[Fortune decreased by ten, current Fortune: 181/382.]

...

[Li Yanzhi slowly opened his eyes, unsure of why he was here. He glanced blankly at Han Xiaofei, then at the cultivators kneeling on the ground, feeling a strange sense of having a "yellow robe" draped over him.]

[Well, might as well let the "yellow robe" settle, become an Ancestor, having power makes looking for people easier!]

[Li Yanzhi became the Ancestor of Red Maple Valley, began cultivation, accepted Han Xiaofei as his chief disciple, and taught him his cultivation of the Cyan Heaven Great Sun Burning Qi Scripture, also claiming all cultivators in the Red Maple Valley could cultivate it.]

[This was Li Yanzhi’s first step towards becoming a Daoist Ancestor!]

[Han Xiaofei was overjoyed, for this was the cultivation technique of a Nascent Soul Ancestor!]

[Undefeatable!]

[The Red Maple Valley rejoiced loudly, celebrating for several days, then started cultivating the Cyan Heaven Great Sun Burning Qi Scripture, but found the cultivation speed extremely slow; no one in Red Maple Valley was able to achieve success.]

[A hundred years passed, Han Xiaofei died of old age, talents dwindled in Red Maple Valley until only two or three Foundation Establishment cultivators remained, leaving Li Yanzhi greatly puzzled.]

[Red Maple Valley quietly abandoned this harmful cultivation technique!]

[Li Yanzhi had to secretly research, and years later he realized two Miaofa: the Upper Technique, Heart and Spirit Observation of the Great Sun, burning Magical Power; the Lower Technique, collecting Heaven and Earth Spirit Fire, refining Magical Power.]

[Li Yanzhi personally cultivated the Upper Technique "Heart and Spirit Observation of the Great Sun" in front of all disciples, this technique equivalent to gathering the Great Sun’s essence for cultivation, Magical Power advancing rapidly.]

[Such a powerful Dharma Gate!]

[Hope ignited in the eyes of the Red Maple Valley disciples, most strongly demanded to cultivate the "Upper Technique", on that day Red Maple Valley witnessed an unprecedented great fire, leaving only a pile of ashes eventually scattered by Qingfeng.]

["Something’s not right, something’s not right," Li Yanzhi muttered and then turned to the remaining disciples of Red Maple Valley, pulling out another secret manual, "The Upper Technique indeed has its risks, how about we try this Lower Technique?"]

[The Red Maple Valley disciples immediately turned pale.

One person suddenly knelt down, already in tears, continuously kowtowing and pleading: "Ancestor, I have already contracted the Demon Dao’s Nine Yin Cold Poison, with little time left, please, Ancestor, be merciful and spare me."]

[Li Yanzhi watched as that Red Maple Valley disciple swallowed a Cold Pill, black smoke billowed from his body, lips and teeth turned black.]

[He turned to another Red Maple Valley disciple, a hopeful look in his eyes.]

["Ancestor, I have elders above, young ones below, and a hundred-year-old wife at home to support... Please have mercy on me..."]

["Ancestor, you know my situation..."]

[Red Maple Valley disciples each one more miserable than the last, heart-wrenching tales bringing tears to those who listened.]

["Brothers, who among you is more miserable than me..." At this moment, a Red Maple Valley disciple, unable to compete in misery, reversed his Magical Power, struck his chest meridian, immediately spitting out copious amounts of blood, and let out a mournful laugh to those present: "Ancestor..."

Before he could finish his words, he died on the spot from qi exhaustion.]

["Ah," Li Yanzhi reached out to stop him but it was too late, he sighed and quietly withdrew his hand, "Let’s not cultivate for now, I’ll rethink and make some improvements."]

["What exactly is wrong," he muttered while pondering.]

[The Red Maple Valley disciples exchanged a glance, terror in their eyes, and hurriedly fled.]

[The next morning, Li Yanzhi awoke to find Red Maple Valley already deserted, no one was left but him.]

[Li Yanzhi tried the Heart and Spirit Observation of the Great Sun once again, feeling warm all over, nothing seemed amiss.]

["How can I become a Daoist Ancestor this way?!" This had become Li Yanzhi’s obsession.]

[Henceforth, a new rumor circulated in the Wanhua Realm, a Daoist fond of transmitting Dharma appeared, he’d randomly pull out scriptures upon meeting people, "Young friend, I discern your bones are unique, surely a prodigy destined for cultivation, I have this Cyan Heaven Great Sun Burning Qi Scripture, a Dharma gate directly pointing to the Great Dao, would you learn it?"]

[The youth saw this Daoist appear out of thin air, effortlessly cutting through a mountain with a beam of gold light, surely an expert playing in the mortal world, the youth was overjoyed, considering it a supreme treasure, began cultivating, eventually self-immolated and perished.]

["Once again something is wrong, where exactly is the mistake? Let’s revise," the Daoist sighed at the ashes on the ground.]

[He went seeking the next "fated person".]

[Li Yanzhi was searching everywhere in the Cultivation Realm for "Murong Qin", seeking "fated people" to test his techniques.]

[When fated people practiced the Miaofa, Li Yanzhi mysteriously gained all of their Enlightenment, musing while accumulating more and more "Red Dust Qi", increasingly varied, yet unaffected by it.]

[He opened his "Seven Senses", observing heaven and earth, gradually perfecting the Dharma gate, the insight becoming increasingly bizarre.]

[Li Yanzhi found joy in this, his Magical Power gradually became imbued with Spirituality, every Dharma gate, he personally practiced. Eyes, mouth, nose, mouth, hands, feet, brain, five viscera, blood, bones, each part of his body refined into a Dharma gate.]

[His body, came alive.]

[After refining each Dharma gate to Great Success, he continued Dharma transmission.]

[Some people became decrepit elders after cultivating, dying of old age, others’ bodies started petrifying, turning into stone people, some began to fall apart... deaths in various bizarre ways.]

[Occasionally someone survived, but only barely.]

[Li Yanzhi finally discovered it was due to one’s "spirit root", he revised accordingly, continued Dharma transmission.]

[His reputation became increasingly poor.] 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

[Thus, five hundred years later, a terrifying legend began circulating in the Cultivation Realm, if encountered by an expert transmitting Dharma, one must remember "don’t learn! Don’t learn! Learn that demon’s cultivation technique, surely meet death without even a burial ground!"]

[Li Yanzhi further transmitted the Dharma, yet cultivators pretended not to hear, fleeing directly, he thought this slow in efficiency, directly went to major sects to transmit Dharma.]

[Under friendly negotiations, the Sect Master and Elders gathered all disciples, allowing the "Mad Daoist" to transmit Dharma, temporarily enduring hardship for a few days before gaining freedom afterwards.]

[However, those "Dharma Gates" couldn’t be forgotten. The body seemed to remember these Dharma Gates, quietly absorbing Spiritual Qi for cultivation, and then one day the body truly became completely free.]

[The broken limbs transformed into another "person."]

[Li Yanzhi’s Dharma Gate began to spread uncontrollably, cultivators unknowingly heard the Dharma Gate, practiced it, and then during a meditation retreat, they fell into trouble.]

["Ah, ah, ah, damn mad Daoist! Let’s fight him!" Finally, someone couldn’t bear it anymore, and over a dozen Nascent Souls led tens of thousands of cultivators, ready to encircle and kill Li Yanzhi in a certain mountain range.]

["Demon Daoist, meet your death!!"]

["Something’s not right with this world, how could a good person like me, actually..." The Daoist watched as countless spiritual lights charged at him, and he slowly raised his hand. Withered trees sprang from the earth, and the world fell silent instantly.]

[He didn’t even look at the result and turned to leave.]

[Behind him, the mountain range turned pitch black, transforming into a forest of lifeless, withered corpses hanging from dead trees.]

[Li Yanzhi couldn’t understand, why, when he only wished to impart his comprehended "Great Dao" to all beings, there were always cultivators who wanted to kill him.]

[The Daoist raised his head to the sky, revealing a smile...]

[One day, as the Daoist passed by another small village, he spotted a child riding an ox. His eyes lit up, and he took out ten scripture books: "Young friend, I have a Miaofa, are you willing to learn?"]

...

Swish!

The child riding the ox widened his eyes as a young Daoist with a smiling face suddenly appeared before him. He instantly realized he might have encountered a master just like in the storybooks.

Getting off the ox, the child tidied his clothes and, imitating adult manners, gave a deep bow: "Mr., I am called Li Zhong."

Li Yanzhi looked surprised, then laughed: "Li Zhong, you are a polite child and share the same surname as I do. What a fated encounter. I permit you to choose two books! These are Dharma Gates pointing directly to the Great Dao."

Ahem, Li Yanzhi himself was that Great Dao.

The child, delighted, looked at the scripture books in the Daoist’s hand, dazzled by them.

"Cyan Heaven Great Sun Burning Qi Scripture", "Great Sun", "Burning Scripture", "One Qi Transformed into the Three Pristine Ones", "Profound Mysterious Scripture", "Hundred Years of Life and Death", "Little Five Elements Skill", "Sword"...

Each scripture only had a few words on the cover, with no detailed introductions.

"These are all Immortal Techniques..."

The child widened his eyes and looked at the scriptures, which were extremely profound. He hesitated for a long time, biting his finger, before suddenly his eyes lit up. He stepped back, his face respectful, and knelt, bringing his forehead to the ground to give a grand ceremonial bow:

"Please accept me as your disciple, sir."

"Hahahaha, what a clever child."

Seeing this, Li Yanzhi paused, then burst into laughter, saying: "In that case, I will cultivate here for some time. If you sincerely wish for me to be your master, come daily and bring me a bowl of water to quench my thirst."

Li Zhong, delighted that the master was willing to take him as a disciple, happily agreed.

From then on, every day while herding cattle, Li Zhong would bring a bowl of water to that Daoist. Three years passed in an instant. Strangely, that Daoist sat on the mountain, neither eating nor drinking, and besides him, no one else could see him.

Li Yanzhi merely stayed in this mortal world to cultivate, not transmitting cultivation methods to Li Zhong. He had long been able to "eat the wind and drink the dew," not partaking in the grains of the earth, nor coveting the rare Spiritual Objects that other cultivators contended for.

His understanding of ’My Dao’ deepened gradually, and this realm was like a lifeless thing, without any resistance, at his mercy.

Even without cultivating Magical Power, by the movement of his thoughts, his Primordial Spirit could temporarily replace the heavens and the earth, changing all things at will. Those Nascent Souls and Divinity Transformation Cultivators, no matter how powerful in Magic, were mere mortals and ants within the 800-zhang realm of his Primordial Spirit.

This is the difference between Dao and technique.

Thirty years flew by.

The Daoist’s appearance remained unchanged, while young Li Zhong grew up, established a family, and became a father. Working hard and toiling daily, at forty, he looked aged beyond his years, with a face full of wrinkles and hair as white as an elder in his seventies or eighties.

Another year passed.

A great drought hit, followed by famine and plague sweeping through. In a few days, this harmonious village was wiped out, leaving only one white-haired elder alive, his eyes blank, looking over the corpses, spending seven days burying his wife, children, relatives, and villagers.

Not knowing where to go, the elder sat beside the stone-like Daoist on the mountain, gently asking: "Sir... I’m so hungry, but why can’t I starve to death?"

Li Yanzhi finally opened his eyes: "Li Zhong, do you still wish to cultivate?"

"Yes."

"Miao!"

Li Yanzhi looked at Li Zhong with full approval. After thirty years of cultivation, Li Zhong had unknowingly entered the Dao.

The Qi Cultivation Method in memory was peculiar indeed, but "people" can certainly cultivate!

He himself and Li Zhong were examples!

Of course, he knew he was a Transmigrator, quite special. As long as he transmitted the Dharma, once those "fated persons" began to cultivate, he would unexpectedly gain all the enlightenment from their cultivation.

Therefore, over the years, he constantly created new Dharma based on the "Cyan Heaven Great Sun Burning Qi Scripture", and then transmitted it to others, hoping to meet a few "fated persons" who could cultivate.

Clearly, he deep down hoped for these "fated persons" to smoothly traverse the Great Dao and become immortals along the way!

Alas... there were always those who did not appreciate it.

...