Chapter 30: The Jade Toad Gazing at the Moon

Hundreds of sect rules may seem complex, but they boil down to respecting teachers and protecting mortals. The most important part of the sect’s entry guidelines is a map of Kongshan Hanging Green, but most of it is restricted zones; only less than one-tenth is marked, and those are the areas new disciples may enter.

In the valley stood a kitchen and a Miscellaneous Affairs Hall, responsible for all disciples’ daily needs. Wei Yuan, exhausted from the day’s labor, was hungry—he ate heavily, and children his age were especially prone to hunger. But Wei Yuan was curious, so he picked up the bottle of Yinqi Pills.

The bottle opened, and at once a faint sweet fragrance filled the air. Wei Yuan poured out a milky-yellow pill the size of a fingertip, its surface marked with a pale green band. According to the sect’s guidelines, taking this Yinqi Pill would allow him to go three days without eating, needing only water. Moreover, the Yinqi Pill did more than suppress hunger—it enhanced bodily functions, giving a faint sense of qi fortune, though its effect was weaker than true qi fortune techniques.

Wei Yuan swallowed the Yinqi Pill in one gulp. Moments later, warmth rose in his abdomen, his hunger vanished entirely, and his mind grew clear, as if thoughts now moved like lightning.

At dusk, Zhang Sheng hurried over, and the master and disciple began their evening session.

For the past three years, after dinner came an hour of evening practice, mostly Zhang Sheng answering questions. But today was different—it was Wei Yuan’s first formal cultivation lesson.

The master and disciple sat in the cultivation chamber. Zhang Sheng lit a stick of incense; its faint aroma spread, and Wei Yuan immediately felt his mind turn faster, as if he had just woken from a deep, restful sleep, his thoughts lively and agile.

Zhang Sheng said: “People say immortals are blessed, but they don’t know the immortal path is long and perilous—many perish midway. Today, I’ll tell you about the ways of the immortals.”

“Since ancient times, the immortal path has never been singular. Over ten thousand years, successors have continuously innovated, creating countless paths. My Dao Palace alone has six routes to immortality and three thousand subtle gates. The Confucian and Buddhist paths are fewer, but not by much. The methods of miscellaneous schools are even more numerous—too many to count.”

“On the immortal path, major realms are divided into five: Body Casting, Dao Foundation, Law Form, Controlling Scenery, and Unification. Dao Foundation is called the beginning of immortality; Unification is the gate to true immortality. All sects agree on this. My Dao Palace holds that the body is a boat crossing the sea. To forge a Dao Foundation, one must first refine the mortal flesh into a Dao sprout, an immortal embryo—that is Body Casting. Within Body Casting, there are minor realms; each school divides them differently, but all revolve around flesh, blood, bone, and spirit.”

“When Body Casting is complete, it naturally resonates with heaven and earth, merging the immortal embryo with the cosmos to forge the Dao Foundation. This is the first true cornerstone on the immortal path—the real beginning of cultivation—hence called the Beginning of Immortality. Each cultivator’s method and fortune differ, so their immortal embryos vary. Add to that differences in timing, circumstance, and earth veins at the moment of forging the Dao Foundation, and the result becomes infinitely varied. No two are alike—even among fellow disciples, a difference of months in forging the Dao Foundation can yield entirely different foundations.”

“Speaking of Dao Foundations, I must add more. Officially recorded major types likely number eight hundred or more; even within the same type, subtle distinctions exist. For example, if the Dao Foundation is an ancient bell, whether it is purple or crimson, metallic or fiery, makes a difference. Whether it bears bird-insect patterns or mountain-river motifs changes its efficacy. Methods have superiority and inferiority; Dao Foundations have strength and weakness. Over centuries, ancestors classified common Dao Foundations into three tiers: Heaven, Earth, and Human.”

“Human-tier Dao Foundations are the most ordinary and numerous. Examples include mundane objects like tables, chairs, bowls, and pots; the most basic Five Elements; ordinary birds and beasts. Though weak, Human-tier Dao Foundations are diverse—some rare ones have peculiar uses in specific situations, so they cannot be dismissed as weak. But common Dao Foundations are classified as Human-tier largely because the chance of forming a Law Form is negligible.”

“Earth-tier Dao Foundations are far rarer. They are classified as such either because they greatly increase the chance of forming a Law Form or because they possess special functions. For example, weapons among objects are mostly Earth-tier. Such Dao Foundations may not guarantee Law Form formation, but they often grant exceptional combat power, hence their classification. Likewise, if the Five Elements evolve from raw elemental energy into spirit beasts of their respective natures, they become Earth-tier. Yin-Yang Dao Foundations are exceedingly rare; once formed, their power is immense, so even the initial Yin and Yang energies are classified as Earth-tier.”

“Above Earth-tier lies Heaven-tier. Heaven-tier Dao Foundations are exceedingly rare—each is a potential Law Form True Person, and every sect treats them with utmost importance. Examples include state ritual vessels and sacrificial artifacts tied to the fate of humanity, obtainable only by those blessed with great fortune. Also, the Five Element divine beasts, Yin-Yang anomalous forms, and divine demons of miscellaneous schools.”

After speaking so much, Zhang Sheng paused briefly, letting Wei Yuan absorb it all.

At this moment, Wei Yuan’s mind was perfectly eidetic—what ordinary children needed weeks to memorize, he now retained after a single reading. Zhang Sheng’s lengthy exposition was all stored in his mind. Half of this was due to Wei Yuan’s innate intelligence; the other half came from the Yinqi Pill, the courtyard, and the sect’s formation.

Wei Yuan recalled Zhang Sheng’s words and asked curiously: “Master, what is your Dao Foundation?”

Zhang Sheng smiled: “When I entered the sect and paid homage, the Ancestor favored me and bestowed two sword qi. During Body Casting, I gained further insight—so my Dao Foundation is three immortal swords. Normally, one immortal sword qualifies as Heaven-tier. Mine is unusual, so it falls outside all tiers.”

Wei Yuan understood at once: beyond Heaven-tier, there was a transcendent rank—and Zhang Sheng was transcendent. His master’s humility remained as consistent as ever.

After explaining Dao Foundations, Zhang Sheng did not continue, since the later realms were still far off. He began the formal transmission of the method.

Zhang Sheng taught the lineage of his own Tianqing Hall’s Xuan Yue Zhenjun. But Xuan Yue Zhenjun, as head of both Tianqing Hall and Shuiyue Hall, had actually cultivated both lineages, primarily the Tianqing Hall’s Qianqing Zhengfa Yushi Jing, with the Shuiyue Hall’s Yuehua Wanxiang Taiyin Pian as auxiliary.

In the cultivation world, Body Casting methods are the most numerous; many small sects possess only one method barely sufficient to forge a Dao Foundation—and that single method is enough for them to establish a sect. Most wandering cultivators cannot even forge a Dao Foundation.

The Tai Chu Palace has countless paths, and its Body Casting methods are as numerous as stars. But after generations of revision by its ancestors, pruning the weak and refining the essential, they have been compiled into six universal methods, tailored for disciples of different foundations and fortunes. These six universal methods, in themselves, already surpass the ancient methods of each hall. Thus, all halls now use the universal methods to complete Body Casting, only returning to their own lineage methods when forging the Dao Foundation.

The halls of the Tai Chu Palace are not merely names—they have been adjusted to best suit the cultivation environment of each path. For example, Zhang Sheng’s primary method, Qianqing Zhengfa Yushi Jing, increases the success rate of forming a Law Form in Tianqing Hall by a full two-tenths.

However, the same Qianqing Zhengfa was followed by Zhang Sheng’s master, True Person Fenhai, who took the Five Elements path and forged the Law Form of Heavenly Fire Boiling the Sea—an exceedingly rare paradox of water and fire clashing. The advantage: devastating combat power. True Person Fenhai constantly “debated” others using this boiling-sea technique. The drawback: the power was difficult to control; a misstep often resulted in excessive force, and many of True Person Fenhai’s past grudges stemmed from this.

The six universal Body Casting methods still differed in effect. Zhang Sheng had pondered long over which to give Wei Yuan. Originally, he considered Wei Yuan’s calm, steady nature and chose the solid, painstakingly slow Diyuan Jing. But at the moment of transmission, Zhang Sheng suddenly recalled the day of Wei Yuan’s birth, his heart trembled, and he decided to teach the Yuchan Wangyue Tu instead.

Among the six universal methods, the Yuchan Wangyue Tu is most tightly linked to fortune—it can draw partial fortune into the foundation to complete it. But fortune is unpredictable, yielding either good or bad results; cultivation is far less stable than with the Diyuan Jing. Disciples who primarily cultivate the Yuchan Wangyue Tu usually bear strong positive fortune, like Li Zhi. But Wei Yuan’s fortune comes from beyond heaven—even Zhang Sheng could not discern its nature. Choosing this method was somewhat risky.

(End of Chapter)