Chapter 14: A Female Worshipper

Chapter 14: Chapter 14: A Female Worshipper

Somewhere on Dao Yi Mountain.

In the distance, a waterfall plunged, its thundering crash like a silver gourd shattering on the ground.

Nearby, fragrant herbs, orchids, cypresses, and bamboo swayed amidst the soughing of pines, filling the air with a fresh, natural aura.

About half a month had passed since he had witnessed the Great Innate Level battle at the bottom of the well on the back mountain.

Huu~

Chen Sha’s physical body sat cross-legged in the crisp mountain air.

He was now the Sect Leader, a position that should have come with many responsibilities for managing the Sect.

However, he spent all day and night simply cultivating and practicing his Martial Arts, entrusting all matters, large and small, to his First Senior Brother, Song Yu. It was less a delegation of authority and more that he couldn’t be bothered with worldly affairs.

As for Song Yu, this First Senior Brother had long been managing such affairs on the mountain, so he wasn’t particularly dissatisfied.

The main reason was this:

The Dao Yi Sect had only been the number one Major Sect in the world because of the existence of their late master.

Therefore, in this world, no matter how vast a Sect’s influence, it was all superficial if the Sect couldn’t produce a pillar to support the heavens from within its own ranks.

Achieving a high level of Martial Arts was the most important thing.

So when the Elders on the mountain saw Chen Sha practicing his Martial Arts day and night, they, along with Song Yu, were not dissatisfied by his neglect of worldly duties. On the contrary, they were quite delighted.

From the Elders’ perspective, their power and positions within the mountain’s temples and ancestral halls remained unaffected by the new Sect Leader’s ascension. How could this not be a fortunate turn of events?

Dao Yi Mountain was a great peak. The Dao Yi Sect, located at the highest point, was the most revered institution on and around it. But the mountain was also dotted with dozens, even hundreds, of Daoist Temples and palaces of all sizes. There was a temple every few hundred feet, a hall every hundred steps up the mountain.

These palaces and temples primarily served to receive devotees from the foot of the mountain and earn incense offerings.

After all, even if Dao Yi Mountain housed the world’s number one Major Sect, its inhabitants were not Immortals who could live on air alone. They had daily expenses for food and clothing and could not completely sever their ties to the mortal world.

Other sects in the Righteous Path Martial Arts world had even more ways of making a living than Dao Yi Mountain.

In the power struggles typical of a regular Sect, the first order of business for a new sect leader would be to cultivate trusted followers and dismiss the old guard...

Now, the new Sect Leader was only concerned with his training after taking power, leaving all worldly affairs and temple arrangements as they were. How could the supervising Elders of the dozens of Daoist Temples on the mountain not rejoice inwardly?

Huu~

Chen Sha’s mind returned from his meditative breathing by the waterfall.

In truth, his consciousness had just returned from a Cosmic Light Fragment. He muttered to himself:

’Following the pointers Ancient Transformation Dragon gave me in the well that day, I’ve started experimenting with different training directions in the Cosmic Light Fragments. From what I understand...’

’The Three Grandmaster Realms of the Upper Three Grades are a path of continually increasing one’s own momentum.’

’In other words, for my current Grandmaster Cultivation to advance further, I need to grasp a presence that is uniquely my own.’

’That’s right, a presence...’

Chen Sha continued to muse, ’A Grandmaster’s momentum manifests differently in different people, through the unique presence within their True Qi. Take the frenzied presence in Ancient Transformation Dragon’s True Qi, for example—it’s like a primordial beast. The more oppressive this presence feels to others, the more potent his momentum is.’

’The same principle applies to the presence in my Little Junior Uncle’s True Qi—as immovable as that of a stubborn rock or an innocent child.’

He then recalled the advice—or taunt—that Ancient Transformation Dragon had offered him that day:

’That old monster’s point was that the Dao Yi Sect’s own Martial Art, the Great Yellow Court, is already a Top Grade Divine Skill. A cultivator only needs to comprehend the presence inherent to the Divine Skill itself, rather than trying to develop their own.’

Chen Sha thought to himself:

’I agree with his point. When people start practicing Martial Arts, who can just create their own style from the get-go? You inevitably have to follow in the footsteps of your predecessors. That’s why Divine Skill Secret Manuals exist.’

’In other words, when you master any Divine Skill Secret Manual, you will naturally manifest the presence inherent to it. This, in turn, grants the cultivator a powerful Grandmaster’s momentum!’

Chen Sha thought of Hong Qigong, with whom he had sparred.

He had already fought 2,377 matches against the Beggar Gang’s leader.

It could even be said that he understood Hong Qigong’s Martial Arts better than Hong Qigong himself.

’As one of the Five Extremes, is Hong Qigong formidable? He certainly is. But it’s less that Hong Qigong himself is formidable, and more that the two Martial Arts he has mastered—the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms and the Dog Beating Stick Technique—are formidable in their own right.’

Someone who has practiced the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms will naturally attack with a masculine, fierce momentum capable of subduing a heavenly dragon.

This was true for Hong Qigong, and it was true for Guo Jing.

This wasn’t to say Hong Qigong wasn’t the type of person who could establish his own school and develop his own grand momentum.

In the later parts of *The Legend of the Condor Heroes* and *The Divine Eagle*, when he faced Ouyang Feng in a duel on Hua Mountain, both men were nearly a hundred years old. Their life experiences were legendary, and their understanding of Martial Arts, True Qi, and Realms had truly reached its peak.

Chen Sha guessed that the Hong Qigong of that era definitely possessed his own grand momentum and was no longer formidable simply because of the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms.

But the Hong Qigong from the "Bamboo Forest Martial Arts lesson" Chapter was only middle-aged and nowhere near that level.

’After all this thinking, it still comes down to the problem of fully comprehending the presence within a Martial Art itself.’

Techniques from Jin Yong’s Martial Heroes, like the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, Nine Yin Scripture, One Yang Finger, Sunflower Manual, and Dugu Nine Swords, are all considered Divine Skills for this very reason.

Even an ordinary person who practiced these Divine Skills would become a Grandmaster Level figure.

When these Martial Arts are mastered, one doesn’t need to cultivate their own momentum; the Divine Skill itself has its own presence.

This was true for those Martial Arts, and it was even more true for Dao Yi Mountain’s "Great Yellow Court."

In fact, the grade of the Great Yellow Court was even higher than something like the Nine Yin Scripture from Hong Qigong’s world.

Therefore, while Chen Sha was still at the Grandmaster Level, there was no need for him to be overly ambitious. He just needed to comprehend the presence inherent to the Great Yellow Court itself, and that would be enough for him to break through to the Grandmaster Level.

’So, what is the change in presence that cultivating the Great Yellow Court to a profound level can bring?’

Chen Sha sat by the waterfall for a long time, neither re-entering the Cosmic Light Fragments for training nor practicing his Martial Arts.

He thought for a long while, his mind filled with countless ideas.

Suddenly, he felt the urge to take a walk on the mountain.

Before he knew it, Chen Sha had walked down from the core area of the Dao Yi Sect on the summit.

Further down from the summit were the Incense Daoist Temples, which had dealings with the common people from below the mountain.

Chen Sha wore a simple, wide Daoist Robe.

Although he had only recently succeeded to the position of Sect Leader, a month had passed since the old Sect Leader’s burial. The Daoists in the mountain’s temples and palaces had all become familiar with their new Sect Leader’s appearance and attire.

Thus, as Chen Sha meandered down the mountain, all the Daoists he encountered along the way—whether they were old Daoists over fifty or Little Daoist Children of seventeen or eighteen—respectfully bowed to the young Sect Leader.

"Greetings, Sect Leader."

As an Incense and Candle Daoist performed a deep bow, Chen Sha walked into the main hall.

Then he discovered that his First Senior Brother, Song Yu, was also there, speaking with a woman.

"Hm? Sect Leader, what brings you here?"

Song Yu was also surprised to see Chen Sha approach.

Chen Sha chuckled lightly. "I grew tired of training. Stillness breeds a desire for movement, so I decided to wander around the mountain. And this is...?"

He looked at the woman beside them, who was bowing on a prayer cushion.

The weather was still quite cold.

The woman wore a moon-white, short, padded jacket, with a teal satin cloak draped over it. Hearing his voice, she slowly rose to her feet and looked at Chen Sha, asking curiously:

"So you are Sect Leader Chen?"

Chen Sha’s expression remained neutral, but he felt a sense of strangeness inwardly. The moment the woman stood up, he distinctly sensed that she possessed a considerable level of Martial Arts.