Chapter 9

Chapter 9: The Incomplete Illusory Tide Art
When Yu Zhao arrived at the Archive Tower, the sky was already bright. Sunlight broke through the clouds and cast a golden edge around the tower.

She had come early, and the space outside the Archive Tower gate was empty.

She walked up the steps with light steps. Seeing the old man already sitting by the door, she smiled, bowed, and called out in a clear voice, “Elder Gu.”

Elder Gu seemed to have been waiting especially for Yu Zhao. Unlike usual, he was not holding a book but sat upright on his seat with a serious expression.

When he heard Yu Zhao greet him, his expression eased a little. He raised his hand and set up a restriction ward around the two of them.

He asked, “Have you really decided to rebuild your cultivation with a new cultivation technique?”

Yu Zhao answered, “Yes.”

Elder Gu said, “The Sea Moon Scripture is a cultivation technique created by Master Qing Yan himself. Among all water attribute cultivation techniques, it is one of the best. Are you really willing to give it up?”

Yu Zhao nodded heavily, feeling something stir in her heart.

Elder Gu was not someone who liked to talk, and he kept asking only because he was thinking of her. Rebuilding her cultivation meant giving up the Dao foundation she had already laid and starting all over again. It was something that had to be considered very carefully.

Elder Gu silently sighed in his heart.
[It seems that Master Qing Yan has truly hurt this little girl’s heart.]

He stood guard at the Archive Tower every day and had heard many scattered rumors about Yu Zhao. They said that Yu Zhao was overbearing, bullied her junior sisters, disrespected her senior brothers, and was lazy and slack in cultivation. Her bad reputation was known by everyone.

If it were someone else, they might also have felt displeased with Yu Zhao.

However, Elder Gu was someone who went against the common path. He never blindly believed outside rumors. He had his own eyes and his own judgment.

Yu Zhao was not as bad as the rumors said. The gossip was far too exaggerated.

[That makes things very interesting.]
[There is no smoke without fire. Who is stirring things up behind the scenes, fanning the flames?]

In fact, it was not hard to guess who was behind it. You only needed to see who gained the most benefit. That person would be most suspect. But everyone would rather cover their eyes and not look deeper.

Yu Zhao called softly, “Elder Gu?”

Elder Gu was sinking deeper and deeper into thought and was finally pulled back by Yu Zhao’s voice. He put away his messy thoughts and looked at Yu Zhao, a hint of pity in his eyes, and said, “I did not want to get involved in the matters of your Lone Moon Peak, but since this little girl has caught my eye, I will lend you a hand.”

Yu Zhao looked very grateful and said, “Thank you, Elder Gu!”

“Do not rush to thank me yet,” Elder Gu said as he stroked his beard. “You must promise me that you will not spread what happens today. Only the sky, the earth, you, and I will know of this.”

Although Elder Gu sympathized with Yu Zhao, he did not want to offend Master Qing Yan, a cultivator at the Divine Transformation Stage.

Yu Zhao naturally understood Elder Gu’s worries and said seriously, “I swear that this matter will never reach a third person’s ears.”

Elder Gu nodded in satisfaction, took a thin book out from his sleeve, placed it on the table in front of him, and gave Yu Zhao a look.

Yu Zhao reached out her hand hesitantly. Seeing that Elder Gu did not stop her, she picked up the book. The cover was completely blank.

It was a nameless book.

Yu Zhao could not help feeling a bit nervous. She took a deep breath and slowly opened the pages. When she saw the contents clearly, her mouth fell open in surprise.

It was not the water-type cultivation technique she had guessed, but a senior’s biography. At the start of the biography, that senior spoke in her own voice about how she had turned the tables and killed her dao companion who had harbored evil intentions toward her.

[This… this is nothing like what I imagined…]

Yu Zhao looked toward Elder Gu in confusion.

Elder Gu nodded at her, signaling her to keep reading.

Yu Zhao lowered her eyes back to the biography in her hands, kept reading, and slowly became absorbed in it.

The senior who wrote this biography called herself Wanderer Bright Moon. Like Yu Zhao, she had been born with a single water spiritual root. She had joined a sect when she was young, but because she did not like restraints, she asked to leave the sect on her own.

During her travels, she saved a male cultivator whose cultivation level was close to her own. The two of them journeyed together, and over their long time together, they developed feelings for each other and decided to become dao companions.

Just when Wanderer Bright Moon thought that the two of them would become a famous loving dao companion couple in the Immortal Cultivator Realm, her husband suddenly raised his sword, intending to take her life.

It turned out that her husband cultivated the Ruthless Dao: first entering love, then cutting it off, and the final step was proving the Dao by killing one’s wife.

Wanderer Bright Moon was both shocked and furious. She could not believe that the husband who had seemed so loving had wanted to kill her from the very start.

In her rage, she stopped holding back and fought him with everything she had. In the end, she watched with her own eyes as the husband she deeply loved lost his last trace of life.

In that instant, she comprehended the Dao.

“The Way of Ruthlessness cuts off the seven emotions and severs the six desires. One does not rejoice because of things or grieve for oneself. It is a way of cultivating the heart. But proving the Dao by killing one’s wife is done for selfish desire and only brings endless karma.

Indeed, if the heart does not die, the Dao cannot be born. If desire is not destroyed, the Dao cannot remain. Cultivation is the cultivation of the heart.”

Because of this disaster, Wanderer Bright Moon gained a blessing. She then spent a hundred years to create her own cultivation technique, the Illusory Tide Art. At the end of the biography, the cultivation method of the Illusory Tide Art was recorded.

Yu Zhao read on, completely fascinated. Wanderer Bright Moon’s life was full of ups and downs and made people long for such freedom. This biography also gave Yu Zhao a lot of inspiration.

In her previous life, she had loved too deeply and met a miserable end. In this life, she did not want to repeat the same mistake. Cutting off feelings and love made her a good seedling for cultivating the Ruthless Dao.

Her hesitation disappeared.

Yu Zhao immediately decided to cultivate Wanderer Bright Moon’s Illusory Tide Art, but soon her expression grew heavy.

This biography of Wanderer Bright Moon was actually incomplete. It only recorded the formula for the first three layers of the Illusory Tide Art. The later parts that matched the Nascent Soul Stage were nowhere to be found.

Seeing Yu Zhao’s expression, Elder Gu knew she had already discovered the book’s flaw and said softly, “This biography of Wanderer Bright Moon was something a sect elder picked up by chance. It was already incomplete when he got it. If not for that, this biography would be placed on the third floor, and you would not even be able to touch it. Little girl, you must think carefully about whether you really want to cultivate this Illusory Tide Art.”

Yu Zhao’s fingers tightened.

Although Wanderer Bright Moon did not mention her cultivation level at the end, from some details between the lines, Yu Zhao guessed that her cultivation was at least at the late Nascent Soul Stage. She was very likely an old fiend at the Divine Transformation Stage, just like Yu Zhao’s master, Master Qing Yan.

If a complete Illusory Tide Art were placed before her right now, she would not hesitate for even a moment and would agree at once. But this was a broken cultivation technique. The effects would not show much in the early stages, but after she formed her golden core, it would be hard for it to help her at her next breakthrough. The further she went, the more it would hold her back.

Yu Zhao’s gaze wavered.

After a long time, her eyes became firm and she said, “I have thought it through. I choose this one!”

Among all the cultivation techniques Yu Zhao knew, the Illusory Tide Art was the only one that could compare with the Sea Moon Scripture. She had already given up one top-tier cultivation technique. She did not want to give up a second.

Besides, she was still a long way from forming her golden core. Maybe luck would be on her side, and she would find the missing part of the biography along the way and complete the cultivation technique.

Elder Gu waved his hand and said, “Since you have already made up your mind, go back and get ready.”

Yu Zhao cupped her hands in salute and said, “I will remember your great kindness, Elder Gu. If I ever have the chance, I will repay you.”

Elder Gu said, “If you truly want to repay me, then work hard and move forward step by step. Let me see how far you can go.”

Yu Zhao said, “This disciple will do her best!”