Chapter Sixteen: You Gave Me a Quince; How Can I Ever Repay You?

Shen Lian spoke calmly, “Does the Sect Master wish for me to offer up this method of refining the spirit?”

Zhang Ruoxu stroked his beard and smiled, “Are you willing to part with it?”

“Of course I am,” Shen Lian replied with ease.

To Shen Lian, no matter how mysterious the origins of the “Supreme Clarity Spiritual Treasure’s Natural Heart-Locking and Spirit-Calming True Explanation” might be, it was just a cultivation method—and it might not even help him attain immortality. By contrast, the immortal arts of Qingxuan had produced many true immortals who had achieved longevity.

Besides, Qingxuan was not a charitable hall; no matter how kindly Zhang Ruoxu treated his disciples, there were always limits. Immortals may be free of worldly desires, but as cultivators who fought against fate, one needed to maintain the right mindset. As the saying goes, “You gift me a papaya, I return you jade,” Zhang Ruoxu’s guidance was the papaya, and Shen Lian’s offering of the spirit-refining method was the jade. On the surface, it seemed that Shen Lian was losing out, but in truth, it reflected Shen Lian’s sense of belonging to Qingxuan.

There is no love or hatred without cause in this world—only through mutual giving can bonds between people grow truly strong. Such truths need not be spoken; they must be lived. Thus, Shen Lian was forthright, and Zhang Ruoxu was pleased.

A sheet of pristine white paper appeared out of thin air. Next came ink, a writing brush, and a square table. The paper floated gently down before Shen Lian.

Amazed, Shen Lian asked, “Were these prepared in advance and taken out from some storage artifact, or were they conjured on the spot?”

“Naturally, they’re freshly made. Once you reach the Breaking Illusion stage, you will understand that with inanimate objects, in a single turn of the hand, ‘the false can become real, the real can turn to false’—it’s hardly noteworthy,” Zhang Ruoxu replied with a smile, though without any particular pride.

“So the legendary arts of the immortals are true. Then, could you also turn stone into gold?” Shen Lian asked curiously.

“Pearls and gold, brushes and ink—there’s no essential difference. It’s only a matter of how much spiritual power is expended,” Zhang Ruoxu replied mildly.

Shen Lian thought to himself, If my old grandfather knew that the wealth he’d spent half a lifetime amassing could be conjured in an instant by someone else, I wonder how he’d feel.

Of course, the old man had no idea that his cheap grandson was inwardly poking fun at him.

Collecting his thoughts, Shen Lian picked up the brush and ink. The script of the “Supreme Clarity Spiritual Treasure’s Natural Heart-Locking and Spirit-Calming True Explanation” began to flow from his mind:

Beneath the resting splendor of the celestial dawn, within the banquet of the nine essences, the soul and spirit are bound to the northern ascent...

Then, as he began to write, the very first stroke of the first character vanished before it was complete.

Zhang Ruoxu’s expression shifted. Shen Lian tried several times, but the stroke would never appear.

Since burning the original text of the “Supreme Clarity Spiritual Treasure’s Natural Heart-Locking and Spirit-Calming True Explanation,” he had never transcribed it again, nor shared it with anyone. This was the first time he had encountered such a situation.

Zhang Ruoxu suddenly said, “Just write as you normally would. Don’t worry about it.”

Shen Lian drew the first stroke. As he tried to write the second, he found he simply could not continue.

“Stop writing. Try reciting its mnemonic aloud,” Zhang Ruoxu suggested.

Shen Lian grew increasingly unsettled. The stranger the phenomenon, the more it signaled that the origins of this scripture were extraordinary. He tried to open his mouth and recite, but suddenly forgot how to speak.

He was left utterly mute.

A treasure mirror flew out from Zhang Ruoxu, radiance flowing over the two of them.

Shen Lian did not feel scrutinized. Instead, he felt protected.

The Heaven and Earth Mirror was a great treasure of Qingxuan. Not only did it possess the divine ability to “see all, hear all,” but it could also isolate and shield from intrusion.

Zhang Ruoxu sighed, “Fortunately, the lingering presence of the Dao Master remains here. Otherwise, today’s events might have leaked out.”

Shen Lian’s expression shifted, somewhat confused. “What’s going on?”

“Does your spirit-refining method allow one to strengthen the soul without any prior foundation in cultivation?” Zhang Ruoxu asked softly.

Shen Lian nodded.

Zhang Ruoxu showed a knowing look and mused, “If I’m not mistaken, the method you learned is bound by a ‘Return-to-One Prohibition.’ The sole purpose of this prohibition is to grant uniqueness to the scripture: once someone has practiced it, it cannot be passed on or transcribed.”

“But the paper booklet I recorded it in did not vanish after I mastered it,” Shen Lian replied.

Zhang Ruoxu smiled faintly, “That was only because no outsider had seen it. Is the booklet still around?”

“I burned it,” Shen Lian admitted, a bit embarrassed. After all, this showed he was not so selflessly noble.

“Better that it’s burned—no traces left behind. In fact, once you reach immortality, you may be able to express this spirit-refining method in another way, and then the sect will have an additional foundational art to pass on,” Zhang Ruoxu said serenely.

He had thought Shen Lian merely harbored a small secret, not realizing it was something as momentous as the “Return-to-One Prohibition.” In over ten thousand years of Qingxuan’s history, no one had ever invoked such a prohibition. It was a technique only possible for those who had reached the pinnacle of cultivation in this vast world.

Zhang Ruoxu seemed reluctant to say more about the “Return-to-One Prohibition,” instead turning to discuss the foundations of cultivation with Shen Lian.

From his lofty perspective, a few succinct words gave Shen Lian a sudden clarity.

In the end, Zhang Ruoxu advised Shen Lian not to rush into finding the “Life and Death Acupoint” to break through the Acupoint Activation stage. For Shen Lian, the subsequent soul-nourishing was unnecessary—he already possessed the supreme method of spirit refinement, making that realm optional.

In the most ancient cultivation, refining spirit and refining energy were not sequential but simultaneous, rooted in the comprehension of the eternal principles of heaven and earth. If the Masters of a Hundred Schools could “hear the Dao in the morning, enter it by dusk,” even Daoists and Buddhas could not surpass them.

Zhang Ruoxu urged Shen Lian to search in the Taiwei Pavilion for knowledge of the Dao of Talismans and to practice some Daoist arts and swordsmanship.

At the dawn of antiquity, there was no script—talismans were the earliest carriers of culture, used to expound the principles of the cosmos and to invoke the powers of water, fire, wind, and thunder, the original sources of supernatural strength. The Dao of Talismans of today differed greatly from that of the ancients, yet with sincere contemplation, one could still grasp the constant truths within.

Shen Lian was different from Chen Jianmei. Chen Jianmei, with his prodigious talent and relentless drive, achieved transformation in a decade. Yet haste leads to failure, requiring decades of tempering. As the saying goes, “Half a lifetime cultivating in obscurity, one day attaining the Dao and known to all under heaven.” Another meaning is, “A fine blade is honed by hardship, plum blossoms gain their fragrance from the bitter cold.”

Zhang Ruoxu was certain that Chen Jianmei would eventually enter the “Return-to-the-Elixir” stage.

The fact that Shen Lian could endure the suffering of the Nether River showed that what he needed was not further tempering, but accumulation—an accurate understanding of cultivation, rather than a blind pursuit of realms.

The nine stages of cultivation were a convenient path opened by the Dao Master for all practitioners. If one merely hurried through, it would ultimately be a pity.

Some live and die within a single day, their aptitude poor, so they are eager to race ahead. Shen Lian, however, had the foundation to stroll along at leisure; he need not be anxious.

Zhang Ruoxu would not explain these principles outright, but offered Shen Lian gentle guidance.

P.S. Thanks to Qu Ye Xiaoxiao for the generous reward of 10,000, becoming the eighth helmsman of the Dao Master. Also, thanks to Kuang Ai Xianfu for 588, the Left Path Assembly for 588, Cheng Zhu AAA for 200, and to Wufa Wutian Bushan Bushi, yandongbei, Shunyin Mo Hen, duarkduark, and Zhacai for their support.