The book was about two fingers thick, its pages yellowed and slightly tattered at the edges.
Ji Yuan gently ran his fingers over the cover, feeling a peculiar, metallic texture. Especially when he brushed over the words 'Fundamentals of the Great Dao', a mysterious, indescribable sense of enlightenment arose in his heart.
Ever since he had achieved enlightenment and embarked on the path of cultivation, this Fundamentals of the Great Dao, left by the founding patriarch, had appeared before him. It was through this book that he had mastered the exquisite arts of alchemy and talisman crafting.
With danger lurking, no one knew if the schemer in the shadows would disregard the court's stance and exact revenge on those who had disrupted their hundred-year plan.
Consequently, meditation and cultivation exercises were out of the question. He also couldn't bring himself to focus on alchemy or talisman crafting for the time being. Thus, he decided to study this book.
As the pages turned, numerous runes silently appeared on the blank, yellowed paper. Each stroke was imbued with the essence of the Dao, captivating anyone who gazed upon it.
This Fundamentals of the Great Dao was not a magical artifact, yet it surpassed many. Its creation method was unknown, but it contained countless principles of the Dao. While it offered no offensive or defensive capabilities, it could present the most suitable Dao principles to the reader.
This ability alone was enough to make the book's value comparable to legendary treasures. If the outside world were to learn of it, even prestigious sects would abandon their pride to fight for it.
It was known that only cultivators who reached the Ming Dao realm could begin to comprehend the principles of the Dao, which was why this realm was often referred to as the Guan Dao realm, the realm of observing the Dao.
However, even cultivators who reached the Ming Dao realm could not arbitrarily view the principles of the Dao. A combination of fortuitous encounters and spiritual materials was indispensable to capture even a single thread of a Dao principle, which might not even be suitable for them.
Yet, this Fundamentals of the Great Dao allowed Ji Yuan, who was in the Qimeng realm, to directly peruse the Dao principles most suited to him, making its value immeasurable.
As the book was opened, Dao principles naturally manifested on the pages, explaining a path of alchemy.
It did not teach any specific alchemy techniques, but rather used fundamental runes to present profound Dao principles to the reader in an easily understandable manner.
Ji Yuan was engrossed, his mind lost in the simple runes. A mere arrangement of these basic characters could convey entirely different meanings, and the emanating Dao principles further immersed him.
When he finally snapped back to reality, two to three hours had passed. The moon was already hazy outside, with only starlight scattered across the land.
After a moment's thought, Ji Yuan did not store the Fundamentals of the Great Dao into the jade white flying sword within his Niwan Palace. Instead, he used a technique of 'Sleeve of the Universe' that he had comprehended from this very book, to store it within his sleeve.
He then pushed open the door and went directly to the kitchen opposite, preparing a table of food shortly after.
Compared to yesterday and this morning, the evening meal was exceptionally lavish. Besides fragrant spiritual rice, there were two meat and vegetable dishes, and a large pot of hot soup.
The old Daoist had already smelled the aroma and came over. He was now sitting at the dining table, a large bowl of spiritual rice already in his hands, savoring his youngest disciple's culinary skills.
What Ji Yuan found slightly amusing was that at his age, the old man still only picked at the meat dishes, leaving the vegetable dishes untouched.
"Where is Fifth Senior Brother?"
Ji Yuan glanced at his master's room and then asked.
The old Daoist did not look up, and after taking another piece of meat into his mouth, he mumbled, "Your Fifth Senior Brother's talent in cultivation is currently unclear, but his martial aptitude is exceptionally good."
Zhang Zhiya looked towards his own room, his expression becoming somewhat peculiar. Under his youngest disciple's persistent questioning, he slowly recounted the events of the afternoon.
Originally, he had called Guo Tao over to teach him the method of enlightenment. However, the latter had asked if he had any martial arts techniques, stating that he preferred to follow the path of martial arts.
The old Daoist had no choice but to take out a book, covered in a thick layer of dust on the bookshelf, and hand it to his eager fifth disciple.
Honestly, even the old Daoist himself didn't know when he had acquired this martial art called 'Dragon Elephant Skill'.
A master of a dilapidated Taoist temple would naturally not possess any peerless martial arts. However, even Ji Yuan had heard of the reputation of this 'Dragon Elephant Skill'.
It was one of the foundational martial arts passed down by a renowned sect that once commanded a continent. Later, with the sect's destruction and the immense difficulty of practicing this skill, it eventually became almost commonplace.
Some simplified and abridged versions of 'Dragon Elephant Skill' could be bought in any county town for a mere two or three coins of silver, sometimes even given as a gift or bonus to generous customers.
Although 'Dragon Elephant Skill' was widely circulated, there were almost no reports of anyone truly achieving mastery.
One reason was that the skill had been repeatedly simplified and abridged. Another was the sheer difficulty of its cultivation.
"Senior Brother succeeded?"
Seeing his master's strange expression, Ji Yuan couldn't help but be surprised.
It seemed he hadn't expected that his senior brother would actually be able to cultivate this notoriously difficult martial art.
"Not to that extent, but he has successfully entered the initial stage."
The old Daoist put down his chopsticks, his face full of emotion as he mentioned this.
Who would have thought that Guo Tao, who had spent over two hours just memorizing the opening verses, would enter a state of cultivation in mere breaths during his first attempt to circulate the technique, and successfully complete a small cycle?
"This Guo Tao, I never noticed before how abundant his vital energy and blood were."
Zhang Zhiya couldn't help but exclaim.
The most difficult aspect of cultivating 'Dragon Elephant Skill' was that the cultivator's vital energy and blood had to be extremely robust and abundant. If the vital energy and blood were insufficient, even completing a small cycle would be difficult, let alone further cultivation.
However, the amount of vital energy and blood was entirely dependent on one's innate foundation. Unless one possessed rare spiritual items, it was difficult to increase one's vital energy and blood before cultivation.
Guo Tao, on the other hand, was naturally endowed with abundant vital energy and blood, making it incredibly easy for him to circulate a small cycle and thus begin practicing 'Dragon Elephant Skill'.
"This is truly... a pleasant surprise!"
Ji Yuan was at a loss for words. He had originally planned to find an opportunity to go to Ming Xin Xuan and buy a decent martial art for his fifth senior brother.
Now, it seemed that was no longer necessary. Although 'Dragon Elephant Skill' was a common practice, that referred only to its circulation.
In reality, even with its repeated simplifications and abridgements, once mastered, it far surpassed the foundational martial arts of ordinary minor sects.
Returning to his room, Ji Yuan picked up the bronze oil lamp from the table. Three hours had passed, and this magical artifact had replenished its depleted spiritual energy. With a thought, a flame ignited on the wick.
As the flame appeared, his mind quickly calmed down. The worries accumulated throughout the day seemed to vanish instantly, and his slightly groggy mind became clear.
After a moment's thought, Ji Yuan placed the bronze oil lamp on the bedside table. He removed his shoes and socks, sat cross-legged on the wooden bed, and then placed the long sword on his back across his lap.
When he placed his hands at the head and tail of the sword and gently closed his eyes, he immediately entered a mysterious state.
In this state, Ji Yuan felt his soul enveloped in a warmth, an indescribable comfort. Simultaneously, two jade slips appeared in his mind.
One was inscribed with 'Xuantian - Dao Law', and the other with 'Xuantian - Sword Art'.
This was the inherited cultivation method of the Xuantian Temple, known as the 'Xuantian Dao Sutra'. Apart from a core cultivation mantra imprinted in his sea of consciousness, the entire 'Xuantian Dao Sutra' was divided into these two jade slips.
Ji Yuan's consciousness hesitated slightly, then he chose the second jade slip. Instantly, the entire content of the sword art appeared in his mind, available for him to browse at will.
The night passed without incident. The next morning, after a night of cultivation and contemplation, the young Daoist opened his door.
However, as soon as he reached the kitchen door, he witnessed a scene that left him utterly stunned.
A tall yet thin figure was squatting in the corner of the kitchen, holding a large rice jar, his head almost buried in it.
On this quiet morning, Ji Yuan could even hear the sound of uncooked spiritual rice being bitten and swallowed.
"Fifth Senior Brother!"
He stared for a long time before finally reacting and rushing to the side of the tall, thin figure.
This person was his fifth senior brother, Guo Tao, who had been cultivating 'Dragon Elephant Skill' all night!
However, unlike his usual tall and robust appearance, Guo Tao was now so thin that he was mere skin and bones, and his Taoist robe seemed a size too large.
"This foolish fellow, almost cultivated himself to death. He circulated 'Dragon Elephant Skill' for a whole night, completing three major cycles!"
From the corner, Zhang Zhiya's voice slowly emerged, filled with helplessness and emotion.
Ji Yuan looked and saw his master squatting in the corner, his aged face full of fatigue, with dark circles under his eyes, staring intently at Guo Tao who was frantically eating from the rice jar.
It was evident that the old man had not slept all night, and had been anxious throughout, fearing his disciple would cultivate himself to death.
One could imagine the old man watching Guo Tao gradually transform from a tall, robust man into this emaciated state.
Ji Yuan secretly clicked his tongue. Although he hadn't witnessed the process, he still felt a chill. This was precisely one of the reasons why 'Dragon Elephant Skill' was so difficult to cultivate.
Normal martial arts techniques, in their initial stages, involve nourishing the vital energy and blood within the body, strengthening the flesh and skin to accommodate more essence, which serves as nourishment for the next stage of cultivation.
However, 'Dragon Elephant Skill' took a different approach. Each completed cycle would draw upon the cultivator's own vital energy and blood, merging it with essence and accumulating it deep within the body.
Only after reaching a certain level of cultivation would the previously accumulated vital energy and essence be released to nourish the body and break through to the next realm.
This required the cultivator to constantly replenish their losses, and only ingredients containing spiritual energy or auxiliary pills for strengthening the foundation would suffice.
Otherwise, there was a risk of cultivating oneself to death.
For example, the fifth senior brother Guo Tao before him had nearly depleted all his vital energy and blood, leaving behind only a withered body.
"Senior Brother, stop eating the spiritual rice, quickly take these pills!"
Ji Yuan tried to pull Guo Tao away from the rice jar, but no matter how hard he tried, even using his own vital energy, he could only make the other person's body shift slightly.
In his helplessness, he could only force a few pills from the porcelain bottle into Guo Tao's mouth, letting him chew and swallow them along with the spiritual rice.
About fifteen minutes later, after swallowing several pills, Guo Tao finally let out a long breath. The abundance of medicinal power in his stomach finally alleviated his intense hunger.
Seeing this, Ji Yuan's mouth twitched. For an ordinary person, one of these foundation-strengthening pills would be enough to sustain them for three days and three nights without food. But for his senior brother, it only seemed to make him slightly less hungry.
"Junior Brother... are there any more?"
Guo Tao painstakingly got up from the ground, looking at Ji Yuan with an unsatisfied expression, unconsciously licking his chapped lips.
The pills he had just eaten not only curbed his hunger but also tasted exceptionally good, sweeter and tastier than the candied fruits from the snack shop.
Upon hearing this, Ji Yuan's eyes immediately darkened, and he nearly fainted on the spot. He pointed at his senior brother, speechless for a long time.
After a long while, he threw out two or three more porcelain bottles, then walked out of the kitchen with a dejected expression, standing in the small courtyard and sighing at the sky.
Thinking of the future needs of his senior brother's cultivation of 'Dragon Elephant Skill', Ji Yuan felt a dull ache in his heart. How many batches of pills would he need to refine to compensate for the losses!