Chapter 63: A Different Perspective

  The Tao is boundless, and like all cultivators, Xiao Qiu often had these four words on his lips. He had indeed seen some unimaginable magic techniques, but what he saw before him still left him shocked and pale.

  He stood on the mountain peak, but this "mountain" was less than three feet high and horizontal to his body. Xia Qiu seemed to have unintentionally kicked over someone's toy and stepped on it again, but the toy didn't completely fall over or get crushed. It was supported by a mountain peak the size of a thumb, holding up the entire person.

  Xiao Qiu swayed and stumbled, barely maintaining her balance. She found herself surrounded by mountains, with a dark sky filled with thick clouds, cold winds howling by, and snowflakes cutting across her skin like knife blades.

  Looking down, the first thing he saw was Fangfang, grain-sized, rapidly becoming clear under his gaze. She looked up and gazed - from Xia Qiu's angle, she seemed to be lying on the ground - without feeling that a huge object was near at hand.

  The scenery of Yangshen Peak became clearer and clearer, the people and objects inside were not only horizontal, but all had undergone severe deformation, as if they had been randomly pulled and stretched by some kind of force. Fangfang became slender, the other disciples surrounding the mountain peak were either flat and round or skewed, none of them were normal shapes. The houses and trees were also deformed, like clumsy figures pinched out of mud by a two or three year old child.

  The place where Xia Qiu stood couldn't see the bottom of Yangshen Peak, it was probably empty there, because it was constantly sucking in clusters of clouds and mist.

  Xiao Qiu suddenly felt a wave of panic and confusion, he didn't know how to return to the foot of Yangshen Peak, nor did he know whether he should take another step to thoroughly leave Yangshen Peak. The goal was right in front of him, but he hesitated.

  "So you've really grasped San Tian."

  Xiao Qiu raised her head and saw Yang Baozhen standing just a few steps away in mid-air, the fierce wind and snow having no effect on her, not even causing her clothes to flutter.

  "Where am I?"

  "North of Laozu Peak." Yang Baozhen stared at this unique disciple, her expression still indifferent. Probably nothing in the world could surprise her. "Looks like you'll have to go to Taiyuan again."

  Before Xia Qiu could respond, he was swept up by a gust of wind and shot upwards at incredible speed. He faintly saw the winding stone steps of Pan Shan, which made him believe that this was indeed Lao Zu Peak.

  The fierce wind stopped, and the snow disappeared without a trace. Xiao Qiu stood in front of the gate of Laozu Peak's courtyard for the third time, but he couldn't recognize this place at all.

  The last time he came to the Taiwan Institute, Xin Youtao commented that the scenery was ordinary, only with taller trees, and Xiao Qiu somewhat agreed. This time, except for the isolated courtyard gate, everything he saw was completely different from before.

  Still composed of flowers, grass and trees, the courtyard walls, each one displaying a beauty that Xiao Qiu had never seen or imagined before. The leaves were like golden and silver leaves, the flowers seemed to be various beautiful jade of five colors and six colors, occasionally there would be unknown large birds flying out from the treetops, their magnificent tails trailing long rays of light that lingered for a long time without dispersing.

  Xiao Qiu's eyes were almost worn out, her heart was filled with doubts, she glanced at Yang Baozhen, but he didn't ask anything.

  The temple gate opened, and it was the little Taoist priest again. Seeing Xia Qiu, he immediately showed a knowing smile, but when he saw Yang Baozhen behind him, he put away his smile and paid respects with the ritual of the Taoist order.

  "Take him to see the master." Yang Baozhen's status was obviously much higher than Meng Yuanhou, and she could speak to the leader of the Taiyuan Institute in a commanding tone.

  "Yes." The little Taoist bowed again, and a hint of fear appeared in his expression.

  The scene inside the Taiyuan has also undergone a tremendous change, the ground is no longer ordinary bluestone, but blocks of smooth white jade, as smooth as ice. Xiao Qiu walks on it with caution, the surrounding buildings are magnificent and majestic, surrounded by thick clouds from top to bottom, only occasionally revealing a corner through the gaps.

  This is the fairyland that conforms to the identity of Taoist tradition.

  Xiao Qiurong didn't have time to respond, and followed behind Xiao Daoshi for a while before asking: "Is this the true appearance of the Taiyuan?"

  Yang Baozhen didn't follow, the little Taoist priest was as free and natural as before, turning his head to measure Xiao Qiu, with a mysterious and teasing smile on his face. "Does the courtyard have to have a real appearance in order for you to feel at ease?"

  Xiao Qiu pondered over the meaning of this sentence, as if she had gained some insight, but couldn't quite put her finger on the specific feeling. "Shouldn't there be only one truth?"

  The little Taoist stopped in his tracks, raised his hand to cover his right eye, "I see you as one appearance." He then covered his left eye, "It changes a bit." He narrowed his eyes, "The change is even greater." He turned his head and glanced at Little Autumn with the corner of his eye, "Your appearance is a bit strange."

  The little Taoist returned to normal, "I see several of you, which one is real?"

  "It's all real, it's just... the way you look at it is different. I understand now that every time Dao Guo rises to a higher realm, the scenery he sees is different." Xia Qiu closed her eyes and when she opened them again, the courtyard returned to its previous ordinary appearance.

  The little Taoist continued to walk forward, "Hehe, you have gone through many trials and tribulations on your own will, and only then did you give birth to so many doubts. If there was someone to guide and take care of you, you would have understood this simple truth long ago."

  Xiao Qiu closely followed behind, his mind racing back and forth between normal vision and extraordinary vision, the scenery in front of him changing rapidly. He found it very interesting, but more doubts arose in his heart, "During the tribulation, Meng Du helped me, but he didn't say these things, what's going on with Yang Shen Peak?"

  The little Taoist priest smiled and said, "Mu Xingqiu, I'm just a road guide, I can't answer so many questions. You'll have to ask the master later."

  As soon as Xia Qiu entered the courtyard of Wu Zu Tang, she was attacked by a pale golden qilin. Its head was like that of a newborn foal, with three-inch-long short horns on its forehead and dense scales on its back. A pair of shiny black eyes stared at her, and its nostrils seemed to be blowing air outward. Its teeth were just fully grown, and it bit down on Xia Qiu's pant leg, shaking its head violently.

  "It bears grudges," the little Taoist said.

  Xiao Qiu last time came when had once lifted his foot to shake off a small thing that looked like both a dog and a pig, didn't think it has already grown so big, just about to repeat the trick, suddenly discovered in the yard there were also two adult qilin, standing twenty or so steps away, staring at him with fierce eyes.

  Adult Qilins are not cute animals, they have large forked black horns, the tips of which are like daggers, their scales from yellow on their backs gradually transition to white downwards, and their gray bellies without scales are covered with spots of varying depths, puffing in and out like a bellows, especially their eyes, with a thin black line standing upright in the center of their tawny eyeballs, like venomous snakes monitoring prey.

  Xiao Qiu changed her mind, gently stroking the little Kirin's head and scratching its neck twice, just like treating a horse. The little beast narrowed its eyes in enjoyment, released its grip on Xiao Qiu's pant leg, and ran back and forth excitedly, occasionally sniffing at Xiao Qiu's body.

  "Never offend a qilin." The little Taoist was pleased with Xiao Qiu's gentle approach, "They hold grudges and have a magical ability, even if separated by a hundred years, from childhood to old age, they can still recognize you."

  Xiao Qiu hadn't seen the adult qilin before, so when he saw the young qilin, the little Daoist was extremely surprised and asked: "Are qilins originally invisible, or are they just invisible in the Taiyuan?"

  Qilin's breath was all misty, his Taoist robe was already soaked in a large area.

  The little Taoist took a deep breath, seemingly unwilling to answer, but the question was too simple. He said: "Only in the Taiyuan, there are very few exotic beasts that can truly become invisible. I hope you never meet them."

  The ancestors of all things gather in the hall, the patriarch sits upright in the center.

  When Xia Qiu came here for the first two times, this place was empty and desolate. Now it's filled with many objects, especially a half-person-high yellow four-legged cauldron in the corner, with strange lights flowing around it. Xia Qiu suspected that it was entirely made of golden essence.

  But he was puzzled, even if he broke through the Three Fields, it was only the Dao fruit that Shen Geng had already reached, and it wasn't a big deal, so why did it attract the attention of the Sect Masters and the First Seats?

  He cast his gaze towards Ning Qiwei, but it was a white-haired old Taoist who spoke up. He walked to Xiao Qiu's front and raised his right hand to press three times on the young disciple's forehead. "A family with great wealth should not be extravagant, having extraordinary abilities should not be lightly revealed. Preserving essence and cultivating one's mind is the proper path."

  Xiao Qiu withdrew his extraordinary vision, and the strange lights that filled the room disappeared. However, the objects remained, but they became ordinary, dull, and unremarkable. Lao Zu Feng had shown him a part of the secret, and it could never be taken back.

  "I am Shi Jixian, the first seat of Wuxing Department."

  Xiao Qiu hastily performed the ritual of the Daoist sect, "Disciple Mu Xingqiu pays respects to the First Seat." Afterwards, he most wanted to cultivate the Five Elements Department, but the First Seat's surname was Shen, which made him feel a sense of foreboding.

  Shen Shou Zuo revealed an extremely interested smile, "You have countless doubts in your heart, but before answering these doubts, I want you to make a choice first."

  "Yes." Xia Qiu replied respectfully.

  "You have already passed the three fields, but living on Yangshen Peak is greatly beneficial for your cultivation, so you still need to wait for three years before attempting to condense your energy into a dan."

  "I understand."

  "You can choose in advance which department you want to enter three years later, so that you can get some help that others don't have."

  "Wu Xing Department, I've already thought it through." Xiao Qiu said immediately, although the first seat Sheng Jixian had a close relationship with the Sheng Geng family, he still wanted to be an exorcist.

  "Don't be in a hurry, as it happens there are two faculties that want you as their disciple. You should listen to the other Dean's suggestion as well."

  "Does it include Wuxing Department?"

  "Of course. The five elements are specialized in cutting off evil spirits and eliminating demons, they are the guardians and pioneers of the nine major paths, but I want to remind you that the career of a demon-slaying Taoist is full of danger, it's hard to end well, and spending many years deep in the wilderness will have no small impact on later cultivation. It's extremely difficult to obtain higher Dao fruits."

  "......I see." As the first seat who wanted to take a disciple, what he said was actually all bad things, which made Xiao Qiu feel quite surprised.

  The first seat of Wuxing Department, Shen Jixian, retreated back to his original position, and another head stood up.

  It was actually Zuo Liu Ying, who had a very bad impression of Mu Xingqiu.

  A female servant followed him over, waited for a moment before speaking: "The Secret Department recruits at most one disciple per year, the requirements here are the strictest, and those who enter the demonic path will never be forgiven."

  The first speaker started by saying danger, and the second speaker immediately said threat.

  Xiao Qiu was perplexed, is this really Pang Shan's method of winning over his younger brother?

  (Collection needed, recommendation needed)