A warm flow of energy flowed from Owens palm into Ah-Dais body, Owen knew that Ah-Dai was a bit slower in the head, so he moved the true energy very slowly, so that Ah-Dai could remember. Owen operated the energy while constantly repeating the cultivation mantra. A complete cycle along the meridian route took an entire night to complete.
Ah-Dai has entered a meditative state with Owens help, and the airflow transmitted by Owen is gradually merging with the vitality of the fruit scattered in his hundred meridians. He feels as if his whole body is in a huge warm oven, feeling extremely comfortable. As he lost control of Owen, his cultivation speed gradually increased, and it wasnt until after seven weeks that he came to.
"How is it? How do you feel?" After Owen helped Ah-Dai complete his morning exercises, he locked the courtyard door and went to Shi Ers house for a day. When Shi Er asked about Ah-Dai, he made up an excuse to brush it off. He knew that the first time practicing the "Life-Death Decision" was extremely important, and Ah-Dai couldnt be disturbed in any way.
Ah-Dai got out of bed, looked at the sky outside the house, and was surprised to find that it had already turned dark. Although he had been in a meditative state for a whole day and night, Ah-Dais blood circulation was surprisingly smooth. "Uncle, my whole body feels as if its floating lightly, theres something inside me that keeps moving, its a very comfortable feeling."
Owen nodded in satisfaction, saying: "Its already very good that you can achieve this level of skill in just one day. I remember when I first started practicing, it took me a full seven days to reach your current level. This shows that the fruit of rebirth is indeed the greatest benefit for practitioners. Alright, take a rest and eat something, Ive prepared everything for you. After dinner, youll have two hours of free time, during which you can practice your magic, but to avoid shocking the world, you must only practice in this room. Just be careful not to burn down the house." Owen agreed to let Ah-Dai continue practicing magic for a very important reason: he understood that although his own skills were top-notch on the continent, the number of enemies he had made during his decades as an assassin was too numerous to count. If Ah-Dai could have another identity, it would reduce many unnecessary troubles when he took revenge for Owen in the future.
One day of practice made Ah-Dais mood much better, his face turned red and he said: "Uncle, rest assured, I absolutely wont burn down the house. Ill go eat first." As he spoke, he quickly ran out, suddenly discovering that this uncle who had taken him in wasnt so annoying after all.
After dinner, Ah-Dai didnt rest at all to make the most of his time and immediately started practicing magic. Due to the short practice time and having to do it in his room, he could only use meditation to improve his spiritual power. The meditation for cultivating magic is completely different from the meditation for cultivating true energy. Meditation itself cultivates mental concentration and doesnt fear disturbances, allowing him to wake up at any moment. On the other hand, cultivating internal energy is equivalent to cultivating ones own innate potential, requiring completion of the entire cycle before dispersing the energy. Therefore, cultivating internal energy most fears being interrupted midway; once startled, its easy to go astray and fall into madness. After Ah-Dai meditated for two hours, Owen called him up.
"Ah, actually, if you only cultivate your spiritual power, it will not only have no impact on your cultivation of life, but also have a certain promotional effect. The stronger your spiritual power is, the easier it will be for you to control the true energy within your body. This is indeed a good method. Magics most basic thing is magical power, which is also spiritual power. Alright, from now on, Ill give you three hours of meditation time every day. For the current stage, just focus on sitting and cultivating true energy, practicing seven cycles a day will be enough. With the remaining time, you should learn some knowledge with me."
"Ah, Im a bit puzzled," said Ah-Dai, "If I just focus on increasing my magical power without practicing magic, will it affect my use of fire magic?"
Owen burst out laughing and said, "You little brat, when did you become so clever? Of course, excessive thinking will affect magic control. But my magical power is the most fundamental thing in magic. If your magical power is high, you can cast powerful magic, right? Actually, once your cultivation reaches a certain level, magic becomes less useful. For me, unless its a Magic Guide or above, its hard to cause me harm. The greatest feature of the Life-Death Decision is that it can suppress all evil energies and is the most orthodox sacred class energy. When the intensity of the energy exceeds the attack power of magic, magic cannot cause any damage. Maybe you dont understand now, but you will later."
"Ah-Dai scratched his head and said: Then Ill just meditate and sit in stillness. Uncle, should I start sitting now?"
Owen nodded and said, "The foundation at the beginning is very important. The Nine Layers of Life and Death are divided into nine layers. When you reach the third layer, I will teach you other things. Now, start meditating. Today, I wont help you. You still follow yesterdays running route to cultivate until that weak airflow in your body turns seven circles, then you can stop."
Ah-Dai sat on the bed, with Owens help, and assumed a five-heart-facing-the-sky pose. Just as Owen was about to start practicing himself, Ah-Dai suddenly opened his eyes again.
"Whats wrong, Ah-Dai? Is there something uncomfortable?" Owen asked with concern, although the method of cultivation was authentic, it was also prone to errors.
Ah-Dais face turned red as he lowered his head and said, "Uncle, I forgot the mnemonic you taught me yesterday. Also, I couldnt find the route of the airflow circulation."
Owen almost fainted on the spot. He had recited incantations all night yesterday, and with such a slow pace of action, Ah-Dai actually didnt remember it.
"Uncle, is Ah Diao very stupid?"
Ouwendao said, "And stop is stupid ah! Simply too stupid. He walked to Ahdais side and said: "Ill take you to practice again this time, but Ill speed up the pace, remember." After finishing speaking, he recited the incantation while helping Ahdai stimulate the flow of true energy in his body. With him leading the way for a day, Ahdai quickly entered a state and began practicing on his own. By dawn the next day, he successfully ran through the Seven Revolutions of Life and Death seven times.
After that, Ah-Dai entered a regular life state. In the morning after waking up from his practice, Owen began to teach him the Xibo language of the Suoyi Federation. Although Ah-Dai learned very slowly, he was very persistent and could generally remember things in three times the normal time. In the afternoon, Owen would give him several hours of free activity time, and Ah-Dai would usually play with Shi Ers grandchildren. It was also because of his constant interaction with them that Ah-Dai became more lively and cheerful. At night, after dinner, Ah-Dai began to meditate. When all the townspeople were asleep, Owen would wake him up to practice his vital energy. At first, Ah-Dai always couldnt remember the incantations and complex meridian lines until Owen practiced with him for nearly a month before he barely remembered them. Owen told Shi Er that he had accumulated some savings to come here and retire, so now he didnt work at all. Although the money he accumulated as an assassin was not all here, it was enough for him and Ah-Dai to live on. Since becoming an adult, Owen had never had such a leisurely life. A month passed, and he seemed to have already forgotten his original identity, completely integrating into the life of Shitang Town.
This day is April 14th, year 989 of the Sacred Calendar.
Early in the morning, Ah-Dai and Owen felt a strange atmosphere. Owen stood in the yard, looking up at the sky, usually at this time the sun should have risen high, but today it was still dark, with large clouds blocking the sunlight, making the earth unusually dim. The cold wind blew over, and Ah-Dai standing beside Owen couldnt help but shiver, he suddenly felt a sense of foreboding, but couldnt quite put his finger on what it was.
Owen frowned and said: "Whats wrong today? Why is the sky so dark?"
"Ah, yes! Its such an oppressive feeling, like my whole body is uncomfortable. Uncle, could something be happening? Ah! Uncle, look quickly, the dark clouds in the sky have turned red!"
Ewen was taken aback, looking up to see that the originally grayish-black clouds were gradually turning red. This strange phenomenon seemed to remind him of something. Suddenly, the reddish blood cloud gradually faded away, and the sun appeared in the center of the sky. The originally dazzling golden light turned into an eerie blood light, dyeing the earth a bloody color. Ewen whispered: "The Blood Day has arrived."
"Uncle, what is Blood Day Approaching Heaven?"
Owen shook his head and didnt respond, but he felt a strange and inexplicable sense of unease in his heart. He had only heard of the Blood Day Sky, which was said to occur once every thousand years. On this day, evil energy would be at its peak. Owen touched his chest, feeling the evil energy surging through his body. With great effort, he suppressed it with his true qi and said, "Ah-Dai, Uncle is going to meditate for a while. Youd better not go out and practice your magic at home instead. Starting from tonight, your weekly cultivation cycle will be changed to nine times." After speaking, Owen returned to his room. He had to quickly cultivate the Life-Death Decision to suppress the surging evil energy.
Sacred Vatican, Temple of Prayer.
Four figures clad in red robes stood at the four corners of the high platform in the center of the grand hall, and they were none other than the four senior red-robed priests who handled the sacred affairs of the Holy See. In the center of the platform, an old man with white hair and beard, slender and tall, had one hand on his left chest and the other pressing against his forehead, his golden priestly robes and crown on his head showing his noble status. Below the platform, twelve white-robed priests sat cross-legged around it. The sound of incantations kept echoing in the grand hall, and a sacred aura continued to emanate from the Prayer Temple.
Outside the Temple of Prayer, a total of 1,800 high-ranking monks and priestesses were also chanting prayers, their loud voices echoing through the sky, surrounding the sacred aura emanating from the Temple of Prayer. The surging holy energy continuously rushed towards the high altitude. In the sky, the eerie atmosphere emitted by the Blood Sun formed a stark contrast with the sacred aura emitted by the Temple of Prayer. The chanting continued, and amidst the chanting, light red raindrops suddenly floated down from the sky, the rain was not heavy, but it dyed the white sacrificial robes of the worshipers red.
Inside the Temple of Prayer, the chanting stopped. The old man in the center of the high platform sighed, "When the Blood Sun appears in the sky, a monster must emerge. When the blood rain falls on the world, the calamity will be fulfilled. It seems that heavens will is still unstoppable!"
A red-robed priest said, "Your Holiness, weve also done our best. After more than a decade, when the calamity arrives, as long as we can get through it smoothly, this thousand-year great calamity will be over."
The old man in golden robes nodded and said, "From now on, order all clergy to enter a state of war preparedness. At the same time, you four must begin preparations. Also, initiate the Savior Plan. The Millennium Catastrophe affects the entire continents situation. According to the Holy Sees scriptures, the Millennium Catastrophe has caused countless lives to be lost in the past. Hopefully, we can get through this smoothly. As long as we can successfully find the Savior, it will be much easier for us to cope with the disaster. Therefore, you must quickly go and search." In his heart, he secretly sighed that a thousand years ago, it was precisely because of the catastrophes arrival that todays Holy See came into being. At that time, the catastrophe swept across the entire continent, causing countless lives to be lost. In the final moment, the gods appeared in the world, transforming into the Savior and driving out evil. The day when evil was completely driven out became the first year of the Sacred Calendar, and the Savior also became the first Pope. Before his death, he had prophesied that a thousand years later, disaster would be born again. Todays Blood Moon Omen verified his prophecy. Eleven years from now, during the Millennium of the Sacred Calendar, disaster will once again descend upon humanity. Who knows whether this Pope, who has inherited Gods power, can drive out the catastrophe? It seems that one can only hope to find a new Savior.
Four red-robed priests bowed their heads in unison: "Yes, Your Holiness."
The Pope looked around, murmured a prayer, "May the heavens bless." A flash of light, and he vanished from the center of the high platform. The four red-robed priests descended to the ground, their magic dissipating. Suddenly, a little girl in a white dress, about ten years old, with a delicate face, ran over, grabbed one of the tall red-robed priests, and scolded, "Daddy, Daddy, what were you all doing just now!"
The red-clothed priestess was taken aback, and hastily picked up the girl, saying in a low voice: "Mei Mei, who told you to come here? Didnt we agree that you would wait at home?"
"But you and mom both went out, leaving only me, its so boring!"
The other three red-robed priests had already left, and the twelve white-robed priests stood up. One of them, a tall and slender figure, stepped forward and took Moon from the red-robed priests arms, saying in a low voice, "Moon, be good, Mom is taking you home now."
Hongyi shook his head, he really had no way with this daughter of his.
…………