Chapter 247: Chapter 198: The Moon Shines on You Alone, the Tai Yin True Mercury is Formed

The Daoist?

Liu Jing took two small steps back, lowering his head and averting his gaze. After two or three breaths of silence, he finally spoke slowly:

"Thank you for your critique, True Monarch. This Disciple’s skills are lacking. I shall naturally enter seclusion to study and reflect, in hopes of further advancing my alchemy skills."

With that, he bowed respectfully with hands clasped toward the Kan Water Palace, slowly descended the steps, turned, and left.

A long while later, Liu Jing stepped onto the Cloud-Treading Dharma Ark and settled back onto the couch embroidered with six Jiao, his voice heavy.

"Return to Zhen Peak!"

The green tiger glanced toward the main peak before falling silent.

Propelled by the formation spirit, the Cloud-Treading Dharma Ark cleaved straight through layers of Ren Water manifestations. The turquoise waves shattered upon impact, which only made them seem more turbulent and fierce.

"True Master Liu caused such a stir to see the True Monarch, but he’s already out?"

"The Cloud-Treading Dharma Ark parted the waves, the Flag of Tianwu, the Water Monarch, calmed the tides... and he’s only just passed through the ’Nine Bends Conjoining Green River Grand Formation’! After all that effort, don’t tell me he didn’t even get to see our True Monarch?"

"It’s only normal for a Disciple from Zhen Peak to get the cold shoulder here on Kan Peak..."

These whispers and rumors drifted to Liu Jing’s ears on the wind, sounding exceptionally grating.

The peaceful expression he had maintained finally crumbled, gradually replaced by a gloomy scowl.

But the Foundation Establishment True Master remained silent until the Cloud-Treading Dharma Ark had completely left the territory of Kan Peak. Only then did he violently swing his sleeve!

An aura of clear and Dense Qi erupted from him, pressing down on the entire Dharma Ark and causing it to dip slightly, like a great river of ten thousand acres flooding a hundred miles in an instant!

The clear currents surged and the dense currents roiled. Everything in their path, every obstacle, was ground to dust and scattered.

In an instant, the floating, speeding Dharma Ark was swept completely empty.

"True Master, why are you so angry?"

the green tiger asked in a low voice.

It knew full well that Liu Jing would never fly into such a rage just for being slighted by a True Monarch.

It was perfectly normal for a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator to be unworthy of True Monarch Cunyuan Cunjing’s notice.

If he couldn’t even grasp this point, then even as a Direct Lineage descendant of the Liu clan of the Dao Race, he would have never achieved Flying Foundation Establishment and been promoted to the upper courts.

He would have long ago been consumed as mere "talent."

"The Daoist... is in the Kan Water Palace."

Liu Jing gritted out the words, forcing them through clenched teeth.

The green tiger was stunned for a moment, then let out a helpless sigh.

’This is just a case of bad luck.’

The guidance from a True Monarch that an upper courts Disciple like Liu Jing couldn’t obtain even after trying every conceivable method and exhausting all his efforts, the Daoist received with ease.

"To think that I, Liu Jing, have cultivated arduously for eighty years, rising early and sleeping late, burning the midnight oil. When the sect needed to open a blessed land, I risked my life to slay a great Demon of the Mang tribe. When my clan needed to open trade routes, I was sent to engage in Magical Combat with Disciples of the Taifu Sect..."

The face of this Foundation Establishment True Master from Zhen Peak twitched violently, a savage look appearing on his features.

"And yet I’m not even considered as good as a Qi Cultivation practitioner! The Celestial Lord is blind! The [Shao Yang]... is even blinder! Have all the Dao Materials in the world died out? Why did they have to choose a grassroots Qi Cultivation Lower Cultivator from the middle of nowhere!"

The green tiger turned pale with fright. As if a basin of cold water had been dumped over its head, it shuddered and hastily advised:

"True Master! You primarily cultivate the Water Element and will need to practice Thunder Techniques in the future. How can you curse and slander a Golden Position like that! If that Daoist ascends to his position and becomes a True Master, you’ll be in for a world of suffering!"

On the path of the Dao, the hierarchy of senior and junior is extremely strict.

In ancient times, there was a Cultivator who specialized in the Water Element. Simply because he had cursed a fellow Daoist, who later ascended to the position of [Water Virtue] and became a True Monarch, he was immediately punished by Heaven and Earth and met a miserable end.

This was especially true for Liu Jing, who was now a Foundation Establishment True Master. His every word and action could trigger changes in the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Mechanism.

To rashly slander a Supreme Golden Position like [Shao Yang] was to invite a reckoning that could come at any time.

"I’ve already said it! It’s not like I can swallow the words back down! Besides, I’m certain that Daoist won’t last long!"

Liu Jing snorted coldly and said viciously:

"To ascend to the highest position, one must pass through endless tribulations! Shao Guansu arranging for He Shouzhen of the Cloud-Reception Hall to slight him was just the beginning.

Gen Peak expended countless heaven-sent Opportunities to cultivate ’Gu Changling’. He is the one with the best chance of presiding over the Everbright Celestial Pond, and he is also the Daoist’s most irreconcilable foe!"

Liu Jing sat sprawled on the embroidered couch, the six water Jiao on it baring their fangs and brandishing their claws.

The green tiger lowered its body.

"Surely Gu Changling wouldn’t dare to defy the Ancestral Master and move against the Daoist?"

Liu Jing sneered.

"Senior Tian Wu, you are an Artifact Spirit. You do not understand the weight of the two words ’Dao Path’."

"The more of a prodigy, a Dao Material one is, the less they can tolerate it! Imagine, you’ve gone through countless tribulations and suffered endless hardships, all to climb to the position of an Upper Cultivator, only to have someone else block your path forward."

"If you fear death, your Dao path will be severed, and you’ll be fated to remain a Lower Cultivator... What would you choose?"

"If you were to simply bow and submit because the Ancestral Master is watching from above, where would the [Demon Dao] come from? How could one be called a Demon Cultivator?"

...

...

Within the Kan Water Palace, a cold moon was inlaid in the turquoise sky. Rivers, lakes, and seas—all the hundred rivers—gathered beneath, lifting it up layer by layer.

Jiang Yi sat cross-legged upon it, the near-endless turquoise waves having condensed into a jade-green cattail cushion. He had his head bowed, pondering the Daoist theory test given to him by True Monarch Lu.

After an unknown amount of time, he finally spoke:

"Kan is the symbol of water, but it also represents peril and pitfalls. I am the [Shao Yang], Yang trapped within Yin. With Kan above and Kan below, it signifies immense danger."

"Therefore, to gather the ’Water Below Kan,’ I must place myself in the midst of this immense danger and seek a small gain."

"Master Lu, does the meaning of this hexagram imply that rather than avoiding danger, it is better to experience it, and in doing so, the ’Water Below Kan’ will emerge on its own?"

A subtle ripple appeared in the depths of True Monarch Lu’s profound eyes. Her brows twitched slightly as she nodded in approval.

"Worthy of being first in Dao Wisdom on the Southern Dipper List. Worthy of receiving the favor of the *Sutra of Grand Emptiness*."

"Daoist, your Power in interpreting this hexagram is nearly on par with a Foundation Establishment True Master who has achieved Perfection in their Life Essence."

Jiang Yi retracted the golden glint in his eyes and finally looked up to reply:

"Thank you for your guidance, Master Lu."

His main purpose for entering the Kan Water Palace was to ask True Monarch Lu how to gather all six components of the Great Medicine, so he could cross-reference her advice with the Celestial Book and find the most suitable method.

Aside from the "Illusory Primordial Qi," "Essence within Spirit," and "Li-Filling Fire" that he had already obtained, True Monarch Lu had performed three separate divinations.

Among them, the "Tai Yang True Lead" showed a sign of smooth success, while the "Tai Yin True Mercury" indicated a state of fullness and completion.

Only the "Water Below Kan" was elusive, its nature difficult to grasp, making it the most uncertain.

This came as a surprise to Jiang Yi. Logically, the "Tai Yin True Mercury" should have been the most difficult to gather.

"A bright moon reflects in the water; its shadow is seen, but its body is not."

True Monarch Lu’s voice was ethereal:

"The ’Water Below Kan’ is a Great Medicine that is yin and gentle. Daoist, your physique is extraordinary, your Yang Qi is vigorous and flourishing, and you have also performed the Combined Refining of Bingding. This makes it the most difficult for you to gather."

"Even with the rare pair of Twin Lotus that He Shouzhen from the Cloud-Reception Hall gave you, which can be used to combine Ren Water and Kui Water to refine a bit of true yin, it only increases your chances by twenty percent."

Jiang Yi’s brows furrowed slightly. ’Just how many pairs of eyes throughout the sect are fixed on the Everbright Celestial Pond?’

’This only happened a few days ago, and it’s already common knowledge?’

"I am hardly lacking for ’immense danger’ within the sect."

Jiang Yi smiled faintly and changed the subject:

"Master Lu, if I may ask, why is it that ’Tai Yin True Mercury,’ one of the upper three medicines, shows a state of fullness, indicating it’s practically a sure thing?"

A mysterious look crossed True Monarch Lu’s face, and the corner of her lip twitched almost imperceptibly.

"Does the Daoist truly not understand? The true yang within your body is embraced by the [Tai Yin]. How could you possibly fail to gather the ’Tai Yin True Mercury’?"

She raised a delicate hand and waved it lightly. The two of them seemed to be transported out of the Kan Water Palace and placed in the vast expanse between heaven and earth.

"No matter where the Daoist goes, the cold moon will shine on you alone. This is the favor of the [Tai Yin]."

Jiang Yi was slightly surprised. The memory of Lady Xuan’nv’s supple, ice-like touch flashed through his mind. The unrelated thought passed in an instant, and he gently lowered his eyelids.

"In that case, I will ask Master Lu to guard me. Allow me to gather the ’Tai Yin True Mercury,’ then combine it with the ’Tai Yang True Lead,’ to complete the Great Medicine."

True Monarch Lu agreed softly:

"The Daoist may proceed as you wish."