Seeking the Flying Sword Path

Suirenshi, Fuxishi, and Shennongshi entered Fire Cloud Palace with Qin Yun. This made the mighty figures who were watching this scene across the Three Realms break out into discussion.

“The Three Sovereigns sure have a close relationship with Sword Immortal Qin. Look at Suirenshi, he’s beaming so happily.”

“Sword Immortal Qin is human, so the Three Sovereigns would naturally have close ties with him.”

“Humans are getting stronger. With the Qingping Sword in hand, this Sword Immortal Qin’s strength is nearly equal to the perfected Great Dao. The humans now have an additional expert.”

“Let’s see if this Qin Yun is able to transcend the Itinerant Immortal tribulations. The twelfth tribulation Itinerant Immortal is something that will vanquish even perfected Great Dao experts!”

…

Mighty figures from everywhere were discussing.

Qin Yun and the Three Sovereigns entered the Fire Cloud Palace together.

“Fire Cloud Palace.”

While walking in the ancient, spartan but lofty palace, Qin Yun felt an upheaval of emotions. Although Fire Cloud Palace kept a low profile in the Three Realms, it was a sacred land of humanity. It was where the Three Sovereigns and many mighty figures cultivated.

Qin Yun could tell at a glance that many disciples bowed reverently from afar when they saw the Three Sovereigns before continuing with what they were doing.

“Inside our Fire Cloud Palace, there are many human warriors cultivating here,” introduced Suirenshi with a smile. “Sword Immortal Qin, if you wish, you can come to Fire Cloud Palace and cultivate for a while. The Dharmic formulation heritage we have are free for you to peruse. Don’t worry, there are no limitations to reading our heritage. You can come and go as you wish.”

“Senior Suirenshi, you can call me Qin Yun,” said Qin Yun immediately. “I’ll definitely come to Fire Cloud Palace to cultivate if there’s an opportunity.”

“Alright.” Suirenshi was in a rather good mood.

“What are the two of you doing?” Fuxishi suddenly reprimanded.

Meng Fu and Li Yu were standing obediently at the entrance of the hall ahead of them. They were waiting to be punished.

“We made terrible mistakes and messed up badly. We know it’s impossible for us to make things right, so Master, please punish us,” said Li Yu immediately. Meng Fu also bowed and said, “Master, please punish us.”

“Hone your minds,” bellowed Fuxishi.

“Properly hone your minds and characters,” said Shennongshi as well. “What are you waiting for? Leave.”

Meng Fu and Li Yu exchanged looks.

They retreated obediently in a hurry. From the looks of it, the punishment was just secluded cultivation for ten thousand years with them being barred from leaving Fire Cloud Palace. They had believed that there were more heavy punishments awaiting them.

“Actually, the recent debacle was not fully their fault.” As Fuxishi watched the two leave, he said regretfully, “This punk, Meng Fu, is an infatuated man. He can’t forget his wife from his mortal days and already had an obsession in him. I don’t think it’s wrong. Human cultivators have a lot of obsessions! Only with obsessions will they feel inspired to cultivate more assiduously. As such, obsessions can be a boon to cultivation. As for Li Yu’s penchant for alcohol? It’s normal for mighty figures to have some hobbies. Although he’s overly besotted by alcohol, it’s not a serious mistake either.”

“As a human, how can we lack emotions and desires?” said Fuxishi with a sigh.

Shennongshi added, “Even Buddhist cultivators are not able to be completely devoid of emotions and desires. It is also why Fiend King Boxun is able to stir tumultuous waves every time. He is shameless and if he spares no expense, it is very normal for him to control them.”

“The only fault that lies with them is their mental fortitude. Even with obsessions and desires, as long as one’s mental fortitude is strong enough, as firm as a rock, then they would not be easily controlled by Boxun,” said Suirenshi. “Having emotions and desires is not wrong, but one has to be able to control these emotions and desires. Under Boxun’s lead, they failed to remain stoic and ended up being controlled by their emotions and desires, turning into puppets.”

Qin Yun nodded in approval.

Simultaneously, he had other thoughts. “Meng Fu is very infatuated. His pinings for his wife from his mortal days have even turned into an obsession? Then, is my granddaughter having a one-sided love?”

…

The Three Sovereigns sat cross-legged while Qin Yun sat beneath them to their left.

“Seniors.” Qin Yun could not help but ask the thing on his mind the first thing he sat down. “I’ve been troubled on one particular aspect in my cultivation of the Great Dao of Man.”

“Great Dao of Man?” Suirenshi, Shennongshi, and Fuxishi laughed.

“The three of us have figured out this Great Dao.” Suirenshi smiled at Qin Yun. “Tell us of anything that’s troubling you.”

Qin Yun’s eyes lit up.

The Three Sovereigns had figured it out?

Something that had stumped him for so long had already been figured out by the Three Sovereigns. This made Qin Yun feel that his chances of breaking through had increased again.

“In the Great Dao of Man I cultivate, I’m puzzled over the Human Spirit,” said Qin Yun. “I would like to seek your advice on this.”

“Human Spirit?” The Three Sovereigns exchanged looks.

“This is quite a difficult problem.” Suirenshi smiled and said, “Let me give you a parable. Once upon a time, when we humans were still weak, we were still in our infancy as a race. There was no cloth or silk in those days. Humans had to wear beast hides, walk bare feet, and eat raw flesh. Later humans gradually discovered the usage of fire. They learned to roast and cook meat. They even learn to boil soup.

“But where does fire come from?

“The earliest days was when lightning struck. It would naturally cause fire to appear. It was carefully gathered by us humans. It gave us tiny flames. Humans need sleep, but the fire cannot be extinguished!” Suirenshi continued, “Day after day, night after night, humans would take turns adding timber. Months turned to years, and years turned to centuries. The torch was handed down and the fire remains inextinguishable. Generations of humans carefully protected the flames, because if they were extinguished, it would be difficult to find new fire sources.

“Without fire, there will be coldness and hunger. There would only be raw meat to eat and the death and injuries of the tribe would increase.”

“This is the earliest passing down of the torch.” Suirenshi narrated very calmly. “In that period, there were too many stories because of fire. The person that caused the flame to extinguish would be the tribe’s sinner. A hundred deaths would be insufficient to make up for his mistake! And if anyone was able to bring fire, they would be the savior of the tribe and made leader immediately!

“Qin Yun, in this parable is the Human Spirit I figured out,” said Suirenshi. “Of course, it sounds very simple, but it’s difficult to truly understand it without experiencing it yourself.”

He had been around when humanity was in its infancy. He had experienced many of the things he described himself.

Qin Yun was deep in thought.

“I’ll tell a parable as well,” said Shennongshi. “My parents died when I was little, a natural death. In that period, humans had short lifespans. It was common for them to die in their twenties or thirties. It was a miracle if one lived to forty. I embarked on a path of cultivation, but countless did not. They were only able to struggle among mortals.

“Therefore, I focused on studying herbs, hoping to find the most suitable way for mortals to not die from any trivial illness. It was to make them live longer and be able to accompany their children. They would be able to go further with their loved ones, making the world more complete and have less regrets.

“This parable also has the Human Spirit I figured out.” Shennongshi looked at Qin Yun.

Fuxishi looked at Qin Yun and said, “I won’t be telling parables. All I can tell you is that the Human Spirit is not something that can be figured out by thinking or speaking. You have to live it yourself! Do it with your body and strength.”

“The Human Spirit? Doing things with body and strength?” muttered Qin Yun.