Chapter 239: Chapter 190: The 3 Great Foundational Scriptures, Cultivation and Spreading Virtue

Seeing the Great Kui Xuan Drum’s Artifact Spirit trying so hard, Qiao Yu smiled sweetly.

"Little old man, aren’t you supposed to be incredibly knowledgeable? Let me give you another riddle to guess. My father inherited the legacy of the [Sword Dao], and my mother resided atop [Kunlun]. When my parents were alive, Immortal Elders from the Dongsheng Continent came to visit, and even the Demon Ancestor from the Nanzhan Continent paid a call."

The Great Kui Xuan Drum’s Artifact Spirit scratched its head fiercely. ’She’s reaching that far back? Is this little girl just making things up?’

The [Sword Dao]... how long ago was that Daoist Lineage? They had a blood feud with the [Buddhist Dao] of the Ximizhou Continent and were wiped out 120,000 years ago.

Although a few decent remnant Dharma Lineages still existed, they struggled to branch out and reclaim their former glory.

As for [Kunlun], which was related to the [Divine Dao], that traced back even further to the primordial era.

Even the Ancestral Sect had few records on these matters.

The Great Kui Xuan Drum’s Artifact Spirit was momentarily struck dumb, silently racking its brain for the answer.

"What an impressive family history, Master Xiaoqiao."

Jiang Yi teased.

"Much more prestigious than mine as the Innate Daoist."

Qiao Yu chuckled lightly.

"You’re Daoist Jiang, soaring to the heavens to become the Crown Prince of Changming. I’m just a lady from a fallen house whose ancestors were once great."

The girl in green robes took two steps closer, stood on her tiptoes, and whispered in Jiang Yi’s ear, her breath as fragrant as an orchid.

"Go back a hundred thousand years or so, and you might have been qualified to be a ’long-term laborer’ for me. But now, it seems I’m only fit to be your little handmaiden."

Jiang Yi couldn’t resist teasing her back.

"This Daoist of mine is a Daoist in name only. How could I ever give orders to the daughter of a True Monarch?"

"However, the Changming Celestial Pool is still missing a mistress... Is Master Xiaoqiao interested?"

He had long since noticed that this Miss Xiaoqiao was extremely thin-skinned. She loved to tease others, but a few words were always enough to make her blush and retreat in defeat.

One could say she was ’unskilled yet tireless in her efforts.’

"Hmph! When you become the master of the Changming Celestial Pool, I’ll be sure to pick the highest spot so you, the great Daoist, will be a head shorter than me and lose face!"

Qiao Yu tried to put on a fierce expression, but her voice was too soft and her features too pretty. It only made her look all the more radiant and lovely.

"It’s no problem if Master Xiaoqiao stands a head taller than me. A teacher is meant to be in a higher position, after all." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Jiang Yi looked at Qiao Yu, who only came up to his shoulder, and an image of Lady Xuan’nv inexplicably flashed through his mind.

’Compared to the younger sister’s slender and delicate frame, the elder sister is taller and more curvaceous...’

This fleeting thought vanished in an instant. Jiang Yi lowered his gaze and followed the Great Kui Xuan Drum’s Artifact Spirit into the Hall of Merits.

After the grand spectacle of the ever-burning life lamps yesterday, the people of the Lower Courtyard were no longer playing deaf and dumb.

Many stewards at the Qi Cultivation Twelfth Layer, and even a few Foundation Establishment True Masters, had gathered outside the hall. A crowd of onlookers had truly assembled.

"Is that the Daoist?"

"Qi Cultivation... He really is only at Qi Cultivation!"

"He’s the number one Qi Cultivation practitioner of all time! He damaged the [Thunder Core]’s manifestation. How dare you look down on him?"

"No matter how incredible a Lower Cultivator is, he’s still just a Lower Cultivator..."

When Jiang Yi was still at a distance, he could hear a few snippets of idle gossip.

But by the time he reached the front of the Hall of Merits, the crowd immediately held their breath and fell silent.

The Demon Dao Dharma Lineage had always been crystal clear about the strict hierarchy between superiors and inferiors.

Jiang Yi acted as if he saw nothing, not bothering to look closely at the canopies and banners or the flying chariots hovering outside the hall.

The arrival of so many powerful Cultivators at once caused auspicious light to pierce the sky.

He simply handed True Master Xuanmiao over to Qiao Yu for her to look after.

Then, he followed the Hall of Merits’ steward inside, ready to choose his core scripture.

’This hall... contains a restriction that shifts space?’

The moment Jiang Yi stepped into the Hall of Merits, he suddenly felt a wave of dizziness as his Primordial Gate Divine Sense pulsed.

By the time he steadied his Heart Spirit, he found himself in a boundless cosmos.

Above him were the stars of the celestial sphere, and below him was an endless void.

"There is something I must make clear to you, Daoist."

The steward of the Hall of Merits, who looked to be in his thirties with a lean face and a simple Daoist Robe, spoke.

"The three great core scriptures were handwritten by the Daoist Monarchs. They are usually shelved away high up in the ’Myriad Phenomena Celestial Palace’ within the Qian Peak Grotto-Heaven. In the past, no one would ever come to the Hall of Merits to select a core scripture."

Jiang Yi nodded, laughing inwardly. ’This steward certainly has a tactful way of speaking.’

’In the last ten thousand years of the Innate Sect’s history, there has probably never been a precedent of a Qi Cultivation practitioner being appointed as Daoist.’

’At the very least, one had to be at the Flying Foundation Establishment Realm to be personally appointed by the Sect Leader or an Ancestor and granted an audience at Qian Peak.’

’Therefore, the Daoists were always taught their core scriptures directly. It was utterly impossible for them to come to the Lower Courtyard’s Hall of Merits.’

"Therefore, Daoist, you only need to make your selection here today. If you wish to view and study it, you will have to make a trip to Qian Peak yourself."

The steward’s attitude was polite. He made a point of explaining this upfront, afraid of causing a misunderstanding with the Daoist.

No one wanted to follow in the footsteps of He Shouzheng from the Cloud-Receiving Hall, volunteering to be the next one made an example of.

Jiang Yi looked around. Those "stars" shining with brilliant light were, in fact, individual Techniques and True Skills, fixed in this cosmos by a Great Magical Power.

Without the corresponding Talismanic Decree to break the restrictions, anyone who dared to touch them would be instantly turned to ash.

Jiang Yi cupped his hands.

"I’ll have to trouble you, Steward, to reveal the three great core scriptures for me."

The Hall of Merits steward’s expression turned slightly solemn. He had served here for a hundred and ten years but had never unveiled the Sect’s three great core scriptures. Today was the first time.

With utmost reverence, as if worshiping an Ancestor, he bowed deeply, kowtowed nine times, and announced in a clear voice:

"Today, a Daoist has entered the hall! We respectfully request the core scriptures to manifest and await his selection!"

He immediately formed a series of profound and complex hand seals for a Technique.

As his voice fell, the stars of the celestial sphere suddenly erupted in brilliant light. A continuous ROAR filled the air, as if an invisible giant hand was shifting their positions. Myriad rays of pure light rained down, some as fine as strands of hair, others as thick as mountain peaks.

Within this vast, oceanic expanse, three towering mountains—so immense they were like continents scraping the heavens—slowly emerged.

Jiang Yi looked up, and an incomparably majestic Qi Mechanism that filled the cosmos slowly spread out.

He released his Primordial Gate Divine Sense, his Dao Wisdom radiating outward. From the grand Daoist script—which danced like dragons and phoenixes, stood like the sea, and hung like clouds—he vaguely discerned the names of the Innate Sect’s three great core scriptures:

*The Marvelous Essentials Scripture of Daoist Monarch Taiwu’s Salvation*

*The Spirit-Melding Transformation Scripture of Daoist Monarch Taixu*

*The Primordial Chaos Interpretation Scripture of Daoist Monarch Taiyu*

Trillions of golden characters drifted down from the towering mountains. Some resembled crackling thunder-dragons roaming the void. Others took the form of the sun, moon, stars, and rosy clouds. Still others were faint and indistinct, profound and mysterious... All of them contained the ultimate principles of the Great Dao, expounding the true nature of the cosmos.

The steward silently bowed his head, sealing his five senses, not daring to peek in the slightest.

Even though the three great core scriptures had not revealed their content, a mere steward of the Lower Courtyard like him wasn’t even supposed to know their names.

’To unite with the virtue of heaven and earth, to contain the transformation of the universe, to transcend the myriad realms... Is this the Realm of the Ancestors?’

Jiang Yi perceived that completely different, majestic Qi Mechanism and compared it with the Dao Inheritance of the first-generation [Shao Yang].

The Ancestors who had stepped into that supreme level... their perspective had transcended to an unimaginable state.

Judging from the names of the scriptures alone, these supreme Great Powers—who had supported the mighty Innate Sect for ten thousand years and ensured its flourishing fortune—seemed to have all embarked on the profound path of "cultivating the Dao and spreading virtue."

’The Dao comes from virtue; only with virtue can one know the Dao... If one can dually cultivate both life and morality, possessing both Merit and virtue, one can understand the three realms, master the Five Elements, surpass the nine ancestors, and transform all of creation...’

Fortunately, Jiang Yi’s Divine Sense was refined and fused with a golden nature. In terms of comprehending the Great Dao, he was far superior to an ordinary Qi Cultivation practitioner, even a step ahead of those at Foundation Establishment.

He not only grasped the names of the three great core scriptures but also gained some understanding of the interpretations and analyses made by subsequent generations of Ancestors and Daoists.

’Ancestor Mingxuan gave no clear instructions, and the Sect Leader hasn’t shown himself. The choice is left to me, the Daoist. But with my ’comprehension’ at the Qi Cultivation stage, how can I possibly see through a Daoist Monarch’s core scripture?’

Jiang Yi slowly reined in his stray thoughts, his Divine Sense returning to his Primordial Gate as he silently processed the three core scriptures, each with its vastly different aura.

’The Ancestors were all masters of the Dao; the three scriptures have no inherent superiority or inferiority. But for me, there is definitely a better or worse choice... What Ancestor Mingxuan hopes I’ll choose and what the Sect Leader would be pleased to see me choose are not necessarily the same.’

He glanced at the Hall of Merits steward, who had sealed his five senses and closed his seven orifices, looking just like a statue of rotted wood.

’Since there’s no time limit,’ he thought, ’this makes it much easier for me to make the ’most suitable’ choice.’

[I beg the Celestial Book, show me which of the three great core scriptures is most suited to my path of Cultivation?]

Tadpole-like characters swarmed densely across the surface of the golden paper.

Immediately after, Jiang Yi’s mind was put at ease, and he turned his attention to studying the commentaries and annotations of his predecessors.