Wielding his sword like a brush, and his energy like ink, the Old Daoist painted the Fish-Dragon's form and demeanor on the canvas of the void, the creature seeming so vivid and detailed that it appeared alive. Moreover, the Fish-Dragon was not static, it was alive! It seemed to have its own spirit, swimming and changing in the void.
Yu Ci was truly astounded by this exquisite swordsmanship.
Seeing his reaction, Yu Zhou chuckled, "This Art of Thousand Illusions Sword Qi is but a minor technique. If you become obsessed with such things, there's no need for you to continue pursuing the Dao!"
His tone was gentle, but his words were heavy. Yu Ci felt a chill in his heart, and he respectfully responded, "Please enlighten me, Temple Master."
"I have nothing to enlighten you with, only to show you some facts. Take our Lichen Sect, the White Sun Mansion, the Thousands Spirits Sect, the countless Herb Gatherers of Sky Rift Valley, and of course, those demons and monsters. All these forces, who among them has deviated from the principles of Taoist Evolution? You can think about it, but there's no need for an answer right now. The ancients called it the Tao Worm, and the true meaning lies therein."
Although he was asked to think, Yu Zhou did not give Yu Ci time to ponder. He personally filled a cup of wine for him, and with a smile, he asked, "You are not swayed by external objects, only seeking the path to immortality. Regardless of whether this idea is good or bad, I just want to ask you, how do you plan on achieving immortality?"
Yu Ci blurted out, "By thinking about it day and night."
Yu Zhou stroked his beard and asked, "And after thinking about it day and night?"
"Put it into practice."
"And if it doesn't work?"
"Seek it!"
"From where?"
Yu Ci thought for a moment, then said, "Naturally, I would seek it from the Temple Master."
Yu Zhou burst into laughter, "If I had attained immortality, how could I be sitting here, waiting for death? Are you asking a blind man about the Dao?"
Yu Ci remained silent, feeling that although the Old Daoist's laughter was hearty, there was an underlying bitterness. It seemed he was reminded of some sorrowful memories, and this made Yu Ci feel guilty.
After the Old Daoist stopped laughing, he suddenly asked, "Do you know how difficult it is to achieve immortality?"
Reflecting on his own experiences, Yu Ci answered honestly, "I know a bit."
Pointing at him, the Old Daoist's face became even more obscure behind the sword energy-transformed Fish-Dragon, "The difficulty of immortality is etched in my heart!"
"Years ago, my wife and I traversed countless mountains and rivers, searching for immortality and the Dao. We never backed down despite numerous hardships, only seeking immortality and priding ourselves on our unyielding hearts. After meeting our master, both of us became disciples of the Lichen Sect and obtained the Method of Longevity. We thought we had the Immortal Path at our feet. However, 300 years have passed in a flash. The Immortal Path stretches endlessly before us, and only then did we realize that all the hardships we faced were nothing compared to the real Thunderbolt Tribulation. It was as if we were pouring a cup of water onto the ground, thinking it was a puddle. It was both laughable and pitiful."
For the first time in three hundred years, Old Daoist personally confirmed his age. For Yu Ci, a man not even thirty, imagining a lifespan ten times his own was a daunting task. Thus, he could only remain silent.
However, as he gazed upon Old Daoist's deeply lined face, he inexplicably thought of Purple Thunder and Red Yin, his two former "masters". In his youth, he never understood why they, already Golden Elixir cultivators ruling over vast territories and blessed with eternal youth, were so desperate to use human lives to fill the abyss of their desire for immortality. A few years prior, he thought he had understood—it was a sense of urgency. But now, he had gained a deeper insight:
It was fear, wasn't it? Three hundred years had passed, yet they had made no progress on the path to immortality, helplessly watching their own lives come to an end. This was an experience Yu Ci never wanted to endure!
Old Daoist, however, was indifferent to his thoughts. Having cultivated his energy for over three hundred years, any internal conflict he might have had wouldn't last long. He laughed and said:
"For three hundred years, I've cultivated to the peak of the Golden Elixir stage, yet I've made no further progress. While this frustrates me, I also understand the difficulty of achieving immortality. It doesn't lie in the transmission of methods, but in what comes after. Unfortunately, out of every ten seekers of the Dao, most cannot even pass the stage of method transmission. It's truly a pity. Therefore, these years, I've used my position as the head of the Still Heart Temple to help others and recruit disciples for the Sect. It's not just about you. Besides, I'm only giving you an opportunity. Whether you can succeed depends on your own efforts and fate!"
The word "fate" was said with a hint of melancholy, as if filled with endless regret. But that was not something Yu Ci could delve into.
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He only understood what he should do. Therefore, he stood up and solemnly bowed to Old Daoist, "I understand your painstaking efforts, Temple Master."
At this moment, his form of address naturally changed. Yu Zhou was very satisfied, but didn't want to be too serious with him. He raised his cup and laughed, "I've set up a ladder for you. Now that you've climbed it and truly embarked on the path to immortality, you should be prepared for the hardships and dangers that are different from the past!"
Yu Ci also raised his cup, downing another cup of warm wine, and responded solemnly, "I fully understand."
His words were heavy, carrying a profound meaning. Since leaving the Twin Immortal Sect, Yu Ci had been drifting aimlessly, like a rootless duckweed. Now, he had reestablished his foundation, and his heart was filled with emotion that couldn't be summed up in a few words.
After he sat down again and filled his cup, he drained it in one gulp, the warm sensation of the wine spreading throughout his body. The same seat now felt entirely different to him. Some things that couldn't be said before could now be voiced:
"Temple Master, you just said that if I don't seek immortality from you, where should I go?"
Yu Zhou smirked, "In my current state, how am I to teach you immortality? What I've told you before was not my own capability. It was the successful methods of our predecessors within the Sect's Mountain Gate that I've found and relayed to you. At this point, you are but an Outer Disciple, merely imitating others. When the right opportunity arises, you must seek the True Solution of Immortality from the Immortal Elders. That is the righteous path."
Upon hearing this, Yu Ci felt a pang of discomfort. It wasn't that the Old Daoist's words were unpleasant, but rather, the underlying sense of melancholy in his tone was too heavy. Moreover, he vaguely felt that the Old Daoist's words were less straightforward than before, as if there were some suppressed emotions lurking beneath.
Regardless, Yu Zhou, after a few cups of wine, was in high spirits: "Let's talk about this Tao Worm. Among the countless cultivators in the world, only a few attain immortality. Isn't it like this Fish-Dragon Lineage, from Shrimp Whisker Grass, Fish Dragon Grass, to Fish-Dragon, a process of rigorous selection, until one achieves the Dao?"
After a brief pause, Yu Ci suddenly said, "Temple Master."
"Hmm?"
"Isn't this exactly the Tao Worm you spoke of? I am not a hypocrite. I've committed acts of killing and harm. I'm not afraid of your ridicule, Temple Master. I've drawn my sword and killed over trivial disagreements, ten or eight people, without much remorse. But if my pursuit of immortality requires me to regard my fellow beings as mere grass, harvesting Primordial Qi and stealing vitality for my own gain, I cannot do such a thing."
As he spoke, he thought of Purple Thunder and Red Yin, his two "former masters", both Golden Elixir cultivators whom he still looked up to. Weren't they just like the Old Daoist said, harming their own kind to pave their road to immortality?
As a victim, Yu Ci had no intention of emulating them. At least, not at the moment!
Yu Zhou laughed, "You don't need to declare your stance to me. You're oversimplifying the path to immortality. Have you read the 'Yin Talisman Book'?"
Yu Ci shook his head honestly.
Yu Zhou chuckled and pointed at him, "You should pay more attention to these lessons in the future. There's a saying in this scripture: 'Heaven and earth are the thieves of all; all things are the thieves of man; man is the thief of all things.' What do you think this means?"
Yu Ci shook his head again.
The Old Daoist didn't explain directly. Instead, he patted the stone box beside him and said, "A Fish-Dragon is worth two thousand five hundred merits. What do you think of this merit exchange method of the Sect?"
This time, Yu Ci did not shake his head. Instead, he frowned and said, "It reeks of mercantile spirit."
After a pause, he felt somewhat embarrassed but still voiced his thoughts, "It's not quite how I imagined a Cultivation Sect to be."
The old Daoist clapped his hands and laughed, "Young man, your words are indeed splendid. It's a pity, however, that the path to immortality is beyond imagination, and can only be pursued through practice. The difficulty of achieving immortality cannot be fully understood without practical experience, can it?
"Know that immortality is the most elusive thing, yet the quest for it is the most realistic. With your current cultivation level, if you only think about subsisting on wind and dew, purifying your body and abstaining from grains, you will starve to death. After all, you can't avoid the necessities of life like oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. Look at those in our Sect's Mountain Gate who Ride the Rainbow and Travel in the Void, the senior immortal teachers who roam the Great Void. They all started from the most basic level, gradually mastering the ability to Manipulate Artifacts to Hover, then Vacuum Walking, step by step until they reached their current realm.
"Even though they have reached their current realm and have detached themselves from the mundane necessities, their disciples and grand-disciples still have to go through the same process. There is no such thing as a master passing on his method and the disciple achieving immortality immediately. Do you think what the old Daoist is saying is just a bunch of clichés?"
Yu Ci, a male character, was dumbfounded. Before he could argue, the old Daoist laughed and said, "The matter of imagination and practice is even more complicated. The Merit Points Board, for example, has its own profound implications. Now there's a simpler question, no need to imagine, just answer me: Do the Shrimp Whisker Grass and Fish Dragon Grass trade with each other?"
Yu Ci could only shake his head again.
"That's it. The Fish-Dragon Lineage steals the life force of their own kind to nourish themselves through sensory communication. This is their only way to grow, but for us, the ways to absorb nourishment are much more advanced and complex.
"Why do you have to take someone else's life? Can't you just take their Spiritual Pill or magical artifact? Wouldn't it be better to exchange with each other? Isn't that what the Sect's merit exchange is all about?
"In a broader sense, any kind of interaction between people is an opportunity to gain nourishment. Some people get more, some get less. Some people know what they need and aim to get it, while others are confused and waste opportunities.
"For example, if a person encounters a beautiful woman dressed in silk and adorned with jewels, who also carries several cultivation scriptures, the lustful would naturally want to take the woman home; the greedy would want her jewels, which is understandable; and those of us who cultivate would, as a matter of course, take her scriptures. But if one is also greedy and lustful, even forgetting the scriptures completely, what does immortality have to do with such a person?"
Yu Ci laughed at this, but the old Daoist did not.
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Brother Fishbone is in class, everyone, please don't disturb him. Also, I've been feeling the importance of bookmarking more and more lately. Are there brothers and sisters who only read books and are too lazy to bookmark? Move your fingers and put "Inquiry the Mirror" on your bookshelf!
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I have also posted the following more chapters [All free] on: https://www.readgates.com/article/74a39e