Libationer Barrett dumped him at the door of the Six Directions Hall and hurried away, afraid that Quinn Shepherd would keep pestering him and drag him into the Cult of the Heavenly Saint.
Quinn grumbled, "Sooner or later, I'll get you in here."
The Imperial Supervisor of the Six Directions Hall was Abbess Huifa, a respected Buddhist nun. She had taught here since the founding of the Imperial Academy.
Quinn entered the Six Directions Hall. It was still early, and no scholars had arrived yet, but Abbess Huifa was already inside, cleaning the hall until it was spotless.
When the bell rang, the scholars filed in. Only then did Abbess Huifa begin her lecture, speaking slowly: "What are the Six Directions? Heaven, earth, and the four cardinal points—that makes six. The Six Directions Treasury is inside our bodies. To break its wall, we must first determine the exact position of that wall. How do we do that? With calculation. Yesterday I asked you to review the Six Directions algorithms—did you do so?"
Quinn blinked and glanced around the hall. There were more than thirty scholars here for the lecture, including Wayne Shen, Claire Yue, Serena Yunxiang, and others.
Then he saw Ben Coates.
Ben Coates was not listening to the lecture; he sat with his eyes closed, trying to break through the wall of his Six Directions Treasury.
Abbess Huifa continued in her measured tone: "When standing on the ground, it's easy to tell east, south, west, north, up, and down. But inside the human body, how do we determine these directions? We use your Spirit Embryo Treasury to fix up and down—the top of the spirit embryo is heaven, its feet are earth. Once up and down are set, we need to determine east, south, west, and north, which requires using the Five Luminaries Treasury's inner stars as reference points."
"You have all studied the Ten Works of Numerology. Those texts are used to fix the positions of the Five Luminaries stars. To deduce the directions of heaven and earth within the heart, we need the Six Directions algorithms. Now, let's turn to page seventeen of the Six Directions Numerology Canon—the Zi-Wu Return-South Method."
Quinn handed the Six Directions Numerology Canon back to Serena Yunxiang. He pressed his right palm onto his left, then slowly drew them apart, weaving his yuanqi into a Taiji diagram—yin and yang swirling, four phases emerging, with the five elements nested inside each phase. The diagram hovered between his hands, shimmering with layers of calculation.
Serena Yunxiang poked Quinn in the back. He turned to see her, the Holy Cult's Saintess, biting her lip, whispering, "Last night I saw you drag three girls back to your room."
"No way!" Quinn denied flatly, face reddening as he tried to deflect her teasing.
Serena smiled slyly, "One of them was the Seventh Princess."
Quinn's face flushed. "Saintess, don't spread rumors and ruin my reputation. Lend me your Six Directions Numerology Canon—it's my first time here, I don't have a copy."
Serena handed over her Canon, teasing, "If the Cult Master indulges too much in beauty, he might end up like Cult Master Li—destroyed by lust." (Note: Cult Master Li refers to Tyson Li, the previous master of the Cult of the Heavenly Saint.)
Abbess Huifa scolded, slamming the desk, "This is a sacred classroom—no whispering!"
Abbess Huifa barked, "You two, out! Stand by the wall!" Serena grabbed her Canon and walked out with Quinn. Leaning against the wall, she handed him the book, still smiling.
Quinn opened the Canon and saw pages filled with equations—algorithms extended from the Ten Works of Numerology, used to calculate the exact positions of east, south, west, and north based on the Five Luminaries stars.
Abbess Huifa was lecturing on the Zi-Wu Return-South Method from page seventeen, which fixed the position of south. Once south was determined, the other directions could be set, and by drawing a straight line between up and down, the exact location of the Six Directions Wall inside the body could be pinpointed. (Note: The Six Directions Wall is a barrier within the cultivator's body that must be broken to advance.)
Since everyone is unique, each person's Five Luminaries Treasury has a different internal position. As the Five Luminaries Treasury is the basis for determining the Six Directions Treasury, the position of the Six Directions Treasury also varies for each person, requiring precise calculations with no margin for error.
It didn't take long for Quinn to finish reading the Six Directions Numerology Canon. The Canon used base-five for the five elements and base-six for the Six Directions, requiring conversion from the five-based calculations of the Five Luminaries stars to a six-based system before running the algorithms.
Quinn paused, suddenly recalling a hint from the Nethervault Demon King.
The Demon King had once said that the Grand Mystery Numerology Canon's octal calculations could be performed using the Eight Trigrams as a computational tool. This revelation had led Quinn to realize that the Taiji-Eight Trigrams diagram contained binary for yin and yang, quaternary for the four phases, and octal for the Eight Trigrams.
But if you added in the five-element base-five and the Six Directions base-six, the computational tool became even more complex.
"The Imperial Preceptor said the Four Great Spirit Bodies aren't just the five elements, but each one contains all five elements. In other words, the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise are the four phases in the Taiji-Eight Trigrams diagram!"
Suddenly, Quinn felt a flash of clarity. The four phases—each one containing the five elements—meant that different combinations of the five elements formed each phase!
This meant that with base-five calculations, you could work out the transformations of the four phases—providing a tool for five-to-four computations.
And for the Six Directions, you could use the four phases to determine east, south, west, and north, and yin-yang to set up and down—giving you the tools to calculate all Six Directions.
"Which means," Quinn thought, "I can soon calculate the exact location of my Six Directions Treasury wall!"
Quinn handed the Six Directions Numerology Canon back to Serena Yunxiang. He pressed his right palm onto his left, then slowly drew them apart. His yuanqi instantly formed a strange Taiji diagram in the air—yin and yang swirling, four phases emerging, each phase containing the five elements.
Enthusiastically, Quinn split his hands apart again. Layers upon layers of Taiji-Five Elements diagrams unfurled, each running its own set of calculations in perfect order, weaving together like clockwork.
Serena Yunxiang stared in amazement at the ever-changing patterns before him. She quickly asked, "How are you calculating that? It's different from Abbess Huifa's method! Let me copy it!"
Quinn kept calculating rapidly, mind split in two—one part running the computations, the other explaining his insight to Serena.
Serena’s eyes grew brighter and brighter. Gifted as she was, she quickly grasped the trick and praised, "This method is brilliant! The Canon’s approach is far too cumbersome—it takes a month or two to get results and is prone to errors. Your method can’t possibly go wrong, and you’ll get the answer in at most an hour or two!"
Quinn laughed, "Taiji, four phases, five elements, Six Directions, and Eight Trigrams—all these are computational tools, meant for calculation."
Now, looking back at the Grand Mystery Numerology Canon, Quinn found all its former difficulties melting away—his mind felt clear and refreshed. Still, he mused, a single scripture alone wasn’t enough to fully master teleportation divine arts.
Abbess Huifa continued lecturing inside the hall as time passed. Finally, Quinn pinpointed the location of his own Six Directions Treasury—it lay at a specific point in his lower dantian, rooted between heaven and earth.
The lower dantian, also called the Royal Courtyard in Daoist terms, is where the Six Directions Treasury resides. The middle dantian is the heart chamber, known as the Crimson Palace; the upper dantian is at the brow, called the Spirit Platform by Daoists and Fangcun Mountain by Buddhists.
Quinn confirmed the position of his Crimson Palace, then gathered all his yuanqi and rammed it against the Six Directions Wall he’d calculated.
Quinn’s cultivation base was already exceptionally deep, far surpassing his peers. This time, he gathered all his yuanqi in one surge and rammed it against the Six Directions Wall—the barrier within his lower dantian. Instantly, cracks spread across the wall, like a spiderweb.
Inside his body, a sound like ocean waves roaring echoed. Quinn surged his yuanqi for a second strike; the roar grew louder, like furious waves crashing against the shore, each impact fiercer than the last.
With a thunderous crash, the Six Directions Wall suddenly split open, revealing a gaping breach.
Quinn continued driving his yuanqi against the broken wall, widening the gap further.
Inside the Six Directions Hall, Abbess Huifa and the scholars all heard the sound of yuanqi battering within Quinn’s body and looked on in shock.
"Academy Fellow!" Abbess Huifa exclaimed, rushing outside.
Abbess Huifa hurried out, warning, "If you haven’t calculated the exact position of the Six Directions Wall, breaking it recklessly could be fatal!"
She had barely finished speaking when a deafening boom erupted from within Quinn, as if heaven and earth were splitting apart. His cultivation soared instantly!
The Six Directions Wall was broken!
The Six Directions Treasury was opened! (Note: The Six Directions Treasury is the new spiritual reservoir unlocked after breaking the wall, vital for cultivation advancement.)
At that exact moment, another thunderous roar erupted inside the hall—Ben Coates had also successfully opened his Six Directions Treasury. But right now, all attention was drawn to Quinn; no one noticed Ben’s breakthrough.
Ben Coates’s aura grew thicker and heavier. His gaze flashed as he rose from his seat and looked toward the entrance.
Abbess Huifa was stunned. She quickly said, "Academy Fellow, close all your Divine Treasuries, then reopen them in one push—let’s test your foundation!" (Note: Divine Treasuries are the spiritual reservoirs a cultivator opens at each stage.)
Quinn took a deep breath and closed his Spirit Embryo Treasury, Five Luminaries Treasury, and Six Directions Treasury. Then, with a low shout, he reopened them all at once. Three thunderous booms echoed from his brow, heart, and lower abdomen—the Spirit Platform, Crimson Palace, and Royal Courtyard—proving all three Treasuries were fully established. His aura surged violently.
"He really did open the Six Directions Treasury!" someone exclaimed.
Abbess Huifa gasped in amazement, then glanced at Serena Yunxiang beside her. Serena was also attempting to break through the Six Directions Wall, clearly having found its exact position with Quinn’s method.
She had sent these two whispering students out of the hall, yet in just a short time, both had pinpointed the Six Directions Wall, and one had already succeeded—becoming a Six Directions realm divine expert!
Abbess Huifa folded her hands and said, "Quinn Cult—Academy Fellow, you seem to have a secret method for locating the Six Directions Wall, much faster than the Canon. Would you be willing to share it?"
Quinn smiled, "Abbess, you’re too kind. I’m just a humble scholar, but I’d be happy to share my insights with everyone."
Abbess Huifa was delighted and invited him back into the hall. She announced to the scholars, "Today, Academy Fellow Quinn will lecture for you. Please pay attention!"
Quinn glanced toward the back of the hall at Ben Coates and said with a smile, "Prince Beyond-the-Frontier, you also broke through the Six Directions Wall and became a divine expert. Would you care to share your insights?"
Everyone turned to look. Ben Coates shook his head, "I’m just a barbarian from beyond the frontier—I wouldn’t dare show off. Cult Master Quinn, please go ahead."
Quinn narrowed his eyes, then explained his computational technique to the class. Abbess Huifa was both amazed and delighted, peppering him with questions and drawing out deeper nuances of his method. The scholars listened, some entranced, some struggling to keep up.
After a long session, Quinn finally finished his explanation. The scholars each tried to grasp the method for themselves, but only those with exceptional talent could truly master it.
"With your computational method, Academy Fellow, we could completely rewrite the Six Directions Numerology Canon!" Abbess Huifa exclaimed.
She smiled, "Would you be willing to be credited as co-author?"
Quinn replied solemnly, "If this benefits future generations, I’d be honored. But I want my name listed as ‘Cult Master Quinn Shepherd of the Cult of the Heavenly Saint.’"
Abbess Huifa’s face darkened. She silently calculated, ‘If my name is listed alongside the Heavenly Demon Cult Master, won’t people think I’m also part of the demonic path? But then again, being credited with the Heavenly Demon Cult Master might be a mark of honor. Poverty has its advantages—at least I’ll be gilded by association.’
Quinn looked at Ben Coates and said, "Prince, we both broke through at nearly the same time and reached the Six Directions realm together—this is a rare opportunity. Why not spar and see who’s stronger?"
Ben Coates shook his head, "Cult Master Quinn, you jest. I’m only here to study."
Quinn smiled, "Just here to study? Perfect. I have a knife technique said to be created by Heavenblade Butcher—would you like to learn it?" (Note: Heavenblade Butcher is a legendary swordsman whose techniques are feared and revered throughout the cultivation world.)
Ben Coates’s eyebrows rose, his gaze locking onto Quinn. In that instant, countless ghostly wails seemed to echo around Quinn’s ears—a chilling, supernatural sound.
— — — — Recommendation: For fans of science fantasy novels, check out the works of Qingmoshan, now adapted into film!