Immortal light raced swiftly along and finally caught up with Ao Ding just as he was about to leave the Seven Spirits Sect's territory.
"Young brother, please wait!"
Wang Weilong's call brought Ao Ding to a halt.
Inside the Primordial Truth Mirror, the boy in red jumped up and pointed at the view outside the mirror, exclaiming excitedly, "Look, the villain's come out himself! Here comes someone to kill you and steal your treasures! Quick, original self, strike first and seize the advantage! Kill him-then everything he owns will be... mmph, mmph..."
Ignoring the incarnation of desire being subdued by the boy in yellow, Ao Ding turned with a smile and cupped his hands. "Were you looking for me, Sect Master?"
"Just for a little chat."
Wang Weilong walked over and invited Ao Ding to sit.
"We'll dispense with tea and refreshments. I'm also worried you might fear I'd poison you to steal your treasures and become doubly wary-so let's simply chat."
Wang Weilong then recounted how Wang Daniangzi had recognized Ao Ding's exceptional talent that day, secretly reported it to him, and how he had sent Wang He to protect Ao Ding in secret.
"I'm not telling you this to claim a favor, only to explain how small sects like ours operate-the method of tempering through trials. Perhaps you've heard your granduncle-master mention it... True Disciples of the Six Sects like him look down on it. But for small sects like ours, and the True Disciples we recommend internally, it is an effective way to gain the Six Sects' favor and a greater allocation of resources as quickly as possible."
Tempering the heart was a required lesson.
It was simply a matter of which came first and which came afterward.
True Disciples of the Six Sects chose to refine qi first and temper the heart afterward.
Small sects chose to temper the heart first and refine qi afterward.
"In a sense, your rapid cultivation progress now also owes something to that tempering. Though it wasn't complete, you did spend six years in the kitchen gardens."
Ao Ding nodded silently. Thinking back now, Wang Weilong had indeed looked after him a great deal in secret. The Northern Yin Dharma, for instance, had been a tremendous source of inspiration to him as an orthodox art.
Wang Weilong continued, "I'm telling you about this tempering method because you may encounter it elsewhere in the future. When that happens, you can be prepared."
Ao Ding slowly nodded his thanks.
But soon, something occurred to him, and he looked at Wang Weilong again.
"Then when the outer court came looking for trouble with me..."
"I was the one who told them to trouble you. But how they did it and what excuses they found were their own ideas, with at most a few outer court teachers fanning the flames. Of course, those teachers didn't know your circumstances, so none of it was staged."
"..." After hearing this, Ao Ding's expression looked a little odd.
Wang Weilong smiled. "You're only seventeen now. How much older could those children in the outer court be? You're all young. Childhood squabbles and fights are perfectly normal in any household. If you go to the Guangfa Sect to seek a master and have a disagreement with a fellow disciple, your teachers will mostly see it as children from two households squabbling. Could it really turn into a life-and-death struggle? Show some backbone and fight back."
Ao Ding was speechless.
Having explained what had happened in the Seven Spirits Sect, Wang Weilong then asked about Sun Chen.
Ao Ding concealed part of the truth and briefly described how Sun Chen had successfully undergone Liberation by Violence.
On hearing that Sun Chen had fought seven great demonic ghosts alone, Wang Weilong's expression shifted uncertainly.
Had it been that easy?
Was Granduncle-Master-that strong?
"You-you didn't help at all? Those eyes of yours are quite an asset."
"No-Senior Sun wouldn't let me intervene."
"Granduncle-Master certainly did nurture his junior..." Wang Weilong felt a bitter mix of emotions, involuntarily recalling how Sun Chen had looked after him in his youth.
And then, thinking of what had happened later...
His mood soured. He forced out a faint smile and said with an effort, "Granduncle-Master treated you very well. You must be thorough when you search for his reincarnation in the future. Don't let his nurturing go to waste."
Without keeping him much longer, Wang Weilong escorted Ao Ding out of the Seven Spirits Sect's territory.
His expression kept shifting, and the immortal light beside him stirred restlessly.
"Little Luo, tell me, was the choice I made back then wrong?"
Hazy cloud light stirred, and Luo Qiushui appeared.
Gazing at Ao Ding's retreating figure, she said softly, "Master Wang, you aren't alone. You must consider the entire Seven Spirits Sect. It is only right that you act prudently."
"Yes-the Seven Spirits Sect..."
Wang Weilong lifted his face to the heavens and sighed deeply.
Just how long could he keep this battered, sinking ship afloat?
Watching Ao Ding's retreating figure, Luo Qiushui silently made a decision.
"Master Wang, I want to cultivate that Seven Luminaries Scripture."
Those words cut straight through Wang Weilong's wandering thoughts. His expression changed violently. "Nonsense! How could you cultivate that thing!"
The Seven Spirits Sect belonged to the Guangfa Sect's Dao lineage, yet it had declined step by step to its present state, and that Seven Luminaries Scripture was the chief culprit.
The discovery that their fundamental scripture was flawed and the Seven Luminaries Scripture led nowhere had divided the hearts of the Seven Spirits Sect's members, bringing about the present splintering into factions, each seeking its own way out. Many cultivators had even abandoned any thought of competing and simply let things rot as they waited for the outcome of the struggle among the higher-ups.
Wang Weilong hoped to stake everything on nurturing a True Disciple to send to the Guangfa Sect. He no longer sought to perpetuate their own Seven Luminaries Scripture lineage; he wanted at least to keep the Seven Spirits Sect alive first, then consider whether the scripture was right or wrong.
Another faction of cultivators led by Deputy Sect Master Wu was already planning to split away and take the Seven Spirits Sect's assets to the East River Sect. That, too, was a branch of the Guangfa Sect's lineage, and its disciples were now flourishing, with True Disciples being internally recommended to the Guangfa Sect one after another. That was what the prosperity of orthodox arts and the bearing of a great sect looked like. Several teachers who imparted cultivation arts in the inner sect and outer court shared this view. They no longer put much care into nurturing their disciples and were even less willing to part casually with resources.
Of course, there were many disagreements within this faction as well. The deputy sect master did not want others using too many natural treasures because he intended to save them for his nephew. Every portion others used was one less portion for his nephew in the future. The other elders who imparted cultivation arts, meanwhile, did not want to raise another "genius" only to send them to their death cultivating the Seven Luminaries Scripture. They might as well hold on to the resources and wait for the final outcome.
Wang He and another group of fellow disciples thought differently. They wanted to remedy the errors and omissions in the Seven Luminaries Scripture and keep the Seven Spirits Sect's Dao lineage from falling. In Wang He's eyes, the True Person inheritance Ao Ding had inherited was a fine opportunity. But while he was still torn over whether to act, Wang Weilong stopped him.
Wang Weilong's tone was extremely stern. "You should know that our founding ancestor established the Seven Spirits Sect to develop the Seven Luminaries Scripture. But in the end, he suffered qi deviation and died because of it. After all the trouble it took for him to return through reincarnation and rejoin the Seven Spirits Sect-that Dao art killed him again!"
Recalling his revered master's death, Wang Weilong's heart filled with loathing for that Dao scripture.
The Guangfa Sect took the development of Dao arts as the foundation of its cultivation. What True Disciple did not develop and transmit arts?
But arts could be right or wrong, so they had to be verified and tried.
Sending out branches of its various Dao lineages was one means by which the Guangfa Sect verified them. If a branch's cultivation method was correct, it would naturally return verification to the main lineage. If it was wrong, that branch had no value worth preserving, lest it mislead disciples and cost lives.
The Seven Spirits Sect was an unfortunate Dao lineage currently verified as "erroneous."
By convention, the next time the Seven Spirits Sect internally recommended a disciple, it could declare that its development of the Seven Luminaries Scripture had failed, voluntarily return the original for the Guangfa Sect to seal away or destroy, and then abandon this Dao lineage. The Guangfa Sect would naturally instruct that internally recommended True Disciple to select a new orthodox art from the Heavenly Firmament Cloud Repository for the Seven Spirits Sect to continue cultivating.
"That was the answer bought with over a thousand years... with the blood and bones of countless predecessors of our sect-the Seven Luminaries is erroneous and must not be cultivated! What do you want it for?"
Wang Weilong swept his sleeve, enveloping Luo Qiushui and taking her straight back to the Seven Spirits Sect.
Back in the sect's great hall, Luo Qiushui still said, "Please consider this carefully, Master Wang. This isn't a momentary impulse, but a choice I've thought through deeply. The Seven Luminaries Scripture is flawed, but its flaws lie in the methods for Divine Illumination and the Primordial Embryo, not the secrets of the Jade Palace. I will use it to cultivate the Jade Tower Realm, drawing on the seven qis of the sun, moon, and five elements to develop a Primordial Unity Heavenly Palace. Only then can I distinguish myself in the Guangfa Sect in the future, rather than remain beneath others."
Cultivating to become an immortal had never been her childhood ambition. She had only come to the Seven Spirits Sect to muddle through her days with a full stomach.
But as she walked on, who could have imagined she would reach this point?
"Are you serious? You want to cultivate the Seven Luminaries Scripture?" Wang Weilong stared at Luo Qiushui, questioning her repeatedly.
"If I were to give a false answer... it would be that I'm too beautiful, and I worry a powerful immortal might abduct me as a concubine someday, so I want the strength to protect myself. As for the truth... when I meet Ao Ding in the future, I don't want to be like I was as a child, always watching his back."
He would cultivate a jade text, while she cultivated a spirit compilation?
Why should she!
Her determination to strive along the Great Dao was not necessarily any weaker.
After staring at her for a long while, Wang Weilong opened his hand. Dense masses of seven-colored seal characters emerged from countless corners of the sect's great hall and joined into a scripture in his palm.
"Read it right here. I'll stand guard for you. But you must promise me that once you enter the Jade Palace, you won't continue cultivating it. When the time comes, I'll take you up Myriad Dharma Mountain, and you can choose another orthodox art to cultivate."
"Finally safe!" After they had completely left the Seven Spirits Sect's territory and confirmed that Wang Weilong was no longer following them, the yellow boy let out a long breath.
Ao Ding removed the Divine Travel Talisman and Nine Winds Mystic Light Cloud-Riding Art from his boots.
Cultivators in the Mystic Gang Realm could fly with the aid of spells, but could not ride qi through the air. Thus, Ao Ding's own traveling speed was slow. Even with brief bursts from multiple stacked spells, he fell far short of Wang Weilong.
"Once I break through to the Jade Tower Realm and my body becomes light as a feather, I really must study flight arts properly."
Ao Ding continued onward.
As the scenery grew increasingly familiar, he frowned, then quickened his pace again.
"Original self, shall we visit that ghostly residence?" the yellow boy asked. "Whatever else, she is Senior's junior sister. Should we report his death?"
Thinking of that residence inside the demonic god's mouth, Ao Ding quickly shook his head.
"The Seven Spirits Sect is an orthodox sect and wouldn't dare act recklessly. But the lady of that ghostly residence is a ghost cultivator. She might well harm me, so it's best to take precautions. Besides, Senior never said I had to visit his friends and relatives, traveling from place to place to report his death. We'll go straight to the Country of Xuanjia."
"Mm-hmm-" The boy in red was unusually well-behaved.
That ghostly residence by the demonic god's mouth frightened him, too. Seeing the Yellow Child about to speak, he hurriedly covered his mouth.
After leaving the Seven Spirits Sect, Ao Ding was in no hurry to travel.
On the contrary, he intended to linger in populated areas, trying the Hundred Curses Gathering Fortune Ritual Sun Chen had taught him and tempering his Dao heart amid the mortal world.
"Original self, the Five Qis Returning to the Origin Glazed Art has been fully developed. You can begin."
The Blue Child suddenly spoke, transmitting a set of cultivation instructions.
"The Yellow Court's five palaces, five colors dividing their splendor. Preserve the spirit and refine the seed; the root of the Dao returns to the center..."
"Good, good-" Ao Ding read through it and pondered for only a quarter of an hour before mobilizing the True Heaven Golden Gang within him to nourish his five organs, finally channeling it into his kidneys.
The kidneys were the prenatal palace. As the supremely pure and refined golden Gang poured into them, it immediately stirred a resonance with the tides of primordial qi in the nine heavens.
Wind, rain, and thunder mingled. The prenatal essence of ren and gui, deep as an abyss and vast as a marsh, condensed into a mystic seed within his kidneys.
With one of the Five Elements Dao Seeds formed, Ao Ding faintly sensed a lightening change within his body. Looking inward through the Primordial Truth Mirror, he saw his kidneys shining with lustrous light, their treasured aspect solemn and majestic.
"The Glazed Immortal Body has begun to take shape." Inside the mirror, the Blue Child told the other two, "We can be certain that the three of us do indeed have three-corpse worms within us. That is why the immortal body can be cultivated so quickly."
"An immortal body..." The Red Child stared at Ao Ding outside, his eyes flickering.
With a True Person's eyes and a True Person's body, if he later added True Person Dao bones, a True Person wondrous heart, True Person heavenly ears, a True Person spirit tongue, and all the other True Person talents, would that also be a method of cultivating to become a True Person?
At that single thought, a method sprang into the Red Child's mind.
The Hundred-Aspects True Person Dharma Body: by collecting the "True Person talents" of outstanding individuals across the world, one could piece together a True Person.
But the method had barely begun taking shape when the Yellow Child beside him swiftly struck him hard, interrupting his development of it.
"You dare develop such an evil art! You deserve a beating!"
"You hit me-just see if I don't teach you who the older brother is! Besides, I'm doing this for our original self's good!"
"For our original self's good? He has a True Person's Eye formed from a prenatal spirit treasure, and he's cultivated the Glazed Immortal Body to nourish it. What other rubbish could he need?"
"What's wrong with having a few more True Person talents? You're such a busybody!"
The two continued wrestling...
The Blue Child walked over, looked at the "evil art" his companion had developed, and silently recorded it.
Though it had some interesting points, its problems were also considerable.
"True Person talents" were regarded as a stepping stone to the True Person Realm because such talents were "manifestations of one's own true nature." Continually exploring a talent could accelerate the awakening of one's true nature, allowing one to attain the Dao faster than ordinary cultivators.
Taking other people's True Person organs would undoubtedly mean piecing together and grafting multiple true natures. How could a chimera of true natures not develop problems?
However...
The Red Child's evil art had reminded him of something strange.
Their original self's True Person's Eye had come from outside. It had not arisen from his own true nature, but had formed from a spirit treasure of this world that had failed to be born. In the future, then, would their original self's own true nature and the prenatal spirit treasure's true nature reject each other?
Three days later, Ao Ding arrived near a small town. Seeing a woman throw herself into the river, he immediately acted, pulling the woman who had jumped in back onto the bank.
"Miss, why are you trying to kill yourself?"
Inside the Primordial Truth Mirror, the Blue-Robed Boy suddenly sensed something and said softly, "Original self, there is an opportunity here."
Before you continue