Chapter 540: Learning Water Parting Technique

"Cease your nonsense! Is the cultivation of the Five Elements magic so easily mastered?" The transmission elder rebuked Lu Yang. If the magic of the Five Elements were so simple to practice, what use would there be for their Five Elements Sect?

"Do not mock the study of spells simply because you chanced upon a single element by a stroke of blind luck."

"Tell me, which of the Five Elements have you cultivated? Let me see."

In the elder's estimation, Lu Yang had likely mastered nothing more than the Fireball or Earth Wall techniques—rudimentary, easily acquired arts that had given him a false sense of ease regarding the elemental paths.

With a helpless sigh, Lu Yang had no choice but to display his acquired arts one by one.

He extended his right hand, and upon his palm manifested a golden firebird. It was vivid, lifelike, and radiating a terrifying heat that promptly set ablaze the quiz papers the elder had left upon the lecture podium.

Lu Yang then extended his left hand, and the True Fire of Samadhi began to burn furiously.

The transmission elder, his gaze entirely captured by Lu Yang's palms, paid no heed to such a minor casualty.

"What is this?"

"The True Flame of the Golden Bird, and the True Fire of Samadhi."

"What?"

How had he never heard of these two varieties of true fire?

Since when had the one hundred and eight true fires become one hundred and ten?

Before the elder could fully process this, Lu Yang produced a single seed and planted it into the ground.

Taking root the moment it touched the earth, the seed sprouted two lotus flowers. Atop each blossom stood a facsimile of Lu Yang—one fully clothed, the other draped in lotus leaves.

"What manner of spell is this?" The elder's eyes nearly started from their sockets; such a thing was utterly unprecedented.

"The Tree-Planting Formula."

Whose Tree-Planting Formula looks like that!

Before the elder could voice the thought, Lu Yang dissolved his clones and began to burrow through the earth, passing in and out with absolute freedom, even pausing to swallow a couple of mouthfuls of dirt for good measure.

"Earth Evasion?" The elder was struck with sudden doubt. Lu Yang’s posture resembled the Earth Evasion technique, yet the pathways of his spiritual energy suggested otherwise.

"I have named it 'Shrinking the Earth'."

"An original creation of your own?"

"More or less. I chanced upon it by accident."

The elder’s face twitched. He had not recognized a single one of the Five Elements spells Lu Yang displayed; these were definitively not the simple, easily mastered arts he had assumed.

"As for the Metal Element, my swordplay can barely count as such."

Lu Yang had no intention of revealing the Six-Foot Golden Body. That was the signature move of Young Sect Master Lu, and since he was not the Young Sect Master, how could he possibly know it?

"I have not learned a single spell of the Water Element, however."

The elder stared at him as though he were a divine being. To master four of the Five Elements while possessing profound swordplay and keeping his cultivation realm from falling behind—

Could it be that this boy truly possessed such sublime talent in the elemental arts?

To have reincarnated... and then to have entered the Seeking Dao Sect as a disciple was a terrible waste!

"Splendid, splendid. The Five Elements generate and conquer one another; rarely can anyone master two conflicting elements. That you have mastered four of the five proves beyond doubt that your talent in this domain is extraordinary."

"Indeed! I boast no falsehood when I say Lu Yang’s talent surpasses even that of the Eldest Senior Sister!" Meng Jingzhou praised Lu Yang’s magical aptitude lavishly. As his good brother, he felt immense pride.

"Yes, yes, I think so too," Li Haoran quickly chimed in.

Man Gu scratched his head, sensing an underlying meaning in their words, though he wondered if it was merely his imagination.

Regardless, he chose to follow the crowd.

"I think so too."

Only Tao Yaoye remained silent.

A cold sweat broke out across Lu Yang's brow. Meng Jingzhou, you bastard, you are trying to kill me with praise.

Your intentions are truly malicious!

"Since you can master four of the Five Elements, the remaining Water Element should not pose too great a challenge for you."

"If you can master five spells of differing attributes, you can unleash powerful combination spells based on the principle of mutual generation!"

"What say you? Would you care to learn a Water Element spell?"

Hearing of an opportunity to acquire a new spell, Lu Yang had no reason to refuse.

"I beg the elder for guidance."

Seeing Lu Yang’s respectful demeanor, the elder’s impression of him improved considerably, and he nodded.

"Let me think... then you shall learn the Water-Parting Spell."

"The Water-Parting Spell?"

"The Water-Parting Spell is an exceedingly difficult Water Element art to master. Even those with dual spiritual roots of the water attribute may not necessarily comprehend it. Conversely, its immense difficulty signifies formidable power; it is said that once mastered, it can suppress all other Water Element spells!"

The gathering gasped in unison, surprised by its sheer potency.

The elder smiled, stroking his white beard as he spoke: "Tradition holds that during the twilight of the Great Yu Dynasty, when noble houses and vassal kings raised armies, plunging the world into chaos and leaving the people destitute, a figure of great supernatural power led the inhabitants of a town to flee the strife. Their path, however, was barred by the Heaven-Reaching River—its waters vast, its currents violent, rendering boats useless."

"The great powerful figure could naturally cross the river, but the commoners behind him could not."

"Standing at the riverbank with a staff in hand, he struck the ground thrice. The Heaven-Reaching River parted down the middle, revealing a path eighty meters wide, while the waters on either side rose high to form walls."

"Once the populace had crossed, the walls of water collapsed with a thunderous roar, and the river returned to its original state."

"That is the Water-Parting Spell!"

To divide a river in two—before such a divine ability, no ordinary Water Element spell could stand.

"At your current realm, parting a river is far too difficult; your body could not withstand the strain. However, when facing Water Element spells of the same cultivation level, it should shield you from any threat."

Lu Yang drew a sharp breath; this Water-Parting Spell sounded remarkably formidable.

"For instance, like this."

The elder produced a cup filled with water and drew a gentle line across it with his finger. The water within divided cleanly into two distinct halves.

He tilted his head back and drank half the cup, while the remaining half maintained its parted form.

"Please teach me, elder," Lu Yang requested, clasping his hands once more.

"Very well."

The elder did not grant Lu Yang private instruction but chose to explain the Water-Parting Spell to all five of them.

It would also serve as a proper gauge of Lu Yang’s true talent in the Five Elements.

"To learn the Water-Parting Spell, one must calm the mind and focus the spirit, condensing spiritual energy into both hands to form the Five Elements Water Mudra. Bring the tips of the thumbs and pinkies together, while extending the remaining three fingers..."

The elder was well-suited to be the enlightened instructor of the Five Elements Sect; though the knowledge he imparted was dry and tedious, once understood, his explanations proved remarkably lucid.

Before two hours had passed, Lu Yang had grasped the core knacks of the Water-Parting Spell, whereas Meng Jingzhou and the others, limited by their natural aptitudes—especially concerning a spell that required a water spiritual root—progressed at a crawl.

"Elder, I would like to try."

With a thought from the elder, a sphere of water the size of a leather ball floated before Lu Yang.

"If you can part this sphere of water into two, you shall have mastered it."

Lu Yang linked his hands in the Five Elements Water Mudra, silently reciting the incantation.

"The five lakes and four seas all return to the mansion, the nine rivers and eight lakes open the four paths... Divide!"

Bringing his right index and middle fingers together, Lu Yang pointed directly at the sphere of water and gave a soft shout. The water sphere vanished without a trace!

The Cultivation Elder stared blankly.

This was not right; where had the water sphere gone?

"Do it again."

He conjured another sphere of water and gestured for Lu Yang to try once more. Lu Yang executed the water-dividing technique, and yet again, the water sphere vanished into thin air, leaving no trace behind.

Lu Yang was equally bewildered. How could a sphere of water just vanish into thin air? He had not been practicing the magic of void or nothingness. Seeking out the Immortal Fairy, he asked, "Fairy, could you see clearly what I just did?"

Having heard that Lu Yang was learning spells, the Immortal Fairy naturally had no intention of missing the spectacle, and she had been observing intently from within his spiritual space the entire time.

"I saw it. After you finished casting the water-dividing technique, the water sphere didn't vanish—it just became too small to see."

"Too small to see?"

"Yes. It split into two kinds of gases. Inside one gas, a tiny ball revolves around another tiny ball; inside the other gas, eight tiny balls revolve around a single tiny ball."

"Both of these gases exist in the air, they are very common."

Lu Yang was left speechless.

So, it turns out I split the water into hydrogen and oxygen?

(End of Chapter)