Journey to the West: Signing in for 500 Years-Chapter 293 - 287: Nine-character True Words of the Taoist Door [Seeking Subscriptions Seeking Monthly Tickets]_1
Jiang Ziya!?
Sha Chen was stunned. Jiang Ziya’s arrival was indeed unexpected. For a moment, he felt bewildered and incredulous, with a hint of confusion. He was genuinely perplexed as to why Jiang Ziya would come here. Sha Chen had been planning on cultivating, but then Jiang Ziya came knocking, leaving him very puzzled.
「Outside.」
Jiang Ziya was still calling out, "I am Jiang Ziya, passing through this treasure land. I wonder if the river lord would be willing to open the door for a meeting?"
Sha Chen furrowed his brows.
"Detecting that the host is being requested for a meeting by the Grand Destiny Carrier Jiang Ziya, you have the following choices."
"Choice One: Meet with Jiang Ziya and receive the reward ’Taigong Tactics’. Taigong Tactics: A military strategy written by Jiang Ziya imbued with Taoist essence, unfathomable, capable of leading heavenly soldiers and generals. Complete mastery reveals one’s talent as a leader."
"Choice Two: Refuse to meet Jiang Ziya and receive the reward ’Nine-character True Words’. Nine-character True Words: ’Facing the battle, all formations advance,’ the Nine-character True Words are nine seals of the Daoist school, each containing Dao techniques and considered one of the three thousand Dao techniques."
Seeing the choices, Sha Chen couldn’t help but smile. Nine-character True Words! It’s actually the Nine-character True Words, reputed to be the general outline of Dao techniques. Although calling it the general outline of Dao techniques is an exaggeration, the Daoist essence contained within the Nine-character True Words is indeed profound. Each word encompasses endless Dao techniques, capable of evolving into incredibly powerful spells. They are ever-changing and unfathomable. Compared to the Nine-character True Words, Taigong Tactics seem somewhat insignificant. But that’s not to say Taigong Tactics are useless; in fact, for some, Taigong Tactics might be even better. For example, the many generals and marshals of the Heavenly Court all long for Taigong Tactics, which would allow them to better command the heavenly soldiers and generals. If they could use the heavenly soldiers and generals like their own limbs, integrated seamlessly, the power they could unleash would certainly be earth-shattering. But for me, it’s of little concern. I have neither troops nor generals, making Taigong Tactics quite superfluous. Moreover, I have no idea what Jiang Ziya’s true intentions are in coming here. I’ve only just sent people away and need to cultivate to enhance my own strength. I truly don’t wish to see anyone else. Otherwise, if I had to meet everyone who came by, I might as well not bother with cultivation. Although Jiang Ziya isn’t an ordinary person—the system determined him to be a Grand Destiny Carrier. But it’s not that I don’t want to meet him; it’s that the system’s rewards are too generous. You might as well go back to playing in the mud, Jiang Ziya.
Sha Chen silently chose not to meet Jiang Ziya, and the system rewarded him with the Nine-character True Words.
「Outside.」
Jiang Ziya arrived full of confidence, stroking his beard and smiling, waiting for Sha Chen to open the door and welcome him. But he waited and waited. A day and a night went by, and still, Sha Chen did not open the door, as if he had gone deaf.
Jiang Ziya murmured to himself, "Could it be that he hasn’t come out because he’s dead?" 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎
He pondered wildly for a moment, then continued to announce himself and repeatedly requested a meeting with Sha Chen. However, he did not explain his purpose, nor did he offer any further clarification. Sha Chen did not respond at all. Instead, the Flowing Sand River remained just ordinary river water, with only ripples and no other reaction.
「Inside the cave dwelling.」
Sha Chen merely glanced outside. Confident that Jiang Ziya couldn’t break in, he sat cross-legged and began to cultivate. He took the Duo Bao Relic and swallowed it for refining.
Half a month later, his talent and potential had increased significantly. If my talent and potential were like a small river before, they were now a great river! The gap between the two was immeasurable. If I were to get into specifics, my talent was actually comparable to that of Zhu Bajie. I had talent, and indeed, I was a genius. But I was only a genius, not yet a prodigy, let alone truly powerful. Even Zhu Bajie, after being supported by me and having his potential stimulated in various ways, had his talent developed and was considered a minor prodigy. But my own talent and potential had already been developed to their utmost in the past. Further development wasn’t simple, given my weak foundation. Even if developed further, it wouldn’t amount to much. The reason I’ve been able to grow to my current state isn’t solely based on talent. Most importantly, I’ve had an abundance of resources. I possess Tianpeng’s talent, a wealth of resources, the voracious Divine Power of gluttony, various powerful bodies, and a dominant Primordial Spirit. Furthermore, I have the Taiqing Colored Glaze Cup and the Tai Chi Diagram, along with enlightenment tea and the phoenix tree, all blessed by various resources. I’ve not only compensated for my lack of talent but also progressed more rapidly than any other prodigy. In the eyes of others, my talent is supposed to be exceptional. Even Yang Jian praised me as the leading prodigy after the Divine Enthronement. But they are all wrong. I am not the foremost prodigy since the Divine Enthronement; even now, with my talents further developed, I still can’t be considered the top one. My growth thus far has relied on too many things; talent played only a third, or even a fifth, of the role. Talent gave me a high ceiling, allowing me to reach my current state without stagnation. However, it’s the cultivation resources, various heavenly treasures that assist in comprehension, divine items, as well as my own body and Primordial Spirit, that are key to my rapid growth. However, my previous talent deficiency is in the past. Now, I can indeed be considered a true prodigy. Although, the qualifier ’minor’ should still precede it, at least I am a prodigy. My current talent has surpassed the original Tianpeng from the stories, but compared to the current Tianpeng, we’re probably neck and neck. This is because the current Tianpeng has consumed much of my flat peach wine and osmanthus wine, as well as various heavenly materials and earthly treasures, which have developed much of his potential. He has also had many opportunities and embarked on a different path than in his previous life. Even the Tianpeng of the past hadn’t necessarily reached the Daluo Golden Immortal level after the Journey to the West was over. But now, in just over two hundred years since his rebirth as a pig, he has already become a Daluo Golden Immortal, with no end to his progress in sight.
In summary, Sha Chen’s talent had improved.
He then began to cultivate, testing his current talent. He discovered that indeed, his cultivation was now two or three-tenths faster than before. Sha Chen voraciously consumed cultivation resources and continued his cultivation for another three years.
During this time, unable to get Sha Chen to open his door, Jiang Ziya had no choice but to return, dejected. However, he did not give up and planned to ask his master how to break into the Flowing Sand River Cave. To outsiders, the Black Tortoise Armor and the Apricot Yellow Flag of Wuji required a frontal assault, but for Lord Yuan Shi of the Chan Sect, methods were available. After all, these items all had some connection to Lord Yuan Shi. Moreover, the ways of a Saint are mysterious and unfathomable; there’s always a chance to find a loophole.
Sha Chen, however, didn’t care about this. After Jiang Ziya left, he claimed his system rewards and obtained the Nine-character True Words, one of the three thousand Dao Techniques.
Cultivating these Nine-character True Words took Sha Chen quite a long time. A full ten years passed. During this decade, on top of the previous three years, Sha Chen dedicated himself to studying the Nine-character True Words, cultivating, and enhancing his cultivation level. This brought him to the threshold, merely half a step away from the Peak Daluo Jinxian realm.
It’s worth noting that my advancement to the High Order of Daluo Golden Immortal only happened some ten-plus years ago. This might seem like a long time, but for a cultivator, it’s but a flick of the fingers. Many cultivators count their cultivation in hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of years, completely oblivious to the passage of time. During the Divine Enthronement, many were famous, but during the Journey to the West, they vanished from public view. It wasn’t that they had been killed, lacked brilliance, or feared to act for some other reason. The main reason was that they were digesting the karmic consequences of the Divine Enthronement and were in closed-door cultivation. That’s why their figures were absent during the calamity of the Journey to the West, which unfolded not long after the Divine Enthronement. The two catastrophes were too close to each other. Furthermore, the calamity of the Journey to the West was a smaller-scale event. Compared to the Divine Enthronement, which involved five Saints, many Quasi-Saints, and mighty figures from the Fire Cloud Palace, it was trivial. Even though the calamity of the Journey to the West concerned Buddhism, the two Saints of Buddhism made no sound and left no trace. Besides being in seclusion, it’s also likely they considered it trivial. Simply proceeding according to the established plan would suffice.
Sha Chen was different from those titans; for him, cultivating for a few years was normal, and ten-plus years was considered long. This time, after ten years of seclusion cultivating and comprehending the Nine-character True Words, Sha Chen had achieved a minor success.
"Truly, the Nine-character True Words are extraordinary; each word contains an infinite amount of Dao Techniques," Sha Chen muttered to himself. "I’ve never spent so much time on other Divine Powers and techniques. This time was quite long, and I haven’t even reached Great Accomplishment. But luckily, I had the aid of the Taiqing Colored Glaze Cup and the Tai Chi Diagram, as well as Enlightenment Tea and the Phoenix Tree, which allowed me to comprehend. Otherwise, it might have taken me tens of thousands of years of fumbling on my own to reach my current level."
This is no exaggeration—in fact, it probably understates it. Personal talent is indeed important, but comprehending certain things requires not just talent but also wisdom and insight. My insight is just average, and although I possess some wisdom, it’s not comparable to those titans who cultivated to their current realm through their own efforts. The reason I’ve achieved my current success, allowing me to comprehend various Dao Techniques and Divine Powers with ease and speed, is the support from the Taiqing Colored Glaze Cup, the Tai Chi Diagram, and the Enlightenment Tea. The Phoenix Tree also played a very important role. Of course, previously, I relied on flat peach wine, osmanthus wine, and various rewards I received, which allowed me to comprehend a great deal. Now, I mainly rely on these items.
However, these ten years have not been wasted. I feel that by understanding the Nine-character True Words, my combat strength has also increased. If I were to incorporate them into my spells and Divine Powers, their might would greatly increase. I feel that even without breaking through, if I were to battle Yang Jian again, I would likely come out victorious.
