Tuo Tuo Imparts the Dharma, Spirit Official Delivers the Decree

The next day, Wang Chong and Zhu Ying bathed and burned incense as they respectfully awaited Tuo Tuo Ancestor. Just as noon approached, darkness suddenly fell before their eyes.

The sky was filled with stars, glittering in splendid profusion.

Beneath their feet stretched endless black earth, perfectly level and without end.

Wang Chong was deeply shaken. Zhu Ying instinctively pressed close to his side, faintly frightened.

Tuo Tuo Ancestor strode through the void and said with a slight smile, "This is our sect's cavern-heaven technique. This little cavern-heaven was formed from this ancestor's magical power. There is no need for alarm."

Only then did Wang Chong realize that he had underestimated this ancestor. Since Tuo Tuo Ancestor intended to unite Five-Terrace Sect, he surely possessed earthshaking abilities, far beyond those of his master, Xiao Nan.

Tuo Tuo Ancestor swept his gaze over the two of them and said, "Do you know that we cultivators, when roaming the martial world, often find that sword techniques are of no use in many situations?"

"Today, I shall teach you some everyday spells."

"Let us begin with the sword formulas."

Tuo Tuo Ancestor pointed a finger. Wang Chong and Zhu Ying's bodies tensed, and they were instantly bound in place.

Zhu Ying struggled twice, panic rising in her heart as she wondered what Tuo Tuo Ancestor meant by this.

But Wang Chong suddenly understood and said, "This dismantles our sect's sword formula. Only four talismans were used, yet when combined, they produce the wondrous effect of binding and immobilizing."

Tuo Tuo Ancestor burst into laughter. "A teachable child indeed!"

"Our sect's sword formula was passed down by Zhang True Lord. Its mysteries are matchless. Every talisman has its own wondrous use, and combining several talismans produces new effects. By arranging them at will, one may create hundreds of spells."

"By Patriarch Sa's generation, he lamented how difficult it was to find disciples of exceptional aptitude. He pared down the sword formula and created the Fire Dragon Sword Technique, which is how our generation came to be."

"When this ancestor began taking disciples, I found that even disciples with dull aptitudes like mine were hard to come by, so I could only pare down the sword formula still further. Your grandmaster Bai Yue was the same, except she had little interest in taking disciples and merely went through the motions..."

Wang Chong agreed wholeheartedly. The Yin-Yang Five-Element Seven-Incisions Sword Technique was indeed even more profound than the Primordial Sword Formula, showing just how much thought Tuo Tuo Ancestor had put into it.

Tuo Tuo Ancestor smiled. "No matter which sword formula it is, it is not meant solely for controlling flying swords. Take the twenty-eight talismans of this Five-Element Sword Formula, for instance. They can be dismantled and recombined into thirteen spells."

Tuo Tuo Ancestor then explained to them one by one how the sword-formula talismans could be split apart, how they could be combined, what wondrous uses they possessed, and the mysteries contained within.

Halfway through learning, a flash of inspiration struck Wang Chong's mind, and he suddenly understood. The spells on the Celestial Stele are the most brilliant kind. I have been using them in entirely the wrong way. I should use them as Tuo Tuo Ancestor teaches: one method giving rise to ten thousand methods, one mystery connecting to ten thousand mysteries.

It was as though enlightenment had been poured over Wang Chong's head. He suddenly saw the light, and when he considered the sword formula again, countless ideas immediately sprang forth.

Tuo Tuo Ancestor instructed the two of them for half a day. At nightfall, he withdrew the cavern-heaven technique and drifted away.

The next day, the ancestor returned and began instructing Wang Chong and Zhu Ying in sword moves from the very beginning. The sword forms of the Primordial Sword Formula and the Yin-Yang Five-Element Seven-Incisions Sword Technique came from the same lineage. Their yin sword forms were nearly identical, while their yang sword forms differed somewhat. What Tuo Tuo Ancestor taught included the additional mystery of urging forth sword qi.

Bai Yue's thinking had been that they would have to switch to the Fire Dragon Sword Technique sooner or later anyway, so why engage in superfluous cultivation?

Having taken too many disciples, Tuo Tuo Ancestor had instead come to understand something: many disciples would likely never be able to study the Fire Dragon Sword Technique in their lifetimes. Thus, he added more things to the sword technique he created, so those disciples would have another skill to rely upon.

Wang Chong had always possessed excellent comprehension, and with Tuo Tuo Ancestor personally guiding him, his swordsmanship advanced by leaps and bounds. During sparring, he often noticed Tuo Tuo Ancestor truncating the sword formula, using only half of it to drive his flying sword. Though its power was inferior, its variations became far more exquisite. Wang Chong immediately understood why Tuo Tuo Ancestor had taught him to dismantle the sword-formula talismans the previous day.

On the third day, Tuo Tuo Ancestor returned and sorted through the Primordial Sword Formula and the sword technique he had created from beginning to end.

Only on the fourth day did Tuo Tuo Ancestor begin instructing them in the Fire Dragon Sword Technique.

After more than a month of this, not only Wang Chong but even Zhu Ying saw their swordsmanship rise greatly.

Since ancient times, famous teachers had produced outstanding disciples.

Under Xiao Nan, Wang Chong had not yet had the chance to learn superior swordsmanship. Xiao Nan himself had not yet reached the point of leaving the mountain, and his knowledge of Five-Terrace Sect's sword techniques was incomplete. His guidance of disciples had inevitably been rather rough.

The gains Wang Chong and Zhu Ying made during this month and more would serve them for the rest of their lives.

When Tuo Tuo Ancestor's allotted time came to an end, he lifted the restriction preventing the two from attending the lectures. Wang Chong and Zhu Ying could once again go to the Scripture Lecture Hall, but their private instruction was over as well.

Both Wang Chong and Zhu Ying knew that Tuo Tuo Ancestor was not their direct-line grandmaster. For him to have done this much was already an immense kindness, so they harbored no resentment. When listening to the lectures, their attitudes became much more respectful.

One day, after the lecture had ended,

Wang Chong was feeling somewhat nostalgic for his teacher Xiao Nan. As he chatted idly with Zhu Ying, thunder suddenly boomed and shook the heavens above. Layer upon layer of clouds rolled apart, and a golden bridge extended down from the ninth heavens.

Several dozen heavenly officials stood upon the golden bridge. The man at their head wore a green robe and a Purple Radiance Crown. His immortal rank was exceedingly high; he was a Spirit Official. From high in the sky, he shouted, "Disciples of Five-Terrace Sect, receive the decree!"

From the various peaks of Five-Terrace Sect, several hundred streaks of light hurriedly rose into the air. Wang Chong and Zhu Ying saw countless Five-Terrace Sect elders whose names they had heard but whom they had never met, and both felt rather strange.

The two remained obediently silent, not daring to make any noise. Yet there were too many young disciples in Five-Terrace Sect, and many began whispering among themselves, curious why a heavenly Spirit Official had come to Wutai Mountain to deliver a decree.

Several patriarchs of Five-Terrace Sect had ascended to heaven, and none held low offices. The younger disciples therefore did not fear the celestial envoy all that much.

Although Tuo Tuo Ancestor was the deputy sect leader, seniority on Wutai Mountain did not rest with him.

In those years, Zhang True Lord had passed down his teachings to three disciples. Besides Sa Celestial Master and Lion Venerable King Bodhisattva, there had also been a youngest disciple, who had not yet ascended and was now traveling the world.

Sa Celestial Master had four disciples. Aside from the third patriarch, who had gone mad and fallen into demonic ways, the remaining disciples were not on the mountain either.

Yet Lion Venerable King Bodhisattva had a disciple at Wutai Mountain: Patriarch Dao Shan, from whom Tuo Tuo Ancestor had once sought instruction in Buddhist teachings.

As the foremost of the third generation, Patriarch Dao Shan led more than ten fourth-generation disciples to meet the Spirit Official bearing the decree. He made a Daoist salute and said, "Dao Shan, together with the disciples of Five-Terrace Sect, respectfully welcomes the celestial envoy to proclaim the decree."

The Spirit Official opened an immortal scroll and shouted, "A demon bearing the title Great Sage overturned the Heavenly Palace, causing damage throughout the heavenly court and scattering countless heavenly treasures into the mortal realm. Though the great demon has been brought to justice, countless demon fiends who aided the rebellion fled and hid in the lower realm, their calamities continuing without end."

"Therefore, the Great Celestial Venerable has issued a decree ordering Five-Terrace Sect to select disciples. Ten shall be granted the title of Treasure-Seeking Immortal Youths, and ten the title of Demon-Subduing Vanguards. Their rank shall be equivalent to third-grade heavenly generals, and they shall share Heaven's burdens."

Patriarch Dao Shan pressed his palms together and replied, "Wutai Mountain receives the decree!"

The Spirit Official rolled up the immortal scroll and handed it to Dao Shan with a smiling face. "Had the Heavenly Court not suffered this upheaval, and had Zhang True Lord, Sa Celestial Master, and Lion Venerable King Bodhisattva not spoken before the Great Celestial Venerable on your behalf, such an opportunity could never have arisen."