"Cultivate only ancestral nature and not the elixir, and through ten thousand kalpas a yin spirit can hardly enter sagehood..." Shi Jian began in a rueful tone, and then started to explain the matter of elixir toxin.
Besides, he felt Liu Xiu was wrong. At the very least, he did not think the immortal aspect of jade-green eyes and square pupils was merely the heavy metal poisoning Liu Xiu had spoken of. It was also a case of elixir toxin.
Yes. Elixir toxin!
Elixir pills refined from metals and minerals contained elixir toxin!
Liu Xiu did not argue. After all, the man before him was a straitlaced old fellow. He simply went on listening.
Shi Jian said little else. In that same rueful tone, he only remarked that this Daoist Wang had actually been a cultivator of no small talent.
It was just a pity that the man's inheritance was far too poor. He had refining methods and no nourishing methods. He had elixir formulas for cultivation, but no life-nourishing art for resolving elixir toxin.
Still, Shi Jian felt this was understandable. After all, the greatest failing of cultivators on heterodox paths was an incomplete inheritance.
When he said this, his tone carried scorn, much as university students of later generations mock junior-college students, who then turn and mock university students majoring in civil engineering.
Liu Xiu had not expected the cultivation world to have a pecking order of disdain as well. Fortunately, he currently stood where he could disdain others.
"Alas. If this Daoist Wang had not thrown himself wholly into cultivating immortal aspects, the ending might have been different..."
Shi Jian sighed as he spoke. Daoist Wang's mistake was to fix his whole mind on refining external elixirs and cultivating immortal aspects.
He had been obsessed only with taking elixir pills of metals and minerals to achieve these three immortal aspects. Because of his inheritance, from start to finish he knew only life refinement, and not how to resolve the elixir toxin the pills brought.
Still less did he seek any way to wash the elixir toxin from his body. The violent poison of metals and minerals built up day after day, and he could only end with his body dead and his Dao dispersed.
"Heavy metal poisoning... cough, cough—elixir toxin can actually be resolved through a method?" Liu Xiu said, coughing once, surprise in his eyes.
Seeing Shi Jian nod and say that of course it could, he could only feel that the immortal Dao was seriously awesome. He had never thought the immortal Dao could resolve even this poison!
"Then doesn't that mean that, so long as I pair them with a method for resolving elixir toxin, I can use these three elixir formulas to cultivate these three immortal aspects!" Shi Shaojian said, delight and longing on his face.
He instinctively looked toward the papers in Shi Jian's hands. He had heard Shi Jian speak of immortal aspects before.
This was a solid anomaly that genuinely raised a cultivator's strength. It could not compare with a so-called innate anomaly, but in certain respects it surpassed some divine abilities and spells.
Unfortunately, he only saw Shi Jian hand Daoist Wang's inheritance straight to Liu Xiu. Stunned, he widened his eyes.
"Master!"
"Have you mastered your thunder arts?"
Shi Jian frowned and asked in return. Seeing Shi Shaojian immediately go mute, he went on, "Wait until you have used your junior brother's transformer to master your thunder arts before you talk about cultivating immortal aspects!"
It was not that the methods and elixir formulas for these three immortal aspects were flawed. He felt that, since Shi Shaojian now had a chance to cultivate thunder arts, he ought to throw himself wholly into them just as Shi Jian had. Splitting his attention onto other things would only leave him mediocre at all of them.
"But... these are immortal aspects..."
Shi Shaojian ducked his head and pouted. He had heard Shi Jian speak of immortal aspects in the past as well. Now that a method of cultivation was here, how could he not be impatient? Besides, these immortal aspects looked so formidable.
Shi Jian could not be bothered with him. He only looked at Liu Xiu. "Later, your master will teach you the art for resolving elixir toxin. Of course, whether you cultivate these three immortal aspects or not, your master will not decide for you. After all, your path is your own..."
This was not because he meant to let Liu Xiu develop without close guidance. It was that he was not quite clear where Liu Xiu's talent actually lay.
He also did not mention having Liu Xiu concentrate on thunder arts. After all, he truly could not see through Liu Xiu's talent on the path of thunder arts.
In any case, to this day he still could not figure out how Liu Xiu had used outer thunder to plant a thunder seed. That was not the immortal Dao!!
Besides, he felt the elixir path was in some respects no less difficult than cultivating thunder arts. Perhaps Liu Xiu would give up after refining elixir pills twice.
Right—and the path of alchemy burned money, truly burned money. He had no money for Shi Shaojian to squander.
"All right. Thank you, Master!"
Liu Xiu put the papers away and thanked him. Shi Jian gave a slight nod, then said to Shi Shaojian, "And don't you think of having your junior brother teach you the methods. This is your junior brother's inheritance, including the things in this cave dwelling..."
"Master, this isn't fair. I dealt with that female ghost too. If I hadn't put myself in danger and held the female ghost back..."
"..." ×2
How could a person deceive even himself?
Setting aside the speechless complaint in Liu Xiu's heart, Shi Jian listened to the words coming out of Shi Shaojian, the corner of his mouth twitching.
He drew a deep breath, unwilling to look any longer at this unfilial son who had even deceived himself, and walked toward the stone door out of which that white monstrous worm had flown.
Liu Xiu secured the papers and quickly strode after him. Shi Shaojian followed in a huff, resolved that he would cultivate these three immortal aspects and show Shi Jian.
He would prove himself!
And the thunder arts—he would master those too!
He would prove that he could do it even without Shi Jian!!
Shi Jian did not know what Shi Shaojian was thinking, nor could he be bothered to guess. Coming to a quiet chamber inside the stone door, he only showed that he understood after seeing several cultivation manuals on the bookshelf.
"No wonder that female ghost knew the Great Art of Grafting and Transplanting and the Yin-Soul Locking Dream Art. So those were methods left by Daoist Wang as well..."
Shi Jian had already had his suspicions when he first saw the writing on the stone wall. Otherwise he would not have said, with a look of understanding, that this was how it was.
Now that he saw the names of the methods Daoist Wang had left, he was even more certain that every spell the female ghost knew had come from Daoist Wang's legacy. Otherwise, how could a female ghost have known arts so sinister and secret?
"The Yin-Soul Locking Dream Art?"
Liu Xiu asked out of curiosity. Shi Jian explained, "It is the spell Madam Liu used to draw you and Shaojian into the dream..."
He paused, then said, "It is said this art was derived from the Xiyi Hibernating Dragon True Scripture created by Ancestor Chen Tuan, and the Xiyi Hibernating Dragon True Scripture was in turn derived from Free and Easy Wandering, which holds the profound principle of Zhuang Zhou dreaming of a butterfly..."
Shi Jian explained a great deal, and along the way vaguely said that this was also why he had not been able, at the start, to keep the female ghost from drawing Liu Xiu and Shaojian into the dream.
Liu Xiu simply summed it up: the origin of this Yin-Soul Locking Dream Art was seriously awesome. Mm. The Yin-Soul Locking Dream Art itself was not that awesome.
It was only a spell for drawing people into dreams!
Of course, the method had one merit. It could be cast quite silently and without a trace. That was also why Shi Jian had not been able to stop Liu Xiu and Shaojian from being caught at the start.
Shi Jian picked up a book on the shelf labeled Xiyi Hibernating Dragon True Scripture, looked it over, and put it back with a face full of scorn.
"Hm? The Xiyi Hibernating Dragon True Scripture? Oh, so it is only a fragment. I was wondering how Daoist Wang, a mere heterodox cultivator, could possibly possess Ancestor Chen Tuan's inheritance..."
Liu Xiu's eyes lit up. He picked it up and leafed through it. Seeing this, Shi Jian said with grave earnestness, "As the saying goes, bite off more than you can chew!"
"Your disciple understands!"
Liu Xiu nodded solemnly. Shi Jian said nothing more. He only glanced, expressionless, at Shi Shaojian, who was trying to leaf through the methods Daoist Wang had left. When he saw Shi Shaojian stop in a huff, he looked at Liu Xiu.
"Pack up. Let's go back!"
"Oh, oh, all right!"
A little while later.
Shi Jian silently watched Liu Xiu, who had come just short of hauling off the stone bed in the cave dwelling as well. The corner of his mouth twitched several times as he looked at the large bundle Liu Xiu had wrapped in a bedsheet.
Mm. The bundle was taller than the man himself!
"Hehe. I plan to properly repair that house my parents left me. This furniture will be just right..."
Liu Xiu rubbed his hands together like a fly as he spoke. Not to mention what it would cost to buy furniture like this. Besides, these pieces were things from two hundred years ago. Turn around and sell them, and it would all be money!
"..."
Shi Jian said nothing. He only felt that, aside from being timid, this new disciple of his was also very greedy... good at keeping house. That was excellent. After all, Shi Shaojian was not good at keeping house in even this one respect!
"Let's go!"
With a sweep of his wide sleeve, Shi Jian took Shi Shaojian and Liu Xiu out of this dharma realm and flew toward the sky. Liu Xiu gazed at the star-strewn heavens, then looked down at the untended burial ground below.
"Master, wait. Can I take this dharma realm back with me too?"
"???" ×2
The corner of Shi Jian's mouth twitched. Shi Shaojian only felt that this junior brother of his truly plucked a feather from every passing goose and took the hide of every passing beast. Even a female ghost, passing by, had to leave something behind.
"Cough, cough. However you look at it, it is still a dharma realm..."
Liu Xiu was not the least embarrassed. Anyway, so long as he was not embarrassed, someone else would be—Shi Jian, for instance.
Shi Jian was not embarrassed. Somewhat speechless, he only stopped flying and pointed at the untended burial ground below, the corner of his mouth twitching.
"Setting aside whether your present realm and spiritual power can even sustain a dharma realm, the yin qi in this one is deeply rooted. Washing that yin qi away alone would take a great deal of time..."
There was one more thing he did not say. Shi Jian felt this dharma realm bore traces of Daoist Wang, that heterodox cultivator, having once lived there, and it was truly a bit too ill-omened.
"All right..."
Liu Xiu's tone was full of regret. Shi Shaojian looked at him with disdain, feeling only that this little junior brother had never seen the world.
"You want to keep even a dharma realm like this. If you were let into the Maoshan ancestral court, wouldn't you be thinking of staying on at the main altar for good..."
"Hm? Is the Maoshan ancestral court a dharma realm too?"
"That is a grotto-heaven and blessed land!"
"Oh, oh, Senior Brother, tell me more!"
Liu Xiu spoke with curiosity. For a dazed moment, Shi Shaojian only felt that the junior brother with the pleasant way of speaking and the warm manner had come back.
The gains of this trip were as follows:
jewelry, calligraphy, and paintings ×x; antique furniture ×x;
Daoist Wang's inherited methods ×x...
Chapter 17