Flower of the Great Dao

Dark Night thoroughly reviewed every step of the process, and her gaze was finally drawn to the pile of things in a small room. The workers said it was yeast starter, not the sawdust it appeared to be to the naked eye!

The yeast starter was a secret known only to Third Young Master. Even the boss of the Wine Factory did not know exactly how it was made.

This yeast starter had already been prepared before she arrived. No one knew what it was made from, much less how it was made.

To get to the bottom of it, she would have to witness the entire process of making yeast starter firsthand.

But yeast starter was not needed in large quantities. The batch filling this room would last a full three months.

That bastard Lin Su had spent every day lately holding study books, swaying his head as though he understood them. He had no plans whatsoever to make yeast starter.

Dark Night's teeth itched. She let out a silent sigh. It seemed her grand plan of traveling the world would have to be postponed...

Bishui Immortal Sect.

At the mist-shrouded mountaintop, waterfalls and flowing springs danced while orioles flew across the air, as though it were an immortal paradise.

A woman in white stood silently before a waterfall, quietly watching the cascading waters. She, too, seemed as though she did not belong to this mortal world.

And indeed, just as everyone saw, Zhang Yiyu could hardly be considered a person of this mortal world.

Though she had been born in the capital and once enjoyed all the splendor of the world, only after entering the Dao sect did she learn that this was where she belonged.

Her master said that her Dao Root had been activated from the moment she was born.

Her fellow disciples said that she was a legend of her generation among the Dao sects.

Yes. Ever since entering the Dao sect, she had learned everything swiftly. She understood sect techniques at a glance; once she understood them, she mastered them; once she mastered them, she refined them; once she refined them, she broke through...

In her first year on the mountain, she broke through the first realm, the Dao Root Realm.

In her second year, she broke through the second realm, the Dao Platform Realm.

In her fifth year, she broke through the third realm, the Dao Mountain Realm. At thirteen, she became the youngest third-realm master among the disciples.

Three more years later, she broke through the fourth realm, the Dao Heart Realm! She became the tenth disciple to break through the fourth realm.

Last year, she created an unparalleled legend by breaking through to the fifth realm, the Dao Flower Realm!

How terrifying was the Dao Flower Realm?

There were countless Dao sects beneath heaven. Those who broke through to the Dao Flower Realm were generally elders or above; disciples who could break through this great shackle of the Dao were exceedingly rare. Yet she had done it. When she stepped into the ultimate realm most cultivators could ever reach, she was only eighteen.

She had entered the Dao sect merely thirteen years ago.

The next realm was the Dao Fruit Realm.

At nineteen, a Flower of the Great Dao already stood before the ultimate cultivation of "Plucking the Dao Fruit." How could cultivators across the world possibly bear that?

Flowers were easy to find; Dao Fruits were hard to seek.

Why? Because Dao Fruits had no fixed template. A Dao Fruit varied from person to person. At this step, no master could teach the way; it all depended on the individual.

Most cultivators spent the first half of their lives cultivating bitterly atop mountains and the latter half traveling through the mortal world, all to lay the foundation for their Dao Fruit.

What about her? Should she descend the mountain as well?

Suddenly, her heart stirred slightly. A glimmer rose above her head and formed an image:

It was the figure of a young man—none other than Zhang Haoran, who had met Lin Su once.

Zhang Haoran sat beside a small pavilion and said with a grin, "Little sister, tomorrow I'll take the Provincial Examination. Father promised me that as long as I pass successfully, I can choose my own path forward."

Zhang Yiyu said, "We have discussed your path many times and already reached a consensus. Every examination gives you three months of leave. Once the examination is over, return to the mountain at once and decipher the Ancient Heavenly Scroll!"

Zhang Haoran shook his head like a rattle-drum. "No! The Ancient Heavenly Scroll isn't my strength. I won't go up the mountain with you again, absolutely not..."

Zhang Yiyu curled her lips. "Whether you will or not, do you think you get the final say? I'll drag you straight up the mountain. If you have the ability, then run away..."

Zhang Haoran's face darkened. "I'm the elder brother and you're the younger sister. Do you have no sense of seniority at all?"

"Within the sect, I'm the senior sister and you're the junior brother. That is what seniority means..."

Damn it! Zhang Haoran said, "Father agreed too! If you have the ability, defy Father as well!"

Zhang Yiyu smiled. "Father isn't a member of the Immortal Sect. He does not interfere in sect affairs at all..."

Zhang Haoran fell backward, face up. Then he sprang upright. "Little sister, can we both be reasonable here? Deciphering one volume of the Ancient Heavenly Scroll is already my limit. No matter what, I cannot decipher the later volumes. I'll recommend someone to you. He is the most suitable person to decipher the Ancient Heavenly Scroll. Go find him!"

"Big brother, you've gotten smarter. Tell me, then—who is this scapegoat?" Zhang Yiyu smiled as she exposed his scheme.

"His name is Lin Su, a man from Haining. A month ago, he was still utterly unknown, but today, he rises like the red sun at dawn. Let me tell you, his scholarship surpasses mine a hundredfold. If your Ancient Heavenly Scroll falls into his hands, he might unravel it from top to bottom in two or three days."

Haining?

Zhang Yiyu said, "From a tiny place like Haining, a prodigy suddenly emerged? Brother, are you so desperate that you've chosen the wrong road?"

Zhang Haoran said, "You truly live hidden in the deep mountains and know nothing of worldly affairs. Let me tell you, in one month, this man wrote four Seven-Colored Poems in succession!"

"Keep boasting!" Of course Zhang Yiyu did not believe him. Though she was not part of the Literary Way, she loved poetry dearly. She was familiar with nearly every surviving poem of the age, and she knew every Seven-Colored Poem by heart. Naturally, she understood how difficult it was to write a Seven-Colored Poem. Which one was not the supreme concentration of a top Literary Way Master's lifetime of talent? Four in one month? Did he really think she was an outsider?

"'Nobility forces people into a life without freedom...'" Zhang Haoran recited the first poem.

Zhang Yiyu froze.

What majestic spirit, what exquisitely strange poetry! She had never heard this poem before, but from her understanding of poetry, it was at least a Five-Colored Poem, perhaps even a Seven-Colored Poem!

"'Grape Wine in Jade Cups...'"

At the second poem, Zhang Yiyu's entire body trembled.

"'Xiling Fine Wine Tulip, Jade Bowl Holds Amber Light...'"

The third poem!

Zhang Yiyu suddenly raised her eyes and stared fixedly at Zhang Haoran.

"'South Lake Autumn Water, Smoke-Free Night...'"

Zhang Yiyu's heart pounded wildly. "Four in a row, every one peerlessly exquisite. Has a Literary Way Genius truly appeared?"

"More than a Literary Way Genius! His ingenious ideas emerge one after another. With a casual touch, he turns flour into high-end delicacies. The Ting Rice your Bishui Sect will not even glance at becomes, in his hands, the Immortal Wine 'Baiyunbian'! Little sister, I don't know what realm his literary talent has reached, but his miscellaneous knowledge is absolutely a wonder beneath heaven. For the Ancient Heavenly Scroll, who else but him? Yet instead of seeking such a prodigy, you waste your elder brother's studies all day. You truly are beyond all reason..."

The communication closed. Zhang Haoran faced south and offered an apology. Brother Lin, I'm sorry. I truly have no way to deal with my little sister. Help me draw some of her fire, will you? If she gets me locked up on that mountain for another few years, I'll really go mad...

Zhang Yiyu gazed at the sky for a long time before suddenly giving an order. "Attend me!"

With a sharp whoosh, two disciples landed behind her. Both were women dressed in formal disciple robes.

The two women bowed together. "Senior Sister, please give your orders!"

"Look into whether there is someone named Lin Su in Haining. Oh, yes—from Marquis of Dingnan's Estate..."

Lin Su?

The beauty on the right trembled slightly, her expression turning strange. She bowed and said, "Reporting to Senior Sister, the third son of Marquis of Dingnan's Estate in Haining is indeed named Lin Su. He is a worthless fool, incapable in letters and useless in martial arts. Why does Senior Sister suddenly ask about him..."

"Zhou Yueru, you know him well?" Zhang Yiyu slowly turned her head.

"..." Zhou Yueru did not answer. Her expression was complicated...

The other disciple beside her smiled softly. "Senior Sister, let me explain. What a coincidence it is—Zhou Yueru and this Lin Su were betrothed since childhood."

Zhang Yiyu was slightly startled.

Zhou Yueru hurriedly said, "My household has already gone to break off the engagement. I have no relationship with him whatsoever."

Broken engagement? Zhang Yiyu's gaze swept across her flushed face. "I heard that Lin Su's literary talent is unrivaled, that he wrote four Seven-Colored Poems in a single month. You call such a Literary Way Genius 'incapable in letters'?"

Zhou Yueru raised her eyes, her face full of question marks. "Senior Sister, you must have made a mistake, right? Lin Su is not of the Literary Way. How could he possibly write four poems in one month? And Seven-Colored Poems at that?"

Yes, the disciple beside her said the same. Seven-Colored Poems were extraordinarily rare. Even top Literary Way Masters might not write one in their entire lives. Four in one month was absolutely impossible. Senior Sister, you must be mistaken.

"Then have you heard of a wine called... what was it called, Baiyunbian?"

Zhou Yueru and the other disciple, Ziyun, spoke at once. They knew of this wine. It was an extreme legend, truly the Heavenly King among wines. The moment it appeared, it swept through the wine world and was revered as an immortal brew among wines. The Sect Master had just acquired a jar and was currently hosting Venerable Shuiyue...

Zhang Yiyu rose and suddenly vanished from where she stood. The next moment, she appeared on Sect Master Peak. Two old men were drinking together atop the mountain, the fragrance of wine assailing the nose on the wind. Both old men wore intoxicated expressions.

Zhang Yiyu suddenly appeared, and the Sect Master smiled. "Peerless Immortal Wine, a friend of a hundred years, and a Flower of the Great Dao besides—only now is today's gathering amid the white clouds complete. Come, Yiyu, have a cup!"

A cup of wine flew up and landed in Zhang Yiyu's hand. She took a light sip, then another. The air seemed to freeze.

"Master, who brewed this wine...?"

"This man truly is a legend. He was originally nothing more than a useless fool, incapable in letters and martial arts. Then he suddenly rose in the Literary Way, writing four Seven-Colored Poems in one month, and with miraculous hands created this peerless Immortal Wine."

"Is he the third son of the former Marquis of Dingnan's Estate in Haining, surnamed Lin, named Su?"

"Yes!"

Turbulent waves rolled through Zhang Yiyu's heart. She drained the cup in one gulp, then bowed deeply. "Master, this disciple wishes to descend the mountain today for training!"

"Good. Only through training in the mortal world can you prove your Dao Fruit. Go!"

She left. The two old men atop the mountain were still drinking, and their conversation continued.

But none of that earlier calmness remained.

For what they discussed were the great events now churning the world like wind and clouds...

In the world today, five paths coexisted. Which five paths?

The Literary Way, the Martial Way, the Cultivation Way, the Devil Race, and the Demon Race.

In the conventional sense, the first three paths belonged to one broad category: the Human Race.

The latter two belonged to another broad category: the Other Races.

The Human Race and the Other Races stood opposed in the larger scheme of things.

Yet each side had its own internal conflicts as well.

The Devil Race cultivated on the foundation of blood and vital energy, which doomed them to never cooperate with anyone. Why? Because they ate people! The more they ate, the stronger their cultivation became. Thus, they ate everything—humans, demons, even their own Devil Race.

The Demon Race could not cooperate with them either. Over the past century, they had reversed their former stance of extreme hostility toward humanity. Making use of their own advantages, they supplied all kinds of daily necessities to the human world and vigorously developed commerce with humans.

What about within the Human Race? By rights, since they were all human and foreign races stood before them, they should have united as one. But that was not the case. The struggles within the human world were even fiercer, because they involved the Great Dao Dispute.

At its core, the Great Dao Dispute was a contest for believers.

The Buddhist sect wished to become the only path beneath heaven.

The Dao sects wished for everyone in The Whole World to cultivate.

The Literary Way wished for everyone beneath heaven to study.

The Martial Way wished for everyone beneath heaven to go to war.

Every path rejected the others, firmly believing that its own path alone was orthodox.

And so, conflict came.

Humans and other races fought every day. Dao sects and Buddhist sects contended every day. The Literary Way's suppression of the Martial Way had not changed for thousands of years. The competition between the Literary and Martial Ways and the Buddhist and Dao sects burned like a blazing fire. Even within the Dao sects, the Three Thousand Dao Sects competed among themselves—for territory, for talent, for resources, for cultivation techniques. With the slightest lapse, one sect would rise while another would perish...

The world was far more complicated than it appeared.