Transmitting the Teachings

It was actually him!

Su Che looked at the Daoist before him, his hair grizzled and his face seemingly youthful, and immediately understood who this man was.

The Daoist School under heaven was indeed, as that old Daoist had said, divided into various schools and lineages. Setting aside the heights of their Dao arts and the legitimacy of their transmissions, if one spoke only of their prevalence in the mortal world, the foremost were the Celestial Master Sect, the Yellow Heaven Sect, and the Divine Firmament Sect.

Among them, the Divine Firmament Sect was a rising newcomer, while the Celestial Master Sect and Yellow Heaven Sect were both great factions that had spread through the world for ages.

No one knew how profound the Yellow Heaven Sect's leader's cultivation was, but the sect's six Imperial Instructors were all third-rank Immortal True Persons of the Daoist School.

That Old Lion in the heart of Mystic Mountain had been no more than third rank while he lived.

And the Duling Su Clan had revered the Yellow Heaven Sect generation after generation. They had even built a Patriarch Hall within their ancestral shrine, where portraits of accomplished Yellow Heaven Sect cultivators associated with the family were enshrined.

When Su Che had been in Jiankang, he had also paid his respects in that Patriarch Hall. The figures in those portraits had seemed like living people, and a constant fragrance lingered in the hall even without incense being burned.

Wei Zhisheng was one of the figures enshrined in the Patriarch Hall. He also had a Daoist name, Yulizi. His cultivation realm was unknown, but records stated that he had formed ties with the Su Family more than three hundred years ago. Among the portraits in the Patriarch Hall, he occupied the second position.

"So it is Immortal Elder Wei. This junior of the Su family pays his respects to Immortal Elder."

As Su Che spoke, he moved to perform a grand bow. Daoist Wei flicked his whisk, and a strange force supported Su Che, preventing him from bowing down.

"There will be plenty of time for bows later. There is no need to hurry."

Old Wei looked at Qingqiu, who stood nearby holding an umbrella.

"This young lady looks rather familiar."

Qingqiu felt uneasy. Her little bit of cultivation probably could not conceal her from this Daoist, whose depth she could not fathom.

But this body of hers had been transformed from a paper effigy. What familiarity could there possibly be?

"This servant greets the master."

Quick-witted, she held up her umbrella and performed a graceful curtsy. "This servant's cultivation is insufficient, so I can only carry an umbrella..."

"The Heavenly Demon Soul-Splitting Technique is convenient when first used, but once one's realm deepens, its troubles become clear. If you wish to explore the Great Dao someday, young lady, please use this art with caution."

Within the Daoist's eyes, endless lightning seemed to be born and extinguished.

At a single glance, Qingqiu felt signs that her separated soul-body was becoming unstable.

"Mo Sang of Cloud-Deep No-Return Place in the Eastern Sea—does she count as kin to you, young lady?"

"She is this servant's aunt."

Hearing him mention the name of an elder from her household, Qingqiu was briefly stunned.

Mo Sang was precisely her aunt's given name. Ever since her aunt had attained the Fourth Grade realm, scarcely anyone had dared call her by those two words.

Just what realm was this Daoist before her in, that he dared directly call her aunt by name?

"The demon clans value bloodlines, while Daoist sects value inheritance. The Cloud Fox aura upon you runs deep; it cannot escape my notice." Daoist Wei tapped Su Che with the tip of his whisk. "And what is the relationship between you and Young Master Su?"

Qingqiu glanced at Su Che beside her. Even with her quick wits, she had no idea how to answer for the moment.

From the Daoist's words just now, he was plainly someone who hated evil as though it were an enemy.

Communication between humans and demons likely violated some taboo of his.

What a nuisance. One wrong word, and perhaps she would be planted in the ground like a melon seed.

"We would not dare deceive Daoist Elder. The two of us..."

Su Che answered without thinking, yet his words faltered, as if he could not bring himself to explain their relationship.

This Daoist Wei had just said that persuading people to turn good was useless effort. He presumably was not someone rigidly bound by the distinction between righteousness and evil.

Daoist Wei glanced at Little Fox. "The young lady's background is somewhat loftier than his. I fear she has married beneath herself."

Little Fox babbled incoherently, unable to think of anything to say.

"The law of this place is not passed into six ears. Since you have not entered our gates, young lady, please withdraw for the moment."

As Daoist Wei spoke, he raised his sleeve. In an instant, Little Fox vanished without a trace.

Good heavens. Su Che looked at the cuff of Daoist Wei's black robe. Could this be the divine art of Heaven and Earth in the Sleeve?

"A few days ago, I returned to the sect. I never expected such a major incident to arise at home." Daoist Wei shook his whisk, and a Huang cloud the size of a lotus flower flew from within his sleeve.

The lotus-sized Huang cloud spun round and round, swelling until it was the size of a millstone.

"Get on."

Yulizi flicked his whisk.

"A few years ago, I ascended to the Outer Nine Heavens to gather the purest mysterious truth. I never expected that after being gone for several years, such upheaval would arise at home."

Su Che stepped onto the Huang cloud with both feet. It felt as though he had put on a pair of boots woven from clouds, indescribably comfortable.

The Huang cloud rose with the wind, gradually shooting up into the blue skies.

Yulizi raised the cloud higher and higher until they hovered over Shanyin County Town. His eyes flashed like lightning as he swept them across the rolling terrain around Shanyin County.

"Several hundred years ago, I heard that someone at White Deer Grotto Academy wrote the Explanation of the Taiji Diagram, and later another wrote the Commentary on the Explanation of the Taiji Diagram. Confucian scholars have always upheld the boundaries of the human way, establishing their path upon the foundations of benevolence and righteousness. White Deer Grotto sought to use Confucian teachings to explain the transformations between Heaven and man. It was an innovation. Though I am of the Daoist School, I was glad to see it succeed."

"White Deer Grotto explained and explained, until they came up with a method of treating outstanding individuals as kindling for troubled times. To ensure lasting peace and order under heaven, one need only cut out those who might become lords of chaos. They wished to sweep away future human kings. Whether the northern kingdoms or the southern dynasties, all naturally welcomed this. That was how the matter had always been."

"Your earlier ordeal was likely much the same." Wei Zhisheng turned his eyes toward Su Che. "A few years ago, I went to cultivate in the Outer Nine Heavens. I had believed that with your uncle holding the fort, the Su Family would be safe. I never expected White Deer Grotto's conduct to become so utterly lawless."

"Su Che, look below."

Standing upon the cloud, Su Che cast his gaze downward.

He saw verdant mountains gathered in emerald hues, blue waters like ribbons, and city walls like ripe fruit formed upon the earth. Official roads stretched thin as threads, while the traces of human habitation were hazy, almost invisible.

The great sun was about to reach its zenith, scattering its essence everywhere. Between Heaven and Earth, only he and Yulizi stood riding the wind.

"Either return home and become a wealthy gentleman. With your uncle and me present, White Deer Grotto presumably will not press you too far."

"Or cultivate with me. Drink the essence of sun and moon, swallow the spiritual qi of Heaven and Earth, rise amid rosy clouds and ascend, climb to Heaven and gaze upon the vast sea. Even if my Yellow Heaven Sect's disciples possess an emperor's fate, they should become Mount Tai Prefect Lord or Azure Florescence Emperor Lord."

Was there even a choice to make?

Su Che immediately fell to his knees on the cloud.

"This disciple is willing to cultivate under honored master. Mortal wealth and honor, the tender ties of children and lovers—from this day onward, they shall have no further connection to me..."

"Didn't you just find yourself a Cloud Fox?"

"This disciple was ignorant. Fortunately, honored master has enlightened me. All that came before, all ten thousand ties—I cast them aside..."

"That's enough."

Yulizi flicked his whisk.

"You need not sing such lofty tunes. I am the direct disciple of the Yellow Heaven Sect's leader, one of the notable figures among the Daoist sects of this realm. By the rules, our Daoist School must test a disciple seven times before admitting them within the gates. No matter how floridly you speak here, it is useless."

Su Che looked at his nose, his nose at his heart, and listened to this man's pronouncement.

"Today, I shall impart to you a set of the Secret Register of the Yin Heaven of Zhoujue. Without registers, there is no Dao. This art is a secret transmission of my Yellow Heaven Sect. It is not established in writing, but passed from heart to heart through an imprint of intent. If you can cultivate thirty-six secret registers within twenty-one days, you shall count as a disciple beneath my gates. If not, then your affinity is too shallow, and you can only remain a registered disciple here."

Once Yulizi had finished speaking, the tip of his right forefinger pressed directly against Su Che's brow.

At once, a set of ancient mysterious characters was imprinted upon Su Che's heart.