In the blink of an eye, three days had passed. Today was the auspicious yellow calendar date that Tang Xiaoyu had asked about, so he lit incense, paid respects, and prayed for good fortune as he hung up the plaque.
"Not bad, that's the right idea."
"Xiao Hei, Qingshan Daoist Temple is officially established today, and I will serve as the abbot."
"Now I appoint you as the guardian elder."
Tang Xiaoyu scratched his head: "Do Daoist temples have such titles? Forget it, you can just be my daoist attendant! At the same time, also serve as the gatekeeper disciple, patrolling mountain disciple, and menial disciple - I appoint you to all those positions concurrently."
Xiao Hei did not understand so many titles. It merely barked to signify its agreement.
"Very good. What we cultivate is not immortality, our level is much higher than theirs. We cultivate the Dao."
"In appreciation of your studiousness and inquisitiveness, I will grudgingly tell you."
Xiao Hei: I didn't make a sound, okay!
Tang Xiaoyu moved over a chair, of course he didn't make it himself, he had bought it.
"Sit properly, watch me blow...I mean, speak to you."
"That batch of our Dao Ancestors, no, those primal beings, already had power at the immortal level when they came into the world. So they do not cultivate immortality."
"So who cultivates immortality? Of course it's us humans! It is said that we humans were moulded from clay by the Nuwa Goddess. Since we were moulded from clay, we naturally cannot compare with those innate primal beings."
"Therefore, therefore..." Tang Xiaoyu also did not know what the therefore was.
After thinking hard for a long time, he directly skipped over: "Thanks to the tireless efforts of our ancestors, we finally have the opportunity to compete with the innate beings for status and position, but is such status and position easy to obtain? Of course not, the path of cultivation is a trial, used to screen out the humans who are truly worthy of the position and status."
Tang Xiaoyu felt that was the gist of it. He declared sonorously: "While we are different from them, we are already on the official payroll. They are still temporary workers. Simply put, we are formal employees, they are temps. At any time they could get fired and lose their lives, but as for us, we will not."
"So, tonight we can improve our lives a little and celebrate."
"Woof woof woof..."
"Very good, now I will take out our temple's guardian treasure, which is the cultivation method left behind by the Dao Ancestor."
Why did he only take it out today instead of studying last night? According to Tang Xiaoyu's rationale, picking an auspicious yellow date leads to smooth sailing henceforth. Actually, he just wasn't confident and needed something to reassure himself mentally.
He opened the first page of the cultivation method, then the second page...until the last page: "Xiao Hei, can you read the words above?"
Xiao Hei shook its head humanly to indicate that it also couldn't understand.
"Damn, I was just afraid this might happen, and the outcome is still this. Damn!" He spat out several expletives in frustration to show how speechless he currently was.
Fortunately the Heavens do not disappoint the diligent. They had already infused into him the basic methods of cultivation and the ability to read the words since they knew that guy's brain wasn't enough.
After receiving this information, Tang Xiaoyu knelt on the ground facing the sky, crying in pain: "Finally, I can finally stand up."
After recovering his emotions, he embraced Xiao Hei and told it word for word: "From now on, no one is permitted to yell loudly at us ever again."
"Yo, little brat, you haven't even started cultivating yet? If you keep dilly-dallying, I'll have Xiao Hei lead you."
Looking around and seeing nobody around, Tang Xiaoyu hastily kowtowed facing the sky: "Will start right away, will start immediately."
Seeing no reaction from the other party, Tang Xiaoyu immediately stood straight up. [Xiao Hei, you want to ride on my head? No way, he he...Don't blame me for not being righteous, the world of cultivation is very simple, it's humans who are complicated.]
"Xiao Hei, listen closely as I recite it, you must memorize it properly."
What sinister ideas could Tang Xiaoyu have? He simply didn't recite the last few pages for Xiao Hei to hear.
Continuously, one by one, he recited to Xiao Hei until it expressed comprehension. Only then did Xiao Hei release its grip on Tang Xiaoyu's clothes.
On the first night, Tang Xiaoyu sensed spiritual energy, and Xiao Hei entered the Initial Stage of Practicing Qi. On the second night, Tang Xiaoyu guided spiritual energy to enter his body, and Xiao Hei directly skipped ahead from the Middle Stage to enter the Late Stage.
On the morning seven days later, Tang Xiaoyu looked up to the sky and shouted loudly: "Hahaha, I have also become a cultivator now."
Xiao Hei in the Foundation Establishment Stage looked speechlessly at Tang Xiaoyu: [The world of fools is beyond my comprehension.]
"It's not that I can't cultivate, but your cultivation methods are too much garbage." It's not my fault anyway, if anything's wrong, that's just you guys being useless.
Saying so, he struck towards a tree with an arm-thick trunk. The tree instantly snapped with a bang.
"Being invincible is so lonely."
A person who has become swollen with arrogance needs to be taken down a notch to make him recognize reality.
"Xiao Hei, let's spar a bit. Rest assured, with my current strength, I absolutely won't injure you."
"Woof woof woof woof." Let's not!
"No worries, I'll control my power properly to ensure I won't harm you."
"Woof woof..." Alright then!
"I'm going to attack now." Saying so, Tang Xiaoyu rushed at Xiao Hei. His speed was so fast that only afterimages were visible.
"Bang...Ahh~"
Xiao Hei raised its paw to brush some fur: [You're clearly courting a beating, yet you still feign politeness with me?]
Lying in the distant forest, Tang Xiaoyu gazed at the sky: "Who am I, where am I?"
"After making such a fuss, I can't even beat a dog. I have nothing left to live for."
Rushing back into his room, Tang Xiaoyu lay on the bed, plunged into self-doubt.
"Diligence can make up for clumsiness, frugality can make up for poverty. As long as you keep making tireless efforts without slacking off, there is nothing that cannot be conquered."
After drinking down a bowl of chicken soup for the soul, Tang Xiaoyu regained his spirits. Though he didn't believe it, it truly tasted good.
From then on, Tang Xiaoyu drank chicken soup for the soul every day, hoping for a miracle each day.
Through such diligent cultivation, one month passed. Tang Xiaoyu finally entered the Late Stage of Practicing Qi, only one step away from entering the Foundation Establishment Stage.
"Phew, so this is my heaven-defying aptitude? Since that is the case, I'll charge straight into the Foundation Establishment Stage in one go."
"Gosh I'm so hungry! Let me go buy some tasty snacks first. I need to eat my fill before I'll have the energy to cultivate!"
Tang Xiaoyu's "one go" turned out quite long - he took a full month before entering the Initial Stage of Foundation Establishment. By now, Xiao Hei was already preparing to assail the Golden Core Realm, truly a monster amongst monsters, an absolute fiend.
(Compared to Sun Wukong, everyone present is trash.)
The moment Tang Xiaoyu entered the Foundation Establishment Stage, he felt he had become accomplished again. He ran off once more to compare notes with Xiao Hei. As expected, he got beaten away again effortlessly.
In the blink of an eye, nine years went by. Tang Xiaoyu successfully advanced to the Early Nascent Soul Stage while Xiao Hei reached the Initial Stage of Divine Separation. Although still separated by a whole realm, the exponential increase in difficulty made it more than just a hundredfold difference.
"Abbot, we cannot keep going on like this. The Dao Ancestor is already very dissatisfied."
Tang Xiaoyu said: "I want to become invincible before going out."
"Then I, Xiao Hei, shall respectfully take over as Abbot."
Tang Xiaoyu immediately jumped up: "Don't you even think about it. I'm the only one fit for this position."