Ordinary Bone

"No need for formalities."

To Xu Taiping's surprise, the mirror spirit actually responded to him, though its tone was cold and stiff.

"Xuanjing, I am ready."

At that moment, a voice full of authority rang out from within the copper mirror.

Xu Taiping immediately turned his gaze toward the mirror.

He saw that the reflection, which had previously shown his own face, suddenly shifted when the old man's voice spoke. A misty, ethereal mountain peak appeared in the mirror, and atop it, he could vaguely make out the figure of an old man, his demeanor exuding an air of transcendence and wisdom.

"Master Ziyang, there are 396 disciples present for today's lecture, including 218 new initiates, with 200 having no cultivation."

The mirror spirit's voice echoed once more from the copper mirror.

As it spoke, the image in the mirror zoomed in continuously, until Xu Taiping could clearly see Master Ziyang, seated serenely atop a stone platform.

"Four hundred is sufficient. There is no need for more."

Master Ziyang's eyes were half-closed, his lips barely parted as he spoke.

"Understood."

The mirror spirit responded coldly.

"So even Master Ziyang limits the number of attendees for his teachings. Fortunately, I arrived early today."

Xu Taiping silently thanked his luck after hearing the exchange between Master Ziyang and the mirror spirit.

"Whether this is your first time hearing my lecture on the "Fragmented Twilight Sutra," or whether you have listened to it many times before, I shall treat everyone equally and start from the very beginning."

After a brief pause, Master Ziyang's voice rang out again.

Realizing that Master Ziyang was about to begin the actual teaching, Xu Taiping immediately straightened his posture, his eyes fixed intently on the copper mirror without blinking.

"What is cultivation? It is nothing more than strengthening the body through body-refining techniques and refining one's essence into qi with methods for opening the door. In our Qingxuan Sect, we emphasize opening the door."

"Only after cultivating a foundation of innate true qi can one perform spells and divine abilities, extend one's life, and even glimpse the path of ascension to immortality."

"The 'Fragmented Twilight Sutra' is one of our sect's most important heart methods for opening the door."

Upon hearing this, Xu Taiping nodded slightly to himself.

Master Ziyang's words mirrored the introduction of the "Fragmented Twilight Sutra," which was the only part Xu Taiping could fully understand. However, as the teaching continued and delved deeper into the specifics of cultivation, he became utterly confused.

"Having explained what cultivation is, let me now explain what cultivation level means."

"Cultivation level refers to the different stages of one's progress in cultivation."

"In the cultivation world, we typically categorize cultivation into five realms based on one's lifespan and the strength of their power."

"The first level, called the Opening the Door realm (also known as the Sea Entering realm), is the stage where one first gains the path to cultivation. At this level, one's qi and blood far exceed that of peers, and their lifespan can reach up to two cycles of sixty years—over 120 years."

Xu Taiping's eyelids twitched involuntarily at this point.

He hadn't expected the Opening the Door realm, which his grandfather had mentioned, to be the lowest level in the cultivation world.

While surprised, Xu Taiping was also somewhat relieved. If Opening the Door was the second or third level, he doubted he could make a breakthrough in half a year. At that time, the fake immortality record he had forged would definitely be exposed.

But these fleeting thoughts quickly passed through his mind. He soon refocused and continued to listen carefully to Master Ziyang's lecture.

"The second level is called the Wishing the Abyss realm, where one's lifespan can extend to three cycles of sixty years. Only when one reaches this level can they truly be considered a cultivator. Over the years, I have encountered many disciples who remained stuck at this realm, including some direct disciples from Seven Peaks."

"The third level is called the Profound Connection realm. Upon breaking through this level, one's lifespan can reach six cycles of sixty years, and they may be revered as true immortals, possessing their own Daoist temple in the Cloud Residence Mountain."

"As for the fourth and fifth levels, there is no need for you to consider them at this moment. Do not aim too high too soon."

At this point, Master Ziyang took a cup of tea from a disciple and sipped it slowly, seemingly allowing the disciples to reflect on the teachings.

"So breaking through to the Profound Connection realm is that difficult. No wonder Master Ziyang is revered as an Elder."

Xu Taiping couldn't help but mutter to himself, impressed by the difficulty.

"I wonder what cultivation level Fairy Lingyue is at."

Suddenly, Xu Taiping found himself curious about the cultivation level of Fairy Lingyue.

"Now, let us proceed. I will now explain the key points of the "Fragmented Twilight Sutra" to all of you."

Just as Xu Taiping's mind began to wander, Master Ziyang's voice snapped him back to attention.

From here, Master Ziyang began to go through the "Fragmented Twilight Sutra" in detail, explaining the crucial steps in the cultivation practice to all the disciples present.

Since Xu Taiping had already read the Sutra beforehand, he found it easy to follow the lecture. In fact, he often had moments where the confusion he had felt earlier seemed to clear up, and he would occasionally become so excited that he would gesticulate in delight. Every doubt he had harbored previously was being slowly resolved by Master Ziyang's clarifications.

Though he wasn't a spiritual bone (a rare, innate gift for cultivation), Xu Taiping had always been highly gifted in studying, so when it came to understanding the intricacies of cultivation techniques, he was not only on par with, but often exceeded, disciples who possessed spiritual bones.

As he listened to the teachings, he realized that while he found the explanations enlightening, most of the other disciples listening to the lecture were struggling. Eight out of ten of them were tugging at their ears, clearly struggling to keep up with the lecture.

And Master Ziyang, ever perceptive, noticed this too.

Except for a very few disciples, including Xu Taiping, most of the audience was unaware that there was also a giant copper mirror before Master Ziyang. The image reflected within this mirror was a live display of the 396 disciples listening to the lecture.

"Xuanjing, who introduced Xu Taiping from Qingzhu Residence to our Qingxuan Sect?"

After the lecture concluded, Master Ziyang suddenly addressed the mirror spirit.

"Xu Taiping was originally a disciple chosen by the Spiritual Bone Tablet and was to be sent to the Seventh Peak. However, when testing his spiritual bone, Elder Black Dragon discovered that he only had White Bone, disqualifying him from the Seventh Peak. Therefore, he was assigned to cultivate at the base of the mountain, awaiting the Seven Peaks Selection three years later."

The mirror spirit's voice responded to Master Ziyang's query.

"Such a pity."

After hearing this, Master Ziyang shook his head, somewhat regretfully.

He could tell that Xu Taiping's understanding of cultivation was extraordinary, so he had entertained the thought of accepting him as a disciple. However, he had not expected that Xu Taiping was born without a spiritual bone.

"Without spiritual bones, no matter how well one understands the techniques, it is of no use. Not everyone can be like Su Chan."

Master Ziyang sighed.

"Master, you might want to avoid mentioning Su Chan's name. The Sect Leader would not be pleased to hear it."

The mirror spirit gently reminded Master Ziyang.

[--------------------------------------------]

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