204: Chapter 204 The Great Awakening Sect, the Sutra Repository

This was clearly the wisdom of the entire world compressed into individual specks of light, converging into a boundless ocean of Dao.

Each Jade Slip was like a star, operating independently yet drawing upon one another to form some kind of profound and unfathomable array.

With just a slight gaze, Zhao Yi had the illusion that his Divine Soul was being sucked in.

He reached out to grab one, but the Jade Slip that seemed right before his eyes passed directly through his hand.

A voice, incomparably rigid and unlike that of a living being, emanated from the sea of stars:

"Junior, did your masters not teach you?"

"The Dao cannot be lightly imparted."

Zhao Yi...

This sounded familiar.

"Damn, are they going to ask for a bribe too?"

He searched his entire body, but other than the great sumeru treasure hoe, he had absolutely nothing.

Just as Zhao Yi was struggling with whether to hand over the great sumeru treasure hoe,

the voice spoke again:

"Junior, the Dao cannot be lightly imparted, and the Law is not to be taught to the six ears."

"Do not impart to those who are not the right person; do not teach those who are not the right person."

"If you wish to comprehend the many Cultivation Techniques, you must break through three questions to prove your Dao Heart,"

"Lest the Cultivation Techniques and Secret Manuals of our sect be imparted to the wrong person."

As soon as the voice fell, the scene before Zhao Yi's eyes changed abruptly.

He was no longer in the sea of stars, but standing within a desolate, ancient temple.

"The first question:"

"Why do you cultivate the Dao?"

There was no wind in the temple, yet a remnant lamp flickered.

The wick flickered on and off, reflecting countless shadows of Zhao Yi: digging for Spirit Stones in the Lesser Strange Spirit Stone Mine, mining on Great White Mountain, digging for immortal fate in Baiyu Mountain,

and digging for spirit light sandstone in the Immortal Severing Cave.

Zhao Yi suddenly realized that he was either digging, or on his way to dig.

Along this journey, he had not only paid off his debts to the Cultivation Academy but had even dug his way to the cultivation of an Earth Immortal.

Now, with his hoe in hand, he looked down upon all living beings.

Who would not submit?

Who would not show respect?

After another moment of silence,

Zhao Yi said in a deep voice:

"To not be controlled by others, to protect the land I love, and to explore the limits of heaven and earth."

The lamp flame jumped and extinguished.

The ancient temple collapsed, and Zhao Yi found himself above a long river; the water flowed backward, filled with scenes of the past.

"The second question:"

"Why is the Dao you cultivate strong?"

Zhao Yi looked into the river.

He saw himself undergoing the One-Nine Lightning Tribulation at Foundation Establishment, the Three-Nine Lightning Tribulation at Golden Core, and even the later Six-Nine Lightning Tribulation and Nine-Nine Thunder Tribulation...

Further on,

the Hundred Deaths Tribulation Realm, the Wealth Tribulation, and so on.

It could be said that every step was a tribulation; he was either undergoing a tribulation or on his way to one.

"Hahaha~"

Zhao Yi laughed.

"Why is the Dao I cultivate strong?"

"I will tell you~"

Zhao Yi paused.

Digging for Spirit Stones to gain experience points and then using them to improve his cultivation was definitely something he couldn't say.

At the critical moment, the Nonsense Sutra left behind by Approximate worked its magic.

"It is not because the Cultivation Technique is peerless, nor because my talent is unrivaled. My Dao is strong because I dare to walk the path that others dare not."

As his voice fell, the long river solidified, transforming into a white jade staircase leading straight to the center of the sea of stars.

There, the most ancient Jade Slip floated, with only one character on it:

"Primordial"

Just as Zhao Yi intended to get a clear look,

the voice came again:

"The third question:"

"If you achieve the Dao, what do you wish to do?"

Zhao Yi stood before the Jade Slip, his gaze piercing through eternity.

He continued to spout nonsense:

"I do not seek eternal life, nor do I seek the adoration of the masses."

"If I achieve the Dao..."

"I wish to open a sect, establish a teaching, and pass down a spark of the Dao to future generations, so that even Mortals may dare to ask about immortality!"

"To make the Lower Profound Sect a ladder for all living beings!"

Boom!

The Jade Slip shattered, not in destruction, but in an ultimate blossoming.

Endless light surged into Zhao Yi's Sea of Consciousness, and countless heavenly dao law runes arranged themselves automatically, resonating faintly with the Law of Money he had comprehended.

Zhao Yi felt an unprecedented clarity...

The sea of stars surged, spontaneously clearing a path for Zhao Yi.

At the end, a solitary pavilion stood quietly. Inside the pavilion was a meditation cushion, a tea table, and a yellowed paper scroll placed on the table.

On the cover was written:

Primordial Scripture

Zhao Yi reached out to take it...

"Ouch!"

A scream from the outside world interrupted him.

"Master! Help! This shorty really wants to eat me!"

It was the howling of Approximate.

Zhao Yi opened his eyes abruptly, discovering that he was still in the sea of stars, but his immortal consciousness was already connected to the outside world.

He saw that a piece of dragon meat had already been sliced off from Approximate on the plate, sizzling and emitting smoke, with a fragrant aroma overflowing.

Mu Ma was eating while praising, "Dragon meat is indeed fragrant; it's much tougher than dog meat."

Zhao Yi: "..."

He took a deep breath and slowly withdrew from the sea of stars.

The light dissipated, and he stood once again within the mountain gate of the Great Awakening Sect, his eyes clear and washed clean.

"Senior Mu."

Zhao Yi cupped his hands, his tone calm.

"Could you please release my mount first?"

Mu Ma ate the dragon meat without raising his head.

"That won't do; I've waited for this meal for several hundred years."

"Besides, the Dao cannot be lightly imparted."

Hmm?

Does this mean he wants Approximate to provide a bribe?

Zhao Yi was numb.

He pulled out the great sumeru treasure hoe.

"What if I don't agree?"

Mu Ma finally looked up, squinting at him.

Zhao Yi stood there, unmoving like a mountain.

But the entire Great Awakening Sect suddenly began to shake.

The ancient trees before the mountain gate moved without wind, their roots splitting the ground as if in submission.

Even the Great Awakening Sect's mountain-protecting array was trembling.

"You..."

Mu Ma narrowed his eyes.

"You are too impulsive."

"If I were you, I would discard this beast and get the Cultivation Technique first."

"Tsk tsk~"

"Now..."

Mu Ma shook his head, appearing very regretful.

"Hmm?"

"That's not right."

"You saw the Primordial Scripture?"

Zhao Yi...

So what if I saw it? So what if I didn't?

He tapped the great sumeru treasure hoe down lightly.

Rumble~

The entire mountain gate collapsed by three inches.

"Release the dog."

"Pah, I mean release the dragon!"

Mu Ma was silent for a long time, finally sighed, and tossed Approximate from the plate.

"Forget it, forget it. Dragon meat is not easy to digest and causes bloating."

Approximate landed and transformed into a dragon, wrapping himself around Zhao Yi's thigh.

"Master, you finally came back..."

"I almost became a dragon meat feast~"

Zhao Yi patted his head and looked at Mu Ma: "Senior, I have passed the three questions and may enter the Scripture Pavilion to retrieve the scripture."

Mu Ma looked at Approximate with a face full of regret.

"What a pity for my dragon meat."

Then he waved his hand, and the mountain gate opened completely, leading directly to the depths of the Scripture Pavilion.

"Go, Zhao Yi, but remember~"

"Sigh!"

"Forget it, the path is one you chose yourself; even if you have to crawl, you must finish it."

Zhao Yi...

He didn't care at all; what path could be harder than being a Death Cultivator?

As for Approximate, he hid in Zhao Yi's glabella, transforming into a small dragon head, refusing to stay outside even if beaten to death.

He could clearly see that Mu Ma was still drooling; it was obvious he hadn't given up on eating the dragon.

In the blink of an eye, Approximate appeared in the Scripture Pavilion following Zhao Yi.

"Damn, a sea of scriptures!"

"Master, I want to go out and take a look~"

But no matter how hard Approximate tried, he could not leave Zhao Yi's glabella.

"heavenly dao law restriction? How perverted."

"Aren't these Cultivation Techniques and Secret Manuals left here for people to read?"

Approximate grumbled.

Zhao Yi, however, had no interest in the stars filling the sky; his goal was the Primordial Scripture in the center of the sea of stars.

Intuition told him that the Primordial Scripture was even more important than the Law of Money he had comprehended.

In the solitary pavilion, Zhao Yi first bowed three times.

Then he sat on the meditation cushion.

He reached out and opened the Primordial Scripture before him.

A golden light shot in, and Approximate let out a scream.

"My eyes."