Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Nine: Hall of the Daoist Canon

The Dao Repository Pavilion consists of three levels: the first for Dharma, the second for Techniques, and the third for Miscellaneous arts.

Dharma refers to cultivation methods, such as those for Qi refining and God-Demon Body Tempering. Techniques encompass secret arts of immortals and demons—special skills like divine abilities of gods and demons, sword arts of sword immortals, forbidden arts for desperate situations, and movement arts for escape. Miscellaneous arts include the hundred crafts of the immortal path, such as puppetry, formation arrays, insect taming, artifact forging, alchemy, and poisoning.

Qi refining methods are categorized into Human, Earth, Heaven, and Immortal tiers. While higher levels like Pure Yang or Daluo-tier methods exist, the Black-White Academy does not possess them. The Immortal tier denotes methods that allow one to cultivate all the way to the Celestial Immortal stage. The Black-White Academy holds twenty-eight such methods. After browsing, Yun Tian selected a fire-attributed Immortal-tier method called the "Divine Flame Manual."

Moments later, Yun Tian arrived at the second level and headed straight for the table displaying divine abilities. There were only five manuals on the table, indicating that these were even rarer than the Immortal-tier Qi refining methods. The five were: "Law of Heaven and Earth," "Thunder God Eye," "Ten Thousand Poison Stings," "Three Heads and Six Arms," and "Heart-Glittering Eye." The Law of Heaven and Earth and Three Heads and Six Arms were the most common, yet they remained incredibly powerful and useful in the later stages of cultivation. The other three were equally formidable, leaving Yun Tian both tempted and eager.

Next, he found the table for "Techniques," which held only three golden books: "Soul-Shaking Art," "Soul-Extinguishing Art," and "Soul-Bewitching Art"—all methods for manipulating the soul.

After wandering for a long time, Yun Tian approached the burly guardian at the exit to request his chosen manuals, divine abilities, soul-manipulation arts, and various books on forging and formations. The burly man stared at him in disbelief. "Kid, do you really need all of these at once? Can you even finish learning them? You are only at the Purple Mansion stage; you should spend more effort on meditation and enlightenment."

"Enlightenment? My understanding of the Dao would scare you," Yun Tian mused to himself. Outwardly, he smiled faintly. "Uncle-Master, I just don't want to trouble you again later. If I learn them all now, I can study them slowly when I return!"

The burly man sighed in resignation and gestured for Yun Tian to follow him to collect the original copies.

Soon, with the books in hand, a cheerful Yun Tian flew back to his Qiankun Peak. Upon arrival, he was surprised to see many people there. Confused, he wondered who had dared to occupy his cave dwelling during his long meditation on the Black-White Diagram.

As he landed, a familiar figure approached with excitement. "Young Master Yun Tian, you have finally returned!"

"Yun Chen? Why are you here? And why are there so many people?" Yun Tian asked.

Yun Chen smiled apologetically. "Young Master, have you forgotten? Every official disciple of the Black-White Academy is entitled to ten servants. You need people to serve tea, fetch water, and clean the place, so I..."

"Fine, you have been thoughtful. You may stay and manage Qiankun Peak for me," Yun Tian replied, finally remembering.

"Young Master, these servants were arranged by our clan. Additionally, the Patriarch sent three other Purple Mansion cultivators from the Yun clan to serve you. Because you were meditating, we didn't send them over without your permission," Yun Chen added cautiously.

Yun Tian frowned slightly but nodded. "Very well, have them come over. I have no interest in managing these trivial matters."

"Yes, yes, Young Master! I will arrange it. If you have any other requests, please let me know," Yun Chen said, bowing repeatedly.

"Hmm..." Just as Yun Tian was about to enter his pavilion to cultivate, he turned back. "Tell me, do you have news of my mother, my sworn brother, and my sworn sister?"

Yun Chen nodded quickly. "Rest assured, Young Master, they are all doing well!"

"I have a favor to ask. Could you help me deliver some items to them later?" Yun Tian asked.

"Of course! That is simple," Yun Chen agreed.

Satisfied, Yun Tian headed to his meditation room. Inside, the walls were embedded with luminous pearls, casting a beautiful, radiant glow over the chamber.

Yun Tian sat cross-legged on the jade bed, which was etched with runes to aid in calming the mind. He organized his belongings, selecting several artifacts for his mother, Xia Qing, his elder brother, Xia Yunhu, and his younger sister, Xia Yunling. He then took out the "Divine Flame Manual," studied it for nearly an hour until he fully grasped the method, and burned the book with a flick of his fingers before beginning his cultivation.

"It is time to break through in Qi refining as well. Let us begin!" Yun Tian waved his hand, and a black jade bottle appeared on the floor. He uncorked it, and an abundance of Yuan liquid poured out—nearly ten thousand catties gifted by the Yun clan Patriarch.

Yun Tian inhaled, drawing the liquid into his mouth. It transformed into a massive surge of Heaven and Earth Yuan energy that rushed into his Purple Mansion. There, a lake of flame-like energy awaited.

As the Purple Mansion space trembled, the surging energy converted into Yuan force, causing the lake to expand and rotate. Under the guidance of the "Divine Flame Manual," the lake spun faster and faster, forming a giant vortex that deepened the lake a thousandfold. At the deepest point, a void opened, endlessly gushing forth new Yuan force. Yun Tian continued to absorb the energy, his cultivation reaching the peak of the Purple Mansion stage, consuming only about eighty catties of the liquid.

Breaking through from the peak of the Purple Mansion stage to the early Wanxiang stage requires an astronomical amount of Yuan liquid to forge a top-tier Dharma Image. The Wanxiang stage is unique; some practitioners manifest only stars, others add a moon, but the most elite manifest stars, a moon, and a sun simultaneously. Only with such an image can one eventually nurture the "Moon Rabbit from the Moon, Golden Crow from the Sun" manifestation—the true foundation of a Celestial Immortal. Without reaching this stage, becoming a Celestial Immortal is impossible. This foundation is built by expanding the Purple Mansion lake, for the deeper and wider it is, the more profound the resulting Dharma Image will be.