Painting of the Nine Immortals

Chapter 22: Heaven Shadowing Palm Technique

Translator: /Tatienne Editor: Tennesh/Rundi

Agony!

Agony that was bone marrow deep!

Agony that was indescribable!

Ling Xian’s cold sweat continued to drip, as fresh blood soaked through his robe. Waves of bone-deep pain pierced through him and he shook uncontrollably.

In a desperate moment like this, he suddenly remembered a strange incantation a mysterious woman taught him a few years ago. Subconsciously, he began to mutter, “Na mo he luo da na, duo luo ye ye. Na mo a li ye, pol u jie di shuo boluo ye. Pu tis a duo po ye, mo he sa duo po ye, mo he jia lu ni jia ye…”

Instantly, a surge of abstruse mana proliferated. Ling Xian calmed down, though his bones still cracked and the agony was still present. He could no longer feel the pain.

The Meditation mantra.

It was one of the nine great mantras in the cultivation community. It had the effect of calming one down and allowed the cultivator to remain composed at any time. It was a mantra that aimed to constrain the irrationality in one’s heart and mind. Its origins were unknown and very few people know the specific words to the mantra.

Happiness, anger, grief, shock, and fear, all these emotions have been fully created by humans. Therefore, as long as the heart was calm, there would be no need for these emotions to be felt, no matter what was happening in the outside world.

Ling Xian’s eyes were tightly shut, and he continued to mutter the mantra. Behind him, a spectrum of milky white light surfaced. The light was rippling and broadening, making Ling Xian look solemn and collected.

Right now, his mind was completely mute. His mood was neutral, his heart untangled, and he was not at all disturbed by the pain.

As if he was a lotus emerging from the earth, as he rose, he did not carry a speck of dirt with him.

“He knows the meditation mantra…” Liao Cang Qiong’s silhouette appeared in mid-air. He stared at the composed Ling Xian in shock and mumbled to himself, “What a lucky guy. After I lifted the God Restrict array, his majestic blood is waking up by itself. If the majestic blood could free itself, then in the future, he should be able to lift the Gods’ other arrays without my help.”

When Ling Xian entered the Painting of the Nine Immortals¸ Liao Cang Qiong felt the majestic blood boiling and its intense urge to wake up. The appearance of the three arrays and the suppression of the majestic blood was easily predicted by him. The reason why he did not step out and offer help right away was that he wanted to see how far his apprentice could go without a helping hand.

He was not disappointed at the result.

Moments ago, he was one step away from easing Ling Xian's pains. However, Ling Xian’s determination to endure the pain for this long was beyond his expectation. He also did not think Ling Xian would know one of the nine mantras. He really was surprised by the turn of events.

“A determined heart, a rare talent, and outrageous luck.” Liao Cang Qiong nodded in satisfaction and proudness. “Not bad. To be able to acquire such a good apprentice when I am merely a soul. Even if I die, I do not have regrets.”

This was a tremendous compliment.

He was an irreplaceable Immortal. His alchemy skills were recorded in history, and nobody has been able to surpass him. In his lifetime, he has seen far too many geniuses, yet none of them could gauge his interest. His great assessment of Ling Xian really proved the rarity of Ling Xian’s talent.

“Hmm…” exhaling deeply, Ling Xan opened his eyes. The light behind him was slowly disappearing. Looking at his wounded and hurt body, he couldn’t help but laugh bitterly.

The Sky Seal, the Earth Lock, and the Immortal Trap were dispersing slowly and turning into three rays of light before entering his body again. One array dominated his brain, one array seized his arms, and another one abducted his legs. The arrays divided up the work and each took an area to rule and repress the majestic ancient blood.

Because the God Restrict array was lifted by Liao Cang Qiong, there was a disconnect between the four arrays. The God Restrict array that was originally responsible for Ling Xian’s upper body was no longer there, resulting in the other three arrays extending themselves to suppress his chest and stomach.

Though the three arrays have settled down, after that intense struggle from the majestic blood, they were not having an easy time. As they weakened, a drop of gold blood from Ling Xian’s arm slowly melted into Ling Xian’s chest.

Boom!

Like thousands of soldiers and horses dashing toward the enemies; like a gigantic wave that was as high as the sky, a loud rumble exploded from his body. Countless gold rays emerged from his body and reflected off of each other. It was blinding.

There were tens and thousands of bands of light that plowed through the clouds and penetrated the eyes. The entire world was filled with this golden light. The entire Painting of the Nine Immortals world was shaking. All the clouds in the sky were dissipating, the winds were swarming, and the sun and the moon lost their light.

“What is happening?” Ling Xian stared at the changing scene in front him, not understanding what was going on.

The golden light seemed to have some healing effects. Ling Xian's broken bones were healing at a speed that was fast enough to be invisible to the naked eye. His tired heart and mind were beginning to feel energized. He felt relaxed and as strong as a tiger. He felt like he had an unlimited amount of strength and could easily break a boulder with one punch if he wanted to.

Liao Cang Qiong was also gazing at the mystic scene before him. In his eyes, there was a trace of shock. He stroked his beard and smiled pleasantly. “He is awakening a guiding law. He lacks the qualification, yet he is still pulling this off. This really is God-defying… I wonder which kind of guiding law he is awakening.”

Guiding laws were a powerful tactic used in the cultivation community. Similar to the Inner Eyes, those without shocking abilities could not awaken them. However, if a law gets awakened, then its capabilities were infinite. In the history of Qing, every cultivator that woke a guiding law deeply signed their signatures and left their marks on the world.

Every symptom Ling Xian was displaying was alluding to the awakening of a guiding law.

His eyes were subconsciously shut tight. Inside his ears, noises were roaring. In the sky, a few thousand more gold bands draped down. On the ground, a few thousand lotuses emerged and bloomed.

In the past, this magnificent sight only occurs when cultivators achieve great enlightenments, or when a guiding law was being discovered.

A guiding law was neither a supernatural tactic nor a technique. It was also considered to be absolutely useless. However, every cultivator craved it because it indicated approval from the Gods. It was a true honor only enjoyed by the pride of heaven.

Just then, nine gold dragons appeared in the sky. In front of them was a ball of flaring flame. The nine dragons entangled themselves as they bared their teeth and claws. They chased towards the ball of fire.

Pursuit of the Nine Dragon!

Another testimony from the Gods!

“This… When a guiding law is being awakened, there are three indications of a God's presence. This was the second indication of the existence of a guiding law. There is a third indication that only occurs when an invincible guiding law awakens. Could it be that it will happen here today?” Liao Cang Qiong was getting more and more shocked.

Ordinarily speaking, a guiding law could only be awakened once the Yuan Ying training stage was reached. Ling Xian was only at the Qi training stage, yet he was already awakening a guiding law. This was enough to prove his potential and talent, as this type of situations only occurs once in many thousands of years. Therefore, Liao Cang Qiong assumed that Ling Xian could only awaken a low level guiding law. However, there has already been two indications. Based on the situation, the third indication was going to show up soon too.

Sure enough, just as Liao Cang Qiong’s expectation could not get any higher, gold light spewed out of Ling Xian’s body and transformed into red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue and purple lights. The rainbow colors intertwined and complemented each other. Slowly they merged and turned into a blinding light on top of Ling Xian’s head. It slowly metamorphosed into a seven-colored crown.

The Immortal Crown!

The third indication from the Gods emerged into the world. The light covered up the sky and the sun for three whole miles!

“Wow… the third indication.” Liao Cang Qiong was at a loss for words as he gazed at the beautiful Immortal Crown. He exclaimed, “What a bold fella. To awaken an invincible guiding law, while still in the Qi training stage. Unbelievable… the majestic blood sure is something.”

The third indication from the Gods continued to flash in the sky. Halo after Halo formed with each new one brighter than the old one. It represented the birth of an invincible guiding law and represented Ling Xian’s unmatchable talent!

Good thing he was inside the Painting of the Nine Immortals and no outsiders saw these three shocking indications. The entire Qin Dynasty would be in chaos over what Ling Xian has achieved!

Boom!

A horrifying mana ejected out of nowhere. Like a tidal wave, it raised into the air. The three indications instantly disappeared. The little world inside the painting was starting to panic.

The branches broke off the ancient trees, the giant rocks were cracking into pieces. Everything in the little world was shaking and breaking. The world was on the edge of total destruction.

“Settle!” Liao Cang Qiong formed a hand seal and screamed on top of his lungs. The grass, trees, and mountains stabilized.

Looking at Ling Xian, whose eyes were still closed, Liao Cang Qiong’s expectation heightened again. “Even before fully awakening, it already is so powerful. I wonder what kind of guiding law this is.”

Ling Xian, sitting in the lotus pose, was in a half-conscious state. He was completely unaware of everything that was happening in the world and was under complete control of the soon to be awakened guiding law.

Being summoned time after time, a thunderous growl came from inside his body. Suddenly, the sky turned pitch black, and stars rose to decorate the darkness. The constellations formed were magnificent and mysterious.

A giant gold hand materialized behind his back, eight miles wide and nine miles high. Like a God’s hand, the stars were blocked by the giant hand. The entire universe darkened once again, without a single trace of light.

The rivers and the mountains split in two, and the galaxies broke into pieces. The giant God-like hand stayed there in a divine manner. If moved up, it would destroy the sky, if slid down, it would destruct the oceans. Bubbling with an invincible atmosphere, it pierced through the cloud.

Heaven Shadowing Palm Technique.

“I can’t believe it. It’s one of the strongest guiding laws, the Heaven Shadowing Palm Technique. Unbelievable. No wonder it had such an intense presence,” Liao Cang Qiong complimented. His voice flooded with shock.

He was not only shocked at Ling Xian unlocking a guiding law while at the Qi training stage, but he was also in awe of the Heaven Shadowing Palm Technique.

To be the “strongest” guiding law was not a light statement. In the entire Taoism community, there has been thousands of guiding laws. However, there were only six laws that could be crowned with the title of being the strongest!

Heaven Shadowing Palm Technique was one of them!

As alluded by its name, this technique could shadow 90% of the sky and 100% of the earth. It could also obstruct the sun, the moon, and the stars. It was an impenetrable defense guiding law!

The giant hand blocked off the entire sky and covered the entire galaxy. The energy it gave off was undefeatable and raged across the small universe. Only after a very long while did the hand finally fade away.

Ling Xian gradually opened his eyes. The scenery before him was devastating.

“Master, what happened? Did I cause all this destruction?”