Volume 4 Chapter 58: The Sermon

In the space of an inch, one can see technique; within a drop of water, an ocean can be contained.

When the flower in Xu Qingfan’s hand withered and bloomed repeatedly, the Qingxu elders who were originally skeptical of Xu Qingfan had a faintly disdainful smile on their faces. But as the flower continued to wither and bloom again, even experiencing hundreds of seasons within moments, all the Qingxu disciples were dumbstruck, and the elders’ expressions grew serious.

Before this, they thought Xu Qingfan’s ability to wilt and revive the flower was merely a simple energy transfer trick, something even a Lingji Stage disciple could do. Yet, after the flower in Xu Qingfan’s hand went through dozens of changes, the elders pondered that they could only manage just over ten transformations themselves. Any more, and despite their care, the plant would turn to ash due to the repeated extraction and return of life force. The disciples watching were just as amazed, filled with disbelief as they saw the constant changes in the flower.

It must be said that the Qingxu Gate highly values demonstrations of skill. After seeing Xu Qingfan’s display, even Huanlingzi, who previously held Xu Qingfan in low regard, looked at him with eyes full of anticipation.

However, what these Qingxu Gate people didn’t understand was that the changes in the flower’s condition were not due to energy extraction from the plant. Instead, Xu Qingfan drew a strand of "Flourish Qi" and "Withered Qi" from within himself, allowing them to circulate through the plant’s veins, making it simpler and more efficient than just transferring energy.

After over a hundred cycles, Xu Qingfan infused another trace of "Flourish Qi" into the flower. With a wave of his hand, the flower, now twice its original size, flew back to its place, slowly yet swiftly, landing precisely on its original stem, which instantly healed.

Everyone saw the small flower, now larger and more vibrant, swaying in the breeze below the bamboo platform, standing out among the others.

But Xu Qingfan’s performance wasn’t over. After returning the flower, he opened his palm to reveal a tiny white insect egg he had noticed and picked off the petal earlier during the demonstration.

For a moment, nothing happened as Xu Qingfan held out his hand, making the onlookers curious. However, after witnessing his previous feat, the Qingxu Gate members dared not question him and waited in silence.

Then something incredible occurred. The seemingly invisible insect egg in Xu Qingfan’s hand started to grow, becoming visible to the naked eye within moments. It began to ripple, and tiny cracks appeared across its surface. Once the cracks connected, the egg broke open, revealing a small, fragile caterpillar in his hand, pure white yet unremarkable.

The next scene was something everyone could already predict. The caterpillar quickly grew in a moment and spun a cocoon in Xu Qingfan’s hand. When it emerged again, it had transformed into a magnificent, colorful butterfly that was beautiful and mesmerizing.

In an instant, the eyes of nearly three thousand cultivators were all focused on this small butterfly.

As soon as the butterfly emerged, it tried to spread its wings and fly away from Xu Qingfan’s hand, aiming for the sky. However, despite having just acquired its wings, it couldn’t manage to leave the confines of Xu Qingfan’s palm.

Just as the butterfly was beating its wings, eager to see the world beyond Xu Qingfan’s hand, its body began to wither. The dazzling colors on its wings grew dim, and it could no longer flap them, gently falling onto Xu Qingfan’s hand, covering its now shrunken body with those once beautiful wings, quietly aging and passing away.

It seemed as if in just a moment, this insect’s life span, originally nine months, played out from obscurity to ugliness, then to beauty, and finally to a quiet death. Was this its fortune or misfortune?

Clearly, it was just a single butterfly, something no one would usually notice. Yet, for a moment, both the Qingxu disciples and elders seemed to see a lifetime unfold.

After silently sighing in their hearts, everyone suddenly realized, "What did I just witness?"

An egg became a caterpillar, the caterpillar spun a cocoon, and the cocoon became a butterfly. And in a moment, it aged and died.

Compressing the span of a year into the time it takes for incense to burn, this hardly seemed like something a cultivator could achieve; it resembled the legendary acts of immortals.

How did the humble and unknown rogue cultivator Xu Fan achieve this?

If before, Xu Qingfan’s ability to wither or bloom plants could be partially understood by others, now no one could discern his method. Even powerful figures like Xuan Ling and Huanlingzi could only wait eagerly for Xu Qingfan’s explanation, their former composure gone.

Only the once Mahayana Stage master Liu Ziqing silently watched the butterfly’s lifeless form in Xu Qingfan’s palm, deep in thought as if recognizing something. Mo Ziliang, who had been deceived by Xu Qingfan multiple times and had discussed the Way of Life and Death with him, also appeared thoughtful, having seen through some of Xu Qingfan’s astonishing method.

Little did they know, at the moment the rainbow butterfly aged and died, Xu Qingfan felt a sigh of relief in his heart.

The miraculous shrinking of spring and autumn in Xu Qingfan’s palm was one of the uses of his "Formula of Life and Death." Through recent experiments and borrowing techniques from Liu Huaxiang’s secret methods, Xu Qingfan discovered that running "Withered Qi" and "Flourish Qi" within himself could enhance the body’s qualities, just as in the secret transformation he underwent, with "Withered Qi" destroying and "Flourish Qi" rebuilding.

This idea, which came to Xu Qingfan by chance during a discussion with Mo Ziliang last night, was still unproven. Xu Qingfan was certain that running both "Flourish Qi" and "Withered Qi" would be no less painful than the previous secret transformation. This pain required a long recovery period after being endured once. Though the concept excited Xu Qingfan, his "Flourish Qi" was not yet perfected. If the reconstruction couldn’t keep pace with the destruction during a test, there would be dire consequences. Additionally, Xu Qingfan had been too busy to conduct any experiments.

The transformation from an egg to an insect, and then to a butterfly, was the result of Xu Qingfan’s recent work with the energies of life and death, to hasten the evolution of the insect.

What the disciples of Qingxu didn’t know was that the butterfly’s sudden death wasn’t entirely in Xu Qingfan’s control; after its modification through "Flourish Qi" and "Withered Qi," all vitality was stripped away, resulting in unforeseen aftereffects.

Watching the beautiful butterfly perish in his hand, Xu Qingfan was secretly alarmed despite knowing the butterfly’s constitution couldn’t compare to his own. He was relieved he hadn’t rushed to test the method on himself, or he too might have aged in an instant.

Just as everyone was frowning and pondering, Xu Qingfan had already calmed his mind. Suddenly, a wisp of Phoenix Spirit Fire ignited in his hand, instantly burning the butterfly’s body to ashes. Then he began to speak, his voice soft and gentle, like a whisper in the ear.

"Next, I will explain to everyone the Way of Balance: the cycle of life and death, withering and flourishing."

The sudden death of the butterfly had caught Xu Qingfan by surprise.

As he spoke, Xu Qingfan’s voice became deep and solemn.

"There is constancy in the inconstant, trees wither and flourish, north, south, east, west, neither false nor empty. Twin trees of enlightenment, both withering and thriving, as if in a trance, seeming illusion, seeming truth. The flourishing is eternal bliss and purity, the withering is where all four cease to exist. East constant, south bliss, west self, north purity, the presence or absence wastes away youth. Thus, it is said, neither birth nor death, neither defiled nor pure. I sit amid the dust of the world, observing the twin trees, one withering, one flourishing, contemplating life’s illusion…"

After reciting a revised version of the "Formula of Wither and Flourish," Xu Qingfan began to explain his "Way of Balance: Life and Death, Withering and Flourishing."

In Xu Qingfan’s view, every person harbors a trace of life force and a trace of death force within them. These forces are extremely subdued, and when one becomes dominant, the other is nearly impossible to detect. Moreover, these forces cannot be altered by external means, at least not until the person dies.

Upon discovering that Little Black could absorb death force, Xu Qingfan descended the mountain and found an elderly person with apparent death force within them. He instructed Little Black to absorb it, but no matter what, Little Black could not extract that death force, as if it solely belonged to the old man.

When all things in the world are first born, the life force within them greatly outweighs the death force and continues to grow rapidly. Humans grow from infants to children and then to adults as their life force increases. However, afterwards, the life force reaches its peak within the body and can no longer suppress the growth of the death force. The death force then starts to grow swiftly, gradually consuming the life force. As the death force strengthens quickly, both humans and demon beasts age rapidly until they die of old age.

The reason cultivators can live for hundreds or even thousands of years, according to Xu Qingfan, is because they transform their bodies to hold more vital energy, which helps suppress the energy of death. Even if Zhang Xusheng used the blood and souls of countless people to create an "Immortal Body," this is the concept. When a cultivator reaches a bottleneck and their body can no longer contain more vital energy, it means their time is running out.

What Xu Qingfan explained to everyone in Qingxu this time were these insights. In Xu Qingfan’s words, it is the "Cycle of Life and Death."

As Xu Qingfan spoke slowly, every cultivator present showed a look of fascination. Why cultivate immortality? Is it not to seek the way to eternal life? However, in the entire cultivation world, most cultivators only know that they need to become stronger to extend their lifespan. Apart from Mahayana cultivators and a few in the Condensed Core Stage, rarely do cultivators think of what Xu Qingfan has pointed out.

Over the years, through a series of opportunities, Xu Qingfan acquired energy closest to life essence, "Flourish Qi," and energy closest to death essence, "Withered Qi."

To counterbalance the strength of "Withered Qi" within him, Xu Qingfan has been diligently practicing "Flourish Qi" for balance. The insights gained during this process are quite different from those of ordinary cultivators.

Hearing the explanation now, all the cultivators’ faces appeared shocked and enlightened. Even Huanlingzi and Xuan Ling showed thoughtful expressions, nodding in agreement with Xu Qingfan’s talk. Although Liu Ziqing had already grasped these concepts, he was surprised by how clearly Xu Qingfan explained the issue, making him question Xu Qingfan’s identity.

This lecture lasted for nearly two hours, and when Xu Qingfan suddenly fell silent, all the cultivators thought he was about to do something astonishing. But when Xu Qingfan got up from the bamboo platform, their hearts were filled with disappointment, just as Xu Qingfan felt when Xuan Ling’s lecture ended.

Knowing they should not force it, all the Qingxu cultivators stood up despite their regret, regardless of whether they were ordinary disciples or Qingxu elders, and bowed respectfully to Xu Qingfan. A vast sea of thousands bowed their heads.

"Thank you, Senior Xu (Taoist Friend Xu), for your teachings."

The sound soared into the clouds, full of respect.

Xu Qingfan bowed in return, knowing that his time at Qingxu Gate had come to an end.