"Master, with a formidable enemy before you, if your disciple fled alone, I fear I could never hold my head up again."
"I have only just begun cultivating, and I have never witnessed the power of a Golden Core True Person."
"Just think of me as a newborn calf unafraid of tigers."
Tian Ming'an knelt on the ground, refusing to raise his head, his voice trembling faintly.
"Ha, what nonsense."
Jiang Sheng could not help laughing. "Don't tell me you're still clinging to some hope?"
"Such as your master inviting some expert to lend a hand?"
"I don't mind telling you: I am merely an inner disciple of Penglai, as ordinary as they come."
"Penglai has countless inner disciples. Deaths and injuries during journeys outside are commonplace. No one will come to help me, and no one will come to avenge me."
"Knowing that, do you still wish to stay and die?"
Tian Ming'an raised his head, his expression resolute. "I wish to stay."
Looking at Tian Ming'an's stubborn expression, Jiang Sheng merely tossed out a casual remark. "Then stay."
With that, Jiang Sheng swept his sleeve and released a stream of spiritual power.
The Flowing Light Jadewater Formation laid throughout the temple fully activated. A shimmering curtain of water rose to envelop the temple, cutting it off from the outside world.
"Take care of yourself. I am going into seclusion."
Jiang Sheng dismissed Tian Ming'an and sealed the doors of the temple's front hall. Afterward, not a sound emerged from within.
Tian Ming'an looked at the tightly shut front hall, pressed his lips together, and turned to enter the side hall.
From then on, Qingxuan Temple fell into utter silence, and outsiders could no longer discern anything within.
The first to discover that Qingxuan Temple could no longer be entered was Tian Guofu.
He had wanted to go up the mountain to see his grandson, only to find the entire temple obscured by a curtain of water that he could not approach at all.
Tian Guofu tried calling out, but even his voice seemed to be shut out.
With no other choice, Tian Guofu could only return.
When the Awakening of Insects arrived, Zhang Qing also came to the temple to seek an audience with Jiang Sheng, only to discover that she likewise could not approach it.
After returning to the county office, Zhang Qing told Zhang Qingyun the news and concluded that Jiang Sheng was cultivating in seclusion and did not wish to be disturbed.
Delighted, Zhang Qingyun issued a proclamation informing all the county's gentry, wealthy merchants, and commoners that Daoist Jiang had entered seclusion to cultivate, and unauthorized people were forbidden from approaching Qingping Mountain.
At first, some refused to believe it, thinking it was a trick of Zhang Qingyun's.
But after several groups of gentry went up the mountain and were indeed stopped outside the temple, everyone knew that Daoist Jiang truly had entered seclusion.
From then on, although people still came in twos and threes to offer incense or seek talismans, the curtain of water blocked them all, and they returned empty-handed.
Thus, within a few short months, Qingping Mountain gradually faded from people's memories.
Compared with the mysterious Daoist Jiang, whom they could never even see, the firewood, rice, oil, and salt of daily life were far more worthy of ordinary people's attention.
Rogue cultivators, meanwhile, were busy running about and risking their lives for spirit stones, pills, cultivation methods, and other resources. They had even less time to care about anyone else.
The names Qingxuan Temple and Daoist Jiang quietly faded from the sight of Dongjun's people.
Yet Jiang Sheng, inside Qingxuan Temple, found these days exceedingly comfortable.
Every day, he gathered the morning radiance at dawn and drew upon the moonlight at night, converting both into pure spiritual power within his body and improving his cultivation little by little.
His progress was visible with each passing day.
For ordinary rogue cultivators or members of small sects and minor aristocratic clans, whose root bone and comprehension were lacking and whose resources were scarce, going ten days, half a month, or even more than half a year without the slightest improvement was commonplace.
But for a cultivator like Jiang Sheng, who had established his foundation through the Heavenly Dao, the Dao foundation within him drew upon the spiritual power of heaven and earth at every moment.
Combined with the extraordinary nature of Penglai's Heaven Generates Water Scripture, Jiang Sheng's cultivation advanced rapidly.
In just three months, his strength rose another level.
June, the Summer Solstice.
After more than three months in seclusion, Jiang Sheng left the front hall for the first time.
During those three months, Jiang Sheng was not the only one who had gained a great deal. Tian Ming'an had also begun to find his footing in cultivation.
He was now a cultivator at the second layer of the qi refining realm.
When Jiang Sheng emerged, Tian Ming'an was delighted. "Master, you've come out of seclusion?!"
"Only to get a breath of fresh air, and to see how you're doing."
Jiang Sheng examined Tian Ming'an, then nodded. Tian Ming'an's comprehension was good. Reaching the second layer of the qi refining realm in three months without guidance was already an excellent achievement for a beginner.
"If anything in your cultivation is troubling you, speak up now. There is no telling when I will emerge next," Jiang Sheng said.
Hearing this, Tian Ming'an hurriedly voiced several questions he had encountered while cultivating the Azure Yuan Talisman Scripture.
Jiang Sheng himself had cultivated the Azure Yuan Talisman Scripture to the ninth layer of qi refinement before switching exclusively to the Heaven Generates Water Scripture, so his understanding of it was naturally profound.
Moreover, now that Jiang Sheng had reached the foundation establishment realm, his higher vantage point gave him an even deeper understanding of the Azure Yuan Talisman Scripture.
Thus, Jiang Sheng quickly answered Tian Ming'an's questions.
Jiang Sheng even released spiritual energy specifically to demonstrate the circulation of the cultivation method, and explained the two protective techniques contained within the Azure Yuan Talisman Scripture.
Tian Ming'an had clearly gained a great deal from Jiang Sheng's explanations.
This was precisely what was meant by a single sentence of true instruction outweighing ten thousand volumes of false teachings.
Progress with someone's guidance was completely different from blindly practicing alone.
Seeing that Tian Ming'an intended to cultivate according to his approach, Jiang Sheng added, "Ming'an, I am only in the foundation establishment realm, but some of my insights apply to you as well."
"Remember this: every cultivation method was compiled by its creator according to their own circumstances."
"If its creator could achieve a hundred percent of its effects, then outsiders like us might achieve only seventy or eighty percent, or even less."
"The Azure Yuan Talisman Scripture only became the balanced, harmonious method it is today, suitable for introducing all cultivators to cultivation, through continual revisions by generation after generation of the Dao Sect's true disciples."
"Even so, everyone's circumstances differ. Cultivation cannot be treated as one-size-fits-all."
"What I teach you is merely my personal understanding. You must not imitate me in everything. You need to incorporate something of your own."
"Do you understand?"
Tian Ming'an nodded thoughtfully. "I understand, Master."
Jiang Sheng nodded and raised his head, looking through the Flowing Light Jadewater Formation toward the mountains. Undulating peaks filled his vision, all lush green. "All things are growing and flourishing. What a fine season."
The following day, Jiang Sheng returned to the front hall to resume his seclusion.
After just one day of renewed life, Qingxuan Temple fell silent once more.
Jiang Sheng sat cross-legged before the ancestral master's portrait, quietly circulating his cultivation method and refining qi in meditation.
Whenever his cultivation reached noon, Jiang Sheng took an Essence-Gathering Pill. When evening came, he took a Nurturing Origin Pill.
Jiang Sheng took only these two pills each day, never greedily consuming more.
No matter how superior a pill was, pill toxins still existed.
In the great Shanhe World, no immortal pill had ever appeared that contained not a trace of toxins and whose medicinal effects could be absorbed and used in full.
Jiang Sheng understood well that he could not be insatiably greedy. Cultivation, too, had to advance at a measured pace.
Every month, Jiang Sheng even set aside time specifically to expel the pill toxins from his body, lest they affect his future core formation.
The sun and moon turned, summer rain giving way to autumn wind.
In the blink of an eye, late autumn arrived, and Qingxuan Temple had been absent from the sight of Qingshan County's people for well over half a year.
Zhang Qingyun had felt exceedingly comfortable during those months.
With Jiang Sheng no longer appearing, Zhang Qingyun felt as though the great mountain looming over his head had vanished. His entire body felt incomparably light.
Moreover, after more than half the county's deeply entrenched gentry had been purged, those who remained all knew who now had the final say in Qingshan County.
Every one of them bowed their heads and obeyed him, allowing Zhang Qingyun's administration to proceed smoothly.
In Qingshan County now, there were no gentry obstructing him, no river god at his side, and even Jiang Sheng had entered seclusion.
Zhang Qingyun had never felt better.
As the saying went, happy occasions lifted the spirits. After more than half a year of developments, the imperial court finally bestowed its rewards upon Zhang Qingyun.
The court's encouragement was secondary. What delighted Zhang Qingyun most was the place it had granted for cultivation at the Qing Province Dao Palace.
It was the place he had yearned to secure for his daughter.
Yet when Zhang Qingyun told Zhang Qing the news, she remained rather calm and did not seem particularly happy.
"Qing'er, this is the right to cultivate at the Qing Province Dao Palace. Aren't you happy?" Zhang Qingyun asked, puzzled.
Zhang Qing replied, "Father, naturally I am delighted that you secured such a rare opportunity for me."
"But Father, what cultivation level do the instructors who expound the Dao at the Qing Province Dao Palace possess?"
"The purple mansion realm. Is that not enough?" Zhang Qingyun asked in confusion.
Zhang Qing said, "The purple mansion realm is certainly not low. After all, the eight great aristocratic clans of Qing Province's eight commanderies are only at the purple mansion realm."
"But Father, above the Qing Province Dao Palace stand the three great sects of Qing Province."
"Compared with a Golden Core True Person, is the purple mansion realm still worth rejoicing over?"
As she spoke, Zhang Qing raised her head toward the blazing sun overhead. The autumn sunlight was still somewhat dazzling, forcing her to lift her fair hand to shield her eyes.
"Father, if I am to cultivate, then naturally I must learn from the best."
"Though I do not know how good my root bone or comprehension is, I can at least be considered intelligent."
"I have ambitions, too. Mother remained a qi refining realm cultivator all her life, worked to death at the Lineage's bidding. Even foundation establishment realm cultivators are merely ordinary elders within the Lineage."
"I wish to attain a golden core and see what scenery awaits in the realm of Golden Core True Persons."
Zhang Qingyun remained stunned for a long while before sighing wistfully. "In the end, I underestimated you."
The autumn wind sighed bleakly, and withered yellow leaves fell.
Late autumn seemed to turn into deepest winter in the blink of an eye.
A year's time seemed to have passed just like that.
Mortals sighed deeply: time flowed on, and suddenly it was late; their looks faded, no longer what they had been yesterday.
Time was incomparably precious to mortals and cultivators alike.
Even those in the mortal world whose riches rivaled a nation's could not buy time with their immense fortunes, while lifespan-extending pills in the cultivation world were all but impossible to obtain.
Yet mortals felt a hundred years was too long, while cultivators felt a single year was too short.
As a year passed just like that, and countless people sighed over how carefree or how dull it had been.
Jiang Sheng, within Qingxuan Temple, finally emerged from seclusion once more.
Deep winter, the twelfth lunar month, and another New Year.
Outside the mountain, fireworks filled the sky, firecrackers crackled, festive lanterns glowed, and joy abounded.
Within the mountain, all was tranquil and silent, the moonlight cold and clear, cut off from the world.
The Daoist stood in the courtyard, gazing at the bright moon in the late-night sky. Feeling the solid, unmistakable cultivation of the foundation establishment late stage within his body, Jiang Sheng remained composed, without the slightest delight.
"Only one year remains."
Today's second update is here, still three thousand characters~
Brothers, is Lin Yuan delivering or what?
Speaking of which, tomorrow's latest-chapter readership will determine whether Lin Yuan advances, and the future of this book.
Actually, Lin Yuan is very nervous, because Lin Yuan's reader retention has never been high.
Perhaps Lin Yuan's writing is bland and tasteless, or perhaps everyone is letting chapters accumulate.
But whatever the reason, gentlemen, please don't let chapters pile up tomorrow. Be sure to read all the way to the latest chapter.
Whether I advance depends on tomorrow. Gentlemen, I'm begging you m(o__)m (kowtow, kowtow)
(End of chapter)
Please take a moment to share this website on Facebook so we can keep it running.
Before you continue