Chapter 25: The Classic of the Yellow Court

It was none other than the renowned "Phoenix Seeks His Mate."

This melody originated in the Han Dynasty, crafted by the poet Sima Xiangru in his pursuit of Zhuo Wenjun.

Cao Chengyu only knew these things because, in his previous life, he had been a graduate student specializing in history. During casual conversations with classmates, this piece had come up, and out of curiosity about the romantic affairs of the ancients, he had read a bit about it.

Now was the perfect moment to play it.

There were few reasons why he and Luo Yuzhu could not be together—the greatest obstacle lay in their respective statuses.

But as long as he made his feelings clear, that was enough.

"A beauty so fair, once seen, is never forgotten. A day apart brings longing near madness; the phoenix soars and glides, searching the four seas for its mate. Alas, the lovely one is not beyond the eastern wall..."

As he played and sang, Cao Chengyu simultaneously guided his spiritual power to write down the entire lyrics and melody.

The youthful voice, tinged with sorrow, carried the pain of unrequited love through every note.

No matter how old Luo Yuzhu was, she listened with reddened eyes, tears slipping down her cheeks.

Gifted in the arts of poison from a young age, she had always been shunned by her peers, who, constrained by the pressures of survival, dared not befriend her. Despite her beauty, her mastery of poison kept others at bay; her outstanding talent drew the envy and schemes of ill-intentioned people.

On top of that, the recent incident with the Poison Pill had caused several White Guards to be "ruined," isolating her even further from her contemporaries. Nowadays, the only people she interacted with were the likes of Cao Chengyu, a youngster of her grandson’s generation.

But who among this generation had the courage of young Master Cao? Not only did he dare to dream, he dared to act.

As the last note faded, the scroll of lyrics and music floated into Luo Yuzhu’s hands. Their eyes met. Cao Chengyu hesitated for a heartbeat, then steeled himself and spoke against his better judgment.

"Luo-jie, I like you."

"......"

[Luo Yuzhu’s affection +3 (82)]
[Primary Treasure Chest Issued]

A pleasant chime sounded, and Cao Chengyu, elated, feigned embarrassment and hastily fled.

He could hardly wait to return and open his treasure chest.

Watching Cao Chengyu’s hasty retreat, Luo Yuzhu could not help but laugh softly.

So, unbeknownst to herself, she had already begun to like him.

If things remained this way, even a sixty-year age gap wouldn’t be a problem.

Cao Chengyu, back in his dormitory, had no inkling of Luo Yuzhu’s thoughts. Now was the time to test his theory:

Would the treasure chest yield the most suitable treasure according to his current needs?

"Open primary treasure chest."

A flash of golden light burst forth, and lines of golden script condensed in midair, forming a long, chain-like pattern that surged into Cao Chengyu’s mind.

[Huangting Scripture]

Effect: A top-level spiritual refinement secret art, able to enhance the practitioner’s aptitude and comprehension. During cultivation, one may acquire the divine ability "Derivation." The higher the practitioner’s comprehension, the greater the effect. Perfecting this technique may allow for the forging of the Five Viscera Revolving Body. (Expand ↓)

Without a doubt, the Huangting Scripture was an upgraded version of the Huangting Dao Song, with the hidden effect of "Derivation"—an advanced divine ability.

Compared to ordinary arts, divine abilities were of an entirely different order; their inherent value far surpassed that of mere techniques.

A cultivation method that came with its own divine power was even rarer.

Although the Huangting Scripture covered only the spiritual refinement realm, it included a method for forging a special Dao Body, making it extremely valuable.

This was the Five Viscera Revolving Body, where the five viscera could be seen as the five elements: heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys.

In his previous life, the ordinary Huangting Scripture described five deities residing in the viscera: Heart Spirit—Elixir Source, Liver Spirit—Dragon’s Smoke, Spleen Spirit—Everlasting, Lung Spirit—Brilliant Radiance, Kidney Spirit—Dark Abyss.

These five spirits corresponded to the five elements. The Five Viscera Revolving Body could also be called the Five Elements Revolving Body, which was nurtured by infusing the essence or treasures of the five elements into one’s inner spirits.

By cultivating according to the methods provided by the Huangting Scripture, one could forge a special Dao Body of unknown grade.

Anything associated with the five elements was never simple.

Divine abilities such as the Five Elements Escape Technique and the Five Elements Divine Thunder (Yin-Yang) required the practitioner to possess a physique attuned to the five elements.

In terms of cultivation, this meant having the corresponding Dao Body.

In the Great Yue cultivation world, the strongest sect in the five elements was the Five Elements Sect, whose methods for advancing the Five Elements Spirit Body were complete. It was said that in every generation, one or two disciples would possess the complete Five Elements Spirit Body.

This was the core of the Five Elements Sect’s influence over the Three Kingdoms.

If Cao Chengyu were to forge the Five Viscera Revolving Body in the future, he would likely have dealings with them.

For now, the most important thing was to switch his cultivation technique.

Since the Huangting Dao Song and the Huangting Scripture were of the same lineage, it took Cao Chengyu little time to make the transition.

His cultivation at the peak of the early stage of spiritual refinement smoothly advanced further.

He advanced to the mid-stage of spiritual refinement (5%).

A vast amount of spiritual energy from heaven and earth was drawn into his dormitory through a small gathering array, refined into his body, and fused with his spiritual power.

It became marked as his own.

His momentum rose sharply, and all the fine meridians in his body were completely opened. Spiritual power coursed through every muscle and vessel, his body emitting a faint, gem-like glow.

It was a sight to behold.

The spiritual power in his dantian, once as thin as mist, gradually condensed into a constantly spinning vortex.

Even without cultivation, the surrounding spiritual energy continued to pour into his body, refined into his own strength by the vortex of spiritual power.

This was the cultivation of the mid-stage spiritual refinement realm—the Qi Absorption stage.

Once the white mist within his dantian filled completely, he could attempt to break through to the late stage of spiritual refinement, the Qi Manipulation realm!

He had heard that the Second Prince had achieved the Qi Manipulation realm at fourteen, able to condense spiritual power into weapons outside his body.

Cao Chengyu was eight months older than that, which meant his talent had not yet reached its peak.

The cultivation of the Huangting Scripture had only just begun.

Upon completing the transition, he found that the divine ability "Derivation" could operate passively, or be actively driven for further calculations.

All kinds of arts could now be deduced at an accelerated pace, yielding results.

[Cao Chengyu]
Age: 14.8
Cultivation: Mid-stage Spiritual Refinement (5%)
Cultivation Method: Huangting Scripture
Skills: Basic Alchemy (Tier 1), Basic Artifact Refining (Tier 1 Artifact)
Arts: Object Manipulation, Windwalker, Azure Flood Sleeve (Medium-grade, incomplete), Five-Wheel Fire Law (Medium-grade 3%), Black Tortoise Shield (Low-grade 19%), Yellow Cloud Art (Medium-grade 22%)
Secret Arts: Poison Eye (Low-grade 88%)
Divine Ability: Derivation (?)

[Assessment]: A White Guard of the Skywatch Tower with the strength of a Blue Guard, already capable of slaying demons and quelling unrest.

As for the assessment, it was just for reference—taking it too seriously would be foolish. Even Red Guards at the Dao Body realm risked death fighting demons and pacifying evil lairs; he still had a long way to go.

As for the grade of the Derivation divine ability, as expected, it was marked unknown—simply because Cao Chengyu’s knowledge didn’t include the classification of divine abilities.

The question mark in his self-assessment appeared for this reason.

As did the evaluation.