CHAPTER 48: 048 LOSSES EACH DAY FOR THE DAO

Facing the veiled invitation from Xiankong Ancestor, Shi Feiyang didn’t even think before immediately rejecting it in his heart.

Even Geng Peng, for one thing, he envied the Twelve Heavenly Forbidden Technique, and for another, Geng Peng had protected him in every way, eventually sustaining serious injuries to save his life and bring him to Wuding Island as he neared death. Only then did Shi Feiyang call him ’master’ before passing.

If it weren’t for the fact that the Heavenly Book could never be taken out of the Jade Box, if it weren’t for his desire to learn the "Chi You Three Disks Scripture," he wouldn’t even want to seek out Geng Kun.

Indeed, Xiankong Ancestor’s current power was something he could only look up to, but as to becoming his disciple, he was unwilling, let alone becoming his grandson.

He expressed to Xiankong Ancestor his intention to only take temporary refuge here and that his future path lay in Roc Bay, East Sea. He also emphatically thanked the ancestor for taking him in.

As a grandmaster of his generation, Xiankong Ancestor, seeing that Shi Feiyang had no intention of becoming his disciple, naturally would not insist. He gave a few more words of caution before heading back to his palace, feeling a touch of regret in his heart: When that mystical sound of Immortal Realm echoed, all the beasts lay dormant in the Qiong embroideries, and apart from me, everyone was intoxicated to the point of weakness. That Black Dragon, though within the cave, was unaffected by the powerful celestial music that could penetrate mountains and stone; his abilities to maintain clarity were indeed rare.

Since the time Geng Peng was disheartened and defeated many years ago, he hadn’t taken any disciples. Yet this time, he accepted this Black Dragon, risking his own life to bring him here on the verge of death. This showed something out of the ordinary in him. Initially, I wanted to take him as a junior disciple and listen to the immortal music together. Unfortunately, it seems he does not have such fortune. Beasts cannot compare to humans in root bone qualifications and are far behind in fate. Never mind, it seems I’ll be the only one to enjoy the celestial sounds.

He returned to the Immortal Mansion below the island and, to prevent missing the next Immortal music, set himself in meditation right in front of the Earth Cold Bell without returning to his sleeping palace.

Regarding the Earth Cold Bell sounding with Immortal music, he had many speculations: perhaps there was a significant celebration in the heavens, and the Heavenly Emperor had the fairies play music. If that was the case, he’d better cherish it. When the celebration ended, the music would likely stop, and then it would never be heard again. I’ve heard that a year on earth is but a day in heaven; if they celebrate for three days, I could listen for three years, which would indeed be a treat to my ears.

Could it be that the predecessors who ascended to heaven from this Immortal Mansion are playing at will above? But it’s uncertain whether they do it deliberately or not...

Several days later, the bell sounded again as Shi Feiyang practiced the Cave Spirit Zither.

Shi Feiyang focused primarily on cultivating his two inner cores and contemplating the 360 Golden Seals, which were his main subjects. In his spare time, he practiced various spells and trained with several Magical Treasures in hand.

He let out the three little figures from the Jade Box; it wouldn’t do to keep them confined in the box’s space continuously.

Mo Zhui was as lively as ever, Mo Xiang remained endearingly simple-minded, and the new member, Mo Ying, was somewhat quirky. He was entirely purple, shorter than Mo Zhui, and plumper, with noticeable baby fat on his cheeks and belly.

As Shi Feiyang cultivated, they watched on, and he taught them to identify the Heavenly Star Map and the positions of the sun and the moon, which all three learned with earnest dedication.

But every time the Spirit Zither played, it became too much for them. However, Shi Feiyang encouraged them to persevere: "Earth follows Heaven, Heavenly Dao, and Dao follows nature. Think of yourselves as part of nature, complaisant with nature, seeking to comprehend the Heavenly Dao."

After one song, all three collapsed to the ground, exhausted. Shi Feiyang picked them up one by one to check on them and confirmed they were all right.

Mo Zhui and Mo Ying felt utterly drained and uncomfortable, but Mo Xiang was thoroughly enjoying himself, exclaiming how comfortable it felt and asking to listen again.

Shi Feiyang played a new melody again, and after several attempts, he finally understood that the three of them were elves born from vegetation, said to be the closest to the innate, especially Mo Ying, who was the last to transform and still had an unsevered connection to the innate breath, thus being the closest to the Dao.

So it is said: "One who is full of virtue is like a newborn child," and this phrase captures that exact idea.

Among the three youngsters, the one full of the most virtue and truly nearest to the Dao was Mo Xiang, who always appeared rather foolish and as if lacking in cunning, with no traces of acquired contamination or various crafty thoughts, remaining purely innocent.

Therefore, when the sound of the zither resonated, it was Mo Zhui, who had transformed first, that found it the most distressing; Mo Ying followed in discomfort, whereas Mo Xiang quite enjoyed it.

From the three youngsters, Shi Feiyang was also gaining insights into the subtleties of entering the Dao, teaching the other two to learn from Mo Xiang, to strip away all acquired thoughts, and to revert to their innate origins.

So it is said: "In learning seek daily increase, in the Dao seek daily decrease," and this principle was what guided them.

He and the three youngsters learned from each other in the cave, continually improving both ways. His understanding of the natural Dao became even more profound, and the realm expressed through his zither music also reached new heights. Xiankong Ancestor, guarding the Earth Cold Bell, felt that each note carried profound meaning. He racked his brains trying to unravel its significance, but to no avail, growing so anxious that he almost wished he could tear the Earth Cold Bell apart.

Half a year passed in this manner, and on this day, Xiankong Ancestor was in front of the Earth Cold Bell, listening intently to the "Cloud Palace Rapid Sound." Fully immersed in the music, he suddenly noticed that his second disciple, Zheng Yuan Gui, was distracted.

Like everyone else, Zheng Yuan Gui was sitting upright on his cushion, but internally he had not followed the teachings of Xiankong Ancestor to clear his heart and merge form with spirit. Instead, his mind wandered, losing all concentration. Thus, within the bell’s sound, his whole body’s Qi and blood were quickly stirred. Even though the bell’s sound lacked any attacking force, he still felt his pulses boil, with the blood vessels between his heart and brain throbbing with the notes—especially the "dong dong dong" sounds were so loud that even Xiankong Ancestor could hear his heartbeat!

Other disciples might have also occasionally lost their focus, but under Xiankong Ancestor’s guidance, they all treated the music as if it were celestial melodies from heaven, listening respectfully. Thus, even if they were carried away by the music, they would at most become intoxicated and weak, with no serious consequences.

However, Zheng Yuan Gui harbored hostility and even cursed the Immortal playing the music to fall sooner so they wouldn’t have to be confined here daily, listening to what he thought was ridiculous music. He didn’t enjoy it, felt forced to listen, and grew irritable and restless, showing signs of deviating from the path.

The sound of the Earth resonated like wind and water, like mountains and rivers. Flowing with it painted one picture, while resisting it revealed another scene entirely.

Xiankong Ancestor saw that his second disciple was like mud that wouldn’t stick to the wall; he wanted to ignore him, letting Zheng Yuan Gui stray and deviate—lightly resulting in a rigid body, severely leading to spontaneous combustion. Reluctantly, he spoke out, "You lazy and useless thing! You don’t deserve to listen to this divine and exquisite music. Leave!"

With a wave of his sleeve, a surge of True Qi enveloped Zheng Yuan Gui, lifting him off the ground. He tumbled and rolled, thrown straight out of the gates of the Immortal Mansion.

Zheng Yuan Gui landed on the ground in a very sorry state, but his mind cleared up. He was convinced that his master looked down on him again, and with resentment in his heart, he turned and left.

When Xiankong Ancestor spoke, he used an Immortal Law to awaken Zheng Yuan Gui’s mind, shaping his voice into a thread that entered directly into Zheng Yuan Gui’s ears, inaudible to others but sounding like waves of an incoming tide to Zheng Yuan Gui.

These sound waves were also captured by the Earth Cold Bell, causing a resonance with the Cave Spirit Zither!

Shi Feiyang was concentrating on performing the "Cloud Palace Rapid Sound," when suddenly the zither strings quivered, and a voice came through: "You lazy and useless thing! You don’t deserve to listen to this divine and exquisite music. Leave!"

He was immediately dumbfounded, full of questions: Who is speaking? Saying I am lazy and useless? That I don’t deserve to listen to celestial music? Telling me to leave? But where to go?