Chapter 64: The Master's Answer

  A female attendant of the Left Stream stepped forward, smiling warmly, indicating that what she was about to say was her own thoughts. "The birth of a demon is an unprecedented event in the tens of thousands of years of Daotong's inheritance, and it has never been recorded before. Don't you want to explore the real reason behind it? The entire population of Ye Lin Town disappeared, and perhaps the demons have not killed them yet. Don't you want to find out what happened to them?"

  "Isn't the Five Elements Sect supposed to be about slaying demons and eliminating evil?" If it weren't for the fact that the sect leader and the heads of each department were present, Xiao Qiu would have unhesitatingly declared his choice. He had no desire to become a disciple of Zuo Liu Ying, and had always believed that the Five Elements Sect was the right way to eradicate the demonic kind.

  The maid shook her head slightly, "Devil's breed is not a common demon in the world. The Five Elements Department only has a little understanding of it. In the Taoist community, only the Forbidden Department truly studies the devil's breed."

  Wu Xing Department Head Shen Ji Xian stood up again, smiling and saying: "Zeng Ou, the Wu Xing and Jin Mi departments have already agreed, let's not fight over disciples, let them make their own choice."

  The female attendant named Zeng Fu turned to Shen Ji Xian, not performing the ritual of Taoist courtesy, but rather curtsying like an ordinary woman. "Please, Master Shen, forgive me for my impertinence. The safety of the Nine Great Daoist Sects and even the entire world depends on the life-and-death struggles of the Five Elements Masters. I shouldn't have spoken carelessly."

  Shen Jixian didn't mind and said to Xiao Qiu: "Can you make a choice now?"

  Soon after, Xia Qiu also chose the Five Elements Department. However, after listening to Zeng Fan's introduction, he hesitated for a moment, "There are seven more people in our Ye Lin Town, can't they enter the Forbidden Department to explore the magical species?"

  Zeng Hui looked to be around thirty years old, with curved eyebrows and eyes, an ordinary face, but when she smiled, she seemed like a gentle older sister. "The Secret Department isn't somewhere you can just enter casually. Three years later, if we still haven't found someone suitable, we'd rather leave the position vacant again."

  Xiao Qiu hesitated, from the moment he saw Li Yuechi behead the snake demon, he had a mind to become a five-element mage, but he also wanted to find his way back to Ye Lin Town and at least figure out why the demonic kind invaded his hometown.

  "The Dao and the Devil will eventually have a final battle." Shen Jixian took a step forward, saying, "No matter which department you are in, when the time comes, you will all face the Devil's breed."

  Xiao Qiu cast a questioning glance at Master Ning Qiwei.

  Ning Qiwei stood up when the two leaders had differing opinions. He had to intervene, "The two leaders have expressed their own thoughts, my opinion is this: Mu Xiangqiu doesn't need to make a choice today, let him return to Yangshen Peak, three years later, after he has a deeper understanding of the Taoist teachings, then make a decision."

  Xiao Qiu thought it was a good idea, "I want to wait for a while, even if it's just a few days..."

  Wu Xing Ke's first seat, Shen Ji Xian, was the first to express his agreement. "This is a good method, especially beneficial for Mu Hang Qiu, he can get help from both departments at the same time."

  Zeng Hui suppressed her smile and spoke on behalf of Zuo Liu Ying, "The Secret Department won't waste its energy helping disciples from other departments." She paused for a moment, "Unless Mu Xingqiu explicitly expresses his intention to join the Secret Department one day."

  The opinion of Master Ning Qiwei was passed, the first seats retreated one by one, and everyone stared at Xiao Qiu for a while before leaving Wuzutang. Zuo Liu Ying was even more so, once raised his arm, as if to use the heart control technique on him again, but finally put down his arm. Another younger female servant coldly said: "No one understands the demon species better than me."

  Ning Qiwei saw off the first group of people and then said to Xiao Qiu, "Let's go outside and talk."

  In the courtyard, Xiao Qilin was licking Zuo Liu Ying's palm, as obedient as when facing her parents. Seeing Zong Shi and Xiao Qiu come out, Zuo Liu Ying withdrew her hand and took two female attendants away.

  "What do you want to know?" Ning Qiwei asked, strolling leisurely in the courtyard, without any intention of leaving.

  "I wonder if I should have chosen one subject first?" Xia Qiu had many doubts in her mind, but the question she asked was this one. She felt that she might have offended both of the two leaders at the same time.

  "Waiting for three years is correct. It's hard to find a good candidate, and it's even harder to find a disciple who can self-cultivate through the tribulations. Whatever decision you make, the first seat will always welcome it."

  Xiao Qiu calmed down and thought for a moment, deciding to start from the beginning. "Did I really break through the Three Fields in the cave? But... how is this possible? My Dao root has only been cultivated for less than half a year."

  "Such a thing is indeed extremely rare." Ning Qiwei walked slowly, and Xiao Qilin seemed to dare not get close to him, following far behind, making various preparations to pounce on Xiao Qiu. "Your Dao root, your opening of the meridians are all different from others."

  "It's because of the demon seed." Xia Qiu's heart sank.

  "This is the only reasonable explanation." Ning Qiwei's tone indicated that he didn't take this as a danger, "The Dao root produced by the demon species seems to be unstable, and the ignited Dao fire is sometimes strong and sometimes weak. When you were thinking back, it happened to coincide with its most vigorous burning, helping you open up your seven apertures and unblock your three fields."

  "Many things from back then I've already forgotten, like a dream."

  "You should thank Meng Yuanhou, he was worried that you would encounter danger if you passed the tribulation too early, so he cast a dream spell on your cave, intending to make you mindless. However, the power of the Dao fire was too strong and thoroughly transformed you. If you weren't in a half-dreaming state, you might not have been able to endure it."

  Xiao Qiu felt even more grateful to Meng Yuan Hou, "Several people in Ye Lin Town have obtained the Dao root due to the magic seed, why am I the only one like this?"

  "It may be because you are the only one who has personally touched the Devil's Flower, or it could also be because your will on the path of cultivation is the most unwavering, which is very important for the Dao Fire."

  "What about later on? Will my Dao foundation still be so unstable?"

  Ning Qi stopped in his tracks, "This is exactly what we want to know. No matter which department you enter, you will receive comprehensive attention. I and the various heads hope to clarify the rules behind it. If we can control the intensity of the Dao fire..."

  Ning Qiwei lived in silence, immersed in his imagination of the future, a vast picture.

  Xiao Qiu's hair stood on end, unable to articulate whether this special attention was good or bad. "Why didn't the Flowing Light Mirror recognize my cultivation? Yesterday it said I had only opened up my ears."

  "The Flowing Light Mirror detects the heart of man. The vast majority of disciples, despite claiming to have known nothing beforehand, had already been convinced of their own cultivation level. You, on the other hand, are the opposite. You claim to have broken through the Three Fields, but you don't really believe it. You think it's just a dream. You only believe in the opening of your ears before thinking about it. The Flowing Light Mirror hasn't deceived anyone, it's you who is deceiving yourself."

  Xiao Qiu's face turned slightly red. Over the past month, his confidence had indeed been declining day by day. "So that's how it is... The Ancestral Tower... What's with this 'Nameless Department'?"

  Ning Qi furrowed his brow, clearly not liking the topic, and only spoke after walking a few steps: "It's not called the Nameless Department, its formal name is the Mind-reading Department."

  "Mei Chuan An's incantation." Xiao Qiu immediately remembered that the five words "Cuo Huo Luo Ruo Mo" were indeed a mind-reading technique.

  "Yes, Mei Chuan'an's incantation comes from the Nian Xin Sect, but it's just a small trick. The Nian Xin Sect's magic is not limited to this, they only accepted female disciples in the past, and their cultivation method... is different from others. In the eyes of the Nine Great Daoist Sects, that is a fallen sect that should not exist at all, even if it hasn't slid into evil ways, its drawbacks far outweigh its benefits. The Nian Xin Sect showed you their legacy probably because you've used incantations before and your dao root is unique."

  "A bit like the Thorny Mountain?"

  "Not like that." Ning Qiwei didn't elaborate on the cultivation methods of Nian Xin Sect, but flatly denied Xia Qiu's guess. "Luan Jing Shan is mainly based on Deng Zhu Ke, which is an orthodox school, and has nothing in common with Nian Xin Sect."

  "Yes, I understand." Xia Qiu couldn't help but think of Feng Popo, but even if he had the courage, he didn't dare ask Zong Shi about this matter. "The Ancestor's Tower showed me almost all the heritage, Lin Duojiao once said that he could only see up to the 16th generation ancestor."

  "Have you seen the news?"

  "What's going on?"

  "The Ancestor's Tower records all Daoists above the Realm of Gods, including their appearance, name and origin, as well as each person's experiences, the level of Dao fruit they have obtained, every demon and monster they have killed, and every spell they have created, all are recorded in the files."

  Xiao Qiu thought for a moment, at that time in order to cover up the truth, he didn't carefully read those dense small characters. Now thinking back, his gaze only needed to stay on the wall of the tower for a short while, and the patterns and introductions would become extremely clear. However, when his gaze unintentionally stopped at certain small characters, they seemed to show no signs of becoming clear.

  "I didn't see anything."

  "En, this is called Wu Wei Tian Mu. Occasionally, those who have opened up the three fields of consciousness may encounter such a situation, indicating that although your last life has been transcended, it is not yet complete and you need to transcend again. Only by clearly understanding the truth can you be considered to have confirmed the transmission, so you still need to make an effort."

  "Wu Wei Tian Mu." Xiao Qiu vaguely remembered that the words had appeared on the handprint left by Meng Yuan Hou in the cave, he still had many doubts, but there was only one question worth asking the master, "Why did Yang Shen Peak become like that?"

  "To let the disciples transform thoroughly." Ning Qiwei stopped again, they had already walked around the courtyard twice, and the little Qilin was still following behind, as if also listening to the master's words. "Relying solely on personal effort, cultivating the body is indeed a bit too slow, so the previous generation of Pong Mountain Taoists created the Nurturing Spirit Peak. People who enter it are constantly being tempered, but in the eyes of the disciples, everything seems normal. They cultivate their bodies in an unknowing and unconscious state, avoiding much suffering."

  Xiao Qiu finally understood why he had to stay in the valley for three years, even though he had already opened up the Three Fields and his body still hadn't reached the standard of condensing his energy into a dan. Even Shen Gang, if he hadn't spent five years reflecting on his mistakes, would have had to stay at Nurturing Spirit Peak for at least three years.

  "After a certain number of years, the disciples of Hu Tong San Tian will continue their cultivation with brand new bodies. Those who fail to reach this stage will be taught by us how to use magic to restore their original physical form; otherwise, once they leave the valley, their tendons and bones will shatter into pieces."

  "For you, returning to Mount Yuanshen is a huge challenge, because you have seen the truth and it will be very difficult for you to be ignorant again. You may suffer unimaginable pain that others cannot imagine. Are you prepared?"

  "There is." Xia Qiu said firmly.

  "Remember, cultivating the body is the foundation of spiritual practice, and storing thoughts is the root of spiritual practice. These two are the best methods for you to get rid of suffering, do not try other methods, no matter how effective they sound."

  "Yes." Xia Qiu felt that she had no more questions and only needed a bit of confidence, so she said softly: "Only I am cultivating the Inverse Heaven Technique on Yangshen Peak."

  "Meng Yuanhou is probably the best Daoist master that Nurturing Spirit Peak has had in years. He can teach the art of defying heaven and has gained the unanimous agreement of me and the other peak masters, and you are not the only one who has received this transmission, you must search carefully."

  Ning Qiwei lowered his head, looking at this still very young disciple, and suddenly let out a soft sigh, as if regretting the various explanations he had made. Then he said: "You must remember that it is the root of the demon species that makes you special compared to others, but this power cannot be controlled or relied upon. You need to work harder, rather than waiting for the Dao fire to ignite on its own. Compared to other disciples, you may be the most suitable for the Inverse Heaven Technique."

  (Collection needed, recommendation needed)