After walking a hundred steps into Desolate Spirit Grotto-Heaven, the scripture echoing in Ye Fan's mind finally faded.
Behind them, dozens of ancient green stone steps marked the entrance. That place was unusual, but Ye Fan didn't stop, nor was he allowed to.
Ahead, the mountains were elegant and filled with spiritual energy. In the distance, a massive waterfall over a kilometer long poured down from a tall mountain. The white curtain of water looked like an upside-down Milky Way, rumbling like ten thousand galloping horses, magnificent and breathtaking.
"No wonder it's called a Grotto-Heaven and Blessed Land. The scenery is extraordinary, like a pure land beyond the mortal world."
The winding path led deeper into the mystical mountains. A pebble-paved trail passed the waterfall, curving into the depths. Along the way, ancient trees towered, their gnarled branches like coiling dragons. Many temple halls could be seen, nestled among the greenery in perfect harmony with nature.
On either side of the path were man-made herb fields. Ginseng as thick as a child's arm grew there, Nine-Leaf Ganoderma hung from branches, and many unknown herbs sparkled with inner radiance. Their medicinal fragrance filled the air and refreshed the spirit.
Most people they encountered on the road would bow to the elders, and they treated Weiwei with particular warmth. One could easily imagine her status in Desolate Spirit Grotto-Heaven as a peerless genius.
Weiwei returned every bow, showing no arrogance. In this peaceful paradise, she truly looked like a fairy, graceful and ethereal. Eventually, she drifted away like a soft breeze, vanishing into the picturesque depths of the Grotto-Heaven.
Ye Fan and Pang Bo were brought to a small hill. There were three to five cottages, two or three bamboo groves, a patch of herb fields in front of the house, and several old trees growing closely together.
There were no jade towers or celestial halls. Everything looked simple and ordinary, but the serenity and natural beauty made it feel like a sanctuary beyond the world, cleansing the heart and mind of worldly distractions.
"You'll stay here for now." After giving a few instructions, the elders left. One other classmate was also brought into Desolate Spirit Grotto-Heaven but wasn't housed with them, he was taken elsewhere.
Around noon, a boy of about twelve or thirteen came carrying a food box. He brought them their meal, which was simple and light: lotus root slices, polygonatum, poria, gastrodia, mostly medicinal herbs.
"This meal… is it even edible? There's not a single bit of meat. These past few days we've only eaten wild fruit and drunk spring water, and now we're still eating this stuff. Our mouths are so bland it feels like we're drooling springwater."
Despite the food having no oil or fat, Ye Fan and Pang Bo still devoured everything, not even a leaf was left.
"Can you send us a roast chicken?"
Seeing the two of them like this, the boy delivering food was stunned. "No… no roast chicken. The Grotto-Heaven doesn't provide such things. But if you're still hungry, I can bring more food."
"How could there be no meat? I saw plenty of immortal cranes and white deer, and all kinds of exotic birds and beasts. Roast one or two and we're good. I think those immortal cranes are plump enough."
The food delivery boy fled as if he had seen ghosts and monsters, he couldn't get away fast enough, clearly terrified of them.
"Seems like entering a sect to cultivate isn't something to celebrate. Life here is too bitter, no meat, how are we supposed to live?" Pang Bo kept complaining.
Ye Fan was also feeling extremely hungry. At this point, he really wanted to grab a roast chicken, tear into a pork leg, and drink some good wine.
Over the next dozen days, the elders never appeared. However, the food delivery boy became more familiar with them, and through frequent conversations, Ye Fan and Pang Bo gradually adapted to this ancient Chinese-like language. The boy greatly admired them, he said most new disciples didn't get independent residences and had to achieve a certain level of cultivation before being allowed to open a cave-dwelling.
"Three to five thatched cottages, is this what counts as having our own cave-dwelling?"
Ye Fan and Pang Bo put on the clothes the boy brought them. Aside from their still-short hair, they looked no different from anyone else in Desolate Spirit Grotto-Heaven.
"You can't say that. Everything around this little hill is yours. If you gain enough strength, you can naturally open up your own proper cave-dwelling."
"If the hill is ours, then killing a deer or roasting a couple of immortal cranes should be fine, right?"
Hearing that, the boy dared not respond again. He felt these two were just too bold, their thinking completely different from normal people.
"Relax, we won't do anything reckless. Now, tell us, what exactly is cultivation?"
This was something both Ye Fan and Pang Bo cared about deeply. Up until now, they had no real understanding. They'd only occasionally heard terms like "Sea of Bitterness," "Celestial Bridge," and "Shore of Ascension," but didn't understand what they meant.
The boy shook his head, he couldn't explain it either. He had only recently entered Desolate Spirit Grotto-Heaven and hadn't truly started on the path of cultivation.
"Looks like you're already a bit impatient." At that moment, an elder with white hair but a youthful face appeared before the small hill. His robe sleeves fluttered, and his feet didn't touch the ground, he seemed to float to the cottage like riding the wind. He nodded to the bowing boy and said, "You may go."
"You are…" Ye Fan and Pang Bo didn't recognize this rosy-cheeked elder with snow-white hair. He looked like an immortal hermit.
"I'm Elder Wu Qingfeng of Desolate Spirit Grotto-Heaven. All disciples within their first three years are taught by me."
"Greetings, elder."
"No need for formality."
"Elder, could you improve our meals first? If this keeps up, we'll ascend to immortality just from starvation. The food is way too bland. At this point, even a grasshopper makes our mouths water," Pang Bo complained.
Elder Wu Qingfeng looked very serious. "The mortal world is full of desire. Upon entering a Grotto-Heaven, the first task is to sever attachment, cleanse the body and still the mind. If you can't even overcome gluttony, how will you resist the countless temptations on the path of cultivation?"
After hearing this, Pang Bo didn't know what to say. As for Ye Fan, since he hadn't joined the sect, he was in no position to make requests.
Ye Fan and Pang Bo had many questions, but Ye Fan hesitated to speak up. Since Pang Bo was a Desolate Spirit disciple, he had no such concerns. He invited Elder Wu Qingfeng to sit on a wooden stool outside the cottage and began asking about cultivation, of which they knew nothing.
"Do you think the sky is clean?"
"Not a cloud in sight, blue as crystal, it looks clean to me." Ye Fan didn't understand the question, but answered when he saw the elder looking at him.
"Wrong. Dust is everywhere." Elder Wu opened his palm and said, "Even in this small space between my fingers, there's endless dust."
"Um… what do you mean?" Pang Bo asked, confused.
Elder Wu remained serene, like an immortal, and continued, "What do you think this endless dust is?"
"What else could it be? It's dust, of course."
"It is dust, and it is not dust," he said calmly.
"I get what it means to be dust, but what do you mean it's not dust?" Pang Bo asked.
"It is a world, a vast and boundless world." Elder Wu Qingfeng spoke softly and naturally.
"A vast world… Are you kidding?" Pang Bo was stunned and doubtful.
"One day you will understand. Each speck of dust, each blade of grass, every tree, they are all a world."
"Can you be more direct? It sounds like a riddle. The words make sense, but I don't get the deeper meaning."
Elder Wu sat calmly and smiled lightly. "We won't go deeper into that today. What I want to say is, there are endless motes of dust in this world. Each one is a world. Our bodies are the same. Though we see nothing, they contain countless 'gates', as numerous as dust in the cosmos. This seemingly tiny body holds infinite 'gates.' To open these gates and discover the 'true self', that is cultivation."
Seeing their shocked expressions, Elder Wu remained as calm as still water. He asked, "Now, do you understand what cultivation is?"
"I think… I'm starting to."
"Good. You'll understand more in time. Now, let me explain the Sea of Bitterness. Though there are countless cultivation paths in the world, they all begin here."
"Elder, this time please explain clearly." Although they hadn't truly started cultivating yet, Ye Fan and Pang Bo knew that early understanding was the most critical.
"All things in the world age with time. Some last forever, eternal and indestructible. Others live and die in a day, or vanish in the blink of an eye."
"Elder, you're being too abstract. What are you trying to tell us?"
The elder didn't mind being interrupted. He pointed to an old tree nearby and said, "Can you tell how long it's lived?"
"Of course, cut it down and count the rings."
"Exactly. Time always leaves marks. Trees have growth rings, and we have a Life Wheel in our bodies as well."
"We humans have something like that too?" Ye Fan and Pang Bo found it hard to believe.
"The cultivation path I speak of begins with the human Life Wheel..."