Exquisite as an Orchid

A flying sword shot out from Sky Azure Hall, speeding toward the Valley of New Disciples. Aboard the sword, Wei Yuan clutched a large bundle to his chest, not daring to look up at Zhang Sheng. Zhang Sheng remained expressionless, doing nothing but driving the flying sword forward at more than twice the speed they had traveled on the way to Sky Azure Hall. In the blink of an eye, the flying sword arrived above the small courtyard. Without even bothering to land, Zhang Sheng grabbed Wei Yuan and hurled him straight down from several zhang in the air. Then, turning on his heel, he departed, transforming into a streak of rainbow light that vanished over the horizon without lingering for even an instant. Plummeting headfirst, Wei Yuan could only grit his teeth and brace for a brutal impact. Unexpectedly, just before he hit the ground, a gentle force surged over him like a pair of hands cushioning his fall. Though he still slammed onto the ground flat on his back with a heavy thud, it brought only a dull ache and had not harmed bone or sinew. Wei Yuan scrambled up, grimacing. Fortunately, he was tough by nature; despite his initial panic while falling, he had not cried out, sparing himself from losing face before the other disciples. Returning inside, Wei Yuan set the pack he had been holding onto the table. First, he took out three jade bottles. The jade was of exquisite quality, carved with the characters "Xuanming" and adorned with a vivid depiction of immortal mountains. The bottles alone were worth a fortune; the pills contained within were naturally beyond measure. Inside these three jade bottles were Chonglou Sea-Calming Pills, meant specifically to replenish and complete Wei Yuan's foundation. Perfected Fenhai was not one to hold back his words and had readily revealed the value of these three pills in just a few remarks—each was worth well over ten thousand taels of immortal silver. For these three Sea-Calming Pills alone, on a new disciple's monthly stipend, Wei Yuan would have had to go without eating or drinking for over two hundred years to afford them. Besides the pills, the pack also held a heavy pouch of immortal silver totaling five hundred taels—pocket money given to Wei Yuan by Perfected Fenhai. Finally, there was a jade medallion tucked in Wei Yuan's robe, a keepsake from Perfected Fenhai that granted him free passage in and out of Sky Azure Hall. In other words, Wei Yuan could visit Perfected Fenhai at any time, provided the elder was not in seclusion. Yet while he had freedom in name, Sky Azure Hall hung suspended high in the sky. Wei Yuan could not fly before forming his Dao Foundation, so he had no way of going even if he wanted to without Zhang Sheng carrying him. Needless to say, when this matter was brought up, Zhang Sheng's face had grown as sour as could be. Only now did Wei Yuan slightly collect his wits, unable to help marveling at his grandmaster's magnanimity. A casual reward amounted to several centuries' worth of his monthly stipend. Yet fortune and misfortune always went hand in hand. Winning his grandmaster's affection had clearly left his master thoroughly displeased, and after this departure, there was no telling when Zhang Sheng's anger would abate. Wei Yuan sighed, at a loss as to why Zhang Sheng was so furious. Could good looks truly matter that much? Wei Yuan found a mirror and looked at his reflection, completely unable to see what was supposedly so handsome about himself. Still, with Zhang Sheng's usual broad-mindedness, he surely would not genuinely stay angry over such a minor thing. Once the initial temper passed, all would be well. Or so Wei Yuan thought. Wei Yuan retrieved a Chonglou Sea-Calming Pill and made his way to the meditation room. After calming his mind, he ingested the pill and commenced his cultivation, swiftly losing all awareness of self and surroundings. One pill was to be taken at a time, with an interval of seven days before the next; other than that, there were no special precautions to observe. This time, the scenery within his sea of consciousness shifted. A vivid red line now traced the Jade Toad's back, and fine threads of rain fell continuously from the void. As the drizzle drifted down, the ground slowly expanded. Wei Yuan remained transformed into the Jade Toad. Knowing that the rain was the manifestation of the Chonglou Sea-Calming Pill's medicinal power—neither spiritual qi of Heaven and Earth nor outer-heavenly fortune, which was why it did not originate from the full moon but materialized directly as rain—he continued to focus on exhaling and inhaling the moon's luminescence. The Chonglou Sea-Calming Pill was truly miraculous. By dawn, when he withdrew his power, the visualization chart had expanded by over three chi overnight and was now approaching nearly two zhang. The giant boulder and Jade Toad had enlarged accordingly, and even the full moon in the sky had nearly doubled in size. Zhang Sheng had already explained the cultivation process of the Jade Toad Gazing at the Moon Chart in detail. The first step was manifesting the visualization chart. During this stage, the chart's expanse would gradually widen. In the end, the size of the visualization chart reflected the depth of one's foundation: the larger it was, the sturdier the foundation, and the more exquisite it was with pronounced anomalous manifestations, the higher its quality. The visualization chart served as the framework for Body Casting. Only after fully manifesting the visualization chart in the sea of consciousness did formal Body Casting begin. The earth corresponded to muscle and flesh, the giant boulder to blood, the Jade Toad itself to bones, and finally, the full moon to spiritual consciousness. Whenever one stage of Body Casting was completed, the corresponding part of the chart would brim with vitality, taking on a natural, divine charm. Once all stages were finished, the visualization chart would develop an innate spirituality of its own, at which point one could condense a Dao Foundation. The six universal arts had been created centuries ago, and the Palace of Grand Beginning had long amassed an abundance of cultivation precedents. Among them, the fastest record for the Jade Toad Gazing at the Moon Chart was manifesting the visualization chart in three days and casting an Earth-grade Dao Foundation in half a year. Meanwhile, the one with the most solid foundation and highest achievement had taken thirty-six days to manifest a twelve-zhang chart and spent five years casting an immortal foundation. Only after concluding his cultivation did Wei Yuan realize the terrifying potency of the Chonglou Sea-Calming Pill. A single pill had expanded the visualization chart by over three chi! After all three were consumed, it would expand by at least one zhang. Originally, Wei Yuan possessed an eight-chi root bone, which could only be deemed superior, corresponding to an eight-zhang visualization chart. Ingesting three Chonglou Sea-Calming Pills was equivalent to forcibly elevating his foundation to nine chi. Beyond that, it would depend on how much fortune he could convert into foundation. The following day's lesson was the Theory of the Dao Foundation. Wei Yuan had long read the course overviews and knew that the "Theory of the Dao Foundation" was essentially a cultivation class. It was designed to instruct disciples on how to build and cast their Dao Foundation, remedy any deficiencies, and leave no regrets, enabling them to travel further along the immortal path. Upon arriving at the Hall of Inspiring Thought, Wei Yuan saw a sheet of jade paper and a pill already laid out on his desk, and the chair had been replaced with a blue-green prayer mat. Inscribed upon the jade paper was an art called the Method of Returning to Origin and Settling Qi. Wei Yuan picked it up and read through it carefully. The contents of this settling qi method were very straightforward: to accurately measure a person's root bone. If the result from the Daoist test was a splash-ink landscape, then the outcome of the Settling Qi Method was a fine-brush painting of flowers and birds, rendering the foundation with far greater subtlety and precision. The jade paper also listed the name of today's lecturer. As soon as the students saw the name, a small stir rippled through the room. "Whoa, it's Xu Henshui!" "Which Xu Henshui?" A girl said, "You don't know him? He's the personal disciple across generations of True Monarch Wuqi from the Monastery of Creation! In name, his master is a Perfected, but he was actually trained by the True Monarch himself! Word has it that he possesses an extraordinary bearing, supreme cultivation, and what's even more unique is that his Dao Foundation is an orchid!" Hearing this, many immediately lost interest. "An orchid? Isn't that the lowest grade of Dao Foundation? None of us taking classes here will end up with a Human-grade Dao Foundation, right?" The girl scoffed. "Ignorant fools! Let me tell you, Teacher Xu's orchid is one of a kind between Heaven and Earth—an immortal foundation through and through!" Another girl leaned in close and asked, "Then what does Teacher Xu look like?" "Do you even need to ask? You can see for yourself in a moment!" As the children chattered noisily, the side door of the Hall of Inspiring Thought suddenly opened with a creak. The students shut their mouths at once, their eyes fixing in unison upon the doorway. Even someone as naturally detached as Wei Yuan could not help feeling curious, eager to see what kind of celestial figure this renowned Xu Henshui was. Where the side door opened, the hem of a water-blue robe swished inside first, followed by an elegant young gentleman stepping through. Yet this gentleman was concealing his face behind a folding fan, hiding his features completely! Even without seeing his face, his posture alone made it obvious that he was exceedingly graceful. The water-blue sleeves fluttered without any wind, draped around a figure as fluid as water. Merely the single step he took through the doorway resonated implicitly with natural Dao charm—light, airy, and poised to perfection, as though an understated fragrance wafted forward, bringing an indescribable refreshment to mind and spirit. From just that single step, even Wei Yuan grew eager to catch a glimpse of the instructor's face. Yet right as everyone was brimming with anticipation, a slender, jade-like claw reached in from outside. With five fingers curved like orchid petals, it seized the instructor by the back of his collar and hoisted him straight out the door. "Step aside for now, I'm taking this class!" A commanding, domineering voice boomed from outside. "But..." "No buts! It's settled!" The voice outside brooked no argument. "What are you doing? Don't—" The instructor cried out in dismay, after which his voice rapidly receded into the distance, turning faint and inaudible in the blink of an eye. A woman strode into the Hall of Inspiring Thought, slammed the door shut behind her with a backhand swing, and beamed at the hall of dumbfounded students. With that smile, Wei Yuan suddenly felt as though the whole world before his eyes had brightened.