Chapter 41 Establishing the Sea of Bitterness
Over the next two months, Wu Qingfeng went all out to seriously teach Pang Bo and Ye Fan, and guide them onto their immortal path. Pang Bo’s cultivation progressed extremely smoothly. After two months, he could already sense his Wheel of Life and could even guide out and circulate his Qi. He now had to establish his Sea of Bitterness as preparation to use it a spring for his divine energy.
Ye Fan continued to be unable to sense his Wheel of Life. That place within him was still completely silent, without the slightest fluctuation. But although he couldn’t cultivate it, his Spirit, Qi, and vitality were all invigorated every time, causing him to feel peaceful and relaxed, as well as feel like his body’s strength was overflowing.
Time passed quickly, and the two months ended. Wu Qingfeng had to leave; he would no longer be able to privately teach them.
“The path of immortality is filled with danger. But your heart must be determined and you must persevere in order to succeed.” After saying this, Elder Wu Qingfeng floated away.
Ye Fan and Pang Bo both bowed deeply in respect to Elder Wu Qingfeng. This wasn’t some kind of empty respect, but a true and sincere thanks.
On top their short mountain was a thatched cottage with only five rooms and a few bamboo forests. Ye Fan and Pang Bo gradually became accustomed to this quiet and calm lifestyle of only eating dull foods.
They decided that they would go to the Spirit Ruins Cliff to cultivate the next day. Originally, Ye Fan was hesitant since he hadn’t actually entered the Spirit Ruins Palace, so he shouldn’t be able to go there with Pang Bo. But Wu Qingfeng gave him a jade pendant which allowed him to go cultivate there despite the fact he wasn’t a Spirit Ruins Palace disciple.
Ye Fan and Pang Bo were both looking up at the starry sky, not saying anything. They were both searching for a certain planet, but the night sky was filled with endless stars whose positions were all completely different. They could no longer see that familiar starry sky.
Arriving at the other side of the starry sky, their past was now so distant from them that they might never find it again.
“Where is the celestial palace, what day is it today…”
“People have their joys and sorrows while the moon has its mood, full or wan…I wish people lived longer, all sharing the same moon.”[1]
The two of them were lying down on the grass as they looked up at the night sky. They each had a tea cup in their hands, but most of the tea missed their mouth and splashed onto their faces.
“We can never return…”
The two of them descended into silence for a long time. Lying calmly on the ground, they simply stared up into the starry sky.
Only after a long time did they break the silence.
“We have to continue to live well…”
Ye Fan and Pang Bo were both optimistic people. After a short period of sadness passed, they could now face the future steadily with confidence.
They quickly forgot about this issue, and their conversation once more drifted towards cultivation. Although they had only cultivated for two months, it was an unprecedented new life for them. The mysterious path to immortality was impossible to predict, but they had already managed to take the first step; all they had to do was unswervingly continue walking to its end.
The Spirit Ruins Paradise was one of Yan’s six Blessed Paradises. Although it couldn’t compare to those ancient and powerful masters, they still had almost a thousand cultivators. There were hundreds of younger disciples in the sect.
Facing the red clouds of the rising sun, a golden light fell onto the cliff, glorious and dazzling.
The Spirit Ruins Cliff was composed of over a dozen low mountain precipices. These precipices didn’t link up; there was always a bit of separation between each cliff. Furthermore, none of them were very tall; they were only seventy to eighty meters high.
Many young disciples assembled here in the morning in order to find a good spot for themselves. Their cultivation bases were all different, so they all split into different cliffs to listen to the mystical arts that most suited their current state.
Ye Fan and Pang Bo also hurriedly rushed here in the morning. Since they had only just entered the sect, they only had one choice: the cliff that was the furthest away. Many people had already gathered here. There were at least forty to fifty people in total, both male and female. The youngest ones only appeared to be seven or eight, their faces full of youthful tenderness. The oldest people were already in their thirties, and their faces showed the years they had gone through.
A light flashed, and a divine rainbow broke through the sky, descending onto the cliff. The light receded, and a pure white-haired senior sat down in lotus position. He indifferently swept his gaze below him. He paused slightly when he saw Ye Fan and Pang Bo, before beginning his teachings.
At this time, divine rainbows also descended on the other cliffs; they were all Elders of the Spirit Ruins Paradise. Each of them sat at the top of different cliffs, each separated by a short distance. This way, they wouldn’t be affected by one another’s teachings; likely they wouldn’t even be greatly affected if the entire mountain collapsed.
Facing the sun and the red clouds while listening to the expounding of cultivation methods, the many people below all felt a new and strange feeling. Many of them were new disciples who had just been accepted into the Spirit Ruins Paradise.
The Elders were completely unperturbed; their voices were calm without any expression. But their words were very detailed; many of the most important issues and questions involving the first steps of the immortal path were all directly answered by them.
An hour later, the lecturing ended. The Elders at the top of the cliffs didn’t change their expressions at all the whole time. Looking down, they said, “The ones with questions can raise them now. If there are no questions, we will end things here.”
A couple of youngsters hastily advanced, each asking their own questions. The Elders answered them one by one. When they saw no one else come up, they mustered their divine rainbows and once more soared into the sky.
This was Ye Fan and Pang Bo’s first time coming to the teachings. But instead of feeling enlightened, they had felt that it was extremely boring; they hadn’t gained any new knowledge. Over the past two months, elder Wu Qingfeng had already taught them all of this, and their foundation was now already very stable. They had long since clearly understood all the important questions and issues they had to deal with.
“The Dao Scriptures’ introductory chapters are already enough for us to cultivate for at least a couple years. These teachings here are too dull. We’ve already learned all this from senior Wu Qingfeng.”
“Didn’t he tell us not to bite off more than we can chew? He repeatedly emphasized that the most important thing was to establish an extremely solid foundation. He definitely had a reason for telling us to come here to cultivate.”
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Half a month passed, and despite feeling as it were very dull, they still continued to come to the teachings. They finally started to obtain some benefits. The cliffs’ Elders would occasionally mention experiences and knowledge they had learned over their own personal cultivation paths. This was extremely important to people just starting out like Pang Bo and Ye Fan! Those experiences were like lamps lighting the way on their own path. By relating those experiences to their own, their cultivation speed would naturally increase
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During this particular morning, the Elders lecturing on top of the cliffs opened their hands out of nowhere, and dozens of light shot out. One ray of light landed in the hands of Ye Fan, Pang Bo, and all of the others. It was a very pure jade bottle. Opening it immediately released a burst of fragrance that assaulted the nose.
“This is a medicinal liquid that can help you establish your Sea of Bitterness.” The Elders were as succinct as ever, not wasting even one extra word to explain it.
The Sea of Bitterness and the Wheel of life were intricately intertwined. In order to access the huge amount of Qi inside the Wheel of Life, the Sea of Bitterness had to be continuously established.
The medicinal liquid inside the jade bottle was very precious. Only once every three months would each person receive one bottle; in a whole year they could only obtain four bottles.
Pang Bo’s Sea of Bitterness had started to slowly change. Over the past three months, his Sea of Bitterness had been established to the point that it had already changed from the size of a date pit to a fingernail. Traces of Life Qi surrounded it, and his whole body seemed to have become much more spiritual.
Although Ye Fan also drank the small bottle of medicine, nothing changed for him. His Sea of Bitterness was as silent as ever, completely incapable of establish or activating even a sesame-sized region of it. There was no way to circulate even a thread of Life Qi.
However, his body’s speed and strength continued to increase. His strength surged and boiled within his body, and his Qi and blood were extremely vigorous, even comparable to powerful dragons.
“I’ll just continue to slowly cultivate like this. Although I can’t establish my Sea of Bitterness and can’t sense my Wheel of Life, having my body continue to grow stronger like this isn’t a bad thing.”
“Yeah, I feel like you’re actually getting more from it than me. I cultivate my Sea of Bitterness every day, but I haven’t seen my strength or speed increase, let alone figure out how to use those mystical techniques. I really don’t know what this cultivation is for,” grumbled Pang Bo.
The second day, he could no longer hold back. He opened his mouth in front of the stone cliff’s Elder who was lecturing. “Are we supposed to just continue cultivating like this forever? When can we muster divine rainbows to use?”
The Elder teaching indifferently looked at him. “Food has to be eaten piece by piece; paths have to be walked step by step. If you don’t know how to walk and you try to run, all that will happen is you will trip and fall.
Although the Elder was admonishing him, he still answered him in order to give hope to all the disciples below.
“Only when the Sea of Bitterness is large enough can you take the next step in cultivation. At that time, open up a path within the Sea of Bitterness towards the Wheel of Life at the bottom. Form a kind of ‘spring’ that releases the Wheel of Life’s divine energy. Only at that time can you be considered to have had some success. At that time you can also begin initial usage of the mystical arts, the so-called ‘divine abilities’ that you are hoping for.”
[1] These are song lyrics from the artist Faye Wong, also known as Shirley Wong (王菲). The song is 但願人長久, ‘I Wish People Lived Longer.’