Who Was the True Reincarnated Immortal?

After speaking, Chen Cuo found that his thoughts had fallen into place. He looked up at Zhou Youzi, seeking confirmation and guidance.

Zhou Youzi did not quite understand some of Chen Cuo's wording, but he grasped the gist and nodded. "Tempering the mind and will, and toughening the muscles, bones, skin, and flesh—our sects have names for these too: Nature Cultivation and Life Cultivation. To become unlike ordinary people and enter the Transcendent Realm is to cultivate both with care. Your insight is remarkable, my lord. I admire it."

His praise was sincere, but his doubts only deepened.

What's so remarkable about that? If you'd played every kind of game and read every setting you could find in your past life like I did, you'd sum it up quickly too, Chen Cuo thought.

With that in mind, Chen Cuo resumed their conversation and gradually drew out several key points—

The first step of Path-Seeking was the Transcendent Realm.

Its crux lay in one word: different.

One's Nature and Life were no longer the same as an ordinary person's.

But they were only different, not utterly alien. The divide was not complete; a person remained human, merely in the process of shedding the mundane.

That was why Zhou Youzi had described the first step as a process from the outset.

At the same time, each sect likely emphasized different aspects of Nature and Life cultivation, giving rise to different extraordinary abilities.

Chen Cuo asked Zhou Youzi about this to test his understanding.

"According to legend, before the Qin Dynasty, cultivators throughout All Under Heaven chiefly practiced Qi Refining. Nature Cultivation and Fate Cultivation were distinct, apparently even belonging to two separate paths of Path-Seeking. Those days are long gone. Since then, the Guangcheng Dao Lineage has spread far and wide. These days, whatever a sect's emphasis, it cultivates both Nature and Life to some degree..."

Zhou Youzi paused, then smiled. "As the verse goes: Cultivating life but not nature is the foremost flaw in cultivation; cultivating nature but not life leaves a spark of spirit with nowhere to shine."

Chen Cuo nodded and mulled it over carefully, but he could not grasp the essential point. These were theoretical descriptions, after all—surface explanations that went no deeper.

As he saw it, Zhou Youzi was not a natural teacher. He had once been a wandering swordsman before joining an Immortal Sect. He knew his own sect's methods firsthand, but had mostly heard about others secondhand, leaving him few examples to offer.

And sect rules prevented him from describing even his own methods in detail. He could only skim the surface, leaving Chen Cuo no way to dig deeper.

Forget it. I'll work it out over time...

Setting aside the thought, he made use of their remaining time to ask about the Second Step of the Dao-Seeking Path.

"I have not reached the second step," Zhou Youzi said, "so I can only tell you a few points I've heard. I cannot say much about my sect's secrets. I hope you'll understand, my lord."

Chen Cuo nodded. "Of course. I'm fortunate enough to have you answer my questions at all. I wouldn't ask for more."

Zhou Youzi grew solemn. "The Second Step of the Dao-Seeking Path may be called 'Transcending the Mundane, Establishing the Dao-root Origin.' It is also known as the Dao Foundation realm."

Chen Cuo nodded and committed the words to memory, trying to discern the essentials of the second step from its name.

Zhou Youzi pointed to his chest. "Once the first step, the Transcendent Realm, is complete, you possess abilities that set you apart from ordinary people. That gives you the foundation for Transcendence."

Chen Cuo understood at once. "For instance, once your Mindfield has fully taken shape and become established, its extraordinary nature has gone from nothing to something, then grown stable and mature. That completes the first step, but you haven't yet begun Transcendence. So what does Transcendence actually take?"

Appreciation showed in Zhou Youzi's eyes. "Those who seek Transcendence need a path ahead. The first and second steps both describe a seeker taking steps in search of the Dao. That Dao is where the path ahead leads. Only after finding your own path and knowing your direction can you attain Transcendence. Otherwise, even if you attain the Transcendent Realm, you've reached the end."

Chen Cuo frowned and listened closely.

"The key lies in the second half of that eight-character phrase: 'Establishing the Dao-root Origin!'" Zhou Youzi stressed. "At the second step, you begin establishing your Dao-root and understanding its source. Once your Dao-root is firm and your origin clear, you have reached what is called the Dao Foundation realm."

So the second step, the Dao Foundation Realm, is another process?

Chen Cuo considered this, then asked, "What is a Dao-root?"

Zhou Youzi weighed his words instead of answering at once. A bead of cold sweat ran down his forehead.

Unlike the first step, the second was a realm he had never reached. Naturally, he could not explain it thoroughly. There were parts he did not understand himself; everything he had said so far merely repeated the words of his sect's elders and senior disciples.

After a while, Zhou Youzi finally said, "I'm ashamed to admit I haven't truly comprehended the Dao-root. If I had, my cultivation would probably be far higher by now. But from what I've seen, most of my sect's elders and senior disciples develop a Divine Ability after grasping their Dao-root. Most of these abilities differ. Though all are connected to the Mindfield, each has its own character."

"Now it's getting complicated again." Chen Cuo frowned.

"Not so." Zhou Youzi shook his head. "I asked several of them. From what they told me, this Divine Ability is an outward Image of the Dao-root, while the Dao-root is an Image of their innermost resolve. It is connected to their past experiences, or perhaps to some great aspiration they hold."

Chen Cuo could not quite make sense of it. He had the beginnings of an idea, but nothing coherent, so he simply committed the explanation to memory.

Zhou Youzi put it plainly. "Trying to understand a realm before you reach it does more harm than good. Establishing the Dao-root Origin at the second step—the Dao Foundation Realm—is the foundation for all your future cultivation. It concerns not only you, but also your sect's legacy."

His words turned toward the sects. "The Guangcheng Dao Lineage has been passed down to this day, and its many sects have each developed and refined it in their own ways. Some look quite different, but at their core, all cultivate the self and strip away falsehood to reveal truth. This is the Way of True Cultivation. My sect's founding master once said that our path should embrace all useful things without fear. Use what serves us and discard what does not."

"The Way of True Cultivation?" Chen Cuo paused, then a thought struck him. "As opposed to the Way of Incense?"

Zhou Youzi nodded with a smile. "The Incense Way is another path, but it can likewise be divided into a first and second step. Even its first step shares much with ours. The difference lies in the Dao-root Origin of the second step, where it diverges from our True Cultivation Lineage. As for what constitutes its Dao Foundation, I do not know."

Chen Cuo considered this and sighed inwardly.

He had gained some understanding of the first step, the Transcendent Realm, but the second step, the Dao Foundation Realm, remained shrouded in mist.

Ultimately, Zhou Youzi had not progressed beyond the Transcendent Realm, and his sect's rules further limited what he could reveal. Small wonder his explanation remained hazy.

But Chen Cuo was entangled with an Evil Ghost, and that ghost was connected to the matter of Incense. The best outcome would be for him to absorb and refine it. Still, he needed to ask a little more about what came next.

"You said some sects excel at gathering Human Thought," he said, "and that the best among them can help someone reach the second step in a single bound and attain the Dao Foundation Realm. Does that mean once someone enters the Incense Way, their path is fixed?"

"You could say that."

Chen Cuo followed up. "Once the path is set, can it be changed?"

Zhou Youzi paused, then thought it over before answering. "My sect's founding master once mentioned an old acquaintance with great ambitions. For certain reasons, that person changed paths, abandoning everything they had cultivated through sheer determination and starting again. So there must be a way. But once you change paths, every step you previously took likely comes to nothing."

So you lose all your cultivation and start from scratch!

Chen Cuo narrowed his eyes and weighed the matter, then laughed at himself. I haven't even reached the threshold of the first step. Just because this Evil Ghost has dragged me into matters of Incense and Human Thought, I'm already thinking about changing paths? I'm getting ahead of myself!

And if it really could take me straight to the Dao Foundation realm, who could say that was a bad thing? Half-Mind here has been a disciple for years and is still stuck on the first step.

With that thought, Chen Cuo felt at ease.

Across from him, Zhou Youzi's expression shifted. "Something's happened in the residence."

He raised a hand and swept it through the air. "Let us stop here for now, my lord. If you still have questions, we can discuss them when I return." As he moved, the Talisman Paper sealing the doors and windows fell away, its vermilion patterns fading.

The Talisman Paper had barely touched the floor

when hurried, uneven footsteps sounded outside. An urgent knock followed, along with Chen Hai's voice—

"My lord! Daoist Master! The old mistress requests your presence! It's urgent! The person who stole the pills has escaped and vanished!"

"What?" Chen Cuo looked at Zhou Youzi in surprise.

Zhou Youzi's face grew grave. "This is serious. Given the timing, the Evil Ghost may be involved. Go ahead, my lord. I'll regulate my breathing for a moment, then follow."

Chen Cuo hesitated. "And the matter of the Evil Ghost..."

"Do not spread word of it," Zhou Youzi warned. "The more people who know, the more unsettled their minds will become—and the harder the Evil Ghost will be to eliminate!"

"Understood!"

Chen Cuo took a deep breath, straightened his clothes, and hurried out, leaving Zhou Youzi alone in the room, deep in thought.

Suddenly, Zhou Youzi sighed.

"I'll have to ask for guidance. Thinking it through alone won't give me an answer."

With that thought, he took out a piece of Talisman Paper and flicked it with a finger. The paper curled, and Azure flames sprang up along its edges.

Zhou Youzi cleared his throat and spoke to the Talisman Paper—

"The Marquis of Linru County has remarkable insight. He obtained a text in a dream and, merely by writing it down, gathered Incense and Human Thought, forming a foundation outside his body. But he lacked the proper method and caused a disturbance. This disciple must lend him aid. The Prince's Residence's Third Young Lady is exceptionally clever and has the protection of a Spirit Crane. The many strange Images earlier all pointed to her. Both are extraordinary talents. I ask the sect to investigate again and determine which of them is the Reincarnated Immortal Child before the other sects do!"

When he finished, he flicked his finger again. The Talisman Paper burst into flame and crumbled to ash.

He stood, his brows tightly drawn.

"Which of them is the Reincarnated Immortal? Who is real, and who is false?"

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