Daoist cultivation offers countless methods, but only one heart method...
Suppress the consciousness, strengthen the primordial spirit.
As the primordial spirit grows strong, refining away the shadowy dregs within, one achieves Pure Yang Infinite.
The stronger the Yang Qi, the higher the Dao Practice.
All the various Daoist methods—like skills, secret curses, hand seals, opening the altar, and so on—rely on this.
In other words, if your Dao Practice is enough, any Daoist technique is at your fingertips. Otherwise...
"If your Dao Practice isn't enough, basically your MP isn't enough, so you'll just have to burn your HP..."
Taoist Pojie looked at Zhang Fan with a hint of sympathy.
"So what you're saying is..."
"You can't just randomly blurt out secret curses... or it'll sap your lifespan."
"Holy shit!" Zhang Fan couldn't help cursing. Thankfully, he'd been cautious.
"Actually, this Dao Secret Record here has all sorts of warnings and tips about secret curses. Read it and you'll know."
Taoist Pojie glanced at the small booklet with a purple cover on the table and chuckled lightly.
If Xia Weisheng really wanted to mess with him, there would've been no need to give the Dao Secret Record to Zhang Fan.
You gotta know, this thing is a core secret of the sect. Normal disciples aren't even qualified to access it, let alone take it out from Zhenwu Mountain. There are tons of strict rules.
"You don't have to worry too much..."
Taoist Pojie comforted him, saying, "Actually, you've already recklessly used Divine Techniques and lost quite a bit of your life force."
"There isn't much lifespan left to shave off anyway."
Divine Techniques—true Divine Techniques—this kind of power is said to be granted by the heavens. It's not something mortals can control.
Back in the day, when Chu Chaoran awakened his Divine Techniques, he was already thirty, certified to Celestial Master Rank, with profound Dao Practice. For him, it was all smooth sailing.
But Zhang Fan? He'd just barely become a Qi Worker. In a life-or-death crisis, he inherited the Transmission Jade Scroll, snatching up the opportunity. Only then could he barely pull off Divine Techniques, and even so, it cost him both fortune and lifespan...
"How much life force do I have left now?"
Zhang Fan's face looked as if his jungle buff had just gotten stolen in a game—utterly ruined.
"Hard to say, but it's definitely very short," Taoist Pojie said with reluctance.
"How short?"
"Shorter than any man would dare endure."
"Fuck, THAT short?!"
Zhang Fan's face turned the color of someone whose red buff just got stolen too.
"Anxious and afraid, all because your consciousness is agitated... Life and death are destined, no need to be like this." Pojie saw Zhang Fan's mood swing and quickly tried to soothe him.
"..."
"My master said, after you go down the mountain, cultivate properly. If you can suppress the consciousness, strengthen the primordial spirit, gather herbs and refine them, and reach the High Skill rank, you can make up for the lost lifespan." Pojie spoke earnestly.
High Skill—that's Xia Weisheng's rank.
Only then will Zhang Fan really be qualified to comprehend the Samadhi True Flame!!!
"Daoist, how do I cultivate?" Zhang Fan quickly asked, "Is there some secret manual or something?!"
"Daoist Natural Law." Taoist Pojie answered mysteriously.
"What exactly is Daoist Natural Law?" Zhang Fan focused, showing respect and humbly asking for guidance.
"The footwork is also Dao, the hand technique is also Technique—Daoist Natural Law, it's all like this..."
"..."
"I mean... walking, standing, sitting, lying down, they're all cultivation... Dao is hidden in every detail of life." Taoist Pojie said sincerely.
"..."
Zhang Fan was at a loss for words.
Just then, Taoist Pojie pulled a little notebook from his robe and handed it over.
Zhang Fan glanced down. On the notebook was clearly written: Daoist Sect Faculty Certificate...
"Since you've inherited the Zhenwu Mountain Jade Scroll from me, you're considered a Daoist now. This is your certificate..."
"Production fee: a hundred and twenty yuan..."
"..."
Zhang Fan took the document, feeling a bit dazed. "So now I'm a Daoist?"
"Barely... There are still lots of things you need to learn..."
"You have a long road ahead of you."
As he spoke, Pojie stood up and patted Zhang Fan's shoulder with heartfelt sincerity.
Half a day later, Zhang Fan left Qingwei Palace, getting ready to descend the mountain.
"Brother, once you're back, don't slack off on cultivation." Taoist Pojie walked him out.
"Cultivation, yeah... Why don't you at least give me a top-tier manual!" Zhang Fan side-eyed him, grumbling inside.
"What are you mumbling, bro?"
Pojie squinted and stared at Zhang Fan, as if he'd heard his inner voice.
"Oh right... Taoist Pojie, before I leave, I'd like to see Jiang Lai." Zhang Fan abruptly shifted topic and asked.
"Jiang Lai? Who's Jiang Lai?" Pojie was momentarily stunned, then asked.
"The Kun Dao from Zhenwu Mountain." Zhang Fan blurted out.
Pojie pondered briefly, then shook his head: "There is no such person at Zhenwu Mountain."
"No way..." Zhang Fan's brow arched, his voice urgent, "Can't you at least go check?"
"No need to check..."
Pojie replied blandly, "I'm in charge of personnel at Zhenwu Mountain—every Daoist on or off the roster, I know them all by heart..."
As he spoke, Pojie tapped his own forehead.
"There really is no such person as Jiang Lai on Zhenwu Mountain."
"How could that be!?"
Zhang Fan's brow creased so hard it looked like the character '川,' Jiang Lai's figure flashing through his mind.
He knew that person absolutely existed.
"How about this... I'll check again sometime." Pojie saw the look on Zhang Fan's face and instantly knew how important the person was, so he agreed right away.
"Sorry for the trouble." Zhang Fan nodded his thanks.
With that, he got up to leave, heading onto the long, winding mountain road.
"Younger Brother Zhang, take care out there." Pojie's voice came from behind, full of sincere blessing.
"Fan, remember to recite secret curses a lot when you get back!"
Just then, a pleasant, melodious voice called out, carrying a hint of encouragement and hope.
"Just you wait!!!"
Zhang Fan spun around, flashed the international gesture at Xia Weisheng as she walked out, muttering darkly to himself that once he gets strong, Xia Weisheng is definitely the first one he'd deal with.
...
The mountain road twisted amid green shade, blurring past the car window.
Zhang Fan looked at his Daoist Sect Faculty Certificate and felt his trip to Zhenwu Mountain had been nothing short of a dream.
"Bro, we just came here as tourists, how did you actually end up a Daoist?" Li Yishan stared at Zhang Fan like he was seeing a ghost.
"You just had a breakup, you don't have to go that far and become a monk... should I put up a memorial arch for you?"
"Told you to read more books usually..."
Zhang Fan side-eyed him and answered flatly, "There are sub-schools in the Daoist sect too. Quanzhen can't get married or have kids, but Zhengyi can..."
"I'm a Zhengyi Daoist."
With that, Zhang Fan stuffed the little notebook into his pocket, a smug smile playing at his lips.
"Treat me with a little more respect from now on..."
"I've got an Ancestral Master backing me up, too."
"You son of a—"
"Hahahaha..."
Laughter rang from inside the tour bus, rolling down the mountain road, growing fainter and fainter.
...
On Zhenwu Mountain, under ancient pine trees.
Chu Chaoran gazed into the distant, drifting mists, as if seeing past the void to all things below the mountain.
"The little Daoist has gone down the mountain..."
"Master, the Zhenwu Jade Scroll is the greatest treasure of our sect. Why let that kid take it with him?" Xia Weisheng asked, puzzled.
Originally, the Zhenwu Jade Scroll should've been handed down by her. Now, as Zhenwu Mountain's heir, she didn't seem that legitimate anymore.
"Absolute or not, perishing or not, there comes a pause every seventy-three generations..."
"The tribulations of our Zhenwu Mountain are only just beginning now." Chu Chaoran's eyes were deep, his voice low and solemn.
"What?" Xia Weisheng's face went pale, unable to stop herself from asking.
"Is the path of cultivation all about the Jade Scroll?" Chu Chaoran shifted tone, saying lightly, "Weisheng, you put too much value on this. An agitated consciousness is a big taboo. Go into seclusion for a while."
At those words, Xia Weisheng's delicate brows furrowed. In the end, she clenched her silver teeth, nodded, and turned to leave.
Mist swirled. On the vast peak of Zhenwu Mountain, only Chu Chaoran was left.
"Universal Sacrifice, the Daoist Sect's great tribulation—eighty-some years have flashed by... The Zhenwu Jade Scroll has finally returned to dust with the light..."
Chu Chaoran sighed, then spoke softly into the air: "You may go down the mountain as well."
"Okay!!"
As soon as the words fell, an ethereal voice replied. From a corner, a short-haired girl stepped out slowly—it was none other than Jiang Lai.