Chapter 181: Becoming an Inner Sect Disciple

Wei Yuning almost thought that Xuan Miaozi had become senile in his old age; wasn't he just fine a moment ago!

But when he saw Xuan Miaozi's expression suddenly turn a bit serious, he had to answer again: "Because cultivators don't buy it!"

Xuan Miaozi shook his head and said, "What I mean is, why would you think of selling a mechanical puppet to a mortal?"

Wei Yuning finally understood, thought for a moment and said, "Is this… even needed? Mortals live hard lives; we human cultivators all came from mortals, isn't it right to help them?"

Xuan Miaozi laughed heartily, "Cultivators with a spiritual root and mortals without one differ in status; the Dao is indifferent, we are not even of the same world. That a cultivator can still remember old friends and acquaintances is already rare, yet you still think of helping ordinary mortals with no connection. Just having that thought puts you beyond 99% of cultivators!"

Wei Yuning felt a surge of joy, realizing that the venerable Xuan Miaozi was praising him.

"But why do you bother with these useless trivialities? Do you still have time to cultivate? Don't you want to vie for the Dao's pinnacle?" Xuan Miaozi's expression changed again, his face full of mockery.

"...", Wei Yuning was dumbfounded; the face‑changing was too fast!

Seeing Wei Yuning stare blankly again, Xuan Miaozi burst into another hearty laugh.

Wei Yuning was speechless again, thinking, "This Xuan Miaozi must be a lunatic! So jumpy, teasing a junior like me—what's the point?"

"Qing Mo, do you know how many kinds of Dao exist in the cultivation world?" Xuan Miaozi suddenly asked.

If Xuan Miaozi weren't an elder, Wei Yuning would have wanted to spit at him for asking such common knowledge, but he dared not and answered honestly, "Senior, the Dao scriptures say: there are three thousand Daos, 'three thousand' being a generic term, so the Dao is countless!"

Xuan Miaozi shook his head, "No, the Dao comes in only three types!"

"Three types?" Wei Yuning was stunned again; this was novel. "Which three?" he couldn't help asking.

"The Dao of Sentiment, the Dao of Impartiality, and the Dao of Forgetfulness!" Xuan Miaozi declared.

"What is the Dao of Forgetfulness?" Wei Yuning had heard the term 'forgetfulness' but didn't grasp its meaning.

"Forgetfulness is neither Sentiment nor Impartiality; it discards selfishness and follows great love, goes wherever the nature leads, yet does not cling to form!" Xuan Miaozi explained.

"What does that have to do with me?" Wei Yuning wondered. He couldn't even distinguish the Dao of Sentiment from that of Impartiality, let alone this foggy Dao of Forgetfulness.

"Every cultivator's Dao is essentially raw, unless a great upheaval occurs can it change, but such cases are extremely rare. If I'm not mistaken, you are a raw Dao of Forgetfulness! All the suffering cultivators know this, yet few are willing to help unknown mortals; the sect's idle laborers all have superiors overseeing them, but only you are willing to solve their livelihood problems; the companions of the Azure Luan Sect are the same—so long as you sincerely help them! Qing Mo, you are destined to walk the Dao of Forgetfulness!" Xuan Miaozi said solemnly.

"So… is the Dao of Forgetfulness good or bad?" Wei Yuning knew he wasn't as noble as Xuan Miaozi; he was just taking advantage of the opportunity to do a bit of work.

"This… has no good or bad; Sentiment is Dao, Impartiality is Dao, Forgetfulness is naturally Dao as well! However, the Dao of Forgetfulness has a particular trait: its practitioners are not cold and heartless, they are also trustworthy people!" Xuan Miaozi smiled, a hint of mystery in his expression.

"Senior, rest assured, I am certainly a trustworthy person!" He didn't even believe his own words, but since Elder Xuan Miaozi thought so, to not acknowledge it would be going against him.

"Very good! By the order of our Taiyu Sect Head, I have come to assess the matter of the alchemy disciple Qing Mo joining the inner sect. I have now reached a conclusion and approve Qing Mo to become a Cloud Veil Sect inner disciple. From now on, the sect and you are one, and we will spare no effort to help you vie for the Dao's pinnacle!" Xuan Miaozi said suddenly with a solemn face.

"What? Inner Sect disciple?" Wei Yuning was truly stunned this time.

Countless disciples risk their lives on outer‑realm battlefields to earn a place in the inner sect. He, meanwhile, stays in the perfectly safe sect grounds, does nothing special, and even when he solves the laborers' chores it's only to earn a little extra money. To become an inner disciple so abruptly—how could the disciples fighting on the outer battlefields possibly feel about that?

"Exactly, you are now an inner disciple of the Cloud Veil Sect. The benefits of being an inner disciple are unimaginable; no cultivator could refuse them. You'll see in time!" Xuan Miaozi laughed.

"Then thank you, senior!" Wei Yuning said.

"No need to thank me; you earned it. There's another matter: you want to create a mechanical puppet, so you must have considered using a Heart of Steel, right?" Xuan Miaozi didn't wait for Wei Yuning's nod, continuing, "Actually it's not that complicated; I have a solution. Moreover, Hearts of Steel are scarce, unsuitable for your workshop, and a bit wasteful!"

"Something to replace the Heart of Steel?" The Heart of Steel is a spirit‑conscious entity; even a low‑grade one has extremely simple functions, yet it is intelligent, which is no small feat. In the spirit‑beast world, Wei Yuning had only seen Mei Xuan's "Plum Blossom Numerology Sphere" which is similar, so he was curious about what Xuan Miaozi meant could substitute the Heart of Steel.

"Exactly! Qing Mo, have you ever seen my 'Golden House'?" Xuan Miaozi asked with a smile.

Wei Yuning couldn't help laughing, nodding, "I have; the senior's Golden House is quite special!"

Xuan Miaozi smiled faintly, eyes nostalgic, "I used to be a scholar, preferring quiet study. In books there is a Golden House, and scholars know it. I dislike warriors and cultivators; they only love fighting and killing, neglecting proper pursuits.

Until one day, a herd of migrating beasts descended on the village, slaughtering my parents, siblings, and all the villagers. My master, Tong Xiu, happened to pass by and rescued me. From that moment I realized that if I didn't become strong, peaceful study would be a luxury.

You see, I'm strong now and have time to study again, in a room identical to my old study, and it's made of gold—hahaha!

Although it recounts a tragic tale, Xuan Miaozi's eyes show neither sorrow nor joy.

"After cultivation, I came to believe that characters can also become part of the Dao. Later I succeeded; my Dao is the written word. My Dao of writing splits into two: 'Form Text' and 'Intent Text'. The Golden House stems from the three characters of the Form Text 'Golden House', the only Form Text I can endow with attributes; other Form Texts have only intrinsic properties, like the character 'bird'.

At this point, Xuan Miaozi suddenly drew a large brush from behind, swiftly wrote the character "bird" in the air before him, "Squeak!" a pure‑black bird materialized out of thin air, just as it tried to soar upward it was touched by Xuan Miaozi's brush and instantly turned into a blob of ink, which was drawn into the brush tip and vanished.