Chapter Ten: Half a Lifetime of Cultivation, Unknown to the World

Shen Lian recalled that the Daoist of Three Questions had mentioned yesterday that there were still four people left in the Lower Court. This young Daoist was likely one of them.

“The Dao has no end, nor can there be true attainment. Brother Lu only wishes to cultivate enough to benefit his parents—ten years may be too short, yet not impossible,” Shen Lian said leisurely, stepping in to resolve the awkwardness for Lu Sheng.

Junior Brother Shen is indeed deeply attuned to the Dao, to say ‘the Dao has no end’ is perhaps a bit one-sided. If you stand on the plains and gaze at the Eastern Sea, it seems boundless; but from tens of thousands of meters up, the Eastern Sea is but a shallow basin. Attaining the Dao, transcending myriad tribulations—is that not something you can imagine?” the young Daoist replied with a chuckle.

“What you say makes sense, Senior Brother. But perhaps you’ve already reached this so-called ‘shallow basin’ yourself?” Lu Sheng replied with a sly grin.

The young Daoist’s most striking feature was his thick brows, which now arched like two sharp swords, filled with urgency.

He crossed his arms over his chest and exhaled a forceful breath. Shen Lian sensed a change in the vital energy around them—a whirlwind seemed to rise from nothing, invisible, yet its direction was aimed squarely at Lu Sheng.

Shen Lian judged that this young Daoist was someone who believed in ‘the Dao is as deep as the abyss, not in words’. When provoked by Lu Sheng, he would not remain unmoved.

Shen Lian considered helping Lu Sheng, but checked himself. After all, Lu Sheng had traveled across mountains and rivers and had come through the trial of the Heart’s Path unscathed—he was hardly an ordinary scholar.

Though Lu Sheng had revealed some of his thoughts earlier, he had not touched upon the heart of the matter.

Shen Lian remained impassive, but Lu Sheng reacted at once.

He sprang lightly from the ground—not high, but just enough. The stream of wind, like a tornado with a pointed head, became an invisible drill.

Around Lu Sheng’s body, a dense, cotton-like current of wind formed, allowing him to stabilize in mid-air, momentarily free of the earth’s pull.

He avoided the small, drilling wind, flitting like a green cicada shaking its wings, and in an instant landed at one side of the corridor, his foot aimed at the young Daoist’s head.

The young Daoist remained unruffled, arms still crossed. With a slight tilt of his head, he avoided the blow by a hair’s breadth.

Lu Sheng struck out with his other leg, but missed again.

His momentum spent, he lunged toward the young Daoist.

This lunge was executed with great skill: both knees aimed at the opponent’s abdomen, both elbows at the chest, while his hands reached for the throat.

Upon landing, his knees would pin the opponent’s chest—three strikes missed, he would follow through, his elbows attacking the chest and abdomen, while his hands locked the throat.

This move was rare in its smoothness and natural force, executed with the swiftness of lightning—extremely difficult to defend against.

Lu Sheng was unremarkable in stillness, but astonishing in motion.

Shen Lian sighed inwardly—the gap was simply too great.

As Lu Sheng enveloped the young Daoist, the latter suddenly vanished.

Lu Sheng found himself clutching a corridor pillar instead.

He released the pillar, slightly embarrassed, and nearly fell, but despite his tall build, he maintained his balance, landing on one foot without stumbling.

Though the lunge had seemed simple, it possessed a certain return-to-innocence quality.

The young Daoist now leaned against the opposite pillar, laughing. “The Eight Steps of the Cicada, taught by Baishi Daoist—interesting. Back in his youth, Baishi used this very move to kill a barbarian shaman from the Western Wastes who had trained his body to iron and bronze. Yet now, you can only use it to pounce on a rotten piece of wood.”

Lu Sheng’s face flushed. He had held back, fearing to injure his opponent, but he’d been played by the young Daoist. Even at full strength, the result would have been no different.

In the past, this move had never failed him. It was both a combat technique and a form of lightness skill; he had relied on it throughout his journey, traversing mountains and rivers unharmed. Yet here in Qingxuan, he could not even catch the hem of another’s robe.

The Eight Steps of the Cicada was not a random pounce. The spirit led before the body moved, locking onto the enemy and adapting instantly, responding to all changes.

The young Daoist had confused his spirit; no matter how powerful the move, it would not land.

This technique, in fact, was taught to Lu Sheng by the Daoist he met after his dream of the Yellow Millet, and it was this same Daoist who had directed him to Qingxuan.

Lu Sheng said, “Senior Brother, you’ve merely cultivated a few more years than I. When I reach your age, I may not be your inferior.”

The young Daoist laughed heartily. “To reach Spirit Departure is not easy; to enter Transformation, harder still. Loyalty and faith go unnoticed, and so suspicion arises.”

As the Daoist poem faded, the young man had vanished from the corridor.

Lu Sheng turned to Shen Lian. “What did he mean by that?”

Shen Lian shook his head, then turned to the Daoist of Three Questions, who had appeared beside them without their noticing. “Senior Brother Three Questions, who was that Daoist just now? And what did he mean?”

Lu Sheng finally realized the Daoist of Three Questions was present. He had arrived so silently that Lu Sheng had sensed nothing.

Qingxuan truly hid dragons and crouching tigers at every turn. Lu Sheng couldn’t help but glance at Shen Lian—this peer, mysterious as any other in Qingxuan, was by no means less remarkable.

“If you hadn’t asked, someone would have explained it to you eventually. Since you’ve asked, let me tell you now.

“What Junior Brother Chen referred to as ‘Spirit Departure’ and ‘Transformation’ are two realms of cultivation.

The ways of Daoist cultivation are countless, and the stages are not always set in order. It was only after the Dao Master established our sect’s lineage that the realms of cultivation were codified. Since then, even beyond the vast world, to the depths of the stars, the immortals of our Daoist lineage have followed the stages set by the Dao Master.

This act became widely known in the cultivation world as ‘one word setting the law for ten thousand generations’.

Before attaining immortality, there are nine stages: Nourishing Qi, Unblocking the Meridians, Awakening the Apertures, Nurturing the Soul, Spirit Departure, Transformation, Forming the Core, Stepping into the Void, and Breaking Illusion.

After Breaking Illusion, one is called an ‘Immortal’, undying and eternal.

Junior Brother Chen’s given name is Loyalty and Faith, styled Sword-Brow. Fifty years ago, he entered our sect with no foundation at all, yet in three years he crossed five realms to reach ‘Spirit Departure’; in ten years, he attained ‘Transformation’. In recent years, he has been cultivating the ‘Invisible Sword Technique’, and is only half a step from the ‘Forming the Core’ stage, where the Yin Spirit embraces Qi.

At any moment, he may complete the Nine Revolutions of Core Formation and step onto the true path to immortality.

Just now, Sword-Brow was only teasing you. If he were serious, even I might not be able to stop him.

The sect leader is nearly like a celestial, and wields the ‘Mirror of Heaven and Earth’, glimpsing faintly into the future. He once gave a comment about Sword-Brow:

‘A lifetime of cultivation goes unnoticed; one day attaining the Way, the world is astonished.’

Thus, all the elders of the sect are waiting for him to form his core and descend the mountain, to restore the prestige of Qingxuan.

However, he has lingered at the ‘Transformation’ stage for forty years, unable to reach Core Formation. Idle gossip has begun to circulate in the mountains, saying he bloomed too early and has let down the sect leader’s favor. These words have likely reached his ears.

That’s why your words, Junior Brother Lu, provoked him, and he made a move against you.

Otherwise, with his Daoist nature, he would never act out of anger. But being stuck at the threshold for so long, he could not restrain himself in the moment.”