My Dreams Connect to Ancient Times

"You’re here so soon?"

Old Nong said cheerfully, smiling as he tilled his fields.

Lu Xuan quickly gave a respectful bow.

"I did not intend to stay long. I only came to ask for your guidance, Master."

"Oh?" Old Nong sized up the Bronze Mask on Lu Xuan’s face and said with a grin,

"Give me the mask first. It’s dirty, so I’ll wash it for you... As long as I’m standing here, the other Dao Fruits won’t be able to pry."

"Yes, Master."

Lu Xuan hurriedly took off the Bronze Mask and handed it over.

Old Nong took it and poured a bucket of water over it. A profound light flickered on the mask’s surface, but it was quickly washed away by the stream of water.

After handing the mask back, Old Nong said flatly,

"This mask is a good item. When you wear it, it can confound fate and obscure one’s presence, making it difficult even for a Dao Fruit to perceive you... However, the person who gave it to you had impure intentions and dirtied the mask."

He didn’t ask who had given it to Lu Xuan. Instead, he continued,

"So, what did you come to ask your master about?"

Lu Xuan caressed the Bronze Mask in his hand and explained the whole situation, concluding respectfully,

"...and that’s the gist of it. The Current World is still too fragile to bear the Human Saint Position."

"Hmm..."

A smile appeared on Old Nong’s face.

"So that little fellow Taibai is in the Current World, too? A Dao Fruit can’t gaze upon the Current World for long, so I genuinely didn’t know that. But he was right. One Qi Transforms into the Three Pristine Ones would indeed be useful for you and can solve this problem."

After a pause, Old Nong’s expression grew profound.

"I was already planning to teach you this Dharma, but it involves great secrets and Great Profound Mysteries. I originally wanted to wait until you became an Immortal or attained the Celestial Realms... But teaching it to you a bit early won’t hurt."

A look of pleasant surprise appeared on Lu Xuan’s face. He bowed again before asking curiously,

"Master, this One Qi Transforms into the Three Pristine Ones... it sounds like a method for creating incarnations, doesn’t it?"

"Yes and no."

Old Nong shook his head with a smile.

"Actually, I’m not the only one who knows this Dharma. Your second and third martial uncles know it as well. The three of us represent The Beginning of Heaven Opening, the Existence of All Worlds, and the End of All Things, respectively..."

He leaned his hoe against the corner of the wall, sat down in a reclining chair, and began fanning himself with a cattail fan.

"Your two martial uncles and I are the foundation of all creation, an indispensable whole. In case of an accident where one of us becomes ’absent,’ this Dharma can temporarily manifest them so they can continue to bear the responsibility as a foundation of the Great Heaven and Earth."

Lu Xuan was a little confused. His eyes widened.

"I thought the ’Three Pristine Ones’ in One Qi Transforms into the Three Pristine Ones was just a name... You mean it can actually create *the* Three Pristine Ones?"

He then said shyly,

"If I learn it, does that mean I can..."

"You rascal, what are you thinking?" Old Nong chided him with a laugh.

"In the hands of myself and your two martial uncles, One Qi Transforms into the Three Pristine Ones can indeed create the actual Three Pristine Ones. But it can also create other things, like the three aspects of Heaven, Earth, and Man, or other forms entirely—for example, my own manifestations as the Old Master, Supreme Laojun, and this farmer’s body."

Lu Xuan was even more confused now. "Is there a difference?" he asked curiously.

"Of course there is." Old Nong swayed his cattail fan, a light breeze rustling his white hair. He chuckled. "This Dharma is about transformation, about creating incarnations, but it’s actually much more than that. Everything it creates is a ’True Self’."

Lu Xuan was shaken. Everything it created was a ’True Self’?

He couldn’t help but ask,

"If I practice this Dharma and create another ’True Self,’ wouldn’t it also inherit the Human Saint Position?"

"You silly brat, you’re usually so quick on the uptake. How come you can’t wrap your head around this?"

Lu Xuan paused. His mind raced, and then he understood.

"I understand now. You said earlier that you could use this Dharma to create my second and third martial uncles and have them assume their ’responsibilities.’ But this ’True Self’ would be an independent ’True Self,’ is that right?"

"There’s hope for you yet."

Lu Xuan finally understood completely. When his master used One Qi Transforms into the Three Pristine Ones to, for example, create an incarnation of his second martial uncle, that new body could take on the responsibilities of his second martial uncle—The Beginning of Heaven Opening and the Cause of All Fruits. However, it wouldn’t bear his master’s own responsibility for the Existence of All Worlds.

If even these most fundamental positions of Heaven and Earth were not transferred, what chance did his own Human Saint Position have?

At that moment, Old Nong stopped fanning himself and said cheerfully,

"Alright, enough idle chatter. Listen to my explanation of the Dharma."

Lu Xuan’s expression turned solemn as he prepared to listen respectfully.

As Old Nong began to lecture on the Dharma, countless phenomena and profound principles manifested. Yet, all of these wonders were confined to the area in front of the thatched hut, not disturbing the outside world or attracting any attention.

Lu Xuan listened quietly to the Dharma, gradually becoming immersed. He was utterly entranced, as if drunk or delirious. A smile appeared on his face as the heavy weight of the Dao and its principles rose and fell around him.

He rapidly analyzed and absorbed the Dharma his master described, gaining a rudimentary understanding of One Qi Transforms into the Three Pristine Ones.

An unknown amount of time passed. When Lu Xuan opened his eyes again, Old Nong was gone, with only the faint echo of his voice remaining.

"This Dharma can create three true bodies and one hundred thousand True Self Incarnations. Although you won’t be able to master it in a short time, you have already grasped the basics. Creating a single True Self Incarnation will not be difficult, allowing you to walk the Current World once more."

Lu Xuan stood up and bowed to the empty air.

"Thank you, Master, for bestowing this Dharma and lecturing upon me!"

"Enough. Since you don’t wish to stay, I’ll take you to meet your eldest martial brother next time. Go on back, go on back."

The voice faded completely. Lu Xuan bowed one last time. However, he did not return to the Current World immediately. Instead, he cleaned up the farmland and the thatched hut, tidied the reclining chair and hoe, and only then did he depart.

His vision flashed between bright and dark. When he opened his eyes again, he was in the quiet Daoist Temple.

Breathing in the pleasant scent of peaches, a faint smile appeared on Lu Xuan’s face as he turned and ruffled Yan Jiangxue’s hair.

She squinted her eyes in comfort, her throat vibrating as her nasal passages resonated, letting out a soft, tiny purr.