Chapter 273 — The Summit of Arithmetic
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 3 of 4
Reverend Hongfa was still lecturing in the hall. Time passed, and at last Shen Mu was the first to fix the place of his own Six Realms Spirit Treasury -- somewhere in the dantian, bearing heaven and resting on earth.
The dantian, also called the lower dantian, is where the six harmonies reside; the Daoists name it the Imperial Court. The middle dantian is the heart's chamber, named the Crimson Palace. The upper dantian lies between the brows -- the Daoists call it the Spirit Terrace, and the Buddhists call it Mount Fangcun.
Once Shen Mu had fixed the position of his Crimson Palace, he roused all his qi and charged at the barrier he had located!
Shen Mu's cultivation was already vast beyond measure, far beyond his peers. This time he gathered his every breath of qi and drove at it in one unbroken rush, and the Six Harmonies Barrier was instantly seamed with cracks.
A roar like ocean waves came from within his body. Shen Mu roused his qi and struck a second time; the surge of waters grew louder, as though angry waves split the shore and great billows beat the clouds, each sound louder, each blow fiercer, and Shen Mu's qi charged more violently with every strike!
With a crash, his Six Harmonies Barrier burst apart, leaving a great gap.
Shen Mu kept stirring his qi, striking at the broken wall, widening the gap.
Inside Six Harmonies Hall, Reverend Hongfa and all the scholars heard the sound of qi smashing within Shen Mu's body, and each showed astonishment.
"Doctor of the Grand Academy!"
Reverend Hongfa hurried out. "If you have not calculated the exact position of the Six Harmonies Barrier, breaking it rashly will kill you!"
Scarcely had she spoken when a tremendous boom came from Shen Mu's body, as though heaven and earth were splitting apart, and his cultivation soared at incredible speed!
The Six Harmonies Barrier broke!
The Six Realms Spirit Treasury opened!
At that very moment a rumble also came from within Six Harmonies Hall -- Ban Gongcuo's Six Realms Spirit Treasury had opened as well. But every scholar and Reverend Hongfa herself had their attention fixed on Shen Mu, and no one noticed him.
Ban Gongcuo's aura too was growing more and more powerful; his eyes flickered, and he rose from his meditation cushion and looked outside the hall.
Reverend Hongfa was stunned for a moment, then said hurriedly, "Doctor, close all the spirit treasuries within your body, then charge through them in one breath and see!"
Shen Mu drew a long breath, shut away his Primal Embryo Spirit Treasury, his Five Luminaries Spirit Treasury and his Six Realms Spirit Treasury alike, then gave a low shout. Three places -- Spirit Terrace, Crimson Palace and Imperial Court -- each gave forth a rumble, three sounds in all; the three great spirit treasuries opened, and Shen Mu's aura surged!
"You really have opened the Six Realms Spirit Treasury!"
Reverend Hongfa exclaimed in wonder, then glanced at Si Yunxiang beside her, and saw that Si Yunxiang too was striving against the Six Harmonies Barrier -- plainly she had also found its exact position.
She had driven these two whispering youngsters out of the hall, never imagining that in so short a time they would both find the place of the Six Harmonies Barrier, and that one of them would break through in a single rush and become a divine-power wielder of the Six Harmonies realm!
Reverend Hongfa pressed her palms together. "Sect Master Shen... Doctor of the Grand Academy, you seem to possess a secret method by which the position of the Six Harmonies Barrier may be calculated, swifter even than this humble nun's Six Harmonies Mathematical Classic. Might you be willing to pass it on?"
Shen Mu smiled. "You are too kind, Reverend. My abilities are slight, and I would not presume to show off before the assembly; but if I have gained anything, I am glad to exchange it with you and the scholars."