This is the true immortal of the Taoist sect.

Lingxi shook her head, feeling a little dizzy.

Li Daoxuan laughed heartily and said:

"What? You don't understand?"

Lingxi chuckled:

"Hehe... I didn't understand the rest, but I understood one thing: it was right for Master not to save them."

Li Daoxuan was taken aback upon hearing this, and gave a thumbs up, saying:

"Wow, as expected of Dao Xuan Tianzun's disciple, he's even learned to sift through the dross..."

Lingxi blinked her big eyes, her face full of innocence, and said:

"Master, what does 'removing the dross and retaining the essence' mean?"

Li Daoxuan laughed heartily and said:

"I'm praising you..."

Lingxi immediately beamed with joy, feeling incredibly satisfied.

"Lingxi, remember, many things in this world cannot be judged by appearances alone."

Even when it comes to saving lives out of kindness, one should think it over carefully and make sure it's all clear before taking action.

"Hypocrisy is a great evil, understand?"

Lingxi nodded as if she understood, and said in a childish voice:

"Understood, Master. Lingxi will definitely think more carefully before taking action in the future..."

Li Daoxuan smiled and nodded, saying softly:

"Alright, go now and enter a meditative state."

"Um..."

Lingxi jumped off Li Daoxuan's lap and obediently sat on her own futon, facing upwards, calming her mind and spirit.

He entered a meditative state in no time.

Seeing this, Li Daoxuan sighed, turned around and looked at the distance behind him, a hint of helplessness in his eyes.

Just as he taught Lingxi, everything in the world is like a circle; going around and around, it will eventually return to the starting point.

He can save them temporarily, but not forever. This drought is an inevitable point in the cycle for those villagers. If his intervention disrupts this balance, even greater calamities will surely follow after he leaves.

"Sigh, I hope more people can survive..."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

As the night passed and dawn broke in the east, the master and apprentice continued their journey.

Lingxi didn't ask what would happen to the villagers, and Li Daoxuan stopped thinking about it.

Before transcending the Five Elements and the Three Realms, even he had to follow the Mandate of Heaven.

This is in accordance with the way of Heaven.

Some online novels often portray cultivation as an act against the heavens, but this is not actually the case.

The Taoist saying "following the natural order makes one a human, while going against it makes one an immortal" does not refer to following or going against the natural order.

Rather, it refers to one's own greed, anger, ignorance, lust, and other distracting thoughts.

To follow one's desires and distractions is to be an ordinary person; to reverse and control one's desires is to be an enlightened immortal.

This point is clearly pointed out in the "Taiyi Jinhua Zongzhi" compiled by Chunyang Zhenren.

The relationship between the primordial spirit and the conscious spirit is the same as the relationship between immortals and mortals.

Li Daoxuan is still on the path of seeking immortality and enlightenment, so he cannot disobey.

The truly transcendent Taiyi Golden Immortals, however, may see things from a much longer and more grander perspective, almost reaching the level of the Heavenly Dao. They regard all living beings in the world as mere straw dogs, treating them all equally, and would not interfere arbitrarily.

After that, Li Daoxuan led Lingxi in a chosen direction and headed north. When they got tired, they would stop to rest, and when they were in the mood, they would even find a place to stay for a while.

Before they knew it, another six months had passed, and they had left the territory ruled by the Qingyun Sword Sect.

Passing through a town called Tongcheng, they learned after some inquiries that the place they were in was under the jurisdiction of a sect called the Vajra Sect.

Li Daoxuan of the Vajra Sect knew that he had seen records about the Qingyun Sword Sect in its sword pavilion.

The Vajra Sect is known for its indestructible physique and follows a pure body-refining path.

The records of the Qingyun Sword Sect show great disdain for the Vajra Sect. The entire sect has only one so-called patriarch who has reached the eighth level of the Heavenly Realm, which is incomparable to a holy sect like the Qingyun Sword Sect.

Therefore, the territory occupied by the Vajra Gate was not large, only about a thousand miles.

However, although the Vajra Sect is nothing special, the other sect it relies on has a very impressive background.

Because behind the Vajra Gate stands one of the three great holy sects that can rival the Azure Cloud Sword Sect—the Beast Taming Sect.

As the name suggests, the Beast Taming Sect's specialty is beast taming.

On the vast and boundless continent of the Xuanhuang Great World, humans are merely one of many races of beings.

Besides humans, countless other races also exist.

Spirits like Lingxi, and many other naturally born strange species.

Some of these races are born powerful, while others, like humans, grow gradually.

Legend has it that in the extremely distant ancient times, these alien races were the protagonists of the Xuanhuang Great World. However, due to the rise of humankind, these races were gradually suppressed and replaced as the rulers of the Xuanhuang Great World.

The reason why humanity has been able to achieve such success is that only humanity can overcome all obstacles and become the invincible emperor of the world.

Li Daoxuan was traveling with Lingxi through Tongcheng when Lingxi, who was experiencing some insights into her cultivation and was advised against long journeys.

So the master and disciple decided to settle down in Tongcheng and cultivate in seclusion for a period of time.

After entering the city, we found an inn to stay in for the time being.

That same day, Li Daoxuan found a secluded and quiet courtyard in the city and rented it as a temporary place to stay.

The reason for choosing such a town as a place for quiet meditation was naturally for Lingxi's sake.

He was a spirit born from the essence of heaven and earth, but for years he had been controlled by others and had no freedom. Now, he has been enlightened by Li Daoxuan, his spirit has been awakened and he has transformed into a human. If he wants to start the path of cultivation, he must temper his character in this mortal world.

That's why Li Daoxuan chose this small town as his place of residence and cultivation.

After moving into the courtyard, Li Daoxuan set up a fortune-telling stall at the entrance of the alley outside the courtyard, with a cloth banner hanging behind him that read "Fortune Telling by Characters".

Lingxi sat on the chair next to him, swinging her short legs, holding a candied hawthorn in her hand, her big eyes watching the passersby with a carefree expression.

When passing fortune teller stalls on the sidewalk, I always find myself unconsciously drawn to Lingxi.

It's just that this child is too cute. How could an ordinary family give birth to such a clever and beautiful child? Even in those blessed lands of immortals, there might not be a child as otherworldly as Lingxi.

During the three days of setting up her stall, many people passed by, and quite a few stopped to greet Xiao Lingxi with smiles and make her laugh, but not a single person sat down to have their fortune told or have their character analyzed.

Looking at the empty money box, Xiao Lingxi frowned and said:

"Master...it's been three days, and we haven't earned a single penny. If we don't earn any more money, we'll starve..."

Li Daoxuan smiled and pinched his little nose, saying:

"Then why don't you eat more candied hawthorns? You're going to eat up all of Master's savings..."

Lingxi grinned, took a bite of a candied hawthorn, and mumbled:

"I'll stop eating after I finish this skewer..."

Li Daoxuan shook his head helplessly and smiled:

"You said the same thing yesterday..."

Lingxi stuck out her tongue and kept laughing.

As they were talking, Li Daoxuan glanced at the street and chuckled softly:

"Little one, looks like I can buy you candied hawthorns again tomorrow..."