Immortal Path to Heaven c1-725

by Heaven's White Crane

  If that was not the case, Wu Hongxi would not be the only Superior Blacksmith in the Wu residence.

  Tan Yangping had an incredible smithing standard, so much so that he could potentially become a Superior Blacksmith in a few years.

  Despite that, he paved a path that belonged to himself, and he greatly disappointed Wu Hongxi in terms of his grasp in the path of equilibrium.

  Jin Shengjie stroked his long beard and mumbled, “Judging from our age, how many more years can we live? I won’t be resigned if I die together with my skills!”

  Wu Hongxi raised his eyebrows and finally sighed. “Lil’ Friend Ou, please come with

  me.”

  Ou Yangming was elated. He nodded at Jin Shengjie gratefully.

  A white-haired elder suddenly blurted, “Master Wu, what about our task?”

  Wu Hongxi was displeased. “I’m still in the residence! Hmph, I’ll only be away for a while, so seek help from Master Jin if you encounter any problem.”

  Jin Shengjie’s eyes lit up. “That’s right. I’m extremely interested in smithing magic tools too. You won’t mind if I join you, right?”

  The Advanced Blacksmiths from the imperial family smiled bitterly at each other, but nobody dared to object to Jin Shengjie’s request. Whether it was his reputation or his skills, Master Jin could suppress the other blacksmiths, to the extent that they could not even turn their bodies around.

  Wu Hongxi brought Ou Yangming away from the room and walked slowly with his hands behind his back.

  “Lil’ Friend Ou, what’s your thought after seeing my sword just now?”. Ou Yangming gathered his thoughts and constructed a sentence in his head before he answered, “The integration of Heaven and man is probably the key for the path of equilibrium.”

  “Many people have said that.” Wu Hongxi grinned and questioned after a pause, “Do you know what the integration of Heaven and man is?”

  Ou Yangming’s body trembled a little as he released his consciousness and entered an exceptionally mysterious state. His body and breathing seemed to have become one with the world at that moment.

  Wu Hongxi was stunned, and his eyes glowed. “The integration of Heaven and man—you grasped it too, Lil’ Friend Ou.”

  “I feel ashamed; I fathomed the integration of Heaven and man during a smithing process, but due to various unforeseen events after that, I gained a deeper understanding of the state in martial arts instead.” Ou Yangming smiled bitterly

  “Martial arts is only a small path. It’s fine if you learn it to strengthen yourself, but don’t invest too much energy in it.” Wu Hongxi furrowed his eyebrows.

  Ou Yangming twitched his mouth. He disagreed with the master, but he responded obediently, “Yes, I understand.”

  Wu Hongxi nodded and stated, “If you’d like to learn my path of equilibrium, you must be able to execute four words.”

  “Senior, please guide me,” Ou Yangming immediately curbed his thought and expressed with respect. “Couple hardness with softness,” Wu Hongxi uttered word by word.

  Ou Yangming frowned and repeated after the master, “Couple hardness with softness?”

  ‘Why does it sound like martial arts cultivation?’

  Wu Hongxi smiled. They had unknowingly arrived at a house, where Master Wu pushed the door open and noted, “Come in, this is one of the rooms where I usually practice smithing art in.”

  Ou Yangming quickly entered, and he was struck dumb when he took a look around him.

  Even though blacksmiths had different ranks, the structures of their smithing workshops were similar. At most, the blacksmiths had different materials, which could not be mentioned on equal terms.

  That said, judging from the room’s furnishing, it did not seem like a smithing workshop at all.

  “How is it? How do you feel?” Wu Hongxi asked with a smile.

  “Master Wu, why are there only silk cloths and furs here?” Ou Yangming was confused. He expressed honestly, “I can’t figure out how exactly they’re related to smithing art…”

  Wu Hongxi laughed out loud. “Who said they’re unrelated? If that’s the case, where do we get our cloaks and boots from?”

  Ou Yangming was surprised. “This is… This is where cloaks and boots are made?”

  “Yes. Silk cloths and furs are unordinary items, and they’re great materials for equipment production.” Wu Hongxi nodded and went forward to pick up a piece of silk cloth. “Take a look at it.”

  The young fellow accepted it and hesitated for a while before he released a bit of his Military Fire.

  His Military Fire had a marvelous effect of appraising objects as well, hence he was informed of the item’s name right away.

  [Item: Silk]

  (Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Item]

  It was a simple introduction, and the item’s specific rank was not stated.

  However, it was normal because the item was a raw material, which had not been smithed into a piece of equipment.

  Even so, Ou Yangming knew that the silk cloth was not simple due to being able to cause the Military Fire to react to it.

  Wu Hongxi explained in a deep voice, “This item is silk, which is made of spiderweb and steel wire. In terms of defensive ability only, it’s not inferior to a steel plate at all. In particular, it has endless wonderful effects to fend off arrows and hidden weapons.”

  Ou Yangming’s eyelids twitched. “But how can silk like this be made into qualified pieces of equipment?”

  It was fine if steel wire was used, but how could spiderweb withstand the Military Fire? It was quite unexpected that the material was used for smithing practice. Wu Hongxi chuckled. “Watch me closely.”

  He opened his palm, where a small fire emerged.

  It was the moment when the small flame appeared Ou Yangming fixed his gaze on it. Nonetheless, he found it strange that he could not sense any heat from the fire. Moreover, the fire vaguely cast a chill over him.

  Ou Yangming felt like it was not the Military Fire that was burning, but a peculiar and unknown object.

  “Come and feel it.” Wu Hongxi extended his arm and presented the fire to Ou Yangming.

  The young fellow was hesitant because the Military Fire’s heat was known to be intense. It would be fine if he was the one who released it; the fire would not burn its owner. If he were to touch another person’s Military Fire or spiritual fire, he would be courting death.

  IE

  In spite of that, Ou Yangming believed that Wu Hongxi would not harm him without any reason.

  Therefore, he carefully reached out to touch the fire.

  Ou Yangming stopped frowning at once, but he was utterly shocked.

  Cold.

  It was as cold as ice.

  He was right; the fire carried no heat at all, and it contained intense chillness instead.

  Needless to say, Ou Yangming could not be physically harmed by the chillness, but the distinctive energy change, which exceeded his expectations, still astonished him.

  Chapter 277 - The Path Of Cold And Heat

  Chapter 277 The Path Of Cold And Heat

  “I-is this the Military Fire?” Ou Yangming was dumbfounded, so he questioned in disbelief.

  From what he recalled, the Military Fire had merged with scorching heat a long time ago. However, the feeling from his touch at the moment was telling him that the object was the Military Fire, but it was as cold as ice.

  In this case, could the ice-cold flame be considered as the Military Fire?

  Wu Hongxi explained in a deep voice, “The Military Fire is only a way to represent energy. If you think it’s hot, it’ll release unlimited heat; if you think it’s cold, it’ll be the gentlest cold flame in the world.”

  Ou Yangming had a strange look on his face because it was his first time hearing about the bizarre theory.

  Master Wu did not find it weird when he noticed the look on Ou Yangming’s face. In actual fact, his disciples had the same expression when they first heard of the statement, he
nce he was used to it.

  “It’s impossible to grasp the path of equilibrium by relying on the compaction of forceful power,” Wu Hongxi noted with a serious face, “Your Layering Technique is wonderful, but it relies on your Military Fire’s unique and mighty ability, which has a limit. Once you arrive at the limit, it’ll be incredibly difficult to advance further.”

  Ou Yangming was moved. His Military Fire was out of the ordinary, but he had not figured out its limit. Even so, Wu Hongxi’s words somewhat stirred up his emotions. Perhaps the young fellow would truly stumble on his Military Fire’s limit one day, and the path of equilibrium would become his greatest trump card.

  All of a sudden, the flame on Wu Hongxi’s palm grew bigger as though it was a burning torch; it wrapped around his arm.

  Ou Yangming raised his eyebrows. The Military Fire was ice-cold, such that the small flame managed to cast a chill over his body. If that was the case, would the chill not be stronger if the fire grew bigger? That said, while the flame burned, the chill that he felt did not change at all.

  “Try it again.” Wu Hongxi urged the young fellow with a smile.

  Ou Yangming nodded and reached out his hand again.

  Much to his surprise, although he could see the huge flame, he almost did not feel anything when he touched it.

  There were neither harsh heat waves nor the expected chill.

  “What came to mind?” Wu Hongxi asked in a deep voice.

  “The Military Fire doesn’t just contain heat waves, and it isn’t purely ice-cold; it… Can be changed as one wishes,” Ou Yangming mumbled as his eyes wandered about and as countless thoughts crossed his mind. Eventually, the looked in his eyes underwent an odd change as he became high-spirited. “I got it! Our understanding of the Military Fire is too little; it’s a giant treasure!” Wu Hongxi twitched his mouth and thought, ‘This young fella reacted very quickly.’ Nevertheless, Master Wu did not know that Ou Yangming’s Military Fire was truly distinctive. Not only did it contain massive mighty energy, but it also had numerous mysterious properties that had not been unveiled. Therefore, the young fellow had way more expectations for the Military Fire than the other blacksmiths did. Once Wu Hongxi opened the door for him, his thoughts diverged, allowing him to connect many pieces as though his mind was enriched. “Coldness, coldness…” Ou Yangming furrowed his eyebrows and talked to himself, “What should I do to let my Military Fire contain coldness?”

  “Mental power,” Wu Hongxi uttered after he cleared his throat. He later explained sternly, “I could sense your powerful mental power when you used your Military Fire, which is also why I agreed to teach you the path of equilibrium.”

  Ou Yangming beamed as he was surprised and overjoyed. “I can change the Military Fire’s properties by using mental power?”

  “That’s right. As long as you have great mental power and has a strong belief, you’ll definitely be able to do it,” Wu Hongxi responded without any hesitation, “But you mustn’t hope to accomplish it in one move because perseverance is needed for one to acquire energy that’s in contrast with the original property. The first thing you have to do is make your Military Fire curb its hot property…” Ou Yangming nodded slightly. He crossed his legs and sat with his eyes closed.

  Wu Hongxi was stunned, and he did not know to cry or to laugh. Nonetheless, he was rather pleased with Ou Yangming’s attitude.

  ‘He has such a strong desire for new knowledge. Perhaps this is the biggest cause of his success.’

  “Lil’ Friend Ou, don’t be so impatient. You need to slowly try for a certain period to curb your Military Fire’s heat. If you rush the process, you might end up with the opposite of your desired result,” Wu Hongxi reminded the young fellow out of good intention.

  Despite that, Ou Yangming, who was already fully focused on his sea of consciousness, did not respond to the master.

  Wu Hongxi did not say much just now, but he opened a door to limitless possibilities for Ou Yangming through action.

  From Ou Yangming’s perspective, the purple Military Fire was the root and foundation of his success; even the Devouring attributes, which he had withdrawn from the Fire-absorbing Badges, were ranked second. Before this, the young fellow had only let it be because he did not know the way to cultivate and to discover the Military Fire’s potential. As such, he could only slowly seek the fire’s mysteries.

  Now that he was taught the way to temper or to uncover the Military Fire’s potential, how could he wait any longer?

  Ou Yangming immersed his mind in his sea of consciousness at once. Apart from his mighty mental power, the area was filled with various purple lights.

  The tiny and weak lights contained many attributes, and they were neatly arranged together. At the center of these attributes, a larger purple light could be seen.

  It was the purple Military Fire that was obtained by Ou Yangming.

  When Ou Yangming’s consciousness approached the purple light, he instantly sensed a heat wave surging in his direction.

  His mental conception was the only thing in his sea of consciousness at the moment, but the intangible conception sensed the wave.

  Ou Yangming never suspected anything in the past because he thought everything was natural. Since the Military Fire could burn metal and melt iron, was it not normal that it gave off blazing heat?

  It was only after he witnessed Wu Hongxi’s performance that he began to feel extremely uncertain.

  This was the sea of consciousness, and Ou Yangming’s consciousness could not have sensed cold and heat. If heat energy existed in his sea of consciousness, he would have either turned into hard coke a long time ago or been reduced to ashes by the violent energy.

  Thus, everything was illusory-a hallucination under his subconscious.

  The purple light made Ou Yangming sense the fiery heat waves because his subconscious thought his Military Fire was certainly hot. What if his subconscious thought the fire had no temperature or was cold?

  What if his consciousness regarded the Military Fire as another form or thought it had other unique functions? Could the purple fire fulfill his wishes?

  Ou Yangming finally collected himself after a long time. He focused his mental conception on the purple light and slowly chanted internally.

  ‘No temperature, no temperature, no temperature…’

  Wu Hongxi told him that it was difficult to turn his Military Fire cold right away. Since that was the case, he would start by making his fire to have no temperature.

  Nevertheless, after repeating the words for a long time, Ou Yangming came to a shocking realization that the light had not changed at all. Instead, the closer he was to it, the more he could feel the intense heat waves.

  Ou Yangming stared dumbfoundedly at the purple light, which he loved and hated. ‘Why is it being so mischievous?”

  In actuality, the young fellow knew everything was related to his subconscious. If he wanted the purple light to change according to his thoughts, first of all, he had to change his subconscious.

  However, could one’s subconscious be changed so easily? Everyone knew since they were young that fire represented warmth and heat energy. If someone suddenly told you that the flame had no temperature and was ice-cold, would you believe the concept that you were taught since young or a stranger? Without a doubt, as long as one was not a fool, the answer was clear. The subconscious was the unconscious part of a human’s mind, and it was not controlled by superficial thoughts. Sure enough, one could not twist the perception of one’s subconscious on the Military Fire in a short period.

  In spite of that, Ou Yangming did not give up. He had encountered countless problems since he practiced martial arts, but he never flinched nor admitted defeat. No matter the hindrances in front of him, he could push his way through and get rid of the difficulties in his way.

  Ou Yangming became more focused, and his consciousness kept rising, causing him to slowly enter the marvelous states.

  The integration of Heaven an
d man, the thoroughly meticulous, and the spiritual state, which was too magnificent for words, allowed his thoughts to spread without a limit. At the spur of the moment, Ou Yangming felt like his consciousness was drifting as if he became one with his sea of consciousness.

  No words could describe the feeling. He somehow sensed an exceedingly peculiar feeling at this moment.

  It was like his consciousness merged with the mysterious purple Military Fire.

  ‘No temperature…’

  Unexpectedly, the thought crossed Ou Yangming’s mind.

  He opened his hand at the same time.

  “Woosh…”

  The Military Fire emerged from his palm without warning.

  Wu Hongxi took a step back and frowned as he thought, ‘This young fella is too rash. Was I being too careless?’

  That being said, the look on Master Wu’s face suddenly froze. He widened his eyes at the Military Fire in Ou Yangming’s hand, and he dared not blink at all.

  This was because he realized that the Military Fire did not release intense heat waves.

  Wu Hongxi hesitated for a brief moment before he reached out his fingers to gently touch the Military Fire.

  The contact only lasted for an instance, but he was sure that the Military Fire had no temperature indeed.

  Wu Hongxi was stupefied as he looked at Ou Yangming, but he did not know that he looked the same as Jin Shengjie and the other people yesterday. On top of that, Master Wu felt like ten thousand alpacas were running across his heart.

  ‘How did this young fella do it?

  ‘What kind of freak did I come across…’

  Chapter 278 - The Coupling Of Hardness With Softness

  Chapter 278 The Coupling Of Hardness With Softness

  ‘No temperature.’

  It was only a thought, but the intense heat waves released by the purple light vanished such that none was left.

  Ou Yangming was overjoyed from the bottom of his heart, and he could sense that he was not hallucinating. This was because the burning Military Fire on his palm did not have a temperature at all.