242: Chapter 241: Journey to the Grotto Heaven 242: Chapter 241: Journey to the Grotto Heaven Several days later, three individuals were brought to a Daoist Palace, where six other disciples from Daoist Sects were also waiting.
No one interacted with each other, as the relationships among them were quite tense; the hostility between Wu Sect and Quanzhen Sect was evident, and Anhe Daoist stood awkwardly in between, unable to show goodwill towards any side without offending the other.
Moreover, it was hard to determine whether these two powerful entities were helping them or invading them.
Even within the Anhe Daoist itself, similar disputes had never ceased.
Originally, all nine spots should have belonged to the Anhe cultivators, but now they had been evenly distributed, which itself was telling.
After everyone had arrived, the bystanders left, and a Daoist of Tongtian and Natural Realm entered, wearing a high crown and feather robe, his face cold and stern.
He did not talk much, neither admonishing nor encouraging anyone, as if he were performing a routine task.
“Enter in turn, close behind yourself.”
With a flip of his hand, a bonsai appeared in his palm, vibrant with mountains and water and greenery; most magically, a white cloud hung over the mountain peak, resembling a piece of cotton candy.
Suddenly, the cotton candy expanded, enveloping the figures of the nine people, and a path in the clouds seemed to appear in front of them.
As hosts, the three disciples from the Anhe Daoist Sect entered first along the cloud path and then disappeared without a trace; then the three from Wu Sect followed in the same manner, and lastly, the three from Quanzhen Sect, led by Rao Zongzhi, followed by Luo Linwang and Hou Niao closely behind.
Just then, a voice from the Daoist reached Hou Niao’s ear.
“Xiaosong was killed by you!”
Hou Niao was startled, aware that his situation was probably not proper; trapped in the white clouds with nowhere to run, and being three realms apart, even wielding his sword would be futile.
His only chance was to bet on the Daoist’s attitude towards Wu Sect!
Was it the mainstream of Daoist Sects or an independently autonomous faction?
Other than gambling, he had no chance.
“It was the disciple who killed him.”
“Why did you kill him?”
“He was the one who brought Daoist Chong Ling back to Divine City.”
“Do you recognize Chong Ling?”
“The Daoist led me into the way, granted me provisions, and from then on, I escaped from being utterly perplexed.”
“Why didn’t you join the Daoist Sect?”
“At that time, the disciple was of a low realm and guilty; the Daoist told me that my temperament was incompatible with the Daoist Sect.”
In the darkness, a sigh was heard, followed by a singing voice, “…In the vast thoughts of you, by the ancient path so long.
Alone amidst the brushwoods, under the dim moonlight throng.
Thirsty mice seek the pine streams, hungry crows against the sunset strong.
Wang Tang before my eyes, all in vain my emotions prolong.”
The tune was unique and the rhyme lingered long, each chorus echoed by the clouds, mixing slowly like tears of rain.
Hou Niao felt the path ahead was clear and gritted his teeth to continue forward, as a voice from behind spoke, “All are guests of Anhe Cultivation, why must you destroy one another for the way?”
Hou Niao kept walking, “Those who should be killed must still be killed!”
“You’re indeed not suited for the Daoist Sect, but that does not mean you are not fit for Jinxiu…”
After a few more steps, he felt his foot step into the void.
Hou Niao instinctively tried to grab onto something, but the white clouds turned to nothingness in his hands, and down he fell.
He tried to open his eyes, deliberating whether this was the Daoist’s punishment for him, to bury his corpse here.
Or was it something every person who came here experienced?
Dying here wouldn’t be too bad, would it?
How many people could boast of being buried in a Grotto Heaven after death?
This was already quite a treatment.
The ground below quickly approached, but his falling speed, contrary to the physics of the normal world, became slower.
Since it was a Grotto Heaven, all its wonders made sense.
He fell into a section of the Grand Canyon, surrounded by emptiness with no traces of humanity.
Having done his homework beforehand, he knew every cultivator who entered Tongling Cave Heaven would land in different locations, without anyone else nearby.
Though termed a Grotto Heaven, it was more like a new world.
Although everyone fell one after the other, the distance between each person spanned thousands of miles.
It was impossible to meet by merely walking.
Historically, no two cultivators who entered could ever meet due to the limited time.
Refocusing on his immediate surroundings revealed the marvel of Tongling Cave Heaven.
Here, the life cycle from birth to death was exceedingly fast, as if the cavern contained a treasure that accelerated time.
A blade of grass could sprout, grow, flourish, and then yellow and wilt all in a single day.
All plants here were like that.
What one sensed was a process of life cycle;
It might seem unrelated to Tongxuan in the Upper Realm, but it actually helped cultivators understand the essence of Dao.
Since only from Tongxuan onwards could one truly claim to be in cultivation, this self-discipline was within the framework of the Great Dao.
Entry into Tongxuan added sixty years to one’s life, an essential change; those outside Dao thought it was the
next realm that extended life, but in fact, it was after cultivators truly understood the essence of life that the physical changes occurred, and the order of these events should not be mistaken.
Tongling Cave Heaven was such a place—seemingly unrelated to the Upper Realm yet revealing the most fundamental aspects of cultivation, just as the blind old man said, about the most superficial beginnings of life’s origin.
This was the way into Dao.
Hou Niao did not run around the world looking for places that might help his final enlightenment.
There was no question of whether the life of a large tree was more mysterious than that of grass; all life was equal.
Therefore, wherever he fell, he would start from there; it was better to let destiny choose for him than to choose for himself.
There were a few clumps of wild grass next to him, and when he calmed down and observed carefully, he could naturally see something different.
What each person who entered here comprehended was different.
The scenery was born from the heart, and it was best suited for oneself.
Hou Niao relaxed his mood and adjusted his state as if this was merely a springtime outing rather than a rare opportunity fought with his life.
In this world of cultivation, the most difficult thing was not a mission or a battle, but such purposeless exploration; one didn’t have a goal, didn’t need to achieve anything, and felt no pressure…
Cultivators indoctrinated by the systems of Cultivation Sects often struggled to adapt to this pace.
Thus, they left without gaining anything.
The most important thing was, upon entering here, to not harbor a mindset of needing to gain something specific.
To be content with what was gained and just as happy with what was not was the true way to gain here.
He did not know how others observed the life cycle of these plants, but he subconsciously connected these few blades of grass with the Spathiphyllum in his Purple Mansion.
To be frank, the shape of the plants in Purple Mansion was somewhat vague; one might not necessarily see it as Spathiphyllum, which seemed more noble and suited the vanity of each cultivator; but if you said it was a blade of grass, there wasn’t anything wrong with that, especially before it had grown tall.
Ordinary, resilient, tenacious, ubiquitous, unburnable by fire, regrowing with the wind, indestructible by water, ever growing back after withdrawal.
That should be the spirit of a cultivator.