CHAPTER 724: CHAPTER 273: THE CULTIVATION OF MASTER AND DISCIPLE! PICKING UP A WILD DAOIST VENERABLE!

Zhu Huai’s wrinkled face twitched slightly, and he whispered, "Venerable, you personally set the rules. Even if you don’t care about rumors, if they reach the disciples’ ears, it might cause a negative impact."

"All disciples of Tianshu Pavilion, should prioritize the Grand Dao, maintain a tranquil heart, and avoid emotional entanglements."

After Ji Hongxiu ascended to the position of Sect Leader, she incorporated this phrase into the sect’s general principles.

Although there were no explicit penalties, and it wasn’t a strict prohibition, over the years, it has been revered by the disciples as a guiding principle and a red line not to be crossed in Tianshu Pavilion.

Yet now, with Ling Ningzhi, the Chief Disciple, taking the lead in breaking this rule, if this spreads, wouldn’t the guideline adhered to for decades become meaningless?

At that time, the entire sect’s atmosphere might be skewed!

"So what?" Ji Hongxiu said calmly, "What do you think should be done?"

Zhu Huai replied solemnly, "In my opinion, Qingxuan should be immediately summoned back to the sect for a thorough investigation! If it’s just a rumor, so be it. But if it is true, she should be confined to Siguoya to reflect and be released only after she has completely severed her thoughts."

"This is also for the sake of Qingxuan’s cultivation!"

"If she remains incorrigibly misguided, she should be stripped of her position as Chief Disciple to maintain the integrity of the sect!"

Ling Ningzhi, with her Innate Taoist Body, advances rapidly in her cultivation, being Tianshu Pavilion’s most outstanding disciple of her generation, but even so, she cannot compare to the heritage of the entire sect!

After all, geniuses are the least lacking in this world!

"Have you ever been in love?" Ji Hongxiu asked suddenly.

?

Zhu Huai was momentarily stunned, "In love?"

This word Ji Hongxiu had heard from Chen Mo, initially she thought nothing of it, but now it seemed quite apt.

’Love’ is the threads of emotions intertwining the heart, ’愛’ signifies actions and accord.

Perhaps, the essence of love is attachment?

"At your age, have you ever truly liked someone?" Ji Hongxiu squinted slightly, "Or rather, is there anyone in this world who loves you and is willing to die for you?"

"Of course not."

Zhu Huai shook his head, saying, "I devoted my heart to the Dao; how could I be swayed by personal emotions?"

Ji Hongxiu questioned, "If you haven’t experienced it, how can you say Qingxuan is wrong?"

Zhu Huai frowned deeply and said, "This is an indisputable fact. What is there to debate? Emotions and desires are like floating clouds obscuring the eyes, the mundane world seemingly a tribulation fire burning the body... This is what you said before. Without severing the emotional threads, how can one achieve the ultimate Dao result?"

"Is what I said necessarily right?"

Ji Hongxiu, with hands behind her back, gazed at the ethereal sea of clouds and said softly, "If severing emotions and extinguishing nature could witness the Grand Dao, then wouldn’t stones have long ascended to immortality?"

Zhu Huai was momentarily stunned.

For a while, not knowing how to counter.

"Not peeking out a window, observing the Heavenly Dao; the further out it goes, the less it knows."

"The closer I get to the origin of the Grand Dao, the more I realize how shallow my understanding of the ’Dao’ is."

Ji Hongxiu’s ethereal voice resonated in the air, "The so-called forget love is essentially fear of love, a fear of the unknown, and a lack of confidence, doubting one’s ability to transcend the mundane, hence willingly severing one’s humanity."

"Yet a Dao Heart that has not undergone tempering, though spotless, is as fragile as glass."

"How, then, can one truly grasp the Dao?"

In terms of cultivation, Zhu Huai was already among the top below the Ultimate Venerable, naturally understanding what Ji Hongxiu implied.

Is emotion not a shackle, but a tempering fire for the heart?

She frowned even more, falling into deep thought.

After a long while, she finally spoke, "Even if what Venerable says makes sense, we are indeed the orthodox Mystic Sect, if everyone indulges in amorous pursuits, this... what kind of order would this be?"

Ji Hongxiu remained silent for a moment, then drew out a scroll from the void.

The leather scroll slowly unfurled, covered in radiant golden seal script, seemingly alive, breathing with energy.

It was none other than the cultivation general principles of Tianshu Pavilion.

At the bottom, it read:

"All disciples of Tianshu Pavilion, should prioritize the Grand Dao, maintain a tranquil heart, and avoid emotional entanglements."

In a shocked gaze from Zhu Huai, Ji Hongxiu extended her jade-like finger, erasing the phrase "maintain a tranquil heart, and avoid emotional entanglements," replacing it with the eight characters "Many paths, see one’s true heart."

As the final stroke was completed, the words were deeply imprinted on the leather scroll.

Simultaneously, a magnificent radiance enveloped Ji Hongxiu, behind her appeared a faint peach tree illusion, blooming with peach blossoms on the left, and wrapped in ice and snow on the right.

The frost and snow on the branches on the right melted visibly, and the flower buds bloomed one after another, their white petals as pristine as snow, and the air filled with a refreshing fragrance.

Dong——

A melodious bell tolled from within the mountain gate, accompanied by a resonant crane cry, echoing through the sea of clouds.

Zhu Huai was stunned, her face full of disbelief.

"The profound bell tolls, white cranes pierce the clouds..."

"The Dao-seeking bell tolls, does this mean... Venerable, you’ve achieved enlightenment?!"

At Ji Hongxiu’s level, ordinary standards couldn’t evaluate her realm anymore.

She pursued the origin of the Grand Dao, each realization bringing her closer to the origin!

However, there was no hint of joy on Ji Hongxiu’s face, as she gazed at the blooming half-tree of white peach blossoms, her eyes full of complexity.

"Could it be that Venerable was right after all?"

"To witness the Grand Dao, one shouldn’t blindly sever emotions and nature?"

"I’ve been stuck at First Grade for decades, my cultivation making no progress; do I also need to... fall in love? This is just too absurd!"

Zhu Huai’s mind was in turmoil.

Suddenly, she thought of something and asked in confusion, "But then, why has Venerable’s perspective suddenly changed? And with such certainty, as if she had experienced it herself..."