Outer Sect Teaching Hall.
"Now, the Great Dao has no name, yet it nurtures all things. The Mysterious Female's gate is called the root of Heaven and Earth; it seems to exist in an unbroken thread, and drawing upon it never exhausts it. The Valley Spirit does not die; this is called the Mysterious Female..."
Inside the hall, green smoke drifted from the incense burner like rising clouds. Several hundred Outer Sect Disciples in identical azure Daoist robes patterned with clouds sat cross-legged on cushions woven from tranquil-heart grass, as though seated upon the clouds themselves. Each held a copy of General Outline of Basic Qi Cultivation or Introduction to the Five Elements.
At times, the disciples looked up, listening intently to the elder's Great Dao Transmission as it spread throughout the hall. At other times, they lowered their heads and furrowed their brows, sinking into contemplation and insight.
Without exception, those gathered in the hall were Outer Sect Disciples below the sixth level of Qi Cultivation. The Slime figure mimicking a youth in green robes was among them.
At the front stood an old man with snow-white whiskers and a rosy complexion like an infant's. His Daoist title was Purple Gold Elder. He was an elder of Earth Origin Peak in the inner sect, a Foundation Establishment Grand Cultivator whose lifespan was nearing two hundred years. Within the sect, he was greatly respected for his virtue and prestige.
As the main hall among the outer sect mountain ranges, the Teaching Hall was often visited by inner sect elders or late-stage Inner Sect Disciples who came to give lectures.
Though the lectures never involved the specific cultivation formulas of each peak's secret inheritances, they taught the most practical general theories and knowledge of the cultivation path: the Essence of Spiritual