Chapter 20: 20. Chapter Twenty

20. Chapter Twenty

Dao Integration.

A topic that no cultivator can bypass.

When attending the Enlightenment class at the Classroom, Li Ke had once spoken briefly about it, and later, when Luo Li was disrupting the class, she had also mentioned it in passing; therefore, although Atian was still far from the point of needing to consider the issue of Dao Integration, she was not entirely ignorant of it.

The ultimate goal of a cultivator's practice is to attain a lifespan equal to that of heaven and earth and to shine as brightly as the sun and moon, and Dao Integration is the final means for them to achieve this goal.

In the understanding of the secular world, becoming an immortal is the ultimate success, but for cultivators, even becoming an immortal is still limited by lifespan; Ascension is merely the end of the first stage, and the next stage is to seek Dao Integration.

Dao Integration, Dao Integration—what one integrates with is the Heavenly Dao; by walking one's own path to the extreme and fully comprehending the ultimate principles of heaven and earth, one can become one with the Great Dao, thereby achieving true immortality.

However, cultivation has never been an easy task; the path always grows narrower as one walks it, and even with the Three Thousand Great Daos, there are very few who can reach the end of any given path, and there can only be one who finally achieves Dao Integration.

Of course, it is not easy for anyone to reach this step, and furthermore, since their character has been cultivated to the extreme, at that time they would likely sit down and properly discuss the Dao, debate to determine a first place, let that person try first, and if they fail, have the others follow; this is not to be mentioned in the same breath as the life-and-death struggles of Dao Lineages.

In fact, the greatest possibility is that when you reach the step of Dao Integration, you discover that someone has already occupied the position, and you can only aggrievedly step back and wait for the next opportunity.

In the cultivation world, most people stop at the first stage; only after the hurdle of Ascension filters out a large number of competitors will the fortunate cultivators who have undergone a rebirth begin to consider the problem of Dao Integration, but even for them, Dao Integration is too ethereal—it is more like an unattainable goal that motivates everyone's ambition.

Having just stepped into the cultivation world with one foot, Atian naturally could not judge Bai Xinli's current cultivation level; Sword Cultivators are different from Dharma Cultivators, as there are no clear rank boundaries after Foundation Establishment, but just from the fact that Bai Xinli was still sitting in front of her, although this young man who had just turned twenty was indeed very formidable, he was still far from the realm of Ascension.

Therefore, it was very strange that Bai Xinli would know he had forty-eight fellow travelers and would also be targeted for assassination. Could it be that all forty-eight of these people were convinced they could successfully ascend and cultivate to the end, so they had inquired in advance about who else was like them, just to eliminate their competitors? In Atian's view, this could no longer be described as "having confidence"; it was simply baffling self-assurance, purely a screw loose in the head.

However, the path Bai Xinli walked was inherently very special; there are always some things in this world that cannot be measured by common sense, and this matter could only become, like the "Tianxing Sect disciple who assassinated Zhao Kuo," a mystery that could not be solved at the current stage.

For Atian, thinking about such problems as Dao Integration was truly too advanced; she hadn't even found her own Dao yet, and besides, there was now a more important problem urgently needing to be solved—her personal appearance.

Bai Tian had been fighting at the bottom of the sinkhole for three days and three nights; even without looking in a mirror, she could imagine how disheveled she looked now and how unpleasant the smell of blood, sweat, and monster pus mixed on her body was, yet Bai Xinli was sitting in front of her without changing his expression, even leaning in to help her wipe her face—one really had to admire his cultivation of character.

Atian hesitated again and again, but still swallowed the "Hero!" that had reached her throat; as a qualified young lady of a prominent family, being seen in such a state by her fiancé was truly too distressing—she wanted to "whimper" out of courtesy, but she could not ruin her ladylike image.

"Um... Senior Brother," she said stammeringly, "how long until we reach that Qingtan Assembly?"

"About another half a day's journey," Bai Xinli replied after wiping her face clean.

"Then... can I freshen up?" Atian asked this question with great trepidation; they were currently at an altitude of ten thousand miles, and they couldn't delay the journey just because she wanted to change clothes, plus she had been squeezed in by Luo Li at the last minute, and she had nothing but a Sword on her person, making it impossible to even tidy up simply.

Bai Xinli frowned upon hearing this, though what he was thinking was different from Atian. Having also been raised in the Beihai Sword Sect, Bai Xinli's life spells were no worse than Zhao Kuo's; he could have cast a few Dust-Clearing Spells on Atian, but the problem was that the dress she was wearing had become tattered, and without the cover of mud and bloodstains, there was a real risk of exposure.

Admittedly, on the road, she could wear his outer robe, but once they arrived at the Qingtan Assembly, this would inevitably invite criticism and gossip.

The best method was to borrow a set of clean clothes for her, but whether it was him, his master, or Junior Uncle Li Ke, they were all grown men—where would they have a dress for a girl to wear?

Bai Xinli frowned and pondered for a moment, and he actually thought of someone.

"Let's go ask Junior Sister Liu," he said.

The Junior Sister Liu he spoke of was none other than Liu Yan, one of the three great female disciples of the Beihai Sword Sect; this woman stayed in the Sword Scripture Pavilion of the Beihai Sword Sect year-round, which was why Atian had only heard her name but never seen her until now—she hadn't expected Duan Xuan to have brought her along this time.

Once Bai Xinli said this, Atian clearly felt the Wuo Sword beneath her speed up; it was evident that it had deliberately slowed down before to accommodate her while she was asleep.

As the number one among the young disciples of the Beihai Sword Sect, if Bai Xinli wanted to catch up to someone, it really was just a matter of the blink of an eye; while Atian was hiding herself in the outer robe, they were already riding side-by-side with a wooden sword, and sitting on the wooden sword was a woman also dressed in moon-white attire—it was the legendary Liu Yan.

"Senior Brother, is something the matter?" Her voice was as gentle as water.

"Junior Sister Liu," Bai Xinli nodded, "I have a small matter here that I would like to trouble you with."

Atian hid behind Bai Xinli, curiously poking her head out to observe Liu Yan; excluding herself, there were four female Sword Cultivators in the Beihai Sword Sect, and she had already seen Su Ying and Luo Li among them—these two could be said to each have their own style, but Liu Yan was very different from them—she wore a married woman's bun.

The moon-white sect dress combined with the high-coiled bun, paired with a gentle demeanor—this was likely the first female cultivator Atian had seen who could be associated with "gentleness," although she had only seen two others before.

The moment Liu Yan saw Atian, she understood the reason Bai Xinli had broken precedent to seek her out; she gave him a teasing look and beckoned to Atian, "Junior Sister, look at how careless you've been; come quickly to Senior Sister here."

Atian subconsciously glanced at Bai Xinli, and seeing that he did not object but instead moved the Wuo Sword closer to the wooden sword, she boldly stood up draped in the outer robe; just as she walked to the edge of the two swords preparing to jump, she saw the Wuo Sword slightly increase its height, steadily maintaining itself just a bit above the wooden sword, allowing her to step onto the wooden sword as easily as walking down a step.

Having moved to the wooden sword with such composure, Atian turned her head to thank him, only to see the Wuo Sword slow down slightly, trailing behind the wooden sword at a distance neither too near nor too far, while Bai Xinli himself untied his hair ribbon and used it to blindfold his eyes.

Atian felt from the bottom of her heart that Lady Bai should embroider a silk banner for Senior Sister Su Ying; just as she was considering whether to find an opportunity to write a letter home to suggest this, her attention was drawn away by Liu Yan.

"Speaking of which, this is the first time I've met Junior Sister," she said with a smile, "I stay in the Sword Scripture Pavilion year-round and didn't even know such a lovable Junior Sister had joined the sect; Senior Sister's surname is Liu, with the given name Yan, and I am responsible for guarding the Sword Scripture Pavilion. If you ever have the opportunity to enter the pavilion in the future, you must come find me for a chat."

In the Beihai Sword Sect, the Sword Scripture Pavilion is a very special place; it preserves the swords left behind by generations of ascended disciples, upon which their respective Sword Intent is condensed, specifically for later disciples to contemplate—it can be said to be the most important and most valuable place in the Beihai Sword Sect.

And Liu Yan was the gatekeeper of the Sword Scripture Pavilion personally appointed by Sect Master Duan Xuan; the formidable nature of her strength is evident.

Simply and neatly casting a few Dust-Clearing Spells on Atian to remove the filth, Liu Yan pulled a dress from somewhere, "I happen to have a spare set of clothes here; I see that Junior Sister is of a similar build to me, so it should fit perfectly."

Atian took the clothes and placed her hand on her chest, hesitating for a moment—was she really going to undress without any cover? If Lady Bai knew, she would definitely cry!

Seeing her hesitation, Liu Yan smiled slightly, took the dress, and hugged Atian all at once; after the latter opened her eyes in surprise, she gently let her go, and then Atian was astonished to find that the dress in Liu Yan's hand had turned into a tattered mess, while she herself was wearing a brand-new set of clothes.

"A very useful little spell," Liu Yan winked at her, "I used it often when I used to change clothes for my son."

"Son?" Atian was truly surprised this time.

"Yes, I was chosen when I was sending my son to participate in the Ascension Assembly," Liu Yan straightened her collar for her, "but he ended up unable to become a Sword Cultivator and had to be sent to the Taixuan Sect; thinking about it now, he should be about the same age as Senior Brother."

"The boundary between Dharma Cultivators and Sword Cultivators is too distinct, and I haven't seen him for some years; if only I could see him at the Qingtan Assembly."

Although Liu Yan said this, in her heart she had no expectations for a mother-son reunion—not because she lacked confidence in her son, but because the Beihai Sword Sect's participation in the Qingtan Assembly was not well-intentioned at all.

The Qingtan Assembly, the premier event of the cultivation world, where various sects set aside disputes and conflicts to sit together, analyzing and questioning the Great Dao of heaven and earth, debating repeatedly, casting aside the prejudices brought by sectarianism and Dao Lineages, and letting go of past grievances and grudges; even if they would be at each other's throats the moment they left the venue, they still had to coexist peacefully at the Qingtan Assembly.

However, although it is called the premier event of the cultivation world, it would actually be more accurate to add "Dharma Cultivator" as a modifier, because due to the rift between Dao Lineages, Sword Cultivators and Dharma Cultivators sitting together to discuss insights is no different from suicidal mutual harm, and Dharma Cultivator sects blossom everywhere on the continent, while Sword Cultivators, due to the strict requirements for aptitude, have only the Beihai Sword Sect standing alone; who is being ostracized is clear at a glance.

Therefore, the Beihai Sword Sect appearing at the Qingtan Assembly has always meant only one thing—they are there to wreck the place.

Based on this guiding principle, when the Beihai Sword Sect selects participants, the first thing they consider is combat power.

Thus, the weapon of mass destruction Li Ke was given the opportunity to go out and get some air, Bai Xinli was dragged out of the Stone Chamber, Liu Yan, who never left the Sword Scripture Pavilion in ten thousand years, was kicked out, and even Atian, who had just struggled to crawl up from the Martial Arts Arena, was gloriously added to the list.

"Grandmaster Brother isn't trying to wreck the place; he's clearly trying to get them killed," Tan Tianming said before their departure with the tone of "I have already seen through everything."

He was right; Duan Xuan indeed wanted them to go and have a good death.