Convergence

"How can you call it harassment? Xiaoyu is my disciple, my master's beloved grand-disciple." Liu Zhijian scolded his unworthy disciple, but he actually valued Jiang Xiaoyu highly. He first defended his disciple a few times before speaking about himself, "State of Mind, how can it be easily repaired, nor is it necessary to repair it."

"Most couples in this world just make do, let alone friends!"

"At least when Deng Gang and I first met, we truly shared the same interests, and that's enough."

"The subsequent armed conflict was simply a twist of fate; no one can be blamed."

"If I were to switch places with him, I would never blame myself, much less resent him."

"So now, this disciple has come to terms with things, but not that his State of Mind has been restored."

"Forcing yourself to mend your State of Mind will only lead to Heart Demon Tribulation. Over 90% of cultivators can already see things clearly." Li Chengxuan wouldn't interfere with his disciple 'Dao Path and trusted Liu Zhijian's character. "If you're ready, return to Supreme Mystery Mountain. The revival of Old Method in the Southern Edge Continent presents a golden opportunity for cultivation; it shouldn't be delayed."

"Thank you for your concern, Master." Liu Zhijian said calmly, "This disciple is ready."

Supreme Mystery Mountain.

Li Chengxuan, accompanied by Liu Zhijian, went to a side hall to visit Duanmu Ren.

Liu Zhijian glanced at it and secretly clicked his tongue in amazement.

Back then, I studied Daoist scriptures diligently in the side hall, and I truly persevered through sheer patience and gritted my teeth.

Looking at Duanmu Ren, he smiled as he read the Daoist scriptures, clearly enjoying himself.

All I can say is that he truly is a product of a test-taking background.

"Sect Leader, Senior Brother..." The environment truly can shape a person; Duanmu Ren now pronounces these two titles fluently. He puts down the Daoist scriptures in his hand and smiles, "These Daoist scriptures are quite interesting."

"Oh?" Li Chengxuan was surprised by this evaluation.

The Daoist scriptures are all-encompassing and incredibly complex.

Many monks find reading Daoist scriptures extremely difficult.

If it's useful, then it really is.

There are countless examples of people who, after being stuck for ten years, gained enlightenment from reading a Daoist scripture and immediately broke through their limitations.

If it's useless, then it truly is useless.

What this world has no shortage of are ascetics who spend their entire lives studying scriptures, yet achieve nothing and live a life of poverty.

In summary, it's utterly useless.

It's tasteless to eat, but a pity to throw it away.

I've heard that the New Method emerging cultivators are now only practicing magic and no longer reading Daoist scriptures, yet they still break through realms at lightning speed and possess formidable combat power.

However, Supreme Mystery Mountain is an ancient Daoist lineage, and it is a tradition for its disciples to read Daoist scriptures.

Li Chengxuan thought that even if it couldn't help his Dao Path, it could at least be read as a history book.

Studying history can enlighten us.

So it was preserved.

Li Chengxuan, however, became somewhat interested and asked, "What's so interesting about it? Tell me in detail."

"If this were on Earth, I would only regard these Daoist scriptures as feudal superstition and absurd tales," Duanmu Ren said, putting down the scriptures and gathering his thoughts. "But this is a world of cultivation. Cultivation is a 'science' that can be verified in practice."

"Therefore, the Daoist tradition is equivalent to a discipline on Earth."

"These Daoist scriptures are textbooks that each lean towards different directions, such as historical summarization, theoretical research, experimental verification, and popular science."

"Of course, there are also plenty of works by amateur scientists full of nonsensical ramblings."

"Once you understand which category the Daoist scriptures belong to, reading them becomes very easy."

"When encountering problems, they also know which type of Daoist scripture to read."

"If you can't distinguish between them, and you take a popular science book written for beginners as a serious theoretical study to learn, experiment with, and practice, it's perfectly normal to end up making mistakes."

Liu Zhijian found this very reasonable and thought to himself, "This is a top-notch test-taker! He's terrifying!"

Li Chengxuan found this refreshing and inspiring, and asked, "Can you tell the difference now?"

"Of course not! The Daoist scriptures are as vast and complex as the sea, and I lack understanding of the various lineages, so naturally I can't distinguish them." Duanmu Ren shook his head, frankly admitting his shortcomings. "However, since I want to cultivate the [High Shaman] lineage, I've focused most of my energy on it, and I've already made some progress."

Li Chengxuan nodded, quite interested, and said, "Tell me about it. I've also read some of the [High Shaman] Daoist scriptures; perhaps I can fill in any gaps in your knowledge."

"Yes." Concerning his own Dao Path, Duanmu Ren became serious, unlike his previous casual demeanor. He uttered a shocking and absurd statement. "In truth, the current [High Shaman] is not a true [High Shaman] at all; it's merely a hodgepodge of mismatched and haphazardly assembled elements!"

Liu Zhijian was dumbfounded.

With such an arrogant tone, who do you think you are?

[Fruition] True Lord?

None of them have truly practiced cultivation; they've only read a few Daoist scriptures, yet they dare to spout such arrogant remarks, dismissing their own Daoist lineage as worthless.

In other words, the lineage of the [High Shaman] has been severed, and the [Fruition] is no longer visible.

Otherwise, even though they were thousands of miles apart, the [High Shaman Fruition] would definitely have cursed Duanmu Ren to death.

Li Chengxuan, however, remained calm and even offered words of encouragement. "That's right, believing everything in books is worse than having no books at all. Continue."

Seeing that Li Chengxuan's attitude seemed genuine, Duanmu Ren secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If the sect leader were a fanatical conservative, there would be no need for him to continue. He gathered his thoughts and said, "This disciple has only roughly skimmed through the Daoist scriptures, and according to the High Antiquity, medieval, and modern periods, I have also divided [High Shaman] into three sections."

"The shamans of High Antiquity times were the true High Shaman."

"The so-called 'Your Majesty' is the [shaman], and the one who is Your Majesty is the [king]."

"The shamans of that time not only held the power to worship heaven and ancestors, but also controlled the tribe's births, deaths, agriculture, hunting, warfare, and diplomacy."

To put it simply, it means simultaneously controlling both the spiritual world and the material lives of ordinary people.

"[The shaman] is the source of all power, and naturally, it is the [High Shaman]."

"At that time, there was no emperor, only kings."

"However, at that time, the king was merely the [shaman's] assistant, guard, and agent."

"This disciple speculates that the core image of the [High Shaman] in High Antiquity times was likely the [Earth Shaman Invocator]."

Li Chengxuan nodded slightly upon hearing this.

Duanmu Ren paused, then continued, "Until the [Human Emperor] established his rule, unified the world, and ushered in the Great Age of the Middle Ages."

"[The shaman] has been completely defeated in the struggle against imperial power and has been reduced to a secondary role in presiding over sacrifices to heaven and ancestors."

"Therefore, the [shaman] at this time should actually be called a [Lower Shaman]."

"Isn't that Immortal Foundation [Respond to Emperors and Kings] the best example of this resentment, indignation, and longing?!"

"However, for a [shaman] to become an emperor, I suspect it's because after the orthodox tradition was severely damaged, internal divisions arose, leading to a deviation from the correct path."

"After studying the Daoist scriptures, I discovered that since the Middle Ages, [High Shaman] cultivators have preferred to gather millions of people to establish small kingdoms and accumulate Manifestation."

"The Southern Borderlands of the Central Continent are dotted with [small witch kingdoms] is proof of this."

"However, from then on, [High Shaman] began to rush headlong down the wrong path, dragging the entire lineage into a rapid decline."

"Later, the Immortal Dao immortality flourished, and immortal sects ruled the world, thus ushering in the near-ancient period."

"The [High Shaman] lineage has declined and decayed to the point of being unsystematic, and has had no choice but to merge with the Immortal Dao."

"At this point, the [High Shaman] lineage has completely lost its original form and should be called [Immortal Shaman]."

"For example, the phrase ' Do Not Investigate Me ' is mostly borrowed from the ' Hidden Immortal ' branch of the Immortal Dao."

"As for the [Scholar Tree Shade Ghost], it is an even more obvious image of a [Ghost Immortal]."

"Therefore, even if a cultivator had attained the [High Shaman Fruition], they would soon perish for some inexplicable reason."

"This disciple suspects that the current [High Shaman] lineage has serious problems with its imagery, Immortal Foundation, and cultivation Cultivation Method, which is why it has incurred the displeasure of the [Fruition] and the rejection of Heaven and Earth."

"So, this [High Shaman] isn't some noble High Antiquity lineage at all; it's clearly a huge trap!"