, but her furrowed brows had relaxed, so she should be fine.

He picked up the bamboo slips that were placed aside, intending to study them carefully.

Suddenly a gust of wind arose, and Black Tiger returned.

"Bang!"

A huge wild boar fell in front of them.

"Ao Wu"

Black Tiger gestured to Yang Jian to prepare the pig.

Yang Jian found some bronze swords and knives at the foot of the mountain where Black Tiger usually stayed.

After a simple cleaning and polishing to remove the rust, it was used to gut wild boars.

As the sun sets in the west, the moon hangs high in the sky.

A bonfire has already been lit by the lake.

Pieces of pork were placed on top.

The fat on the pork crackled and popped under the heat of the flames, releasing an enticing aroma.

Black Tiger sat there dumbfounded, his eyes filled with disbelief.

It had never smelled such an enticing aroma before; it was almost more delicious than a human. Its saliva dripped onto the ground, forming a small puddle.

His upper body involuntarily bent forward, his nose almost touching the scalding hot grilled meat.

Yang Jian used his dagger to make incisions in the whole piece of pork to ensure the meat inside cooked through.

He picked up a skewer of meat that was almost cooked and handed it to Black Tiger: "Brother Black, please go first."

If he didn't give it to them soon, he was worried that the saliva would extinguish the campfire.

Black Tiger showed no mercy, squatting on the ground, gripping the wooden stick with its two paws, and opening its mouth to tear at it.

Yang Chan, who was originally in a deep sleep, smelled the fragrance, her delicate nose wrinkled slightly, and she slowly sat up.

She rubbed her eyes with her little hands, and the moment she saw Yang Jian clearly, she exclaimed excitedly.

"Brother, we're still alive! Could it be that a celestial being has come to save us?!"

Yang Jian nodded, casually slicing off a piece of roasted meat, skewering it with a small wooden stick, and handing it over: "Yeah, I wasn't lying to you, was I? Look at the big tiger next to you, it's a pet of an immortal."

"Thank you, brother. You're so kind!"

Yang Chan took it with both hands and turned to look in the direction Yang Jian indicated.

Her small eyes widened instantly, and she loosened her grip on the grilled meat to cover her mouth, which was about to scream.

Yang Jian caught it quickly and handed it to the still-shaken Yang Chan: "Don't be afraid, the big tiger eats others, not us."

Yang Chan's face turned pale, and she hurriedly hid behind Yang Jian, secretly peeking out one eye at Black Tiger.

Only after realizing that Black Tiger wasn't coming to eat her did she start eating the roasted meat in small bites.

Wait until the campfire dims.

Black Tiger lay down to rest in the valley below.

Yang Jian and Yang Chan, on the edge of a mountain hollow, endured the stench emanating from the black tiger beside them and curled up among the leaves to fall asleep.

As they grew increasingly sleepy, they gradually closed their eyes.

"Hey kid, what are you sleeping for? Get up and kill them! Don't you want to get revenge on those people who bullied you in town?"

The voice in his mind startled Yang Jian awake.

It was that big eyeball that was causing the trouble.

Yang Jian quietly got up and went to a quiet place.

Why are you only speaking now?

"You, Yang Jian, have no idea how strong that Taoist and Black Tiger are. If I hadn't hidden myself, they would have dug me out to play with me."

Now that the tiger is asleep, why aren't you running away? What are you waiting for?

Yang Jian shook his head: "I can't escape. I've been hit by Shen Gongbao's magic, and my life is in his hands."

"We have to leave even if we can't. We need to kill to become stronger. We can't do anything here. I'll be discovered sooner or later."

A large eyeball suddenly peeked out from its forehead, its scarlet light flashing. Clearly, it was extremely angry about Yang Jian's choice.

"Now that I possess superhuman abilities, why should I even think about running away?"

Yang Jian was referring to the bamboo slips that Shen Gongbao had thrown out during the day—the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts.

This was the cultivation technique destined for him. He originally thought that only Master Yuding could teach it, but unexpectedly, Shen Gongbao casually tossed out a copy as well.

If it weren't for this cultivation manual, he might have thought of escaping to the Golden Cloud Cave on Jade Spring Mountain to become a disciple of Master Yu Ding.

But now that we have the cultivation method, there's no need to go looking for that Jade Cauldron Immortal!

He took out the bamboo slips that Shen Gongbao had thrown out during the day from his bosom.

Unfold it slowly.

at this time.

The true form of the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts was like a fairy descending to earth, slowly raising her jade legs and removing her gauze skirt in front of him.

"Practice diligently from 8 am to 9 pm without rest."

"After nine cycles of practice, supernatural powers will naturally arise."

Yang Jian read the whole thing and cursed inwardly.

This stuff is about how to exercise your body while working, and at the same time eliminate fatigue, so that you can get stronger the more you work, and the stronger you are, the more you can work.

They practice from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Then I can practice while I'm sleeping, from 9 pm to 8 am.

Life goes on endlessly, and the cycle never ends.

I took my pants off, and this is what you show me?

He originally thought it was some kind of high-level skill, but it turned out to be tailor-made for working people.

If he had this in his past life, he would have been a top-tier employee without any problem.

"So this is what it is. This Eight-Nine Arcane Technique is just a common body-refining technique of the Witch Clan. It can be practiced even while farming."

You're already a common, low-class member of the Witch Clan, but you're human, and you still want to practice the Witch Clan's techniques.

Unless you're a born saint, would you have been nearly driven to your death by mere mortals? You might as well join me in slaughtering them until the world is turned upside down.

The big eyeballs chattered incessantly in Yang Jian's mind.

Yang Jian ignored him and carefully perused the martial arts manual in his hand.

He discovered a huge problem: he could make out the basic characters, but he still couldn't understand many parts of the text.

Just as he was getting anxious and wanted to scratch his head in frustration.

Suddenly he realized something was wrong. How did this eyeball know these things? He had always thought that the eyeball was a self-generated consciousness, but now it seemed a bit strange.

His expression immediately darkened: "How do you know all this?"

"This...this!"

The Demon Eye stammered, "I just suddenly remembered it. I don't know why. It's like it was already in my memory, and I only remembered it when I saw it."

Yang Jian did not dwell on this issue. His immediate goal was to become stronger, because only by becoming strong enough could he have a chance to break free from Shen Gongbao's control.

Otherwise, if they choose the wrong side during the later Investiture of the Gods, they might not even be left with ashes.

Give me your eyes!

The Demon Eye did not speak, but instead connected the vertical eye between its eyebrows with Yang Jian, allowing it to see what the vertical eye saw.

In an instant, information about everything within sight flowed through my mind like a waterfall.

My head was throbbing so badly that I almost fainted.

Unable to process such a massive amount of information, he quickly focused his attention on the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts before him.

At this moment, the secrets of the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts were revealed in full before his eyes.

Half an hour later, Yang Jian's three eyes were tightly closed, white smoke billowed from his head, and blood dripped continuously from his nostrils.

Using the Magic Eye forcibly was too much of a strain on him; if he used it any longer, his brain would be burned out.

Although showing it to the Demon Eye and then explaining it to him can achieve the same effect.

However, Yang Jian could not fully trust the Demon Eye.

In his previous life, he had never heard of Erlang Zhenjun's Dharma Eye having self-awareness, and now he still doesn't know how to deal with this thing.

Unless... gouge out the vertical eye between their eyebrows!

After Yang Jian finished absorbing the information contained in the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts bamboo slips...

I just feel that the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts truly lives up to its reputation as Yang Jian's legendary innate skill; it's practically tailor-made for him.

Just by reading the contents, he felt a lightness throughout his body, and energy began to gather in his dantian.

The pain from the intense mental exertion was greatly relieved after being cleansed by the spiritual energy.

"How is that possible! Are you a witch?"

The Demon Eye's tone was full of disbelief: "Or perhaps you were born holy—but there's no reason for you to be this weak!"

Yang Jian smiled disdainfully. How could this thing know anything about destiny? The Eight-Nine Arcane Arts were created for him.

Born sacred?

He doesn't believe in that stuff.

Jade Void Palace.

The Primordial Celestial Venerable snapped out of his reverie amidst the endless Great Dao, the lingering Daoist aura still present in his eyes.

It seemed as if something dangerous had been born, making him somewhat uneasy.

He tried to send messages to Taiqing and Shangqing, and received the same reply.

But now a great calamity is about to begin, and the secrets of heaven are obscured. Even the Taiji Diagram, the supreme innate treasure of Taiqing, cannot fathom the secrets of heaven.

He turned his gaze to the disciples sitting on either side of the main hall.

Most of his disciples have established their own dojos in various places, and those who remain here at this moment are merely incarnations, experiencing the Primordial Great Dao.

When Yuanshi Tianzun withdrew from the torrent of the Great Dao, the disciples' incarnations already sensed that their teacher had returned.

At this moment, his gaze still carried a lingering Daoist aura, and the disciples who saw him couldn't help but lower their heads, not daring to look him in the eye.

These avatars have mediocre cultivation; a single glance at them would cause an explosion.

The Primordial Celestial Venerable opened and closed his eyes, and his Daoist aura vanished without a trace.

"Heavenly Venerable One, has something momentous happened?"

Sitting in the head seat, the Taoist Ran Deng's usually dull eyes suddenly sparkled with spiritual light. He realized that Yuan Shi had awakened and hurriedly projected his consciousness onto this incarnation.

Yuanshi nodded, and a flash of spiritual light passed between his fingers, splitting into several streams that disappeared into the surrounding disciples' avatars, summoning the disciples.

The eyes of the remaining fifteen avatars lit up.

Only the very last disciple's avatar remained lifeless.

"Where's Shen Gongbao? Did he run off down the mountain to play again?"

Among the disciples, the Antarctic Immortal noticed that someone was missing and immediately challenged Jiang Ziya, asking, "Junior Brother Jiang Shang, you and Shen Gongbao are both third-generation disciples and are familiar with each other. Do you know where Shen Gongbao is?"

"This~"

Jiang Ziya had not expected that Yuanshi Tianzun would suddenly summon his disciples, and for a moment he did not know how to answer.

Shen Gongbao specifically instructed him before leaving that if any of his senior brothers came looking for him, he should say that he was in seclusion in his cave and would not be able to come out for the time being.

It should be noted that Yuanshi Tianzun had just summoned his disciples thirty years ago to discuss matters related to facing the calamity.

Logically speaking, the next time someone would be anxious about their disciple would be twenty years later, but I don't know why it's been twenty years earlier this time.

"Junior brother, is there something you're having trouble saying?"

The Old Man of the South Pole was aggressive; he disliked Shen Gongbao in the first place, and now he was just getting his master to dislike Shen Gongbao.

Even if his scheme to ostracize Shen Gongbao is seen through, so what? He's just a nominal disciple.

More than a dozen gazes were fixed on Jiang Ziya's face, putting him under considerable pressure.

He sighed inwardly, "Junior Brother Shen, I'm sorry. With Master present, I dared not conceal the truth."

"Junior Brother Shen said that his pet black tiger has been restless lately, probably because it's craving something sweet. So he took the little black tiger down the mountain to have some fun, and it's been down the mountain for more than two or three years now."

Actually, it was twenty years, but Jiang Ziya was worried that saying too much would anger his master, so he changed it to three years.

"Thump~"

The Antarctic Immortal struck the jade floor with his dragon-coiled staff, sending up ripples of spiritual light.

An angry roar echoed throughout the hall.

"This Shen Gongbao is so unreasonable. He knows that his master warned him that a great calamity is coming and that he should calm his mind and cultivate in peace, but he still spends all day raising cats and dogs and playing with things, which makes him lose his ambition."

If he were to lose a thousand years of cultivation in a single moment, it wouldn't matter much if he were to get into trouble, but rather if he were to drag us into a great calamity.

If he were to implicate his master, he would be guilty beyond redemption, even unto death. If…”

Seeing that the Antarctic Immortal was becoming increasingly resentful, Jiang Ziya quickly interrupted, "Senior brother, please calm down. Junior brother will bring Junior Brother Shen back to apologize to our master."

Next, he steered the conversation to the core of the matter, preventing the Antarctic Immortal from continuing to pursue Shen Gongbao relentlessly.

"Master has summoned us this time; it must be because something has changed during this great calamity?"

Yuanshi Tianzun nodded, acknowledging Jiang Ziya's statement. He said slowly, "Shen Gongbao's conduct is improper. You brothers should handle this among yourselves. Let Yun Zhongzi punish him."

"This summons is indeed due to a change in the great calamity. Something has been revealed within the torrent of the Great Dao, and the killing intent is imminent. This calamity is no longer just an ordinary killing calamity as originally anticipated. One wrong move, and all living beings under heaven will be annihilated in this great calamity."

"Ah~"

Upon hearing this, the disciples were immediately thrown into a panic, but only the Daoist Ran Deng, who sat in the head seat, remained quite calm.

The Taoist Ran Deng said, "Since the Heavenly Venerable has summoned us, he must have a way to break this."

Soon, Daoist Ran Deng's face also turned pale.

The all-powerful Yuanshi Tianzun in his eyes actually shook his head.

Below the sage, all are but ants; the sage's talk of all living beings naturally includes him, the Daoist Burning Lamp.

The Taoist Ran Deng was about to ask further questions.

Then Yuanshi Tianzun looked at his second-generation disciples and said, "Thirty years ago, I asked you to take in some disciples to prepare for the tribulations. I wonder how the preparations are going?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ziya immediately thought that his teacher was going to check his progress. However, thirty years ago, it was precisely when he was accepted as a disciple that the assessment was not his turn.

"Everything is in order!"

The disciples replied.

Only Master Yuding looked grim. He had been so engrossed in cultivation over the years that he had forgotten about this matter. Now that his master had come to ask, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and step forward.

"Reporting to Master, this disciple has forgotten."

The furious outburst he had anticipated did not materialize. And rightly so, a saint is a saint after all; how could he be angered by such a trivial matter?

"Variables~"

The eyes of the Primordial Celestial Venerable were deep and unfathomable, and his thoughts were unpredictable.

(End of this chapter)