Chapter 312 - Before Entering the Formation

Chapter 312: Before Entering the Formation
Translator: 
EndlessFantasy Translation 
 Editor: 
EndlessFantasy Translation
Shen Lian stayed silent for a while to sort out his train of thoughts. He then said,
The last step of the Book of Nine Lotus is the ‘Abstruse True Void’, the inextinguishable divine aura. Although you took the shortcut by seeking for external sources, however as a consequence your future path is now extended further.
Zhao Xiaoyu smiled and responded,
I live in the moment.

Shen Lian nodded his head. It was unnecessary for him to further elaborate. She was responsible for her own decisions and would have no regrets if it was wrong.
Furthermore, Zhao Xiaoyu was an extremely mysterious person.
The believers of Luoism were sentimental towards life and death while Shen Lian ascended to the podium. Every word he uttered and every step he took were unpredictably abstruse. He was not preaching about Xuanmen fundamentals but the abstruse Dao of the true void.
The way of Dao have the same goals. Moreover, Shen Lian was able to have a better understanding of the practices of Luoism after interacting with the believers. The cultivation practice of Luoism was in fact quite similar to Qingxuan as both emphasized on the cultivation of the mind and all that things were created by the mind.
Although the nature of Luoism was related to the way of Dao, their derivative methods were too unorthodox and thus their practice and cultivation were inconsistent.
Only with great wisdom, would one be able to appreciate the essence of Luoism and the founder’s original intentions?
The more Shen Lian was in contact with the believers, the more he felt that there must be a guideline or general method besides the Book of Nine Lotus to rule the religion.
The Book of Nine Lotus was originally from the Nine Lotus Order. With a touch of Louism’s doctrine, it took on the path of Shen to become a powerful method of martial exercises.
But with his ability, the founder of Luoism would not have limited himself to the path of Shen but also spanned across authentic Xuanmen cultivation methods.
Although legend has it that the founder did not pass down any written records of his methods, Shen Lian did not believe that a person like him would not have set down his lifelong cultivation into something to pass down.
With Shen Lian’s current ability, it was still impossible for him to deduce the original intention of the founder even if he received the secret teachings from the different branches of Luoism. It was also unnecessary for him to seek unorthodox methods, as Qing Xuan itself has too many legitimate techniques and the Taixu Strategy was also related to Dao of Yin Yang and five elements.
He only wanted to comprehend by analogy and at the same time diversify his cultivation experience.
The more Shen Lian cultivated, the more he understood why ancient celestials and Buddha preached so zealously. No matter how hard he tried to pave a new path, he would always miss out something. Preaching to the masses was in a way using the masses’ wisdom to self-reflect. He used that to look for a direction in his path to Dao.
However, this would also expose some of his weaknesses, so it has its pros and cons. Overall, preaching Dao selflessly was not necessarily an act of generosity.
Shen Lian’s divine Qi was active as he arrived at the mountain peak a day before the challenge.
In the outdoors, one would be able to see the condensation of the Qi vitality of the heaven and earth above Shen Lian’s head. It looked like a huge dragon and roared like the wind. The scene lasted for a day and as the time for challenge approached, the dragon gradually disappeared into the void and eventually vanished.
The stars above the sky of Jimo Peak were shining brightly, just like a bustling swarm of fireflies that gathered by the river. It was a cloudless moonlit night with the milky way spanning across the vault of heaven. No one knew where it began and nor where it was heading to. Vaguely, people could hear the sound of a flowing stream coming from Yuhua Stage.
This was in fact not the sound of flowing stream but the Five Ultimate Formations set up by the connoisseurs of Guangqing. Although it did not look stunning, the Qi of vitality was as vigorous as a coursing river. The sound of the flowing stream was caused by the vibrato of the Qi of vitality of the river that shook the void.
As the Qi of vitality was extremely condensed, it attracted many spirited creatures. The flora and fauna surrounding that area was nourished by the Qi of vitality and was in full bloom; the fragrance of the flowers even lingered over a ten-mile radius.
Even at the foot of the Jimo Peak, people could feel that Yuhua Stage had become the celestial environment on earth.
Nominally, the purpose of the Five Ultimate Formations was to invite Shen Lian over to the peak. However, the real objective behind the challenge was to settle the score between the Five Zhenrens of Guangqing and the most outstanding Daoist of the era, Zhenren Shen.
Several busy bodied cultivators arrived in advance to reserve a good spot or even set up their flying arc or sword gleam to get a good view of the void.
If the cultivator was highly experienced, he would be able to get a seat within a ten-mile radius of Yuhua Stage. On the other hand, lowly experienced cultivators would sit outside of a hundred-mile radius as they do not want to be involved should there be any unforeseen circumstances.
As a result of this outbreak, the event has become a major happening in the world of cultivation. After all, the number of these cultivators, regardless of their cultivation experience, were in the thousands.
The gleam released by these thousands of cultivators took the spotlight of the stars in the sky.
Looking up from the ground, people would have mistaken the gleams as sky lanterns floating in the void. It was a stunning scene.
A floating white cloud could be seen at the edge of the blue sky. Under the clear sky of stars, the cloud was really eye-catching. An old Daoist and Daoist nun were peacefully seated on the cloud. They possessed an air of celestialism and had a star-like gaze, they did not show signs of old age.
They were followed by ten or more sword gleams and those obviously belonged to their disciples.
Several knowledgeable cultivators recognized the old Daoist and Daoist nun and saluted them from afar. Apparently the two old Daoist and Daoist nun were the two Doyens of Qinshan who had been cultivating for over five hundred years. They were equally as famous as Daoist Baishi and have extremely strong mana.
Moreover, the two Doyens of Qinshan were Dao partners and have always been together and mastered the same Dao techniques. Legend had it that they have dealt with immortal Zhenren without acquiring so much as a scratch. No one knew if that was a fact or a fib but people could not help but felt more respect for them.
Sacred Nun Qingyin was humble towards the two Doyens of Qinshan. Her five uncle-masters were occupied with the Five Ultimate Formations and thus she took the task of ushering them personally.
It seemed that the two Doyens of Qinshan were around the area. As they heard about the challenge, they decided to come and witness out of curiosity.
Qingyin was good at entertaining the guests. She was able to entertain the two Doyens with just a couple of small talks.
She then ushered the two Doyens and their disciples to a spot near Yuhua Stage. Meanwhile, Chen Mubai and several other cultivators greeted the two Doyens via telepathy.
About thirty minutes later, Shen Lian had yet to show up.
The night was about to end and in a while more, it would be considered as the second day. Some cultivators started to think that maybe Shen Lian did not have the guts to show up.
Among them, a young girl who was a disciple of the two Doyens of Qinshan impatiently said,
Looks like he doesn’t deserve the reputation of the chief of the four main Dao sects after all.

This young girl was none other than the only daughter of the two Doyens.
Cultivators were cut off of reproductive means and it would be an unexpected fortune to have children. The two Doyens were already in their sixth or seventh hundred years and yet, they were able to conceive a daughter; that was certainly the mercy of the heavens. They had no hopes of attaining immortality and thus spoilt their daughter greatly, causing her to be so rude and arrogant.
As there was no application of sound insulation spell at the venue, every cultivator who attended the challenge, near or far, were able to hear it loud and clear.
Someone said sarcastically,
If the four main sects do not deserve their reputation, then what about the two Doyens of Qinshan?

Although the audiences felt that the girl was rude, no one expected someone would stand up and refute. They turned to the source of the voice, a clear ray of sword gleam appeared with bursting loud sound and in a split second, landed on Yuhua Stage.