On the fifteenth day, the night of the full moon, the heavenly machine reveals itself.
All celestials hold paper and pen, entering the cave one by one, resembling students waiting to take the imperial examination in the hall of tribute.
Master Jingxu stands on the shoulder of his disciple, and upon seeing Xu Qing, this old Daoist unusually addresses him as a fellow traveler.
Opportunities like today's are beyond matters of favor or gratitude; the old Daoist feels that without sacrificing his disciples, things might not end well.
"There's no need for courtesy, old master. At the end of the day, those who gather here to comprehend are fellow seekers like us. In this murky world, as we are of the same path, we should support each other and look after one another."
Xu Qing reiterated what he had said to Lu Xiu to Master Jingxu, humorously suggesting, "Even demons stand together; if we don't unite, when will this world calamity ever end? Moreover, Master, during my wanderings, didn't you share the Five Elders Temple's wondrous methods with the celestials of the Immortal Hall?"
Master Jingxu feels ashamed; those methods were hardly wondrous, merely some teachings to celestials who never had orthodox teachings in the sect; their practices were mostly rogue. Even with the divine techniques imparted by Xu Qing, they lacked systematic cultivation methods.
This is precisely why these celestials would rejoice over learning even a little bit of the Daoist teachings, like children finding candy amidst medicine dregs.
They're practically like bumpkins who've never seen the world!
Feeling guilty, Master Jingxu blushes, not saying much to Xu Qing; after all, the old Daoist has resolved no matter how much celestial fortune they obtain today, she will dedicate herself more to teaching the celestials.
Late night, at the hour of Xu, inside White Cloud Cave.
A blank wall, carved with celestial scripts, indeed reveals greenish characters, varied in size; the larger ones are palm-sized, while the smaller ones are no larger than copper coins, all in thunder script and cloud seal, identifiable only to those with celestial lineage.
Xu Qing chuckled silently.
As the saying goes, help others so you can also establish yourself.
Xu Qing had already learned about ninety percent of these texts during his journey to Hu Yang's tomb; even for the one or two places needing evidence, Xu Qing was not in a hurry.
For by his side stood an ancient relic from the Dao, proficient in all kinds of thunder scripts and cloud seals!
The Transmission Hall celestial, Huang Xiaoliu, trembled with excitement. Even assuming one met the full moon night conditions for script stealing, not everyone could see the celestial script.
It meant that seeing these script shadows meant Huang Xiaoliu had celestial fate!
Following Huang Xiaoliu, Tao Sanmei, who possessed a peach branch, also saw the celestial script runes.
Other celestials from the Circles Hall, the Feng Shui Hall, and even the Galloping Immortal Disciples like Sun Erzhuang and Liu Su'e also caught glimpses of divine techniques.
Only Xu Qing furrowed his brows with a face full of dismay.
His zombie body, accustomed to fine grain, held many celestial divine techniques; he had no interest in looking at the walls carved with Earthly Sha methods.
Honoring the left hand, when the time arrived, Xu Qing first looked toward the wall carved with the thirty-six methods of Celestial Gang.
However, that stone wall showed nothing but a green phosphorescent screen, with not a single character visible.
Xu Qing, stubborn and skeptical, used his Qi Observation Skill, opened his celestial eye Yin Pupil, even took out the incense offerings as illumination, yet found nothing.
"Could it be that the Celestial Gang method is merely a hearsay, and this cave only contains Earthly Sha methods?"
Xu Qing didn't believe he lacked celestial fortune or talent. If even he could not grasp the Celestial Gang divine techniques, it would be even harder for other celestials.
With no other choice, Xu Qing turned to the right-hand side wall carved with Earthly Sha methods.
The wall revealed all seventy-two Earthly Sha methods without exception, yet Xu Qing felt little joy.
Heaven is bright, Earth is dark; Heaven is empty, Earth is solid; Celestial Venerable, Earthly Humble; Heavenly fluid, Earthly troubled...
These Earthly Sha divine techniques had not reached the ultimate simplicity of the Dao; even if one could command all sentient beings, they were ultimately confined by worldly changes, inevitably bound by the laws of heaven.
In contrast, Celestial Gang methods, once mastered, allow one to leisurely wander the celestial realm, gaining eminent fame among immortals; celestial deities, Five Directions Elders, even the three realms and six paths would respect you.
Even the Celestial Emperor could not constrain!
Xu Qing always had his eyes on the thirty-six Celestial Gang divine techniques, yet the wall to the left with no characters left him utterly disappointed.
To say, even one Celestial Gang divine technique would suffice!
While Xu Qing was still brooding, a red-tailed monkey stealthily made its way to the left-hand stone wall.
Monkeys naturally aim high; since learning from Xu Qing's mouth that the rarest Celestial Gang methods were the most formidable, the monkey had taken it to heart.
The red-tailed monkey stood before the stone wall, eyes glazed, motionless for a long while.
As Xu Qing wondered, the red-tailed monkey suddenly awoke, pacing back and forth before the wall carved with Celestial Gang methods, scratching its head and appearing agitated.
Xu Qing smiled knowingly, approaching to comfort, "The Celestial Gang methods require immense talent and fortune. It's not surprising if you can't see them. If you focus on mastering the Earthly Sha methods, that itself is a blessing."
However, just as Xu Qing finished speaking, the red-tailed monkey replied, "It's not that I can't see; I've only learned the skills of resizing and taming dragons, but with just these two divine techniques, I can't see or touch the remaining thirty-four. It's driving me crazy!"
"..."
Xu Qing's eyelid twitched as he composed himself, "You say you've learned two Celestial Gang divine techniques? But haven't you never studied thunder script and cloud seal?"
The red-tailed monkey glanced at the right-hand wall, full of celestials copying the Earthly Sha script, explaining, "The Celestial Gang and Earthly Sha methods differ. When I saw the tadpole-like characters shifting, my heart calmed, and my spirit entered the runes. There I met a master claiming to be Primordial. He told me this Nine Heavens Secret Scripture is originally the 'Ruyi Treasure Book,' and its characters are alive. Only those connected with the treasure book can journey beyond the heavens and be taught the true Celestial Gang method."