Heaven Scroll True Method

Bai Jing walked up to the group with a puzzled look, as though this matter involved him as well.

"Greetings, Senior Brothers!" He bowed to Lin Changsheng and the other.

Lin Changsheng wore a gentle smile and nodded. "Since everyone is here, let us go."

It seemed no one knew what they were going to do. Bai Jing noticed that even these geniuses wore looks of confusion, clearly unaware why their senior brothers had gathered them.

Buzz!

As he pondered this, Bai Jing suddenly felt himself rising into the air. Looking down, he saw that a cloud was carrying them all higher and higher.

"Senior Brother, where are we going?" At last, someone could no longer suppress his doubts and asked.

Lin Changsheng smiled faintly. "I imagine you are all wondering why you were summoned here today. And you must have noticed that every one of you present is an exceptional genius."

Everyone nodded. The newcomers were all standouts who had condensed immortal foundations of the Purple Cauldron level or above, or Array Dao Prodigies of great renown like Bai Jing.

"Do you know of the Heaven Scroll?" Lin Changsheng asked.

Seeing their bewildered expressions, he smiled.

"You have at least heard of True Saints, have you not?"

"True Saints!" Everyone's eyes widened.

They still knew little about the specific realms of cultivation, but there was no one who had not heard of True Saints.

They were gods among mortals!

They were the lofty, unreachable beings every person yearned for in their hearts.

For whenever a True Saint was born, the whole world would be shaken. Whether in the mortal world or the cultivation world, everyone would learn of it.

Mortals regarded such beings as deities, building True Saint shrines to worship them, while cultivators saw them as examples to pursue throughout their lives.

They were immortal gods made flesh in the human world!

"And the Heaven Scroll is a true method that represents the hope of challenging the True Saint realm. Only through a Heaven Scroll can one become a True Saint!"

Lin Changsheng's words made everyone's hearts tremble again, their faces filled with shock.

Could it be...?

"That is right. I brought you here today to give you an opportunity to cultivate a Heaven Scroll!"

Hiss!

Everyone sucked in a cold breath, their faces full of disbelief.

Then excited voices broke out one after another.

"If we cultivate a Heaven Scroll, might we have hope of becoming True Saints in the future?" A Purple Cauldron disciple let his imagination run wild, his voice trembling slightly.

"The Heaven Scroll has been passed down for so many years. Has Shangqing Mountain ever produced a single Shangqing True Saint?"

Those words were like a basin of cold water dumped over everyone's heads, sobering them considerably.

That was true.

Lin Changsheng shook his head. "There is only hope. As for the actual odds, with your gifts and talent, you do not even have a one-percent chance."

Everyone smiled bitterly, struck hard by those words.

Then Lin Changsheng said solemnly, "The Heaven Scroll was first created by the founding patriarch of Shangqing Mountain. The second patriarch expanded upon it and gave it its name. On the eve of the second patriarch's attempt to challenge the True Saint realm, he once brought the Heaven Scroll to a senior True Saint for appraisal."

"In other words, although no one has yet become a saint through the Heaven Scroll, a True Saint has verified that cultivating this method can lead to the True Saint fruition!"

"Giving you this opportunity to cultivate the Heaven Scroll today is not because we expect you to truly become saints and patriarchs. It is simply because of your extraordinary talent. The immortal sect is willing to lend you a helping hand, to make you more complete, so that in the future, you may become the backbone of Shangqing Mountain!"

"We will not fail the sect's trust!" the disciples answered in unison, their expressions solemn.

"Very well. Now that you understand the origins of the Heaven Scroll, it is time to choose one!"

Lin Changsheng continued, "We will be visiting three immortal mountains. There are Heaven Scrolls of the three elements—Water, Fire, and Wind—for you to choose from and trial!"

"Senior Brother, what are the characteristics of these three elements?" a disciple asked.

Fang Wenze spoke up at this point. "Simply put, the three Heaven Scrolls are generally similar, but each has its own advantages."

"At the Dao Platform Realm, the Wind Element is strongest. At the Inner Core Realm, the Water Element holds the greatest advantage. As for the fourth realm, that is the Fire Element's domain."

"You may choose the one most suitable and compatible with you, and from then on sing your way forward with great strides.

"Or you may choose the Water Element Heaven Scroll, whose Inner Core is the strongest, giving you a greater advantage in competing for the positions of upper-peak disciples.

"Or perhaps choose the Wind Element. With this Heaven Scroll, you will move like a fish in water in the Dao Platform Realm. When you venture out for training in the future, its ability to help you flee for your life is second to none."

The three Heaven Scrolls each had their strengths. Upon hearing this, the disciples all lowered their heads in thought, considering their choices.

"Then can we cultivate all of them?"

A voice rang out. Fang Wenze was first taken aback, then followed the sound with his eyes. It was Bai Jing, the sole Array Dao genius. He nodded. "Of course you can."

"However, the Heaven Scroll has little to do with the Array Dao. Once Junior Brother's Heaven and Earth Dao Platform is complete, new immortal arts will help you condense an Array Dao Inner Core. You will have no need for a Heaven Scroll method."

He added this, leaving Bai Jing stunned.

How had the conversation turned to the Array Dao?

And the Array Dao path seemed far less simple than he had imagined.

"Senior Brother, please clear up my confusion!" He bowed as he spoke.

"Junior Brother Bai!" Lin Changsheng called, then said,

"The Array Dao lineage is not as shallow as merely setting arrays with external objects. It too is a path of cultivation. Once you condense an Array Dao Inner Core, you may engrave the arrays you have learned into it. The emphasis is on arrays following the heart's intent.

"You may deploy them however you wish, without relying on any external object. Once you truly reach that step, you can stand shoulder to shoulder with a genius like Junior Brother Li Huai'an.

"The might of an Array Dao Inner Core far surpasses your imagination. Once you reach the summit, it would not be impossible to command ten thousand arrays with a single thought."

"One could say that outside of Spiritual Cultivators, this is a type of cultivator with exceptionally powerful offensive abilities. Of course, the road you walk in the future will differ from ours."

Bai Jing's heart shook. For the first time, he understood that the Array Dao could be this formidable.

Able to stand shoulder to shoulder with a Golden Cauldron genius!

The other disciples were also envious and moved. They had never imagined Array Dao cultivators were far more terrifying than they had known.

No wonder the array cultivators of Array Dao Mountain could stand as one of the Five Great Immortal Mountains.

Even Li Huai'an, who had always remained unruffled by any storm, gave Bai Jing a deep look at this moment.

Not long afterward.

Lin Changsheng and the other upper-peak disciple brought everyone before a towering, resplendent immortal mountain.

At this moment, the rainbow had faded and the clouds scattered. The sunlight was warm and bright, carrying the beauty of falling clouds flying alongside a lone wild duck.

Thud!

Everyone landed halfway up the immortal mountain, arriving at a stretch of level ground.

"This is Fire Spirit Peak. In a moment, I will let you experience the wonders of the Heaven Scroll. If you find it suitable, you may remain here and begin your trials tomorrow. Or you can experience all three Heaven Scrolls before making your decision," Lin Changsheng said quietly.

"Senior Brother Lin!"

A Dao-robed cultivator leaped over from afar.

"Junior Brother Chu!" Lin Changsheng returned the greeting.

"Only your branch remains. Senior Brothers and Junior Brothers, please follow me," the cultivator surnamed Chu said.

Then he led them inward.

A short while later, everyone arrived before an enormous stone wall.

"It seems the other branches have all arrived," a disciple said.

Quite a few people were already gathered before the stone wall. Most were familiar Violet Cauldron Geniuses or alchemy geniuses, while several others appeared unfamiliar, presumably Array Dao disciples whose names had not stood out during the assessment.