Chapter 82

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW

Qi Wuhuo ultimately used more than three hundred Cloud Seals as examples to convey to Yun Qin the true essence of the [Cloud Seal] technique that he had comprehended. However, the young girl remained somewhat bewildered. The young Daoist pondered for a moment before smiling and saying: “Then let’s do this. When you look at those Cloud Seals, empty your mind, let your gaze soften, then look again, remember again. Do not focus on how they are written—only look at their true meaning.”

“Try once more.”

After several attempts, Yun Qin finally began to grasp a hint of the essence.

Confirming that she had learned something, she let out a long breath and said with relief: “That’s great! In that case, my teacher’s assessment shouldn’t be a problem.”

“You have no idea how strict my teacher is.”

“Clearly an exceptional beauty.”

“Yet when she’s angry, she becomes so stern. Just the slightest lift of her brow makes me feel like my heart is about to leap out of my chest!”

Yun Qin patted her chest, still carrying lingering fear as she recalled her teacher’s demeanor. Then, with a hint of envy, she added: “That’s why your teacher is still better.”

“Always so gentle, as if he would never get angry at his disciples.”

Gentle?

The young Daoist thought back to his teacher’s vast, all-encompassing compassion, so broad that ordinary people might perceive it as distant and indifferent. He merely nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

Then, he smiled and pointed at the Cloud Seals written to the side, speaking seriously: “So, to ensure you pass your teacher’s assessment with more confidence, shall we try again? This time, let’s end with something simple. I’ll write an article using Cloud Seals, and you’ll read it through once, then rewrite it using a different style of Cloud Seals.”

With every word he spoke, the young girl’s face grew a shade paler.

By the time he finished, Yun Qin’s complexion was deathly white, and her large eyes stared at Qi Wuhuo in stunned silence.

Are you the legendary great demon?

She scurried backward step by step, crossed her arms in front of her, and declared: “I refuse!”

“I won’t do it!”

Then she curled up and flopped onto her side, hugging herself.

“Right now, it’s rest time.”

The young Daoist could only smile helplessly. He didn’t bring up the matter again and instead passed the time with idle conversation while casually tidying up the [Xuantan Original Canon], intending to study it in detail later. He had always been fascinated by the spells and divine abilities born from the ingenious insights of cultivators, not to mention that he had also promised the girl some osmanthus cake.

Only, this divine ability seemed exceptionally difficult.

Meanwhile, Yun Qin was curiously looking around, wanting to see the house Qi Wuhuo was currently staying in. As if accommodating her, he shifted to the side, allowing the mirrored surface to reflect most of the small room. The girl’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Eh? Eh?! What’s that egg? Wuhuo, are you raising a pet?”

She pointed at the bird egg resting on Qi Wuhuo’s table.

The young Daoist explained its origin and background, then placed his palm over the egg. With his spirit as clear as still water, he could sense the faint yet unyielding will to live within it. He said: “My teacher once told me that the Immortal Dao values life. Since it wishes to live, I will help it.”

After a pause, he added: “But despite saying that, I don’t even know what kind of creature it is.”

Yun Qin’s eyes gleamed. “Wuhuo, you don’t know?”

Qi Wuhuo shook his head. “No, I don’t…”

“Yun Qin, the way you’re saying it, do you know?”

With complete confidence, the girl answered,

“Of course not.”

“I just realized that you don’t know a lot of things either, and now I don’t feel bad about my tiny failure anymore.”

“Ah, Wuhuo, don’t block the egg—move aside a bit. Let me take a closer look.”

“Even though I can’t recognize it myself, the Shangqing Library holds numerous manuscripts left behind by my martial uncles. Some of them were originally from the demon race, while others have traveled across the vast world and possess extensive knowledge. Besides, the “Birds, Beasts, Scales, and Insects” section is part of the [Arts Collection] category, which contains a great number of related texts. There might be a corresponding record.”

“Let me take another careful look.”

She observed it with great seriousness.

“Hmm, palm-sized, round and smooth, white-brown in color, but under the light, it takes on a faint dark-purple sheen.”

“And are those golden patterns?”

She closed her eyes in thought, then opened them again, murmuring: “Ah, I remembered it wrong.”

“Not golden flowing light and dark-purple cloud patterns.”

“It’s golden cloud patterns and dark-purple flowing light.”

“Let me try again—golden cloud patterns, dark-purple flowing light. Golden cloud patterns, dark-purple flowing light. I see…”

“Ah, I got it wrong again?!”

After several attempts, the girl finally confirmed that she had memorized it correctly. Only then did she nod in satisfaction and say: “Don’t worry, Wuhuo. You helping me learn these Cloud Seals was practically saving me from fire and water! Looking up records in the library is a piece of cake.”

Qi Wuhuo thought for a moment and said: “I also have something for you.”

“Not just the osmanthus cake.”

He recalled the [Seven Orifices Exquisite Sword Heart] and the ‘side effects’ that came with it. This method must not be lightly passed down—this was his senior sister’s secret transmission, containing the core of a sword immortal’s cultivation. Without Senior Sister Yu Miao’s permission, Qi Wuhuo would not spread the sword canon to outsiders. However, if he studied the Sword Heart Chapter and then created a new technique from scratch, perhaps that would be different.

Rather than passing down cultivation-based sword arts, he could rewrite a method from his own understanding of cultivation.

Naturally, it would be simpler than the Sword Heart Chapter.

Yun Qin’s curiosity was piqued. “What is it? What is it?”

The young Daoist smiled gently. “It’s nothing.”

“You’ll find out when the time comes.”

Qi Wuhuo was highly attuned to the depletion of his cultivation and Primordial Spirit. Before he reached the point where exhaustion would bring a sharp pain between his brows, he ended his conversation with Yun Qin, bade her farewell, and made an agreement. In a few days, once she had passed her teacher’s examination and searched the “Birds, Beasts, Scales, and Insects” section in the Shangqing Library to determine the species of the bird egg, she would contact him again.

“Of course, if you happen to master the Xuantan spell within these three to five days, you can contact me directly as well.”

The girl raised her fingers in a playful gesture, then laughed. “I’m just joking—this technique is way too difficult!”

But then she recalled how Qi Wuhuo had grasped the Cloud Seals with such ease earlier.

After saying those words, she suddenly found herself lacking confidence.

No, it shouldn’t be possible…

Cough, cough! No way it’s possible!

She had seen it herself—this Xuantan spell was incredibly complex.

As expected of the original text spoken by the Great Heavenly Venerable of Shangqing.

When the spell ended, the mystical glow on the mirror gradually faded. The young Daoist looked at the mirror, still covered in a layer of pale green patina, its ancient appearance suggesting the passage of countless years. As he ran his fingers over its surface, the tarnish was real—solid and tangible, not an illusion.

Qi Wuhuo carefully placed the mirror into a wooden box, then concealed it beneath his Daoist robe.

Lifting his gaze, he scanned his surroundings. The bed was strewn with sheets of white paper, densely filled with Cloud Seals—remnants of the examples he had created for Yun Qin during their discussion. The young Daoist bent down to gather them, stacking them neatly before placing them on the side of his desk.

Since he hadn’t infused them with his Primordial Qi while writing, they remained ordinary.

To use one’s [spiritual nature] to observe the [myriad forms of the world] and then record them with a brush—this was Cloud Seal script.

Then, if one were to reverse the process—

To use [Primordial Qi] to inscribe [Cloud Seals], recreating the scenes the [spiritual nature] once beheld, bringing forth miracles—

That would be a spell, wouldn’t it?

Qi Wuhuo contemplated this thought.

And then, his mind drifted to the word Yun Qin had memorized.

Vast, intricate, and boundlessly majestic.

It seemed to encompass all things, as though it could give rise to the myriad transformations of existence.

Each time Qi Wuhuo attempted to comprehend the character, he gained new insights. But those insights only deepened his understanding of certain Cloud Seals. When he tried to grasp the essence of the [Supreme Scarlet Spirit Script], he found himself seeing more—new meanings unfolding before him, each entirely different from what he had previously perceived.

Endless, like a great rivers and sea.

Impossible to fully grasp.

Impossible to master.

A spectacle beyond measure.

Whenever Qi Wuhuo attempted to write the character, he failed.

Yun Qin, who had merely memorized it by rote, could write it down without issue. But every time the young Daoist inscribed it, he felt that what he had written was incorrect. It was merely an [external imitation], the true essence entirely disconnected from what was described in the ancient texts by the girl. Yet when he rewrote it in a way that felt right in his heart, he once again sensed its flaws—imperfect, incomplete.

The deeper his understanding became, the more he saw the errors in his previous attempts.

As if there was no end.

Thus, he continued writing, pondering, furrowing his brows, then shaking his head.

He took out a fresh sheet of paper and began again.

Unknowingly, the moon had sunk beyond the horizon, the Jade Rabbit descending, yet the Golden Crow had yet to rise. Between night and dawn, the world lay in its deepest gloom. And in that twilight silence, the first calls of birds could be heard. The once-tidy room was now scattered with white sheets, each covered in dense repetitions of the same character.

Qi Wuhuo stood at his desk, brush dipped in ink, but his hand hovered motionless.

“This is still wrong. If I keep trying to understand it in this way, I will never truly learn this character.”

“Even if I force myself to memorize all the meanings it represents, it would take an immeasurable amount of time.”

“But that would only be [recording], not truly [learning] it.”

“What meaning would there be in that?”

“Yun Qin had said this character was nothing special, telling him not to dwell on it—just a simple word.”

The young Daoist closed his eyes, his mind serene and pure, contemplating.

“And yet, three thousand Cloud Seals were born from this very character.”

“Is it my method of comprehension that is flawed?”

“Should I not approach it as I would Cloud Seals?”

He did not know why, but he was weary. Or perhaps, he was recalling the time spent with his teacher, the old man he could always turn to with his questions. His teacher would have given him an answer. But now, he had to find it on his own. Letting out a slow breath, the young Daoist cast aside all distractions and murmured: “All things arise from the Dao. In accord, they give rise to myriad dharmas and beings. In reverse, one cultivates the Truth.”

“This is the fundamental teaching of the Taishang Lineage.”

“The Dao is born from the void, giving rise to a single Qi. From one Qi, yin and yang emerge.”

“Yin and yang then merge into the Three Treasures, which in turn give birth to all things in prosperity.”

“If I cannot grasp this character in one breath, then I shall learn the three thousand Cloud Seals that stem from it.”

“[To cultivate it in reverse].”

When the Qingyang Miaodao Heavenly Lord taught the Supreme Scarlet Spirit Script, he naturally imparted all that was derived from it.

Yun Qin had recited, in one breath, the three thousand Cloud Seals that emerged from this single character.

The young Daoist closed his eyes and recalled.

The meanings of the three thousand Cloud Seals converged, resonating with the [Supreme Scarlet Spirit Script].

Eventually, they coalesced into a singular point, each forming an aspect of the character. The [Supreme Scarlet Spirit Script] itself became increasingly distinct.

Using the heart of the Taishang Lineage’s teachings, he performed the profound methods of the Shangqing lineage.

At last, the young Daoist, eyes still shut, picked up his brush once more.

His mind was already empty.

But just as he was about to write, a thought suddenly surfaced—his teacher’s words, and Yun Qin’s mention of the Shangqing Lingbao Heavenly Venerable’s teachings. In this moment, he understood them completely.

Though behind him stood no one, the realization in his mind made it feel as though two voices resonated within his heart.

As if someone were softly reciting.

As if two figures, one to his left, one to his right, spoke these words—

[Being and Non-Being—there is nothing that cannot be done.]

[The Dao arises, the Dao perishes—ultimately, all returns to calamity and extinction.]

To regard all beings and non-beings with equality—this is the Dao.

Calamity ends, the Dao is born.

Great Compassion.

Great Terror.

The truest equality—Non-Action is the Dao. The Dao arises, the Dao perishes. All things originate from a single point and ultimately return to a single point.

From what I perceive, all things are born from the Dao, all things perish in the Dao. The Dao is in the heart—this is the essence of this one character.

Non-Action.

Action.

There is nothing that cannot be done!

This word shall be named—

The young Daoist lifted his hand and set brush to paper.

In one fluid motion—

“[Decree(敕)]!!