The myth begins with the Lotus Lantern

Chapter 278 Progress
Tianpeng's visits returned to their previous frequency, only occurring on the fifteenth of each month. He did not summon Ding Lin for a long time.

As a result, rumors began to circulate among the troops that Ding Lin had offended Tianpeng and fallen out of favor.

Upon hearing this news, Yin Huan was overjoyed.

Under the candlelight, Wang Yu handled official business without looking up, as if it were all expected. He had risen from humble beginnings and understood better than anyone that the favors of those in power were only temporary, and that only one's own strength was truly powerful.

But none of this really mattered to Ding Lin. He continued his cultivation as usual, and since the Tianpeng Temple was located outside the military camp, rumors and gossip had no effect on him.

Ding Lin knew that the previous flower-patterned letters had offended Chang'e. Although he later offered a solution, and Tianpeng said he wouldn't blame him, not blaming him didn't mean he had no grudges.

Tianpeng merely treated him coldly, without taking his anger out on him, which already shows his magnanimity.

……

In a flash, another half a year has passed.

at night.

"It is also called 'Teng,' which means 'a fine horse'..."

"Put the yoke on the horse..."

Ding Lin closed the window, sat cross-legged on the futon, and let the words flow in his mind as he quietly pondered them.

These two characters are usually used for the ground; do they have another meaning when used here?
A sudden sensation spread through his mind, and Ding Lin opened his eyes. Tian Peng's movements were not concealed and were easily detected.

Today is not the fifteenth, but Tianpeng has arrived. Such a situation is extremely rare nowadays.

Ding Lin's eyes flickered. He didn't want to interrupt his cultivation, but under these circumstances, he had no choice but to get up. Spiritual light rose from the soles of his feet, and the golden armor appeared inch by inch, which he then donned.

Now that Tianpeng has arrived, regardless of whether he is summoned or not, he can no longer hide in the house. He must patrol, patrol, and inspect as necessary. This is an attitude.

Suddenly, Ding Lin's eyes flickered again, but this time, Tian Peng's escape light did not rush past as before, but lingered for a moment above his duty room.

A brief summons reached my ears.

Ding Lin was silent for a moment, then put on his armor and walked towards the small courtyard. He paused when he stepped over the threshold. It had been a long time since he had been here. In his sight, Tianpeng was still standing with his head down in the moonlight. The scene was somewhat familiar, as if he had returned to half a year ago. However, a large section of grass and trees had sprung up in the courtyard, making it unfamiliar. In the end, it was no longer the same as before.

"Marshal!" Ding Lin saluted and then stood three zhang away from Tianpeng, waiting for what he would say next. He knew that Tianpeng would not summon him for no reason, and it was very likely that it was still related to Chang'e.

But, Chang'e...

Some doubts arose in his mind. The method he mentioned last time was not surprising, but the opportunity to get in was rare. Could it be that Tianpeng was so lucky that he found an opportunity in just half a year?
“Jin Lin,” Tianpeng walked to the stone table and sat down, his face showing some joy. He waved his hand and took out a wine cup. “I’m happy today, come and have a few drinks with me. I haven’t taught you the Dharma for half a year. If you have any doubts, you can ask me!”

It really is true.

Ding Lin sighed inwardly.

He thought about Tianpeng's fate; such good fortune might not be a good thing for Tianpeng!

"Marshal, last time you talked about the repulsion between like elements in the profound mysteries, only briefly mentioning it in terms of the laws. I wonder if you could explain it to me in more depth this time?" Ding Lin asked.

Tianpeng looked Ding Lin up and down.

"You've already inquired about the laws so quickly," Tianpeng said, looking at Ding Lin with some surprise. "It seems you've already made some progress. It looks like your potential is even greater than I expected. Which of the eighteen transformations of which element did you master first?"

It seemed like just a casual question.

Although Ding Lin had anticipated this, he still felt a sudden tightness in his heart upon hearing it. He hesitated for a moment before revealing the law within his physical body that he himself did not fully understand.

"As expected, it's water-based. You only need to accumulate enough magical power to become a Golden Immortal. With the water element established, the other fifty-four transformations are just a matter of time," Tianpeng nodded and smiled, as if he saw his former self in Ding Lin. "Last time I went that far, although I didn't mention the laws, I think you were able to deduce them. Asking again now is simply to verify, which means you're not content to stop at the four laws in the future." A look of melancholy suddenly flashed across Tianpeng's face. "Well, it's not a secret. I'll tell you more."

Ding Lin noticed that after Tian Peng sensed the fluctuations of the laws he was displaying, his expression became more serious, and his attitude also changed subtly.

"Compared to the profound, the laws are already at a higher level. Once you comprehend a law, you become preoccupied with it, and other laws of the same attribute will be subconsciously downplayed and ignored, making comprehension increasingly difficult."

“Let me use the ‘Thirty-Six Transformations of the Heavenly Gang’ as an example to help you understand better. The thirty-six transformations encompass three thousand laws, and each transformation contains more than one law. How much one can comprehend from the transformations during cultivation depends entirely on the individual—at least one, several, dozens, or even hundreds! But no matter how many laws are comprehended, the law comprehended after the first time will form the image of that transformation in your mind, covering up the other laws contained within the transformation. I think you can understand what I'm saying,” Tianpeng said.

"It means that if you want to achieve a higher level of mastery in the Thirty-Six Transformations of the Heavenly Gang, you should try to comprehend as many of the laws governing a transformation as possible at once when you have mastered a general transformation. Otherwise, the difficulty of comprehending it a second time will increase dramatically," Ding Lin said. This was consistent with his previous analysis.

“That’s right,” Tianpeng nodded. “But if you’re not practicing the Seventy-Two Transformations of Earthly Fiends, but the Thirty-Six Transformations of Heavenly Dipper, then I would tell you that you only need to learn one law from one transformation.”

"Why?" Ding Lin asked, puzzled.

"You have mastered eighteen of the seventy-two transformations of the Earthly Fiends. How difficult do you think it is to comprehend the profound mysteries?" Tianpeng asked.

"It's acceptable," Ding Lin replied ambiguously.

"It is not easy to be able to do it. If it is difficult to understand the profound mysteries and laws, how much more difficult to directly comprehend the laws? The Thirty-Six Transformations of the Heavenly Gang directly describes the laws. If you can't learn it, you can't learn it. If you can learn it, you can master it in one fell swoop. You can imagine how difficult it is."

“Even if one only comprehends one law from a single transformation, it's enough to exhaust an ordinary person's mind. To simultaneously cultivate multiple laws…” Tianpeng gently shook his head. “In this world, how can one be perfect in every way? It's better to have a bird in the hand than a thousand birds in the forest. Sometimes, one must know how to make choices…”

Tianpeng spoke as if he were addressing Ding Lin, but also as if he were speaking to himself.

However, even so, who can truly accept this?

After all, before reaching a dead end, everyone thinks they are the only one.

Tianpeng recalled that when he was cultivating, he had accumulated enough magical power and comprehended enough, but he kept delaying his breakthrough, wanting to comprehend multiple laws in one change.

As a result, before the end of his lifespan in the first cycle, he had no choice but to face reality and use a law to cultivate the ability to divide rivers into land and advance to the Golden Immortal realm.

Even with lofty ambitions, human abilities are limited...

Senior Brother... Unexpectedly, Tianpeng thought of his senior brother, whose Daoist name was Xuandu. For countless years, and for countless geniuses, he could only be remembered by the Master and was the only one who became a direct disciple.

"Senior Brother, how many Yuanhui (a unit of time) would it take me to cultivate to your level?"

Tianpeng recalled the question he had asked his senior brother when he chose the Thirty-Six Transformations of the Heavenly Gang.

At that time, having mastered the "Great Celestial Immortal Technique," he was full of pride and considered himself a genius.

The eldest brother looked at him strangely and remained silent for a while.

"Eldest brother?"

"You are ordinary. If you do not cultivate this supernatural power, you will see me as if I were the moon in a well. But if you cultivate this supernatural power, you will see me as if I were a floating speck gazing at the sky..." This is not mockery, nor does it contain any boasting. This is a description of the truth.

In the eyes of the eldest brother, the aptitude to achieve the "Great Celestial Immortal Technique" was just ordinary, because he was... for countless eons and countless geniuses, he could only be recorded in name, and he was the only one who could be personally taught by the Supreme Sage, the Grand Master Xuandu!

“The process of learning the laws through change is far simpler than creating them directly from nothing. Earth, water, wind, and fire have four attributes. Once you master one law, you will also master the others of the same attribute. Therefore, although there are nine levels of Golden Immortals, 99% of cultivators will stop at the fourth level.”

"The Dao Ancestor passed down two transformations in conjunction with the Great Celestial Immortal Technique. The Earthly Fiend Transformation is quick to master, but once the Seventy-Two Transformations are completed, subsequent cultivation will return to normalcy. The Heavenly Dipper Transformation is vast, but it requires even greater talent. Many people choose to cultivate it, but they cannot even comprehend a single law. They can only end up turning to ashes after exhausting one Yuan Hui of lifespan. Isn't this yet another kind of choice?"

Tianpeng stood up and patted Ding Lin: "Now that you have achieved success in the Earthly Fiend realm, you are already a shoo-in for the Golden Immortal realm. You only need to accumulate enough magical power to achieve it. In the future, you are even expected to cultivate to the fourth level, which will surpass countless other beings in this world."

"The path of cultivation is boundless. Reaching the fourth level of the Golden Immortal realm is already quite far. I am telling you this now, so please remember it. If you ever reach a point where your cultivation stagnates in the future, you can think about it and perhaps you will be more open-minded and less resentful."

"After all, human strength has its limits..."

Tianpeng sighed and stopped there, saying no more.

The atmosphere seemed somewhat oppressive.

There was silence for a while.

"This humble general has learned much," Ding Lin said. He memorized the long string of words and then steered the conversation in a direction that Tianpeng was interested in. Having gained benefits from Tianpeng, he naturally wanted to ensure Tianpeng's satisfaction. "Marshal, I was wondering about your trip this time..."

“It’s the Jade Rabbit,” Tianpeng said, his solemn expression vanishing as he spoke of Chang’e. A gentle smile appeared on his lips. “It’s quite a coincidence. The little rabbit was playful and, taking advantage of Chang’e’s absence from the Guanghan Palace, secretly ran away. She’s usually carried by the fairy and doesn’t even know the way. In her confusion, she sneaked into the Imperial Garden and was caught red-handed by the guards. I happened to be passing by, and one of the guards was a former member of my navy. Fortunately, no flowers or plants in the Imperial Garden were damaged, so he gave me face and let the little rabbit go.”

"Just now I went to the Moon Palace and returned the Jade Rabbit to the Fairy Chang'e. This is the first time she has been so polite to me."

"Congratulations, Marshal, the clouds have parted and the sun has risen again," Ding Lin said.

"Next, as long as I get along well with the Jade Rabbit and have her speak well of me to the fairy, after some time, I should be able to change my previous image in the fairy's eyes."

As Tianpeng spoke, his joy was hard to hide, and his eyes shone as the moonlight fell.

……

Since that night, Tianpeng has been coming more frequently, and every time he returns to the temple, he summons Ding Lin.

And so the news began to spread again.

Silver Ring's face was gloomy.

Inside the large tent, Wang Yu finally raised his head from his desk.

"Troublesome." Wang Yu frowned.

……

"Everyone says that the Moon Goddess is closest to the Jade Rabbit, but I don't think that's true. Three months have passed, and when the Moon Goddess saw me yesterday, she turned back to being as cold as before," Tianpeng complained.

Ding Lin listened without saying a word. He knew that Tianpeng was just complaining a few times, and things would be the same again afterward. After all, this was a straw that had been hard to find, and he couldn't bear to throw it away.

……

"It's been half a year, and the little rabbit has gotten quite chubby. Yesterday, she finally relented and agreed to put in a good word for me with the Moon Goddess Chang'e. I was wondering why she hadn't changed before; turns out she hadn't said anything at all," Tianpeng complained.

……

“It’s been a year. How much good food has this rabbit eaten of mine this year?” Tianpeng’s cheeks twitched as he spoke of the good food, a clear pang of regret on his face. “Jinlin, do you think this rabbit just eats and does nothing, or is it because the Moon Goddess Chang’e had a deep-seated prejudice against me? I met her on the road yesterday, and she was still as cold and indifferent as ever.” Tianpeng was somewhat agitated.

……

“Three years have passed, and so much has happened… But thankfully, we’ve seen some results. The rabbit seems to be speaking up for me. A few days ago, I ran into Chang’e on the road and greeted her. Although she still didn’t say anything, she at least nodded at me,” Tianpeng said, a smile appearing on his face.

But gradually the smile faded a bit, and Tianpeng suddenly sighed softly.

“Jinlin, it’s been three years, and Chang’e still hasn’t spoken to me. I feel a little tired, like I can see hope, but it also feels like there is no hope at all,” Tianpeng suddenly said.

"Love and affection in this world are but minor matters. Marshal, you have a bright future ahead of you. If you are willing to withdraw now, it is not too late." Ding Lin noticed that Tianpeng's conviction seemed to waver, and thinking that he was considering backing down, his eyes flickered as he advised him.

"You think I'm going to back down?" Tianpeng glanced at Ding Lin. "I'm just thinking that I've already done so much, and if in the end I still can't get what I want..."

How do you answer this question?

"Marshal, there is plenty of time ahead. Perseverance can move mountains, and sincerity can achieve anything..." Ding Lin immediately sensed the dangerous bias in Tianpeng's thoughts, but he could not point it out. He was just Tianpeng's subordinate. He opened his mouth, but could only use the same old excuse and stall for time.

But the same words, which are encouraging when Tianpeng is willing to listen, appear pale at this point.

“I know, even metal and stone can be moved!” Tianpeng interrupted.

(End of this chapter)