The pad of her finger touched the ice-cold surface of the water. The silver fish did not dart forward, nor did it flee. Instead, it circled, cautiously approaching Zhao Chun's finger.
Zhao Chun's brow furrowed slightly. She nudged her finger forward, and the silver fish immediately shot towards her, its sharp fangs piercing her fingertip to take a mouthful of blood. Seeing this, her heart calmed a little.
The youth took in this strange sight but said nothing, only giving Zhao Chun a couple of subtle glances, his heart also filled with doubt. He silently retrieved the Jade Basin and nodded at the Daoist-robed Person.
“Mm, another one with immortal fate. What is your name?”
Zhao Chun lowered her head, clenching her still-throbbing fingertip into her fist. She had already calmed down from her initial joy and replied in a steady voice, “This little girl is Zhao Chun. Greetings, Immortal Master.”
The Daoist-robed Person saw that she was neither servile nor overbearing, her conduct appropriate. He grunted 'mm' again and said, “A steady one. Go take your seat.”
Zhao Chun sat down beside the only other selected girl. The other girl offered a shy smile and said, “My name is Zhou Pianran, the 'pianran' from the line 'a single skiff rides the wind, fluttering by'.” Her face was like a silver platter, her features fine and beautiful.
When she smiled, her eyes curved into crescents, making people unconsciously feel a sense of goodwill towards her.
“My name is Zhao Chun, the 'chun' from water shield.”
“I heard the Immortal Master ask your name just now. I thought it was the 'chun' that means pure and simple, but it turns out to be this 'chun'. The water shield flourishes in spring and delights in autumn. Both are very good.”
Zhao Chun could tell she was a girl of great cultivation, gentle and amiable in both speech and manner. They were the only two girls at the table, and Zhou Pianran, as if she had found her savior, asked, “I’m eleven this year. What about you?”
“I turned ten two months ago.”
Her eyes lit up, and she smiled, “Then you were born in the third month! I was also born in the third month, exactly one year older than you.” Zhao Chun was not one for much talk.
Zhou Pianran would ask a question, and she would answer. In the course of their questions and answers, she had already gained some understanding of the identities of the other selected candidates in front of them. Including Zhao Chun herself, there were six people in total.
The oldest was Liu Ziyi, who would be thirteen in just over a month. Of the other three, two were not from noble families. The tall, thin one was called Peng Zheng, and the slightly shorter, stockier one was Zhang Mingzhan.
As for the remaining one, he wore a Gold-inlaid Jade Longevity Lock around his neck and a Mutton-fat White Jade Bracelet on each arm. He had the broad forehead and thick nose of a wealthy person and, confident in his extraordinary status, did not speak to anyone else at the table.
Because Zhou Pianran had been selected before him, she had heard him reply when the Daoist-robed Person asked for his name: “My surname is Xie, my given name is Baoguang.”
“At first, I didn’t know which ‘bao’ or which ‘guang’. But when he came over, I took one look and knew exactly which ‘baoguang’ it was.”
Zhao Chun nodded. This Resplendence of Jewels all over his body, no wonder he had that name. While the two were talking in low voices, the secondary selection had already ended.
There were not many people after Zhao Chun to begin with, and none of them produced any strange phenomena. Thus, she became the last person to be selected. There were ten seats prepared, but only six were occupied.
Wang Chuyan had no immortal fate and could only follow behind the youth, not daring to take a seat. The Daoist-robed Person glanced at the remaining empty seats, his expression not particularly pleasant.
“Immortal fate is hard to come by. To be selected is already a great fortune. I hope the Immortal Master will not be troubled.”
The person who spoke wore black robes and a ceremonial crown, the very attire of the Monarch of Chu.
“Your Majesty has worked hard for this selection. This humble Daoist will naturally report this to the Sect, and a generous reward will surely be bestowed in the coming days.”
Upon hearing of a reward, the Monarch, far from being embarrassed or shamed, beamed until his eyes crinkled. He clapped his hands and said, “Good!
Good!”
He then waved for an attendant to come forward and commanded, “Issue the order: in the prefectures and counties where someone was selected, the officials will have their noble rank raised by one level. The families of the selected children will be ennobled as Grand Masters and granted fine fields, gold, and silver, as a sign of commendation.”
The State of Chu followed a system of nobility by military merit, and thus its people were fierce and hardy. Now, the Monarch was breaking the old rules to curry favor with the immortals, making an exception to bestow these rewards. Yet the ministers below had natural expressions, as if everything was as it should be.
Zhao Chun understood clearly that, in the final analysis, it was because their power had reached a level where others could not even entertain the thought of defiance. It was similar to Zhao Gao pointing at a deer and calling it a horse in the past. The so-called 'what I say is the truth' was just like this.
“There are many miscellaneous matters left to attend to. This humble Daoist must take these people back to the temple to make further arrangements, so I will take my leave now.”
Hearing this, the Monarch stood up, trembling slightly. He clasped his hands forward and smiled, “Immortal Master, please take care!” The Daoist-robed Person flicked his horsetail whisk, and the Wang Family Youth signaled for Zhao Chun and the others at the table to come forward.
Liu Ziyi was the most astute and fawning, quickly walking to stand behind the youth. The others had no choice but to stand behind him. Peng Zheng and Zhang Mingzhan remained silent.
Xie Baoguang’s lips moved, but seeing that no one else was speaking, he didn't dare cause trouble in front of the Immortal Master and walked to the back with a sullen face. Zhao Chun and Zhou Pianran didn't think much of it and stood at the end of the line, unwilling to get involved in the drama at the front.
As for Wang Chuyan, it was not appropriate for her to stand behind Zhao Chun and Zhou Pianran, and even less appropriate to stand beside Liu Ziyi. She looked left and right, not knowing what to do.
“Here, hold this.”
Her brother handed the Jade Basin to her. Wang Chuyan quickly took it and stood to her brother's left rear. It was truly magical.
The moment the Jade Basin left the youth’s hand, its luster vanished. In the blink of an eye, it turned into a stone basin. Everyone could not help but marvel once more.
Only then did Zhao Chun understand why the youth and the Daoist-robed Person were martial brothers, yet he had to perform tasks that a servant should. It seemed the silver fish had its own secrets and would not function in the hands of an ordinary attendant.
Sure enough, as if sensing something, the silver fish thrashed a few times, then turned belly-up and stopped moving. The group followed the Daoist-robed Person. They saw him form a magical art with his right hand, and everyone suddenly felt as if wind had risen beneath their feet.
A single step covered more than ten meters, and they soon arrived at the Daoist temple's main gate. There was no plaque above the main gate. To the front and right stood a white stone stele, on which four large characters were written in heavy, dark ink—True Spirit Daoist Temple.
Zhao Chun only had to look a moment longer to feel a needle-like pain in her temples. When she looked away, the pain vanished. The others had it even worse, raising their hands to cover their eyes, not daring to look again.
“The stele inscription has a spirit; mortals cannot gaze upon it for long. Once you all have guided qi into your bodies, you will be considered people of our Dao. At that time, these few words will be nothing,” the Daoist-robed Person explained as he led them inside.
Wang Chuyan could not enter the main hall. As soon as she entered the Daoist temple, she was led away by a young Daoist. Everyone entered the great hall.
To the left of the hall stood a red-crowned crane as tall as two men, and to the right was an inky-black turtle. They flanked a central incense table, upon which sat eleven jade statues. On the wall, a horizontal scroll unfurled into a painting scroll, depicting six men and women seated separately, all of their faces indistinct.
The Daoist-robed Person first bowed to the incense table, then turned to the group and said, “My name is Cao Wenguan. I am a deacon of the Outer Sect of the True Spirit Sect in the Drifting Clouds World. You may call me Deacon Cao.
My True Spirit lineage was founded over two thousand years ago, having received the teachings of the Supreme Sacred Founding Master, Daoist Reedleaf. Today, the sect has thirty thousand disciples. This Small World has been adrift for a long time.
It was found and recovered by our sect's Elder Wu, who then dispatched deacons to select disciples for the Sect. You have passed the two selections and indeed possess spiritual roots. You can become Probationary Disciples.
In one month, a sect senior will come to guide you to the Drifting Clouds World.” Everyone was bewildered by what they heard.
"Drifting Clouds World," "True Spirit Sect," "Daoist Reedleaf," "Small World adrift," "possess spiritual roots"—these were all things they had never heard of before.
Zhao Chun had read similar books and was familiar with the concept of multiple worlds from her past life. She could roughly construct a hierarchical worldview of cultivation. She had also heard a little about spiritual roots.
It seemed that fewer were better. As for whether they were the same as what she knew, that she did not know. Cao Wenguan continued, “I know you have questions in your hearts.
I will first introduce you to the Drifting Clouds World, spiritual roots, and the path of cultivation. If there is anything else you do not understand, you may ask.”
“Buddhist Cultivators name this realm the Three Thousand Worlds. This does not mean there are three thousand worlds, but rather three tiers of worlds—Great, Middle, and Small—which are collectively called the Three Thousand Worlds. The Drifting Clouds World is a Small World, and within it are a thousand smaller worlds. However, tens of thousands of years ago, a great calamity occurred, and many small worlds were lost in the disaster. This world is one of them. As for the Middle Worlds and even the Great Worlds, those are places where Mighty Figures roam, still far too distant from us.”
“The spiritual root is the foundation of a cultivator. It is divided into the Five Elements. Fewer is better. Four or five spiritual roots are considered false spiritual roots. A single spiritual root is of the best quality and is also called a heavenly spiritual root.”
“For a cultivator to enter the Dao, one must begin by guiding the spiritual qi of heaven and earth into the body. Humans have meridians and acupoints, as well as upper and lower dantian. After guiding qi into the body, one must circulate the qi to cleanse the meridians throughout the body and open the acupoints. Only then does one truly begin on the path of cultivation.”
“Alright, do you have any questions?”
The moment Cao Wenguan’s voice fell, Xie Baoguang spoke up, “Then what kind of spiritual roots do we have?”
“I have no way to test your spiritual roots right now. We must return to the Sect and have a look with the Spirit-reflecting Shadow Screen to know.”
Then Peng Zheng stepped forward and asked, “May I ask the Deacon, what is a Probationary Disciple?” Cao Wenguan replied, “The Sect is divided into Inner and Outer Sects. Probationary Disciples are in the Outer Sect, a path every disciple must tread.
There is a five-year period. If you cannot open all your meridians and acupoints within five years, you will have to leave the Drifting Clouds World and return to this small world.” He explained a few more matters concerning the sect, then led everyone to pay their respects and register their names.
“The six people in the painting are the successive Sect Masters. All disciples, step forward and bow your heads.”
“The eleven jade statues are the Founding Elders. All disciples, bow again.”
“Thus, you have now entered the Sect and become Probationary Disciples of my True Spirit Sect. You are now bestowed with the Sympathetic Resonance True Perception Dharma Scripture. I hope you will all cultivate diligently and enter the Dao soon.”
Zhao Chun, like the others, received a small booklet. Cao Wenguan explained, “The Sympathetic Resonance True Perception Dharma Scripture is the most orthodox secret art for guiding qi among cultivators in the Drifting Clouds World. The heaven and earth spiritual qi in this small world is thin, making it difficult to guide qi.
I am giving you this secret art in advance so that you can first memorize the paths of the meridians and the locations of the acupoints, which will aid your future cultivation.” Everyone bowed their heads and acknowledged it. Cao Wenguan then brought the Wang Family Youth forward and said, “This is Wang Fang.
He entered the sect a year before you and has already completed qi guiding in the Drifting Clouds World. He is here this time to assist me. You may call him Senior Brother.”
Zhao Chun thought of how Wang Fang had called Cao Wenguan "Senior Brother" and asked in confusion, “Deacon Cao, during the secondary selection just now, this junior heard Senior Brother Wang call you Senior Brother. Why is that?”
“Wang Fang and I are both disciples of the Outer Sect's Elder Qi, so we are martial brothers within our master's lineage. You call him Senior Brother because you are also Outer Sect disciples, and his cultivation base is higher than yours.”
Zhao Chun nodded and said her thanks. Zhang Mingzhan asked again, “Deacon Cao, are you the Temple Master?” Cao Wenguan shook his head.
“I am not, but the Temple Master is also a disciple of the sect. His surname is Liang, and you should also call him Senior Brother. He is responsible for the various miscellaneous affairs in the Daoist temple and will also be in charge of your living arrangements for this month.”
He scanned the group, and seeing no more questions, he had everyone withdraw to get settled. As they were leaving, he added another sentence, “So-called cultivation depends on the individual. I will not interfere with your movements this month.
Whether you play or engage in ascetic cultivation is no concern of mine. It is so here, and even more so after entering the Sect. What your path ahead will be like depends on the choices you make.”
Zhao Chun clutched the Sympathetic Resonance True Perception Dharma Scripture, already having a plan for her future. This world was vaster and more expansive than anything she had ever known. If she could not go out and explore it, what was the point of being reborn?