Living Spring

"You smell so good!"

Sleepy-eyed and sporting bedhead, Jiang Xiaoyu circled Liu Zhijian, sniffing him like a puppy.

Liu Zhijian held the restless Jiang Xiaoyu still and deftly tied up her hair. He raised his wrist and sniffed it; there was indeed a delicate fragrance.

"So this was entering the Dao through Qi Ingestion?"

According to the Daoist scriptures, [Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi] was the manifestation of fragments of the Heavenly Dao's rules.

Entering the Dao through Qi Ingestion was equivalent to planting a fragment within one's body.

Cultivation practices such as absorbing and releasing Spiritual Qi to increase one's cultivation were like watering and fertilizing it, allowing the rule fragment to take root, sprout, and grow strong.

At the same time, the growing rule fragment would gradually assimilate the cultivator.

In the end, the cultivator would become part of the Heavenly Dao.

If one truly gained mastery over some of the rules, one would become a [True Lord of Golden Core Fruition]!

Liu Zhijian was in an excellent mood.

He had spent years fishing in the wild, exposed to wind and sun and careless about his appearance. He looked like a vagrant, and people had often muttered "stinking fisherman" behind his back.

Now, at last, he had won some face for fishermen!

Jiang Xiaoyu put on her padded coat and opened the door, only to jump in surprise. "Wow, it snowed!"

With that, she excitedly plunged into the snow and rolled about, laughing.

Liu Zhijian stood in the doorway watching her, a little more of a smile on his face.

Now that he had entered the Dao through Qi Ingestion, he should, by rights, return to Supreme Mystery Mountain at once to share the good news with his master, then choose a Cultivation Method and begin cultivating.

But it was bitterly cold now, and the journey would be difficult.

Jiang Xiaoyu was young, too, and might not be able to endure a long trek.

After a moment's thought, Liu Zhijian made his decision.

He would stay on Wild Goose Pond Mountain for the time being and stabilize his realm.

When spring came and the flowers bloomed, he would return to the sect.

Supreme Mystery Mountain, Founding Master's Hall.

Li Chengxuan sensed something in the Unseen. He stopped cultivating, opened his eyes, and looked east.

"Liu Zhijian has entered the Dao through Qi Ingestion!"

Li Chengxuan connected to the [Two Worlds Pearl] to sense Liu Zhijian's location and found that he was still on Wild Goose Pond Mountain, not moving at all, with no apparent intention of returning to the sect.

On the blank portrait in the Founding Master's Hall, the faint water mark had taken shape, becoming a thin, winding stream of clear water. The sound of rippling water could be faintly heard.

Li Chengxuan felt his cultivation rise sharply once again.

"Others still cultivate [Kan Water], so its Dao lineage hasn't been lost."

"Liu Zhijian entered the Dao of [Kan Water] by ingesting [Clear Qi of the River Water], so naturally that doesn't fit the imagery of [Continue Lost Teachings]."

"But in the end, I brought Liu Zhijian here from Earth and personally taught an ordinary mortal to become a [Kan Water] cultivator. As far as this world is concerned, that is naturally no small [Merit] either."

Li Chengxuan felt thoroughly delighted.

His cultivation was now higher than his realm.

That meant he would face no bottlenecks in his cultivation for a while.

Most of his lingering concern that cultivation would be difficult after entering the Dao through [Mortal World Turbid Qi] had now been dispelled.

If he could teach Hua Chunning to enter the Dao through Qi Ingestion and continue the [Yi Wood] Dao lineage, and then there was Duanmu Ren's [High Shaman] Dao lineage...

For the moment, Li Chengxuan had no mind to cultivate. He simply got to his feet and went to inspect the side hall.

Inside, Hua Chunning was fast asleep with her head on the desk.

Numerous Daoist scriptures lay on the desk.

The one on top was the [Register of the Hundred Flowers and Their Fragrances].

Hua Chunning had been confined in this side hall for nine months.

After all, she was only a girl in the flower of her youth who had grown up in silk and satin, with the finest food to eat.

At first, she had managed to persevere through sheer devotion to seeking the Dao, but as time went on, it became increasingly agonizing.

By now, she was listless and groggy all day, her whole body had grown gaunt, and even her formerly fine looks had lost three parts of their beauty.

Li Chengxuan, however, had no intention of letting her out.

If she wanted to defy heaven and change her fate, there was no way she could avoid suffering.

Besides, Hua Chunning's present state faintly matched the imagery of [Yi Wood] lying dormant in winter, its vitality hidden away.

When spring arrived, she could go out and gather [Spring Qi], matching the imagery of winter giving way to spring and all things coming back to life.

Li Chengxuan glanced at her, then turned and left to summon Hua Mingcheng at the foot of the mountain.

Since it concerned Hua Chunning's Dao Path, Hua Mingcheng was naturally deeply invested.

When the main and branch lines of the Hua Household had separated, Hua Mingcheng had brought most of the Lineage's accumulated resources with him. At last, they could be put to use.

For his granddaughter's Dao Path, he had truly spared no expense this time.

Even so, gathering a hundred kinds of spring flowers on such short notice was still a bit of a stretch.

Li Chengxuan, however, paid it no mind.

It was normal for gathering Qi to be difficult.

If she could not gather enough [Fragrance of a Hundred Flowers] next spring, there would still be the year after.

Someone like Liu Zhijian, who had succeeded in Qi Gathering in a single year, was the exception.

In the blink of an eye, the ice and snow melted, and all things began to sprout.

"Today is the beginning of spring."

Li Chengxuan finally let Hua Chunning out of the side hall and asked, "Now you're going to winter to gather a Manifestation. Are you ready?"

Hua Chunning looked withered and haggard. She forced herself to rally, though her voice was still somewhat weak. "This disciple will not disappoint you, Sect Master!"

"It's your own Dao Path. Why worry about whether I'm disappointed?"

With a thought, Li Chengxuan connected to the [Two Worlds Pearl].

In the blink of an eye, Hua Chunning found herself in the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard of the Grotto-Heaven.

The place had undergone a complete transformation.

The bulky construction machinery that had once been there was gone.

The leveled ground had been planted with all kinds of flowers according to the Hua Household's [Spirit Atmosphere Creation Method].

At her feet, a patch of golden winter jasmine stood in the breeze.

In a corner, several plum trees were in full, splendid bloom, with patches of snow still unmelted beneath them.

In the distance, daffodils and camellias were also in full bloom, braving the bitter cold, wind, and snow.

Hua Chunning took a deep breath. Her body, confined for so long, felt like parched land receiving sweet rain after a long drought, thoroughly imbued with the vitality of spring. She felt much more at ease and refreshed.

"Thank you, Sect Master!"

After looking around, Hua Chunning bowed respectfully.

The design of the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard had been completely changed. Everywhere she looked, she could see the utmost care that had gone into it, all to help Hua Chunning strengthen her Manifestation.

"There's no need to thank me." Li Chengxuan smiled and shook his head. "I only came to look a few times."

A moment later.

The person who truly deserved the credit arrived.

Duanmu Ren was somewhat startled to see Hua Chunning's pale face and sickly appearance, like Xizi clutching her heart.

Hua Chunning knew that all the unusual changes in her appearance were solely for the sake of gathering Spring Qi, but she too was surprised by the great change in Duanmu Ren's appearance.

A year ago, Duanmu Ren had been rather stout with middle-aged weight gain and had looked like a deeply calculating corrupt official.

Now, however, he was thin, with prominent cheekbones, and wore black-framed glasses. He looked like a schoolteacher who had just recovered from a serious illness.

"Fairy Hua, you..."

Duanmu Ren's expression was complicated, and he hesitated to speak. He could only assume that Hua Chunning, like him, had been punished by Li Chengxuan with a Law Technique.

Hua Chunning's expression also shifted slightly. She thought Duanmu Ren had exhausted himself with painstaking work on the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard and fallen ill.

Li Chengxuan, however, paid no attention to their complicated thoughts and spoke directly. "An [Yi Wood] spiritual formation has been laid in this sub-courtyard. It's just that there's no Spiritual Qi here, so there's little that's wondrous about it, but it's enough to gather a Manifestation."

"However, this place is remote and desolate, without a soul around, so it can only gather Desolate Spring and Wild Spring. That is why it also needs the support of Mundane World Qi."

"There must be a constant flow of people here, and those who come must naturally feel that spring has warmed the land, flowers are blooming, and all things are coming back to life. Only then can Living Spring be gathered."

"The two of you discuss it and open the sub-courtyard to the public as soon as possible!"