The Carefree introductory manual

Under the watchful eyes of seven people, the pot of Dragon Horse meat was finally finished.

Wang Huhu rubbed her round little belly and burped. Little Blue, stuffed to bursting, fell out of the sky and lay on the ground, refusing to get up.

Yang Xiao was just about to sit down and rest when his face suddenly flushed purple-red. He felt a surge of spiritual energy rush out of his belly. The surge was enormous, like swallowing ten Qi-Gathering Pills at once, and more spiritual energy kept pouring out, seemingly without end.

He hurriedly sat cross-legged and circulated the Great Martial Canon to absorb it, sending each stream of spiritual energy into his Qi Sea after compressing it nine times.

One hundred and twenty li, one hundred and sixty li, two hundred li.

The spiritual energy in his Qi Sea only stopped expanding at two hundred li. Fortunately, they had only eaten one horse leg, and he had eaten just a quarter of it. Any more, and he probably would have exploded.

Opening his eyes, he found Wang Huhu staring at him with her big eyes.

Shen Laodao's tutting reached his ears. "I never imagined your cultivation was so low. Lucky you ate so little, or you would have become the first person to die from being stuffed with spiritual energy."

Yang Xiao blushed. Everyone else who had come up the mountain was at least in the Sea Condensation Realm. He could not even fathom the cultivation of Shen Laodao, Dongfang Mingyue, and Luo Kedi; they were at least beyond Sea Condensation.

Shen Laodao said to Wang Huhu, "Little girl, now that he's awake, you ought to answer this humble monk's question.

"How did you tell back then that this humble monk wasn't from Ascetic Mountain?"

Wang Huhu's eyes darted around, and she revealed two little canine teeth. "Want to know? Trade me some exotic beast meat."

"You..." Shen Laodao pointed at Wang Huhu, momentarily at a loss for words.

The two stared at each other. After a while, Shen Laodao conceded and took out an exotic mountain goat. "Little girl, you're something else. There aren't many people in this world who can make this humble monk give in."

Wang Huhu excitedly put the exotic mountain goat into her Storage Ring and skipped toward the pool. "I've met people from Ascetic Mountain before. Real monks don't say 'Amitabha.' Anyone who says 'Amitabha' is a fake monk."

Yang Xiao looked at Shen Laodao. Real monks also wore monastic robes, which was why he had turned around and left upon first meeting Shen Laodao.

Of course, he would not say that aloud. Who knew what monks in this world wore?

Shen Laodao stared at Wang Huhu without speaking for a long time.

Wang Huhu and the others were still sitting beside the pool. He had spent at least a day meditating this time. Sitting there for a little while was nothing, but sitting there for an entire day meant something was amiss.

He turned and asked, "Why are you all staying here?"

Shen Laodao looked at the rock wall and sighed. "It's not that we want to sit here. Mountain Master Li said the Carefree introductory manual is on that wall.

"And everyone who joins starts as an outer disciple.

"Only by comprehending the Carefree introductory manual on the wall can we become direct disciples and enter the Scripture Pavilion to study higher-level arts."

Yang Xiao thought of the extra bluestone house atop the mountain. He had assumed four people lived up there, but now it seemed the extra building was the Scripture Pavilion.

There were two arts on the rock wall. The characters of the upper one looked as though they had gathered from clouds and mist, while those of the lower one seemed to grow out of the rock itself.

He walked over to the deep pool and sat down, looking at the wall. An invisible veil of mist seemed to shroud the writing. At first glance, he appeared to see the characters, but when he looked closely, he could see nothing at all.

Yang Xiao sat there for an entire day without making sense of it.

Under the stars that night, Yang Xiao instinctively circulated the Great Martial Canon to cultivate. But when the spiritual energy reached his eyes, the writing on the rock wall became clear.

Instantly alert, he circulated the Great Martial Canon and gathered spiritual energy in his eyes. The writing grew clearer and clearer.

He saw that the upper art was the Heaven's Eye Opening Technique, while the lower one was Gather Earth to Build a House.

Yang Xiao stood up excitedly. Everyone else was concentrating entirely on comprehending the rock wall. Who among them had spare time to cultivate like he did?

He walked over to Shen Laodao, bent down, and quietly told him about it. Shen Laodao shuddered, his eyes gleaming as he looked at the rock wall.

Before long, Shen Laodao began cackling.

"What are you going mad over? With your aptitude, don't tell me you can comprehend the Carefree introductory manual faster than me," Luo Kedi said with a frown.

Shen Laodao coughed. "No, I was just thinking about that Dragon Horse we ate yesterday."

"That was my mount!" a fat young man exclaimed, jumping up. Yang Xiao remembered that his name seemed to be Lin Haoxuan.

Shen Laodao gave a couple of sheepish laughs, then pulled Yang Xiao away toward the path.

The two found a clearing in the forest. Shen Buyu said, "You go first."

Yang Xiao nodded, walked into the clearing, and pointed ahead. "Gather Earth to Build a House."

The earth ahead began to flow, forming an earthen house.

But it did not stop there. Yang Xiao had only used half his magical power. The earth continued flowing, and the earthen house gradually became a Yellow Stone House. By then, he had consumed ninety-nine percent of his magical power.

Pale-faced, Yang Xiao stopped and walked over to Shen Buyu, looking at him.

Shen Laodao nodded, stepped forward, and pointed at the ground. "Gather Earth to Build a House!"

The earth flowed, gradually forming the outline of an earthen house, only to collapse a moment later.

"How is that possible?" Shen Laodao cried. "This humble monk is a rare genius who appears only once in a thousand years! How could I fail?"

Shen Laodao continued casting Gather Earth to Build a House until daybreak, when he finally managed to form an earthen house.

Watching this, Yang Xiao could only conclude that his own talent was good.

During the day, the two tried the Heaven's Eye Opening Technique as well. Once again, Yang Xiao succeeded immediately.

Shen Laodao, however, spent half a day forming a Heavenly Eye the size of an ordinary human eye. From the ground, it looked like nothing more than a tiny black dot.

Yang Xiao walked over to the pale-faced Shen Laodao, whose magical power was clearly exhausted, and sighed. "Actually, you've already done your best. Your talent is just poor."

With that, he burst out laughing. Now that Shen Laodao had exhausted his magical power, Yang Xiao was not afraid of him.

But his laughter grew quieter and quieter, because two voices were laughing in the clearing. He looked at Shen Buyu, who looked back at him, yet the laughter continued.

The two followed the sound and found that it came from behind a tree.

The next moment, Wang Huhu stepped out from behind it, her hands on her hips. "Hand over the rock wall's secret, or I'll tell everyone what you've done."

Yang Xiao and Shen Laodao exchanged a glance, then walked toward Wang Huhu together.

She grew nervous and backed away repeatedly, only to trip over a branch. Looking at them, she cried, "Don't come any closer! I'm a child!"

The two carried Wang Huhu over to the stone house they had formed earlier and tossed her inside. Yang Xiao blocked the doorway.

Wang Huhu's cries came from inside. "Let me out!"

"Why don't we just kill her?" Inside the stone house, Wang Huhu suddenly heard Yang Xiao say this, and her little face turned deathly white.

"No, didn't you hear her say she's a child? Let's bury her instead." Wang Huhu sank to her knees on the floor, all color draining from her face.

But after a long wait, no further sound came from outside, nor was there any movement in the stone house.

By then, Yang Xiao and Shen Laodao were walking along the cobblestone path. They exchanged a smile; they had only been trying to frighten Wang Huhu.

Shen Laodao had exhausted his magical power practicing the Heaven's Eye Opening Technique, while Yang Xiao was merely a cultivator in the Qi Gathering Realm.

Yet Wang Huhu, a Sea Condensation Realm cultivator, had not dared resist.

The stone house could imprison a mortal, but it certainly could not imprison a cultivator. Once Wang Huhu realized this, she could naturally break out.

The two reached the mountaintop. The sun had only just set, and Li Wuyou and the others had not yet retired.

"Do you know which room is Master's?" Yang Xiao's gaze moved between two Blue Stone Houses. He knew which houses belonged to Lei Jiuchen and Lei Miaoyan, so he had ruled those out.

Shen Laodao puffed out his chest and lifted his head. "You fainted as soon as you arrived. Of course you don't know."

"This humble monk is different. This humble monk came up here fully conscious."

With that, he led Yang Xiao to the Blue Stone House on the right of Lei Miaoyan's and bowed. "Your disciples request an audience, Master."

Li Wuyou emerged from the Blue Stone House with a smile. Upon seeing the two of them, his smile cooled. "What is it?"

Yang Xiao knew he must have taken them for people who had come to steal the Carefree Sect's teachings. In truth, they really had.

But in Li Wuyou's eyes, they had no backing, so naturally he had no pleasant expression for them.

Shen Laodao bowed. "Master, we have comprehended the Carefree Scripture fragment. Please assess us."

"Oh!" Li Wuyou exclaimed in surprise. He led them to a clearing and said, "Demonstrate the arts within it here."

The two exchanged a glance. Shen Laodao stepped out first, stood in the clearing, and shouted ahead, "Gather Earth to Build a House!" The earth flowed, instantly forming an earthen house.

Shen Laodao pointed at the sky and shouted, "May Heaven open its eye!"

A white cloud churned and condensed into a tiny black dot, then burst with a pop. Shen Laodao's expression darkened. He had not expected it to fail again at the crucial moment.

Li Wuyou glanced at him. "Average aptitude as an Earth Master."

Shen Laodao returned to Yang Xiao's side, and Li Wuyou turned his gaze toward Yang Xiao. Yang Xiao bowed to him, walked into the clearing, and swept his sleeve. "Gather Earth to Build a House."

His magical power drained rapidly, and a stone house appeared on the ground.

Li Wuyou's eyes grew brighter and brighter as he watched. "Excellent!"

Eyes shining, Li Wuyou walked up to him and placed both hands on his shoulders, beside himself with excitement. "Child, how long did it take you to cultivate Gather Earth to Build a House to this level?"

Yang Xiao's face was pale. "I succeeded on my first attempt."

Yang Xiao felt he could take it even further, but he had too little magical power within him.

If Li Wuyou had looked at him like a delectable dish before, he now looked at him like a peerless beauty, the sort who could turn the whole world upside down.

Li Wuyou's voice trembled. "Say that again."

Yang Xiao froze. Was succeeding on the first attempt really that frightening? He turned to look at Shen Buyu, who had taken a whole day to form an earthen house. Perhaps it really was.

He said, "One attempt."

Li Wuyou swallowed and looked at him with an exceedingly complicated gaze. "Your name is Yang Xiao, correct?"

Yang Xiao nodded. He had given his name when they first met, but there had been so many people then that it was only natural for Li Wuyou not to remember clearly.

Li Wuyou pointed at the Blue Stone House beside them. "From today onward, you may enter the first floor of the Scripture Pavilion to study the Earth Master arts within. If there is anything you don't understand, you may ask me."

He turned to Shen Laodao and said, "You may also enter the first floor of the Scripture Pavilion to study Earth Master arts."

He could study Earth Master arts after casting Gather Earth to Build a House, and Shen Laodao had also succeeded in casting it.

Then if he cast the Heaven's Eye Opening Technique, would he not be able to study Heavenly Master arts?

"Master." Yang Xiao called out to stop Li Wuyou as he turned to return to his room. Li Wuyou looked back. "What else is there?"

Yang Xiao stepped forward and bowed. "Master, you haven't watched me cast the Heaven's Eye Opening Technique yet."

Li Wuyou's pupils contracted. "You can cast the Heaven's Eye Opening Technique too?"

At that moment, Li Wuyou's heart churned like rivers overturning and seas raging. Heavenly Masters and Earth Masters were two mutually opposing professions. The greater one's aptitude for one, the lower one's aptitude for the other.

But heaven and earth were ever-changing. According to legend, when a person's talent broke beyond the ultimate limit, their aptitude for both would reach a terrifying level.

He knew of only one such person: the founding patriarch of the Carefree Sect—the Carefree Ancestor.