Chapter 71

Shen Lianxin knew that after the Three Questions Taoist mentioned yesterday, there were only four people left in the entire Lower Academy. Therefore, this young Taoist was most likely one of them.

"The Dao has no end, how can one achieve it? Brother Lu merely wishes to cultivate to the point where he can benefit his parents. Ten years might be too short, but it’s not impossible," Shen Lian said calmly, trying to ease the tension for Lu Sheng.

"Brother Shen, your understanding of the Dao is profound, but saying ‘the Dao has no end’ is a bit biased. If you are on flat ground, the East Sea seems endless. But if you are tens of thousands of meters high, the East Sea is just a mud pond. Achieving the Dao and transcending all calamities, isn’t that beyond your imagination?" the young Taoist chuckled.

"Brother, what you say makes sense. Have you already reached the so-called ‘mud pond’ realm?" Lu Sheng laughed.

The most striking feature of the young Taoist was his thick eyebrows. Now, they arched like two sharp swords, full of urgency.

He crossed his arms and exhaled a powerful gust of wind. Shen Lian immediately sensed the change in the primordial energy, as if a tornado had suddenly formed, flowing invisibly toward Lu Sheng.

Shen Lian made a judgment: the young Taoist was someone who believed ‘the Dao is deep like a well, not to be argued with words.’

He wouldn’t be unmoved by Lu Sheng’s provocation.

Shen Lian wanted to help Lu Sheng but held back. He thought about how Lu Sheng had traveled thousands of miles and remained unharmed before entering the academy, even passing the Heart-Questioning Path. He was no ordinary scholar.

Just now, although Lu Sheng had revealed some of his thoughts, he hadn’t touched on the key points.

Shen Lian remained unmoved, but Lu Sheng reacted immediately.

He tapped the ground with his toes and flew up, not very high. The wind, like a tornado, had a sharp head, resembling an invisible drill.

A layer of dense, cotton-like wind formed around Lu Sheng, stabilizing him in the air and temporarily freeing him from the pull of gravity.

He avoided the small drill, fluttering like a cicada, and in an instant, he was on the side of the corridor, kicking toward the young Taoist’s head.

The young Taoist remained calm, still with his arms crossed, slightly turning his head to avoid Lu Sheng’s attack by a hair’s breadth.

Lu Sheng attacked with his other leg, but missed again.

His momentum was spent, and he lunged at the young Taoist.

This lunge was highly skilled, with his knees aiming for the abdomen, elbows for the chest, and hands for the throat.

Upon landing, he used his knees to kneel on the opponent’s chest, and if the first three attacks missed, he would continue with his elbows and hands.

This move was smooth and natural, with a wondrous force, fast as lightning, and hard to defend against.

Lu Sheng’s movement was astonishing.

Shen Lian sighed inwardly; the gap was too great.

Just as he was about to cover the young Taoist, the young Taoist suddenly disappeared.

Lu Sheng hugged the pillar the young Taoist had been leaning against.

Hugging the pillar, Lu Sheng felt quite awkward and immediately let go, but he fell down. Despite his tall stature, his balance was excellent, and he landed on one foot without falling.

That lunge, though simple, had a sense of returning to the basics.

The young Taoist, now leaning against the opposite pillar, chuckled, "The Eight Steps of the White Stone Taoist, quite interesting. But when the White Stone Taoist was young, he used this move to directly kill a barbarian shaman from the Western Wasteland who had cultivated a copper-skin and iron-bone body. Now, you can only use it to attack a broken piece of wood."

Lu Sheng’s face turned red. Although he hadn’t used his full strength to avoid hurting anyone, he had been toyed with by the young Taoist. Even if he had used his full strength, the result wouldn’t have changed.

In the past, this move had always been effective, and it was both a combat technique and a lightness skill. He had relied on it to protect himself during his long journey, but here in Qingxuan, he couldn’t even touch the other’s clothes.

The Eight Steps of the White Stone Taoist wasn’t a random lunge. Before using force, one must lock onto the enemy with intent, then move randomly, responding to any situation.

The young Taoist had confused his intent, so no matter how powerful the move, it couldn’t land.

The Eight Steps of the White Stone Taoist was also a technique taught to Lu Sheng by the Taoist he met after the Yellow粱Dream, and it was through this Taoist’s guidance that he came to Qingxuan.

Lu Sheng said, "Brother, you’ve just practiced a bit longer than me. If I were your age, I wouldn’t be any worse than you."

The young Taoist laughed heartily, "To transcend the spirit is not easy, to transform is also difficult; loyalty and trust are not evident, thus there is suspicion and doubt."

The Dao song echoed, and the young Taoist disappeared down the corridor.

Lu Sheng asked Shen Lian, "What did he mean?"

Shen Lian shook his head and suddenly spoke to the Three Questions Taoist, who had appeared beside them, "Brother Three Questions, who was that brother just now, and what did he mean?"

Lu Sheng only then noticed the Three Questions Taoist, who had arrived silently, almost undetected.

Qingxuan truly harbored many hidden talents. He couldn’t help but glance at Shen Lian, who, compared to the other mysterious people in Qingxuan, was no less enigmatic.

"Even if you don’t ask, someone will explain it to you eventually. Since you asked, I’ll tell you.

"Brother Chen’s mention of ‘transcending the spirit’ and ‘transforming’ refers to two realms of cultivation.

"Since ancient times, there have been countless methods of cultivation, with varying realms, not necessarily in a specific order. It was only after the Dao Master transmitted the teachings that our Daoist lineage established a set of cultivation realms. Since then, even in the vast universe and the depths of the star rivers, our Daoist lineage has generally followed the Dao Master’s established realms.

"This has become widely known in the cultivation world as ‘a single word determining the law for all eternity.’

"Before achieving immortality, there are roughly nine realms:

Cultivating Qi, Unblocking Meridians, Activating Acupoints, Nurturing the Soul, Transcending the Spirit, Transforming, Returning to the Elixir, Walking in the Void, and Breaking Illusions.

"After breaking illusions, one can be called an ‘immortal’ and achieve eternal life.

"Brother Chen’s real name is Zhongxin, with the courtesy name Jianmei. Fifty years ago, he joined our sect with no cultivation foundation. In three years, he leaped through five realms to ‘transcending the spirit,’ and in ten years, he reached ‘transforming.’ In recent years, he has been cultivating the ‘Invisible Sword Technique,’ and he is only a step away from the ‘returning to the elixir’ realm, where the yin spirit embraces the qi.

"He could achieve the ‘nine transformations of the elixir’ at any time, embarking on the true path to immortality.

"Earlier, Jianmei was just teasing you. If he were serious, I might not be able to stop him.

"Our sect leader is almost a celestial being, holding the ‘Heaven and Earth Mirror,’ which can vaguely predict the future. He once gave Jianmei an evaluation:

‘Half a lifetime of cultivation, unknown to all, one day achieving the Dao, shocking the world.’

"Therefore, the senior disciples of the sect are waiting for him to achieve the elixir and leave the mountain to revitalize Qingxuan’s prestige.

"However, he has been in the ‘transforming’ realm for forty years without achieving the elixir, leading to idle talk in the mountains, saying he has bloomed too early and failed to live up to the sect leader’s expectations. These words have likely reached his ears.

"That’s why Lu Sheng’s words earlier somewhat provoked him, leading him to attack you.

"Otherwise, with his Daoist nature, he wouldn’t have acted out of anger, but being stuck at this stage for too long, he couldn’t control himself.

"PS: ‘Half a lifetime of cultivation, unknown to all, one day achieving the Dao, known to the world’ is a line I saw in the introduction of the Xuanmen Fengshen, which I found very powerful, so I quoted it. Recently, Qianwen Jianzhi has been updated, and you can check it out. It’s a very ethereal book.

"Thank you to Gu Cangmen for becoming the third hall master of this book, and also to Futu Liangsheng for the 1176 reward, Huibo for the 200 reward, and Nǐ Chōufēng♀ for the support.

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