The matter of the direct disciple of the Spring and Autumn Heaven’s Gate being bestowed with a seal was not a secret. The female cultivator calmly acknowledged, “Yes.”
Her gaze passed over Ji Yutang and landed on Li Jingyu, and she continued, “I am Tu Danzhu from the Spring and Autumn Heaven’s Gate. How should I address you?”
Li Jingyu smiled and replied, “Just a wandering cultivator, Li Jingyu.”
Ji Yutang didn’t mind Li Jingyu concealing her identity, but why was she still doing so in such a dangerous situation? She furrowed her brows, intending to expose Li Jingyu, but was suddenly elbowed by her! The small cage barely had room for them, and as Li Jingyu shifted around, Ji Yutang was pushed to the back, unable to see Tu Danzhu’s expression, and could only glare at the back of Li Jingyu’s head in silent frustration.
“Since you have the seal, can’t you use it to send a message to the Spring and Autumn Heaven’s Gate?” Li Jingyu asked again, her hand behind her back, fingers moving as if to comfort Ji Yutang.
“Here, our powers are suppressed, there’s nothing I can do.” Tu Danzhu shook her head, and after stating this despairing fact, her face turned even paler. The vines embedded in her flesh absorbed her energy day and night, causing her condition to deteriorate. In the end, she wouldn’t die, but she wouldn’t truly be alive either.
“Could it be—” Ji Yutang started to say, but stopped herself, swallowing the words “waiting here to die.” She nudged Li Jingyu aside, using the faint light to see Tu Danzhu’s blood-stained face. Over the past six months, she thought she had become quite experienced, but facing real danger, she realized she was still “naive.” She slowly retreated, distancing herself from Li Jingyu, and remained silent.
Ye Guguang wasn’t here, but when he reappeared, it might be their end.
Tu Danzhu lowered her head, saying nothing. The people captured in the cave couldn’t bring her hope. Her breathing was weak, her body occasionally twitching under the vines’ restraint, as if to announce to others that she was still alive.
“If there’s a way to activate the seal, can the message be sent out?” Li Jingyu suddenly asked.
After a long time, Tu Danzhu looked up at Li Jingyu and slowly nodded. She didn’t explain how to do it, as in her eyes, the outcome was already determined. If it were a Foundation Establishment stage demonic cultivator, there might be a way to deal with it. But now, Ye Guguang was a Golden Core cultivator, his true essence condensed into a full Golden Core, and his power wouldn’t be exhausted anytime soon.
Thick blood dripped from the wooden cage to the ground, and in the silent stone chamber, heavy breathing occasionally echoed. Many people were imprisoned in the cage, but aside from the three of them, the others had lost consciousness. Ji Yutang licked her lips and looked at Li Jingyu, whispering, “Do you have a way?”
“Is the Heavenly Book with you?” Li Jingyu asked, her gaze deep.
Ji Yutang was taken aback, shook her head, and honestly replied, “No.” After a moment’s hesitation, she added, “But I’ve memorized the Dao texts on it.”
Li Jingyu’s expression changed slightly, looking at Ji Yutang with a strange gaze, her mind racing. The “Dao De Tian Shu” is one of the fundamental scriptures of the Supreme Path. Even if one could decipher the Dao texts, how could they memorize it all? It’s known that if these Dao texts aren’t comprehended, the Dao intent they form will naturally fade over time! The “Dao De Tian Shu” is such a profound scripture that even the Supreme Path hasn’t had anyone fully master it.
Ji Yutang lowered her eyelashes, feeling puzzled. It’s just five thousand words, is it strange to memorize them? The Ji family, like the Ran family, follows the path of righteousness, and Ji Yutang herself is not familiar with the Supreme Path’s teachings. She hadn’t heard the saying: “The ‘Yin Fu’ has over three hundred precious words, the ‘Dao De’ has only five thousand spiritual texts. Countless immortals throughout history have reached true understanding from here.”
That is the fundamental scripture pointing directly to the Dao!
“The ‘Dao De Tian Shu’ doesn’t cultivate true essence or power, but rather embraces nothingness, holding onto nothing, reaching extreme tranquility, using one’s divine intent to communicate with the divine intent of heaven and earth,” Li Jingyu said softly, glancing at Ji Yutang.
Seeing her confusion, she continued, “We cultivators condense the Golden Core, dividing the methods into four stages.
The first is ‘using the body and mind as the cauldron, essence and energy as the medicine, heart and kidneys as water and fire, the five organs as the five elements, liver and lungs as the dragon and tiger, essence as the true seed.’
The second is ‘using heaven and earth as the cauldron.’
The third is ‘using the universe as the cauldron.’
But above these is another method, ‘using the void as the cauldron, the supreme as the furnace, tranquility as the foundation of the core, non-action as the mother of the core.’ The Golden Core formed is ‘being’ yet ‘non-being.'”
The Supreme Path emphasizes “something from nothing, form from formlessness,” and its teachings often leave “not a single word.” Li Jingyu hadn’t received the Supreme Path’s teachings, but she remembered these from her mother’s stories in her childhood. Seeing Ji Yutang deep in thought, she stopped speaking.
If Ji Yutang could comprehend a trace of the Dao from the “Dao De Tian Shu” and temporarily lift the suppression of power in the cave, that would be the best outcome. If she couldn’t, Li Jingyu would have to find another way. Since she had come along, she naturally had a way to escape.
The true dragon coiled in Ji Yutang’s Niwan Palace. After receiving the “True Dragon Transformation Sutra,” she used it to visualize the divine dragon, advancing rapidly in her cultivation. However, this method required external elixirs, and being penniless and a prisoner, she couldn’t think about it now. Ji Yutang could only follow Li Jingyu’s words and ponder the Dao intent in the “Dao De Tian Shu.”
Previously, in the Dragon Mansion, she had recited the Dao texts, and the tightly closed door had opened. Perhaps this time, she could do the same to escape the predicament?
Ji Yutang focused her thoughts, her mind slowly sketching a vague Dao book. Her consciousness extended to the Niwan Palace, where the divine dragon suddenly became restless, letting out a fierce roar. The divine dragon’s manifestation in the Niwan Palace trembled, and blood instantly seeped from Ji Yutang’s nose and mouth.
“Weight is the root of lightness, tranquility is the ruler of agitation!” Ji Yutang’s consciousness remained in the sea of knowledge, not yet awakened. Behind her, the Dao book floated, gradually solidifying as she uttered these eight words.
The divine dragon’s aura originally filled the Niwan Palace, but under the impact of the Dao texts, it had to retreat, eventually being suppressed by the Dao book, radiating a scorching light like the sun.
When Ji Yutang’s consciousness returned, her clothes were soaked with sweat. A handkerchief lay on her lap, clearly not placed by her. Ji Yutang blushed slightly, awkwardly glancing at Li Jingyu, and softly said, “Thank you.”
Li Jingyu smiled and asked, “How is it?” Over the years, she had paid considerable attention to the Ran family and naturally knew some things about Ji Yutang.
A scattered spirit body that couldn’t condense true essence, yet it had a natural Dao heart, seemingly tailor-made for the “Dao De Tian Shu.” Otherwise, how could she memorize five thousand words? Where had she placed the “Dao De Tian Shu”?
Ji Yutang shook her head, then nodded. The phenomenon in the Niwan Palace had created an inexplicable connection, as if through it, she could find the fundamental source of the Dao. However, that lofty Dao intent required her own capacity to bear it.
She sensed that if she couldn’t withstand that power, her body might collapse the moment it descended. But it seemed that cultivating the Dragon Sutra could enhance her physical strength, possibly complementing the “Dao De Tian Shu”?
Li Jingyu didn’t continue to disturb Ji Yutang. If it could be achieved in one go, it wouldn’t be the fundamental scripture of the Supreme Path.
Three days later.
An old man in gray dragged a blood-soaked bronze cauldron into the stone chamber, his power surging, instantly igniting a fire beneath the cauldron. He held a bone knife in his left hand, looking at Ji Yutang and Li Jingyu with interest, saying, “Eating the two of you, the path to the primordial spirit is within reach.”
Seeing the two in the cage remain calm, without panicked screams, Ye Guguang’s expression suddenly darkened, and he sinisterly threatened, “I will use this dull knife to cut open your chests and extract your hearts. You won’t die; you’ll watch your limbs being torn off in a pool of blood, leaving only your torsos writhing.”
“You demon, why so much nonsense?” Tu Danzhu’s cold sneer sounded, her gaze piercing through her black hair, landing on Ye Guguang. He didn’t even glance at her, merely using a blood curse to stimulate the vines, devouring her flesh. The extreme pain twisted Tu Danzhu’s face, and she bit her lip hard, cursing the old man.
The old man looked at her with amusement, saying, “You want me to give you a quick death? Do you think I’m a fool, letting your seal be triggered?” He enjoyed watching Tu Danzhu’s face contorted with pain, not even bothering with the fire under the bronze cauldron.
Li Jingyu looked at Ye Guguang expressionlessly.
Although power was suppressed here, the restrictions on her Dao robe could still be triggered, but it required external force. Her power was of the water element, of the lunar aspect, and in that bronze cauldron, she could use it to break the restrictions. Li Jingyu’s mind turned, about to speak, when she suddenly heard Ji Yutang whisper in her ear, “Daoist Li, I’ve sensed that Dao intent. You stall for a while!”
Li Jingyu: “…”
