Chapter 113: Lu Yang's Three Questions

"One—one cannot look at it that way. Cultivation is all about balancing labor and leisure. As the saying goes, 'extreme stillness breeds the desire for movement'; after staying in one place for too long, one naturally feels the urge to go out and wander."

"Think about it, Xiao Yun. Is not the purpose of cultivation to attain immortality, to live free and unfettered? If one spends every single day in death-seclusion, meditating and practicing, wouldn't cultivation just become a prison sentence, an absolute reversal of the fundamental goal?" Daoist Buyu said with earnest and profound gravity.

As a frequent visitor to the celestial dungeons year-round, he possessed an authority on the matter of imprisonment that no one else could match.

"Furthermore, cultivation is divided into the mortal-world path and the world-detached path, is it not? A person like me is a textbook example of the mortal-world cultivator. Only by mingling within the mortal realm, making a playground of the human world, and gaining insights into the celestial dao can I hope to break through!"

Lu Yang had heard of this concept before; the cultivators who entered the court of the Great Xia Dynasty to serve as officials were mortal-world cultivators, whereas the cultivators of the Five Great Immortal Sects tended toward world-detachment, though very few were as purely detached as the Eldest Senior Sister.

No matter how extravagantly Daoist Buyu spoke, Yun Zhi remained entirely unmoved, not even lifting an eyelid.

"Master, when you taught me in the beginning, you told me that only with pressure comes motivation, that one must be diligent in cultivation, that a day's plan is decided in the morning, noon, and night, while a year's plan is decided in spring, summer, autumn, and winter."

And Yun Zhi had indeed done exactly as Daoist Buyu taught, cultivating from dawn till dusk with exceptional assiduousness.

Yun Zhi was already a genius rarely seen in ten thousand ages, and with her tireless devotion to cultivation, her progress advanced by leaps and bounds; when the Immortal Sect Grand Gathering was convened, she left everyone far behind and seized the crown.

According to tradition, the five sect masters of the immortal sects would critique the flaws of the champion, and some sect masters, worried that the champion might become arrogant, would personally step into the arena to battle them.

Then, the five sect masters were beaten black and blue by Yun Zhi.

By the time the next Immortal Sect Grand Gathering arrived, while the disciples of the immortal sects fought bitterly upon the stage, Yun Zhi sat among the sect masters delivering critiques, right in the absolute center.

Daoist Buyu thought to himself, 'Didn't I want you to cultivate diligently so you could raise your cultivation and take over as sect master for me, allowing me to sneak out and have fun?'

Of course, Daoist Buyu would rather die than say such words aloud.

Yun Zhi harbored no aversion to cultivation; quite the contrary, she deeply enjoyed the process, for when she cultivated, she felt an unprecedented tranquility in the world, as though she had merged into one with the cosmos, clearly sensing herself growing stronger with each passing moment.

After a session of cultivation, her mind was clear and her spirit refreshed, so why should she not do it?

"Very well, since you want to come out, then come out..." Yun Zhi said placidly, her tone softening slightly.

Daoist Buyu rejoiced, thinking that his exhausting persuasion had not been in vain; was Xiao Yun finally willing to release him?

"...by your own capabilities." Having finished the second half of her sentence, Yun Zhi turned and walked away.

Daoist Buyu's mouth fell open, utterly at a loss for words; if he could have gotten out by his own capabilities, he would have done so long ago!

"Lu Yang, you..."

Daoist Buyu wanted to call out to Lu Yang to plead on his behalf, but Lu Yang merely offered an expression that said 'Master, you are on your own,' and trotted off to catch up with the Eldest Senior Sister.

On one side was the omnipotent Eldest Senior Sister who suppressed the Wendao Sect, and on the other was the suppressed Master; it was a very easy choice to make regarding which side to stand on.

"Little disciple, don't leave! As long as you peel off the talisman for me, I will teach you the technique of turning one sword into ten thousand. Ten thousand swords floating in the air, their gleaming tips pointing downward—even before the battle begins, your momentum will give you a threefold advantage!"

"Can it defeat Eldest Senior Sister?" Lu Yang jogged back; as a sword cultivator, who wouldn't want to learn a flashy, peerless sword technique or two?

Power wasn't the main point; what mattered was that it looked incredibly cool!

Daoist Buyu shook his head, and seeing this, Lu Yang turned to leave again.

Daoist Buyu hastily said, "I can also impart to you the True Comprehensive Exposition of the Sword Dao, which will grant you a profound understanding of the sword; when practiced to the pinnacle, a single strike can sunder all laws, and none shall dare withstand your blade! Invincible among those of the same realm!"

"Can it defeat Eldest Senior Sister?"

Daoist Buyu shook his head, and seeing this, Lu Yang turned to leave again.

Daoist Buyu hurriedly spoke once more, "I can even teach you the Four Absolute Sword Array! Once the array is deployed, its aura surges into the heavens, severing all lifeforce and causing all things to wither or bloom, sweeping away every foe!"

"Can it defeat Eldest Senior Sister?"

Daoist Buyu flew into a rage, "You rebellious disciple! If I could defeat her, would I still be locked up in here?!"

Lu Yang felt that his master made an excellent point, which was why he chose to stand with the Eldest Senior Sister.

"Eldest Senior Sister, during this external mission, I also discovered a problem."

"What is it?"

"I noticed that the popularity of our Five Great Immortal Sects is too low. Many people know nothing about us. When they encounter demonic or sinister incidents, they can only rely on the local authorities. If the government ignores it, they have no choice but to wait helplessly, completely devoid of any alternative."

The Great Xia Dynasty lacked sufficient manpower, yet out of pride, it was inconvenient for them to seek aid from the Five Great Immortal Sects, and the ones who suffered through this process were the common people.

This was the problem Lu Yang had noticed back at Mount Song; though the old hunter ghost had been acting the entire time, the fact that he knew nothing of the Wendao Sect was no act.

While in Yanjiang Commandery, Lu Yang had also casually inquired around, discovering that mortals possessed extremely limited knowledge regarding the upper echelons and were entirely unaware of the Five Great Immortal Sects.

Yun Zhi was slightly surprised; she truly hadn't noticed this issue before, or rather, no one in the Five Great Immortal Sects had ever noticed it.

She attended the annual summit of the immortal sect leaders, and she had never heard anyone bring this matter up.

"It really is a problem. Should we compile the tales of the Wendao Sect into a book and distribute it among the populace?"

Lu Yang presented his solution like offering up a treasure, "Writing a book is certainly an excellent method of propagation, but as far as I know, the literacy rate among the common people is low, and few can afford to buy books. Perhaps adapting the tales of the Wendao Sect into pingshu storytelling would also be a good approach."

"Pingshu storytelling?" Yun Zhi knew very little about this trade, but Daoist Buyu was an expert in the field—after all, he was the man capable of donating the Complete Collection of Crosstalk to the Library Pavilion.

"Yes, pingshu. Before entering the Wendao Sect, all my knowledge regarding cultivation came from the local storytellers."

"Right now, the quality of storytelling available in the market varies wildly, with severe internal contradictions, and their records of cultivation are based on superficial understandings, which can easily lead people to form misconceptions about the path of immortality."

"If we compile the affairs of the Wendao Sect into a pingshu performance, it will undoubtedly be a massive hit!" Lu Yang said enthusiastically, clenching his fist.

"The matters of the Wendao Sect are not particularly extraordinary. Will they really attract people?" The Eldest Senior Sister still harbored doubts about this.

Lu Yang thought to himself, 'If the affairs of our Wendao Sect aren't considered extraordinary, just how absurd would the cultivation world have to be?'

Eldest Senior Sister, you focus solely on cultivation and know very little about common knowledge; you probably have no idea what our Wendao Sect's reputation is like in the outside world.

Lu Yang figured that given the Eldest Senior Sister's cultivation level, members of other immortal sects would not court disaster by saying to Yun Zhi's face that the people of the Wendao Sect were out of their minds.

"It will definitely work!" Lu Yang said with absolute certainty.

"Then who in the Wendao Sect is suitable to compose the pingshu and handle the external publicity?" Yun Zhi's delicate brows furrowed slightly as she pondered the question.

"I recommend one person who is bound to be perfectly suited for this task!"

"Who?"

"Master."

(End of Chapter)