Born as an ant, I was summoned to ascend to immortality.

Chapter 40 Opening the Altar and Instructing the Way

At noon, a beam of azure light struck the jade chime in the temple, and the surging sound waves in the world gradually subsided. Only three chime sounds pierced through the clouds, each one longer than the last.

After three resounding sounds, all was silent, and the altar was opened to impart the teachings.

On the nine-tiered jade altar in the center of the temple, a lotus platform appeared, and a person sat on it, none other than Fairy Chiling.

She wore a simple, plain-colored Taoist robe and looked peacefully at the world around her. Wherever her gaze fell, all the disciples held their breath and were filled with admiration.

Then, the fairy Chiling's lips moved slightly, and golden lotuses bloomed from her mouth.

"Spiritual energy is not illusory; it exists in all things. Every breath and every thought can sense, draw upon, and utilize it. Like the wind rustling through pine needles or dew condensing on grass tips, everything has its own rhythm."

She began to explain the most basic Reiki, without using any obscure or esoteric terms. Every word seemed to come from the natural world, making it easy to understand.

It turns out that spiritual roots do not appear out of thin air, but are born from spiritual energy. Zhou Li seemed to be deep in thought.

No wonder that ordinary places are mostly inhabited by lower-grade spiritual roots, while higher-grade spiritual roots are mostly born in cultivation grounds with abundant spiritual energy, and cultivators are more likely to develop top-grade spiritual roots.

Zhou Li thought of his own spirit body, wondering how much the Corpse Emperor Palace had paid to give birth to a Five Elements Spirit Body. Although it only had a fourth-grade spiritual root, it was still a miraculous feat.

Next, Fairy Chiling explained the method of inducing Qi. After listening to Fairy Chiling's explanation, Zhou Li learned that the human body is divided into the upper dantian, middle dantian, and lower dantian.

The upper dantian is also known as the spiritual platform. After reaching the perfect Qi Refining Realm, one must open the spiritual platform and transform spiritual thoughts into spiritual consciousness in order to establish the foundation.

The dantian that people often talk about refers to the lower dantian. After the spiritual platform is opened, the pure qi rises and the turbid qi sinks. Only after the qi sea is condensed in the lower dantian can one be considered a true Xuanmen cultivator.

The middle dantian is what physical practitioners call the Yellow Court. They don't cultivate the Qi Sea, but instead open the apertures and store Qi in the apertures, thus cultivating the Yellow Court instead. Although both belong to the Xuanmen (mystical school), this is not the orthodox approach.

However, in the path of cultivation, when one reaches a certain depth, all paths lead to the same destination. Whether it is the orthodox Xuanmen or physical cultivation, one can attain the Dao.

As the sun began to set, darkness fell before we knew it.

"Today's sermon ends here. Disciples, please contemplate it yourselves. The altar will be reopened in fifteen days, and the skills of combat will be taught again." After saying this, Fairy Chiling put away her whisk, which then dispersed as clouds.

The entire preaching ground fell into an eerie silence. Thousands of disciples, regardless of their aptitude or location, were all immersed in the profound and simple truths that pointed directly to the source, striving to capture the mysterious connection between themselves and the world.

The sermon was divided into two sessions, and the first session is now over. The disciples gradually dispersed, and the large preaching hall began to fill with voices.

Zhou Li walked alone on the edge of the crowd, not in a hurry to leave. He closed his eyes and focused his mind on his dantian.

The words of wisdom, which were like pearls pointing to the great truth, still echoed in his ears. A sense of enlightenment slid through his mind like a fish swimming in water, but when he tried to reach out and grasp it, the inspiration vanished in an instant.

"In the end, it was still just one step short..." Zhou Li sighed softly, a hint of anxiety showing between his brows.

Before he could ponder this further, a familiar voice pierced through the surrounding noise and reached Zhou Li's ear: "Brother Zhou!"

The voice carried a hint of intimacy and joy, instantly dispelling the gloom in Zhou Li's heart.

He looked in the direction of the sound and saw a young man dressed in the robes of an outer disciple pushing through the crowd and running toward him. It was none other than the lively Xia Minghui.

"Young Master Xia." Zhou Li cupped his hands, a genuine smile on his face.

"Oh dear, Brother Zhou, you should call me junior brother now!" Xia Minghui rushed over and returned the greeting with a grin.

Zhou Li smiled and corrected himself, "Indeed, Junior Brother Xia." He glanced around at the thinning crowd and asked, "I left early on the day of the exam, but I wonder which peak everyone went to cultivate on?"

Xia Minghui, who had been beaming just moments before, slumped upon hearing this, his voice tinged with self-deprecation and helplessness: "Hey, Brother Zhou, don't even mention it!"

"I am of mediocre talent, and no senior disciple has ever taken notice of me. I am currently just hanging around among the outer disciples, living a life of mere survival in those few bamboo huts."

He paused, then his tone softened: "But my sister is lucky; she was chosen at first sight by an immortal from Kunyang Peak!"

"I'm thinking, if all else fails, I might as well swallow my pride and beg my sister to take me in as a disciple, a sword-bearer and tea-serving boy. That should be a way out, right?" He winked, joking half-seriously.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Li earnestly said, "Junior Brother Xia, please do not underestimate yourself. There are three thousand paths to enlightenment, and everyone has their own opportunities. With your abilities, given time, a wise and discerning person will surely recognize your talent."

Xia Minghui laughed heartily upon hearing this: "Senior brother is right! Actually, I've also come to terms with it. Our sect's Zongde Hall is an excellent place! As long as you're willing to put in the effort and have merit tokens in hand, what's there to worry about in the future?"

"Why is Gongchou?" Zhou Li was somewhat unfamiliar with this term.

"Hey, it's the reward. New disciples only get one hundred merit points, but you, the top scorer in the exam, get a thousand merit points!" Xia Minghui perked up and explained with great enthusiasm.

"It is said that Zongde Hall issues various tasks to be done within the sect, ranging from finding a few spiritual herbs to exploring secret realms and ruins. As long as the task is completed, one can obtain corresponding merit points."

"In the Changtian Sect, merit points are even more useful than spirit stones!" He took a step closer, lowered his voice, and his eyes gleamed with excitement. "From spiritual herbs and materials to magical artifacts and flying swords, even cultivation techniques and supernatural abilities, as long as you have enough merit points, you can exchange them all!"

Zhou Li suddenly realized that there was such a place within the sect that could connect all things, which opened up another path to heaven for many disciples without a master or a backer.

"I see, that's a fair method." Zhou Li nodded, then asked, "Where is Miss Xia? Where did she go after her sermon?"

Upon hearing this, Xia Minghui winked mischievously at Zhou Li: "Senior brother, now we can call her 'Fairy Duo'!"

"What do you mean?"

"After she joined Kunyang Peak, her progress was incredibly rapid, and she was deeply loved by all the senior uncles and elder brothers on the peak."

Xia Minghui paused, a smug look appearing on his face: "Especially her master, Martial Aunt Yan Xiaorong. I've heard she's straightforward and fiercely protective of her own. With her personally guiding Fairy Duo, no one will dare to bully her!"

He then added a mysterious touch, lowering his voice in a cryptic tone: "Brother Zhou, that's not all! Do you know who this ancestor of Fairy Duo is?"

"But who is it?" Zhou Li's heart stirred, and he vaguely guessed what it was.

Xia Minghui raised his hand, pointing towards the nine-tiered jade altar, and said with utmost reverence, "This is none other than Fairy Chiling, who will impart knowledge and resolve our doubts today!"

"Right now, Fairy Duo should be with her fellow disciples from this peak, and probably won't have time to come over and say hello. Brother Zhou, where are your fellow disciples?"

Zhou Li's eyes revealed a look of relief as he frankly said, "I am the only disciple of Ziyun Peak this term; I have no fellow disciples."

He knew that Ziyun Peak had few disciples compared to the other peaks, so the more people talked about it, the more famous Xia Mingduo became.

"That's excellent. With Fairy Chiling and Uncle Yan here, Miss Xia will surely rise to great heights."