Chapter 8

Aizhongwen was greatly surprised. He had thought of various possibilities, but he never imagined that Zhang Yan and Zhou Zishang were actually brother-in-law relations!

The Zhou family of Dingyang was extremely prominent in Donghua Continent. As far as he knew, in the past hundred years, there were no fewer than ten cultivators with cultivation at the Core Formation stage or above. To marry a Zhou family daughter, Zhang Yan’s background was clearly not simple!

However, Zhang Yan did not mention his origins, and Aizhongwen, being very tactful, did not continue to press the matter.

At this moment, the look in Aizhongwen’s eyes was different from before. Although he had been extremely courteous when they first met, the inherent arrogance from his heart could not be washed away. But now, he clearly placed Zhang Yan on the same level as a disciple of a prestigious Daoist family, or even slightly higher.

Zhang Yan observed coldly, inwardly sighing. Although the cultivation world often judged people by their cultivation level, it also placed great importance on their origins. Nowadays, prestigious Daoist families were spread throughout all major cultivation sects, and such people had firmly grasped the upper echelons of cultivation. Disciples not from prestigious families, even if they had outstanding talent, would find it difficult to rise without exceptional opportunities.

Thinking of this, he secretly resolved that if he ever achieved success in cultivation, he would try to change this situation.

Since both had the intention to form a connection, they conversed happily after a few exchanges. At this point, Aizhongwen changed the topic and said, "Senior Brother, have you heard of the Xuanwen Dharma Assembly?"

Zhang Yan’s expression was calm. He put down his teacup and nodded, "How could I not know? Such a grand assembly only occurs once every three years. I originally wanted to go and see it, but unfortunately, I have been focused on cultivation since I came to the mountain three years ago and have not made any connections with fellow cultivators, so I have no way to enter."

Donghua Continent had sixteen major sects, with countless minor sects. Every three years, the lower courts of each sect would hold a Xuanwen Dharma Assembly. At that time, distinguished cultivators from the lower courts of major sects, whether they were formal or named disciples, would gather to exchange cultivation insights.

This year, it was precisely the turn of Cangwu Mountain to host the assembly.

The reason the assembly was named "Xuanwen" was due to the Eroded Texts.

Since the beginning of the world, the mountains and rivers had undergone natural evolution over billions of years. After being exposed to the sun and eroded by the wind, vast and profound patterns formed on their surfaces. The profound mysteries contained within these patterns were gradually organized and compiled by ancient virtuous scholars, eventually forming the unique script of cultivators.

According to legend, in ancient times, cultivators could glimpse the Great Dao and ascend to immortality by merely contemplating the Eroded Texts.

Although this was just a legend, it was enough to show that the Eroded Texts were the foundation of the Great Dao. If one could understand the Eroded Texts, the path to immortality would be within reach.

In ancient times, cultivators would first learn the Eroded Texts before practicing mystic techniques.

However, this method of cultivation was extremely slow, and whether one would achieve success depended entirely on one's talent in the Eroded Texts.

Therefore, after the rise of prestigious Daoist families, their disciples no longer followed this path. This was because they had the guidance of elders and masters from the beginning. Not only could they avoid taking wrong turns, but they also did not need to spend time deciphering the Eroded Texts. They could follow the instructions of their seniors step by step, ensuring a solid foundation and avoiding mistakes. When their cultivation progressed, they could then return to study the Eroded Texts, which would be much easier.

This was one of the reasons Aizhongwen believed Zhang Yan had a complex background. Cultivators not from prestigious families would not have the time to study the Eroded Texts, which were like heavenly books.

One could say that someone like Zhang Yan, who meticulously studied the Eroded Texts, was extremely rare.

Now, in the Xuanwen Dharma Assembly, the competition in interpreting the Eroded Texts had become a means for prestigious Daoist families to measure their family's depth and prestige, no longer serving as a method of cultivation.

Aizhongwen secretly observed Zhang Yan’s expression. Seeing that he seemed to regret missing the assembly but did not seem too concerned, he could not guess Zhang Yan’s thoughts and probed, "To be honest, I came today with the intention of inviting Junior Brother to attend the assembly. With your expertise in the Eroded Texts, how could you not show your skills at the assembly?"

Zhang Yan glanced at Aizhongwen and smiled, "Since Senior Brother invites me, how could I possibly refuse?"

Aizhongwen breathed a sigh of relief. He took out a bronze token and presented it with both hands, "This is the token for the assembly. With it, you can enter the mountain gate." After a moment of hesitation, he also placed a bottle of pills on the table and bowed, "This is a bottle of 'Zhengyuan Pills' for regulating qi and blood, containing the number of the Heavenly Stems. It is a token of apology from Senior Brother Bian. I hope you will accept it."

After speaking, without waiting for Zhang Yan to respond, he bowed again, "Senior Brother Bian and I have some acquaintance. He was rash the other day and offended you. He has asked me to apologize on his behalf. I hope you will forgive him."

Zhang Yan, understanding Aizhongwen’s intentions, could not help but smile. He had already taken a book from Aizhongwen, so now it was time to return the favor. He remained silent for a moment, then deliberately sighed, "It’s a trivial matter, I no longer hold it in my heart. That day, I was just upset that Bian Qiao, despite losing, still tried to pressure me with Senior Brother Hu."

Aizhongwen smiled, "With your status, why should you take such a servant seriously?"

Zhang Yan grunted, then took out the scripture and handed it to Aizhongwen.

Since his goal had been achieved, and seeing that it was getting late, Zhang Yan had the intention of seeing him off. Aizhongwen did not stay longer, exchanged a few more words, and then took his leave.

After seeing Aizhongwen off, Zhang Yan returned to his cave abode. He took out the bronze token and looked at it. Even with his composure, he could not help but show a smile.

Aizhongwen had no idea that the Xuanwen Dharma Assembly was his true goal. All the efforts Zhang Yan had made before were aimed at this assembly.

However, the assembly was not open to just anyone. Even if he wanted to attend, he needed someone to recommend him.

As a named disciple, he had neither connections nor cultivation. His previous high-profile behavior was entirely to use his outstanding ability in interpreting the Eroded Texts as a stepping stone to gain the opportunity to attend the assembly.

Once he gained fame at the assembly, the significance would be entirely different.

To put it bluntly, with his current status, even if his reputation was loud, it would only be among named disciples. People like Aizhongwen might appreciate him, but the formal disciples would not truly look up to him. However, at the assembly, it would be different. The assembly gathered the elite disciples of the sixteen major sects. It was not an exaggeration to say that the future elders and leaders of the major sects might come from these people, and the influence was vastly different.

Once he gained fame at the assembly, the senior masters in the temple would also consider him when selecting formal disciples.

With his goal within reach, Zhang Yan was in high spirits. He took out the book "Linyao Wenfa" that Aizhongwen had indirectly given him and began to read.

To his great surprise, this book "Linyao Wenfa" was actually one of the ten chapters of "Xinwen," and its content involved the final step of the Foundation Establishment stage, "Yuan Cheng Ru Zhen." It was truly a treasure.

Clearly, Aizhongwen had seen that his cultivation had reached the threshold of "Yuan Cheng Ru Zhen" and had specially given him this book to show his sincerity.

Zhang Yan could not help but smile bitterly. The prestigious Daoist families indeed had a deep foundation. Such precious books were something Zhang Yan had never dared to dream of before, and he had only occasionally obtained one by chance. For them, such books might be insignificant, but to disciples like him, they were true treasures.

However, soon, the book made him frown.

The Eroded Texts did not pose a problem for him, but there were many esoteric terms in the book. Although Zhang Yan knew a little about them, he was not from a prestigious Daoist family, so he found it somewhat difficult. For example, there was a phrase "Dou Shen, Rui." "Dou Shen" was a term for guiding qi along the main meridians, and there were generally three ways to do it. "Rui" likely referred to one of these ways, but the question was, which one?

This was not something he could easily try. One mistake could easily lead to a serious problem, so the book was practically useless to him.

However, he could not afford not to practice.

He could not be sure if Aizhongwen’s intentions were as simple as they seemed. If there was a hidden purpose, such as a test, and he did not understand it, he would be exposed just by answering questions, regardless of his cultivation level.

Since he wanted to attend the assembly, he would eventually meet Aizhongwen again.

Standing up, he paced back and forth a few times, his eyes flashing with determination. He sat down again and took out the fragment of jade from his sleeve.

The avatar in the jade was identical to him. He had tried to cultivate before, but cultivating the avatar did not improve his own cultivation. Later, he focused on interpreting the Eroded Texts and did not delve deeper. Now, reflecting on it, a spark of inspiration flashed in his mind.

Focusing his mind on the jade fragment, his consciousness merged with the avatar, and he began to practice according to the incantations in "Linyao Wenfa." The first two stages went smoothly, but at the third stage, as soon as the qi entered a meridian, he felt a sharp pain in his chest, and his body went numb, unable to move. He immediately knew that the qi had deviated from the correct path.

However, he was not discouraged at all; instead, he was greatly excited. This proved that his previous idea was feasible!

This was just an avatar, and it would not affect his true body. Even if he made a mistake, he could start over. Moreover, the world within the jade was ten times faster than the real world, so he could thoroughly understand the technique in the jade before practicing it on his true body.

Zhang Yan calmed his mind, withdrew the deviated qi, and prepared to try again.

After taking this step, he made a new discovery.

If he could withdraw the qi, it meant that the state of the avatar was entirely under his control?

With this thought, his curiosity was piqued, and he tried to directly manipulate the avatar’s cultivation.

Sure enough, as his thoughts changed, the avatar’s cultivation vanished, leaving it as powerless as an ordinary person. In the next moment, the avatar’s cultivation increased again, quickly surpassing the initial stage and reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, returning to his current level.

He tried to go further but could not. This indicated that the avatar could only evolve to the level of cultivation he had currently achieved. However, this was still a significant surprise for him, as it meant that even without a teacher’s guidance, he could explore a path of cultivation on his own!

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