Zhang Ruoxu may be the headmaster of Qing Xuan but he was extremely humble and helpful when Shen Lian was in doubt.
Shen Lian took the opportunity to ask him about practice and cultivation and Zhang Ruoxu patiently addressED his queries. It was not easy for Shen Lian to meet Zhang Ruoxu and he wouldn’t waste the chance whenever he had the opportunity.
Shen Lian would usually request to leave just before Zhang Ruoxu would end their session. His timings were always just nice and neat.
As usual, Zhang Ruoxu would sit on the stone that he had been sitting on for the past hundred years. It was not that he did not want to move but he could not move.
He lightly patted the Tiandi Jian, echo could be heard in the quiet hall.
“Loneliness,” Zhang Ruoxu said in a low voice with a hint of frustration on his brow.
Jingqing walked down the hall.
Zhang Ruoxu kept his frustration, looked at Jingqing and said, “All is good as long as you’re not injured.”
“In the end, the devil lady did not go crazy,” Jingqing replied with a smile.
“The Uncle-Master is making a comeback in practice and cultivation. It would be difficult for her to have another breakthrough. I hope her efforts would bloom and she would be able the enjoy the fruits of her hard work,” Zhang Ruoxu sighed.
“The second attempt to break out from whims is ten times tougher than the first attempt. If she succeeded in doing it, she would go beyond heaven and earth.” Jingqing unconsciously lets out a hint of admiration. Although he had a long history, it was a thousand times more difficult for him to get a breakthrough compared mortal beings. He may not even go beyond heaven and earth by the time Qing Xuan annihilates.
******
The vitality of the Zifu Peak was strong, forming clouds surrounding the mountains, giving out a fresh spiritual feel to the peak.
The peak’s vitality may be strong but it was still not as rich as the bamboo residence of the lower house.
As cultivators would release the old and absorb the new, thus heaven and earth’s vitality would be attracted to the location of the cultivators. They generally pick mountain and hills as their gathering spot and with the help of some Fengshui techniques, their vitality would be enriched, making it easier for cultivation.
The two peaks of Zifu and Tianyuan generally had stronger vitality compared to Yuyang and Qingliang. Thus, setting up adobes and Fengshui arrangement there would boost their vitality, giving them an extra edge against the upper house and lower house.
This was the so-called ‘wealthy celestial land’, in terms of practice and cultivation.
Ordinary disciples like Shen Lian did not have the rights to set up abodes at places like Zifu or Tianyuan. However, they were not banned from entering the two peaks.
It was all good as long as they do not interrupt their teachers and elders’ practice and cultivation. It would not be easy for them if they deliberately offended their seniors.
Shen Lian wondered what was it like to be in other schools of Celestialism. He felt that Qing Xuan’s rules were indeed very undemanding. The only two applicable were ‘to not disturb others’ and ‘to not betray your school’.
It felt like an old moral saying that goes “the chicken and the dog can hear each other but they would never make contact with each other”.
The windy roads in the mountain and cicada singing lead to another complex trail. One may come across an exquisite Daoist academy with an open cornice, celestial abodes that relied on the mountain or even bamboo residences built on the rocks.
These buildings were like lost stars in a cold night, scattered around, yet natural without a hint of abruptness.
The Taiwei pavilion was located in the deepest section of the Zifu Peak. It was standing independently and divided into three floors.
The pavilion did not appear to look shabby but it gave a feeling of vicissitudes of life.
Shen Lian had visited the forbidden city during his past life and he was able to feel the silent flow of years. On the other hand, Taiwei pavilion gave out a faint human-like feeling, sort of like an endless stream of vicissitudes of life, flowing slowly. He could not help but be impressed by it.
If someone was willing to learn, anywhere could be his pure land.
Taiwei pavilion’s library was every Qing Xuan’s cultivator’s pure land.
Of course, people do not visit this place every day. When Shen Lian was at the Taiwei pavilion, the only other person there was the elderly who was in charge of taking care of the place.
This elderly was an old Daoist monk who specializes in a Dao technique that was similar to Buddhism meditation. No one knew how long he lived as one could not see any hints of aging from his outlook and psyche.
Even the wrinkles on his forehead looked like the mysterious symbols on a talisman.
The old Daoist monk was not in charge of identity check as the Taiwei pavilion had an equipment where you just have to register once and you’re free to enter as you like.
However, if one was not allowed to enter the second floor if they failed their practice and cultivation.
When Shen Lian entered the place, the old Daoist monk did not even take a glance at him. One could not tell if he was sleeping or awake but he was not breathing as if his soul was missing.
Breathing and Qigong practices were just tricks to extend one’s life. It was not the root of Daoism. Shen Lian picked up this information from Zhang Ruoxu.
But it was hard to understand that from this old Daoist monk.
Heaven and earth’s vitality could nourish the physical body and provide warmth and moisture to the soul. However, the physical body and soul was like a delicate machine. No matter how you try to protect it, there would be a day where it would break down completely.
Just like the sun, moon, and stars; nothing last forever.
Shen Lian had some thoughts but he did not ponder too much about the cultivation method this old Daoist monk practices. He knew that it was important to go at one’s own pace and that being overly ambitious could be dangerous.
The study materials at the first floor of Taiwei Pavilion were bound into booklets. The papers used were of premium quality paper, unlike those used in the mortal world where papers would turn yellow over time.
Of course, the good stuff was not displayed in the Taiwei pavilion. Qing Xuan’s fundamentals were neither recorded down in text form nor stored in a special storage.
Moreover, Qing Xuan has always adhered to the idea of ‘its alright to teach the skills but be careful when teaching the spells’.
Even if Shen Lian obtained the Xuanji martial art, he only received enough for him to practice and it was not sufficient to get himself involved in the other realm.
The Dao technique materials on the first floor mainly cater for cultivators who had yet to achieve the Huandan. The Huandan was a vital drainage divide of practice and cultivation. After mastering the Huandan, one would be able to transform into land immortals whom every move made was of supernatural powers. It was hard to imagine how much more advanced land immortals were compared to mortals.
Shen Lian found a book entitled “Talisman for Beginners” edited by Dong Lingzi, a talisman master.
The preface of the book said, “Heaven and earth possess eight mysterious elements. They are heaven, earth, mountain, swamp, thunder, fire, water, and wind. The talisman works as a special medium to interconnect these elements to produce great forces. It can be used to heal and rescue, as well as to slay demons and improve on practice and cultivation.
The talisman had many different functions, and cultivators use it differently according to their needs.
Something interesting was mentioned in the book. According to it, there was once a type of cultivator who would use the Talisman Seeds as a substitute for Huandan to achieve immortality.
Such cultivators were different from monks today but the editor did not elaborate much on this. According to Dong Lingzi, talisman studies emphasized on the outer world and frequently borrows the power of heaven and earth.
Dong Lingzi probably added that part just to make the book more interesting.
Shen Lian flipped more pages and finally got into the part that introduces the Dao of Talisman.
The beginning of Dao of Talisman studies was very similar to learning calligraphy writing.
You could tell if one was an advanced learner in calligraphy by his brush force and rhythm.
Similarly, an advanced Dao of Talisman was judged by the power of the person who produced the talisman and his understanding towards his studies.
Of course, when one was just starting out, they only look into the basics and foundation.
The book introduced three types of common talisman systems.