On an unnamed island in the South Sea, Cheng Yue sat in the great hall, comprehending the ten Divine Abilities within the Daoist Canon.
Somehow, he sensed that someone seemed to be thinking about him.
When he came back to his senses, he looked around and even performed a divination.
Through the divination, he saw only an old Daoist sitting on a cushion and saying something.
"Was that old Daoist the one who woke me up?"
"So weak—he's even weaker than me. Looks like he's another insignificant creature of the Primordial World, just like me."
"Forget it. I won't fuss over it. I've finished reading the ten Divine Abilities anyway."
Yet precisely because he had finished reading them, Cheng Yue felt somewhat helpless.
The ten Divine Abilities recorded in the Daoist Canon were neither especially powerful nor particularly weak.
Back when he read novels, he had never seen Divine Abilities like these.
For example, the Divine Ability called Knowing Other Minds stated: Having attained the ability to know the minds of others, one could know the minds of all living beings in three thousand Great Thousand Worlds without distinction, as though they were one world. Even across hundreds of billions of nayutas of worlds, one could clearly discern and understand the minds of all living beings.
But put plainly, it was mind reading—though it differed somewhat from ordinary mind reading.
The description sounded incredibly impressive, but to put it simply, it was telepathy.
Cheng Yue looked at the great hall before him, then turned to look toward the side hall.
"Didn't I just take in a disciple? I'll give it a try and see whether I can hear her."
After saying that, he felt that doing so was wrong. Casually peering into someone else's thoughts seemed rather unethical.
"To hell with unethical. She's my disciple, so it should be fine if I listen a little. If this is for my disciple's healthy growth, then I'm truly a good master!"
After saying that, his ears twitched slightly.
Cheng Yue felt as though all the other noisy sounds between heaven and earth had vanished.
Gradually, he still failed to hear his disciple's voice.
Instead, he heard a pile of messy, chaotic voices.
[What kind of house is this? Who built it?]
[No idea. It feels strange, but it was probably built by some Great Power.]
[Is someone planning to establish a cultivation site here?]
[Most likely.]
[Great! If they choose this place as their cultivation site, will that Great Power preach the Dao?]
[Preach the Dao, preach the Dao!]
[Take form, take form!]
Countless similar words flooded into his ears.
Cheng Yue hurriedly withdrew the Divine Ability.
Then, feeling somewhat helpless, he sighed. After thinking it over, he finally understood.
He had simply failed to control it properly just now.
It was his first time using the Divine Ability, and he was unfamiliar with it. Such things were perfectly normal.
Still, those inner voices made Cheng Yue think deeply.
Although the island was unclaimed land, the moment he arrived, he had cut down trees and built the great hall.
That had surely inconvenienced many ordinary beasts on the island, including beasts that had gained intelligence and begun cultivating.
Thus, he had formed a small karmic bond with them.
Thinking of this, he could not help but say,
"Very well. I shall preach the Dao to the living beings on this island."
After saying that, he slowly walked out of the palace, stood at its entrance, and began to speak.
"Today, I establish a cultivation site here. Three days from now, I shall preach the Dao here. All those with affinity may come and listen."
After saying that, he waved his hand.
Countless mountain vines, branches, grass, and leaves flew out, transforming into Cushions that landed on the ground before the great hall.
There seemed to be only a few hundred of them.
That number corresponded to the number of living beings on the island.
The moment he arrived, his divine sense had already determined roughly how many living beings were here.
The number of Cushions could not be wrong.
Nuwa, who was still cultivating in the side hall, seemed to hear his voice and abruptly opened her eyes.
"Master is going to preach the Dao!"
After saying that, she rose to her feet and ran outside.
Seeing Cheng Yue walking in from outside, Nuwa hurried over with light steps.
"Master, you're going to preach the Dao?"
Cheng Yue nodded helplessly.
"We have settled here, so we must have caused these living beings some inconvenience. My preaching is repayment for that karma."
Seeing how happy Nuwa looked, he was somewhat curious.
"Have you finished cultivating already? It has only been a few days, hasn't it?"
Nuwa explained with a smile.
"Since Master is going to preach the Dao, I was afraid of missing it, so of course I had to come out of seclusion."
"Besides, Master, this cultivation method of yours is so powerful. In just a few days, I already feel like my cultivation is about to break through."
Hearing that, Cheng Yue glanced at Nuwa.
Yet he could not help but complain inwardly.
Powerful, my ass. It can only cultivate one to the realm of Grand Unity Immortal. How can that be considered powerful?
If it were truly powerful, it would lead directly to the Primordial Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm, or even beyond Hunyuan.
Look at other people after they transmigrated—they casually reached the Heavenly Dao realm or the Great Dao realm.
They casually pinned the Heavenly Dao and Great Dao to the ground and rubbed them raw.
Why was he so miserable? After transmigrating, he had only brought along this piece of trash.
He did not even have a system, and he could only cultivate to the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm, barely enough to protect his life.
Most importantly, he was not even a Grand Unity Immortal yet. He could not even protect his own life.
Though he had countless complaints in his heart, he could not show them before his disciple.
However, his ears twitched lightly, and he heard something.
[Master is so strong! Master is only a Golden Immortal, yet he's so formidable.]
Hearing that, Cheng Yue could not help lifting his head with a smile, his eyes full of confidence.
[Master could probably beat up the Three Pure Ones and grind those two three-legged crows into the dirt!]
[Right, maybe he could even pin the Three Ancestors to the ground and rub them raw!]
Cheng Yue froze instantly. When he looked at Nuwa, his gaze was full of speechlessness.
Yet inwardly, he slowly said,
[No, I can't. You're thinking too highly of me. I'm only a Golden Immortal, while they're Grand Unity Golden Immortals. I can't beat them!]
[As my disciple, why do you think about fighting and killing all day? Can't you just cultivate properly?]
[And behave yourself. Don't go outside and casually provoke trouble.]
At that moment, Cheng Yue felt that taking this disciple had been somewhat hasty. There seemed to be something wrong with her.
Could this disciple be returned?
Nuwa was shocked as well. Her master's voice suddenly appearing in her mind gave her quite a fright.
When she looked up at Cheng Yue, she suddenly recalled the Divine Ability recorded in the Daoist Canon.
Her face reddened slightly as she said with some anger,
"Master, how can you do this? How can you casually pry into other people's hearts?"
Cheng Yue curled his lip.
"If I didn't listen, I'd be afraid that one day you'd go out and provoke some other powerful expert. I'm just giving you a warning in advance. Don't worry, your master can't listen all the time—only a little!"
Nuwa puffed up her cheeks, somewhat angry.
"What kind of rotten Divine Ability is this? It casually peeks into other people's inner thoughts. This kind of Divine Ability should be sealed away immediately, and the person who created it should have their soul scattered and destroyed. How shameless."
Cheng Yue sighed, but in the end, he still said,
"Fine. Your master will not use it again in the future, all right? But you must also remember that cultivators must not become entangled in too much karma. It is harmful to cultivation, and you must not casually provoke others."
Nuwa rolled her eyes. After nodding, she said,
"Hmph. I wouldn't know whether you used it or not. I'm ignoring you."
After saying that, she ran toward her side hall.
Thinking about it, Cheng Yue agreed. It was best to use this telepathy less in the future. Peering into others' hearts truly was not good.
But he could listen secretly without telling them.
Perfect!
Before you continue