At this point, the peak masters and elders finally understood: Guliang Yuan had done all this on purpose!
Yet things had already reached this stage; what else could they do?
Feeling helpless, they had no choice but to open their purses. All dozen or so people on the scene each offered a magic treasure or spiritual artifact.
Among these magical items, Black-Tier artifacts were the most common, with Earth-Tier artifacts appearing on occasion.
To say nothing of a mere junior, such magical items constituted a substantial fortune even for an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator.
While Guliang Yuan muttered, "Oh, I really shouldn't," his hands kept moving as he turned nothing down.
After taking all the magical artifacts into his possession, Guliang Yuan waved his hand to dismiss them:
"All right, you may go back."
"I'll inform the Hall of Rites later. The apprenticeship ceremony will be held at Forgetful Peak the day after tomorrow. Don't go wasting your wealth like this then—just casually bestow a few magical artifacts."
"Huh?"
As soon as Guliang Yuan said this, the gazes of all the elders snapped toward him.
What was the meaning of this?
He wanted to fleece them again the day after tomorrow?
Guliang Yuan met the elders' stares with an unruffled expression:
"Why are you all looking at me like that?"
"My dear fellow apprentice-nephews, surely you wouldn't want the disciples of the Holy Land to think you stingy at the apprenticeship ceremony the day after tomorrow."
Guliang Yuan knew that these old fellows were every bit as rich as Croesus; these few items meant nothing to them at all. He had no intention of easily letting go of this opportunity to fleece them.
Everyone present also understood what Guliang Yuan was implying. Today, they had bestowed treasures only because Guliang Yuan had witnessed it.
Yet if Guliang Yuan claimed at the apprenticeship ceremony the day after tomorrow that no such thing had happened, they could only stare in frustration.
Although these items were of little consequence to them, being repeatedly plotted against by Guliang Yuan left a rather foul taste in their mouths.
With dark expressions on their faces, they took their leave one by one.
After watching them depart, Guliang Yuan returned to the Forgetful Hall and found that Qianqu was still kneeling there, holding the Forgetful Scripture and reading it.
Guliang Yuan flicked his hand, and a gentle wave of spiritual Qi lifted her up:
"Silly girl, I didn't tell you to keep kneeling the whole time."
"When you saw I was gone for so long, you didn't even know to stand up and stretch your legs."
Qianqu did not speak. But upon hearing the words "silly girl," a familiar flutter stirred in her heart once more. Lowering her head, the corners of her mouth lifted slightly.
Guliang Yuan communicated with the system in his mind:
"Hehehe, little system, if I bestow the Taishang Forgetful Scripture upon Qianqu again, will it trigger another rebate?"
The system spat out a cold, mechanical voice: "Ding. Items rebated by the system will not trigger a critical hit when used for teaching a disciple a second time."
Little host, you're trying to exploit bugs in me again!
Guliang Yuan clicked his tongue in regret. What a pity.
He gazed at Qianqu, who kept her head down, every gesture exuding caution.
Guliang Yuan felt it necessary to correct Qianqu's self-deprecating mindset.
You are destined to become a female emperor in the future, hey!
Thinking of the apprenticeship ceremony the day after tomorrow, he made up his mind...
At that very moment, Qianqu below asked timidly:
"M-Master, what does it mean when the Forgetful Scripture says, 'To practice this scripture, one must first forget love'?"
Guliang Yuan answered casually: "It means forgetting the one you hold most dear in your heart."
Hearing these words from Guliang Yuan, Qianqu suddenly raised her head to look at him, her eyes revealing a trace of despair:
"Must I forget?"
"Of course not."
"Huh?"
Before Qianqu could even begin to express the sorrow in her heart, that casual "of course not" from Guliang Yuan abruptly choked it right back down.
Guliang Yuan waved his hand indifferently:
"The cultivation of the Forgetful Scripture is different from other cultivation methods. Ordinary techniques merely enhance one's cultivation level, whereas the Forgetful Scripture benefits both cultivation and spiritual sense."
"Furthermore, as you comprehend the two characters of 'forgetful love,' the speed at which the Forgetful Scripture operates will also increase."
"There are three methods of cultivating the Forgetful Dao: first, severing emotion to enter the Dao; second, countering emotion with emotion; and third, stopping emotion through slaughter."
After Guliang Yuan explained the pros and cons of these three methods to Qianqu, he spoke once more:
"The Forgetful Dao goes through three stages. The first is controlling emotion, which requires keeping one's feelings under control. Those three methods are nothing more than ways to control emotion."
"The second is questioning emotion, constantly questioning one's own heart until it is completely transparent and clear."
"The third is entering emotion, returning to one's true, unadorned self, no longer suppressing one's feelings—experiencing joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, laughing and scolding as one pleases, utterly true to oneself and full of genuine feeling!"
"With every additional layer you comprehend, the cultivation speed of the Forgetful Scripture will increase accordingly. Once you reach the realm of entering emotion, the cultivation speed of the Forgetful Scripture will be no weaker than any technique in this world."
"The Forgetful Dao is, in fact, the Dao of Emotion!"
"Otherwise, if one forgot all seven emotions and six desires by the end of cultivation, one would no longer be human."
"The Forgetful Scripture is merely the foundational volume. Once you enter the Qi Condensation Late Stage, I will pass on the Taishang Forgetful Scripture to you."
These principles were things Guliang Yuan himself had only understood after obtaining the Taishang Forgetful Scripture.
The deeper his understanding grew, the more admiration he felt for the creator of this cultivation method.
Hearing Guliang Yuan finish his explanation, Qianqu felt a weight lift from her heart.
She could choose to stop emotion with emotion; she didn't have to forget her master after all. How wonderful.
Suddenly, thinking of something, she blinked her eyes:
"Master, which realm have you reached in your cultivation?"
Guliang Yuan smiled faintly: "Naturally, I have comprehended it entirely."
Pardon me, but I'm cheating!
Admiration flashed in Qianqu's eyes. Master is simply amazing.
Guliang Yuan thoroughly enjoyed Qianqu's gaze:
"Go back and rest early. Gather your energy tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, at the apprenticeship ceremony, right before the entire Holy Land, I will help you awaken your spiritual roots!"
"Ah?"
Qianqu instantly panicked: "Master, I can't do it..."
Before Qianqu could finish, Guliang Yuan raised a hand to stop her:
"Leave everything to me; there is no need to worry. Go on down."
"Yes, thank you, Master."
Watching Qianqu's retreating figure, Guliang Yuan's eyes flickered.
What he wanted was to make Qianqu the center of attention at this apprenticeship ceremony.
Only by doing so could he help her completely recover her self-confidence!
The next day, Guliang Yuan chose to remain inside his cultivation chamber to stabilize the cultivation realm he had just broken through.
What he did not know was that the entire Taishang Holy Land, along with a small portion of Dongzhou, had already been set ablaze because of him!
"Shocking! The heritage of the Taishang Forgetful Dao has appeared once more, and the current peak master has achieved enlightenment overnight, instantly attaining the Nascent Soul realm!"
"Extra! Turns out the bootlicker he used to be was just practicing a technique all along!"
"Good heavens! A Nascent Soul cultivator at twenty-five—he might shatter Dongzhou's record for the youngest Nascent Soul!"
Within the Seven Peaks of Taishang, many inner and outer sect disciples gathered in groups of three or five, discussing something animatedly:
"Jiang Yingying, have you heard? Our little grand-uncle-master actually achieved the Nascent Soul realm right on the spot last night!"
"I did hear about it, but isn't that rumor way too absurd?"
"Yeah, just a few days ago I saw the grand-uncle-master was only at Foundation Establishment. How could he possibly be at Nascent Soul now?"
"Besides, he used to be a total bootlicker. For that Meng Yao, he hadn't stepped foot in a cultivation chamber for three whole years."
"Tsk, that's where you don't know the truth. The reason the grand-uncle-master was so infatuated with that Meng Yao was actually to attain enlightenment."
"Enlightenment?"
"Right, the Taishang Forgetful Dao!"
"Playing the bootlicker for three years while enduring the mockery of the world—then severing emotion in a single day, stepping into the Forgetful Dao, and instantly attaining the Nascent Soul realm!"
"Did you hear that bolt of tribulation lightning last night? That came from the direction of Forgetful Peak."
"That's right, even now there are trees on Forgetful Peak knocked down by the tribulation lightning that still haven't been cleared away."
...