Chapter 1657
Chapter 1657 (Raw 1669, Raw 1639-1668 Nonexistent):
There were many badly damaged areas in the painting. This was an incomplete Saber Technique.
Xiao Chen himself was a bladesman. Naturally, he could tell how extraordinary this Saber Technique was. With just one quick look, it entranced him, greatly widening his horizons.
Originally, he had thought that his self-created Flawless Saber Technique was something very hard to come by already. Now that he saw this Saber Technique, he truly felt somewhat embarrassed.
Compared to the Great Thousand Realms, being in the Kunlun Realm was like being a frog in a well.
Upon hearing what Elder Tang said, Xiao Chen could not help feeling more interested. "Senior Tang knows this Saber Technique?"
"Naturally, I do…"
Just at this moment, Xiao Suo and the other two returned to the ship. They quickly reported, "Captain, the harvest is great. Those eight people all carried significant numbers of Spirit Jades and many pieces of equipment for the Divine Shield Army. Furthermore, we still have not checked the dark-gold-armored Venerate's storage ring yet."
Stepping forward, Xiao Suo handed the dark-gold-armored Venerate's storage ring to Xiao Chen.
Xiao Chen nodded and said, "Quickly leave this place, then. It is still not very safe. As for these spoils of war, you can deal with them as you please. There is no need to ask me."
"Thank you, Captain."
The three left excitedly, returning to their stations to steer the Black Cutlass and quickly sail far away.
Inside the captain's quarters, Xiao Chen brewed a pot of tea for Elder Tang, preparing to listen to him explain the Mahāmāyā Abstinence Violation Saber Technique in detail.
"There is no one to interrupt us now. Senior Tang, tell me everything you know," Xiao Chen urged softly as he poured him a cup of tea.
Elder Tang accepted the teacup and took a sip. Then, he said composedly, "There is a long story behind this Mahāmāyā Abstinence Violation Saber Technique, involving many things. Young Master Xiao, do you know how the ranking of the Great Thousand Realms' Martial Techniques came to be?"
Xiao Chen answered honestly, "The Book of the Epochs does not record much about it. All of the great realms and astral regions have different introductions on Martial Techniques. Honestly speaking, I am not very clear on it."
Elder Tang smiled and said, "That is very normal. The people who have not gone to the Central Great Realm would not know that it is the birthplace of the Martial Dao. It is also the center of civilization for the entire Great Thousand Realms. It has already existed for millions of years, possessing a history that goes too far back.
"Aside from the Primogenitor Grade Cultivation Techniques and the Mystery Grade Cultivation Techniques, which were directly comprehended from Primogenitor Grade Cultivation Techniques, all of the Cultivation Techniques and Martial Techniques in the world are classified, from high to low, into Heaven Grade, Earth Grade, and Mortal Grade."
Xiao Chen said softly, "Senior Tang, I know that already. Just get to the point."
Elder Tang nodded and said, "It is not that I'm beating about the bush. Some topics are unavoidable if we are to speak about the Mahāmāyā Abstinence Violation Saber Technique. Otherwise, Young Master Xiao will not understand."
"Very well, please continue."
"Initially, the Martial Epoch experienced a chaotic age. Then, it entered into a dark age, known as the Chaotic Fiendish Demon Age. It was during that age when countless of our predecessors appeared and created many Primogenitor Grade Cultivation Techniques and Martial Techniques, truly cementing the foundations of the Martial Epoch."
Xiao Chen felt excited and asked, "Are you saying that this Mahāmāyā Abstinence Violation Saber Technique is a Primogenitor Grade Martial Technique?"
Elder Tang laughed involuntarily. "How can that be? Many of the Primogenitor Grade Cultivation Techniques and Martial Techniques have already been lost. If one were to reappear, it would shake up the entire Great Thousand Realms. Countless powerhouses would rush over to obtain it. It would not possibly fall into the hands of the likes of us."
"Then…" Xiao Chen prompted curiously.
Elder Tang put down his teacup and said, "I have not finished yet. One Primogenitor Grade Cultivation Technique is the eight moves of the Gautama Divine Palm, created by the Gautama Buddha.
"The four Buddhist temples that we know of now are four Holy Lands that surpass Rank 7 sects. Each of them grasps one move of the Gautama Divine Palm. The other four moves are lost.
"From there, countless powerhouses from the four temples comprehended many Cultivation Techniques and Martial Techniques from the Gautama Divine Palm move that they grasped.
"This Mahāmāyā Abstinence Violation Saber Technique was directly comprehended by a powerful monk of the Hidden Spirit Temple from the third move of the Gautama Divine Palm. It is also the only Saber Technique comprehended from the Gautama Divine Palm."
Xiao Chen muttered, "The Hidden Spirit Temple…"
"That's right. Now, among the tens of thousands of Buddhist sects in the Great Thousand Realms, the Hidden Spirit Temple is one of the four great temples with the greatest influence. It holds a high position, even surpassing that of the royal courts. Everyone in the Great Thousand Realms knows of it."
Xiao Chen murmured, "In that case, this Mahāmāyā Abstinence Violation Saber Technique should not be too shocking. The Hidden Spirit Temple managed to comprehend hundreds of different Cultivation Techniques and Martial Techniques from the Gautama Divine Palm's third move. What more the other three temples…"
Elder Tang said gravely, "You did not hear clearly. This is the only Saber Technique directly comprehended from the Gautama Divine Palm. The other Buddhist sect Saber Techniques did not come from the Gautama Divine Palm.
"More importantly, this is a Buddha-defying Saber Technique. Mahāmāyā means that everything in the world is just an illusion, merely a dream of the Gautama Buddha. Within the Buddhist sects, this word itself is taboo and should not be bruited about rashly.
"What's worse are the two words that come after it: abstinence violation!"
Xiao Chen's chest tightened as he thought about the murderous intent the Buddha image gave off and the various strange aspects of the painting. Then, he suddenly trembled.
"The cultivation of the Buddhist sects requires strict abstinence. Otherwise, one would be chased out of the temple. One might lose their base character and enter Berserking Qi Deviation, dissipating all their strength.
"However, this Saber Technique dares to go against the rules of the entire Buddhist sect. It uses not only defiant words like Mahāmāyā but also words like 'abstinence violation,' showing no respect whatsoever for the rules."
Upon reaching this point, Elder Tang suddenly smiled. "More interestingly, this Saber Technique came from the Gautama Divine Palm, directly comprehended from it. It is as authentic as it can be. It is the will of the Gautama Buddha. However, when it first appeared, it angered that group of monks.
"You need to know that any Cultivation Technique or Martial Technique directly comprehended from the Gautama Divine Palm can be reversed engineered, eventually allowing one to practice the Gautama Divine Palm."
When Xiao Chen heard this, he could not help smiling. "Interesting. How mighty is this Saber Technique?"
Elder Tang's smile disappeared as he replied seriously, "Very strong. So strong that many scary existences put themselves in danger to barge into the Hidden Spirit Temple to destroy it.
"Finally, left without a choice, the Hidden Spirit Temple took the initiative to render this Saber Technique incomplete. Actually, it was an embarrassing thing for the Hidden Spirit Temple in the first place; hence, doing so was not too big a blow. Furthermore, the Hidden Spirit Temple has several of such Cultivation Techniques and Martial Techniques. Losing one was not a problem."
When Xiao Chen heard that, he was greatly startled. "That exaggerated?"
"However, I did not exaggerate anything. You can just ask around in the Central Great Realm. Everyone knows about it. In the future, you will learn more stories about this Saber Technique. Then, you will know that I'm telling the truth."
"What stories are there?"
Elder Tang laughed, "Hehe! You will know when you go there. Right now, you are not experienced enough and will not understand."
Xiao Chen felt helpless. Then, he said, "Alright, then. I won't mention it anymore. I just have one more question: can I practice this Saber Technique?"
"If you can practice it, naturally, you may. You are not a person of the Buddhist sect, so you don't have to worry about it. However, people not of the Buddhist sect who want to train in it seldom learn the correct interpretation," Elder Tang said slowly.
Xiao Chen said, "That might not be the case for me. Back then, this Saber Technique manual came to me on its own initiative."
"It took the initiative to go to you?" Elder Tang opened his eyes wide in some disbelief.
"That's right. After I spread out my Saber Dao's Great Dao Energy, it took the initiative to follow my aura and flew over."
Elder Tang was still in disbelief. He muttered, "This…although the Saber Dao's Great Dao Energy is hard to attain, it is still a stretch to say that it can compel the Saber Technique manual to fly over…
"You have a Buddhist śarīra…wait, that's not right. This Saber Technique is defiant and takes a different path. It would not care about an orthodox Buddhist sect's śarīra…"
Xiao Chen did not dwell on it, nor did he care about the reason.
In the end, the Saber Technique ended up in his hands. It was also a fact that the painting had taken the initiative to fly over to him.
Xiao Chen believed that he had a fate with this Saber Technique manual. He should be able to figure out its correct interpretation. This was a rare opportunity that he needed to grasp.
From accepting the mission from the Savage Blood Pirate Group to now, this trip could be said to have come to perfect completion, a temporary conclusion.
Obtaining the Mahāmāyā Abstinence Violation Saber Technique was the greatest harvest.
If Xiao Chen could learn it before arriving in the blessed land, he would gain another great skill.
There was also the storage ring of that peak Major Primal Core Venerate. He wondered what kind of pleasant surprise it would bring him.
Oh, right. There is one more very important thing that I nearly forgot.
"Senior Tang, as for the thing about the body being like a sword or mountain, I already figured it out." Xiao Chen told Elder Tang what he comprehended when he held the Scarlet Blood War Banner before the fight with the dark-gold-armored Venerate.
After Elder Tang heard that, his eyes lit up. "So, 'My body is like a sword, filled with a firm and unyielding pride' refers to the will of soul. Alright, I understand now. In less than a month, I should be able to solve the riddle of the Scarlet Blood Pirate King's final words."
Then, Elder Tang left while guffawing, incredibly excited.