At the summit of Heaven Gate Peak, inside the Xiantian Hall, Lu Yang stood properly, waiting respectfully for his master to arrive.
Inside the Xiantian Hall, everything was cool and quiet, spotless to the last speck of dust. Wisps of incense smoke rose through the air, calming the mind.
Lu Yang noticed three memorial tablets enshrined in the hall: Xiantian Daoist, Origin Returning Celestial Venerable, and Vast Sea Dao Lord.
Lu Yang knew all three of them. They held an extremely special significance in the Ask Dao Sect:
One hundred and twenty thousand years ago, Xiantian Daoist left a Daoist temple, established his own sect, and founded the Ask Dao Sect. At the time, he was merely an ordinary cultivator. Across the Central Continent, there were eight or ten thousand people with cultivation at his level. Thus, when the Ask Dao Sect was first established, it was only a minor sect.
One hundred thousand years ago, the world fell into chaos. The Ask Dao Sect produced an extraordinary genius. In terms of cultivation talent, he could not even rank among the top fifty of his era, but he had brains, loved making friends, valued loyalty, and possessed the blessing of unseen fortune. He rose amid the chaotic times, riding the tide of the age, standing at its very forefront. His glory was unmatched, and few could rival his cultivation. His honored title was Origin Returning Celestial Venerable.
Under Origin Returning Celestial Venerable, the Ask Dao Sect flourished and became one of the foremost great teachings of its time. At the sect's twenty-thousandth anniversary celebration, many of his close friends came to offer their congratulations. Seizing that opportunity, he joined forces with the four supreme cultivators of the era to establish the name Five Great Immortal Sects, which won the world's recognition.
Nothing in this world lasted forever. Glory never endured eternally. Another fifty thousand years passed, and the Ask Dao Sect declined. The sect's elders either neared the end of their lifespans or died violent deaths. Only a handful could still hold up the situation, while none of the disciples below them lived up to expectations. The sect found itself in the awkward position of having no successors, and rumors even spread that it would fall out of the Five Great Immortal Sects.
Perhaps the Ask Dao Sect truly was blessed by fortune. One day, an elder of the Ask Dao Sect went out to slay demons and rescued a child from the ruins, bringing the child back to the sect. They were astonished to discover that the child was an exceedingly rare cultivation prodigy. The child did not disappoint, either, advancing by leaps and bounds until, before long, he became the strongest Tribulation Transcendence cultivator of his time.
That child took the title Vast Sea Dao Lord. Later generations called him the founding patriarch of the Ask Dao Sect's revival, and he extended the sect's glory for another fifty thousand years, all the way to the present.
"Eldest Senior Sister, where's our master?" Lu Yang withdrew his gaze. He had waited in the hall for ages, yet besides his eldest senior sister, he had not seen a second person.
"Master is currently in seclusion. He's reached a critical stage of cultivation and can't get away, so I'll accept you as his disciple in his stead and teach you to cultivate."
"Before formal cultivation begins, I'll briefly introduce our branch. Our master has very few rules. As long as you don't go too far, violate ethics and morality, or provoke the wrath of Heaven and the resentment of the people, he won't interfere."
"But my bottom line is a little higher than his. Things he won't bother with, I will."
"Master has four disciples in all. Besides you and me, you have one senior brother and one senior sister above you. One is in the Western Buddhist Kingdom, and the other is in the Southern Demon Realm. They rarely return to the sect, so seeing either of them is difficult."
"Once your cultivation has reached a certain level and you have the chance to travel the four directions, perhaps you'll meet them. As for now..." Yun Zhi paused, then took out three ink-wash portraits and laid them out side by side. They depicted Lu Yang's unseen master, second senior brother, and third senior sister.
The three people in the portraits were all smiling exceedingly happily.
The master had a head of white hair, but his eyes were not cloudy like those of ordinary old men. He looked like an otherworldly expert who delighted in having fun and playing around in the mortal world.
The second senior brother had a gentle smile, swordlike brows, and bright eyes. He was as refined as jade.
The third senior sister possessed every kind of charm and was a beauty capable of bringing ruin to a kingdom.
"Master specifically instructed me that, counting you, our branch has five people in all. If only the two of us were present when you became his disciple, it would seem too lonely. So he specially prepared portraits of the other three to stand in for them."
Lu Yang looked at his eldest senior sister, then at the vivid black-and-white portraits arranged around him, which seemed to be staring at him. For some inexplicable reason, he felt a chill creep up his spine.
It was just like the entire sect had died heroically, leaving only him and his eldest senior sister.
Three more sticks of spirit incense appeared before Lu Yang. Yun Zhi handed them over. "This is message incense. It can convey what you have in your heart. Offer these three sticks to your master, and they can convey your gratitude and respect."
The three sticks of spirit incense were lit and inserted into the small censer placed before the master's portrait. "With Grandmaster as witness, with Master above, please accept this disciple's bow."
Now it looked even more like it.
After the ceremony ended, Lu Yang asked hesitantly, "Eldest Senior Sister, although this may sound a little disrespectful, Master really is still alive, right?"
Lu Yang was afraid that Yun Zhi would reveal a cold smile and say, "Our honored master has fallen, but the higher-ups have concealed it. Now that you've learned this secret, you can't be allowed to live."
Yun Zhi was utterly baffled. She did not understand why Lu Yang had asked such a question.
"Of course he's alive."
"I saw your exam results at Word Transmission Peak. You remembered the body's acupoints and the locations of its meridians very accurately, and you could recite and reproduce the basic cultivation formula from memory. Very good. Your eagerness to learn deserves praise."
"Next, we begin formal cultivation."
At this, an excited smile appeared on Lu Yang's face, and he listened even more intently.
He could finally begin cultivating.
As formal cultivation began, his eldest senior sister opened with, "This is my first time teaching a disciple, and this is your first time being one. The two of us will have to make do with each other."
"But you don't need to worry too much. I made ample preparations for today."
Yun Zhi arranged various small medicine jars in a row. Each was labeled with the name of its pill, some of which Lu Yang had heard of:
The Bone Rebirth Pill, capable of bringing the dead back to life and restoring flesh to bare bones.
One of the Buddhist Kingdom's merit-accumulating creations, the Seven-Level Pagoda Pill, whose saying went, "Saving one life surpasses building a seven-level pagoda." Anyone who consumed a Seven-Level Pagoda Pill would grant the Buddhist Kingdom a portion of merit.
The Nine-Revolutions Reincarnation Pill. In the cultivation world, there was a saying that nine deaths in reincarnation could be exchanged for one life.
With these pills, it would be difficult even for Lu Yang to die.
"Qi Refining begins with body tempering. Although you have never undergone body-tempering training, we'll start from zero."
Yun Zhi casually tore open space and took out two enormous vats from her storage space. When Lu Yang heard the dull thuds of the vats hitting the ground, his heart lurched, and he had an ominous feeling.
"Sword cultivators emphasize sword intent and arm strength. Therefore, the first priority in body tempering is to train your arm strength. I'll demonstrate it only once, so watch carefully."
Yun Zhi stepped onto the rim of one vat with both feet as though walking on level ground. Then she gripped the rim of the other vat with one hand and lightly lifted it before letting go. Before the vat could hit the ground, she switched hands and gripped its rim again, repeating the motion over and over. Her movements flowed as smoothly as drifting clouds and running water, making it a feast for the eyes.
If one ignored the arms' suffering, this method could indeed train arm strength.
"Doing it to this level is enough."
Yun Zhi set down the vat and spoke as lightly as if she had merely set down a teacup.
Lu Yang swallowed nervously. There was no need to lift it to see that the vat stood half a man tall. It was large enough to stuff him inside, fill it with sand and soil, and bury him in the ground with room to spare.
To spin such a huge vat around effortlessly—this was a rhythm that demanded his life.
Lu Yang strode forward, held his breath, and lifted the vat with one hand. The entire motion was completed in one fluid movement.
It did not budge.
He exerted himself with both hands and used every ounce of strength he had. Only then did the vat unwillingly tremble a little, acknowledging that Lu Yang really had tried his hardest.
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