Watching the Mountain

After Zhang Zhentian left, Xu Ran returned to his simple routine of shuttling between his Cave Mansion and the Scripture Pavilion.

He was sitting quietly in a corner of the Scripture Pavilion, studying a book of insights on the Power of the Five Elements of Heaven and Earth, left behind by a former disciple.

He was currently in the Foundation Establishment Stage, and the next step was the Purple Mansion Stage.

The key to breaking through from the Foundation Establishment Stage to the Purple Mansion Stage was to combine the Dao one had comprehended during the Bright Heart Realm with the Heaven and Earth Law Dao Rhyme, transforming it into a Dao Seed. Upon reaching the Purple Mansion Stage, one would then nurture this Dao Seed within their Purple Mansion.

For this reason, the Purple Mansion Stage was also known as the Dao-Seeding Stage, a crucial transitional phase for later forging one’s own Dao.

The Dao Laws of the universe have always existed, but everyone’s understanding of the Dao is different.

Xu Ran felt it was similar to the Inner Heaven and Earth of Celestial Immortals from myths and legends. Each Cultivator was a nascent world of their own, independent of the greater world yet still within the bounds of the Great Dao.

Of course, a Dao Seed could not compare to an Inner Heaven and Earth. An Inner Heaven and Earth was a complete world, possessing the full and complete Dao Laws of the universe.

What a Dao Seed nurtured, however, was merely one’s personal understanding of one or several Daos. It couldn’t even be considered a true Dao. Only upon breaking through to Core Formation, by integrating one’s Mental Realm, personal will, and beliefs to form a Golden Core, could one truly be said to have forged their own Dao.

There were countless Great Daos in the world. Instead of choosing any of the flashier ones, Xu Ran had selected the most fundamental: the Path of the Five Elements.

At the beginning of his cultivation, Yue Qingyu had bestowed upon him a Five Elements Technique. Even after joining the Profound Pure Sect, the technique he chose was an advanced version of his original one, continuing on the Path of the Five Elements.

’To me, this stage of condensing a Dao Seed is particularly abstruse. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it deliberately mystifying.’

’There’s no concrete standard for this stage, no clear sign that says your understanding of the Dao is now sufficient to form a Dao Seed.’

’As far as I can tell, my own comprehension of the Power of the Five Elements is already deep enough. I have a full personal understanding of it. In theory, I should be perfectly capable of condensing a Dao Seed.’

’And yet, for some reason, I just can’t seem to form one.’

Because of this, he had specifically consulted his colleagues in the Scripture Pavilion. Their response was that a Dao Seed could not be forced. When one’s comprehension was sufficient, the Dao Seed would form on its own; it was not something one could intentionally condense.

When Xu Ran heard this answer, his brain practically shut down. ’What’s the difference between saying that and saying nothing at all? Isn’t this just more mystifying nonsense?’

He hated this feeling of uncertainty. That was why he had been spending all his time in the Scripture Pavilion, poring over the cultivation insights left by his predecessors.

He had even temporarily set aside his study of arrays. Of course, this was also partly because Little Xiyue hadn’t had much time to teach him recently.

Although his progress in learning arrays was slow, with Little Xiyue’s patient guidance, he had already mastered a dozen or so basic arrays. If he were to be evaluated, he wasn’t actually far from becoming a Tier Two Array Master.

Just as he was engrossed in his reading, a disciple from within the Scripture Pavilion walked up to him and bowed. "Greetings, Master Xu."

Hearing this form of address, Xu Ran knew the person must have been a student from his time at the Spirit Stream Peak’s Instructor Hall.

However, the visitor had the appearance of a middle-aged man. When Xu Ran had taught at the Instructor Hall, the disciples were only about ten years old, so he didn’t recognize him at first glance.

After a moment’s hesitation, he asked plainly, "And you are?"

"Master Xu, I am your disciple, Li Tianhe." The middle-aged man didn’t seem displeased at not being recognized and replied with great respect.

Xu Ran was slightly taken aback by the name, but then the memory came flooding back. He remembered that after one of the grand competitions, many disciples from Spirit Stream Peak had submitted petitions to the Sect. They wanted the Sect to replace the instructor at the Instructor Hall, all because Shen Wuchen, a disciple at the Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer, had only managed to place tenth.

Although the matter was eventually dropped because the Sect stood firmly by Xu Ran’s side, Shen Wuchen had been furious at the time and had gone around arguing with everyone he could find.

’If I recall correctly,’ he thought, ’wasn’t the one who led the protest most fiercely named Li Tianhe?’

’But in my memory, Li Tianhe was an arrogant and sharp-tongued person. His every word and action seemed to carry a strong sense of aggression. It’s impossible to reconcile that with the polite, middle-aged man standing before me now.’

’Only twenty or thirty years have passed. That might be a long time in the mortal world, but in the Cultivation Realm, it’s just a brief moment. He shouldn’t have changed this much.’

"You’ve changed a lot," Xu Ran voiced his thoughts aloud.

Li Tianhe nodded slightly. "I’ve been through a lot over the years. It has indeed changed me."

After speaking, he raised his hands and formed a Dao Seal toward Xu Ran, his tone becoming somewhat formal. "When I saw you here, Master Xu, I wanted to come over to apologize and also to thank you."

"Hm?" Xu Ran glanced at him, a little surprised.

Seeing his reaction, Li Tianhe smiled. "Master Xu, you probably haven’t paid much attention to news from the Instructor Hall for a long time, have you?"

Xu Ran nodded. That was true. Ever since Yue Qingyu had arranged for him to come to the Scripture Pavilion, he hadn’t paid any more attention to the Instructor Hall.

Hearing Li Tianhe say this, he asked in surprise, "Don’t tell me something happened at the Instructor Hall?"

Li Tianhe shook his head. "No, nothing like that. It’s just that, seeing the treatment the new disciples at the Instructor Hall receive now, those of us who were taught by you have come to realize just how lucky we were back then."

"Oh?" Xu Ran murmured, intrigued.

Li Tianhe didn’t hide anything and began to explain. By the time Xu Ran left the Instructor Hall, many Sect members had returned from the Evil Demon Battlefield, so manpower was no longer stretched so thin. The Sect had then assigned a Steward at the Purple Mansion Stage to take charge of the Instructor Hall.

This Purple Mansion Stage Steward was a stern, veteran Cultivator who rarely smiled. When he lectured, he was basically just going through the motions. As for Daoist Techniques, he only taught the most basic ones, and when disciples asked questions, he would only give perfunctory answers to a few.

This was a world of difference from when Xu Ran was at the Instructor Hall.

Back then, Xu Ran, who was only at the Qi Refining Stage, had been worried he would lead the disciples astray. Because of this, he had prepared exhaustively and thrown himself into the role wholeheartedly. He taught with immense patience, meticulously answering any question the disciples raised. If he encountered a question he wasn’t sure about, he would go back, repeatedly consult various materials to verify the facts, and only then dare to give a response.

And as for Daoist Techniques, the difference was even greater.

Xu Ran had mastered several hundred Low Tier Daoist Techniques. Although Qing Xuan True Monarch often disapproved of his methods, believing he was biting off more than he could chew, Xu Ran himself enjoyed it.

This was a great boon for the disciples of the Instructor Hall. As long as they asked to learn a technique, Xu Ran would almost never refuse. He was more than happy to impart his knowledge of Daoist Techniques, as teaching others also deepened his own understanding.

It was precisely because he had seen the treatment of the current disciples at the Instructor Hall that Li Tianhe was moved to say:

"I was so incredibly lucky back then to have met an enlightened teacher like you, Master Xu. The crucial thing is, I actually stood up and opposed you. I was truly a terrible person."