Had the gravekeeper elder told Xiang Shaoyun all that just to make him give up on cultivating nine powers? What he said next shocked Xiang Shaoyun even more.

"I did not tell you all that to make you give up on cultivating nine powers. I only want you to know how hard this path is and to give you another chance to make your choice," said the gravekeeper elder.

Xiang Shaoyun had not expected those words at all. He had thought that the elder had merely been trying to persuade him to give up and focus on only one power instead. But now, it seemed like the elder was still supportive of him cultivating nine powers. It greatly confused him.

Xiang Shaoyun sank into thought, not knowing what to say. He had full confidence the gravekeeper elder was telling him the truth, yet he couldn't accept just giving up on the path he had chosen. What would be the best choice?

The difference between the two choices was akin to heaven and earth. Either was an extreme option of an opposite direction. He sat there in contemplation for three days and three nights. During that time, he remained motionless and silent, his eyes shut in thought.

The gravekeeper elder sat by his side and was in no hurry. At this time, the three birds within the astral cosmos sea suddenly started crying. They were no longer as small as before, with their wings reaching about two meters in length.

From how joyful they looked, it was obvious they had gone through yet another breakthrough. During the past half year of residing in the astral cosmos sea, they seemed to have broken through many times.

Xiang Shaoyun once tried to release them from the astral cosmos sea so they could get a breather at the outside world. But they would rather stay in the cramped astral cosmos sea than leave. He had long known that the three had benefited greatly from the nine-colored fog. That was why they had refused to leave. In fact, they were behaving exactly like Money!

As Xiang Shaoyun looked at the nine-colored fog and the changes within the astral cosmos sea, a resoluteness he never had before suddenly rose within him. He opened his eyes, looked at the gravekeeper elder, and declared, "I will stick to my path!"

The gravekeeper elder showed no reaction. He merely replied blandly, "Ok. Since you have made your choice, I hope you won't regret it in the future. After entering the Dragon Ascension Realm, it will be too late to change."

"Yes, I have already considered this carefully," said Xiang Shaoyun firmly.

"Good. Then let me teach you a mantra. Remember it," the gravekeeper elder went straight down to business. Without waiting for Xiang Shaoyun's agreement, he started teaching him a complicated and ancient mantra.

"Separating the heaven and the earth, the primal chaos was born, the essence of the five elements, the stars moved, yin and yang were lacking..."

After possessing a filthless soul, Xiang Shaoyun’s memory had improved considerably. The complicated ancient mantra was forcefully memorized, yet he couldn't understand its meaning. The mantra seemed to be depicting the changes of the world, yet it also seemed like a cultivation mantra. It was too complicated.

"How much have you memorized so far?" asked the gravekeeper elder.

"Everything, but I don't really understand it," said Xiang Shaoyun.

The face of the gravekeeper elder shifted slightly, but since he was blind, no emotion could be seen within his eyes. He said, "This is an incomplete ancient mantra I had accidentally obtained. It depicts the evolution of the world, how the primal chaos gave rise to the five elements, the revolution of the yin and yang amid the universe, and the great dao. Perhaps the purpose of this ancient mantra is to enlighten one on the powers of the natural world. So long as you can understand it, you will gain a decent comprehension of the nine powers you cultivate. Perhaps it will help you see the light of hope on that path of no return you tread. If not even this mantra can help you, I can't do anything either."

Xiang Shaoyun had guessed that the ancient mantra was important, but he had never imagined that it would be this important. He stood up and gave the gravekeeper elder a deep bow, expressing his gratitude.

"You don't need to feel grateful at all. I am only doing this because I wish to one day witness a legendary physique personally," said the gravekeeper elder. "Also, I have already told those kids outside that I will be keeping you here for half a year. Spend this time studying the mantra. If you have any inspiration, you can look for me. We can discuss it together, trying our best to increase the tiny brightness you might find on your path of no return."

Xiang Shaoyun nodded. "Yes, elder."

He could see that this elder was going to personally instruct him in the coming half year. His heart was filled with excitement, and he wished to live up to the elder's expectations. And thus, he cleared his mind of all thoughts and started comprehending the ancient mantra.

As he repeated the mantra over and over in his mind, he increasingly understood how complicated it was. It focused on the dao of heaven and earth, the dao of primal chaos, and the dao of yin and yang. All three were the strongest daos in existence, and they were the most complicated and abstruse of all powers in existence.

Initially, he was able to gain a superficial understanding of some of it, but when he tried deepening his understanding, he found that there were countless permutations, and it was very difficult to get a clear understanding of any sort.

Half a month later, he asked the gravekeeper elder his first question, "What is the origin of heaven and earth?"

"Some people say that heaven and earth were created by the ancient god. But the ancient god is the ancestor of humanity. As the saying goes, heaven, earth, and human. With heaven comes earth, and with earth comes human. Thus, we can reject that theory. What I understand from the ancient mantra is that heaven and earth originated from the power of the firmament," answered the gravekeeper elder.

"What is the origin of the power of the firmament then?" Xiang Shaoyun asked.

"It is eternal."

"Did the primal chaos come into existence during the creation of heaven and earth, or prior to the existence of heaven and earth?"

"The period of time during the creation of heaven and earth was also a period prior to the existence of heaven and earth."

"Does that mean that primal chaos took form during the creation, and prior to creation, it was a part of the firmament?"

"It's good that you can understand that much. This is proof that you are working very hard on comprehending the mantra. Yes, according to the mantra, that's the case."

...

One old and one young, they exchanged some thoughts once every few days. Often, Xiang Shaoyun would be the one asking a question, and the gravekeeper elder would be the one answering.

Slowly, doubt cleared from Xiang Shaoyun's heart, allowing him to gain a deeper level of understanding of the mantra. It was most definitely a wondrous ancient mantra, one with a great significance. As Xiang Shaoyun mentioned numerous fresh points, the gravekeeper elder also learned something new.

After all, Xiang Shaoyun had a filthless soul, pushing his intelligence to a freakish level. Each time he studied the mantra, he would have a different sensation, as if the mantra represented every single dao in the world, an all-encompassing mantra that contained everything in existence. Because of that, his resolution to cultivate nine different powers grew firmer.