The Sages of Old

Li Chengxuan sent Du Qingquan away and had him guard the entrance to the underground palace.

What happened next is really not something outsiders should know.

Li Chengxuan carefully sorted out his inner thoughts.

The Daoist tradition must be passed down by immortals.

The lineage, or Dharma lineage, is a subdivision within the Daoist tradition, and it can only be established after True Lord has emerged from it.

"Azure Origin Cloud Script Divine Talisman Dharma Lineage..." Li Chengxuan silently recited these eight characters, lost in thought.

Since this concerns the True Lord, the name of the lineage is naturally not chosen arbitrarily.

Li Chengxuan's [Name and Nature Method] is already quite profound.

[Name and Nature Method] determines nature by name.

Above the [Name and Nature Method], one must use names to represent reality, which is called the [Name and Appearance Method].

"The Azure Origin Cloud Script Divine Talisman Dharma Lineage... was established by a True Lord with the title [Azure Origin], who created a Divine Ability lineage for drawing talismans using [Cloud Script]..."

"And this lineage has now been severed, leaving only the last [Azure Origin Cloud Script Divine Talisman] in my possession."

Li Chengxuan had stayed in Azure Cloud Market for a long time and often saw Du Qingquan drawing talismans, so he had some understanding of the talisman techniques popular among Rogue Cultivator today.

Ancient talismans were inscribed with the Principle of heaven and earth.

It is indeed powerful, but the difficulty level is too high.

Later, a highly skilled Daoist master, possessing extraordinary wisdom, adopted the script of the ancient immortal dynasty to imitate Cloud Seal Script, greatly lowering the barrier to entry for drawing talismans.

It was through countless generations of cultivators' improvements and refinements that the [Xia Script Talisman Method], also known as the [Human Talisman Method], came to be.

Li Chengxuan's thoughts became clearer and clearer, and he vaguely touched upon the location of his [Foundation Establishment fortuitous opportunity].

Although the lineages of the previous [Yi Wood], [High Shaman], and [Fu Water] sects have been severed.

However, one can still gather Spiritual Qi, practice cultivation Cultivation Method, and find Daoist scriptures.

Once a suitable person is found to fill the gaps in the Manifestation, and with the current revival of the Old Method, it will not be difficult to continue the tradition.

However, the truly difficult situation is like the Azure Origin Cloud Script Divine Talisman Dharma Lineage, where the Daoist scriptures and Cultivation Method are no longer visible, leaving only a solitary talisman.

"The Clear Pool still possesses the ability to reflect images and trace the past..." Li Chengxuan murmured to himself as he looked at the clear pool in the underground palace, "This True Lord's inheritance, the Cloud Talisman Dharma Lineage, as long as it has existed in the world, will naturally leave some traces."

Li Chengxuan was already favored by Heavenly Dao. He only needed to use the [Azure Origin Cloud Script Divine Talisman] in his hand as a guide to trace the origins of Heaven and Earth back to antiquity, and he should at least be able to glean some fragments of knowledge. With a thought, he softly said, "Heaven and Earth, please help me... to Continue Lost Teachings of the sages!"

Li Chengxuan was momentarily dazed and looked up.

It's still an underground palace.

It doesn't appear dilapidated or run-down, nor does it show signs of being repaired three times.

Only one middle-aged cultivator with blue eyes was engrossed in drawing talismans; he must be the ancestor of the Du Household, the [Clear Water] Foundation Establishment High Person Songfu.

Bang!

Before the talisman was even finished being drawn, it suddenly turned into a pool of clear water, flowing down the table.

"In the end, it still didn't work..." This is the illusory trace left by heaven and earth, seemingly real yet unreal.

High Person Songfu was completely unaware of Li Chengxuan's presence. He carefully put away the three [Azure Origin Cloud Script Divine Talisman] on the table, paced back and forth restlessly, and after a long while, took out an ancient Daoist scripture, his expression uncertain. "So, in the end, I must enter the turbid realm...?"

Although High Person Songfu was a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage, he clearly had not inherited the essence of the Dharma lineage.

In the end, they are nothing more than corpses guarding barren graves, destined to be possessed by demons and punished.

As for how a person turned to the dark side and what their mental journey was like, Li Chengxuan really didn't care, and wouldn't waste the favor he had painstakingly accumulated from the Heavenly Dao on such matters.

Li Chengxuan shook his head slightly, a thought flashing through his mind.

The scene before my eyes changed instantly.

This time, it was no longer an underground palace, but a completely unfamiliar place.

Beneath my feet stretched an endless expanse of turquoise water.

Looking up at the sky, it's still the same.

There is no sun, moon, stars, clouds, or birds in sight, only endless blue-green water.

This place was quite mysterious; the sky and the ground were like two blue-green mirrors, and the rest was empty, with nothing else.

"[Clear Water] Secret Realm, huh..." Li Chengxuan glanced at his feet, then at the sky, and sure enough, he couldn't see his own shadow.

"Hmm..."

The endless Clear Water trembled, and then it was as if some enormous creature had awakened, emerging from the water mirrors on both sides of the sky and earth, eventually converging into a colossal figure that stood tall and upright.

He was an old monk dressed in blue robes, with white hair and blue eyes, and a thin, frail appearance.

"[Purple Mansion] True Person!" Li Chengxuan made a preliminary judgment based solely on his imposing Manifestation.

As soon as the nameless Purple Mansion appeared, many tiny figures emerged from the two water mirrors beneath its feet and above its head.

Upon closer inspection, they were all Green Clear Water cultivators dressed in blue robes with blue eyes.

"Ahem..." Wuming Purple Mansion coughed lightly and slowly said, "Today's explanation of [Cloud Seal Script] is the foundation of my Du Clan's [Azure Origin Cloud Script Divine Talisman Dharma Lineage]."

"Our ancestor's act of collecting the talisman and placing it in the Green Jade was a great Merit, and through this he attained the status of True Lord."

You must all be careful!

The densely packed cultivators all prostrated themselves, expressing their gratitude for the ancestor's teachings and praising the True Lord's power and virtue.

The nameless Purple Mansion then used the mirror of heaven and earth to condense various mysterious [Cloud Seal Script] and explain its True Intention.

Li Chengxuan's spirits lifted. "Just as I thought!"

However, [Yunlu] is extremely mysterious and obscure, and Wuming Purple Mansion speaks very quickly.

If Li Chengxuan were to read ordinary texts or common Daoist scriptures, he would naturally be able to easily achieve photographic memory.

However, when faced with the transmission of the True Lord's teachings and the preaching of the Purple Mansion, they are powerless to do so.

"A bad pen is better than a good memory!" With a thought, Li Chengxuan conjured a book out of thin air in his hand.

It was precisely because he was worried that Jiang Xiaoyu would find the [Miscellaneous Records of Supreme Mystery's Secret History] that he carried with him.

Li Chengxuan turned to the blank page, not caring whether he understood it or not, and simply wrote down all the explanations of [Cloud Seal Script] and the Nameless Purple Mansion.

However, what the Nameless Purple Mansion said next became increasingly difficult and obscure.

The number of cultivators in the secret realm is also decreasing.

I don't know how much time passed.

The nameless Purple Mansion once again condensed its Dharma body from the [Clear Water], but could no longer find any cultivators listening to its teachings.

With a face full of sorrow, Wuming Purple Mansion opened his mouth and bit off his last three fingers, spitting them out into the surging [Clear Water], which then crossed the void and landed in front of a shrine in the mortal world, transforming into three cyan talismans.

"Alas..." The nameless Purple Mansion seemed to be both crying and laughing, displaying a madman-like demeanor, as he cried out in anguish, "How pitiful that the ancestral master's legacy has perished in my hands!"

"The [Azure Origin Cloud Script Divine Talisman Dharma Lineage] has been severed; it is my fault!"

"His crime is so grave, he begs for divine punishment!"

"Leave behind three green talismans. In the future, descendants of the Du Clan who have reached the Foundation Establishment can use these to sense the secret realm and continue the lineage!"

Splash!

The Clear Water of the secret realm suddenly surged, and a continuous stream of murky rain fell.

It lasted for an unknown period of time, without ceasing.

The nameless Purple Mansion has vanished without a trace.

Li Chengxuan put away the [Miscellaneous Records of Supreme Mystery's Secret History] in his hand, sighing with some emotion.

The Old Method were driven out by the New Method, and after a thousand years of decline, they were kept in captivity by the adults in the Southern Edge Continent.

Even a dignified [Purple Mansion] True Person can only be trapped in the secret realm and unable to move.

Even death is silent and unknown to the outside world.

"I only vaguely remembered the inheritance of this [Azure Origin Cloud Script Divine Talisman Dharma Lineage], and I don't know if it counts as Merit of [Continue Lost Teachings]." The True Lord's inheritance is unfathomable. Although Li Chengxuan only wrote it down without spending time trying to understand it, he was still dizzy and confused.

Tracing back to the past in this way also requires the favor of heaven and earth.

Now that we've traced the origins of those three azure talismans, that should be enough.

"To continue the Continue Lost Teachings the sages... Although the [Purple Mansion] True Person is highly accomplished, he is not worthy of the name of the sages." Li Chengxuan intended to stop there, but he still felt that something was wrong.

Fortunately, he had accumulated a considerable amount of Merit in [Continue Lost Teachings], and the favor of Heavenly Dao had not yet been exhausted.

Li Chengxuan immediately made a decision: continue tracing the source!

The landscape suddenly changed again.

What lies before us is no longer the oppressive and lifeless [Clear Water] secret realm, but a vast and boundless natural world.

Li Chengxuan looked around and frowned.

This place is very unfamiliar, unlike any other place on the Southern Edge Continent.

It is surrounded by towering mountains, with snow and ice on their peaks and lush trees at their base.

Nestled amidst a cluster of mountains, lies a dazzling, pearl-like Heavenly Lake.

High in the sky, there were tall, shadowy figures, each one exuding an aura no less imposing than the nameless [Clear Water] Purple Mansion.

Within the snow-covered mountains and forests, there were countless cultivators.

A figure suddenly appeared above Heavenly Lake, still dressed in green robes with blue eyes, a standard [Clear Water] cultivator. He spoke slowly, his voice shaking heaven and earth. "I am Du Qing, today I attain enlightenment at Heavenly Lake..."