The myth begins with the Lotus Lantern

Chapter 350 Divine Speed

"Fifteen years?"

Beidou Xingjun was taken aback, then realized what was happening. He looked at Nandou Xingjun, his expression turning serious. The time hadn't come yet, but Nandou Xingjun had come to discuss things so urgently, not even giving him time to consolidate his understanding. Something unexpected must have happened.

Currently, the only relevant information is...

Beidou Xingjun's expression shifted. Sensing the lingering fluctuations of law above Ding Lin's thatched hut, his face immediately turned serious: "Is this not the first law he has comprehended in the past fifteen years?"

The Southern Dipper Star Lord paused for a moment, then said with a somber tone, "Five paths."

what?
Beidou Xingjun almost doubted his ears, but how could he have misheard when he had cultivated to such a level? It was precisely because of his profound cultivation that he understood how terrifying such a cultivation speed was. Being able to cultivate to Taiyi, he was once considered a genius in the eyes of the gods, which attracted the attention of Ziwei Emperor and received his support. But compared to Ding Lin, he was like a firefly compared to the bright moon.

“In these fifteen years, he has comprehended five laws,” said the Southern Dipper Star Lord, emphasizing each word.

There was a moment of silence.

“We…” Nan Dou Xingjun began, but hesitated.

Beidou Xingjun understood his meaning. They had known each other for countless ages. Although their personalities differed and they sometimes clashed, they were partners who could rely on each other when they faced adversity. Their friendship had long surpassed friendship; they were brothers, even more so, like siblings.

"You should have woken me up sooner..." Beidou Xingjun's voice was hoarse, but it wasn't a complaint or shirking of responsibility; it was a normal statement. He seemed to ponder for a moment, then a ruthless glint suddenly appeared in his eyes. "If you and I join forces... it's not too late now!"

"Are you crazy? This Five Elements Mountain domain is under the control of the Buddha Tathagata, and it is located at the border of the Southern Jambudvipa and the Western Niuhezhou. There must be eyes in the sky watching it!" The Southern Dipper Star Lord poured cold water on the idea.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" said the North Star Lord.

"Wait."

"wait?"

"He is already extremely difficult to deal with, and you still want to wait? Are you waiting for him to achieve enlightenment?" Beidou Xingjun flicked his long sleeves.

"Achieving a high rank is not so easy. One can comprehend the middle-level laws on one's own based on one's aptitude, but there are 108 high-level laws, each of which is composed of many middle and lower-level laws. Without the corresponding inheritance, no matter how talented you are, you will have no way to start. Haven't you already investigated him? Before ascending to heaven, he was just a wild demon with neither a master nor any fortuitous encounters. Even after ascending to heaven, he only obtained a scroll of the 'Great Celestial Immortal Technique.' How could he achieve a high rank with the subsequent thirty-six Heavenly Dipper Transformations?" said the Southern Dipper Star Lord, clearly having already investigated Ding Lin in detail.

"Don't forget, before he descended to the mortal realm, he was summoned by the Queen Mother of the West, and perhaps she bestowed upon him some kind of inheritance, who knows?" Beidou Xingjun said coldly.

The Southern Dipper Star Lord chuckled and shook his head: "The Emperor and the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother have been fighting for so many years. You and I know what kind of people they are. Both of them rely on their past service before the Dao Ancestor, and they look down on everyone else. They regard all the immortals as subordinates and pawns. In all these years, have you ever seen them bestow any magical treasures or inheritances upon others? Just now, when he fought me, the superior law he used was the Samadhi True Fire. If I am not mistaken, one of the two demons was Princess Rakshasa. His ability to comprehend this superior law is probably inseparable from Princess Rakshasa."

"You mean... the Banana Leaf Fan?" asked the Big Dipper Star Lord.

"This fan contains the two energies of wind and fire, Samadhi True Fire and Samadhi Divine Wind. He only used Samadhi True Fire, and from observing the energy around him, I can see that he has only achieved the ordinary Taiyi realm. The Taiyi Dao Law is only based on the ordinary upper level. If I am not mistaken, the other upper-level law he used to condense the Taiyi Dao Law must be the Samadhi Divine Wind." The Southern Dipper Star Lord's analysis is not only completely contrary to his own, but also quite different.

Beidou Xingjun's eyes flickered, then he suddenly questioned, "There is some truth to that, but that day in Yaochi, when he joined forces with Tiannu, that near-instantaneous speed was definitely not an ordinary superior law; it was very likely a spatial law!"

“I think you’re overthinking it,” said the Southern Dipper Star Lord. “You only saw his amazing speed, and it just so happened that the Emperor’s Nine-Bend Pearl was missing a spatial law, so you kept saying it was a spatial law. Isn’t that too biased? There were countless great supernatural beings in the Heavenly Palace that day. In my opinion, even guessing that the Jade Emperor’s Kunpeng was more reliable than guessing him.”

"Then how do you explain such rapid speed?" Beidou Xingjun paused for a moment before speaking.

"Don't forget, he also cultivated the Thirty-Six Transformations of the Heavenly Gang and the Great Escape of the Five Elements. The more Five Elements laws he comprehends, the faster his escape speed will be. This divine power is profound, as you and I both know. It can combine many intermediate laws to unleash an effect no less than that of higher-level laws, but ultimately it is still difficult to change its essence. An intermediate law is still an intermediate law," said the Southern Dipper Star Lord.

“But to cultivate the Five Elements Great Escape at that speed, one would have to comprehend at least twenty Five Elements Laws. He was still a Golden Immortal back then, so how could he…” Beidou Xingjun said, then suddenly seemed to realize something and his voice stopped abruptly.

“Why not?” Nan Dou Xingjun was unwilling to let it go. “With the talent he has shown so far, it is very possible. If he hadn’t comprehended so many laws, how could a mere Golden Immortal cross the chasm and hold his own against you? It’s just that you have been biased ever since you learned that the Emperor’s Nine-Bend Pearl was missing a spatial law, and that’s why you overlooked it. In my opinion, this possibility is more concrete than any ethereal spatial law. He has no background and no way to ascend to a higher position, which is why he has been stuck at the peak of the Golden Immortal realm and has been unable to condense the Taiyi Dao Law. It was only after he descended to the mortal realm and met this Rakshasa Princess that he obtained the inheritance of the Samadhi True Fire and Samadhi Divine Wind from the Banana Leaf Fan, and thus stepped into the Taiyi realm.”

The Big Dipper Star Lord was speechless.

“Of course, what you said is not without reason. Although it is extremely weak, it is theoretically possible. Now that we have encountered him today, if allowed, we should certainly share the Emperor’s burdens. However, it is not worth taking risks for your vague speculation.” The Southern Dipper Star Lord calmly analyzed, “The Emperor has just suffered a defeat in the Heavenly Court and has no choice but to start anew in the Eastern Continent. Although our strength is weak, at this time, it is only right that we preserve our bodies to help the Emperor with our meager strength.”

"Then what you said before about waiting..." Beidou Xingjun remained silent for a long time, still somewhat unwilling, but he was finally persuaded by Nandou Xingjun.

“Let’s wait and see how his cultivation goes,” said the Southern Dipper Star Lord. “The sixty-four laws within the Five Elements Mountain Realm combine to form the Five Elements of Creation and Death. We might as well wait. If he can comprehend the Five Elements of Creation and Death before he leaves, this law will be enough to rank among the top-level laws. With this, he can redefine the Taiyi Dao Law, and you and I will naturally be no match for him. If he cannot comprehend it, what does it matter how many mid-level laws he comprehends? Without a high-level law to match it, it’s just for show. What can he do then? He’ll be at your mercy.”

"That's all we can do," said Beidou Xingjun, his eyes filled with melancholy.

"You have five more years to go. You should consolidate your cultivation first. In the next twenty years, it will be your turn to keep watch," said the Southern Dipper Star Lord.

……

It hasn't even been five years.

Three years.

Fluctuations of laws emanated from above Ding Lin's thatched hut.

The Southern Dipper Star Lord had already seen him five times before, but seeing him again still made him tremble with excitement. Suddenly, a voice came from beside him.

"You watched him comprehend the laws like this before, truly..." Beidou Xingjun appeared nearby at some point, his voice desolate.

“Shocking,” the Southern Dipper Star Lord interjected, looking at the Northern Dipper Star Lord. “Two more years, aren’t you going into seclusion?” The Northern Dipper Star Lord smiled bitterly: “If I hadn’t known this situation beforehand, it would have been fine. But now that I know, how can I still calm down and cultivate? Now it’s your turn to cultivate. Can you enter a meditative state?”

The Southern Dipper Star Lord remained silent.

“My heart is in turmoil,” sighed the Big Dipper Star Lord.

“Let’s wait and see. At his current speed, he will be able to comprehend all sixty-four laws within a hundred years. Then we will naturally see the outcome,” said the Southern Dipper Star Lord.

"Take a look," said Beidou Xingjun, his eyes filled with a profound mystery.

……

Another two years passed.

Twenty years have passed since the Southern Dipper Star Lord and the Northern Dipper Star Lord entered the Five Elements Mountain Realm.

Ding Lin comprehended another law.

The Seventh Law.

According to the agreement, it was the Southern Dipper Star Lord's turn to cultivate, but he didn't even mention it. Just as the Northern Dipper Star Lord said, their hearts were already in turmoil, and they couldn't calm down until they saw the outcome.

At such a speed, comprehending a law every two or three years, and with such stability, it can be confirmed that this is not a flash in the pan.

The Southern Dipper Star Lord had no doubt that Ding Lin could fully comprehend these sixty-four laws. The remaining suspense was how long it would take Ding Lin to comprehend them all, and whether he could eventually unite these laws, allowing them to flow and transform, to forge a top-tier law.

Ding Lin then comprehended the laws at a rate that ranged from one year to no more than five years, averaging a little new understanding every three years.

And so, another 150 years have passed.

Ding Lin comprehended another fifty laws.

Including the previous five, and the seven that the Southern Dipper Star Lord witnessed Ding Lin comprehend at the beginning, Ding Lin has comprehended sixty-two of the sixty-four laws required for the birth and death of the Five Elements. He only needs the last two to complete the set.

Over the course of 150 years, the Northern Dipper Star Lord and the Southern Dipper Star Lord resumed their cultivation starting from the 30th year. At first, whenever they finally managed to adjust their state of mind, it would be disrupted by Ding Lin's new insights. But gradually, jealousy and shock became a habit.

It turned into numbness.

When the Southern Dipper Star Lord awoke from his meditation and sensed the newly added law within the Inner Realm Cave Heaven, a hint of joy appeared on his face. However, as if he had just thought of something, that joy quickly faded away.

"How is it?" Nan Dou Xingjun pushed open the door. In the boundless darkness, Bei Dou Xingjun was sitting on the roof of the thatched hut. He flew up and stood side by side with Bei Dou Xingjun.

"Didn't you already guess?" Beidou Xingjun said indifferently, glancing at Nandou Xingjun. "Counting on my fingers, he has already comprehended fifty-seven laws right under our noses. If he had comprehended more before, he might have already gathered all sixty-four laws."

"We'll know once we see," said the Southern Dipper Star Lord.

……

Five years.

Finally, vibrations were heard again from Ding Lin's thatched cottage.

The Star Lord of the Big Dipper and the Star Lord of the Southern Dipper exchanged glances. In these final moments, neither of them mentioned the matter of exchanging cultivation techniques again.

"It seems he hasn't fully grasped it yet." Another night, the Southern Dipper Star Lord suddenly spoke, "Have you ever thought about leaving early? Now that things have come to this, you should give up your pathetic conjecture. To be able to extract the spatial laws from the Nine-Bend Pearl, either a great supernatural being forcibly did it with supreme power, or a low-level being cultivated the 'Spiritual Treasure Technique'. With his aptitude, do you think he could possibly cultivate the 'Spiritual Treasure Technique'?"

The Big Dipper Star Lord remained silent.

“It’s already visible. Over the years, we’ve practically watched him cultivate. Now, the Eight Trigrams around his body are almost complete, only missing one or two corners. This shows that he originally cultivated quite a few Five Elements Laws. Back then, he must have used the Five Elements Great Escape, without a doubt,” said the Southern Dipper Star Lord.

"Even so..." Beidou Xingjun gritted his teeth. Once prejudice is born in a person's heart, how difficult it is to erase it, not to mention that Beidou Xingjun had more than just prejudice in his heart. Suddenly, he smiled dejectedly, "Do you think I still have doubts now? I just..."

Having known each other for many years, the Southern Dipper Star Lord immediately saw through the Northern Dipper Star Lord's thoughts: "I know what you're worried about. You're worried about the grudge between you and him. Actually, there's no need to worry. In the Heavenly Palace War, everyone served their own master. As long as you avoid him in the future, it will be fine. There's just one thing: we've been observing him for so long, and he really hasn't noticed anything at all. He's just pretending not to know."

"You mean..." Beidou Xingjun understood immediately.

"More than fifty laws, and he accomplished it in less than two hundred years. Even if he is temporarily facing some bottlenecks due to his birth, it is hard to say whether he will become a Great Luo in the future, but achieving a certain level is beyond doubt. After all, if he hadn't condensed a top-level law, he would have already made half the progress from Taiyi Scattered Immortal to Taiyi Golden Immortal in less than two hundred years. Now it depends on whether he wants to make the progress he has now or build up his foundation for the future. Sixty-four laws, he gave them up in a day just to condense a top-level law. If you were him, what would you choose?"

"If we retreat now, we still have some room for maneuver; otherwise..." Nan Dou Xingjun said, still wanting to say more.

“Otherwise…” Beidou Xingjun’s eyes struggled.

“You’ve always said I’m timid and overly cautious. In this situation, I don’t know what to do either. You’ll have to make the decision,” said the Southern Dipper Star Lord.

“If he chooses to comprehend the Five Elements’ birth and death, then everything will be over. If he is unwilling to give up these sixty-four laws and leaves the Five Elements Mountain domain, then you and I, working together, will still have a chance,” Beidou Xingjun paused for a moment before speaking, “Let’s wait a little longer…”

(End of this chapter)