Song Daren, being a teacher for the first time, saw Zhang Xiaofan resting his chin in his hand, listening with fascination, and couldn't help but become talkative, speaking with great eloquence:
"The cultivation process of the Taiji Xuanqing Way goes from easy to difficult. Most people can achieve the first layer of the Jade Pure Realm within the first year. But from then on, profound difficulties begin to manifest. For the second layer, ordinary people need to cultivate for five years. The third layer is even more of a watershed; those with slightly lesser aptitude will be stuck here their whole lives, and it is not unusual for those with better aptitude to cultivate for fifty or sixty years."
Zhang Xiaofan was tongue-tied. Song Daren smiled faintly and continued.
"The main cultivation methods of the Taiji Xuanqing Way are more or less fully taught by the third layer. After that, it mostly depends on one's aptitude and self-cultivation. Senior masters with profound cultivation might offer some pointers, but those are merely personal experiences, letting disciples avoid some detours. Of course, the so-called 'detours' here are often measured in centuries."
"Those who cultivate the Taiji Xuanqing Way to the fourth layer of the Jade Pure Realm will have grasped the fundamental root of all laws, and can begin to simultaneously study other wondrous arts and techniques, as well as refine their own magical treasure. The lore of magical treasures and secret artifacts has a long and storied history. In myths and legends, most of the gods of the heavens possess their own divine artifacts of unrivaled power. And among mortals, practitioners of cultivation who use them to initially grasp the creation of heaven and earth also possess immense power. Small ones allow one to ride the air and travel with the speed of wind and lightning; great ones can even shake heaven and earth, destroy mountains and sever rivers."
"The materials of magical treasures are also extremely varied and bizarre, but one thing is certain: the quality of the treasure's material determines the power of the treasure after refinement. If one uses ordinary iron to execute the 'True Formula of the Divine Sword Controlling Lightning', before they can even attack the enemy, the sword will have turned to ashes along with its master."
"As for those under the Qingyun Sect, because Patriarch Qingye once obtained the ancient sword 'Zhuxian' in the 'Illusory Moon Cave', and with it dominated the world virtually unmatched, later generations admired him greatly and mostly cultivated immortal swords. A thousand years later, sword immortals emerged in great numbers, making it almost an unwritten rule of the Qingyun Sect; they might as well rename it the Qingyun Sword Sect."
"However, speaking of this, one must mention Tian Buyi, the head of Big Bamboo Peak. He himself cultivated the sword, and his protective magical weapon 'Chiling' was one of the famous swords of the Qingyun Sect. Yet for some reason, he showed no intention of encouraging his disciples to cultivate immortal swords. Not only that, he often 'urged' everyone to refine some alternative magical treasures. This drew quite a bit of criticism within the Qingyun Sect. But first, there was no rule saying it couldn't be done; second, Tian Buyi's disciples had mediocre aptitude and were few in number, so everyone let him be."
"Among the disciples of Big Bamboo Peak, eldest martial brother Song Daren had the deepest cultivation, having already cultivated the Taiji Xuanqing Way to the fifth layer of the Jade Pure Realm. Following closely was fourth brother He Dazhi, who had reached the fourth layer. Although his time of entry was shorter than Wu Dayi and Zheng Dali's, he was the cleverest among all the disciples, and thus arrived first despite starting later."
"As for second brother Wu Dayi, third brother Zheng Dali, fifth brother Lu Daxin, and sixth brother Du Bishu, they were all struggling bitterly at the third layer of the Jade Pure Realm. Rather, little martial sister Tian Ling'er was exceptionally intelligent. Since childhood, she had received careful instruction from her parents. Although she only began the bamboo-chopping chores at ten years old, she had already been cultivating the Taiji Xuanqing Way for many years. At such a young age, she actually cultivated to the fourth layer of the Jade Pure Realm at the age of thirteen, enabling her to control and use magical treasures. She was one of the Qingyun Sect's famous precocious children, extremely doted upon by her parents and cared for by all the elders. Su Ru even gave her own famous 'Amber Crimson Ribbon' to serve as a protective magical treasure."
"Martial sister is that amazing!" Zhang Xiaofan couldn't help but exclaim when he heard this.
Song Daren smiled and said, "Indeed, little martial sister is extremely intelligent, and even more gifted regarding the path of cultivation. Whatever Master and Master's wife teach her, she understands immediately. Her aptitude far surpasses ours as martial brothers. Right now, she has merely cultivated for a short time and lacks sufficient refinement. Given time, her achievements will certainly be limitless, far surpassing ours. The great glory of our Big Bamboo Peak lineage rests entirely on her shoulders."
As he spoke, his eyes were full of expectation, clearly showing his great fondness for this charming and lovely little martial sister.
Then, Song Daren told Zhang Xiaofan some things to pay attention to during cultivation, and finally said with a solemn expression, "Little martial brother, there is one final matter I must tell you: Our sect's cultivation values gradual progress and a down-to-earth approach. If you are greedy for merit and rush ahead, I'm afraid your insatiable greed will bring great calamity instead. Success or failure is originally determined by fate; there is no need to force it. Those heretical demon cults and unorthodox teachings, with their insatiable desires seeking quick success, in the end mostly suffer heavenly punishment—pitiful and deplorable. You must be careful."
Zhang Xiaofan started in fright and hurriedly said, "Yes, eldest martial brother, I understand."
Song Daren nodded, stood up, and said, "Then we'll leave it at that for now. The Taiji Cave is in the back mountain. Only disciples who have cultivated the Taiji Xuanqing Way to the third layer or above may enter to cultivate. Before that, you should first cultivate in your own room. It is very quiet here, and Master and Master's wife generally do not come. You must work hard on your own."
Zhang Xiaofan stood up and said, "Thank you, eldest martial brother."
Song Daren smiled freely, patted his head, turned, and left.
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Zhang Xiaofan saw Song Daren off, returned to his room, closed the door tightly, and felt an indescribable excitement. Even the fatigue from chopping bamboo that morning had somehow vanished.
He took a deep breath, calmed himself, slowly walked to the bed, sat in meditation according to the posture Song Daren had taught, closed his eyes, and in his mind went through the first layer methods of the Jade Pure Realm of the Taiji Xuanqing Way that Song Daren had taught from beginning to end. Just as he was about to cultivate according to them, suddenly his heart stirred. He snapped his eyes open and cried out involuntarily, "This isn't right!"
The first layer of the Jade Pure Realm that Song Daren taught him was originally the most basic and shallow cultivation method in the Taiji Xuanqing Way. Its function lay in only two words: qi training. A cultivator, while sitting in meditation, would release their thoughts, restrain all manner of worries, draw the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into the body to circulate through the great cycle, thereby sharing one breath with heaven and earth, and subsequently comprehending the creation of heaven and earth. If one could draw in spiritual energy and circulate it continuously through thirty-six great cycles within the body, then one's meridians would already be stable, and one could cultivate higher realms.
This cultivation method was something the Daoist religion had refined over thousands of years; there was absolutely no error or doubt about it. But at this moment, Zhang Xiaofan's heart was like a violent storm, swaying unceasingly. All of this was because what he had heard today was completely opposite in cultivation method to the mnemonic formula that Monk Puzhi had transmitted to him that day.
On the night before the tragedy of Caomiao Village, when Puzhi transmitted the mnemonic formula to him, he had clearly told him that when cultivating truth and refining qi, one must sever all connections between oneself and the outside world, and comprehend one's own nature. That is to say: All dharmas are marked with emptiness; they neither arise nor cease, are neither defiled nor pure, neither increase nor decrease. Therefore, in emptiness there is no form, no sensation, perception, volition, or consciousness; no eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, or mind; no form, sound, scent, taste, touch, or dharma; no realm of vision, and so forth up to no realm of consciousness; no ignorance, and also no ending of ignorance, and so forth up to no old age and death, and also no ending of old age and death; no suffering, accumulation, cessation, or path; no wisdom and no attainment. (Note: From the Heart Sutra)
Such profound and dry principles, Zhang Xiaofan naturally could not understand clearly at this time. But that the two cultivation methods were fundamentally different—that he could tell. Immediately his heart was in a mess, and he didn't know what to do.
Actually, Zhang Xiaofan didn't know that although the Taiji Xuanqing Way was indeed the supreme wondrous method of the Daoist school, Puzhi had made a great vow on his behalf and placed his life's expectations upon him. The mnemonic formula he transmitted was also the supreme Dharma of the Buddhist school—Great Brahma Prajna.
Two great methods, two completely different cultivation approaches—this must be explained from their roots.
Buddhist and Daoist schools have long histories and have never interacted, and their cultivation arts each originated from their own schools of thought. Taking the Daoist school as an example, its central theme lies in one word: "Dao." As it is said: The Dao produces one; one produces two; two produces three; three produces the myriad things. The myriad things carry yin and embrace yang, and through the blending of qi achieve harmony. (Note: From the fifth chapter of the De Jing of the Dao De Jing). Daoism originated from Daoist thought. Even the three realms of the Taiji Xuanqing Way are named after the Jade Pure, Upper Pure, and Grand Pure of the Daoist mythology's Yuanshi Tianzun, Lingbao Tianzun, and Daode Tianzun, commonly known as the "Three Pure Ones." Daoist cultivation emphasizes sharing one breath with heaven and earth, the body as one with nature, using the body to command natural creation and transform it into great power.
On the other hand, looking at the Buddhist school, its central theme lies in "The mind should arise without anywhere to abide; all myriads of dharmas do not depart from self-nature." It is also said: How wonderful is the self-nature, originally pure in itself; how wonderful is the self-nature, originally without birth or destruction; how wonderful is the self-nature, originally complete in itself; how wonderful is the self-nature, originally unmoving; how wonderful is the self-nature, capable of producing all dharmas! (Note: From the "Xing You Pin" Chapter 1 of the Platform Sutra). Buddhist cultivation emphasizes comprehending oneself, illuminating the five skandhas. "Able to generate eighty-four thousand wisdoms from one prajna"—this is the principle.
Buddhist and Daoist thought are vastly different; naturally their cultivation methods run in opposite directions. It is just that for thousands of years they have each kept their secrets, unknown to outsiders. And now, a mere disciple named Zhang Xiaofan on Big Bamboo Peak of the Qingyun Sect was being driven crazy by this matter.
"Which one is actually right?"
Zhang Xiaofan jumped off the bed and paced back and forth in the room. He only felt his mind was in complete chaos, thinking wildly, yet didn't dare ask anyone. Finally, he could only sit dazedly by the bedside, let out a long sigh, and be unable to speak.
He was never a clever person. Born to a farming family, still young, and lacking any judgment or insight, he thought over and over about such a major matter. After half a day of futile effort, he still couldn't figure out the whys and wherefores. In the end, Zhang Xiaofan said to himself in his heart: "Forget it. Anyway, when Master Puzhi transmitted the method, he never said anything about this situation. I'll just cultivate both together, that's all." Immediately he stopped thinking about it. Instead, his heart felt a burst of relief. He got back onto the bed, sat in meditation, and first began cultivating the Taiji Xuanqing Way.
But what he thought was easy turned out to be completely different in practice. Taiji Xuanqing Way qi training required opening all the seven apertures and pores of the body, drawing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into the body to circulate along the meridians, thereby tempering and stabilizing the body's primordial qi and internal meridian network. Great Brahma Prajna, however, required entering the state of nirvana, blocking off all consciousness, thought, and perception throughout the body, taking one's own body as a single world, seeing only the self-nature alone, using the deep heart's true origin to consolidate the foundation and cultivate the origin.
The two sets of methods were diametrically opposed, causing Zhang Xiaofan boundless suffering. During the following three months, aside from going up the mountain every day without fail to chop bamboo, he devoted himself to cultivating these two great methods. It was just that when he had barely achieved some success in the Taiji Xuanqing Way and all the pores of his body had initially opened to draw in spiritual energy, the subsequent Great Brahma Prajna required forcibly closing all these apertures to enter the state of nirvana. As a result, his earlier efforts almost entirely went down the drain.
Three months later, Tian Buyi one day suddenly took an interest in coming to inspect Zhang Xiaofan's cultivation progress. Unexpectedly, after one question and one test, he was infuriated half to death. By common knowledge, an ordinary person cultivating the Taiji Xuanqing Way, given the shallowness of the first layer, should have achieved some small success after three months, able to initially draw spiritual energy of heaven and earth into the body and circulate it for three to five cycles. Unexpectedly, Zhang Xiaofan's poor aptitude was truly rarely seen or heard of. After cultivating for a full three months, he actually couldn't even control the pores of his entire body freely. As for drawing spiritual energy into his body, it was even more forced, let alone circulating it for several cycles.
Tian Buyi glared with wide eyes, staring at Zhang Xiaofan with rage written all over his face. The surrounding disciples all showed sympathy but dared not make a sound. Song Daren had originally wanted to say a few words on Zhang Xiaofan's behalf, but seeing that the martial brother he had taught had actually reached such a state, he felt disgraced and didn't dare speak either. As for Tian Ling'er, she was watching the spectacle with a grin from the side.
Zhang Xiaofan's face was full of shame. He knelt before Tian Buyi, wishing he could sink into the ground. He thought that no matter how Master scolded him, it was deserved. Unexpectedly, after waiting for a long while, the surrounding martial brothers didn't utter a sound, and even Tian Buyi didn't say a word. He felt strange in his heart and secretly raised his eyes to look, only to see that the anger on Tian Buyi's face had somehow turned to disappointment. It truly exemplified the saying: There is no greater sorrow than a dead heart!
Tian Buyi flicked his sleeve and stood up, shook his head, moved his short, stout body, and actually said nothing, walking toward the back hall. The disciples looked at each other in bewilderment, not understanding why.
Song Daren had followed Tian Buyi the longest and vaguely knew what Tian Buyi was thinking. He guessed that Master was probably giving up on this little martial brother. During these three months, aside from his cultivation duties, Zhang Xiaofan had busied himself helping others in his free time, was eager to help, and honest. Everyone quite liked him. Mountain dwelling was lonely; even the usually spoiled Tian Ling'er, having suddenly gained a playmate close to her own age, although she often scolded him on the surface, was actually somewhat happy in her heart.
Song Daren frowned tightly, stepped forward to help Zhang Xiaofan up, and said, "Little martial brother, Master is just momentarily angry. It's nothing serious. As long as you diligently cultivate, sooner or later you will gain his approval."
Zhang Xiaofan felt ashamed in his heart and nodded repeatedly. From then on, he became even more diligent.
Every morning he went up the mountain with Tian Ling'er to chop bamboo. Ordinary disciples, after cultivating the Taiji Xuanqing Way for three months, could already chop through Black Bamboo, yet Zhang Xiaofan actually only chopped through his first stalk after half a year. However, going up the mountain every day without fail, his body became quite sturdy. At least when climbing the mountain, he no longer panted like an ox.
And from that time on, Tian Buyi ignored Zhang Xiaofan completely. At first, Song Daren had asked him a few times about his cultivation situation, but as time went on, Zhang Xiaofan's progress was slower than slow. In the end, even Song Daren lost heart and stopped asking him.
Zhang Xiaofan himself didn't mind. He knew his aptitude was poor. Although sometimes he would wonder if cultivating both methods simultaneously was the cause, every time he thought of this, he would recall Monk Puzhi's face and voice, his heart would warm, and he would persist. Although the cultivation along this road was incredibly difficult, his temperament was stubborn and resolute, so he endured.
His dwelling was secluded and quiet. He cultivated the Taiji Xuanqing Way during the day and practiced Great Brahma Prajna late at night. Thus, time passed leisurely and swiftly, and before he knew it, three years had gone by.
During this time, Zhang Xiaofan also set the worst record since the founding of the Qingyun Sect: He used a full three years—that is, three times the time an ordinary person needed—to finally complete the cultivation of the first layer of the Jade Pure Realm of the Taiji Xuanqing Way, able to control all the pores of his body freely and draw the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into his body to circulate through thirty-six cycles. But what no one knew was that through cultivating Great Brahma Prajna, he had also glimpsed the path in terms of internal qi control, laying a solid foundation.
When Zhang Xiaofan timidly announced this to everyone during dinner one evening, the disciples of Big Bamboo Peak of the Qingyun Sect were dumbstruck, as if seeing an iron tree bloom after a thousand years. Then everyone burst into loud laughter. Song Daren even picked up Zhang Xiaofan, who had grown quite a bit, and tossed him into the air several times in a row, overjoyed.
But Tian Buyi, sitting at the front, watched coldly, snorted, and cursed in a low voice, "Idiot!"
During these three years, Zhang Xiaofan grew to the age of fourteen. Because he chopped bamboo every day, his body became quite sturdy. Although he was two years younger than his martial sister Tian Ling'er, he was already the same height. Tian Ling'er, meanwhile, had grown from a little girl of thirteen to a young lady of sixteen. Her appearance became even more beautiful; between her smiles and words, she was breathtakingly elegant.
Tian Ling'er had always felt that the other six martial brothers were too much older than her, old-fashioned and stuffy, so she had always liked to stay with this silly martial brother. After three years, they were quite close. However, Tian Ling'er always had the upper hand. Zhang Xiaofan himself felt that his martial sister was indeed much stronger than him. Although she usually ordered him around and yelled at him, whenever he was occasionally teased by his martial brothers, she was always the first to stand up and fight for justice, having his back.
Mountain dwelling was lonely but also peaceful. Occasionally Zhang Xiaofan had asked Tian Buyi and Song Daren several times about the tragedy of Caomiao Village, but the matter still had no leads to this day. As time passed, Zhang Xiaofan's heart finally gradually grew calmer regarding it.
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On this morning, Zhang Xiaofan as usual took his cleaver and walked out of his house alone, heading toward the back mountain. Tian Ling'er had already completed her bamboo-chopping chores two years ago and no longer went. So during these two years, Zhang Xiaofan mostly went up the mountain alone, but sometimes when Tian Ling'er was idle, she would run up the mountain to play with him.
Today Zhang Xiaofan didn't see Tian Ling'er's figure and didn't mind. He went up the mountain path alone. In another month or so, he would also be ending this bamboo-chopping chore. Now he could chop through two stalks of Black Bamboo per day, but he was still far inferior to Tian Ling'er. Back when Tian Ling'er was nearing the end, she could chop more than ten stalks of Black Bamboo in a day.
A month ago, he had finally achieved the first layer of the Jade Pure Realm of the Taiji Xuanqing Way, and Song Daren subsequently taught him the secrets of the second layer. He had cultivated for a month. Although it was much more profound than the first layer, for some reason, he vaguely felt that it was actually easier than the first layer. For example, the first layer required controlling all the pores of the body, which he had practiced for a full three years to achieve small success. The second layer required "transforming qi into essence," causing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth drawn into the body to transform into essence qi within the meridians. According to eldest martial brother's explanation, this was more than ten times harder than the first layer, but Zhang Xiaofan felt it was unexpectedly easy. Investigating the root cause, it seemed to have some relation to that "Great Brahma Prajna." During these three years, he had cultivated Great Brahma Prajna every day without interruption, and his internal qi circulation already had considerable refinement. And essence qi belonged to internal qi. With those three years of foundation, Zhang Xiaofan's progress was actually extremely fast.
It's just that he himself didn't believe it. Back then, others had cultivated for one year while he needed three; this time it was probably just an illusion. So he didn't pay it much mind. Anyway, he cultivated on schedule every day, and no one came to disturb or ask about him.