The red-clad child's eyes flickered.
This person is somewhat similar to that mystic cat, though not as pure-hearted as the cat.
The red-clad child paced forward and asked once more, "How can my child-like form be your teacher? Are you not afraid of bowing to the wrong place?"
Xu Qing respectfully replied, "The divine inherently has no form. I've always heard that those who become immortals, saints, or Buddhas have countless faces and forms, but if we trace back to the source, they all revert to being infants."
"For instance, the Great Accomplished Scholar Saint is also called the Confucian Child Bodhisattva. The grand-disciple of the Scholar Saint once said: 'The great person does not lose their innocent heart.'
"Senior, speaking of this childlike appearance, even if it were an infant before me, I would also be willing to regard it as my revered teacher."
The red-clad child gazed at Xu Qing for a long while before finally responding:
"You are neither immortal, nor god, nor ghost, nor saint, nor human; you cultivate immortality, godhood, ghosthood, and sainthood, and even humanity."
"I cannot be your teacher, but since you have come here, it proves you have some fate with me. So, tell me, what do you wish to learn?"
Originally intending to speak about learning the Heavenly Techniques, Xu Qing suddenly changed his tune and asked, "This student is dull. May I ask, teacher, is there any profound mystery within these multiple non-being and cultivation paths?"
Now, the red-clad child truly showed a bit more recognition. The young man before him had a broad path of cultivation, and his thoughts were not unified, but fortunately, he was intelligent and had a natural aptitude.
The ancestor smiled slightly and said, "There is no profound mystery. You are essentially human and also an anomaly, only temporarily blinded by perceptual obstacles. If you can recognize your true self, you will immediately understand your heart and nature, never bewildered by the three obstacles."
Xu Qing shivered inwardly. Hearing the word 'anomaly,' he understood that the other saw through his origin, yet he felt even more puzzled.
"How can I be both an anomaly and a human?"
He was clearly a zombie, and even saying he was a dead person would just be a joke.
A corpse monster has long since departed from the category of human; neither living nor dead have anything to do with it.
This is described in the Corpse Talk and mentioned in the Corpse Nourishing Scripture. Whether righteous or evil paths, or the masses, all believe this to be true.
So how did he suddenly become human again?
The ancestor looked at Xu Qing and calmly said:
"Without a heart, a person dies; without a wick, a lamp extinguishes."
"But the heart lies within people, the lamp lies within the heart. As long as the human heart does not die, the lamp will not extinguish."
"If your heart has not died, how can the person die?"
The ancestor laughed and said, "This 'person' is not the same as that 'person.' The way of humanity cannot be fully explained by just a mere shell."
Xu Qing felt a jolt in his heart, as if he had been enlightened by a revelation, with many unspeakable truths becoming apparent, as if achieving sudden enlightenment in one morning.
The Way of the Three Talents places humans among them.
Heaven, Earth, and Human stand together, hence the Dao is great, Heaven is great, Earth is great, and Human is also great.
Therefore, there are four greats within the realm, and Human is among them...
The 'human' here does not refer to the physical or even a zombie's body, but rather a fundamental power and principle parallel to Heaven and Earth.
Thus, the 'human' spoken of by the ancestor is truly the fundamental of the universe, receiving the patterns of the Heavenly Dao above and connecting with the profound virtue of Earth below, being the key to linking Heaven and Earth and harmonizing all things.
Thus, the Way of Humanity is the 'True Dao,' which is the return to simplicity and primitive nature.
The pursuit of returning to original simplicity in the Daoist sect is this so-called truth, representing the most primal, genuine state of humanity, the original appearance of the Way of Humanity.
Xu Qing's mind opened wide, and he instinctively said:
"Human, god, ghost transformation; the Three Methods of Cultivation; one mind sees the nature, revealing the grand Dao..."
At this moment, although Xu Qing had not yet mastered the Heavenly Techniques, he felt that this journey had not been in vain.
The red-clad child nodded rarely, showing true approval of Xu Qing.
"Is there any Divine Technique you wish to learn?"
Seeing Xu Qing in silent thought, the ancestor said, "I have here the way of the Gate of Skills; the way of the Flowing Gate; the way of the Still Gate and the Moving Gate; besides these, there are also methods to avoid the three disasters, and various Transformation Skills, which do you wish to learn?"
Xu Qing felt these terms were familiar; aren't these all techniques of unorthodox paths?
"This student only wishes to learn the Thirty-Six Heavenly Techniques and not anything else." Xu Qing nearly blurted out.
The ancestor raised an eyebrow: "Though the Heavenly Techniques are formidable, they are merely Divine Techniques, not the path of cultivation. How many cultivators have not pursued longevity? Learning the Heavenly Techniques is like asking the blind about the path, ultimately like drawing water with a basket, turning into emptiness."
Xu Qing thought this ancestor must have never seen such an outstanding zombie like him. What use does a zombie have for longevity?
That is the least valuable thing!
"Students are neither dead nor alive; however many Divine Techniques they can learn, that's as many as they'll learn. But if they're aiming for immortality, it's no different from putting on more clothes in the heat or eating when full. It's really unnecessary."
The Ancestral Master suddenly came to his senses, almost forgetting that this was the stubborn stone from a latrine that had attained the Way, entirely different in flavor from any other stubborn stone he had encountered. How could common sense apply?
Yet it's laughable to say, some stones yearn for immortality with all their hearts, while others regard it as worn shoes. One is positive, the other negative, causing one to lament the impermanence of change.
The red-clothed child, recalling something unknown, let out a sigh and then asked again, "Very well, though I must say, the Tian Gang Techniques are not easy to learn nor to master; one must not greedily learn too many. Otherwise, in the end, they might end up with a hodgepodge of skills, and wouldn't they blame me?"
Seeing that his intentions were seen through, Xu Qing immediately retracted his earlier desire to learn all thirty-six Divine Techniques, instead saying:
"Then I shall learn twelve Divine Techniques. As it is said, there are twelve celestial branches and twelve earthly branches, aligning perfectly with the number of immortal fates in one cycle, no more, no less, a perfect match for the transformations of heaven and earth."
Following this, Xu Qing used the process of elimination, excluding the twenty-four Divine Techniques already learned by the members of the Immortal Hall, leaving twelve Divine Techniques for the Ancestral Master to teach.
"..."
The Ancestral Master reached out, almost forgetting to grab the ruler, but restrained himself.
This kid is just like that mischievous monkey, White Ape, not an honest fellow at all.
In the timeless realm, Xu Qing did not know how long he was there, only that time passed as swiftly as horses passing between the blinds.
When he returned to his senses, he had already understood the cultivation methods of the twelve Tian Gang Techniques: Repair Sky and Bathe Day, Shift Stars and Alter Constellations, Return Sky and Reverse Day, Transform Embryo and Alter Form, among others.
Xu Qing once again paid his respects as a disciple,
"This student is foolish, grateful for Master's teachings. For such a profound kindness, I shall keep it in my heart."
The Ancestral Master glanced at Xu Qing and immediately distanced himself, saying, "Where is this deep kindness between you and me? The Tian Gang Techniques weren't taught to you alone. Don't speak of remembering this; as long as you don't go around mentioning me, I'll consider it as your way of repaying."
"But if I find out you're using my name to cause trouble and attract disaster, I certainly won't be lenient with you!
"
"Do you understand?"
Hearing these words, Xu Qing felt they sounded familiar. Were these not the words he loved to tell his apprentices and students? Yet he never thought they'd be used on him in return.
"Master's words, the student keeps in mind, and dares not forget them."
The red-clothed child raised an eyebrow and said, "I'm not your teacher."
Xu Qing shook his head, "Once a teacher, always a teacher. A teacher may not acknowledge the student, but the student cannot deny the teacher."
The Ancestral Master showed no change in expression and no longer argued, just raised a hand, and the surroundings began to warp and shift.
Seeing that he was about to be lifted away, Xu Qing hurriedly asked, "I haven't asked for your esteemed name yet, Master?"
"A name is but the dust of creation; a form is but the illusion of true nature. The sage is nameless, the divine is without merit, why do you need to ask my background?"
"Nameless, without merit, that's the Primordial..."
Xu Qing instantly understood that his teacher was indeed the owner of the Ruyi Treasure Book, the Primordial Ancestral Master mentioned by Lord Yuan, that dragon whose beginning is seen but not its end.
But alas, Lord Yuan had first apprenticed under the Nine Heavens Profound Lady before meeting the Primordial Ancestral Master.
The Nine Heavens Profound Lady was the Ancestral Master's student; in terms of hierarchy, Lord Yuan should be the Ancestral Master's grand-disciple.
Xu Qing, by a strange twist of fate, had surpassed that white-furred monkey by a generation.
...
In the White Cloud Cave, secrets were hidden.
At this moment, the wall inscribed with the Celestial Scripture had completely returned to normal. However, the Tian Gang Techniques are more advanced than the Earth Fiend Techniques, they can only be learned once; once someone learns them, the secret is gone.
When Xu Qing came back to his senses and looked around, he realized that just past midnight, the few days outside were only a brief moment inside the White Cloud Cave.
Nearby, seeing that the Celestial Scripture had completely disappeared, the red-tailed monkey came forward to console him:
"Sect Leader, don't be discouraged. We're all our own people; when Sect Leader has some free time next, I'll share the Tian Gang Techniques with you..."
Xu Qing, seeing the red-tailed monkey comforting him in the same way he had initially comforted the monkey, felt a stir in his heart:
"How do you know I couldn't learn the Tian Gang Techniques? As the Sect Leader, I just meant for you all to comprehend them first. In this brief moment, I've already learned the remaining Divine Techniques, completing the number of thirty-six Tian Gang Techniques."
The red-tailed monkey calculated on its fingers and realized that altogether, everyone combined had only learned twenty-four types; even the most talented and favored Lady Qingqing had only learned nine.
The Sect Leader learned the remaining twelve on his own?
The red-tailed monkey was filled with heartfelt admiration.
Isn't that why a person becomes the Sect Leader? Even its combined knowledge of Divine Techniques is only a fraction of the Sect Leader's!