Shrouded Sky

Chapter 134 - Emergence of The Secret Technique

On Dull Peak, the Nine-Step Heavenly Stair continued to expand, transforming into nine grand platforms. Atop them stood jade towers and celestial palaces, wreathed in clouds and mist, hazy and indistinct. Li Ruoyu slowly rose, drawn upward by a mysterious force, and entered the ethereal halls.

Above the mountain lay an immense void, profoundly silent, as if a whole new world was evolving there. Profound “Dao” and “Law” wove together in unseen patterns.

All things manifested, vibrant with life, moving in cycles. First came blossoming and flourishing; lush green leaves soaked in dew. But soon, they withered and decayed, returning to their roots.

Ye Fan stood atop Dull Peak, motionless. His gaze transitioned from bright to hollow, from lively to void, his spirit seemed to experience the same progression: from fullness to decline.

Heaven and earth seemed to reveal hidden trajectories, complex and profound rules and orders, birthing mysterious patterns and marks in the void.

Dull Peak had returned to simplicity, evolving “Dao” and “Law.” The entire mountain was like a scripture, requiring a corresponding mindset to sense the mysterious, fleeting traces flowing through it.

Ye Fan was not Li Ruoyu. He had only been on Dull Peak for half a month. He didn’t understand the mountain’s origin or essence, so harmonizing with it was very difficult. However, he carried a Bodhi Seed obtained from the Grand Thunderclap Temple, which naturally illustrated the Dao and nurtured serenity in his heart.

The Bodhi Tree, in legend, was a holy tree of enlightenment, also called the Tree of Wisdom. It could awaken the divine nature within and allow one to perceive the Grand Dao of Heaven and Earth.

With the aid of this mysterious seed, Ye Fan merged into this realm of natural law. His mind rose and fell with the grass and trees.

“Grand completion appears incomplete, grand fullness seems empty, grand skill appears clumsy…”

A mysterious voice echoed.

Li Ruoyu remained motionless within the celestial halls, still as a stone, listening to the wondrous music of the heavens.

After five hundred years of lost inheritance, Dull Peak’s ancient teachings were reappearing. The Dao gate was wide open. Insight flowed freely, not in the form of divine springs or auspicious lights, but through a plain and sincere transmission, brimming with Dao-Resonance.

Ye Fan’s mind was calm and in harmony with Dull Peak. Everything Li Ruoyu was sensing, he also heard. The Bodhi Seed warmed slightly in his chest. He was serene and attuned.

At first, what emerged wasn’t the so-called secret technique, but Dull Peak’s foundational cultivation method, the core of its lineage. Only through cultivating this could one build a foundation strong enough to unleash the true power of the secret technique.

The Nine Secrets, renowned across the Eastern Wilderness, weren’t complex cultivation methods or martial skills. They were mystical techniques, each one capable of multiplying combat power by several or even tenfold if activated, however rarely. Every sacred ground and ancient clan coveted them.

Without a proper foundation or core technique, the Nine Secrets could not be activated. But once the body was refined enough, and the mind clear, their power could be unleashed.

Dull Peak’s core technique was indeed profound. Though not as supreme as the Dao Scripture, it was one of the strongest inheritances in the Supreme Mystery Sect. Its former master once fought a Grand Elder of Radiant Light to mutual destruction, a testament to its might.

Ye Fan cross-referenced it with the Dao Scripture and gained many insights. But what excited him the most was still the Nine Secrets, especially this one. Its allure surpassed even the Ji Clan’s Void Scripture.

If combined with the mystical energy of the primordial Black-Gold Dualforce in his fists, this secret technique could make him unstoppable. No matter the opponent’s divine weapon or technique, he would punch straight through.

And it wasn’t just limited to physical strength. The enhancement applied to all abilities: divine techniques, weapon control, even flight speed.

To Ye Fan, the Nine Secrets were truly supreme. He had to obtain this one hidden on Dull Peak.

Suddenly, a new mysterious Dao-Resonance began to flow, different from Dull Peak’s foundational method. There was no sound, no fluctuation, only an indescribable godly aura manifesting at the peak.

Ye Fan felt the Bodhi Seed’s warmth and tremble. He guessed that this was the emergence of one of the Nine Secrets. Abandoning all focus on the core technique, he began trying to grasp this mysterious rhythm.

One had to admire the ancient masters of Dull Peak. Without leaving a single word or line, they embedded one of the Nine Secrets into the mountain itself, ensuring its eternal legacy. Their methods were awe-inspiring.

The entire peak felt ancient, like a place untouched by time, returning to a primordial desolation. More ordinary than ever, yet filled with natural essence.

On distant main peaks, many powerful cultivators were watching. They noticed the strange changes and were stunned.

“No clouds or lights, no celestial music, so plain… yet it feels deeply profound. Perhaps the inheritance isn’t awakening, but something else is happening.”

“There was once a cultivator who, outside of the usual inheritance cycle, obtained both Dull Peak’s core method and secret technique. He eventually attained overwhelming power, rivaling the ancients.”

“Could it be that Li Ruoyu is walking the same path? He may become the second great power of Dull Peak. He and the previous master share a common trait: ordinary talent.”

Many elders whispered, watching intently.

“A plain awakening is more fitting for Dull Peak than a grand spectacle. Only through the mundane can its true essence emerge. Its very name ‘Dull’ is the key. Hidden greatness in simplicity.”

They realized Dull Peak was about to rise again, perhaps even produce another supreme cultivator.

Li Ruoyu had once seemed like a lucky nobody, barely accepted as a disciple. No one had ever expected anything from him. They thought he was just a placeholder to keep Dull Peak alive.

But now, it seemed everything had changed. If Li Ruoyu truly followed the same path as that ancient master and became a peerless powerhouse, even the Ji Clan and Radiant Light Sacred Ground would be within reach.

This event didn’t just stir the elders, it shocked the Peak Masters too. One by one, they emerged from seclusion and looked toward Dull Peak, their eyes filled with wonder.

Soon after, even the Sect Lord of Supreme Mystery and the Grand Elders, as well as hidden sages deep in the mountains, appeared in the clouds.

“Li Ruoyu is no fool. Diligence makes up for lack of talent. He walks the path of the ancient master. He may well become the guardian of Supreme Mystery’s future.”

“If he reaches that level, our sect’s dream of becoming a power rivalling a Sacred Ground or Ancient Clan will no longer be a fantasy,” they said solemnly.

“The inheritance has reawakened. Select the finest disciples from each main peak and send them to Dull Peak,” the Sect Master ordered.

Even before this decree, disciples across the main peaks had begun to talk. Those who knew Dull Peak’s history decided to join it, once a broken peak, it had now returned to glory.

While everyone schemed and prepared, Ye Fan captured that subtle Dao-Resonance atop Dull Peak.

Heaven and earth wove lines of power together, rules becoming order, which gave birth to unseen forces, creating patterns in the void.

The summit constantly changed before his eyes.

All things decayed, plants withered, returning to the earth, moving from motion to stillness, back to their essence. From life to fullness, then decline and stillness, back to origin. Dao Runes rose and fell.

Ye Fan’s eyes mirrored the transformation, brightness faded to dullness, vitality turned to emptiness, then reversed again. He changed with the patterns, evolving alongside them.

He marveled inwardly: the ancient masters of Dull Peak were extraordinary. They had embedded the secret technique into the mountain’s natural changes, into the rhythm of the Dao itself.

Like unraveling silk, he began to perceive and absorb it, storing every drop in his heart. This was the transmission of one of the Nine Secrets.

Ye Fan stood motionless, fused with heaven and earth, one with Dull Peak. Bathed in nature, he became a rock, a blade of grass, a vine on the mountain, absorbing every trace of divine insight.

Eventually, everything around him vanished. Before his eyes remained only a seed and a patch of earth. He became a breeze, gently brushing past.

The seed sprouted from the soil, vibrant and green. His mind was serene, like still water. He became one with the seed, a burst of life.

Dull Peak remained silent. A single green sprout emerged from the earth, full of boundless life, becoming the only thing in all of heaven and earth.

Boom!

Ye Fan trembled. His eyes cleared. One of the Nine Secrets had become a seed, imprinted into his soul. It had sprouted, becoming eternal vitality. He had fully acquired this supreme technique nurtured in nature.

Dull Peak remained as it was, the same mountains, the same trees, the same water. Nothing looked different.

He was like a drifting cloud, like a passing breeze. His heart was ethereal. The supreme secret flowed gently within him like a spring.

Though he hadn’t gained Dull Peak’s core method, acquiring one of the Nine Secrets was more than enough!

Half a day later, Li Ruoyu awoke and stood. His presence was ethereal, distant, like he stood across the stars, cloaked in history’s dust.

But soon, the mist cleared. He became plain again, just an ordinary old man from the countryside, nothing special.

By now, a crowd had gathered at the foot of Dull Peak. Yet no one dared trespass. No one flew overhead. They waited quietly below, most of them hoping to become disciples of Dull Peak.

No one dared look down on it anymore. No one treated it as a barren mountain.

Most of those waiting were the top disciples of other peaks. Some were even the sons and daughters of Peak Masters.

Li Ruoyu stood silently atop the mountain. He didn’t look at the crowd. Instead, he turned to Ye Fan and said, “You have the Primeval Desolate Sacred Physique.”