Chapter 5: Embodied Dao Rhyme

 

The rooster crows thrice, and the faint morning light emerges.

Tao Fengnian cultivated throughout the night, his cultivation was stable like a rock, without the slightest fluctuation.

He pushed open the door and stepped outside, only to find that the small courtyard with blue bricks had suddenly become neat and clean, refreshed in every corner.

A young girl in a gray servant's dress, with a messy hair bun, awkwardly dragged a broom larger than herself, sweeping the golden leaves under the ginkgo tree. She was panting heavily, covered in sweat.

In just one night, she already had spiritual brilliance, which surprised Tao Fengnian.

Though it is not difficult to guide qi into the body, for a young child who has just begun, sitting quietly goes against their nature, let alone feeling the spiritual energy. Many children find it difficult to pass this stage of meditation.

But she already possessed spiritual brilliance, indicating that not only did she pass the meditation stage, but she also sensed the existence of spiritual energy and absorbed it into her body.

Even he, who had achieved great scholarly success and had a tranquil mind, took three days to draw in the first wisp of spiritual energy through meditation. Moreover, in the initial stage, it's hard to know when the spiritual energy would accumulate fully, making it easy to become restless and impatient.

Tao Fengnian's eyes flickered as he observed Jiang Yuebai's calm demeanor, thinking of what Hong Tao said about her unwavering character...

Jiang Yuebai wiped the sweat off her forehead with her sleeve, then noticed Tao Fengnian standing at the north door, and her face immediately brightened with a sunny smile.

"Grandfather, look, I've cleaned the courtyard."

Tao Fengnian pretended to be indifferent, raised his right hand, and with the flicker of his fingers, a glimmer of light burst forth, turning into a gentle wind that swept up the fallen leaves under Jiang Yuebai's feet, instantly gathering them under the tree.

"With a simple wind manipulation technique, there's no need for you to work so hard..."

"Wow! Is that magic? Grandfather, you're amazing!"

"..."

Jiang Yuebai's eyes sparkled with admiration, showing no sign of disappointment for her efforts being in vain. Instead, she looked at Tao Fengnian with eagerness.

"Grandfather, can I learn this magic?"

Tao Fengnian raised his hand behind his back. "If you want to learn magic, first enter the Qi Refining realm."

Jiang Yuebai silently glanced at her cultivation panel.

[Technique] Qi Refining Art (3/21)

Although it was difficult and slow progress, she could directly see the improvement and the goal, giving her full motivation. At this rate...

"Don't worry, Grandfather. I'll reach the Qi Refining realm in six more days."

Tao Fengnian sneered upon hearing this. "Boasting at such a young age won't get you far. When I was your age, it took me twenty-seven days to enter the Qi Refining realm. If you can succeed in six days, I might consider keeping you; otherwise, you better leave early!"

"Alright, Grandfather, I won't deceive you!" Jiang Yuebai's face was full of confidence.

Tao Fengnian furrowed his brow but then realized it was unrealistic to expect such a thing. Even if she had all five spiritual roots, unless all of them reached the value of nine, it would be impossible... Well, forget it!

Tao Fengnian glanced at Jiang Yuebai again. Her clean little face was quite attractive, always smiling and easy to like.

But she was sent here to hurry him to his death.

Shaking his head, Tao Fengnian went to the kitchen to prepare a meal. He scooped a bowl of spirit rice and was about to wash it when he hesitated for a moment and angrily added half a bowl more.

After finishing the meal, he didn't call for Jiang Yuebai. The young girl, with a smiling face, came over on her own, and after Tao Fengnian finished eating and put down the chopsticks, she cleaned the leftovers and washed the dishes herself.

Tao Fengnian inspected the spirit field as usual. He put on his bamboo hat and carried a hoe as he left.

Huaxi Valley was like an ordinary village in the mortal world. All the peasants lived in a small village at the valley entrance, and behind it were thousands of acres of spirit fields mainly growing spirit grains.

"Tao Lao, why are you up so early today?"

Someone greeted him by the roadside, but Tao Fengnian was in a bad mood and didn't want to respond.

"Hey, what a charming and pretty little girl. Is she your apprentice, Tao Lao?"

"Big sister, you're so beautiful, just like a celestial being from a painting."

Upon hearing the voices, Tao Fengnian turned around and saw Jiang Yuebai standing beside Song Peier with a cute and docile expression.

Song Peier, wearing a pink long dress, smiled brightly when praised by Jiang Yuebai.

"It's been a long time since someone called me big sister. Little girl, do you know I'm already sixty-one years old this year?"

"What?!" Jiang Yuebai's eyes widened in surprise and fear. The woman in front of her looked no more than twenty years old, nothing like an elderly woman full of wrinkles.

"You're a good kid. Take this red cherry fruit and eat it."

She stuffed the bright red spirit fruit into Jiang Yuebai's hand, and the girl quickly bowed, "Thank you, Sister...Sister."

After reluctantly calling her that, Jiang Yuebai hurriedly caught up with Tao Fengnian.

Once they were out of the village, Jiang Yuebai noticed that almost everyone they encountered greeted Tao Fengnian with respect, treating him like the village head.

Tao Fengnian ignored them, while Jiang Yuebai cheerfully and warmly addressed people as uncles, aunts, big brothers, and big sisters.

Finally, Tao Fengnian couldn't help but say, "Once you've entered the sect, there's no need for earthly titles. Those of the same cultivation level are called senior brothers or senior sisters, those of lower cultivation are called junior brothers or junior sisters, those above are called martial uncles, and higher than that, they are Golden Core cultivators, Nascent Soul real lords, and must be addressed by their honorable titles."

"I got it, grandpa. Do you want to eat the red cherry fruit?" Jiang Yuebai proudly held up the fruit, secretly swallowing her saliva.

Tao Fengnian ignored her and went to the edge of the field, putting down the hoe, taking some rice grains, and rubbing them in his palm to check their growth.

Finding the grains dried and lacking water, Tao Fengnian frowned, glancing at the increasingly scorching sun, and quickly took two steps back, forming hand seals.

Gathering clouds to bring rain!

Amidst a gentle breeze, the waves of rice swayed with varying shades of deep yellow.

Jiang Yuebai hid the red cherry fruit she was reluctant to eat in her clothes. As she looked up, she saw Tao Fengnian's fingers dancing, and white mists converged from all directions, passing through his fingers and gathering above the rice fields, forming a thin white mist of rain.

Before long, the drizzle fell from the mist, the rain threads were icy and moist, soaking into the rice fields. The rice stalks swayed slightly, emanating spiritual energy and vitality once again.

Jiang Yuebai looked at the rain mist in front of her, her pupils trembling intensely, feeling a tremendous impact on her heart.

Suddenly, her expression dimmed, and the smile on her face disappeared. She lowered her head and clenched her clothes tightly.

Tao Fengnian finished irrigating over twenty acres of land with rain and expended a significant amount of spiritual energy. He stopped to rest and turned around, only to see Jiang Yuebai, who had been lively just a moment ago, sitting under the old locust tree, clutching her knees with red eyes, holding back her tears.

Tao Fengnian felt a bit annoyed, but he still walked over with his hands behind his back. "What happened suddenly?"

"Grandpa, is the spell you just used difficult to learn?"

"That's the Cloud and Rain Art, a spell that can be learned at the Foundation Building stage, so it's not considered difficult."

"If I learn it, can I water the crops like you?"

Tao Fengnian nodded.

Jiang Yuebai's eyes became increasingly red. "Why didn't I come to the immortal sect earlier? If I had learned this Cloud and Rain Art earlier, so many people in Jiang's village wouldn't have died from the drought. My dad, mom, and little brother all died because there was no rain."

"Grandpa, why is it that something that can be easily solved with a flick of the finger for cultivators can take the lives of an entire village in an instant? I don't understand, I really don't understand..."

Jiang Yuebai buried her head, her shoulders shaking as she silently cried. Tao Fengnian suddenly felt a twinge of pain and redness in his eyes.

He sighed heavily, "My wife lost her life back then because her leg was crushed by a carriage, but in the cultivation world, two simple spells for healing bones would have been enough."

Jiang Yuebai looked up, sniffing her runny nose, her tearful eyes.

Tao Fengnian's eyes showed a sense of sorrow and helplessness. "Perhaps this is why countless mortals seek to become immortals. The path of mortals is preordained, while the destiny of cultivators lies in their hands, defying the heavens."

Jiang Yuebai nodded as if she understood something, feeling as if something was guiding her. She pondered the truth within and murmured, "I seem to understand now, why I want to cultivate..."

For others, they cultivate for strength, wealth, power, or eternal life.

For the children of cultivation families, they were born to cultivate, without ever thinking about why or only doing it to please their parents.

Jiang Yuebai used to cultivate to have enough to eat and not be bullied, but now she cultivates to confront life, old age, sickness, death, and the disasters caused by fate, to break free from the restraints of the heavens.

If the sky doesn't rain, she'll make it rain herself; if fate wants her dead, she'll defy it!

"So, cultivating immortality means defying fate itself!"

The voice of the female immortal echoed in her mind, and Jiang Yuebai felt something being broken by that touch of golden light, causing her entire soul to tremble, and the world before her eyes suddenly became incredibly clear.

A violent wind rose, the old trees rustled, and leaves fell like rain.

Tao Fengnian trembled all over, looking in shock as the green leaves around Jiang Yuebai turned into colorful petals, and an unfathomable aura of the Dao surged from her, spreading like ripples.

Heaven and earth were in chaos, the Dao rhyme infused her body, purifying essence and marrow, refining bones, and awakening her roots!

This was an extremely rare sign of comprehending the heavenly Dao!

Even a Golden Core True Immortal might not instantly touch the heavenly Dao rhyme upon the beginning of their cultivation, yet she was just a child who hadn't even entered the Dao!

Although this wouldn't directly improve her cultivation, it would help establish an unparalleled Dao heart, making it easier for her to break through mental barriers in her future cultivation.

And most importantly, her predetermined spiritual root value that fate decided upon would experience an upgrade. This only happened once in a cultivator's life, during their first comprehension of the great Dao.

Tao Fengnian quickly took out a set of array flags and set up a large formation to block any exploration around her.

Such a thing might be a blessing for the geniuses of cultivation families, but for her, an ordinary girl without any background, it would bring calamity.

The Dao rhyme came fast and disappeared just as quickly. Jiang Yuebai, a six-year-old girl, had instantly comprehended the heavenly Dao under the effect of the golden light, but she couldn't deepen her understanding.

However, she noticed that her spiritual root value had changed in the cultivation panel!

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