Chapter 127: Sorcery, the Instruction of Insects

Consciousness gradually returned, accompanied by a fit of violent coughing. Ji Ming pressed his six-fingered palm against his chest; his lungs felt as heavy and solid as if they were cast from iron. Every inhalation and exhalation required several minutes, an excruciatingly uncomfortable process, though he slowly adapted to it over time.

From human to immortal, the mortal nature of the flesh gradually fades away. Ji Ming viewed this change in his breathing as a minor transformation in the process of becoming an immortal.

"Cloud-Hand Lungs."

Pressing his chest, he could feel the exceptionally slow expansion and contraction of his lungs. The breath of spiritual essence had already merged within, forging a "Dao Organ."

"It is a pity that the reverse cultivation fell short at the final step."

Ji Ming felt a pang of disappointment as he thought of his failed attempt at reverse cultivation. However, observing the Master's attitude—valuing the process over the result—it seemed she had never been optimistic about his idea of combining the "Reverse Cultivation Ascension Method" with the "Dao Organ Ascension Method."

"To succeed is my fortune; to fail is my fate."

As this thought crossed his mind, he recalled the Master's words that experience is the true gold. Perhaps this was meant to be the lesson: to cultivate a tranquil heart amidst gain and loss. Ji Ming did not dwell on it further; his mind had been tightly wound lately, and it was unwise to continue training for fear of inviting heart demons. He decided to spend some time in idle recuperation.

"Idle" was perhaps an exaggeration. He still had to teach Thousand-Hands to read, write, and study the classics of the sages every morning and evening. For a supernatural creature, the stage of "Illusionary Form" requires the refinement of the human heart. Without understanding human principles and identifying with the human perspective, how could one truly take on a human form?

Although Ji Ming had been teaching for three years, he had not gone into much depth, prioritizing his own cultivation and the refinement of true energy. Now that he had leisure, he finally had the focus to teach properly. Yet, upon starting, he discovered just how foolish the creature’s insect nature was. He would teach the character for "West," and Thousand-Hands would recite "Chicken." This made Ji Ming afraid to teach any taboo characters; after all, the "Heavenly Realm" was also referred to as the "Western Heaven," and he feared Thousand-Hands might misread "Western Heaven" as "Chicken Heaven," thereby offending the Heavens.

Reading and writing were already exhausting enough; he completely abandoned his intention to teach mathematics. To prevent his days of cultivation and relaxation from becoming a miserable ordeal of teaching, Ji Ming requested permission from the Master to hire a tutor from the foot of the mountain. When he made the request, Old Ape was by her side, and he put in a word for Thousand-Hands. The mention stirred the Master's own regrets; she had long wanted to raise a spiritual companion, but after several attempts, she had never found one that suited her heart.

Now that she had attained the Golden Core and was nearing the "Fetal Spirit" realm of the third step, "Refining Spirit to Return to Emptiness," it was even harder to find a masterless, exotic spiritual beast. Seeing the Master's regret, Old Ape said to Ji Ming, "How can a mortal set foot in an immortal’s treasured cave? Why not let it stay by the Master’s side for a while?"

Ji Ming was, of course, eager to have it stay with the Master, but he worried that the creature's foolishness would irritate her. Sure enough, just three or five days after Ji Ming agreed, Thousand-Hands was sent back to the garden with the Master’s scathing remark: "Beyond redemption."

Thousand-Hands was deeply aggrieved, hiding in its poison-seed pouch for days and refusing to come out, even rejecting its usual poisonous feed. Not long after, Old Ape arrived at the garden on the Master's orders, bringing a tutor from the foot of the mountain—a man who was doddering and elderly, yet possessed a sharp and spirited mind.

Old Ape glanced at Thousand-Hands in the bag, remarking that at the Master's place, the creature had done nothing but eat and drink. It refused no spirit fruit or fine elixir, but ignored all reading and writing, which had nearly caused the Master to drop her flask of soiled gold in anger. He added that the creature’s state was likely due to the lack of its usual spirit fruits and elixirs, and that starving it for a few meals would set it right.

With the tutor in the garden, Ji Ming found himself with plenty of time. Every day, he strolled the peaks, gathered herbs in the mountains, waded in the pools, or sat at the summits watching the clouds, the sunset, the colorful mists, and the immortals fleeing through the sky. Sometimes Old Ape would accompany him, preferring to discuss the arts of combat rather than the ways of worldly ambition or human intrigue.

At other times, Wei Wulan would pretend to encounter him by chance in the mountains. They would walk together, admiring the scenery, discussing the latest news from the Southern Skies, sharing their joys, and occasionally speaking of their troubles and sorrows. To Wei Wulan, friendship could be measured by time. As one’s cultivation deepened and one’s experience grew, friendships were no longer as pure as they were in childhood. Common interests were only one part; it also required fate, temperament, and a conscious effort to invest time in the relationship. Even the closest friends would naturally drift apart if they did not spend time together, unless they were friends who had shared life-and-death bonds. He could not expect Golden Boy to sacrifice his time to seek him out, so he had to take the initiative himself.

Thanks to the previous favor of borrowing the Benevolent Shuttle, their interactions had lost much of their formality, replaced by genuine emotions and heartfelt conversations. In Ji Ming's eyes, Wei Wulan was worth knowing—not just for his status as a disciple of a major sect or the favor of the artifact, but for his breadth of insight. Ji Ming spent most of his time cultivating in the cave, his trips down the mountain were few, and in his previous lives, he had lived only in a corner of the Southern Skies; it was no exaggeration to say his perspective was limited. The things Wei Wulan shared—the political situation in the Ba Kingdom, the illustrious figures beneath the Three Heavens, the shifts in the Southern Skies—all served to fill the gaps in his knowledge.

The art of socializing, after all, consists partly of learning from others' strengths to compensate for one's own weaknesses. During his time of rest, many people from both within and without the cave came to see him. Among them were few small figures, but many great ones, from the north and south, and even from overseas immortal islands. They treated him as an equal, and none dared to slight him. After all, his reputation had long since spread beyond the Fire Ruins Cave; many immortals at Purple Fusion Peak had heard of him, and many speculated that he had already mastered profound spells. After all, first there was the crane demon who offered itself as firewood, and then when he appeared again, the demon form was gone—any intelligent person could guess what had happened.

To have achieved this by the age of reaching adulthood was a marvel in the Southern Skies. Consequently, even his master, Flying Crane, hurried over to visit.

"Fast, too fast," the old Daoist Flying Crane exclaimed repeatedly as they chatted on a peak in the Jiheng Mountains. "Fast cultivation, fast spell-refining. No wonder you were born to hinder his path. If Su Luozi knew your situation, he wouldn't be able to sit in meditation with a peaceful mind."

Ji Ming noticed the worry in the old Daoist's eyes and asked, "Master, has there been a new development regarding the Tai Sui?"

"I cannot hide it from you," Flying Crane sighed. "I obtained some of the flesh of the Tai Sui in the Lanyin Square and refined it into two 'Annual Ring Pills.' I thought it was a stroke of fortune, but then more pieces appeared and were acquired by others. The Lanyin Square, already a place of undercurrents, is almost back to the tense situation of the conflict at the Guancai Cave over a decade ago. However, this time, Taiping Mountain is not as well-prepared as it was before. What worries me more is that if this 'Stone Tai Sui,' rumored to come from the ancient city of 'Yin,' is not a stroke of fortune, then it must be... a conspiracy."

Ji Ming knew his master's greatest worry was that his hope of advancing further and living for another hundred years might be gone.

"You, do not worry about me. Your top priority is to complete the 'Mountain-Sitting Warrior Sutra' and then participate in the examination at Taiping Mountain to catch the eye of the higher-ups. Only then can I truly rest easy."

The examinations for Dao commoners and Dao disciples were held in the same year, every three years. Ji Ming had already spent three years cultivating after passing the commoner exam; he would have to wait another three years for the next one.

Old Daoist Flying Crane suddenly raised his hand and said, "Come, let us spar. The 'One-Breath Great Seizing Hand.'"