Since this concerned the Merit of 【Inherit Extinct Teachings】, even though Duanmu Ren possessed a dense 【High Shaman】 atmosphere, Li Chengxuan still made full preparations.
"You should already know the origin of the 【Resentful Qi of the Myriad People】 that will serve for your qi-ingestion to enter the Dao." Seeing Duanmu Ren nod, Li Chengxuan said solemnly, "This strand of 【Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth】 was obtained by your Senior Brother Liu Zhijian, sparing you the hard labor of gathering qi. If your cultivation yields success in the future, be sure to repay him generously."
Duanmu Ren nodded repeatedly upon hearing this and readily agreed.
"The difficulty of your qi-ingestion to enter the Dao lies precisely in this 【Resentful Qi of the Myriad People】." Li Chengxuan sorted out his thoughts. "Perhaps because the 【High Shaman】 lineage is far too wild and primitive, even this hurdle of ingesting qi to enter the Dao is quite fierce and perilous, carrying even the risk of death."
"I flipped through quite a few Daoist scriptures and managed to find two paths."
"The first is the method of seeking without."
"The densest atmosphere on your body is 【Drinking People's Blood】, followed by the as-yet incomplete 【Do Not Investigate Me】."
"The myriad people already harbored resentment, and it happens to collide with a fully accumulated 【Drinking People's Blood】. I am worried that your atmosphere is too overwhelming while your Dao cultivation remains insufficient, causing you to be violently obliterated by the 【Resentful Qi of the Myriad People】 the instant you ingest the qi."
"Therefore, I intended to order you to take over the Deng Kingdom, clean up the chaos, and appease the people's livelihoods. This would not only resolve the 【Resentful Qi of the Myriad People】 from its source, but also accumulate some atmosphere of 【Fitting for Emperors】."
"When ingesting qi, you would use the atmosphere of 【Drinking People's Blood】 to receive it, the atmosphere of 【Do Not Investigate Me】 to evade it, and finally the atmosphere of 【Fitting for Emperors】 to resolve it."
"Within the sect, there are also some spiritual artifacts for suppression and dispelling illusions that you could borrow."
"All things considered, this would increase your chances of success by at least thirty percent."
Duanmu Ren had long heard Liu Zhijian mention that practicing the Old Method placed great emphasis on imagery and Dao concepts.
A rebel army rising up amid boiling popular resentment encounters a corrupt official who drank the people's blood and devoured their marrow. To make matters worse, this corrupt official arrogantly boasts of a powerful background so that nobody can investigate him. It would be entirely natural for him to be beaten to death on the spot.
The Sect Master's method was somewhat opportunistic. It required the corrupt official to directly face the rebel army, explain that he was not the culprit behind their miserable lives, diligently clean up the mess to appease the populace and resolve their hostility, and then paint a grand vision claiming that once he became emperor, he would surely be a good ruler who would never oppress the people and would lead them to a prosperous life.
Duanmu Ren listened attentively, then bowed his head in thought.
This method seemed cautious and steady on the surface, but in reality, the process was far too complex.
If something went wrong at any single step, the entire effort would easily crumble.
Based on Duanmu Ren's twenty years of experience in politics, the more complex the process and the more steps involved, the lower the probability of success.
Conversely, matters requiring decisions from only a few people or even just one person had a much higher chance of success.
Taixuan Villa was a case in point.
Seeing Duanmu Ren remain silent, Li Chengxuan continued, "The second method is the method of seeking within. Neither evading nor hiding, neither resolving nor neutralizing—simply using the atmosphere of 【Drinking People's Blood】 to spark and refine the 【Resentful Qi of the Myriad People】."
"This method is simple and pure, with little else to say."
"Except for one thing: it demands an extremely high level of mental fortitude."
"You must ground your true mind and resist the entanglement and restraint of the 【Resentful Qi of the Myriad People】."
"If you cannot break free, either your soul will suffer severe damage, or your body will perish and your Dao will be extinguished."
As this concerned life and death, Duanmu Ren's expression turned solemn upon hearing it, and he bowed his head, lost in thought.
Li Chengxuan did not urge him either, quietly waiting for Duanmu Ren to decide.
"May I ask, Sect Master..." Duanmu Ren raised his head, unexpectedly asking about an unrelated matter. "This disciple has heard that the present path of cultivation is divided into the New Method and the Old Method."
"The New Method refines external objects to strengthen oneself; it is a method of seeking without."
"The Old Method illuminates the mind and reveals true nature, achieving harmony between heaven and man; it is a method of seeking within."
"Are the two methods of entering the Dao that the Sect Master chose for me derived from the concepts of the New Method and the Old Method?"
Li Chengxuan glanced at Duanmu Ren, somewhat surprised.
Without even reading the Daoist scriptures through, relying solely on a few fragments of information from Liu Zhijian, he could look past the surface to discover the essence. He truly possessed exceptional comprehension and astonishing Dao wisdom.
"Correct." Li Chengxuan nodded slightly and said, "Although Mount Taixuan is an Old Method sect, it does not restrict its disciples from cultivating the New Method."
"This disciple will choose the second option." Duanmu Ren let out a sigh and quickly made up his mind, saying, "Better to rely on oneself than on others. Although I still do not understand what a true mind is, I still want to believe in myself for once."
"Whether being a human or cultivating immortality, if possible, do not seek without."
...
After selecting the method of qi-ingestion, Duanmu Ren had to undergo a trial that every disciple of Mount Taixuan must pass: being confined in a side hall to read through the Daoist scriptures.
Back then, Liu Zhijian relied on his tenacious personality to tough it out.
By the end, Hua Chunning had already become groggy and semiconscious.
Duanmu Ren merely chuckled upon hearing this. Far from showing fear, he actually looked forward to it a little: "To be honest with you, Sect Master, I was once a top-tier mountain village test-master."
"For the first twenty years of my life, I truly only knew how to read books and solve test problems, incapable of anything else."
"Relying solely on studying and test-taking, I managed to get out of a small frontier village and earn admission to the best university."
Duanmu Ren seemed to recall his past experiences of studying and seeking knowledge. With an emotional expression, he sighed and looked at the side hall, saying, "These Daoist scriptures are probably equivalent to Earth's textbooks."
"Little did I expect that twenty years later, I would again go into secluded study to prepare for a major exam—and the kind where failing means death, no less."
"Back then, before the Gaokao, my mother locked me in my room..."
Duanmu Ren's voice trailed off as he spoke. He lowered his head and fell silent for a moment before looking up with a self-deprecating explanation, "Now that I'm older, I tend to reminisce about the past. I must have embarrassed myself before the Sect Master."
"Between life and death lies great terror; some emotional fluctuations are only natural." Li Chengxuan shook his head, naturally unwilling to mock Duanmu Ren's sentimentality. Keeping in mind his goal to accumulate the Merit of 【Inherit Extinct Teachings】, he guided Duanmu Ren: "This scene stirring your heart to recall the past is not necessarily a bad thing."
"Perhaps the method to illuminate the mind, reveal your true nature, and discover your true mind lies right within your memories."
"What is called the true mind might also be an obsession, or even resentment."
"These thoughts are neither righteous nor evil, good nor bad. So long as they can serve as a solid anchor when ingesting qi to enter the Dao, maintaining your true mind without losing it, and helping you weather the impact of the 【Resentful Qi of the Myriad People】, that is enough."
Duanmu Ren was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, then nodded in realization. "So that's how it is..."
As the saying goes, the master leads you through the door, but the cultivation is up to the individual.
Li Chengxuan could only speak of general common sense or Dao concepts.
Precisely how to illuminate the mind, reveal true nature, and discover his true mind was Duanmu Ren's own affair.
"Go and read the Daoist scriptures earnestly, and let me witness the demeanor of a top-tier test-master." Li Chengxuan chuckled softly and added, "Reading can enlighten the mind. When you feel you have read enough, you may call for me."
"I will arrange your qi-ingestion to enter the Dao."
...
Ancestral Hall.
Li Chengxuan offered incense to the Patriarchs once more. Seeing no new changes in the portraits, he connected with the 【Two-World Bead】 to sense the presence of Hua Chunning.
With that great figure fallen, the fortune of the Nanya Old Method lineages was recovering.
As Qixia Mountain, which helmed the Immortal Alliance, had even shown anomalous phenomena of rosy light granting wisdom, it had clearly gained immense benefits.
【Wutu Earth】 was also Yang Earth, which aligned with the 【Yang Spring】 atmosphere on Hua Chunning.
By going to Qixia Mountain, Hua Chunning might be able to borrow some of Qixia Mountain's fortune to aid her cultivation.
"Huh?!"
"Her sensed position was still at Qixia Mountain just a moment ago. How did she vanish in an instant?!"
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