Su Chun followed Jiang Ruoyin through a long white jade corridor.
The walls on both sides were carved with ancient and obscure murals depicting the sun, moon, stars, mountains, rivers, and vegetation.
These murals were filled with a primitive and mysterious aura, as if they contained some Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.
At the end of the corridor was an even more magnificent palace.
The entire palace was constructed from pure white jade, and the vaulted ceiling was open-worked, allowing a clear view of the gray, hazy sky.
In the center of the palace stood a massive circular altar.
A raging fire burned upon it, the flames a strange mixture of black and white.
“This is the holy land of our Taiyi Sect and the core location for communicating with the Taiyi God,” Jiang Ruoyin said, pointing at the altar with a hint of imperceptible piety in her voice.
“Every so often, we hold a sacrificial ceremony here to pray to the Taiyi God and seek His blessing.”
Su Chun looked around the palace with curiosity, her eyes lingering especially on the altar with the black and white flames.
She could feel an extremely dense and pure energy permeating the area around the altar.
This energy was different from the combination of spiritual qi and the Laws of Heaven and Earth; it caused the Chaos Power within her body to resonate slightly.
“What kind of fire is this?” Su Chun couldn’t help but ask.
“This is the Taiyi Divine Fire, the treasure of our Taiyi Sect. Rumor has it that the first Sect Leader refined it from a wisp of primal chaos fire collected at the dawn of the world. It contains a trace of the source power from the beginning of time. Of course, so much time has passed that I don’t even know if this flame is still the original one.”
Jiang Ruoyin shrugged her shoulders.
“However, alas! My aptitude was dull. When I was the Saintess, I could never fully comprehend the secrets of the Taiyi Sect. So, I’m giving this opportunity to you.”
Su Chun’s expression stiffened.
‘Damn! I knew there was no such thing as a free lunch.’
But this cluster of fire truly did contain dense yin and yang energy.
For someone like her with a Primal Chaos Body, it was definitely a treasure.
She had already decided in her heart that if she ever managed to leave the Taiyi Sect, she would absolutely take this flame with her.
“Follow me. I’ll take you somewhere.”
Jiang Ruoyin gave a mysterious smile and led Su Chun around the altar to a stone wall at the back of the palace.
She extended her slender fingers and tapped several spots on the stone wall in quick succession.
The runes on the wall lit up, and it slowly parted to the sides, revealing a deep passage.
“This is where the past Sect Leaders and Saintesses of our Taiyi Sect came to comprehend the inheritance. It hides our most core secrets and most ancient legacy.”
Jiang Ruoyin took the lead and stepped into the passage.
“From today on, you will live here. Properly comprehend our Taiyi Sect’s legacy; it will be of great benefit to your cultivation.”
Su Chun followed Jiang Ruoyin through the passage.
At the end was a spacious and bright stone room.
The walls of the stone room were lined with rows upon rows of bookshelves, piled high with yellowed ancient texts and jade slips that emitted a thick scent of aged history.
In the center of the room sat a prayer mat.
On a stone platform in front of the mat lay an ancient book bound in an unknown animal hide.
There was no text on the cover, only a blurry Taiji pattern.
“This is…”
Su Chun looked at the room full of ancient books in shock.
This place was practically a treasure trove of knowledge.
“This is the core area of the Taiyi Sect’s Sutra Depository. Only the successive Sect Leaders and Saintesses are qualified to enter.”
Jiang Ruoyin walked to the stone platform and picked up the ancient book.
“This is the fundamental inheritance of our Taiyi Sect, the *Taiyi Classic*. Legend says it was personally written by our founding ancestor and contains the supreme profound meanings of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.”
She handed the *Taiyi Classic* to Su Chun.
“Starting today, you will stay here to comprehend the *Taiyi Classic* and these ancient texts. You won’t leave until you’ve reached the introductory stage of the *Taiyi Classic*.”
Su Chun took the *Taiyi Classic*.
It felt warm to the touch, and an ancient, mysterious aura washed over her.
She flipped to the first page, which recorded several obscure and difficult sentences in ancient script:
“The Dao produced one, one produced two, two produced three, and three produced all things…”
“Taiji produced the two poles, the two poles produced the four symbols, and the four symbols produced the eight trigrams…”
These sentences seemed simple, yet they contained infinite philosophy, causing Su Chun to instantly fall into deep thought.
These things looked obscure and mystical, but they truly contained a certain understanding of the Great Dao.
She was, after all, a Primal Chaos Body—the physique closest to the source of the Dao—so she could barely understand some of it.
From this, it appeared that being the Saintess of the Taiyi Sect wasn’t a total loss.
“By the way, did you say before that the Taiyi Sect’s history can be traced back to the birth of humanity?”
Su Chun asked while flipping through the book.
Jiang Ruoyin nodded.
“Correct. Originally, our Taiyi Sect wasn’t a cultivation sect but a collective of primitive beliefs held by humanity toward heaven and nature. As humanity developed, these beliefs gradually diverged, eventually forming the Taiyi Sect we have today. The Taiyi God we speak of isn’t a specific deity, but an abstract worship of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth and the source of the universe.”
Su Chun suddenly understood.
“So that’s how it is. I thought you guys were actually worshipping some specific god.”
Su Chun continued to look through the ancient books.
These texts detailed the historical changes of the Taiyi Sect, its cultivation techniques, and some insights into cultivation and the Great Dao.
Based on the books, Jiang Ruoyin hadn’t lied to her.
The history of the Taiyi Sect was indeed extremely long, dating back to ancient times.
It might even have countless connections to certain experts from the Ancient Immortal Era.
“Earlier, someone among the cultivators from the nine sects said the Taiyi Sect was a banished sect of sinners. What was that about?”
Su Chun asked curiously.
At the mention of this, Jiang Ruoyin’s expression darkened slightly.
“That’s a long story. At least until my grandmaster’s generation, our Taiyi Sect was the national religion of the Tianqi Imperial Dynasty in the Eastern Region. Later, the dynasty was destroyed and replaced by the current Great Zhou Dynasty. Our experts withered, and the remaining forces fled to this remote Kingdom of Chu, which refuses to be governed by the Great Zhou. That’s how we survived.”
Su Chun nodded.
A sect with such strong religious overtones like the Taiyi Sect would indeed be abolished or even destroyed due to a change in dynasties.
“I see. Oh, right, you aren’t planning to keep my power suppressed forever, are you? Seriously, let me go. I won’t run away,” Su Chun said hurriedly.
Jiang Ruoyin snapped her fingers.
In the next moment, the restrictions on Su Chun’s body immediately vanished.
The power that had been stagnant within her began to circulate once more.
“Eh? You really aren’t afraid of me running away?”
A strange smile appeared on Jiang Ruoyin’s face.
“You can try.”
Su Chun’s eyes darted around.
In the next instant, she raised her hand and opened a spatial portal.
“Anywhere Door, transport!”
She dove straight inside.
However, just as she entered and the spatial gate closed, the statue of the Taiyi God within the Taiyi Sect emitted a unique energy ripple.
In the next moment, Su Chun emerged from space again.
However, upon exiting, she found herself right back inside the palace.
“Eh? Why… why am I still here?”
Su Chun stared at Jiang Ruoyin, who had a playful look on her face, and was stunned.
“Keep running. I want to see if you, little girl, truly have the ability to escape our Taiyi Sect.”
Su Chun refused to believe it.
She immediately drew a bird, jumped onto it, and flew out of the grand hall.
But just as she was about to fly out of the Taiyi Sect’s range, the statue released that mysterious power again.
In a flash, she was back by Jiang Ruoyin’s side.
This time, Su Chun finally reacted.
She immediately looked at the clothes she was wearing.
“You… the problem is with these clothes, right?”
Jiang Ruoyin nodded.
“Yes. These clothes are linked to the Sect Protection Array of my Taiyi Sect. As long as you try to leave the range of the formation, you’ll be forcibly pulled back.”
Su Chun grew anxious and reached out, trying to strip the clothes off.
However, no matter how she tugged or tore, the clothes wouldn’t come off at all.
It was as if they were part of her body.
“Don’t struggle. If you want to leave the Taiyi Sect, then comprehend the inheritance. If you succeed, the power of the Taiyi Sect won’t be able to restrain you anymore. Alright, dear disciple, have fun. I’ll come see you when I have time, hahaha…”
Jiang Ruoyin seemed like she hadn’t been this happy in a long time.
“Hey! You female devil! You pervert! Come back here! Let’s talk about this!”
However, Jiang Ruoyin ignored her completely until the palace doors slammed shut.
“It’s over. How am I so unlucky?”
Su Chun let out a groan and slumped down onto the ground.