The "Gui Shui True Scripture" is the most powerful and core immortal method of the Gui Shui Immortal Sect. It stands side by side with the "Yi Mu Yin Xian Fa" of the Yi Mu Immortal Sect, the "Ding Huo Fen Tian Jue" of the Ding Huo Immortal Sect, the "Ji Tu Zhong Yue Gong" of the Ji Tu Immortal Sect, and the "Xin Jin Po Qian Jun" of the Xin Jin Immortal Sect. Together, they belong to the most ancient, mysterious, and formidable immortal arts in the Celestial Spirit Realm. For hundreds of millions of years, countless aspirants have sought to join these five ancient sects—yet not a single one has ever located the hidden mountain gate of any among them.
The "Gui Shui True Scripture" opens with an inscription that explains, "The heavens harbor five elements—water, fire, metal, wood, and earth. They transform under the passage of time to nurture all things, mutually generating and restraining one another in an endless cycle. Yet water is the foundation of these five elements: it can be as hard as metal, as dense as earth, it is flammable under extreme cold, and as light as air when it becomes mist." In the chaos of the primordial state there was an order to creation: water appeared first, providing life. Only later did wood, fire, earth, and metal arise to complete the balance—a cycle that underpins all growth in nature.
Because water is the fundamental element and the foremost among the five, it possesses limitless potential. When it is at its coldest, it can be as hard as the finest metal; when amassed in layers, it is as thick as towering mountains; when extremely cold, it becomes combustible; and when it transforms to vapor, it gives off the energy of vibrant wood. For these five ancient sects, their immortal methods vary in strength—but only up to the Grand Ascension stage. Before that point, if one were to compare just the power and divine might of each method without considering a cultivator's personal aptitude, the "Gui Shui True Scripture" is the strongest, encompassing all aspects of the elements, with the "Yi Mu Yin Xian Fa" following, and so on. Yet the differences between them are not drastic—except that the Xin Jin Immortal Sect's technique, while last in order, boasts the fastest cultivation speed and the most lethal attacks. In battle, its practitioners might dominate in terms of raw offensive power, though their spirit energy lacks the profound solidity found in the other four.
Cultivating the "Gui Shui True Scripture" is based on one's water spirit root. In every realm, the final breakthrough is achieved by restoring balance according to the law of the five elements. Take the first level of the Qi Condensation stage as an example. Imagine five jars of different heights representing water, wood, fire, earth, and metal. The water jar sits at the highest level, with the jars for wood, fire, earth, and metal arranged in descending order. When one begins cultivation, one first fills the water container—like pouring water into the highest jar. Once the water element has reached its container's rim, it does not simply blast through into the second level as with other methods. Instead, continuing to cultivate forces the excess water energy to overflow downward into the wood container. Due to the principle of mutual generation, this surplus gives rise to wood energy until that container is full. The process repeats: as wood energy overflows, it spills into the fire container, then into earth, and finally into metal. Only when the metal container is completely filled is the cycle—representing the full generation of the five elements—complete, and the practitioner may then push through to Qi Condensation Stage Two.
With every stage upward the internal "energy containers" expand and grow taller, meaning that increasingly advanced incantations are needed to cultivate them further. In the Five Immortal Sects, the arrangement and strength of one's spirit roots is essential. If a cultivator's internal elemental energies are not arranged in proper descending order according to the law of mutual generation, the flow of energy will be thrown into disarray. For example, if someone with mixed spirit roots has an excellent water response yet the other elemental energies (fire, earth, metal, wood) are not in the correct order, then even if the water container is full, the overflowing energy will mistakenly flow into an incorrect container—producing violent clashes that ultimately spell doom.
At first glance, this five-element technique seems exceedingly complicated. Other sects can advance quickly by focusing on one element alone; here a disciple must cultivate all five elements in harmony before advancing to the next realm. Although that might sound like it takes many times as long—and in the world of cultivation time is everything, for if you cannot leap to the Foundation Establishment stage within a few decades your lifespan might simply run out—this is not a flaw for the Five Immortal Sects. Their secret lies in the principle of mutual generation. Once you have filled all five containers at the first level, they form a self-sustaining cycle. In fact, once the metal container is full, it can "generate" water anew. That accelerates the generation of water energy, which in turn boosts the production of the remaining elements in a continuous, ever-faster loop.
There are three excellent advantages to the "Gui Shui True Scripture." First, cultivators practicing this method generally generate an internal spirit energy that is three to five times that of peers at the same stage—though this depends on the size of one's internal energy reservoirs. In combat, that means they can maintain their techniques longer and cast spells with much greater potency. Second, this method permits the simultaneous cultivation of immortal methods of different elemental attributes. Although cultivators in other sects can also learn techniques of secondary attributes, very few manage to master two or more concurrently—the effort usually slows their progress. With the "Gui Shui True Scripture," however, the elemental energies are interdependent. In practice, if a cultivator lacks a particular type of energy for a specific spell (say, earth energy), they can channel surplus energy from another element (like fire) into the earth container, offsetting the deficiency. There's no awkward situation where a spell of one element is weak simply because the corresponding spirit energy is sparse. (That, of course, requires that one has had sufficient time to cultivate all the elements simultaneously.) This synergy—the core dynamic of the five ancient sects—is what makes their cultivation methods so terrifyingly powerful, and why other sects in the Celestial Spirit Realm fail to grasp its true nature.
Reading this grand summary, Li Yan recalled the eerie, knowing smile that Dong Fuyi had given him when he reached the peak of Qi Condensation Stage One. Now it all made sense. In Master Ji's plan of siphoning internal power from others, his own cultivation is only at Qi Condensation Stage Three. As such, he can only safely drain energy from someone whose spirit energy does not exceed what is safe at the apex of Qi Condensation Stage One. (If he tried to siphon from someone with a far greater reserve, the backlash would be fatal—and ultimately Master Ji would pay the price.) Moreover, if the energy drained comes from an attribute different from that provided by "Wu Ye Lian Qing Gong" (a method that channels wood energy), then the outcome would be disastrous. In either case, the prerequisite is that the target must have cultivated the "Gui Shui True Scripture" to a certain degree.
After reading through this introductory summary, Li Yan—who had never seen the cultivation methods of any other immortal sect—could only sigh in awe, exclaiming, "How can such a monstrous method exist in this world? No wonder the heavenly Dao forbids it and its transmission is so arduous. The cycle of Heaven always has its own inherent principles."
Then Li Yan focused on the following lines—the incantations for Qi Condensation Stage One. His spirit soared with excitement—he felt as though the Dao itself was now within reach.
Slowly, Li Yan opened his eyes. He was still in his stone room, seated cross-legged on his bed. But his mind now brimmed with a newly memorized incantation—the dozen or so lines he had repeatedly recited while exploring his Sea of Consciousness. Once he had confirmed every word was correct, he concentrated on figuring out how to exit that mental space. In a flash of intent, he withdrew from his Sea of Consciousness.
He then closed his eyes again and recalled the method he'd used to both enter and exit that realm. Concentrating his mental energy at his forehead, after a brief flash he found himself once again above the small lake in his Sea of Consciousness. With a thought, he propelled himself out of that space and, in an instant, returned to the real world.
Standing up tall, Li Yan allowed a small, triumphant smile to spread across his face. He had finally mastered the art of entering and exiting his Sea of Consciousness—and in doing so, he had secured the method for cultivating the "Gui Shui True Scripture." Now, his next challenge was to escape from the treacherous "Fierce Beast Valley."
Later at lunchtime, Li Yan set off with light, brisk steps toward the door of the first stone house. As usual, a warm voice from within beckoned him, "You're here—come on in." Smiling softly, he pushed open the door.
Inside, Master Ji was once again seated cross-legged behind a low table. Although his face wore the same timeless countenance, it now held hints of shifting moods. Fixing his gaze on the arriving Li Yan, Master Ji settled his expression and casually pointed to the carpet on the table, "Sit down."
Since his return, Li Yan had resumed his cross-legged meditation, trying to soothe the turbulent heat in his chest. Recently, the fire poison within him had become increasingly difficult to suppress. When he did not use any spiritual energy, things were manageable; but the slightest exertion caused his inner aura to churn chaotically. Earlier, while Master Ji was healing him outdoors, several uses of spiritual energy had already left his aura unstable. "Time is precious—at this rate, the suppression may only hold for one or two years," Master Ji thought silently. Then, habitually, he slipped his left hand out from his sleeve and glanced toward the two-volume book resting on the table. "I can't pin all my hopes on that kid either. That book should be warded with some elaborate restriction… hmm…" Lost in thought, his eyes suddenly widened in shock. He sprang to his feet. Although the two bound volumes were still together as before, the lower third, which used to be a familiar pale yellow, had now turned a dull gray–brown, as if its luster had completely faded. This unexpected change sent a jolt of alarm through him.
Hurriedly, Master Ji took the book into his hands and examined it carefully, turning it over repeatedly from various angles. At last he confirmed what he feared: the book had indeed changed. Gingerly, he flipped it open to the lower third. The cover—once the soft jade-white of the jade book—now looked lifeless and withered like rotten wood. Silently channeling his energy into it, he heard the clear sound of a "bo" as his power permeated the book. Overjoyed, Master Ji thought to himself, "Could it be that the restriction on this book has finally waned with time? The change in color must be the sign of the restriction's failure." He immediately sent out his divine sense—in a careful, almost trembling manner—to approach and fully immerse the book in his power. Soon enough, nothing adverse occurred, and as he increased his divine energy to probe deeper into the jade book, an unexpected sight unfurled before him: inside was a vast, empty space. In its very center floated a map that appeared to sway as if affected by the wind. From a distance, several curving lines and markings could be seen.
Master Ji did not let his guard down. He inched his divine sense closer to the map. After a considerable while his divine perception settled at its front without any mishap. Although he only "observed" the map without making direct contact, it clearly resembled a route plan. Several lines from different directions converged upon a central area depicted as a lake-like region. Around this area, the map bore a few flickering, blood-red characters: "Great Poison Gives Life Technique." Staring blankly at these words, Master Ji murmured to himself, "Great Poison Gives Life Technique… that must be an immortal method related to the cultivation or use of poison. Heaven will not destroy me, Heaven will not destroy me—haha…" For a man of Master Ji's standing, such a revelation was cause for wild jubilation. After his ecstatic outburst, he bent over the map, studying it in detail.
After some time, Master Ji slowly retracted his divine sense from the jade book. His expression was mixed—between delight and vexation. He'd studied the map carefully and, finally resolutely, dared to touch it with a faint trace of divine energy. When nothing untoward occurred, he relaxed completely.
The map pointed to a location that felt strangely familiar to him. Yet some of the geographical features did not match his memories. In his recollection, this area should be at the western edge of the Great Qing Mountains where, after stretching for more than ten thousand li, the path turns north for about four thousand li. There is a long, narrow valley there with a lake whose appearance bears some resemblance to what is on the map. Still, the scenery around the mapped lake did not entirely agree with what he recalled. For a moment he hesitated in uncertainty.