Journey to the West: Signing in for 500 Years-Chapter 314 - 308: Sage Wait a Moment, I’m About to Breakthrough【Seeking Subscriptions and Monthly Tickets】_1
Sha Chen had actually been waiting for these words.
Upon hearing them, he hurriedly said, "The Saint is jesting. As the Teacher of Heaven and Earth, you are their teacher and the person they respect."
"If you allow them to come back for a visit during the holidays, I would already be profoundly grateful. If they disobey, I would ask the Saint to inform me, and I will surely discipline them."
Li Er then patted the back of Sha Chen’s head, sorely tempted to knock the fellow down, but it would have been beneath his dignity. This fellow was simply too infuriating.
Didn’t his words imply that the three Phoenix sisters only listened to Sha Chen?
Nevertheless, Li Er, after all, was a Saint and wouldn’t bicker with Sha Chen over his witty words.
Moreover, he was confident that if the Phoenix sisters cultivated with him, he could absolutely establish his authority as their master, making them obedient and even more respectful towards him than they were to Sha Chen.
But it was too early to discuss such matters. Li Er also needed to redeem his image before departing.
So he said, "Let them come out, and I will teach them about the Dao, so they will know that following me is the right path."
Sha Chen replied, "Saint, they do not wish to enter the Daluo Golden Immortal realm so quickly. At present, they are still resisting you. Listening to teachings on the Dao holds little temptation for them; on the contrary, they are quite resistant."
Then, with gleaming eyes and an appeasing smile, he said, "However, if the Saint were to teach me, I would be most welcoming. And if they see me benefit, they will surely regard the Saint with even greater reverence."
Li Er looked at Sha Chen and chuckled, "You’re quite the sly one, grabbing every advantage you can."
"Nevertheless, since I have taken your three daughters under my wing, if I don’t do something for you, who knows what names you’ll be calling me when I leave."
Sha Chen promptly replied with a humble denial, but his expression conveyed that he would be even more outrageous.
While the Saint was present, Sha Chen naturally wouldn’t dare so much as fart. But if the Saint offered no benefits and simply left, he would truly resort to cursing.
Li Er was not naive; indeed, he had grown cunning with age. A person like Sha Chen had to be won over with benefits.
Empty promises or flattery were utterly useless; this was a person who epitomized self-interest. With benefits, all was well. Without them, only empty promises would be met with secret scorn.
Li Er actually held Sha Chen in high regard, but for some unknown reason, he had not offered to take him as a disciple.
However, he was very tolerant towards Sha Chen, even to the point of not planning to reclaim the Tao Te Ching after Sha Chen had learned it.
So now that Sha Chen asked him to teach, he agreed without much thought.
"Since you have obtained my Tao Te Ching, I shall give you a thorough explanation," Li Er said.
Sha Chen was overjoyed at these words. There were many questions he longed to ask the Saint Li Er.
They were all regarding the content of the Tao Te Ching, but he didn’t dare to ask directly.
He had only dared to request Li Er’s teachings because he sensed the Saint was in a good mood.
He hadn’t specified what Dao he wanted to be taught.
If Li Er was willing to teach the Tao Te Ching, that would be best.
His understanding of the Daluo Chapter of the Tao Te Ching had already reached Great Perfection. Given some time, he would be able to step into the Peak Daluo Jinxian Realm.
But something was still lacking.
Now that Li Er was willing to teach, it would be perfect.
Li Er was straightforward. Saying he would teach Sha Chen meant he would do it.
Li Er sat down cross-legged, brewed a pot of tea, set out some pastries, and then began to expound on the Tao Te Ching.
"The Dao that can be spoken is not the eternal Dao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name..."
Li Er first recited the entire Tao Te Ching. Sha Chen noted that it did not include the content of the Sub-Sage Chapter.
He remained expressionless and asked no questions. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮
Then he waited for Li Er to explain it word by word and provide extended teachings.
Li Er first expounded on the Daluo Chapter of the Tao Te Ching. This took a full month, and Sha Chen was able to absorb and understand it completely.
Li Er was quite surprised, even astonished, by this.
He couldn’t help asking, "How deeply have you comprehended the upper scroll of the Tao Te Ching?"
Sha Chen replied, "I dare not hide it from the Saint; I have reached Great Perfection."
Without changing his expression, Li Er just nodded slightly and said, "In that case, I will teach you the Quasi-Saint Chapter. With your strength, in another three to five years, you will likely reach the Peak Daluo Jinxian realm. Then, in a few more decades, you should be able to step into the Quasi-Saint level. You will need it sooner or later."
What incredibly high praise this was! Yet Li Er said it so casually, which showed how highly he regarded Sha Chen.
However, Sha Chen suddenly said, "Please wait a moment, Saint. I seem to be on the verge of a breakthrough."
Li Er was taken aback.
Sha Chen hurriedly said, "After listening to the Saint’s teachings on the Dao, I’ve had some realizations. Coupled with my own accumulation, I am about to break through."
Then, the aura around Sha Chen began to soar, his power advancing rapidly.
Sha Chen, who had been at the High-ranking Da Luo Golden Immortal level for decades, felt his cultivation begin to climb steadily.
He also took out all the resources his clone, Chen Sha, had given him, consuming them all to stabilize his foundation and push for Pinnacle Daluo.
But the resources provided by his clone, Chen Sha, were ultimately too few.
Those had been scraped together through painstaking frugality. Chen Sha himself hadn’t received much to begin with, let alone what he could set aside for Sha Chen.
It was far too little.
Sha Chen refined them all directly, only to find he was still somewhat short.
But cultivation was a matter of advancing or regressing; if he couldn’t seize this opportunity to take another step forward, he would likely regress.
The next breakthrough could be hundreds of years away.
In that moment, Sha Chen was even tempted to uproot all the First-class Immortal Elixir seedlings in the Innate Earth.
There were over a thousand First-class Immortal Elixir seedlings, but none were mature. Some were half-grown, while others had only sprouted a short time ago.
If he uprooted them, it would naturally be enough for his cultivation.
But still, draining the pond to catch all the fish is never a good long-term strategy.
Sha Chen felt he had no other choice.
At this time, Li Er reclaimed his complicated expression, muttering, Is this fellow deliberately trying to make me lose face? I said he’d take three to five years to break through, and he does it in the blink of an eye?
Then he added, A pity. His comprehension is sufficient, and his cultivation base is solid, but he lacks the resources to supplement it. Others always prepare multiple times the necessary resources for a breakthrough, but you are lacking.
Li Er shook his head, extended a finger, and poked towards Sha Chen’s brow.
Instantly, a Tai Chi Diagram blossomed, expanded, and then adhered to Sha Chen’s brow.
HUM.
The Tai Chi Diagram imprinted itself on Sha Chen’s brow, transforming into a majestic torrent of mana that surged through his limbs and meridians.
While Sha Chen was anxiously contemplating whether to uproot the First-class Immortal Elixirs, he felt the abundant mana from Li Er’s touch.
Overjoyed, he quickly guided this mana into his Dantian’s sea of consciousness and began refining it.
Simultaneously, Sha Chen’s strength broke through to the Pinnacle Daluo realm.
"System notification: Cultivation breakthrough detected. You have the following choices."
"Choice One: Cultivation breakthrough. With a Saint present, proactively choose to become the Saint’s disciple, display great divine might, and receive the reward: [Ground-breaking Flame Banner]. This is one of the Innate Five-Color Flags, a Magical Tool of the sage Laozi, immensely powerful and master of flames."
"Choice Two: Cultivation breakthrough, but still not strong enough. Continue closed-door cultivation and receive the reward: sixteen wisps of [Honghuang Creation Qi]. This is a strand of Saintly True Qi, originating from Honghuang’s own source, capable of strengthening the physical body. It is rumored that each of the Twelve Ancestral Witches condensed hundreds or even thousands of wisps of Honghuang Creation Qi."
With his cultivation having broken through, Sha Chen had another choice to make.
Upon seeing these options, Sha Chen unhesitatingly chose to continue his closed-door cultivation.
Going out was impossible. If he had truly wanted to, he would have left long ago. Besides, the reward for staying in seclusion this time was even more generous than the Ground-breaking Flame Banner.
Sha Chen realized the reward for remaining in seclusion this time seemed exceptionally generous.
It was Honghuang Creation Qi! This was the kind of thing one could only encounter by chance, as it stemmed from the same origin as Honghuang itself.
Every heaven and earth possesses its own aura, sharing the same root and origin, capable of giving birth to all things.
Honghuang possesses Creation Qi, and this Creation Qi is the endlessly regenerating vital force that creates mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas.
They share the same root and origin.
Legend had it that the body of each of the Twelve Ancestral Witches contained hundreds, or even over a thousand, wisps of Honghuang Creation Qi.
Even more so, the most powerful among them, Di Jiang, the Ancestral Witch of Space, contained tens of thousands of wisps. His physical body was incomparably tyrannical, his spatial abilities sweeping through antiquity.
The reason they could be so tyrannical and domineering, able to contend with Sub-Saints and even Saints despite being only Quasi-Saints, was precisely because of their powerful physical bodies, which originated from God Pangu.
God Pangu’s Essence Blood transformed into the Twelve Ancestral Witches, while his flesh and blood became the mountains, great rivers, sun, moon, and stars of Honghuang.
Strictly speaking, Honghuang Creation Qi actually originated from God Pangu.
A glint of joyful surprise flashed in Sha Chen’s eyes. According to the legends he knew about Honghuang Creation Qi, a single wisp was enough to cultivate a Great Witch!
That meant a physical body expert at the Daluo Golden Immortal level! Whether Buddhism could truly allow someone to ’lay down the butcher’s knife and attain Buddhahood on the spot’ was unknown, but one wisp of Honghuang Creation Qi could definitely cultivate a Great Witch.
Yet Sha Chen now possessed sixteen wisps! In Honghuang, that could cultivate sixteen Great Witches!
But of course, he wouldn’t use them to cultivate others. Such things were best used to benefit himself.
Being powerful himself was more important than having powerful followers.
Sha Chen finished his cultivation. He didn’t refine the Honghuang Creation Qi in front of Li Er.
That would be too monstrous. He worried Li Er might try to take him as a disciple. Refusing then would be troublesome. He had to maintain a low profile.
But it was too late; he was just too outstanding. Li Er had estimated he would take three to five years to break through, yet he had done it on the spot.
Although it had made Li Er lose face, Sha Chen’s astonishing talent and comprehension had still deeply impressed Li Er.
I didn’t expect that this child’s innate talent could only be considered superior, not peerless, but his comprehension is truly world-shaking and rarely seen.
Just as Sha Chen, trying to be low-key, finished his cultivation, clasped his fists in apology, and asked Li Er to continue teaching the Dao, Li Er spoke.
"Sha Chen, you truly possess talent. In my life, I have only accepted two personal disciples: one is Xuandu, and the other is Huolong. Now, the position of my third personal disciple is vacant and waiting. Are you willing?"
