Chapter 170 - To Believe Firmly, Even Until Now
In the end, Shen Lian did not kill her, and he did not lend her the merit instrument either. If there were still an a.s.sociation between the two of them, it would be Chao Xiaoyu"s reluctance to reconcile with her defeat.
Shen Lian felt that he no longer had anything to do with Chao Xiaoyu. The karma had been broken off.
It was not in his nature to kill an entire family over one disagreement. Not even grandmaster Qingyuan"s violent sword will could influence Shen Lian"s mind.
Shen Lian felt that it was not easy for a person to come into this world, so why would he belittle someone else"s life?
Many eyes peeked at Shen Lian from the shadows, and he noticed it. At that time, he was feeling refreshed. So, with a smile on his face, he allowed those people to fuss over him.
Any divine thoughts that reached within three feet from him would feel as if it had trespa.s.sed into a cloud of smoke in the heavens. They would not be able to detect anything at all. Of course, if an immortal would pry into his thoughts, there was nothing he could do about it.
The nine states of cultivation were still fundamentally a part of cultivation even when it reached the school of the celestials and Buddhism. Even though it still could be considered as a cultivator, the changes to the nature of life were already happening.
Even though Shen Lian did not experience any these changes, he knew what was on the other playing field.
Furthermore, to surpa.s.s a state for the sake of winning did not appeal to him. He cultivated because he wanted a long life, not to destroy the world.
Strength was to protect oneself and not to destroy others.
With his hands clasped behind his back, Shen Lian flew back to the place that he was staying then. It was also the location where the refugees were held.
The heaven and earth shook when he fought with Chao Xiaoyu, but it did not take too much of his time. Song Qingyi and Qi Xiu felt that something unnatural was amiss at Banyue lake but they did not go over. The surge of the vitality Qi was too extreme, so they were unsuited to go. Had they went, they would have caused even more trouble.
Song Qingyi was stunned when he saw Shen Lian flew in. He did not know that Shen Lian was not there last night.
They did not see him for only one night, and yet Shen Lian was like a changed man. Even though there were no visible changes to his visual appearance, he had a somewhat different dominating air about him. They could also sense a hidden moral character that resembled the graceful bearings of the great masters.
Before then, Shen Lian was like a sword that did not show off its sharp edges. Powerful opponents were able to tell that he was also a formidable adversary. However, none of them could have guessed just how strong and scary he could be.
The Shen Lian that they then saw was like an unsheathed sword for the people to admire. There was no piercing sharpness, but no one would doubt that the sword could slice through steel as if it was mud.
That feeling was similar to Confucious" teaching. A person could stand out in a crowd even if they were not loud, and one would have no choice but to respect them.
He walked over and asked, "My Dao friend, Shen Lian, have you already completed the Huandan?"
Shen Lian smiled as he replied, "I have already acquired the dan path, but not the Huandan."
He borrowed the sharpness of grandmaster Qingyuan"s sword will. He gained its immortality and was free to do away with the fierce formidableness of it. He already entered Dao but had yet to complete it.
Huandan was to be the Yin Spirit Floating Clouds. Both the form and mind would become one as it mingled with the universe and primed the waves of the vitality Qi. As the storm raged and the forces of the heaven and earth were tempered, one would begin to transform oneself. As this step started, one would have to go against the odds to become a celestial being.
This was also why the Huandan zhenren had a t.i.tle, and he was called the Celestial of the Land. The Celestial of the Land was not a dixian. Dixian was the official term for the immortals in Xuanmen.
The Celestial of the Land was proof that a Huandan cultivator had the characteristics of a divine celestial. The most significant advantage was the eight hundred years extension to one"s lifespan.
As written in the Daoist scriptures, "regulate the breathing, out with the old and in with the new, imitate the hanging of the bear and the stretching of the bird, for the sake of life only; this is the guiding technique of this undertaking, the art of self-cultivation, the kind of people like ancestor Peng and the Changchun people love 1 ."
Therefore, the Celestial of the Land was not truly divine celestials or Buddhas since they were still confined within the levels of practicing their Qi and honing their form. They could only extend their lifespan but not live for eternity. Eight hundred years was only an estimation. If the source were to be studied, then it probably would have come from the phrase, "the kind of people like ancestor Peng and the Changchun people love." Ancestor Peng was a man of legends but he was not of celestials or Buddhas. Shen Lian had heard about this legendary man in his previous life, but one thing that stood out most about him was that he lived for eight hundred years.
Actually, many of the Huandan cultivators did not live until eight hundred. It was always either they were already pow.a.n.g, or they were trapped in a state and could not find a way out. Either way, they would have wasted their divine Qi and died.
It was just like how the ordinary human would rarely live until they were on their deathbed.
Song Qiyi saw the relaxed expression on Shen Lian"s face and he really admired him. Even though he was under Lu Jiuyan"s tutorage, at that point, he could not reach Huandan without absolute a.s.surance. Even Lu Jiuyan could not send him to venture through it immediately.
Ultimately, all that Shen Lian needed was to retreat to a quiet place for confinement. A place to merged the essence and spirit to enter the Huandan state completely.
As for Shen Lian"s divine Qi, it looked like it had broken through all the barriers, it was as if there were no obstacles at all.
The scariest part about that was that even though he has already gotten one of his foot wet, he could still leave the other one dry. It was confusing to see him so calm and free then, and that relaxed state of mind could be even scarier than when he went into Huandan.
Shen Lian leisurely walked over when he saw Song Qingyi"s facial expression.
He patted on the shoulder and gently said, "Don"t worry, the day will come for you."
Song Qigyi sighed. "I hope so. Now that I"ve seen you today, I am afraid I cannot let my emotions recover."
Shen Lian answered with a smile. "Do not be this way. I am still seeking a breakthrough, so now all I want to do is to bid you all a farewell."
Song Qingyi was confused as he said, "Since you could control yourself and quit at a breaking point, why don"t you return to Qingxuan for Huandan? No one would disturb you there."
Shen Lian answered, "I would still need to return to the sect but not now. Furthermore, I am waiting for my own Huandan. The G.o.ds and men are sympathetic and they have their own voices in the heavens and the earth, and it disturbs the five elements of the yin and yang. How could the ordinary folks cause such disturbance?"
Song Qiyi knew that Shen Lian had his reasons. Unlike the demons who underwent transformations and the divines who took the thunder trials, those who could achieve Huandan by oneself were usually temporarily merged with the heaven and earth during the moment of Huandan. That would be the moment when the Huandan cultivator was the most powerful before they could achieve longevity.
That temporary state where the man was one with heaven was one of the rarer experience. Therefore, those who used external alchemy and celestial elixir did not produce their own Dao as it would not tally with the complexity of the heaven and earth. There was not only danger during Huandan but because there was also a lack of understanding was why Huandan was always stopped at the fifth turn.
The reason that top grade celestial elixir could help people to achieve the seventh, eighth and even the ninth turn was because there was some true meaning of Dao where the cultivators could directly transform for their own usage.
Xiuqi also came over and overheard that Shen Lian wanted to seek a breakthrough. He was happy but at the same time, he was quite reluctant to part with him. Song Qingyi was like the caring brother and Shen Lian was like a teacher. The way he conducted himself was something that was worth learning from Shen Lian. Furthermore, he remembered the time when Shen Lian saved his life.
Luckily, since everyone was a cultivator, there were too many sentiments. Furthermore, if everything went well for Shen Lian, he would succeed with his Huandan and they could meet again in the future.
However, when they hear Shen Lian said his goodbyes with no restrains, the song continued without a break, and it went like this:
"Like the determined warrior that searched for the treasure sword for twenty years, a few rounds of leaves falling and new branches sprouting, he accidentally watched the blossoming peach blossom, from that moment on till now he did not hesitate any more." [2]
It had been twenty years since he came to this universe. Took reference from