Inside the Hall of Cold Soul.
After giving her instructions, True Monarch Shenying stood up and took his leave. Given his status, attending the master-tea ceremony had already shown utmost respect to his elder sister.
"Master, I have a question..."
"What is it? Let's hear it."
Jiang Runyue said, "In the world where this disciple previously resided, although cultivators were divided into righteous and demonic, their actions were largely similar—treating all things in the world and all living beings as fodder and resources for cultivation!"
"This disciple has always wondered, shouldn't we cultivators look upward to the mind of heaven and downward to pacify the common people? Why do some cultivators view the masses of the world as mere fat and livestock, to be killed or spared at will?"
True Monarch Ruiying was silent for a moment before smiling and saying, "The Dao Ancestor once said: 'Heaven and earth are ruthless, treating all things as straw dogs; the sage is ruthless, treating the people as straw dogs.'"
"Everyone has their own thoughts and opinions, which is why various different meanings emerge when we interpret these two sentences!"
"This is the origin of the distinction between righteousness and evil, good and bad."
Jiang Runyue asked, "If this disciple encounters a righteous cultivator who kills others to practice their arts, how should I deal with them?"
True Monarch Ruiying raised an eyebrow and laughed heartily, "My good disciple, you must remember: those who kill others will always be killed by others. Whether they are righteous cultivators or demonic fiends, simply execute them without mercy!"
Jiang Runyue nodded and asked again, "Master, can cultivators truly attain immortality?"
"Immortality?" True Monarch Ruiying muttered to herself, then sneered, "Aren't all the sins in this world born from these four words?"
"Qi Refining Realm cultivators believe that achieving the Primordial Spirit brings immortality, but even Primordial Spirit Realm cultivators only have a lifespan of a thousand years. If they fail to condense the three flowers of essence, energy, and spirit, they will ultimately face the day of aging and death!"
"This disciple has heard that there is a medicine of immortality, which grants eternal life upon consumption; and various life-extension secret arts that help cultivators evade death. I wonder if these are true or false?"
"Haha—"
True Monarch Ruiying laughed loudly, "Whether the medicine of immortality exists, this master truly does not know. Life-extension secret arts certainly exist, but they damage the harmony of heaven and violate one's original heart, which is why this master rejects them!"
"However, these matters do not concern you for now. What you must do now, Taizhen, is to cultivate diligently and strive to surpass your master's cultivation realm as soon as possible!"
Surpass the Earth Immortal Realm?
Jiang Runyue felt a yearning for this, though it was a pity she was still just a minor figure who had only recently formed her Primordial Spirit.
In the days that followed, Jiang Runyue diligently studied all kinds of knowledge, and True Monarch Ruiying imparted everything she knew without holding anything back.
The master and disciple spent their time in a warm and harmonious atmosphere.
Jiang Runyue soon discovered that after making up for her shortcomings, her strength had improved quite significantly, which excited her immensely.
True Monarch Ruiying, having acquired such an excellent disciple, felt deeply gratified seeing her steady progress.
"Not bad, not bad. Your talent really is exceptionally high, Taizhen, to have mastered these techniques so quickly."
"It is all thanks to Master's brilliant teaching!" Jiang Runyue said with a hint of modesty.
"Haha, there's no need to be so modest. Master has seen all your hard work and dedication during this period; it is the result of your own efforts."
True Monarch Ruiying grew increasingly satisfied with this calm, quiet, and reserved disciple.
As time passed, Jiang Runyue became adept and fluent in various spells and swordsmanship, and her state of mind also grew more mature and steady.
Naturally, the bond between master and disciple grew closer, filled with mutual trust and respect.
On this day.
Jiang Runyue remained in the Hall of Cold Soul to cultivate.
All the Dharma Treasures given by True Monarch Shenying, True Monarch Xuanming, and True Monarch Hongying during the master-tea ceremony two years ago had already been refined by her.
Among them, the two Dharma Treasures given by True Monarch Shenying were the Heavenly Luo Umbrella and the Dazzling Light Bracelet, both of which were top-tier defensive Dharma Treasures.
These two treasures provided Jiang Runyue with greater security in battle, allowing her to protect herself more effectively.
The Dharma Treasure given by True Monarch Xuanming was an offensive weapon named Jingshen Spear, which had been the divine weapon of the East Sea Dragon King ten thousand years ago. After being defeated and captured while fighting Ancestor Changxi, it had been kept in the Taiyin Secret Realm ever since.
It wasn't until two thousand years ago that this divine spear was found and brought out by True Monarch Xuanming.
As for the other jade pendant, it recorded how to unleash the full power of the Jingshen Spear, but after reading it, Jiang Runyue was left utterly speechless.
According to the records, for a human cultivator to unleash the true power of the Jingshen Spear, they needed to slaughter a dragon to refine the essence of its flesh, blood, and bones, and then consume it to forcefully alter their own bloodline.
In short, one had to transform themselves into a dragon-kind to unleash the power of the Jingshen Spear.
Setting aside whether dragons were truly so easy to slay, even if one managed to kill a dragon by fluke, it would provoke the wrath of the East Sea Dragon Palace, implicating the entire sect and potentially sparking a world-shaking war.
Besides, could simply consuming dragon blood alter one's bloodline?
Jiang Runyue deeply doubted this, and moreover, she had no desire to turn into a half-human, half-monster freak.
"Why on earth did that old bastard True Monarch Xuanming give me such messy junk?"
After grumbling to herself, she summoned the two sword pellets gifted by True Monarch Hongying, which transformed into two brilliant streaks of light in mid-air, changing shapes at her will.
Sword pellets were uncommon in the cultivation world; even among the sword cultivators of Heavenly Sword Mountain, fewer than a hundred possessed them.
This was because cultivating sword pellets was exceptionally difficult—far harder than refining immortal swords.
Once successfully cultivated, a sword pellet was neither worn at the waist nor stored in the Dantian, but was instead kept within the alveoli of the lungs.
As is well known, among the five viscera of the human body, the heart belongs to fire, the liver to wood, the kidneys to water, the spleen to earth, and the lungs to metal.
Sword cultivators needed to use the metal qi of their own lungs to temper the sword pellet day and night continuously before they could unleash advanced swordsmanship such as Sword Qi Thunder Sound, Sword Light Division, and Refining Swords into Silk.
Although cultivators of the Taiyin Sect primarily practiced the power of Taiyin, there were no strict rules prohibiting the study of the Five Elements, Yin and Yang, True and Illusory, or Life and Death. Therefore, sword cultivators like True Monarch Hongying were quite numerous among the three branches.
It was from her new master that Jiang Runyue learned about the cultivation methods of sword cultivators.
In the Tianyun Realm, sword cultivators were generally divided into two factions: the Sword Qi Faction and the Sword Vessel Faction.
Although the two factions differed by only a single word, their core philosophies were completely distinct.
True Monarch Hongying belonged to the Sword Qi Faction, or rather, apart from Heavenly Sword Mountain, the vast majority of sword cultivators in the world belonged to the Sword Qi Faction.
Only those reckless fellows at Heavenly Sword Mountain neither cultivated the Golden Core nor the Primordial Spirit; their entire cultivation was staked on flying swords cultivated in harmony with their lives, leaving nothing behind except the sword.
Sword Qi Faction members like True Monarch Hongying, while outwardly displaying surging sword qi and unyielding determination, still failed to transcend the boundaries of the Golden Core, the Primordial Spirit, and the three flowers of essence, energy, and spirit.
Naturally, whether it was the Sword Vessel Faction or the Sword Qi Faction, both were merely different paths explored by sword cultivators, and relations between the two factions were quite harmonious.
"With someone like me who is skilled in both swordsmanship and spear techniques, there probably aren't even a handful of cultivators like this in the entire Tianyun Realm, right?"
Jiang Runyue gripped the Jingshen Spear with both hands, circulating the violent thunder True Essence within her body, continuously guiding it through the long spear to slowly temper this divine weapon.
The divine spear once wielded by the former East Sea Dragon King possessed a might that completely surpassed Jiang Runyue's imagination. The Volcanic Cauldron, which had been completely corroded by the power of nothingness, was utterly crushed in every aspect by this divine spear, with the two being in completely different leagues.
She had once asked her master, True Monarch Ruiying, how the grades of various Dharma Treasures and divine weapons in the cultivation world were classified, but the answer she received was extremely concise.
They followed the same realms as cultivators.
Such an answer surprised Jiang Runyue, who had expected there to be distinct classifications like magical instruments, spiritual treasures, and immortal artifacts, just as she had imagined.
Her other Dharma Treasures were all easy to refine, but this Jingshen Spear was uniquely difficult. It accepted all kinds of True Essence without rejection, yet it was exceedingly hard to leave even the faintest trace of cultivation upon it.
Had Jiang Runyue not practiced the General Canon of the Divine Firmament Demon-Refining Thunder Mansion and signed a symbiotic pact with the Zhulong beast, possessing both dragon race aura and thunder power simultaneously, she would never have won the recognition of the spear's spirituality and been able to slowly carve her brand through sheer perseverance.