Only Then Fulfill the Immortals' Original Wish

When the sun was at its zenith, dozens of people practiced swordsmanship in the front and back courtyards.

Despite their varying ages and physiques, each of them trained relentlessly, sweating profusely, without ever stopping.

The Thirteen Death-Claiming Swords: guide power with intention, nourish spirit with techniques.

As long as the practitioner is willing to put in the effort, the process of connecting the moves will naturally make them more focused.

Of these people, the seventeen who had been tortured by Demonic Dao arts performed the best.

Because of their intense focus, their pores seemed to open and close in a controlled manner, and their minds were at peace.

Even someone like Carpenter Zhou, who had worked his whole life and developed various health problems in his old age, and a young girl who was only fifteen or sixteen years old, sweated far less than others.

Indeed, they all chose to learn all thirteen sword techniques, become disciples of Chu Tianshu, and are willing to abide by the sect rules and shoulder their responsibilities in the future.

Tan Yu knew about these people's backgrounds and pasts when he chose to harm them.

Firstly, they need to have perseverance, and secondly, it's to rule out the possibility that they have powerful backers who could pose a risk to Tan Yu later.

Therefore, these are all people with perseverance and hard work, but who previously lacked opportunities.

Given the opportunity, they absolutely cannot allow themselves to miss it.

Chu Tianshu accepted even the most devoted relatives who accompanied them, as long as they sincerely pleaded with him.

Now, everyone has been practicing swordsmanship for several days, and they are all very hardworking.

The first thirteen swords of the Thirteen Death-Claiming Swords are not as difficult to master as the Fourteenth Sword and fifteenth swords.

These thirteen sword techniques can be learned by first mastering the external form and posture, which is commonly known as the "showy moves".

As for when you can truly develop the corresponding power, that depends on yourself.

"This sword technique is truly wondrous; it seems to hone one's mind and spirit through sword moves, and then use that mind and spirit to cultivate inner strength."

Lu Yuande sat in the hall, clicking his tongue in amazement, "But if one cannot grasp the essence, then this sword technique is actually not very effective in terms of health and fitness."

"Fellow Daoist Chu, most of the people you've taken in are probably the type who, even after three to five years of continuous practice, might not be able to generate their first wisp of internal energy."

"Only those seventeen can be considered promising talents."

Chu Tianshu sat in the main seat, toying with a crystal bead, and glanced outside upon hearing this.

"It's not only developing internal strength that constitutes a skill for making a living. Once these people have mastered the sword techniques, they can also help teach newcomers in the future."

Lu Yuande was slightly taken aback. "Fellow Daoist, do you intend to recruit many disciples?"

If the number of disciples is within a reasonable range, it is not unusual for a skilled practitioner to be able to train fifty or sixty people.

In this situation, there is no need to take on dozens of inexperienced first-batch disciples just to lay a foundation for newcomers.

Therefore, Chu Tianshu's statement indicates that he intends to recruit a large number of disciples in the future.

However, once your kung fu skills reach the third or second tier, you should gradually start to pay attention to moonlight pollution.

Third- or second-rate martial artists are far from even touching the essence of heaven and earth.

However, the nutrients they absorb when eating and breathing are far more efficient than those of ordinary people.

The moonlight shines on all the plants in the world, and the plants are then eaten by poultry, livestock, fish, and shrimp.

Whether martial artists eat grains or meat, once their ability to absorb nutrients increases, they will inadvertently absorb some of the moonlight pollution.

At this point, the practitioner must gradually come into contact with the method of Moon Refining.

Even in the Demonic Dao, teaching disciples the Moon Refining Technique is quite laborious and troublesome, far exceeding that of ordinary martial arts. A skilled practitioner can only teach five to ten novices at a time, which is considered quite a lot.

As for the External Dharma Nexus and the Dao-Seeking Shennong, they consume even more resources, and if one truly wants to teach disciples, it is even more necessary to limit their number.

Those powerful families raise soldiers, and prestigious sects train ordinary followers. As long as they serve for a few years, they don't care about their lives afterward and are irresponsible. They can recruit people in large numbers.

"I am indeed planning to recruit a large number of people."

Chu Tianshu smiled. "But I have no intention of turning them into the kind of useless, wasteful soldiers from aristocratic families."

"Once they've passed their prime, they're laid off. They don't know how to train or nurture themselves afterward, and they've already developed bad tempers, leaving them at a loss."

"This is simply feeding the people a constant stream of trapped beasts. It's not good for anyone, regardless of their stance, and only a bunch of short-sighted fools would do something like this."

Even though the path of cultivation in this world is rapidly reviving and expanding, and many masters have emerged.

Top powers are likely confident that as long as they send out their best fighters, they can quickly defeat and suppress any unrest that occurs among the people.

However, all trades and all forms of production and transportation still rely on the power of the people.

Even if they can quell a hundred or a thousand upheavals, how much productive capacity will the people have left after failing a thousand upheavals?

The size of a practitioner's group will also be limited and shrink, hindering its development, the concentration of wisdom, and the pursuit of a higher future.

Everything in the world, from the smallest speck of dust to the largest mountain, is interconnected.

Few people realize that as the fine raindrops relentlessly pound against the mountain, it's as if the mountain itself might collapse.

The so-called right path is never just a slogan, but rather it is because of the right path that it brings greater and more lasting benefits.

Chu Tianshu did not explicitly use the term "this world," but he casually conveyed the general meaning.

"Oh!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Yuande didn't show any shock or astonishment; he simply smiled helplessly.

"Mozi advocated universal love, Confucius and Xunzi sought to educate and transform, and we Daoists wish to have the sun and moon as a pair of jade discs, the stars as pearls, to treat all things equally, regardless of personal relationships or enmity, so that all things may live in harmony and no longer harm one another."

"Sages throughout history have long known the right path, but even those who have grasped these truths sometimes act or say the opposite."

"Human lifespan is still too short, and heaven and earth are still too cruel. Those who follow the righteous path may not necessarily have a good end, while those who do evil may enjoy great fortune."

"In such a situation, even if the principles of righteousness are not mere empty talk, speaking them aloud is nothing but empty words."

Chu Tianshu was not affected by his negative emotions, but his attention was a little strange.

"Equal treatment for all, regardless of personal relationships or enmity?"

Chu Tianshu asked, "Fellow Daoist Lu, where did you hear that saying?"

Because Chen Ying was a disciple of the Golden Elixir Southern School, Chu Tianshu had previously researched some information about the Golden Elixir Southern School.

"Equalize all things, self and others, relatives and enemies" is a line from a poem by True Person Ziyang, one of the patriarchs of the Southern School of Daoism.

Lu Yuande was taken aback, then thought for a moment, "No book explicitly said that, but when I was browsing through the classics, the lines of thought flowed naturally within them, and it just came out on my tongue."

Chu Tianshu laughed heartily and recited in a slow voice.

"Cultivating virtue beyond eight hundred, accumulating merit in secret beyond three thousand, and treating all beings equally, regardless of personal relationships or those of enemies, one can then fulfill the original vow of the immortals."

Lu Yuande's heart trembled violently, feeling that this line of poetry truly resonated with him. "This is..."

"This is a line of poetry by True Person Ziyang True Person Ziyang, who cultivated Internal Elixir."

Chu Tianshu said, "Fellow Daoist Lu, your so-called Dao-Seeking Shennong has actually become too reliant on external objects. You are a complete practitioner of External Elixir. Have you ever thought about switching to Internal Elixir? I think you have a strong affinity for this."

Lu Yuande asked in confusion, "What is the Internal Elixir? If someone is called True Person, they must be a Daoist, right? Does Daoism have this lineage?"

Chu Tianshu learned a lot of the secrets of the Internal Elixir School from Chen Ying, and he could talk about them.

The Immortal Dao he wanted to build, the "Mountain Hermit's Sun-Boiling True Scripture," was naturally of paramount importance. Once he had mastered its cultivation, he would try to create a simplified version.

In the early stages, in order to quickly build up combat power, the Thirteen Death-Claiming Swords will definitely be included in the introductory martial arts.

However, if we want to create a trend, there are still many shortcomings in the underlying structure.

Lu Yuande is a master in this world. If he can connect with the essentials of local martial arts and then turn to Internal Elixir, what he has researched and developed would be very suitable for filling the gaps in the core of this field.

"Counting breaths, entering stillness, introspection, setting up the furnace, budding, gathering herbs, controlling the heat..."

Lu Yuande listened with rapt attention, murmuring incessantly, "Medicines can also be extracted from the human body..."

As Chu Tianshu spoke, he also discovered that the "Mountain Hermit's Sun-Boiling True Scripture" did indeed have many similarities with the lineage of Internal Elixir.

After all, they are all techniques for refining and cultivating Qi.

However, the Sun-Chasing True Art originally had two methods of practice: one was to focus on internal strength, and the other was to pass on the knowledge and skills, using the Drifting Tumbleweed Under Heaven Peaches and Plums Diagram to help with cultivation.

"The Mountain Hermit's Sun-Boiling True Scripture" combines the two effects.

Chu Tianshu doesn't need to specifically cultivate the "Drifting Tumbleweed Under Heaven Peaches and Plums Diagram. As long as he cultivates this true scripture, it will be beneficial for him to pass on his knowledge and teach others.

The more disciples one has, the more talented one becomes, and the more intense one's cultivation grows.

This is a benefit that the Internal Elixir School in my hometown has never addressed.

As they were talking, the crystal bead in Chu Tianshu's hand suddenly lit up slightly.

"Huh?"

With a thought, his vital energy covered the orb, suppressing the connection.

This crystal bead is the relic of Celebration of the Sage Temple.

Chu Tianshu was also curious about where the monk from Celebration of the Sage Temple had gone. At the same time, he wanted to know the secrets of the Demonic Dao, so he took it and examined it carefully.

While it is true that Demonic Dao techniques can be deciphered from this relic, there are still some omissions.

It's likely that the relic was damaged.

On one side of the relic, there are dense, fine marks that look like they were scrubbed with a steel brush.

Previously, there was no unusual activity regarding the relics; today, someone must have come to contact us to locate them.

I'm going out for a bit.

Chu Tianshu got up to leave.

Lu Yuande said urgently, "Wait, we haven't finished talking yet..."

Chu Tianshu has disappeared without a trace.

Lu Yuande was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized that he had been contemplating the principles of the righteous path earlier. How did he suddenly become so engrossed in internal Internal Elixir?

In reality, whether the right path is even viable, and whether it's pleasant or uncomfortable to follow, remains to be seen.

It's not something that can be decided by just verbal debate.

The truth is not clear, it requires brains and publicity, but the word "Tao" is only half the head and the other half is the legs, so you have to actually lift your feet and walk around.

(End of this chapter)