The Dao Has No Shore

Scalding—utterly scalding! Blazing currents surged in through every pore, burning Lin Xiao's organs until they were nearly reduced to ash. Even for a Desolate-grade pill furnace, its flames were far beyond any ordinary mortal fire. With Lin Xiao's meager cultivation of Leaving Fire True Qi, how could he withstand the furnace fire's mad incineration?

Yao'er's panicked sobs reached his ears. Frozen in midair by the furnace fire and unable to move, Lin Xiao gritted his teeth, summoned every thread of Leaving Fire True Qi within him, and activated the fire-controlling art recorded in the True Fire Art—the "Spirit Fire Command Art." His ten fingers danced nimbly, striking out one pale-red seal after another. Carrying wisps of crimson Leaving Fire True Qi, they slowly wove themselves into a great net, forcibly wrapping around the surging furnace flames. At the same time, Lin Xiao focused all his attention on studying every change in the fire.

The howling flames burst forth like a crazed tiger, twisting and struggling within the net woven by the Spirit Fire Command Art. Lin Xiao keenly sensed every roll and tremor of the flames, feeling every minute shift in that wild firepower through the air. Gradually, the seals he used to drive the Spirit Fire Command Art became ever more nimble. Red light flashed again and again, continuously suppressing the furnace fire. Using the methods of the True Fire Art, he carefully drew the heat of the gradually gentler flames into his body, refined it, then slowly expelled it.

The pill fire within a pill furnace was created by directly drawing upon the Spiritual Energy of underground spirit veins, supplemented by other materials. Its firepower contained abundant fire-aspected Spiritual Energy. Although Lin Xiao suffered immensely in doing this, it also brought tremendous benefits to his true qi cultivation. A pill chamber had always been the finest cultivation ground for Great Luo Pill Dao disciples who trained in the True Fire Art.

With several sharp pops, Lin Xiao continually absorbed fire-aspected Spiritual Energy. His skin could no longer endure the scorching external heat; several patches had already turned charred black before suddenly bursting apart.

Yao'er screamed and, in a blazing hurry, was about to throw herself at Lin Xiao, who floated in the air. A large hand reached out from the side—it was Daoist Qing Wu, who had returned after leaving. He grabbed Yao'er by the collar and forcefully tossed her onto the floor. Daoist Qing Wu cried out, "Junior Sister Yao'er, why are you muddle-headed again? At such a critical moment, how can you disturb him?"

After stopping Yao'er's impulsive move, Daoist Qing Wu hurriedly pulled out a jade bottle and poured out several blue-green pills. Using his true essence, he transformed the pills into clusters of blue-green mist and sent them from afar into Lin Xiao's body. Though only a few tiny pills, they contained unimaginable vitality. Green light flowed beneath Lin Xiao's skin; patch after patch of skin burst open, yet tender pink new skin swiftly grew back. In only a short while, all the skin over Lin Xiao's body had been renewed.

Once the pills entered his body, Lin Xiao clearly felt their aid. A cool aura enveloped his organs, which had nearly been reduced to ash. Everything inside him became still and clear, and the searing agony vanished. Lin Xiao's mind immediately steadied. Methodically, he formed the seals of the Spirit Fire Command Art one after another, slowly restraining the furnace fire while continuously drawing the Spiritual Energy within it into himself, gradually strengthening his true qi cultivation. Drop by drop, bit by bit, the fire-aspected Spiritual Energy from outside continually transformed into Leaving Fire True Qi and merged into Lin Xiao's dantian.

"Wonderful! Junior Brother Lin Xiao's comprehension is truly astonishing." Daoist Qing Wu nodded in praise. "He actually grasped the changes in the furnace fire so quickly and stabilized a pill furnace on the verge of exploding. Marvelous, marvelous. Hmm, perhaps Junior Brother Lin Xiao could actually tend the fires of two hundred pill furnaces at once?" Daoist Qing Wu's eyes rolled about as he began plotting to turn Lin Xiao into cheap labor.

Yao'er shot Daoist Qing Wu an annoyed glare and snorted. "Two hundred pill furnaces? So Little Junior Brother won't have to do anything else in the future—he'll just spend every day setting fires in the pill chamber?"

Daoist Qing Wu froze, then smiled at Yao'er. "Of course that isn't what I mean. Still, the more furnace fires he tends, the more benefits Junior Brother Lin Xiao will receive."

Yao'er curled her lip, raised her chin high, and sneered. "When tending a single pill furnace, doesn't one get one pill for every thousand pills produced? Hmph. Do you think I'm short of that little bit of medicine? If I, Yao'er, casually lift a hand, wouldn't all kinds of pills come pouring in by the armful? Would we need to worry about Little Junior Brother lacking pills to increase his cultivation?"

Daoist Qing Wu's face darkened. He looked helplessly at the pill furnace that was still erupting wildly and gave a dry laugh. "Indeed, indeed. Junior Sister Yao'er is absolutely right!"

While Daoist Qing Wu and Yao'er whispered among themselves, an extraordinarily marvelous change had already occurred within Lin Xiao's body.

The secret Yao'er and Lin Xiao shared—the lotus in that underground cavern—was in truth an incredible treasure born of heaven and earth. Unfortunately, its effects were simply too powerful. Though Yao'er had eaten who knew how many Lotus Seeds over the years, she had never truly brought out their effects. All Yao'er knew was that eating the Lotus Seeds seemed to increase one's cultivation a tiny bit.

Lin Xiao had also consumed quite a few Lotus Seeds lately, but the strange Spiritual Energy they truly contained had all remained hidden in his body. Now, as furnace fire entered his body and Lin Xiao continuously used the True Fire Art to absorb the surging Spiritual Energy of the flames in order to suppress the pill furnace on the verge of exploding, his body temperature soared. This happened to force out a tiny portion of the Spiritual Energy contained within the Lotus Seeds. Only sufficiently powerful true fire could truly refine that Spiritual Energy. Lin Xiao's desperate devouring of fire-aspected Spiritual Energy perfectly met the requirements for refining the Lotus Seeds' Spiritual Energy.

A wisp of extremely faint seven-colored mist spread through Lin Xiao's body. The moment it encountered the fire qi he had drawn inside, it immediately evaporated into a hazy fine mist and merged throughout his entire body. Without Lin Xiao realizing it, that wisp of seven-colored mist had already brought him considerable benefits. His foundation became firmer, his primal yang more robust, and even his mind was tempered considerably. In short, Lin Xiao had been comprehensively refined; every aspect of his natural aptitude had been enhanced.

Gradually, Lin Xiao felt that the firepower outside no longer seemed so difficult to control. His hands moved through the spirit seals, while a thumb-thick ray of red light continuously streamed through his nose and mouth into his body. The Leaving Fire True Qi within him, once as thin as wandering silk, had grown three to five times stronger and now surged vigorously through his body in rolling torrents. Warm Leaving Fire True Qi flooded every part of him. Sweat poured over Lin Xiao's entire body, but his spirit was filled, for no reason at all, with waves of delighted exhilaration. This was the great joy and great bliss naturally born when one's very source was transformed!

Another wisp of faint seven-colored mist emerged from within Lin Xiao. Refined by the fire qi, it merged throughout his body. The smile on Lin Xiao's face deepened. For no reason at all, joy surged in his heart, and while continuing to perform the Spirit Fire Command Art, he actually began singing a rustic love song from the Guihua City region. Guihua City lay on the northwestern frontier, where the folkways were bold beyond compare. This love song vividly described a man's blazing passion for the woman he loved. Its daring and blatant lines made even Daoist Qing Wu blush repeatedly!

Daoist Qing Wu lowered his head with a dry laugh, thinking in great astonishment, He can control the furnace fire with the Spirit Fire Command Art and cultivate the True Fire Art at the same time, yet still divide his attention to sing? Little Junior Brother Lin's talent is truly shocking. Though this song... doesn't seem quite suitable for us cultivators.

Yao'er, meanwhile, squatted on the ground with her head tilted, smiling brightly as both hands held up her chin. She kept laughing. "Little Junior Brother, that sounded good. Sing another one. Uh, what does 'kiss your sweet little neck' mean? Uh, Senior Brother Qing Wu, do you know what 'kiss your sweet little neck' means?" Yao'er wore the expression of an obedient little girl as she looked at Qing Wu with great curiosity.

Daoist Qing Wu shuddered and gave a dry laugh. "That... Senior Brother doesn't know. Senior Brother doesn't know." As he spoke, he backed toward the pill chamber doors. What a joke. If he, Qing Wu, dared explain what "kiss your sweet little neck" meant to Yao'er today, then before a quarter of an hour had passed, Martial Uncles Dan Fusheng and Danxia would surely come charging over with swords drawn. They would not rest until they had chopped him, Qing Wu, into seventeen or eighteen pieces!

Lin Xiao was utterly unaware of the commotion between Yao'er and Qing Wu. He only felt that his body was improving more and more. The external firepower seemed unable to harm him much now; even those blazing furnace flames merely made him feel a little hot. Meanwhile, the true qi in his body had reached a certain limit. It seemed that Lin Xiao could no longer control it freely. With a turn of his mind, Lin Xiao stopped minding the furnace fire outside and instead devoted himself entirely to controlling the true qi within.

The furnace fire had already calmed. Now, only a thumb-thick ray of red light spouted from the pill furnace, continually sucked into Lin Xiao's body in great mouthfuls. Lin Xiao's meridians had been filled with pale, mist-like red true qi. As external Spiritual Energy continued flooding in, more true qi was constantly produced from his dantian. His meridians gradually struggled to bear the pressure of the swelling true qi, and he could even feel them beginning to ache. Fresh Leaving Fire True Qi continued pouring from his dantian, and the true qi in his meridians grew increasingly abundant, as though his meridians might burst at any moment.

A thought flashed through his mind like sparks from flint. Lin Xiao immediately followed the methods of the True Fire Art, channeling his true qi toward several other meridians. At the same time, he silently recited the incantation and began using the Great Luo Pill Dao's secret method to compress the enormous yet incredibly thin Leaving Fire True Qi inside him. The external fire-aspected Spiritual Energy that had been continually entering his dantian and transforming into fresh Leaving Fire True Qi was immediately drawn by the seals. It no longer converted into new true qi. Instead, it wove itself into a great net within Lin Xiao's meridians, tightly trapping his true qi and continually compressing inward.

A sheet of glass-like red radiance emerged beneath Lin Xiao's skin.

Daoist Qing Wu, who had been bickering with Yao'er, cried out in shock. His fly-whisk trembled as it pointed at Lin Xiao. "H-how is this possible? Junior Brother Lin Xiao is circulating his power to break through the first level of the True Fire Art?"

"Eh? He is!" Yao'er blinked excitedly and giggled. "How fun! Little Junior Brother has only cultivated the True Fire Art for a few days."

A crisp, faint sound came from within Lin Xiao's body. The red glow beneath his skin faded, and he slowly opened his eyes before gradually standing. Somewhat surprised, he waved his hands. When he flipped a palm, a wave of scorching heat instantly surged forth. With a whoosh, the thick stack of books Daoist Qing Wu had thrown on the floor immediately caught fire and began burning fiercely.

Lin Xiao cried out in fright, "Senior Brother Qing Wu, put out the fire!"

Before his words had even finished, Yao'er had already rushed before Lin Xiao in a fury and landed a savage punch in his stomach, sending him flying more than ten yards away.

"You bastard, Little Junior Brother! Last night, Martial Mother told me I wasn't allowed to press my lips against yours anymore. She also told me that if I saw a man not wearing clothes, I had to beat him up hard! Where are your clothes?" Yao'er's eyes widened as she clenched her fists viciously. From the look of her, she seemed ready to rush over and give Lin Xiao another beating.

Curled upon the ground like a giant shrimp from Yao'er's punch, Lin Xiao lifted his head in immense grievance and called out to Yao'er with difficulty, "Senior Sister Yao'er, my clothes... they were all burned away!"

"Ah?" Yao'er froze, then sharply slapped her forehead. "Right! You threw yourself into the furnace fire to save that pill furnace! Uh, and you don't have protective spirit talismans like mine, so of course your clothes couldn't be saved! Uh, you didn't deliberately take all your clothes off? According to what Martial Mother said yesterday, when a man deliberately takes all his clothes off in front of me, that's 'teas—' Uh, what was it again? Right, 'teasing'! Mm!" She tilted her head and muttered to herself for a while, and no one knew what exactly she was talking about.

Lin Xiao shrank miserably on the ground, holding his head in both hands. He had no desire to speak at all.

Yao'er's punch had been extremely heavy. It nearly scattered the true qi he had only just managed, with great difficulty, to compress after breaking through to the second level of the True Fire Art. He felt a sorrowful helplessness as though he could only ask the heavens in silence. If he had not seen that Yao'er was about to make the pill furnace explode again, and if he had not remembered Dan Fusheng saying that Yao'er would never be allowed to enter the pill chamber again if she blew up another furnace, then he, Lin Xiao, was not a fool—why would he dare charge into furnace fire with merely the first level of the True Fire Art? And if he had not charged into the furnace fire, how could his clothes have been burned away?

That punch was truly undeserved.

Lin Xiao lay on the ground, groaning and wheezing, unable to get up for a long while.

Daoist Qing Wu kept his eyes straight ahead as he put out the fire. With a few palm strikes, he extinguished the flames on the stack of books. As he sorted through the texts, he muttered quietly, "It's fine, it's fine. There are at least three to five thousand more sets of records for this Desolate-grade pill chamber stored in the library. Every novice disciple must copy them out once. Burning this one copy is no great matter."

Cold sweat seeped out over Daoist Qing Wu's back in waves. What Yao'er had said at the beginning had been far too shocking. Danxia had told Yao'er not to let her lips touch Lin Xiao's again? Well, Yao'er was simple-hearted and probably would not do such a thing. Could it be that Junior Brother Lin Xiao, who had only recently entered the sect, was actually some frivolous young rake? If so, it would truly be a terrible waste of his excellent talent. One had to know: the Dao Path had no end. Without a firm Dao heart, how could one climb step by step along that nearly infinite Dao Path?

"I must have heard wrong. This old Daoist must have recently formed his golden core and been too excited, so I heard wrong." Daoist Qing Wu muttered. "How could Junior Brother Lin Xiao and Junior Sister Yao'er possibly be like that?"

A light cough sounded from the entrance of the pill chamber. Daoist Qing Wu turned around, and immediately bowed with cupped hands. "May the Sect Master Martial Uncle be well. May both Martial Uncles be well."

Daoist Danling, Dan Fusheng, and Danxia slowly entered the pill chamber. Daoist Danling gave the curled-up Lin Xiao a satisfied glance. After smiling faintly, he turned and walked back out. Daoist Qing Wu's eyes spun, and he cleverly hurried after Daoist Danling. He even closed the pill chamber doors with utmost attentiveness.

Dan Fusheng smiled slightly and nodded to Danxia. "Qing Wu is rather sensible."

Danxia snorted and glared at Dan Fusheng. "Could it be that Hua Feng'er and Yao'er, whom I took in, are not sensible?"

Dan Fusheng nodded rapidly. "Of course, of course. How could Qing Wu compare with them? Uh..." Dan Fusheng shook his head, flicked a finger, and a white Daoist Robe appeared in his hand. He casually tossed it over Lin Xiao. Enduring the sharp pain in his stomach, Lin Xiao quickly pulled the Daoist Robe on. Only then did he slowly rise and bow to Dan Fusheng and Danxia.

Dan Fusheng chuckled several times without saying anything.

Danxia beckoned Yao'er to her side, gently wrapped her in an embrace, narrowed her eyes, and smiled wickedly at Lin Xiao. "Xiao'er, we saw what happened just now."

"Uh!" Lin Xiao stared at Danxia in stunned disbelief. Was that any way to play it? With their cultivation, Danxia and the others had simply watched Yao'er punch him to the ground?

Danxia gave several snickering laughs and quickly said, "Your Martial Uncle, your master, and your Martial Mother were all astonished that you had broken through to the second level of the True Fire Art in only a few short days. We simply didn't expect... Yao'er to move so quickly." Danxia's smile carried a trace of teasing, as if she were telling Lin Xiao: We watched you get beaten, so what? Who told you to let all your clothes get burned away?

Dan Fusheng coughed lightly, beckoned Lin Xiao over, and said slowly, "Xiao'er, come. You have been in the sect for over half a year, yet your master has never properly spoken to you about certain things. Today, there are some important words I must impart to you."

Lin Xiao answered, secretly glanced at Yao'er, who was making faces at him, then respectfully bowed to Danxia before following Dan Fusheng out of the pill chamber.

With his hands clasped behind his back, Dan Fusheng wandered aimlessly through Spring Return Valley with Lin Xiao, pointing out and explaining the various herb gardens, forbidden grounds, and other places in the valley. At last, he brought Lin Xiao to a small lake within the valley. Standing on the grass beside its shore, they quietly watched the fish swimming cheerfully back and forth in water only a few feet deep.

Lush vegetation grew around the lake, with countless exotic flowers and rare plants. Dense greenery surrounded the entire lake, leaving only a small patch of grass roughly three yards across where Dan Fusheng and Lin Xiao stood.

Several tiny carp as thick as thumbs and three to five inches long played joyfully in the shallow water near the shore. Their sudden comings and goings, their light and swift ease, left Lin Xiao staring blankly.

"Xiao'er." Dan Fusheng suddenly spoke.

"Yes!" Lin Xiao respectfully bowed to Dan Fusheng.

"Look at these fish. Are they happy?" Dan Fusheng pointed at the fish in the lake and softly asked Lin Xiao.

Lin Xiao was silent for a long while before answering somewhat stiffly, "This disciple is not a fish. I do not know whether they are happy."

"Excellent!" Dan Fusheng looked at Lin Xiao in surprise and sighed. "Lin Shan has produced a fine son indeed. Ah, these fish appear happy!"

With a beckon of his hand, a fist-sized mass of lake water condensed into a water sphere, wrapping up a small fish and flying into Dan Fusheng's palm. Dan Fusheng gently tossed the water sphere in his hand and said indifferently, "We are like a small fish between heaven and earth, believing ourselves to be happy, yet unaware that the will of heaven is like your master's hand. All it takes is one gentle grasp..."

Dan Fusheng loosely closed his hand, making as though he would crush the water sphere. Lin Xiao had no doubt that with Dan Fusheng's cultivation, if that hand clenched down, the fish in the water sphere would certainly turn to flying ash!

Turn to flying ash! A shiver of dread suddenly ran through Lin Xiao's heart.

The will of heaven was like a blade, unfathomable beyond measure. Beneath the might of heaven and earth, even cultivators were no more than the fish in Dan Fusheng's palm—seemingly carefree and joyful, yet unable even to control their own life and death.

Dan Fusheng casually threw the water sphere back into the lake. The fish that had just hovered on the line between life and death once again flicked its tail lightly and frolicked together with its companions.

"Since you have entered the Great Luo Pill Dao, you are now a cultivator. What we cultivators pursue is nothing more than the unfathomable Heavenly Dao." Dan Fusheng raised his head to gaze at the blue sky and sighed faintly. "The Heavenly Dao stretches on without end. At times, even one with your master's cultivation feels weary and afraid. Without a steadfast Dao heart, it would be better not to set foot upon this road."

Turning around, Dan Fusheng gently tapped Lin Xiao's forehead with one finger and smiled. "The Dao has no shore! If you cannot persevere, then extinguish that heart as early as possible."

"The civil strife among Great Yuan Kingdom's many princes was pacified two months ago. The new king has ascended the throne, and the realm is at peace. Taking advantage of the Great Luo Pill Dao's five-year seclusion to refine pills, the Jimo Sect, the Blood Kill Demonic Path, and other demonic sects infiltrated the Great Yuan Kingdom and stirred up wind and rain. The Great Luo Pill Dao invited countless masters from the three orthodox sects, seven schools, and the five most renowned independent cultivators of the cultivation world. Together, we drove them far away." Dan Fusheng said calmly, "The 9,857 Black Blade Bandits who slaughtered Guihua City, along with Commander Wutian, who killed your father, have all been executed."

Lin Xiao was stunned!

The blood feud of his exterminated family had been settled by his sect in one stroke? The Great Luo Pill Dao's retaliation had come with such ferocity, such ruthless savagery!

Lin Xiao suddenly slammed his forehead to the ground. Tears poured down his face like rain, yet he made not a single sound of crying.

Dan Fusheng smiled faintly and swept his broad sleeve, lifting Lin Xiao up. He laughed softly. "Seven days ago—the day you began cultivating the True Fire Art—the righteous cultivators invited by the Great Luo Pill Dao had already dealt heavy blows to demonic sects like the Jimo Sect. The Jimo Sect Master carried out Liberation by Violence himself, the master of the Blood Kill Demonic Path had his soul scattered and spirit destroyed, and those demonic fiends had already collapsed like earth crumbling and tiles shattering."

He said warmly to Lin Xiao, "Settle your heart, and strive to pursue this boundless Heavenly Dao!"

Lin Xiao felt an icy current rush from the crown of his head straight to the soles of his feet. His entire body felt clear and refreshed, while his heart became empty and serene. The shadows the Black Blade Bandits and the Overlord's Soldiers had cast upon his mind were swept away in that instant.

Just as Dan Fusheng had said, settle his heart, and slowly pursue this endless and limitless Heavenly Dao!

The Heavenly Dao!

Lin Xiao lifted his head and gazed into the sky. Whenever he thought of the words "Heavenly Dao," his spirit could not help but tremble, and his heart filled with fear.

The deep blue sky stretched endlessly, while this little lake was incomparably tiny. Dan Fusheng and Lin Xiao, standing beside its shore, were even more insignificant.

Before this vast and boundless heaven and earth, all things were but ants.