Wei Yuan was still puzzled when True Lord Xuan Yue’s twisted voice gradually returned to normal. “... the Qianqing Orthodox Canon Time Resisting Scripture may not be able to draw out the full potential of your Dao Foundation. I have another method called the Supreme Yin Lunar Essence Myriad Manifestations Chapter that boasts infinite flexibility and incredible compatibility with you.”

Wei Yuan didn’t think much about his statement, but the Truemen were all caught by surprise. They knew that True Lord Xuan Yue was originally planning to teach him the Qianqing Orthodox Canon Time Resisting Scripture. A Dao path unique to the Skyblue Hall, it was terribly impressive and immensely powerful. Above all else, it was the cultivation method that had brought fame to the True Lord Xuan Yue. So, why did he change his mind at the last second and choose the Supreme Yin Lunar Essence Myriad Manifestations Chapter instead?

To be fair, the Supreme Yin Lunar Essence Myriad Manifestations Chapter was by no means an inferior cultivation method. In terms of flexibility, only a handful could hope to match its power. However, when it came to offensive, defensive, and killing potency, it was definitely inferior to the Qianqing Orthodox Canon Time Resisting Scripture.

The Skyblue Hall’s Truemen were confused, but the ones from the Water Moon Hall were overjoyed. Trueman Lan Hua in particular was eyeing Wei Yuan up and down again and again, her desire to poach practically written on her face.

Trueman Fen Hai asked with a greenish complexion, “Why not teach him the Qianqing Orthodox Canon Time Resisting Scripture?”

True Lord Xuan Yue visibly paused for a moment before answering, “The Supreme Yin Lunar Essence Myriad Manifestations Chapter is more compatible with him.

Trueman Fen Hai was obviously against this decision, but the True Lord Xuan Yue remained unusually resolute. The Trueman kept protesting until the True Lord asked if he needed to be taught a lesson in respecting his betters. It was only then he finally and reluctantly shut up.

At least Wei Yuan remained a disciple of the Skyblue Hall even though he would be cultivating the Supreme Yin Lunar Essence Myriad Manifestations Chapter.

For Wei Yuan, the selection of the cultivation method did not matter to him. After all, he did not nearly possess enough knowledge to make an informed decision. All he needed to do was obey the True Lord’s arrangements.

He would be lying if he said that the words “lunar essence” did not cause him to shudder internally, however.

Without further ado, True Lord Xuan Yue delivered a wisp of Dao essence into Wei Yuan’s sea of consciousness. He said, “This Dao essence will aid you in understanding the truths of this text. One original copy and three duplicate copies of the core principles of this cultivation method are preserved in the Water Moon Hall. The original copy contains the insights of Immortal Lord Dao Tan, pioneer of the path. The duplicate copies lack his personal revelations, but they contain the Dao essences and profound insights of those who had cultivated the cultivation method before you. Thus, these duplicate copies are in no way inferior to the original.

“Starting tomorrow, you shall begin your cultivation by studying the original copy in the Water Moon Hall. Once you have thoroughly memorized it, you may take a duplicate copy with you. But remember, you must not share its contents with others, nor take it outside the Palace’s grounds. Is that clear?”

Wei Yuan thanked True Lord Xuan Yue with a salute. The True Lord then ordered Zhang Sheng to tutor Wei Yuan regarding the cultivation of the Dao Foundation stage.

Although Zhang Sheng’s primary cultivation method was the Qianqing Orthodox Canon Time Resisting Scripture, he had studied the Supreme Yin Lunar Essence Myriad Manifestations Chapter as well, meaning that he was familiar with both Dao paths. Thus, he was more than qualified to tutor Wei Yuan about them.

When the master and disciple left the Skyblue Hall, Wei Yuan turned his head to look back at the place. He wondered why, but he felt like the Skyblue Hall was just a little darker than usual. However, none of the Truemen noticed anything out of the ordinary, nor did the True Lord Xuan Yue react unusually. In the end, he told himself that he was just imagining things.

Zhang Sheng took Wei Yuan straight to the Water Moon Hall. The Skyblue Hall was founded on a floating mountain, but the Water Moon Hall was built about halfway up a mountain. Out of the Twelve Halls of the Palace of Absolute Beginning, only three were built on solid ground. The Water Moon Hall was one of them.

The mountain where the hall was located was not a floating mountain, but its scenery remained quite exquisite. There were many colorful flowering trees on the way to the hall, with blue being the primary color. Every flowering tree was emitting wisps of clear qi, and its concentration only grew the higher they climbed. When they finally reached the main entrance, the sky looked cloudy, and the sunlight felt weak like it was early morning or late evening. It was mid-noon.

Zhang Sheng confirmed their identities with a guard disciple before leading Wei Yuan into the main hall. As soon as they passed through the threshold, the bright sky above their heads turned black, and a gigantic moon appeared in the middle. Lunar essence so rich that it resembled liquid was pouring down continuously from it.

Wei Yuan’s first instinct upon entering the place was to sit on the ground, lift his head, and take a deep gulp. Fortunately, he managed to control himself.

First, Zhang Sheng took him to the main hall to pay their respects to the old founders of the Water Moon Hall. Once done, the scholar led him to the back hall and ordered him to sit down on a praying mat. The mat was facing toward an empty wall.

On the side of the hall, Zhang Sheng lit three incense sticks and mentally chanted a mystic method at the incense burner table. The hall grew dimmer, and the wall in front of Wei Yuan gradually turned luminous white. As a wisp of cool, ethereal, and almost intangible Dao essence floated in the air, large amounts of text began appearing on the stone surface.

Absorbed in the Dao essence, Wei Yuan felt like he was basking in ancient lunar essence. The lunar essence of Supreme Yin[1] was both unchanging and changing at every moment. The lunar essence of this moment was different from the one in the next moment. Infinite mysteries seemed to lie in the gap between change and constancy, past and present.

The jade wall was capable of bearing an Immortal Lord’s Dao essence. Naturally, it was nothing like your ordinary jade book. Unfortunately, the fact that it was entirely carved out of jadeite made it difficult to move anywhere.

Words kept flickering on the jade wall as it explained the great Dao of Supreme Yin. Wei Yuan had long lost track of time. By the time he had finished memorizing the entire text, it was already dawn the next day. A slight dizziness struck him when he rose to his feet—after a whole night of study, his primordial spirit had been depleted to the point of near exhaustion.

At the exit, Zhang Sheng was waiting for him with a jade plaque in his arms. It was a duplicate copy of the Supreme Yin Lunar Essence Myriad Manifestations Chapter. It was both a lot smaller than the jade wall and portable as it only bore the Dao essence of a True Lord.

Moments later, Wei Yuan had returned to his residence. After setting the jade plaque aside, Zhang Sheng began explaining the cultivation of the Dao Foundation stage.

The Palace of Absolute Beginning split the Dao Foundation stage to three minor stages. The first was called foundation solidifying. As its name implied, this was the minor stage where a cultivator solidified their newly formed Dao Foundation, perfect it to the best of their abilities, and unearth all of its potential. This was also the stage where one used their primordial spirit to bury the seed of their Avatar in their Dao Foundation.

The second minor stage was called vitality restoring. In this stage, a cultivator had to continuously water their Dao Foundation with worldly origin qi so that the seed of their Avatar would sprout and grow, thereby cultivating the embryonic form of their Avatar. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Finally, the third minor stage was named spirit nurturing. It was the stage where an embryonic Avatar naturally gained its own spirit and became a true Avatar.

The three minor stages were what the secular world often called the early, middle, and late stage of a certain cultivation level. Every time a cultivator had mastered a minor stage, they would experience a significant increase in power. This was especially true for the spirit nurturing stage. When an Avatar had gained a spirit, even ordinary Dao spells and techniques would gain all sorts of unusual effects.

Unfortunately, this was also the part where great risks became associated with one’s cultivation. For most people, completing the first two minor stages of the Dao Foundation stage was just a matter of time and effort. However, the spirit nurturing stage was a different story. The process of an Avatar gaining a spirit was, in fact, fraught with hardships. If something, anything went wrong during this period, much like an infant who was born with a birth defect, death and the end of one’s path could follow swiftly. This was why many cultivators including disciples of the Palace of Absolute Beginning stopped cultivating at the spirit nurturing stage knowing that it would be difficult for them to form an Avatar. They would only risk a breakthrough when they were nearing the end of their lifespan.

After listening to Zhang Sheng until this point, Wei Yuan finally realized that the young chieftain of the Agula tribe had died a somewhat undeserved death. Kanbida had allowed him to get close when he saw that he wasn’t yet at the Dao Foundation stage. He did not realize that he was physically much, much stronger than him while Outlawed by Heaven and Earth was in effect. If Kanbida had decided to play it safe and put some distance between them instead, he would have had no chance of killing the young chieftain quickly. The Snow Hawk would almost certainly be able to rescue him in the end.

After the lesson was over, Zhang Sheng said, “I need to seclude myself and recover, so just cultivate on your own for the next few days. You may also check out the mission hall and the merit hall and familiarize yourself with them. Feel free to exchange anything you want with your merits. There is still some time before your audience with Palace Lord Pei. Someone will show up to guide you then, so you do not need to wait for me.”

Zhang Sheng left on his flying sword and returned to his abode after that. The Snow Hawk Avatar had destroyed the sword qi he attached to Wei Yuan to protect him and the wisp of primordial spirit it contained. It would be several months before he recovered from this injury.

After his master was gone, Wei Yuan spent half a day rereading his cultivation method. He was able to discern many subtle truths and profound principles he had missed the first time. After that, he set off to the merit hall.

1. In Chinese, Supreme Yin is also a word for the Moon. ☜