Three Xuan Scripture

After reading the letter, Liu Xiaolou sighed. "That bastard really doesn't want to deal with me."

Dai Shenggao laughed. "From what I can see, he wants you to go over and conduct some business. Whether you wish to go is up to you. Wei Hongqing said that if you are willing, you must arrive before the first day of next month. He will wait for you until then; after that, he will wait no longer."

Counting the days, there were only six days left until the first of next month. The spirit stones in his hands were also nearly used up, so time was still fairly ample. As for whether he could break through the Tianquan acupoint, that remained unknown.

"Thank you, Senior, for specially delivering the letter. This junior truly does not know how to repay you." Liu Xiaolou bowed in thanks.

Dai Shenggao waved his hand. "Delivering this letter was merely a matter of convenience. In truth, I have a favor to ask."

After hesitating for a moment, he said, "The Three Xuan Scripture passed down by your family... could you let me borrow it for a look?"

Seeing Liu Xiaolou's astonishment, Dai Shenggao hurriedly explained, "Actually, when your teacher was still alive, he once promised to exchange insights with me on the Dao arts recorded in this, ah, the Three Xuan Scripture. But at the time, my mind was occupied elsewhere, and so I missed the opportunity. After your teacher passed away, whenever I thought of it, I was always filled with regret. Often, when I awoke from dreams at midnight, I would vaguely see your teacher's bearing from afar, this..."

Seeing the old man's face redden as he stammered and stumbled over his words, Liu Xiaolou immediately understood. "Please wait a moment, Senior. This junior will fetch it."

Dai Shenggao had been his teacher's close friend for many years. In the past, he would visit several times every year, drinking themselves drunk with his teacher, or joining hands to descend the mountain. Who knew how many brushes with life and death they had endured together? The little things of his own sect were truly nothing worth concealing from him.

He immediately turned and entered the house. Beneath the bed, he pried up a floor tile and took a yellowed leather-bound volume from a pile of books. Three words were written on its cover—Yin Yang Scripture.

The Three Xuan Sect's inheritance consisted of three scriptures: the Xuanzhen Scripture, the Mili Scripture, and the Yin Yang Scripture.

The Xuanzhen Scripture was Liu Xiaolou's current primary cultivation method. The Mili Scripture contained the methods for refining and using Bewitching Incense. As for the Yin Yang Scripture, there was no need to say more.

He handed the Yin Yang Scripture to Dai Shenggao. Seeing that the old man's face was still red and his expression embarrassed, he helped smooth things over. "Senior, Yin Yang dual cultivation is the way of Heaven. Teacher often said that when one lived in this world, one must accord outwardly with Heaven and Earth and harmonize inwardly with yin and yang; only then was one on the true root of attaining the Dao. A woman without a husband is a resentful woman, and a man without a wife is a lonely husband..."

Dai Shenggao coughed twice, cutting him off. "Yes, yes, yes. What your teacher said is indeed sound reasoning. Ahem, I will not take it away. I'll just read it here, just have a look."

Liu Xiaolou smiled but said nothing. He did not disturb Dai Shenggao's reading either. Sitting to one side, he continued absorbing spirit stones and converting them into true essence to strike at the acupoint barrier.

He cultivated for an unknown number of hours. When he opened his eyes, night had already fallen. Then he heard Dai Shenggao muttering beside him, "A bright pearl cast into darkness? A bright pearl cast into darkness? What... does that mean?"

Liu Xiaolou promptly explained, "Senior, the bright pearl is not a real pearl, but one born from visualization. Visualize a gleaming golden pearl within your abdomen, connected to the Dao root beneath the navel, moving in and out. When it enters the root, it cannot be seen. This is called a bright pearl cast into darkness."

Dai Shenggao slapped his forehead. "So that's it, so that's it." Sitting cross-legged, he pondered its meaning. Unconsciously, he began moving back and forth on the terrace. The terrace was built from bamboo and wood, and he soon shook it until it creaked and groaned, yet he remained completely unaware.

Liu Xiaolou found it amusing but did not speak to interrupt him. Instead, he rose and went down from the terrace to light a fire and cook by the stove.

A colorful pheasant lay atop the woodpile, its neck broken. Big White Goose had probably just caught it and even hollowed out its entrails. Liu Xiaolou plucked its feathers, rubbed it with sauce, skewered it on a branch, and set it beside the stove to roast.

Once the water in the pot boiled, he cut up bamboo fungus, wild vegetables, wild gourds, and the like, then stewed them together.

More than half an hour later, the meal was ready: one pot of soup and one fat chicken.

Smelling the fragrance, Big White Goose darted out from the forest, startling Dai Shenggao, who had still been unconsciously rocking back and forth. Dai Shenggao seemed to wake from a great dream and laughed. "My belly is utterly empty. This method truly is remarkable."

The two men and one goose sat around and ate. Dai Shenggao spoke of strange tales and curious anecdotes from the Cultivation World, and also sought answers to several difficult points in the Yin Yang Scripture. The meal was exceptionally lively.

Three days passed in this manner. Dai Shenggao set down the scripture and sighed. "The Dao within is boundless in its profundity. One must not read too much of it, or one will become immersed and be unable to pull free."

Liu Xiaolou asked, "Senior is not going to read any further?"

Dai Shenggao said, "Three days' work has taught me enough. Moreover, this Dao cannot be pursued merely by burying one's head in the meaning of the scripture. One must... ah... gain experience..."

Liu Xiaolou advised, "When Teacher was alive, he often went to Headline Alley in Wu Chao Town to gain experience. Teacher once said that Sister Qing at the alley entrance had never studied this scripture, yet she comprehended it without a teacher. In their exchanges, they complemented each other perfectly, and it was quite wondrous."

Dai Shenggao rejoiced. "That would be splendid. Ahem, Xiaolou, then I shall go down the mountain and no longer disturb you."

After Dai Shenggao departed, Liu Xiaolou also reached a critical moment in his cultivation. As the last spirit stone was completely exhausted, the Tianquan acupoint barrier finally cracked open. True essence surged in, gathering and accumulating within the Tianquan Essence Pool.

The second acupoint had finally fallen!

Counting on his fingers, there were still three days left until the first day of November, the date Wei Hongqing had agreed upon. It was time to set out.

These past few days, he had also been considering whether to keep the appointment. After thinking it over and over, he still felt he ought to make the trip. It was not for that old ginseng root, nor solely for that possible "business deal." The key was that it was Wei Hongqing's invitation. No matter what, Wei Hongqing was his only friend. Other than him, no one was willing to swindle him...

Big White Goose stood before the wooden door, craning its neck as it watched Liu Xiaolou off, honking loudly.

Liu Xiaolou stroked the feathers atop its head. "Guard the home well. When you see something good outside, don't just bring it back without a care for anything else. You have to know who you're dealing with, understand?"

Early winter was approaching, and the water level of the Wu Chao River had fallen considerably. When he poled the bamboo raft down the mountain, many stretches were quite difficult. By the time he finally joined the lower reaches, the moon had climbed above the treetops. Drifting downstream through the night, he traveled a hundred and fifty li before landing at a river bend where the Wu Chao River turned south.

Tianmen Market was still seventy or eighty li away, and he needed to cross Wuling Mountain. He had heard that Wuling Mountain was steep and perilous, its cliff faces sheer, nothing like the gentle rises and falls of Wulong Mountain. Not only was it filled with venomous insects and savage beasts, but bandits also haunted it.

Yet the mountain stretched north to south. If he went around it, he would need to travel nearly two hundred extra li, which was far too troublesome. Liu Xiaolou's cultivation had recently advanced with fierce momentum, and he reckoned there should be no great problem. After briefly regulating his breath at the foot of the mountain, he paid no heed to the still-dark sky. High spirits surging within him, he began climbing by night.

This was his first time entering Wuling Mountain. He had just crossed a small hill when a deep ravine appeared before him. The ravine was over twenty zhang deep. Under the moonlight, its waters shimmered with rippling gleams and did not appear very deep. He could see no end to it on either side; if he went around, who knew how far he would have to detour?

The hill opposite was only around ten zhang away. The nearest old pine, growing sideways from that hilltop, slanted down toward his side, and was probably less than ten zhang away. Yet this small distance was impossible for Liu Xiaolou, at the Qi Refining third layer, to cross. He could only stare and sigh.

Even if Teacher were still alive, he probably could not cross, right? He wondered whether, after Foundation Establishment, one could leap across in a single bound.

He looked around. Not a single tree grew as tall as ten zhang, so building a bridge was truly inconvenient.

The most convenient method was to go straight down and straight up.