Sect Leader Heng Yan sensed the appearance of tribulation clouds and rushed to Qiyue Peak, only to see many disciples either standing or squatting on the mountainside. Some had even pulled out melons and fruits from their pockets to share—it was quite lively.
“What are you all doing here?” Heng Yan kept his face stern, his wide-sleeved robe fluttering dramatically in the wind. Seeing the sect leader, the disciples no longer dared to laugh and joke. They quickly straightened up and bowed respectfully. “Greetings to the Sect Leader.”
Heng Yan glanced at the ground. Although these disciples were lazy, at least they knew propriety and hadn’t thrown melon rinds and fruit scraps on the ground. He looked at the disciples flying over on their flight treasures, pretending not to know their temperament. “It’s fine for you all to watch from the side. It will benefit your mental state somewhat.”
The disciples secretly hid the melons and fruits in their sleeves and craned their necks to watch carefully.
The tribulation clouds in the sky grew thicker and thicker, with golden light at the edges. It was clear that their junior sister’s cultivation path was correct.
Heng Yan’s gaze swept through the crowd and spotted Wang Tong pacing back and forth unable to stop for even a moment. Knowing he couldn’t calm down for the time being, Heng Yan didn’t try to persuade him and just stood quietly to the side watching.
As the sect leader, Heng Yan considered more than others. The sect had many disciples, some with good aptitude, but they all had lazy and casual temperaments. Even with ten parts of talent, they were only willing to use seven or eight parts, leaving the remaining two or three parts to enjoy life. There was nothing wrong with this, but as a sect leader, who wouldn’t hope for disciples who were diligent and studious, soaring to great heights, or even standing proudly above all cultivators in the world?
He dared not dream of soaring high and standing above all, but only hoped that among the younger generation, there would be a disciple who could be presented with pride, so that in a few hundred years the sect would have someone to rely on. Now that they finally had a good disciple with outstanding talent, she absolutely mustn’t be corrupted by the other disciples.
Heng Yan glanced at the other disciples again. Their eyes flickered—clearly they were using sound transmission techniques to chat privately. Thinking of the hardships and helplessness of being sect leader these years, he turned to look at his direct senior disciple Wu Chuan. Fortunately, this disciple of his was steady and reliable, a good candidate for sect leader. He took a deep, gratified breath. Maintain an ordinary heart, neither proud nor impatient.
Kong Hou did not yet know that her breakthrough to Foundation Establishment stage would attract so many sect members to watch. At this moment, she was immersed in a mysterious and profound state.
What is the Dao? Persisting in one’s true heart—this is the Dao.
What is cultivation? Cultivating the body and cultivating the heart is tempering oneself, allowing oneself to touch a broader world and enter more profound realms.
As a cultivator, the first step to learn is drawing spiritual energy into the body, knowing heaven and earth’s gifts, harboring reverence in the heart—this is Qi Refining. The second step is transcending life and death, not fearing one’s inner self, and seeing clearly one’s own Dao.
Kong Hou had been raised in the deep palace since childhood. Before the Ji family’s empire fell, she was the Empress’s only daughter, raised innocent and carefree. Later, when Emperor Jing Hong conquered the empire, everyone hoped she would remain ignorant and naive. The palace servants around her were all the Emperor and Empress’s spies, not allowing her to contact any outsiders. Who would teach her schemes and ambitions?
Even the teacher responsible for instructing her only told stories about how unbenevolent emperors were and how miserable the common people were, repeatedly making Kong Hou recognize how incompetent her father was, and that Emperor Jing Hong’s conquest of the Ji family’s empire was for the sake of the entire realm. Otherwise, they just taught her to read and paint, absolutely never letting her touch any art of governance.
A child raised in captivity knew very little about the world and human hearts. The only things that made her realize how novel the world was were those two story books she had secretly hidden away. One made her believe that being good-hearted would bring great rewards and that immortals existed in the world. The other made her yearn for freedom, even fantasizing that she too could seek immortality and roam freely through heaven, earth, rivers, and mountains.
Those who seek the Dao do not fear life and death, yet revere life and death.
Kong Hou seemed to return to that year when she was six, when her mother the Empress slit her own throat and soldiers pursued to kill her.
Flee, flee desperately.
The rebel soldiers behind had already caught up to her, raising their blood-dripping sabers. She had nowhere to hide. Subconsciously she wanted to close her eyes, but at the moment the blade came down, she opened her eyes wide, picked up a blade from the ground, and blocked this murderous blade.
Those who cultivate the Dao cannot lack courage. Avoidance cannot make one go further.
She was not a six-year-old child, nor was she a helpless princess of a fallen kingdom. She had a master, senior brothers, and many kind sect elders and seniors. How could she be as timid as a mouse and bring shame to her sect’s prestige?
Once the inner demon was broken through, Kong Hou felt countless streams of spiritual energy surging into her qi sea. This feeling was not pleasant—it was like being already full but still having things constantly force-fed into her stomach. She forced herself to circulate this spiritual energy through her four limbs and eight vessels, widening her meridians again and again, making them purer.
The spiritual energy slowly gathered in the qi sea and dantian, like stones for laying a foundation. They couldn’t be placed too quickly or too slowly. Only by being steady and calm could one build the most solid foundation.
Tall buildings rise from level ground—the more solid the foundation, the higher the building can be constructed.
Ignoring the thunderbolts exploding overhead, Kong Hou didn’t stand up from the ground until her qi sea and dantian were filled. She bowed three times to heaven.
The sect members waiting outside the cave dwelling saw the tribulation clouds turning black and gold alternately and couldn’t care about watching the excitement anymore—they all worried for their little junior sister. It wasn’t until the tribulation clouds turned completely golden and three perfunctory tribulation lightning bolts descended from the sky that everyone breathed a sigh of relief. She succeeded!
Soon, sweet rain descended from the sky. The sweet rain was full of spiritual energy—a gift to the earth. Whenever a cultivator successfully advanced, heaven would send down sweet rain to benefit all things.
Someone in the crowd let out a cheer, causing countless sect members to follow with applause and cheering. Sect Leader Heng Yan stood to the side, watching these disciples’ complete lack of decorum, and also revealed a relaxed smile, though his mouth said neither lightly nor heavily, “Increasingly lacking in rules.”
However, his voice was extremely soft, and none of the disciples who were just focused on being happy heard it. The only one who heard this remark, the sect leader’s direct senior disciple Wu Chuan, pretended not to hear. He stood behind his master secretly and silently clapping. When others looked over, he calmly lowered his hands and put on the dignity befitting the sect leader’s senior disciple.
The cave dwelling door opened, and Kong Hou in a goose-yellow dress walked out. Seeing the smiling faces outside the cave dwelling, she bowed to them. “Kong Hou has worried everyone.”
They were the courage given to her on the path of cultivation.
“Congratulations, Uncle.”
“Congratulations, Junior Sister.”
Sect members pulled out gifts they had prepared long ago. Without waiting for Kong Hou to refuse, they stuffed them all into Kong Hou’s cave dwelling, laughingly telling her to host a feast to treat everyone. Then saying she had just established her foundation and needed to consolidate her cultivation, they found an excuse and left with arms around each other’s shoulders.
Arriving in a hurry, leaving in high spirits—this truly fit the character of Yunhua Sect disciples.
After these juniors left, three elders who had been hidden in the clouds revealed themselves, gave Kong Hou congratulatory gifts, offered a few words of encouragement, and then departed. Heng Yan was the sect leader and worried about more matters than the elders. Besides giving her spirit stones and medicinal pills, he also gave her a flying sword. Wang Tong was strapped for cash and probably couldn’t give anything good. He didn’t want the sect’s genius disciple flying around outside on a low-grade flying sword. Wang Tong could afford to lose face, but Yunhua Sect couldn’t.
“Thank you, Sect Leader Uncle.” Kong Hou saw this flying sword emanated magical light and was even inlaid with beautiful gems. She immediately loved it so much she wished she could hang the sword at her waist right in front of Heng Yan.
Seeing that she liked this gift, Heng Yan was also pleased. He only had one direct male disciple, Wu Chuan. These treasures suitable for girls wouldn’t be of any use if kept, so it was better to give them to the other junior brothers’ direct female disciples.
Wang Tong, as her master, didn’t feel anything was wrong with others giving thicker gifts than his own. After Heng Yan left, he happily beckoned to Kong Hou. “Good disciple, you’ve brought glory to our Qiyue Peak. Your master will accompany you to open those gift boxes so you won’t tire yourself.”
Tan Feng used sound transmission to tell Cheng Yi, “Master said this same thing to me back then.”
Cheng Yi replied expressionlessly, “What a coincidence. Master said this to me too.”
The two senior brothers watched their master take their little junior sister inside to open gifts, as if seeing their former selves.
When sweet rain descended from heaven, not only was everyone in Yunhua Sect happy, but the common people of Yong City were also delighted. With each sweet rain that fell, the crops in their soil grew better. The peddlers and laborers on the streets didn’t hold up umbrellas to avoid it, but instead spread their arms to let the sweet rain fall all over their bodies.
Those with quick reactions had already pulled out pots, bowls, ladles, and basins to catch it. This was good stuff—drinking it could strengthen the body and improve health.
Disciples from other sects working as shopkeepers in Yong City saw this behavior from Yong City’s common people. Those who had been here for a while were accustomed to it, but newcomers were amazed. Common people in other cities would also secretly pull out basins and bowls to catch it when cultivators advanced and sweet rain descended from heaven, but everyone was still relatively reserved. How could they be like the people in Yong City, who were so… so… completely uninhibited.
The shopkeeper of Yuxiao Sect stationed in Yong City stared blankly at the sweet rain falling outside the door. Could it be that Yunhua Sect really produced a diligent disciple who established her foundation after just over four years of entry?
Did Yunhua Sect change their feng shui?
After thinking about it, he hurried upstairs to write a letter and send a message to Yuxiao Sect.
Yuxiao Sect quickly received the message. After thinking about it, they passed this news to the great sect they were affiliated with—Liuguang Sect.
A major piece of news rare to encounter once in five hundred years—Yunhua Sect produced a miracle!
After Kong Hou and Wang Tong finished opening the gifts that occupied half the cave dwelling, Wang Tong looked over them with satisfaction, then had Kong Hou put them away. He also told her to go into seclusion for a few days to first consolidate her mental state before celebrating and having fun with the other senior and junior disciples.
“Also…” Wang Tong fumbled around in his pocket and pulled out a small bag of spirit stones. “Take this money to feast your sect members. We can lose the person but not the battle formation—don’t let the other peaks think our Qiyue Peak is shabby and poor.”
“Master, I have spirit stones.” Kong Hou felt embarrassed to accept.
“Respect your master as you would your father. In your mortal realm, for little girls your age, when they treat friends, which one doesn’t get money from their elders?” Wang Tong kept a stern face. “It’s just some spirit stones. Your master doesn’t lack these vulgar objects. Just take them.”
“Thank you, Master.” Kong Hou smiled and accepted them.
“That’s right.” Wang Tong nodded with restraint. “Those who cultivate the Dao should not value external objects, and even more so should not let these things ruin their mental state.”
“I will respectfully follow Master’s teachings. This disciple will definitely study well from Master.” Kong Hou nodded solemnly.
Wang Tong’s expression became even more pleased. He lavishly praised Kong Hou several times before leaving her cave dwelling.
After walking out of the cave dwelling, Wang Tong clutched his chest. The spirit stones he had worked so hard to save over these years were gone again.
Author’s Note: Wang Tong: Scraping through the cracks in the door to see if any lost spirit stones can be found.