A Dragon Lurked on Floating Cloud Mountain, Sword Light Descended from the Sky

Floating Cloud Mountain, halfway up the mountainside.

He slid the Peachwood Sword into its sheath.

The white-haired old Daoist stood with his hands behind his back, stroking his beard with a smile.

This was his first display of might in this other world. Though it had happened unexpectedly—he had encountered a few lesser demons on his way back to the abbey after an outing—he had finally tasted the thrill of being a master who slew evil with a sweep of his sword.

However composed he might be, a first experience was bound to send a few ripples across the lake of his heart.

Otherwise, he would have been putting on far too false and hypocritical an act.

In the end, cultivating the Dao was nothing more than a quest for truth.

Still, Xuanming did not stay excited for long.

Sixty years of accumulated experience had made his disposition different.

Once his emotions settled, he concentrated his Divine awareness and pondered the matter.

After his initial surprise at how cleanly he had dispatched those lesser demons, including a fourth-stage snake demon with a severed arm, Xuanming felt it was only natural.

The Primordial Unity Qi Formula was a top-tier cultivation art.

He had already cultivated the Eight Outer Visions True Method to its fifth truth.

Three months earlier, he could already fight his junior brother, the Fourth Realm abbey master, to a draw. How much more capable was he now, after his breakthrough?

The man I am today is no longer the man I was yesterday.

Though he had only just broken through and did not know precisely how strong he was, a falling leaf foretold autumn. Judging by how easily he had slain the snake demon, even if he was not invincible in the Essence Refining Realm, worthy opponents would be hard to find.

Once he reached Essence Refining Perfection, he might well be invincible among those of his realm.

The thought delighted Xuanming.

But he did not let his triumph go to his head, and soon grew calm again.

Beyond Heaven lies another Heaven; beyond every person stands someone greater.

Essence Refining was only the first major threshold of cultivation.

Even that one evil flood dragon left Xuanming utterly helpless, to say nothing of Spirit Refining masters whose prowess crowned the world, or even the immortals of legend.

Danger lurked below the mountain, and the waters of this world ran deep.

An old mountain Daoist like him still had a long road to travel and a towering mountain to climb.

For now, he had only just set out.

"The road stretches long and far; above and below, I shall seek the truth."

After this reflection, Xuanming's state of mind improved a little.

The demons' bodies were enormous and difficult to move.

With a light tap of his toes, he leaped a hundred zhang in a single stride, like an Immortal elder drifting through empty air, untouched by worldly dust.

His white hair streamed and his Daoist robes fluttered, every inch of him exuding Daoist grace.

After returning to the abbey, he summoned Chang'anzi.

When Chang'anzi heard that demons had sneaked up the mountain, his face filled with terror.

When he heard that Xuanming had slain them, he breathed a sigh of relief.

As for his martial uncle's ability to slay fourth-stage demons after little more than a year on the Daoist path, Chang'anzi accepted it readily. He even felt the pride of being the only sober man in a world of drunken fools.

In all of Truth-Seeking Abbey, only he knew his martial uncle's true strength. Everyone else was a fool.

When he heard that Xuanming was entrusting him with such a fine task as transporting the demons' bodies, he was wild with joy.

"Thank you, martial uncle."

"You really do care about me, martial uncle."

At Chang'anzi's suddenly affected, mincing voice, Xuanming's beard-stroking hand jerked, pulling out a whisker.

His beard bristled and his eyes widened as he lightly tapped his newfound martial nephew's forehead with the Taiyi Whisk.

"Stop acting so strangely. Go on, hurry."

Chang'anzi pretended it hurt.

He ran out, wailing.

The gentle breeze carried his shout back.

"Martial uncle, you can rest easy when I'm on the job!"

Xuanming shook his head with a smile. "You little rascal!"

On the second floor of the Scripture Pavilion, he read scriptures and contemplated the Dao.

The fragrance of tea filled his nose, and the fragrance of books seeped into his heart.

Xuanming immersed himself in them, teasing out their principles like silk from a cocoon. He understood them from the surface down to their depths, sifted away the chaff to retain the essence, and selected what was useful. Like trickling streams, these insights flowed into the sea of understanding within his heart.

Three upon three was without end, six upon six without limit, and nine upon nine returned to one.

During his last enlightenment at the Mysterious Gate, he had already grasped the rules for activating the Yellow Court Scripture's Outer Visions Jade Scripture.

In Daoism, three, six, and nine all represented infinity, though each carried its own emphasis:

Three was the beginning.

Six was the process.

Nine was the end.

It was a new beginning, and also a return to the source and to oneness.

After his last fortuitous transformation, Xuanming's comprehension had soared beyond that of most people in the world.

In the past, he had needed five years to comprehend three hundred volumes of Daoist Scripture. Now, he had already read more than two hundred and sixty volumes. In three months at most, he could finish three hundred, bringing his total to six hundred.

Then he could attain enlightenment again.

He looked forward eagerly to what he might receive.

Of course, Xuanming did not place all his hopes on his cheat. To forge iron, the smith himself had to be strong.

He could not simply wait for the Yellow Court Scripture to feed him. Otherwise, even if he could comprehend its principles, how different would he be from a scripture-grinding machine? What use would his exceptional comprehension serve? Merely letting him grind through scriptures faster?

The most precious thing about humanity was wisdom.

What he ought to do was exercise his own initiative, turn the principles of Daoist Scripture into resources, and apply them in practice. He needed to try improving Truth-Seeking Abbey's cultivation arts and spells, perhaps even creating spells of his own, perfecting his own methods, and exploring his own Dao.

Having just finished a volume of Daoist Scripture, Xuanming closed his eyes to digest it.

This was a habit he had developed while reading scriptures.

Before long, hurried footsteps approached.

Then Chang'anzi's frantic voice reached his ears. "Martial uncle, something's wrong!"

"The snake demon's corpse is gone."

"Do you think he faked his death and escaped?"

Xuanming opened his eyes, a trace of astonishment appearing on his kindly face.

"My Peachwood Sword pierced that snake demon's heart, and I cut off his head as well. He cannot still be alive."

"Did you search thoroughly?"

Not daring to be negligent, Chang'anzi hastily replied:

"Martial uncle, I led men through every part of the nearby woods. Short of digging three feet into the ground, we searched everything, but there was no sign of the snake demon. Only some traces of blood and scales remained where he fell."

Frowning slightly, Xuanming said gravely:

"It seems there is more to this than meets the eye."

He ordered Chang'anzi to fetch the scales and remaining blood, then lightly flicked a finger and cast the Truth-Seeking Monastery Tracking Spell.

The two things rose into the air and fused together.

With a flick of his finger, he sent a streak of light into the scale, then gently waved his Fly-Whisk. The scale shuddered abruptly before flying away.

Xuanming immediately followed.

Night fell, and the Bright Moon hung overhead.

Holding his Fly-Whisk with the Peachwood Sword on his back, the white-haired old Daoist bounded forward, covering a hundred zhang in a breath, as though that distance were only a step.

Following the snake demon's lingering aura, the scale wandered through the mountain woods, and Xuanming followed its course.

An incense stick's worth of time later, they reached the foot of Floating Cloud Mountain.

The scale suddenly dimmed and fell to the ground.

Xuanming stopped atop a treetop and gazed into the deep night beyond the mountain. A trace of gravity appeared in his aged Divine gaze, and he said in a low voice, "This has become troublesome."

He had thought he would find something, only to make the trip for nothing.

He was absolutely certain that the snake demon had been thoroughly dead, cold straight through the heart. Yet now the demon's whereabouts were unknown.

Did the demon truly possess some wondrous art of slipping free like a cicada shedding its shell, capable of deceiving his senses, or was there another reason?

"Never mind. When soldiers come, meet them with a general; when water comes, dam it with earth."

After pondering for a moment, Xuanming let it go.

The boat would naturally straighten when it reached the bridge.

If it was that snake demon, his grievous injuries would inevitably take a long time to heal. By the time he became a Great Demon in the Qi Refining Realm and came seeking revenge, Xuanming would probably have progressed much further in the Qi Refining Realm.

After all, he was a man with a cheat.

One step ahead meant staying ahead at every step.

If something else was afoot, as long as he was strong enough, he could handle any approaching crisis with room to spare.

Ultimately, it all came down to strength.

At least for now, the danger had moved away from Floating Cloud Mountain.

Having thought it through, Xuanming turned and returned to Truth-Seeking Abbey, covering a hundred zhang with each stride.

A little green snake as thick as a chopstick secretly emerged from a hole in the ground. He gazed at the old Daoist's receding figure and gently flicked his tongue.

Then he turned to look beyond the mountain.

Intense Hatred radiated from his eyes.

At the thought of how his transformation into a dragon had failed at the final hurdle, how his flesh and most of his soul had been sealed, and how he had endured countless hardships before one wisp of his remnant soul could escape, a flash of murderous intent passed over him.

Once this possessed demon body reaches the Qi Refining Realm, I'll slaughter everyone in this Daoist abbey to vent my anger. That will count as collecting a little interest from those ox-nosed old Daoists.

Just as the green snake planned to lie low on Floating Cloud Mountain, a streak of sword light descended from Heaven.