Chapter 16: Yun Zhi’s Talent
A senior male disciple beside Lu Yang had also noticed the mission the latter was looking at, and he couldn’t help but chuckle. “Every time I see this long-term mission, I can’t help but be reminded of Big Senior Sister’s illustrious achievements.”
Another person also commented, “At that time, Big Senior Sis would scribe her own cultivation technique and pretended that they were retrieved from ancient cave ruins. After she was exposed, it caused quite a stir.”
“I heard my shifu mention that there is an ancient cave ruin in Lingnan called Sishui Cave Domain, and the most precious treasure is the cultivation technique “Primal Chaos Daybreak Mantra”[1] left behind by the master of the cave domain.
“Big Senior Sister once lied that she found the book in the Sishui Cave Domain, and successfully mastering the technique could let one slice through the primal chaos and perceive all truths in this world. Not long after her lie was exposed, someone happened to pass through the many dangers and arrived at the depths of the Sishui Cave Domain. They managed to obtain the real book.
“In the end, when our sect compared the two versions, they found that the real cultivation technique wasn’t as easy to adopt as Big Senior Sister’s one, and the difference in results were like heaven and earth.
“After that, they continued to discover many cultivation secret manuals in the cave domain. For every cultivation technique that had a similar name, they were all not as powerful as Big Senior Sister’s version. When the elders learned of this, they fell silent for quite a few days.”
Lu Yang had no words to describe his emotion. He had not seen the Yun Zhi section at the scripture library. It is probably because the cultivation techniques written by Big Senior Sister are out of this world so they are stored at the highest level in the scripture library. Only those with special access can browse and try to cultivate with them.
In other words, they’re forbidden.
“Big Senior Sister’s talent is unparalleled and rare even in ancient times; she is capable of dominating the world and also has a heart with magnanimity. Otherwise, everyone wouldn’t be saying that it’s a good thing that the sect leader is in seclusion and Big Senior Sister is the acting sect leader.
“I even heard a rumor that Big Senior Sister has the sect leader imprisoned because she wants to seize the position for herself. She even holds secrets of the eight elders, and the higher-ups don’t dare to retaliate. Someone heard weeping sounds from Heaven’s Gate Peak at night—that comes from the underground dungeon the sect leader is in!
“Hahaha, that’s complete nonsense.” Lu Yang didn’t take those remarks to heart and continued searching for suitable missions.
At long last, he found one where he met the criteria.
“According to the people of Taiping Village in Quhe Commandery, a bird-type demon beast that can speak human words has appeared. Its exact breed is presently unknown, and there are currently no records of it harming people or using demon powers. We would like to request for a Daoist from the Dao-Seeking Sect to take care of this demon bird.”
After contemplating for a moment, Lu Yang decided to accept this mission.
From the description, it seems like either a demon beast has accidentally intruded upon human territory or happened to obtain immortal affinity and gained spiritual intelligence. This type of demon beasts usually don’t have cultivation past the Foundation Establishment Stage, and neither are they very aggressive. They may even be friendly toward humans. This mission is made for newbies like myself.
The rewards also corroborated Lu Yang’s analysis.
Thirty contribution points.
The lowest number of points.
Mission rewards were first calculated by a specialist in the Dao-Seeking Sect, then gone through approval by another person for double assurance, so there were hardly any errors.
The lower the rewards, the simpler the mission.
Lu Yang went to the reception. “Senior Brother, I would like to accept this mission to resolve the bird-type demon beast issue.”
“I would like to accept the mission to resolve the bird-type demon beast issue,” someone else said almost simultaneously.
It was a young girl clad in a light pink dress. She had fair skin and was as alluring as blooming peach blossoms.
Sweet and beautiful. Foundation Establishment Stage just like me. It’s her.
“Junior Sister Tao Yaoye, what a coincidence.” Lu Yang smiled. He had only seen Tao Yaoye when he just joined the sect, but staying at Heaven’s Gate Peak had resulted in him rarely meeting outsiders.
As Lu Yang was the top performer during the entrance trials, he would be this cohort’s senior brother until new rankings were released.
Actually, it wasn’t a coincidence that Tao Yaoye had picked the same mission. In the first place, there weren’t many missions suitable for Foundation Establishment cultivators.
“Senior Brother Lu, congratulations on reaching Foundation Establishment. There aren’t many missions for our cultivation stage, so why don’t we complete it together and split the rewards evenly?” Tao Yaoye smiled sweetly. She was a little curious about this senior brother who rarely appeared in public.
Lu Yang gladly agreed. Going on missions was not simply about the rewards; what they valued more was the experience gained during the process.
“Quhe Commandery is quite far from here. Why don’t we take a flying vessel?”
~~~
“Junior Sister Tao Yaoye, did you know that us humans are a contradictory species? What we fear is what we admire. I heard that in ancient times where demons and devils roamed the world and calamities were endless, humans were weak and struggling to survive. Those great demons relied on the bloodline of their ancient ancestors, their robust bodies, and remarkable talents to rule the wildlands despotically.
“The humans were afraid of the great demons, viewing them as natural disasters that couldn’t be resisted, but at the same time, they also admired them, hoping to obtain power like them. That was how our ancient forefathers developed cultivation techniques and learned extraordinary magical powers from the ancient beasts’ bloodline. They surmounted challenges after challenges and stood towering above all on the continent, finally carving out a new world for the humans!
“Let’s take another example—wind, rain, thunder, and lightning. Although the ancient people were scared of them, they also looked up to them. They represented the mighty forces of nature and its unassailable will! Despite that, humans hoped to obtain such power. They asked the heavens and faced the thunders, achieving enlightenment through the wind and rain. From comprehending the philosophy of ‘earth follows heaven, heaven follows Dao, Dao follows nature,’[2] they developed countless Daoist and cultivation techniques!
“Do you see? Such a contradictory mindset is essential for humans to become the hegemon of the continent!
“Let’s take another example—the sky. Humans yearned for the sky, hoping to fly freely in the sky like birds. At the same time, they also revere it, finding it mysterious and unfathomable. Such reverence is ingrained in our blood, and every human holds this mindset, be it obvious or not…”
On the flying vessel, Lu Yang stood up in excitement as he reached a climax. He gestured with his hands as he subjected Tao Yaoye to his speech that knew no boundaries.
Calmly pondering for a bit, Tao Yaoye interrupted Lu Yang’s discourse, “So is this the reason for your fear of heights?”
“Yes.”
Tao Yaoye didn’t know what to say to that.
The two sat inside the cabin of the flying vessel as it flew through the clouds. There was a balancing array mass-produced by an array master at the bottom, so passengers wouldn’t feel a single thing even when traversing tempests and rainstorms.
The weather was clear, perfect for basking in the sun and enjoying the scenery while sitting in a meditative position on the deck. Tao Yaoye had suggested that the two of them go out to the deck, but Lu Yang had adamantly refused.
Tao Yaoye was more curious than the average person. After pressing for answers repeatedly, Lu Yang had no choice but to explain his fear of heights by starting from ancient times and citing various classics with conviction to prove that a fear of heights was a reasonable and age-old mentality. To speak about it more broadly, it could even contribute to human progress.
Fortunately, Tao Yaoye didn’t believe a single word of it.
1. ”Hundun” can roughly be known as primal chaos in creation mythology, thought of as the state of the world before it was formed. ☜
2. This is a quote from Laozi. ☜
Rakumon's ThoughtsThe universe was born from an egg??
For those interested in Chinese creation myth, I'm no expert in this area, and there are also multiple variations, but the gist of it should be that the universe began in a state of primal chaos (hundun). It was probably inside an egg where Pangu, the first god, was conceived. As he grew over the years, he would separate heaven and earth further and further apart. Eventually, when he passed away, his body became the earth we see, his eyes became the sun and the moon, his muscles and flesh became the farmlands, his skin became the plants, and his blood became the rivers...you get the idea.
The creator of humans is commonly known as Nüwa, who was said to have molded humans from the earth.
There's much more to the creation myth, so please feel free to check it out further if you're interested. :]
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