Heavenly Radiance Dao Qi

Time flew by.

And so, a month passed.

During that time, Song Chengan had also become quite close with these monsters.

Unlike the ferocious, man-eating fiends he had imagined, these monsters were more like a group of devout seekers of the Dao.

Or rather, only First Boss Bai was truly a seeker of the Dao.

Yet he had kept this group of monsters in check.

"Is sir leaving?"

"Did you really hear that?"

"If he leaves, no one will tell This Old Bear stories about that scripture-fetching monk anymore."

Enraged bees swarmed around Black Bear, attacking him without pause, but his thick hide made him utterly unconcerned. He ate honey as he asked.

Beneath his crotch.

There was a large grey rat.

The rat ate as it answered.

"I heard it inside the house. This is already the third time this month."

"I think sir is lonely."

"Lonely?"

"What's that?"

Black Bear asked.

"It means being alone."

"You don't get it?" The rat rolled its eyes. "It means he can't stand staying here by himself."

Black Bear slapped his forehead. "This Old Bear gets it now. He needs a human woman. I have a way."

"Wait here."

With that, Black Bear sprinted madly down the mountain.

"Ow, I..."

Grey Squirrel fled with its head in its paws.

Once Black Bear left, all the bees came after it.

"Is sir truly leaving?"

Inside First Boss Bai's house.

Song Chengan nodded. "First Boss Bai, I have been away from home for more than a month."

"I miss home somewhat."

It was not really a matter of whether he missed home. Staying on this Mount Luo, where monsters were everywhere, was simply far too dangerous. Who knew when he might get eaten?

First Boss Bai sighed. "We are, after all, fur-chewing, blood-drinking beasts. Asking sir to teach us truly tarnishes the learning of the sages."

"After listening to sir's teachings this month, I have benefited greatly, and my cultivation has improved considerably."

"If there were not matters I had no choice but to attend to, I would even wish to follow sir and serve as a humble attendant before his saddle and horse. That would surely be a Great Dao leading straight to the heavens."

"I have seen human scholars as well, but none possessed learning equal to sir's. One day, sir will certainly become an existence like a sage."

Song Chengan's mouth twitched.

Me, become a sage? I'm only showing off the learning of sages from my previous life.

"Boss Bai overpraises me."

"Though Boss Bai is a monster, he is devoted to goodness."

"Not only does he cultivate the righteous path himself, he also restrains the mountain spirits from harming human lives."

"This journey is righteous, this heart bright. If you persist, you will surely attain righteous fruition."

"Truly?"

Boss Bai rose to his feet in excitement.

"Truly."

Probably?

Song Chengan was merely saying polite things.

What did he know about any Great Dao? He had just been talking nonsense off the cuff.

Boss Bai sat back down.

"What a pity."

Song Chengan did not know what he found so regrettable.

"Boss Bai, might you permit me to return home?"

Boss Bai smiled. "Sir is a human, not a prisoner of Mount Luo. If sir wishes to leave, he may do so at any time."

Joy rose in Song Chengan's heart at those words.

It was only because he had seen over these days that Boss Bai was kindhearted that he had dared repeatedly ask to return home.

"However, I have an unreasonable request."

"Please speak, Boss Bai."

As long as he could leave, anything was negotiable.

"Could sir come to Mount Luo once every month and teach the monsters here?"

"This..." Song Chengan hesitated.

Although the monsters of Mount Luo had not seemed like vicious fiends after this month of living together, he did not dare take such a risk.

What if one day these monsters became unhappy and ate him?

Could monsters truly change their habit of eating people?

"Rest assured, sir. We will not harm you."

"After all that sir has seen and heard this month, do you still think we are a pack of man-eating fiends?" Seeing Song Chengan's worries, Boss Bai said.

It seemed that if he did not agree, he would not be able to leave.

He would take things one step at a time.

"Since Boss Bai has put it that way, it would be rather ungrateful of me to keep refusing."

"Then I'll come once every month?"

"Have someone notify me each month, and I'll come over once a month."

"Then many thanks, sir. Please wait a moment."

With that, Boss Bai turned and went into the inner room.

Before long, he came back out carrying a Tao Guan.

"Some days ago, I went down the mountain and traded the Spiritual Fruits and ginseng from the mountain for some copper coins. Consider it payment for sir's work this month."

"I know you humans all like this."

"Then many thanks, Boss Bai!"

Song Chengan did not stand on ceremony.

"Oh, right, Boss Bai."

"May humans cultivate?"

"Cultivate?"

"Yes."

Song Chengan asked tentatively.

He had asked the monsters about cultivation before, but unfortunately, what Boss Bai had taught them was the art of breathing in and out the moon's essence.

Song Chengan could not learn it.

He was human, not a monster.

But from the monsters, he had learned one fact.

All the monsters of Mount Luo had been taught by Boss Bai.

Thus, he wanted to know whether Boss Bai possessed any methods suitable for human cultivation.

"I do not have many cultivation methods in my possession."

"However, I do have one suitable for humans."

"I simply do not know whether you can practice it."

Song Chengan was overjoyed.

Cultivation methods were possessed only by the Five Great Families of Lingqiu City and a handful of other forces.

Their requirements for teaching them were extremely harsh. One often had to marry into their family, join their gang, or become a household slave. It was basically impossible to learn one.

Beyond that, there was Xuanqing Temple.

But Xuanqing Temple not only demanded extremely high aptitude from its disciples, it also required a large offering of incense money and that one shave one's head and become a monk.

In short, they were exceedingly difficult to obtain.

Boss Bai took a book from his robes.

"Back then, I obtained this from a Daoist for a human."

"But that human is gone, and the Daoist is gone as well."

"It is useless for me to keep it now, so I shall give it to sir."

Song Chengan took it and looked.

Heavenly Radiance Dao Qi!

"This book can cultivate a Lower Second Grade True Qi. It also contains a Spirit Invocation spell. Legend says that if cultivated to profound heights, it can summon immortals and gods."

"However, I am a monster and cannot cultivate methods suited to humans. You can only figure out this method yourself."

"Thank you, Boss Bai!"

Song Chengan impatiently opened the book.

"The heavens vast and boundless, radiant clouds in ten thousand streams."

"Dining on rosy clouds and drinking dew, asking the Dao and seeking Longevity."

"A thousand autumns, ten thousand years..."

Heavenly Radiance Dao Qi!

Song Chengan's vision shifted.

Then his consciousness arrived in the sea of consciousness.

There, a simple, ancient bronze mirror floated.

The world shifted again, and Song Chengan's consciousness was drawn into the ancient mirror.

This was a vast, boundless space.

Above were no sun, moon, or stars; below were no mountains, rivers, or streams. It was hollow and empty.

An illusory figure appeared out of thin air. It bore a face similar to Song Chengan's, and the instant it appeared, it sat down cross-legged!

Void Heaven Mirror!

Condense Phantom Bodies, deduce spells!

Meridians began to emerge across the condensed Phantom Body, and a stream of Qi began circulating through those meridians in a heavenly cycle!

At the same time.

That figure also began to age slowly.

The Phantom Bodies condensed by the Void Heaven Mirror perceived time differently. They aged faster, but at the same time, their cultivation speed increased proportionally.

After they aged and died, I can absorb their Dao Fruit, gaining the fruits of their cultivation and their understanding of spells.

A Phantom Body could cultivate only one spell or cultivation method.

Song Chengan gained a faint understanding.

He had never expected this ancient mirror to be a magical artifact.

Song Chengan was somewhat surprised.

In his previous life, he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Unable to afford the exorbitant medical bills, he began praying to gods and worshipping Buddhas.

In the end, at the Daoist Temple where he often volunteered, an old Daoist had given him an ancient mirror.

He said it had been blessed by the Dao Ancestor and could protect him.

Who would have thought that this ancient mirror possessed such great divine powers?

He wondered whether his eventual transmigration had also been the work of this ancient mirror.

As Song Chengan's thoughts turned, that Phantom Body had already aged into extinction. It then transformed into a glowing mass of Dao Fruit and was absorbed by Song Chengan.

In an instant, Song Chengan almost instinctively began circulating the Heavenly Radiance Dao Qi. A stream of heaven-and-earth spiritual energy immediately surged into his body.

This spiritual energy flowed through Song Chengan's meridians before slowly sinking into his dantian.

The first wisp of True Qi immediately appeared within Song Chengan's dantian!

Like a point of light, it shone crimson-purple!

Heavenly Radiance Dao Qi!

"True Qi in this world is divided into nine grades."

"Grades one through three are Low-grade True Qi."

"Grades four through six are Mid-grade True Qi."

"Grades seven through nine are High-grade True Qi!"

"Among them are one thousand seven hundred and twenty kinds of Low-grade True Qi, six hundred and thirty-six kinds of Mid-grade True Qi, and one hundred and eight kinds of High-grade True Qi."

"Some of these True Qis excel at prolonging life, some at refining magical artifacts, and some at spell battles and slaughter."

"This Heavenly Radiance Dao Qi ranks around eight hundred and forty-five. It is a low-tier Second Grade True Qi."

"That is, Lower Second Grade True Qi."

"The first realm of cultivation is called the Dao Seed."

"A point of Spiritual Light planted in the dantian—thus all the heavens begin!"

"Refine heaven-and-earth spiritual energy into True Qi and plant Spiritual Light in the dantian. This is the beginning of the Great Dao, called 'Spiritual Light Planting Dao.'"

As Boss Bai spoke, his eyes widened.

He saw Pure Qi surge from Shabby Scholar, who held Tao Guan in one hand and placed the Daoist book atop Tao Guan as he flipped through it with the other. At the same time, purple rosy light blossomed in his eyes.

"In the blink of an eye, he planted Spiritual Light!"

"Sir's talent rivals that of a Celestial Being!"

Boss Bai burst into hearty laughter. By the look of him, he seemed immensely delighted.

The moment Song Chengan opened his eyes, he saw Boss Bai laughing loudly.

He hurriedly bowed.

This bow was incomparably sincere and solemn.

"This junior, Song Chengan, thanks Senior Bai for imparting the method of Longevity!"

"This junior?" Boss Bai was taken aback.

Then he smiled and nodded. "Excellent, excellent."

"In learning, you are the sir."

"In cultivation, I am the senior!"

"From now on, I'll call you sir, and you'll call me senior!"