The myth begins with the Lotus Lantern

Chapter 231 Change
Ding Lin rubbed his fingers, and unintentionally, the palm of his right hand touched the back of his left hand. He felt a slight warmth, and his fiery emotions cooled down a bit. He withdrew his gaze, sat down cross-legged, waited quietly for a while, banished the thoughts from his mind, and began to cultivate.

Although the eighth stage of the "Celestial Immortal Technique" has only just been achieved, with nine thousand years of cultivation as a foundation, the demonic energy only circulated in the meridians for a few weeks. After becoming completely familiar with it, the state was adjusted to its peak.

Next, one can begin preparations for the ninth stage of cultivation.

So smooth, it was truly as natural as breathing.

Ding Lin's confidence grew even stronger. A year of vigorous progress and one unstoppable breakthrough after another made him believe in himself more and more.

Since the ninth stage of the "Celestial Immortal Technique" is not comparable to the first eight stages, Ding Lin's brows furrowed with seriousness, and he decided to put in more effort.

……

"...In the beginning of the Great Clarity, there was harmony and tranquility, simplicity and purity, stillness and calmness, movement without cause, inner harmony with the Dao, outward harmony with righteousness, action manifesting in literature, and swiftness facilitating all things. Its words were concise yet principled, its actions spontaneous yet compliant, its heart joyful yet genuine, and its affairs simple yet unadorned... But in the decline of the world, mountains and rocks were carved, gold and jade were chiseled, clams and shells were extracted, and iron and steel were melted away, yet all things ceased to flourish..."

At dawn, Ding Lin opened his eyes early, comparing the manual with the meaning of the technique, while waiting for the delivery of the spring water.

After the five fairies left, he naturally had to do the work himself.

The books given by the Seven Fairy Maidens, though seemingly only enough for a few bookshelves, were fine in terms of paper and bamboo engravings, as their volume determined their content. However, the jade slips were different; each small piece contained countless insights, and there were no indexes or bookmarks. The Fifth Fairy Maiden had already spent time memorizing them beforehand, so she would automatically match them up and recite the relevant information whenever Ding Lin had questions. Now that the Fifth Fairy Maidens had left, the task of searching and examining them naturally fell to Ding Lin himself.

Ding Lin replaced the jade slips one by one, burying himself in the documents on his desk. He would often ponder a single word for a long time, feeling that the vastness of the subject was overwhelming and leaving him physically and mentally exhausted.

And so, three months passed in the blink of an eye.

In the past year, Ding Lin achieved the third stage of cultivation in just three months at his fastest. Now, let alone starting to practice cultivation, he has only completed half of the translation.

Ding Lin had thought of the Fifth Fairy more than once. He hadn't noticed it when the Fifth Fairy was around, but now he was showing signs of being overworked with his documents. However, they were just some trivial matters, and with a little more effort, he could always get them done.

I'm feeling a bit tired from deep thought.

Ding Lin looked up and turned his neck. In his field of vision, a spirit farmer dressed in gray was holding a pair of golden scissors and cutting a dead branch off a peach tree. The broken branch was lying among the green leaves. Normally, it would be impossible to notice if you weren't paying attention, but now that it had been cut off, it was so eye-catching.

The reason why this immortal peach can grow so lush and green is mostly due to its innate nature and extraordinary spiritual roots, but it also owes much to the care it has received since then.

Ding Lin watched for a while, then a breeze blew by, calming his feverish head. He raised his right hand and gently rubbed his brow with his thumb, soothing his tense nerves.

……

Another three months passed, making a total of six months including the previous period.

By comparing the few hundred words in the original text of "The Celestial Immortal Manual" with the vast amount of books, Ding Lin extracted and refined sentences, finally piecing together a magnificent masterpiece of tens of thousands of words that could be understood. This was all thanks to his advanced primordial spirit, which allowed him to think deeply and quickly, and to have his thoughts divided and multiply.

Although it was a bit tedious, it was finally completed.

Ding Lin exhaled, his deep emotion barely concealing his weariness. He gently rubbed his brow with his thumb, letting the words flow through his mind while relaxing. Once his spirits were soothed, he had memorized the long and voluminous work he had pieced together, and he could finally begin his practice.

Looking up, the moon was like a silver plate.

Under the moonlight, all things come to life.

Ding Lin closed his eyes, regulated his breathing, and began his cultivation. When the night ended, he opened his eyes, expressionlessly handed over the water from the pool, frowned, and compared it with the original text, making minor revisions to the beginning of the newly completed interpretation. Then he closed his eyes again.

And so, another three months passed, and the last rays of the setting sun began to fall.

After failing yet again, Ding Lin opened his eyes expressionlessly and began to revise his technique again. Compared to nine months ago, he remained silent, but his demeanor was completely different. His former high spirits had vanished, like a sharp sword that had been honed and used before being sheathed again. His impetuousness was hidden, replaced by a deep and reserved demeanor.

In the peach grove, Lingnong walks around with golden scissors. The peach trees don't have problems every day, but to maintain their lushness, they need constant care and maintenance.

Ding Lin recalled the scene when he was cultivating the eighth stage of the "Celestial Immortal Technique". At that time, the technique was becoming more and more profound. Neither he nor the Fifth Fairy had any experience, nor did they have any experts to guide them. It took him two whole months to compare and ponder before he finally got the technique right and cultivated to the eighth stage. It was normal for the ninth stage to be more difficult. However, with these three months, he had already revised half of it. With another three months, he should be able to finish revising it.

Six months should be enough time...

not enough.

Ding Lin thought for a moment and decisively cut off this unrealistic idea. Considering that there might be many other unforeseen details, and that the more he revised it, the slower it would be and the harder it would be to find the mistakes, he added a year to the three-month plan.

After thinking about it again, he silently extended the time to two years.

……

Two years later.

The sun shines brightly in the sky.

Ding Lin was meditating with his eyes closed when he suddenly opened them. His forehead was covered in sweat, which rolled down his forehead as he opened his eyes. One drop rolled into his eye, blurring his vision. The sun in front of him suddenly magnified, its halo creating a dreamlike and hazy effect.

It seems even hotter now.

Ding Lin raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, remaining silent. At his level of cultivation, he was already immune to heat and cold, so he shouldn't be sweating profusely. Although he didn't say it, he felt extremely anxious.

The major revisions to the manual went much more smoothly than expected, and the remaining half was completed in just four months. But what followed was agonizing.

I tried to cultivate myself, failed, and then made detailed modifications.

Try practicing again, fail again, and then make detailed modifications...

The interval was initially several days.

Then another half month passed.

One month.

The problems are becoming increasingly hidden and difficult to grasp.

The last revision was six months ago.

Ding Lin meticulously examined every word and sentence of the original text of "The Celestial Immortal's Manual," following his intuition as he searched through the vast sea of ​​words. Each time, he was filled with hope, only to be disappointed time and time again, ultimately finding nothing.

(End of this chapter)