"Fate?"
The first thing that Yu Ci thought of was the matter of the Outer Disciple, but judging by Bao Guang's attitude, it didn't seem to be the case.
Fortunately, the young Taoist didn't leave him in suspense, and directly said:
"Tomorrow, Elder Jie Liang and Master Jie Xian from the Sect's Mountain Gate will come to the temple to teach a class. The master said, although such courses do not directly point to the Great Dao, they do teach some practical miscellaneous studies. You are proficient in Talisman, and coincidentally, Master Jie Xian is also a master in this field. The master suggests that you might as well go and audit, perhaps you will gain some insights."
Yu Ci asked curiously, "Is this the Temple Master's intention?"
Seeing that Yu Ci still didn't quite understand the rationale, Bao Guang was anxious for him, "You don't know how rare this opportunity is. Master Jie Xian is one of the top three Masters of Symbolic Arts in the Sect. Among his peers, he is unparalleled, and he is well-versed in many fields. He usually practices in the Sect's Mountain Gate and has never taught in the temple. This time he came, it's only for disciples proficient in Talisman. I am not qualified to audit. You must not miss this opportunity."
"How could I miss it?"
Yu Ci was just thinking about other things: It was the first time in ten days that Yu Zhou had asked something of him, no matter what, this was a good sign.
He had no reason to refuse, so he agreed immediately.
The next morning, Yu Ci arrived at the Moral Hall in the courtyard of the Still Heart Temple. As Bao Guang had said, every once in a while, an Inner Disciple from the Lichen Sect would come here to teach and look for promising talents to take back to the Sect's Mountain Gate for training. Of course, the former happens year after year, month after month, but the latter is as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns, it might not happen even once in several decades.
As he entered the Moral Hall, there were already more than twenty meditation cushions neatly arranged on both sides. Most of them were occupied. Yu Ci took a brief look from outside the hall and then stepped in. However, he found the faces of two people inside somewhat familiar.
When he stepped in, he let out a "hmm", finally remembering.
He had indeed seen them before.
On the front left, two young men in brocade robes and jade belts, dressed in secular attire, were quite out of place among the Taoist group in the hall, glaringly conspicuous. Yet they occupied the best spots and seemed quite at ease, which made Yu Ci somewhat admire them.
Jin Chuan, Kuang Yan Qi.
These two rising stars nurtured by the White Sun Mansion, weren't they supposed to be training at the Mountain Gate of the Lichen Sect? It's only been a few months, has their training ended already?
Seeing these two, Yu Ci couldn't help but find it amusing. The last time they met, the relationship between him and the White Sun Mansion could only be described as discordant. But now, upon seeing them again, it had escalated to deep enmity.
Of course, he didn't mind that.
Yu Ci arrived late, missing out on the best seats. His entrance, however, was rather conspicuous, catching the eye of Kuang Yan Qi who was looking around haughtily. Their gazes met; Yu Ci curled up the corner of his mouth in a smile, causing Kuang Yan Qi to falter and elbow his companion, Jin Chuan. By the time Jin Chuan looked up, Yu Ci had already lowered his head to find a seat, disregarding the two completely.
The faces of the two young men darkened, but at that moment, the highly anticipated Sect Immortal Elder emerged from the side hall, immediately drawing everyone's attention. Yu Ci, having found a spot near the entrance, sat down cross-legged and also looked up to observe.
The one who emerged was a tall and thin Taoist. Yu Ci had heard Bao Guang mention the day before that this man was Elder Jie Liang, one of the top twenty experts of the Sect's Mountain Gate, who had entered the legendary Vacuum Walking Realm, capable of walking on air and disappearing into the void.
In truth, Yu Ci lacked a clear impression of Vacuum Walking Cultivators.
According to Ye Tu's theory, the Vacuum Walking Realm marked the beginning of "feather transformation," a stage where cultivators surpassed the Golden Elixir Level and could travel through the sky without relying on external objects. If cultivated deeply enough, they could even fly beyond the nine heavens, to the boundless "Outer Realm of the Nine Heavens," drawing in the purest "Essence of the Mysterious Truth" to temper their "True Form".
The so-called "True Form" was the foundation of a cultivator's immortal body. Once fully tempered, it could break free from the constraints of time and aging, remaining youthful forever, and even withstand the Tribulation of a thousand thunderbolts.
At this stage, the Divine Soul of a Vacuum Walking Cultivator would also transform from a "Yin Spirit" to a "Yang Spirit". However, Ye Tu's Sect didn't place much importance on this, so it was rarely discussed in detail.
At this point, Yu Ci's impression of Vacuum Walking Cultivators was limited to two aspects: disappearing into the void and the True Form technique, nothing more.
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Of course, the Ghost Beasts he had seen in the Sky Rift Valley and the two-headed, four-armed Demons seemed to be at the Vacuum Walking level as well. However, Demons and cultivators were fundamentally different, so there was little comparability.
At this moment, as he looked at Elder Jie Liang, the Immortal Elder, Yu Ci found it difficult to materialize his impressions. For a moment, he even considered activating the Divine Map to see what it would reveal.
To the naked eye, this Master Jie Xian fell far short of the Immortals of legend. His face was plain, and he seemed reticent, a man of few words and little laughter. While Yu Ci was not one to judge a book by its cover, he couldn't help but worry that given this man's disposition, his eloquence might be lacking. Even if he held a myriad of profound Daoist mysteries in his heart, he might struggle to articulate them.
With such thoughts in mind, Elder Jie Liang spoke, "Today, I will discuss the Talisman."
His voice was dry and almost monotonous, carrying a hint of a local accent. However, the authority of the elder sage silenced the hall, causing the breaths of those present to unconsciously become more delicate.
Little did they know that his next words would be, "Those who are unfamiliar with Talismans, and do not use more than five on a regular basis, should leave. There is no benefit in forcing oneself to stay."
Yu Ci was taken aback, and the expressions on Jin Chuan and Kuang Yan Qi's faces were similar. However, the others, whether they were Outer Disciples or Freelance Daoists, were very obedient. Immediately, seven or eight people stood up, paid their respects to Elder Jie Liang, and gradually left the hall, leaving it much emptier.
After some thought, Yu Ci simply stepped forward and found a nearby Meditation Cushion to sit on. Apart from Jin Chuan, who shot him a glance, no one seemed to mind.
Elder Jie Liang's brows were lowered, his expression cold. Once the hall had settled, he spoke again, his tone unchanged, "The Heart Method of Drawing Talismans, the most important things to remember are these three:
"A Talisman, a medium to communicate with the divine through the infusion of vital essence and the inscription of symbols.
"Only when the energy is pure and unique, can it become a Talisman.
"When the apertures connect and the Divine Light shines, the Talisman is complete."
Having listed the three points without any emotional fluctuation, Master Jie Xian paused, seemingly giving everyone time to ponder.
Yu Ci was captivated. These three points were not unfamiliar to him.
In the general outline of the "Shangqing Star Secret Talisman Book," these arguments were present, almost verbatim. However, no one had ever isolated these three points and arranged them in this order.
Even with Yu Ci's basic understanding, he could hear that these three points were arranged in a progressive relationship, making the original vague meaning clear. The first point was "what is a Talisman," the second was "the key to a Talisman," and the third was "how to draw a Talisman."
Understanding this, Yu Ci's thoughts began to diverge. The familiar and flowing sentences in the "Shangqing Star Secret Talisman Book" seemed to come alive, dancing before his eyes, but in reality, they were reorganized around those three points.
It was a fascinating process of textual and cognitive reorganization.
Indeed, for Yu Ci, the true value of those three "Talisman" points was not in the points themselves, but in the clear hierarchy they represented, and their concise, outline-based function.
With these three points, the nearly thousand words in the general outline of the "Shangqing Star Secret Talisman Book" were no longer obscure and ambiguous terms, but a series of wonderful texts that could be traced back to their original sources.
"What a great sage!"
Yu Ci's gaze at Elder Jie Liang had completely changed.
He strained his ears, endeavoring to commit every word of this man to memory. Now he was regretting not bringing a pen and paper along, for the saying was true - the faintest ink was better than the strongest memory. Who knew what important information he would lose after this whole day's course?
Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse. After uttering these three profound sentences, the situation clearly began to lean towards the worst-case scenario Yu Ci had previously imagined.
In the following time, Elder Jie Liang expanded on these three sentences in a rather unremarkable way. This was tolerable, but once he finished, he shifted his focus onto the topic of "communicating with the divine" and began discussing the discipline within the cultivation of Talismans!
Perhaps Immortal Leader Xie truly had profound knowledge. Everything he said made sense. Statements like "To connect with the divine through Talismans, one must have a reverent heart" were indeed worthy of deep thought. However, he clearly didn't understand what these Cultivators below him really wanted to know.
Or perhaps, he knew but chose not to say?
Regardless, an entire precious morning was spent this way.
During this time, all the Cultivators in the hall heard were sentences about purity of heart, avoidance of filth, and purification of spirit. There was no need for him to speak these words; even the simplest Talisman Book had them written clearly. Of course, Yu Ci always just read them without making a conscious effort to practice, but it didn't seem to affect his Talisman drawing.
At first, Yu Ci listened to a few sentences, but later he was constantly organizing the general outline of the "Shangqing Star Secret Talisman Book" in his mind. The two young men closest to Immortal Leader Xie, in order to present their best selves to the Immortal Elder, remained upright and serious, but there was a dull look in their eyes.
Just when Yu Ci was sighing at the prospect of spending the entire day like this, a sentence flowed into his ears:
"Heaven and earth, all things and human hearts, cannot be separated from the word 'principle'. This 'principle' is not legal, physical, or psychological, but a pure entity that discards all concrete forms and cuts off all decorations. Heaven and earth exist by principle, nature operates by principle, all things live by principle, and the human heart is purified by principle. All the disciplines I have spoken of are not restrictions or shackles on you, but standards closest to this pure principle. What I want is for you to move from imitation to proficiency, and finally to flawless discipline. The meaning of discipline is all here."
There was a hidden message in his words!
At first, Yu Ci thought Immortal Leader Xie was being sarcastic because his lecture wasn't going well. But upon further reflection, he found this passage quite intriguing. Especially the phrase "discard all concrete forms, cut off all decorations," it felt vaguely familiar. On second thought, wasn't this similar to the feelings he had when his Heart of the Lake overflowed and connected with the outside world yesterday?
His heart skipped a beat, and he blurted out, "Can the pure principle be obtained through Soul Sensing?"
As soon as these words were spoken, including Elder Jie Liang, all the Cultivators in the hall looked at him simultaneously. The gazes of Jin Chuan and Kuang Yan Qi in front of him were like looking at a madman.
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