Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 194 The Immortal Scripture of White Stone

"The first thing is to learn how to sense Qi. Only by sensing Qi can one have the opportunity to guide Qi into the body and truly enter the path of immortality!"

"Murong Ruyan said."

Ye Shuyun, however, had a different opinion. After a moment's thought, he said, "What Senior Sister said is indeed true, but after observing for the past few days, I've found that many disciples don't seem to understand what cultivating immortality means..."

Murong Ruyan was stunned when Ye Shuyun said that.

Immediately, she recalled how she always looked at those lazy and listless disciples, and frowned.

"What is the Qi Refining stage, what is the Foundation Establishment stage, and some people don't even know how many stages there are in total. Therefore, senior sister and junior brother think we should first introduce what the Immortal Path is, so that they can be more enthusiastic."

As soon as Ye Shuyun finished speaking, Huang Wu nodded and said, "Senior brother is right! I still don't know how many realms there are in the path of immortality!"

As he spoke, he scratched his head and added somewhat embarrassedly, "Actually, I remember my senior brother mentioning it, but he only mentioned it once, and my memory isn't very sharp, so I didn't remember it very well. I vaguely remember that later on, you can cultivate a ball, and then your soul can leave your body or something like that!"

Murong Ruyan took a deep breath, twitched her lips, and couldn't help but correct her, "Those who are in the Core Formation stage will cultivate an inner core, just like Fourth Junior Sister. She already has an inner core, which can be considered as the Core Formation stage, but her cultivation level is not up to par."

"As for what you call 'soul leaving the body,' that's roughly the stage of soul leaving the body. After breaking through the Golden Core stage, the primordial spirit solidifies, like a newborn infant, which is called breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage. When one reaches the Nascent Soul stage, one must consolidate one's foundation and cultivate one's primordial spirit until it is sufficiently solidified, only then can it leave the body and become a tangible object, which is called breaking through to the stage of soul leaving the body..."

"Could it be that our senior brother didn't tell you these things?"

Huang Wu's gaze shifted, his voice weakening slightly as he argued, "I did say it, but I just didn't remember it..."

Murong Ruyan's expression immediately turned serious. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and nodded to Ye Shuyun, saying, "Junior brother, you're right. We should first have them memorize these common sense facts!"

Ye Shuyun rarely felt that she might have overdone it, which made Murong Ruyan a little irritated, so she quickly advised, "This, understanding is enough, memorizing it is not necessary..."

Before she could finish speaking, Murong Ruyan really lost her temper!

She raised her voice, her tone aggressive: "How could it not be? I could memorize all this stuff in a single night, but how much time has passed! Let alone memorize it, they don't even know it! How are they supposed to cultivate immortality like this?!"

Upon seeing Murong Ruyan lose her temper, Huang Wu, who hadn't remembered anything, immediately shrank back guiltily.

Tang Xiaoyu also took two steps back from an angle where Murong Ruyan couldn't see her without making a sound, and casually picked up several basic cultivation books provided by her master Zhang Chengdao that had been placed on the table by everyone, and began to study them at the last minute.

Ye Shuyun smiled, raised her hand to cover her lips, coughed a few times, and nodded, saying, "Ahem, Senior Sister is right. Then let's compile some common sense that needs to be memorized and put it in the first chapter, how about that?"

Murong Ruyan finally nodded in satisfaction: "That's how it should be!"

But she immediately added, "However, it can't be just one chapter. It has to be at least a book, listing all the common knowledge about realms, the principles of cultivation, and the common knowledge of various categories. It would be difficult to compile such a book, let alone just one chapter!"

Huang Wu stared wide-eyed and tentatively asked, "Then, senior sister, if it's a whole book, do I have to memorize it too?"

"Of course! A mere book, surely they can memorize it?"

As Murong Ruyan spoke, she glared at Huang Wu, who immediately patted his chest and assured her, "I can definitely memorize it! I definitely can!"

So, a few days later, when the disciples saw that Murong Ruyan, who had been filling in for the classes, had gone down the mountain and that their third senior brother, Ye Shuyun, was taking over, they hadn't even had time to be happy before Murong Ruyan, who had rushed back, threw out a book and ordered all the disciples to make a copy, and...

"Recite it backwards fluently?! Are you kidding me?!"

Everyone was completely bewildered, unable to understand their second senior sister's request.

Ye Shuyun, who was teaching in place of Murong Ruyan who had gone down the mountain again to handle political affairs, comforted everyone, saying, "Don't worry, your second senior sister doesn't really mean that you have to memorize it backwards. Rather, once you've memorized it well, you'll be able to answer any question from any passage and recite it. That's all."

Upon hearing this, the disciples breathed a sigh of relief and gathered together to copy the book.

The cover simply displays five large characters: "The Book of Immortals by Baishi".

……

"The Immortal's Book of White Stone?"

The capital city of Jingzhao, which is now called Chang'an, was changed by Zhang Chengdao himself after he insisted on his own way and refuted the ministers. He sighed for a long time after making the change at the court meeting.

Wang Yanqing is no longer the Prefect of Chang'an (Jingzhao Prefecture), but has been specially transferred to the position of Chancellor of the Imperial Academy. Of course, this is not a demotion. Zhang Chengdao separated the Imperial Academy from the Ministry of Rites and made it an independent department with the same rank as the Six Ministries. As a result, the position of Chancellor of the Imperial Academy has also risen in rank, from the fourth rank to the second rank, only half a rank lower than the Minister of Rites.

Therefore, Wang Yanqing, the newly appointed official, was not only in high spirits, but also attached great importance to the matter of establishing "Baishi Immortal University" that he had been entrusted with after taking office, and even talked about it in his sleep.

Therefore, the first edition of "The Book of Immortals of Baishi" was given to Wang Yanqing immediately after Zhang Chengdao took a copy from his disciples and sent it to them.

"The sect leader said this is one of the 'teaching materials' of White Stone Immortal Dao University, right?"

As Wang Yanqing spoke, he opened the book, which had been read so many times that the edges were curled up.

"Reporting to the Chief Minister, that is indeed the case. The immortal who sent this book also said that once the new 'teaching material' is compiled, it will be sent over for your review..." Neither the minor official nor Wang Yanqing liked the term "teaching material"—in their view, calling a book "teaching material" was rather incomprehensible, and "teaching" would be a more appropriate term.

However, the word "teaching" clashes with "schoolmaster" and looks no different from "teaching" in "teaching teacher," so Wang Yanqing only considered the title in his mind and then gave up.

After all, the term "textbook" was personally chosen by the sect leader, and there must be a reason why the sect leader did it!

Wang Yanqing didn't hear a word the clerk who delivered the book said.

After he picked up this book, "The Book of Immortals by Baishi", he became obsessed with the "immortal way" described in the book!

This book uses straightforward and concise language. Although it is not obscure, it is not very interesting. However, it is precisely because it uses such straightforward and concise language to outline the concept of "what is a cultivator" that Wang Yanqing, who still does not know much about cultivators and immortality cultivation, could not calm down for a long time after reading it.

What is an immortal?
Wang Yanqing used to think that someone like the sect leader of the White Stone Immortal Sect, who could fly through the sky and command clouds and thunder, seemed to be omnipotent and was a god.

According to the "White Stone Immortal Dao Book", these skills are only something that cultivators above the Foundation Establishment stage can do.

Above the Foundation Establishment stage, there are the Core Formation, Nascent Soul, Out-of-Body Stage, Spirit Transformation, Body Integration, Void Refinement, and Mahayana Stage. Only after reaching these stages can one cultivate an immortal body and be revered as an immortal.

The things described in the book, like moving mountains and filling seas, and creating the world, were things he couldn't even imagine!

not to mention……

"I never imagined that a cultivator in the Qi Refining stage could live to be two hundred years old..."

Wang Yanqing was deeply moved.

He stroked the somewhat old handwritten book, and a thought suddenly came to mind: Why not resign from his official post and become an immortal?
But soon, the words of the minor official brought him back to his senses.

"Is it really that powerful? Can the officials in our Imperial Academy also cultivate with this book? If so, wouldn't we be just like the disciples of the White Stone Immortal Sect? Hehehe, and we wouldn't even have to go through the three trials of the Immortal Destiny Conference! I heard that people die in that trial!"

This minor official was a chatterbox, rambling on and on. Perhaps because he hadn't had time to read the "White Stone Immortal's Book," his words always revealed a bit of presumption, which made Wang Yanqing chuckle.

The immortal who delivered this book didn't mention whether it could be circulated.

Wang Yanqing asked.

The clerk hurriedly claimed credit, saying, "I did ask, and the immortal master said that since this book has been sent out of White Stone Mountain, he doesn't mind people all over the world reading it. So even if it's used as a 'textbook' for White Stone Immortal University, he won't hesitate to print more and distribute them to various places."

Upon hearing this, Wang Yanqing felt somewhat ashamed of his petty thoughts and sighed again, "Truly worthy of being a true immortal..."

He closed the book, somewhat reluctant to part with this "divine book" that he hadn't even had a chance to warm up yet, but after only a moment's hesitation, he gritted his teeth and handed the book to the clerk, instructing, "Find the best craftsmen to carve the printing blocks, and print five hundred... no, one thousand copies! Then give one copy to every high-ranking official of the third rank or above in the court!"

He had barely finished speaking when he called back the clerk who was about to leave and changed his words, saying, "Let's print sample books first. After they're printed, I'll personally present them to the sect leader for review. If there are no errors, then we'll print the bulk stock... Hmm, let's change it to three thousand copies. The first batch will print five hundred, and we'll print them in batches. The first batch of printed paper must be of the highest quality, and the stitching must be gold thread!"
"After that, we will reprint it, prioritizing low prices. The Imperial Academy will then distribute one copy to each city lord. Whether they reprint it privately is none of my business..."

Wang Yanqing, who had come to understand the meaning of "not caring what the world sees," felt a surge of excitement.

This is the first important matter he has undertaken since taking office, and he must handle it beautifully and properly!

……

The first printed copy of "The Book of Immortals of Baishi" was delivered to Zhang Chengdao at a court assembly a month later.

Because Wang Yanqing attached great importance to these "teaching materials," he specially sought out several of the best craftsmen when carving the blocks, striving for perfection in every character. As a result, he ruined hundreds of blocks before finally carving a set that satisfied him.

After another period of time, it took a while for the prints to be completed, so by the time Zhang Chengdao finally saw the finished product, a month had already passed.

Looking at the exquisitely designed book, Zhang Chengdao was quite satisfied.

His own disciples truly lived up to their gold card status, compiling a book of common knowledge about immortality and cultivation in a way that was both profound and easy to understand, rigorous yet accessible. It was far superior to the books he brought with him when he transmigrated, such as the "Elementary Qi Refining Book," "Intermediate Qi Refining Book," and "Advanced Qi Refining Book," which crammed in all the basic cultivation knowledge and various low-level spells and supernatural abilities!
The thread used to sew these books is gold thread, isn't that a bit too extravagant?

With that in mind, Zhang Chengdao asked the question.

Wang Yanqing hurriedly and respectfully replied, "Reporting to the sect leader, the first batch of five hundred copies of 'The Immortal Dao of White Stone' only used a few strings of gold thread for printing, which can hardly be considered extravagant!"

Upon hearing that so much gold thread had only cost a small amount of money, Zhang Chengdao felt relieved and immediately asked Wang Yanqing for a hundred copies, intending to distribute them to his disciples and also enrich the library.

But...

Once the other compiled textbooks are printed, the library will probably need to be expanded.

Zhang Chengdao thought to himself.

(End of this chapter)