Chapter 4: Polaris

  The night is deep and people are quiet, all sounds have ceased.

  Xu Xian lay on his small bed, fast asleep. At a time when no one knew, a faint green light flowed through his body, not following any meridians. Xu Xian's body was like a container filled with water, and that faint green light was like a fish in the water, constantly swimming around. At first, it was just a small point, like scattered fish fry, but after swimming for several hours, it grew slightly larger. Only when the stars disappeared did the faint green light also disappear.

  The next day, after waking up, Xu Xian rubbed his head and still suspected that last night was just a dream. Suddenly, he touched a book beside him, picked it up and took a look, wasn't it that finely bound "Tao Te Ching"? Although at first glance it was a rare ancient book, this secret recipe was too common, at least it should be something like the "Buddha's Palm"!

  Xu Xian vaguely remembered the events of last night, and it seemed that the Taoist had put something in his mind, but just like the Four Books and Five Classics he recited, they all seemed familiar yet he knew nothing about them, which was really frustrating.

  "Xu Xian, hurry up to the private school, or Master will scold you." His sister's voice came. Xu Xian reluctantly jumped out of bed, hastily ate dinner, and headed towards the private school. The so-called master was just an old scholar, everyone else got up earlier as they got older, but he became more and more sleepy, so his lectures also started late. This allowed Xu Xian, a lazy ghost, to sleep for a while longer.

  Dazed and confused, she followed dozens of big and small children, shaking her head and swaying back and forth. Xian's thoughts had long been placed beyond the mountains and rivers.

  With a "bang", the ruler slammed heavily on Xu Xian's desk. As someone who had seen big scenes, Xu Xian naturally wouldn't be scared by such a small trick. He slowly lifted his head and looked at Lao Shucai with an expression of "what do you want".

  This old man hated this kind of guy who didn't respect his teacher, and he was so angry that his beard trembled. He said, "Recite what you read earlier to me, one mistake will be a warning." Immediately, countless children's snickering sounds rose up. Xu Xian slowly stood up, calm and composed, without any signs of panic, which made Old Show Cai even more dissatisfied.

  Xu Xian made preparations to be beaten, then slowly recited: "Sincerity is the way of heaven; sincerity is the way of man. Sincere ones do not force it and hit the mark, do not think and obtain it, calmly and moderately, saints...". Xu Xian was a bit awkward at first, but afterwards, those words seemed to jump in front of him one by one, reading lightly and smoothly.

  The old man's eyes grew wider and wider, feeling like he didn't recognize the person in front of him. But after just one night, his most foolish student could recite it fluently.

  Xu Xian's back felt refreshed, and he secretly thought: "Could it be that the Taoist's finger was adding intelligence? Bah, this isn't a game. Turning stones into gold, why not turn this stubborn stone of mine into gold too?"

  He didn't know that the simple pointing contained how much of the Taoist's heart. If a human cultivator wants to become an immortal and attain the Tao, they must pass through three great heavenly tribulations. The Taoist had already passed through two, but he knew that no matter what, he wouldn't be able to pass the last one, so he simply found a successor to inherit his Taoist lineage and directly transmitted that bit of Taoist nature into Xu Xian's soul. An ordinary person with good innate qualities would find it extremely difficult to take the first step in cultivation, unlike him who entered the gate after just sleeping for a while.

  But that one finger also contained great danger, and those who were not determined in their will and did not have a deep accumulation of good fortune could never use this technique. Fortunately, Xu Xian was originally a person with a deep accumulation of merit, so he could withstand the power of this one finger. With a spiritual connection, it was understood at once, and the name of that one finger was "Opening the Aperture". The Daoist's heart method was printed into Xu Xian's soul all at once. However, when the Daoist transmitted the Dao, he worried that Xu Xian would divide his thoughts, so he only transmitted the Dao but not the method. It was just like practicing martial arts and only training internal energy, without understanding any techniques.

  The night was dark and indistinct, I bid farewell to the private school and returned home. Xu Xian hastily finished dinner and told his sister about today's interesting events, making her laugh and praising him for being clever. However, Xu Xian was not modest and kept saying "yes, yes", which made his sister scold him for being arrogant.

  After dinner, Xu Xian hurried back to his small cottage, his mouth couldn't close with excitement, it turned out that he had really met a fairy. He couldn't help but focus on the things in his mind, posing in a five-heart-facing-the-sky posture, and practicing hard. But even after his legs went numb, he still didn't achieve anything.

  Xu Xian was annoyed, were his innate abilities really that poor? Others who crossed over didn't all learn something and become skilled at it? He gritted his teeth and practiced for half a day but still didn't gain any insight.

  Finally collapsed on the bed, listlessly thinking: When my wife comes, let her teach me.

  The night was deep and dark, and suddenly Xian felt a movement in his heart. His Taoist master might still be there! He put on his shoes and went out, but the bridgehead was empty and desolate. Xian walked around both sides twice, but didn't see anyone's shadow. However, he felt that his eyes were bright, and the dark places that he couldn't usually see clearly now seemed to be vaguely visible.

  Wandering around, Xu Xian's mind was in a mess, and he lay down on the bridge railing, staring at the black river water below, flowing quietly. The autumn wind passed through the bridge hole with the river water, humming a nameless song that had been going on for thousands of years. But in this black river water, there were countless bright lights flickering on and off.

  Xu Xian suddenly lifted his head, the vast starry sky twinkled, the heavens were empty and vast, Xu Xian's troubled thoughts instantly became incredibly small, not worth mentioning. Xu Xian was only a hundred years old, the river water flowed for thousands of years without rest, the stars existed for eternity.

  Xu Xian suddenly had some enlightenment, the so-called way of seeking immortality is not to abandon the troubles of this mundane world, to be with the river water, and to compare shoulders with the stars? But don't say ordinary people, even true immortals and Buddhas, compared to the universe, what do they amount to? Not even a speck of stardust can be reached! The ephemeral cicada that lives in the morning and dies in the evening, cannot speak of ice. This is the relationship between humans and immortals! When the summer insect mocks the cicada, how shallow is he himself? My body has boundaries, but the Way has no boundaries. Using a bounded body to seek an unbounded Way, isn't that foolish?

  People won't know that what is now called night is just a shadow of a star, and the sun has never disappeared even in the dark.

  Xu Xian probably couldn't have imagined that the astronomical knowledge he learned in his past life would be used in this way in his current life, giving him a special understanding of the world that surpasses even the so-called immortals and Buddhas of this life. Whether it's Taoism or Buddhism, what they cultivate is essentially just one word: heart. Once the heart is open, all things are open.

  In the darkness, a pair of eyes was watching this scene, and the shock in his heart was no less than that of Lao Xiucai. He had planned to give his disciple some final guidance tonight, but instead chose not to reveal himself yet and test his character first. Xu Xian gave up searching with little determination and lay down at the head of the bridge, while the Taoist priest felt disappointed and had a feeling of misplaced trust.

  But just now, he saw with his own eyes that the green light in Xu Xian's soul suddenly surged, turning from green to red, emitting a scorching glow, no longer moving, but standing still, illuminating every dark place in the entire soul.

  "Sun Star! Can anyone really light up the Sun Star?" The Taoist muttered to himself. This school was called "Star Ocean", and the Taoist techniques they practiced were also in harmony with the stars. Although it was the same school, but when it came to different people's hands, there would be different paths. And what determined this path was which star that little green light corresponded to, the second major hurdle of cultivation, "Pointing the Star".

  Different stars have different effects, and they can also be divided into high and low grades. The highest ones are the thirteen stars that illuminate the Northern Dipper and Southern Dipper. Ordinary ones are just miscellaneous stars. And there are extremely superior ones that illuminate the Emperor Star of the Purple Forbidden Enclosure, which is a rare occurrence in a thousand years. Stars represent nature, stars represent fate, and the first star determines one's lifelong cultivation path.

  The Taoist's title is Taiyin Zhenren, because the first star he illuminated was the Taiyin Star, also known as the Moon. The light of the Taiyin Star is unparalleled and slightly higher than that of the Northern Dipper and Southern Dipper, but it relies heavily on fate. On a night when the moon is full, the star's power is at its strongest, even surpassing that of the Purple Mansion. However, during the beginning or end of the month, the star's power is extremely weak, barely equivalent to that of a miscellaneous star. The Taoist calculated his own third heavenly tribulation to occur precisely when the star's power was at its weakest, which was predetermined by fate and beyond his control.

  But there is one star that only exists in the concept of "star river", which is the sun. The stars are at night, their cultivation is also at night, and the twinkling of stars is also at night, when the sun is hidden, it is the extreme yin time.

  According to their concept, the sun has already set, how can it be lit up? Xu Xian actually succeeded in lighting up on the second day, which is already a rare talent. And what's more surprising is that he lit up the sun, a star that cannot be lit up. It's simply unbelievable even for the Taoist himself.

  There were also people who tried to light up the stars in the daytime and illuminate the sun, but it was easy to be illuminated, all of them were burned on the spot by the true fire of the sun. So no one has ever tried again.

  Ziwei is fine, Taiyin is also good, the sun rises and the stars sink, the sun rises and the moon hides. What does the master of the group of stars count as? In the solar system, only that big fireball is the protagonist.

  The Taoist sighed slightly: "It seems that I have accepted a disciple who is not easy to get along with!" He had originally wanted to give Xu Xian some pointers, but now looking at the dazzling light in Xu Xian's soul, he felt a bit disheartened. His own guidance might instead lead Xu Xian astray, so he quietly hid himself in the darkness.

  Xu Xian stood at the bridgehead, immersed in that wonderful realm until dawn. It wasn't until Xu Xian felt his body burning with heat that he came back to himself. The daytime sun was still not something he could endure.

  Hurry back home, Xu Xian still didn't know that he had already taken the most important step in his cultivation path. The main star was determined, and then it was just a matter of establishing the Star Palace. However, if the sun were to be used as the main star, the other stars would be overshadowed, so how could the Star Palace be established? This was the only worry for the Taoist. But it didn't bother Xu Xian. In one night, he suddenly understood the way and felt that his heart and spirit had never been more open. Many things that had weighed on his mind were now easily let go of, and he felt much lighter in body and mind.

  He wasn't without worries in his current poor life, and he thought about copying a few poems to improve it. After all, what's the big deal about this place? Tang poetry and Song lyrics can be copied one by one without any problem. But for such a child, being famous might not necessarily be a good thing. So he had been hesitant, but now Xian was able to make up his mind and just live his life quietly. The future is still long, isn't it?