Preaching the Dao, Bestowing the Dharma

The sky was bright. Lin Xiao had just memorized the incantations of the 'Thunderclap Fire Art' when Hua Feng'er kicked open the wooden door of the cabin and rushed in.

Lin Xiao casually tucked the jade slip into his bracelet and stared blankly at Hua Feng'er, asking, "Senior Sister Hua, what's the rush～～～"

Hua Feng'er grabbed Lin Xiao's sleeve with one hand and pulled him outside. "Less nonsense. My adoptive mother told me to bring you to the Cold Pond Tranquility Cave behind the mountain. She wants to teach Yao'er and you Daoist arts. Sigh, junior brother, I've followed my adoptive mother for so many years, and I've never seen her so diligent. She's asking me to bring you to listen to her teachings first thing in the morning. You're really honored!"

Hua Feng'er glared at Lin Xiao with a hint of jealousy. Lin Xiao chuckled awkwardly and quickly used the Divine Movement Art to catch up with Hua Feng'er. Neither of them could have imagined that Danxia's sudden diligence was due to her fear of Daoist Danling forcibly taking Lin Xiao as his disciple. This was why she had to muster her energy to keep an eye on Yao'er and Lin Xiao. Of course, it was also because Dan Fusheng had other important matters to attend to, leaving Danxia with no choice but to personally handle this. Otherwise, the task of teaching Daoist arts would likely still fall to Dan Fusheng.

Behind Spring Return Valley, a small pond was nestled among the mountains. The pond was roughly circular, about a hundred zhang in diameter, and over a thousand zhang deep. The entire pond was silver-white, like a pool of mercury. Even when the mountain wind blew, the water showed no ripples. For tens of thousands of years, this pond had been stagnant and lifeless. There wasn't even a single small shrimp in the pond; it was purely a dead pool. A goose feather would sink to the bottom, and throwing a stone in wouldn't even create a splash, its sound like thick porridge rolling.

The area around the Cold Pond was frozen for three li all year round, and the closer one got to the pond, the colder it became. Within a hundred zhang of the Cold Pond, not even a large stone could be found. The ground was covered in fine sand and dust, appearing as a vast expanse of yellow, with not a single blade of grass. The Tranquility Cave, where the Great Luo Pill Dao punished errant disciples, was located at the base of a cliff less than fifty paces from the Cold Pond.

The entrance to the Tranquility Cave was incredibly narrow, allowing only one person to enter or exit at a time. Inside, a narrow passageway stretched forward. The ceiling of the passageway was inlaid with thumb-sized pearls, casting a dim, hazy light that illuminated the path as it snaked into the cliff face, its depth unknown. Countless small openings were carved into the sides of the passageway. From dozens of these openings, the faint glow of oil lamps could be seen. Within these illuminated caves, disciples of the Great Luo Pill Dao were undergoing punishment and meditation.

Hua Feng'er, familiar with the path, led Lin Xiao through several turns in the passageway, finally arriving at a small cave entrance at the end. She shoved Lin Xiao inside.

Lin Xiao, accustomed to the dim candlelight of the passageway, hadn't expected the ground inside the cave to be a foot and three inches lower than the entrance. Preoccupied with observing the cave's furnishings, he misstepped and nearly fell headfirst onto the ground. "Hee hee!" Danxia's voice suddenly rang out. "Good boy Xiao'er, no need for formalities. This place isn't large, so you don't need to bow to your master's wife."

A gentle force surged forward, and Lin Xiao, whose forehead was about to hit the ground, straightened up, narrowly avoiding embarrassment. Angrily, Lin Xiao turned his head and saw Hua Feng'er making a face at him. She then softly said, "Junior brother, where are my Midnight Orchid fruits?"

It was like a basin of ice water poured over his head. The slight resentment Lin Xiao felt was completely extinguished. He quickly turned his head to look at Danxia, who was sitting cross-legged on a cushion inside the cave, and bowed, saying, "Mistress!"

Danxia looked at Lin Xiao with a smile and waved gently at Hua Feng'er. Hua Feng'er glared fiercely at Lin Xiao's retreating back, snorted, turned around, and slowly left. Danxia then smiled and said, "I called you here, Xiao'er, because the Sect Leader elder brother has punished Yao'er to meditate for a month, and I'm also supposed to teach her various forbidden techniques. I figured since you, Xiao'er, haven't learned much Daoist art before, it's a good opportunity to teach you both together, saving me the trouble of doing it again later."

Her words were quite frank – she was afraid of having to do more work later! Lin Xiao obediently nodded in agreement. He glanced at Yao'er, who was sitting on a cushion opposite Danxia with a displeased expression, and obediently sat down cross-legged next to her. Yao'er, who had been sulking with a stern face, rolled her eyes and secretly reached out, giving Lin Xiao a hard pinch on his soft spot.

Lin Xiao looked at Yao'er with a pained expression. Yao'er was staring back at him with innocent, wide eyes, looking 'naive and kind.' Lin Xiao sighed and looked back at Danxia. Danxia seemed not to notice Yao'er's little action, slowly taking out a Daoist book from a blue cloth bundle beside her. With a smile, she said, "Well, I will now teach you the essence of Daoist arts. Hmm, Xiao'er, as the junior brother, you must always listen to Yao'er. She is your senior sister, after all. You must yield to her!"

Lin Xiao opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but couldn't. Danxia continued with a smile, "Don't think that just because you've formed a Golden Core, you can bully Yao'er. I won't allow it. You must obey Yao'er. Whatever she tells you to do, you do; whatever she forbids you to do, you don't do. You must treat Yao'er as your master treats me – never disobey her, understand?" As Danxia spoke, her smile deepened.

Lin Xiao's mouth twitched for a moment. He dejectedly lowered his head and said, "What my Shiniang says is right! Your disciple understands!" Lin Xiao felt so wronged. Yao'er always bullied him; when had he ever dared to bully her? To be perfectly honest, even if he now had the strength to bully Yao'er, he, he, he couldn't bear to harm a single hair on her head!

He turned his head and gazed foolishly at Yao'er. Yao'er, however, had already assumed a proper seated posture, her eyes fixed on Danxia, ready to listen attentively to her teachings. As Lin Xiao was lost in thought, a dull 'bang' sounded on his forehead. Danxia had flicked his forehead from a distance. "Ouch!" Lin Xiao yelped, his face flushing. He lowered his head, placed his hands obediently on his knees, and quietly listened as Danxia explained the essence of Daoist arts and taught various practical forbidden techniques.

In the cultivation world, Daoist arts are divided into many types based on the five elements and the energies derived from them. However, the Daoist arts a cultivator can use are not solely determined by their innate aptitude. A cultivator with fire attribute aptitude can still cast ice-element spells; a wood-attribute cultivator can still summon the energy of Wutu (earth element); and a metal-attribute cultivator might even be able to perform wood-attribute restorative Daoist arts like 'Myriad Trees Spring Revival.'

However, cultivators do have elemental attributes. Most cultivators choose to cultivate Daoist arts that match their attributes, and thus the True Essence they cultivate also carries their respective elemental attributes. Therefore, while cultivators can use Daoist arts of opposing elements, the effect will be extremely poor due to the attribute of their True Essence.

For example, a pure fire-attribute cultivator like Lin Xiao cultivates Pure Fire True Essence. If he were to use fire or lightning attribute Daoist arts, he might easily destroy a small mountain. However, if he were to use ice-attribute Daoist arts, he might only be able to freeze a cup of tea! Nevertheless, the fact that he can use ice-attribute Daoist arts is undeniable.

Daoist arts, fundamentally, are about a cultivator using their own cultivation to mobilize the power of heaven and earth. Pure fire True Essence can also mobilize a small amount of the world's cold energy, but it requires immense effort for very little gain.

"The five elements are not entirely opposed to each other. You must comprehend the profound principles of the five elements' generation and restraint to master and wield the five-element Daoist arts with ease," Danxia explained the fundamental principles of Daoist arts to the two of them. She then looked at Yao'er and smiled, "Yao'er doesn't have these kinds of problems. Her aptitude is excellent, and she can cultivate any of the five-element Daoist arts without any obstacles."

Lin Xiao made a face at Yao'er and gave her a thumbs-up.

Yao'er proudly twitched her eyebrows, indicating her satisfaction. Then, Yao'er suddenly thought that Lin Xiao had pure fire aptitude, and the power of many of his Daoist arts would be unsatisfactory. Was her excessive pride in front of him mocking him? Her eyes darted, and she naturally reached out, tidying the strands of hair falling on Lin Xiao's shoulders. Lin Xiao watched her smile foolishly, forgetting that Danxia was sitting less than three feet in front of them.

Danxia lowered her head with a smile, pretending not to see the childish affection between Yao'er and Lin Xiao. She drifted into thought, reminiscing about some past events with Dan Fusheng, her pretty face flushing slightly. She muttered softly, "That blockhead, after all these years, he's still so foolish! When Senior Brother asked you to go to the Pill Room, you didn't even help me get that Purple Tassel Herb and rushed off to the Pill Room. Truly... such a blockhead. If I can't cultivate a Nascent Soul in the future, you'll have to stay with this old woman!"

Her eyes flickered, and Danxia gently touched her smooth, wrinkle-free cheek with her finger, sighing softly.

"Of course, in ancient times, there were profound and exquisite Daoist scriptures that allowed cultivators of any attribute to cultivate extremely mystical immortal True Essence and freely use various Daoist arts," Danxia said after a moment of thought. She cleared her throat to rouse Yao'er and Lin Xiao from their daze. Without looking at the pouting Yao'er or the blushing Lin Xiao, she continued, "However, those kinds of Daoist scriptures have gradually been lost over the past few thousand years due to the continuous dissipation of Spiritual Energy in the cultivation world."

"Lost?" Lin Xiao felt indifferent about these legendary Daoist scriptures, but Yao'er exclaimed nervously, "How could they be lost? Hmm, Mistress, if we could find such scriptures and let junior brother cultivate them, wouldn't he be able to use all sorts of spells like Yao'er?"

Lin Xiao's heart stirred slightly. He looked at the extremely earnest Yao'er, and forgetting Danxia was right there, he couldn't help but reach out and gently hold Yao'er's tightly clenched fist.

Yao'er didn't react, but Danxia rolled her eyes and thought to herself, These young people nowadays, how can they be so unrestrained? The Master's wife is still here! Oh dear, back then, Dan Fusheng and I... Nonsense, that time we were being intimate in the herb garden, Master definitely didn't see us! Yes, yes, he definitely didn't see!

A blush spread across her jade face. Danxia narrowed her eyes, coughed forcefully, and said loudly, "Well, Yao'er, think about it. Important scriptures and secret manuals, aren't they all kept by the elders of the major sects in their most heavily guarded treasuries? Aren't there countless restrictions and seals placed outside? And aren't the scriptures themselves reinforced with powerful restrictions to prevent theft?"

"Uh, I think so?" Yao'er tilted her head and said seriously, "Just like the roasted chicken junior brother made for Yao'er, after Yao'er takes it back, she hides it very carefully, afraid Senior Sister Hua will steal it!"

An awkward smile appeared on Lin Xiao's face as he looked at Danxia and chuckled foolishly.

Danxia rolled her eyes helplessly and continued, "Alright, if you understand this, it'll be much easier for me to explain. Those scriptures and secret manuals have so many restrictions that they can only be retrieved by cultivators with cultivation levels close to ascension. If later generations don't have enough cultivation, hmm, wouldn't they be unable to retrieve those scriptures and secret manuals?"

With a sigh, Danxia shook her head. "Thousands of years ago, many powerful elders from various sects disappeared almost simultaneously. The disciples in the sects didn't have enough cultivation to retrieve the rare treasures and ancient texts stored within their respective domains. Coupled with the dissipation of Spiritual Energy in the cultivation world that began around that time, the cultivation levels of later cultivators gradually decreased..."

"In ancient times, cultivators with great divine abilities were everywhere. Even cultivators who had achieved minor success would possess at least one low-grade Immortal Artifact. And now? Even a slightly better Precious Artifact is hard to find in the cultivation world. These Daoist arts and incantations, naturally, also..." Danxia shook her head gently and sighed softly.

"Alright, enough of these irrelevant matters. Mistress will now officially teach you various spells. Regardless of whether you have the cultivation to use them now, you must memorize them thoroughly within a month." Danxia especially cautioned Lin Xiao solemnly, "Xiao'er, you've already reached the Golden Core Stage. It won't be long before you're sent out of the mountain to gather spiritual herbs from various sacred mountains and great rivers. If you don't master these Daoist arts, how will you protect yourself? So, Yao'er can be a bit careless this time, but you must be diligent and attentive."

Lin Xiao knew Danxia was right and quickly replied respectfully.

Hearing that this instruction was also related to Lin Xiao's safety, Yao'er also quickly sat up properly, no longer interjecting, and obediently listened to Danxia's teachings on the mysteries of various Daoist arts.

In the blink of an eye, seven days passed. (To be continued)