There are no ancestors at all; I made them all up.

Chapter 4 The Law of Dreams Lies Within Books

"Since it's a dream, the different flow of time is quite reasonable!"

The thought had barely formed when a white mist surged in his mind, transmitting a piece of information that startled Chen Qing, who then suddenly understood.

“Each time you enter a dream, the outside world is one dream, while the dream is seven days. However, the entry point for each dream may be random and may not continue from the end of the previous dream. If you consume a Dao Mark to leave a wedge, you can continue the previous dream. Or if you want to exceed seven days in a dream, you can consume a Dao Mark to increase the dream time... Hmm, there is no need for that for now.”

Feeling the newly absorbed spiritual energy flowing through his limbs and bones, with faint signs of it about to detach and dissipate, Chen Qing immediately calmed his mind and focused on guiding the spiritual energy through its circulation, eventually returning it to his dantian.

In an instant, his dantian became increasingly full, and the golden light three inches below his navel faintly increased!

“Master once said that in ancient times, cultivators broke through to the next level entirely based on their aptitude and comprehension. Because the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was abundant, there was no need to painstakingly accumulate spiritual energy. Therefore, the golden light below the navel indicates the potential for foundation building. The longer it grows, the brighter it becomes, and the higher the aptitude!”

"The spiritual energy in the world is scarce nowadays, so one needs to borrow external things to break through realms. Both major and minor realms require corresponding rare and precious materials, medicinal herbs and pills."

"If I can receive spiritual feedback from my dreams every time, I might be able to save resources and leave them for my disciples to use."

After channeling his spiritual energy into his dantian, Chen Qing recalled his experience with "Chen Xu" in his dream.

Seven days is neither a long nor a short time, but the gains from being confined in the small space of a prison cell are limited.

"I wonder if the Primordial Immortal Dynasty ever truly existed in history. If it did, gathering more information would make things much easier in dreams. But the history of this world is said to date back hundreds of thousands of years. With such a long period of time, how easy is it to verify an immortal dynasty?"

He savored the feeling of abundant spiritual energy in his dream: "In the dream era, the spiritual energy between heaven and earth was extremely abundant, making it easy to absorb spiritual energy. Chen Xu has an extraordinary background. Although his cultivation was destroyed, he probably has the foundation of the second realm. Experiencing his dreams more often may help me break through to the next realm..."

Thinking of this, Chen Qing recalled the key points of his master's teachings on attaining enlightenment:

The path of cultivation lies in cultivating both nature and life. Cultivating nature focuses on cultivating one's mind and understanding one's origin, while cultivating life focuses on refining the physical body and strengthening one's foundation. Therefore, in the path of cultivation, nature and life are inseparable.

The first stage of Taoist cultivation, "The Initial Opening of the Yellow Court," strengthens the internal organs, enhances the physique, nourishes the vital energy, opens the dantian, and develops the essence and spirit.

The second stage of Taoist cultivation, "Chonghe Foundation Building," involves drawing Qi to cleanse the marrow, planting talismans to purify impurities, nurturing the Qi of Great Harmony, and condensing the natal spiritual talisman.

The third stage of Taoist cultivation, "Mysterious Unity," involves moving from destiny to nature, condensing the Yin spirit, cultivating both nature and destiny, and achieving a state where form and spirit are both separated and unified.

These three realms, also known as the "Three Initial Realms of Cultivation," are collectively referred to as "Foundation Building and Body Refinement." Their purpose is to temper the physical body to serve as a raft for crossing the world and to lay the foundation for spiritual cultivation.

"I have now reached the peak of the first realm, while my master is at the mid-stage of the second realm. I heard that my grandmaster achieved the third realm through a secret method. Logically speaking, the lifespan of the second realm is two hundred years, and the lifespan of the third realm is three hundred years, but neither of them were able to enjoy their full lifespan..."

Just as he was pondering, he suddenly heard a noise outside the window. Chen Qing looked in the direction of the sound and saw Fang Da'ao tiptoeing towards the backyard.

He frowned and quietly followed.

A few steps later, they arrived at the open space in the backyard, where Fang Da'ao was practicing the Bear Stance from the Five Animal Frolics, his fists whistling through the air.

"Is he under pressure and secretly practicing extra?" Chen Qing thought to himself. "But if he only focuses on physical training and doesn't keep up with the medicinal baths and dietary supplements, it will damage his foundation."

Fang Da'ao and the others were all teenagers. Although they had been training their bodies for several years, they had not yet reached the point of sufficient energy and stable qi. They had not truly begun cultivation and were not even first-level cultivators. Their mortal bodies could not withstand such rigorous training.

Thinking of this, Chen Qing spoke up directly: "The path of cultivation values ​​both body and mind. Our Hidden Star Sect's guiding technique can still strengthen the body even after one has stepped into the first realm, but it emphasizes gradual progress. Haste makes waste."

Fang Da'ao froze upon hearing this, scratching his head sheepishly: "Uncle-Master, you caught me practicing secretly for the first time..."

"You think you can fool me with your little tricks?" Chen Qing approached and cautioned, "Practicing physical training and martial arts without the aid of medicinal diet will only deplete your qi and blood, making you weaker and weaker. That's why people say that the poor study literature and the rich study martial arts. You can't train your body without money and medicine."

"Han Sha is gone, and Xiao Yao is still young. If I don't work hard, how can I revitalize the sect?" Fang Da'ao said, hesitating slightly, before finally adding, "Besides, when I woke up, I felt a warm sensation in my abdomen. I remembered what my master said: the sign of entering the first realm is a warm current in the dantian, followed by a surge in strength. I thought, what if this is the feeling coming, and I don't want to miss the opportunity, that's why..."

"Your dantian feels warm?" Upon hearing this, Chen Qing was first delighted, then said seriously, "Although cultivation relies on opportunities to break through realms, the foundation building stage emphasizes accumulation over time. Only when you have accumulated enough can you achieve unstoppable progress!"

Fang Da'ao seemed to be thinking about something. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Uncle-Master, according to what you just said, after entering the initial stage, one can still continue to cultivate using the Five Animals Guiding Technique?"

Chen Qing nodded and said, "That's right. The Five Animals Guiding Technique is not a secret technique; various sects have similar techniques. The uniqueness of our Hidden Star Sect lies in the visualization, breathing, and circulation of Qi throughout the body, as well as the auxiliary medicinal formulas."

After digesting the information for a moment, Fang Da'ao asked again, "But I am dull-witted and not as talented as Han Sha. I am afraid I will have difficulty cultivating the orthodox methods of the Xuanmen sect. Wouldn't the next generation of the sect decline? Why don't you go down the mountain to find some people with excellent aptitude and talent so that you can inherit my mantle?"

Seeds for spiritual practice are not so easy to find!

Besides, my talent is only so-so...

Upon realizing this, Chen Qing pondered for a moment and said, "The methods of cultivation have been passed down since ancient times and have become increasingly perfect. Today's method not only divides major realms, but each realm is further divided into early, middle, late, and perfect stages. These divisions are not deliberate, but rather a gradual approach, the result of continuous improvement and annotation by generations of cultivators. Each stage has clear key points and corresponding medicinal materials, which truly lowers the threshold and difficulty of cultivation. You only need to focus on cultivation, and you can make progress on your own."

"I understand!" Fang Da'ao's eyes lit up, and he was full of energy again. He also listened to advice and went back to his room to catch up on sleep.

After he left, Chen Qing sighed inwardly.

What he said was true, but the core techniques of the Hidden Star Sect were only incomplete.

Where is the damage?

The cultivation techniques are vague, the medicinal formulas are incomplete, and even half of the visualization diagram is missing! Otherwise, how could progress be so slow? And why demand such high aptitude and comprehension? It's simply because the conditions aren't right, so talent has to make up for it!

“I’m starting to understand Master a bit now. Managing a sect does require verbal reassurance. But reassurance alone isn’t a long-term solution. Once Da’ao and the others reach the first realm, the problems will inevitably surface sooner or later.” This worry intensified a few hours later. Chen Qing noticed that Qu Xiaoyao was acting out of character, diligently studying characters with a desperate air, completely unlike his usual carefree and relaxed self. Clearly, he was also under pressure.

Therefore, he was constantly worried during the day and could only catch his breath at night.

"Let's first explore the dream entry method in the 'Records of the Great Void Dao.' Given the Hidden Star Sect's current situation, it's too difficult to turn things around by following the established path. If there's any chance of a turnaround, perhaps it lies within this dream, hmm?"

When he entered the dream platform and opened the "Records of the Great Void" again, he found that the ink marks on the first page had increased from ten to eleven.

"This extra dish..."

With a light touch of his finger, Chen Qing immediately understood.

"As expected, it came from the enlightenment of the Great Ao. He gained some insight, and I gained some knowledge in my dream. This provides a stable way to obtain Dao traces. I was originally thinking of using them sparingly, but now I can relax a bit."

Thinking this, he silently recited "enter the dream," and his consciousness was once again drawn into the pages of the book.

"Last time I dreamt for seven days, imprisoned in jail, but woke up just before my release. However, the timing of each dream is different. I don't know how much time has passed this time..."

When Chen Qing opened his eyes, what greeted him was not the dark and damp prison ceiling, but bright sunlight and dappled shadows of trees.

A gentle breeze caressed my face, making me feel exceptionally comfortable.

He subconsciously took a deep breath, the fragrance filling his body, carrying a unique charm!
Chen Qing was taken aback for a moment, then realized what was happening!

This is incredibly rich spiritual energy!
"With just a casual breath, so much spiritual energy is mixed in. What a wonderful era! But where am I? Hmm!"

He suddenly had a splitting headache, and countless fragments of memories flooded back!

After a moment, Chen Qing let out a long sigh and looked at a cluster of houses in the distance: "The time points of entering the dream were indeed not continuous. Seven years have passed since I left last time!"

Those fragments were Chen Xu's memories from the past seven years.

Seven years ago, Chen Xu was freed from the Xuanyu prison because of a word from the Tenth Princess and was brought to Tingfeng City.

This city was the fiefdom of the tenth princess.

The princess nominally recruited a group of cultivators with clean backgrounds, basic cultivation skills, and relatively young age to serve as guards, but in reality, it was to "test their abilities."

"Before the establishment of the Primordial Immortal Dynasty, the hundred races vied for supremacy. The sages of the human race pioneered the path of cultivation and rose to prominence from it. However, the talents and aptitudes of later generations were inferior to those of the founders. In addition, the cultivation methods were rudimentary and had many unclear aspects. Learning their methods was naturally inefficient and yielded very little progress. As a result, many modified methods were developed, and thus many sects and families were born."

Upon arriving in the city, the city lord, Xu Ruohuai, answered the visitors' questions.

At that time, the city lord also bluntly stated: "Princess Xiyao, as a descendant of an immortal emperor, is born with extraordinary abilities and a resilient soul and bones, making it difficult for her to cultivate using conventional methods. Therefore, it is necessary for you all to test your skills and adjust the cultivation method for the princess's reference and practice!"

"To specifically raise cultivators to test their skills and explore the advantages and disadvantages of various cultivation methods is truly extravagant." Chen Qing shook his head, pulling himself out of his thoughts. "However, this can be considered a case of what one thinks about during the day manifesting in one's dreams at night. During the day, Da'ao and Xiaoyao were struggling with their slow progress, and so was I. Who knew that the ancients in my dream were also troubled by the same problem, only for different reasons: one had an incomplete cultivation method, and the other..."

He suddenly froze, squinting as he pondered: "If this is a test of skill, what's the difference between testing it for the princess and testing it for my nephew, or testing it for my physical body? This is a dream; this body and identity are all fictional. There's no need for any scruples!"

According to his memory, he pointed out the hidden dangers in the princess's cultivation that day and was chosen as the fourth person. However, after being chosen, the tenth princess never showed up to inquire about the hidden dangers. After "Chen Xu" arrived in Tingfeng City, he was placed in a mountain villa and no one asked about him for a long time.

"She's not in a hurry, and I'm even less in a hurry. Besides, it's just a dream, so it's quite reasonable that it's intermittent."

More than the princess's affair, Chen Qing was concerned about his cultivation over the past seven years. In his dream, after arriving at this secluded courtyard, he chose the "Taiyue Tongtian Jue" as his main cultivation method and has now reached the first stage of perfection.

"Although my body's meridians were quickly opened in this dream, my foundation was still only at the first realm. Now, I'm starting over with the cultivation method again, but this Taiyue Tongtian Technique..."

After recalling the details of this technique, Chen Qing looked surprised.

However, this cultivation method is too crude, and it only lists three realms! There is no detailed division of realms, no key annotations, and not even the pill formulas and medicinal ingredients to assist cultivation. In terms of content, it is even more incomplete than the "Haiyue Fragment"!
With his seventeen years of experience in painstakingly studying the "Haiyue Fragmentary Scrolls", Chen Qing could easily discover many omissions and areas for improvement.

"How could someone with such an incomplete cultivation have reached perfection in seven years? Is it because Chen Xu has a solid foundation, or because of the abundance of spiritual energy?"

In his astonishment, he delved into his memories and finally discovered the unique aspect of this skill—

The opening of the "Taiyue Tongtian Jue" was a complete visualization diagram. In the diagram, strange peaks pierced the clouds. Just recalling it made Chen Qing's mind tremble, and he felt as if his mind was about to fly out from the top of his head!
"The mere memory is enough to shake one's mind; this visualization diagram must be of extremely high quality!"

Upon realizing that the cultivation technique was originally in Chen Xu's room, Chen Qing couldn't sit still any longer. He immediately got up to return, but after taking only two steps, he was stopped by a short, stout figure.

"Chen Xu, we've finally found you!" The newcomer was clearly familiar with "Chen Xu." "Today they're going to test our cultivation insights again! We have to escape quickly! We have to get out of here to save our lives!"

"escape?"

Chen Qing was taken aback, then shook his head.

"Why bother running away in your dreams?"

　Sigh, it's tough being a newbie...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)