All the cultivators in the hall could feel the trembling of their biers, and an indescribable feeling stemmed from their heart of Dao. Everyone could not help but to look at Chen Jianmei; he was there, yet it felt as though he was beyond the constraints of the heaven and the earth.
The feeling did not last long. It passed within seconds.
Everyone knew that Grandmaster Yuan Qing was passing on the path and meaning of Dao to Chen Jianmei.
It proved that the Founding Grandmaster was still in existence, and was pioneering the way. He was protecting the Qing Xuan orthodoxy somewhere, somehow.
Chen Jianmei did not look happy at all, it was as though he was not the one who obtained the path and meaning of Dao. Only those who went through loneliness and solitude would understand him; glory was but a footnote of the hardships faced during cultivation.
As a hurdle to the learning process about Daoism, even those who experienced the hardship of Huandan would find it hard to put their sufferings into words. Even if they were to do it all over, they would not be sure that they could be successful.
This was why not a lot of people in the world could attain the state of Huandan with their own strength. Even if they were to persevere, they might meet the same end as Sanwen Daoist who died because of old age.
As for those who attained the state of Huandan with the aid of external alchemy or celestial core, despite not being an easy feat, there were at least signs to be traced. This was why even in a Celestialism that emphasized on cultivation and the heart of Dao such as Qing Xuan, there were still people who attained the state of Huandan through the aforementioned two means.
After witnessing Chen Jianmei’s success, some disciples whose level of cultivation was at the state of trance or was entering perfection was thinking of following Chen Jianmei’s footsteps. To stand a chance at becoming an immortal Zhenren, one would need to at least be at Sixth Transformation of Huandan or higher. Since the founding of Qing Xuan, including other sects, no one below the Sixth Transformation of Huandan managed to become an immortal Zhenren.
The man in white, Zhao Siming who had a beef with Lu Shouyi, thought that “This is how a real man should live”, and could not wait to head back and cultivate in solitary retreat.
The code of Dao was carried out in an orderly manner, and those in the hall all had different mannerism. However, cultivators did not wear their emotions on their face, and hence everyone looked relatively calm.
******
Three days had passed since the code of Dao for Chen Jianmei was carried out. The bustle subsided. Though, it was surprising how he chose not to set up his residence at Tianyuan Peak or Zifu Peak after Huandan. Instead, he left Qing Xuan.
Zhang Ruoxu explained that given the vastness of the world, there was no reason why Chen Jianmei should not go around as much as possible. However, Shen Lian felt that there was more to it. Even if Zhang Ruoxu was aware of the true reason behind it, Shen Lian knew that he would not tell him even if he asked.
Shen Lian did not have the time or mood to concern himself with Chen Jianmei’s whereabouts. Though, he was still very curious about “external alchemy”.
Shen Lian was here because of the final arrangement Zhang Ruoxu made with regards to Shen Lian.
This was not the first time that Shen Lian was at Zifu Peak, because the Taiwei Pavillion that stored the Dao techniques of Qing Xuan and the portraits of the immortal Zhenrens was located at Zifu Peak. The old Daoist who was in charge of guarding the Taiwei Pavillion was powerful and unpredictable.
Shen Lian was in one of the Daoist courtyards at Zifu Peak. It was located amidst the cliffs and was more of a Daoist hall than a Daoist courtyard.
Inside, a portrait was worshipped. A pool of clear water could be seen in the portrait, and a few white clouds were floating around. On closer inspection, the water was not moving, but the clouds were ever-changing and summed up the Daoist perception of dynamic and static. It made one felt like one had understood something, yet after some serious contemplation, it would seem that one had not understood anything.
Shen Lian came in following the lead of a lady. This lady was the gentle lady that he noticed during Chen Jianmei’s code of Dao. Her name was Gu Caiwei.
It was Zhang Ruoxu’s intention for Gu Caiwei to acknowledge Shen Lian as her disciple on behalf of her Master.
Gu Caiwei’s master had fallen around hundred over years ago and was the disciple of the lady in purple that Shen Lian encountered back then.
The lady in purple was an immortal Zhenren from the previous generation, and her Daoist name was “Ziling”. Due to a trial that she faced, she had to reincarnate and to restart her cultivation, which was why Zhang Ruoxu had to greet her as Uncle-Master.
In Qing Xuan, those who were not in the same branch and did not share a disciple-master relationship usually addressed each other by their state of attainment.
Those who were below “Huandan” would address the doyens or true disciples above “Huandan” as Uncle-Master, immortal Zhenren would be Grandmasters, and that would be the general gist of it.
Of course, one could address the other by their Daoist name, or as “Zhenren”.
After all, those in celestial school did not care much about superiority and inferiority.
For now, it would be best for Shen Lian to cultivate the Taixu Strategy from the “Ziling” branch, which was one of the founding techniques of Qing Xuan. There were only two people who attained immortality through this in the past ten thousand years, and Ziling fairy was one of the two.
As for those who managed to attain the state of Huandan through the Taixu Strategy, besides Ziling fairy, the Grandmaster of the branch, the only one who managed to do so was Gu Caiwei’s master.
This was why a detailed explanation was always given before someone formally joined into this branch.
Shen Lian knew about this beforehand, and yet he still chose to cultivate the Taixu Strategy.
Rather than having doubts himself, he decided to trust Zhang Ruoxu who had deep cultivation experience. After all, Zhang Ruoxu was considered as an expert when it comes to the path of cultivation. Moreover, even if he was given the choice, he would not know what martial exercises he should cultivate either.
He was very decisive about it, and Gu Caiwei agreed to it too. Shen Lian could tell that Gu Caiwei respected Zhang Ruoxu from the bottom of her heart.
Whether it was Sanwen or Chen Jianmei, these Apprentice-Brothers from the lower house all respected Zhang Ruoxu. From the days that they spent together, Shen Lian was deeply impressed by the charms and knowledge of this chief too. Without Zhang Ruoxu, he was probably still worrying about the hidden aftermath of his previous cultivation.
Shen Lian paid close attention to the portrait that was worshipped, at the same time he casually thought about everything that had happened since he started pursuing Dao.
After some time, Gu Caiwei carried an item out. It was a feather coat that had a lot of dust on it. It seemed as though it had not been in use for a long time.
“For a long time, there hasn’t been any man who joined our branch. This Daoist vestment was used by a senior last time, you can try it on,” Gu Caiwei smiled as she spoke.
After all, she was formally acknowledging him as her disciple on behalf of her master, some rituals must still be followed.
Gu Caiwei passed the Daoist vestment over and turned around. However, Shen Lian could still hear her laughing under her breath. Perhaps, his Apprentice-Sister here found the situation funny as well.
With her experience in cultivation, it would not make a difference whether she turned around or not. If she wanted to, she could watch Shen Lian change even if she was outside.
Shen Lian was not bothered by it, as changing in public back in the modern society in his past life was not a big deal after all.
After changing into the Daoist vestment, Shen Lian tried to use his mana. He realized that the vestment was also an instrument, and with his mana flowing through it, it was practically weightless like a piece of tree leaf. Moreover, his sleeves were big and loose. With just a wave, they almost sent him flying the way a pair of wings would.
However, he did not try to fly yet, as Gu Caiwei was staring at him laughingly.
Shen Lian dusted himself off, and he was clean from head to toe.
“Taixu Strategy was founded by the twentieth immortal Zhenren in Qing Xuan, Grandmaster Li Qingshui. It is also one of the top thirty-six techniques out of the one hundred and eight techniques of Qing Xuan. You were told of the difficulties involved in cultivation, and today, I am representing my master Biyun Zhenren to formally acknowledge you as one of her disciples, do you agree with the arrangement?” Gu Caiwei spoke in a serious tone.