Chapter 277: Lecture on Daoism

　　Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

　　Before Shen Lian set foot in the Sword Palace, he saw countless abrasions and sword scratch marks across the marbled rocks. The grand majestic sword palace was scattered with shards of glass and tiles.

　　It was apparent that there had been a big battle.

　　One of Zuo Shaoqing’s fellow disciple mentioned, “Zhenren Shen, all these are damages caused by our senior Doyen while he was fighting with our Chief before he ran on mutiny.” It was not that the restriction of Qingjiang Sword Sect that was lacking, but Huang Longzi had invaded this mountain and shook its spiritual node, and significantly weakened the defense of the sword palace.

　　Because of this, Meng Xunzhen had a big fight with the previous Chief of Qingjiang Sword Sect and caused such commotion.

　　Shen Lian put his hands behind his back and said, “I never expected that Qingjiang would stoop to this level after depending on me. Don’t worry, I will stay on this mountain for a month and resolve all your difficulties in your cultivation. From here on, Shaoqing should stay here too to give you pointers.”

　　The disciple replied, “Thank you Zhenren Shen, but there is one more thing.”

　　Zuo Shaoqing sneered, “That is enough.”

　　Shen Lian showed his hand, “What is it? Just tell me.”

　　That disciple glanced at Zuo Shaoqing, whose eyes were filled with fury, yet he bit his teeth, bowed with his head to the ground, and said to Shen Lian, “Recently, Chiyan Clan, Five Venoms Order, Dark Wind Cave have been spying on our sect. I humbly request Zhenren to take charge of this for us.”

　　Shen Lian thought for a while, and he remembered that these three orders were the sects from the Nanjiang region. They were neither large nor small in size, not as grand as the previous Qingjiang, but with the recent leftover members of Qingjiang were like a couple of kittens, it made them comparatively stronger.

　　Zuo Shaoqing did not want them to mention this because he did not want to trouble Shen Lian further and get through trial on his own. One must mention that since that direct encounter with Huang Longzi in his dragon form, he grew by a large scale, including his True Wandering Light Sword which had sharper sword spirit, possibly exceeding his teacher Meng Xunzhen.

　　Shen Lian smiled, “No problem. Next time they dare come again, I will teach them a lesson.”

　　He had the whole order on his shoulders. With his unmeasurable supernatural power, he speaking up would be a pill of relief for these disciples. They knew that Shen Lian did not forsake them because Qingjiang Sword Sect had fallen, so they were more grateful for that.

　　Instantly, Shen Lian was sitting on the rubbles of the Sword Palace, whereas Ruoxi was standing beside him. The setting sun shone on him, making him glow like a godly man.

　　Shen Lian asked, “Do you lot want to learn about Dao of Swordsmanship?”

　　A disciple then replied, “What are the essential points of learning swordsmanship and Daoism? Zhenren please enlighten us.”

　　Shen Lian continued, “A swordsman holds a sword in his hands to charge past ensuing trials. He would cut down any rough encounters and remain cheerful for life. That is not the case with pursuing Daoism. You would learn about the theories of advance and retreat. Your heart may be free, but your body may feel restricted, and finally just age without any achievement and wilt on a brick or tile with no one remembering you.”

　　Another person asked, “We have been learning swordsmanship since admitting into this sect, but we do not feel any more cheerful, can you tell us why that is the case, Zhenren Shen?”

　　Shen Lian chuckled, “Only one reason, your swords are blunt.”

　　This reply triggered the laughter among the crowd. They all thought that this Zhenren Shen was so noble, but yet his words were so much approachable than the other elders.

　　Someone shouted, “How about Zhenren give us a brief lesson of both?”

　　Zuo Shaoqing sneered, “Nonsense, you don’t get to choose what Zhenren Shen has to say.”

　　These energetic young disciples saw that Shen Lian was rather easy going, so they let down their initial cautiousness, just like the village kids who saw a young teacher, their guts grew more as they saw that this teacher had no arrogance.

　　They got louder and louder. Actually, this was their way of releasing their restrained emotions after the recent fall of their sect and the pressure on them being spied on by other clans.

　　Shen Lian said, “Everyone be quiet and sit down. Since you all want to hear it, I shall tell you a few points in these days.” His voice was not loud, but with the release of some spiritual pressure, these young men automatically settled down.

　　They all sat under Shen Lian, despite the dust on the floor. Qingjiang Sword Sect’s cultivation process had always been tough. Since the defection of Meng Xunzhen, which caused a mess to the Sword Palace, they just found any spot to cultivate and practice their Qi techniques.

　　The administration of the sect had to depend on Jiang Shuijie. So the placement of restriction on the Sword Palace still depended on the return of Jiang Shuijie.

　　Zuo Shaoqing might have some reputation amongst his apprentice brothers, but he was not good at leading them in chore works.

　　Moreover, the difficult environment could help their cultivation as well.

　　He had been passing down his knowledge to his apprentice siblings without reservation. He would not do this in the past, but after spending a few years with Shen Lian, he was influenced to do so.

　　As Shen Lian saw that everyone was settled down, and Ruoxi sat quietly on the side, he started his holy teachings. He said steadily, “When there is life, there will be death. But to complete the cycle and achieve holiness, one must not withhold its shape. Just like Huandan, undead and restless in life, and once its inner essence is gained, one can become a fairy. This is the real way of acting. Since the beginning, there has been may gods who gained Dao, but they never mentioned Huandan…”

　　As Shen Lian mentioned Huandan, the disciples all paid attention. When Shen Lian started, they never bothered, but they never expected him to lecture on the ‘The Dao to Huandan’.

　　All along, Huandan had been unable to enter through the heaven moat. Most of the cultivators in the world had not succeeded in achieving Huandan. Even those who succeeded did so with outer assistance.

　　Even some seniors who succeeded in achieving Huandan did so without the real essence of it. If they were to repeat it, they might not succeed again.

　　Take the four main Daoist sects for example, in their long history; only two or three cultivators who achieved Huandan on their own emerged every one hundred years. If five or six had emerged, that would be a grand world event.

　　Afterall, achieving Huandan on one’s own would mean entering Powang with one’s own abilities. Whether one achieve immortality or not would depend on one’s own doing, but the probability would still be ninety-nine percent compared to any other cultivator.

　　The path to Huandan might be hard to describe with words, or even more abstruse than the Buddhist heart mantra, but the explanation from Shen Lian would bring some light to them.

　　Especially helpful for Zuo Shaoqing who was half a step away from achieving Huandan, but still could not find the trick.

　　Although Shen Lian was not really involved in the process of Huandan, this abstruse feeling still helped him improve himself.

　　That was the biggest difference between normal disciples and the four main Daoist sects. Their first lesson would be to study the supernatural Dao techniques, making clear of every step in cultivation, put more emphasis on mana, and try their luck on the verge of Huandan.

　　If Qing Xuan had emphasized, ‘to practice cultivation, one should practice their heart first’, it would look like the sect had no concern for their disciples. But they did not purposely drive their disciples to pursue a certain realm, and frequently had Doyens giving Daoism lectures to explain the concept within, and not emphasizing on the method.

　　Previously when Chen Jianmei achieved Chushen in three years, and Ruhua in ten years, other sects would have let him go out and wander around. However Zhang Ruoxu knew Chen Jianmei very well, so he let Chen Jianmei meditate for decades in the mountains until he felt the loneliness which eventually turned into the fuel to achieve Huandan.

　　Shen Lian had no talent in pass on the method of achieving Huandan to the disciples of Qingjiang. He was just giving them a sort of psychological hint. Whether or not anyone used this hint and meditated on it, that would depend on their own doing.

　　He need not exaggerate things, but all the disciples listened attentively, including Ruoxi.

　　Suddenly, a noise was heard from the foot of the mountain.