"No need for formalities."
To Xu Taiping's surprise, the spirit of the mirror actually responded to him, though its tone was extremely cold and stiff.
"The Elder has prepared, Master."
At this moment, a stern voice echoed from within the copper mirror.
Xu Taiping immediately turned his gaze toward the mirror.
The mirror, which had previously reflected Xu Taiping's face, suddenly displayed a misty mountain peak as soon as the elder's voice sounded. On top of the peak, he could faintly make out the silhouette of an old man, exuding an aura of immortal grace.
"Ziyang Daojun, three hundred and ninety-six disciples are attending the lecture today, with two hundred and eighteen being newly admitted disciples, and two hundred without any cultivation."
The voice of the mirror spirit rang out again.
As it spoke, the image in the mirror zoomed in until Xu Taiping could clearly see Ziyang Daojun seated on a stone platform.
"Four hundred is enough. There is no need for anyone else to come in."
Ziyang Daojun's eyes were half-closed, his lips barely parted.
"Understood."
The mirror spirit responded in a cold tone.
"So, Ziyang Daojun actually limits the number of disciples for his sermons. I'm glad I arrived early today."
After hearing the conversation between Ziyang Daojun and the mirror spirit, Xu Taiping quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Whether this is your first time hearing the Remnant Sunset Sutra or whether you have heard it many times before, I will treat everyone the same and start from the very beginning."
After a brief pause, Ziyang Daojun's voice continued.
Knowing that the formal lecture was about to begin, Xu Taiping immediately straightened up and focused his eyes on the copper mirror, not daring to blink.
"Among you, many have never practiced before entering this path. Therefore, before discussing the Remnant Sunset Sutra, I will first explain what cultivation is and what it means to have cultivation."
"Cultivation is nothing more than refining the body through physical training, using opening techniques to refine essence into qi. Our Qingxuan Sect places particular emphasis on opening the path."
"Only by first nurturing a solid foundation of innate true qi can one begin to practice spells and divine abilities, extend one's lifespan, and even glimpse the path to ascension and immortality."
"The Remnant Sunset Sutra, which I will be teaching today, is one of our sect's most important opening techniques."
Hearing this, Xu Taiping nodded inwardly.
Ziyang Daojun's words were similar to the beginning of the Remnant Sunset Sutra, and this was the only part Xu Taiping could fully understand. The later steps in the cultivation process, however, were completely incomprehensible to him.
"Now that we've discussed what cultivation is, let me explain what cultivation level is."
"Cultivation level, in simple terms, is the different stages of cultivation."
"In the cultivation world, based on the length of lifespan and strength of power, there are generally five realms of cultivation."
"From weak to strong, the first realm is the Opening Realm, also known as the Sea Entry Realm. At this stage, cultivators have just begun to find the path. Their qi and blood are much more robust than their peers, and they can live up to 120 years."
Xu Taiping's eyelids twitched.
He hadn't expected that the Opening Realm, which his grandfather had spoken of, was actually the lowest realm in the cultivation world.
Surprised, Xu Taiping felt a little relieved. If the Opening Realm was the second or third realm, he might have struggled to break through within six months, and by then, his forged immortal credentials would have been exposed.
However, these thoughts quickly faded, and he refocused, continuing to listen to Ziyang Daojun's sermon.
"The second realm is the Void Gaze Realm. Cultivators in this realm can live up to 180 years, and only those who reach this level can truly be considered cultivators. Of all the disciples I have encountered, at least 60% are stuck at this stage, some even among the core disciples of Seven Peaks."
"The third realm is the Mysterious Passage Realm. Those who break through this realm can live up to 360 years and are honored as true masters, often having their own daoist halls in places like Cloud Mountain."
"As for the fourth and fifth realms, you need not concern yourselves with them for now. Do not aim too high."
At this point, Ziyang Daojun took a cup of tea from a nearby disciple and slowly sipped, as if letting the disciples absorb the information for a moment.
"So, breaking through the Mysterious Passage Realm is that difficult? No wonder Ziyang Daojun is revered as an elder."
Xu Taiping couldn't help but think to himself.
"I wonder what cultivation realm Senior Lingyue is in?"
Suddenly, he became curious about Lingyue's cultivation level.
"Alright, now I will explain the Remnant Sunset Sutra in detail."
Just as Xu Taiping's thoughts wandered, Ziyang Daojun's voice from the copper mirror brought him back to attention.
From this point, Ziyang Daojun began to go through the main points of practicing the Remnant Sunset Sutra, explaining each step in detail to the disciples attending the sermon.
Since Xu Taiping had already read the Remnant Sunset Sutra beforehand, the lecture wasn't difficult for him to follow. He often found himself nodding in understanding, and when he heard something particularly insightful, he couldn't help but gesticulate excitedly. He felt all the previous confusion he had about the text slowly being cleared up by Ziyang Daojun's explanation.
Though he didn't possess a spiritual bone, Xu Taiping had always been gifted in reading and understanding texts. In terms of comprehending cultivation methods, he was not inferior to the disciples with spiritual bones, and in some ways, he was even better.
At that moment, as the lecture continued, many of the other disciples were clearly struggling, scratching their heads in frustration, while Xu Taiping seemed to absorb every word with ease.
Ziyang Daojun noticed this too.
Aside from a few disciples, the majority of the three hundred or so disciples, including Xu Taiping, did not know that there was also a large copper mirror in front of Ziyang Daojun. Through this mirror, he could see all of the disciples in attendance.
"Mirror spirit, who brought Xu Taiping into the Qingxuan Sect?"
After the sermon ended, Ziyang Daojun suddenly spoke to the mirror spirit.
"Xu Taiping was selected by the Spiritual Bone Stele and was initially meant to enter the Seventh Peak. However, when Elder Heilong tested his spiritual bone, he discovered it was just a white bone, not qualifying him for the Seventh Peak. As a result, he was assigned to cultivate on the lower mountain, awaiting the selection three years later."
The mirror spirit responded to Ziyang Daojun.
"What a pity."
After hearing the mirror spirit's account, Ziyang Daojun shook his head, a trace of regret crossing his face.
He could tell that Xu Taiping had an unusual talent for comprehending the cultivation methods, which made him consider taking him as a disciple. However, Xu Taiping was just a white bone, and there was no use in cultivating him, as not everyone was like Su Chan.
"A mere white bone, no matter how well one comprehends the cultivation method, it's of no use. Not everyone is like Su Chan."
Ziyang Daojun sighed.
"Master, you might want to avoid mentioning Su Chan. The sect leader might not be pleased if he hears."
The mirror spirit gently reminded Ziyang Daojun.