"In seven days, Master will bestow upon you a Daoist Crown, grant you a Daoist name, and gift you a Supreme Treasure. I'm your senior brother, after all, so I'll give you your gift in advance. This sword is called the Three-Five Evil-Slaying Sword, and it's one of my most prized possessions."
"A gentleman does not take what others cherish," Lu Xuan refused flatly.
"Don't be so quick to refuse. Not giving it to you would be the real trouble. This sword was a gift from Master. And for someone at my level of cultivation, it's inevitable that I'll have to go through reincarnation a few times and rebuild my foundation."
Zhang Daoling smiled.
"I can't take this sword with me into my next life, so you hold onto it for me. Just consider it a loan; you can give it back to me later. Otherwise, after I enter reincarnation, I'll have nowhere to keep this sword. If it gets lost, I'll be breaking the rules of our lineage."
Lu Xuan blinked in confusion.
"Senior Brother Zhang, enter reincarnation, go to a next life... What do you mean?"
"Exactly what it sounds like." Zhang Ling pressed the longsword into Lu Xuan's arms. "Lending you the sword doesn't count as losing it, and it doesn't violate our lineage's rules. But you need to take good care of it. Don't lose it."
Lu Xuan nodded emphatically.
After putting the longsword away, he asked the Old Master some more questions about the Mediation of Creation. Once they had all been answered, Lu Xuan finally asked:
"Master, what exactly are the grains of rice created out of thin air by the Mediation of Creation? And why are they called Innate Spirit Rice?"
The Old Master stroked his long beard.
"Mediation of Creation is true creation from nothingness, not the reorganization or restructuring of existing matter. Therefore, any objects or phenomena born from this Divine Technique are Innate."
"'Innate?'" Lu Xuan mulled over the word, not quite understanding what it meant.
Seeing his confusion, the Old Master smiled and explained again:
"What is Innate? That which precedes Heaven and Earth is Innate. Before the Creation of Heaven and Earth, all things and all beings were Innate. Anything born after the Creation of Heaven and Earth is Postnatal."
"The Innate Spirit Rice you created from nothingness using the Mediation of Creation is the equivalent of rice grains that existed before the Creation of Heaven and Earth. Consuming it will increase your own Innate Essence. It is a Supreme Treasure."
Lu Xuan finally understood. Then, a thought struck him.
'Doesn't that mean anything I create with the Mediation of Creation in the future will be Innate? What if, one day, I can use this Dharma to create living beings...'
"They would be Innate beings. When Nuwa created humanity back then, she used the Mediation of Creation. The members of the Human Race she personally sculpted were, in fact, the Innate Celestial Human Race."
The Old Master said calmly,
"And the descendants born from the union of this Innate Celestial Human Race are the Postnatal Human Race. The Postnatal Human Race then gradually evolved into the world we have today... Understand?"
"I understand." Lu Xuan's eyes sparkled as he committed this secret to memory.
The Old Master nodded gently. Then, as if he had just remembered something, he asked softly,
"Do you not have any questions about the Supreme Foundation Establishment Chapter?"
Although the Supreme Foundation Establishment Chapter was the foundational text of the Taishang Lineage's cultivation skills, it was also extremely difficult.
The Old Master was worried Lu Xuan wouldn't be able to fully comprehend it, so he intended to offer a few pointers to prevent him from taking a wrong turn, which would do more harm than good.
Although he would not intervene to protect his disciples during their tribulations, he would still do his utmost to fulfill his duty as a guide.
He would answer any question and resolve any doubt.
However, Lu Xuan paused for a moment before shaking his head.
"I don't have any questions. I figure I should be able to grasp it completely in two or three days, so there's no need to trouble you, Master."
The Old Master fell silent again, while Zhang Ling, standing to the side, felt his breath catch in his throat. His chest felt tight and stuffy.
'Damn it! Even with Master answering my questions, it took me the better part of half a year to fully grasp the Supreme Foundation Establishment Chapter. And this brat...'
'The more he thought about it, the tighter his chest felt. Comparisons are just infuriating!'
With all his questions answered, Lu Xuan went about his chores as usual. He carefully wiped the dust from every roll of bamboo slips before starting a fire to cook, sending smoke curling up into the air.
In the quiet atmosphere, the three of them, young and old, gathered at the table like a real family.
.......
When he awoke from the dream and opened his eyes, it was already morning.
Lu Xuan felt a stuffy pressure on his chest. Looking down, he saw it was the very same Three-Five Evil-Slaying Sword that Senior Brother Zhang had given him!
He cupped the longsword in both hands, sat up a little straighter, and examined it with a solemn expression.
As the sword settled into his hands, Lu Xuan used his now-precise bodily control to estimate its weight at about eighty-one kilograms.
According to Senior Brother Zhang, this symbolized what the Master called the [Eighty-one Transformations].
The hilt consisted of five interlocking rings. Again, according to Senior Brother Zhang, each ring represented a Divine Mountain, making five peaks in total. If one were to fully activate the sword, striking an enemy would be like having five Divine Mountains crash down upon them!
The blade itself was three-sided. One face was engraved with profound, mysterious, and dazzling golden runes; another displayed the forms of a dragon, a phoenix, and a Qilin; and the last depicted the stars circulating through the cosmos.
Senior Brother Zhang said that each of the sword's three faces represented a Celestial Realm!
The Triple Celestial Vault and the Fivefold Divine Mountain combined to form the number "three-five"!
'It's a shame my current strength probably isn't enough to unleash even a ten-thousandth of this sword's power. Otherwise, with the might of the Triple Celestial Vault and the Fivefold Divine Mountain, who in this world could stand against it? Even the greatest mastermind pulling the strings from the shadows could be crushed, right?'
At this thought, Lu Xuan's determination to grow stronger faster became even more resolute. 'Cultivation, cultivation, cultivation!'
However, despite his eagerness to grow stronger, he didn't spend all day engrossed in it. Instead, he followed his usual routine: he washed up, ate breakfast, and then, following Senior Brother Zhang's instructions, circulated his Essence Qi to envelop the Three-Five Evil-Slaying Sword.
The next second, the longsword abruptly shrank until it was invisible to the naked eye and burrowed into Lu Xuan's body.
'It's actually this miraculous!'
After a moment of excitement, he left his house, greeting neighbors along the way. He walked through the streets and alleys, paid a brief visit to Wu Xiaoxu's home, and then ambled back toward his own little house.
He was captivated by the worldly warmth of the Red Dust.
Just as he reached his front door and was about to open it, someone called out from behind him.
"Little Lu Xuan, you have a package!"
He paused, then turned to see it was the delivery guy who handled packages for the shantytown.
"A package for me?" Lu Xuan was confused. "But I haven't ordered anything online."
The delivery guy wiped the sweat from his brow and smiled.
"It's from East Sea High School. Go on, take it and see what it is!"
Lu Xuan's eyes lit up. He took the package, thanked the man, and went inside to curiously tear it open.
Inside was a brand-new, clean school uniform and a student ID card bearing his name and photo.
Lu Xuan broke into a wide, happy smile.
After carefully putting away the uniform and student ID, he took out his battered old phone and searched online for information about 'Supreme Laojun'. He wanted to learn a little more about his master.
At the same time, a few questions arose in his mind. 'Master and Brother Zhang are definitely real, so where is it that my dreams are taking me?'
'And those buildings I saw... they were obviously from a very ancient era...'
'Could it be... the Ancient Times??'
A chill went down his spine, but he quickly composed himself and began to carefully browse the online articles about Supreme Laojun.
[Supreme Laojun: According to currently consolidated information, although he shares the 'Supreme' title with the Taiqing Daoist Ancestor, he was merely an Alchemy Official in the Celestial Court during the Ancient Times.]
[It is speculated that Supreme Laojun was most likely responsible for logistics in the Ancient Celestial Court, providing Elixirs for the Celestial Emperor and the various Immortals and Buddhas.]
The first part of the information was astonishing enough. 'If this is true,' Lu Xuan thought, 'Master was actually responsible for logistics for the entire Ancient Celestial Court, providing Elixirs for so many Immortals and Buddhas!'
But the next part of the information made his heart sink.
[According to descriptions in fragmented ancient texts, Supreme Laojun once had his Elixirs stolen by a Great Demon named 'Sun Wukong', and his Alchemy Furnace was knocked over. From this, it is theorized that while Supreme Laojun's status may have been high, his combat prowess was low.]
Lu Xuan pursed his lips, a sense of indignation rising in his heart. 'Master was responsible for supplying the entire Celestial Court with Elixirs, but he was humiliated like this by some wicked demon! Stealing the Elixirs was one thing, but to knock over his Pill Furnace, too!'
He began to feel sad. 'As the Celestial Court's Alchemy Official, Master must have loved alchemy. But in the dream, I haven't seen a single thing related to it.'
'Could it have something to do with that Great Demon knocking over his Alchemy Furnace?'
'Master is such a, such a good person... to be bullied like that...'
Lu Xuan clenched his fists, his heart set on a decision.
'The internet says that for the past several thousand years, Blue Star has been getting bigger and bigger, a suspected sign that the ancient world is reawakening. It's highly likely that in the future, the ancient Immortals and Buddhas will return.'
'If... if I can reach a high enough level someday, if I can become an Immortal or a Buddha, and if the ancient Immortals and Buddhas really do return... then I'll definitely find that wicked demon, give him a sound thrashing, and drag him to Master to apologize and make amends!'
'I swear it!'
The thought made Lu Xuan's desire to grow stronger burn even brighter. Without another moment's hesitation, he went online and ordered some Fierce Beast Blood Food. His heart ached at the expense—five kilograms of Fierce Beast Blood Food had cost him a full thousand yuan!
'So expensive!'
With a grimace, he stopped dwelling on the thousand yuan. Lu Xuan sat cross-legged on his bed, calmed his breathing, and began Visualizing the Creation of the Universe.
The moment he began his Cultivation with the [Supreme Foundation Establishment Chapter], he noticed the chasm between it and the Jade Tower Breathing Technique. It was like the difference between the blazing Great Sun and a tiny firefly!
The speed at which it refined his bones and marrow was easily ten, even a hundred times faster than the Jade Tower Breathing Technique!
Lu Xuan lost himself in his Cultivation as his body underwent a rapid transformation. But it wasn't long before he was forced to stop.
He had run into a problem.
'My bone marrow is mostly refined. It's time to start excavating and tempering my organs, but which one should I start with?'
Lu Xuan was at a complete loss. Neither the Supreme Foundation Establishment Chapter nor the Jade Tower Breathing Technique mentioned it...
And since information about Cultivation was already scarce online, he naturally couldn't find an answer there.
After thinking for a moment, his eyes lit up. He had heard that East Sea High School had the second-largest library in the city. 'And since they offer Cultivation classes, the library ought to have some relevant books, right?'
Deciding on a course of action, Lu Xuan unhesitatingly grabbed his student ID, hurried out the door, and started running toward the Upper City District.