Shi Feiyang was unwilling to linger in Qingtian County, for his own cultivation required tranquility—sometimes for days, sometimes for months. The creation of magical treasures would give rise to various splendid lights and sounds, attracting the townspeople to gather, speculate, and discuss.

Yuan Hua needed to refine the Flying Sword Magical Treasure of Mao Gong, which also emitted dazzling light and might draw the covetous eyes of demons and thus required a protector.

Taking Yuan Hua and Lin Han with him, Shi Feiyang left Qingtian and returned to Dinghu Peak in Immortal City. Lin Han was unable to go underwater, and Yuan Hua could not endure living beneath the water either, so Shi Feiyang decided to fill the Yu Ding with pure water. He collected all the water from the peak into the tripod, and then he lay on the Coiling Dragon Rock beneath the peak and gazed upwards, which felt somewhat like being confined in a well and looking at the sky.

Consequently, he went to the nearby Bu Xu Mountain, found a feng shui treasure spot, and opened up a new cave to live in.

Shi Feiyang bestowed upon Lin Han the White Light Sword, and taught him to practice sword refining with breath control every day. Lin Han was overjoyed and practiced diligently without the slightest slackness, clutching the sword even as he slept.

Yuan Hua practiced the Inner View Primordial Sect's teachings in an outer cave, concurrently cultivating with the Hook Sword Jade Scroll and occasionally offering Lin Han pointers on swordsmanship.

Shi Feiyang calmed his mind and cross-referenced everything he had learned in the past with the Inner View Primordial Sect, integrating and comprehending them, and managed to decipher many of the tadpole scripts from Guang Chengzi's Heavenly Book.

The Inner View Primordial Sect provided a cultivation method that led straight to becoming a Heavenly Immortal; however, merely following the instructions step by step without variation was not a guarantee of success, as the path of immortal cultivation was not smooth, fraught with temptations, feuds, natural disasters, and calamities—with countless uncertainties.

Much like how a thousand people following the same recipe can produce a thousand different flavors, the vast majority of people, even with the recipe in hand, couldn't make the ideal dish.

These teachings served as guidance on the path of cultivation, showing people how to walk the path and how to avoid pitfalls, yet the most crucial aspect was still for cultivators to tread the journey step by step.

The Mysterious Sect's orthodox path was a broad and even way, which required strict self-discipline, nearly amounting to "preserving natural law, extinguishing human desires." The Emei Sect's Purple and Blue Treasure Talisman was most stringent, requiring pure childlike innocence upon entry, using Innate Pure Yang Qi as a foundation, carefully nurturing and cultivating inner strength to perfection, accumulating external skills, having accomplishments in the Dao as well as virtuous deeds in the human world, before ascending to the Immortal Realm.

The advantage of this cultivation method was that it was both stable and fast, with no risk of becoming demonized and no heavenly tribulations. Once inner and outer achievements were complete, one could ascend directly, free from difficulties and disasters, which also held the greatest probability of becoming a Golden Immortal through body ascension.

While the benefits were clear, the method was extremely difficult to accomplish. Even if the Purple and Blue Treasure Talisman were available to ten thousand people, it was uncertain if even one could persevere to the end. Falling into the hands of those of corrupt nature, they could not withstand the numerous prohibitions and merely cultivated powerful spells, indulging in reckless behavior, using righteous skills yet still straying from the correct path.

Those from the deviant schools paid less attention to these matters, valuing spell prowess over the Dao, seeking only powerful spells and quick satisfaction of vengeance, acting unbridled. The lascivious used spells to charm, the greedy used divine abilities to amass wealth. With their restless hearts constantly burning spiritual energy, inner strength became unstable with no external skills to support it. Their personalities tended to be extreme—petty and irascible or insatiably greedy, lacking broad-mindedness and vision, often making enemies. Although their learned spells were often powerful, when disaster struck, assailed by natural and man-made calamities, they mostly faced a Fallen Tribulation and perished, their mana amounting to the severity of their plights, until they were utterly obliterated.

This is the distinction between the Dao and techniques, the orthodox and the unorthodox. Some from the Mysterious Sect, although their Dao level was high, their spell power was weak, and they had few powerful magical treasures, often unable to defeat the highly skilled of the unorthodox paths. Yet the ultimate outcome was usually much better for them, at the very least achieving Soldier Disintegration to reincarnate, overcoming tribulations to start anew.

Shi Feiyang was now planning his own path, establishing the grand Dao and proceeding step by step in an orderly fashion—this was virtue.

In the context of ancient times, virtue meant the way one walked, to walk upon the grand Dao. The straighter the path, the greater the depth of virtue. The term "morality" differed profoundly from later ages, embodying the capabilities of those who obtained the Dao, those who wielded the Dao to govern the world, not merely doing good deeds... Upon this genuine foundation of virtue, one could then cultivate spells. With both the Dao and skills, using them for the benefit of the world could ensure peace for myriad generations. To the individual, it could ensure eternal life and indestructibility through countless calamities.

Guang Chengzi's Heavenly Book, Yellow Emperor's Golden Seal, Yu the Great's Golden Talisman Treasure Tripod, the Cave Spirit Zither's Three Sounds—ultimately, all traced back to the grand Dao, differing only in perspective and method.

Shi Feiyang had secluded himself for several months, experiencing many enlightenments, penetrating the profound mysteries of the Immortal Path in his cultivation.

With heightened insights, he improved the various cultivation methods he had taught his disciples, including Chi You's Sun and Moon Refining Technique. He tailored specific cultivation methods for the Yu Ding's inner demons: Red Snake, Green Flood Dragon, and Falcon Crane—each beast received a unique set of cultivation practices. Although the general frameworks were similar, specific details varied significantly, all designed to best match their physical and mental dispositions.

He also re-performed sacrificial refinement on the Nine Heavens Yuan Yang Ruler, Yu Ding, Cave Spirit Zither, and Circulation Hunyuan Umbrella, as well as several other Magical Treasures, to draw out even more remarkable and powerful uses.

After more than half a year had passed this way, two female immortals arrived on the mountain.

One was Xiong Man, who had once come to Dinghu Peak during his Ascension to snatch the Heavenly Book, only to be persuaded to leave by Cang Lingzi. The other was her junior sister; she was the nineteenth in her mortal family and known as Xiao Nineteen.

Xiong Man was slightly plump with long legs, clad in a black tight-fitting outfit, carrying a sword case on her back, resembling a wanderer of Jianghu. Xiao Nineteen was somewhat frail, dressed in a plum blossom long gown, with thin braids by her face, giving off a youthful and playful vibe.

After years of wandering, they found themselves at Bu Xu Mountain, admiring the mountain's picturesque scenery and the pure concentration of Spiritual Energy. Xiao Nineteen suggested they establish a cave dwelling here and devote themselves to cultivation in seclusion.

Upon arrival at the mountain, the two women first encountered Yuan Hua.

The cultivation techniques recorded in "Inner View Primordial Sect" were incredible. Green-haired True Master had once led a group of immortals to refine Kongtong Mountain with fire, seizing Guang Chengzi's relics. As a leader of the Mysterious Sect and a symbol of the Righteous Path, he could still craft suitable cultivation methods for those of diverse paths. His ideas and means were unfathomable, but he never strayed from the essence of the Righteous Path.

With Shi Feiyang's tailored guidance, Yuan Hua had since brought his entire black qi within his body, his Primordial Spirit was now condensed. Coupled with some illusionary techniques, he looked no different from an ordinary man; dressed in a gray Daoist robe and a straw hat, with a white beard and white eyebrows, at first glance, he resembled an old fisherman.

But Xiong Man and Xiao Nineteen were not mortals; they immediately realized something was off about the old man and released their Flying Swords, shouting sternly, "What demon dares to cause trouble and deceive in broad daylight!"

Yuan Hua, having joined Shi Feiyang's disciples, had already changed a lot in temperament, much like a monkey from Emei Mountain turning into a golden monkey. He did not get angry or raise his temper and simply sent out his own Flying Sword to meet the challenge.

He had always enjoyed sparring with human Sword Immortals, and in this past half-year, he had made great progress. The two women he encountered today were authentic Sword Immortals, and he couldn't help feeling eager, wanting to see how much his abilities had improved.

The women were astonished to see the brilliance of his Flying Sword, both orthodox and without evil, and after a brief bout, they realized his swordsmanship was indeed of the Righteous Mysterious Sect—honorable and straightforward, advancing and retreating with rhythm, operating with measure. They found this even more remarkable.

Xiao Nineteen said, "Sister, look, even though he's a beast of an old monkey, he wields such orthodox swordsmanship, and his Immortal Sword seems better than ours too."

Yuan Hua laughed heartily, "Haven't you heard how Yuan Hua once sparred swords with the Lady of Yue? Both benefited and each enlightened their own set of Sword Scriptures. Though I, this old monkey, dare not compare with Yuan Hua, it is not strange for me to know some orthodox swordsmanship."

The master of the three women from Min Mountain, Dragon Mother with Seven Fingers, upon entering nirvana, had passed the "Yue Nu Scripture," containing the Lady of Yue's swordsmanship to the eldest disciple, Luo Ziyuan. Xiao Nineteen, being the youngest, had received the "Three Elements Secret Manual." Each of the three sisters had their own fates, cultivating the Daoist Techniques most suited to them, and they did not necessarily communicate and share everything with one another, though they did exchange and spar at times.

Hearing Yuan Hua's mention of Yue Nu and Yuan Hua's swordfight, the two women developed a favorable impression of him, perceiving the old monkey not as a harmful demon but rather benign. They retracted their Flying Swords and exchanged names.

Upon hearing from Yuan Hua that he had a master who had established a cave dwelling in the mountain and had been cultivating for a long time, the two women became very curious. If a disciple like the old monkey had such Dao Level and wielded such a fine Immortal Sword, then his master must indeed be an extraordinary and accomplished immortal!

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