Chapter Twelve: The Way

Yang was slammed heavily onto the ground, pain jolting through his nerves. His blurred eyes suddenly cleared. “Sigh… I’ve fallen into it again.” Clearly, this was not the first time he had succumbed to the Flower Fairy’s seductive charm. In truth, he could have chosen not to look at her and instead harnessed his energy to resist, but he simply refused. He would rather be entranced than miss the chance to witness the Flower Fairy’s dance. It was like smokers who, fully aware of the harm, still smoked without hesitation.

“What’s going on?” Yang glanced around and realized they had already left Long Ba’s territory. The faces of Li Lie and the other two bore a hint of displeasure.

“Damn it. Didn’t expect this guy to be so stubborn—he actually chose to self-destruct his Nascent Soul,” Li Lie cursed angrily. But when he recalled Yuan He’s final words, “I did my best,” he immediately fell into deep thought. “What could that mean?” Suddenly, a spark of insight lit up his mind. Coupled with the uneasy feeling he had when activating the Sealing Infant Formation, something struck him. Instinctively, he said, “Could it be...?”

“To buy time,” Li Lie, the Flower Fairy, and the monk spoke almost in unison. Only Yang stood silently to the side, pondering for a moment. From their conversation, he seemed to guess part of the truth and nodded. “I’m afraid someone has long known about the treasure map…”

“That’s right. It could be those two people we let go, or perhaps the people from Long Ba’s faction. Of course, other cultivators can’t be ruled out either,” Li Lie’s voice faltered slightly. “As I said before, we’ll work together to find the treasure map. As for the treasure itself, it’s every man for himself. Since I was the one who released those two, I’ll take responsibility for tracking them down.”

The fairy nodded. “Then I’ll go hunt down the remnants of Long Ba’s followers.”

Yang chuckled softly. “No need to say more—where Flower Sister goes, I’ll go.”

“Amitabha. It seems I must also go check on the movements of other cultivators,” the monk said slowly.

“Alright, let’s exchange communication spirit stones,” Li Lie said, pulling out two spirit stones and embedding a trace of his spiritual consciousness into them, then handing them to the monk and the Flower Fairy.

Although these communication spirit stones couldn’t truly transmit messages, they could detect each other’s positions within a certain range. With these stones, it would be easier for them to keep in touch. Without hesitation, the three exchanged the stones, then vanished from sight.

Lei Yan and Qing Ling, having escaped Long Ba’s territory, were unaware that Li Lie had returned to pursue them. But relying on experience, Lei Yan knew they had to reach Niu Family Village on the southwestern border of Qingzhou as quickly as possible. Despite the pain in his shoulder, he pressed onward without a moment’s rest toward the southwestern border. Qing Ling also knew that facing such powerful foes meant only one thing—escape. She followed silently behind Lei Yan.

After traveling for a full day and night, they were still hundreds of miles from the southwestern border. Seeing Qing Ling’s pale face, Lei Yan knew that if they didn’t rest soon, she would collapse. And he himself was in no better shape—broken bones and depleted true essence left him even weaker than Qing Ling. “Let’s rest for a while.”

Qing Ling seemed too exhausted even to speak. She gave a faint hum of agreement and found a patch of open ground to sit down. The journey had drained her true essence completely. While traveling, she hadn’t felt the full weight of exhaustion, but as soon as she sat, she unintentionally fell asleep.

Lei Yan dared not close his eyes. His nerves remained taut. He sat down slowly, focusing his consciousness throughout his body, using his entire form as a dantian to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, replenishing his true essence. He channeled it to mend his fractured bones. After three hours, he clearly felt the broken bones had healed, and his true essence was brimming once again. He opened his eyes slowly, glanced at the still-sleeping Qing Ling, then closed them again.

“The myriad paths of the Dao number three thousand, but the mind is supreme. To verify the Dao through the mind—that is the foundation,” Lei Yan recalled the words of the Ghost Poison Master. At the time, he had thought he understood, but now he realized how foolish he had been.

“What true essence is not unique? What cultivation method can be created on a whim? Without strength to protect oneself, talk of Dao and mind is all bloody nonsense,” Lei Yan thought bitterly.

“I want cultivation methods—lots of them,” he roared inwardly. Suddenly, he recalled that deep within his mind lay memories that were not his own. With a flicker of intent, he began searching through them. This was the first time Lei Yan had actively sought out those foreign memories hidden in the depths of his mind. Scenes flashed by like a movie.

The memories of a demonic cultivator were vast. Lei Yan discarded irrelevant images, focusing on memories related to cultivation methods. As time wore on, disappointment grew. There were many methods, but their conditions were too harsh. Some required sucking the essence of young boys and girls; others only allowed cultivation after reaching the Golden Core stage.

Suddenly, a faint memory appeared in his mind: “Once the Dao is attained, one immediately ascends. The Dao is the profound principle of heaven and earth. How deeply one comprehends it depends on personal fate. Thus, we cultivators train the body to extend life, so we might better understand the profound Dao. The Dao is fundamental, but the body is the basis for verifying the Dao. Reflect on this well.”

This memory came from a vague old cultivator’s mouth. Lei Wan Chun’s memory was too blurry for Lei Yan to discern the old man’s face, but even this one sentence gave Lei Yan much to gain.

“I see, I see. The Dao and the body are inseparable. Reaching certain realms means understanding the Dao to a certain degree. Dao techniques and cultivation methods are merely applications of that understanding. The Dao itself is the profound mystery of heaven and earth. The more Dao one grasps, the more mysteries one can wield,” Lei Yan’s heart suddenly cleared.

“No wonder after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, everything around me seemed much clearer. It means I touched the edge of the Dao. It seems the cultivation method I’ve been searching for is right beside me: the Five Elements Fist. If I can integrate the Dao into the Five Elements Fist, then I’ll be able to wield the mysteries of heaven and earth, just like Yang and the others,” Lei Yan thought quietly.

With this realization, Lei Yan slowly stood and prepared to cultivate the Five Elements Fist. Yet another question arose: Though he knew he had touched the edge of the Dao, how exactly was he to fuse the Dao into the Five Elements Fist? He had no choice but to close his eyes again and recall the scenes of the monk, Yang, and Li Lie using their cultivation methods.