Chapter 30

The hundreds of sect rules seem complex, but they are nothing more than respecting teachers and the Dao, and protecting mortals. The most important thing in the sect guide is a map of the Empty Mountain Hanging Green, but most of this map consists of restricted areas; only less than one-tenth of the places are marked, which are the areas new disciples are allowed to go.

In the valley, there is a dining hall and a miscellaneous affairs hall, responsible for all the daily needs of the disciples. Little Wei Yuan had been working hard all day and was a bit hungry; he had a large appetite, and a child of this age is just at the time when they cannot endure hunger. However, Little Wei Yuan was curious, so he picked up the bottle of Qi-Drinking Pills.

The pill bottle was opened, and a faint, sweet fragrance immediately rushed to his nose. Little Wei Yuan poured out a milky-yellow pill the size of a fingertip from the bottle, which also had a pale cyan waistline on its surface. According to the sect guide, after taking this Qi-Drinking Pill, one does not need to eat for three days, only needing to drink some clear water. At the same time, the Qi-Drinking Pill is not just as simple as stopping hunger; it also enhances physical functions, feeling quite a bit like the art of Qi-fortune, only the enhancement effect is not as strong as the art of Qi-fortune.

Little Wei Yuan tilted his head and swallowed the Qi-Drinking Pill. A moment later, a warmth rose in his abdomen, the hunger in his belly was swept away, and his mind also became much clearer, feeling quite like his thoughts were as fast as lightning.

In the evening, Zhang Sheng hurried over, and the master and disciple began their evening lesson.

Over the past three years, every day after dinner was an hour of evening lessons, mainly for Zhang Sheng to answer questions and resolve doubts, but today was different; this was Little Wei Yuan's first formal lesson in cultivation.

The master and disciple sat down in the cultivation room, and Zhang Sheng lit a stick of incense. A faint fragrance immediately permeated the air, and Little Wei Yuan suddenly felt his mind running much faster, as if he had just had a good sleep, his thoughts exceptionally lively and agile.

Zhang Sheng said, "The world only says that being an immortal is good, but they do not know that the path to immortality is long, and how many people fall halfway. Today, I will tell you about the affairs of the immortal family."

"Since ancient times, there has been more than one path to immortality. Over ten thousand years, later generations have constantly introduced the new, and there are many paths. My Dao Palace alone has six paths to immortality and three thousand gates of wonders. The Confucian and Buddhist paths are fewer in number, but not by much. The methods of the various miscellaneous schools are even more numerous, countless."

"On the path to immortality, the major realms can be divided into five: Body Forging, Dao Foundation, Dharma Form, Imperial Scenery, and Return to Oneness. Dao Foundation is also known as the beginning of ascending to immortality, while Return to Oneness is the gate to a true immortal. This is the same for every school and sect. My Dao Palace believes that the body is a boat for crossing the sea; if one wants to cultivate a Dao Foundation, one must first forge the mortal flesh into a Dao sprout immortal embryo, which is Body Forging. There are several minor realms within Body Forging, and each school divides them differently, but they are nothing more than four types: flesh, blood, bone, and spirit."

"After Body Forging is completed, it will naturally trigger resonance with heaven and earth, causing the immortal embryo to merge with heaven and earth, forging the Dao Foundation. This is the first cornerstone laid on the path to immortality and the beginning of true cultivation, so it is called the beginning of ascending to immortality. Everyone's cultivation method is different, and their Qi-fortune is different, so their own immortal embryos are also different. Added to this, the timing, trends, and earth veins when forging the Dao Foundation are also different, so the Dao Foundation forged this way is ever-changing. It can be said that everyone is different; even fellow disciples, even if the forging of the Dao Foundation is a few months apart, may appear with completely different Dao Foundations."

"Speaking of Dao Foundations, I must say a few more words. There are probably eight hundred if not a thousand officially recorded major categories of Dao Foundations, and even within the same category, there are subtle distinctions. For example, if the Dao Foundation is an ancient bell, whether it is purple or red, belongs to metal or fire, all are different. Whether the bell has bird-insect patterns or mountain-river patterns, the efficacy is also different. Methods have their superior and inferior, and Dao Foundations naturally have their strengths and weaknesses. Over thousands of years, predecessors have classified common Dao Foundations into three ranks: heaven, earth, and human."

"Human-rank Dao Foundations are the most common and also the most numerous. For example, ordinary objects of the vessel category, such as tables, chairs, benches, pots, bowls, basins; the most basic five-element Qi among the five elements, ordinary birds and beasts of the living creature category, etc. Although human-rank Dao Foundations are not strong, there are many types, and some rare Dao Foundations have miraculous uses in certain situations, so one cannot say they are not strong. However, a very important reason why common Dao Foundations are classified as human-rank is that the hope of cultivating into a Dharma Form is slim."

"Earth-rank Dao Foundations are much rarer. Either the chance of cultivating into a Dharma Form is greatly increased, or they have special functions, so they are classified into this category. For example, various weapons in the vessel category basically belong to the earth-rank. The possibility of this kind of Dao Foundation cultivating into a Dharma Form is not necessarily high, but they often have outstanding combat power, so they are also classified as earth-rank. For another example, the five-element Dao Foundation, if it transforms from the original five-element Qi into spirit beasts of various attributes, that is earth-rank. Yin-yang Dao Foundations are very rare, and after being cultivated, they are extremely powerful, so the initial yin-yang two Qi are earth-rank."

"Above the earth-rank is the heaven-rank. Heaven-rank Dao Foundations are very rare, and each one is a potential Dharma Form True Person, which any sect will value extremely highly. For example, vessels of the state and society in the vessel category, sacrificial ritual vessels, are all related to the great fortune of the human race, and cannot be obtained by those without Qi-fortune. For another example, five-element divine beasts, yin-yang strange phenomena, various Dao gods and demons in the miscellaneous schools, etc."

Having said so much in one breath, Zhang Sheng paused for a moment, waiting for Little Wei Yuan to digest it himself.

Little Wei Yuan's state at this time was completely photographic; books that mortal children would need a month to memorize, he could now remember firmly after reading them once. Zhang Sheng spoke so eloquently, and Little Wei Yuan remembered it all in his heart. Half of this was due to Little Wei Yuan's own intelligence, and the other half was the joint credit of the Qi-Drinking Pill, the small courtyard, and the sect array.

Little Wei Yuan recalled Zhang Sheng's words just now and asked curiously, "What is Master's Dao Foundation?"

Zhang Sheng smiled and said, "When I was initiated and paid respects, I was favored by the founder and was granted two sword Qi. During Body Forging, I had my own insights, so the Dao Foundation I cultivated is three immortal swords. Under normal circumstances, one immortal sword can enter the heaven-rank. My Dao Foundation is not quite the same as a normal one, so it is not ranked."

Little Wei Yuan understood as soon as he heard it; that meant above the heaven-rank, there is still a supreme-rank, and Zhang Sheng is a supreme-rank. His master's level of humility is as always.

After finishing the Dao Foundation, because the following few realms were still very far away from Little Wei Yuan, Zhang Sheng did not talk about them anymore and began to formally teach the method.

What Zhang Sheng taught was naturally the orthodoxy of Fenhai Zhenjun Xuanyue of his own Heavenly Green Hall. It is just that Fenhai Zhenjun Xuanyue holds the positions of Hall Master of both the Heavenly Green Hall and the Water Moon Hall, actually cultivating two major orthodoxies, with the "Qingqing Orthodox Method Imperial Time Scripture" of the Heavenly Green Hall as the main, and the "Moon Brilliance Myriad Phenomena Taiyin Chapter" of the Water Moon Hall as the auxiliary.

The cultivation world has the most techniques for the Body Forging realm; many small sects only have one technique that can barely cultivate a Dao Foundation, and with this, they can establish a sect. Most of the loose cultivators wandering the rivers and lakes cannot even cultivate a Dao Foundation.

The Primordial Palace has many paths, and the techniques for the Body Forging realm are as numerous as the stars. However, after generations of revision by the predecessors of the Primordial Palace, removing the dross and selecting the essence, after thousands of hammerings, they have been compiled into six general techniques for disciples with different foundations and different Qi-fortune to use. These six general techniques, just in terms of themselves, have long surpassed the ancient methods of each hall. Therefore, now each hall uses general techniques to complete Body Forging, and only begins to return to the orthodoxy of each hall when it is time to forge the Dao Foundation.

The halls of the Primordial Palace are not just hall names; they have also been adjusted into the environment most suitable for cultivating this path. Just like the Qingqing Orthodox Method Imperial Time Scripture that Zhang Sheng mainly cultivates, the success rate of condensing the Dharma Form in the Heavenly Green Hall can be increased by a full twenty percent.

It is also the Qingqing Orthodox Method, but Zhang Sheng's master, True Person Fenhai, took the five-element path, cultivating the Dharma Form of Heavenly Fire Boiling the Sea, which is a rare strange phenomenon of water and fire restraining each other. The advantage is that the combat power is astonishing; True Person Fenhai often "theorizes" with people, relying on this hand of boiling the sea. The disadvantage is that the power is difficult to control, and if one is not careful, it is easy to strike too heavily. Many grievances that True Person Fenhai has formed in the past come from this.

There are still differences between the six general Body Forging techniques, and their effects are also different. Zhang Sheng had been thinking for a long time about which one to choose to forge Little Wei Yuan's body. Originally, he considered that Little Wei Yuan's temperament was calm and solemn, so he chose the "Local Scripture," which has a solid foundation and requires the most water-grinding effort in cultivation. But when it came time to teach, Zhang Sheng did not know why, but suddenly remembered the scene on the day Little Wei Yuan was born, his heart trembled, and he decided to change to teaching the "Jade Toad Gazing at the Moon Map."

Among the six general techniques, the "Jade Toad Gazing at the Moon Map" is most closely related to Qi-fortune, and can absorb part of the Qi-fortune to transform into the foundation, thereby completing the foundation. However, Qi-fortune is unpredictable, and the results can be good or bad, and the cultivation is far less stable than the "Local Scripture." Generally, disciples who mainly cultivate the "Jade Toad Gazing at the Moon Map" have positive great Qi-fortune, such as Li Zhi. However, Little Wei Yuan's Qi-fortune comes from outside the sky, and even Zhang Sheng cannot see whether it is good or bad, so choosing this technique is somewhat risky.

(End of chapter)