The wise can err despite a thousand considerations, while the foolish may succeed from the same.
Pei Xuanjing had always believed in the idea that the wisdom of one falls short, while the collective wisdom of many is far-reaching. In his view, the pioneering of any Dao was never an easy feat for one person to accomplish alone; the so-called pathfinder's efforts were but a guiding role. The true levelling of the path to allow everyone access inevitably required the wisdom of countless individuals.
By gathering the wisdom of all beings and transforming it into my own cultivation sustenance, it becomes an aid as I strive for higher peaks. In the same vein, awaiting me atop that summit is the chance to build from a high vantage point—systematically organizing the path I've trodden to assist those who come after me, reducing their time expenditure and the cost of trial and error. This creates a win-win situation.
Pei Xuanjing did not only think this way, but he also acted accordingly. His initial purpose for establishing the Li Tao Academy was just that. After its establishment, he gathered techniques of various families, created countless new skills and divine power methods for innumerable academy disciples to learn, and similarly, he absorbed their ingenious and unique insights into the skills, their sparks of wisdom, to foster his own growth.
Just like the Martial Arts that Pei Xuanjing sought to perfect, although it had only been a few short decades, the Martial Arts Techniques he developed and deduced, comparable to the Paths of Refining Qi and Refining Spirit, were also disseminated within the academy. As the headmaster of the academy, Pei Xuanjing's prestige was unmatched; therefore, as the academy's offerings, the disciples would certainly not overlook them.
Hence, although the system for Martial Arts had yet to be established and many academy disciples did not immediately focus their cultivation on it, it did not prevent them from beginning to practice it alongside their primary disciplines as they tried out these Martial Arts Techniques.
…
Time and the myriad things and spirits have no identical flowers; even the same skill is perceived differently by different eyes. Thus, even the skills pioneered and deduced by Pei Xuanjing from the vantage point of the Nine Realms of Spirit Realm were not entirely flawless. As the originator of the skills, these were most suited to him and not necessarily a perfect match for everyone.
Before the academy's disciples entered the Spirit Realm, all the academy instructors would tell them a phrase left by Pei Xuanjing: "Ancestors' laws are not sufficient, and the Heavenly Dao is not to be feared."
All academy disciples must keep in mind that there is no ultimate skill, only the most suitable one for oneself. In the process of cultivating any skill, there is no need to replicate entirely. Doing so means following the path of the predecessors; they need to ponder and tread their own Dao.
Therefore, the academy's many disciples all enjoy discussing the Dao, sharing their insights gained through cultivation. Although this process inevitably leads to conflicts, with some disputes escalating from debates to physical confrontations, as long as lives are not endangered, the academy's many instructors let these disputes take their own course, even encouraging them.
There's a saying that practice trumps theory. You claim your understanding and enlightenment to be the best, but if you can't beat me, it proves your insights are incorrect, without my strength.
In cultivation, Realm and power are fundamental, the most authentic principles. Not that there are no eloquent discourse masters among the academy's disciples, but when facing their strong but silent peers, they can only scurry away in defeat.
Similarly, just as it is among the academy's disciples, conflicts are inevitable among the many instructors, or rather, because of the different teaching methods employed in guiding disciples, their disputes are even more significant.
Perhaps out of respect for an instructor's dignity, or maybe because their strength is on par and no victor can emerge, then using their respective disciples to determine who's superior is also an acceptable solution.
"It's a pity that even ordinary disciples in the academy understand a principle that these top forces fail to grasp," Pei Xuanjing frowned and shook his head, "No, it's not that they don't understand, but rather they are unwilling, just unwilling to share their prized possessions."
The academy's disciples all know that by exchanging and sharing knowledge, they can gain more, benefiting their cultivation; surely disciples from those top forces understand this too.
But they are reluctant!
Even when Pei Xuanjing took the initiative to speak, not only did he selflessly express his many cultivation insights at the Shenxiao Debate Conference, but also, after entering Tianhuang Realm as an avatar and completing his study of the human sacrificial altar at the Witch Deity Teaching, he personally visited many top forces of Tianhuang and engaged in discussions with them. While they shared many things, they still would not exchange core information with Pei Xuanjing.
The secret to Becoming Immortal is related to the Sect's millennia of heritage—all efforts of the Sect's predecessors over thousands of years. How could such knowledge be lightly imparted to others?
This was the response Pei Xuanjing received from an unnamed Supreme Strong after proposing an exchange of insights on the path to immortality during his visits to various top forces in Tianhuang Realm.
The myriad top forces of Tianhuang Realm today, aside from the newly risen Taixu Sect in Tianhuang, all have legacies that span thousands to tens of thousands of years, surviving one or even several cataclysms. They have given birth to countless Supreme Strong, whose experiences and insights into the Immortal Path are their true legacies.
In their view, Pei Xuanjing merely wanted to freeload off of them. After all, even though he was powerful, he had only risen for a mere century or so, and likely had not reached the pinnacle of the Strongest Realm. Whatever insights he had into the Immortal Path were certainly not worth exchanging in their eyes.
Under such circumstances, even Pei Xuanjing, the recently ascendant powerhouse imbued with grand Qi Luck, was insignificant in the face of these millennia-old top forces, naturally disinclined to engage in an overtly disadvantageous trade with him.
For them, the willingness to interact with Pei Xuanjing and to share some of the Supreme Strong or less critical skills and divine abilities unrelated to their Sect's core heritage with him, allowing him to peruse them, was already out of respect for his potential as a figure of the Revival of Heaven and Earth, carrying the tide of fortune.
In such a situation, when Pei Xuanjing faced rejection, he naturally had nothing to say, as the others had their reasons. Their willingness to share is kindness, their reluctance is a duty; he would not press them. After all, Pei Xuanjing was not the sort of person who thrives with favor and perishes with disfavor, like Long Aotian.
Of course, these interactions were not in vain; at the very least, even these exchanges had allowed Pei Xuanjing to see many things.
As the saying goes, by seeing just one spot, one can deduce the whole leopard. Sometimes, knowing just a tiny clue or piece of evidence can lead to significant conclusions.
Cause and effect are cyclical, the rotation of Yin and Yang—these are inconvenient eternal truths.
Those who practice Water Dao Skills cannot possibly condense the Laws of the Fire Dao, and cultivators of the Thunder Dao would not have initially built their foundation with Earth attribute skills.
All in all, at the very moment a cultivator begins their journey into the Spirit Realm and selects their skill, their eventual path has almost been determined.
Perhaps for the individual cultivator, they may encounter obstacles, setbacks, or grand opportunities during their cultivation process, leading them to abandon their current path and convert to another. However, such cases are few and far between for the majority of cultivators, no more than one in ten million.
Moreover, even if an individual cultivator encounters an opportunity that allows them to reshape their foundation and change their path, for a power, especially a top-tier power, their foundation has virtually been set in stone from the moment they establish their sect, beyond the possibility of major changes.
Even if a top-tier power were to gain inheritance of a powerful system, their first step would be to attempt to integrate this inheritance into their own. Only if this fails would they consider starting a separate lineage.
…
But that is all there is to it; they definitely would not replace the foundational inheritance of their sect even if they obtained another powerful system's inheritance. Lesser powers might, but top-tier powers definitely would not.
Because their existing inheritance system has already forged the foundation of a top-tier power and has been proven successful, there is no need for them to gamble like the lesser powers. In fact, such a gamble is the most dangerous for top-tier powers. What if there is an unknown danger within this inheritance? Centuries of foundation could be destroyed in an instant.
Thus, the foundational system of each top-tier power is complete, with the most widely circulated and practiced disciplines by their disciples forming their core paths.
Although they are reluctant to share their most core secrets, Pei Xuanjing could still infer their respective paths to becoming immortal by observing the cultivation skills they practice at the Spirit Realm.
"Xuantian Sect, the leader of the Righteous Path, outwardly professes alignment with the Taoist School, but in fact, this Xuantian Sect is not quite so. Its origins should be more than meets the eye," Pei Xuanjing thought with a smile after reviewing those skills in Xuantian Sect.
Xuantian, meaning the mysterious heavens, naturally refers to the sky in the north. And who governs the northern sky?
From the perspective of the Taoist School, it should naturally be the Northern Black Emperor, the Five Qi Xuan Lao, the Black Emperor Wuling of the north. However, Pei Xuanjing could see that Xuantian Sect, although appearing to be of the Taoist School, does not actually belong to it, suggesting that its origin predates the Taoist School, undeniably bringing to mind another interpretation of Xuantian.
Xuantian, as the northern sky, and having Xuantian in its name naturally means it is the northern sky. According to legend, the northern sky is ruled by two emperors: aside from the pre-existing Black Emperor Wuling Xuan Lao of the Taoist School, there is also the human emperor Zhuanxu, who, born from the human race, ascended to the northern divine position through human worship.
Combining the ancient inheritance of Xuantian Sect, which existed before the rise of the Taoist School, with its likelihood, Xuantian Sect might very well be the lineage descendant of the ancient human Emperor Zhuanxu.
Of course, all this is just Pei Xuanjing's speculation about the origins of Xuantian Sect and has yet to be fully confirmed.
However, combining these two speculations with Xuantian Sect's fundamental skills, Pei Xuanjing could roughly guess that the sect's supreme strong should be pursuing one of two directions: the Earthly Immortal Path or the Heavenly Immortal Path.
No matter what others think, at this moment, Pei Xuanjing divides the paths to ascending to true immortality of the countless supreme strong between Heaven and Earth according to the Way of the Five Immortals of Heaven, Earth, Man, God, and Ghost that he himself has resonated with.
If Xuantian Sect truly is the lineage descendant of the ancient Black Emperor Zhuanxu, their dwelling, the Xuantian Cave-Heaven Paradise, is far from ordinary. Over the years, it has likely been refined to the utmost degree, and the innumerable disciples and followers of Xuantian Sect, as well as the citizens they protect, all adhere to Xuantian Sect's commands.
Waiting for the moment of Heaven and Earth Ascension, breaking the last constraints, raising Xuantian Cave World to a world of Xuantian. As long as a Supreme Strong is willing to merge with the world, they can possess many traits of an Earthly Immortal and transform into a True Immortal of the Earthly Immortal Path.
Of course, for Pei Xuanjing, such Earthly Immortal Taoist Fruit is also within reach, but for the current Pei Xuanjing, it is only the weakest path. He holds the Longevity World in his hands, differing from Xuantian Sect in that there are too few beings in Longevity World to foster a complete and civilized system. Even if he were to merge with Longevity World, it would take a long time to develop, better not to hurry this step.
If Xuantian Sect truly is, as they claim, of the Taoist School, then they might very well be following the Heavenly Immortal Way. Over the years, generations of powerhouses have carried on the legacy, and it is likely that Xuantian Sect's Refining Qi methods have been perfected countless times and already deduced how to become a True Immortal countless times.
This is inheritance; this is the essence that top-tier powers have accumulated over millennia. Even though Pei Xuanjing has established the Taoist Academy and has countless disciples to assist, it still takes a long time to accumulate knowledge about these core matters.
Sometimes time is insignificant for cultivation, yet at other times it is extremely important.
Pei Xuanjing has achieved great power and realm in a short period, but it is impossible to make up for the lack of knowledge and understanding in such a brief timeframe.
As for the cultivation methods of the Sword Sect, after sparring with many of the Sect's powerhouses and reviewing the Sword Sect's scriptures, Pei Xuanjing knew without much thought that the path to enlightenment for the Sect's powerhouses is likely the Heavenly Immortal Way, characterized by a sword that breaks through Myriad Laws and cleaves the heavens.
If one can truly ascend to the True Immortal Realm, the terrifying combat power of the Sword Way is probably not inferior to that of a Human Immortal who opens their personal cosmos and the larger cosmos.
In Pei Xuanjing's view, each class of the Way of the Five Immortals of Heaven, Earth, Man, God, and Ghost has its unique strengths, with Human Immortals likely being the most formidable in combat. However, in terms of deducing secrets, preserving life, and comprehending the Great Tao, they fall behind other classes. While the Heavenly Immortal Way is not lacking in combat, its strengths lie in other areas, being slightly inferior to the Human Immortal Path in terms of pure combat power.
Nevertheless, based on Pei Xuanjing's understanding of the Sword Way, if one can ascend to the True Immortal Realm and elevate the Sword Way, then in terms of attack power, it might be on par with that of a typical Human Immortal.
Heaven, Earth, Human, God, Ghost—five classifications of the Immortal Path. In Pei Xuanjing's view, they already encompassed most of the ascension methods to True Immortal that either top-tier forces or independent top powerhouses could possibly follow.
Xuantian Sect could achieve the status of True Immortal through the Earthly Immortal Path and the Heavenly Immortal Way, but if they were willing to spend time coagulating authority, no matter which northern God they represented or which Black Emperor they were, it was actually possible for them to ascend to True Immortal through the Dao of Spirit Immortals.
Similarly, although Sword Sect's foundation is based on the ascension through the Heavenly Immortal Way, as a top-tier force with a powerful Cave Heaven, Sword Sect could, if they devoted all their effort, certainly cultivate a strong Earth Immortal Path powerhouse.
In fact, many of these top-tier forces, as long as they have numerous disciples and are willing to use their Cave Heavens, which took countless years to build, to help one person succeed, all have a great chance to find a way through to True Immortal status. Even if they unfortunately fail, there is an opportunity to try again.
However, the time required by the Earth Immortal Path is too long. Aside from the few top forces that now have sufficient heritage to take a chance at this time of ascension between Heaven and Earth, other top forces simply don't qualify.
…
For instance, Xuan Du Guan, a top force, although they have several of the strongest individuals in their ranks, cannot succeed through the earth Immortal Path due to their scarce number of disciples, even though they possess a sect's Cave Heaven.
On the other hand, the Buddhist top-tier forces, what they seek to ascend to True Immortal status—or the so-called Arhat Fruition as per their terms—is something Pei Xuanjing isn't completely certain about. He can only guess broadly that it's most likely the Divine Tao, as for so many years when it comes to accumulating the Force of Faith Incense, Buddhism is naturally the most extensive. In this regard, Buddhism could be considered as overshadowing The Heroes, even the Taoist School and the Demonic Way can't compete with them.
Moreover, aside from the Power of Incense Fire, it would not surprise Pei Xuanjing if Buddhism succeeded through the Human Immortal Path and Earth Immortal Path as well.
The path of Body Refining, one of the most mainstream cultivation systems in Heaven and Earth, is extensively practiced by countless cultivators in the Demonic Way and Demon Race, but even more so in Buddhism. The cultivators within Buddhism's cultivation system have inherently strong physical cultivation, not to mention those who focus intensely on the physical aspect. Their physical bodies are immensely powerful, not at all inferior to Pei Xuanjing's before being tempered with Chaos Qi.
Furthermore, Buddhist realms like the Eternal Sand World and Pure Land are also long-standing legends known by many cultivators.
"Dragon Tiger Mountain, this Ancestor Celestial Master's cards are a bit unclear. Not only is he one of the forefathers of the Taoist School, unparalleled in the Talisman Method, he is also proficient in the Sword Way. In addition to establishing the Zhengyi Alliance Prestige and commanding Ghost Gods, if he ascended to True Immortal through the Divine Tao and took hold of the Authority, I wouldn't be surprised at all," Pei Xuanjing said with a curious look in his eyes.
The old Celestial Master of Dragon Tiger Mountain is actually quite formidable; a figure in the Taoist School that cannot be overlooked. He has gathered an immense Force of Faith Incense; when establishing the prestige of the Zhengyi Alliance, it is unlikely anyone would believe he didn't receive the patronage and Divine Spirit Authority from Heaven and Earth.
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Perhaps the Ancestor Celestial Master was once so devoted to the Tao that he overlooked this aspect and didn't care about the Incense God Path, which many powerhouses dismissed. However, after Pei Xuanjing's experience of opening a Divine Kingdom by using the vast Force of Faith Incense and inadvertently creating a Small Thousand World, he would certainly not overlook it any longer.
It's not just the Ancestor Celestial Master who believes this; all the Supreme Strong Between Heaven and Earth once looked down on the Incense God Path. However, with Pei Xuanjing's example and his unreserved teachings at the Shenxiao Debate Conference, it is unlikely these individuals have not studied this area in recent years. That would truly underestimate the world's Powerhouses.
Every cultivator who has reached the Strongest Realm is extraordinary; even what they consider mediocre is only relative to those stronger in the same realm. They might have extreme or violent tendencies or be peaceful, among other traits, but their ability to discern certain things is absolutely capable.
Pei Xuanjing's explications at the Shenxiao Debate Conference, along with his own accomplishments, naturally led others to study these matters. After all, in the absence of True Immortals, no one knows whose path is the correct one. Hence, having more attempts is naturally the best course of action.
As time drifted leisurely by, the stronger Pei Xuanjing became and the higher his realm, he found his concern for time diminishing. He used to think that a few years or even a decade passed quickly, but now a hundred years seemed like the mere flick of a finger.
A hundred years had passed since the merging of the two worlds, and Pei Xuanjing was now three hundred years old. Yet, for cultivators of the Sky Wasteland Realm, even those who have just advanced to the Spirit Realm, three hundred years is not considered much, let alone those Supreme Strong who have lived for thousands, nearly ten thousand years.
However, for Pei Xuanjing, if his time in the life simulation isn't counted, he felt like he had lived through an entire feudal Dynasty from its rise to fall.
"The moment to ascend is drawing near, the genuine merging of the two worlds will be the optimal opportunity for enlightenment. And if you can seize it, even if you fail to ascend, you'll still gain significant benefits," Pei Xuanjing said to the few in front of him at Shenxiao Mountain.
Three people stood before him—Wu Shijiu, Zhu Houji, the lord of the Great Ming Divine Dynasty, and an unexpected figure, Wang Boan.
About ten years prior, these three came together, with one inquiring when the worlds would authentically merge and when these Supreme Strong could seek enlightenment. The other expressed willingness to assist as Protectors during Pei Xuanjing's moment of enlightenment.
Pei Xuanjing didn't refuse their kindness, fully aware that during the process of becoming a True Immortal, the tribulations sent by Heaven and Earth may not be the greatest challenge, but rather those who obstruct the way could be the biggest trouble.
Although he was confident and had ample trump cards, the presence of these three unquestionably allowed Pei Xuanjing to be more prepared to deal with certain targets.
Wu Shijiu, also known as Sword Nineteen, recently breakthrough into the realm of the Supreme Strong, is now establishing his foundation. While he couldn't claim to suppress peers in his realm as Pei Xuanjing once did, he could certainly distract one.
Changes in Heaven and Earth strengthen ordinary beings, and for Zhu Houji, this is a continual enhancement. With the Human Path Treasures, the Xuanyuan Divine Sword in hand, he should definitely not be underestimated.