Cultivation: Fortune by Lots

Chapter 637: 285. The Top Prized Sticks at Tao Boy Court (Combined Chapter)

The Five Primordial Extremities, namely Taiyi, Tai Chu, Tai Shi, Tai Su, and Taiji, were the Daoist explanation for the progress of heaven, earth, and the universe.

According to historical records, there once had been rumors relating to them, corresponding to the great Daoist bodies cultivated by Daoist practitioners.

There were earlier and later stages among the Five Extremities, but no distinction between strength or weakness, each representing the profundities of different phases of the universe. All were the best root bone physiques for cultivation, yet none had appeared for many years, thus were rarely mentioned now.

Tai Chu, for instance, was formless and without substance, bringing forth the Innate Qi, undivided into Yin and Yang, with neither form nor quality.

From Taiyi, through Tai Chu, Tai Shi, Tai Su, and entering Taiji, Taiji split into Liangyi, and only then did Yin and Yang appear, the Four Symbols and Eight Trigrams revolving, thus giving birth to all things.

If Tang Xiaotang’s Pure Yang Immortal Physique and Jiang Yu’s Pure Yin Immortal Physique could achieve further post-natal advancement, Lei Jun speculated, they would most likely succeed in attaining the Tai Chu Dao Body.

For now, that remained mere speculation, though Tang Xiaotang herself shared the same view.

"I’ve got some clues already." Celestial Master Tang said with a cheerful smile,

She had always prided herself on her extraordinary innate talent.

Even if others also possessed the Immortal Root Bone and Serene Comprehension, she still brimmed with confidence in herself.

The only thing that unsettled Tang Xiaotang slightly was Xu Yuanzhen’s natural comprehension, which actually exceeded Serene Insight.

She rarely mentioned it aloud, but inwardly, it mattered a great deal to her.

Yet now, Tang Xiaotang’s mood had largely calmed down.

She treated her process of post-natal improvement, much like Lei Jun’s, as merely another part of cultivation.

And truth be told, her luck wasn’t bad either.

Although it was not an opportunity to improve her comprehension, it truly had provided her a chance to further her Immortal Root Bone.

Still, for now, it was only a slight opportunity, with true success still far off.

*Celestial Master Tang took it easily, never obsessing over it; just having the chance was enough for her.*

*Her confidence had not wavered—she believed she would succeed soon.*

As she chatted with Lei Jun, she suddenly grew suspicious and looked him up and down, "Wait a minute, something feels off about you. You’re telling me all this, does that mean—?"

"Little Senior Sister, your intuition remained as sharp as ever," Lei Jun praised her again with a nod, then produced the Sun Jade Seal and handed it over.

Tang Xiaotang’s eyes lit up immediately, and she snatched it up.

She admired it closely, reluctant to let go, "A fine treasure—just right for me!"

Lei Jun said, "So?"

Tang Xiaotang looked a bit disappointed, "Too bad, it’s not enough to help me take that final step, but with this treasure, the odds are so much better."

She declared, frank and unreserved, "This jade seal is mine now."

Lei Jun replied, "On the way back, I kept feeling that this treasure suited you best. Feel free to do with it whatever you wish, Little Senior Sister."

Tang Xiaotang examined it again, "Hmm, the artistic conception of laws here does seem rather like those two Chapters you and Zhang Jingzhen brought back. Connected to the Ancient Talisman Sect?"

Lei Jun nodded, "Related dharma essence—I’ve kept some. I’ll go on studying it later."

Tang Xiaotang was curious, "You’ve been researching this for ages, but tell me, is the so-called Ancient Heavenly Palace truly destroyed?

"That place was said in legends to house people of the Immortal Realm, maybe even our sect founder, right?

"Where did they all go, or were those tales untrue, just myths invented by later generations?"

Lei Jun spread his hands, "Right now, I can’t say for certain."

He glanced at the Sun Jade Seal in Tang Xiaotang’s hands, "But looking back, the Daoist Rite of Reformation our sect underwent back then probably was far more complicated than people realize."

Too bad it had all happened so long ago, there was barely any information left to be traced.

"Let it be."

Tang Xiaotang sprang to her feet, pacing about excitedly, "The past is gone, so be it—the key is the future!

"If the dim Spiritual Energy of previous years was an invisible shackle, then now that shackle no longer existed.

"They said for thousands of years, no one had ascended to immortality, all cultivators in the world reached only the Ninth Heavenly Layer, but now, things ought to change!"

Lei Jun hearing this, found himself yearning too.

"By the way, what level is that monk from the White Lotus Sect really?" Tang Xiaotang’s thoughts jumped; she stopped in her tracks and changed the subject offhandedly.

Lei Jun was long used to this, "No doubt about it—he’s got both the Immortal Root Bone and the level of Serene Comprehension. Of course, the Buddhist Sect called them by other names."

"His root bone and comprehension seemed anchored in Buddhist traditions, a heaven-sent Buddhist, endowed with the Wisdom Root."

"The specifics are still unclear, but from what we know, he mastered every kind of Buddhist heritage and divine skill with ease, breaking the supposed rule that movement techniques must be unique to the individual."

Tang Xiaotang wasn’t at all bothered by the Future Maitreya’s outstanding talent; instead, she listened with great interest,

"Not bad, not bad. I used to think Li Tianqing from Gepo Mountain and Yuanmie from Great Void Temple were stronger than him, turns out he just came late to the party for a few years. That’s the reason? I’d love to meet him face to face if I get the chance."

............

The young monk Lei Jun and Tang Xiaotang mentioned had, at that moment, also returned within the Great Tang Territory.

He slipped northward in utter silence, arriving a bit later at a modest temple.

The temple’s abbot was a middle-aged monk, about forty or fifty years old, appearing utterly ordinary, with no remarkable cultivation.

Seeing the Future Maitreya, he quietly welcomed him into the meditation room and saluted, "Senior Brother,"

This middle-aged monk’s looks matched his actual age; he truly did not have any profound cultivation, and normally officiated at a humble temple that received hardly any incense-worshippers.

Yet this seemingly humble temple was actually the most important base of the White Lotus Sect—no second place compared.

Ordinariness served as the perfect disguise here.

"You’ve worked hard, Brother Huineng, in these times," the Future Maitreya said,