Chapter 72: Life (Part 1)

  Three True People were also puzzled: "Why did you do this? The leader, the Extinct True Person and I couldn't understand it. We searched through all the literature of Qingyuan Sect and even asked the Right Protector to check the Zixiao Temple's literature, but there was no record. The leader has already sent a letter to the Demon King of the Demon Teachings, asking him to send someone to inquire if there are any related records. In fact, it is very simple for Yun'er to restore her appearance. She just needs to close herself off for ten days and follow the Cloud Qing lineage's heart method to abandon her cultivation. This woman loves beauty by nature, but the Extinct True Person hesitated and didn't know whether to tell Yun'er about this matter. She was worried that Yun'er would have to give up her cultivation. Yun'er is already over eighteen years old, if she abandons her cultivation and starts anew, even with a famous teacher and golden elixir, it's likely that she will be unable to complete the foundation for the rest of her life."

  Lin Fan thought of Yingying, who was 14 years old this year. Although she had missed the opportunity to cultivate her Qi at the age of 9, she had not fully developed yet. Her foundation was clear and pure, and with the power of elixirs, it could still be made up for. But as for Wuer, her foundation had already been established...

  "Should I say it or not?"

  "Of course you have to say it, but the real person wants to invite you to say it."

  "Why?" Lin Fan asked in doubt: "This extinction of the True Person is by Foggy Master, even if Foggy is a useless person, one day as master, lifelong as mother, should be the True Person himself who says it."

  "Don't you know?" asked San San Zhen Ren.

  "What do you know?"

  Indeed, San San Zhen Ren said: "This Extinction True Person is cold outside and hot inside, it's hard to put into words."

  "Should I be the one to say something so cruel?" Lin thought for a moment: "Alright!"

  ……

  Lin Fan was granted permission to enter the Purple Bamboo Forest, searching for Wu Er. Lin Fan didn't have any ink marks either, and he didn't know how to get them. He told Wu Er's situation: "The only way is for you to give up your cultivation, but if you give up now, it's likely that your future cultivation will be difficult to make progress, and it may even be hard to lay the foundation."

  Wu Er said: "You say that the master of Zixiao Temple once said that someone was afflicted with the same evil technique as me?"

  Here is the translation:

  "Yes, that was a thousand years ago. A senior master of the Purple Bamboo Temple accepted a friend's daughter as his apprentice before he died, but the friend had no idea why his daughter would be covered in boils. The senior master's cultivation was very high and soon discovered that she had been implanted with an evil technique. The woman did not want to give up her cultivation and made rapid progress, becoming one of the top ten masters of the Purple Bamboo Temple before the age of thirty. However, as her cultivation improved, her body began to fester and emit a foul odor. One day, she suddenly disappeared, leaving behind only a letter saying that she was going to the Desolate Wilderness to seek out a master who could break the evil technique. After that, there was no news from her. Ten years later, an evil person used her magic treasure, and the temple's masters gathered to infiltrate the Desolate Wilderness, capturing the evil person and interrogating him. They learned that the evil person had picked up the magic treasure in the wilderness ten years ago, which also meant that the woman had already died by then. At that time, there were not many evil people in the Desolate Wilderness, and with the woman's cultivation level, it would have been difficult for her to find an opponent unless she had entered the Evil Sect's protective array. If she had entered the array, the magic treasure would have definitely been obtained by someone from the sect, so until now, the mystery of the woman's death remains unsolved."

  Wu Er listened quietly and said: "It should be that this sister was deceived by a scoundrel because of her appearance."

  "Well, this is a more reasonable inference." Lin nodded slightly.

  "Why doesn't that scoundrel want her treasure? Why does the wicked person harm her?"

  "Maybe there's a grudge? Or does he have a grudge against her father?" Lin Fan replied and asked: "Wu Er, I've told you everything, what do you think?"

  Wu Er replied: "I'm grateful for the kindness of Master Yun Wu in saving my life, but while I was in the Misty Marsh, I wasn't happy at all. After leaving, I became even more unhappy... until I entered the Purple Bamboo Forest, where the sisters were very kind to me, and although Master never smiles, she's also been very good to me. I have no way to repay her kindness, I won't waste my cultivation for the sake of my appearance, what use would a beautiful face be if something happened to the sect?"

  Wu'er knew that appearance was important, even if Lin Fan didn't care about it, she couldn't accept a partner who looked like this and would only get worse. But Wu'er thought more, maybe restoring her appearance could bring Lin Fan closer to herself, but she thought that was too selfish, she had joined the sect, but gave her master a useless person... How to decide, when Lin Fan introduced the situation, she had already made up her mind.

  "Well said, let's drink a big toast." Lin Fan took out two wine gourds and brought out several dishes.

  "Lin Fan, although not eating has little impact on building the foundation, but gradually going further and deeper is still very disadvantageous."

  Lin Fan smiled: "There is no literature that confirms that not fasting will not benefit from cultivating the truth, don't worry, look, I'm drinking."

  Lin Fan asked, "Misty, how's life in the Purple Bamboo Forest?" Misty's expression brightened noticeably as she replied, "It's great! Everyone is very kind to me." Lin Fan could tell that no matter whether the disciples of the Purple Bamboo Forest were warm or cold towards Misty, she was grateful. Compared to her seventeen years of living in the outside world, this place was like heaven. This made Lin Fan even more suspicious of Old Lady Yunwu, so he asked carefully.

  Wu'er's knowledge was also very limited, and he only knew that Yu Wu lived in the fog all year round, going out once a month for three or five days. When asked about Yu Wu's cultivation, Wu'er could only answer that someone had once entered the misty swamp, and Yu Wu disappeared instantly, unable to be seen from any direction, and that was all he knew.

  Lin Fan bid farewell and saw Lianjian Valley from afar, but didn't go to greet them. He left the sect gate and drew a boundary with the guardian disciple, which meant he had officially left Zizhulin. Without permission, no one was allowed to enter. San San True Person nodded after hearing Lin Fan's report, indicating that he knew, and let Lin Fan go on his own.

  Lin Fan had just entered the Golden Elixir, and he closed his doors for three days to carefully ponder and comprehend the differences between the Golden Elixir and the Foundation Building. Before closing his doors, Lin Fan asked San San Zhen Ren, but he didn't answer, instead letting Lin Fan figure it out himself.

  True intention gives rise to true knowledge, and spiritual knowledge naturally responds. The three families unite as one family, suddenly the body and mind are calm, the void chamber produces light, and in stillness, yang is restored again. Through diligent practice, the purple gold frost is transformed, and the wisdom of the spirit is born, revealing nature and eliminating worldly emotions. Bright and clear like a night pearl, everywhere is pure and clean, transforming worldly nature into true nature, and changing human heart to Daoist heart. If not for the divine fire refining, how can one distinguish gold from ore?

  In simple terms, Golden Elixir cultivation is divided into two types: one is called "nature and life", which refers to cultivating one's nature, clarifying the mind, seeing one's original nature, and thoroughly understanding the source of one's nature. This has immense benefits for elevating one's spiritual realm. The other type is called "cultivating life", which involves refining and transforming one's essence, with Golden Elixir as the master of qi, cultivating great strength, and mastering the Taoist arts and thunder magic, thereby increasing one's power manifold. If one only cultivates their nature but not their life, it is like a pure cultivator who has difficulty entering sainthood even after countless eons. If one only cultivates their life but not their nature, it is like having a precious mirror without polishing it.

  Jindan initially divides into two paths: cultivating nature and cultivating life. Which one is more important? This is a question that all major sects of cultivation, including evil sects and Buddhist schools, want to know the answer to. On the other hand, some cultivators with mediocre talent know it's hard for them to make progress, so they can decide more easily. However, sects like Yunqingmen do not support only cultivating nature without cultivating life. Although this way may lead to a longer lifespan and higher attainment, it is ultimately useless and may even turn one into a "pure cultivator".