"Y-you can't put it like that. Cultivation is all about balancing work and rest. As the saying goes, 'extreme stillness breeds motion.' When you've stayed in one place too long, you always need to go out for a stroll.
"Xiao Yun, think about it. Isn't immortal cultivation meant for longevity and free, unrestrained roaming? If all you do is sit in seclusion and meditate day in and day out, wouldn't cultivation just become serving a prison sentence? That's putting the cart before the horse!" Daoist Buyu said with heartfelt earnestness.
As a frequent guest of the Heavenly Prison, he possessed an authority on serving time that few others could claim.
"Besides, cultivation is divided into secular cultivation and reclusive cultivation, isn't it? A person like me is a classic secular cultivator. Only by mingling in the mortal dust, sporting across the mundane world, and comprehending the immortal dao can I achieve a breakthrough!"
Lu Yang had heard of this concept before. Cultivators who served as officials in the imperial court of the Great Xia Dynasty practiced secular cultivation, while cultivators in the Five Great Immortal Sects leaned toward reclusive cultivation. However, very few were as purely reclusive as Eldest Senior Sister.
No matter how extravagantly Daoist Buyu praised his approach, Yun Zhi remained completely unmoved, not even batting an eye.
"Master, when you taught me in the beginning, you told me that pressure produces motivation, and that one must be diligent in cultivation. You said that the plan of a day lies in morning, noon, and night, and the plan of a year lies in spring, summer, autumn, and winter."
And Yun Zhi had indeed done exactly as Daoist Buyu had taught, cultivating from dawn to dusk with extraordinary diligence.
Yun Zhi was an extraordinary genius rarely seen in ages to begin with. Coupled with her tireless cultivation, her realm advanced by leaps and bounds. When the Immortal Sect Conference convened, she outshone all the competition and claimed the championship.
By convention, the five sect masters of the immortal sects would critique the champion's shortcomings, and some sect masters, worried that the champion might grow arrogant, would personally step into the arena to spar with them.
And then the five sect masters were beaten to a pulp by Yun Zhi.
By the time of the next Immortal Sect Conference, while the disciples of the immortal sects were fighting tooth and nail on the tournament stage, Yun Zhi was sitting in the sect masters' seats judging them—right in the center, no less.
Daoist Buyu thought to himself, *Didn't I just want you to cultivate diligently, raise your cultivation, and take over as Sect Master for me so I could slip out and have fun?*
Naturally, even if he were beaten to death, Daoist Buyu would never dare say that aloud.
Yun Zhi harbored no resentment toward cultivation. Quite the contrary, she thoroughly enjoyed the process. When cultivating, she felt an unprecedented tranquility in the world, as though she had merged into one with heaven and earth, and she could clearly feel herself constantly growing stronger.
After finishing a session, her mind was clear and her spirits were refreshed. What wasn't there to like?
"Very well. Since you want to come out, you may come out..." Yun Zhi said calmly, her tone softening somewhat.
Daoist Buyu was overjoyed. *All that smooth talking wasn't in vain! Xiao Yun is finally willing to let me out!*
"...by your own ability," Yun Zhi finished, turning and walking away.
Daoist Buyu opened his mouth, completely at a loss for words. If he could get out by his own ability, he would have done so long ago!
"Lu Yang, you..."
Daoist Buyu wanted to call on Lu Yang to plead on his behalf, but Lu Yang gave him an expression that said *Master, you're on your own*, and trotted after Eldest Senior Sister.
On one side was the omnipotent Eldest Senior Sister who suppressed the entire Dao Seeking Sect, and on the other was the suppressed Master. It was very easy to choose which side to take.
"Little disciple, don't leave! As long as you peel off that talisman, I'll teach you 'One Sword Transforms into Ten Thousand Swords'! Ten thousand swords floating in midair, their gleaming tips pointed downward—before the battle even begins, you'll already have the upper hand in sheer presence!"
"Can it defeat Eldest Senior Sister?" Lu Yang jogged back. As a sword cultivator, who wouldn't want to learn a flashy, transcendent sword technique or two?
Power wasn't important; what mattered was looking cool!
Daoist Buyu shook his head. Seeing this, Lu Yang turned to leave again.
Daoist Buyu hurriedly said, "I can also teach you the *True Comprehension of the Dao of the Sword*! It will grant you a far deeper understanding of the sword path. Cultivate it to the peak, and a single sword strike can shatter ten thousand techniques—no one will dare take a blow from you! You'll be invincible among your peers!"
"Can it defeat Eldest Senior Sister?"
Daoist Buyu shook his head. Lu Yang turned to leave again.
Daoist Buyu rushed to speak once more: "I can also teach you the *Four Extinctions Sword Array*! Once the array is laid, its aura surges to the heavens, severing all life and withering all things! It will sweep away all enemies!"
"Can it defeat Eldest Senior Sister?"
Daoist Buyu blew his top. "You rebellious disciple! If I could beat her, would I still be locked in here?!"
Lu Yang felt his master had a point, which was precisely why he chose to stand with Eldest Senior Sister.
...
"Eldest Senior Sister, while I was out on this mission, I noticed another problem."
"What is it?"
"I found that our Five Great Immortal Sects have far too little name recognition. Many people know nothing about us. When they run into demonic or supernatural troubles, they can only rely on the local authorities. If the authorities don't step in, they can only wait helplessly with no options whatsoever."
The Great Xia Dynasty was short on manpower, yet out of pride, they found it awkward to ask the Five Great Immortal Sects for help. Throughout this process, the ones who suffered were the common people.
This was an issue Lu Yang had noticed back at Mount Song. Although the old hunter chang ghost had been acting the entire time, his ignorance of the Dao Seeking Sect was completely genuine.
When he was in Yanjiang Commandery, Lu Yang had also made casual inquiries and discovered that mortals knew very little about higher-level matters and had no idea about the Five Great Immortal Sects.
Yun Zhi was somewhat surprised. She truly had never noticed this problem—or rather, none of the people from the Five Great Immortal Sects had.
She attended the summit of immortal sect leaders every year, and no one had ever brought this up.
"That really is a problem. Should we compile the Dao Seeking Sect's stories into a book and distribute it among the common folk?"
Like offering up a treasure, Lu Yang presented his suggestion: "Writing a book is certainly an excellent way to spread information, but as far as I know, the literacy rate among the general public isn't high, and not many people can afford books. Perhaps adapting the Dao Seeking Sect's stories into pingshu storytelling would be a better way."
"Pingshu?" Yun Zhi knew very little about this trade. Daoist Buyu was the expert in that field—after all, he was the man who had donated the *Complete Collection of Crosstalk* to the Scripture Pavilion.
"Yes, pingshu. Before I joined the Dao Seeking Sect, all my knowledge about immortal cultivation came from storytellers.
"Right now, the pingshu on the market is of wildly uneven quality, full of glaring contradictions, and shows only a half-baked understanding of immortal cultivation. It easily gives people the wrong impression.
"If we adapt the Dao Seeking Sect's affairs into pingshu, it's bound to be a huge hit!" Lu Yang clenched his fist, growing excited as he spoke.
"The affairs of the Dao Seeking Sect aren't particularly remarkable. Would they really attract people?" Eldest Senior Sister remained doubtful.
Lu Yang thought to himself, *If our Dao Seeking Sect's antics aren't considered remarkable, just how absurd has the cultivation world become?*
*Eldest Senior Sister, your heart is set entirely on cultivation, so you know very little about common sense. You probably have no clue what kind of reputation the Dao Seeking Sect has out in the world.*
Lu Yang figured that given Eldest Senior Sister's cultivation level, people from other immortal sects wouldn't look for trouble by telling Yun Zhi to her face that everyone in the Dao Seeking Sect had a screw loose.
"It definitely won't be a problem!" Lu Yang vowed with absolute confidence.
"Then who in the Dao Seeking Sect is suited to write the pingshu and handle publicity?" Yun Zhi knitted her delicate brows, pondering the question.
"I can recommend someone who is guaranteed to be up to the task!"
"Who?"
"Master."
Chapter 113