Three Calamities, Six Tribulations, Eighteen Trials

Rustle, rustle!

Fang Shu transformed into an ash-gray fox and sped through the mountain wilds, covering far more ground than before.

He darted through forests and slipped between trees, no longer needing to carve paths through mountains and woods in those rarely visited places as he once had.

At last.

After traveling day and night for several days, the towering, immense Mount Lu appeared in his sight.

Under the moonlight, Mount Lu lay stretched across thousands of li like a sleeping dragon, clad in silver armor and rising no less than five thousand zhang high.

This was also Fang Shu's final destination—the location of the immortal cultivators' marketplace!

Yet although he could see Mount Lu, it would still take at least three days and nights to reach its foot.

And even at the outer foothills of Mount Lu, spiritual energy gathered in the mountains, so strange creatures already roamed everywhere and ferocious beasts were not few.

For a mortal like Fang Shu, who had mastered only a few spells, entering the mountains rashly was nothing less than seeking death.

He had to follow his Second Uncle's instructions: first find the nearby snakehead who led people into the mountain. Only under that person's arrangements could he enter the mountain relatively safely and head straight for the immortal cultivators' marketplace within.

"Immortal cultivation is within sight!"

Though he could not arrive at once, Fang Shu's face was still bright with delight.

He wobbled upright on his fox legs and strolled beneath the moonlight, leisurely making his way toward Mount Lu.

He had finished tonight's journey, so there was no need to hurry onward.

He could take a look around as he walked and find somewhere to rest.

Suddenly.

Fang Shu's fox ears twitched. He stretched out a paw, removed the gourd hanging from his neck in his jaws, hugged it close, and listened intently.

Yip, yip!

He heard many cries resembling fox calls, rising and falling one after another, with human voices mixed among them.

His heart stirred. Fang Shu immediately lowered himself and crept toward the source of the sounds.

Before long, an earthen mound came into view.

Broken steles and desolate graves lay scattered around it, like a mass burial ground from a former dynasty.

The night was deep and hazy, the stars sparse, the clouds thin.

Ahead sat a figure in a Daoist robe, cross-legged upon a square stone, swaying his head as he expounded on something.

A cluster of figures knelt around him, all listening.

They came in all sizes, uneven and mismatched.

Fang Shu drew closer and saw a group of muntjac, rabbits, foxes, hedgehogs, and the like—some in human form, some still in beast bodies.

Fang Shu watched for a few moments and saw no formidable demons.

Relying on his current fox form, he quietly padded closer as well and listened from the sidelines for a while.

It turned out this group of demons had gathered to learn how to speak human language.

The figure preaching atop the stone was not a Daoist either, but a weasel wearing a Daoist robe and transformed into human form.

Its eyebrows were thin and long as whiskers. No demonic aura could be seen about it; instead, it was lean and kind-browed, with a straight back. It looked even more like a Daoist than Fang Shu did.

It was spouting a mouthful of archaic literary phrases.

The demons and beasts below the stone swayed their heads along with it, babbling as they learned.

Finding it somewhat interesting, Fang Shu continued listening to its lecture.

Suddenly, a little demon beneath the stone could no longer restrain itself. It raised a paw and called out:

"Teacher, Teacher! We want to hear about the path of immortal cultivation. We don't want to keep listening to all this archaic nonsense."

Squeak, squeak! The other demons chimed in as well.

The weasel Daoist paused and sighed softly.

"See? Impatient again."

It shook its head. "Though you have acquired demonic aura, you are still far, far from immortal cultivation."

The demons all around chattered noisily, unable to keep still.

"Teacher, teach me! Teacher, teach us!"

The weasel Daoist could only explain:

"If demons wish to cultivate immortality, they must first cultivate humanity.

"And if they wish to cultivate humanity, they must first learn human speech. To learn human speech, they must first learn bird speech—some eighty or a hundred kinds of bird speech—before they can possibly speak proper human words.

"After that, they must wear human clothes, eat human food, learn writing, and all such things. Only then can they formally set foot upon the path of immortal cultivation."

It shook its head again. "Though some among you can now speak human words, you are all still far from ready.

"The best of you have only learned fifty kinds of bird speech and still cannot speak a single pure sentence of human language."

As Fang Shu eavesdropped on this exchange, his fox brows could not help twitching.

What this old weasel said matched what his Second Uncle had told him. It seemed the fellow truly knew a thing or two.

At that moment, the little demon who had spoken earlier stepped forward.

It was a rabbit demon less than three chi tall. After properly bowing to the weasel, it said:

"Reporting to Teacher. Teacher said you would instruct us for four or five days, and today is already the fourth day. I fear you will soon depart.

"Please impart the path of immortal cultivation to us first. Even if we do not fully understand it, we can learn from one another and fill in what we lack. Otherwise, once Teacher leaves, we may never have another chance."

Hearing this, the weasel Daoist burst into laughter. "You have some wit."

It swayed its head again.

"Since that is so, today this old man shall speak to you of the—Three-Six Elixir Method."

Fang Shu, hidden nearby and eavesdropping, immediately pricked up his fox ears at those words.

He knew the Three-Six Elixir Method. This was the Great Dao, the orthodox path!

It seemed this weasel truly was only preaching and imparting teachings, rather than harboring ill intent.

This counted as a stroke of fate and could not be missed.

Thus, after hesitating for a moment.

Fang Shu stopped eavesdropping. Instead, he boldly emerged from the grass, walked before the stone, and bowed to the weasel Daoist atop it.

After finishing his salute, he slipped in among the other demons.

The weasel Daoist merely glanced at him and paid him no mind.

As for the little demons around him, their ears were all raised, each one wholly absorbed. They had no time at all to notice Fang Shu.

Seeing the gathered demons perk up, the Daoist did not delay.

Its voice murmured like a scripture chant:

"This Three-Six Elixir Method, also called the Three-Six Bait Method, was passed down by the ancient sages and masters. It has existed for more than ninety thousand years and is an essential art of cultivation in this world, a shortcut to freedom from age."

"Mortals and demons alike are riddled with flaws. They must eat and drink, they suffer illness and misfortune, calamities cling to them, and death is hard to escape.

"The name 'Three-Six' refers to the 'Three Calamities, Six Tribulations, Eighteen Trials' in the lives of humans and demons."

As the weasel Daoist recounted the origins of the elixir method, the demons across the ground listened as though intoxicated, their hearts yearning toward it.

"I want to learn it! I want to learn this elixir method!" A little demon could not restrain its excitement and began chattering incomprehensibly, immediately drawing sidelong glares from the other demons.

The weasel Daoist smiled and began explaining the method word by word:

"The Three Calamities are the low-grade calamity of the body, the middle-grade calamity of fate, and the high-grade calamity of fortune."

"The Six Tribulations are refining essence, refining qi, foundation establishment, golden core, refining spirit, and refining the void."

"The Eighteen Trials are also called the Eighteen Passes or the Eighteen Transformations. Though they are calamities, they are also providence and transformation.

"They arise according to the Six Tribulations. Each tribulation contains three trials, and every trial is different. Whoever passes them may carry providence within their body, until they become free of illness and hunger, untouched by decay and age, undying and indestructible..."

Though the Daoist was already trying its best to explain in plain terms, as it went on, the complex terms spilling from its mouth grew more numerous. The demons became increasingly bewildered and found it hard to understand.

After a long while, the demons either stared blankly with glazed eyes or scratched at their ears and cheeks. Only Fang Shu and the rabbit demon could still keep up.

Seeing this, the weasel Daoist had no choice but to slow down and explain more carefully:

"For example, the first trial of entering the Dao is named 'Ten Illnesses Nine Pains.'

"Mortals and demons may possess intelligence, but their lives are still short, and they are prone to illness. Once you pass this trial, you will be free of sickness and suffer fewer ailments, untouched by heat and cold. You will no longer endure the torment of swelling pain, stabbing pain, cold pain, burning pain, twisting pain, dull pain, crushing pain... and every other kind of agony."

"At that time, those who have passed the trial will have 'refined essence' within them and gained command over their qi and blood. They will have formally embarked upon the immortal path and become one of the immortal folk. The world calls them 'Human Immortals,' the lowest rank among immortals."

Even so, many demons still swayed unsteadily, staring dumbly at the weasel Daoist.

Seeing this, the Daoist sighed softly, gave only a rough explanation of the first three trials, and then looked over the gathered demons as it asked:

"Did any of you understand?"

Fang Shu understood.

What the weasel Daoist had described was in fact the current divisions of cultivation realms among the immortal folk, along with their corresponding titles. He had already learned of this from the letter his Second Uncle sent him, so it did not strike him as novel.

Still, the Daoist's explanation was more comprehensive than his Second Uncle's, and Fang Shu had gained something from it.

But Fang Shu had no intention of showing off. He remained curled up quietly, lest he spoil these demons' stroke of fate.

Upon the earthen mound, not a single demon answered.

The Daoist's gaze continued to sweep over them.

At last, one demon gathered its courage and raised a hand.

But it said, "Teacher spoke too quickly. We've all forgotten it."

Laughter erupted all around.

With one demon taking the lead, the others began kowtowing and rolling about, hoping the Daoist would explain it again, and more slowly this time.

The weasel Daoist was briefly left between laughter and silence, shaking its head again and again.

A look of waning interest appeared on its face.

Just then.

A voice rang out. "Teacher, none of us has entered the Dao yet. Even if Teacher teaches us the Great Dao, we will not be able to learn it or use it.

"Why not ask Teacher to teach us the specific steps of cultivation?"