Ji Xiu’s expression was a sight to behold. He stared at Ji Wei for a long while, making sure she hadn’t gone delusional or was simply pulling his leg. But no, she was recounting the events with a dead-serious look on her face.
He couldn’t help but think of Duan Chenzhou and what Gu Baichuan had said about the matter of the "Outer Dao."
The so-called "Outer Dao" was easy enough to understand. It referred to the Celestial Universe Realm beyond the Great Xuan, which had, for some reason, built a bridge to the Great Xuan Continents and thus gained a foothold in this world.
And among them was a system of so-called "Immortals."
If it were anyone else—any other Martial Artist in Anning County—they would have thought Ji Wei had gone mad and avoided her like the plague.
For to them, such matters were mysterious and utterly unfathomable.
But for Ji Xiu.
He glanced at his own Primordial Daoist Talisman, then at Ji Wei before him, who wore a serious expression on her young face, as if to say, ’I am a True Inheritance of a great sect.’
A bold idea began to form in his mind.
He looked at his little sister and suddenly asked:
"So, little sis, once you learn this ’Dao Skill,’ can you teach your big brother?"
Ji Wei stared blankly.
"Brother... aren’t you... aren’t you scared? Don’t you find all this strange or terrifying?"
Ji Xiu frowned.
"You’re my sister. As long as the person you are on the inside doesn’t change, what difference does it make if you cross a thousand realms or a thousand years pass?"
Those few short words made Ji Wei’s heart tremble.
She had been lost and bewildered, unable to tell reality from illusion, without an anchor...
Suddenly, her eyes reddened, and she threw herself at him.
"Brother, what’s mine is yours! What’s the difference?"
"Everything I learn, everything I can do, it’s all thanks to you. If they teach me something I can’t share with you, then I just won’t learn it!"
"Who cares about some great sect or Master..."
"All I need is you!"
"Next time, I’ll get that so-called master of mine to teach me the Cultivation method for the Immortal System, and then I’ll tell you every single detail. He told me that ’Secrets Are Not Told to Six Ears,’ so I’ll just have to tell you secretly..."
Seeing Ji Wei pout, Ji Xiu couldn’t help but chuckle.
’Some True Venerable of Ten Thousand Laws?’
’As long as he doesn’t come over here.’
’I’m definitely going to fleece this sheep!’
’With the Primordial Daoist Talisman...’
’Since it can advance both Martial Arts and the Skill Dao, and even upgrade a Divine Technique like Mountain and Sea Search, then there’s no reason I can’t cultivate this Dao Skill.’
’As for the ’secrets of the Dao must not be lightly revealed’...’
’My sister has the aptitude of a Banished Immortal! She’s the True Inheritance of your great sect!’
’As her brother, I’m benefiting from her new status. So what if I learn a little of your Dao Skill! What are you gonna do, kill me for it?’
Ji Xiu had once read some fragmented records in an ancient cultivation biography at Master Duan’s residence.
It said:
"To become a Human Immortal, one must use the physical body as a raft and the Divine Soul as a guiding lamp. Only through the Dual Cultivation of Life and Spirit can one hope to cross the Sea of Bitterness and reach the Other Shore!"
"To cultivate spirit but not life means a ghostly soul will struggle for eons to find enlightenment."
"To cultivate life but not spirit is the gravest mistake in Cultivation!"
’With my Primordial Daoist Talisman...’
’Before, I didn’t have a choice.’
’But now,’
’I’m going to grind my way, step by step, to the very peak of Cultivation!’
"Oh, right, Brother."
"My so-called master once said that across the All States and prefectures of Great Xuan, there are quite a few branch lineages of the Ten Thousand Laws Sect, passed down through Incense and Candlelight. He said they will all come looking for me."
Oh?
Ji Xiu’s heart immediately tightened.
"Those people from the Outer Dao... are they all your seniors in the sect?"
"Will they try to take you away by force, and then intimidate me with a warning..."
Before he could finish, Ji Wei vigorously shook her little head.
"No."
"My Master said..."
"They’re all my disciples and grand-disciples. When they see me, they have to call me..."
Ji Wei seemed too embarrassed to say it. After much hesitation, she finally managed:
"...Ancestor, or Little Ancestral Master?"
Ji Xiu’s fingers froze.
’A teenage Ancestral Master?’
’She’s a "prodigy on credit," all right.’
’The Ji Family is really full of talent!’
(PS: This is a double-length Chapter!)