Chapter 27

Early in the morning, the noise downstairs woke Xun Yi. After getting dressed, he went down and saw Xun Tan sitting in a chair, leisurely eating the pastries bought yesterday.

Looking around, he saw that only Xun Tan was in the hall. Xun Yi pinched a piece of pastry and asked, "Where is Brother Kun?"

"I just chased him away."

"Didn't you keep him for a meal?"

"That would depend on whether he was willing to stay." Xun Tan smiled, and just now, Xun Kun had woken up to confront her, but she had given him a harsh scolding.

Xun Yi merely maintained a formal relationship with Xun Kun within the clan, as their interests were in conflict. Moreover, there were rumors that his aunt's death might have been related to him.

"By the way, sister, are you staying at home these two days, or going back to the old home? I can't accompany you every day, anyway."

"I'll stay in this small building. As for going back to the old home... let's wait until the New Year."

"Can you stay until the New Year?"

"Five days." Xun Tan shook her head. "I'll stay here for a few days, then I need to go back to the Qingyuan Hall." The Qingyuan Hall was established by the Xun family to provide assistance to the Marquis Maode in the Heavenly Realm. Now, the hall master has reached the peak of the fourth heaven and wants to pass on the position. If everything goes well, it will be Xun Tan, a direct descendant of the Xun family.

"But I will definitely come to see you during the imperial examination."

"Okay." Xun Yi was waiting for the meal to be served and suddenly remembered the virtue cultivation method he had received yesterday. He told Xun Tan about it.

"The *Nine Heavens Hong Gong Yuande Taishang Jing*?" Xun Tan wrinkled her nose and pouted. "Brother, I advise you not to cultivate this way. Although the *Taishang Jing* is a legitimate cultivation method, few people can complete it. It's too difficult!"

"How so?"

"The original intention of the *Taishang Jing* is to guide people to do good. By doing good and accumulating virtue, one will receive the protection of heaven and earth. This is the oath established by Emperor Yan using human and heavenly principles. In the era of Emperor Yan, the world was harmonious, and people did not pick up lost items. The god of fortune ruled the world, and there were almost no evil people."

"But in today's world, people's hearts are fickle, and the path of virtue is not so easy to walk."

"However, the early stages of this method are simple, and young master can try it." Aunt Xue came in with a tray of dishes and said with a smile, "This method is quite common. Did it come to you last night? It must have been given by a god of fortune. When I first entered the path, a god of fortune guided me, and I walked the path of virtue, accumulating five thousand virtues before gradually moving onto the path of the celestial fox. If used as a transitional method, this method is still very good, as it is transmitted by the Heavenly Emperor."

Xun Yi was about to ask a question when others came in, and Xun Tan changed the topic: "Brother, have your meal early, then prepare to go to school. I'll help you tidy up at home."

After having breakfast, Xun Yi carried his book box and strolled down the street.

Just as he walked out of the alley, he saw a woman's basket of vegetables gradually break, and the basket, full of vegetables, fell to the ground.

"Madam, be careful!" Xun Yi quickly jumped over and caught the basket that was about to hit the ground. He used his wood control power to repair the broken handle and basket.

"Thank you!" The woman, seeing Xun Yi help her fix the basket, thanked him immediately.

"You're welcome!" Xun Yi waved and walked a few steps. Suddenly, he stopped, and the green sprout of virtue in his mind grew a bit.

A leaf unfolded, and on it were densely written small characters: "On the day of Renzi, in the month of Bingwu, on the day of Dingchou, helped a woman catch a falling basket and repaired it."

"Can this even count as a good deed?" Xun Yi found it absurd. It was just a small favor, and it could be considered a good deed?

So, he asked Bai Fu while walking.

The woman stood behind and asked the people around her. A nearby vendor smiled and said, "This young master of the Xun family has a good character and often helps us small vendors repair wooden carts and such. Madam, you don't need to worry; it's just a small favor."

"Yes, yes. This young master is the descendant of Marquis Maode, inheriting the bloodline of Marquis Maode and naturally sensing the wood spirit."

In this era, awakening bloodline talents was not a shocking or terrifying thing. Many families had their own bloodline talents or family-transmitted cultivation methods.

After listening, Lady Liu nodded silently. She had just moved to the city, so she didn't know about Xun Yi's reputation.

"Speaking of which, he has some connection with your family." An old man buying apples suddenly remembered something. "Isn't your mother selling candy at the Wenchu Temple?"

"Oh, is it about Aunt Liu?" A girl selling flowers laughed. "Last year, Aunt Liu injured her leg, and this young master personally carried her back."

Lady Liu hadn't married into the family last year, so she didn't know about this and asked a few more questions to understand Xun Yi's usual behavior.

Xun Yi, due to his congenital illness, had an optimistic and positive personality and enjoyed helping others. In his view, such behavior could realize his value and significance. Apart from occasionally playing cruel pranks, he was almost a perfect role model for others.

On the other side, Bai Fu and Xun Yi discussed the *Virtue Sutra*.

"These small things are also considered virtues," Bai Fu said. "Do not do small evils, and do not neglect small good deeds. Helping an elder cross the road, picking up something that someone dropped, and helping others with joy—all these are considered good deeds. When your thoughts are clear, and the other party is grateful, it is naturally considered a good deed."

"But this is a legitimate cultivation method. Isn't this kind of good deed too cheap?" Xun Yi couldn't help but ask. "Can I achieve enlightenment by doing these things every day?" He had been doing these things every day, but he hadn't achieved enlightenment.

"An evil person may not do one good deed in ten years, while a good person may do several good deeds in a day. This cultivation method is designed to encourage good deeds. Otherwise, how could the era of Emperor Yan be known for its great harmony and the fact that people did not pick up lost items?" Bai Fu had transformed into a brush early in the morning and clearly heard the conversation between Xun Yi and Xun Tan.

"Then, can I achieve supernatural powers this way?"

"Of course, it's not that simple. The virtue cultivation method has two aspects for advancement: good deeds and virtue points. Good deeds refer to the actions you take, without calculating the virtue points. Each action is recorded as one good deed. Even if you save someone or complete a world-saving mission, it is recorded as one good deed, just like helping someone catch a falling basket. One good deed, one leaf grows on the virtue tree. The tree grows according to the number of leaves. Even if you save people in times of crisis, if the time is not separated, only one leaf will grow on the virtue tree."

Recalling the description in the *Taishang Jing*, Xun Yi said, "Ten good deeds for the first heaven, fifty good deeds for the second heaven, three hundred good deeds for the third heaven, and even the city god of the fourth heaven only needs one thousand three hundred good deeds. This seems too cheap."

"That's why this virtue cultivation method is one of the most common and popular methods in the divine path. Moreover, young master, don't think good deeds are easy. Think about how many good deeds are needed for the ninth heaven."

"One hundred million."

"Yes, one hundred million good deeds. If you do ten simple good deeds a day, you will have only three thousand good deeds a year. In a hundred years, you will have only three hundred thousand good deeds, and in ten thousand years, you will have only thirty million good deeds. Do you still think doing good is easy?"

It's simple in the short term, but the key is persistence. Even someone with great willpower and wisdom like Aunt Xue gave up halfway, showing how difficult this method is.

"First easy, then difficult, to spread widely. Most people can complete the cultivation of the third heaven by just firming up their stance. This is why everyone had supernatural powers in the era of Emperor Yan."

"But the gap widens later. One hundred million good deeds, how many people can truly achieve this, apart from a few eternal and immortal great gods?"

"Moreover, to advance in rank, don't you need another thing?"

"Virtue points?"

"The Heavenly Court's gods have the Heavenly Fortune Treasure Plate, which assigns virtue points based on each good deed. Good deeds are just a qualification for advancement, while the actual breakthrough uses virtue points, which are equivalent to magical power. Establishing the first heaven requires hundreds of virtue points, and cultivating the first heaven requires thousands of virtue points. For the second heaven, it's counted in the tens of thousands, and for the third heaven, it requires even more."

"The lower limit for the fifth heaven is one million virtue points to become a god, which blocks a large number of people. Not to mention the trillions of virtue points required for the ninth heaven." Bai Fu, when he first received the *Virtue Sutra* chosen by Lord Cao, reflected on himself and silently returned it. His personality was not suitable for this cultivation method!

"But young master, it's fine. Just maintain a normal attitude."

Xun Yi had a good reputation and did not have the arrogant and capricious habits that others often had. If he saw someone fall, he would naturally help them up. In total, he did two or three good deeds every day. So, recording good deeds was not difficult for Xun Yi.

The real problem was the virtue points. For Xun Yi, such small favors only benefited one person and earned a small amount of gratitude, which would convert into a small amount of virtue points.

Therefore, to accumulate virtue points by helping people cross the road or push a cart, one should not expect to achieve the higher realms of divine powers.

However, Long Ge gave Xun Yi eight hundred virtue points at once, allowing him to lay a foundation and enter the Tahe Heaven of the nine heavens. If not for the lack of good deeds, he could have already obtained his first virtue power.

The nine heavens, with the changing generations of Heavenly Emperors, are also different.

In the era of Emperor Yan, the nine heavens were not layered as they are now. Instead, two heavens were horizontal, the middle heaven was high, and the other eight heavens were evenly distributed. In the era of Emperor Huang, thirty-three heavens were established, with the central heaven and the other thirty-two heavens evenly distributed in four directions.

Therefore, the levels in the *Nine Heavens Hong Gong Yuande Taishang Jing* also have different distinctions. But in general, they are arranged from the first heaven to the ninth heaven.

In the current Longxiang Emperor era, the nine heavens are arranged according to the nine heavens created by the Longxiang Emperor: Qing'an Tahe Heaven, Qinghui Taoming Heaven, Qingping Taomeng Heaven, Qingfan Taoyu Heaven, Qingyao Taichang Heaven, Qingxiao Taoyuan Heaven, Qingxu Taowei Heaven, Qingyu Taochen Heaven, and Qingxuan Taichi Heaven.

As he walked to the entrance of the academy, a woman suddenly fell in front of him. Xun Yi quickly went forward to help her up, and the virtue tree recorded another good deed.

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