"The disciples of the Celestial Sect pursue secluded cultivation, embracing non-action and selflessness, detached from material desires and the cycle of birth. Thus, they practice the Heart Like Still Water technique, sealing their openings, closing their gates, blunting their sharpness, resolving their conflicts, harmonizing their brilliance, and blending with the dust—this is called the Mysterious Unity."
In the grand hall of the Human Sect, under the watchful gazes of the sect leader, the Free-and-Easy Master, and the four elders—Muxuzi, Baiyunzi, Luolingzi, and Qingjingzi—the teaching elder Muyuanzigave a lecture on Daoist cultivation texts to Li Haimo.
The Daoist school boasted a plethora of techniques, with practitioners choosing one as their primary focus. The Heart Like Still Water technique, when mastered to its pinnacle, achieved Harmonizing Brilliance with Dust—a state of spatial displacement, as Xiaomeng would later demonstrate, ferocious and unmatched. At the grandmaster level, it could unleash Heaven and Earth Lose Color, reducing the vibrant world to a flat, monochrome plane, like a 3D scene collapsing into a 2D sketch.
There were countless techniques to learn: Autumn Waters of Ten Thousand Rivers, Heart Like Still Water, Fish of the Northern Depths, and more. Xiaomeng, clearly, had chosen Heart Like Still Water as her core practice.
"In contrast, disciples of our Human Sect emphasize cultivation through engagement with the world, experiencing the seven emotions and six desires, enduring the trials of three thousand karmic flames to achieve transcendence. Thus, we have the legacy of Ancestor Laozi, who ventured west through Hangu Pass, heralded by three thousand miles of purple mist. And Liezi, who rode the wind and wandered the states freely. Therefore, our Human Sect disciples practice the Empty Surge technique and the Free-and-Easy Wandering technique," Muyuanzi continued, stressing that the Human Sect offered a broader array of methods.
Li Haimo stared at him, unimpressed. Since when did Daoist techniques split into Celestial and Human? Back in the days of Laozi, Liezi, and Zhuangzi, it was just the Daoist school—no divisions. Was this guy trying to fool a kid, or what?
"Wuchenzi, have you decided what to choose?" Muyuanzi quizzed.
"I'm not picking any of those!" Li Haimo declared. What a joke. He knew full well the Daoist school had a supreme text—the Daoist Scripture. All other techniques stemmed from it, but because it was so difficult to master, only Laozi had ever achieved true success. Liezi had annotated it to create the Empty Surge technique, Zhuangzi had penned the Free-and-Easy Wandering, and Laozi himself had crafted the Sitting in Oblivion method.
"Then what do you want to learn?" Muyuanz ismiled.
"I choose the Daoist Scripture!" Li Haimo proclaimed loudly.
Muyuanzi raised an eyebrow. "You do realize that over the centuries, countless Daoist disciples—millions, even—have studied the Daoist Scripture, yet only Laozi succeeded. Even great sages like Liezi and Zhuangzi had to adapt and create their own methods."
"A phoenix soars to the ninth heaven, drinking only from the sweetest springs and perching only on the finest paulownia trees," Li Haimo retorted.
Muyuanzi looked stunned. Such words from an adult would be unremarkable, but from a six-year-old? That was extraordinary.
Xiaoyaozi was equally surprised. He'd examined Li Haimo's foundation—admittedly not as exceptional as Xiaomeng's, but still a rare talent, seen perhaps once in a century. Otherwise, Chi Songzi wouldn't have agreed to take him as a disciple on behalf of his master. Still, he hadn't expected the boy to speak with such conviction. If talent falls short, effort makes up the difference.
"The Daoist Scripture is our ancestral text, obscure and profound. From Fuxi's revelation of the River Chart and the Luo Book, to Duke Wen's development of the Zhouyi, much has been lost over generations, making cultivation even harder. Are you sure you want to pursue it?" Xiaoyaozi pressed.
Li Haimo froze. What the heck? Isn't the Daoist Scripture the Daodejing? How did this turn into the Book of Changes? Something was seriously off. He'd forgotten that in this pre-Qin era, Laozi was merely a great sage in the Daoist lineage, not yet the revered ancestor he'd become in the Tang dynasty, when the Li imperial family, mixed with Xianbei blood, claimed Laozi as their forebear to legitimize their rule and elevated Daoism to state religion.
Here, in the Warring States period, the Daoist school traced its origins to Fuxi, with the River Chart and Luo Book as its foundational texts. Over generations, these evolved into Duke Wen's Zhouyi, Jiang Ziya's Yellow Stone Heavenly Book, and other fragments like the lost Qimen of Fenghou.
"Can I pick again?" Li Haimo asked, sheepish.
"Study the Daoist Scripture for three years. If you make no progress, you can switch to another. It's not a bad thing—our disciples often turn to the Daoist Scripture for guidance when they hit a wall, and all the sages' teachings ultimately trace back to the River Chart and Luo Book," Xiaoyaozi said.
"Fine, I'll study it." Li Haimo had no choice. He'd made his bold claim, and now, tears or not, he had to follow through.
"The Daoist Scripture is kept in the library and cannot be removed. It spans 7,812 bamboo slips. The Celestial Sect has an additional 1,036 slips we don't have. Once you've mastered ours, you can study theirs. The Celestial and Human Sects are both Daoist, so they won't stop you from learning, but you can't take the texts away," Xiaoyaozi explained.
"What?!" Li Haimo's jaw dropped. 7,812 plus 1,036? That's 8,848! Was this a joke? You think this is some fancy brand, like an 8848 smartphone endorsed by world leaders?
Weren't heart techniques supposed to be a single phrase or maybe a hundred words? What's with 8,848 slips?
"Oh, and the complete Daoist Scripture should total 11,520 slips. Besides our collection, the Yin-Yang school and the Confucians hold fragments we lack. The Confucian Lesser Sages' Manor has the most, and various royal houses have some as well. You can try collecting them in the future," Xiaoyaozi.
"What kind of nonsense is this? I was promised the Daoist Scripture, not the Daodejing—and now it's the Book of Changes? Are you messing with me? How do you even cultivate the Book of Changes? If it could be mastered, wouldn't all those Yijing scholars in my past life have become immortals?" Li Haimo stared at the towering stacks of bamboo slips. 8,848 slips. Even if each has just 50 characters, that's 400,000 to 500,000 words! And that's not counting the parts the Daoists don't even have. What kind of heart technique has that many words?
"Senior Brother, are you sure this is our Daoist Scripture and heart technique?" Li Haimo asked Baiyunzi, the elder guarding the library.
"Absolutely. Haven't you heard? The foremost of the Three Classics is the Dao," Baiyunzi replied, nodding.
"Nope..." Li Haimo shook his head.
"The ancient Three Classics are the Book of Changes, the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon, and the Classic of Mountains and Seas. The Book of Changes is the foremost among them. As for how to cultivate the Three Classics—you think I'd know?" Baiyunzi chuckled.
"I..." Li Haimo was floored. That's one heck of a reason. If you don't know, why say all this?!
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