A Single Sentence Reveals the Tribulation Immortal's Secret; Rosy Clouds and Spirit Porpoises Celebrate the Spreading of the Dao

Founding a sect?

Heng Hua lightly waved his feather fan, his thoughts racing.

He soon came up with a response.

He shook his head. "Founding a sect? That is far too distant a matter for me.

"Last September, I had just passed my sixtieth birthday. My ancestor joked that I was 'still but a child.'"

On the long road of immortality, what did sixty years amount to? Even cultivators six hundred years old counted as young.

The moment Li Nanxing heard this, he hurriedly said, "Sixty is not young. In Golden Fang, there are several sect masters only twenty or thirty years old."

"Most of them are puppets. Why does Senior seek to deceive me?" Heng Hua said unhappily. "Having learned the Five-Element Core-Condensation Art, your Great Dao has a promising future. You seek me out to found a sect—do you wish to pass this alchemy art on to others?"

"I have three to five close friends whose circumstances resemble mine. Because of flaws in our cultivation methods, we face the danger of qi deviation. Furthermore, the secret inheritances of the Golden Direction Water Region are controlled by the major sects. I wish to seek a way forward for Rogue Cultivators."

Heng Hua deliberately put on airs and remained silent.

He had read the travel notes his father left behind and had some understanding of Golden Fang's customs and conditions.

The Golden Direction Water Region was filled with sects, but the secrets of Core Formation and methods of Soul Formation had always been monopolized by the great sects. Rogue Cultivators such as Li Nanxing were in an even more miserable position there than Rogue Cultivators of Yanlong.

Here in Yanlong, Rogue Cultivators could at least buy cultivation methods. But in the Golden Direction Water Region, no one would ever put core, vital secret methods up for sale.

And when those Rogue Cultivators expended several times the effort of others to successfully form cores and souls, each of them founded sects. Yet they treasured their own core-forming secrets even more fiercely than ordinary sects and refused to pass them on lightly.

"Senior dislikes sects?"

"Every last one of them is selfish and self-serving, rigidly clinging to sectarian prejudices. They clutch True Immortal wondrous formulas and disdain people like us as 'chasing illusions and seeking falsehood, all for naught.' Who could be happy about that?"

Li Nanxing knew that Heng Hua's Five-Element Core-Condensation Art was an immortal-formula-grade secret for forming cores. If it were made public, the Rogue Cultivator lineage of Golden Fang could turn the tables.

"Senior, have you heard of Precept-Bearing Transmission?"

"Please instruct me, Teacher."

"The founder of a lineage creates a cultivation method and forms the grace of transmission with his disciples. Whenever later disciples do good deeds and accumulate virtue, their fortune flows back to their patriarch. It can help the patriarch perfect the lineage's cultivation method, and it can also use that fate to lessen tribulations."

Avoiding tribulations.

Li Nanxing's heart jolted, and he vaguely understood something.

"Correct. It is precisely the three perilous calamities.

"Why do Tribulation Immortals hide away beyond the world and refuse to step lightly into the mortal realm? Because they fear the heavenly tribulations and are unwilling to prematurely trigger the three tribulations of thunder, fire, and wind.

"If Tribulation Immortals wish to avoid tribulations, aside from their own cultivation and heavenly treasures, fortune and virtuous merit are also methods.

"Senior despises the sects of the Golden Direction Water Region for squeezing the living space of Rogue Cultivators. Yet how do you know the sects do not have hardships of their own?

"The grace of attaining the Dao can indeed borrow fortune. But at the same time, the sins committed by unworthy disciples can weaken a sect's fate. Even grudges formed with outsiders may backlash upon the sect, causing harm to its Tribulation Immortals.

"That is why every sect sets rules: methods must not be transmitted lightly. It is to prevent those of poor character from ruining the sect's fortune."

Li Nanxing remained silent for a long while after hearing this.

The "secret of Tribulation Immortals" Heng Hua had spoken of was known by very few even in the Golden Direction Water Region.

Before this, Li Nanxing had always believed that sect cultivators banded together merely to seize territory and fight for resources.

"I once heard my grandfather mention that if a Tribulation Immortal has three to five Golden Core Realm disciples outside widely cultivating good affinities, the heavenly tribulation may be reduced by twenty to thirty percent. If there are a hundred or so disciples accumulating virtuous merit, the tribulation may be reduced by ten percent. If there are thousands upon thousands of disciples carrying out the work of great teachings, the heavenly tribulation can often be reduced by thirty percent."

The wonders of fortune were not limited to sects; Lineage cultivators could do the same.

If the Fu Family had a Tribulation Immortal, Heng Hua believed that with his family's thousand years of accumulated merit, not only would the first two tribulations pose no problem, even the third would not be easily passed.

After pondering for a long time, Li Nanxing bowed to Heng Hua in apology. "Asking Teacher to spread the cultivation method far and wide was my rashness."

Seeing the time was ripe, Heng Hua changed the subject. "I understand Senior's wish to care for your friends. If only three to five people cultivate it, then let them learn this method.

"But spreading it across the world, gathering Rogue Cultivators everywhere beneath my gate, and forcibly establishing a master-disciple relationship—that is a calamity I absolutely dare not bear. From now on, do not call me Teacher when outside. Just treat it as something you created yourself."

Heng Hua had created his own Heavenly Book, so he had even greater need to avoid tribulations than others.

Thus, he had long thought matters through.

He absolutely could not personally found a sect and become entangled in the karmic consequences of transmitting teachings.

Otherwise, if there were a few people who betrayed their masters and ancestors or stirred up trouble, they would inevitably implicate him.

What he wished to emulate was the sage patriarch of the Supreme Mystery Sect of old.

A sage was not some specific realm of strength.

To be sage was to comprehend, to be wise.

One whose knowledge and conduct were both complete could be honored as a sage.

One who understood Heaven and Earth could be honored as a sage.

One capable of all things could be honored as a sage.

One whose virtue nourished all things could be honored as a sage.

One who enlightened all living beings could be honored as a sage.

And among the mystical schools of the immortal Dao, one honored as a "Dao Sage" was one who comprehended the true principles of Heaven and Earth and proclaimed the profundities of the Great Dao.

One had to awaken to the Great Dao oneself, transmit teachings through the mystical schools, and bestow grace upon the immortals.

Only then could one be called a "Dao Sage."

Throughout Donglai Continent's history, there had been only one Dao Sage: Taixuanzi.

Aside from the direct disciples of Taixuan who accumulated virtuous merit for him, those cultivators who received the grace of his guidance also returned a share of transmission fortune to him.

Even now, if that great senior were still alive, Heng Hua ought to perform the rites of a disciple merely for studying the Supreme Mystery Sect's Heavenly Unity Calculation Art and Numinous Insight Communion.

This method of transforming into the Dao through nonaction and bestowing grace upon countless cultivators was what Heng Hua's heart truly yearned for.

Heng Hua thought to himself, The times are no longer what they were in the Sage's day. Sects now stand everywhere. If I run out to found a sect myself, I will surely be resisted by others. How could I spread the Dao smoothly then? Better to be a kindly teacher who delights in explaining the Dharma, leaving behind countless graces of guidance.

Such unregistered disciples could not implicate Heng Hua if they committed crimes outside. Yet once they attained success in cultivation, they would owe Heng Hua a debt of gratitude. Through that karma, Heng Hua could borrow their fortune to avoid tribulations.

If Heng Hua were ruthless enough, he could even use a secret art to transfer his own tribulation aura onto such unregistered disciples and send them out to undergo tribulations in his stead.

Therefore, when Li Nanxing proposed that Heng Hua personally establish a sect, he absolutely refused. But he was willing to let Li Nanxing pass the method on to his friends.

As for scattering it among Rogue Cultivators across the world—an act that would plainly provoke the fury of Golden Fang's sect powers—Heng Hua's magic power was presently too weak. He neither dared act recklessly nor wished to establish master-disciple relationships.

But if he achieved success in cultivation someday and entered the ranks of Tribulation Immortals, no one would need to invite him. He would go to every major water region to lecture on the Dao himself. Not to take disciples, but to transmit teachings.

If the Grand Mystery Heavenly Scripture could produce a Dao Sage, could my Book of Creation not do the same?

Li Nanxing understood that Heng Hua did not wish to stir up trouble, so he said, "Rest assured, Teacher. Those friends of mine are all of excellent character. They will never commit evil or bring disaster."

"So long as you do not pass it on to evildoers, Senior may do as you please."

Afterward, Heng Hua explained the Five-Element Core-Condensation Art once more.

He also passed on the preliminary Qi Refining cultivation method to Li Nanxing. This Qi Refining method was a shortened version of the Creation's Epoch-Reunion Art that Heng Hua had once created for himself.

The ninth layer of Qi Refining was "the Spirit Ape entering the Heavenly Palace to bow before the Jade Emperor." The first layer of Foundation Establishment was entering the immortal register and forming an immortal root. The methods afterward connected with the Five-Element Core-Condensation Art Heng Hua had given Li Nanxing during the day.

Li Nanxing carefully contemplated it and was immediately overjoyed. "Teacher, this cultivation method is actually an immortal formula that allows one to cultivate from mortalhood all the way to the Golden Core Realm?"

But then he recalled something. "Such a method is likely rare even within the Fu Family. Teacher, by passing it on so freely, would that not..."

"I created it myself, so there is no issue. Only, ordinary mortals must not attempt the nine layers of Qi Refining cultivation. This method is suitable only for cultivators of the three Foundation Establishment realms who disperse their cultivation and start anew."

"Disperse one's cultivation and cultivate anew?"

Li Nanxing pondered and examined it further, then noticed the issue concerning the Heart Ape at the Qi Refining stage.

"Mortals have weak spiritual souls and cannot manifest a Heart Ape. Only cultivators like us, whose Divine Sense has been tempered through Foundation Establishment, can cultivate a Heart Ape after starting over."

At this moment, Heng Hua secretly felt regret.

He wished to become a Dao Sage and establish himself as the Grandmaster of a lineage through the Creation's Epoch-Reunion Art. The missing cultivation method of the first stage had to be completed. Otherwise, it could not be cultivated normally in the future and could only serve as a Heavenly Book for Foundation Establishment cultivators to disperse their cultivation and begin again.

Li Nanxing smiled. "That is no great matter. My friends are all at Foundation Establishment Perfection, with powerful Divine Sense. It is only that..."

Without a core-condensation art, they could not form superior Golden Cores.

"May I ask, Teacher, what should this cultivation method be called?"

It could not truly be called the Five-Element Core-Condensation Art. With the preceding steps of manifesting the Heart Ape included, that name was clearly no longer suitable.

"The Lesser Celestial Immortal Formula."

"The... Lesser?"

Li Nanxing looked utterly confused.

"What does that mean?"

"Greater refers broadly to the complete text in its entirety. Lesser refers to an excerpted chapter."

The distinction between greater and lesser works came from a saying in Heng Hua's previous life, most often used for Buddhist scriptures, such as the Greater Prajna Sutra.

The New Account of Tales of the World recorded: "General Yin read the lesser work and marked two hundred passages; all were subtle and profound, revealing the world's hidden stagnations." The "lesser work" there referred to an excerpted Buddhist scripture.

Heng Hua said, "A Celestial Immortal wondrous formula must contain not only Golden Core Realm and Soul Formation methods, but also techniques for Tribulation Immortals to avoid tribulations. At present, neither you nor I can deduce such profound realms. We cannot call ourselves 'Greater,' so it is called 'Lesser.'"

After this exchange, Heng Hua had gained a few more feelings befitting a teacher and elder.

After pausing, he adjusted his state of mind and continued, "One day, once I complete this Celestial Immortal method, it will naturally become the Greater Celestial Immortal Formula."

Li Nanxing bowed in thanks once more.

Just as Heng Hua was preparing to see his guest out, he remembered something else. "At dawn, I will lecture on the Cloudflame Crimson Talisman Scripture at Earthflame Island. Since it is my first time lecturing, I will need Senior's help to lend some support to the occasion."

Li Nanxing naturally would not refuse his "little teacher's" request.

At dawn, under Heng Hua's instructions, Li Nanxing used Dao arts to summon five-colored rosy clouds and drive away the fire clouds over Earthflame Island. He then used a secret art to temporarily calm the volcano and bring forth broad swathes of lush green grass. On either side of the Eight Trigrams Platform where Heng Hua would lecture, he planted two flourishing blue cypresses.

Fu Heyi stood to one side, looking at the rosy clouds in the sky, then the green grass below, and finally Heng Hua's Eight Trigrams Platform.

"This brat certainly knows how to put on a show."

Gilded bronze crane censers stood on both sides of the Eight Trigrams Platform, while lotus-patterned curtains fluttered in the wind behind it.

Fu Xiangfeng muttered, "This brat brought all these odds and ends with him when he went out, and he can actually use them?"

Below the platform, Rogue Cultivators such as Xu Wenyu sat primly, waiting quietly for Heng Hua to appear.

Splash—

A pillar of water burst from the surface as a school of porpoises frolicked atop the water.

Fu Xiangfeng instinctively wanted to drive them away, but Heng Hua stopped him through voice transmission.

"I specially brought these river porpoises here. Third Brother, do not act rashly."

River porpoises were one of the few freshwater porpoise species. They did not harm humans and possessed abundant spirituality. Even after becoming demons, they would not attack the human race. Sometimes, they even protected passing boats.

When Yanlong cultivators lectured on the Dao, the appearance of porpoises was often regarded as an auspicious sign.

Heng Hua had specifically asked Xiaoyu and Hengshou to find three to five river porpoises to serve as part of his display.

Fu Xiangfeng rolled his eyes.

Though it was only your first lecture, was this not a little too extravagant?

"Forget it, forget it. Little Six is young at heart. Let him have his way."

As he spoke to himself, Fu Xiangfeng swept his sword. A clear breeze passed over Earthflame Island, dispersing the sulfurous smoke and ash, while another sea of flowers bloomed into view.

Boom—

A clap of thunder resounded through the heavens. Golden light filled the sky as Heng Hua made his unhurried entrance.

He wore a long robe of profound azure and held the Cloudflame Crimson Talisman Scripture in his hands as he took his seat beneath everyone's gaze.

Just as he was about to begin, a small boat crossed over the water.

A white-robed scholar drifted over gracefully. "Fellow Daoist, may I listen to your lecture as well?"

Zhou Xiao. Heng Hua's expression shifted at once. Greed, anger, and delusion—the third path had arrived.

Yanlong Water Mirror: River porpoises, also called Canglan Golden Porpoises. They have white fins, golden eyes, and red markings on their bellies. They are not native to this region and are suspected to have been left behind by foreign cultivators.

They delight in people and are gentle by nature. They often appear during Dao lectures and are thus considered auspicious.

Canglan Travelogue: Tianyi Calendar, Year 853, fifth month. The ship broke apart, and two river porpoises escaped. They had been caught by Yuanming; their flesh was delicious and could be used in medicine.