29 Heavenly Origin · True Scripture of Penetrating Mystery

  Yue Qing said: "Master, rest assured, I have already made our sect prosperous and glorious, surpassing the Wudang Sect by ten times!"

  "Haha." Taiyi Hunyuan Zushi laughed heartily, "The methods of cultivating the Tao in the world are numerous, with three thousand orthodox schools and countless side doors. In summary, there are three categories: Tianyuan, Diyuan, and Renyuan. Nowadays, cultivators mostly follow the Lesser Yang lineage, using their own true energy and essence as lead and mercury, extracting Kan and filling Li, harmonizing dragon and tiger, and refining the inner elixir into a Renyuan Dan. Pre-Qin cultivators extracted the essence from the five metals and eight stones to transform lead and mercury, cultivating the yellow sprout, and refining it into a Jindan, which when ingested would kill the three worms and attain immortality, this is Diyuan Dan. Ancient cultivators used heaven and earth as their furnace, the sun and moon as charcoal fire, placing their own primordial spirit in the void, embracing Taiwu, and expanding their spirit to encompass the universe, ultimately achieving Tianyuan Dan, which was also the case with Wenshi's lineage. Tongxuan Zhenren was a disciple of Laozi, and the Tongxuan True Classic he transmitted is similar to the Wenshi True Classic, and his practice was also the Tianyuan Tao."

  Yue Qing was shocked: "The Tongxuan Zhenjing is so profound, why didn't Master pass it on to us?"

  Taiyi Hunyuan Zushi said: "The Tongxuan True Classic was written entirely in the ancient tadpole script, its mysteries and wonders are profound and abstruse, difficult to understand. I have studied and meditated on it for hundreds of years, only to gain a slight understanding. To refine the Tianyuan Dan, one must lodge their primordial spirit in the void of the universe. At first, one cannot stir up even half a thought, otherwise, they will separate from the void of the universe. However, if no thoughts are stirred, then there is no awareness, and it's like being a lifeless wooden puppet, still unable to achieve success. I specially went to Mount Daxue to find Xueshan Laomei, and exchanged one of my previously refined magical artifacts for his Er Xin Shen Gong. Then, I lodged my original primordial spirit in the void, without any thoughts of survival. My second primordial spirit remained on Mount Wutai, presiding over the teachings...

  Yue Qing suddenly interrupted his words with excitement: "In other words, the East Sea Three Immortals used the invisible sword to wound only your second yuan Shen? Master, you're still alive!"

  "Not bad, back then it was the second Yuan Shen of my master that fell, now the one speaking to you is my true and original Yuan Shen."

  Yue Qing was overjoyed and almost in tears: "Master, since you're still alive, why didn't you come see us? The Five Tai Sect has been...

  "I've already been cultivating the Tianyuan Dan, and once it's complete, I'll become a Golden Immortal and ascend to the Heavenly Realm. As for worldly matters, I won't be involved much anymore. The path of cultivation is one that you must walk on your own; your master can't protect you forever. Moreover, my primordial spirit is currently wandering in the vast universe, and at this critical moment, even a slight thought would cause me to separate from the void and return to my original form. Only now that the Tianyuan Dan has taken shape can I converse with you. Listen carefully, Yuer: the Tongxuan True Classic is extremely profound, consisting entirely of direct and straightforward language that gets at the heart of the Dao. Your master's uncle once read a part of it but found it too difficult to achieve and eventually gave up. I also found it difficult to cultivate, spending over a decade thinking deeply before coming up with a gradual and progressive method - namely, the Hunyuan True Qi. However, all of you complained that progress was too slow and refused to cultivate it, except for you, who has been cultivating for several decades and has managed to lay some foundation. It's precisely because of this that I've appeared today to decide to pass on the Tongxuan True Classic to you; otherwise, this lineage would be lost."

  "Disciple is ashamed!" Yue Qing said that although he was more diligent than his fellow disciples, it was based on his nostalgia for his master. He felt that he couldn't let the unique Taoist method created by this master be lost, but the progress was really too slow. It was like fishing for three days and drying nets for two days. He didn't expect the Hunyuan True Qi to be so important.

  Yu Qing's sea of consciousness suddenly appeared countless tadpole-like texts, they seemed to be alive and swimming in the void, forming scriptures. Taiyi Hunyuan Zushi explained to him word by word: "The so-called Tao that can be spoken is not the true Tao, the name that can be named is not the true name. The Great Tao is mysterious and wonderful, it cannot be directly said. If it could be said, then it would not be the Tao. I will only explain to you the meaning of each word and phrase, as well as the allusions contained within, but what the scriptures specifically say, you must still comprehend on your own."

  Yue Qing hastily concentrated on remembering, not daring to be even slightly negligent.

  This Zhu Xuan Zhen Jing has a total of nine chapters, each chapter is not very long, but every word is precious and profound beyond compare. Most people do not understand its meaning, they can only memorize these scriptures by heart and slowly comprehend them later on.

  "Besides these, there is also a Xuangua Outer Chapter, which I summarized during my study of the scriptures, the method of alchemy and refining treasures. The ancient oil lamp you obtained from Zhu Hong is one of the Taichang Eight Scenic Lamps in the outer chapter. I only refined part of it, if you want to complete the lamp, you must first learn the scriptures well."

  "Master, is the method of refining treasures above better than what's recorded in the Mixed Yuan Vice Volume?"

  "Compared to the Tongxuan Vice-Volume, the Hunyuan Vice-Volume is nothing but dregs! To avoid distracting you from using it for other purposes and putting in effort on external objects, I won't transmit the Tongxuan Vice-Volume to you first."

  "Master," Yue Qing hastily said, "Then when will you pass it on to me? Master, you also know my character as a person, I've always been steady and calm. For so many years, I've only focused on cultivating the Taiyi True Solution, without practicing the Ten Demon Scriptures. These years, I've specialized in cultivating the Five Elements True Energy, but even then, I haven't managed to refine many magical artifacts. It's gotten to the point where whenever I engage with others, I'm at a disadvantage everywhere, Master, please just teach me everything at once."

  "No, the methods of alchemy recorded in the Zhongxuan Zhenjing are all incredibly mysterious. If you were to see them, you would definitely become infatuated with them. Don't worry, when you have cultivated the Hunyuan True Qi to a high level and returned to the Taiyi Palace on Mount Wutai, I will again transmit the scriptures to you in the same way as today, allowing you to see me. At that time, relying on your Hunyuan True Qi, you can open the Heavenly Furnace behind the mountain and create any treasure you desire. For now, even if I were to teach you, it would be useless."

  Yue Qing knew that Taiyi Hunyuan Zushi, although doting on his disciples, would not change his mind once it was made up. So he didn't plead again: "Disciple will obey the master's orders and strive to complete the cultivation of Hunyuan True Qi as soon as possible." However, in his heart, he felt uncertain. He had been cultivating Hunyuan True Qi for fifty years and only reached a small accomplishment realm. To think that it would take several hundred more years to reach the great accomplishment realm, who knows when it will be achieved?

  "Alright, the Tongxuan Zhenjing has been passed on to you. I should be leaving now. From now on, I won't appear easily again. The future achievements of Wudang Sect will all depend on you."

  "Master, don't go! Master, I've finally seen you once after great difficulty. Don't... Master! Master!"

  Yu Qing's body shook, and he withdrew from the state of unity with nature. He saw Liu Quan sitting next to him, also looking anxious, calling out "Master". He patted Liu Quan's arm: "Younger brother, what's wrong?"

  Liu Quan opened his eyes and looked around, saying in surprise: "I just saw Master."

  "Master? Which master?" It's not strange that Yue Qing asked, because Liu Quan had too many masters. At first, there was a scattered immortal master, then it was the old Buddha of Chi Li, and after the old Buddha passed away, it was the elder Suti. Suddenly waking up, "You won't have seen our master, will you?"

  Liu Quan nodded excitedly: "Exactly! I was just silently calling out to my senior brother's Taiyi Xuan Gong, when suddenly Master appeared. He was wearing the Bagua Xian Yi, holding a Ruyi dustpan, just like the statue in the temple outside. I bowed to Master again, and he even passed on a new Taoist technique to me, called the Taiyi Hunyuan Sword."

  "What!" Yue Qing listened to Liu Quan's previous words and thought he was hallucinating, after all, Taiyi Hunyuan Zushi had said that his primordial spirit was attached to the vast universe, in the void, according to Yue Qing's understanding, it should not be able to manifest a physical form, otherwise it would be rejected by the void. After all, even seeing himself did not manifest a physical body, and most importantly, the image Liu Quan saw was exactly like the statue in the temple, but Master had never dressed like that when he was alive, nor had he ever held a ruyi scepter.

  However, after hearing it later, I felt unbelievable, just because the Taiyi Hunyuan sword was the business card of my master, and only he himself could use it in the entire Wutai Sect, even Master Shu Kong Xuan wouldn't know how to use it. Unexpectedly, it was passed on to Liu Quan.

  "Taiyi Hunyuan Sword Intent requires a foundation in Taiyi Mysterious Skill and Hunyuan True Qi, didn't your master teach you that?"

  Liu Quan nodded and then recited a mnemonic verse, which was precisely the general outline for cultivating Hunyuan True Qi.

  Yu Qing was stunned for a long time and finally sighed: "Master's magical power is mysterious and unpredictable!"

  The appearance of Taiyi Hunyuan Zushi made Yue Qing's long-standing heavy heart much lighter. Firstly, his master had not died, but was still alive in the world and had even improved his Taoist practice, only waiting for the day of success to ascend to the Golden Immortal Realm. Secondly, he himself had been struggling to revive the Five Tai Sect, facing the powerful Emei Sect and the treacherous fellow disciples who were like wolves and tigers, truly feeling overwhelmed.

  Although he had recently obtained the Tian Shu Vice-Book and the Tai Yi Five Smokes, once his fellow disciples found out, they would inevitably rush to demand and compete for it, including the incredibly powerful Master Shi Kong Zhan. And as for taking Liu Quan as a disciple, he was always uneasy in his heart, because he felt that eight or nine out of ten of the Wu Tai Sect's fellow disciples would not accept Liu Quan and could not acknowledge him as a Wu Tai disciple. The dual pressure from within and outside the sect made him exhausted mentally and physically.

  However, now that Master is here, his presence has given him a sense of reliance. Teaching him the Tongxuan True Classic is the greatest affirmation and support for him, and he even took Liu Quan as his apprentice in person. He also thought that his fellow disciples would not accept Liu Quan, so he taught him his unique Taoist skills. Thinking ahead, if someone were to question him, Liu Quan could use the Taiyi Hunyuan Sword Technique, and who in the world would dare to question him?