Elder Zong lectured for three hours straight. After it ended, everyone rose to salute and began to disperse, while Elder Zong nodded to each one in acknowledgment.

When most had left, a few remained standing in the courtyard, evidently wanting to ask further questions, one of whom was He Kao.

Elder Zong gestured dismissively and said, “You may go… He Kao, you stay.”

Ignoring the curiosity on the others’ faces, Zong Zheng kept only He Kao back and asked kindly, “Why have you come too?”

He Kao stood below the steps and replied, “A wise person guided me, saying that you would lecture here today, and I wanted to seek your guidance.”

Zong Zheng chuckled as he reached for the teacup on the table: “What would you like to ask me?”

Seeing that the teacup was nearly empty, He Kao hurriedly stepped up to pour more tea from the pot: “I wish to inquire about the path of ‘breaking illusion before breaking the gate.’

Zong Zheng set the cup down and looked up at He Kao, saying, “The last person to ask me this question face to face was Mei Guyu. It seems you have a good relationship with her, and she also directed you to ask me?”

It was an interesting misunderstanding; the one who directed He Kao here was not Mei Guyu, but Zhao Sanjin, a patriarch of the Magic Sect two generations senior to Zong Zheng. But He Kao did not explain, simply awaiting patiently for the continuation.

Zong Zheng continued, “To advance from Tier Five Perfection to Tier Six Cultivation, one must break the illusion and become true. This stage was called the Dream Realm in ancient times, often occurring unconsciously, and upon breaking through, one is said to achieve Great Success.

There is no shortcut to breaking the illusion. Masters of the past seldom spoke much of it, nor did they ask much. Should there be specific guidance, even if recounting one’s own past experience of breaking the illusion to a disciple, it would inevitably create obstacles in the disciple’s understanding.

I did have a slightly different experience when breaking the illusion; at forty-seven, I was not looked upon favorably by my peers, and even if I succeeded in breaking through, it was likely to be very taxing.

But in retrospect, it seemed I passed this stage with ease, as if without hindrance.

In truth, when I entered the Illusion Realm, I was unaware of being in it, simply going about my actions as usual. Thus, my master said I broke the gate before breaking the illusion.

The so-called breaking the gate before breaking the illusion is arguably more difficult than discerning within the Illusion Realm. It lies in having an inner state of a True Man early on, but the cultivation has not yet reached the maturity, so when you achieve Tier Five Perfection and can take that step, it happens naturally.

There are no shortcuts or clever tricks, nor any Heart Method guidance. It depends on who you are, whether you succeed or not… I ask you, what was the key point of today’s lecture?”

At this point, Zong Zheng finally drank a mouthful of tea. His cup was small, akin to downing a shot of liquor, so He Kao quickly refilled it and said, “The key point is the investigation and understanding of things in Confucian education, but it is somewhat different from what I learned before.”

Zong Zheng: “What was your major, that you were taught this?”

He Kao: “I taught myself by reading books.”

Zong Zheng: “Confucian education, especially investigation and understanding, is far from what I can explain in one afternoon. I barely covered what I observed—how one gains cognition, and how to verify it?

I am not a Confucian scholar, but many call me Master Zong, and Qi Observation Skill observes people as well.” At this point, Zong Zheng asked an odd question, “Did you bring a watch?”

He Kao: “No, I only brought a phone.”

Zong Zheng: “Phones can tell time, too, so it counts. If you had a watch, would you not be late?”

He Kao: “Not necessarily, those who are meant to be late will still be late.”

Zong Zheng: “Then what is the significance?”

This was a very old joke; He Kao did not expect Zong Zheng to ask it now, and he did not attempt any cleverness, instead giving the original answer honestly: “At least one can know if they are late and by how much.”

Zong Zheng nodded, “Interacting with others is sometimes like changing shifts.

If the shift change is at eight in the morning, how early you arrive is your own concern. But if you’re late, it’s no longer just yours.

Investigation tells you what you should and shouldn’t do? Yet many people still fail to act accordingly, not because they don’t know… Let me ask you, who in this world is most adept at violating laws?”

It seemed this Elder Zong had a habit similar to Elder Jiang, wanting to convey something to He Kao but choosing to first ask questions.

He Kao thought for a moment and replied, “Those who make a living from it.”

Because the question was “who is most adept,” not “who is most accustomed” or “who likes it the most,” He Kao could only answer this way.

The term laws here not only refers strictly to legal systems but also encompasses various administrative orders, industry norms, and regulatory regimes. Those who make a living from it include not only narrow industry practitioners but also the formulators and enforcers of these laws.

They are most familiar with the purpose of a particular law, its loopholes, its practical enforcement, and control of the execution process.

Zong Zheng nodded slightly, “Ethical principles and legal regulations vary across nations. Even within a single country, there have been many changes over time.

Some laws exist now but not in ancient times, or in one place but not another.

How do we know how to act? Only do what should be done.

But what should and shouldn’t be done? That lies in investigation and understanding! From ignorance to knowledge, verifying known facts with known facts.

In doing so, you mold your actions, so you’re not confused by situations, and you act naturally without violating what you know, coming close to being a True Man. Yet one close to a True Man is not a True Man, one must further cultivate to the level necessary.

I can explain it clearly, but it’s difficult to achieve. The true cultivation of great success is not just a form of training but a capability.

This is my method, not necessarily yours, just providing a reference for you.”

He Kao stepped back down the stairs, bowed his head, and said, “Thank you, Elder, for your teachings!”

Zong Zheng smiled slightly, “Oh, I just asked a few questions, what did I teach you?”

He Kao replied, “Things not yet encountered, people not yet recognized.”

Before coming, He Kao already knew that when a Tier Five Perfection wants to break through to a Tier Six Cultivation, it’s not just about diligent practice. Often, one might train for a lifetime and still not take a step forward; it requires a breakthrough in mental and spiritual realm.

Zong Zheng provided a line of thinking, but it’s by no means a shortcut or an easy path; for those who can’t achieve it, it remains unattainable, but at least he vaguely made the reasoning clear.

Zong Zheng reached out and pushed the frame of his glasses on his nose, “The young ones can be taught; stand up!”

Saying goodbye to Elder Zong, returning the mat to Lu Xiaoji with thanks, He Kao walked east along the mountain roads of Phoenix Tail Town, strolling like a tourist admiring the scenery, walked through a tunnel, arrived near Guanshu Village, then turned and walked into the wild mountains.

Upon reaching Dragon Scale Slope, Li Xiuyuan and Gu Chun were already waiting there. He Kao immediately opened the portal, welcoming the two Elders into the Floating Colors Grotto Heaven.

He didn’t know why Elder Li came, or why he brought Elder Gu along? As soon as Gu Chun entered the Grotto Heaven, he immediately summoned the Flying Divine Artifact Cloud.

As the white cloud spread like a carpet under the feet of the three, Gu Chun said, “Try to save some time, Xiao Kao, tell us which mountain lakes have the most primeval submerged timber, directly take us there.”

Only then did He Kao realize that Elder Li came to help.

It was heard that the Hidden Moth Sect people were about to create a Grotto Heaven here and planned to use local materials. Li Xiuyuan thought the project volume was too large and came to lend a hand, also bringing Gu Chun along.

From a karma perspective, it’s not only helping He Kao; Li Xiuyuan, Gu Chun, and Jiang Daozhen have all previously accepted secondary inheritance of the Insect Concealment Skill here, contributing to creating the Grotto Heaven is also appropriate.

If Jiang Daozhen weren’t in seclusion facing tribulations, Li Xiuyuan might have brought him along.

Comparing with the reality of the terrain of Phoenix Tail Town, between Guanshu Village and Immortal Bottle Village, there is the largest mountain lake in that area named Immortal Book Lake.

Phoenix Tail Town dug and built a dam, water gate, and conduits at the outlet of Immortal Book Lake leading outside the mountains, transforming it into a reservoir. It is also the village’s water source, but in the Grotto Heaven, it’s still a natural lake.

The group landed by the lake, where the water is very clear with extremely high visibility, vaguely seeing many large logs piled near the lake bottom with schools of fish weaving among them, and more timber likely from afar.

Not all wood in the lake is submerged timber; many have long rotted and are useless, but the truly good timber is very precious.

The Cloud transformed into mist and was stowed away in the sleeve unseen, Gu Chun raised his right hand where an object hovered in his palm; at first glance, it seemed to be a golden apple, but upon closer inspection, it was the Sect’s Sacred Artifact, the Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace from the Alchemy Sect, now the size of an apple.

He Kao exclaimed, “Is this the Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace?”

Li Xiuyuan had conveyed the great battle in the Immortal Pot Grotto Heaven to him via Divine Thought, but in reality, this was He Kao’s first time seeing this legendary Sect’s Sacred Artifact firsthand.

Gu Chun didn’t speak but nodded slightly, and He Kao was puzzled again, “How did you bring it out of the Immortal Pot Grotto Heaven, Elder?”

Li Xiuyuan explained on the side, “Everything that happened in the Immortal Pot Grotto Heaven remains confidential and not disclosed to the outside world; even Mei Guyu’s training in Qi Yuan is theoretically still confidential information.

So the Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace has not officially returned to the Sect’s vault.

Presently, the Immortal Pot Grotto Heaven is still not open, with Elder Gu overseeing and Steward Xing Rui on duty, Qi Nansheng still in seclusion within the Grotto Heaven. Elder Gu temporarily brought it out, which doesn’t violate the regulations of the Ancestral Hall.

He can’t leave for too long nor carry the Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace alone outside, at the very least, another Elder has to accompany him, which is me…”

Elder Gu slightly frowned, “You two, do you like talking so much? One can’t stop asking, the other can’t stop answering?

Stop nagging, hurry up and get to work!”

Saying so, he tossed the Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace into the air, transforming it into a one-zhang circle hovering above the lake surface and began to spin, spinning faster and faster until it appeared as a ball of golden light.

Li Xiuyuan pointed at the lake surface with his finger, chanting as if reciting an incantation or speaking ill of someone, then lifted his middle finger slightly, a giant log flew out from the water.

The giant log, thick, round, and straight, several dozen meters long and more than one meter in diameter, with excess branches removed, then flew into the golden light and disappeared.

Then Li Xiuyuan’s fingers continued to flick, movements resembling playing piano with one hand, with logs flying out of the lake and into the golden light one after another.

After dozens of logs in succession, Gu Chun remarked, “Gathering such large materials, are you planning to build the Hall of Great Harmony? Have various other sized materials too!”

Li Xiuyuan chuckled, and a variety of other-sized logs continued to fly into the airborne light cluster, all excellent millennium submerged timber.

Not long after, Gu Chun said in a deep voice, “That’s enough!”

**

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep