Passing on the teachings

What Shi Feiyang recited was precisely the Immortal Arts Old Man Xuexue had secretly learned from the Heavenly Emperor's library and then covertly passed down to his daughter in the lower realm, Lady Baoxiang.

Old Man Xuexue was merely one of the countless custodians of the Langhuan Library. Secretly learning the Immortal Arts violated heavenly law, so he had to conceal his actions from the others and his superiors. What he stole was piecemeal—a spell here, an alchemical recipe there—and he also had to exercise extreme caution when passing it down to the lower realm, lest anyone discover him.

What he had secretly learned was incomplete to begin with, and he had passed only a portion of it to his daughter. By the time it reached Shi Feiyang, all that remained was these few lines.

Yet even these few lines were genuine Immortal Arts from the Upper Realm!

Ancestor Hollow Space was no fool. Earlier, he had truly discerned an extraordinarily lofty realm of cultivation in the bell's chimes. Now that he had received several lines of authentic Immortal Arts, he became all the more convinced that the other party was undoubtedly a true immortal from the Upper Realm. Trembling with excitement, he carefully dissected and savored the scripture before explaining it to Shi Feiyang.

"The Thirty-Six Heavenly Transformations arise from the workings of the Heavenly Dao, while the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiend Transformations arise from the workings of the Earthly Dao. Five days make one seasonal period, and each period brings one transformation. There are seventy-two such periods in a year, during which all things in the world—the plants, mountains, and rivers—undergo seventy-two transformations, corresponding precisely to the three hundred and sixty degrees of the Circumcelestial Cycle. Heavenly qi travels around the Circumcelestial Cycle, drawing upon its warp and weft. Its transformations occur once every ten days, making thirty-six transformations in one complete Circumcelestial Cycle. May I ask whether my interpretation is correct?" Ancestor Hollow Space asked cautiously, brimming with anticipation.

Shi Feiyang found that this explanation was much the same as what he had guessed beforehand, so he said, "Your interpretation follows the correct path, but it lacks depth..."

Ancestor Hollow Space held his breath and focused, listening with utmost attention. "Please instruct me, exalted immortal."

Naturally, Shi Feiyang had no way to instruct him. Besides, those were all the lines of scripture he had, and he could not keep inventing more.

He said, "The art of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Transformations is exceedingly profound, intended for the cultivation of the Gods of the heavens. If I secretly pass it down to the lower realm, I must bear the blame. Moreover, you are not yet suited to cultivating it. Still, judging by your interpretation, you show promise. I will see how you progress in the future before teaching it to you."

Ancestor Hollow Space was somewhat disappointed, but Shi Feiyang did not leave him disappointed for long.

“There is still plenty of time before your tribulation descends, so there is no need to hurry. First, I will teach you how to refine a Magic Treasure called the Heavenly Stems Lock. It specializes in binding all manner of nonhuman beings and demonic souls. Once you have refined it, nothing could be better for guarding your mind against demonic interference. It will spare you such disturbances in the future.”

What he offered was, of course, the refinement method for Lady Baoxiang's Pure Yang Heart-Transferring Lock of the Myriad Treasures Ruyi. He had simply renamed it the Heavenly Stems Lock.

This, too, was a wondrous treasure-refining recipe Old Man Xuexue had stolen from the Heavenly Realm. It was extraordinarily difficult to complete: three silver chains and nine jade rings interlocked in an immensely intricate arrangement, which then had to be inlaid with one hundred and eight kinds of gemstones and slowly refined with Immortal Fire until it became Pure Yang.

Lady Baoxiang had spent many years working on hers, yet even now it was only one-third complete.

By producing this method, Shi Feiyang further cemented Ancestor Hollow Space's conviction that he was a "true immortal from the Upper Realm." This treasure was no ordinary thing. Only a genuine immortal from the Upper Realm could know how to refine it—and be willing to teach it so generously to someone like him in the lower realm.

Having received a genuine boon, Ancestor Hollow Space thanked him over and over. Shi Feiyang then said, "The road to immortality is long. A few Magic Treasures and a handful of spells alone cannot bring you to perfection. Your own cultivation must remain the foundation. You said you follow the Unorthodox Path, so tell me how you cultivate. I will see whether I can help you turn onto the Righteous Path."

Ancestor Hollow Space no longer harbored any doubts about him. He had wanted to seek guidance on the Immortal Arts all along, and upon hearing this, he immediately explained his cultivation method.

The method he had first practiced was very poor, probably only a little better than Wei Fengniang's. Later, through his eldest disciple Ling Wei Sou, he had discovered the blessed grotto-heaven of Unfixed Island and obtained a secret manual in the Immortal Mansion. Only after many years of arduous cultivation had he attained his present level.

Too embarrassed to mention what he had learned in the past, he went straight to the secret manual from the Immortal Mansion.

The immortal who had left behind the Immortal Mansion had also primarily cultivated ice- and snow-related Daoist arts, leaning entirely toward yin and cold before seeking a way to generate true yang within great yin.

Although the approach was sound and theoretically feasible, solitary yin could not give birth, nor could lone yang grow. Its foundation was unstable from the outset. The greater one's power became, the more dangerous cultivation grew. The slightest deviation could cause cultivation to run wild: either True Fire would turn into demonic fire and burn the practitioner to ashes, or true yang would fail to arise, leaving excessive yin qi to turn the practitioner into an icy corpse or a frozen corpse.

The best solution in such circumstances was to find someone who cultivated fire-based Daoist arts and practice together, supporting one another. Those who specialized in fire-based arts likewise leaned too heavily toward a single element and faced many hidden dangers. If the two could work together with one heart, both would benefit.

But the same caveat remained: those who practiced this art were solitary by nature, while practitioners of fire-based arts had fiery tempers. If they could not bring Water and Fire in Harmony, blending them together, the two elements would inevitably clash and reject each other. In all likelihood, they would ultimately turn against one another and fight until heaven and earth were overturned.

Once Ancestor Hollow Space finished, he waited eagerly for Shi Feiyang to offer pointers and suggest ways to improve his method.

But how could Shi Feiyang possibly possess that ability? He had merely made the occasional ambiguous remark throughout the explanation. At last, he said, "Your method entered the Unorthodox Path from the very beginning. Now that you have cultivated for several hundred years and accumulated profound power, improving it will be far from easy. You must give me time to consider it carefully..."

After severing the connection between the zither and the bell, Shi Feiyang recorded the cultivation method Ancestor Hollow Space had described, comparing and studying it alongside what he had learned before.

Clearly, Ancestor Hollow Space's method favored the water element, making it just right for cultivating his True Water core.

Had he possessed only one inner core, practicing this Daoist art would have affected both his constitution and temperament. The greater his magical power grew, the more solitary he would become, gradually setting him on the same road as Ancestor Hollow Space and the others.

But he had two inner cores, and he could already generate yin within yang and yang within yin. They clung to each other like glue and lacquer, bringing Water and Fire in Harmony as yin and yang transformed into one another.

For every measure of power he gained through cultivating the True Water inner core, the Divine Fire Inner Core would grow equally stronger. It was just as when the Divine Fire Inner Core had absorbed the five acquired fires earlier and advanced greatly: the True Water inner core had likewise gained a great deal of true yin origin qi through their transformation.

Thus, anyone else who took up this method would be practicing an unorthodox art and walking the Unorthodox Path. When he practiced it, however, he could cultivate an unorthodox art while remaining firmly on the orthodox path without straying.

He cultivated for several months. One day, Zheng Yuan Gui came to his door. "I'm preparing to brew a batch of Bone-Setting Spirit Jade Paste, and I need an ingredient called queen mother grass. This herb only grows in the Central Land, which lies a million li from here. Even if I reached it, it would be difficult to find amid its thousand mountains and myriad ravines. I suddenly remembered that you told Martial Uncle Geng the other day that you had queen mother grass, which could bring the dead back to life. Could you lend me some to ease this fire burning at my brows?"

Shi Feiyang thought, You brat, your ears really are sharp. You actually overheard what I said to Geng Peng that day.

Seeing him remain silent in thought, Zheng Yuan Gui's expression darkened. "I'm not asking for it for free. Either I'll give you some of the paste once it's finished, or I'll find more when I go to the Central Land someday and repay you."